Page 4 —SMOKE SIGNALS, December, 1991
Changes at Chowan thru the years
(Continued from Page Two)
because she was very busy with
BSU work, church work, and
working with international stu
dents; so, here she would go run
ning out saying, “I’ve got marbles
on my coattails.” All of her friends
still miss her, this dear, happy
Frances.
Another lady who was loved
and respected was Dr. Ella Pierce,
a native of Hertford County, but
before she came back to this area to
live, she taught for thirty-five years
at Mars Hill College. Chowan
couldn’t let this knowledgeable
lady live in this town without ask
ing her to become part of the fac
ulty. And what a treasure she was!
If she went to a meeting in another
town, she always carried papers to
grade. She was so dedicated to her
teaching and to her students that
didn’t let anything with their
coming first except her Lord and
Saviour, whom she served faith
fully.
\^en my oldest son went way
up to Massachusetts to go to col
lege, Dr. Pierce told me one day,
“You know, I just can’t get my
mind off David. I pray for him
everyday.” And my reply was,
“Well, Dr. Pierce, I think I’d rather
have you praying for him than
anyone else I know.” That is the
kind of person she was. A genuine
Christian. One big, hefty football
player, after having her English
literature class, said, “Wouldn’t it
be wonderful if God would send
her a new body to go with that great
soul?” She was a very frail-look
ing person, but there was nothing
frail about her mind, and if she set
out on a mission from Marks Hall
to Columns and got a headstart, no
body could catch up with her, not
even the Dean. That peanut butter
and jelly sandwich that she brought
for her lunch everyday really gave
her energy. She continued teach
ing well into her eighties, but since
changes are a permanent part of
life, even she had to give up even
tually. After her second retirement,
she lived to be about ninety-three.
She was an appreciative person,
and after she stopped teaching, she
made satin pillows with feather-
stitching on them. I couldn’t imag
ine her spend her time like that, but
several of us have one of those
pillows because we had given her
a ride to church or to the college.
These pillows are not particularly
pretty, but I wouldn’t get rid of
mine for anything because it was a
gift from EUa Pierce, God’s gift to
us for a few years.
The third lady I’m going to tell
you about is Daisy Lx)u Mixon,
who was Chairman of the Religion
Department for many years. Her
husband was Dr. F. O. Mixon,
president of the college before Dr.
Whitaker. This brilliant woman
stayed on here after the death of
her husband in 1956. She was re
spected as a scholar and was well-
known among Southern Baptists
as a speaker at Baptist State Con
ventions, Southern Baptist Con
ventions, and served on the board
of trustees at Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary. At the same
time, she was a lady who, when she
walked by, could have competed
with any beauty queen on campus.
She was a beautilW lady who wore
the best-looking clothes that Fan-
nye’s could provide. They knew
she would never be guilty of be
traying them by telling others
something they had told her in
confidence. Another outstanding
quality of Mrs. Mixon was her
ability to make the religion course
enjoyable. She had a wonderful
sense of humor and could make
those old Hebrew prophets and
patriarchs and kings really live.
More students stressed
out, survey reveals
Significantly larger numbers of
college students are now seeking
counseling for depression, stress,
eating disorders and substaiKe
abuse at a time when schools are
cutting back mental health serv
ices, says a University of Florida
psychologist.
Eighty-five percent of directors
of college counseling centers
throughout the nation reported an
increase in serious psychological
problems among college students
in the past 10 years, said James
Archer, who has written a new
book called “Counseling College
Students.”
“I’d say it’s a significant in
crease, and it’s been steady,” said
Archer, director of the counseling
center at the University of Florida.
The type of disorders treated at
the centers ranged from counsel
ing for depression, stress, alcohol
and drug addiction to problems
stemming from physical, mental
and sexual abuse. College students
also are susceptile to loneliness,
feelings of aKenation and pressures
to get good grades and jobs.
“It’s not as easy as 10 to 15
years ago to get a job with a college
degree,” he said.
Being away from home, stu
dents also may discover for the
first time that they have difficulties
relating to their peers as professors
because they come from abusive
families.
