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■ NEWS naiforkeerMlwssnwlatfarmdlnKrdenlMl WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM By Ellen Nicholas & Natalie Sutton Staff Writers To beer, or not to beer: that is the question. Or at least it was the question on many minds Oct. 27, the day of the farm dinner. Amidst the excitement to celebrate the farm and enjoy the company of friends while eating delicious local goods, there was a debate over whether or not to serve local beer to of-age attendees at the dinner. Meriwether Godsey had some kegs of Natty Greene's beer left over from a previous alumni event and offered them for the farm dinner. Organizers then requested to serve it at the dinner to those of-age. "There was going to be a drink limit of two per person and you had to be 21 anyway," said senior Bennett Christian, one of the organizers of the event. "So it would have been done really responsibly." Though the request was initially considered, in the end it was denied. "I had said to (Farm Manager) Jim Dees, who was kind of putting this together, 'Let me think about it. ... I don't know if I have a problem with it really,'" said Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Aaron Fetrow. After reviewing Guilford's policies on alcohol, Fetrow decided to pull the plug. In the Guilford student handbook it says, "Beer kegs and other common containers of alcohol (including beer 'bongs' and funnels) are not permitted on campus or at college-sponsored events off-campus." "It sends a really inconsistent message to the event, students to say, 'Okay, you can't have a keg in One reason Carter was uncomfortable with your apartment if you're 21, but now we can the idea of beer being served at the event is at this dinner,"' said Fetrow. "And as I thought because of the overall dangers of alcohol, about it more, I called (Dees) back and said,'I "Alcohol in a college setting is a vexed don't want to send that message to students.'" issue," Carter said. "There have been reports When first hearing about tike farm dinner, of a pretty steady stream of ambulances Max Carter, director of the Friends Center and campus ministry coordinator, greatly supported the plan of having it during 'Take Back Your Time" week, a week that emphasizes having fun without spending money or using substances. When Carter was approached on the morning of the event about the proposal to serve beer at die farm dinner, he was not enthusiastic about the idea. "I registered my sense that I'd rather "Beer kegs and other common containersof alcohol (including beer 'bongs' and funnels) are not permitted on campus or at college-sponsored events off- campus." Guilford College student handbook hauling students off for alcohol poisoning this year. I would hope that, just like when we identify a source of destructiveness for any of our students ... we say, 'No, no. That's not tolerated here.'" Erin Fox, director of student leadership and engagement, values Carter's feelings on the matter and finds his perspective to be worth listening to. "I can respect (Carter's) opinion," Fox said. "At the end of the day, it really comes back not see that happen during a week when we to, how does (serving beer at the farm dinner) emphasize non-substance activities and fun rrtatch the values of our institution? (Carter) that you don't have to get sauced to enjoy," is usually a good temperature-taker on that Carter said. matter." On the day of the event. Carter sent out an Although disappointed, Christian email to people involved, expressing his own understood the administration's decision to sentiments about the idea of serving alcohol at deny the request but hopes that there will be a continuing discussion about the issue in the future. "We're going to have this time to think about it (and) talk about it," said Christian. "But I expect us to be able to serve it in the future responsibly. Again, with the drink limit there just isn't a serious danger. If only to support local business, we should do it in moderation." There is also support for continued dialogue about this issue from the administration. "(I) hope this incident will evoke thoughtful, open conversation as I myself was left scratching my head about this," said Vice President for Administration Jonathan Vamell. Fetrow also realizes the complicated nature of the issue, but through it all he came to a fairly clear conclusion. "If we started serving alcohol at student events I think members of our community are going to say, 'Why are we promoting this behavior?"' said Fetrow. "I don't anticipate us having it at any student event anytime soon." Carter agrees that, in the future, our campus should have a more in-depth conversation about alcohol use and how it affects us as a community. "It's a complicated issue," said Carter. "If we're going to decide not to use alcohol in certain aspects of campus culture, I want it to be for the right reasons, not because some stodgy Quaker was standing in the way. ... I'd love to have this community think more intentionally about who we are, who we want to be, and why." Community Senate Update Stuff we did Got updates on SLRP II, gauged interest in Guilford Shares. Got really excited about accessibility. So many things! Lake! Safety! Accessibility! Buses! Social Honor Code! Insert pop culture reference here! Stuff we're doing Stuff we're gonna do Small-group discussions. Decisions on accessibility plan and bus proposal. Silly rabbit, Ideas should be sent to Senate! Contact the bunny: senate(§guilford.edu Full Senate meets at 7 p.m. in Boren on Wednesdays Stuff you wanna see done By Yahya Alazrak Community Senate President/Clerk GREEN BEAN A protest on Elm Street: accusations of racial bias hit Green Bean owner Continued from Page I of words." Cone believes that the protests had little to do with Cornell described the initial interaction with Southard what actually occurred. differently. Cornell said that he asked another customer "To say that a ... reaction to a group of people in who had bumped into one of his female friends to your store is the same thing as Jim Crow or White apologize, which he did. However, Southard then Supremacy and to threaten a woman's business requested the men to leave because she considered because of it... now create(s) another problem," Cone them disruptive. Protests formed outside by the told The Guilfordian. "You've changed the subject and afternoon, with protesters saying Southard's actions you are asking for respect but you are not doing it in a were racially motivated In the following two days, news of the incident traveled informally through the Internet and word of mouth, usually resulting in contradicting ideas of what really happened. Junior Peach McCarty stumbled upon a Facebook group dedicated to exposing the event. "I read it and they kept giving updates," said McCarty. "There were definitely some racial vibes the way it was described. Granted, though, we only got one side of it." As the community caught wind of the event, individuals and groups took the initiative "You've changed the subject and you are asking for respect but you are not doing it in a respectful or thoughtful woy. That creates a whole new set of problems." Ed Cone, local blogger respectful or thoughtful way. That creates a whole new set of problems." The protests ran their course as a hot topic. However, amid the focus on who was at fault, the civil mediation that ended the protests received little attention. "They all sat down at a table together and said their pieces to one another and came to an agreement and (made) concessions with one another," said a Green Bean employee who requested to remain anonymous. The mediation was led by Cornell's pastor. Reverend Nelson Johnson. to get Southard believes that the two parties are emerging involved. NC Rising, a local anarchist organization, from the incident with concern for a greater well being; was primarily responsible for organizing the protests they are even attending a racial awareness seminar and distributing fliers that called Southard a white together. supremacist. "I told Jorge, 'It sucks that we spent two whole days "They witnessed half of it," said Southard. "They basically hating each other,' but hopefully thiis will be blew it way out of proportion. When it was between a long lasting friendship in which we can do many (Cornell) and me, it was more of a misunderstanding positive things that will outweigh that," said Southard.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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