Pendulum
Eye Wills— p. 3
Dance!— p. 4
Financial Aid— p. 7
Volume VI Number 8
Elon College, Elon College, N.C. 27244
Thursday, October 18, 1979
Elon to get genetics
Dr. Maurice Whittiaghill, a retired professor of genetics from UNC-CH, came to Elon
College this fall. He encourages students to attend his class in human genetics this spring.
Photos by Craig Stanfield.
‘Self-murder’ is a cry for help
by Kevin Wilson
The controversy concer
ning the moral aspects of
suicide was the topic of Dr.
Robert Kastenbaum’s lecture
Tuesday afternoon in Moo
ney Theater. The psycho
logy professor from the
University of Massachussetts
lectured on the various ways
of committing suicide and
discussed reasons why peo
ple end their lives.
According to Kastenbaum,
suicide is known to many as
“self-murder.” Suicide is
morally questionable because
it takes away a person’s life,
though most suicidal cases
Last day for WP
Students who wish to drop
a course will receive a WP
through tomorrow. After
Friday, students will receive
a WF. Students who are
failing a course will receive a
WF regardless of the time at
which the course is dropped.
Withdrawing with a WP
will not count against the
student. No credit for the
course will be given for a
WP.
Drop forms may be
picked up at the registrar’s
office. Forms should be
signed by the adviser and the
course instructor and re
turned to the registrar’s
office.
75-year-old barber pole,
$1580 worth of signs stolen
Hand carved and painted
signs from the Baaik of
North Carolina and an an
tique barber pole have been
taken from Williamson Ave
nue buidlings, according to
Elon College police.
The signs, costing $1,580,
were removed from the face
of the bank building about
two weeks ago. The barber
pole was tom off the barber
shop Monday night. It was
at least 75 years old and had
belonged to the grandfather
of R.V. “Sally” Bare’s wife.
Upset over losing an item
of such sentimental value to
the family, she is offering a
$100 reward for the return
of the barber pole. Mr.
Bare expressed hope that
“someone will bring it
back.”
A police spokesman said
that these two incidents
marked the first vandalism
and disappearance of signs
and other property in the
town this fall.
Taking signs of this value
is considered larceny which,
according to the police, on
conviction carries a 20-year
jail term.
are not insane. Before
kidney transplants were
common, a patient on dia
lysis jumped out a hospital
window, unable to accept
the reality of the situation.
He simply chose the other
alternative, taking his own
life. Suicide victims need
counseling on a specific pro
blem they feel is personally
destroying them, and this
help is needed immediately.
A “good death” will have
a rational cause, and most
people have certain places
and situations they prefer to
die in. Most people desire
to die as late as possible,
unless terminally ill or de
pressed.
The three styles of death,
according to Dr. Kasten
baum, are romantic death,
accepting death, and teach
ing death. By committing
suicide, the person feels he is
doing society a favor, and in
many instances, this is seen
as acceptable by society.
Dr. Kastenbaum also said
the mass media is an in
fluence on suicide and that
more older people are taking
their lives than younger peo
ple although suicide is on
the upswing among the
young. People who are
serious about suicide do not
hesitate to complete the act,
but suicide threats are really
a cry for help.
The lecture presented peo
ple with an outlook on how
society influences a person
to take his life, regardless of
the reason.
by Mildred B. Lynch
Some problems in Human
Genetics (Bio 271) will be
offered for the first, time on
the Elon College campus this
spring. The course is open
to anyone, and Dr. Maurice
Whittinghill, who will be
teaching the course, encou
rages students who are not
biology majors as well as
those who are to enroll.
“Students from fine arts,
psychology and chemistry as
well as biology enrolled in
this class when I taught it at
UNC-CH because they were
interested, and they heard
that it was a good course,”
Dr. Whittinghill said with a
modest smile.
Ihe class, which will
meet on Mondays, Wed
nesdays and Fridays for one
hour (no labs), will cover
such topics as “Normal
Humans and Their Envir-
oment,
‘Defects Caused
by Known Genes or Chro
mosomal Alternations” and
“Public Policies Regarding
Diseases or Conditions.”
Students will have an oppor
tunity to investigate geneti
cally caused conditions of
their own or of someone
else.
Dr. Whittinghill is the
first T.E. Powell, Jr. Pro
fessor of Biology. This
chair was endowed by Dr.
Powell, founder of Carolina
Biological Supply Co. and
former professor of biology
at Elon College.
Dr. Whittinghill brings to
Elon a wide background in
the field of genetics, having
taught human genetics, gen
eral genetics and genetics in
experimental animals at
UNC-CH. He is leaching
Honors Bio 111, Bio 410
(Genetics) and the senior
seminar in biology at Elon
College, He has served as
the first Wachtmeister pro
fessor at Virginia Military
Institute and as a parttime
visiting professor at UNC-
Wilmington.
“I have £ilways had e
special interest in human
genetics which I have seen
grown by leaps and
bounds,” Dr. Whittinghill
said.
His interests and talents
are not limited to the bio
logy lab. He is active in the
New Hope Chapter of the
Audobon Society, enjoys
sailing in the summer and
skiing in the winter.
He and his wife, a regis
tered nurse, live on Trail’s
End in Burlington.
MLT program here
teaches basic sciences
by Mildred Lynch
“Radioimmunoassay —
(RIA) is an exciting new
field,” says Gayle Scott, di
rector of the Medical Lab
oratory Technician Program.
Two graduates of the
MLT Program are employed
in this field which uses
radioisotopes and antigen-
antibody systems to identify
and quantitate substances.
Other graduates are em
ployed at Biomedical Lab
oratories of Burlington,
which is a major clinical
affiliate of the program, and
in small hospitals where they
usually perform all of the
tasks for which they are
trained for, Mrs. Scott says.
The MLT Program at
Elon is evolving to a higher
level of educational stan
dards and excellence, accor
ding to Mrs. Scott. Grad
uates receive an associate of
science degree and may con
tinue at Elon to earn a
baccaluareate.
' The first-year students are
learning the basic sciences
and are performing related
laboratory procedures on
campus. The second-year
class is taking advanced
courses and will beifin clin
ical experiences at Bionedi-
cal Labs in a few weeks.
Mrs. Scott, a native of
Georgia, has a bachelor of
science degree in medical
technology from the Medical
College of Georgia. Her
experience includes work as
a technologist in hemoto-
logy, blood banking and
chemistry. She has served
for eight years as educa
tional coordinator for the
Medical Laboratory Tech -
nician Certificate Program
for Atlanta Area Techinical
School before coming to
Elon College.
Anyone who would like
additional information con
cerning the program may
contact Mrs. Scott in her
office on third floor Carlton
or call her at Ext. 245.