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Vol. Ml No. 5
GASTON COLLEGE, DALLAS, N.C.
May 24, 1972
Gaston To Lose Basketball And Baseball Programs
College Graduation And Reception Set May 28
Lack of Funds
Cited As Cause
Over 300 Students
Set to Graduate
On Sunday, May 28, Gaston
College will graduate a record high
number of students. Over three
hundred students will have
qualified to receive either a degree
or diploma on this day. Excercises
will begin at 4:00 in the
afternoon.
Dr. Benjamin Fountain, Jr.,
State President of the Department
of Community Colleges of the
State Board of Education in
Raleigh wUl be the guest speaker,
and will deliver the
commencement address.
The graduation will be held
on the west side of the
newly-completed Industrial
Building on the platform in the
back. If rains prevents an outdoor
graduation, the ceremony will be
conducted at North Gaston.
A reception honoring the
graduates and frierrds of the
college wall follow the graduation.
This reception, to which all are
invited, will be held in the library
of Gaston College, Refreshments
will be served at the reception.
I
IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING — On May 28 proud parents, sweltering students, impatient children,
and relieved administrators will enact another version of the graduation theme. Scenes like the above will be
reproduced. Except for a few different faces, you don’t even need a scorecard.
The Gaston College Board of
Trustees, meeting on Monday,
May 22, acted upon
recommendations made by the
college S.G.A. As a result, the
Gaston College Warriors
basketball and baseball teams
were discontinued, along with
other intercollegiate sports such as
cross-country and other minor
sports.
The Board accepted funding
of golf and tennis in conjunction
with a proposal submitted by the
S.G.A. The S.G.A. voted to
continue to fund these sports on
an intercollegiate but
non-conference level. The student
group also agreed to expand as
much as possible the college
intramural programs.
The elimination of baseball
and basketball was attributed to a
lack of funds. According to
college spokesmen, there are no
provisions at present for the
(Continued on page 4)
Hamrick Is Named to Replace Medford
Mr. Pepper Says ^^Thank You^^ To Students
I
Joe Hamrick has been named
as the replacement for Ray
Medford, who has resigned his
position as financial aid officer in
order to resume his doctoral
studies. Hamrick, who is currently
completing work toward his
doctorate in adult education at
UNC at Raleigh, will be on
campus immediately but is
expected to assume full-time
duties in September. Prior to his
doctoral studies, Hamrick was
Dean of the Vocational Division
at Gaston College.
As everyone knows, nearly
every daily paper contains at least
one reference to the general
disintegration of today’s college
student. To one local man,
however, these newspapers are
more likely to be irritating that
pleasing. This man, in a quite
literal sense, may owe his life to a
group of anonymous Gaston
College men and women.
Mr. Thomas I. Pepper, a
citizen of Belmont, recently
experienced a very long and
extremely serious illness. As a
result, operations were necessary
and Mr. Pepper spent over ninety
days in the hospital. In addition
to other factors, blood was
needed desperately. That was
where the Gaston students came
in.
Upon learning of Mr. Pepper’s
need, the students donated
enough blood to meet and exceed
the demands. At last count,
between twenty-five and thirty
pints of blood had been donated.
Even better, Mr. Pepper is at
home and is well enough to enjoy
brief outings, such as attending
church.
There are, of course, many
who cannot see how such a story
finds its way onto the front pages
of a college paper, particularly
with such obvious editorializing.
We think it belongs here. We are
especially happy to pass on Mr.
Pepper’s thanks to those students
who so willingly and even eagerly
offered to help. We are very
happy that Mr. Pepper is
progressing toward recovery. And
we are delighted to be able to
report that all news connected
with students is not alarming. This
sort of news makes us rather
pleased to be associated with
persons of such quality and
character.
Medford To Leave Gaston
To Work Toward Doctorate
G.C. Students Named To State Positions
Smith To Head Vet Group
Ray Medford, who has spent
the past five years recruiting
students from all over North
Carolina for Gaston College has
been recruited himself. In
September Medford plans to
return to his studies at the
University of Florida at
Gainesville.
The grant received by
Medford was made available
through the Educational
Professional and Development
Act, a federal program for
fellowships. His long-range aim is
to complete his decotorate in
administration in higher
education. This degree will enable
him to study school law in
addition to the basics of
administration.
Medford, who came to
Gaston Tech in 1962 as a teacher
in the drafting field, received his
bachelor’s degree from Western
Carolina University and his
master’s degree from Appalachian
State University. He bacame
director of recruiting and financial
aid in 1967. As part of his
position’s duties he travels
throughout the state, primarily
recruiting students for the
technical division. He sells Gaston
College to students, counselors,
and civic groups.
Accompanying Medford to
Florida will be his wife, Ann, who
teaches at Sherwood Elementary
School, and his daughters, Beth
and Jill, both of whom are
students at Gardner Park school.
Larry Smith of GastonCollege
has been elected president of the
North Carolina State Collegiate
Veterans Association. He was
named to the state post at the
State Veterans Qub Convention
at Winston-Salem State University
on April 30. Accompanying Smith
were Gletm Perkins, who was a
voting delegate from Gaston
College, and Floyd Holcombe,
incumbent state treasurer.
Holcombe was re-elected to his
treasurer post for the coming
year.
A native of Cleveland County
and a resident of Kings Mountain,
Smith is a veteran of the U.S.
Army. He spent 1961-64 in
Korea, where he headed a
pharmacy for division headquarter
of the First Cavalry. He is a
business major and intends to
transfer to either Belmont Abbey
or to the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. He is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Smith of
115 Cloninger Street in Kings
Mountain.
Smith informs The Gas Light
that he has three major ambitions
for his year as state president. He
plans to devote much of his time
to strengthening communications
between college organizations and
the stage government, to
attempting to unite the two-year
college organizations with the
similar groups on four-year
campuses, and to initiating
programs at schools which at
present have no veterans
organizations. In addition he has
worked toward the adoption of a
constitution and applying for
(Continued on Page 2)
Holcombe Keeps
Treasure Post
Floyd Holcombe has been
re-elected as Treasurer of the
North Carolina Collegiate
Veterans Association. Along with
Larry Smith, Holcombe attended
the State Veterans Club
Convention at Winston-Salem
State University, where he was
elected for his second one year
term.
(Continued on Page 4)