EDITORIALS
Academy Mentor Says Rules Are Fair
BY KELLAM PARKS
Recently, an editorial was run
in the Lance attacking the St.
Andrews Academy on many
fronts. After reading this piece I
felt an obligation to reply; to give
a more informed accoimt of the
why’s and wherefore’s involved
with this newly-established part
of our college.
The Academy was founded in
order to give high school students
the chance to get ahead. It was
believed that certain students
were under-challenged by the cur
riculum in their schools and that
St. Andrews could offer a more
rigorous academic milieu, while
offering an adjustment to college
life.
The conditions necessary for
the establishment of this program
were hammered out by the admin
istration of the school in conjunc
tion with Neal Bushoven, the
Headmaster. Some ideas tossed
around (having been implemented
by other schools with similar
programs) were a closed Resi
dence Hall (prohibiting non
academy members), bed-checks
and lock-ins. Such policies are
wholly against the “free” spirit
of St. Andrews and were sum
marily rejected. Yet, there re
mained a need for certain poli
cies due to insurance and legal
reasons.
What was put into place were
the least restrictive policies pos
sible for this sort of program. A
look at those policies that were
attacked would be helpful in
clearing up any misconceptions
about “tyranny” or “oppression”
by the college.
The Academy students have
a sign-in policy regarding curfew
(11:30 p.m. weekdays and 12:30
a.m. on weekends), which states
that students will not leave
Granville after signing in. This
procedure is not, as the editorial
wrote, a testament of the lack of
trust by the Resident Mentors
(we are not Resident Assistants)
The Lance
The Lance is the student run publication of St. Andrews Presbyte
rian College. It is a forum for the ideas and opinions of St. Andrews
students. The opinions published in this paper are not necessarily the
opinions of the Lance. Although the Lance is a student newspaper, we
accept editorials and other information from the community at large.
Any response can be left at the Lance office or sent to box 5619.
Staff
Editor: Becky Stacy
Assistant Editor: Sue Lewke
Writers: Ruth Cook, Regina Harrington, Tashia Jones Michelle Melton,
Aaron Selzer, Brandi Miss, Neil Davis
Advisors: Mark Kruea, Ann Kurtzman
Special Thanks to Rooney Coffman and the Laurinburg Exchange
or administration. By signing in,
the Academy students give their
written word on certain behavior.
Such a system requires trust in or
der to work-without it, one could
not expect any of the conditions
to be met. Accordingly, we as
mentors do not check their rooms
to make sure they are there, nor
do we have a spy network on cam
pus to ferret out misbehaviors.
Their word is enough.
Another condition that was at
tacked in the editorial was that of
the visitation policy. After curfew,
non-Academy members are not al
lowed within rooms or residential
suites of Granville; however, such
guests are more than welcome in
the main lounge and in the court
yard. This may be inconvenient,
however it is a far cry from the
penitentiary-style visitation with
glass walls, phone conversations
and armed guards monitoring ev
ery word and action.
The bottom line is that for a
program such as the Academy,
there must be more stringent con
ditions. The college is providing
opportunities above and beyond
what is available in high school,
while also providing a
transitionary period for these ac
celerated students. Jumping
straight into college is a big step,
and many first-year students are
overwhelmed and flounder in the
new fi'eedoms and responsibilities.
Those students selected for the
Academy were chosen not only
because of high grades and scores
but also because of their maturity-
yet they are still a year younger
than the regular first-year students.
The Academy’s policies
(continued on page 6)
St Andrews Presbyterian Collette
Academy
Student Rebuts
BY SUE LEWKE
As an Academy student I felt
that I should reply to Spanky’s
editorial, and give the campus a
different view of the rules and
how the Academy students feel
about them.
Several of the students do dis
agree with the rules, but we all
know that they are necessary, and
we are willing to abide by them,
for the most part, because with
out them we would still be stuck
in high school. I know from per
sonal experience that the rules are
very easy to break, simply be
cause there are so many of them
and some of them cover very
minute offenses that most people
don’t think about, but the men
tors and Neil all understand that
we are trying very hard, and they
have given us several breaks.
Living in the Academy or
Granville, is not preventing us
from receiving the full college
experience. Non-Academy stu
dents are allowed in the main
lounge and courtyard after cur
few, and we can basically do any
thing we want at that time, except
leave Granville. Yes, it is a pain
to have to leave somewhere by a
certain time in order to be back
in time to sign in, but I don’t see
these rules as “ultra conserva
tive,” and they will all be lifted
in a few months.
The Academy is a great ex
perience for those of us involved,
and I know that I would much
rather put up with the rules for a
few months than be back in high
school!!
Don’t Forget
It’s parents’ weekend, so
it’s time to clean your
room, do your laundry^
and take a shower!!