Say What?
It’s the last issue of the year. Since both of us are on CEU’s extended-study plan, we have no reason to write our last will and testament like the sophomores that are leaving.
Long Overdue
Some time ago we received a request from an alert reader to start highlighting the positive aspects of CEU. Apparently some parents would like to feel good about sending their students to one of the least expensive colleges in a state that refuses to fund higher education at an adequate level.
This archived article was written by: Les Bowen & BJ Harmon
It’s the last issue of the year. Since both of us are on CEU’s extended-study plan, we have no reason to write our last will and testament like the sophomores that are leaving.
Long Overdue
Some time ago we received a request from an alert reader to start highlighting the positive aspects of CEU. Apparently some parents would like to feel good about sending their students to one of the least expensive colleges in a state that refuses to fund higher education at an adequate level.
Since it’s not our usual style to highlight anything positive at this beloved institution, we have postponed this, we fear, far too long. And as its not our usual policy, we aren’t going to come up with anything new. We rarely do research for our articles anyway, but we read through some past issues of the paper. Here are our observations:
In just about every issue, CEU Theatre is preparing for a new production. We’ve attended many of these and agree that CEU has a talented group of thespians. Also Gallery East shows the work of gifted students and area artists. The SUN Center has a number of articles showcasing the excellent service work done by students in the community. The CEU music department performs in a couple of high-profile performances every year.
We read that the drug and alcohol arrests decreased at CEU last year. The health and wellness center provides some excellent services to students at a reduced rate and promotes healthy living among all students. We also read about a talented student who helped save the life of a victim in an accident along Interstate 15.
ASCEU provides a variety of activities, from hypnotists to live bands, from barbecues to the first (to our knowledge) “battle of the dorms.”
Administrators at CEU work closely with community officials to develop plans that will help both the college and the surrounding communities improve and develop new programs for students and residents.
This year, CEU established a peer support group, providing a positive atmosphere to help boost the morale of its students. They meet every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in CBB 247.
We were also reminded by a number of articles that CEU has a quite diverse population of international students from Asia, Africa and Europe.
State schools are going to see new funding from the legislature for the first time in years, which we feel is due, in part, to the efforts of students who have protested higher tuition and advocated better state funding.
Then there are the numerous awards that departments and individuals have received this year. You can read about a few of those in this issue of The Eagle.
Sure, we’ll concede that for the most part, journalists at CEU focus on the problems and areas which need improvement. Understand that this is in part because we believe strongly in the statement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black: “The First Amendment … rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public, that a free press is a condition of a free society.” We believe that acting as a watchdog to society is part of our civic obligation.
However, we must insist that CEU is a great school with a lot of positive programs and excellent faculty and staff. That’s why we love it and that’s why we’re here.
The Year in Numbers
For your reading pleasure, we just thought you’d like to be informed of a few numbers we’ve chalked up to our credit.
Awards which The Eagle received from the Columbia Student Press Association: three. Dollars lost by members of The Eagle staff while gambling in Las Vegas during a conference: $274. Issues of The Eagle published this year with a picture of BJ: 10. Items either thrown or broken out of frustration by members of The Eagle staff: 13. Hits The Eagle web site (eagle.ceu.edu/) has received since August 31, 2003: 20,704. Papers printed this academic year: 14,000. People that blew chunks due to unnecessary information revealed in the car on the way home from Las Vegas: one. People we knowingly offended a journalism conference we attended at BYU: 28.
Check us out this summer on The Eagle Online. We’re going to be actively pursuing our goals while living in Price. If we do anything noteworthy, we’ll be sure to post it.
Feel free to reply to our ranting at [email protected]. But don’t expect us to reply, respond, or even care.
