Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / April 25, 2014, edition 1 / Page 7
Part of The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
FEATURES April 25, 2014 Dressier dances into a Bruce B. Stewart Teaching Award President Chabotar presented a Bruce Stewart Teaching Award to Mylene Dressier at the annual spring awards. BY MAILE MUNRO Staff Writer In her first year as a tenure track Assistant Professor of English, Mylene Dressier has already made a powerful impression and won the Bruce B. Stewart Teaching Award for non-tenured faculty. "She floats across the room and pirouettes among the students," said President and Professor of Political Science. "(She often encourages students) to express their ideas and pushes them further to express their thoughts." Sophomore Lucas Perez-Leahy, a student in her English 102 class said, "She reminds me of a more elegant and classy version of Professor Trelawney. She dances around the room and captures your attention. It makes it very, very hard to fall asleep." Diya Abdo, chair and associate professor of English said, "She is so incredibly interested in other people, very other-centered, that when Mylene talks to you feel like you're the center of the universe. It's so easy to fall in love with her because she makes you feel so special." Again and again, students and colleagues alike praise Dressler's irrepressible energy and vivacious enthusiasm. She leaves in her wake a group, awed and inspired. The Bruce B. Stewart Teaching ‘awards recognize staff and tenured and non-tenured faculty who pursue excellence and go beyond the duties of their assigned position. As faculty advisor to the Greenleaf Review, supporter of the young Guilford Writing Group, organizer of writing workshops for students and constant presence as an advisor. Dressier certainly strives beyond what her job title denotes. Her dedication even extends to her life outside of Guilford. "I remember when Mylene was buying a house here in Greensboro," said Abdo. "Mylene thought about the fact that the house that she would buy would have a big enough space that she could host students in her house." Perhaps what makes Dressler's commitment to exuberance even more remarkable is the exhaustive nature of teaching. What drives this passion? "Well, it must be love," said Dressier in an email interview. "I love the community. 1 love words and stories and literature, I love the English language and I love the unpredictability of all of it. A class is a text everyone is writing as they go along. I feel awake and alert and alive when I write and when I teach." This love was evident to the committee, made up of two students and three faculy members, that read the nomination and recommended Dressier for the award. "Not only does she keep her students alert and engaged, which she does with creative teaching methods and her dynamic presence, but she also changes the way that students think," said first-year Jose Oliva. Dressler's dedication to her students creates a community of trust and confidence to make changes and be successful. "I went home, and I called my mom, and I told her 'Mom, there's this crazy professor who is visiting campus,"' recalls Anney Bolgiano, co-editor-in-chief of the Greenleaf Review. "Three years later. I'm really happy to be working with her still. She's really altered the course of my life as a writer and as a student" Dressler's habit of inspiring those around her is a learned skill. "I teach, I am sure, because of my mother," said Dressier. "She was and is a ballet teacher, and some of my earliest memories are of watching her lead a ballet class, pushing her students hard — hard, but with such joy. That combination of rigor and in-your- face passion stayed with me." Students experience this rigor and drive in every class Dressier teaches. "Even if you fulfill all the basic requirements of an assignment, she will continue to push you further with your writing, even if it beyond the parameters of the class," said Perez-Leahy. Dressier has earned her honors as the winner of a Bruce B. Stewart Teaching Award, though maybe, the awards should be called the Bruce B. Stewart Teaching, Advising, Engaging and All- Around Inspiring Award. Off-campus housing policies tied to student enrollment BY TRAY LYNCH Staff Writer Skeptical is one of the main words that can be used to describe the feelings of Guilford College traditional students towards the off- campus housing policy. "1 feel that Guilford's oflf-campus policy is just another way for the College to control you," said sophomore Emmanuel Williams. "Dictating (to) us and controlling where we stay is totally against what a college is supposed to be." Guilford's off-campus policy doesn't matdi up to that of neighboring schools. Other colleges in Greensboro don't require students to apply. They are simply given the choice between living on-campus or off-campus. Guilford students, on rfie other hand, mustmeet certain requirements in order to live off-campus. These include having 88 or more credit hours, being over 21 years old, having a diild or living with a legal guardian within 30 miles of Guilford. The student must then apply and wait for the school's response. In most cases, few students are granted off-campus housing. The policy tends to be more accommodating towards students with ADA accommodations. Students are encouraged to meet at least one requirement, but keep in mind that if more requirements have been met there wUl be a greater chance of approval. The underlying issue is attendance and enrollment rates. Guilford College needs to make sure that the residence halls are being kept occupied in order to provide revenue. Unfortunately, the small student body can't fill up every dorm bmlding, so the school created the policy to meet the required number of occupancies. "Acceptance to off-campus is case by case, but a lot of it depends on the projected enrollment of next year," said Susanna Westberg, director of Residence life. "The goal is to have residence halls fuU. From that minus the people already approved for off-campus, we try to est^lish a pretty firm number of people we can approve to live off-campus." If enrollment rates are down, off- campus-approval rates will be down as well. During the past five years, enrollment numbers have seen a drop-off. According to Andrew Strickland, dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Administration, for spring 2014, the College had 2,162 students enrolled, while in spring 2013, 2,331 students were enrolled. "For off-campus housing next semester, we had 117 applications and approved 77," said Maria Hayden, coordinator of hoxrsing operations. "Last year, with 224 applications, we approved 152" This is a 2 percent decrease in off- campus housing acceptance over the course of one year, which is the direct result of decreased enrollment rates. After the data was presented to students, some hesitantly changed their views on the policy. "I think it is unfair at times," said sophomore Reggie Bullard. Until enrollment rates increase, applications and rejection letters will continue to be a necessary hurdle for students wishing to live off campus. i
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 25, 2014, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75