The webmaster for the NSU Vomit website at http://nsuvomit.com continues to engage himself in student awareness campaigns online, encouraging students to be active participants in campus life rather than acting as “(blind) sheep to the slaughter.”NSU Vomit’s webmaster, Johnny Smith, an elementary education senior from Thibodaux, offers Nicholls students an area in cyberspace where, according to Smith, they may exercise their First Amendment right to free speech, a right Smith feels is restricted on campus, via a personalized message board and chat room. Smith said the forum and chat area are designed to ensure anonymity and give students a place free from prejudice and retribution where they may discuss any topic or issue.
“I do not moderate my site,” Smith said. “However, if there is a blatant, all-out attack, I will delete that message.”
Disagreeing with the new 90-hours rule which states that most students with 90 hours or less must live on campus, Smith said he and many fellow students formed a petition asking the Student Government Association to write a resolution urging the University to veto the 90-hours rule. Smith said he has not heard from the SGA since he submitted the petition and that he thinks the petition has been “swept under the rug.”
“I and other students are angry that the petition has disappeared,” Smith said.
“The petition has not been ‘swept under the rug’,” Jana Stewart, SGA vice-president, said. “(The situation) is being handled and in the only way it can be.”
Stewart said the rule of the Universities of Louisiana System used to state that students with 60 hours or less must stay on campus or apply for exemption, but the hours increased to 90 when more residence space became available.
Smith said he believes that the Nicholls administration is trying to create a literal “Harvard on the Bayou” by forcing students to stay on-campus and in La Maison du Bayou and give the University more money, a subject Smith analyzes on his website.
“I don’t agree with how Nicholls has desperately been trying to get tenants, and I think students should be aware of that,” Smith said.
Though Smith openly condemns the alleged motives of the University administration for administering the 90-hours rule and constructing La Maison Du Bayou, he said he commends La Maison du Bayou, its staff and its builders. Smith said he is pleased with the quality of the building itself and is impressed with the short amount of time in which La Maison du Bayou’s construction was completed. However, according to Smith, there is a non-privacy clause at La Maison du Bayou which he does not agree with. Smith said according to the leasing contract, La Maison du Bayou staff reserves the right to enter a tenant’s apartment without prior notice.
“I’m sure that the (La Maison du Bayou) management has no malicious intent, but students should know (about the non-privacy clause),” Smith said.
Smith also commented on the controversy surrounding the current Colonel mascot image, saying that the mascot could be a brown paper-bag if the football team was “kicking ass.”
“Actually, I think the mascot should be an inkblot,” Smith said. “Yea multicolored inkblot! It would be great; no one could complain.”
Smith said he suggests the university administration change the coaching staff because he does not think the staff members are doing their job; if the coaching staff were changed and the football team did well in games, Smith said, the mascot’s image would not be an issue.
“What is a school mascot if not a representation of the school?” Smith said. “The Colonel is the last remaining symbol of the person who founded the University; in my opinion (Francis T. Nicholls) was an honorable person.”
Jonathan Niel, a freshman from Montegut, said: “I don’t really care enough to go to (Smith’s) site. It’s his opinion, and he’s not really talking for everybody else, so just let him bitch and complain.”
Priscilla Punch, a freshman from Houma, said: “I haven’t visited his site; I would like to see what (Smith’s) opinions are, but I don’t think it would change my opinion about Nicholls. Everybody has their own opinions, and you have to respect that.”
Smith said his site, which has been operating since last semester, is doing well and has had over 4,000 hits.
“(NSU Vomit) is a place where Nicholls students can interact and do so anonymously, and it’s a place for the exchange of ideas, thoughts and opinions without fear of retribution,” Smith said. “Nicholls has a lot of students who are highly intelligent, but they go to their dorm rooms, hide and choose not to face the problems that exist. If you go to a university, you should be a part of it.
