November 3, 1969
The N. C. Essay
Page 3
editorial: COMPLAINTS
There have been many com
plaints at the school, as there
-are at all schools. Across the
country students have demonstrated,
rioted, and boycotted classes be
cause they felt they were beyond
compromises with administrations.
It is interesting that NCSA is
perhaps one of the few schools in
the state that has not had open
student dissent and rebellion.
Several reasons could be cited.
First, the students are terribly
busy with an academic and artistic
schedule which is twice the load of
an average college student. They
just don't have time to get to
gether for revolutionary jam sessions.
Also, there is no sense of an effec
tive student organization which
could unite and successfully plead
its cause. The size of the school
affords every student direct per
sonal contact with his teachers,
deans or president. The school
does have possible outlets for a
student's emotional turmoil.
The question to be asked at
this point are: Why is there stu
dent unrest? Who is responsible for
What is the role of the student/
campus newspaper to the college? More
directly, what is the role of the N.C.
Essay at the School of the Arts?
This is a question often asked, but
rarely answered. The problem we have
in answering such a question is that
we are often forced to talk in terms
of ideals rather than realities.
The (hopeful) purpose o.f this arti
cle, then, is to offer ideals which
can become realities.
I
The primary function of any pub
lication should be to inform its
readers of the events and occurrences
which take place in the immediate
environment. This involves straight
news reporting, offering the facts
about happenings which are upcoming
or recounting what has laready taken
place. This is the purpose of any
newspaper, be it the N.Y. Times or
the N. C. Essay.
Aside from this purpose, the
student newspaper should also pro
vide a platform from which the stu
dents themselves can present thier
own opinions, viewpoints, and yes,
pose their own questions. And
since the student newspaper is one
of the few effective places that
this can happen, it is a vital and
necessary part of campus life.
On a large scale basis, the
student paper should be a reflec-
it? How can it be dealt with?
If some of the problems were
examined, we might blame the stu
dent's apathy.
There have been complaints about
the condition of the campus, especi
ally around the back of the college
girls' dorm, which is constantly
littered with trash in the parking
lot area. There have been com
plaints about the student's secur
ity after an increase of incidents
on and near the campus. This should
not be an unexpected situation: we
are not located in one of the
"safest" sections of town. There
has been emotional instability and
incidents which have frightened other
students, as attempted suicides.
It should be emphasized that
these are not problems only at NCSA.
The unresolved tensions and pressures
of our society are hard to cope with
on any level. But perhaps it can be
suggested that although NCSA
does not have unique problems, we
do not always deal with them real
istically, and the blame cannot be
put upon any one segment of our
tion of the academic community, the
thoughts, ideas, and problems most
relevant to those who comprise that
community. Those who write for the
student publication should try and
honestly reflect the general scope
of the campus at large. They should
act as a barometer for what is
happening on campus.
Naturally, what appears in any
campus newspaper will not always re
flect the widespread opinion. But
the staff, as a whole, must (or
should) examine the issues and de
cide on a policy which is indicative
of the general feeling of the staff
(and usually, the campus). What makes
the paper an effective tool is the
fact that it can be diverse and its
writers can present a wide spectrum
of opinion. This is the job of the
Essayj to try and present as clear
a picture as possible, from as many
viewpoints as possible.
One thing should be understood
by administrators and critics of such
publications. The college newspaper
laboratory, like the classroom situ
ation, is a learning experience.
Those who write for the newspaper are
most likely not experts, nor are they
pretending to be; they will make mis
takes . But what is the point of the
learning experience? To learn by
doing, I would hope. Certainly we
are not foolish enough to think that
(Cont. on ipage 7)
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community.
Each student should first
accept responsibility for himself.
Since he is living in this school
community, he should realize his
important part as a member of this
society and share by his involve
ment and participation. This type
of school pride is much deeper than
high school tjrpe pep rallying.
Accepting our responsibility is an
important process. How can the
responsible overlook things in his
community or expect the "adults"
to take care of them? We must leam
to be our own authority structure.
One phenomena at the arts
school which the students should be
aware of is their unusual living
situation. The administration comes
at 9 a.m. and leaves at 5 p.m. Some
of the arts faculty commute once a
week to Winston-Salem. The counselors
may live in the dorms, but one
rarely sees them except after cur
few time. The students themselves
are the only ones who depend on the
cafeteria for three meals a day, and
(Cont. on "page 5)
In regards to the letter by
Mrs. Young, and remarks made by
many others about the filthy lan
guage used in the performances at
the North Carolina School of the
Performing Arts, there is very much
to say.
Didn't you realize when you left
for the performance that you were
going to the house of culture? This
is the reason that the State of North
Carolina appropriates $3,000 per year
per student of the taxpayer's
mSnies, and only appropriates $250.00
per year per child for our children
in our public schools. You are not
a cultured person until you can use
these filthy words in your conversa
tion, and take a sip of wine. It
was said by our Board of Education
that this establishment of hippies
is a real asset to our community, and
after attending I am sure you will
agree.
The only thing I have left to
offer is that the Board of Education
invite our ministers, pastors, rabbis
and other church leaders to attend
this same performance. Who knows we
might start using these filthy words
in our everyday conversation. My
mother taught me different, but who
is she to listen to when we have all
the advice of these experts.
R. Dale Catlett
Reprinted from Winston-Salem Joiamal,
Oct. 27, 1969
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