Volume 10 Number 11
Chowan College, Murfreesboro, NC
May 7, 1979
Dean Lowe appears to be glancing on the direction of flower girl Heather Nelson before crowning Queen Helen
Lindsey. Royal escort Marvin Hunter stands beside the queen. (Photo by Pattie Bolgosano)
Helen Lindsey Crowned
Spring Festival Queen
By CINDY LEE
Helen Lindsey, representing East
Hall, was crowned Queen of Spring by
Dr. B. Franklin Lowe, Jr., dean of the
college, as the climax of the annual
Chowan Spring Festival week.
East Hall made a clean sweep when
Betsy Paffe was selected Princess.
Members of the two royal courts were
sophomores Joy Braswell, Veronica
Stevens and Suzanne Bradley and
freshmen Terri Arnold, Nancy
Stephenson arid Pamela Harris.
The Spring Festival was begun with
movies every night during the week of
April 23.
The height of the festivities were
Friday and Saturday. Friday, even
with the threat of rain, afternoon ac
tivities were begun as scheduled.
Students played volleyball, horseshoes
and many other games, llie eventual
rain caused cancelation of only one
activity, the cutest legs contest. Music
was provided by the local radio station,
WWDR.
The evening’s activities came to a
climax with the showing of the movie
“The Wizard” followed by a disco
dance in Belk Hall.
Saturday, Parents Day, included
many of the same activities in the park,
as well as alumni meetings and class
reunions. Alumni from classes as far
back as 1910 were present.
The afternoon was spent leisurely
participating in many activities. One
could listen to a blugrass band, Vic
Claybum and the Soundmasters, enjoy
60 gallons of free ice cream, listen to the
stage band or choir. At 4 p.m. the Queen
of Spring was crowned.
The week’s activities came to a close
with a semi-formal dance, music
provided by “Buster”.
Dean R. Clayton Lewis called the 1979
Spring Festival one of the best in his
years here.
Mrs. Elliott
Gives Painting
To Chowan
By DANIEL BENDER
“I love the river,” stated the in
firmary’s resident artist, Mrs. Marie
Elliot, after giving a painting to
Chowan.
The painting of a scene on the Per
quimans River was given to Chowan to
liven the lobby in Columns Building.
Mrs. Elliot stated, she remembers
swimming in the river at this point as a
child. She added that it has a new
bridge across it now but she chose to
paint it at she, remembered it from her
childhood
Mrs. Elliot, the associate director of
health services for the college,
graduated from Chowan with an
associate degree in art.
Student Accuses Police
Of Mass Beating During
His Arrest for Littering
By DONNA SWICEGOOD
“I’ll empty my pockets; I’ll take my
clothes off if you’ll just stop hitting
me.”
These were the words with which
witnesses said Chowan sophomore Paul
C. Thompson Jr. begged for mercy dur
ing his ordeal which began shortly
before 11 p.m. on April 9 when the
automobile driven by his wife,
Kathleen, was stopped by a Mur
freesboro policeman who accused him
of littering.
Thompson’s version of the incident
which W to his being charged with four
offenses and later undergoing emergen
cy treatment at the veterans’ hospital
in Hampton, Va. follows:
The Thompsons, accompanied by two
other Chowan students, were headed
for the Thompson apartment on College
Street when the car was stopped by
Murfreesboro policeman Wilbur Terry
who asked Mrs. Thompson, the driver,
for her driver’s license, which she said
was back in the apartment.
Thompson offered to show proof of
their identity and asked Terry what his
probable cause was for stopping the
vehicle.
The officer asserted that he had seen
a cigarette pack thrown from a window.
Thompson’s response was that neither
he nor his wife smokes and that all win
dows of the car were closed.
At this point Thompson stepped out of
the car and Terry began manhandling
him, telling him he was under arrest.
Other police cars arrived and,
Thompson continued, several officers
Photo by Mork Moron
THOMPSON
began beating on him while placing
handcuffs on him. The beating con
tinued as Thompson was being dragged
into a police car and while the car was
en route to the Murfreesboro police sta
tion.
