«
II
SS
‘«r
ICaLLcaiArc
Fayetteville, NC
Vol. XXXVIII, No. 6
January 29, 2001
Dowd Will Be Missed
By Jennifer Colletti
College News Co-Editor
Most everyone on campus has
at least heard the name Kim Dowd
mentioned at one time or another.
For those of you who have re
mained clueless, Kim Dowd was the
Vice President of Student Life and
Dean of Students. Her office was lo
cated in the Bems Student Center.
During her five and a half year
career at Methodist, Dowd has estab
lished many strong relationships with
students. She has also helped to ex
pand Methodist’s student retention
rate on campus and in general.
By teaching an IDS class ev
ery semester, she has done her share
of freshman advising. This fall she
made major contributions to the new
program MC Late Night Express,
which has been a big success.
Considering all these accom
plishments combined with the energy,
enthusiasm and inviting personality
with which Dowd embraces her work,
Methodist College was very sorry to
see her leave. Jan. 12 was her last day
Photo by Bill Billings
Dowd at her farewell reception.
on the job before George Blanc as
sumed her position.
Dowd plans to move to Colum
bia, South Carolina, where her hus
band has accepted a position at Co
lumbia College. She is anxious to get
settled there and start her new life,
especially since she is pregnant with
an expected due date of Jan. 20. She
is excitedly looking forward to moth
erhood.
What Dowd says she will miss
the most about Methodist College are
the people, the staff, faculty and stu
dents who form a “community in
which people truly care about each
other.”
That same community will
miss her greatly and wants to wish her
the best of luck!
Update!
^ Gibson Jay
Dowd was
welcomed
into this
world on Jan. 15 by his
loving parents. The baby
boy was 9 lbs. 5 oz.
Liauna Jordan, student
life office manager, had
her baby girl Jasmine
Arianna on Jan. 14. She
joins older brother Alex.
New Dean of Students
Shows Promise
By Carrie Adcox
Editor-in-Chief
A screen saver says a lot about
a person. In George Blanc’s colorful
office, amid papers and pictures, a
little green alien paints and decorates
the screen on top of the document in
process. Little motorcycles leave tire
prints in perfect lines across a
Microsoft Word document. In his suit
and tie, sitting behind his stately desk,
his dark eyes glimmer with a hint of
humanity.
George Blanc recently ac
cepted the position as dean of stu
dents, which had been vacated by
Kim Dowd. While Methodist Col
lege works to find a replacement, the
position as the director of interna
tional programs is still being run by
Blanc who hopes the position will be
filled in a few weeks.
For two and half years, Blanc
has intently worked as the director of
international programs. Methodist
College recruited Blanc from
Campbell University, where he had
worked for four years.
Although Blanc has only held
one position in the college before his
promotion, he remains undaunted,
convinced that he is joining one of
the most successful teams on Meth
odist College.
Exclaiming that this moment is
the peak of his professional career,
Blanc expresses that this is a “tremen
dous opportunity.” Those dark eyes
got lighter and the corners of his
mouth moved slightly upward-
Blanc’s shoulders moved slightly in
ward as he relaxed with excited an
ticipation.
He explained his theory on how
to change the programs fostered by
student life; to learn what we do for
student’s now and expand. Part of
his theory also comes from the idea
that all students should feel comfort
able walking into his office. He has
a standing invitation, allowing all stu
dents complete access to the dean of
students. The continual knocking on
the closed door of his office, was re
assurance that his words were more
than a theory. It had been practiced.
With his hands moving
quickly, Blanc stressed the two rea
sons for his confidence: Six years of
working in a college environment and
over 100 months of leadership posi
tions within the U.S. Army.
His new position within the
college differs only slightly from his ■
director’s position with the interna
tional program. As director of inter
national programs, his primary re
sponsibility was the quality of life for
the international students. Blanc is
taking the same oath for all the stu
dents of the college.
His museum oriented office at
tests to his devotion to the seventy
international students placed in his
care.
Dust-free shelves and wooden
cabinets house foreign relics repre
senting the many countries of the in
ternational students. Cream walls are
covered with pictures of the interna
tional students Blanc has previously
workeW with. He regards each pic
ture as an extension of his family.
Students can look forward to
Blanc becoming “totally and com
pletely involved in your lives.”
The little green aliens on the
computer screen had reeked havoc
with the document. Pictures of his
wife Carol and their two daughters
stared from a shelf above the com
puter. George Blanc’s shoulders fell
back into their proper spot as his back
straightened.
Some men dream of doing
great things for those around them.
Some men do the things they dream.
