Page 2 November 3,1995 ^ Editorials The Death Of A Great Idea Jon Ostendorff Editor The Fellowship Work Program is a new program that has recently been approved for the summer and fall semesters. This program is open to sophomore or non-traditional students with a GPA of 2.0 or above. The students in this program will work for campus housing other than the dormitories. This summer students will work forty hour weeks and receive a salary along with housing . In the fall semester the hours will be reduced to ten, and no salary will be given. This promotion was written for the march 1995 issue of the Clarion. Its description of the Fellowship Work Program is similar to the fliers that were distributed around campus. Sounds like a good idea doesn’t it? Well it was, until recently. As of October the Work Program has been officially disbanded. When Becky Sanchez (former work study director) and I designed this program last year, only five job positions were available. Also, due to a lack of appropriate housing, the program was open only to males. However, we had dreams of it expanding to encompass many more jobs open to both male and female students. The history of the program is very short due to the fact that it was only operational for a mere six months. The first building the work program students were given to live in was Duplex unit four. This worked out very well for the five students that lived there. The unit was close to their jobs and had plenty of living space. During the summer the students worked full time as agreed to in their contracts. Everything seemed fine. The living arrangements were comfortable and the students were doing their jobs. Then the first problem arose. It appears that there must have been some miscommunication somewhere in the heirarchy of the Brevard College administrative staff Somehow both the work program students and the Women’s Basketball Team were scheduled to live in Duplex four during the fall semester. Instead of placing the team in the available space in the dormitories, the work program was forced to move. However, the move worked out to their advantage. Three of the students were given a two bedroom house on Robinson Avenue ( which is directly behind the college) and one was allowed to live in Ross Hall. The house was much better than the Duplex, and other than being a little inconvenienced by moving, the students were happy. During the semester the work hours dropped down to ten a week. The house worked out perfectly; it was not as noisy as the dorms, and all felt they were getting more studying done. Then the second problem arose. Its origms are similar to the first problem. It seemed to me that again there was some miscommunication in the vast Brevard College administrative network. However, this time the problem was much more serious. Thomas Bertrand, the president of the college, hired a new professor to teach an environmental science course scheduled to be offered, in the spring of ‘96. In this new professor’s contact he was given a campus owned house to live in for a year or until he found a suitable place in town. The street address of the house is 114 Robinson Avenue, the same house the Work Program students were living in. Logically, the students were asked to leave rather than find the professor another place to live. This oversight was so huge that the president’s office put in a work order for the housekeeping staff to prepare Robinson Avenue while the students were livmg there. No one in the president’s office seemed to know or remembered that the work program students were living in the house. When the work order reached Campus Life, it was finally realized that the house was occupied. As this was happening the new professor, along with his wife and some of their possessions, arrived in Brevard expecting to move into the house. Because the students could not be moved quickly, the new professor was allowed to stay in the guest house temporarily. Realizing his mistake President Bertrand offered the work program students an opportunity to live in the Dormitories (with roommates) and continue working to pay for the housing costs. As a compensation for being moved out of their house. President Bertrand also offered the students a free meal ticket. To him this seemed like a more than reasonable offer. In his opinion , with the added meal ticket, the students were getting more than they originally bargained for. However, President Bertrand has not lived in the dormitories and does not depended solely on the cafeteria for his meals. If he had experienced these things, then maybe he would have realized that this was not an acceptable offer. The work program students enjoyed the freedom and privacy of living off campus. Also they enjoyed their own cooking much more than eating in the cafeteria. Thus, the first offer was declined. After some negotiation a reasonable agreement was reached. The students were allowed to live at the Robinson Aveune house until after fall break, and their contracts were bought out releasing them from all job responsibilities. If thought of in a monetary sense, the first offer was the ,better one. The students would save approximatly $2000 by agreeing to work and live in the dormitories. However, once the freedom of living off campus has been tasted, nothing can substitute for or compare with it. With this oversight the College has inconvenienced three outstanding students that have never been in trouble and have above average grades. More important than this, I believe, is the fact that the administration has shown that they cannot be trusted to fulfill promises they have made with students. President Bertrand’s justification for breaking this promise is that the new professor is necessary for the betterment of Brevard College. Essentially the new professor out . weighs a program created to improve the living standards of responsible students. Maybe this is true. I do not know what is involved in ruiming a College as I have never had the opportunity to do so. However, I do know that in any kind of business or cooperation, communication is essential. Without it large oversights will become a big problem. It is a shame the Fellowship Work Program has died. I feel that it could have benefited many more students. The things I learned while working at the Maintenance Deparment could not have been learned in the class room. I have become acquainted with a different aspect of Brevard College, and I have discovered that some of the best teachers do not work in the class room. This is a wealth of knowledge that I am sure I will draw froni many times in the future. 1 feel it is unfortunate that others will not have the chance to experience this. Rodent Problem Plagues Jones Dormitory i Jennifer Berry Staff Writer If you haven’t heard the news already, we residents of Jones Dorm are facing a rodent problem this year. Since the furst week of classes, screams have been heard up and down the hallways from girls receiving a nightly visit from little field mice and often even rats. It is a known fact that these rodents ciry diseases. The proper authorities have been notified about the problem, but not much has been done to clean up Jones arid rid us of these often un-welcome guesjs. I, personally, have no problem with the mice. If you look at it, they were heire long before Jones Dorm was ever [)uilt and only need a pleasant relocation. The rats, ion the other hand, I do have a problem’ with. Mice can be tolerated; rats cannot be. Not only do rats carry diseases, but they are also known to bite people far more often than mice. If people are not expected to live with rats in their homes, then we shouldn’t be expected to live with them either. In the Jones basement and trash rooms, there have been numerous chings of a large Dwarf Rat. This rat is like the ones in die inner-cities, and it is highly unhealthy for them to roam the dorm. The most that has been done to control that rodent problem in Jones is the dispensing of rodent poison which brings on a whole new argument. Why should w{e have to kill these little creatures? Not Wanting or tolerating them iu our living environment is far different from killing them. There are plenty of live traps that c^ be purchased, so that mass quantities of the animals can be caught an relocated. With poison and mouse traps, ajl we are going to experience are dea ahimals that pose event more of a heal h^ard, for they have to be moved, an Continued on page 6

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