M
ETHODIST
C
OLLEGE
Pride
Fayetteville, NC
Vol. XXXV, No. 5
Friday, October 31, 1997
Homecoming festivities promise something for everyone
By Sonya Sparks Murdock
Staff Writer
Walking down the halls of
the Trustees Building this week, you
might have bumped into people
dressed as clones or disco rejects from
the 1970s. Some people may have
been dressed inside-out or just plain
backwards. You might have also felt
as confused as Dorothy when she re
alized, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas any
more.” Perfect! You are now in the
right frame of mind for Methodist’s
1997 Homecoming: “Follow The Yel
low Brick Road.”
The RHA and SGA worked
jointly with the Alumni Association
to design a jam-packed week of fes
tivities celebrating this year’s Home
coming. Dubbed “Spirit Week,” these
activities were intended to get all stu
dents—commuter and residential—
involved. RHA president Shawn
Hartman explained, “We’ve worked
really hard to do something for all stu
dents, to make sure the commuter stu
dents feel just as involved (as the stu
dents who live on campus).” Summer
Brock, Director of the Alumni Office,
agreed: “I worry about the commuter
students. I want them to share the
experience, and 1 think they can.”
Brock said that all commuter students
are invited to “adopt” a residence hall
student and get involved in the fes
tivities. “We want to really pull the
Methodist College community to
gether,” she added.
How did the Homecoming
Committee accomplish this daunting
task? By sponsoring student compe
titions each day of Spirit Week, in
cluding penny wars, a dorm decorat
ing contest and dress-up days.
The week began Monday,
Oct. 27 with Twins Day. Each student
was encouraged to return to that old
pubescent habit of dressing like a best
friend. Admit it, girls, we all shared at
least one matching outfit with a best
friend in middle school... right down
to the identical hair scrunchies. This
dress-up event gave all of us the op
portunity to be twins for the day
again.
The 1970s theme on Tues
day wasn’t too much of a stretch of
the imagination for most MC stu
dents. Generation X had only to open
its closet doors to find retro attire ap
propriate for disco day. Methodist
looked like the film set for an episode
of “Welcome Back, Kotter” for the day
...scary!
On Wednesday, students
showed their school pride by wear
ing school colors and the MC logo
on hats, shirts and jackets. This sea
of green and gold converged behind
the gym for a bonfire and pep rally,
complete with a DJ; MC sports teams,
cheerleaders and the dance team; and
lots to eat, including a marshmallow
roast. The Homecoming Court, which
was nominated by campus organiza
tions and clubs, was also introduced
by night’s end.
Student dress was enough
to make mom cringe on Thursday, as
Monarchs wore their clothes inside-
out and/or backwards. Those who
were brave enough to do both won
extra points for their dorms. Speak
ing of points, Thursday was also the
day to cast votes for the Homecom
ing King and Queen.
Today, in honor of Hallow
een, wear your scariest or weirdest
costumes and score some points for
your favorite dorm. The tricks begin
with caricatures in the Union from 10
am until 2 pm. While you’re there,
check out the coffee house at noon
for another trick, “Play with a Rattle.”
The treats? How about a steak din
ner in the cafeteria at 5 pm? (Wear
your costume and eat first!) Then
treat yourself with a little Midnight
Madness. Kick off basketball season
from 10 pm until 12:30 am at the Riddle
Center.
Homecoming Saturday,
which is Nov. 1, will be “nonstop all
day,” according to Brock. Pick your
sport! Golf, volleyball, soccer and
football events will satisfy all sports
fans throughout the day. The Alumni
Association will provide a free picnic
lunch at the central campus mall, with
entertainment by the MC stage band
See HOMECOMING, page 2
Homecoming Weekend Activities
Friday, Oct. 31: Halloween Costume Day
10 am-2 pm: Caricatures, Inc. in the Student Union, presented by SAC
12 pm: Play with a Rattle at the Coffee House in the Union, presented by SAC
5 pm: Steak dinner in the cafeteria. Wear your costume and get in first!
8 pm-12 am: Alumni reception at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. For alumni only.
10 pm-12:30 am: Midnight Madness at the Riddle Center
Saturday, Nov. 1 Homecoming Day: “Follow the Yellow Brick Road”
Sam: 5th Annual William P. Lowdermilk Golf Tournament. For alumni only.
9 am: MC Department of Education Breakfast in the Alumni Dining Room. Guest Speaker, N.C.
Teacher of the Year. For alumni only.
9 am-l:30 pm: Alumni registration at the green and gold tent.
10 am: Women’s volleyball vs. Shenandoah University in the PAC.
10am-3pm: Bookstore and pro shop open. Alumni receive a 10% discount.
11 am: Men’s soccer vs. Mary Washington College
11:30 am-2 pm: Picnic lunch at the central mall. Entertainment by MC stage band.
1 pm: Kick-off time for Monarch football vs. Greensboro College. Lester the Clown presented by
SAC. Spirit Week awards at half-time, presented by Alumni Association.
3 pm: Women’ssoccer vs. Chowan
6 pm: Alumni Reception. For alumni only.
7 pm: Alumni dinner at the Alumni Dining Room. Annual Alumni awards presented. Foralumni
only.
9 pm-1 am: Homecoming Dance at Holiday Inn Bordeaux, featuring The Band of Oz. Free admis
sion to all. Neat casual dress required. Unending buffet, free for everyone, Alumni Hospitality Suite.
Presented by the Alumni Association.
10:30 pm: Homecoming King and Queen crowned at dance.
