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VOLUME LXXIV No. 2
Photon: Sail or Sale?
By Rebecca McCullam
A sleek aluminum hull of
unusual design cuts through
the waves of the Pacific, and
crosses the finish line ahead of
all other yachts. This racing
yacht, designed by Bill Lap
worth set the record for this
particular race and still holds
it today, although the yacht
itself has retired from racing.
Its name is the Photon and its
owner, since 1983, Guilford
College, is considering the sale
of this magnificent asset.
The Photon has been used
for many things since that
date. This spring it sailed to
the Virgin Islands, for
research of Halley's Comet.
The crew consisted of five
students: Rex Adelburger,
Steve Linvill (the mate) and of
course captain Deborah Dunn.
The Photon winters in St.
Thomas, where it is chartered
for $4OOO a week.
The dim comet was not visi
ble this far north because of
light pollution, so the Physics
department chose the Virgin
Islands because of their
southern location and because
the view out across the ocean
is unobstructed by light for
thousands of miles. Every day
of their seven-day visit, the
Comet was easily seen at 4:00
am. It appeared about as big
as a hand, two hand-widths
above the horizon.
This trip was also a good
chance to see the clear
southern sky. They set up a
telescope on shore because the
yacht moved too much, and
The Comet filled the entire
lens. The crew also learned
some of the history and
geology of the area from
geology major Linvill, and
everyone had a chance to skip
per the Photon under Dunn's
trusting eye.
Admittedly, the trip was
half-serious and half fun. It
improved the confidence the
crew felt in each other as they
learned to work as a team, and
they enjoyed the intensity of
living together on a 49-foot
yacht.
Last summer the Photon
with Dunn, Linville and
Adelberger took five adults
students out for six days off
Beaufort, the Photon's sum
mer home. It was part of
Guilford's program of conti
nuing education by giving
adult students a Liberal Arts
course under the guise of
technical training course, and
the trip was paid for by their
company. None of these
students (ages 29-52) had had
any exposure to Liberal Arts,
and this trip shook them to the
foundation. Adelberger
reports, "one of them even
moved out of his yuppie apart
ment."
Guilford pinpointed this
lack of Liberal Arts as a pro
blem with America's factory
workers. The trip on the
Photon was ideal because it
made the students think, got
them out of their boring set
schedules and allowed them to
argue ideas without being held
responsible, for the first time
in their lives.
Most recently, The Photon
was enjoyed by the students
who participated in the Ven
ture program. Six students
made the seven-day oddessy in
the Venture program. Six
students made the seven-day
oddessy off the North
Carolina coast with Linvill
and Dunn. It was an educa
tional trip, teaching the
students to sail and chart a
course. They also kept jour
nals. Freshman Dan Baur said
that it eased the uprooting
from home to be put in a situa
tion with a new group of peo
ple without the pressures of
school. He added that it was a
great help to have close friends
to talk to during the hectic
orientation week. It made the
transition much smoother, he
claims, and he says, "There's
nothing negative about it."
Freshman Susan Welsh,
another veteran enthuses, "I
definitely think they should
keep the program."
When I went to Deborah
Dunn's beautifully simple
hideaway in the woods, I was
instantly impressed by a
charismatic woman, who in
between trying to negotiate her
way out of something on the
phone, began to talk to me
and gave me the sense of a
strong creative, humorous per
son. Once she was off the
phone, she explained that the
main difficulties of insuring
the Photon are: its age, that it
has an aluminum hull, and
that it is chartered. A goal for
the Photon is to keep it busy,
which can only be achieved
with the support of the student
body, coming up with good
ideas for its employment. Deb
Continued on page 6
Miriam Schapiro:
"Im Dancing As Fast As I Can
By Collette McShea
Just another one of those
visiting artists? Not really.
Miriam Schapiro's visit and
display at Guilford can be
looked upon in a much
broader sense. Her art work,
displaying her deep sensitivity,
captures the feeling of women
throughout history and their
constant search for liberation.
She created "femages," her
own version of a collage. In
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these, she incorporates the
domestic art of women
through glue, pins, and fabric.
Her displays show thoughts
which all women may have in
side, but would never think to
convey to others.
Another variation seen
throughout her later works is
the theme of the theatre,
which represents "glamour"
and acts as an escape from the
women's world. Miriam
created a "Theatre of
The Guilfordian, October 9, 1986
October 9, 1986
Spring," which was her first
attempt at bringing out this
theme. She uses the stage of
the theatre as a shrine and to
create the idea of space. The
theatre is house shaped as this
is the true women's theatre
where women fantasize and
create their own glamour.
Miriam Schapiro considers
her breakthrough works, to be
those she created from her
feelings and memory of
childhood dance. In these self
interpretations she represents
herself with a unrealistic doll
face. She explains that this
conveys her feeling of "not yet
being whole" and that she was
still in search of her real self
when the work was completed.
In her lecture she explained,
that she is now closer to the
feeling she was always looking
for, and that now it is appear
ing in her work, as well.
Miriam Schapiro work is on
display in the gallery upstairs
in Founders until October 30
and should not be considered
as an exhibition for just art
majors, but as an experience in
women's history open to
everyone.