Page 2
Dear Editor:
Who is that man!?
Keith Guile
Dear Mandy,
When I saw you last
September just after I had
been here for several weeks,
you asked me what an educa
tion at a Quaker College was
like. I couldn't say then, but
now after almost a year I
think I know more about it.
Many early Quakers did not
trust formal education, but
they did see a need to educate
their children and to help them
realize "that of God" which is
in everyone, so they started
schools to preserve their
system of belief. I am quite
taken by their system and
knowing you as I do I believe
you probably would be, too.
One of the things I like parti
cularly about the Quakers if
their belief in the equality of
man. Guilford was the first
college in the south and the
second in the nation to have
both men and women
students. It was one of the
first white, church-related
colleges in the South to accept
black students. Today there
are more than 100 black
people on the campus here.
I am proud to be among them
for the very rich dimension
which we add to life here.
Knowing how you have
always felt about being in a
totally white school, I think
you would be happy here.
Quaker education, like
Quaker religion, seems to stress
the search for truth and the
arrival at conclusions which
are based on experiment and
experience. Guilford reflects
this through the attention
which it gives to both the
sciences and the humanities
in its curriculum.
I was a little worried
when I came here since I was
not a Quaker, but I am glad
you encouraged me to come
ahead anyway. Being a
Quaker yourself, I guess you
knew I would be happy here
even if you yourself were not
old enough for college. As it
turns out, Quaker education
today is not just for Quakers.
Only a few of Guilford's
students are Quakers. The
Quakers here do not happen
to be different from anyone
else even though, as you
know they were once noted
for their quaint dress and
Letters to the Editor
speech. I met a man the
other day who called me
"thee." It startled me a little
at first. Someone said he had
been on the faculty many
years ago.
What I am trying to say, I
guess, is that while there does
not appear to be any differ
ence between this place and
some others, there is a differ
ence. Quaker education at a
place like Guilford College is
concerned with human values.
I took an unusual course last
semester called "Being Human
in the Twentieth Century."
Quaker education also values
differences because Friends
feel that each person is unique
and irreplaceable, with a
unique and irreplaceable vision
of truth.
Education here focuses on
the individual and yet Guilford
cultivates a community where
I am able to share my differ
ences with others and to mold
their insights into new
creations of mind and spirit.
My insights have been
molded likewise, I think.
Another thing I like about
this place is the knowledge
that Friends have pioneered in
prison reform, treatment of
the mentally ill, care of the
aged, abolition of slavery,
war relief, international peace
making, fair dealings with
native Americans, and po!icy
reform. I believe Guilford
College is preparing me to
respond sensitively and res
pectfully to the needs of
others. I also believe that
Guilford is teaching me to
work patiently to bring to
flower whatever unique
expression of goodness, truth,
or beauty lies buried some
where within me.
Mandy, do you think this
makes any sense? I think it
does.
Love,
Eric
Dear Mandy,
You have often asked about
Guilford College and the kind
of place it is. Just as often
I have had difficulty finding
an answer which is satisfac
tory to me. My thoughts of
it change from time to time.
Mostly though, I see it in three
ways.
I see it as a very old and
lovely place which attempts to
preserve in its traditions and
customs, as well as in its curri
culum and faculty, those
values which are basic to all
of our lives. Somehow it takes
The Guilfordian
me back to places I have never j
been, and somehow it helps
me find that peace which is
at the center of me.
I see it as a threshold to
the future. At least, that is
what my study here is prepar
ing me for a world that lies
beyond today. I feel good
about that learning how to
think about it, I mean.
I guess I see it too as being
little more than I bring to it
or am willing to put into it.
Isn't that the way it is with
most things though? I take
lots of comfort in knowing
how dependent I am on me for
this experience. Guilford has
helped me discover that
sooner than I might have.
Perhaps I never would have
had I not been in this place.
I like this poem. It helps
me describe more nearly how
I feel, now that I have been
here.
The countries ot the mind
Lie close:
You move in space or time
Yet leave them not.
You will be here
When dogwood blooms,
Or bells in winter twilight ring,
Or when you hear again
Some title or some name.
Do not say,
"I am leaving Guilford."
