Newspapers / Chowan University Student Newspaper / Feb. 12, 1969, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page 2—Smoke Signals, Wednesday, February 12, 1%9 OITORIAL SMOKE SIGNALS STAFF &)-Editor Nancy Mohr Co-Editor Tom Gamer Managing Editor Francine Sawyer Sports Editor George Skinner Society Editor Pauline Robinson Photographers Lirry Matthews Frank Granger and Gai7 Whitley Faculty Advisor Malcolm Jones Production Advisors Charles Stevens Wiliium Sowcl] and Herman Gatewood A Dream EDIlOKIVr The bitter end This is a bad year for student clubs and organizations. Chronic apathy, laziness and personal selfishness are ram pant and have prevented a lot of groups from attaining goals they should normally reach. “The Hilltop” is not ex cluded from attempted “politicing,” apathy, late dead- hnes and long, hard, busy hours. It receives as much verbal attack as does any organization on campus; this is due to the fact that any paper is at all times open to attack from its readers. It is the kind of attack prevalent this year which is so disturbing. Constructive criticism is usually welcomed by any or ganization interested in improving itself. However, “con structive criticism” at Mars Hill has decayed into “cut ting” and has been given with neither evidience nor hint of concern-induced action. It is a disgrace to us as a campus community and to us as supposedly responsible individuals that, while the ma jority of students can find any number of problems that need immediate remedying, any substantial work toward that goal is handled by a select few of devoted personali ties. Anyone sitting in on Senate meetings' can testify that proposals are successively offered by the same senators and that discussions are carried on by the same. Various leaders of different organizations on campus, in their struggle to keep their groups functioning, are in essence becoming their organizations. The majority of lead stories covered for the Hilltop are written by students actively involved in them. As a result, students who continuously cry for more voice in student affairs and academic conditions are hav ing their present and future at Mars Hill determined by a tew hard-working students who have been compelled by a sense of devotion and purpose to give all they have. While the whinning majority sit on their fannies and compla- laining watch the world go by, the few interested enough to try to effect some change are literally workmg inem- selves into an academic dither. It is not their fault for caring too much — it is the majority’s fault for caring too little. Although the college years historically have been ones for self re-evaluation, doubt, renewal, growth and change as well as a time for students to find new horizons closing in to become solid ground beneath their feet, this tradi tional occurrence is not happening here. While there is a phenomenal turning away from the Church and the big, bad Establishment, there is not a turn to ANYTHING. Most individuals are "here for the duration,” trying to get the most out of it for their own benefit and not con cerning themselves in the least with the future of this college, this state or this nation. With all the problems faced by students on this campus and with all the lack of anything being done about it, I find the angry complaints against the “general lack of concern for humanity in the American society” to be a disgusting farce. As long as people continue to plan utopian tomorrows over a game of bridge or in the privacy of themselves, the world will continue to live in a succession of hellish days and the masses of humanity everyone is out to save will be dead before they are reached. Perhaps we need to ser iously consider “reform from within”; perhaps we need to dream of improving on what we have instead of fabricat ing an existence that, even idealistically, cannot be. I am not knocking dreaming—I believe in it. But I have no faith in dreams without sweat—they are as valuable as love that is not given. Too many of today’s dreamers are becoming self-intoxi cated and their tendency toward pious snobbery is revolt ing. Be they loners or campus leaders, they too often ex press the attitude that the rest of the world hasn’t pro gressed to their advanced mental state and, with all their mouthed concern for humanity, they are losing touch with all that is human. Individual rebellion brings results to the individual alone. Conforming to a set norm of non-conformity con structs nothing heroic or important. Withdrawing com pletely from society means only-that the world misses out on a possible friend and benefactor and that the person misses out on the world. Apathy means nothing ventured, nothing gained. Yet these are the four most popular routes for the college student to take. The trouble is—we all want to change the world but we really don’t give a damn! (Editor’s Note: The editorial above is by Linda Baldwin, Editor of “The Hilltop”, the student newspaper of Mars Hill College.) A dream is a very special place, where you can go and leave no trace. A dream is like a secret cave, or a giant shell beneath a wave. A dream is a place where you can go, where life is fast and time is slow. But a dream is also like a ceO>; a one-way street, an endless hell. So be a King and reign supreme but don’t get locked inside your dream. —L. JASON TICE Letter to the Editor To the Editor: About to complete four se mesters at Chowan College, I feel that I am somewhat aware of the problems which exist bet ween the student body and the administration. In retrospect, it appears that the students’ main concerns are that there are too many rules governing them and that someting needs to be done about that kangaroo court we all seem to find ourselves before some time or another. Admittedly, we must always have rules by which to live, but Chowan ap pears to have gone overboard with this to the extent of im- practicality. With respect to the faculty judiciary, needless to say, there is room for improvement. The members who make up this committee appear to have an idealistic philosophy with the be lief that there is no such thing as human error. As many stu dents have argued: Just what is the use in having a Men’s Council if every case passes on to the Judiciary afterwards’” Why not just drop the Men’s Council and give the Judiciary all the business from the start? Why not just cut out the mid dle man?” However, everything isn’t as dismal as it may seem. One can always be given the last resort: “Should you wish to ap peal this decision, you may ap peal it to the President of the college.” After all, as our own Dean of Students would say: “This is being quite “Democratic”. John Algeo February 9-15,1969 They’d bet their sweet “hippies”, would you bet your Valentine? The face of love at Valentine’s certainly has changed. This is better than what’s on the plate.
Chowan University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 12, 1969, edition 1
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