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THE SKIRL
lanuary, I960
THE SKIRL
Published by the Students of Flora Macdonald’ College
Red Springs, North Carolina
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ann McLeod
ASSISTANT EDITOR Marion Davis
BUSINESS MANAGER Joanne Matthews
ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER Sandra Abbot
ART EDITORS Reta Godwin, Sylvia McRae
CIRCULATION MANAGER Nellie Faye Cribb
COLUMNIST Drena Edwards
FACULTY ADVISOR Miss Virginia Ann Walker
REPORTERS .. Betty Lou Futrelli, Sylvia Jennings, Sheila Welch,
Virginia Woods, Jane Lowe, Martha Perry Elaine Waird
TYPISTS Lee McMaster, TwinMe Bums, Elllen Herndon
BUSINESS STAFF Mitsn Bartlett, Janice Belford,
Liz Green, Sally Johnson, Ginny Wallace,
Mary Anna Wells, Becky Wlhietstone
Are Your Feelings About Exams Siniilar? Taxes for Us May
Be Even Higher
EDITOR’S EFFORT
Exams are in the air! A® a result the campus; is pJlagueid ^th
various confused and mingted feelings of apprefhension, anxiety,
worry, -distiress, fear, dlread, and general tension whidh lurk about
here and there in' our minidis due to the impeniding exiam season.
These are not new to us; we have hadi simlar experiences witii
them many times before when exams* approached. We have re
solved as many times not ito be submerged agala by such feelings,
but our resolutions were dissoillved as easily as itihey were resolved
—that is, they fell into nothingness.
Now w'hy is it that we are tormented by this needlessi worry
and apprehension about examsi? Has it suddenly dawned on us
that we are the world’s greatest procirastiruators? Procrastination
that is a weak point of a vast majority of us. In addition, it
can account partially for the excessive anxiety we experience
during exams. We cruise along lightly each semester, failing to
make full use of eaichi day’s opportuni(ties by itakinig the attitude
of “why bother to do it today when I can. do it tomorrow.’ A
door placard on one haliL aptly states it; “Do it tomorrow, You ve
made enough misitakes today.” This strikes us at first for its
element of humor, but simxiBtaneousliy, for the real truth
it reveals about many of us. Perhaps we have made many mis
takes during the day, but one good reason we procrastinate is
our lack of self-discipline and of desire ito accompiliish anything.
As a consequence of this constant postponement, we at this late
hour findi ourselves ffrantiicailly Sjeeking to cover tfhe required
ages of paralJfel, to finish up the overdue term paper or pro
ject, to read the imread ^hapteiisi of the textbook, and on it goes.
Then there lare other reasons why we become tense about
examsi. What about outside interests wttiich have been more at
tracting than aaiy studies could ever be. Fear of failure to meet
our standards for grades—^good grades—pllus fear of not passing
at ail enters into the creation of this 'anixiety. Perhaps basic to
am these is the faict that we forget to regard examsi as. a chal
lenge through wMch to find out what progress we have made.
Taking adlvantage of attl today’s opportunities and possibili
ties, keeping our outside indlulgences subordinate to our school
work, developing seW-confidence and seillf-discipline, setting stan-
diardls not too high (neither too low), putting the ohaHenige back
in exams—these may serve to remove or at least alleviate much
of the tension we usually experience prior to and during tihds
period of teating.
It’s me again, Gloria Daugh
try, and T have a problem. The
other night a bunch of us freshh
men were sitting around talk
ing. Finally the subject got
around to Judgment Day—or
rather to exaim week. We are all
a (Ettle confused. Those thought
ful, considerate upperclassmen,
who ailways give us such good
advice, told us that exam time
was: their favorite time of the
year. “Wlhy,” they say, “you get
more sleep then than you do
any other time during the
year.” As for me, everytime I
think about the dread subjects
I get cMUs, I can hardily talk,
my hands ibegin to shake, anid
I know I add at least four gray
hairs to my (head. We couldn’t
decide whether to go into shock
or to be joyful because exams
are approaching; so someone
got the bright idea of conduct
ing a survey.
