PAGE TWO
Maroon And Golti ■
Dwllcated to the best Interest erf Elon ,
College »nd Its students «nd faculty, the |
Maroon and Gold Is published bi-weekly
during the college year with the eiccepticn
of holiday periods In coopor«llon with th*
Jwirnallsm program.
Entered as second class matter at the
rr«* Office at Elon Collfge, N. C., under
the Aot of March «, 1879 Delivered by
mail. $1.50 per college year, 75 cents the
aemester.
EOITORIAL BOARD
Melvin Shrevci , -- . Editor-In-Chief
Sy Hall .. Assistant Editor
Haul lloijin on Ai-sistant Editor
Thomas Corbitt Sports Editor
Dectz Welch .. Girls Sports
H. Reid .. .... Alumni Editor
I.uther N. Byrd - Faculty Advisor
Jack Lambeth Staff Phot>i;raphn
TECII.N'irAL STAFF
P. N. Thompson Linotyix' i)jit?rator
Loul>. Jones Linotype 0(xT;itor
Kenneth Harper Press Operator
RKPOKTORIAL .STAFF
William Baskmill B’\'rly Powell
Judy Berwind In' n ed
Gordon Cox Bnrhnra Flix
Ferry Cox Paul Ilobinson
John IJominick Ann Sanders
Hunter Duia Herbert .Sincr
Roni fleorge Demus Thompson
Don Hinton Jerry Tillman
Marty HoRcn.son Carol Trageser
Joyce Howell Bobby West
Ada Mullis Ken Woodruff
Luke O’Hara George Wonten
Gene Wrenn
FRIDAY. MARQI 6, i964
MAROON AND GOLD
Friday. March 6, 1964
WORDS RF.VKAL CIlARArtER
There are many times when human char
acter is revealed by word.s which are spok
en carelossly, or by words which are con
stantly repeated through an often unconscious
habit of expression. This wa.-; brought out by
a well known North Carolina writer in a
recent commentary that is presented below:
Our uncon.%ious verbal habits tell others
more about us if they are tuned in) than
we realize. The other night. I was watching
a TV master of ceremonies who said three
times in ten minutes. "To tell you the
truth. I really don't . . .”
He gave me the distinct impression that
telling the truth does not come naturally or
easily to him: else why bother to preface a
perfectly ordinary remark wi*b this state
ment?
"To be frank about it" is a phrase u.sed
only by people who are not normally frank;
a candid and open person would not even
think he was being frank, nor would he half-
apologize for this trait.
On a lower social level, the man who says
■'I'll level with you” immediately brands him
self as not a leveller, if it takes a conscious,
articulated statement to proclaim it. Those
accustomed to dealing honestly don't have
to strike a moral pose before doing so.
Then there are some who say, "Well, every
one is entitled to hi.'; opinion" in a tone clear
ly signifying that he wi.shes it weren't so, and
he would prefer a society in which everyone
;vere not entitled to it.
Those who end nearly every phrase of sen
tence with "You know? You know?" are
more pathetic than reprehensible. They fear
an inability to communicate 'perhaps be
cause their parents never really listened
to them when they were little >, and are
desperately trying to break through the bar
rier of words that separates them from
others.
"In my humble opinion" is one of the
most unconsciously arrogant phrases a per
son can utter. The es-sence of humility is
unawareness of itself as such: and to call
one's opinion "humble " is a contradiction in
ters and a psychological tip-off that great
egotism is lurking in the wings waiting for
applau.se.
Of course, nearly everyone has enough
Freudian sophistication by now to recognize
that the person who tells you an unplea.sant
truth "for your own good" is not doing it
for your own good at all, but for the mali
cious delight he gets in recounting It. "It's
none of my business, but . . ." is a compara
ble phrase used by the same kind of person,
who really thinks it is his buiness, or intends
to nwke it so.
The ways we express ourselves reveal
more about ourselves than the actual sub
stance of what we say. Words in themselves
are toneless and valuiess; it is the emphasis,
the expression, the “music" behind the words
that discloce our feelings and provoke others
to mistrust or sympathy or anger.
WUp« ol Wisdom
. . . The person with a chip on his shoulder
ilwayt carries an unnecessary burden.
Those who criticize the younger gen
eration seem to forget who rnised it.
. . An executive is some guy who is al
ways annoying the hired help by asking them
^ k) something.
a view
from
the oak
By
MF.LVIN SIIREVES
WOTITEK FJA)N STA(;E ^ ^ n PAST YEARS
uAz.
INFLVENCF. STIDV
A .Ch. : ■, lJi';ild Adams, director of resi-
r!‘iice h.:l! Uitl'Mi : ?rvice^ at Michigan State
l-ii-.M 'IV. ’.IT d(s n”.’ supporting evidence
for the ihiuiy thjit roommates significantly
mfli'■ 'X a nt's academic performance
in colU-Jc.
