2
ApriMS, 1999
Opinions
'yiewjfotnt
Okay, look. Til square thi$ away right now* 1 didn’t go to the
Honors Convocation, so I won^tbecomplaining aboutSteven Jay Gould,
I have nofiling to say about the Elon Bubble or about Residence Life* not
today anyway. The Greeks haven’t upped my dander in quite some time
and my registration went just fine> thank you.
Yup, it’sjust your typical slow news week here at Elon College and
Fm in no mood to stir things up* I got a bit of sleep, I had a good dinner
and the paper is running smoothly this week, so Fm in a relatively
pleasant mood.
When you are a perpetual cynic as I often tend to be, it gets pretty
easy to lump everything in your immediate environment into the general
category of '‘irritating,” But I don’t really feel like doing that this week.
See, Tuesday afternoon I was visited by a true class act, one who
reinstiiled my faith in the people of Elon College.
Earlier that morning I received a phone call from a young man who
said he had accidentally received a piece of mail in his campus box. He
asked if he might stop by and return it, I told him where! lived and within
a half hour there was a knock at my door.
He was a perfect gentlenian. He was very friendly and apologized
for opening my letter. I thanked him for returning it so promptly, really
for returning it at all, and shut the door, smiling aboiit discovering a
pocket of goodwill in what I h&j signed off as a disinterested^ self-
centered campus.
Imagine my surprise when I realized that the piece of mail con
tained a check from home... and a check for a fairly si^iable chunk of
change. ' ,
The fact that this guy took the time to look up my number, call me,
walkover to my building and give the letter back strikes me as a true show
of respect and caring for others, and not just because my letter had a fat
check in it. Not to get all sugar-coated and preachy, but it really can be
a lesson to all of us.
To the young man who returned my letter, thank you. Hot only for
returning it to me, but for reminding me that people can be pretty cool
sometimes. I only hope 1 can return the favor to you some time.
Okay, I gave you all cavities with my sweetness, now get out there
and try making someone’s day yourselves.
* Carrie Lancos Editor in Chief
Elon students should value speakers,
Ju- '
convocation as learning experience
I’m not sure how many of the
Elon College population attended
the speech delivered by Stephen J.
Gould last week in the Alumni Gym
nasium, but one thing that I am
certain of is that the attendance at
the end of the program was dramati
cally smaller than when the pro
gram began.
The reason for this large de
crease in people by the end of the
speech is that we have one of the
rudest, most ungrateful and pathetic
student bodies that I have ever seen.
Well over one hundred stu
dents walked out of the convoca
tion, which is designed ”to honor,
students, faculty and donors of the
college for their hard work and dedi
cation.
I am not sure why this should
surprise me, because it happens ail
of the time at speakers on campus.
Once half of the speech is finished,
one by one my fellow colleagues,
become bored, obtain enough notes
to write the two-page reflection pa
per and slip out the door.
Maybe they have something
better to do, maybe the don’t agree
with what the speaker had to say,
but they all had one thing in com
mon: They paint a poor picture of
the manners of Elon College stu
dents.
In a time when we are trying
to strengthen the academic climate
on campus, it may do the students
some good by listening to a speaker
who might teach you something
new. I certainly did not compre
hend all the concepts that Mr. Gould
was speaking about, but he cer
tainly had many thought provoking
comments.
Students don’t
limit their rudeness at the
large convocation. The
Liberal Arts Forum in-
Mark Richter
The Pendulum
richm5s0@elon.edu
vites many speakers to
the college who are quite
relevant and entertaining.
Among these
speakers who have visited over the
past year are Morris Dees, Jocelyn
Elders and Ralph Nader, to name a
few. All of these speakers have
something relevant to say, however
many times it is the same story as
that of the Honors Convocation;
students feel the need to leave early.
For gosh sakes, most speak
ers only speak for an hour. Most of
you listen to professors give lec
tures for longer than that. Or do
you?
a few suggestions:
1. Remember, these speak
ers, which are not cheap to bring to
campus, are here for you.
2. Attend these events with
the right attitude. When I was a
freshman I was not always inter
ested in listening to speakers in
order to fill a class requirement, but
now I attend for my
own personal ben
efit. Attend a cul
tural event, a major
speaker or even a
speaker you never
heard of before, but
appreciate it for the
learning experience
that it is intended to
be. You will not
have opportunities
such as this in the
real world.
3. If you don’t enjoy the
selection of speakers, then do some
thing about it. Join the Liberal Arts
Forum; you might even be able to
receive class credit.
4. Lastly, ifyou must leave a
performance, with a good reason,
such as cardiac arrest, please do so
quietly and politely.
Many of you will not remem
ber this, but I sat through the speech
ofDaniel Quinn in 1995. If I could
In closing I would like to make do that, you can do anything.
Informing the Elon College Community
EUlitor in Chief
Carrie Lancos
Managing Editor
Sarah Voss
News Editor
Alan Medeiros
Opinions Editor
Chris Rash
Focus Editors
Chuck Buckley
Tammy Tripp
A & E Editor
Lisa McChristian
Sports Editor
Troy Adams
Photo Editor
Emily MacDonnell
Business Manager
Jenna Denton
Office Manager
Carolyn Lampila
Online Ekiitor
Jeff Sanders
Asst. Online Editor
Bill Monken
Reporters
Jefi Angel
Riza Aquino
Lauren Bigge
Marie Blackett
Ashley Brown
Zac Busby
Patrick Collins
Josh Cotter
Stefanie Fox
Johannah Lawrence
Tom Mullen
Natalie Ordine
Josh Phoebus
Jamie Richey
Photographers
Megan Anderson
Jen McCort
Crystal Pape
Knsty Wolfgang
Columnists
Rich Blomquist
Chris Knight
Ethan Pell
Mark Richter
Copy Editor
Eric Ramos
Adviser
Byung Lee
The purpose of The
Pendulum shall be to inform
and entertain the Elon College
community. The Pendulum
shall be a forum where all
members of the college
community are able to express
their ideas and opinions.
Address all
correspondence to:
The Pendulum
7012 Campus Box
Elon College, N.C.
27244.
Phone: (336) 584-2331
Fax: (336) 584-2467
E-mail:
pendulum @ elon.edu
Web page:
http ://www.elon.edu/
pendulum
Greek Week
Do you feel that Greek Week promotes seperation between
Greek and non-Greek organizations and students on campus?
Jessica Vitak, freshman:
I have felt tension between
the Greeks and non-Greeks. I think
that having a Greek Week will only
further promte the animosity I have
seen between the two groups.
Rashid Alexander, sopho
more: I don’t feel that Greek Week
promotes seperation but it does cre
ate a healthy rivalry, a time in which
people take pride in their particular
organizations.
Courtney Wells, sopho
more: Yes. There is no opportu
nity for them to have an event like
this either.
Joey Santorem, sophomore: I don’t feel that Greek Week promotes seperation between Greeks and
non-Greeks on campus, I think it provides a great opportunity for Greeks to come together and showcase their
organizations..
Maggie Grimes, sophomore: Not necessarily Greek Week, but Greek organizations in general, yes.