Page 10 SMALL TALK January 30,1991
Students didn't have to wait long to register on Jan. 9.
Student Returns From
Washington Internship
Registration
Sluggish
by Caroline F. Kearns
Student enrollment has dropped by
more than 10% this semester from 968
day students last fall to 851 who have en
rolled since Jan. 9. The fall enrollment
was also down by about 6% from fall of
1989.
Registrar Charles Plummer, who look
the position last semester, attributes the
slump to the country's recession and to a
decrease in the number of high school
graduates. Mr. Plummer expects this de
cline in the teen-aged population will
continue for at least the next four years.
Evening school enrollment has also de
clined. The severe 33 % drop from the
fall 1989 figure of 486 to the current en
rollment of 328 is the result of troop de
ployment to the Middle East. However,
Mr. Plummer said he believes Methodist
College is actually in better shape than
other local evening programs which offer
courses on Ft. Bragg and Pope AFB.
Mike and Mike
Magic and
Music
Show
Feb. 7 at 8 p.m.
Lion's Den
Methodist
Starts College
Bowl Team
by Sarah Shew
Beginning next fall, Methodist College
will be sponsoring a college bowl aca
demic team to competc with other col
lege teams throughout the state. There
will be two teams, each consisting of
four members and one alternate. A $500
scholarship will be offered to incoming
students who are interested and make the
tryouts. The scholarship will be renewa
ble each semester.
The budget will provide for the pur
chase of equipment and questions and
pay travel expenses. If everything goes
as planned, the hope is to compete in two
tournaments per semester. After a suc
cessful semester, Methodist may begin
hosting tournaments with other schools
and may later begin competing with
schools in other states.
Anyone interested in information on
joining the team should contact Dr. R.
Wayne Preslar, office T-233, ext. 314,
sorrtetiihe thi^ semeste^r.''
by Caroline F. Kearns
Kimberly Ratliff is back at school af
ter a semester-long internship with the
Agency for International Development
(AID) in Washington, DC. She received
the internship after applying to the
Washington Center Program which pro
vides internships in governmental ser
vice and a variety of other fields.
Kim worked as a member of a division
concerned with Latin American and Car
ibbean affairs. She performed a number
of small tasks such as typing speeches
and preparing briefing books. But Kim
held her greatest responsibilities as the
acting Private and Voluntary Organiza
tion Coordinator. She was assigned to
this position because the division of Pro
gram Coordination and Outreach in
which she was working had just recently
been created, and the position was un
filled. "It was not like an internship,"
she said. "I was treated like a staff mem
ber."
Kim is greatly interested in Latin
America. She said that working for AID
helped her determine that she wants to
work in the development field and to
specialize in Latin America. "I learned
beyond belief that people in government
really care about Latin America," Kim
said. She is considering working as a
foreign service officer in Latin America
or working for either a governmental or
private organization here in the States.
She's interested in helping to develop de
mocracy in Latin America.
Kim is a junior here at Methodist and
is double-majoring in Political Science
and Spanish. She currently has a 3.19
GPA and is a member of the Honors Pro
gram and the History and Political Sci
ence Club. Kim was elected as a senator
in SGA last spring but has been unable
to occupy the position because of her in
ternship. She also likes to play softball
and volleyball in the summertime, and
she is a youth leader and a drama team
member at the North wood Temple Pente
costal Holiness Church. To qualify for
the internship, Kim had to write a short
autobiography and an essay on a current
issue. She also had to be classified as a
junior and had to have at least a 3.0 GPA.
The Washington Center Program pro
vides a variety of internship opportuni
ties, and information on these internships
may be obtained from Dr. Suzan Cheek
who can be reached in her office, T-217,
or by calling exL 309.
SAC Plans
New Semester
The Student Activities Council is plan
ning entertainment for this semester.
SAC is responsible for programs featur
ing comedians, magicians, and other per
formers, and for organizing game shows
and dances. The group is especially in
volved in Homecoming and the Spring
Fling.
On Feb. 16 through 21, three SAC
members will attend the National Associ
ation for Campus Activities Convention
at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. The
purpose of the convention is to schedule
programs and activities for campus enter
tainment.
There are about 20 students in SAC,
and president Barb Frye hopes to get
more students involved this semester.
Other officers are: vice president,
Chrissy Babb, secretary, Catherine Hare,
and treasurer, Rob Foreman.
Ronald McDonald
House Sponsors
Valentine Campaign
The "BE OUR VALENTINE" cam
paign is sponsored by the Ronald McDo
nald House of Chapel Hill, North Caroli
na. On February 13-14, a table will be
located in Cross Creek Mall. Red card
board hearts will be sold for $1.00 to
benefit the "house with a heart." Please
support this campaign with your dollars.
If you wish to take a more active role,
please contact Mrs. Ellen Geist-
Cunningham at 488-7675.
The Ronald McDonald House at
Chapel Hill opened in April 1988 as the
113th Ronald McDonald House. The
first to ojjen was at Philadelphia in 1974.
There are over 125 Ronald McDonald
Houses in the United States as well as
Europe, Canada and Australia.
The house is op>en for all critically ill
children whose parents cannot travel
each day to visit them in the hospital. In
some cases, children may receive treat
ment on an out-patient basis.
The families of Cumberland County
are the primary users of the Ronald
McDonald House at Chapel Hill. While
families are asked to pay $8.00 per night,
the actual cost is closer to $30.00. In
more than a few cases, a family may be
too poor to pay the $8.00 and it costs
them nothing to stay at the Ronald
McDonald House.
Please contribute what you can to this
campaign that helps the critically ill chil
dren and families of Cumberland
County.