■ON CAMPtIR
Bringle Book Due Out In Fall
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By Tara Shariff
Staff Writer
The name Mary Louise
Bringle, or Mel, brings to
mind a feminist religious
philosopher who has done it
all. Bringle graduated from
Guilford College in Greens
boro, N.C. with a double ma
jor in French and Religion.
When asked how she became
interested in religion, she
laughs, 'T had a crush on the
Religion professor." What
seriously attracted her to re
ligion were the questions
that were being asked by the
Religion department at her
college; questions of what
really matters in people's
lives. Bringle went to Paris,
France on a one year fellow
ship after graduation. After
wards she pursued her PhD.
in Theological studies at
Emory University in Atlanta.
During this time, she taught
at a seminary, and the Emory
Religion Department. She
also taught French and Eng
lish at the Berlitz Language
Schooland the Inlingua Lan
guage School. When first
asked to join the faculty at St.
Andrews, she said she was
flattered, but not interested.
Why would despair be a
deadly sin, as the early
Church taught? If faith,
hope, hope, and love are vir
tues to strive for, then surely
despair is a sin, she thought.
St. Andrews continued to ex
press an interest in her, so she
visited the campus and met
with Dr. Carl Walters. Being
from Greensboro, it was like
a homecoming. Bringle says
she would describe St. An
drews as the ideal college at
which to teach. She has been
at St. Andrews since 1983.
Bringle has a book due out
in the Fall entitled Despair:
Sin or Sickness. This book is
a revision of her dissertation,
dealing with Kierkegaard's
Sickness Unto Death. In this
book, Bringle talks of despair
as a sin. This troubled her
because whe was experienc
ing a type of despair herself.
What about the people that
are medically depressed, and
when is despair appropriate,
she asked. These questions
are explored in her new book.
In the first chapter, Bringle
takes two recent novels. The
Color Purple and Final Pay
ments, and uses the main
I characters as case studies in
their struggle against de
spair. She then goes back into
Church history to see what
theologians say about de
spair. Finally, there is her
own analysis of despair.
Bringle has already started
her second book which deals
with gluttony. In this book,
she will examine the conflict
that has arisen between the
early Church and the mod
em world involving eating
disorders.
Bringle says she is not sure
if anyone will read her books
except maybe her mother,
and other relatives. She does
promise free autographs to
St. Andrews students.
Dr. Mel Bringle
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Brotty's
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21 ff k^t St.
276-1477
Support Group
Meeting
Al-Anon, a support group
for individuals affected by
the problem drinking of a
fainily man or significant
other, will begin meeting on
February 21 at 8:00 p.m. in
the Belk Center's S.A. Con
ference Room. The group
will meet every Wednesday
evening and attendance is
limited to St. Andrews stu
dents. The purpose of Al-
Anon is to provide emotional
support and practical help in
dealing with the problems
caused by close contact with
a problem drinker. There is a
special bond among people
who share the same troub
ling experience; it begins
when one person says
to
another, "1 know just how
you feel." Knowing that
someone else truly under
stands one's feelings by vir
tue of having "been there"
can bring a sense of relief;
One's pain is no longer a solo
burden. Al-Anon works to
provide an atmosphere of aC •
ceptance that encourages it^
members to share their sor
rows, fears, and frustrations.
From there, the individual,
hopefully, can begin to com
municate more openly, view
their problems more objec
tively, and find more effec
tive coping strategies. If you
have any questions, please
call Rick at extension 210 or
Wini at extension at 399.
Smith
Continued from pg. 1 pleted this year. The paint-
The exhibition includes ings are
works from 1983 to his most favorite is
wMch he com- UntUM Still life Number 1.
Culture Society
Meets
By Ashwani Nagpal
Contributing
The World Culture Society
has decide to support the
well-being of a needy child in
Africa this year. Members of
the society have agreed to
contribute 50 cents each,
every month, to keep up the
support agreement of 22
dollars per month. The soci
ety welcomes the assistance
of the student body, and St.
Andrews Community in this
endeavor.
The WCS has also an
nounced its schedule for
Culture Week, April 1-8.
The schedule reads as fol
lows:
Sunday: Vespers
Monday: Cultural Exhibi
tion
Tuesday: Movie Night
Wednesday: Story telling
and poetry night
Thursday: Reflexology
show
(Chinese Accupuncture)
Friday: Soccer Match
Saturday: Cultural Dinner
Sunday: Cricket game, and
semi-forn\al tea. Party with
live band.