PAGE TWO—Smoke Signals, Wednesday, March 10, 1971
EDITORIALS
Nursing Ideas and Ideals
Lists of Greivances??
TO; The Associate Editor
FROM: The Editor
Dear Ron,
Pour out your greivances! Let them be known! Past
experience shows us that there will be very little
responce from the people at Chowan. But maybe If we
hit them just right we can initiate SOMETHING. In the
mean time we can write letters to each other. There's
always the possibility that it may amuse someone.
I have read your first list of greivances. I have one
suggestion, possibly a solution to your first problem.
Don't worry atxjut finding an empty phone booth or
bathroom (by the way, I didn't know Superman changed
In bathrooms). Didn't you learn when you were in Boy
Scouts to' Be Prepared'. In that case, you should always
wear your leotard in case of emergency. I doubt if
anyone will even notice you widly stripping off your
outer garnients to defend justice! Besides that.
Superman can do anything (and get away with it!!).
Following is my first list of greivances.
1.
2.
3.
Well, I hate to see an idle typewriter, so I shall con
tinue. I not only have an idle typewriter, but at the
moment I have an idle mind! Possibly someone will
come to my rescue and help me with a list of greivances.
I sat here for ten minutes and nobody came! What an
involved campus we have! No one will help a damsel in
distress! Pity, pity.
Maybe someone out there will read this and help me.
If have the students on campus would submit a
greivance to me we could really come up with some list!
WOW! Everybody submit one and we'll tally up the
outcome and let you know how your complaint rates
with everyone elses.
Comments
In order to better acquaint the
Chowan College family with
nursing, its goals, and its place in
our society, Mrs. Almira H.
Ockerman and Miss Faye
Overstreet were asked the
following questions:
What is a nurse?
Who should be a nurse?
Who shouldn’t be a nurse?
Mrs. Ockerman, chairman of
the Department of Nursing at
Chowan, answered from the point
of view of a Registered Nurse and
educator. Miss Overstreet 1st
Vice-President of the CCSNA, as
a student of nursing, answered
the questions from a students
viewpoint.
What Is A Nurse?
A nurse is an individual who
develops an art in the fulfillment
of an ideal through the application
of principles which have been
discovered by science. Tliis art
and science is applied under the
direction of a physician and in
cooperation wiUi other members
of &e health team, toward the
prevention of disease, the con
servation of health, and the care
or service of the sick. This “care
includes the whole” individual,
that is, his spiritual, emotional,
physical, mental, and social well
being and his environment. This
“service” includes the im
mediate health service and
teaching of the individual as well
as future health preservation.
Also, the service radiates to give
the same opportunities to the
family and the community of
which the individual is a mem
ber.
Who Should Be A Nurse:
One that possesses the qualities
and characteristics of a good
man or woman, and who can be
trusted with the responsibilities
of human life, and also has good
basic qualities of character.
A long and varied list of traits
can be compiled and on any list
should include those virtues
which are attributed to persons
who serve in a Christian spirit.
The greatest of these virtues,
from which all others flow, is
charity. The other virtues are
faith, hope, prudence, justice,
fortitude, and temperance.
One should be willing to really
Imow the job. Gentleness and
friendliness should be expressed
when the work is being per
formed. This one should be well-
informed in other than her major
role responsibilities, and be
congenial and happy, and be
available at all times. When a
function is performed one must
be willing to take time to explain
the whys and hows of it and must
be clean and well-groomed at all
times.
Who Should Not Be A Nurse:
One that lacks one of these
traits six>uld not consider the
responsibility
human life.
of caring for
of a ^Black Boss^
It is not everyday that I would conceive of criticising
the system or in this particular case the administration
of Chowan College. 1 consider myself a very outspoken
person not because I like it, but because I am and there
is nothing I can or would like to do to change it.