I" ^ il(i 'ir-oy of ,il men who roomed
Hill s first-term freshmen in
I ,, 1. 'Mti.vJ that .ill of them consid
ered roommates a vital influence in setting
the ac::'lcmic atmosphere of the room. The
study V. ih :jtudents in the top and
;-.r cent of ;.otential -chola.'Uc
.■■hilily a:.corflin[' to tests taken when they
entered MSU.
.\d,-ims fdimd that about 75 per cent of the
students h;id made room changes since they
entered college. He also found that an ave
rage of 75 per cent of studying by all groups
A,IS ilone in dormitory rooms. A definite
trend was noted in the study tor a man
leaving a three-person room to have a rad
ically different grade-point average from
that of his other two roommates.
Study and social habits were almost ex-
clasively the reason for students leaving
the rooms. Common card partners, students
with similar athletic, social, or religious in
terests, fraternity pledges, and .students with
poor study habits in common tended to want
to room together.
"Low ability students in particular seemed
to be tremendously influenced by their room
mates," Adams said. "Those with high
achievement almost invariably picked a
roommate who would be a positive influence
on their academic performance. Those with
low achievement generally had a roommate
like themselves.”
According to tests taken when they en
tered MSU, students in the top 20 per cent
with at least a 2.5 all-University average
were considered "high ability, high achiev
ers.” Those below a 2.5 were termed "high
ability, low achievers.” Students in the bot
tom 20 per cent of potential ability were
considered "low ability, high achievers if
they had over a 2 point average. Those with
less than a 2 point were classified as "low
ability, low achievers.”
Nearly 50 per cent of the students agreed
that residence hall living helps students learn
how to study. The majority of students in
the study also believed that residence hall
social and athletic activities do not detract
from academic experiences.
Th? sCL'iie pic'iirid hue
i.en :l ill.' '■' t 'V.' M
of S ;I‘: Ji!-!- 0 ' .: r S
.Melc'.iou, al-u :.f D .. li ,i n.
tVcm the Elon Player presentation of Mary Chase's “Harvey", which
ill.' ■> n ui'ir'. ' 'fj £.'ason. Th^so pictured, left to right, are Curtis Medlin,
'; i r; DsTolhv of Burlington, as Veta Louise Simmons; and Melba
a.s Myitl' Mae Siinmons. Dorothy •■\pple is now the wife of Prof. Guy
l^;iPii‘HTt. wh'i io''u'1 th ^■‘.lon f'oll *'^e libri.ry staff this year.
Into The Modern Period . . .
Of Play ers And Playmaking At Elon
HONORS PROGRAM GRADING
The Honors Council at Winthrop College
recently sent the following memo on grading
practices to all members of the honors fac
ulty. The report by Dr. J. S. Eells, Jr., also
■ ippeared in the Superior Student.
"Grading is a major problem in honors
programs all over the country. We do not
pretend to offer a solution — but we would
like to .share with you our thinking on this
subject. The problem is of great importance
becau.se if grading is unrealistically handled,
the result is extremely damaging to the
whole program.
"According to our present rule, a student
getting a C or less fails to receive credit
toward an honors degree. We think it should
be borne in mind that in most cases the fact
that a student is in an honors situation
is substantial evidence of her ability. The
selection of honors students is a difficult
and complex one, and mistakes are inevit
ably made. But an honors student ought,
wv think, prima facie to be regarded as a
good student.
"Grades in honors courses should there
fore not be expected to follow a normal
distribution curve. The C should not be
considered the average grade in honors
courses as it often is in nonhonors ones. But
neither should all student in honors courses
necessarily make an A or a B.
"Our position can, we think, best be sum
marized in the words of Professor E. A.
Cameron, of the University of North Caro
line, a member of the Executive Conwnittee
of the Inter-University Committee on the
Superior Student. Professor Cameron, in
response to an inquiry addressed by us to
many authorities, replied, 'We generally try
to make honors grades as high as they
would be in regular courses, so as not to
penalize the student.’
“This is the position we endorse. If a
student would normally get an A in a non
honors course, we think she should do so
in an honors course. We, therefore, suggest
that you try to imagine, as youarrive at
grades, that your honors course is a non
honors course; or, rather, how your students
would have done had your course been a
non honors one. We think that to do so may
be helpful.”
The Mod'.'rn Kr'i of s’.:i'l"n! cir i-
matics at Elon College, embracing
the ten-year period that got under
way with the 1949-50 term, has
been marked by highly successful
;tage productions and wide acclaim
for Elon’s student actors.
A student musical, an original
script entitled "Are You Having
Any Fun." was the final one of
five plays given in 1949-50. Others
were "Room Service," "Kind Lady,”
'Out of the Frying Pan,” and “An
tigone." Leading role awards that
year went to Robert Wright and
Rosamond Bromley, both from the
ca.st of “Antigone”, while support
ing awards were won by Ann Truitt
from “Out of the Frying Pan" and
to Ed Engles from “Antigone.”
