Page 2—Smoke Signals, Wednesday, March 14, 1973
Are You Involved ?
Throughout the years, student governments in high schools
and colleges have been burdened with many problems. On one
hand, the administrations of the respective institutions limit
their powers greatly. Nothing can be done without direct
approval of the top administrators. On the other hand, student
governments are faced with a lack of interest on the part of the
students. Most students know little or nothing about the S. G.
A., its officers, its powers and policies or its activities. When
elections are held in the spring, students are unconcerned
about who is running, what he represents or what he promises.
Student governments, by the mere application of the name,
simply cannot be effective unless the majority of the students
become interested and involved in its activities.
If the students would cooperate instead of criticize the
powers of the S. G. A. would be unlimited. Just imagine what
would be possible if all 1,000 of Chowan’s students got behind
any issue taken up by the S. G. A. The Administration could not
turn a deaf ear to one thousand voices in unison.
If there is something here you don’t particularly like, tell
you student legislature representative about it. By the way, in
case you didn’t know, every floor of every dorm is supposed to
have a representative. If he or she is not doing his job, find out
why. If they refuse to do their job, replace them with someone
who will. The Student Legislature has been meeting regularly
this semester and many halls have never been represented.
David Talton can tell you whether or not your floor has been
represented. If it has not, then it’s time for action.
It’s up to you to see that the S. G. A. officers live up to the
oaths of office they take. We don’t need any titleholders. We
need responsbile, dedicated, hard working representatives.
—Richard Jackson
Some Improvements
What are some real necessary improvements for a small
community, especially a community that we call college.
Regardless of its location, fame, size or any other specific
point whatsoever, we—and everyone of us as a member of this
college—have the strongest right to give our opinions and
recommendations for some reasonable progress in our
community.
But unfortunately, since I remember, whever in some oc
casion the members of the college paper, SMOKE SIGNALS,
ask and interviewed a few students and want them to present
some of their suggestions for getting better this community as
a college, usually the answers are such as “allow drinking on
campus, having open dorms more often, and more dances ...”
etc., which obviously show how narrow these bunch of people
are thinking of improvement for their community.
Crticizing the strict rules from the college toward student
body is getting to be an old and obviously useless subject.
However, if the rules are so strict, the only reason that I can
think of is the way that former students have behaved, and the
next group have kept behaving in the same manner.
Rules wouldn’t be made so strict if the student body of the
college had more qualifications for more freedom and less
strict rules. Not being frustrated, and being young at the same
time, proves the fact that the young people of this world are
more important and capable of doing more constructive things
than they seem to be.
My lovely friends, let us think of some real and reliable
improvements for community before it’s too late, for our
sakes, and the next young generation to come. Let’s don’t just
say “let’s” and then put it off, for it would never get done that
way. Thus, let’s get on the action and show interest for some
respective progress in our lovely campus.
—Reza Sigaroodi
Letters to the Editor
A Man
A Man
A real man
An immortal man, with his strong manhood.
A man who dies, who cries!
A man whose spirit stays alive,
after his death,
0 yes, A man, A man.
A man with his strong manhood.
A man whose strength does not die
within himself at the time of year.
What a man, with no strength on him.
The man with his sould game!
That’s that man! . . .
A man.
A man who does not lose his temper
At the time of trouble.
A man whose spirit is strong enough.
That can stand still,
when the trouble is up!
What is the unique symbol of manhood?
His mustache? His physical power?
Or his Soul and Spirit?
The choice is yours! MAN.
To the Editor:
I will like to express my opinion
on the 1973 Spring Pageant.
I think it was a very nice
pageant, but I believe the Blacks
were done wrong. There weren’t
but two Blacks in the Pageant. I
am not trying to start a racial
problem, but to see why a Back
didn’t get a placement in the
pageant. For example, some of
the Black contestants were good
and the judges knew it, I believe.
For myself, I know some were
better than some of the girls that
were picked as runners-up. Other
people have complained about
the same situation. I know you
can’t win all the time, but it
seems like a White wins all the
time.
But I think that the Blacks at
this school should have their
share also, don’t you. Blacks?
Right on!!
—Bor. Otis Matlock
Reza Sigaroodi
Dear James Elliot Moore, Esq.
In your editorial concerning the
repair work being done to the
historic McDowell Columns
building, you mentioned how the
Administration and news
agencies upon campus were free
in mis-using the word
’restoration’ in place of the word
‘renovation’. According to you,
this was a big misnomer, but
according to the American
Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language (Copyrite
1969) pages 1102 and 1108
respectively, it defines renovate
as, “to restore to an earlier
condition; improved by repairing
or remodeling”; it also defines
the word restoration as, “the act
of putting someone or something
back into a prior position, place
or condition. That which has been
restored, such as a renovated
building.” It therefore appears
that due to the nature of the
above definitions, in that they
both use the opposite word in
their definition, it seems that
both words are interchangeable
and there exists no difference. So,
it seems that the Administration
was not wrong in using the word
‘restoration’ for the work being
done to McDowell Columns.
