Tony Sims, page 3
Tidal Waves, page 4
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THE I® PILOT
GARDNER-WEBB COLLEGE
February 14th, 1990 No. 8
BOILING SPRINGS, NORTH CAROLINA
The Legends of Valentine’s Day
By Kathy Henson
Co-Editor
As Valentine’s Day once again ap
proaches and you agonize over which card
and box of candy to send your lover, you’re
probably not going wondering where the
day originated. But in case some of you in-
tellectuals out there are curious,
Valentine’s Day is a hold-over from a pagan
Roman festival celebrated on February 15
called Lupercalia. The feast honored
Lupercus, a god who looked like a faun and
protected sheep from wolves (sort of like
some people’s fathers try to do). He was
also a fertility god and could prophesy.
Here’s where it gets unromantic: the
priests of Lupercus, called Luperci,
sacrificed goats and dogs before the feast
began. Then they touched their foreheads
with the bloody Imife and wiper it off with
wool soaked in milk. Then they were re
quired to laugh! Next came the feast (for
those who hadn’t lost their appetites). The
Luperci dressed in the goatskins and ran
around the city to ward off wolves. Women
with fertility problems (I suppose it was
rarely blamed on the men) allowed them
selves to be whipped wit thongs cut from the
goatskins in hopes of bearing children.
(Personally, I’d adopt.)
Lupercalia was more fun for the guys.
They got to draw girls’ names from a love
urn. The couple shared the festivities and
became companions for the rest of the year
and then-who knows?
When Christianity became the state
religion, the church fathers discouraged
pagan religions. The celebration of Luper
calia became the celebration of St. Valen
tine (Feb. 14). since the two were so close
together. Now boys drew the names of
saints from an urn and were supposed to im-
itate the good works of the saints.
However, this practice was soon discarded
in favor of the old one.
So who is St. Valentine? What has he got
to do with love? Well, he was a Roman
priest who was martyred around A.D. 270
because he performed secret marriages
which Emperor Claudius had forbidden.
Legend says that while Valentine was in
prison, he healed the jailor’s blind
daughter, who brought him food and
cheered him up. Before his execution, he
allegedly wrote her a letter about bonds of
affection between people. He signed it
"From Your Valentine."
Since then it has been traditional to send
messages on Valentine’s Day. A lot of su
perstitions have grown up around it as well.
One is that the first person you meet on
Valentine’s Day will be your mate. (Thank
goodness my roommate is already
engaged!) And supposedly birds choose
their mates on this day, and since our minds
naturally turn to warmer thoughts at this
time of year, we should like to do likewise.
Superstition also has it that if the first bird
a female sees on February 14 is a robin, she
will marry a sailor. A sparrow means a
happy marriage to a poor man. A goldfinch
predicts marriage to a millionaire, and a
flock of doves means good fortune in mar
riage. Otherwise, I guess it’s just the luck of
the draw from the love urn. Happy
Valentine’s Day!
Hearing Impaired Students Aim High
By Christine Mento
Staff Writer
Donna Ham is a 26-year-old student here
at Gardner-Webb College. Although she
was born deaf, her condition went un
detected until she was about three. The
doctors did not know whether her deafness
was due to a birth defect or an illness.
Donna also suffers from scoliosis, a curva
ture of the spine. Since she has been in and
out of hospitals most of her life, she could
not attend a residence school for the deaf.
She had to learn to lip-read and talk so she
could communicate.
Lipreading is difficult because so many
words and letters look the same. Even with
the help of facial expressions, most
lipreaders only understand about thirty
percent of what is said. Some understand
less than five percent. It helps lipreaders if
they talk to people they know because they
are familiar with their lip movements. It ag
gravates Donna when people exaggerate
their lip movements. She can understand
best when they speak normally, but if they
slow down they are almost impossible to un
derstand. When asked if she had any advice
for the hearing, Donna said, "Just be patient
and understanding. It’s just as hard for us
as it is for you."
She wanted to drop out of high school,
but her mother, who has been a big in
fluence throughout her life, would not let
her. Her junior year was a turning point
when she met June Worth, a registered
By Christy McHan
Staff Writer
Jackie Turner is a hearing impaired stu
dent from Atlanta, Georgia. She trans
ferred to GWC from Galudet University in
Washington, DC. Do you know her?
Students will have seen her working in
the cafeteria. She does everything from
serving food and making sandwiches to
caring for the salad bar. In spite of her deaf
ness, Jackie has no problems communicat
ing with students in the cafeteria. Students
point to what they want. If they want two
scoops, they simply hold up their fingers.
Some students have never come in con
tact with a hearing impaired person. Wil
liam Coriteys, a GWC student said, "It is a
good experience for students and faculty to
come in contact with a deaf person.
Ray Cooper, cafeteria manager, gives
Jackie rave reviews. "She has been a very
effective employee, follows directions easi
ly, is very personable, and is well liked by
other employees. She does her job, and she
does it very well."
See “HAM” page 2
Inside The Pilot...
Campus News, page 1
Fish Tank, page 2
More News, page 3
Entertainment, page 4
Sports, page 5
Surprise, page 6
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Donna Ham
Jackie Turner