April 28, 1983
Black ink
Page 7
Caleb emphasizes his writing
by Cheryl Williams
Feature Editor
“A young playwright should
find out as much as he can about
the kinds of plays a theater
does,” he said. ‘‘Getting a play
written is the least of a play
wright's worries, because new
plays are hard to get published
and produced."
This advice comes from Rufus
Caleb, author of plays, poetry, and
several short stories. This semester
Caleb, a William Neal Reynolds
Visiting Professor, is teaching college
students the tricks of his trade.
"I like being a part of an academic
department," Caleb said. "If I can get
my school to grant me leave, i'll write
for a while, then go back to teaching.
"But if there is a conflict between
teaching and writing, then I will
choose writing, because I am a
writer."
Caleb said that he is presently
working on three plays. "City Lights
— An Urban Sprawl" is a play he is
now revising. It is about a young man
who goes to the city with a mission in
mind, which is to prepare himself to
serve the small black community he
stems from. The young man gets side
tracked and has to question where he
is in relation to the small black com
munity. He wants to be a leader, but
he finds there is no one to lead. The
play is set in the1980's.
Caleb is also working on a televi
sion play which deals with a day in
the life of a black college senior the
day Martin Luther King died.
Caleb claims that his main hobby
or "obsession" as he calls it is
renovating a 100-year-old house he is
buying. He says he also likes garden
ing.
"1 like to do things that take me out
of my head and gets me working with
my hands," he said-
Caleb has taught at Dickinson Col
lege and Phillips Academy, a private
high school in Andover, Mass, He is
presently an assistant professor at the
Community College of Philadelphia.
Caleb said that he started writing
seriously his sophomore year in high
school. He said he received en
couragement both from his parents
and his teachers.
He was born in Dorchester Coun
ty, S.C. in 1948. His youth was spent
in Coatesville, Pa. Caleb went to
Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. he
received his master's degree in
creative writing from Johns Hopkins
Unversity in 1972.
Caleb has had plays, short stories
and poetry published. His play, "Ben
ny" was presented on national televi
sion in the spring of 1982 and at
North Carolina Central University in
1980.
To«iy McN«il and Mididle TIioims
photo by Stanley Woodley
UNC Student Legal Services
advises student problems
Dorothy Mniliob, Erector of ftulent legal tcfvicet.
photo by Stanley Woodley
by yvctteitc
Staff Writer
The room presented a picture of a
real legal office. There was a recep
tionist taking messages and typing
memos at the front desk, and the
phones were steadily ringing. Near
the window were stacks of legal pam
phlets with information ranging from
what to do in case of a legal accident
to making a will. If the place doesn't
sound familiar to you, try paying a
visit to Suite 222 in the Student
Union. This is the office of the
University of North Carolina Student
Legal Service.
The program originated in 1975. it
is, according to a legal service
brochure, sponsored by the Student
Government, acting under the
authority of the Campus Governing
Council and funded by student activi
ty fees. I’ts goal is to provide students
with assistance in understanding the
factors that should be considered
when one seeks legal advice; to deter
mine if a lawyer's services are or are
not necessary, and to provide ap
propriate representation or referral.
The services also serve as general
counsel to student organizations, pro
viding advice and legal education
workshops upon request. SLS has
two full-time attorneys and one part-
time attorney. The individuals advise
students on any legal problem at no
charge. The attorneys may also repre
sent students in court if the problem is
a landlord/tenant problem, minor
consumer problem or uncontested
divorce.
According to Dorothy Bernholz,
director of SLS, the attorneys see
about 2,000 students a year. Bernholz
also commented on the benefits of the
services.
"The program benefits the students
in that it teaches them many things
that they should know about being
on their own — things which parents
should have taught them before they
came to college."
While the service helps in many
ways, it cannot represent or advise
students if the dispute is between
students, the dispute would violate
the attorney's duties to the Code of
Professional Responsibility, the
dispute involves litigation against
UNC or the state of North Carolina,
or if the case requires court ap
pearances outside Durham, Wake,
Orange, Chatham or Alamance coun
ties.
David Kirkman« student legal service* attorney.