Newspapers / Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper / April 29, 2005, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page 2 Friday, April 29, 2005 TSePflbr CAMPUS NEWS 100 years and counting... GW becomes a university Amanda Wood Pilot copy editor Gardner-Webb University alxim- nus Gary Mitchem transferred to Vir ginia Commonwealth University after only a year in Boiling Springs. “I was afraid I was missing the university experience,” Mitchem said. “I’d only been here a year.” But Mitchem wasn’t happy in Vir ginia. “I hated it,” he said. So he transferred back. Mitchem graduated fi'om GWU in 1995, two years after the school moved to university status. According to GWU Historian Lansford Jolley, the school made the move because of the maturity of its academic programs, size and financial stability. The school officially changed its name from Gardner-Webb College to Gardner-Webb University on January 1,1993. Mitchem, an honors student, said he spent his days at GWU with his books and his fnends. “We stayed busy in our depart ments, taking field trips whenever we could with our professors,” Mitchem said. “We had dinner parties a lot. There wasn’t a lot to do. I spent a lot of time on schoolwork.” GWU changed Mitchem’s life, he said. “The reason I’m so hung-up on the school is because it changed my life dramatically,” Mitchem said. “The school just meant so much to me. I keep up with it. I take pride in what some of the people do.” GWU looks forward to another century of success Amanda Wood Piiot copy editor Gardner-Webb Junior Col lege alumnus Robert Crapps drove to Boiling Springs from Greenville, S.C. on April 16 tO' celebrate the school’s centennial year by eating lunch with mem bers of Gardner-Webb Universi ty’s Half-Century Club. Crapps earned the first O. Max Gardner scholarship and graduated fi'om GWJC in 1944. The retired theology profes sor said he hopes Gardner-Webb University will put students first as it moves forward. “I would hope that it would maintain its commitment to high academic standards and its vi sion of what’s best for each stu dent,” Crapps said. GWU now According to GWU’s Web site, nearly 4,000 students from 32 states and 31 foreign countries enrolled in GWU’s programs in 2004. The university offers four types of programs: the un dergraduate day program, the GOAL program, graduate pro grams and doctoral programs. Senior chemistry major Nis- reen Abu Ata came to GWU fi'om Jerusalem in 2001. “I never expected to see the rural side of America,” Abu Ata said. “I didn’t think I’d be see ing pastures and cows and little houses and moimtains.” Abu Ata heard about GWU after her travel-agent father helped a group of GWU students find their way ^ound Israel. The photo by Scott Holstein Sydney Friday, 8, and Abbey, 6, make bubbles at the Centennial Celebration at GWU on April 16. The University spent 100 hours that weekend celebrating 100 years. son of one of her father’s co workers also came to GWU. Abu Ata says she appreciates the spiritual atmosphere a school like GWIJ offers. “The fact that I’m able to talk about my faith with some one else has meant a great deal to me, and I think it’s helped me grow, too,” Abu Ata said. “The fact that my professors have also been really strong in their faith has encouraged me.” Abu Ata graduates in May and plans to start medical school back in Israel in July. She said she learned the importance of community during her time at GWU. “If somebody is sick or some thing falls through, somebody is always trying to help that other person,” Abu Ata said. “I think that has given me a vision for the future. I’ve come to see the im portance of having a community and the sense of community.” GWU future At the Half-Century Club lunch on April 16, GWU Presi dent Frank Campbell told alumni the school has a bright future. “Only the best is yet still to come,” Campbell said. “This school is here because God wanted it to be. That’s the rea son we’ve survived. It is a great place to be.” Campbell, who is retiring at the end of the 2005 academic year, said in the future nimibers will grow and needed facilities will be built. “Many wonderful things will happen,” Campbell said. “Can you imagine what Gardner- Webb will be like 25 years fi'om now?” News in Brief GWU shines at national Alpiia Clii conference Gardner-Webb University sent the largest delegation of student representatives to the an nual Alpha Chi conference April 7-9. Eleven students and June Hobbs, associate professor of English and Alpha Chi sponsor, traveled to St. Louis, Mo., for the conference. Each GWU delegate presented a paper at the conference. Out of the 76 schools that par ticipated in the conference, GWU was the only school to accomplish that task. “I was very proud,” said Hobbs. “It was also helpful to the students because it allowed them to present a discussion on a national level in a professional setting and thus sharpened their presentation skills.” “My goal is to get into a good grad school,” said Alpha Chi President Hans Koschmarm, se nior political science major from Hudson, N.H. “Presenting a paper at this conference will def initely help me.” Summer Hess, a senior English major from Kermett Square, Penn., took home the creative vmting award for a reading of her original poetry. Hess was named the alternate for the Nolle Scholarship, as well. “The award was a wonderful confidence boaster,” Hess said. “To be recognized at a na tional conference was encouraging.” Alpha Chi is a National Honor Society. Ac cording to Hobbs, receiving a membership into the society is the highest academic honor a stu dent can earn at GWU. — Shauna Porter l\/loving to the beep of the basebaii While the Gardner-Webb University men’s baseball team is in the middle of their season. they aren’t the only ones playing the game. And conventional baseball isn’t the only way to play. Today at 3:30 p.m. beep baseball will hold its annual event on the GWU softball field. “It’s a lot of fun to play,” said Parrish Cal loway, disabilities specialist. “And it’s a lot of fun to participate