It's Not Just A Job - It's A Way Of Life
BY KELLY CLARK
You see them around, walking
through the halls, driving the
maroon jeep and rattling door
knobs. These guys in the white
shirts are Guilford's watch dogs,
the security force. For them,
security is a job, but one that car
ries with it a certain amount of
responsibility and recongition.
The main function of the force is
to be, "a presence made
visable," said Chris Deelsnyder,
one of the senior guards. They
are not a police force, but are
there to enforce restrictions that
the school has set up. Chris con
tinues, "Security plays a lot of
roles - meter maids,
(superintendents), night wat
chmen. Sometimes it gets serious
but that percentage is low."
The fact that the guards are
students and not a professional
service helps in that, "The
students take more pride," said
Allen Fetter. "They also know
the campus and have a good rap
port and are comfortable with the
. ■ k V^flj
A security guard rarely seen only heard, rattling doorknobs in the ear
ly hours of the morning. photo by Holly Hobbs
Assault On Academic Freedom
BY ANTHONY T. PODESTA
Efforts to make people con
form to one particular position or
ideology are almost always
justified with lofty-sounding
rhetoric, such as the need to pro
tect our country from subversion,
or the need to preserve order.
The New Right has just come up
with a new excuse for in
timidating those who don't agree
with its ideology: to protect col
lege students from
"misinformed" or "inaccurate"
teaching.
This fall, a new national
organization was founded called
"Accuracy in Academia." While
AIA claims to "combat the
dissemination of misinforma
tion" on our colleges and univer
sity campuses, it epitomizes the
New Right's theory of education,
in which diverse points of view
and the free flow of ideas are seen
as un-American activities.
AlA's founder, Reed Irvine,
has headed up an organization for
the past 16 years entitled
"Accuracy in Media," whose pur
pose is to intimidate and harass
the members of the media who
don't agree with his right-wing
views. Irvine has built his reputa
tion, and a $1 million organiza-
other students." In a sense, it is
knowing the student body that
helps a guard most in gaining the
respect of the students. This has
been a problem in that almost
half the guards are new this year.
"It would be easier knowing
more people," admitted Jimmy
Jonas, one of the new guards.
"Most people don't take security
seriously, but if you know them,
they will appreciate what you say
because they are your friends."
This could lead to a potential
conflict of interests. This
however does not appear to be a
problem at Guilford. Chris said it
works both ways, "A good guard
will get respect and it is not an
antagonistic job. Students realize
that guards are needed. Guilford
is a real mellow place - you don't
have to be a hard-ass."
What has also eased tension
has been a change in the force,
lessening the point at which to
pursue matters unaided, this
relying more on the Greensboro
police. This is due to the increas
ing number of dangerous in
tion, on the principle that there is
only one "accurate" way for a
journalist to cover a story. Now
he's decided there's only one
"right" way for a professor to
teach a course.
When "Accuracy in
Academia" was announced this
summer, many were horrified by
its rhetoric, but few took it
seriously. AIA, however, is
emerging as a formidable institu
tion. It already has volunteers on
about 150 campuses across the
country, and has raised $50,000 of
a $160,000 annual budget. Now
AIA has hired as its new director
a former New York Con
gressman, John Leßoutillier,
whose skill at fundraising is mat
ched only by his talents at red
baiting those with whom he
disagrees.
When Leßoutillier warns
against creeping socialism, he's
referring to activities by
members of the Democratic Par
ty leadership, like House Spe .s
Tip O'Neill. Accordin
Leßoutillier, fer pn> id
contender S iter Gf-
McGovern is ;im V. ■
talks about niicai br
washing, he's : !king about
Harvard prof' .ors did to 1..m
Leßoutillier ontend.s that
cidents that have occured in the
past two years. The guards are
not equipped with any weapons
and as students are not required
to risk themselves. In training,
"guards are stressed to be aware
of anything strange." said Allen.
Chris added that "security is
ready to jump - even at stupid
things."
As a job, being a security guard
is highly rated for several
8.0. Y. Symposium A Success
BY MOIRA TAYLOR
Last week, the Guilford College
Board of Visitors sponsored their
annual symposium, this year ad
dressing "The Dilemmas of the
American High School." The day
long conference, involving more
than 215 parents, teachers,
students, and administrators,
confronted the six established
dilemmas in groups and later
among a selected panel.
A full year in planning, the
symposium generated positive
response from participants in
terms of being able to address not
only the dilemma issues, but also
many other concerns related to
the teaching field. Problems, for
instance, of book banning,
religious influence in the
classroom, school funding, (all of
which have become of major con
cern) and a general concern for
the teaching profession itself.
This last problem, has evolved
from many factors namely low
salary in a job with extensive
leading American journalists and
numerous liberal groups are
pawns in a Soviet-sponsored
"disinformation" campaign, and
while in Congress, co-sponsored a
bill that would have created a
House subcommittee on internal
security.
