'B
®l)e Clarion
5th Edition
Tuesday, November 18,1980
Page 1
The Next Generation
Preservation Of Idealism
by Quixote
“Some people see things as
they are and ask why? I
dream things as they never
were and ask why not?”
Robert Kennedy, ’68.
Probably the greatest
natural resource this or any
other country has today is its
people, particularly its next
generation. And the resource
is not so much the hands these
people have with which they
can become productive
members of the economic
structure. Nor is it so much
their physical selves that will
determine that they will be
consumers and exchangers of
goods for services and vice-
versa. The resource lies in
their minds and especially
their hearts. It is their dreams
and loves, their faith and
hope, in essence it is their
idealism that is the world’s
greatest natural resource.
For it is idealism, especially
the unique brand that the
young have percolating within
them, that prods people to
believe in things that seem
unbelievable, to reach out for
things that seem far distant,
and to dream things that
never were and ask why not?
It is the intangible food for our
inner selves that can change
our perception of reality so
that we see beauty where
others would sight or
dinariness, so that we sense
the sublime where others
would feel the mundane, so
that we garner the energy to
strive for goals that the older,
jaded refugees from earlier
periods would consul us that
are unrealistic or laughable.
Idealism is an inspirational
energy that fuels the forces of
change and if once lost is
rarely recaptured.
And so it must be preserved
in the same sense that people
feel compelled to preserve the
wilderness, or certain species
of creatures endangered by
the imbalance in the eco
system that we the humans
have triggered. Indeed
perhaps the mission of
preserving idealism within
our deepest inner selves
should be the starting point for
all other preservation efforts
as we face a world of
diminishing resources and
material crises. For if we
preserve the ideal then the
armies necessary to preserve
the real will be filled with
idealistic zealots who may not
surrender as easily as other
combatants in the struggle for
survival and the preservation
of what is truly meaningful
and beautiful.
Could it t)egin here in as
unlikely a place as Brevard
College? Can any good come
Student Financial Aid for 1981-82
All Freshmen Students who are currently
receiving Financial Aid, based on need, for the
1980-81 academic year will receive the 1981-82
Financial Aid Form (FAF) in their campus mail
box on or about December 10th. This form must be
filed with the College Scholarship Service after
January 1,1981, and before March 1,1981.
All Sophomore Students planning to continue
their higher education in another school should stop
at the Financial Aid Office (Room 205, Beam
Administration Building) and pick up the new 1981-
82 FAF.
ANY STUDENT who does not receive the new
FAF in the campus mail, may pick one up at the
Financial Aid Office.
from Bethlehem? To be sure
the struggle for the preser
vation and strengthening of
idealism should be a national
endeavor. But perhaps the
most appropriate battle
ground is and will continue to
be the college campuses. For
it is on the college campus
where there is a unique
convergence of people
dedicated to the proposition
that education is enlightening
and productive of greater
societal change and people
seeking that education who, in
their tender years, have not
lost that youthful exhuberance
nor that hunger to beUeve in
something bigger than
themselves, something as vast
as life itself. The convergence
of the two creates the
possibility of a supercharged
environment — a hot house if
you will — for the growth and
strengthening of idealism and
its preservation. Brevard can
and should be such a place.
But what would it take? It
would take a consistent
commitment on the part of the
college and its administration
to seek to understand the
nature of idealism and realize
its potential as a positive force
in the affairs of men and this
world. Basically, most truly
dedicated educators have a
vague faith and feeling of the
above proposition. What is
woefully lacking in the
mainstream of American
educators is that very few
scholars or^ researchers take
seriously the nature of
idealism as appropriate for
research and investigation to
learn how better to stimulate
it and to develop it. Teachers
here and elsewhere seem to
feel that idealism is something
like natural athletic ability,
one either has it or doesn’t;
and even those who have it
will have it dissipated with
time as inevitably the athlete
loses his quickness and
agility. But does it have to be
that way? Those who would
answer yes have already lost
their battles and are divorced
from the world that those of us
who would answer no still see
as a possibility and indeed a
necessity.
What else would it take? It
would take a student body
See Idealism p. 4
A Happy
Thanksffivitiff
To All!
More Brains Added
To The Bunch
by DeAnna Johnson
Tuesday, November 11th,
marked the day that Phi Theta
Kappa inducted nine new
sophomore members. The formal
induction was held in the Weaver
Room. Our own Dr. Wood spoke
for the occasion, challenging
PTK members to excellence.
PTK sets high standards for
their members. After two
semesters, a 3.2 average is
required. However, to become a
member after only one semester,
a 3.5 average is required. That is
without a grade of D or below for
any class. Members must be of
good character and citizenship.
Before a person is asked to join,
he must also be approved by the
faculty.
The members inducted
November 11 were Amy Adams,
Sue Combs, Chuck Doughton,
David Hauser, Cheryl Hyden,
Tomoko Nikimoto, Hongsian
Oen, Gina Starling, and Debbi
Townsend.
January will be the time for the
next induction, until then the
provisional freshmen members
anticipate whether they will meet
all requirements. The active
provisionals are as follows:
Karen Capps, Michael Cook,
Missi Ellison, Rafael Gasti,
D^Anna Johnson, Evelyn Lewis,
Sarah McNeil, Beth Parker, and
Paige Peterson.
The following are sophomores
who are already PTK members:
Anna Barden, Pamella Blalock,
Kirk Davis, Aniy Garrou, Clark
Johnson, Joyce Keenum, Terri
Kitchen, Debbie Moseman,
Marty Nichols, Joan Smith, and
Tim Watson.
Congratulations are extended
to the new members and best
wishes to the provisionals.
PTK Coming Events:
November 18, the PTK
program will be the film “Break
on Through.” It is a story of an
athlete’s desire to win and his
need to compete. A discussion on
competition and its role in life
will follow the movie. December
2 is the Sports College Bowl.