* Get your official HomecomingT-shirts at the Student Union all week. Cost: only $6
m.
f*
Senior Tiffany Sprouse scored her first goal of the season in the Lady Monarchs' game against top-ranked
NCAA-Ill South Region opponent Mary Washington. Methodist lost a hard-fought battle against the team
4-2 Oct. 18. See related story, page 3. (Photo by Scott Galayde)
Job fairs provide good opportunities
By Alexandra Nulle Dummer
Staff Writer
Finding a job after college
can become a stressful situation if you
are not prepared. Going to a job fair is
an excellent way of making connec
tions and finding out what is avail
able in your field of interest.
On Oct. 14 and 15, the Cape
Fear Career Fair was held at the Agri-
Expo Center in Fayetteville. The fair
was free and attracted several thou
sand people in search of careers in
management, health care, sales, trans
portation, technology, law enforce
ment, government, communications,
and finance. Major companies like
Wal- Mart, Footlocker, and
McDonalds, to name a few, had
booths set up where their representa
tives gave out information on the type
of people they are looking to hire.
Several of the other companies were
local, like Duke Medical Center,
WKFT-TV 40, and the Cumberland
County Personnel Department. If law
enforcement is what you’re looking
for, different counties in North Caro
lina, as well as New York and Atlanta,
were searching for police officers.
Cape Fear Career chairman Bill
McCune says, “Our major goal is to
find jobs for the clients we serve,
whether they’re transitioning sol
diers, military and civilian retirees,
high school or college students, or
just people in the community looking
for another career.”
Coming prepared to a job fair
is very important, especially since
there is a large variety of companies
represented, and there is competition.
A good thing to bring with you are
several copies of your resume, and
be sure to dress professionally. Eva
Bell of Career Services on campus
said, “First impressions can make or
break you.” Bell also says that stu
dents should ask questions and be
prepared for impromptu interviews.
Elizabeth Scheibner’s The
Write Stuff says that resumes are “one
of the best tools in getting an inter
view,” which is the first step in get
ting a job. She adds that you should
“describe your accomplishments
See CAREER, page 2
Depression screening beneficial to some
By Dawn Melvin
Staff Writer
National Depression Screen
ing Day was held Oct. 9 in the Berns
Student Center. The screening was
sponsored by The National Institute
of Mental Health.
“It’s held every year and it
is intended to help the public be aware
of the treatment for depression,” said
Darlene Hopkins.
Hopkins, who provides
Counseling Services at Methodist
College, said that 25 people were
screened and there were a few who
needed to be talked with a little more
about the results of their screening.
Depression is an illness that
can affect a person’s body as well as
his/her mind. Depression can lead to
withdrawal from people and activities,
loss of pleasure and enjoyment of life,
and physical discomfort.
The symptoms of depres
sion are prolonged sadness or unex
plained crying spells, significant
changes in appetite and sleep pat
terns, irritability, anger, worry, agita
tion, and anxiety. A person may have
loss of energy, inability to concentrate
and display pessimism and indiffer
ence.
“You have to make the de
pressed individual active. They will
not want to do it, but you make them.
Anything that will keep their mind off
of the problem,” Hopkins said.
The treatments of depres
sion are medication, psychotherapy,
and ECT, which is electroconvulsive
therapy. A combination of these
methods is often used. Antidepres
sants can help relieve the symptoms
of depression and return a person to
normal functioning.
Psychotherapy helps many
depressed people become more self-
aware and better able to cope with
their problems. Treatment methods
include individual counseling, group
See DEPRESSION, page 2
Sign language: hot alternative to French, Spanish, German
By Colleen De Baise
College Press Service
When Kimberly Boggs, now
a Purdue University junior, picked a
foreign language course to complete
her education major, she mulled over
traditional offerings: Spanish.
French. German.
“1 had four years of German
under my belt from high school, but
could not tell you much past ‘How
are you?’ and ‘When is your birth
day?’” she said. “So, my next option
was Spanish because it seemed to be
the easiest thing.”
Then she heard about an
other option: American Sign Lan
guage.
“My roommate at the time
was in the first-year class, and men
tioned how much fun it was,” Boggs
said. “So, 1 asked my counselor if that
could be an option. It was, but it
would be very hard to get into. She
told me the best option would be to
sign up in the summer, since not too
many people would be here.”
It’s been four years since
Purdue first approved sign language
for foreign language credit. And like
many other universities who now des
ignate American Sign Language as a
foreign language, Purdue reports a
growing demand for classes that teach
the language long used by deaf Ameri
cans.
All eight sections are filled
to capacity this fall with 160 students,
and the university has hired two more
sign language instructors. For every
student enrolled in a class, two or
three more are turned away, accord
ing to Diane Brentari, a linguist who
leads the program at Purdue.
“This is not a unique situa
tion,” said Brentari, who estimates
that 25 percent of universities have
approved sign language for foreign
language credit. “Demand for college-
level sign language classes is increas
ing nationally.”
A few years ago, the major
ity of students who signed up for sign
language classes were speech, edu
cation, or nursing majors. Now, busi
ness and engineering majors are start
ing to jump on the bandwagon, ac
cording to Brentari.
“Not only do students see
American Sign language as a skill that
will really stand out on their resume,
but businesses are also beginning to
recognize the marketing opportunities
See SIGN LANGUAGE, page 3
INSIDE
College plan gives students senior year free
-page 2
SGA encourages students to join clubs
-page 3
DeCarlos West makes his mark for the Monarchs
-page 3
Which should prevaii--privacy or the right to
know?
--page 4
I