Newspapers / Gaston College Student Newspaper / Sept. 20, 1972, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page 2 The Gas Light September 20, 1972 €iittorial Thanks For The Cake Instead of The Bread Mr. Henry Van Steen, in deciding to donate an antique chest that belonged to King Louis XV of France, performed a service of inestimable value to Gaston College. The estimated value of the chest is impressive, but the monetary concepts are of minimum value in respect to the intangible aspects of the gift. First of all, Mr. Van Sleen could have sold the chest for far more money, perhaps, and donated the cash to Gaston. But this would not have been the same. Obviously the college could use the money; any educational institution can. But the value of the antique chest as a part of history enriches Gaston College more than money could. Money can be spent; history must be preserved. Secondly, it is entirely possible that Mr. Van Sleen has set a precedent. As a result of this thoughtfulness and generosity, perhaps other community members will feel that it is far better for their personal treasures to be displayed and viewed at Gaston College than it is for them to gather dust in some showplace where only a microscopic portion of the population might see the works. A third possibility is that other properties, not just antiques, might find their way to the campus. Doubtless there are art works, books, letters, and other reminders of historical notables that we here at the college could use, treasure, and benefit from. The antique chest, then, is not a piece of furniture worth X-number of dollars. It contains and represents an entire period of history, in a sense, and reflects a way of time, a world situation, and a life style that is totally foreign to the typical student. When one looks at a bank statement, he sees only figures. It is a stimulatingly different matter to be able to examine something that was in intimate contact with history. Madame de Pompadour and the notorious de Barry are only part of the historical relevance. After all, there is also the thought that while Louis XVI was tinkering incessantly with his locks instead of running his country, while he sat, fat and lazy, in his palace while waiting for his huntsmen to flush out and drive the stag past the palace so the king might have his sport without having to dress and make the effort to hunt, the chest might have been part of the furnishings. Who knows? Even Marie Antoinette might have found the chest to be a decorative part of her life after she left the slums of the Schoenbrun Palace. As we said, the money would be nice, but the chest is much nicer. Thank you, Mr. Van Sleen. The college will admire and treasure your gift. After all, $15,000 is a lot of bread, but we can stand before the chest and imagine we are eating cake. The Voice Of The Entire College THE GAS LIGHT is not what many if not most of the people at Gaston College want a school paper to be. We know this is true because we hear it several dozen times each month, and we are highly pleased that we are not printing what the typical student seems to want. But we are not guilty of ail that we are charged with. One charge leveled repeatedly is that there is too little news about students. We plead guilty. Not that we admit to printing too little of the newsworthy items but that there is entirely too little that the students here are doing. Consequently, we make this suggestion; if you want more student news, get more students involved in something positively newsworthy. We only print it; we cannot manufacture the news. The second charge is that THE GAS LIGHT is merely the voice of the administration at Gaston. We plead guilty again on certain charges. We feel and state clearly at the top of each and every issue — that THE GAS LIGHT is the voice of Gaston College. This means that we print whatever is going on, if it happens to be of significance or interest to the college at large. However, we do not print the latest gossip concerning who is holding hands in the student center, what tha favorite songs of Sidney J. Sidewinder happen to be at the moment, or what the latest polls show concerning the new morality. Some of these items couldn’t matter less to us, and the others are the business of the people involved. Charge number three is that we don’t print enough club news. We don’t. However, we want to print news of club activities; we agree to print such news; we promise to print it. Now all that remains is for the club officers or advisors to break the secrecy vow and let us know what is happening. In summary, THE GAS LIGHT is the instrument of students, clubs, faculty, and administration. We feel that weowe our existence to all of these units, and likewise we owe our respect and concern to them. We prefer to take a, positive look at as much of the college as we can, primarily because we believe that there is much more that is positive about the college than there is negative quality. This does not mean that we steer away from controversy or unpopular opinion. It simply means that, given a choice, we prefer supporting the school to attacking it. This view in itself may border on heresy, what with modern anti-establishmentarianism popularity, but we'd rather be too positrve than to run the risk of throwing the baby out with the dirty water. Everyone Survives Faculty Dinner the second greatest honor I’ve ever received.” When asked by Dr. Sugg to tell of the first, Mr. Ashley replied by stating that the greatest honor he had received was liis wife’s acceptance of his marriage proposal. Mr. Ashley has the distinction of having one and one half schools named for him. The newest members of the faculty and staff were introduced and welcomed by the “old” members. Letters To The Editor The culinary skills of the Gaston College faculty and staff were very much in evidence at a covered dish supper on September 8th which honored Mr. Frank L. Ashley, a well known educator of Gaston County. Mr. Ashley, who was for many years the principal of Gastonia High School, was given an honorary position on the Gaston College faculty. Mr. Ashley said of the honor, “This is Dear Collegiate Veterans: Speaking on behalf of Gaston College Collegiate Veterans Association, welcome to the campus. This year will be a new experience for some of you, and we hope a rewarding and prosperous year for all of you. Our organization seeks to assist you with any problems that you might have concerning your Veteran’s Benefits. It is our wish that you will avail yourself to the opportunity of joining the Association because without you, each and everyone, there is no Association. It is time we set an example on campus to defeat the apathy that is growing daily in our community and across the state. To do this we should rebuild our “Esprit de Corps.” Why should we unite? What results, if any, can we attain? Do we have a united effort to better our benefits for all veterans? Are we going to sit around and act like adolescent brats thinking that as individuals we can accomplish more working alone than uniting together? Do we have the ability to organize, govern, and channel our efforts to achieve desired results, or are we a simple mass of conformity that sits around wiiiting for whatever handout our leaders in government decide to throw us? If these questions concern you as they do me, then unite with me and others to achieve some saitsfactory results. Our- organization meets every Thursday at 11:00 A.M. in classroom C-119. I urge each one of you to attend and take part in these meetings. 