Page 2
A Concern About Campus
I have become concerned as
of late with the quality of
campus life and particularly
with the situation of dormitory
life. I suspected that there
might be a rampant disregard
for the rights of some of the
campus residents.
I figured the best way to
find out some answers to my
questions, at least a starting
point for seeking the answers,
was to check out the relevant
policy statements as found in
the Guilford College Student
Handbook.
The preamble states that,
"Residence hall living neces
sarily imposes upon students
special obligations of courtesy
and respect for others. The
preservation of property and
the maintenance of conditions
conducive to study and
privacy are corporate to the
responsibilities of those living
within the resident hall units."
That's all very good and
well. Part of our educational/
social experience should be
that one of learning to cope.
But what are we to do when
those happenings with which
we are supposed to learn to
cope, are constantly coming
up and upsetting what we see
as the normal function of
dorm life? Coping can exceed
any usefulness.
How often should one's
jrge to party be directed away
from campus by the desires
of a number of students for
a climate conducive to study?
And how often should one's
urge to study be driven away
from the dorm (or campus,
and I know cases of this to
be true) by the desires of
a number of students for a
"party" atmosphere?
The Handbook states that,
"No student shall engage in
behavior which unnecessarily
disturbs the academic pursuits
or infringes upon the privacy,
rights or privileges of the other
persons." Now I will be one
of the first to admit that policy
statements such as I am
drawing upon are impractical.
I would imagine that just
about every non-academic
pursuit must necessarily
somehow, and in some way,
"disturb the academic" pur
suits" of some individual. All
I'm hoping to point out is the
consistent emphasis one finds
in such statements on the
academic pursuit (instead of
the social pursuit) of the ed
ucational experience that col
lege should afford us.
Despite the impracticality of
these blanket statements that
describe the guidelines by
which our campus lives should
conform themselves, I'm not
wanting to ignore them. I do
believe that one should leam
to cope (to a degree), and I
do believe that most people
will make this attempt. How
ever I have no doubt that
there do exist a number of
students living on this campus
who habitually live their lives
in such a manner that they
constitute a recurrent dis
ruption to the potential, ac
ademic atmosphere constantly
threatening and needing to
establish itself.
My point is this: everyone
has their civil liberties. Play
your stereo as loud as you
want, drink your beer where
ever you will, but be prepared
to concede when a complaint
is filed. I see the position of
the college being clearly on
the side of those who seek
a quiet, peaceful place to live
and not the blunt civil rights
advocates.
From the section of the
handbook dealing with the al
coholic beverage policy comes
the following statement, "We
also make it clear that any
disorderly conduct or inter
ference with the rights of
others, such as to study, any
denial of the quiet enjoyment
of dormitories, any offensive
public display, or anti-social
behavior shall be subject to
College discipline."
I hope to communicate to
the students of Guilford Col
lege the importance of each
individual standing up for
his/her rights. It is very dif
ficult and nearly ineffective, as
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To celebrate passage of the
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Saturday, October 2. Activities
imber 28,1976
far as I can see, for the
members of the Housing Staff
in each living unit to keep
calm and order in the dorm
itory by themselves, and
especially so when a number
of the students have little or
no interest in the maintenance
of that calm and order. Not
only is there a need to hold
down the disruptions that
destroy the academic climate,
but that old familiar friend
Apathy, that makes any effort
difficult for those who are
unapathetic stands in the way.
I'm sure that most of the
students here are reasonable.
Those who are more prone to
violate the general policy of
peace and quiet will make
many efforts to keep the dis
turbances down, but that will
only happen when a sufficient
number of residents (that
means you) take it upon them
selves to act in good faith on
broad policy outlines.
The section of the hand
book under the heading of
Academic Regulations and the
sub-heading of Academic Re
sponsibility reads in part,
"The essence of a liberal arts
education is a genuine inter
action between faculty mem
bers and students. Primary to
the achievement of this goal
is freedom of expression and
respect for all points of view.
All members of the academic
community must be com
mitted to rational discussion
on all levels of campus
will include arts, crafts, live
music-bluegrass, and booths.
Political candidates from all
parties have been invited to
discuss environmental issues,
and Greensboro folk dancers
will be there. Come and join
the fun!
Ll f 6 Editorial
activity. It is the responsibility
of both teacher and student to
create an atmosphere at Guil
ford which encourages
learning- . . . Such an at
mosphere requires not only
personal discipline and schol
arly integrity, but also a sense
of responsibility in corporate
aspects'of education. Personal
and individual academic re
sponsibility is an integral part
of developing socially and
intellectually committed
human beings."
There is no doubt in my
mind, but the dorm life that
I see as a disturbance of my
efforts to educate myself will
take care of itself when a
sufficient number of like
minded students, faculty, and
staff begin to involve them
selves in re-establishing a
more studious atmosphere. I
think it is time for those who
want to "party" to inconven
ience themselves and exit
from the campus. I no longer
care for having to pack my
books for the Library when
ever I want to study. I don't
pay' my housing money to
provide an enclosure for the
convenience of a Milner-Bin
ford-Bryan-English-Shore-
Friendiy Hills get-together.
I will conclude this piece by
reminding the reader of its
editorial content and inviting
all members of the Guilford
College Community to re
spond as they choose.
RICHARD PHILLIPS
the Cuilfterdian Guilford Cplleqe
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The Guilfordian
"Now What'll
I DO?"
BY BARBARA GOTTFRIED
There seems to be a com
mon problem around campus
involving studying; whenever
it should be done, a zillion
things come up to prevent
it. In case you ever run out
of your own excuses, here are
a few I've either employed or
observed:
1) Dust your shelves
2) Take a shower
3) Visit someone
4) Clean your fingernails
5) Do your laundry
6) Check your mail
7) Make the bed
8) Talk to your plants
9)Do things to annoy your
Roommate
10) Stare out the window
11) Remake the bed
12) Make faces at yourself in
the mirror
13) Gossip
14) Get something to eat
15) Polish your shoes
16) Discuss the gross national
product of tomatoes in
Chad
17) Write home
18) Hang from the lampshade
by your knees
19) Reorganize your closet
20) Play your 33 '/ 3 records at 78
21) Write an article for the
Guilfordian
As my roommate so aptly
summed up the attitude of
many students; "When in
Doubt. . . procrastinate."
Day Hops
Take Notice
You heretofore served
summons to appear as
members of the Day Student
Intramural Soccer Team(s).
Check your campus mailbox
for a schedule of games.