You also pointed out how
disgusted you were with the fact
that ‘original arches, windows
and stairs’ have been removed or
altered along with the removal of
the back porch. I apologize in that
I cannot share in your grievances
of such tragic historical, ar-
chitectual losses. The present
work being done on the building is
for the purpose to make the
building structurally sound and
have enough support to stand a
few more years so that people
like you can be awe inspired by
its majesty. I suppose too, ac
cording to your definition of
renovation that the college should
not only go so far as to resotre the
architecture of the college to its
past basis, but also go back to
having hand water pumps,
kerosene oil lamps, horse and
buggies, and ‘Johnny houses’.
Oh! and most of all to achieve
total restoration—the college
must revert back to becoming an
all girls school and one again
bear the name Chowan Baptist
Female Institute. If this were the
case, I would have to sadly in
form you, Mr. Moore, that the
college would lack your esteemed
presence due to the fact that it
would be an all girl school.
I am not advocating the
complete destruction of Mc
Dowell Columns—for it is a
historical landmark and symbol
of Chowan College. But, I am
suggesting that the Ad
ministration should do its best
with present finances to keep this
building in good shape, but not to
the point that it prevents funds
being allocated for other more
important needs. Such urgent
things as science laboratory
equipment for our new science
building—test tubes, chemicals
and microscopes, etc.; a new
gymnasium and athletic
equipment; desks and much
more. These more pressing needs
can better accomplish the
requirements of helping students
achieve a college education in the
20th century better than an ar
chitecturally historical
renovated building into original
1852 appearance.
You mention how the Board of
Trustees should be shocked at the
present status of this historical
landmark and how they should
strive to renovate it back into its
1852 appearance. I’m sure that
they would be more than pleased
to comply with you request if you
or someone donated them the
necessary funds to do so.
The only other grievance I have
to your editorial is that of the title
of Esquire. It appears that you,
too, have made the same mistake
that you have accused the Ad
ministration of doing—that is the
misusage of words. According to
Webster's Third New In-J
ternational Dictionary^
(Copywright, 1969) page 776, the
word esquire is defined as,
“Esquire is a member of the
English gentry ranking im
mediately below a knight; a
candidate for knighthood serving
as a shield bearer to and at
tendant for a knight; used as a
title of courtesy that is usually
placed in its abbreviated form
after the surname in written
address and that is infrequent
and of no precise significance in
the U.S.” So, it seems that ac
cording to the above definition—
since we no longer live in the days
of knighthood and chivalry and
that it is not significant in the
U.S.—your usage of the word
Esquire is a gross misnomer.
My only suggestion to you Mr.
Moore is that you gather your
history books, historical artifacts
and proudly carry you shield of
Moore heritage and bear your
sword of Esquire mounted upon
your noble stead Antiquity to
become the modern-day Don
Quixote. To go out and conquer
the evils of a warped society, of
which I am a member, that is no
longer interested in the dusty
cobwebs of the past.
Sincerely,
Steve Bennett
Happiness Is . . .
By SHERI LEE McKEE
Do you know what I like?
I like to smile. I like to laugh. I like to make others laugh. I
like to run barefoot through the grass. I like to get out of class
early and ride my bike on a sunny day. Most of all, I just like to
feel content and happy.
What does it take to feel content or happy? According to an
old cliche, happiness is “different things to different people”.
For those on the cigarette commercials, its a cool menthol
smoke. For those of the beer commercials, “Budwiser makes
it right”. I’ll tell you what keeps me happy and content all of
the time and I don’t even have to go broke, get a hangover or
take a chance on getting cancer. Since this is Religious Em
phasis Week, you’ve probable already guessed what it is. Yep,
God keeps me happy and content—even in this crazy mixed up
world.
If you’ll pardon the expression, God is like “a bridge over
troubled waters.” Think about it. That bridge is always there,
twenty-four a day, and doesn’t cost a thing. To get this hap
piness, you have to believe in God as your savior, or rescuer,
because that’s what he is—he saves and rescues you from all
of your mistakes and watches over you when you’re in trouble.
Why don’t you check it out? I’d sure hate to miss out any
longer. Christians aren’t perfect—we can’t be perfect any
more than you can. We have just as much fun as non-
Christians, too—only ours is a lasting happiness.
I love God and I know that he loves me. What could make
anyone more happy than to know that out of millions and
trillions of people, God, the ultimate being in the universe,
cares about YOU?
EDITOR — Richard Jackson
ASSOCIATE EDITOR — Stephen Bowman
SPORTS EDITOR — Linwood Lewis
STAFF-
Karen Humberstone
Barry Bradberry
Lynn Deaner
Jim Moore
Mary Vann
Harvey Wadman
Hunter Gish
Buddy Tunstall
Thomas Long
Edgar Pittman
David Brooks
Bob Allen
PHOTOGRAPHER — Lyne Dennis