Three excellent plays and an
other student musical were on the
agenda for the 1950-51 season. “The
Man Who Came To Dinner,’" "‘Out
ward Bound" and "You Can't Take
It With You" were the three plays,
while "Hallelujah," an original stu
dent musical, completed the year's
■ .nctivitics. F.J Engles, anothei j Change Of Directors
Maroon and Gold editor, was named j The 1952-53 season closed the ten
top actor in a leading role for his year regime of Mrs. Elizabeth R
brilliant performance in “The Man " ' ' ‘ '
Who Came To Dinner,” while Vir
ginia Trigg Hawkins was honored
for her work in "Outward Bound."
Supporting role awards went to Loir
Walker from "You Can't Take It
With You” and to Lynn Cashion
from "Outward Bound." Cashion
was to become Maroon and Gold
editor the next year.
Mrs. Smith doubled as director
ind actress when she took the lead
ng role in "Medea," final produc-
‘ion of the 1951-52 season. Other
l-.iys that year were "See How
They Run," "Giaconda Smile," and
"Papa Is .^11." Robert Walker, star
of "Papa Is All,” and Joan Wick
man, top performer in “Giaconda
Smile," received the top perform
ance awards that year for leading
roles. Supporting actor and actress
iwards went to Lois Walker and
.loe Brinkley, each chasen from the
cast of “Papa Is All.”
Smith as director of Elon stage
activities, and the year’s program
included "January Thaw," “Tlie
Double Door" and “Hasty Heart
Leading role awards that year weni
to Diane Maddox from “The Doubk
Door” and to David Crowle from
“Hasty Heart.” Supporting role
awards went to Ann Wilkins from
“January Thaw” and to Jerry Loy
for his acting in "Hasty Heart."
Prof. Charles W. Cox assumed
the reins as director of dramatics
in the fall of 1953, and the 1953-54
season brought forth three long
plays and two shorts. The long plays
included “The Glass Menagerie,"
"Pygmalion,” and Shakespeare's
“As You Like It.” The shorter of
ferings were “The Sisters MacIn
tosh" and “Abraham and Isaac.”
Diane Maddox for the second
straight year received a leading
role award for her work In “Pyg-
(Contlnued on Pnee F
Svde Lines
■?y sy HALL
A
J
All information and statements
seem to indicate that tobacco is a
contributor to many fatal diseases.
Since tobacco apparently ranks as
a major health hazard in the United
States, the effects of tobacco on
the human body is now being in
vestigated.
On January 11, 1964 a report by
the United States Public Health
Service was released to the public.
The report was titled “Smoking and
Health Report of the Advisory Com
mittee to the Surgeon General of
the Public Health Service."
In this report, which was prepared
by scientists, medical doctors and
statisticians, appeared the following
statement: "Cigarette smoking is
-) health hazard of such significant
imoortance in the United States to
warrant remedial action."
For years many people have ar
gued that the main cause of res
piratory and pulmonary diseases
stemmed from pollution of the at
mosphere. Many people also con
tended that respiratory and pulmon
ary diseases were obtained as a
direct result of being exposed to
* adverse working conditions. Every
thing was blamed except tobacco.
To clarify this point, the recent
report on tobacco and smoking stat
ed, “For the bulk of the population
of the United States, the relative
importance of cigarette smoking is
T major cause of chronic pulmonary
•lisease. Smoking is by far a more
■ontrihuting factor in chronic and
pulmonary diseases than is atmos-
iheric nollution or occupational ex
posures."
The amount of cigarettes smoked
and the length of time a person
has been smoking are determining
factors in a person's susceptibility
toward lung cancer. The Surgeon
General's report stated it thusly —
"The risk of developing lung cancer
ncreases with the duration of the
smoking and the number of cigar
ettes smoked per day and is dimin
ished by discontinuing smoking.”
The following relationship exists
between cigarettes consumed and
the annual death rate: Studies indi
cate that for men who smoke fewer
*han ten cigarettes per day death
'rom all causes is about 40 per cent
higher than for non-smokers of the
same age.
For those who smoke between
ten and nineteen cigarettes per day,
the death rate is about 70 per cent
higher. The rate for the smoker of
one to two packs a day is 90 per
cent higher than for non-smokers
and for the man who smokes more
than two packs per day. the rate
is about 120 per cent higher.
In the United States approxi
mately 70 million Americans con
sume tobacco, representing about
half of the adult population. The
average American cigarette smoker
smokes 4,000 cigarettes a year. Be
sides the cigarette smoker, there
are thousands of cigar and pipe
smokers, but the lung cancer rate
is considerably lower among this
group of smokers.