My purpose for writing this article is not to gain or
lose friendship, but to try and give the students and any
other concerned persons a better look at the way the
Black student is treated by our administration here when
he is doing a conscientious job. I must say if friendship
is to stand in the way then its expedience is of little
importance to me. I love to tell It like I see It and not be
ostentatious in doing so. Of course there are a few who
would rather believe this than to face the facts.
I am a Black student with much to lose and nothing in
reality to gain by writing this article, but did I force
myself into this school? People, I must say are and can
be very foolish at times, but when this foolishness
hampers the progress of other people it is as wrong as
two left shoes. I had a job as an assistant resident on the
third floor of East Hall two weeks ago which has made a
reputation for itself as being the worse floor on campus.
Yes, I, a Black Man, was the so called "general" of 30
white fellows with this established reputation. I am also
the President of the dorm. Now wait, do I mean to say
that I was the assistant resident and President also?
That is absolutely right I was, and any white person in
his little white mind would surely say, "that nigger sure
has a hell of a lot of power," and in reality it was said
just like this repeately. I had and still have the power of
President which I HAVE USED AND WILL USE IN
THE BEST INTEREST OF THE DORM TO KEEP
ORDER.
The point is, I was given the job as assistant resident
and I tried, with little help from the Dean of Men, to do a
good job, which I was getting paid to do. The
condition on the floor was in reality a riot when I took the
job. I would say that there was from the very start
reluctance on the part of the administration to hire me,
but to give the Black Man a title would satisfy a few of
the Blacks and make them feel as if they are so much a
part. The administration, I feel, had no idea that I was
as demanding as it later found out with the calldowns I
gave by the dozen to keep order on the floor. I would say
I averaged anywhere from 5 to 10 calldowns pending any
given night and managed to put a couple of fellows on
social campus, which I feel was less than what they
actually should have been given.
It just so happened that three fellows with eight, nine
and sixteen calldowns managed to get off the hook on the
obvious efforts of friends who just happened to be on the
dorm council that felt certain calldowns I had given
were not legitimate. Protest, protest, is exactly
what I did, I went to the mouth of the river and laid the
facts on the line which were, that unless the fellows were
put on at least one weeks social campus I wouldn't write
another calldown. The Head Resident, in commenting
on this, said "There is no use In your being up there if
you're not going to give calldowns", my rebuttal was,
"What's the use In having an assistant resident anyhow
if you're not going to honor his calldowns?"
It happened that one of the three was put on social
campus in an obvious effort on the part of the ad
ministration to satisfy me. Of the two remaining the
Dean of Men accepted the dorm council's decision on
one and the council refused to accept the recom
mendation of the Dean to put the other on social cam
pus.
I wasn't born yesterday and for this reason I knew the
white man at the mouth of the river In reality didn't
appreciate this Black AAan giving his white kids
calldowns. But I consider myself a man and if an in
dividual either Black, Green, Red or even white put
himself in the predicament ot get a calldown he would
surely get one, with no regards to friendship. The white
man I feel would rather see his kids noisy than to have a
Nigger boss them around and this is exactly how it was
looked at from my point of view. It is either this or we
have an administration weighted down with op
portunists, who have stood in the dark waiting for the
ideal time to step in the lime light. This ideal time came
when the fellows got together and hollered, "that Nigger
is giving just too many calldowns up there for nothing."
Hence, instead of Mr. Charley sticking up for me as he
had previously said he would, found this to be the ideal
time to ask this Black Man for his resignation, so he did
just that.
Yes, this Black Man was stripped of his duties and
branded with a brand of bitterness. What more can I
conclude when the white man sits on his rump of hatred
and says, "You were very conscientious and I would if
asked to, give a reccomendation saying you are capable
of doing the work." With the noise still going on now that
I'm resigned the point was brought out that I was
directly responsible for the noise, in as much as the
fellows were making the noise in an effort to annoy me.
This I feel is the easy way out for anyone looking for a
reason.
