TTiePlfer
Gardner-Webb University
FrMay December 10, 2004
WWW.gwupilot com
Volume 8 No. 7
Movie premieres
Decker dorm’s real legacy story revealed
photo by Joel Fluty
Director of “The Legacy, “ Jim Lawrence
pauses for a photo with the lead, Katie O'Neil,
senior. The premiere was in November.
Amanda Wood
Pilot staff
When Jim Lawrence
began writing the script of
“The Legacy: A Ghost
Story” last spring, he knew
he’d found the right subject
matter for a student-
involved video project set
on Gardner-Webb
University’s campus.
Lawrence, a communi
cations professor at GWU,
was inspired to write the
script by a student-project
from his Television News
Production class about the
mysterious. “Decker
Ghost.”
According to Lawrence,
he did no research into the
historical accuracy of the
Decker ghost.
“Every place I’ve been
there’s some ghost story,”
Lawrence said. “Whether
the one here has any basis
in reality I have no idea.”
GWU’s ghost story
involves a student who sup
posedly committed suicide
in Decker Hall, named after
the son of North Carolina
Governor and GWU sup
porter O. Max Gardner.
But according to GWU
Historian Lansford Jolley, a
suicide never took place in
Decker.
“O. Max Gardner’s son.
Decker Gardner, did com
mit suicide in a family mill
over in Shelby,” Jolley
said.
Jolley said he thinks the
rumor about the Decker
suicide and subsequent
ghost story came from
Decker Gardner’s actual
suicide.
For Lawrence, the
Decker ghost story provid
ed a good foundation for
“The Legacy.”
“I like these kind of sto
ries because you can do
things with them,”
Lawrence said. “I like to
think of that film as a think
ing person’s ghost story
because if you study it
there’s a lot to think about.
There’s nothing in there
that’s accidental.”
Just the facts
• Lawrence taught at four schools
before coming to GWU, and three
had ghost stories of their own.
• His only other ghost story is a
movie he made for Disney, “Child
of Glass,” about an antebellum
house haunted by a 13-year-old
girl.
• James Webb “Decker” Gardner,
executive vice-president of
Cleveland Cloth Mills from 1941
to 1946, according to the Web site
for the manuscript department of
UNC-Chapel Hill’s library, died
Jan. 19, 1946.
To fmd out more about “The
Legacy” visit: wvw.legacy.gard-
ner-webb.edu.
photo illustration by Scott Holstein
This photo illustration of the stress that students experience during finals week shows the craziness it
takes to get the perfect grade. Exams start IVIonday and last until Saturday.
Tips on staying sane during exam time
Abbie Crago
Pilot Staff
Before Gardner-Webb
University students can go
home to enjoy home cook-
and
mg
time
with
family,
there is
one last
hurdle to
o v e r -
come —
exams.
For
15 weeks
life has consisted of little
On the
inside
Twelve tips
for making
an A on your
finals and the
fall exam
schedule,
page 3
more than papers, tests
and quizzes, but the
biggest tests are still
ahead.
Jim Whitlow from the
counseling center advises
studying in short spurts,
no more than 40 minutes
at a time.
“Go over your materi
al,” Whitlow said.
“Review it. Review it.
Review it again.”
Despite what students
may or may not know
about studying and
preparing for exams, some
stick to the time-tested
method of procrastination.
Junior Sarah Moody
spends 30 to 60 minutes
studying the night before
her exams.
“I don’t really care
about finals,” Moody said.
Others, like freshman
Mary Jo McNeill, have
been studying for a while,
working up to the big
week.
“My toughest exam
will probably be statistics,
but music survey will be
hard too,” McNeill said.
In case you haven’t
started studying yet, don’t
try to cram it all in the
night before.
“If you’ve got to cram
— cram for a C,” Whitlow
said.
Typically, stress is an
unavoidable side effect of
exams, but you can reduce
it by getting enough sleep,
preparing and exercising,
according to GWU’s
counseling center.
“Arrive ten minutes
early to your exam to get
yourself calm and
relaxed,” Whitlow said.
“And don’t discuss any
thing with your class
mates; it tends to be more
confusing than helpful.”
Dorms
evacuated
Thiirty-six girls sent to
hospital after chemicals mix
Jennifer IVIenster
Pilot editor-in-chief
Thirty-six girls were sent to Cleveland Regional
Medical Center Tuesday after a chemical reaction
occurred on the third floor of Spangler dorm.
One female was kept over night for a precaution
because of her asthma. All girls were released after
respiration tests and some went home with pre
scriptions.
The building was evacuated for more than an
hour Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. after campus police
received a call about a gassy smell. About three
minutes later Myers girls also were evacuated in
case of a gas leak.
“I was sitting in my room when a girl from
Spangler came over because she said it was hard to
breathe in her room,” said Ashley Hall, senior RA
in Myers. “We were all sent to Bost Gym, which
was scary because no one knew what was going
on.”
After a little investigation, officials determined
that the gassy smell was a result of a chemical reac
tion from cleaning products. On first instinct, offi
cials thought that there may have been a gas leak.
Campus Police Chief Barry Johnson said the first
thing they check for is a leak in the water heater.
According to Residence Life Director Rob
Foreman, it is not determined what chemicals were
in the products that caused the reaction.
Foreman said that a cleaner was used to unclog
a sink, then housekeeping used other products to
perform normal cleaning routines. Foreman said
the mix probably occurred earlier in the morning.
“The students did a wonderful job of respond
ing to the situation,” Foreman said.
Foreman and Johnson said this is the first inci
dent of this kind to happen on campus to their
knowledge. However, everyone was prepared for
the situation.
“We have several different plans to use in a sit
uation like this,” Foreman said. “There is a Critical
Incident Team made up of Residence Life staff, the
dean of students and campus police to follow a
check list of things we have to do.”
In addition to the Critical Incident Team, local
firefighters and medics also were on the scene.
According to Foreman, several administers went to
the hospital to check on the girls.
“It was a scary situation until things got under
control,” Hall said. “I was really impressed with
the volunteer fire department and everyone else
who came out to help.”
On the Inside
Playoff hopes for
basketball teams
not affected by
NCAA
violations...
page 3
High gas pn'ces
are a factor as
GWU students
travel home for
the holidays...
page 5
Trendy, winter
fashion Is easy to
find this season...
page 7
Men lose dose
game to tough
opponent Georgia
State...
page 8
KfeiAB. . . .
. pages 2-3
..
FfeatiirES
page 7
^xrts...