Guilfordian, October 8, 1981
WKAMB6E
"Harambee" is an African expression meaning "pulling together."
Pulling together predisposes unity. Unity is the fundamental concept
that all the people of the world must realize before true harmony can
occur, lending to a maximized level of human existence. It is towards
this primary and noble goal that we must commit ourselves in the void
pending human cacaclyon.
Considering the state of affairs, to initiate this quest we must begin
in the immediatacy of our situation; that situation is Guilford College
in this case.
Here at Guilford division runs deep into the student body. Cliques
are so obvious that it perplexes me as to the significance of achieving
an atmosphere of diversity if there is such limited exchange of ideas
between people. After all, is not an exchange of ideas and perspectives
the intention of the effort to admit diversity of students? Are we, the
students, not defeating that purpose, and thus depriving ourselves of a
prime oportunity to expand our own Horizons?
This division is also reflected in the support, or lack there of, that
organizations have given to one another during my Guilford ex
pierience. BASIB (Brothers and Sisters in Blackness), the organiza
tion with which I am most familiar, has both offered little support to
and received little help from other organizations in the past. That is a
fair indiciation of joint participation, unless BAIB has been uniquely
isolated.
An aspect of the student body which has received significant lack of
support is women's concerns and activities. Men and women, in
clusive of myself, have sorely neglected to show concern and interest
in such activities as Womens sports, the Women's Center, and the
ERA issue. Are we not suggesting consciously, or unconsciously, that
in effect these matters are not important to us? Are we not being poor
colleagues?
Outside the small world in which we place ourselves, there lies vast
amounts of knowledge and experience. It is extremely dangerous for
us to continue this complacent seperatism derived from the illusion
that our little mental worlds are complete and independent.
Therefore, that we are unaffected by other worlds is an absurd
thought, particularly on this campus.
There must emerge a vanguard in this school which understands
that this principle has the strength and dedication be begin the distrac
tion of this superficiality. This vanguard they must rise and lead
because it is they who will ultimately determine the success or failure
of the 'noble' quest.
In their efforts, this vanguard should not be deterred by those who
would scorn their ideals as stupid or idealistic. They are fools who do
not perceive both the joy of unity and the threat of division.
As we ponder this subject remember, the future is now!
l etters to the Editors
review of the Judicial Board and
the honor system in the Guilfor
dian displays a gamut of personal
attitudes toward the "system" in
which values are fostered; but,
no one seriously questions the
value of honor itself. I am glad to
be able to say that, for at least the
35 years I have known Guilford,
the "interest in returning to the
honor system" has never been
completely absent and that, in
deed, in the history of the College
this is an "eternal return" with
a rise and fall in interest accor
ding to pressured concern. There
has always been the temptation
to play with the words "honor"
and "system." (Who has not
heard of "those with honor" and
"those with a system" and the
various substitutions for the
demonstrative pronouns?) A
reasonably skeptical faith in
human nature, however, seems
to prevail at Guilford.
It is possible to operate under
an honor system on a very large
By David Davenport
scale. Students who have lived in
Munich have discovered this. The
transportation system in Ger
many, even in the East, is based
on the "honor" of citizens who
buy and insert their tickets into a
machine which designates the
time and place of initial use.
There is random checking and
fining, but there are citizens, too,
who do not hesitate to reprimand
riders who seem to be violating
the code. On the other hand, the
large University in Munich, as
well as schools in general, would
not think of leaving students
without proctors. There is an at
mosphere of complete lack of
trust in students during examina
tions.
I proctored in such an at
mosphere years ago at a nearby
university and discovered that
such a system does not "work"
100 percent either. I prefer the
system at Guilford. I hope that
modifications of the present
system will continue to be tried.
Super Man Says
Hi! This superhero business can get to be a drag,
I / -J k, sometimes, and when it does, I can always go back
V "4. to my job as a mild mannered reporter. You should
tr y ' l to °" T ' ,e Guilfordian is looking for writers,
typists, and layout staff members who believe in
J jt truth, justice, and the American way. No ex
\ / If // '|\\\ perience is necessary, just a little bit of your time.
' J Drop them a line at P.O. Box 17717 and help the
- W' —
Guilford
she was in no shape to be in
terviewed. It was up to my
personal discretion." White did
not notify anyone.