In reality if by my giving calldowns prompted the
asking of my resignation than their purpose is being
defeated for I'm still the President with the power to
give calldowns which must and will be honored and
there is no getting around it. Considereing this and
seeing that I was doing such a conscientious job, why
then was I asked to resign? Think about it
and if a logical reason is found then I would like to be the
first to know. It is from small things like this, that
larger things develop and I would say that had there
been a few hundred Blacks studying here, Chowan could
very well have staked her claim as far as riots and
campus unrest in concerned. This I must say is ab
solutely right if there had been two or three hundred
Blacks here there could have very easily have been
unrest and the reason would be for the very question I
have asked above.
In a world of such hatred and tension as we now live, I
find it no more than condign to think before we act for to
act blindly can hold serious consequences. I would like
to close by saying that, "by experience we fail to learn
then we are surely doomed." Don't fool yourself for the
days of old are dead and gone. We either change with
the time or get run over.
Donald Ray Patton
Water,Water Everywhere
Remember when you used to play in the mud when you
were little? It was fun then, huh? Well how come it isn't
now?
Chowan offers the best puddles and mud I've seen in a
long time. You must agree with me. Remember all the
rain we had last week? Remember walking to class in
it?
You know what I mean now, don't you?
I would like to make a formal suggestion of Im
provement to the Building and Grounds Department. It
is a big reguest, but Ihope it is shown some con
sideration.
The drainage along the campus walks is pretty bad.
The water seems to get quite deep especially in front of
Jenkins Hall. Possibly this can be mentioned when
suggestions for improvement are discussed.
Certainly it seems like a trivial complaint, but really
It isn't. Chowan has a lovely campus, but when it rains,
the loveliness is nearly drowned. Who can appreciate
beauty when they are debating whether to walk in the
mud, which could be pretty solid (depending on the
amount of rain), or to go ahead and walk through the
puddle?
Maybe you'll agree that it deserves consideration.
JULIE HOSKINS
Taken from “Steppingstones to
Professional Nursing.”
By ALMIRA H. OCKERMAN
A Nurse is a person having
specialized qualifications to
practice Nursing wiiich includes
counciling, teaching, and ren
dering direct care to people who
are in need.
The Nurse councils people
concerning their total health:
how to take preventive measures
to enjoy the test of health; how to
carry out the advice and
recommendations of physicians
to achieve recovery from illness
as promptly as possible, in other
words, how to achieve the best of
health.
The Nurse teaches people how
to care for themselves: how to
plan a diet which has been
prescribed by a physician; how to
do exercises to recover the use of
the part of the txxly which has
been injured and has been
treated by a physician or
surgeon; how to make a plan for
living if the person is the victim
of heart disease or stroke.
Thus, the Nurse, because of her
expertise, renders direct care to
people who are ill. If she needs
help to do this, she supervises the
work of Licensed Practical
Nurses, Aides, and-or orderlies.
To qualify to practice as a
Nurse, a person must be a
graduate of an approved school
for Registered Nursing, and must
have successfully passed a
licensing examination.
The Nurse may expand his or
her qualifications by further
study to specialize in &e care of
children, the care of the aged, the
care of people with heart disease,
the care of people suffering from
cancer, and other specialties. As
he or she increases his or her
lx)dy of knowledge, he or she
becomes a clinical specialist.
Some prepare themselves to
IH-actice Public Health Nursing.
This is becoming a broader field'
every day.
The person who wants to
practice Nursing should, first of
all, enjoy sound health. Second,
he or she should like people and
want to help people. Third, he-she
should be a good student, in high
school and in college. He-she
should like to study and be able to
profit from reading. He-she must
always lie a student for the
process of learning never ceases
in Nursing. New discoveries in
science and new methods develop
every day. The Nurse must l)e
alert and eager to adapt new
processes, new tests, and new
methods into the practice of
Nursing.
I have been asked who should
not be a Nurse. I would say the
person who cannot meet the
challenge of the foregoing—the
person who always thinics of self
first and who is not interested or
capable of on-going growth and
development of talents and
abilities.