1 would like to say a special word to old members: I thank you for attending the meetings and for your support, and I hope to see you at all our future meetings. Sincerely, Larry D. Smith, President Gaston College Collegiate Veterans Association To the Editor: 1 would like to make a comment concerning orientation day at Gaston College. Recently I attended my first orientation for college and I was shocked to see how a college could be so disorganized. It appears to me that the entire facility is in need of orientation. Orientation Day is the first impression a new student receives of our school. This first day could have a large impression on his education. Why not try something new next Orientation Day? Here is a suggestion: a little planning goes a long way. Name Withheld by Request Frank Ashley HONORARY FACULTY MEMBER — Frank L Ashley, noted retired local educator, has been voted an honorary member of the faculty of Gaston College. Mr, Ashley was thus honored at the faculty dinner on September 8. He was cited for long and faithful service to the cause of education in Gaston County and his early and vocal support for the College during the days of its founding. For twenty-five years the principal of Gastonia High School, Mr. Ashley was honored at his retirement in 1955 by the renaming of the school Frank L. Ashley High School, now Junior High. Students Forget Politics While Studying Abroad When I was asked to write a brief summary of my experiences at the International Summer School at the University of Oslo at Oslo, Norway, and my visit to Russia and England, I was at a loss as to the amount of detail to give and what to write about, since so many wonderful and different things happened and I met so many wonderful and gracious people from all over the world. I’ll try to highlight with some items that may be of general interest. I knew that my summer would be different because the departure of our special Intemational Summer School charter jet was timed with the arrival of Hurricane Agnes, which resulted in a 747 jet going off the runway and a five and a half hour wait in line, sitting in a jet on the ground at Kennedy International Airport. We got off the ground at 11:15 p.m. and seven hours later our arrival at Oslo was extremely pleasant. Baggage was handled expeditiously and passage through immigration and customs was little more than a formality. The International Summer School consisted of 280 students, of which 180 were from The United States and 100 were from twenty-nine other countries. Among the countries represented was every country from eastern Europe (behind the Iron Curtain), and every country in Western Europe was represented except Luxembourg. The Middle East had representatives from each of the arab countries, including Egypt, while Israel also had several students present. After the United States, the largest contingent was from Canada, which had twenty students. The ages of students ranged from nineteen to seventy years. About seventy per cent of all students were under thirty years of age. The academic standings ranged from rising juniors to post-doctoral studies. Included were five Ph.D. students, four medical doctors, twelve professional engineers, several public health nurses, and a large number of teachers from elementary schools, high schools, and colleges and universities. The curriculum was varied and by Phil Galanti included studies in the Norwegian language, art, music, international relations, public health, urban renewal, physical education (including skiing in the summer) and cooperative education. A highly qualified faculty presented material of general interest to all students. For example, the professors who taught me all held doctorate degrees and held other prominent positions in Norway. One of my professors was a professor of education with primary responsibilities in educational research; another was head of the Norwegian Research Institute; my international relations instructor was the foremost television newscaster, analyst, and commentator. All instructors were fluent in English. The assigned faculty covered only a part of the course; a major part of the instruction came from guest professors from other countries who were specialists in the particular subject they were presenting to the classes. Their presence on our campus was usually from two to five days depending on the importance of the subject being discussed. Until three years ago the University of Oslo was the only University in Norway and was several hundred years old. Attendance at the University was very selective. Because of the pressure for education, a second University at Bergen, Norway was started a few years ago and a technical University for Engineering study was opened at Trondheim, Norway. Norway has begun to experiment with the Junior Colleges within the last two years and there now exists three Junior Colleges in Norway on an experimental basis. When I studied this portion of the education system, I felt that they were comparable to the technical Institutes in North Carohna. Travel is considered an essential element of the curriculum and travel to all parts of Norway. During the seven week-ends in Norway, only one was spent in Oslo. The otiier week-ends were filled by travel to Bergen, Telemark, Lillehamer, Kristionsaud, and Gateburg’ Sweden. The museums, the places visited, the many other facilities of all types visited are too numerous to mention. During my travels I met many Norwegians and saw many sections of the country. Norway is about 80% mountains and the beauty of the scenery of the high mountains, and the deep valleys interspersed with the many fjords are beyond my ability to describe except that they were beautiful. Although I can visualize the rugged mountains with the deep snow and frozen lake less than 100 feet from where I was standing, and believe it or not the temperature wa 85 degrees F. The people I met were extremely friendly, hospitable, and patriotic. Since only a few students had cars in Oslo, the principal means of getting around was by walking or by efficient public transportation. During our evening walks about four or five nights a week through different parts of the city it was extremely easy to strike up a conversation with Norwegians who were also walking for exercise or other Norwegians walking around their gardens or their houses. They were always anxious to tell you about their homes and their country. It was a sad day when the formal academic portion of the program ended and the students disbanded to go on group tours or individual tours of Europe for two and one half weeks before reassembling in Copenhagen, Denmark for our return flight to U.S. These tours were set up by the student travel bureau of the University of Oslo. The past school tours which I took were a ten day trip to Moscow and Leningrad, Russia and a six day trip to England. In closing I want to express how proud I was of all the students. They were intelligent and scholarly and their behavior was commendable. Their wiHingness and eagerness reflected a credit to their homelands. All national hatreds and animosities and political differences were forgotten during the summer school. I was particularly proud of the young Americans in our group for they truly were good ambassadors in Europe for the United States.
Gaston College Student Newspaper
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Sept. 20, 1972, edition 1
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