Guilfordian, March 26, 1982
Dung Beetle Derby results
Eric O'Donovan will now go on to the National
Dung Beetle Derby, held annually in Bakersfield,
California. This year's contest marks the 50th an
niversary of the Dung Beetle Derby in this country
and promises really stiff competition. O'Donovan
has been training beetles since 1974, and has been at
the national Derby twice before, once in 1977 and
again in 1980. Winnie, his beetle in 1977, crashed on
the third day of the Derby and was r amoved from
further competition, and in 1960 his beetle Bumbles
'
Beetle Name Trainer Place
1 Pattycake Peter Williams JL
i Jimmy lather Powell 3
6 I Nemeatrina Floyd Watson Crashed
Gay health
makes it easier for gays to be pro
miscuous than to be involved in
committed relationships. Long
term and committed relation
ships are almost always more
noticeable than one night stands,
and are therefore more easily
made into targets for abuse,
discrimination, and contempt."
J. C., who wants to be a
minister, faces an especially
agonizing difficulty. He has had
to choose between his religious
Changes in store at graduation
by Arthur Freund
Graduation! That elusive and
most sought after culmination of
four years of blood, tears, toil and
sweat. The event that seniors
cautiously anticipate, unsure of
their own success until the
diploma is thrust into their
hands, while they are surrounded
by hordes of congratulating and
dirously relieved parents.
This year the graduating
seniors can look forward to a
slightly new series of events prior
to the actual commencement ex
ercises, which will be held in
front of Hege-Cox Arts building
on Saturday, May Bth at 10:30
a.m.
The Sub-Committee on Com
mencement, under the Convoca
tions and Celebration Committee
has proposed several alter
natives to take place during and
after the Senior Banquet, on Fri
day, May 7th at 6:30 p.m. this
San Francisco
COST: $480.00 covers course
costs, most meals, room and city
transportation for three weeks.
Housing will be dormitory style.
Incidental spending money and
transportation to and from San
Francisco is the student's respon
sibility. The following figures,
subject to change, may give you
an indication of the cost of getting
to the West Coast: Automobile
came in third. His latest beetle, Snow bell, is
descended from a long line of winning dung beetles
and he is very hopeful of her chances. Says
O'Donovan: "She's the best beetle I've ever trained,
and hopefully I'll have some really excellent
results." Mark Eagleton, the organizer of
Guilford's third annual Derby, agrees: "In all my
years of judging dung beetles, she's the best one I
ever saw. She's all business, and has adapted well to
the rigorous training schedule that a beetle has to
| follow."
KB/
calling, and his deep need for sex
ual and spiritual intimacy with
another person. Because the
church condemns homosexuality,
he cannot simultaneously
become a pastor and live in a
union of love with another gay
person. Ultimately, J. C. feels
that his religious calling takes
precedent over all other things.
"I would prefer a life-long love
relationship with someone I
cared deeply about, but my
year the decision has been made
to have the Awards Convocation
take place on Sunday, April 18th
in Dana Auditorium so that the
entire Guilford College Com
munity can take part in this
jubilant event, rather than during
the Senior Banquet.
After the banquet the Convoca
tions Committee, according to co
chairman Jane Bengel, has sug
gested "some music and a
chance for people to socialize in a
different atmosphere." They
would like to have a dance in
Sternberger Auditorium to pro
vide a casual meeting place for
the seniors and their parents,
many of whom have never met.
If anyone is sober enough to
face the wee hours of the morn
ing, there will be coffee and
donuts (a veritable Epicwean
delight) served in front of
Founders Hall on Saturday morn
ing, May Bth, before robeing up
for the commencement exercises
by 9:45 a.m. If you are the lucky
(5,000 mi. @ 20*) = SIOOO.OO
(possibly divided among two or
more participants); Greyhound
Bus ■= $266.80; Air (night coach)
- $406.00; AMTRAK $466.00.
For further information, please
see Jin Keith in Student Services,
Founders Hall. You may also see
Bill Schmickle in the Center for
Off Campus Education,
Founders.
ministry would be in jeopardy if I
were open and honest about it;* he
said. Even so, J. C. sometimes
feels that he is living a truncated
and fragmental existence.
Perhaps most painful of all, he
said, are his daily attempts to
live behind a facade of heterosex
uality in order to avoid our socie
ty's persecution of homosexuals.
"I resent being forced to deny my
sexual orientation in order to
assume the role of something I'm
recipient of a diploma, four
tickets will be provided for your
guests (in case of inclement
weather, the ceremonies will be
held in Dana Auditorium, where
seating is limited to 1,000 people,
so don't invite your own fan
club).
For those of you who care to
take part in this event, this year's
commencement speaker will be
Dr. Edwin Wilson, the Provost of
Wake Forest University. Unfor
tunately, the Watergate con
spirators, Gerry Ford, and
Donald Duck asked for too much
money so they were not invited to
speak before the graduating class
of 1982. Fortunately for us, Dr.
Wilson should provide a momen
tus speech. So tell your friends
and parents to anticipate a bang
up graduation even if you don't
plan to attend these exercises.
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Snowbell, trained by student Eric O'Donovan, sped to victory in
Guilford's third annual Dung Beetle Derby. Snowbell and O'Donovan
are currently competent in the National Dung Beetle Derby in
Bakersfield, California.
not," he said. "My sexuality is
something that straight people
want to cut out of me."
In addition to the intense emo
tional and psychological
pressures exerted on gay
students, some special medical
problems may also plague them.
Bobby Doolittle, the campus
physician, helped explain some of
them. To begin with, alcoholism
is a major problem. Time
magazine, for instance, quoted a
study which concluded that the
alcoholism rate among the gay
population is 20% to 30% - three
to four times the rate among all
adult Americans (April 23,1979).
According to Dr. Doolittle
"alcoholism results, from a pro
blem of self-esteem. There is a
high rate of problems with self
esteem because of the disap
proval which gay people receive
from society, and particularly
from their parents."
The other special medical pro
blems among gays occur
primarily in only one segment of
the gay population. Dr. Dolittle
suggested that for medical pur
poses, the gay population could
be separated into three
categories: 1) Heterosexuals
with some homosexual ex
perience; 2) Gay males who fre
quent bars, baths, and discos and
who have a high number of Sex
ual encounters; 3) Lesbians,
monogamous gay couples, and
bisexuals. It is almost always
members of the second group
who experience special medical
problems related to the homosex
ual subculture.
The two very big problems are
drug abuse and venereal disease.
Many gays who frequent gay
discos inhale amyl, butyl
nitrates (known as "poppers" to
hard-core partyers), which are
taken to prolong and intensify
orgasm. According to Dr. Doolit
tle the drugs can be dangerous
and therefore, their use should be
discouraged. They dilate blood
vessels and place undue stress on
the cardiovascular system.
Because gays in the second
category tend to have a higher
number of sexual encounters
than those in the other two
categories, there is a high rate of
V. D. in this group. Dr. Doolittle
stated that "there is a direct cor
relation between anonymous pro
misuity increases one's chances
of becoming infected.
Dr. Doolittle also drew a strong
connection between societal
sanctions against gay people and
the promiscuous sex lives some
of them lead, which in turn con
tributes to the spread of disease.
"The social pressures in our
society and workplace push
homosexuals to keep their rela
tionships anonymous," he said.
As an example, he pointed out
that a fourth grade male school
teacher could protect his job bet
ter, by being promiscuous than
by entering into a long-term
monogamous relationship, which
would be more noticeable.
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