NEWS
February 21.2014
DAC-sponsored forum discusses College’s future
BY MAILE MUNRO
Staff Writer
On Wednesday afternoon, as snow
began falling outside, junior Ines Sanchez
de Lozada asked a small group of students,
faculty and staff, "What do you want
Guilford to be?"
Feb. 12 marked the first of four
commimity forums this semester, which
intend to create a space that allows for open
conversation about Guilford College's core
values, passions and priorities as well as
strategies to unite the Guilford community.
Organized by a co-curricular
subcommittee of the Diversity Action
Committee, the forum was inspired by
community involvement during the
Administrative Program and Services
Assessment forum and the community's
desire for more transparent dialogue
between students, faculty, staff and
administrators.
"I have been at Guilford for eight years
... that's the first time in my eight years
that I've seen such a large segment of
our community come out to anything,"
said Joige Zeballos, director of diversity
training and development, of the APSA
forum. "It was great to see that sense of
investment."
APSA discussions confirmed the
necessity of a consistent open space for
the community to voice concerns and
collaboratively work towards finding
solutions.
After brainstorming individually,
sophomore Kieman Colby kicked off the
forum with an inquiry about the current
presidential search.
Community members met for the first of four forums to discuss how to improve the community.
"I want to know what we can do to
promote transparency in the search for a
new president," said Colby.
That the presidential search may
be closed to the public — including
the student body — concerned many
in attendance at the forum. Only the
presidential search committee and two
student representatives would have
communication with candidates.
Junior Daniel Raeder spoke about the
presidential search meeting he attended
that addressed these issues.
- h ^ ..necessary eyil," Raeder
skid\’ >*■ *'■ c ' ‘ •' >i'* k
The best possible candidates are those
who are more likely to seek out the
position if it doesn't mean compromising
their current job.
Discussion transitioned as first-year
Nahja Zigbi-Johnson brought up concerns
about tours and the admission process.
"I've talked to some people who work
in admissions and do tours, and they've
voiced concerns about admission tours
not properly representing the campus and
the student body," Zigbi-Johnson said.
"That's directly affecting who's coming to
Guilford, and it's changing Guilford each
year."
Steve Moran, director of student
leadership and engagement, provided his
own advice.
"When I go to ask somebody for
something I want to see changed, I find
a way to frame it that helps what they're
trying to do too," said Moran.
As the hour came to a close, students
broke off into smaller groups. Snippets
of conversations could be overheard of
researching the presidential search and
talking to Dean of Admission and Financial
Aid Andrew Strickler, while others gasped
at the large amount of snow that had
quickly accumulated.
"It was really empowering to see so many
people who are so genuinely interested in
maldng Guilford a better place," said first-
year Elena Robles. "I think it went really
well, and I think it's important to have
these discussions."
This community forum set the tone
for future open discussions amongst all
community members who are passionate
'abbut>cr^ting.^a culture of transparency
and openness at Guilford. .
EXHIBIT
‘None of the Above’ illustrates dangers, victims of school-to-prison pipeline
Continued from page I
white stripes, each stripe containing a different sentence.
"For the white, there was a poem, and for the brown
there was a (different) poem," said Parrott. "(It was) a
really good representation of the differences between the
commimities."
For the exhibit's opening reception on Feb. 20,
commimity members gathered to hear 19 monologues
read aloud by Guilford College students, faculty, staff and
alumni, along with members of the broader community.
The monologues were adapted from oral histories
collected by Hidden Voices and Guilford students.
Senior Phyllis Campbell, who was interviewed for one
of the monologues, encouraged everyone to attend the
opening reception.
"This stuff is someone's actual life story; that's what I
tike about (Harris)," Campbell said in a phone interview.
Although the exhibit only covers North Carolina, the
pipeline is a national issue.
"The school-to-prison pipeline is very troubling ...
because this system is created by private corporations
who stand to benefit financially from the incarceration
of young people of color," Jorge Zeballos, director of
diversity training and development, said in an email
interview.
The pipeline has only become more troubling since'the
introduction of "zero tolerance" laws in schools, which
cause students to be suspended or criminally prosecuted
for relatively minor infractions.
"Even elementary school children get handcuffed for
things they've done," said Sherry Giles, associate professor
and chair of the justice and policy studies department.
The exhibit will be on display through March 6.
“None of the Above” features many facts like this to spotlight racism and other issues in the North Carolina public school system.
Giles, who is a co-sponsor of the exhibit, hopes that on these issues, and colleges and students and faculty
"None of the Above" will spark more community can be important people in that process of trying to
^ change," said Giles. "I'm hopeful for the exhibit
I think that as a state, as a city, we really need to focus contributing to that."