in a different physical ac tivity that you normally wouldn’t think about paying attention to.” The sport was invented to allow sightless players a chance to play baseball. Charley Fairbanks, an engineer for Mountain Bell Tele phone, created the first beep baseball in 1964. When a beep baseball player steps into the batter’s box, there are a few notable differenc es from regular baseball. Pitchers throw a ball that has a pin in it. The pin is removed and the ball starts beeping as it is thrown. Hitters get three swings in each at-bat. If the batter does not hit it, they get two swings from a tee. The field is different as well. Two bases are positioned, simulating first and third bas es. Players who hit the ball must listen to see which base starts beeping. Which base beeps is determined by a controller. Fielders are positioned to find the ball, and spotters are present to help the fielders find the ball. “If a player gets to a base before the ball is touched by a fielder, then they score a run,” said Calloway. Sightless players at GWU have enjoyed the game for some time. “We’ve been playing it at the Noel House for a long time,” said Calloway. Participating students make requests for specific professors, inviting them to play the game. Invitations are sent to those professors, but everyone is welcome to play. “It is for blind people and for blindfolded people who want to play,” said Calloway. “All of our blind students really seem to enjoy it each year.” — Matt Tessnear Meetings: times set for questions from page 1 candidate would be made before the end of the semester. The goal of the search is to have a president in office by July 1. “Nothing is official until the board votes,” Campbell said. “I hope that Gardner-Webb will welcome the new president and work with them as they did with me.” In an earlier interview with Frank Beam, chairman of the search committee and board of trustees, he said the committee was talking with a candidate. “Our responsibility is to bring a candidate, one candidate, to the trustees. It is our job to make sure the best candidate is recommend ed. “We really, really worked hard. I am ex tremely pleased with the committee itself I know we will get a good candidate.” Scliool sponsors trips Sarah James Pilot web Editor Students and staff from Gardner- Webb University and Crossroads Min istries are headed to South Afiica and Poland this summer to do missions. Teresa Davis, campus ministries secretary, will lead for the South Afn- ca trip, and Andy Byers, student cam pus minister, will lead for the Poland trip. The South Afiica Trip is from May 15 through 29, and they will go to Cape Town, South Africa. The Po land group leaves on May 16 and ar rive back on the 27. They will go to Warsaw. There will be 11 students joining Davis on the South Afiica Trip and nine students and four employees of Crossroads Ministries accompanying Byers to Poland. Carrie Yerkes, a junior from New Jersey majoring in Biology, is one stu dent attending the South Afiica trip. “We will be visiting a squatter’s camp (a village which many families live in one small hut),” Yerkes said, “managing an assembly for a local school while visiting other churches.” Yerkes wants students to know her group is collecting supplies to give to victims of a recent flood. “Having a little bit of something like a bag of candy is still a big help,” said Yerkes. In Poland, the group will be doing coffee shop ministry. They are hoping to build relationships with the Polish students from Warsaw University and to share Christ with them. A big event might take place at the end of the week if they can join-up with another group. Aaron Wilkinson, a junior religion major from Florida, is going to Poland. He hopes to gain fi:om this experience a deeper relationship with Christ. He also believes he is called to do mis sions and sees this trip as a test to see if he is really called into missions. Wilkinson also will be going to Botswana, Africa with Teen Mania this summer. He travels because of his passion for the Lord. “I love Christ, and I want others to know the joy I have, and that is the reason why I travel,” said by Wilkin son. Sonnething to surf for Ronda Carpenter Pilot staff Attention all students: want a com pletely anonymous way to rate your professors and read what other stu dents think about them? Then check out www.ratemyprofessor.com. This is a free Web site where stu dents can publicly rate their university professors and say what they think about them. The Web site claims to be the Internet’s largest Usting of college professor ratings, and it offers a public review of university professors fi'om across the United States and Canada. The site has been up since 1999 and has over 3,000,000 ratings for profes sors from over 4500 schools, with him- dreds of new ratings added each day. Students are allowed to anony mously rate their professors in each of three categories: helpfijbiess, clar ity and easiness. They can also include comments about their professors and what they thought about their teaching style and the course. Comments are supposed to be kept clean, and they are not intended to be slanderous. Teri Hassell, physical education professor, believes the Web site has both positive and negati ve qtialities. “I think it’s good and bad,” Has sell said. “If someone had a personal clash with a professor then it wouldn’t be fair. From a slander standpoint, this could hurt the teacher’s reputation. I would be hurt if a student wrote a re ally bad comment about me because of a personal grudge. If, however, there are professors who are not doing a suf ficient job and it goes urmoticed, there is still a Web site where poor perfor mance can be cited.” Matt Brownback, junior middle grades education major from Murphy likes the idea of the Web site’s priva cy. “I would like to rate my profes sors,” Brovraback said. “It gives me the chance to tell them if they did a good job or not, and I would like to do it where no one has a clue who rated them.” > ♦
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