Herald
Volume XVI, Issue 24
Educating Women to Excel
April 5, 2000
On the
inside:
□ Students
will honor
Hartford with a
picnic.
Page 2
□ Aqua Angels
finish their
spring produc
tion.
Page 3
□ The softball
team nears the
end of its sea
son.
Page 5
□ The Skulls
comes up
empty.
Page 8
Meredith Herald
at
Meredith College
3800 Hillsborough SL
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 760-2824
FAX (919) 760-2869
maxwelH@mcredith.edu
Jackson speaks of agricultural vision
□ The founder of
the Land Institute
speaks to campus.
Tracy Sumner
Staff Wricer
Dr. Wes Jackson, who was
named one of the top 100
importani Americans of the
20th century by Time Maga
zine. visited Meredith's cam
pus this week. Jackson is pres
ident and founder of the Land
institute in Salina, K.S., and he
gave a presentation to interest
ed faculty and students in Kres-
ge Auditorium at 3:30 p.m. on
Tuesday.
The Land Institute, whose
mission statement is to “save
soil from being lost or poi
soned,” addresses what Jack
son calls earth abuse. He added
that the history of earth abuse
is "not a pretiy story."
Jackson, who grew up in
Kansas and earned his doctor
ate from N.C. State, also
founded the environmental
studies program at the Univer
sity of California at Sacramen
to. In 1980, he published New
Roots for Agriculture, which
outlined the basis for the Land
Institute. Jackson has been fea
tured in a number of magazine
articles and has received the
Genius Grant.
Jackson began his presenta
tion by explaining the history
of agriculture, which is about
10,000 years old, a short
amount of time in the 4.6 bil-
lion-year-old world.
He explained that his defmi-
tion of homo sapiens is grass-
seed eaters, agriculturalists and
managers of meristems.
A main problem with agri
culture, he explained, is how to
keep soil from eroding- Pro
grams at the Land Institute
have been designed to study
and research this problem in
addition to other problems and
Despite rain, students
enjoy annual Spring Fling
Leesha Austin
SlaH Write'
In spite of dreary weather,
Meredith students and their
guests enjoyed the Meredith
Entertainment Association’s
Spring Fling, held Sunday,
April 2 from 2 to 6 p.m.
The event was originally
scheduled to be held on Mered
ith's front lawn; however, as a
result of the rainy weather, it
was moved to the Cate Center
and Kresge Auditorium.
Students and their guests
could purchase pizza and
drinks, and cookies were pro
vided free of charge.
Spring Fling featured two
bands. Five Way Friday and
Weekend Excursion. They per-
Please see SPRING
FLING page eight
que.stions in agriculture.
The Institute is a farming
environment created with an
emphasis on natural prairie
conditions, which he calls Nat
ural Systems. This system
includes four groups: warm-
season grasses, cool-season
grasses, legumes and sunflow
ers.
A main objective of the
Institute is figuring ways to
perennialize major crops such
as soybeans, corn, wheat, and
sorghum. Perennial plants are
those that do not need to be
replanted each season.
Jackson explained that the
engineers at the Institute have
also been working to find ways
to develop successful polycul
tures, which are a variety of
crops planted on a single farm
ing plot. Just recently, the Insti
tute developed its first annual
domestic prairie polyculture of
sunflowers, sorghum, corn, and
soybeans.
The 380 acres of the Land
Institute are devoted to testing
ways of protecting soil,
increasing nitrogen fertility
and decreasing weeds and
other pests and diseases.
Senior Nicola Vyborny com
mented that she was “happy
that Dr. Swab took the initia
tive to bring someone informa
tive to campus. Students
should take advantage of Wes
Jackson's being here tomor
row.”
Marcee Tolliver added that
Jackson was “fascinating...and
had a very interesting approach
to agriculture."
Jackson’s visit was marked
as the spring Honors convoca
tion. Today, Jackson's -plans
included speaking in chapel
and sharing a lunch with facul
ty members.
The band Weekend Excursion plays to the delight of stu
dents at Sunday’s Spring Fling.
Photo bv Jennv Altiek
Sophomore dies from
illness’ complications
Christina Holder
News Editor
Friends of sophomore Stacy
Hudson gathered in the Chapel
Commons room yesterday at
5:30 p.m. to talk about the spe
cial qualities that made her
who she was: her contagious
smile, her humility, her opti
mistic outlook on life. Hudson
died yesterday morning at
Duke Medical Center after her
lungs collapsed. Hudson had
Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic dis
ease that affects approximately
40,000 people in the US today.
Cystic Fibrosis, or CF, stems
from a genetic defect that usu
ally affects the lungs, often
resulting in frequent hospital
slays and continually taking
enzyme supplements and other
medications.
Hudson, a biology major
from Thomasville, N.C.,
requested that her organs be
donated to other people with
Cystic Fibrosis.
Those who were at the meet
ing recalled, among many
things, Hudson’s ability to
focus on the positive facets of
her life.
“She always had a positive
attitude, no matter how sick
she wa.s," said fellow sopho
more Amanda Johnson.
Last night friends gathered
in the first Faircloth parlor to
cut ribbons for students to wear
in memory of Hudson. The red
and black ribbons are the col
ors of her high school, and the
purple ones support Cystic
Fibrosis. Students can pick up
a ribbon in the first floor par
lors of the residence halls
today.
The wake and the funeral
will be in Thomasville later
this week though plans have
not been finalized. Students
should check the campus e-
news for details. The college
will provide transportation for
those who would like to attend.
Students wanting to offer
their condolences can sign
notebooks in the Counseling
Center, the Dining Hall, the
Chapel, and the first floor par
lors of Brewer and Faircioth.
Campus Minister Sam
Carothers and Counselor Lori-
Ann Stretch are available to
talk to students.