Archer said it was difficult to
tell whether the disorders are actu
ally increasing or whether students
are more willing to seek counsel
ing because such problems are
more openly discussed. The result
is the same: More students are
Answer to
Crossword Puzzle
from Last Issue
turning to counseling centers for
help.
“It’s not as easy as IQ tp 15
years ago to get a job with a college
degree,” he said.
Unfortunately, most colleges are
cutting health services, including
counseling, for lack of funding. In
tight budget years, “services to
students are cut at a greater rate
than academic programs. Coun
seling and mental treatment cen
ters get cut to a greater degree,”
Archer said.
That was why Archer said he
decided to write the counseling
book, which focuses on ways that
college faculty and staff can help
pinpoint troubled students and talk
with them or refer the ones with
serious problems to professional
counselors.
The idea is early detection to
prevent despondent students from
turning to suicide, alcoholism or
drug addiction. Archer said.
Movie Review
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Freddy’s Dead
By Denise Petty
Special Features
It’s true Freddy Krueger Fans,
as disappointing as it may be...
Freddy is officially dead. The
movie “Freddy’s Dead-The Final
Nightmare” hit theaters every
where on September 13, 1991.
Freddy fans all across the nation
flocked to box offices to view the
absolute last Freddy flick.
Unlike the rest of the Nightmare
on Elm Street series, this movie
has a point to it. The picture sums
up everything you have always
wondered about the evil one who
has been slashing the Elm Street
kids with his razor sharp fingers
for the last few years. The movie
itself was generally good, but did
have some bad points. In the past
movies, Freddy murdered many
teenagers per films. However, in
this picture he manages to mutilate
only a few. Freddy’s death scene
was in “Freddy Vision” (3-D). This
was one of the most disappointing
parts of the movie. The 3-D effects
could have been much better. Even
though the “Freddy Vision” wasn’t
so hot, the way Freddy was finally
murdered made up for the lame
effects. This movie is a must see
for Freddy fans old and new.
Overall Rating: B+
just as human as you and I are, with
all ourfaults and weaknesses. Two
of my children chose to attend other
colleges, so when they were sen
iors in high school, I suggested that
they come and study religion un
der Mrs. Mixon. Paul came homo
just laughing one day and said,
“Mama, I believe Mrs. Mixon could
make a comedy out of the whole
Bible.” Yes, Daisy Lou Mixon
made taking religion work, but she
could also make it fun.
So much for ladies of the past.
Next, I want to tell you about
two Virginia gentlemen. Eugene
Williams, professor of English,
French, and Spanish, had the repu
tation of being a good teacher,
especially in his insistence on stu
dents having a good background in
grammar if they were to succeed in
learning a foreign language. Mr.
Williams had a deep Southern
voice, and he had a habit of asking
very personal questions.
Mr. Williams’ best friend was
the well known, beloved William
I. Marable, professor of English
and Latin, better known as Uncle
Buck. I wish all of you could have
been at the 25 th reunion dirmer last
Saturday night. One of Mi
Marable’s former students did Mr.
Marable, and if I had close my
eyes, I would have thought that
Mr. Marble had come back from
the grave for the occasion.
This Virginia genfleman was a
graduate of William and Mary, a
fact he was very proud of. His
head was so full of knowledge
about British and Latin literature
that it must have pushed all of his
hair out, because his head was
completely bald. He was happiest
when surrounded by a large group
of students, where ever he hap
pened to be on campus, and he
could always put on a grand per
formance for them. Mr. Marable-
never married, so his students and
Chowan colleagues were his fam
ily. He often enjoyed poor health,
and it became common knowledge
around here that if you met him on
campus, you’d better not ask him
how he felt, because he would tell
you, in great detail, and you might
miss lunch or dirmer, even. As he
grow older and had a heart attack,
he was so appreciative of any visits
or attention we gave him, he would
get all teary-eyed when he thanked
people for coming to see him dur
ing his illness.
All of these former professor
and many more have made lasting
impressions on thousands of stu
dents. They have come and gone,
and the cycles of life goes orj—
changes, new people, these char
acters behind me, for instance.
