Editorials
Fdbruazy 28,1991
Viewpoint
College is for
learning, or is it?
The quality of education is declining.
When it comes to learning, students take what they need and
leave the rest By the time stud^its reach their senior year in
college, they have had over 15 years of schooling. By this time,
they have learned how to manipulate the system.
Getting by, studying only what needs to be known fw the
test and forgetting the rest, works, but what is one left with?
The grade. Whether average cw above, it is accq)ted, and the
student moves on.
Where is the challenge?
Take for instance, a class was taking a quiz. The very first
question baffled most of the students because it came firom other
notes the professor had given, not from what the professw had
promised would be on the quiz.
The students were angry because their intellect was being
tested. They had limited the»nselves to the amount of
information needed fcx* the quiz.
The irony of the situation is that the extra Int of knowledge
the imfessOT sought could have easily beat retrieved by a Ixief
reading of the notes given from the last lecture.
It is sad to sit in a class and not feel challenge; to know
that studying fw the test thoroughly is not necessarily needed; to
know that other students in the class don't care.
It is discouraging to think that graduation is a mere three
nK»iths away and to wonder, "Did I really leam anything?"
This isn't to say students aren't learning anything^ or that
Ekm isn't teaching its students anything; it is to question the to
education, both £rom the students' poim (tf vkw as well as die
professors'.
How can professors successfully leach their students all they
know if the students aren't willing to be open feo and accept the
knowledge handed before them? How can students successfidly
leam firomtheir professors if the professors don't challenge the
students to tap into their best poientiai?
There is a bumper sticker floating around that says.'nrhey
can make me go to college, but they can't make me leam."
Whyboiiiei?
The Pendulum
Editor: Kelly Pbtter
Mwnagin^ Editor: Heather Whitehouse
Sports Editor: Chip Lupo
Entertainment Editor: Deborah Durkee
Reporters: Jennifer Aflcins, DeeDee Carowan, Jennifer Cbwman,
Murray Glenn, Yvonne Houseman, Christine Rudiger,
Russ Snith, Tricta Talbert, Ted Tcxsner
Columnists: Darren Benfer, Robert
Photoi^phers: Scott Lansing^ Rob Whiteside, Kati Mafko
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Advertising: Kristi Bei|f, Stuart Sterling
Advisor: Brad Hamm
Office: 102 WUiamson Ave., Elm College, N.C., 27244. News:
584-2331. Advertising: 584-2467.
The Pendulum, founded in 1974, is published by Eton College shuients eadt Thursday
during regular school terms. The Pendulum welcomes your opinions, with letters
limited to about 250 voords, ^possible, letters must be signed and a phone number
gtven for verification. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Monday.
Atrocities of war won*t get to the
heart of the problem in Iraq, U.S.
To the Editor:
While our troops deserve all
the concern we at E1(mi can give
them, support for the war
sanctions,the unwise policies that
led to it. We should not endorse
delusions about what war can
accomplish and the refusal to
negotiate or use sanctions.
U.S. involvement was fwged
by our own lack of an intelligent
energy policy. Yet this war can
only drain money away that
should be available for alternative
energy projects.
A wise and consistent foreign
policy would have prevented our
supporting leaders like Saddam
Hussein and Manuel Noriega.
Both are men whose wrong
actions were known, but w1k> had
our siq^)ort until we declared them
demons and ask Americans to risk
their lives deposing them. We
ought to be looking carefully at
all whom we support and
questioning the morality of
international wes^x)ns sales?
By labeling Hussein "Hitler",
we could refuse to n^otiaie or use
sanctions. Has the news media
focused on the "Hitler" rating
"Solving prob'
lems without war is
the New World Order
not having the U.S.
dominate with its
military."
our new allies in the Middle East,
those heads of govemment we
shore up in Central Amoica of the
leader of apartheid South Africa
whom we entertained at the White
House? We find it possible to
negotiate with them and, wrongly,
to support them.
Hussein's "Hitler" label has
also allowed us to pretend that the
whole problem lay in the
personality of one man. Anger
was directed CHily at him and the
emotions of a fight and of war
covered our inconsistent and
escalating objectives. We moved
from defending Saudi Arabia to
getting Iraq out of Kuwait, to
eliminating Hussein and the Iraqi
military.
Solving {voblems without
war is the New World Order not
having the U.S. dominale wkh its
miliiary. But many lejoice in oar
military capacity which has come
at the cost of $3 trillion in the last
decade leaving America poorer a^
the American economic empire
larger and more burdensome.
Let's remember this same
military capacity is not going to
give this heavily censored war a
great ending. RqxMts of "smart
bombs, glorifying technology, can
CMily hide for a while the deaths
our 2,000-3,200 sorties a day have
caused. We do not yet know the
suffering of human beings who
happened to be living under oitf
pounding bombardment in Kuwait
and Iraq. Cameras are forbiddwi
around our own returning coffins
atDovo*.
The atrocities of this war -
American or Iraqi style - may
result in the surrender of Saddam
Hussein, but will not get us to the
heart of the problems in the
Middle East of hwe in America.
What will this war be able to do
to end poverty, tensions and
hatred, militarism, our recession,
the homelessness of the
Palestinians, sorrow for the war
dead? Where will the victory be?
Anne Cassebamn
English Department
Students have plans for self
improvement, not self destruction
To the Editor:
I am rq>lying to die article
printed in last week's Pendulum
titled, "Afirican American Ekn
College headed for self-
destroction,* written by Dan
Ridley and the comment he madft
stating: "There is a stronger
recruitment of the African
American Student"
I would like to say that the
Admissions Dq^artment is {ratting
fcHdi a great effort to recrmt lop
notch students who are able to
succeed at a predominately white
school and achieve hcxiors, woric
in teadership c^[)acities, relstfe well
with persons on all levels and
from all backgrounds.
In other words, they are high
calibre human beings whose cok)r
just ballpens to he black, and they
are taking advantage of the
educational oppwtunities that
Ekn has to offer.
Black students at Elon
Odlege are accqxing a challmge
and proving that race has nothing
to do with one's ability lo team.
Hard work, determination,
motivation, h$h seUheste^anda
strong de^ to succeed is what
makes the black student at Elon
CoHege so successful.
Many of our black alumni
have proven that El«i graduates
are successful. To name a few:
D(Muia OUver, Natkmal Teacher of
the Year; Obtain Berkley Gcwre,
Pilot for the United States Army
(he was valedictorian of his flight
class and played football at Elon);
Sir Walker Mack, who is now a
graduate student in
School at Duke University
doing well; Robert Drriceford,
Forest University and is presently
enrolled in law school at
University of North Carolina,
Chapel HUl; Jason Richmond,
who is a siqiervistMT at Buihng^
Industries; Alicia Gaddy, who is*
graduate stadent at AK*alachi^
State University; and Angc»*
Norris, who is a schodi teacher-
These are just a few.
I woukl like to say that t**®
students now enrolled at Ek)0 have
no plans for self-destruction, b**
plans f(v self-improvement Mos
of the black stiKients at Elon
excdling. They are on the Dean *
List; they have earned Academic
See Utter, P*ge *