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Letters to the Editor
To the Editor,
Since my name has appeared re
cently in these columns in connection
with the absence of signs on campus, I
quite naturally feel the need to make a
few comments.
Briefly, let's begin by agreeing that
the absence of signs and map boards
on the campus is a long-standing gap
in Guilford's courtesy to its visitors. I
stand with Richie Zweigenhaft, and all
the others who have helped visitors to
find their way, that we can and must do
better in this regard.
"Not even when we
seek to put our best
foot forward are we
able to succeed at the
basic respect that
should be afforded
strangers in our
midst."
-Alex Stoesen
Only last Saturday (Nov. 14), when
some prospective students and their
parents were invited to the campus, I
discovered myself standing on the front
steps of Founders Hall telling folks
that they had, indeed, found Founders.
Not even when we seek to put our best
foot forward are we able to succeed at
the basic respect that should be af
forded strangers in our midst.
And, even as we try to overcome
being a "best kept secret in higher
education," we still seem to keep se
cret the configuration of our campus.
(One recalls fondly N.C. history, and
the fact that the General Assembly, in
its wisdom, required every chartered
locality in the states to name and mark
its streets back in 1837.)
Anyway, Zweigenhaft seemed to
give me charge to do something about
the stranger's plight, since I am on the
Facilities Committee. (Biology pro
fessor William Fulcher is too.) At our
meeting this year Fulcher and I brought
up this question. The answer was that
there are no funds available for addi
tional signs.
The signs erected in front of the
Hege General Purpose Building (aka,
the library) and Bauman Hall came
with new construction at a cost from
SSOO to SI,OOO apiece. These signs are
actually being tested to determine how
well they will stand up under the im-
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Joan Malloch
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pact of the persisted vandalism which
so afflicts the campus. So far they are
holding up well. Someday, we will get
some more.
For the time being there will be no
further signs or any map boards on this
campus. (I recall a visit I made to
Davidson College where I read a well
located map board and found my way
immediately. Afterwards, to my sur
prise, I think I felt good about the
place.)
Some have said that, instead of put
ting in brick walkways and fiber-optic
cables, etc., we should pay more atten
tion to basics such as signs. But the
rationale for the construction that is
now going on is that it is being done
with funds received from friends of the
college for specific purposes and is
carried out in such a way that several
birds are killed with one stone.
Thus, by putting in cables, and other
underground facilities, and at the same
time constructing walkways and roads
over them, there will be a far smaller
chance that disruptions will occur in
the future. The result is a considerable
saving. The guiding genius behind all
of this is Art Kopcsak, who explained
the process at our Facilities Commit
tee meeting and convinced me that
eventually we will get around to solv
ing most of our problems.
Right now, we could use over
$3,000,000 just to fix everything that
needs fixing up. Additional costs have
Adviser
Jeff Jeske
Matthew Levy
Katherine Beldner
Karen Rowan
Doug Brumley
Carl Beehler
Jason Smith
Caroline Weatherbee
Amanda Inge
Mike Livingston
Emily Drennen
Perspectives
appeared with the requirements of the
Americans with Disabilities Act which
took effect last July. The amount of
work that needs to be done is stagger
ing, but I am convinced that Kopcsak
has a handle on it. Students might want
to check with the student representa
tive on the Facilities Committee,
Michael Pruden, to see if I have this
right, and whether he agrees with my
belief that we are getting things done
on an efficient basis.
But, I disagree—there will be no
signs. However, there is a temporary
solution which was developed by one
of the members of the Archdale staff.
Simply have signs made by the sign
maker over in the print shop and tack
them onto the doors of buildings in
need of them. On seeing even such a
small sign from a distance our guest
could then approach close enough to
read it.
The cost would be miniscule, but
the courtesy, obviously, is great. Guests
would no longer have to search out the
obscure plaques attached to Hege-Cox
Hall, or the elusive cornerstone of Duke
Memorial Hall.
Meanwhile, keep on looking for
signs whether you believe in them or
not, and always try to help out the
strangers who come into our midst.
You'll never regret it.
Alex Stoesen
Ciiitorial
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To the Editor,
Sexism abounds in our little liberal
college. To see it, simply head to the
weight room in the gym. Traditionally
a completely male-dominated arena,
the weight room is not user-friendly to
females. Let me give you a few ex
amples: when a member of our group
began to use one of the machines, a
male lifter came over and asked her to
get off it so that he could use it. We
were continually referred to as "girls".
Unsolicited, albeit friendly, advice was
offered to the group of females that
was not being offered to any of the
male lifters.
In general the atmosphere is one not
of hostility, but of surprise and conde
scension.
So to all you male lifters out there,
being a woman does not mean being
helpless. We are there to get in shape
just like anyone else. Try to appreciate
that entering such a male domain can
be intimidating for women, but that it
should not be that way. As far as the
use of the machines, you are just going
to have to learn how to share.
Emily Rickards
To the Editor,
Thursday night I attended the bas
ketball game between Guilford and
S)taff
Elaine Brigham
Kitson Broadbelt
Bob Bullock
Heather Carrelro
Tina Copeland
Sarah Dings
Sarah Effingham
Joe Gaines
Christina Haworth
Buffy Helbein
Kiley Holder
Catherine Jernigan
Ete^uiltorbian
Lynchburg. I sat near a
group of spectators and lis
tened to them belittle Lynchburg's
point guard because of his physical
characteristics. They repeatedly called
him "rat boy".
This man had done nothing to pro
voke this type of harassment, and when
the group saw that this annoyed the
player, they ridiculed him even more.
This behavior from the people in the
stands shocked me, especially because
it came from Guilford students. If this
were another college, I might have
expected it, but not from a school which
projects itself as respecting people for
their character rather than judging them
on their physical characteristics.
I was offended and disappointed at
what I saw and heard during this game,
and I hope other people were too.
Buster McLeod
To the Editor,
It is ironic, at a school whose values
are supposed to be based on a respect
for life and for individual's beliefs,
that students aren't allowed to express
their beliefs by conscientiously ob
jecting to dissection.
As a biology major who is currently
dissecting, I find it hard to find any
educational value in dissection. Biol
ogy teaches the beauty of life. Dissec
tions,tome,isaviolationofthis beauty.
It is not so much the actual dissecting
that bothers me, but the way in which
the animals are obtained. Guilford
College buys all of its s specimens
from Carolina Biological Company.
This company is known for its unethi
cal behavior in obtaining and treating
animals. It also bothers me that all of
the animals are bred and raised to be
dissected. I do not think that living
animals should become consumer
products. It is too easy for the welfare
of the animals to be disregarded for the
sake of a profit.
I really think that there area viable
alternatives to dissection and that my
educations would not suffer from us
ing them. I also feel that it is my right
to use these alternatives without hav
ing my grade suffer for it.
Jessica Speltz
Seth Jurnak
Gail Kasun
Mike Livingston
Greg Loughlin
Butch Maier
Ellen Moore
Susan C. Roberts
Scott Shaffer
Louisa Spaventa
Randy Wall
Jonathan White
Rebecca Withrow
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