clarion
Brevard College, Brevard, N.C.
Volume 54 Number 12
Thursday, April 23, 1987
Witek relaxing Uniform Guidelines
by BR Orrell
The Uniform Guidelines for Brevard
College students are being restructured
for next fall, placing more responsibility
on students as adults, and in some cases,
relaxing the basic structure.
Norm Witek, the dean of student affairs
for next year, is designing the new point
system which “gives each indivudual a
second chance before points are put on his
or her record,” Witek says. “The
guidelines will put the burden of respon-
■liii
PTK members who were recently inducted are: Front row, left to right, Mary Cinkota, Susan Brewton, Deb
bie Nahikian, Linda Michaels, Celia Alves, and Millicent Alexis. Back row, left to right, Mark Higginbotham,
Charles Sherrill, Jamie-Jo Perry, Kim Riggins, Jessica Graham, Karen Strickland, Lisa Handelman, Teresa
Paxton, Kelly Williams, Terri Stone, and Becky Tapper.
Charges dropped against BC students
No formal police charges will be brought
against eight Brevard College students
identified as being responsible for approx
imately $400 in damages to property at the
Quality Inn on the Plaza in Asheville dur
ing the April 4 Spring Formal.
Hotel manager Roberto Mayol said
Tuesday morning that he had decided to
not press charges as a result of what he
considered “the severe action” issued by
the College against the students involved.
The eight were identified by the Brevard
College Office of Student Affairs in
cooperation with the Asheville and
Brevard Police Departments.
The eight have received disciplinary ac
tion from the college “since it was a
Brevard College function,” Scarborough
said, adding that the damage occurred not
at the dance itself, but in hotel rooms leas
ed by individual students.
All eight have been placed in
disciplinary probation (10 points), and fin
ed $50 to compensate the hotel for the
SGA calls for new elections
A re-vote has been scheduled Thursday
for the Office of Student Government
Association president. The candidates are
Allen Brooks, Robert Brooks, and Reg
Williams.
The action comes as the result of the
resignation of newly-elected SGA presi
dent Mark Higginbotham, whose involve
ment with the incident at the Quality Inn
on the Plaza at the April 4 Spring Formal
made him ineligible for office.
According to Dean of Student Affairs
Don Scarborough, after learning of the in
cident, the SGA resolved on April 12 that
“if any new officers were involved, then
the election would be null and void and a
new vote held,” Scarborough said.
In other SGA races voted on by the BC
student body, April 1-3, the winners includ
ed: Don Rett-Social Board vice-president
and Nick Embrey-Judicial Board vice-
president.
damages. The students’ parents have all
been notified, the dean said. Scarborough
noted that most of the students involved
didn’t have any points prior to the incident.
As to next year’s Spring Formal, the
dean said, “If I had to make a recommen
dation, I would suggest that we don’t have
the dance in a hotel.
“And I would hope the students have
learned something. It was a slap in the
face to the SGA.” Scarborough said,
“because they were trying to make the
dance truly an adult event without a lot of
supervision and security...and now they
were the ones embarrassed and hurt by
the whole thing.”
Outdoor Ed. offered
Contrary to erroneous information cir
culating on campus recently, the Outdoor
Education program will be offered again
next year at Brevard College, according to
Dean of the college Dr. Harry Langley
The dean said he is in the process of lin
ing up instructors for the courses.
Students with questions about the program
are invited to speak with Langley.
sibility back on the student.” Under the
new system, violations will be divided into
two levels; minor and major infractions.
“This system is not etched in stone,”
says Witek. Several details, such as the
appeal process and the amount of fines,
are still being worked out. Witek says he
welcomes student input into the restruc
turing plan.
For minor infractions, first offenders
will be issued a letter of reprimand, and
will be counseled by the dean of student af
fairs or given a fine. A minor infraction
will result in a penalty of 1-3 points which,
in most cases, will be dropped after the
student has paid the fine.
Another new aspect of this system is
that minor infractions, it persistent, will
be dealt with as major infactions.
Violators of major infractions will be
subject to 4-10 points, a mandatory session
with a college counselor, and community
service work.
When a student commits a second major
infraction, he or she will have another
mandatory counseling session, a stiff fine,
and permanent points on his or her record.
After accumulating 10 points, the stu
dent will be put on disciplinary probation,
and at 15 points is automatically suspend
ed. Witek says, “I’ve got to be consistent;
I’ve got to be fair.” Witek promises,
“Rules are going to be enforced; you’re
not going to see the sliding of regulations.”
After 20 years of coaching, Witek claims
that it is learning to abide by rules and
regulations that has produced his national
championship teams. “I’m a firm believer
in discipline,” he says.
Next year most resident directors will be
new to BC and will have master’s degrees
in various fields of counseling. Witek feels
this added factor will help make the point
system more consistent and give the
students some input into their individual
situations.
With a major infraction, the student will
have to work off the fine in an area related
to the violation; and the “right counselor
for the problem” will follow the case
through, according to Witek.
Although many BC students object to
having rules and guidelines for behavior,
Witek says BC must have “rules to prevent
chaos.” He adds, “We’ve got ot live and
work within the system we’ve got.”
Alcohol is the biggest problem on the BC
campus, according to Witek, and unfor
tunately most of the students are underage
drinkers. The problem is not just the
alcohol, but the fact that when some
students drink, they become destructive,
Witek says, citing the Spring Formal as an
example of this behavior from BC
students.
Witek says these guidelines have been
reviewed by the current SGA and will also
be presented to the newly elected officers.
Witek hopes the new point system will
render to the student “some better
understanding of what we’re trying to get
across.”