The Guilfordian
December 12,1997
Letter to the Editor
♦Technology on campus in question
To the Editor:
Technology—is it a dirty
word or our ticket to suc
cess in the next century?
It depends on who you
ask, of course. Presently
there is a lot of controversy
over just how much technol
ogy is good for Guilford and
whether certain aspects of
the Guilford we know and
love are being threatened
by the race to "bring us up
to speed" with the rest of
society.
This concerns me
greatly. As a library em
ployee, I see the enormous
benefits of instant access to
information of all kinds.
We clearly have windows to
the world that never existed
before and can open our
minds to fantastic experi
ences. This is part of a qual
ity education that we all
want to offer Guilford stu
dents.
But...are we using this
technology as a tool among
many or making it a way of
life that threatens our skill
building in face-to-face
communication, makes us
overly dependent on the
functionality of machines,
and puts us so long in front
of VDT screens that we de
velop physical problems as
minor as eyestrain and as
major as carpal tunnel syn
Misuse of words can be dangerous
BY KELTON G. COFER
Staff Writer
I've always been a person who
enjoyed learning and using new
words. Ever since the second grade
when I was the only person in class
who realized there was an "N" in
the word government, I've loved
knowing how to spell and use words
effectively and correctly. It's always
irked me when someone uses a
word out of context.
Being a writer for The
Guilfordian, you learn that not ev
eryone is going to like what you
have to say. They don't have to.
It doesn't bother me that
drome?
What Guilford does best
is not accessing or manipu
lating images on a computer
monitor. It is engaging the
minds and hearts of those
who live and learn and
teach and work here in ways
that build relationships of a
lifetime and inspire service
to all humankind.
Let us hold fast to the
special qualities of Guilford
that touch us deeply and
make us a community even
as we provide the tool of
electronic access for pur
poses of a certain kind of
education.
George Fox, founder of
Quakerism, admonished us
to be in the world but not
of it. What that means to me
is not to isolate ourselves
from the people and places
around us that make us un
comfortable but, instead,
try to understand what is
going on and then to ques
tion and work to improve as
we are led.
I sincerely hope that all
of us here will keep looking
and questioning and work
ing towards what is truly
best for Guilford and not
simply bow to the god of
technology because that is
what the world is doing.
Kate Hood
Library Staff
someone finally got offended by
something I wrote for the paper. It
actually inspires me to write more
things that will cause a reaction in
our (The Guilfordian's) readers.
However, I do hope that in the
event someone finds their toes
stepped on again, they will give
more thought to their word choice.
I've been accused of being lots
of things in my short life of 23
years. You name it, I've been called
it. But I don't believe the word "mi
sogynist" has ever been aimed my
direction before.
I knew what the word meant
before The Guilfordian, as a whole,
and I were labeled it in this past
Forum
Stereotyping the South
BY JONATHAN CARTER
Staff Writer
I experienced an embarrass
ing moment during the opening
ceremonies of the 1996 Olym
pics in Atlanta when a large
group of people on the field
formed the words "How y'all
doin'?" That's right, tell the
whole world that all Southern
ers talk like that. I'm sure it'll
make us all highly respected.
Another embarrassing mo
ment was when I read a news
story about how North Carolin
ian representatives at a Demo
cratic convention in New York
were pleased to receive barbe
cue from North Carolina.
They had been subsisting
on New York barbecue, which
isn't as good as genuine South
ern barbecue. They told con
fused representatives from
other states that only Southern
ers could understand their re
lationship with barbecue. You
see, all Southerners like barbe
cue and eat it often.
They also all like grits and
collard greens.
There's a relatively new web
site, www.yall.com, that con
cerns all things Southern. It has
lots of information about Elvis
Presley, because all Southerners
love Elvis and worship him like
a god. All Southerners also like
dirty pickup trucks and country
music, and hate 'Yankees.' Well,
according to the site they do.
There are a ton of stereo
week's issue.
Apparently, though, our ac
cuser has either neglected to make
use of Webster's lately or else suf
fers from some paranoia that
causes her to confuse misogyny
with the exploitation of women. I
don't identify myself with either
term.
According to Webster's dictio
nary, the word misogynist means
"one who hates or distrusts
women." To phrase my article on
Harper's car wash as "misogynist"
is like comparing a jaywalker to a
rapist.
If you want to say that Harper's
exploits women, that's fine. I would
types about the South. Sure,
there are stereotypes about
people from New England, the
Midwest, California, and other
places, but not nearly as many
as there are about the South.
Why are there such stereo
types? Most people want to be
set apart from others in some
way, especially in individualis
tic America. But many South
erners set themselves apart from
the rest of the country by mak
ing it out like everyone from the
South acts in certain ways,
though we all don't. Some
people just assume that no one
will mind if they make blanket
stereotypes about the South.
But I mind. I don't like
Elvis, 1 don't want a truck, and I
hate barbecue, dammit.
Some people say we should
all have 'Southern Pride,' and
some invariably bring up the
Civil War as a reason to dislike
people from other parts of the
country.
I don't care who was on the
right side in the war; it ended
over 130 years ago. That's
enough time for reconciliation,
but some Southerners have
fought to keep the division.
Why? Their 'pride' helps make
the South look backward to ev
eryone else in the country.
It's fine if you do like the
stereotypes I've mentioned; just
don't say everyone acts like that.
And if you feel the way I do, re
member that you don't have to
take it.
still argue the point, but you would
be justified in your opinion. How
ever, you conveniently danced
around that topic and chose to ac
cuse The Guilfordian and myself of
being woman-haters.
Words are powerful, and when
used inappropriately, they can fuel
many people's fires, mine included.
While you're on your "mis" kick, I
suggest you look up several words
before launching any more as
saults, namely: misuse, misread,
mistaken, and misguided.
I'm sorry that you were so of
fended by my article, but next time
take the vocabulary quiz before you
try and intelligently bash me.
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