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OPINION
What makes Guilford College special?
September 28,2012
BY ORREN FALK
Guest Writer, Part-time Faculty Member
Some time ago, when I met Kent
Chabotar, I commented I thought Guilford
was very special. He asked me why. I do
not remember what I said, but I knew at
the time it didn't capture what I thought. It
has bothered me ever since, so I decided to
conduct an irvformal survey.
I spoke with approximately 170 students
over a period of one year. I walked up to
random students and asked if they would
speak with me about their thoughts on
Guilford. Everyone agreed to speak with
me with the exception of seven students
(two were going to class and one was late
for a meeting). Students were open, friendly,
candid and sincere when answering my
questions. No one was critical or skeptical (to
me) about my motives. This epitomized the
sense of community almost every student
spoke about.
The other issue students most often
mentioned was the excellence of the teachers
and learning environment. The personal story
of the first student I spoke with singularly
demonstrated this strength. The student
said she had a difficult relationship with
her parents when she started at Guilford.
She further explained that her parents were
artists and she felt so distant from them
that when she started out in college, she
was a forensic accounting major. However,
the Art Department helped her look at art
differently, and she was graduating as an
art major.
The rhyme and syncopation of my
favorite quote from this process compelled
me to ask the student his major. The answer
was accounting, which was somehow both
hilarious and perfectly fitting; "This is not
a school of rote memorization. Guilford's
a tight knit community of learning
actualization."
I was most surprised and impressed that
students mentioned Guilford's core values. It
is rare to actualize a set of core values. Many
institutions strive to "walk the talk," and it
was remarkable that Guilford was able to
realize this goal.
All of the students, with the exception of
two, responded that Guilford was special
(and not terrible). This is not to say there
weren't negative comments; there were
complaints, and they are included below.
Community and teachers/class size were
overwhelmingly (about 85-90 percent) the
areas students mentioned when answering
why Guilford is special.
COMMUNITY
Generally, this was expressed in two main
ways:
Acceptance of Individuality
o No one is judged, and you are free to
be who you are, regardless of what that
may be.
o Guilford is a haven for students who
take pride in their individuality,
o There is no pressure to conform; you
aren't attacked for who you are.
o There is mutual respect,
o I always heard you can't judge a book
by its cover, but here you really learn it.
o I spoke with two disabled students,
and each said the administration was
especially supportive and the students
were also helpful.
Friendly
o Guilford feels very comfortable, and
everyone is really nice,
o There are always going to be cliques, but
here you are accepted by everyone, even
if it's not your group of friends,
o Unique — everyone is treated like they
are special.
o You can be alone if you want, but there
is always a place for you.
o Everyone supports each other,
o Being a smdl school creates a strong
sense of community, a tight-knit
community.
o First-years, in particular, were struck
by the fact everyone was friendly and
supportive.
Negative Comments about Community
o Athletes overwhelmingly feel separate
from other students and not a part of
the community. They are very positive
about the athletic programs, but feel the
students don't support the teams,
o Some non-athletes feel athletes are
closed off from everyone else,
o It seems like the administration is trying
to make Guilford more conformist,
o There is some skepticism about the new
projects and how money is being spent,
o The two students that thought Guilford
was not special had taken a leave of
absence and just returned. They felt
the students had changed and were too
cliquey.
BRING BACK THE BONFIRE!
The topic of the bonfire is last, although
it was mentioned many times. I have
highlighted it because after community and
teachers, students seemed most passionate
about bringing back the bonfire.
Seniors and juniors vigorously argued
that the bonfire tradition should return. The
primary point was that it was the singular
campus event that included everyone on
an equal plane. It was different from sports
or a play because they have their own
constituencies.
Safety concerns were acknowledged, but
it, was pointed out other schools still have
bonfires.
Many people said it was one of their
highlights at Guilford.
