Hbt &uiltortiian
4
Editor in Chief Adviser
Joan Malloch JeffJeske
Associate Editor Karen Rowan
News (ail Kasun
Perspectives Ashley Clifton
Features Cristina Haworth
Sports Kiley Holder
Will Cooper
Photography Ben Cadbury
Elaine Brigham
Business, Advertising Brian Burton
Personnel Brian Sugioka
Subscriptions/Circulations Reagan Hopkins
Speak your mind
Ashley Clifton
Perspectives Editor
Flipping through the last
pages of summer enjoyment
reading, 1 came to these words:
"Itmakes me angry. It makes me
want to write." And 1 pondered
what makes me want to write.
Reading of both the cultural
weal th and plights of the people
it discussed, the article itself
made me want to write. It ocn
eurred to me then that in inv
lackadaisical eves of summer, I
failed to record the thoughts
which usu sally move me to
write.
As I thought of my own neglect,
my nerves began to shake a
little. As Perspectives editor of
the upcoming year, will I be
moved enough, get angry
enough to write the sort of ar
: iicles;v*o whieh other Guilford
college students will take inter
est? Will I discuss important is
sues and problems, and will 1
offer a forum for real improve-;
mentand informing ideas? That
is, after all, my job now.
I also wondered if people will
actually write for me. What if,
this year, everyone returned to
Guilford content with the world
. - either ignorant or uncaring of
the problems bound to arise in
any institution of higher learn
ing. Or, even worse, what if ev
ery problem was cleared, up over
the summer?
Nredkss to sayj was reassured
to Guilford.that
. pientyofbugs, gripes
and raised! ;eyebrows on. this
my anxiety.
y, n ff I 'reminded myself,
"This is Guilford,'* ? :
There's something about bring-
I'ing a lot of people with vastly
different views and opinions
from many different places and
packing them into a single in
.:usually results in
• • debate W 'ieast creates a
In fact, when a friend of mine
applied to Guilford, he posed a
Ashley Clifton C
question to the interviewer; ||j£|
"I know has a;s^t^gi
tion forbetnga liberal campus,-;
ta&arf
to Pflpk a
healthy balance?" "If||||jjlS
in consideration of
Ootj; I'm flot sure mhttei bal~ ;
ance exists,but Ik>knpw
opposing opinions catj>e
on almostany issue.at
That variety in bought is oo&|:
reason I came to Guilford r— to g;
learn, to be pushed to think, |§|j
consider different viewpoints
other than my own.
My job as Perspectives editor is; J|
to do for the-readers s;£h|j|
Gu ilford tan what Guilford $
does for me|| That:- is; b' gi ||g
readers and writers the oppor
tunity to present fresh ideas,; ;
opinions, or perspectives, as.-;,
well as the opportunity to agree
or disagree with the opinions of -
others presented in this
At the very
have the opportunity to consider ||
alternative viewpoints, w.tedkar g
they choose fo 4 them
or not. '' '•.' * \ t * / v /A' -
The decision to open up 'to or
close oneself off from the issues : |
and ideas presented in The
Guilfordian this year is ulti- j
ruately left up to the.reader.
However, this is my message
for this issue and for this yean j
speak your mind, tell us the stuff jf
we should know, and
own critic while offering, yoor : :|d
story. each his ov^|J|||||||
ser*pecttoe*
Opinions expressed in editorials and letters to the
editor do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff
and editorial board. The editors reserve the right to
edit all submissions for length, style, and taste.
The Guilfordian encourages submissions. Typed
articles and letters are due by 6:00 pm Monday. For
more information on The Guilfordian write:
P.O. Box 17717
Guilford College,
Greensboro, NC 27410.
Rogers welcomes students
,
Charlotte Straney
Special to The Guilfordian
Qualities of intellect, human val
ues, and the enjoyment of life
these are the three main themes
Bill Rogers explored as he ad
dressed all incoming students on
August 20 at the opening convo
cation. This year, for the first time,
the convocation included not only
first-year students entering directly
out of high school and transfers,
but also new continuing education
students.
After welcoming the new mem
bers of the Guilford community
and sharing with them a sense of
the college's 156-year history,
Rogers highlighted some of the
intellectual and social values he
felt important to this place.
"First, we hope you will come
to enjoy the serious and fulfilling
qualities of the life of the mind.
Even beyond the specific content
of the courses and extracurricular
experiences at the college, we
know you will come to value the
excitement of ideas and to experi
ence the skill in using ideas as we
address the pressing social, politi
cal and economic problems as
leaders in an interdependent world.
Those qualities of mind include
critical and analytic thinking, the
capacity for constructive and cre
ative integration of ideas and
meaningful solutions of problems,
and the development of conscience
in addressing the moral dilemmas
that we will face.
College is not just about ana
lyzing ideas and taking arguments
apart but also constructing them.
It is also about building a life and
a world that is worthy of our fin
est effort. It is not just the accu
mulation of knowledge and the
skill in gathering appropriate in
formation, but it is about using
knowledge in a wise way for the
well-being of humankind. Inert
ideas and facts are never enough
what is called for is focused
discernment in the wise use of rich
and complex ideas, tested through
A very special thanks to our return
ing staff member, Josh Palmer, for
all his help on this issue.
To all of our readers, we invite you
to appear in this box by contributing
to the creation of The Guilfordian.
£? W "
ft tBl^W
Pr . • Is
Bill Rogers
the thought and research disci
plines of our various fields and
allied in ways that are both just
and productive.
"Guilford invites you to deepen
your understanding of values
both personal and social. Values
are also undergirded by philo
sophical and religious conviction
about the highest good. Some of
these value issues will be experi
enced within the next days and
weeks of our life together. They are
directly related to our sense of
what is most important
For instance, you undoubtedly
are valuing a new sense of free
dom freedom from family, from
past traditions, from dependence
on others who set priorities and
time tables for your life. But in cel
ebrating freedom and indepen
dence, it is important not to slip
into what psychologists call
"counterdependence" simply
the unconsciously driven tendency
to do just the opposite of what we
may have been told was right or
good in the past in order to defi
antly assert our freedom.
Freedom involves the sorting
and choosing in which we may
sometimes cast aside perspectives
that were shallow and inappropri
ate but other times reaffirm in our
own terms the importance of
things that were held before us in
the past as worthy of our devotion.
This is a time of valuing thanks
giving, of thanking parents and
friends and of saying goodbyes
but also a time of valuing new
gunusft 27, 1993
friendships and new intimacy, of
saying hello and of discovering the
lifelong wonder of meaningful
friendships.
It is a time when we can enjoy
the values of patience in working
on details, sometimes simply slog
ging through with the effort that
must be undertaken to achieve our
ends, and at the same time the
value of a readiness for greatness
—a readiness that sees the broad
vision of our human community
and human history and sees ways
in which our own part may be in
spired by new ideas and new op
portunity.
We will learn the value of re
specting the integrity of our own
deepest identity as well as the
value of respecting others in the
integrity of their diversity, learn
ing values from them that expand
our world. It will be a time of
knowing the value of self-fulfill
ment and, at the same time, the
value of a generosity of spirit
which reaches out to others with
compassion, kindness and genuine
caring.
"Third, I know that this will be
a place where you have fun.
Guilford is not marked by the hu
morless intensity of some selective
colleges, but rather it is a place
where we balance hard work and
play, serious deliberation and sheer
exuberance. Guilford is a place we
know you will come to enjoy im
mensely while at the same time
cherishing it as a center for learn
ing in the development of lifelong
skills.
Photo by Ben Cdbury