Volume 21, No. 2
ST. ANDRKWS PRESBYTKRIAN COLl.K(.t
September 30, 1982
Orange, Meek: A Contrast in Living
By PHILLIP LEIST and
CHRISTY WILLIAMS
Upon entering the dorm, I
was awestruck! 1 couldn’t
believe a college could be like
this. Wall-to-wall carpeting,
expensive furniture, a
fireplace to marvel at and
even room for a kitchenette.
1 questioned my local. Was
this Versailles? As I con
tinued my tour through the
remainder of the dorm, I was
impressed by the brand new
furniture in each lounge, the
sparkling bathrooms and *he
newly painted walls. Would
all the dorms be like this? My
question was soon answered
when I entered Mecklenburg.
Although Mecklenburg
Orange dorm’s renovation.
was only a “stones throw
away” it certainly felt like I
had entered another dimen
sion. As soon as I entered, I
encountered cold, dingy tiles,
bare-bulbed lights, remnants
of what used to be furniture,
and plenty of room for a
fireplace and kitchenette, but
none were to be found. As I
proceeded up the stairs, I was
rudely confronted with
dilapidated stair mats before
being astonished at the sight
of the suite lounges which
would have been better off
bare walled and void of fur
niture. As I entered one of
the bathrooms my first im
pression was to run, out of ‘
curiousity and courage only
did I proceed in for a
“closer” look. There was
mold on the shower floor,
the sinks were stained and
upon flushing a toilet I was
given a shower by the jet of
water that came protruding
from the handle. I returned
to my parents in a state of
shock. They of course failed
to comprehend my dilemma-
They had only been exposed
to “the Palace” - Orange
Hall:
The summer plans includ
ed creating a model dorm.
Orange is certainly represen
tative of this concept. The
“only” difference between
this dorm and other dorms is
that Orange’s renovation in
cluded wall-to-wall carpeting
into the main lounge, a
fireplace aiid plans for a kit
chenette. “It seemed as
though more could be done
with Orange to make it more
attractive,” said Jerry Sur
face of the Business Office,
Cont. on pane 4
Meek dorm’s lack of renovation
Pitts Talks on Presidential Experiences
T'.i 1. /-- came down and took about the early years of my
By BILLY TURNER
Donald Pitts, retired from
the army with twenty-eight
years of service, was
employed by American
Telephone and Telegraph
Company as a radio super
visor at the White House for
forty-six years. This week at
St. Andrews he recaptured
his memories from his stint
as a communications expert.
Pitts spent forty-five years
enveloped in the chaotic en
vironment of Washington,
during which he served under
eight presidential occupants
ranging from Calvin
Coolidge to Richard Nixon.
During the initial part of
his oral presentation, which
depicted his virtual
kaleidoscope of presidential
remembrances, he expressed
his concern about the
derogatory books that are
being published today about
past presidents.
Pitts later said that the
first question that he is usual
ly asked is, “How did you
ever get into this crazy job in
the first place?” To which he
replied rather amusingly,
“Back in the early days of
the telephone company, the
long line department of the
American Telephone
Telegraph Company was
primarily a telegraph
system.” “During this time,
they were just beginning to
experiment with amplifiers
on telephone circuits.”
“This summer job lasted
for 47 years. ”
“I had always been in
terested in radio and in 1919
was enrolled in a technical
school,” Pitts said. “The top
heads of communications
networks in Washington.
came down and took about
the top third of our class and
offered us jobs for the sum
mer.”
“This summer job lasted
forty-seven years.” After
this explanation, Pitts gave
some background on broad
casting. He said in the early
days of broadcasting, most
cities had very limited com
munications range. Then he
told now someone had the
idea that if they could con
nect the communication sta
tions in the big cities, com
munications networks
around the country would
thrive.
Pitts later said, “During
the early years of my nareer,
all a person had to do to call
the President was to look up
the number in the directory
and get through to the
operator. Today, this is
unheard of.”
Pitts then began a run
through of the Presidents he
had worked under. This part
of his presentation yielded
his best liked Presidents:
Herbert Hoover, Dwight
Eisenhower, and John Ken
nedy. His least liked presi
dent was Lyndon B. Johnson
due, in part, to his suspicious
nature. He explained by say
ing, “Right after Kennedy’s
Cont. on page 5
Global Glance
American, Italian and
French troops have been
ordered back to Beirut to
help restore order after the
massacre of several hundred
Palestinians in a refugee
camp in Beirut. Several fac
tions of the Lebanese
population are blaming each
other. Israel has been criticiz
ed by the U.S. for allowing
the killers to enter the camp
without question.
Senator Jesse Helms was
dealt another defeat in the
Senate when his two propos
ed amendments were tabled
the Senate. Helm’s
-N.C.) amendments,
proposed prayer in
school and abolition of abor
tion, were tabled by a suc
cessful filibuster by pro
abortion Senators.
in
(Rep.
which
The professional football
player’s strike became a
reality on Tuesday,
September 21, when the
players announced their
strike when the owners refus
ed to negotiate the players
proposed plan that asked the, j
owners to give the players
550/0 of the gate receipts
received from the games.
Donald Pifts