GWU
Sports
Athletic Training p. 11
Men s basketball p.11
Women s tennis p. 12
The
Piter
Gardner-Webb University
other
News
Residence Life fees p. 2
Study abroad p. 3
English endowment p. 4
Spring break missions p. 8,9
Friday, March 22, 2002
www.gwupilot com
Volume 5 No. 9
A look at Gardner-Webb’s Christian environment
Focus
Future
Part 2 of a 5-Part Plfef series on the past,
present and future of GWU
“Many Gardner-Webb Christians wear
their Christianity on their arms, like a
badge of ranl^, rather than in their hearts.
Erin Boyd
Pilot co-editor
Friday night: A group of Gardner-
Webb students travel to Charlotte to
attend a praise and prayer service
together. During the service, explained
students, they sing praise songs, play
instruments and raise arms toward
Heaven.
While these students are spending
their evening in worship, many of their
classmates are checking into an old
warehouse in Shelby. For a mere $2
entry fee, one GWU female said, they
spend their night drinking from unlimit
ed kegs of beer, inhaling whiffs of mar
ijuana and dancing to the beat of the
music around them.
These two descriptions picture the
sharp contrast of student life at Gardner-
Webb. It is no secret to current GWU
students that the University was found
ed under strict Christian principles. But
what did those who started this institu
tion intend it to become? What do cur
rent students, who lead a wide range of
lifestyles, think of the religious affilia
tion the school upholds? And how do
faculty and staff view the spiritual focus
of the institute?
Gardner-Webb historian Lansford
Jolley, in his book Dreaming, Daring,
Doing...The Story of Gardner-Webb
University, stated that the Baptists
founders of Gardner-Webb believed
Christian education to be vital to the
church, the state, the nation and the
world.
“Its founders believed in undergird-
ing the best in academic teaching with
the steadfast base of Christian morali
ty,” wrote Jolley.
Tom Jones, professor of Natural
Sciences, has seen many shifts in the
spirituality of the school since coming
to the institution in 1980.
“The majority of people have the
principles which Christ lived and dictat
ed central to their lives,” said Jones. “A
wide range of [Christian] denomina
tions are represented at Gardner-Webb.”
Jones noted that all faculty and staff
must be professing Christians in order
to be employed by the school. Though it
is not a requirement for students to be
Christians, Jones believes that the
majority of students are.
Jones stated that he has seen the
spirituality of the faculty and staff
remain relatively constant, while the
spirituality of students has moved to a
different level.
“Gardner-Webb students have
moved from a Moderate Baptist group
to a more fundamental group. More stu
dents profess Christianity,” he said.
He recounted a story, however, of
how a former Buddhist student per
ceived Gardner-Webb Christians.
“The student said that many
Gardner-Webb Christians wear their
Christianity on their arms, like a badge
of rank, rather than in their hearts,” he
said.
Even some of Gardner-Webb’s
Christian students state that many
Christian students display hypocrisy.
“There are a lot of hypocrites here
that keep non-Christians from wanting
to hang around Christians,” said junior
Sarah Cox, a religion major.
Cox, a Christian, stated that she
believes non-Christians are more
accepting than Christians on the
Gardner-Webb campus.
Senior Dan Rothem, who is Jewish,
believes that Gardner-Webb maintains
“just enough” religious requirements,
such as Dimensions and religion class
es, to be classified as a Christian univer
sity.
Though Rothem acknowledged that
some GWU students have treated him
differently because of his religious
beliefs, he has found a place for himself
at the University on the baseball team
and in the Communications department.
He feels, however, that the school could
be less demanding of students in the
area of religious practices.
“I’d like to see GWU concentrate
more on offering students Christian
activities without forcing them to partic
ipate in them. Forcing students to go to
Dimensions doesn’t work,” he said.
Please see Environment on p. 4
Student meeting results in petition instead of protest
Emily Killian
Pilot staff
SGA and about 85 students
met in the clubhouse on
Wednesday, Feb. 27 to discuss
the recent changes on campus
and to decide for or against
protesting in front of the Board
of Trustees meeting the next
morning.
The impromptu meeting
was called by SGA to address
issues about a possible student
picket outside the board meet
ing. During the meeting,
rumors about cut staff positions
were discussed, as were rumors
about the proposed new foot
ball stadium and concerns
about the "Christian" atmos
phere on campus.
Many attendees questioned
the direction of the school and
actions taken by administration
members.
The decision was made not
to protest by the majority of
students present, even though
these students represented only
8 percent of all students living
on campus.
As students gathered, there
were whispered conversations
in groups; however, when the
meeting started, it was like a
military briefing.
SGA senator Mike Rakes, a
junior, spoke about recent posi
tion eliminations in the faculty
and possible solutions for
maintaining those positions
with minimal damage to stu
dents.
Rakes explained that some
of the budgets could be manip
ulated to keep the academic
advising center, the campus
ministries intern and secretary
positions and others in opera
tion.
“I propose that we shift
some of the money from the
capital fund to the operational
fund,” said Rakes.
SGA Vice President Patrick
Woody talked about the out
come of a recent SGA meeting
with President White.
“Basically it was a back
and forth thing. We asked for
something and he said no,” said
Woody. “We really didn’t get
anywhere.”
Woody, along with SGA
President Andy Polk, expressed
hope that the meeting had an
effect on White.
“Student concerns are
being heard,” said Polk, who
advised against picketing in
front of the board meeting. He
believes that students have not
exhausted all their other
options, including petitioning
and talking to the administra
tion.
“Basically it [picketing]
will make the administration
angry and feel like we’re being
extremist,” said Polk, who does
not want to alienate the admin
istration.
During a lengthy session of
student questions and com
ments, many students
expressed concerns that the
administration is putting
finances before student inter
ests and that the school’s
Christian values are being com
promised.
“Students tried to place the
blame of the budget changes on
other students rather than on
departmental changes,” said
junior Christina Parkins, who
attended the meeting. “The
good thing is that both sides
came together and people lis
tened to each other.”
“The school should be
rotating around a cross instead
of a dollar sign,” said Amanda
Kersey, sophomore class presi
dent. “This is not the Christian
school that was represented to
people.”
The meeting was wrapped
up with a prayer and a vote on
whether or not to picket the fol
lowing day.
“We as a student body can
choose to protest or not,” said
Senior Class President Hamal
Strayhom.
After students voted not to
protest, and to make a petition
instead, Woody asked them to
write down exactly what they
want the administration to do,
and send it to his campus box
(6045), so SGA can draft the
ideas into a petition.