Volume 53
Brevard College, Brevard, N.C.
Tuesday, October 8, 1985
Number 3
Is It Safe To ‘Fly
|The Friendly Skies’?
by Ann- Marie Pressler
Risk, in life, is real. Worrying
I about risk is sometimes less real,
las reported by Harold Lewis of
I the Los Angeles Times. In the
last few months there have been
I three major air crashes, in-
I eluding the largest single-plane
I accident in history, and they have
received extensive coverage in
I the press, as is their due.
Delta Airlines has accused
[federal air traffic controllers of
I negligence in the August 2 plane
I crash that killed 135 people, an
I airline spokesman said. The
1 Lockheed L-1011 crashed during
] a severe thunderstorm while ap-
I proaching the Dallas-Ft. Worth
linternational airport. In-
Ivestigators have theorized that
I the jet plummeted to the ground
I when it encountered treacherous
I wind shear, but a final cause has
I yet to be determined.
In New York, investigators are
I looking into the crash of a Japan
I Airlines Boeing 747 that slammed
I into a mountain last month. They
I have found evidence of improper
I rear-cabin repairs that could
I have led to the disaster, accor-
I ding to the authorities involved 4n
1 the inquiry. Examination of the
I bulkhead after the crash last
I month, in which 520 people were
I killed, has shown that a single
I line of rivets was used for part of
I the repair instead of the double
I line of rivets called for in the
I manual, the investigators said.
From Washington, the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
is considering over-hauling its
rules. Before a jetliner may
carry passengers, the govern
ment must be convinced that a
full plane can be evacuated in 90
seconds. Concern over the ability
of airline passengers to escape an
aircraft cabin took on added
weight recently with the August
22 fire aboard a British charter
Boeing 737 as it was taking off
from Manchester, England.
Fifty-four people aboard the
jetliner were killed by toxic
smoke and flames.
According to the recent record
of the air travel industry, “flying
is safer than ever.” “There s
been an astonishing reduction in
fatalities over the last 50 years,”
said Brad Dunbar, spokesman
for the National Transportation
Safety Board.
The chance of being in a ratal
accident was more than 14 times
less in 1984 than in 1948, the first
year such statistics were kept,
according to the board.
In 1948 the chance of being in a
fatal crash was one in 380,000,
with five fatal crashes in 1.9
million flights flown in U.S. com
mercial carriers. From 1965 to
1970, the rate fell sharply from
one in 650,000 in 1965 to one in 4,8
million in 1970. 'Last year toere
was only one fatal accident in 5.4
million U.S. commercial flights.
Dr. William Greer, Jr
Dr. Greer - Visible
And Approachable
by Kim Ormand
The contoversy over whether
the FAA’s evacuation plans are
adequate has been going on for
months-ever since the FAA
quietly granted permission to the
Boeing Co. to eliminate two of 10
exit doors on its 747 jumbo jets.
Some foreign airlines have
already sealed off the doors, but
U.S. carriers have not because of
the uproar.
Air travelers with questions or
complaints about airline opera
tion and safety now have a toll
free number to call. The con
sumer hotline (1-800-FAA-SURE)
is handling complaints or ques
tions about issues such as airport
security, child safety seats, bag
gage, and services provided by
the FAA, which is operating the
hotline.
More than 500 people were kill
ed in the Japan Airline crash-
aviation’s worst single-plane
. disaster. Yet it is estimated that
each day nearly 150 people die in
the U.S. from smoking. This has
been open season on aviation
safety, and citizens are beginning
to think that flying is pretty risky
business. Is it"
This year Brevard College
boasts several changes on cam
pus, ranging from new ad
ministrators to the addition of a
women’s soccer team. All of the
changes so far have proven
positive ones, including the posi
tion of President of the College
filled by Dr. William Thomas
Greer, Jr.
Dr. Greer comes from
Cuthbert, Georgia, where he
most recently was president of
Andrew College. Dr. Greer
became interested in higher
education when he was asked to
come and teach at Andrew Col
lege. Later when the presidency
was open, he was offered the job.
He heard of the opening at
Brevard last spring by phone and
was asked to let himself be con
sidered for the position. He said
that he had “formed his initial
opinion of BC based on the
reputation of the college.” Now
that he is here, he says that his
positive opinion of the college
hasn’t changed- in fact, he is even
more impressed saying- “there
are two ingredients of a suc
cessful college- a strong commit
ted faculty and student body.
Brevard has both of these.”
But what exactly does a Presi-1
dent do? Right now Dr. Greer’s
position is mainly listening and
learning. Yet there are general
responsibilities which include
seeing that the philosophy and
ideals of the institution are main
tained, building a team to share
the responsibilities, and inter
preting this college to the
Methodist Church. Fortunately
Dr. Greer is willing to take part 1
in Campus life in order to do his
job well. He says “it would be
easy for me to hole up in here like
it’s a fort-1 want to be visible and
approachable.”
Luckily for BC, Dr. Greer is the
positive personality that will
naturally become integrated into
the community. He is not the
type of person to sit around and
do nothing. He is active in the'
church and community ac--i
tivities, saying that “church and |
personal recreation are my
favorite things after my family
and work.” He is willing to go
that extra mile for the college
and wants the sense of unity that
draws people to BC to continue.
And with the long year ahead of
us. Dr. Greer’s enthusiasm is just
what Brevard College needs.
SGA-Group Working Together
Of course there are problems to
by Kim Ormand and
Elizabetli Oliver
The student government
Association met several times
this year, planning and discuss
ing various aspects of the school.
1 They have been in charge of Der
by Day, coffeehouses, and
several movies and dances. With
newly elected vice-president
I Chuck Shelf, a proposal was sent
to Dean Wray concerning the
1 keeping of birds on campus (that
was rejected for health reasons).
I SGA is also working to allow
students to park in front of the
1 cafeteria.
Although right now they are
I simply trying to follow the
I schedule, several other projects
are in progress such as the invita-
I tion for retarded children to visit
the school on Halloween, and the
[ Spring Formal.
be dealt with - one of which is the
large group. With 40 people in
one room, when the SGA meets, it
is easy to let the officers run the
show. But President Henning
Brandt does not want it to be an
“officers’ game,” There is a
tendency for the officers to try
and do everything instead of
allowing input which makes it a
group event. In a student govern
ment the sharing of responsibility
is imperative; otherwise it will be
nothing but a facade. Mr. Brandt
realizes this and says “if we can
get 20 people who want to be ac
tive, then it (SGA) has a
purpose.”
All of the SGA meetings are
open meetings on Mondays star
ting at 6:00 p.m. and the
members encourage everyone to
come and listen, make sugge^
tions, and help bridge the com
munication gap between the
students and administration.
Phone-a-thon
Scheduled
Students are needed to assist
with the Office of Development s
Phone-a-thon scheduled for Nov.
4-14.> Brevard College alumni will
be called and asked to donate at
least one dollar for each year
since their graduation. Student
volunteers will be telephoning
from 7-9:30 p.m. on Monday-
Thursday in the Beam Ad
ministration Conference room.
Prizes will be awarded and food
will be provided. All interested
students should contact Sally
Gunther in the Beam Administra-
tion , building.
Photo By Kent Thompson
Professor Rachel Daniels leads a recent campus
worship service in the S.U. Chapel is he •
each Wednesday and everyone is invited to attend^