George Blanc is on his way to doings
the things he has dreamed.
George Blanc.
Adding New Life to Campus
Ministry
By Andy Duer
staff Writer
If you have been to the minis
try office this year, you may have met
the first campus ministry intern here
at Methodist College.
Joel McMakin, who has plans
of becoming an ordained United
Methodist pastor, says that he is ex
cited about occupying this new posi
tion.
Originally from Lyman, SC, in
Spartanburg county, McMakin went
to Erskine College where he majored
in Biology and minored in Second
ary Education. He is now attending
his second of three years at Duke Di
vinity School.
In his spare time, he loves play
ing sports and being in the outdoors.
Eventually McMakin would like to
serve a church or work with children
at a children’s home or camp.
So far McMakin says he has
enjoyed his experiences at Method
ist College and the hospitality he has
encountered.
“The students have been warm
and friendly to me and have made me
feel welcome,” McMakin says of the
small campus community. He ex
panded to say that being here feels
much like his days at Erskine College
because it is a small school with
friendly people.
“I’m excited about the plans we
Educators Get Involved
By Amanda Garcia
College News Co-editor
There are many opportunities
for students to get involved. Sport
ing events - both participants and
fans, clubs - ranging from SAC to
debate are two different ways to de
velop the college experience.
Clubs and organizations are not
only ways to get involved with the
school, but they also lend themselves
to be venues of voicing opinions and
learning new ideas.
There are few better ways to
voice your opinions than through the
college campus newspaper, which
just so happens to be the one you are
reading.
The Monarch Messenger,
headed by Editor-in-chief Carrie
Adcox, has made the decision that it
is important for the professors and
staff to get involved as well. Student
involvement is important, but much
too often the administrators of edu
cation are left out of the picture.
Here at Methodist College,
there are many fine professors and
staff members. Each one brings his
or her background, experiences, cul
ture, and philosophies to the college.
It is past time for those same people
to share their worth to the campus as
a whole, and not just the classroom
that they teach in or that office that
they work in.
There are several subjects to
study here at Methodist. Science,
English, math, history, and govern
ment are just a few of the basics. The
more specifics are social work, psy
chology, music, criminal justice, so
ciology, foreign languages, and the
list goes on and on. The point is that
with all those courses of study, it is
nearly impossible to study under ev
ery professor.
This does not infer that we do
not have anything to learn from those
teachers that you do not have during
your time here at Methodist. In fact,
the exact opposite is true.
What is equally important is the
fact that during class you have to learn
about subject things. Wars, equations,
parts of speech, and the like take up
all the time. But what about those
things about life in general that are
so often left out in order to cover test
able material? You may not be able
to give a test on advice on life, but it
may turn out to be the thing that mat
ters when all is said and done.
Being located near a military
base, and having such a large percent
age of military students on campus,
you pick-up a few military phrases
here and there. One that you might
be familiar with is, “Lead by ex
ample.” In the military, it is expected
that leaders will set the example and
the subordinates will follow that ex
ample.
That same phrase could be use
ful out here in the civilian world as
well. Perhaps if those involved in
educating would take initiative and
get involved, it is possible that the
ones being educated will follow suit.
What does all of this amount
to? An opportunity for professors and
staff members to become involved.
How? By contacting the Student
Media office and offering to write an
article, long or short, opinionated or
factual, on a topic relevant to student
life. With all the knowledge and ex
perience that is available here on cam
pus, surely someone has 15 minutes
to sit down and write something.
LeNeave Making a Difference
By Takechia Jackson
Staff Writer
What do you do when you owe
the college a substantial amount of
money, and you don’t know how you
are going to come up with it?
Students at colleges and univer
sities everywhere deal with this prob
lem. However, not all colleges and
universities have a Jesse LeNeave.
LeNeave is a Financial Plan
ning Counselor at Methodist College.
He has been a counselor at the col
lege for five years. Prior to working
at Methodist College he worked in a
juvenile detention center for two
years. LeNeave graduated from Fay
etteville State University with a de
gree in Criminal Justice.
When he came to Methodist,
his position was created so students
who owed the college excessive
money would not have to drop out of
school because of their outstanding
balance.
LeNeave’s wife, Andrea, also
works at Methodist. She works in the
Office of Admissions.
“It’s nice to work with my wife.
We come to work together and go
home together, that’s real nice,”
LeNeave states.
When asked what he enjoys
most about working at Methodist
College, he paused briefly then re
plied, “I enjoy working with the stu
dents. I never want a student to come
into my office and me not have an
option for them. There’s always a
way.”
