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CAUTION: Apathy at Work
What is wrong with student life at Elon? Is the major
problem of student life the fact that students cannot
legally drink in their rooms? Or is the major problem in
student life the fact that there is very little to do here at
Elon other than classwork.
Everybody knows that Elon is a suitcase college and
that every Friday it turns into a ghost town. This is only
the physical sign that students do not care about the
school. The major void in student life at Elon is the lack of
concern the student body has at this school. Most students
could not care less about anything here at Elon.
This lack of caring is shown in the lack of support that
the SGA is given. The SGA is the voice of the students, yet
it cannot speak above a whisper because it represents only
a fraction of the student b^y. When the SGA held an
open hearing on the budget, only ten people showed up
for this meeting. This seems to say that the students do
not care about the $65,000 of their money that the SGA is
spending this year.
With this poor response, it is no wonder that the
administration and the Board of Trustees forget to listen
to the students. They would have to strain their esu-s to
hear what the students on this campus want done. They
know that it will be easy to ride out the storm. Students
may think that these people will not listen. They will listen
if the students just speak loud enough. At the present
time it seems to me that the students on this campus are
too lazy to work for the reforms that they say they want.
The first step in getting changes made is voting. It
matters not whom you vote for; just vote. Last year the
turnout was a poor 21 per cent. Let’s make this year’s
turnout above the 95 per cent mark. If this is done, the
SGA will be the voice of the student body. It will be a voice
that has to be considered when it comes to forming
policies that concern students.
This will not happen unless you the students get out and
vote. If you do not vote, you deserve what you will
get-and that may be nothing.
J.W. Bermett
Speak the Truth With Love
On the World Day of Prayer, March 7, Dr. Carl Ficken
offered this prayer at the meeting of the faculty and
members of the administration:
O Lord, you have called us to be servants of your love in
this place:
take from us all jealousy and contention;
free us from pretense and deceit;
rid us of our impatience with our indifference to one
another
But, Lord, do not leave us empty, or still, or flat.
Rather, spark our imaginations;
quicken our wits;
give us perspective and a sense of humor;
embolden us to speak the truth with love and to resist
injustice and deception;
open us to one another;
and, open this institution to such a free exchange of
ideas and plans and dreams
that, each honoring the other, we might become the
servants of love you have called us to be.
The Pendulum
Debbie Cochran
Vicki Moeser
Paige Garriques
Pam Bradley
Lance Latane
Gary Spitler
Janie McGann
Wesley Bennett
Dave Shuford
Gib Buie
Patsy Lynch
Lanna Peavy
Ron Perkins
David Nichols
Robin King
Diane Costa
REPORTERS
Editor
Assistant Editor
News Editor
Feature Editor
Columnist
Sports Editor
Women’s Sports
Layout
Photographer
Exchange
Circulation
Doug Durante
Bill Dawkins
Mildred B. Lynch
Kim Goodell
Ken Pate
Women Denied the
''Big Tournament”
The women's athletic pro
gram at Elon College has long
been the target for discrimina
tion. A recent decision by the
college s athletic committee to
forbid the women's basketball
team to participate in the
National Small College Champ
ionship in Colorado makes this
situation one that can no longer
be tolerated.
The women’s athletic pro
gram spends less than five per
cent of the total athletic budget.
The publicity and increased
enrollment as a direct result of
the women's accomplishments
have been disregarded as valid
reasons for increased support
of the program. Conditions
such as inadequate clothing,
transportation, and equipment
cause many obstacles to the
program. There has been
discrimination in the use of
facilities, preference often
being given to community use
of the Alumni Gym over that of
the women’s teams. Much of
the financial burden falls
heavily on the shoulders of the
athlete herself who has already
paid to be a student at Elon.
The absence of financial
support for the women’s
program in the annual budget
is reason enough to raise the
money for this tournament, yet
the college has cited the lack of
money as the reason for the
denial of participation.
Ironically, money has tradi
tionally been available for the
men’s post season play, such as
sending the football team to
Louisiana and the golf team to
North Dakota to participate in
National Small College Cham
pionships. Another point of
concern is the generous amount
of money given to men athletes
for meals during trips while the
women s team usually must
pay for their own meals.
The Faculty Athletic Com
mittee is an appointed, not
elected, committee of eight,
chosen by President Fred
Young. Again ironically, there
is no voting member of the
committee from the athletic
staff. Being so far from the
situations they review, it
seems almost impossible for
this committee to justly carry
out its functions. The discrimi
nation toward the women's
athletic program would seem to
bear this point out.
“Why have a program at
all?” This question faces the
women athletes at Elon.
Anyone who has ever competed
For Your Information
Police:
Burlington
Elon College
Fire:
Burlington
Elon College
Alamance County Health Dept.
