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Page 4 www.gui1fordian.com FEATURES Nov. 3, 2006 Greensboro. N.C. Stalking the Dana ghosts By Landry Haarmann | staff writer Caryn Washington | staff writer Built in the 1960s, the auditori um seems too young to be haunted. Despite its youth, there are rumors concerning ghosts and how they came to haunt the halls of Dana Auditorium. There is speculation around one of the ghosts, a soldier, and how he came to haunt the auditorium. Some believe that the ghost died in a nearby battle. Others believe that Dana Auditorium is built over a war hospital where the soldier died. Faculty and students alike have come across this ghost, whom they refer to as Lucas. Senior James Lyons spoke of Lucas' mischie vous, but harmless nature, "He likes messing with the locks on closet doors, especially in the choir room." John Martin, who works for Public Safety, has had an incident with Lucas. He said: "I turned out all the lights, locked all the doors, and left. When I came back a little later someone had turned the lights on in the Moon room, but the door was still locked. So I unlocked the door, shut out the lights and said, 'Lucas, goodnight.'" Several other Public Safety offi cers have experienced lights turn ing back on too. Martin also spoke of a less friendly ghost in the building, a little girl with a malicious streak. "My coworkers have felt cold spots, and one of them felt like she had walked into a spider web where there wasn't one," he said. Public Safety officers aren't the only people who are frequently alone in Dana at night. Music ma jors can be heard practicing in the auditorium, and just like Public Safety, these students have had in cidents with the ghosts as well. Guilford alumnus Jeremy Ve- lardez believes he had an incident with a ghost, specifically with the mean-spirited little girl's ghost. "I was playing piano in the choir room late one night and this little girl came in and just watched me," Velardez said. "It was a little sketchy, so I left." Dana Auditorium is a spooky place at night. The main perfor mance hall is large, dark and makes strange noises. The solitary light left on stage shines eerily. An atmosphere like this could eas ily trick the mind into seeing and hearing things which may or may not be there. But there are those who believe that these paranormal events are not just tricks, and make it a point to prove it. A known pastime amongst Guil ford students is to sneak into Dana Auditorium in hunt of Lucas and this malicious girl-ghost. Accord ing to the book "Triad Haunting," by Burt Calloway and Jennifer FitzSimmon, most of the paranor mal activity takes place around 2 a.m., so it's no wonder students sneak in to catch a glimpse. Jen, a Guilford student, broke into Dana late one night last year with some friends and attempted to contact the auditorium's spir its: "When we broke in we played the piano because we heard that roimds the ghosts up. Then (we) sat on the stage where the one light they leave on is. It was around maybe 3 or 4 a.m. — wicked late. "We sat in a circle on the stage. We had all our seance equipment: candles, silver and I don't even know what, and we asked some questions and we kind of stared off into the seats. We looked around and I saw a little girl with no face and dark hair in a white dress in the second row. Then she was in the back right, and then the left of the balcony. I saw a black man in army-type clothes in the second row and then he disappeared. "Each time I saw something they would appear for a second as my eyes were scanning the room and then once you'd look back they'd be gone." She continued, "At one point, I felt a hand on my lower back — not a hit or a tap, but like when someone places their hand on your shoulder to say it's OK." Jen said the encounter was more disturbing than it was frightening. She isn't the only person who has seen ghostly figures in Dana Audi torium, however. Sophomore Tory Mallet has also witnessed spectral apparitions. "I walked in and George, a Pub lic Safety officer, turned off the light in the foyer," Mallet said. "I then saw an outline of a tall thin man made out of light standing right by Nathan Ellis. I thought I was just seeing things but then I found out that it fit the description of one of the ghosts that people have said they saw there." However, some say they've nev er experienced anything creepy. Jim Hood, associate professor of English and a Guilford alumnus, said he never experienced any thing creepy in Dana Auditorium while he was a Guilford student. "I spent a lot of time in Dana practic ing piano and going to movies on Friday nights while I was a stu dent," he said. "I never saw any thing nor heard any stories about the haunting of Dana." Whether Dana Auditorium is haunted or not is speculation, but there's no doubt that the ambigu ous truth regarding the spectral state of Dana Auditorium, with all its creaks and cold drafts, make it that much more frightening. Gilbert Awards honor initiative Photo Illustration by Kate Selby Are this scary little girl and Lucas the Civil War soldier really haunting the halls of Dana Auditorium? By Kip Reynolds | staff writer "Do you want fries with that?" is the Achilles heel of all English majors. Finding a worthwhile job with an English major can be chal lenging, but the Gilbert Awards are helping Guilford English ma jors find good careers. On Oct. 4, last year's Gilbert Award recipients attracted 20 peo ple to the Community Center. The recipients told stories about their adventures. The six winners had a wide variety of individual ex periences, ranging from reading a scholarly paper in Utah to teaching English in the Himalayas. The Gilbert Awards are annual awards given to the English depart ment by Guilford alumnus Jeanne Campbell. The award is named after Dorothy Lloyd Gilbert, an English professor from the early half of the 20th century. The awards total $25,000, which is di vided among the winners. The appli cants must be rising seniors or soon-to- be graduates. The awards are aimed at helping the recipients de cide what they want to do with their English degree. Charlie McAlpin '06 used his award to fund a trip to Utah to read his paper at a literary confer ence this past March. Allison Brown, a senior, spent six weeks this past summer at a Mohegan archeological dig in Con necticut. Brown viewed archeolo gy as literary analysis with "every artifact being a primary source." One day. Brown was walking by a stream and happened to find a 5,000-year-old arrowhead. Rachael Marks, a senior, used her award money to travel to Pales tine with Max Carter for two week- sand work with non-govemmental organizations. Marks learned that, "I don't need highipressure show ers" and is now looking to help other non-govemmental organiza tions around the world. Renee Poudrier '06 discovered that there was not much literature about parents who adopt children, so she decided to help. Poudrier was so devoted to her task that she started writing "even before I knew the Gilbert Award existed." She used her award money to sup port herself while researching and writing for Pathways Home, an or ganization in California that helps parents who adopt. Matt Haselton, a senior, used his award money to live in Califor nia for the summer while working on preproduction for his movie. "I was really excited to pay rent," Haselton said. He spent the sum mer revising movie scripts while living on his own. Laurie Henninger, another se nior, traveled to India to teach English for two months. "The chal lenges only made it better," Henninger said. She taught English to residents in a small, one-street village in the Himalayas with a group of Europeans. The Gilbert Awards are given to a different number of people every year. Heather Hayton, as sistant profes sor of English and the Gil bert Award director, said, "Last year, four summer awards (for rising seniors) and five post grad awards were made; the previous years, only one award was given." The award applications are judged by the English department in a blind review. This means that English advisors can not help advisees with writing or editing their applications. English studies can be a tough field to break into. "I looked for five months before I found a job," said Jim Hood, associate professor of English. But an English degree can lead to a wide array of different careers. The Gilbert Awards helped last year's recipients find what direc tion they want to take at this stage in their lives. "Save the world," Marks said without flinching in response to a question about her goal with her English degree. Haselton discov ered that he did not want to be come a film-maker. "It's too rigid as an industry," he said. Poudrier knows she wants to become a free lance writer. Brown knows she "wants a job with a community I'm supporting." McAlpin, commenting on sub sequent experience in the "real" world, said, "I want to get back into the fake world of academia by applying to graduate school." Emily Johnson/Guilfordian Winners from left to right, standing: Brown, Marks, McAlpin, haselton; Kneeling: Poudrier, Henninger.
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