Page Two
ON INEXCUSABLE INACTION
The death of John F. Kennedy came as a severe shock to eveiyone.
As the word spread across the country, responsible people took imme
diate action in cancelling and postponing events which were to take
place within the period from the assassination to the funeral. This re
action was rapid and automatic. As soon as the time and day of the
funeral was announced actions were taken to set aside this day as a day
of national mourning. Businesses, schools, and other operations which
would normally function on Monday were immediately called off.
At Guilford, as everywhere else, this tragic event saddened the hearts
of everyone. The shock was strong and struck deeply. People wandered
around and muttered silently in utter disbelief. From the radio it was
learned that countless numbers of athletic events and other functions
were called off. Many wondered if Saturday classes would be cancelled
in respect and homage to the late President. Saturday came and went
as usual, however, and there was no official college reaction. A few peo
ple were angered and began to wonder if the college was going to rec
ognize the severity of the situation.
As Sunday rolled around still no word from the college was heard
concerning any official action which would be taken. Students and fac
ulty members were becoming annoyed at the lack of any definite move
on the part of the administration. It seemed quite obvious to everyone
that the school should definitely make an official move concerning the
observance of the funeral of the slain leader. But the day dragged on
and there was silence from the administration.
Finally, late in the afternoon, announcements were posted across
the campus. The college had at last made a move. The regular Monday
morning chapel program would he devoted to a memorial service to the
late President. Also, there would be no classes held following chapel
until 2:30 p.m. After that things would proceed as usual.
The students received this news calmly and there was no real reac
tion. Many were annoyed, though, at the length of time it took to come
to and announce this, what would seem to he obvious action. Why did
the entire weekend go by with no official gesture of mourning on the
part of the college? It would seem that this move did not have to be
thought about or discussed at length. Why wasn't immediate and auto
matic administrative action taken? What was there to think about that
kept the administrators silent for so long? Another question which arose
was concerned with the action itself. Why was it just a halfway thing?
On this day, the country practically came to a complete standstill. It
was a day of devotion and silence in honor of the late President.
Guilford observed this day in only a token manner, though. The
usual business of the day was still conducted as usual. Tests were given,
regular classes were held and the daily routine ground on as usual, ex
cept for the brief interval around the noon hour. Didn't the college re
gard this solemn day as important enough to suspend the usual routine?
Wasn't the overwhelming impact of this terrible tragedy strong enough
to make the administration grasp the gravity of the clay? When the
whole country comes to a standstill, why could Guilford only slow
down, and then proceed as usual? Are we above and beyond all this?
In a time of national grief it would seem only logical that this school
which is steeped in religious and educational tradition would want it
to be known that this tragedy was felt deeply on its campus. Just to set
aside a few hours in honor of a man who gave his life for his country is
not enough. President Kennedy devoted an entire lifetime to his coun
trvmen. And we at Guilford would only spare him a few short hours!
—G. L.
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ANN MATTHEWS
With this issue the Guilfordian inaugurates a new feature which will
place a Guilford co-ed in the spotlight each month. We hope that this
feature will dissuade the male population of the campus from the use of
the phrase: "There ain't no girls at this school."
To illustrate our point, please consider our first selection. She is Ann
Matthews, a sophomore from Leaksville (which is just outside of Spray).
Ann is an English major, plans to go on to graduate school, with an ulti
mate goal of teaching.
Besides her obvious charms she can boast of a 2.6 quality average.
She is quite an artist, is fond of swimming and dancing, and also loves
to travel. Our first Guilford Girl is active in many campus affairs; her
usual base of operations is the Union.
The Guilfordian
Second-class postage paid at Greensboro, N. C.
Published bi-weekly except during vacation and examination periods
by the students of Guilford College.
