page four
Marie tte to retire after varied career
By SUSAN SHUFORD
Interpersonal relationships with
students have proven the ultimate
satisfaction for Mildred Marlette
throughout her teaching career.
"Long after much of the prose
and t poetry have been forgotten,
hopefully we (the students and I)
remember each other," she smiles.
A veteran educator of 30 years,
Miss Marlette has been an English
professor with Guilford College
since 1948. This spring Guilford
will lose one of the college's most
valuable assets with her retirement.
Although she is looking forward
to retirement, Marlette will miss
Guilford, and especially her
students.
"I've seen so much through
the eyes of young people," she
comments. "They've helped me
to adapt to changing life styles.
I may not always agree with their
ideas, but I try to be open minded.''
Miss Marlette is a country girl
from years back. She was born in
1913 on her family farm near
Graham, N.C. During her first 16
years Marlette became adept at
milking cows, and tending the
cotton, corn and tobacco crops
grown on their diversified farm.
"I was a whiz at driving a
tractor.'' she declared,'' that is after
we got one. I learned to hitch a
team of horses first.''
Even today, for Miss Marlette,
that corner of Alamance County
is still "the best place in the whole
world."
From the time she was a little
girl, Marlette had always yeamed
to become a teacher. Thus her
career at Guilford is in effect the
proverbial dream come true.
A very diverse lady, Miss
Marlette is also a Quaker. She
belongs to the Spring Friends
Meeting in Alamance County, and
she is also an affiliated member of
the New Garden Meeting.
As a Quaker, Marlette was
naturally drawn to Guilford,
where she graduated with a B.A.
in English in 1935. Thirteen years
later she joined the faculty.
In the internment years, Miss
Marlette kept busy teaching English
in the N.C. public high schools.
She was a member of the Women's
Navy from 1943-1946, and she
received her M.A. in English from
UNC-Chapel Hill in 1947.
Although Marlette has been
unswervingly faithful in her
dedication as a teacher, English was
not her first love. Like so many
students today, she changed majors.
In high school, Marlette planned
on becoming a math teacher. Later
at Guilford she found an interest
in physics.
"At that time, girls just didn't
major in physics," she recalled.
Because of the order of the day,
Mildred decided teaching and
English were her best bets. So,
whether by fate or coincidence,
the dreams of Marlette the little girl
developed into the well thought CH
career goals of Marlette the adult.
At 65 Mildred Marlette still loves
her work. "For me teaching fulfills
a number of needs," she explained.
It allows me to continue learning,
to be something of a ham, and to do
a bit of missionary work.''
The greatest challenge of her
teaching career has been opening
up lines of prose and poetry to the
understanding of students. It's a
wonderful feeling when a student
says 'You really taught me to
write,'" Miss Marlette related.
Over the years Guilford College,
and its students, have undergone a
great many changes. Miss Marlette
herself has played several different
roles in the drama of campus life.
Along with her teaching duties,
Marlette was Dean of Women from
1948-1962, a job which she said
entailed "fun, heartache and
backbreak too."
As Dean of Women, Marlette was
responsible for the conduct of
women on campus, working in
cooperation with the Women's
Student Government.
She feels that there was undoubt
edly a double standard in those
days. Women were subject to
stringent restrictions, compared
with today's lenient rules.
Girls only were required to
have permission from home to ride
in cars. They had to sign out
when leaving campus, and were
obligated to wear dresses in the
college dining room.
Certain rules, now defunct,
such as no smoking and no alcoholic
beverages in the dorms applied to
both sexes. Visitation in rooms
and co-ed dorms were unheard of.
"The rules changed every year,"
according to Miss Marlette.
Commenting on academic
changes, there is one change at
Guilford which she believes is of
'' questionable morality.''
Mildred voiced strong objections
to the no Wednesday class schedule.
"I am convinced that no classes
on Wednesday has from the begin
ning, been a bad plan," she
declared.
Wednesdays are supposedly set
aside for study, library work, intern
ships, field trips, and conferences
with instructors, according to the
1978 Guilford College Catalogue.
Miss Marlette believes that
Wednesdays are used advantageously
by only a few percent of the student
body.