See the full article
online at
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
Letter to the editor: Smart partying 101
CLARIFICATION OF WHAT SMART
PARTYING MEANS FROM ISSUE 4
BY ZACHARY KRONISCH
Staff Writer
1. Know the rules: First and foremost, know what can get you
into trouble and what cannot. The student handbook is easily and
conveniently available online.
2. Be aware of your surroundings: There is a time and a place for
tomfoolery. Dancing naked with a bottle of jack in front of Public
Safety is not one of them.
3. Know your limits: As cool as it sounds and as low as your
inhibitions can drop, chugging full bottles of liquor is both
dangerous and expensive, let alone will almost always result in
vomiting. Save your money, drink a fair amount, wait an hour- if
you still feel the need to have another drink afterwards you can
treat yourself because you waited a responsible amount of time.
4. Do not take risks: Find out about a last-minute party off
campus after pregaming? Find a sober driver. "But it's just down
the street, what s the worst that could happen?" Put your keys
down ... it ain't worth it.
5. Respect your hosts: If people are so kind enough as to
host a gathering for you and your intoxicated friends, abide by
their rules. It isn't just a walk in the park for them; there is rule-
enforcement to be monitored, guests to take care of, property to
maintain and trash to clean up. Do them the favor and respect
in return for providing a party location by obeying theirs and
Guilford's rules; keep your friends in check, don't break items,
and if you bring something there, dispose of it yourself.
6. Respect your environment: If you drink a six-pack, you
should leave with six containers and dispose of them in the proper
receptacle, not drop them around a lawn or strategically place
them around a living room.
7. Respect your community: Guilford College is a family. Treat
each other with the upmost respect. We all have each other's
backs. Remember to ask for consent; it is respectful, safe and easy
to do.
8. Respect yourselves; Take care of your health and your body.
Make good decisions. Be responsible.
9. Buddy system: If you didn't mean to get as drunk as you
did or even if you planned on it, have a friend help you home as
needed. If you ask someone for help and they say no then I would
second-guess calling them a friend.
10. Abide by the system: Encompass all of these guidelines
into your partying routine. We all want to have a good time on
the weekends but it just takes a few people to disregard these
things to ruin a good time for many. As a community let's help
one another to follow these 10 rules and let's see what kind of fun
we can muster up!
flis.
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integration
Two years before the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and three years after
a Guilford talent show depicted
a comedian in blackface, James
McCorkle '66 became the first African
American to enroll at Guilford
College.
Searching through the rows of
white faces in the 1963 Quaker, the
Guilford yearbook, we read: Richard
Lippincott, Arthur Long, John
McCauley, James McCorkle ... wait,
James McCorkle.
The only brown face in the entire
yearbook and nowhere does it say
we did something revolutionary.
This is not an accident. This man,
James McCorkle is brave, he is an
anomaly; he is the first black man
enrolled at Guilford in an era where
blacks and whites may not wash their
hands together, where black men
get lynched for whistling at white
woman.
In '67, the year before Martin Luther
King was shot, Guilford students
picketed the local, segregated Imperial
Barber Shop. Two years later African
American students demonstrated
against the short hair requirement for
athletes, stating that, "afro hairstyles
were a critical part of black identity"
(The Guilfordian, Oct. 10, 1969). As
a result President Grimsley Hobbs,
overturned the short-hair mandate.
The '79 Quaker shows a photograph
of a black man and a white woman
embracing in the Serendipity spread
the same year that five members of
the Communist Worker's Party were
shot to death by Klansman and Nazis
— who were tried and acquitted by
all white juries. Integration is not a
state of being but a process.
Now in 2012 there would be many
brown faces in the Guilford yearbook,
if we had one. Jada Drew '07, the
Africana Community Coordinator,
and BUS (Black Unifying Society)
honor those who have struggled for
civil rights and help to keep our
community aware of the continual
struggle for equality.
"...(A) loving Father does not
distinguish between his children
and neither should the children
distinguish between themselves"
(Charles Baker, The Guilfordian,
1961).
Refleqing Guilford College's core
Quaker values, the topics and content
OF Staff Editorials are chosen through
consensus of all 15 editors.