Many people gave such choice
comments as, “AhbMih! I hate
them.” One of oxir leading citi
zens said, “Well, we’ve got
three weeks between Christmas
and exams so there is no need
to worry.” She really was sur
prised when we informed her
of the awful truth. We continu
ed our survey iamong tih'e fresh
men. Most of them are just
plain scared to deaitih'. “Three
hours is suidi a long time—^How |
wi!E T ever leam enough to fill ■
uip that much time” is the gene-1
ral thought of most of our class. |
But tflie upper classmen say,
“Three hours isn’t long enough!
to write everything down,”
The comment that got me was,
“Just give me a bottle of No-|
Doz, ri sleep all day and study
ali niglht—'I’m not worried at
all about exams.” |
One of our more serious
sophomores said, “I thimk we
shouMi be on the quarter sys-1
tem. It is stupid to go ihome for |
two weeks, forget what little
you know, come back, and have
to relearn it all.” Also on the
serious side, “I think exams are
the best way to sum up the
semester’s work, but they should
not count as much as they do.
Suppose a student just does not
feel quite up to par that day
and makes a bad grade. I really
think we should be on the quar
ter system.
j My problem is stiU. not solved.
I just don’t know what to do.
Shall I sleep or study, cry or
scream, go ahead or go home
to (Mom, and would it be best
to quit before exams or wait
and faiunk out? WHAT DO YOU
THINK?
The Student CouncE has passed along the word that they
intend to make a thorough study of the demerit system. They
feel that it needs a rigorous evaluation after we’ve seen it operate.
Most ideas must be modified as they are practiced. Give this
evaluation your serious thougftit and consideration. Do you like
living under the demerit system? Does it have weak points that
can be improved? If we think the council has madfe a mistake,
we ought to teU them so; and if we think the demerit system
is a vast improvement, it wouldm’t do a bit of (harm to tell them
that either.
Hs sjs * *
We noticed a new book on display ini the library — All the
Birds of the Bible. Wonder what characters are on that list?
St: * * *
The students appreciate very mucfh the improvements which
were made during the holidays in ithe vicinity of the rotunda.
A.McL.
The Skirl exchanges with the foUov/ing college newspapers:
The Twig, Meredith Colege, Raleigh, N.C.
The Clian-Caffl, Belhaven CoMege, Jackson, Miss.
The Lantern, Limestone College, Gaffney, S.C.
The CoUegiate, Atlantic Christian College, Wilson, N.C.
The Pfeiffer News, Pfeiffer College, Misenheimer, N.C.
The Appalachian, Appaliadhian State Teachers College, Boone,
North Carolina.
Conitacit, Belmont Abbey Colege, Belmont, N. C.
The Sandsipur, Presbyterian Junior CoUege, Maxton, N.C.
The piaividisonian, Davidson Colege, Davidson, N.C.
The Dialettei .Montreat College, Montreat, N.C.
This Meal Question
To the editor:
We would like to take this
OBESsrtvuxity tfv our posi
tion on a matter brought up at
the student body meeting on
January 13, 1960. An announce-1
ment was made concemioig
mealis. No student may sign out
in the meal ibook for lunch or j
dinner and remain in her room.
She must be off campus. I
We believe that if we are old
enough to go off to colege, we |
are certainly old enough to de
cide if we want to go to meals.
After ail, we do pay for our
mealis and the toss- is realy our’s
and not the school’s if we sipi
in the meal book two hours be
fore the meal.
We hope that the Student
Council will consider revising
this ruia
Bee Kemmerlin
Sandra Adams
Dream Gomes True
Coming Events
January 1960
Tues. 19, Reading Day
Wed. 20-27, Exam Week
Thurs. 28, Regisitration
Fri. 29, Classes Begin
Fri. 29, Concert Series —
Carmen, 8:15
February 1960
, Wed. 3, Faculty Meeting, 7:15
Thuris. 4, Vespers, 6:40
Thurs. 4, Great Books, 7:30
Tues. 9-Thurs. 11, Spiritual
Enrichment Week
Wed. 10, Faculty Coffee for
Dr. Frye.