Given AlA's founder and new
director, it comes as no surprise
that this new watchdog group
isn't concerned, as the name sug
gests, with upgrading the quality
of education at our nation's in
stititions of higher learning. It's
not interested in encouraging
academic freedom or balance in
the classroom. Instead, it is
designed to intimidate those who
are teaching what AlA's first
director, Malcolm Lawrence,
calls "incorrect information
which leads to conclusions that
may be distasteful from the point
of view of our national heritage or
national security ... Just plain
bad facts."
Take, for example, Dr. Mark
eader's political science course
■ Arizona State University. Ac
•iing to AIA, it constitutes
iti-nuclear propaganda"
■ause it overemphasizes such
j,s as "fears of nuclear war,
power and weapons." It isn't
verifiable" facts AIA is worried
reasons; the number of hours
possible, the flexibility, and the
ability to meet lots of people.
Allen says, "part of the job is to
walk around and socialize." But
there are negative points too ac
cording to Chris, "I'm perpetual
ly tired, you learn to tell yourself
jokes to stay awake." Others
feels that the graveyard shift is
the perfect time to do their work.
And the most often asked ques
paper work and responsibility.
Ideas to combat the problem in
particular, included suggestions
to increase teachers entering and
top-level salaries, decrease
paperwork through class size
reduction which will also allow
the teacher-student contact to be
on a more personal level.
One of the two main goals
behind the symposium, was to
"bring to bear resources of
higher education with those of
secondary school," says David O.
Stanfield, Director of Planned
Giving and Staff Coordinator of
the Board of Visitors.
The idea is to bring these in
stitutions together and to create
an interchange and a cooperative
effort between secondary educa
tion and higher education and
make them work as one," he
says. No specific solutions to
bridging this gap were proposed,
although the general consensus of
those involved seemed to be that
about, it's "bad" facts. Take Cyn
thia McClintock, an associate
professor of political science at
George Washington University.
Her course syllabus includes U.S.
government papers and a tex
tbook put out by the conservative
Hoover Institution. But she's on
AlA's hit list because she shows a
film that is critical of the
U.S.-backed contras in
Nicaragua.
AIA "logic" dictates that there
is only one correct way to teach
students about our involvement
in Vietnam; there is only one true
cause of the Civil War ; and there
is only one acceptable interpreta
tion of Franklin Roosevelt's
presidency. And if a professor
doesn't toe AlA's line, he or she
will be investigated by AIA,
perhaps pressured to change the
content of the course, or vilified
in AlA's new national newsletter.
And it's not just professors who
are being intimiated. Students
will wonder if their future might
suffer by asking questions or
revealing their political beliefs
and ideas.
Such chilling activities are
highly inappropriate anywhere.
They seem particularly offensive
on a university campus, where
teaching different viewpoints and
Guilforriian—
tion what about the ghost of Dana
Auditorium? Chris acknowledges
its presence, "I've heard music
on the organ, gone up and the
organ is all closed up and it is
shut off." Jimmy hasn't seen the
ghost, but discloses that, "the
place is spooky." Allen alas, "is
not freaked out by Dana," but has
experienced lights coming back
on after turning them off.
"neither institution could go it
(improvement) alone."
In addition, a great concern we
placed on how to improve the
quality of education at the high
school level. The six dilemmas
discussed, closely related to high
school improvement through
academic, financial and motiva
tional "boosters."
Speakers for the symposium in
cluded Dr. William Friday,
President of the University of
North Carolina, who opened the
symposium, discussing "What
Responsibilites Do Colleges and
Universities Share With High
Schools Today,"; Dr. Howard
Maniloff on "What Are the Basic
Implications Behind the New
North Carolina Basic Education
Plan?" and closing remarks
from Dr. Jack Frymier, Senior
Fellow Phi Delta Kappa, Bloom
ington Ind., discussing "Creative
Approaches To the Dilemmas of
the American High School."
interpretations is an integral part
of the education process. The
losers in AlA's efforts are
ultimately the students.
Any effort to limit the exchange
of ideas to the ''dumbing down"
of education as a whole. Those
who are trying to keep "biased'
facts or "bad" ideas out of the
college classroom are following
in the tradition of those who want
to keep the teaching of evolution
out of high school science classes,
and who want to censor
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
They have forgotten that the pur
pose of education is to teach
students to grapple with com
plexities and learn how to think
Not, as Reed Irvine would have
it, what to think.
Anthony T. Podesta is presi
dent of PEOPLE FOR THE
AMERICAN WAY, a
200,000-member nonpartisan
citizens organization concerned
with protecting constitutional
liberties, including the freedom
to learn. An attorney and
educator, Podesta was a political
science instructor and director of
admissions at Barat College of
the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest,
Illinois.
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