Editorials
Opera House Theatre
Possible loss of the Opera House Theatre, a product of the
creativity and perspiration of the total college family, is dis
appointing news. Many members of the college community feel
that this is an unfair move. Belief in creative involvement is
commendable but we must consider all the facts. As is invariably
true this situation is not as simple as some think.
judging motives
Even though one agrees that the destruction of the building
is tragic, an effort must be made to ascertain all the facts before
judging motives. Wherever there are divided parties motives
are difficult to determine. When motives are unknown usually
the human reaction is to assume what we wish about the driving
force of the other man.
positive approach
More often than not tne result of the above process is the
spreading of rumor not fact. This is especially true when emotion
is a factor. A more positive approach is to move, as some have
done, through a rational representative framework such as the
petition or the letter of protest. However, this should not be
the attitude that one’s own desires must be the
alternative routes
All possible alternative routes of action should be investigated.
Above all, positive approaches should be taken. These approaches
should seek to keep any traits which are worthy of defense even
in the event of what one considers the worst possibility becoming
a reality.
speak your mind
In this situationthecreativityand effort of the drama department
and others who have been involved must be seen as possible
of salvaging and able to endure. We regret that the Opera House
Theatre may be destroyed and support constructive efforts to
save it. However, we hope that motive judgments will be postponed
until all the facts are in the open.
We invite you to take the opportunity to speak your mind
in this matter after weighing the facts which are presented in the
news articles of this issue.
W. J. C.
Petitions Effective
Selection of the 1970-71 Homecoming Queen demonstrated the
feasibility of the petition as a means of determining nominations
for this and other student selected positions.
In the Homecoming Queen selection process a requirement
of 35 signatures per petition v/as set and a deadline was set after
which late petitions would not be considered. Response to this
petition approach by the student body was very positive and
indicates that this might merit investigation as a means of select
ing future candidates.
Mr. Tom Poston released the results of the petitions for Home
coming Queen to the Pilottobe publicized. He favors consideration
of this process for future nominations with the student activities
committee acting as a screening board.
Sixteen petitions were circulated , four of which were submitted
after the deadline and could not be considered. There was a
tptal of 595 signatures on the various petitions which is quite
a significant response.
Perhaps use of the petition method and other representative
processes would lessen the feeling that there is a lack of
representation of the student body in student affairs.
SBFs Epps On Drugs
Roy Epps of the State Bureau of Investigation presented some
very enlightening views about the use and abuse of drugs as he
addressed the student body in chapel on October 20. As a special
agent for the SBI working with drug abuse he has seen the tragic
side of drug addiction.
According to Mr. Epps we live in a drug oriented society
as is evidenced by the display of drugs through such media as
television advertising. One fact presented which is often over
looked due to the prominence of the more recent and glamorous
drugs is the position of alcohol as the most abused drug in the
nation.
Linking illegal use of drugs to motivations Mr. Epps gave
several reasons why the young are turning on. Most are according
to him seeking pleasure or escape from reality. Others begin
through curiosity but soon develop an emotional dependence. He
expressed an understanding of these motivations as a result
of the development of young people within the context of a
materialistic, pleasure-seeking society.
Serum Hepatitis was mentioned as an increasing by-product
of addiction. Unwanted pregnancy due to relaxed moral inhibitions
while under the influence of drugs was given as another side
effect. Of course, crime due to the psychological effects of
drugs was also given as an undesirable result of drug abuse.
According to Mr. Epps a great deal of drug abuse is due to an
inadequate preparation of the individual for possible setbacks or
failures in life. Success usually first experiences failure and if
we have taken this into account then Mr. Epps feels that we are
less likely to be hurt or destroyed by failure.
As a concerned student at
Gardner-Webbj I feel that it is
my responsibility to express
my opinion on the subject of
the Opera House Theater. I
am led to believe thatthe Board
of Trustee’s voting on the
tearing down of this buUding to
erect a chapel was a mistake.
After' much consideration, the
following paragraphs reveal my
feelings.
I am glad that the Board of
Trustees are concerned about
the religious development at
Gardner-Webb. My criticism
of the board lies in the fact
that they are going to destroy
an important part of student life
on this campus justto construct
a nicer building which happens
to be in the form of a chapel.
The Opera House Theater is
unique in several ways, A good
portion of Gardner-Webb’s stu
dents put their time and energy
into its beautification. It repre
sents the old Shakespearean
atmosphere and resembles the
Globe Theater. It provides the
Letters
Gardner-Webb College Pilot
Box 289
Boiling Springs, NX. 28017
Telephone: 434-2211
EDITORS
Jeff Cranford-Editor
Dan Snyder-Associate Editor
Sandra Johnson-News Editor
Donna Turner-Feature Editor
Terry Knight-Sports Editor
Mr. Bill Boyd-Advisor
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ed Brown Phil Swanson
STAFF
Reg Alexander Steve Gregory
Sue Austin Robert Hunt
Svlvia Bridges
P^t=v Mel McCurry
Patsy Bumgarner Mingoia
Bobby Campbell Debbie Robinsor
Melanie Campbell Ronnie Sams
Suzie Connor Bobby Shell
Dianne Copeland Dawn Spainhour
Carrol Garrett John Taylor
most outstanding expression of
the art form on campus. And
most of all, it was constructed
not on^ for students but for the
surrounding public. Where can
you receive live entertainment
of this nature in the Shelby,
Boiling Springs area?
The purpose of Gardner-
Webb College was expressed
in the establishing of the Opera
House, The students worked
hard; they united their efforts
and talents. They were
constructive instead of
destinictive which is rare on
today’s campuses.
