Appalachian State University - Rhododendron Yearbook (Boone, NC)

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CHANGES BEAUTY VS. BIG BUCKS In the headlong rush for development and profit, will the high country ' s greatest attraction - scenic beauty, be destroyed? ARTICLE BY ANGELO CERCHIONE PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID HUNTLEY Someone sees an outlandish gas station or an obtrusive condominium and reacts to the sight. Tutored or untutored, he or she knows that something is wrong and asks, Why do they permit this to happen? The question takes us back to Earth Day and the words of the most often quoted possum of the seventies, Pogo: We have met the enemy and he is us. The problem is one of aesthetics - of the violation of beauty and the thoughtful preservation in the midst of necessary development. No one runs for office in this area with a campaign slogan that blares: We gotta stay beautiful! and yet, most people are drawn to the area or refuse to leave it because of its beauty. In this beauty, there is more than satisfaction. There is also money. Look at the numbers. This area entertains a million tourists a year who spend $45 million while visiting. That $45 million stimulates other spending as it trickles down from some 1,600 people directly employed in tourist-related industries to others - a multiplier effect five times greater than the initial expenditure. Economic studies show that this figure will increase, if permitted. If permitted brings us back to aesthetics. Those with money and mobility come here now because of our visual amenities. Consistently, tourists answer the question on survey after survey, Why did you come to this area? with one word: scenery. To them, every other attraction is considered secondary. Unfortunately, that scenery is becoming frayed. Uncollected roadside junk, uncon- demned derelict housing, indiscriminate tree cutting, obscenely large signs, flashing lights, grotesquely-colored ser- vice stations, violated flood plains, gouged and ungrassed banks - all offend the sensibilities. Understand, this is no list of complaints by the prissy. People with money come here to enjoy the scenery. When the enjoyment is diminished, the moneyed and mobile will move away and find a new beautiful place. When they do, a quarter billion dollars will go with them. Of greater importance, but harder yet to teach, is that beauty is a measure of environmental health. We look in a mirror to learn something of our condition. Some of us still need to learn how to look into nature ' s mirror and measure fitness. But not all of us are blind to the importance of environmental preserva- tion, for there have been important steps taken to repair damage, educate the laity, and make things right. The state ' s ridge line legislation and Boone ' s tree preserva- tion and sign ordinances are recent positive in steps taken by local and state leaders. These steps have been taken none too soon. The southeastern and central sunbelt is attracting more and more Americans who are escaping the cold north. The move into the south-west will be slowed by the diminishing water table, making the beauty and water-rich Ap- palachian mountains even more popular. The test of the future is how well we can accommodate growth (for the courts will not act to stem the tide by closing the door to migration) and preserve a prudent degree of environmental health. In the mountains of North Carolina there is nothing frivolous in lobbying for aesthetics. It is a measure of our health and an indication of our ability to cope with all of those tomorrows.

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CHANGES DRY COUNTY BLUES The University attempts to substitute for a ciosed-down Blowing Rock, but will it be enough to satiate the student body ' s thirst? ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY BABETTE MUNN Having friends over for dinner and wine or going out with friends to have a cold beer are not easy tasks in Boone. To top it off the nightlife in Blowing Rock has seen better days. But amidst all the changes, the university has rallied to provide a music hall for the students, and there may soon be a referendum for beer in Boone. There exists a long history of conflict concerning alcohol in North Carolina and Watuaga County. When the 21st Amend- ment was passed, Prohibition was halted. But while most of the state went wet, Watuaga County was left dry. With time Blowing Rock became the watering hole for the area. P.B. Scott ' s Music Hall and Clydes to name a few were the night spots for ASU students. P.B. Scott ' s had some great bands pass through its doors, including B. B. King, The Dregs, The Nighthawks, Papa John Creech, and Arlo Guthrie, just to name a few. You still hear talk of the memories created at P.B. ' s, but what was once a music hall and gathering place for friends, will soon become condominiums. The growing controversy with the ABC Board over disproportion- ate food to alcohol sales and the town of Blowing Rock ' s complaints of noise and litter brought the final demise to P.B. ' s and Clydes. Bucky Carter, a senior Industrial Arts major, said, nightlife plummeted when places closed down. You don ' t have as much of a chance to meet people. There are more open parties now, but they ' re packed and outrageous. As bars were closing the laws were getting stricter in other ways. The drinking age was raised to 19 and the D.U.I, laws were made much more strict. If someone blows a .10 or more on the breathalizer test, it costs them their license for 10 days and by refusing to take the test drivers receive a mandatory one year suspension of driving privileges. Concern over these new restrictions was shown by the administration of ASU. The Office of Residence Life got involved by setting up a week long Happy Appy Hour, showing students how to entertain and make drinks without alcohol. But to accommodate an even broader range of students the Social Activities Room in the Student Union became the hub for free entertainment and brownbagging. Al- though the limit of six beers per person was tightly controlled, it didn ' t seem to stop the students from attending. The capacity in the Social Activity room was 220 and some evenings crowds of 600 would wait in line. When the program was deemed a success, a new larger facility called H ' Appy ' s became an even bigger reality. SGA President, Ken Talley said, Other universities are following suit with H ' Appy ' s. They see we have a unique set-up. The emphasis of H ' Appy ' s is entertainment, and not the brownbagging of six-packs. Spring semester saw many changes, including a successful forum, organized by Eastridge cluster, called Boone on the Rocks. Said Talley, A lot of things became clearer during the forum, includ- ing the discussion of possibly holding a referendum for beer in Boone. Hopefully people will start seeing that it ' s not students vs. the Boone citizens. Talley commented how the town could profit from beer in Boone. He said, It could lower the tax basis. Some counties put the sales revenues into the county school system an d Boone could do the same. The results of the different changes this past year could be varied and prohibition may linger, but possibly this story will become history in a long scenario of ' the alcohol issue ' . Who knows, one day may find students, professors and townspeople alike stroll- ing downtown for a sandwich and a frothy draft in the company of friends.