Friday, December 17,1982
Gaston Continues To Grow
Perhaps you’ve noticed all the changes to
Gaston College as you have walked its
footpaths, but in case you haven’t, let me fill
you in on just a few.
First of all, the entire organization —
including office locations — has been
restructured in order to make it more efficient
for the students. Now you can take care of
most problems in one convenient location.
Secondly, Gaston CoUege is again getting
the much-needed support from the local
businesses that was lacking in the past few
years. One major example of that support is
the new diesel building going up in the
automotive area.
Many other changes are not quite as
noticeable at first. Changes like the greener
grass now giving the college a more beautiful
appearance. And the new lights, trash cans
and tree beds in the foyer area near Myers
Center.
You might not have noticed the increase in
productions being held at Gaston CoUege’s
Myers Center also. Including performances
from the Gastonia Little Theater.
All this could not have been possible without
the ongoing efforts and tremendous legwork of
President Wayne Scott. If you haven’t seen
him on campus as much as you thought you
should, now you know why.
There are also a lot of little nagging
problems that will get a good working over as
we go into the New Year. In our last issue I
mentioned one of them — the clocks — and
served in helping me get an invitation to talk
with the president. I was able to talk with him
about most of the problems that had been
mentioned to me or that I had become aware
of in the time I have been on campus. Here’s
what I found out...
First of all, as I pointed out in my article, the
clocks were an i^erited problem. Even so,
the fact that they’re still not working is a
major concern of the President. After all, the
public might judge our ability to teach
technicians because we can’t even keep our
own clocks working.
By David P. Simpson
Gaslight Editor
The company that originally installed the
clocks was called in to repair them. They ran
for awhile after that, but then true to tradition,
they stopped again. The next step was to try to
straight wire the clocks, but that didn’t work
because of the type clock installed. They even
tried to use |22 clocks to replace some of the
clocks. Twenty-five of these clocks were
installed and then the money ran out.
Leonard Armstrong, a technical professor
at Gaston is presently trying to fix the old
system. If he can fix it the new clocks will
have to come down because they are breaking
what is supposed to be a closed circuit.
However, if the system can not be repaired, as
the money comes in, we’ll just keep putting up
the new $22 clocks until they’re aU replaced.
Either way, telling time will not be a problem
for anyone on campus — with the exception of
the preschoolers.
Heat in the classrooms was another
irritation we discussed. At times you will cook
like an oven in some classes while in others
you’re numb with a cold chill. President Scott
said that the excuses he has been getting are
hard for him to accept also.
The new Art Building had a problem in that
the wires were installed crossed. That has now
been corrected. The problem in Myers Center
Auditorium has also been corrected. The
problem in the classrooms has not — but it is
being worked on.
Perhaps you have seen the maintenance
staff cleaning the vents. Well, they will also be
adjusting the vents in an attempt to balance
the heat in each of the classrooms. The major
problem still seems to be the fact that we have
a faulty system and possible faulty heat
adjusters in our maintenance department.
me>^
I also discussed getting competitive sports
on campus, and ^ound out the President
already had given that a lot of thought. He
suggested that we get tennis and/or golf
started here at Gaston. President Scott
strongly advocated these two, and perhaps
soccer.
A conference has been established in the
conmiunity college system and we could
participate. They want you to play three
sports. This is why the President suggested
tennis, golf and soccer. Plus the financial cost
of these three sports would not drain the
student funds. And after all, it is their decision
in the end. However, the President did feel we
would get a lot of support from the
community.
We will be getting an automatic door
installed in the Myers Center cafeteria area
for those students who now have trouble
getting through the doors. Who says our
“AHA” isn’t alive and well on campus. The
funds are already allocated for one door and if
it operates properly, then we will install others
as the money dictates. E]ach door costs
approximately $1,800.
And just so many other things are being
taken care of. A program has been started to
replace all campus signs. Soon when you come
out of the paring lot, a sign will be placed
there to show you where you are on campus.
Also directional signs in all buildings will soon
be replaced. You will also be able to see the
many trophies the college has won as soon as
the trophy case is completed.
So you can see that a lot has been done
already and a lot is still being done. However,
the problem-solving has not been without
problems itself. The state just recently cut our
budget by six percent which is $269,000 less to
work with than what we started with this year.
So if you don’t see a lot of our President on
campus, you can be assured that he’s just out
doing a little roadwork so that your stay here
at Gaston will not only be a little more
pleasant, but a lot more educational as weU.