Letter to
the
Editor
Literary |
Musings |
By PROF, ROBERT G. MULDER
Enough To Make a Grown Man Cry
When one has to wait a long time in a
washerette for the week’s washing to do itself, he
stumbles across many discarded, outdated
magazines and, to punish himself for not
bringing along something better, he simply
reads what’s before him. And once in a while he
may find something worthwliile and not
uninteresting at all.
Such was the case recently in our local “The
Wash Tub,” owned and operated by my long
time friend, Joe Dixon. (For a plug: it’s located
next to the best dry cleaning place in town. Town
’N College Cleaners, on Wynne Street.)
Anyone who has a feeling for dogs must read
the touching editorial by Loudon Wainwright
titled “Another Sort of Love Story.” Of course,
it’s nothing new to find people who make family
members of favorite dogs and cats, but not
always do you find a major magazine giving a
full three-column page to the memorializing of a
deceased pet. Life magazine did on January 22,
1971.
Wainwright began his enlogy with Erich
Segal’s now-famous beginning: what can you
say atx)ut an 11%-year-old dog that died? |(0h,
no! I thought, not another take-off on
LOVE STORY, and it wasn’t-just an interest-
catcher.)
Rarely have I read a more touciiing account of
a “passing of this life.” The editorial was
amusing, it was beautifully written, and, like
Love Story, it hits the soft part of the heart.
In the event you fail to see the whole piece,
three brief passages follow:
“There was a totally nonhuman quality in
his (the dog’s) loving. Virtually everyone
was a suitable target for his affection, and
unlike your one-man brute who will slobber
over his master’s hand and then dismemi)er
the neighbor’s cliild, he menaced notliing,
including the rabbits he chased and never
got and the skunks who always got tiim.
“Although he was forced to live with a
succession of cats, I don’t think he liked
them at all. Yet in most moods but joy, he
was a model of understatement. The weary
and wary tolerance he displayed at the cats’
rude spitting or at their hit-and-run assaults
from ambush beneath a chair was the closest
he came to expressing real distaste.
“I hope he had a full and happy sex life,
but I know only of one affair; it was
arranged and he fathered a litter from it.
His partner in this matter was a bitch from
the household of good friends. She, too, was
sweet and easygoing and she looked more or
less as if she came from a similarly mixed
background.”
Needless to explain, the story has a sad en
ding: the poor dog dies and his master will never
quite i)e the same, so he says, and considering
the editorial I could not doubt him
As I recall the incident, I marvel at how an
unknown animal can become so alive and so
important that when the final curtain falls a
certain lump comes in the tiiroat.
That’s what happened to me anyway and
perhaps that was a tear that fell on the dry un
derwear I was folding.
The Mighty Gentle Cat In Literature
Diu-ing the last few days I have had the
pleasure of knowing a new friend. The fact that
he is yellow is to his credit, I suppose, and his
long hair • would not even be objectionable to my
parents.
Earl J. Wagerdorn belongs to a girl at Old
Dominion and I just happen to t)e giving him
room and board and affection for a short while.
He’s very smart and knows exactly what he
wants in life and seems to convey to me many of
ills simple wants.
He enjoys naps on my sofa, meals of anything
that smells of hsh, chasing birds, and clawing
my hands. But such has been the life of cats
through the ages, even those finding themselves
centered in worlds of literature.
Three of these cunning animals found-
themselves in a nursery rhyme, and most of us
have felt sorry at one time or another for the
ttiree innocents who lost their mittens and were
reprimanded severely by their mother. What a
psychological set-back these must have suffered.
Some years later in the eighth grade, I
delighted to a story by H. H. Munro titled
“Tobermory.” The protagonist of this one was a
talking cat, the namesake of the story, who blew
the top off a certain society circle by t)eing able
to communicate the bare truth about things he
had overheard. To the faked dismay of the entire
circle, Tobermory was killed by Big Tom from
the Rectory, the obvious lesson iieing that
humanity can never really accept the truth.
