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WWW.GUlLFORDlAN.COM MERIWETHER GOOSEY NEWS Dining contract awarded after lengthy selection process Continued fron face I in the oven, the staff will need to be trained," Aberle said. "It's going to take a lot of work from them and the students to prevent problems." Dean for Campus Life Aaron Fetrow, who was also a part of the committee, said that he particularly appreciated student input and dedication to this issue. "The students did a phenomenal job and they respected that everything on the process was confidential," Fetrow said. "They resisted the pressure and kept the information to themselves. It showed how mature and responsible our students are. I was really impressed with the process." The process was led by Jon Vamell, associate vice-president of operations and facilities. Once the committee agreed on Meriwether Godsey, a recommendation was submitted to President Kent Chabotar before spring break. After much consideration, Chabotar was convinced that Meriwether Godsey is the best match for the college and approved the decision. Sophomore Eric Ginsburg was part of an independent study group who researched alternatives to Sodexho that are more appropriate to the school's core values. "I am happily surprised that Meriwether Godsey will be contracting with Guilford because the school is often forced to make unethical decisions based on our financial AVALON PREMIER DINING SERVICES instability and shortsightedness," Ginsburg said. Junior Shaina Machlus was a part of a group of students that actively protested Sodexho's services, particularly their ethical standards and racism within their corporation. "I would like to hope that the reasons for such a change means that the administration is hearing some of what we're saying," Machlus said. "But more important to me is the message that students hold so much power within themselves and have the ability to create change on their own campus, despite all the bureaucracy." Buess said that pleasing the students was not the only goal of the committee. "I don't think that this was just an attempt to please students. However I do think that Guilford is trying to listen to the community and its concerns," Buess said. "As anyone on the committee will tell you, we made the results from the student survey and the responses from the dining forums a priority when making this decision." Even though much of the student population is pleased with the decision, a deep concern of the community is the worry that the current cafeteria staff will not be hired by Meriwether Godsey and will need to leave the Guilford community. Junior Nick dayman is one of those concerned. He took the initiative of starting a petition for students to lobby for retention of the staff. The petition was signed by over 500 traditional students. "I talked to some employees and they seemed concerned about losing their jobs so I decided to start a petition to show Meriwether Godsey that the students would like the current staff rehired," dayman said. However, long-standing community members like Douglas Gilmer and John Durham, who are contracted with Sodexho, will no longer be a part of the staff. Yet, according to Boothby, all interested employees who are not contracted with Sodexho will be interviewed by representatives of Meriwether Godsey, unless they choose to work at other Sodexho locations. "Those who are hired will not lose any of their salary, as they will keep their currents benefits or receive better ones, and they will have the same seniority," Boothby said. He also said that Meriwether Godsey has a high worker retention rate when contracting with new customers. "It is our practice, habit, and routine to respect the fact that the existing staff members are more a part of the community than we are as of now," said Celia Lloyd, director of Human Resources. "It's important to us to keep the continuity and to assemble the team in a way that is good for them and good for Guilford." Boothby said that, "Realistically, you can't expect the new company that comes in to guarantee employment to all staff members. It's not fair to them, but Meriwether Godsey is working hard to hire as many as possible." Performance raises concerns over explicit lyrical content Cloud Gamble/Guilfordian Mickey Avalon headlined Serendipity in Ragan-Brown. Continued from face I has been on campus," Wilson said. "It was not surprising that he would be a common event." Senior Josh Lewis questioned why Avalon was chosen for Serendipity. "Before his performance, I questioned the wisdom of inviting an act to Serendipity that many people find controversial and offensive," Lewis said. "I think for some folks, Mickey Avalon coming to Guilford raises questions about whether our tuition dollars are going to support musicians that reflect, or at least don't contradict, the core values of the institution." Junior Laura Milot was excited to see Avalon perform. "I think he is a fantastic musician and performer," Milot said. "I think he is very controversial." Akimana said he recognizes CAB's efforts for the concert, but he is not forgetting his responsibility for the community. "I found him very questionable," Akimana said. "I recognize CAB's effort for having a variety of music and genres, but I do not want to dismiss taking responsibility for the concerns and harm that many in our community have and continue to feel as a result of this artist's lyrics." Yow said in an e-mail interview that she does not agree with the decision to have Avalon here, but recognizes this as a learning experience. "I do not agree with this decision," Yow said. "But what is most important now is that the event is happening and to recognize it as a valuable opportunity for learning and reflecting the issues that have been raised. This gives our campus an opportunity to confront issues that are present throughout our culture and open discussions." Some of the artist's past is reflected in his music. Avalon was a prostitute, drug dealer, dealt with drug and alcohol addiction, lived on the streets, and found his sister dead. "I recognized the concern, but I've been telling people it's his experience from his life and his life was rough," said senior Emily Bradford, who is chair of co-sponsorship and volunteers of CAB. Sophomore Tim Lindberg said he sees Avalon's talent and understands why the lyrics offend people. "Yes, he does have lewd lyrics and dirty songs," Lindberg said. "I am not easily offended and I understand what he goes through to write these songs. I understand why people would get offended. (But) to undermine his talent would be very disrespectful." "Some of Avalon's lyrics contain graphic images and statements about committing sexual violence, and this is most troubling to me," Yow said. "Avalon's musical expression is his own, but having worked for three years at this school to educate the community and provide support for issues regarding sexual assault, I am very upset when we bring something like this to campus which is so violent and has the potential to hurt members of our community and we justify it as 'entertainment' as if that makes it okay." Wilson said Avalon sings about topics that are not found in the Guilford community. "I think he writes about nerving aspects of his own life that I may not agree with," Wilson said. "At Guilford, we don't come face to face with the combination of drugs and poverty. I think they are real life things. Granted, people are upset and these themes are a part of life. We live in a Guilford bubble and the outside world is not as nice and we may have to compromise." Junior Sharice Chandler attended the concert and noticed how people acted at the performance. "There were intense mosh pits, crowd surfing, and naked people running around," Chandler said. "The people in front of me were flicking him off. The only times I could understand Mickey Avalon was when he was talking about his dick or saying his name." "With infinite rhyming word combinations, and so many things going on in the world, there's no excuse for producing hip-hop that consists of repeating your own name and praising your own dick," said junior Nonie Gandhi. "It's not that I find prostitution, or gay sex, or penises offensive — I definitely don't; I just find Mickey Avalon's lyrics unfortunate. 1 did go to his show though, and I had a good time. I might fail to see any artistry in his music, but I don't think it s a big deal that Guilford invited him to perform."
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