Newspapers / Bennett College Student Newspaper / Feb. 26, 1982, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO THE BENNETT BANNER FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1982 GTI’s reach exceeds reason Last week, the Guilford County Commissioners followed in the steps of the three school boards hy voting to change Guilford Technical Institute’s name to Guilford Technical Community College. The issue at stake, however, involves more than a name change. It involves changes in the role and curriculum of GTI and technical schools in general. For economical and practical reasons, GTI should not become a community college. One major reason w'hy the school should remain as it is involves the financial aspect. If GTI gains community college status, the school will have to add new courses and instructors in addition to revamping its present curriculum. The fi nancial burden of these changes will fall into the county’s lap, which presently covers almost 20 percent of the school’s budget. Consequently, an increasing budget will mean an increasing amount of money coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets. The Greensboro Daibj Neivs estimates that the change could cost the county up to $750,000 a year more and the state as much as $3 million extra. This seems a huge price tag to hang on something that the county may not need. To change GTI to GTCC would also mean that the county would have one less technical school. In today’s economy, more people are turning to a technical education so that they can enter the labor market as quickly as possible. The cut backs in financial aid by the Reagan administration have also forced students to choose less expensive technical schools over colleges. Potential students deserve to have the option of a technical school since the county already has a large num ber of colleges and universities. Guilford County needs a technical school much more than it needs another college. Thirdly, if GTI Vjecomes a community college, competition for enrollment and financial aid among the area colleges would increase. Greensboro’s New's 2 re ports that enrollment is already declining in the county’s colleges. If there is another college to contend with, enrollment will be spread even more thinly. Declining enrollment eventually means higher tuition for students and a greater dependency on federal aid for the college. Both these obstacles could be avoided, or at least reduced, if GTI keeps its technical school status. This is not to say that the transition to community college for GTI is without advantages. For one thing, students enrolled at the school would be able to trans fer academic credits to four-year colleges if they wanted to. GTI rfficials also believe that the present system, which requires students to choose between the two extremes of a technical school and a university or college,^ is outdated. A community college, then, would be the medium that today s students are searching for. The problem w’ith this reasoning, though, is that theie is no evidence that students are seeking this medium. Most students, at least, must be satisfied with the system since they have remained in it. Even so, GTI could solve both piob- lems—and on a far less costly scale—by engaging in an institutional exchange program such as Greensboro’s Regional Consortium, which would allow those students who wanted to take courses elsewhere to do so. The students, then, w'ould have the combined curriculum and some transferrable credits. And if the problem could be solved that easily, what would be the reason to change? The main fault with GTI’s bid for community college status is that everyone is overlooking the students who are already enrolled there. Those students, ob viously, are not seeking a community college or they wouldn t have enrolled at all. Furthermore, they may not want to take on the increased tuition which will have to be imposed to offset the amount that the county will have to pay. Per haps they prefer the school as it is. Maybe the taxpayers would rather not pay the increased taxes. Potential students may want technical schools more than a community college. The area colleges and universities might be better off without more competition. Naturally, the transition will be beneficial to GTI, but are those benefits w'orth the cost that others must pay? Though the commissioners’ approval is not final, most people believe that their endorsement will guarantee the change. The students, taxpayers and college ad ministrators will be greatly affected, probably negatively, if this becomes reality. But not one seems to have taken the time to consider them. If they were given consideration, there could be only one answer to whether Greensboro Technical Institute should become Greensboro Technical Community College. Ultimately, that answer must be as negative as the effects of the change would be. (Myra Jewel George) m “MSJACOBy, I REALIZE THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY BORED WITH' MY CLA55, BUT MU5T YOU MAKE IT SO O&VIOUS?" *T^e Fennell > Editor-in-chief Myra George Associate editor Wanda Edwards Adviser Michael Gaspeny Circulation manager Tina Johnson Business manager Wanda Dick Cartoonists Norman Barbee Venus McDowell Photographers Reporters Shelly Coston Andrea Burch Melinda Lowery Mary Cook Bonita McClain Shelly Coston Arlene McNeil Evelyn Glenn Karen Shields Karen Heck Alice F. Taylor Tina Johnson Jennifer Jones Tywanna V'atkins Letter to tlie editor: Strange To the Editor; But you care, Bennett? We have rats, mice, roaches and who knows what else in our dorms. But you care— We have Security who is never to be found when help is needed. But you care— We have Security who fails to go by the book except when a stu dent is locked out at the most dan gerous times of the night because of a legitimate reason. But you care— We have instructors who cannot instruct. B'ut you care— ways of We have had an over-abundance of food poisoning and foreign ob jects in our food. But you care— We have had majors terminated while students are still in that field. But you care— We have student parking but on the opposite side of student hous ing, security and without efficient light. But you care— We have a bookstore which does not follow the policy in the hand book on page 11 which states the store is open from 9 to 12 noon on Saturdays, But you care— We have a library but the hours are so short that who can study caring decently, especially on Saturday and Sunday? But you care— If the students are to ci,nform with the handbook, the system should conform as well. This time we care to see our rights carried out. We have only stated a few con cerned problems that Bennett has shown interest in to show how they express that “We at Bennett care.” If this shows how to care, then I do not want to see how you DO NOT CARE, BENNETT COLLEGE. Patrice Richardson Class of ’83
Bennett College Student Newspaper
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Feb. 26, 1982, edition 1
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