During this short trip, the police car
was stopped in the parking lot behind
the North Carolina National Bank
where additional beating took place.
Thompson estimated eight to ten of
ficers participated at various times in
the beating. ,
Kathleen Thompson said that when
she first saw her husband being beaten
with a billy club, she attempted to pull
the officers off him. As a result, she
said, she was threatened at gunpoint
with arrest.
The students riding in the Thompson
car, Susan Fletcher and Lori Bowden,
said they saw mace or some other
substance being sprayed in Thompson’s
face by police. They also told of Thomp
son’s plea to the police to stop beating
him.
At the police station, Thompson was
charged with littering, resisting arrest,
disorderly conduct and assault on a
police officer.
At no time during the time he was in
police custody were his rights read to
him, Thompson maintained.
Mrs. Thompson also declared that
when she posted bond in excess of $500
for her husband’s release, a magistrate
attempted to prevent her reading the
release papers before signing them.
Murfreesboro Police Chief Robert E.
Harris refused to allow a Smoke Signals
reporter to examine the arrest record,
contending that to do so would “violate
the Privacy Act.” Harris did give the
reporter a statement which confirmed
the fact that Thompson had been ar
rested and charged by Terry with the
offenses listed by Thompson in his ver
sion.
(Continued on Page 3)
Chowan's Big Fish Moves On;
Finds Larger Pool at Elon
By HARRY PICKETT
“Fish” isn’t your typical “rah-rah”,
“give ’em heck” cheerleader, the Alex
andria resident doubles in the spring as
the premier middle distance runner on
the Chowan College track team, or
should we say defunct track team. For
his prowess on the oval pavement, the
lanky sophomore graphic arts major
has been awarded a track scholarship
to attend Elon College, a small school in
the hills of Burlington, N.C. There, he’ll
also serve as a resident assistant, as
well as being a cheerleader.
The scholarship will reunite Trout
with former Chowan track coach Lin-
wood Ferguson, who resigned his
coaching and teaching duties in
February to fill coaching vacancies at
Elon, At the school, Ferguson serves as
the defensive line coach and head track
mentor for the Fightin’ Christians.
Trout, who was named “Most
Dedicated” on Chowan’s Region 10
championship team a year ago, strove
relentlessly, along with Kevin Radcliff
(also a recipient of an Elon College
grant), to field a team despite the lack
of financial aide from the college. Their
efforts, presently, look grim. But join
ing their former coach seems to be the
most realistic dream the two share.
“He (Ferguson) wanted me and
Kevin especially because they (Elon)
don’t have any quarter or 880 men,”
Trout explained. “They haven’t had
any good teams, so Ferguson will be
rebuilding.
“We have leadership abilities — we
are winners,” Trout asserted with an
air of seriousness. “He knows we can
help the team.”
Trout, who first engaged in track as a
junior at T. C. Williams High School in
Alexandria under Coach Mike
Tomosello, can’t remember when he
wasn’t a winner, or when he wasn’t on a
winning track team.
During his senior year, T. C. Williams
won its fourth consecutive district and
regional championship. They were the
CYO champions, won the Dogwood In
vitational in Charlottesville, and wound
up eventual runner-up in the Virginia
(Continued on Page 3)
TROUT
Interesting People on Campus
t
It Takes Real Dedication To Be a Good Trainer
Students Give Study Lab
Good Evaluation Grade
By MIKE MATTHEWS they would be interested in coming to
ttl0 Iflh
Student development, with the help of „ , „ ■ . ^ different asoects
Mrs. Wilhelmenia Wilcox and a few
concerned students, has been con-
ducUng a weekly study lab in Belk HaU. ’
The purpose of the study lab has been to P ■ P •)
assist students with subjects in which G F P NR
they may have been having trouble. Location 81 42 12 29
The study lab has been held everv subjects 71 50 4 39
117 j i ° • .j, ^ time 63 49 22 30
Wednesday night since the middle of , 7r « ifi
the fall semester. So far, approximate- . '' . ., . ^
ly 200 students have attended the study ^
lab at least once.
