Editorial

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Editorial

Poor conditions in Pace Hall have caused the Troy State University Housing Office to make quick decisions concerning the details involved in preparing to move Pace residents to the houses available on the recently acquired property at the Baptist Children's Home.

Housing and Student Affairs officials should be commended for the recognition and planning for proper security, parking and lighting at the houses. They have also managed to provide information about the cost and tentative plans for the move in a timely fashion. Current residents and sorority members have been made aware that they can use their chapter rooms in Pace Hall for Rush during fall quarter, that only upperclassmen can live in the houses and that a meal ticket will still be required for residents. However, several problems exist.

Although the conditions of the move were quickly supplied, the condition of Pace Hall has been a problem for several years. Sororities have continued to invest large amounts of money into their chapter rooms in Pace because intentions or plans of a move were not even tentatively mentioned.

Each sorority will be forced to move into houses that might only have one phone line to be shared between 14-18 females for a period of time. They will also not have a place to have all of their new pledges live together during their first year on campus.

An additional inconvenience will be the requirement to have a meal ticket while paying for power in houses with fully equipped kitchens. The house residents wil l also be forced to drive to campus for evening meals for safety purposes. The walk from campus to the houses would not be a safe one in the dark.

Housing officials made the effort to seek questions and problems the sororities had with the move during April. Hopefully, now that specific decisions have been made, sororities and residents will be given another opportunity to respond and present suggestions and solutions.

Students affected by this move should take the time to present their requests, questions and problems to the housing office in order to seek out a compromise that everyone can live with.

Hopefully, the problems concerning the move can be addressed as quickly as plans for the move have been made.

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Editorial Cartoon

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Opinion -- Remembering a friend

Joe Zwierzchowski

People die day in and day out. That's a hard fact of life.

It's not every day that we have to deal with the passing of a close friend. This weekend many people lost someone very special, Phillip Ryan Boyer.

In a horrific turn of events, Phil was killed amid a blur of good times and tragic consequences.

May 2, Phil and passenger Dennis Fagerberg were involved in a Jeep wreck. Dennis survived with minor injuries. Phil was not as fortunate.

Phil's death is an example of what can happen to anyone of us at anytime. I can only be thankful that I did not lose two friends that evening.

Phil always had his own way of doing things. He was crazy about life and loved very much. That is what made him special.

He liked the edge. He loved to push things. From the first day I met him, he was always going all out. On the other hand, I don't know if I've ever met a nicer, warmer person than Phil.

He always had something nice to say and nothing ever got him down. He was always smiling or trying to make someone else smile. That is what made him special.

Phil was always around and always smiling. Some would call him the life of the party.

I'd call him life.

He was the embodiment of the college spirit. Phil worked very hard at his studies and even harder at playing. Even when he was working at the pool, he was always having fun.

I found myself asking the one question on everybody's mind the night they heard the news.

"Why?"

None of us know why Phil had to die. Sure there are scientific reasons that contributed to his death, but they do not explain why he was taken from us so early.

While I didn't know him my entire life, I felt as if I had. He was one of the first real friends I had at TSU and we shared a great deal. We both had hopes and dreams for the future.

We had plans.

In some way, I feel that this has strengthened my resolve. I almost feel that if I do not follow through with the things he and I spoke of, I'll be letting him down.

He and I used to joke about being young and indestructable. We did stupid things for no reason, but we always survived. Those conversations haunt me now. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened to one of us. I'm sorry it was him.

Hard as it is to say, we must move on. To borrow one of Phil's favorite expressions "Chill out, relax, everything will be just fine." He lived fast and died young. I miss him, we all miss him and the pain will never fully go away. The best thing we can do for him and ourselves is to remember him lovingly.

Many people have things to help them cope with this harsh reality. A friend told me his. He said when he was in the emergency room waiting to see Dennis, he thought he was going to lose it. Something he heard set his mind at ease. He heard the cries of a new born baby and felt that Phil was with him and us once again.

There were many people touched by this tragedy. Some I know and others I do not. To those who loved Phil as I did, I can only hope that this will not be the end of it.

Phil will live, if only in our hearts, as long as we remember him. I can't do anything but.

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Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

This past week, I dropped off my girlfriend at Cowart Hall after an evening date. She found a letter on the windshield of her car which was parked in a very recently labled parking space. The letter read as follows: Dear Bubba/Bubbette: I can't use this parking space labled "Army ROTC" because your vehichle is in it. Please double check before parking here again. Joe Salamone.

The letter would have been much appreciated instead of a ticket if Mr. Joe Salamone had not addressed it as "Dear Bubba/Bubbete." I find this very insulting and degrading, and to me, within the context of the letter, this term ranks with common derogatory terms which imply ignorance and lesser citizenship. I have heard many good things about the ROTC program at TSU, but this does not show evidence of high professionalism these men and women should have, especially when the Army is in such trouble currently. Is this the evidence of the army we have today? Well, I hope not.

Mr. Salamone, think about for a moment the parking problem these women face that live in Cowart Hall. Their main parking lot was taken away by McCall Hall's construction, and all they have is in front of the building which is shared by Pace Hall.

Would one want his girlfriend to park across campus at night and have to walk to her dorm alone? I don't think so. Of course, the Cowart parking problem isn't your responsibility; however, you could have gotten one of the Natatorium parking spaces where the majority of the spaces are already faculty and staff parking. You pay $25 for your parking space for one year. She pays $1,530 per year for her dorm residence.

Editor, my girlfriend is a common student, a civilian to be protected; not a subordinate to order around, degrade, or belittle. She is a taxpayer, voter, and, for all Mr. Salamone knows, a potential recruit.

Michael Franks

TSU Senior

Dear Editor,

As I look at myself, I see the end of a good man's life. Phil Boyer was a dear friend of us and to some he held in life what some of us missed. We'll miss your passion, kindness, and your presence. I'll remember hanging out in your room talking about things I felt inside, the BBQ's, going to the clubs and the outdoor pool which you loved so much. Seeing your zest for life was like none I've seen in years and it will be missed. You added what I was missing and now it is gone, but your memory will last a lifetime and so will your thoughts. When I leave TSU and go home, I will tell all my friends who you are and tell them I was lucky enough to call you friend.

Michael"Gondee" Gondelman

TSU Freshman

The Tropolitan wants your comments. Letters to the editor must be typed, signed and include the writer's affiliation to the university. An adress and phone number must also be included. Letters should not exceed 200 words. The deadline to submit letters is noon Monday. Space limitations may pervent the publication of letters received during the week. The editor reserves the right to edit for content and/or space. Send all letters to:

Tropolitan Editor

Wallace Hall

Troy, Ala. 36082

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