The whole reading public is probably familiar
with the weird tale by the master, Edgar Allan
Poe, called “The Black Cat.” Though the writer
does not have the animal talk as he does his
famous bird (with the one-word vocabulary), he
still demonstrates the power of this animal as he
seeks retribution for his mistress, and like other
tales, the first person narrator is condemned as
the cat plays a part in man’s fate.
Earl may not be able to talk but he can com
municate and that’s more than some humans
can do. Who knows? He may even find himself in
one of my stories-to-be; Earl J. would like that.
MORE ON SEGAL and LOVE STORY
Twice before I have commented in some way
on last year’s number one best-seller.
Love Story by Erich Segal. For weeks now the
movie version has set all-time records at the box
office, but the critics refuse to see the worth of
the twok or the screen showing.
I haven’t seen the movie tjut many of'my'-'
students have. Let me say that most of them do
not agree with the following reviews:
PLAYBOY (March, 1971): “All MacGraw
plays the beautiful young bride who succumbs to
leukemia, and, well, bring the Kleenex... It’s a
passion that linbers in one’s mind for a good five
munutes.”
TRUE (March, 1971): “Love Story is an old-
fashioned weeper, taken fairly word-for-word
from the maudlin, tear jerking best seller.
Heroine Ali MacGrraw takes forever to die.
Miss it if you can.”
With these adverse reviews in mind, I plan to
see the movie the first chance I get.
QUESTION: Do you think that
the Nixon Welfare Plan will solve
the social problems of the nation?
WHERE ASKED: Whitaker
library
WHO WERE ASKED:
To: Editor of Smoke Signals
Who or what is the Student
Legislature? Do you Imow that
there is a student legislature? If
the answer is yes, which I doubt,
do you Imow what they have
done? I can answer the last
question in one word: NOTHING!
NOTHING!
The purpose of the Student
Legislature is to change and
amend some of the policies at
Chowan. They have amended
nothing and have certainly
dianged nothing. Could this be
because of the big brass? Well
your guess is as good as mine.
The Student Legislature has
proposed that there be mail boxes
placed at different areas on
campus because of the tr.ouble
in having to walk to the Student
Union to mail a letter home, but
that was turned down with the
explanation that students would
destory them.
Well, my next question is
should we have a Student
Legislature? If you come to the
same conclusion that I have then
your answer should be NO
because it is a big joke.
Jay Collins, Secretary, Student
Legislature.
(ed. note; The Advisor to the
Student Legislature is Dean
Lewis.
Is this the only opinion, or is there
more?)
CAROL MOORE—Fresh.,
Poquoson, Va. No, I don’t think
the plan will help our social
problems. It will be hard for
those who are trying to make a
living while the ones who don’t
put forth an effort will benefit.
CATHY PARKER—Sop
Murfreesboro, N.C. Yes, I believe
this is a good plan to improve the
living conditions of the poor.
CHERYL GASSAWAY—F
New Bern, N.C. The Nixon
Welfare Plan will not solve the
social problems. I believe in
helping someone only if he shows
an effort in wanting to be helped.
Hand out money will make him
dependent upon his giver.
BRUCE CARROLL-Soph.,
LaGrange, N.C. I think the plan is
a little too idealistic, though it
could be beautiful to have no
poverty in the country. It sounds
a little communistic to me. Wipe
out social climbing and you wipe
our progress, spend the money on
birth control.
BECKI WALL—Soph., Clayton,
N.C. Well, I agree to the
philosophy behind the plan, but I
an afraid complications will arise
in its imprimentation. I believe
this is an honest effort to help our
poor families throughout the
country. The poor people should
realize however that our society
does not neglect them and it
should be taken as an initiative to
uplift their standard of living. In
other words, they whould try
their best to help themselves first
before others will come to their
aid.
JOHN HORTON—Soph., Rich
mond, Va. I really don’t know if
the Nixon Plan will solve the
problem or not. Actually I don’t
think any solution can be found in
the near future. I feel however
that a change is needed in the
system.