Students were also given a chance to
Recently a questionnaire was handed comment further on the labs. One stu-
out to a number of students to give them dent suggested that the location be
a chance to evaluate the study lab. changed to Marks Hall. Another stu-
Almost all of these students were aware dent commented, “I don’t need the
that the lab was being conducted and 84 study lab, but it’s good to know that so-
percent of them knew its purpose. Only meone does care.”
24 percent of the students questioned From the results of the questionnaire,
had attened the study lab and of these Mrs. Wilcox and the student leaders
78 percent found the lab beneficial. ^hat the study lab has been a suc-
Sixty-six percent of those questioned, cess and plan to continue conducting it
who had not attended the lab, felt that ss students show an interest.
SCARBORO
Photo by Horry Pkkott
By HARRY PICKETT
It's 5 a.m.
AU of Chowan’s students are soundly
sleeping.
All but one.
This student is carefully planning the
care and safety of the Chowan College
football team. He’s sweeping the
carpeted dressing room floor at the
fieldhouse, fixing damaged helmets
and washing towels and unUorms.
Robert Scarboro takes his job
seriously — dead seriously. And doing
his best for the care of these muscular
athletes is what he likes doing most. He
makes no bones about his job being
tough at times, but says, “I love being
around athlet^ and anything dealing
with them.”
Scarboro, a physical therapist major,
and one of three managers for Coach
Jim Garrison’s football team, says he
longs for the day that he can get out in
the world and begin trying to be one of
the top trainers in the country.
“I want to be a trainer at a small
college first; and then maybe I can
move up to big time,” the soft-spoken
freshman asserted. “My dream is to be
a trainer for some pro football team.”
Chris Didlake, a reserve quarterback
on the Braves’ 7-2 squad this past
season, sees Scarboro as one of the
guys. “He’s just like a part of the team
as far as we’re concerned.
“He’s easy to get along with,”
Didlake went on. “He encourages us
when we’re down. He’s a good man — a
real good guy.”
Garrison said that he believes he has
a real fine croup of manager-trainers in
Scarboro, Mike Sexton and Greg
Benton, all of whom will be returning
next season as sophomores.
“Good managers and trainers are
just as important as any man you have
playing,” Garrison declared. “If you
don’t have good managers and trainers,
it’s going to reflect on the team. They
are important in taking care of these
guys (players).”
Garrison said that managers must be
able to accept responsibility and “they
must have the respect of the players
because they are such a valuable part
of the program.”
The coach said that Scarboro
possesses all the fine qualities that the
manager-trainer must have. “He’s
done a super job,” he stated. “He’s a
fine young man, always on time —
never late.
“He’s willing to be there at odd hours.
He’s always at the right place at the
right time.” Garrison went on to say
that if you don’t get a “good one”
(manager) you’re in a lot of trouble.
Scarboro, who first became in
terested in sports medicine as a ninth
grader at Princeton High School, said
he enjoys working under Garrison
because ‘ ‘he’s got a lot of class. ”
“I like the way he goes about being a
head coach,” the 18-year-old explained.
“You've got to actoit the man’s a
winner.”
Scarboro, an ex-athlete, said that his
high school football coach used to visit a
sports medicine clinic in Greensboro
every year to gain knowledge of the
newest innovations in the science. The
coach invited Robert to tag along for a
session and that’s when his venture all
began.
“The first year I went, I won a cer
tificate for first place in taping,” he
noted. The award was from the Cremer
Co. and it was presented by A1 Procter,
president of the company. From that
day on, it’s been my dream. ”
Robert came to Chowan with in
tentions of playing football for the
Braves, but a high school football in
jury tlut flared up during fall drills,
ended his collegiate career.
“Ferguson (Linwood, assistant
coach) knowing that I wasn’t able to
play, asked me if I wanted the
job ... Garrison took me the same
day.”