THE
CLARION
Volume 44
Tuesday, October 5, 1976
THE
VOICE
OF BREVARD COLLEGE
Number 1
New President Brings Optimism Tom Jarriel Speaks
Dr. Jacob Christian Martinson,
first-year president of Brevard
College, comes to us from An
drew College in Cuthbert,
Georgia. Raised on a Wisconsin
dairy farm, Dr. Martinson at
tended elementary school in a
one-room building which served
grades one through eight. Upon
completing high school, Dr.
Martinson went to Northwestern
University for two years, then
transferred to Huntington
College in Birmingham,
Alabama, where he received his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954.
Three years later, Dr. Martinson
received his Master of Divinity
from Duke University Divinity
School. For the next several
years, our president served as an
instructor at a few fine schools
and as a minister of a number of
churches. Returning to school in
1970, Dr. Martinson received his
Doctorate from Vanderbilt
University in 1972.
During his lengthy break from
formal education. Dr. Martinson
served as Interim Minister in the
Parish Church of Dundee in
Dundee, Scotland, from 1958-1959.
Though he enjoyed the ex
perience, Dr. Martinson became
very “homeland-sick”, and
developed a deep sense of
patriotism. The president states
“I became lonely for America
and her people. When
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and
other festive occasions came
along I celebrated alone. I was s
happy when I returned the
states — not even home — i\ew
York was fine. I even considered
going into politics.”
Dr. Martinson, a Norwegian,
enjoys eating lutifisk, a dish of
dried cod dipped in lye. The fish
is boiled until rubbery, then
melted butter is poured over it.
Besides his undying loyalty to
native food. President Martinson
is also a member of the Nor
wegian fraternity, Sons of
Norway, a group which
recognizes Norwegian customs
and celebrates her holidays. Like
most Scandinavians, the
President is a devoted family
man. He, wife Elizabeth, and
daughters, Elizabeth Anne and
Kirsten Kate, enjoy hiking in the
mountains. Mrs. Martinson, an
avid mushroom fanatic, iden
tifies the poisonous and picks the
edible mushrooms as the family
walks along.
As president of Brevard
College, Dr. Martinson has
responsibilities as a leader. “To
be a leader,” he says “one must
be a decision-maker. If you can
m
Our new president, Dr. Martinson, displays a
friendly countenance which is becoming well known
around campus.
make the right decision fifty-one
per cent of the time and be wrong
only forty-nine per cent of the
time, then you’re a success. To
make a decision, one needs self-
assurance; otherwise, he or she
will lack confidence in the
decision. Me? I have trouble with
the little things. For instance, I
get my wife to select my tie in the
morning.” Though he feels
Brevard College is a fine in
stitution with great facilities.
President Martinson already has
plans for the campus. In the near
future, he sees repairs for Tayor
Hall; acoustical improvements,
air conditioning, and permament
seats for the Music Hall; and air
conditioning for the cafeteria.
“In the case of dances,”
President Martinson remarked,
“Sock-hops could be held in the
gym and more formal events in
the cafeteria.”
President Martinson enjoys
working with people. He says
“People are my profession. I’m
very happy working close to
people. Others think money
brings happiness. I could be a
millionaire, you can be a
millionaire — anybody can be a
millionaire. I know too many
unhappy millionaires. Happiness
is an elusive thing. When you
strive for it, you never get it.
Happiness is a bi-product of a
higher commitment. By com
mitting yourself to something
big, a goal, happiness is twice as
rewarding, because something
else is also achieved.” With his
optimism and magnificent at
titude rubbing off on others.
into his career at Brevard
College with an excellent record.
The year before he started at
Andrew College, the school was
going to close. This year, its
enrollment is larger than ever
before.
Brevard College is fortunate to
have such a qualified and
dedicated man as its president.
This coming year should be quite
a success. The Clarion staff
would like to wish Dr. Martinson
much luck in his first year and
the hope of a long and pleasant
relationship with the school.
White House News
Correspondent Tom Jarriel of
ABC News spoke Tuesday
September seventh, at the
Brevard College Lyceum in
Dunham Auditorium. Speaking
for a period of about fourty-five
minutes, Jarriel answered
questions of interest which were
asked by the audience.
The main topics of Jarriel’s
talk were the upcoming
November presidential election,
the debates between candidates
Governor Jimmy Carter and
incumbant President Gerald
Ford, growing voter apathy, and
President Ford’s primary
campaign which Jarriel covered
last spring.
Jarriel speculated that in
cumbant Ford would continue to
pick-up percentage points in the
polls. He noted that the Ford
reelection campaign lacked
organization in the spring
primaries, while the Carter
campaign operated at full force.
This and what Jarriel called
“public reverance for the
presidency” seemed to reenforce
his respect for the Ford cam
paign.
In an interview after his talk,
Jarriel reflected more on his own
personal cp.reer. He claims his
big break came as a result of his
reporting on Hurricane Carla,
while staying on Galveston Island
off the Texas coastline.
Hurricane Carla blew in and left
everyone on the island st’fanded
for three days. Jarriel filed
hourly accounts of the situation
over the only communications
systems available which was a
telephone.
Later on that night while
sleeping, Jarriel felt the hotel
shaking. When he awoke the next
morning, he saw that the building
across the street had been flat
tened by a tornado. Since phone
lines were now down, Jarriel
spent the day filming several
hours of news coverage. He then
sealed the film in water proof
plastic and utilized every
available means of tran
sportation in effort to reach the
mainland. His dedicated
coverage of the disaster won him
several journalism awards and a
job with ABC News.
As a television reporter, Jarriel
is best known for his coverage of
the civil rights movement.
Probably the most significant
event in his career was covering
the assasination of Martin Luther
King Jr., which happened in April
of 1968.
Originally planning to leave
Memphis after covering a King
ralley that day, the ABC crew
was delayed and stayed back.
While Jarriel was getting packed,
he received a phone call in
forming him that King had been
shot. Jarriel immediately was on
the scene, giving the first account
coverage of the tragic incident.
Staying on the move and
keeping on top of current events
has made Tom Jarriel a concise
and reliable news correspondent
and a tremendous asset to ABC
News.
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President Martinson is moving Tom Jamel opens Lyceum series With insight into media experience
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