Editor Karen Baldwin Advertising Dick Ward
Associate Ed Don Smith Circulation Rosalyn Levy
Managing Ed Gary Lessner Exchange Patsy Simmons
Sports Editor Hank Siegel Mary Huffman
Business Mgr Bill Bright Typists Carlton Sterling
Layout Don Smith Dianne Swaine
Administration Ann King Cartoons John Lindsay
Advisors Forrest Altman Photographs .. .. Harley Mimura
Gene S. Key Dwight Thomas
Administration Ann King
STAFF REPORTERS
John McVickar Doug Taylor Gloria McElvy
Mike King Jerry Hege Bill Stein
THE GUILFORDIAN
The Guilfordian
VOL. XLVIII Greensboro, N. C. No. 4
VACATION BY NUMBER
J2
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I fail to believe this year's May
Court! The election was poorly con
ducted. I have heard rumors to the
effect that the election was fixed.
If it was not rigged, says the most
prevalent rumor, how did a certain
senior miss get on the court? Not
that anyone has anything against
her, but who voted for her? No one
seems to know.
— AN INQUISITIVE STUDENT
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
Yeah! Um-hum, yes, a-huh, yeah,
um-hum, yeah. I almost believe
this year's May Court!
—A STUNNED SENIOR
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
I wish to congratulate you on
your last issue of the Guilfordian.
The paper was so timely, informa
tive, colorful, and interesting that I
read it all—not just the sports page
as usual. Keep up the good work,
you all!
— HAPPI-NESS
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
In view of the fact that Guilford's
football team has won only one of
its football games in two consecu
tive years, I think the time has fin
ally come for something to be done.
It's not the fault of the boys on the
field. This is proved by such noted
records as that of Jimmy Williams.
What do we need? Either let's have
more and larger sports grants,
transfer to another league, or for
get the whole thing,
—A LOYAL FAN
(The Guilford team won two
games in the past two seasons, not
one, as is above stated.—Ed.)
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
A nation mourns, the world is
shocked, people are numb with
grief, but Guilford College goes on
as usual. Why? Wasn't it enough
for President Johnson to declare
Monday, November 25, a national
day of mourning? Why didn t Guil
ford join the nation in this somber
gesture of respect? Why did we
just nod at the occasion rather than
respect it fully? Was it too much of
an inconvenience for us to do some
thing the right way? Guilford is so
consistent in its half . . . manner of
doing things!
— IRRITATED AND ASHAMED
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
I was proud to be a member of
the student body of Guilford Col
lege on Monday morning, Novem
ber 25. As I sat in my chapel seat
fully aware of the utter and com
plete silence which befell the entire
auditorium, I was indeed moved to
feel a sense of sincere pride at the
respect in which the day was held.
I raised my eyes for a moment as
the first speaker moved to the po
dium. But then the solemn purpose
of this assemblage left me. There
before me a few rows down, was
the usual girl, taking the usual at
tendance at the usual chapel pro
gram! The nymphs of the aisles
were on duty as always! The Presi
dent of the United States was being
laid to rest —and attendance was
being taken at the memorial service
dedicated to him! For the person
who did not attend the service,
serious consequences may follow.
I'm sure that J. F. K. would have
wanted it that way!
— AN ASTOUNDED AND ASHAMED
GUILFORDIAN
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
I think mention should be made
of the November 25 memorial serv
ice in Dana Auditorium. It was
presented in a highly dignified
manner and was truly a deeply-felt,
sincere expression of the Guilford
College community.
—A GUILFORDIAN
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
I find it to be disgusting that
Guilford College did not com
pletely close its doors on the day
of our late President's funeral. On
this day of world mourning, Guil
ford took a token stand by pushing
its doors almost shut—but not all
the way.
Does not the administration have
any backbone? Why must this in
stitution continually make token
movements? For instance, we have
a token Thanksgiving vacation—
one paltry day! We have token li
brary facilities; by 7:30 p.m., there
is never any place to study in that
undersized building.