If the Drama Department is
moved more friction between
groups using the new facilities
will be the result, I am afraid.
This most certainly Is not
needed nor will it be welcomed.
I admire Gardner-Webb, but
discontent will increase if the
student’s giving of themselves
in the building of such a
structure as the Opera House
Theater is disregarded in
Students Comment On
Opera House Dispute
Ever since word leaked out about plans to tear down i'.ie Opera
House Theatre, there has been an atmosphere of disapproval
among the students. Drama students have worked hard, only to
find that the fruit of their labor may be destroyed. The student
body seems angry, sad, disbelieving, and apprehensive of this
action. Here are the comments of several students concerning
destruction of the Opera House Theatre.
PATRICIA BRAZILE
“The Opera House is a forwarding of the arts and this school
needs cultural outlets and activities. The students built it, and
it is theirs.”
CHARLES DORSETT
“Students have put too much work into it for it simply to be
tom down. That theater is the students themselves.”
KAREN MAYNOR
“I heard about Gardner-Webb because of the publicity about
the theater. It’s ridiculous to tear it down after all the hard work
those kids have put in it. Tearing down the theater is like tearing
half those kids’ lives down.”
JOE SOUTHARDS
“The Drama Department deserves the Opera House as its
home, because they built it.”
ELLA HARRISON
“The gym is good enough for chapel, if that’s what they are
building the new building for. If they tear down the Opera House,
they will be sending the Drama Department backwards.”
JIM ESTES
“There is an intimacy between the audience and the actors at
the Opera House that you don’t find in most theaters. This rapport
might be lost if a newer or more modem building was
constructed.”
The Opera House serves as a landmark to all students of what
can be done through cooperation and team spirit. For some,
tearing down the Opera House Theatre will not only destroy a
landmark, but will also end some dreams. The general opinion
might be summed up in a final comment by one of the students.
When asked what he thought about the idea, Lawton Neely
said,“Well, I won’t lend them ray crowbar!”
environmental and ecological
Free subscriptions to THE
MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT for
school year may be
Scope
decision making. This type of
action will hamper school
spirit, and this is not needed
either!
I suggest that the Board of
Trustees reconsider their vote
on this matter. I am certain
that they would not decide to
tear down any other building
on campus. I do feel strongly
on the subject of letting those
persons such as Mr. Robert
Jones and Mr. Terry Hayes,
who have put years into the
drama department, have the
opportunity to voice their
opinions before any decisions
are made. Also, would it not
be more simple if repairs were
made on the Theater and a new
chapel be built in a more
suitable location, which would
seat the whole student body?
It appears to me that our
educational purpose and future
progress will be impaired if
the Opera House Theater is
tom down.
PATSY BUMGARNER
FROM CONSERVATION NEWS
The mid-August furor over
dumping several hundred tons of
nerve gas off the Florida coast
overlooked the fact that the
United States has been using the
oceans for years as a trash
can for noxious wastes.
This fact was highlighted
later that same month when the
Navy dumped several tons ol
surplus TNT off the Maryland
coast. Originally, it was planned
to drop the explosives off the
coast of New Jersey at the spot
where mustard gas had been
dumped three years before.
When that fact became public
knowledge the dumping site was
shifted. Good thing, too, since
ships five miles away felt the
explosion when the TNT hit
bottom.
But surplus military weapons
and explosives aren’t the only
things the U.S. has been pouring
into the sea at the rate of 48
million tons per year. Included
in that ghastly disposal are sul
furic acid, arsenic, napthe-
nates, cyagides, mercury and
other heavy metals, pesticides,
refuse — from municipal’
sewage to plastics and cannery
wastes; radioactive wastes,
chemical warfare agents,
construction and demolition
debris and various rejected or
contaminated products — from
foodstuffs to appliances.
The ocean off the East Coast
and the Gulf of Mexico are dotted
with dumping sites where the
throw-away society has cast
poisons and problems in the
belief that out of sight is truly
out of mind.
This attitude underwent brief
revision last winter when it
was discovered that the ocean
off New York harbor where the
city had been dumping its sludge
was dead. Dead. Not dying; dead.
Oxygen in the water in the
dumping area was found to be
less than one part per million.
A concentration of 2.5 ppm is
usually considered essential for
marine life. In fact, nothing
live was found.
In the letter headlined, “war
to death” which appeared on
page 2 of the October 20 issue
of THE PILOT, the author’s
signature was Dr. Arthur
Nuhrah.
obtained by senaing your name
and address to Melancholy
Accident, P. 0. Box 5504.
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903.
An issue will be published on the
15th of each month through May.
The paper
! of a
THE MELANCHOLY
ACCIDENT is a new, free
monthly newspaper about the
environment for students.
Published and edited by
SCOPE MID-ATLANTIC, the
Student Council on Pollution and
the Environment representing
students in Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, North and
South Carolina, and the District
of Columbia, THE MELAN
CHOLY ACCIDENT is an effort
to give visibility to the views
of students active in
number of media usedbySCOPE
MID - ATLANTIC to inform
students about environmental
issues in this area and to solicit
their views on those issues.
“To make a railroad round the world available to all mankind
is equivalent to grading the whole surface of the planet. Men
have an indistinct notion that if they keep up this activity of
joint stocks and spades long enough, all will at length ride some
where in next to no time, and for nothing; but though a crowd
rushes to the depot, and the conductor shouts ‘All Aboard’
when the smoke is blown away and the vapor condensed, it will
be perceived that a few are riding but the rest are run over,—
and it will be called, and ivill be ‘A Melancholy Accident’.”