Gmlfordian
Vol. LXV, No. 17
Meikrantz wins
first Fulbright
Bill Meikrantz
By Pete Fraunholtz
Presently at Guilford we
have the first recipient of a
Fulbright Scholarship. Bill Mei
krantz, a senior Physics major
from Lighthouse Point, Florida,
is the man of whom we speak.
On the wings of the Fulbright,
Bill will be off to the University
of Brussels for a year of
research and graduate study in
Biophysics.
In his work at Guilford, Bill
has fused his Physics curri
culum with Physical Chemistry,
Biochemistry and Molecular
Genetics, resulting in a senior
thesis in the Biophysics of
Micro-tubules, parts of the cell
structure involved in cell divis
ion. The University Bill chose
was the home of llya Pirgogine,
who in 1976 won the Nobel Prize
for the statistical mechanics
model he developed of irrevers
ible processes. The university is
the center for work done in
applying this model to biolog
Library addition planned
Do you think the Reading
Room in the library is conducive
to studying? Would you like to
see more study places in the
stacks, or more big comfort
able chairs?
Well, now is your chance to
speak up. In recent weeks, Herb
Poole, director of the library,
has been circulating the first
proposal for an addition to the
Guilford College Library. At
present, the proposal is being
examined by the Facilities Com
mittee, headed by Alex Stoe
sen, and the Library Commit
tee, chaired by Norton Robbins.
Those who have been watch
ing the library in recent years
have noticed increasing use of
already over-used facilities.
Seating is one of the prime
considerations of the renovation
proposal. The library is com
mitted to seating one third of
the resident student body.
There are only 200 spaces
presently available, and there is
some question as to whether
these are sufficient
The media center is another
matter dealt with by the pro
posal. Exponential growth in
the use of media services in
recent years warrants an expan
sion of the center to incorporate
space now occupied by the
ical problems. In his research,
Bill will be working to develop a
model for gene activity using
Pirgogine's theories.
The Fulbright, which ranks in
prestige with the Rhodes Scho
larship, is made possible by the
Fulbright Commission, estab
lished by Congress in the early
1950's for the purpose of pro
viding funds for American stu
dents to study abroad. As a
member of this commission,
ITT has awarded Bill, and 24
other American students, a
grant which will finance his year
long work. Bill was chosen
based on his research proposal
and a statement of the prepara
tion that has contributed to his
ability to carry out his propsoal.
Approximately 250 American
students are awarded Ful
brights each year to cover
tuition, travel and living ex
penses for work in a variety of
disciplines. Past recipients in
clude former Defense Secre
tary, Harold Brown.
Following his research in
Brussels, Bill plans to return to
the States and continue his
graduate work at Penn State. At
present, Bill is finishing up his
senior thesis as well as directing
a play that he has written,
"Allegory of a Bird in Flight,"
which will be performed on
campus April 10th.
Education Department and the
Academic Skills Center claims
the proposal. Space for these
departments is included in the
addition.
That component of the now
existing library which stand to
gain the most space in the new
addition is the Friends Histori
cal Collection. Herb Poole sug
gests an expansion from 1800 to
6000 square feet. The Collection
is seen by several members of
the Guilford College community
as an integral part of Guil'.ord's
Quaker tradition.
The Faculty Committee in
tends to work with the "utmost
speed" in order to present a
finalized proposal to the Trus
tees when they meet in May. It
is the hope of those involved that
an architect can be contracted
following this meeting. It is also
their hope that students will
take an active part in theprocess
by offering suggestions specify
ing what they like and dislike
about the present library and
what they would like to see in
the new addition. Interested
students should contact mem
bers of the Facilities Committee
(Stoesen, Lowe, Deagon, White,
Clark, Fraunholtz), or the Li
brary Committee (Robbins Al
media, Behar, Beidler).
Guilford College, Greensboro, NC 27410
ana |n
VI r Y* Bg {III I f H'll
■M&sETn^^j^rrj
The powers that might be. On the left, next years Union Hoard - President uapnne Brown,
Vice-President Isa Cherin, and Treasurer joel Richon. On the right Guilfordian co-editors John
Mottern and Suzanne Sullivan.
