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The Community Senate
In a week and a half it will be time again
to elect the members and officers of the
Community Senate. While no petitions or
platforms have been announced, we would
like to discuss some things to watch for
when surveying candidates. This of course
assumes that there will be more than one
slate. If oidy one slate of candidates file,
we suggest that a yes/no option be placed
on the ballot so that there is some manner
of choice involved.
The Community Senate is still a new
animal, quite different from the Student
Legislature which preceeded it, and,
candidates for office should be judged by
standards applicable to it, rather than to
traditional "Student Government"
organizations.
Perhaps the best definition of the
character of the Senate is "creative
disfunction." Roughly translated this
means that the Senate is not a body of
persons fumbling around with useless
rhetorical arguments, frittering away any
chances for action in internal politicking.
The Senate should be a body stripped of
non-essentials, performing maintenance
functions such as financial planning,
translation of student opinion to faculty
and administration, and representation of
the student body to persons and
organizations in the outside community.
This is the "disfunction" part of the
definition. It does not mean the Senate
-liould be a dormant body, but that it
should be streamlined so that the functions
it performs are efficient and effective. What
energy it has should be concentrated rather
than dissipated.
The "creative" portion of our
implies that the Senate should be able to be
a launching point for ideas of individual
students and student groups. Long,
parliamentary procedures can kill a good
idea very easily. The Community Senate
Should be a place where projects, services,
and plans formulated by students are
introduced into the whole college
community. It should not be a place where
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THE GUILFORDIAN
these plans and ideas are co-opted and
internalized by the government
organization. Creativity does not mean
forming a committee. It means serving as
both a funnel to direct individual and
group activity to the place it will best
function, and as an umbrella, giving validity
to a wide range of student initiated
activity.
On the' first score, that of streamlining
and concentrating, this year's Senate and
officers have done an admirable job of
dismanteling useless machinery, and
establishing efficient government in its
place. To date however, the Senate has
been much less of a creative body than it
has the potential to be. The energies of the
Senate should go in two almost opposite
directions, dissasembling while creating.
This year's Senate has gone basically in
only one of these, dissasembling, perhaps
because the two directions seem
contradictory, and they chose one over the
other. Both are possible, and necessary.
The Senate has been involved with a few
creative functions this year, but the
potential exists for much more.
We hope that candidates for Executive
Council and Dorm & Day representatives to
the Senate will address themselves not only
to particular issues, but to their thoughts
on the functions of the Senate. Running
for election on a platform of issues will be
totally useless and misleading unless
candidates specify how they intend to deal
with them. The Senate will be sponsoring a
forum for candidates before the elections
which will be a good opporl unity to
question them on this matter. The
GUILFORDIAN will print statements of
platforms by candidates for office if the
candidate so desires.
Student Government, viewed for so long
as a total farce, has the potential to be an
active agent, voice, and gathering ground
for us, if, and only if, it is understood and
utilized, not as a end in itself, but as an
apparatus of service and creativity.
Ify QuilfonSon
The Guilfordian is published by the editors and staff weekly except
for examination periods and vacations. The Guilfordian is not an
official publication of Guilford College, and the opinions expressed
herein are solely those of the authors and editors. Office: Rm. 223, Cox
Old North. Phone 292-8709. Mailing address: Guilford College
Greensboro, N.C. 27410. Subscription rates: 54.00 per year, $2.50 per
semester, distributed free of charge on the Guilford College Campus.
Editor, Kyd D. Brenner, Business Manager, Terry L. Romine,
Managing Editor, Jeanette Ebel, Photography, Jerry Clawges.
Advertising, Marc Weiner, Cartoon, Steve McCraw, John Meyler, Sports,
Jim Shields, Staff, Carla McKinney, TerryWyszynski, Susan Hardee,
Clare Glore, Sue Scheider, Doug Scott, Karen Reehling, David Rhees,
Dede Jones, Susan Pujdak, Thorn Rednour, Mollie McNair, Randy
Hopkins, Tori Potts.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Sir:
Mr. Avery's recent letter (Jan.
14) about the correlation
between good campus
citizenship and attendance at
home football games shows that
Mr. Avery's college experience is
limited to the academic
atmosphere. It seems unfair and
inconsiderate of him to approach
this correlation, as it may be,
looking at only one side.
Granted, Guilford College is
an academic institution; but Mr.
Avery is overlooking the fact
that there are 1,000 plus
students here, all pursuing an
education not 950 students at
an institution and 50 some
athletes at a training camp.
The athletes at Guilford are
also seeking an education and
should be included in the "we"
Mr. Avery so selectively uses.
Everyone cannot cope
financially with Guilford
College. Some of those who
cannot play sports to help pay
for an education.
There are many aspects to
Guilford College. Each "thing,"
each of us, becomes involved in
new educational experiences,
hopefully through more than
JJuman Condition
by Douglas Scott
If you recall, from last week's
exciting episode to this week's
heavy hound, the Intrepid
Companion and myself became
becalmed in northern west
North Carolina mountain
terrain. As they bounced up and
down near vertical mountain
paths in search of a lighted
house barely visible on the lip of
an upper Ridge Road (for where
else would one expect hippies of
the collegiate genre to be?) They
ran into a rock.
Not a huge rock by any
measure known, but a sufficient
rock, when taken with its
partner in crime, the bend in the
road, sufficient to set red lights
a-blinking and the glint of oil
running away towards the valley.
Fit to the end, the house lights
had disappeared in the chaos. We
gave up, crawled in the back of
the station wagon into a sleeping
bag under a blanket, to sleep,
not to awake until one o'clock
the next afternoon.
We might as well have been
on the moon as we slept. The
stark landscape could so easily
have been the grave yard of
intergalactic craft, lost in the
destruction of the sixth planet
by the Vorbish. None survived.
They were still.
FEBRUARY 18, 1972
just the academic aspect of
college. I suggest that Mr. Avery
broaden his insights. I believe his
retort to Mr. Welborn's
statements are unfounded and
unnecessary.
Bob Vinson
To the Editor:
With the slogan "Save the
Children," Shirley Chisholm is
attempting to put choice, rather
than the traditional American
process of picking the lesser of
two evils, into the political arena
for the coming year. Many
people, including Shirley, realize
"They all look alike" when
viewing the white, male
presidential hopefuls for this
year. I would like for anyone on
and around the Guilford campus
who is interested in being
involved in Shirley's campaign
by helping alleviate the scarcity
of reports on Shirley's campaign
by the corporate news media
and getting her programs
implemented in other platforms,
given the possibility she may not
win the Democratic nomination,
to meet in Founders lobby this
Monday at 6:00 p.m.
Tom Clayton
Wake up in the morning with
a blanket over your head
without the where-with-all to get
a drink of water. Dribble down
the slope to a sign of life. "Gus
Washburn" the mail box simply
states. "Gus Washburn Realtor"
shouts the red and blue 5x5 sign
next to his mailbox, "Rentals,
Summer Houses, and
Mortgages." Gus Washburn, the
same notorious supporter of
Carolina and the Washington
Redskins, local alcoholic who
called a wrecker (woebe, for the
wrecker had just left for another
wreck; the sad tale of Jeanette's
flying Chevrolet) itook us right
where we wanted to go.
Sympathy we should suspect,
after hours of trying, colossal
adventures including the country
quickie motel, restaurant, gas
station and general store, the
rock slide, and the sufficient
rock saga, we should appreciate
a few condolences, even if they
were not required.
We, we find are the second
wreck of the day and the stereo
had become a mono by frying a
fuse and everybody was all
wacked out besides, gol dam.
It took all day to get
straightened out, so we went to
sleep.