Sat. 13, A. A. Trip to Duke-
Carolina Game
i Mon. 15, Capsule Day, Party,
10:15
Thurs. 18, Convocation, 10:00
Thurs. 18, Vespers,- 6:40
The folowing article concern
ing one of our students appear
ed in the “Daly Tribune” in
West Covina, California, on
Tuesday, December 22, 1969.
West Covina — “My dream hlas
come true,” Bettie Lou Black-
well beamed yesterday.
She was embracing her brothr
ler, Charles Bames, smilng
Ithrough tear-‘moistened eyes at
Mrs. Bames, and trying to catch
glimpses of the Bames’ four
children — al' at once — at
the Bames’ home, 1019 Morris
Ave.
This was a reunion of a broth
er and sister, adopted -by dif
ferent fanulies in North Caro
lina 21 years ago. And it culminr
ated a long search by three mem
bers of an orphaned family to
find their lost “baby” sister.
The search began early this
year when an older brother,
Tliomas Bames, visited the fam-
ly home towni. While there, he
decided to try and find his “ba
by” sister, who ihad been adop
ted upon the death of their
mother.
Keeping in touch with the
rest of the family, Thomas made
a trip to the adoption agency
in Raleigh, where he learned
Bettie Lou had been adopted by
a Mr. and Mrs. Blackwel of
Oxford. Upon arriving in Ox-
he was told the Blackwelilis had
been dead for several years, but
he was directed to Bettie Lou’s
guardian, a foster uncle.
Bettie Lou, a senior at Flora
Macdonald College in Red
Springs, N. C., said, after being
Thurs. 18, Great Books, 7:30
Fri. 19, Wiliams’ Recital, 8:16
Sat. 20, Classes Dance, 8:15
Sat. 2i7, WF Deputation from
UTS-PISOE
If you are troubled by a $290
billion national debt and am $80
billon federal budget, cheer up.
It’s going to get worse.
I That debt of $290 bilion,
Fedieral Budget Director Mau-
I rice Stans discloses, isn’t the
h^ of it. Laws pa^ed in form-
er sessions of Congress have ob-
I ligated this country to pay out
another $360 bllion in future
^ years, over and a.bove the ex-
1 penses that will be inicurred dur-
j ing those years.
I As for that $80 billion bud
get, Stans warns that “unless we
hold the line now, the day is
not too distant when the budget
will rise to the $90 biiEion or
$100 billion range.” In the last
session of Congress alone, 20 ma
jor spending biffls were intro-
j duced in the House and 20 in
‘ the Senate, whidh, if passed,
would add $50 billion to $60
billion a year to present spend
ing.
As for economizing, neadly 85
per cent of the budget is “locked
in” in commitments for nation
al security, interest on the pub
lic debt, and mandatory bene
fits for agriculture, veterans anid
I the needy. That leaves little
room for disicretion or for cut-
; ting expenses.
i Those are mean facts. Here
1 is another fact. This is an elec
tion year, and no legislator wil
want to say “no” to any spend--
Ing pToposail! unless he is con
vinced completely that it wil be
wortlh more votes than saying
“yes.” Any citizen who expects
Congress' to be stingy in hand
ing out federal funds this year
had better let ’his Congressman
know labout it now, and in no
uncertain terms.
united with Thomas and (anoth
er sister, Mrs. Aim Chadwick,
“I am so thankful that my
dreams have come true — find
ing my relatives.”
Bettie Lou wil' spend her
Christmas vacation at her broth
er’s home and then retxxm to
colege. Her arrival here was de
layed for two days beoause bad
weather prevented her sched
uled flight.
YDG Discusses
Pcssibility Of
Catholic President
The timely question, “Should
a Catholic be President of the
United States,” was; the subject
under discussion at the Young
Democrats Club meeting last
week. Mr. Gustafson, who led
(the discussion, presented a pa-
Iper on democracy and' various
Ipoin'ts in relation to Senator
John' Kennedy (Mass.), who is
a candidate for the Democratic
(presidential nominee.
It does make a difference if
a Catholic is president of our
nation. However, the greatest
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