Phi Theta Kappa Recognized
At Regional Convention
Walk Defensively: Look Left,
Right and Left Again
Phi Theta Kafif)a wins Honors ot the Regional Convention in Charleston, SC. Left to
right are Dr. Barbara Holt, Ray Hill, Darrell Jeffries, Bruce Monks, Jason
Maloney, Dr. Jo Hendrix, Don Whitten and Jerald Weaver.
'Photo by Bob C. Thompson
Members of the Wilkes Commun
ity College Alpha Kappa Omega Chap
ter, Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), recently
attended the Phi Theta Kappa Regional
Convention in Charleston, SC, where
they received special commendation.
For the past year, the fraternity has
been working toward a Five Star rat
ing which required it to complete pro
jects in each of four categories known
as the Hallmarks of Scholarship, Leader
ship, Service, and Fellowship.
The WCC chapter successfully com
pleted the requirements and was one
of eleven chapters that received the
Five Star Award. They were selected
from sixty-eight chapters throughout
North and South Carolina.
In adition, the group received Honor
able Mention for Communications
which involved keeping the national
office informed of their activity each
month.
According to Dr. Josephine Hen
drix, an advisor to the group, "We
have worked very hard to fulfill all of
the requirements for the Five Star
Program and the recognition in com
munications. I am proud of what our
students have accomplished.”
PTK was also recognized as "Most
Improved Chapter” for which they
received a plaque and a $ 100 scholar
ship that will assist two WCC stu
dents in attending the Annual Interna
tional Convention in Anaheim, CA,
April 7-9.
Jason Maloney and Don Whitten,
both WCC PTK students, will repre
sent WCC at the International Con
vention where they will receive inter
national recognition.
The achievements of the WCC chap
ter will be cited in the 1994 Inter
national Awards Program, a special
publication honoring the winning chap
ters. The program is distributed to
more than 2,500 chapter representa
tives that will be attending the
convention.
Most people imagine horrible crash
scenes of twisted metal when they
think of motor vehicle accidents, but
there is an often overlooked factor in
many of these accidents — the pedes
trian. Each year about 7,000 pedes
trians are killed, according to the
National Safety Council, and another
50,000 suffer disabling injuries.
During some part of the daily rou
tine, everyone is a pedestrian: getting
to school and to work, walking to a
parked car, going shopping, or en
gaging in recreational activities.
Because a hazardous situation exists
any time foot traffic and vehicular
traffic mix, the National Safety
Council offers this safety advice for
pedestrians:
^Do not assume that vehicles will
stop at traffic signals or obey other
traffic laws. Look left, right and left
again before you cross, even if you
have the "walk” sign.
^ Don’t challenge traffic, even if
you have the right of way. At a cornor,
first establish eye contact with the
vehicle driver.
•/Don't Drink and Walk is just as
valid for pedestrians as Don’t Drink
and Drive is for motorists. About 25%
of pedestrian traffic deaths involve
alcohol impairment on the part of the
pedestrian with no alcohol impair
ment on the part of the driver.
^ Walk facing traffic so you can see
approaching vehicles in rural areas or
places where there are no sidewalks.
Get to the side of the road when traffic
passes.
Exercise particular caution in incle
ment weather when roads are slip
pery. You could fall and traffic might
not be able to stop.
>^Wear bright clothing to be seen
easily during the day.
Carry a lighted flashlight at night
and wear clothing trimmed with retro-
reflective material.
Long Live This King
He was shot. Killed!
His race and religion hardly matter.
What matters is that he strove to do
something he believed right. That
right was a pursuit of justice, and he
fought for it all his life nonviolently
like Gandhi (India), Bishop Tutu
(South Africa), Mairead Corrigan and
Betty Williams (Northern Ireland).
Many people, though sorry he was
shot, blamed his meddling. After all,
he had been warned many times:
•"Stay in your own backyard.”
•"You got it made, man. Cool it.”
•"What for all that speechmaking!
Doesn’t do anybody any good.”
•"Be careful. Some bigoted nut will
get you if you don’t stop.”
But this man refused to stop. The
warnings and live-and-let-live advice
suited the weak, the frightened, the
uninformed. He would live and help
live.
So he spoke not with guns but with
simple worsd: "I have a dream...”
He preached not complacency and
acceptance but fairness and justice:
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to jus
tice everywhere.”
He marched not with hired thugs
but with American citizens: "Nonvio
lence is the answer to the crucial polit
ical and moral questions of our time.”
He dreamed not of failure but of
equality, of brotherhood/sisterhood:
"I have a dream that my four little
children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the
color of their skin, but by the content
of their character.”
And though this man. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., was shot and killed
April 4, 1968, Americans celebrate
his birthday the third Monday of each
January. Yet does he live!
Nature Teaches Humankind
Many "modern” inventions have
been used by nature for years:
• The hummingbird is a helicopter
in miniature. It can go up or down,
backwards, and hover over a blossom
while gathering nectar.
• Jet propulsion is used by the
squid as it sucks and expels water to
move itself about.
• Camouflage is a boon to the
chameleon. It can change its color
from yellow to gray to green, blending
in with its environment, thus escaping
its enemies.
• The scorpion’s tail is the perfect
hypodermic, used to inject poison
into its enemies.
• The snake uses an anesthetic to
paralyze its prey before making a meal
of it.
• Suction cups are used by marine
creatures such as sea snails and aba-
lones to cling to rocks.
• The snowshoe rabbit has natural
snowshoes.
• Radar has been used by bats for
centuries. As the bat flies, it sends out
sharp cries which bounce off objects,
telling the bat where it can go safely.