It lies forever close—
It holds the brightness of your
youth,
The peace of green oaks,
The joy of knowing;
It is forever present.
I don't think I can say it any
better.
Love,
Eric
These letters were donated to
the Guilfordian by Mandy.
Judicial Board
Applications
Applications for the
Campus Judicial Board are
now being accepted. If you
would like to apply for a
position on next year's Board
please pick up an application
from Jean Tatum in the
Student Services Office.
Deadline for all applications is
Monday, April 3, 1977. Turn
them in to Jean Tatum.
An Editorial
BY MARK SIEBER
This Wednesday, the Com
munity Senate will be discus
sing a proposal which, if
adopted, could become
harmful. The proposal
suggests that all Senate
monies appropriated to
campus organizations for
entertainment activities (such
as dances, lectures, and so
forth) be held in a "trust"
fund by the union. This means:
that, in the planning of
these activities, each club
must operate through the union
in scheduling events, booking
speakers or bands, and other
organizational activities. Ultim
ately, although the Senate
would originally allocate the
funds, the union would essen
tially regulate the dispensation
of them.
Granted, this powerful pro
posal is rooted in some valid
concerns. Many clubs fail to
clear dates for entertainment
events. Consequently, there
may be two or more events
on one given night and none
on another. Not only does this
sort of oversight result in an
inequitable distribution of
"things to do," but it causes
problems in the booking of
Sternberger and Dana Audi
toriums and with possible
conflicts of interest as well.
A second concern that
prompted the proposal is that,
often, clubs do not utilize the
expertise and contacts that
some individuals feel the union
has. Occasionally, club
sponsored activities are not as
well-planned as possible.
However, rather than suggest
ing that clubs come to the
union if necessary, it will
become mandatory in all cases.
Okay. These are two issues
that are important. They merit
attention and action. But is
the proposal appropriate and
ethical? I would have to say
no, for several reasons:
• the proposal could foster a
union monopoly on the
planning of entertainment
events.
• it stifles the diversity of
ideas and methods that indivi
dual club expression would
allow.
• it implies an unrealistic
approach to solving the
problem, in terms of paper
work, time, and effort.
• it denies clubs the freedom
to plan activities and the right
to fail. If a club plans an
entertainment event and, if
from negligence in clearing
dates with the union, the
event fails, the club should
learn from its mistake. If it
does not, that, too, is the
club's prerogative. By allow
ing the Senate to pass this
March 22,1977
legislation, we are: setting
guidelines for clubs to follow
in planning entertainment
events, disallowing a club's
autonomy, and inhibiting a
club's creativity, motivation,
and learning.
• it presumptuously suggests
that, for example, the union
would have more contacts in
booking a speaker for the
Guilford College Young
Democrats than the Young
Democrats themselves might
have. Along the same line,
the proposal suggests that the
union is a hotbed of "know
how" and the clubs have
somewhat less to offer.
• it could result in a decrease
in (or loss of) motivation for
campus organizations to
involve themselves in the
sponsoring of entertainment
events.
I content that, although a
problem might exist with club
sponsored activities, it is not
one that warrants such legis
lation. The proposal is anal
ogous to requiring students to
spend a certain amount of
time periodically in the library;
despite the fact that a student
might be failing, isn't it the
student's right to remedy the
situation if he/she chooses
to? Accordingly, don't clubs
at Guilford have the right to
learn by their mistakes, if
mistakes are indeed made,
and grow in the process? We
should not restrict all campus
clubs because of the careless
ness or obstinacy of a few.
Furthermore, we should not
endanger a club's autonomy
by making it answerable to
the union and by limiting its
freedom.
It certainly seems more
appropriate to, perhaps,
publicize the nature and
extent of the services and
experience available at the
union. The clubs, then, would
be in a better position to
decide themselves whether
or not to contact the union.
Enough words. Let's see
how closely the Senate
examines the ramifications of
this almost damning proposal
which threatens the livelihoods
of the clubs and jeopardizes
the expressive spirit at Guilford.
I suggest that any readers,
who are either concerned
individuals or members of
clubs which might be affected
by the proposal, attend the
Senate meeting this Wednes
day night. Input from
members of the Guilford com
munity may be the deciding
factor in the approval or defeat
of this severely consequential
piece of legislation.