Newspapers / Gaston College Student Newspaper / Oct. 1, 1981, edition 1 / Page 5
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Page Five Do You Remember ? ...A Cannon By Suzanne Hannon and Dianne Watson Gaslight Reporters In the year of 1964, Gaston College students were called the “Rebels” and their mascot was a Confederate soldier who would dress up in his grey and maroon color uniform and fire his musket each Friday and at games. The students then decided that they needed something else; a little bit bigger and perhaps a little louder. So purchasing a cannon was their next project. One of Gaston College’s very first students, by the name of Steve Brittian found a cannon that was made from a authenic Civil War mold. So the cannon was shipped from Tennessee to Gastonia on a train which was met by a group of students who rolled it off of the train then by taking turns preceeded to pull the cannon along the road up to Gaston College. Upon it’s arrival, the cannon was equipped with a barrel of gun powder and a roll of fuse. This was kept in the office of Charles “Sarge” Setzer, whose responsibility was to insure the safe use of the explosive material. The cannon was fired every Friday at noon, where students would group around for the event. The cannon was also a big hit at college dances. At one in particular, the cannon was more popular than the dance itself. Students were firing the cannon over and across the road in front of the college - 321. It stopped traffic and the police came to find out what all the shooting was about. It was soon the decision to have the cannon mounted and displayed in front of the classroom building. Fewer Jobs By Alison Leslie Gaslight Reporter An interesting trend to note is that in times of a shakey economy an increasing number of people go back to school. Most businesses, because of stagnant economic conditions, are wary of hiring on a large scale basis. Consequently they have the option to be more selective in choosing their employees. Of the approxamately three thousand students presently enrolled at GC, fifty percent are enrolled in the technical and acedemic divisions, thirty percent are in continuing education, and twenty percent are in vocational programs. According to Dr. David Johnson, the future looks good for those seeking two year degrees. Companies can save money in the long run by paying them a lower starting salery and filling in the gaps on job training. But before this was done, the PE teacher asked if he could borrow the cannon for a cross country race though the woods. The cannon was to be fired every 5 minutes to let the runners know how close they were on schedule. So the PE teacher gave the keys to a few students and sent them to get the gun powder and fuse out of Sarge’s office to use in the canon at the game. The cannon was filled with too much gun powder and as the crowd gathered, the cannon was lit. . . and then blew up. Large pieces of metal flew all around the people, but not one person was hit or hurt. That was amiracle! So the broken bits and pieces of the cannon were gathered up to be put to rest back behind the campus. We thought it would bee interesting to point out the fields of harvest for the immediate future. One field that seems particularly promising is Engineering. Approxamately ten percent of the students at GC are enrolled in the two-year Engineering program. Also shining brightly on the career horizon is the job market in Computer Service and Computer Programing. Computer technology is a growing field due to the fact that many companies are using computers as opposed to more expensive, out-moded methods. About eight percent of GC students are enrolled in the computer program. Business majors can expect a good outlook. There is a demand for Business graduates with a strong background in math and computer programming. Ten percent of the students now attending GC are seeking There the broken old cannon layed for a couple of years, until the later part of the 60’s, when the civil rights movement was a force. The students at Gaston College then decided that “Rebels” was not the appropriate name for them, so they had a vote and requested to change the name to the “Warriors”, which was approved. Anything and everything pertaining to the Rebels was to be abolished and removed, including the bits and pieces of the broken cannon that still layed back behind the campus. It was then requested and acquired by a idustrial person who had the cannon restored - although it could never be fired again. Business degrees with three percent concentrating on accounting. The medical field is holding its own at GC. As always, there is a shortage of doctors and nurses. There is also a demand for medical office assistants, dentist, pharmacists, physical therapists, and other assorted service and technical people oriented toward medicine. About five percent of the student population is headed toward the medical field, with about one half of those in nursing. Mechanics, draftsmen,machinist, welders, and others with vocational skills will certainly have no problem in finding employment after graduation due to the fact that the job market will always have gaps to fill in these areas. Some fields look better to use at the moment that others. Yet with this in mind we can guarantee you that a college education is a plus at any time. Bring More GC Students
Gaston College Student Newspaper
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Oct. 1, 1981, edition 1
5
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