One reason for this fact is due to
the different types of tobacco used,
and another is lack of inhalation
Most pipe and cigar smokers do not
inhale the smoke, hence their lungs
remain relatively clear. However
although lung cancer is not preva
lent among them, lip and mouth
cancer does rate high among the
pipe and cigar smokers.
It is interesting to note that most
cancer producing compounds are
present in the tobacco plant. Thr
big hazard in smoking is one of
combustion. TTie smoke coming into
the lungs is the product of a chem
ical reaction. The mouth serves the
same purpose as a test tube, and
the heat from the cigarette serves
as a reaction stimulus. The harder
one draws in the burning tobacco
the hotter smoke and the faster
and more violent the chemical re
action.
Tobacco bums from 350 degrees
to 850 degrees Centigrade, depend
ing on each individual smoker, and
the substance that formed in the
resulting chemical reaction is benzo
(a) pyrene, which is a potent can
cer producing substance.
The report from the Surgeon Gen
eral is not intended to make people
stop smoking. Its only objective is
to educate the public. It is estimated
that there are less than five per
cent of the adult population will
stop smoking because of the report.
However, it is hoped that by educat
ing youth on the dangers of tobacco,
the young people will think tvrice
before they begin purchasing lung
cancer on the installment plan.
the
fourth
year
By
PAIX ROBINSON
Each semester a new group of faces can
be found on the Elon campus. Some of
these are new professors, some are fresh
men or transfer students, or they may even
be the every-other-semester-scholars. .^t any
rate each of these new faces, as well as
the community already present on the cam
pus, has a particular impression of the
world within the four walls.
There are probably some, especially fresh
men, who view college as the grandiose
dream of his life, while others might view
it as the anticlimax to a socially centered
career in prep school. I imagine that some
are here because it is "the thing to do"
and do not find the slightest challenge in
their work.
Professors probably have a different im
pression. Many have a family to support
and are trying to continue their education
while teaching at the same time. Some
probably have a standard that they feel
that they must maintain in their class lec
tures. To some it might be a vocation, while
to others it might very weU be merely a
paying job and they had just as soon get
paid here as anywhere else.
The center of concern here, however, is
not the faculty, but the student morale. The
attitude that appears to dominate the Elon
campus community is one of dissatisfaction.
A certain amount of discontent with the
status quo is good, for it would be stupid
to expect everyone to be content with every
regulation enacted by either administrative
or student groups. If such a situation were
to exist, there would be little or no indi
vidualism on the campus. Lacking the ability
to think for himself, the graduate from Elon
would be destined to a life of failure or, it
once employed, would never advance.
The form that much of this discontent
seems to take is unbecoming to a college
community. Rather than discussion of the
disagreeable elements of the status quo, be
they regulations or situations, rumors are
started. The actual complaint in these
cases never reaches the person or group
of persons that could eliminate the tension.
This important step never occurs for vari
ous and tor the most part unknown reasons.
I have never attended another college,
but I would presume that this very same sit
uation exists in other college communities.
It without a doubt exists in the outside world.
The university of gossip and rumor, how
ever, does not make it right.
One of the most amazing elements of these
rumors is the fact that so many people
believe them. As is true of most all rumors,
nothing good is said about anybody. For
example, I heard that Dr. Danieley was in
New York a week or two ago. This I found
was very true, but did you know that some
were told, and actually believed, that he
was there looking for a job. The truth, if
anyone is interested, is that he was there
on business concerning the fund-raising canv
paign.
One of the classic stories, which I am
sure everyone has heard, was the one that
Elon was offered a $2 million endowment
by Burlington Industries but refused it be
cause it required Elon to change its name
to Burlington City College, which meant los
ing the name of Elon, something the Board
of Trustees could not do.
Rumor also states that the reason Trinity
College in Durham received the endowment
from the Duke cigarette fortune was because
Elon turned it down first, the Board ot
Trustees could bear to accept money made
from a sinful product.
Eitperience has taught me in my four years
of residency here possible causes for this
attitude. One which stands out in my mind
is the fact that many of my contemporaries
from beginning freshman to “long term
seniors” suffer from an inferiority com
plex.
I do not refer here to a personal complex
but rather to a “group complex”. This is
one that is the result of the desire of many
to be attending Duke, Wake Forest, Davidson
or any larger, more “collegiate” school.
This attitude seems to relate the feeling
that Ellon is not good enough, and that after
a couple of semesters the profs have “dished
out” so many bad grades in their direction
that they cannot transfer. ■
In essence, then, these individuals feel
that they are being held here against their
will. Since the school blamed for both the
bad grades and the captivity, there is ample
reason to complain. The result is a lack of
pride in the school’s equipment, willful des
truction of the school’s property and the
oft-recurring rumors.
(CoDtiniMd on Pjige Four)