Newspapers / Wilkes Community College Student … / Sept. 3, 1974, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE VOICE OF WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE VOLUME 4, No. 12 WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA SEPTEMBER 3, 1974 BOND VOTE! mm m~f^ AUDITORIUM, STUDENT COMMONS, GYMNASIUM, TECH ED BLDG. POWER MECHANICS BUILDING COMMUNITY IS OUR MIDDLE NAME! When the bond issue is ap proved by the voters of our home county, education will be gin a renaissance in “the Great State of Wilkes.” Elducation is on the move. We are moving with it, and it is moving with us. The future of education is now. Here’s the way it works. The voters invest their trust in the name of education; education uses the investment in quality facilities and teaching and makes them available to all. It repays the investment in bring ing new money into the area, in ottering the best educations available, increasing the gen eral wealth of the county, rais ing the average family income, offering a place of pride to the community, and making “tne wonderful world of Wilkes” a better place to live. Actually the county voters’ investment is small compared to the return they can expect. For example, the Wilkes County Commissioners by virtue of the 1964 bond issue designated $500,000 for construction and equipment of the then new Wilkes Community College. The total county contriDution was $500,000. No additional capital outlay (for construction) from county funds has been di rected to the college since that time. The current book value of the college, grounds and equipment is now in excess of $4,800,000, a return of more than 900%. jsjot a bad invest ment. That’s only the start. On September 26, the voters of this county will once again be given the opportunity to make an other wise investment. If the return on the investment re mains consistent, we might re turn to the county an asset of approximately $18,000,000. in other words, we authorize the college two million dollars and the college more than matches it! Speaking as a voter of this county, I wish we could have done it much sooner. It is really exciting to think about the future of our “little school.” Is is already recogniz ed as one of the top institutions of its kind. Let’s look into the crystal ball and take a tour of this future campus. First, let’s go into the POW ER MECHANICS BUILDING. This huge building contains 17,- 400 square feet. Imagine that. Inside this mechanics paradise are four drive-through diesel bays, which means you can work on four full-size tractor trailers at one time. Inside the building there is also a big steam room, a dynamometer room (engine testing room), (By the way, it’s the only one in the whole state.) There are classrooms, office spaces, tool and equipment rooms, four au tomotive bays, laboratories, a machine that will test under road conditions, and a large storage area that is used by the entire college. Naturally, this really modern structure con tains heating and air condition ing. Now let’s go into the TECH NICAL BUILDING. This build ing contains complete office spaces for the Division of Life Sciences, offices for the Di vision of General Studies, early childhood lab, complete with outside play yard. The lab’s for hotel-motel technology, the drafting lab, and the lab for industrial management, and rooms to house the nursing ed ucation students plus all the necessary laboratories and sem inar rooms. And, of course, heating and air conditioning. What a fantastic opportimity. Who would have believed all this just a few years back? “The Great State of Wilkes” is get ting greater all the time. There’s more. The COMMUNITY SERV ICES BUILDING: This build ing is in two sections (three if you include the Student Com mons). On one side of this beauty is an auditorium with a seating capacity of approximately 1,200. It is complete with a stage for the exciting productions we have here. Now on the other side, is the Physical Education Area for our intramural and in ter-collegiate athletics. This dream come true, has a seating capacity of 1,800. I can see it now “WCC, NUMBER ONE!” Between these two sections is the Student Commons. It is about four times the size of our present commons area and will contain offices for the annual staff, the newspaper, the SGA, and an activities counselor. Also in this building is a modern bookstore, about three times the size of our present store. Plans are on the board for a four-story fire tower. (That ought to reduce the fire insur ance rates in “Ole Wilkes.”) Right now you’re probably asking yourself, “Self, I wonder what will happen to the spaces that will be vacated (commons, bookstore, etc.)?” Well, I am glad you asked that. An institution like ours, that’s involved in the commun ity, is involved in the total community. COMMUNITY IS OUR MIDDLE NAME. We are very much interested in the Senior Citizen. Part of this area will be renovated with the senior citizen in mind. Serving continuing education and curri culum programs in much need ed areas, will also be given consideration in programs like painting, ceramics, sculpturing, lapidary, pottery, sewing, clothes design and construction, and just all the crafts you can imagine. Student services will also have expanded areas. Progress and new beauty can already be seen on our campus in the form of our new CON TROL LAKE. This beautiful addition to our campus is a welcome site for many reasons. I like it because without it there would be 11.7 spring-fed acres that otherwise could not be utilized. The control lake for the past two months has been draining three springs and a number of streams, thereby affording the college the opportunity of hav ing outdoor physical education space. Before the lake, this was not possible. It also provides a training lot for landscape and turf management students. It is hopeful that a much need ed technical program of “fish farming” will become part of the many offerings of the con trol lake. The lake also serves as a constant source of fresh water for fire protection and is a wonderful method of teach ing land drainage. All these benefits, and the lake doesn’t even know it! It thinks it’s there only to add beauty to the campus. Well, now you’ve seen it! Isn’t it GREAT? Somebody said, “Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.” It’s an idea whose time has come. I can think of no reason to postpone it. Construction costs are going up at the rate of 12% per year. The college is now about eight years old. If we waited another eight years, our plans will cost near 100% more than now. Dr. Thompson puts it this way, “The bond issue will offer the opportunity to build at today’s prices with tomorrow’s dol lars.” Benjamin Franklin said it well: “The only thing more ex pensive than education is ignor ance.” —John Cashion P.S. Be Sure To Vote !! RECORD ENROLLMENT EXPECTED If you have seen counselors Bob Thompson, Cheryl Poston^ Jean Miles, and SGA president, John Cashion, ushering groups of not-yet-freshmen through the Commons, you have caught a glimpse of ORIENTATION. A special effort has been made to bring all prospective freshmen to the campus during the summer. At last report a total of 266 had visited, with 100 to 150 more expected to at tend on one of the three addi tional orientation days yet to come. On the basis of orientation and inquiries, the counseling staff anticipates the largest freshman class ever.
Wilkes Community College Student Newspaper
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Sept. 3, 1974, edition 1
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