By not granting a decent Thanks
giving vacation, the college has de
prived many students and faculty
members of being with their fami
lies on this important family day.
By leaving its doors open on Mon
day, November 25, the school com
mitted an inconceivably gross act
of poor taste.
Yes, Guilford College has never
closed its doors in 127 years, but,
by having accomplished this, how
many times has it flagrantly slapped
humanity in the face?
— AN APPALLED STUDENT
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
As a member of Antigone's cast,
I would like to voice mine and the
entire cast's appreciation to a de
lightful and receptive audience.
Without your encouragement we
could not have delivered as good a
performance as we did. We hope
that you enjoyed our production
and will continue to support our
endeavors in the future. It was a
pleasure.
— ISMENE
0 0 0 0
Dear Editor:
The beloved leader of the United
States is dead. All the country is
bowed down with grief. In respect
for his sacrifice the nation comes
December 4, 1963
Send Me The
Wishbone, Mom
Whether you realized it or not, a
mass exodus from college campuses
across the nation took place
within the last week. The an
nual Thanksgiving migration home
ward had drained our colleges and
universities of their knowledge
seeking inhabitants. Highways and
byways were Hooded with stu
dents rushing home to celebrate
this traditional family holiday. This
welcome break came none too
soon, either, because the yoke of
two months' work begins to lie
heavily on the shoulders of Amer
ica's future leaders. The long
awaited relief finally came and
the school boy breathed easily
for a few days. America took the
weekend off.
However, (and someone always
throws a 'however" into these happy
scenes) all was not roses and lolli
pops everywhere. Believe it or not,
there are some institutions of high
er learning in this county which de
prive students of this joyous inter
lude. Can you imagine that? While
most of America takes it easy for a
while, taking full advantage of a
natural four-day weekend, a few of
the nation's young scholars must
toil away without even batting an
eyelash at the passing of this annual
time of giving thanks. While most
college students relaxed at home
with families and friends, we at
Guilford worked on as usual with
hardly a pause for this age-old,
time-honored tradition.
In the past Guilford has main
tained this policy of a vacationless
Thanksgiving. Last year, however,
a precedent was set —Guilford stu
dents were presented with a five
day break just like most of the other
colleges and universities. This brief
pause lifted the morale of faculty
and students considerably. For it's
a long, long time from September to
December, and a pause at this time
is most certainly refreshing. But
let's face it: we're here, and there is
nothing we can do about it. There
is just no use in crying over spilled
turkey gravy and cranberry sauce!
The obvious question is now be
fore us: Why were we blessed with
a vacation last year but not this
year? This inconsistency in school
policy is frustrating and annoying.
You can't give a dog a bone and
then take it away from him without
running the risk of having your leg
bitten off. We're not about to chew
oft any limbs, but we sure would
like to have that vacation break—
naturally not this year but in future
years.
There have been a few reasons
offered in explanation of this situ
ation. First of all, school started
later this year than last year and
these days are made up during the
period that would be set aside for
Thanksgiving. Couldn't this end
also be achieved by starting school
a few days earlier or ending a little
later? Another "reason" is that there
are a few students who would not
be able to go home and would
have to stay on campus. Since the
college does not want to keep the
dorms and cafeteria open during
this time for just a handful of peo
ple, the entire student body is de
prived of a vacation. Another ex
planation which is commonly used
is that it is so close to Christmas va
vation that we can wait a little
longer.
So there we were reading the pa
per after a usual day of classes. Else
where in the country, families were
together celebrating the holiday
and giving thanks. Send me the
wishbone, Mom! G. L.
to a standstill . . . with the notable
exception of Guilford College. Do
we even have a flag to fly at half
mast? No! Our callous administra
tion orders that we carry on as
usual. Only a brief chapel program
is given and a few hours are set
aside. Is this the extent of our de
votion and admiration for a man
who died for us? I call this attitude
unpatriotic, indifferent, and dis
gusting.
—AN AMERICAN