LeNeave works everyday to
help students clear balances they may
have in the business office. He works
with the financial aid department to
make sure that students get the money
that they need to continue their edu
cation.
“I work with a wonderful group
of people who really make my job a
little easier,” LeNeave comments.
When asked the one thing that
Methodist could improve, LeNeave
responded, “Communicating better
with the students, so that they won’t
have the problem of waiting in long
lines every semester.”
LeNeave believes that one of
the biggest challenges that the college
faces is not having good communi
cation with the students after their first
year. He feels if the students would
keep a clear communication with the
financial aid and business office, there
would not be a hassle every semester
clearing the business office.
LeNeave strives to help the stu
dents in any way possible - whether
it be through loans, grants, or schol
arships - so money will never post
pone their education.
So what does a guy like
LeNeave do when he is away from
LeNeave.
Methodist College? He hves a
pretty simple life with his family.
He enjoys doing yard work and
washing his car. When he’s not
raking the yard or washing the car,
LeNeave enjoys watching Seinfeld.
He also enjoys political shows.
LeNeave is one of the many
Methodist College staff who helps
students every day get out of finan
cial binds by offering reasonable so
lutions. Although he just feels that he
has “lust for his job,” to the students
the help LeNeave provides is much
more.
There are many colleges and
universities that face the problem of
students unable to pay their tuition,
but not every one is fortunate enough
to have someone like Jesse LeNeave.
Quiz Bowl Tournament Held at MC
Pholo ( ontnhuted by the CRIMP office.
PItolo i tmtTibuted by Campus Ministries.
McMakin sings with students during the Bahamas mission trip.
have for this new semester, and 1 hope
to continue getting to know the stu
dents and faculty.”
With all this ambition, the se
mester promises to be a full and ex
citing one.
By Amanda Garcia
College News Co-editor
You are a college student. You
have completed the necessary re
quirements to be enrolled. You prob
ably consider yourself a well-edu-
cated person.
But do you know what the only
common U.S. coin featuring a presi
dent in which his portrait does not
face left? Just give it a guess.
The answer is the penny. And
that was just one example of the types
of questions that ten high school
teams from Cumberland County an
swered during a quiz bowl match.
On Jan. 13, ten teams - each
composed of four students - were here
at Methodist College in the science
auditorium for a dress rehearsal of
county quiz bowl which was held the
following Saturday.
Among the subjects the teams
were questioned about were current
events, religion/philosophy/mythol
ogy, social sciences, science and
math, language and literature, sports,
and arts.
Ready for another example
question? What postimpressionist
French artist is famous for his paint
ings of life in Tahiti, where he spent
the last years of his life? Give up?
Paul Gauguin. Did you get that one
right?
Quiz bowl is like Jeopardy.
There are three rounds and the seven
aforementioned subjects. The first
round is worth ten points, the second
is worth twenty points, and the third
is worth thirty points. During the first
round, one student is singled out from
the team and must attempt to answer
a question, without the help of team
mates. During the second and third
rounds, the questions are directed to
ward the whole team and they may
confer with each other.
If an answer is incorrect the op
posing team may attempt to answer,
but with only half credit given. At the
end of the three rounds, the team with
highest points wins and the other team
is eliminated from the competition.
At the dress rehearsal held here
at Methodist, the final match came
down to Terry Sanford High School
and Massey Hill Classical. Terry
Sanford took the title.
The following week, the com
petition was held in the Pate Room in
the library headquarters. The final
match was between Terry Sanford
and Westover High School. Again
Terry Sanford won, making it the
third year in a row they have walked
away with the title.
Several Methodist College fac
ulty, staff, and students coordinated
the tournament that was held here at
Methodist. The moderator was
Michael Molter. Dr. Carl Dyke, Dr.
John Fields, and Dr. Nicole Taylor
filled the judging positions. Arleen
Fields served as the reference author
ity while Sal Mercogliano was the
timekeeper. Cliff Wells was respon
sible for the sound system setup.
David Barber, Todd Lyden, John
Meeske, Cindy Mitman, Pragnesh
Patel, and Dr. John Sill helped write
those difficult questions.
Ready for your final question?
It’s a toughy! In July 2000, this type
of supersonic aircraft experienced its
first fatal crash. Too hard? Well, it
was the Concorde.
That was three questions, how
did you do? Ten points? Twenty?
Anybody get all three correct? If you
did, you should look into joining the
quiz bowl! As for everybody else, the
next time that you start to think that
you are pretty smart, remember how
well you did on these high school quiz
bowl questions.
In This Issue
College News 1-4 Opinion 5-6
Opinion Poll 7 Entertainment 9-10
Sports 11-12