THE CUILFORDIAN
Community Activist Visits Guilford
by Jon Hiratsuka
She held their attention with
every word, every compelling
gesture, every pointed ac
cusation, every expression of
hope. She spoke of people
cutting food costs by 50% or
fighting to regain control of
their homes and lives.
Her name is Francis Goldin,
and she's a community activist
from New York's lower East
Side who has spoken to many
Guilford Seminar groups in
New York. While at Guilford
on Feb. 26 and 27, Ms. Goldin
spoke before student groups
on topics such as the housing
shortage, cooperative buying,
and the American System. She
also discussed her trip to Red
China.
In all her lectures, Ms.
Goldin emphasized that, by
banding together and taking
responsibility for their own
lives, people can resist
vicitimization by a profit
seeking, "thoroughly rotten"
system.
To illustrate this process,
Ms. Goldin explained how the
vood co-op for which she works
can secure fresher, more
nourishing food at half the
cost one pays in super
markets.
The co-op buys bulk
quantities from wholesalers or
directly from organic farmers.
Co-op members are respon
sible for buying, transporting,
and packaging food, and for
other cost adding functions
usually performed by middle
men. Since middlemen's
profits are eliminated, farmers
can sell their food for higher
prices, while consumers pay
less.
Since the food is not
processed and stored by half a
dozen middlemen, it is fresher
when it reaches the consumer.
It is also free from dangerous
pesticides and chemical addi
tives.
Ms. Goldin suggested that
similar food co-ops could
function well in Greensboro,
especially since the city is,
relatively close to the farm
areas.
In other meetings, Ms.
Goldtn discussed the housing
situation in America as an
example of what she is trying
to fight: the greed of the
vested interests and the sense
of powerlessness felt by the
little person.
She denounced urban re
newal for "tearing down far
more low income housing than
it has built." She scored
landlords for making profit by
cutting back on services and
playing off racist fears. If a
black family moves into an
area, landlords and realtors
then panic the other residents
into moving out. They tne rent
or sell the hasitly vacated
buildings to blacks for higher
prices.
Ms. Goldin claimed that
"profit and racism are
destroying housing." and that
there is "a basic conflict
between profit and good
housing."
The evils of the housing
situation were what first drew
Ms. Goldin into activism.
After getting married and
moving into a Lower East Side
apartment, she joined a
tenant's council because she
felt her rent was too high. She
never left; "that stint led to
other stints," she said.
The 50 year old Ms. Goldin
is a home grown radical.
Although she holds a job as a
literary agent, she devotes
most of her free time
-and secures her greatest
saustaction from-cummunity
struggles.
Her conviction that far
reaching changes are needed
rests not on idealism or
abstract theory, but on self
interest and on her actual life
experiences. "My comfortable
apartment is not safe if one
third of the community is in
despair," she said.
As regards institutional
changes, Ms. Goldin advo
cated a form of socialism
which limits the acquisition of
great wealth and returns to
the masses some basic control
over their own lives. "Rocke
feller would not be free to rape
Nicaragua, but the poor man
in Mississippi would be free to
eat," she said.
As part of socialistic reform,
control of housing projects,
transit systems, etc. would be
taken away from high salaried
managers and bureaucrats
and given to the people who
actually use and operate these
facilities. "Tenants know what
ftiirtw,H,C. 27419
is best for their apartments;
passengers, engineers, and
conductors are best qualified
to run the subways," she said
byway of illustration.
Ms. Goldin emphasized that
the socialism she advocates
would not restrict intellectual
freedom and would not be
inconsistant with democracy.
Ms. Goldin also stressed
that neither socialism nor any
other change can be forced on
people. Large numbers ol
people will make changes only
.vhen they realize the need to
do so. High food costs may
drive more people to coopera
tive buying; widespread
unemployment may cause
people to re-examine the
capitalist system, she sug
gested.
"I know we can have a
country without racism, un
employment, homelessness,
and the fears of old age," she
said.
Hunger Appeal-Fast Wednesday
The Guilford College Com
munity Senate and College
Union invite all members of
the Guilford College commu
nity to participate in the
Greensboro Hunger Appeal
Fast. The 24-hour community
wide Fast will begin at 6:00
P.M. on Wednesday, March
4, and will conclude at 6:00
P.M. Thursday, March 5, with
an inter-faith service of
"Breaking of the Fast" to be
held at West Market Street
Methodist Church. Guilford
people who intend to fast may
want to eat together in the
Most Blood Ever
by Jeff Pratt
Last week the American
Red Cross enjoyed the most
successful blood drive ever
sponsored by the Guilford
College Union. 187 potential
donors contributed a total of
137 pints of blood. Mary
Hobbs Dorm gave the most
Dorm Population
Mary Hobbs 50
English 48
Shore 49
Binford 144
Milner 214
Bryan 181
H| *i
mm
Frances Goldin captivates her audience as she talks about
her experiences in China and her views about the U.S.
system of government.
cafeteria on Wednesday
evening. At breakfast and
lunch on Thursday, fasters can
also come to the cafeteria to
share their concern and
support with other students
and faculty.
Money saved from the meals
missed will be sent to the
Greensboro Hunger Appeal,
:/o The Residential College at
UNC-G, and it will be divided
60% to UNICEF and 40% to
the Greensboro Urban Minis
try.
blood proportionate to dorm
size, thus winning the $75.00
award for top participation.
Joanne Pate, head of the
Greensboro chapter of the
American Red Cross, extends
her sincerest thanks to the
students of Guilford College
and the Guilford College
Union for making the drive
such a success.
Donors % Q f Dorm
23 46.0
17 35.4
14 28.6
37 >5.7
35 16.4
18 9.9
March 4, 1975
The service of "Breaking o:
the Fast" v :1 feature Senator
McNeill Smith as speaker and
will include time for persons to
share experiences and con
cerns. , Participants at the
service are asked to bring
their rice bowls and cups to
receive tea and rice, in the
style of refugees or others in
food lines. Persons who wish
to go to this service may meet
n front of the college cafeteria
at 5:30 P.M. to car-pool
downtown.
Other events of the Hunger
Appeal Week include a talk by
'David Burgess, Senior Officer
for UNICEF, to be held at
Greensboro College Cowan
Humanities Building at 8:00
P.M. on Tuesday, March 3.
There will be a talk by Mary
King Rose, documentary
filmmaker, at 8:00 P.M. at
A&T University on Wednes
day evening, March 5 when
she will show her film on
Hunger in India, Nigeria and
Columbia. Guilford persons
wishing to go to either of the
events may meet in front of
the cafeteria at 7:30 p.m. to
car-pool to the meetings.