NEWS
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
Bryan Series speaker Canada brings centroversy, discnssien
BY ALLISON DEBUSK
Staff Writer
Geoffrey Canada spoke about Harlem Children’s Zone, a
controversial charter school program he created for the poor.
The Guilford community is not one to shy away from
controversy. Nay, it seems to welcome it. When Geoffrey
Canada came to campus as part of the Bryan Series on Feb.
10, students did not hesitate to voice their opinions.
Before Canada's appearance. Associate Vice President
for Communications & Marketing Ty Buckner predicted
that this could be the best program of the season.
"He's got this deep, deep dedication to children," said
Buckner.
Canada founded the Harlem Children's Zone, a charter
school that guides children from preschool through
college. Since its foundation in 1997, the program has
grown to currently serve more than 8,000 children and
6,000 adults in Central Harlem.
"I am just amazed at what has happened in my career
because all I ever wanted to do was to save kids who were
growing up in the same conditions that I grew up in,"
said Canada in his speech. "I never thought it would be
the movie ('Waiting for Superman') or that the President
would decide to replicate our program across the country."
Canada hopes that his program will equalize
opportunities for children living in poverty.
"My plan is simple," said Canada. "You get kids
from birth, and you teach parents about child and brain
development from birth. My poor parents don't know
anything about brain development. And as soon as we can
count, we see that poor kids are behind middle-class kids."
Students who organized a teach-in on Feb. 8 in response
to Canada's visit disagree with his methods.
"Public schooling was meant to be the great equalizer,"
said sophomore Alexandra Haridopolos, one of the
organizers of the teach-in, who believes that charter
schools are not the solution for the problems in education.
Canada also believes that violence is a major issue
for young people, but that the current solutions will not
suffice.
"America is not number one in English," said Canada.
"We're not number one in math. We're not number one in
science. We are number one in incarcerating young people.
... You can get tough on crime, but if you don't change the
opportunities these young people have, that's not going to
produce any results."
Canada believes that providing students with a better
education prevents crime.
Both Canada and the students who organized the teach-
in agree on the importance of teacher accountability but
disagree on assessment standards for students.
"(Alexandra and I) went to a high school that focused
on performance-based testing," said sophomore Sara
Minsky, another organizer of the teach-in. "There needs to
be less focus on the testing, but teachers need to be trained
in how you engage students in a way that allows them to
be creative and critical."
There are other aspects of Canada's work that have
come under scrutiny.
"One of the things he has done is he, as I understand
it, runs (HCZ) like a business," said Buckner. "He has a
lot of business support. He spends a fair amount of time
out there raising money. I hope that what we're trying to
achieve is a better education for all children."
"I was already aware of Geoffrey Canada's
corporatization of public education," said junior Lyes
Benarbane, "Geoffrey Canada is one in a really long line
of deplorable speakers the Bryan Series brings to bring in
cash with what I'll call 'pop intellectualism.'"
With discussion sparked on campus, sophomore Darius
Mangum summed up the purpose of the Bryan Series.
"I like Geoffrey Canada a lot anyway," said Mangum.
"There are some things I agree with him on and some
things I don't agree with. It's interesting to hear his
perspective."
P-Safe officer of the year
BY AUDREY ROTH
StmtWritsi
"I'm trying to get to know the students,"
said Public Safety officer David Gauldin. "I
mean, on not just a professional level, but
also a personal level. Asking them how their
classes are, are you okay ... You can't cross
the line between professional and personal,
and I try to keep the balance between the
both."
Guilford recognized Gauldin's hard work
and dedication to the student body this past
December when he won the 2012 Public
Safety Officer of the Year Award.
Public Safety Officers have been honored
with this award since 2004.
'The purpose of this award is to recognize
an officer for their performance and service
to the Guilford Community," said Director
of Public Safety Ron Stowe in an email
interview.
From speaking with students and staff or
just interacting with him on the job, it is easy
to imderstand why the honor was given to
Gauldin.
"He is well liked among his co-workers,
as well as others in the community and
seems to have developed a very good
rapport with the students, which is very
important to what we do in Public Safety,"
said Stowe. "He demonstrates a great
attitude towards the students he deals with
and has a real interest in them as people
and their educational experience here at
Guilford."
Gauldin has only been working at
Guilford for two and a half years, but in that
short amount of time, he has already left an
impression on the community.
"David consistently inspires me," said
junior Lyes Benarbane. "The fact that there
are Public Safety Officers who are safe,
who you can speak to about events on
campus, and even just chat with and not feel
intimidated by. Honestly, David is a great,
powerful and interesting person who I can
only say good things about."
Gauldin's attitude and genuine concern
for students' well-being can partially be
attributed to the fact that he is a father
himself.
"I take (the award) seriously, and it comes
from the students mostly," said Gauldin.
'The reason that I am the way that I am is
because I know that my little girl hopefully
will go to college, and you know, that
someone will treat her with the same respect
as I treat the students here."
"David is a real stand-up guy," shared
former Guilford student, James Farquar in a
phone interview. "At my new school none of
the public safety officers can even compare."
Before Guilford, Gauldin worked in
security for at least 20 years, 10 of which
were spent in the military.
He now maintains a schedule including
working the third shift at Guilford Monday
through Friday; being a father, and recently
receiving his degree in criminal justice.
"My mom always told me if you like
coming to work, tihaPs when you really
know Qiat you really like what you do," said
Gauldin. "I like what I do, 1 really do."
CCE SGA presidential impeachment
BY LAURA HAY
Staff Wrtiir
Impeachment in a Guilford organization
is difficult to believe, but it can happen.
Guilford's Student Government
Association in the Center for Continuing
Education recently impeached their
president Yvette Bailey from office and
replaced her with then-Vice President
Victor Lopez.
Bailey was removed from office via
a historical nine to two vote of the SGA
board. Never in the history of the SGA has
an officer been forced out of office.
"While the CCE SGA board is grateful
for Yvette's service and dedication to
the CCE SGA, leadership problems led
to miscommunication and some conflict
among board members," said Lopez,
"Yvette's leadership did not resonate with
the community she was elected to lead, and
it was best for the organization that she was
removed."
Associate Vice President and CCE Dean
Rita Serotkin echoed this sentiment.
"Some groups prefer a more consensus-
based style of leadership, with all
participating on an equal basis ... and
others prefer a strong, charismatic leader
who makes decisions and then directs the
members accordingly," said Serotkin.
"As a result, (the board) wanted to be a
part of a more cooperative team than this
year's presidential leadership style allowed
for."
SGA board members also commented on
the challenges the group faced in the past.
"I think the change was difficult for the
board and officers ... but it was necessary,"
said Career Counselor and SGA Faculty
Advisor Vivian Lutian.
Yvette Bailey was interviewed in regards
to the impeachment via email.
"I had a campaign slogan which said,
'Are You Thirsty for Change?"' said Bailey.
"This meant I was planning on doing things
differently than in the past... Unfortunately,
there were differences between myself and
other CCE SGA members that could not be
resolved, resulting in the end of my tenure
as president."
All those interviewed declined to
share further details of the reasons for
impeachment.
The SGA will be filling the vacant Vice
President and Secretary positions, and
plans to work on smoothing out lingering
internal issues.
"We will take a strong look at our
constitution and make sure that loopholes
are filled," said Lopez. "Making sure that
these student events are accomplished has
been my top priority and the priority of the
board."
Despite a difficult start to the semester,
Lopez said that he and the rest of the board
are excited for new opportunities to serve
the community.
"I feel a kind of positive energy
surrounding this change," said Lopez.
"We are encouraging anyone who wants to
be involved to come by Hendricks. Their
voices are important."