GARDNER-WEBB COLLEGE
Wednesday, April 25, 1990 No. 12
BOILING SPRINGS, NORTH CAROLINA
Senior Class Gift
By Kathy Henson
Co-Editor
'Timeless Begimiings" is the theme of
the 1990 Senior Class Gift Campaign to
endow a GW student scholarship. It will be
the first of its kind and will provide financial
assistance to worth returning full-time stu
dents who need aid.
Senior senator Christy Hambright says,
"...in the middle of your freshman or
sophomore year, you look around and see
people [who say] ‘I’m having a problem...at
home...and I don’t know if I can come back.’
These are people that already like GW, and
they want to stay here,...we want to give
them a chance to come back."
The goal of $10,000 will come from stu
dent pledges. The president and four vice-
presidents have made a challenge pledge of
$1,000 if the goal is reached.
Tracy Jessup, Assistant to the President, is
optimistic: "I think there are enough
seniors who care about the school,
and...that will cause them to want to be
come a part of this, because it is a historic
gift and it’s going to be unique to the class
of 1990."
To make it easy on students just out of
college, a five-year pledge has been estab
lished. Participating students will donate
$10 before graduation, then $10 each year
for the next four years. Then, at the five-
year reunion, students will donate $50, for
an overall total of $100. Hambright said,
"We see it as students giving back to stu
dents, and it just happens that we can do it
this way."
The first partial scholarship is set to be
awarded in 1995, and hopefully the endow
ment will grow to eventually provide a full
scholarship. It will be awarded to a student
with at least a 2.5 GPA, who would not be
able to return to GW without financial aid.
Hambright said, "It’s a timeless gift that
gives new beginnings to individuals each
year." Jessup added, "If they can make the
load a little easier on someone else, then
they’ve left their mark. As long as there’s a
Gardner-Webb College, there will be a
1990 Senior Class Scholarship."
Interested students should fill out a
pledge card and return it, along with the $ 10
gift, to the Office of the President by April
27,1990. Pledges may be given in honor of
people and, if indicated on the pledge card,
a card acknowledging the gift will be sent to
that person.
For more information, contact senior
class officers or senators or Tracy Jessup.
Observatory Grand
Opening Delayed
By Dawn E. Camp
Co-Editor
Attention would-be stargazers! The
grand opening of the Craven E. Williams
Observatory has been rescheduled for early
next semester (probably September).
The opening, originally scheduled for
April 28, was postponed due to the recent
rains and construction problems. Accord
ing to Tom English, GWC Astronomy
professor, a group of volunteers works
every Saturday (weather permitting) on the
building. "We put the dome on this past
Saturday (April 7). That should have been
done a month ago."
The final blow to the April opening came
when the contractor who will put in the
sheet-rock could not come until April 16.
"The observatory could be ready by the end
of May," EngUsh said, "but we decided to
hold the opening until the fall so that stu
dents would be here. This way we have all
summer to get ready. We can align the
telescope and get the accessories in. It will
look nice and be fully operational.
"The observatory will be relatively small.
Our telescope has a 14-inch mirror inside."
The diameter of the largest telescopic mir
ror in North Carolina is 36 inches. The
larger, national facilities have 90- to 200-
inch diameter mirrors.
In time the observatory will have another
obstacle to overcome—light pollution.
English said, "There are not many light-free
areas left in the world today. That has taken
a lot of the romance out of astronomy and
out of the sky. People haven’t been that
responsible about lighting. For example,
you can stand at the observatory and read
from the lights at the LYCC. We need to
come up with a plan for adequate lighting
that will not be so imposing."
Possible solutions to the hght problem
include using lights which can be filtered
through the telescope (such as low pressure
sodium lights), planting a barrier of trees,
and redirecting or shielding existing lights.
"Light pollution is sort of a second problem
that only a small group is concerned about.
It’s not quite like the ozone layer."
Franklin Update
By Kathy Henson
Co-Editor
Dick Franklin has resigned from his posi
tion as Dean of Academic Affairs at
Gardner-Webb. He came here in June of
1988 and will leave some time after gradua
tion at the end of this semester. He will be
taking a new post at Samford University in
Birmingham, Alabama, which has 3,800 un
dergraduate students and is committed to
becoming the last word in Baptist higher
education. He says, "Since I’ve been in
Christian higher education, I’ve had an in
terest in working at an institution of that
stature...it’s an opportunity to be...at a
university that wants to maintain its com
mitment to Baptist and Christian higher
education. So it [leaving] has nothing to do
with being unhappy. It’s just an opportunity
that I felt I could not turn down."
Franklin feels he has accomplished a lot
in his two years at Gardner-Webb, but he
stresses that he can’t take all of the credit
for it. "We’ve put together a good team of
folks that work together," he says. Some
changes that have been made include
making security available 24 hours a day;
putting up swings and benches; remodeling
residence halls and the DCC; reformatting
orientation; and increasing visitation.
"There’s a lot of excitement here about
what’s taking place and that’s part of my
reservations in leaving. There’s so much
good going on. I had to sit down and
decide...what’s best for Dick Franklin at
this point."
Franklin emphasizes that he’s enjoyed
his time at GWC. He says, "I’ve enjoyed my
relationship with the students here...I’ve
tried to keep an open-door poHcy. I’ve
tried to make myself accessible to students.
That’s the only reason there’s a need for this
job...to try to be responsive to students."
Exam Week
IN THIS ISSUE...
CAMPUS NEWS
PAGE 1
FISH TANK
PAGE 2
ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 3
SECOND FRONT
PAGES
ODDS AND ENDS
PAGE 6