"I think just about every organ
ization on campus meets on Wed
nesdays, '' stated Marlette. '' Faculty
and students are literally being
'commiteeed' to death." Conse
quently there is little time for those
activities Wednesdays were
originally set aside for.
No classes on Wednesday in
effect creates two "weekends" on
Guilfordian
campus, a situation Miss Marlette
feels is likely to decrease rather
than increase, student study time.
Although Guilford itself has
changed a great deal, "basically
students are very much the same
today as in the past," declared
Mildred.
Still, today's student is more
sophisticated than in the 50s.
"Students used to be much more
campus oriented," according to
Marlette. Few students had cars.
"Students are more cosmopolitan,
more traveled and experienced,"
she commented. "I think today's
students are more aware of the
problems which lie ahead of them,
than those 20 years ago."
With the exception of some "well
justified unrest in the 605," Miss
Marlette feels that students have
been, in the main, concerned about
school."
"Still, something has been lost
in the work ethic," she related.
'' Most students today have had too
much money all their lives. They
lack patience. Hard work seems
unreasonable to them.''
Though she feels that many stu
dents are still interested in improv
ing society, they may not have the
perseverance necessary to reach
their goals.
A budding author, Marlette plans
to write a book on the effects of
melodrama in twentieth century
literature, during retirement.
T.S. Eliot said "the craving for
melodrama is perennial and must be
satisfied.''
Mildred Marlette wants to find
Switchboard training to open
By GORDON PALMER
Switchboard Crisis Center, located
at 518 Summit Ave., can best be
described as an emergency help
center.
The people who answer phone
number 275-0896 are able,
ready, and willing to handle any
type of crisis, whether involving
drug problems, psychological
problems or physical abuse.
This week, Switchboard is
beginning a training program for
volunteers. One of the first things
the trainee is introduced to is a
self-awareness workshop which
includes some very up-to-date
techniques.
In the course of the first half
of the training session, trainees
learn how to deal with different
kinds of clients, how to make
referrals for those who need more
specialized help, some general
insights into the lives of the clients,
and other aspects of the Switchboard
experience.
He also learns how to work closely
with other people, an integral part
-- ' 1
fflTt ,v m
out why.
She also plans to garden and to
"travel as the dollar permits."
In addition, Miss Marlette hopes
to have her mother, who is 86,
with her more often. "I want to
give her some of the pleasures she
deserves," she added.
On the whole, Miss Marlette feels
fulfilled. "I wouldn't have lived my
life any differently," she explained.
"It hasn't been paradise though.
I've put in hard, endless hours of
work," commented Marlette.
She has been rewarded with
several of Guilfords highest honors
for her dedication, including the
Distinguished Alumni Award in
of Switchboard work
The second half of the training
is a professionally taught course in
drug identification. Until the
trainee has learned to ID drugs, he
can start answering emergency calls
when at least one fully trained
volunteer is on hand.
Training sessions occur twice
weekly and are one and a half hours
long. Trainees are also expected to
come in once weekly to audit calls.
The entire program last about 10
weeks.
There are two other important
facets of Switchboard Crisis
Center. One is that some people
come to the Center when they need
That's Entertainment...
Watch the champagne bubbles
float by while dancing to the music
of Harold Gayle and his orchestra
on Friday, February 2, from
9:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. in Stern
January 30, 1979
Marietta
1975. She is also a lifetime
member of the Executive Board of
Guilford's Alumni Association.
"In retirement I feel very strongly
that there may be a lot of people
who believe I have meant a great
deal to Guilford," she explained.
"Believe me when I say I have
needed Guilford. 1 don't know
where the debt is greater.''
This is the first of series of five
feature articles on retiring faculty
members.
a crash pad or have no other place 1
to go.
Also, Switchboard often works'
concerts at the Greensboro
Coliseum. When concert-goers are
overcome by overdoses of alcohol
or drugs, Crisis Center personelle
offer assistance, helping to avoid
unnecessary police action.
Though Switchboard training
may require some psychological ad
justment, most people find the ex
perience rewarding.
"It's one of the greatest things
I ever decided to do," said one for
mer Switchboarder.
Anyone interested in volunteer
ing at Switchboard Crisis Center
should call 275-0896.
berger Auditorium. The music erf
the 1940s and 50s as well as
renditions of current popular hits
will dominate the musical agenda
for the evening.