According to Alan White, the
standard procedure for
emergencies is that guards must
notify both the police and Bob
White, Director of Housing and
Security. Under the cir
cumstances, however, Alan
White said that he felt it was not
necessary and that it could be
done in the morning when the
victim would be more responsive.
According to the victim,
however, she did not say that she
did not want to be interviewed.
Bob White confirmed the
assertion that proper procedures
include calling the Greensboro
police. By 5:00 p.m. Tuesday
afternoon, the police had still not
been notified.
At 12:30 p.m. the day after the
incident, Binford Coordinator
Peg Thornberry was notified of
the attack for the first time by a
Guilfordian reporter. Bill
Any modifications, however,
should reflect higher rather than
lower expectations from both
students and faculty. Guilford is
a part of the "real" world. It is a
part of our democratic system
and not a part of a police state.
Mary Feagins
Greensboro justice
We are members of Citizens for
Justice and Unity, a local coali
tion for constructive social pro
ress in Greensboro, North
Carolina. We came together after
the court acquittal of Klan and
Nazi defendants last November
concerned about the issues of
justice and prejudice that were
raised by that trial and its out
come. At that time we submitted
a request to the Justice Depart
ment to investigate the case.
Thornberry, the other Binford
Coordinator, was distressed to
learn of the incident. "We have
had problems in the past, and I
want to be notified," he said.
According to the Thornberry's,
had they been notified of the
attack, they would have called
the police.
Ken Schwab, Dean of Students,
who gets Security reports from
Bob White, had not been notified
of the incident until 4:50 p.m.
Tuesday evening when a
Guilfordian reporter questioned
him.
Bob White normally reviews
the log book of security actions
during the previous night when
he arrives at his office in the
mornings. However, it was 2:30
p.m. Tuesday afternoon before
Audrey Homey, secretary to Bob
White, contacted the woman who
was attacked and asked that she
come see Mr. White.
The victimized student said,
"At this meeting, Bob White
lectured on how one should not
Because of the astounding
nature of the events of November
3, 1979, the trial, and the perplex
ing questions which have not yet
been publicly answered, we af
firm our continued support for a
full and thorough investigation of
this case by our federal govern
ment, through the Civil Rights
Division of the Justice Depart
ment. We join with the recom
mendation of outgoing U.S. At
torney H.M. Michaux in his of
ficial call for such an investiga
tion and for indictments of those
responsible in the November 3
tragedy.
The recent investigation by the
Institute of Southern Studies
raises questions of possible con
spiracy regarding the deaths of
the five persons on November 3,
and underlines the necessity for
public testimony from Edward
Dawson and the Greensboro
Police Department. Only if the
nagging serious questions sur
rounding this case are answered
from page 1
walk alone at night, and stressed
that security will 'gladly' provide
escort services.""Bob never
mentioned anything about calling
the police," she said. "I felt that
maybe it was my responsibility to
notify everyone."
Bob White said that the
police "would be notified." He
had not taken this step as of 5:00
p.m. Tuesday afternoon, saying
that the description of the
assailant was not substantial
enough to involve the police.
Until notified by the Guilfor
dian reporter, a number of
members of the housing staff had
not been told of the incident.
Katherine Helms, an intern on
the second floor of Bryan, said,
"How are we supposed to do our
jobs if we are not notified?"
Security guards voiced mixed
reactions to the attack. One male
guard said, in jest, "She was pro
bably asking for it." Another
guard said that "the system
sucks." Alan White said that "the
system is great, Bob does a great
job."
Continued from page 2
will justice and unity be realized
in Greensboro.
We are also concerned to
understand how the matter of the
investigation actually proceeds
through our Justice Department
in Washington; whether and how
legal issues become interwined
with political considerations; and
what role, if any, concerned
citizens can play in cases such as
this. To this end, we are planning
a public forum Tuesday evening,
October 27, when specialists on
this case, such as former U.S. At
torney H. M. Michaux, Professor
William Van Alstyne of Duke
University School of Law, and
Elizabeth Wheaton, researcher
for the Institute of Southern
Studies, joined by local attorney
Michael Curtis, will discuss their
perspectives on the federal in
vestigation and answer questions
from the public. We hope our
fellow citizens will join us as we
seek further understanding and
justice in this issue.
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