= FEATURES
Colman-West DOCked at Brevard
BY JULIE ROBBINS
Has there ever been a teacher
in your life that has inspired you to
go beyond all the limits you
thought you could achieve? A
teacher that doesn’t just lecture, but
becomes passionately involved in
the learning process? A teacher
whose enthusiasm is so contagious
that you hang onto his or her every
word with great anticipation? To
many students, there is one teacher
who has challenged them to explore
more, question more and become
more. “Doc.”
Her full name is Doctor
Clara Coleman-West. She was bom
in Asheville, grew up in Canton and
Waynesville, then moved to
Newberry because of her fathers
job at Champion. She graduated
from Canton High School and went
to Randolff-Maycon Women’s
college, in Lynchburg, Virginia for
undergraduate study. Then she
attended University of North
Carolina in Chapel Hill for graduate
study. Her major was English with
an emphasis in American Literature
and 17th and 18th century British
Literature with a minor in music.
Doc arrived in the fall of 1976,
though she did not intend to stay
that long when she first arrived. But
she did and her list of appointments
is long. She has served six years as
the academic Vice President,
chaired twice on the humanities
board and was a substitute chair for
the Science and Math divisions for
one year. Her one daughter, Janet,
is a middle school teacher.
As for a favorite class, she
simply states, “It is which ever one
I am about to walk into.”
It is obvious her students
have taken notice to this feeling. As
former students, David Rector and
Corey Hall both agree, “Even at 8
a.m. in the morning, she could
make English really fun.”
Her inspiration has even gone
further. Former student, Jarvis
Broom said, “Before, I really did
not have an interest in English.
Then I had Dr. Coleman-West, and
now I am planning to minor in
English.”
Late night gifts of perspective
LliERARY JOURNALISM
The waitress dropped a plate
and shattered it against the cold tile.
The old man whispered to the guy
next to him and everyone else just
sat with their mouths dropped to the
floor. We were at the juke box
arguing over whether to play
country or old time rock and roll.
What else was there to do in this
small town? Roxy and Mimi were
their names.
They strutted in, bright blue
eye shadow covering every square-
inch of their deeply hidden eyes,
base piled on three inches thick and
ruby red lipstick holding their lips
hostage. The one in the leopard
skin-tight pants seemed mellow and
she kept to herself, as Roxy, the one
in the hot pink jacket walked by
licking her fingers from time to time
while winking her eye and flirting
with danger.
After sitting there for a while
the two girls invited us along with
them to their journey of whatever it
is they do. We looked at each other
as though we would be passing up
an opportunity of a lifetime if we
didn’t jump right up
and explore their world
of nightlife. We got in
their surprisingly clean
maroon Honda, with its
slight stench of alco
hol.
urge to tattoo their bodies.
“You aren’t serious, are you”
said Roxy as she slowly turned
down a street leading to another
BY
MICHELLE
CRABTREE
FEATURES
EDITOR
street of endless shops and tattoo
parlors, all of which happened to be
closed.
The night went on and we
stopped for coffee. Where’s the
action, where’s the tricks, the
money, where are the guys? Why
aren’t we on the street? Why are we
in this boring restaurant? We’re here
ten minutes and already we’ve
caused a scene.
Two tobacco chewin, cowboy
boot wearin, unrespectable middle-
We’re here ten minutes and
already we\e caused a scene.
We had no idea
where we were going.
All we knew is we wanted sus
pense, we wanted big city, big
action; we wanted different. Roxy
opened the sunroof as Mimi started
screaming the words “you drive me
crazy out the window. The words
of Aerosmith had somehow snuck
into our car and into Mimi’s head.
After only five minutes in the car
Mimi and my friend got a sudden
aged guys walked by hootin and
hollarin. One of them leaned down
to Roxy and said “Ya sure do got
perty eyes.”
The other nudged his friend as
if he were scared “Boy ya better
leave that one alone she’s too
young don’t even mess with it.”
Roxy tried flirting a little but noth
ing big came of it.
After ordering our coffees we
sat in silence until Mimi opened her
mouth only to utter words of
maturity, and Roxy replied with
understanding. Wait this wasn’t
suppose to happen. These two girls
couldn’t possibly be intelligent.
How could they even know what
religion was. Look at them. Look at
the way they dress.
“It’s interesting the way God
said thou shalt not kill yet there is
so much killing in this world my
friend,” said with a deep curiosity.
“Is God real? Does he exist?”
“Of course it does, it exists in
you,” Roxy said as she
slowly uncovered her
napkin to wipe the hot
fudge that was drib
bling down her chin.
“It’s something
personal. I say it
because it doesn’t have
to be a certain being it
can be anything that
gives you understand
ing of yourself and this
world, anything that
keeps you going, that gives you a
reason to exist, anything that shows
you the meaning of love.” That is
the definition of God, or at least
Roxy’s definition.
■ “I personally adore God, I
think he is quite humorous, he
defiantly knows how to have a
good time,” Mimi replied with
excitement. I somehow got deeply
lost in their conversation of relation
ships, religion, beliefs and
disbelief’s.
It’s amazing how things
happen when you least expect
them. What had started out as an
intended hour of adventure and
danger had somehow turned into
ten hours of an intellectually deep
conversation. Sure we wanted to get
away from this small town. Away
from this “normal” society, but
Roxy and Mimi taught us: any
where you are and anyone you
meet has innormalities contributing
to this so called “normal” society
and you will never get away from
it.
Six o’clock rolled around. The
sun had come up. We lost ourselves
that night, but only to find our real
selves. The better part of ourselves
we never knew was there. The
clicks and clatters of Mimi’s three
inch heals tapped the floor as we
walked out of the restaurant with
our heads held high. As we were
walking out not one, not three, but
five cops very obviously in sink
turned their heads in our direction
as their questioning eyes followed
us out of that restaurant where
nothing but the snow awaited us.
No one said a thing on the way
back to where we had started. But
we were all thinking the same thing.
Every single one of us are human,
we all have beliefs and disbeliefs.
We may very well live in a
small town or we may very well
live in a big city but sometimes that
doesn’t matter. Some of the most
important lessons come from some
of the most unexpected places.
It s amazing how things happen
when you least expect them.
What had started out as an in
tended hour of adventure and
danger had somehow turned...