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OPINION Fall of the famous house of sticks BY ELIAS BLONDEAU Staff WRfTOt Phallus Palace. That's the moniker many Guilford students have bestowed upon the wooden monument in the middle of campus. On a basic level, it's easy to see why: the intricately woven structures bear a striking resemblance to a certain male anatomical feature. But Patrick Dougherty, a respected North Carolina artist, had no intention of pulling a practical joke by inserting large penises into an educational institution. Dougherty took inspiration from a wasp's nest he found at Guilford. The interlocking cellular structure of the nest reminded him of the focus on community in Quakerism. Seeing that Guilford placed a heavy emphasis on core Quaker values, he chose to erect die monument to togetherness here. Now a visual testament to those values stands in the middle of campus. Well perhaps the word "stood" would be more appropriate, because by the time you read this, "Disorderly Conduct" will have most likely been taken down and burned, due to the elements decomposing it faster than expected. Several students seem to breathe a collective sigh of relief at the structure's dismantling. 1, on the other hand, feel mixed emotions about the disappearance of such a defining facet of our campus. Sure, there's the elephant in the room that yes, "Disorderly Conduct" has a distinctly phallic shape, albeit an intentional one or not. The first time 1 took a tour through the campus last year, I leaned to my mom and whispered, "Why are there giant dicks in the middle of everything?" C)n a puerile level, Dougherty's work can easily be derided and mocked. But learning more about the piece has made me respect it a bit more. Here we have a man who took time out of his life to come and contribute something to our campus, something that he felt was incredibly meaningful. Over 150 volunteers helped construct the piece, bringing a large body of our school and the wider community together. Taking the relatively humorous shape out the equation, we're left with something that helped to truly bring us together, a paragon of our community emphasis, which convinced me to attend Guilford instead of Wake Forest. Aside from what it represents, think of how unique this work is. Most colleges pitch in money for a fancy bench, a shiny fountain or some bronzed plaque that people end up wiping their shoes off on. Here we had a living s^pture; something Here we hove a man who took time out of his life to come and contribute something to our campus, something that he felt was incredibly meaningful. Over 150 volunteers helped construct the piece, bringing a large body of our school together. comprised out of completely organic material that people could find solace in. Think for a moment how beautiful this is. We came together as a unified body and gave each other a place to seek shelter, a place that still allowed people to get some fresh air after being stifled by their classrooms ^1 day. The result will now be burned to cinders. So go ahead and laugh as they haul off something that we as a college came together to make possible. Deride Dougherty's work as nothing more than a practical joke at our expense. But in the meantime. I'll sit and hope that the artist comes back and contributes another thoughtful piece to our campus. Once upon a time in Mexico: Mormons vs. cartels BY MCCAFFREY BLAUNER Staff Writbi Colonia Ju^z, Mexico. The cartels had become the de facto authorities and, at best, the police, mired in accusations of corruption, did nothing. At worst, they led cartel hitmen straight to the colonists' doors. It had gone far enough. A man had been found dead, his genitals stuffed in his mouth. No one was safe. The kidnappings had risen to three a day. A 70-year-old man had been snatched from his home after being beaten with a pistol in front of his wife and son and held in a cave for three days until a ransom was paid. When he returned, he learned that he was one of eighteen people kidnapped, and he was one of the four not Idlled. Something had to be done. Colonia Judrez was originally founded by Mormon separatists who wished to continue their tradition of polygamous marriage after the mainstream Mormon Church banned the practice. Once a vibrant town, the inhabitants are now effectively imprisoned by fear of drug gangs who easily outmatch the local police in terms of pure firepower and bloodthirsty ferocity. Now after taking in this brutal scene, ask yourself, what might Mitt Romney have to do with all this? The man who founded Colonia Juarez was named Miles Park Romney, Mitt Romney's great-grandfather. The inhabitants of Colonia Judrez are the Romneys. The 70-year-old man who was kidnapped? His name is Meredith Romney, and he is Mitt Romney's cousin. Surprised? You should be. This information is mind-boggling for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it seems incredibly unlikely for a Republican to have such blatant immigrant origins, when the stance of the party seems to be, for the most part, in support of more So long as men like Mitt Romney promise to continue the drug war, the danger the cartes pose shall still he present. stringent anti-immigration measures. In fact, Mitt Romney's father was not just an immigrant from Mexico, but his own immigration status was questioned during his ill-fated run for presidential election in 1968; George Romney's run for presidency was described by his contemporary Governor Jim Rhodes of Ohio "like watching a duck try to make love to a football." Intriguing metaphors aside, this then begs the question: How can the son of a Mexican immigrant oppose legislation like the DREAM act, when his own father might have been considered a poster child for it? This is not the only question raised by the revelation of Romney's connection with the inhabitants of Colonia Judrez. Romney's close relatives have been thrust into a fire, a fire that is being fed by the drug war that Romney unabashedly supports. We would be wise to see that much as the power of the mob crumbled after the end of prohibition, the cartels that now essentially control our neighbor to the south depend on the continuing illegality of the drugs they supply. So long as men like Mitt Romney promise to continue the drug war, the danger the cartels pose shall still be present. By the time this article is published, the fate of the office of president shall already be decided. During the writing of this article, I attempted to interview a member of the College Republican's club, thinking to gauge the level of awareness of Romney's background among his own party. Moments into the phone interview, upon explaining the nature of my article, my would-be-interviewee feigned a poor connection and, muttering something about "going under a tunnel," hung up on me. I sincerely hope this attitude is not representative of the attitudes of the general electorate. ' - ^ NOVEMBER 9, 2012 Ills Heel's Grab that pen, write a navel in a menth Love books? Write one! November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and some Guilford students are breaking from the norm of reading novels and instead creating one of their own. NaNoWriMo is open for anyone to participate. During the past decade, the project's popularity has grown worldwide with the help of the Internet. Between 12:00 a.m. on Nov. 1 and 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30, participants will be expected to produce a novel of at least 50,000 words. While such a length makes for a relatively short novel, it can be intimidating to first-time writers. Instead of thinking in terms of the total word requirement, NaNoWriMo's official website recommends a daily word count goal of around 1,667 to alleviate the pressure. In addition to the word count, NaNoWriMo participants face other challenges over the month. For one, quantity is not always quality. It is important that writers make sure their plot and characters are well-developed and consistent throughout while still trying to make a daily word count. A consistent style is also important, and British author George Orwell wrote "Politics and the English Language" that includes principles to help your style. These principles were initially designed for non-fiction but have been adapted to fiction over time and are as follows: 1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. 2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. 3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. 4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. 6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. The official NaNoWriMo website offers the chance to meet and talk with writers from across the world while tracking one's process through the month. Meanwhile, GuilCo NaNoWriMo offers an at-home support group to help the College's budding novelists make it to Nov. 30. Join the GuilCo NaNoWriMo Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ GuilcoNaNoWriMo for words of encouragement and information on Quiet Writing sessions held throughout the month. Reflecting Guilford College's core Quaker values, THE TOPICS AND CONTENT OF STAFF EDITORIALS ARE CHOSEN THROUGH CONSENSUS OF ALL 1 5 EDITORS.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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