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Volume 67; Issue 1
Brevard College
For hearts and minds as large as the mountains.
Friday, September 26,1997
Brevard Students Kayak to the Gulf of Mexico
by Sarah Carpenter
Brevard College’s nine person
river expedition from the French Broad
to the Mississippi and eventually the
Gulf of Mexico departed our campus
Saturday, August 30. The group con
sists of six Brevard students and two
faculty leaders, and an additional stu
dent who is trailing the group in the
college’s van. They are traveling in Wil
derness System plastic sea kayaks. The
group entered the water at the intersec
tion of the north and west forks of the
French Broad River. Their journey be
gan westward to the Tennessee River.
On September 26, they should reach
Decatur, AL. Presently, they are on the
Tennessee River.
According to one of the lead
ers of the voyage, Dr. Winford “Windy”
Gordon, “in addition to providing the
six student paddlers some hands-on
experience in the outdoors, the primary
purposeofthe 1,182-mile, 105-day trip
is to spread awareness about pollution
and conservation of natural resources
along the way.” On the trip they plan to
do things to help the environment. “Oiu"
real mission is to talk about the rivers
and the need to protect those rivers.”
Gordon said. The estimated paddling
I he “Voice” crew happily poses in
'heir new environment.
per day is three hours. At each stop,
they share their experiences and envi
ronmental issues with school groups,
be assisting Scott in the water quality
testing. Aimee Salzer, a sophomore
from Jacksonville, FL, will be collecting
Vokx oj
Yoice of the Rivers begins their expedition Photo by Brad Kimzey
civic organizations, and others that are
interested. The students on the trip are
all required to keep a personal journal
and each will receive a full semester’s
credit for taking part in the trip.
Each member is carrying his
or her own personal duty on the trip.
Patrick Scott, a junior from Brevard, will
be conducting the study of the water
on the trip. Scott will be taking samples
to determine the presence of metals and
other pollutants in the water. Lara Jaffe,
a sophomore from Hilton Head, SC, will
stories from residence about pollution
and other stories the group encounters
along the way. Gregg Griffin, a sopho
more from Sebring, FL, will be conduct
ing a psychological study of the group
dynamics on the journey. Amanda
Jacobs, a junior from Nantahala, will be
observing how self esteem relates to
expedition behavior over the course of
the trip. Nathan Nahikian, a junior from
Hayesville, who is the student leader,
will focus on the responsibilities and
frinctions of the group leader. Mike
Baranski, a sophomore from Greer, SC,
whose field of study is computer sci
ence, will serve as the “logistics master
and Internet guru” who will post the
daily updates on the college’s website.
Bette Pumell, the other faculty member,
is an environmental teacher who con
ducted environmental studies in Florida
and Ausfralia. Bette was Brevard’s
former Resident Director in Jones resi
dent hall. Three of the students never
set foot in a kayak before they began
training, but the team as a whole has
enough knowledge to get by any diffi
culties that may arise. Gordon is a river
guide and instructor for the Nantahala
Outdoor Center and has also raced com
petitively in the United States and
abroad.
By December 12, the group
plans to be sailing into the Gulf of
Mexico, where they will mix the water
with the sample they brought from
King’s Creek. “At the closing ceremony
in New Orleans, we plan to blend the
waters from the top and the bottom,”
Gordon said. “I had a concrete vision,”
for the last day or two, we’ll be com
pletely self-supporting, because at the
end of the road, the van will stop. There
will be no programs, and no one joining
us, and I see these nine people in 6ight
boats going side-by-side into the
Brevard Explores the Pacific Rim
hv Sarah Carpenter
Brevard College’s multi cul
tural theme for 97-98 is Explore the Rim.
This theme was selected last Spring by
President Bertrand. The President
started an annual cultural theme for
Brevard several years ago. The pur
pose of this theme is to give students
exposure to the other cultiires.
The Pacific Rim covers the
countries bordering the Pacific OceaiL
This would include both Canada, United
States, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa
depending on whose perspective it is
coming from. Having a broad list of
countries makes it easier to tie the theme
into the classroom. Enrichment 101 is
the only course being offered this se
mester that ties directly into our theme.
A few events are scheduled
for this year. Yung Krall, author of A
Thousand Tears Falling is going to give
her story of her Vietnamese family tom
apart by war. Communism, and the CIA.
This presentation will take place Tues
day, November 11, 8 p.m. Another
speaker scheduled is Paul Taylor, an
Australian storyteller and musician. His
date will be posted. Hopefully, this
toms, costumes, art, food, thoughts,
music, and more. Please contact Curt
Crowhiu^t,Twister Productions, Brevard
College, Brevard NC 28712, or call (704)
883-8292 or e-mail:
crowhurst_c@brevard.edu.
Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and encourage students from
Chile Papua abroad and from within our county to
toa), Austraha, New M p , mentally, physically, and so-
New Gumea, the Pacific Islan^, in interact with one another to ben-
nesia, Philippmes, Brunei, Malaysia ciaiiy m
Singapore, Thailand, Vietnm Brevard College is looking for
Cambodia or Laos), Hong Kong - performers, and others who have
wan, China, Korea, and Japan^'^^e ^ ^hese areas of the
countries create the tradmg zone or m p their talents on cus-
Pacific. The list of countnes will vary t'acilic Kimio snai