Twenty-five years hence you may
be returning to class reunions and
doing some of us — some of you
who are good at mimicking —as
you remember our peculiarities,
mannerisms, and often-used ex
pressions. Nothing is permanent
but change, and we still need to
make good changes in the future,
adapt to them, and survive. Good,
better, best—never let it rest until
the good gets better and the better
gets best.
M embers of the Chowan College Rotaract Club participates in one of their projects by cleaning the highway
beside of Parker Hall. Joining in the club project are, left to right, Clayton Lewis, advisor, Lance B.
Thompson, David C. Wright, and Lewis Oliveros.
Dr. Gay joins English faculty,
has wide background in education
public schools as an administrator.
It is quite rare to find a teach posi
tion at a college close by. I find the
opportunity of the two to four year
transition of a college and to teach
in my field of specialty to be excit
ing,” Dr. Gay insists.
As Chowan turns into a four
year college. Dr. Gay hopes to work
with middle and high school teach
ing programs. He is anxious about
designing courses and becoming
an academic mentor for medieval
and renaissance literature studies.
He plans to always be a teacher
first and foremost, yet within five
years he hopes to have published a
book about renaissance drama and
be recognized as a scholar among
his peers.
Hopefully through the congeni
ality of the students and staff at
Chowan and his secret study
weapon—a sense of humor— Dr.
Gay will receive the encourage
ment he needs to accomplish his
goals.
Welcome to Chowan College,
Dr. Gay.
By Jessica Kiser, Feature Editor
“I always liked school. I was
always the one not to complain
about a ten-page term assigrunent.
I enjoyed it,” confesses Dr. Rich
ard Gay, the new professor in the
Department of Language and Lit
erature. He claims that he origi
nally went to school as an account
ing major because that was what
his fatherexpected, but it only took
one accounting course for him to
realize, as he put it, ’’there was no
life for me in numbers.” So one of
his professors got him interested in
pursuing an education in English.
Dr. Gay recognized that an Eng
lish degree could afford him a
chance to teach in a high school
and coach athletic teams too.
While teaching senior English,
Dr. Gay realized that he had a
knack of bringing Shakespeare
alive for his students, and after he
married Rebecca Gay, he went
back to graduate school and de
cided to major in literature of
Shakespeare’s time period.
The decision to go back to gradu
ate school is not the only effect his
wife has had on him. Dr. Gay in
sists that he has increased his vo
cabulary considerably since he met
his wife. He is also proud of the
fact that his wife watches baseball
games with him and even watches
them when he is not with her.
Since they are both educators
(Mrs. Gay is an administrator in
the Windsor, Va., school system.).
Dr. Gay states, "It works out real
well. Education is one of our hob
bies. We talk about education a lot,
and that is easy to do since it is
always in the news.” Education as
a hobby. That is probably a very
true statement Dr. Gay accepted
his first teaching position for seven
thousand dollars a year, yet he
realized from the beginning that
there is not a lot of money in Eng
lish. “But money was never an
issue/’ he reassures.
DR. RICHARD GAY
As a high school teacher. Dr.
Gay faced the high expectations
the public has for teachers. “The
public doesn’t understand the work
involved in being a successful
teacher. They think it is easy. Now
a days people say that the schools
are not doing thei r job compared to
the test scores. Present day educa
tion is at the highest level ever.
More people are literate. Our liter
acy rate is at the highest rate ever.”
Now as a college professor how
does Dr. Gay see his role in educa
tion changing? Even though he sees
high school teaching and college
teaching as equally important
works, he welcomes the change,”I
don’t have to spend as much time
on non-academic duties such as
bus duty or bulletin boards. I can
focus more on academics.”
Focusing on academics is one
of Dr. Gay’s specialities even in
his own life. After ten years of
teaching a full class load and coach
ing responsibilities that led to 60
and 70 hour weeks, he found it
easier to budget his time in gradu
ate school. Another thing that
taught him to focus on academics
was the fact that he was paying for
it himself.
Now that he has obtained his
degrees, Dr. Gay is teaching Eng
lish classes at Chowan. He came to
Chowan because he is from this
area. “My wife is established in the
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