An open letter to the Guilford community
Glorors and horries of nepotism
or, A New Argument From Design
Jonathan Malino
For the past month, I have been importuning
our two dear Guilfordian editors, Sheasley for
short, to devote an entire issue to Spouse Hiring
at Guilford. Notwithstanding my repeated as
surances that they would not need to relearn
Bertrand Russell's explanation of how it is
possible to talk about nothing ("On Denoting,
1905, for those who haven't had the pleasure),
they have refused. They have, however, agreed to
allow me to share with you the headlines of some
of the main articles which would haveappearedin
such an issue
"BOARD MEMBERS CHAGRINED AT THE
DRAMATIC UPTURN IN THE USE OF T-HE
TERM 'NEPOTIT' ON CAMPUS"
"THE SECRET IS OUT -- SOME PEOPLE AT
GUILFORD DO ASK QUESTIONS"
"POST-COITAL CONSERVATIONS FOCUS
ON COVERT GUILFORD POLITICS"
"GUILFORD AWASH WITH DANGEROUS
NEW HALLUCINOGENIC DRUG -- NEPOT.
TWO JOINTS OR 3cc. INJECTED DIRECTLY
INTO THE HEART LEADS TO NIGHTMARISH
HALLUCINATIONS THAT MARRIED COUPLES
CAN BOTH BE COMPETENT PROFES
SIONALS."
Though I am genuinely disappointed that this
issue will never see the light of night, I do want to
express my heartfelt appreciation to the editors
for the profound articles to which we have been
treated. I would like, as well, to announce that the
publication of these articles at just the moment
that they appeared, is yet another bit of evidence
for God's existence. You see, just as the evils of
the midsemester malaise were mounting to the
point of depressing those of us who live by faith in
the argument from design, the Guilfordian
suddenly began to bubble over with hot, juicy, au
courant illustrations of all those putatively
irrelevant subjects like Formal Logic and What
d'ya call it 101
Consider first logic. For years I have had to
turn to men and morality to illustrate the fallacy
of affirming the consequent. For example,
1) All men are moral.
2) Socrates is moral.
3) Therefore, Socrates is a man.
How dull! But now I can point with pride to
our very own Guilfordian. Quoting Louis Fike,
Mark Gurley writes, "Contrary to what the
President says, Guilford does practice a covert
nepotism. . Decision making and the solution of
problems tends to be indirect and covert."
JBHBIHHKC
Eliminating the frills, we get
1) All decision making at Guilford is covert
decision making
2) Covert nepotism is covert decision making
3) Therefore, Covert nepotism is a kind of
decision making at Guilford. Now that's the way
to keep aspiring logicians on their toes!
Or consider what is often referred to as the
fallacy of equivocation (I've been told that among
psychologists this goes by the name of muddle
headedness.) Typically, to illustrate this dread
disease it has been necessary to concoct
improbable stories like the one about the Ancient
Greek historian who, in a letter to the editor of the
Cape Sunion Gazette, contested the claim that
Socrates died of hemlock posioning He argued,
on the contrary, that
1) Anacin is the number one pain killer.
2) Socrates was the number one pain in Athens.
3) Therefore Socrates was killed by Anacin
The point of course is that the poor old
historian's argument was vitiated by the fact that
it could be valid only if the word "pain' did not
change meaning in the long haul from the first
premise to the conclusion Yet how else would all
his claims have a chance of being true?
Bury such stories forever, O Athenian teachers
of logic!!! Turn instead to Dr. Fike's first reason
that "nepotism is wrong " Again according to
Mr. Gurley, Dr. Fike believes that "(Firstly) it
contradicts the fair hiring practices that Guilford
presumes to purport (sic)". Put formally and
fully, Professor Fike seems to be saying that
1) Nepotism exists at Guilford
2)Nepotism voilates Guilford's fair hiring
practices
3)Therefore nepotism is wrong
Now just what means this "nepotism" which
exists at Guilford and contradicts Guilford's
purportedly supported practices? As the Voe
hringer Professor of the Administration of Justice
has helpfully noted, "the term actually refers to
the practice on the part of ecclesiastics of showing
special favor to nephews or other relatives in
conferring offices." Ignoring the uniquely nasty
habits of ecclesicatics and the monumental role
played by nephews in the fall of man, we might
simplify this to "showing special favoritism in
hiring relatives." Now if this is what "nepotism" I
means, dare we confuse it with "hiring spouses
simpliciter?" I think no. Yet it is demonstratable j
that many august writers (or as Alex Stoesen j
would have it, the "great luminaries of our j
time") have done just that. Consider once again |
continued on page 3
March 26, 1981