227-0101
Alamance
Center
knows the hope of reaching the
big tournament is the motiva
tion which makes long practice
hours worthwhile. A record of
19-4 qualified the women’s
team for the national tourna
ment and also gave them a bye
in the first round of play there.
Nevertheless, a committee of
eight robbed them of the
chance which was rightfully
theirs.
How long will first-class
players put up with such
injustice? There are many
colleges in the area giving
women athletes their deserved
backing and support. The
disappointment plaguing the
women's team may just be
enough this time to drive them
to take their talents elsewhere.
But who could really blame
them?
Sandy Sikes
March 17, 1975
Letter to Editor
To the Editor:
Re: your article on "The
Eclipse of Excellence". Prgf
Cahn seems to be of the old
"school of thought" concerning
what constitutes an education
He states that liberal colleges
are not requiring the self
discipline and hard work that
becoming educated required
He forgets that becoming
educated is more than studying
subjects that one has no use
for, or interest in. True
education is the pursuit of
knowledge in an area that is
stimulating for the student.
A true education, to me, is
the thirst for and the
satisfaction of this thirst for
better understanding of a
subject. I feel that too much
emphasis is put on grades, be
they high or low. We should all
concentrate on getting more out
of an institution of learning
than some letters and a
sheepskin.
Mac McCrary
226-1691
584-1301
226-1611
584-0366
Mental Health
228-1727
Harper Center Hosts
New Coffeehouse Circuit
Published by the Commanication Media Board of Elon College in
conjunction with the Student Government Association. All
correspondence and articles: Box 5272, Elon College.
Alamance . County Suicide &
Crisis Intervention Service
227-6220
By Paige Garriques
The coffeehouse is offering
more than just movies this
semester. Joe and Colleen
Lowe have set up guidelines
and initiated bi-weekly variety
entertainment programs in
Harper Center. The Moffitt-
Staley student government and
other interested people have
been continuing these efforts.
The Coffeehouse, aiming for
a variety of musical roups, will
feature jazz, folk-rock, soul,
bluegrass, rock’n’roll, classical
guitar, and male and female
vocalists for the remainder of
the school year. Attempting to
schedule activities for times
when students will be around,
the Lowes will present the
shows on weeknights from 7
p.m. to 9 p.m.
There were over 50 re
sponses to audition, although
some groups couldn’t make it in
person. Originally, Colleen and
Joe were auditioning the
groups; now a couple of
students are conducting the
auditions. The responses have
come from UNC-G, UNC-CH,
Bennett, Greensboro, TIA,
GTl, Davidson Community
College, and Guilford. Working
with limited funds from the
SGA the Coffeehouse is still
negotiating with a few groups,
but has had to turn down
several out of their price range.
They are trying to concen
trate on Elon students, with
hopes of making the intercol
legiate Coffeehouse circuit.
This exchange program will
send Elon’s musical talent to
other schools in Jvlorth Carolina
in return for performances by
their groups here at Elon.
The only trouble the
Coffeehouse has run into so far
has been with the PA system
and a needed piano. Fortunate
ly Prof. Jack White has been
able to provide a PA system
temporarily. They hope to
purchase a piano for Harper
Center but will need a storage
room for it. There is much that
can be done to develop the
Coffeehouse into a worthwhile
program.
The Coffeehouse sponsored
its first performer, Elon
Student Bill Grabsch, on .March
10. Over 100 people turned out
to hear Bill play some of his
original guitar compositions.
March 16, “Emerald City”
consisting of three Elon
students: Fred Lail, Kim
Farmer, Eric Smith, and visitor
Rick Finn, performed with an
ensemble of two guitars,
acoustic bass, electric violins,
mandolin, and drums for an
evening of rock’n’ roll music.
Spring Weekend Near
By Pamela Bradley
“A lot of people want to be
chiefs, but few people want to
be Indians,” said Howard
Gray, the chairman of the SGA
Entertainment Committee.
Howard, a senior from
Concord, N.C. was appointed
chairman of the committee in
October, after the resignation
of Barry Bradberry. Since that
time, he has worked with a
committee of eight people
along with Mark Mancini to
find a popular group^for Spring
Weekend.
With a choice of 20 groups
given to him by Beech Club
Promotions, Howard and sev
eral other students narrowed
the list to four. "We are now
down to the third choice,” said
Howard, “Ozark Mountain
Daredevils.”
Spring weekend is now
tentatively scheduled for either
May 2 or May 9. There will be a
concert on Friday night along
with a concert by the lake on
Sunday afternoon. The Ema-
nons will perform at the
afternoon concert along with
several other local groups.
Speaking of the Entertain
ment Committee, Howard said,
“It seems to be almost like ^
dictatorship, but it’s really
more liberal now than it ever
has been.’’ He added that 1
anyone is interested, “h®
still get on the committee or
wait until next year.” As it
stands, Rick Coradi will
chairman next year.
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