September 3,1993
Prof adds different perspective
Joe Wallace
Staff Writer
When talking to Mark Leeper,
you'll quickly realize he likes to
joke around a lot. You'll also re
alize that he is a well-qualified ad
dition to the Guilford faculty.
Leeper, 29, was bom and raised
in Lincoln, NE, where, as he puts
it, "The land is flat and so are the
people. But they are also very
friendly." Leeper got his under
graduate degree from the Univer
sity of Nebraska. After realizing
that he wanted to leave his home
state for a little while, he went to
the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. There he received
his master's degree in 1989.
However, he isn't finished yet.
Leeper is currendy working on his
doctoral dissertation dealing with
the plight of women in politics.
"I studied politics because I saw
that something was wrong,"
Leeper explained. "I saw the tre
mendously unequal representation
of women and other minorities in
politics and said 'Hey, something's
Qjwci
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c .' y knock*
00 the door, he hearsarquffletfi
Moto ears left and right all
over, makiog an awfol roess.
'Mmm....butterscoSi. w
"No, not quite feller.
Poiigrease," R. B. IDaisy
pipes up from her debit where
she is cross-stitchm* a design
that resembles a white rabbit
''By the way, that* s Jack the
Kitty,and lam Rev, R. B. Daisy.
You must be a Mister Randy
Specs. ProfessorTaci*ewapooia
notified me of yer rude Sav
ior In class the other day. What *
on in that tangle
ycnl"
Randy strode past the car and
sat oo the opposite end to the
couch. ''Well, ya see, it's likfc
Mark Leeper enjoys his time at Guilford.
got to be done about this.' So, like
many of my family members be
fore me, I began studying to be a
teacher."
So why would a cornhusker
from Nebraska choose to come to
Guilford?
"At first, I didn't know the an
swer to that," Leeper answered. "I
had never even heard of the school
until I was doing my graduate stud
tuzzy fantasy ana argent desires
to^7vial^inand
see, I am optimistic, A bowl of
you a boule of Stewzac The
Modem Curdle Sciences along
with the whipptn skills of thds
here establishment's line Doc
Farfest's discoveries, we have
put together a potion which sup
presses furry love and makes yer
thougbts drowsed in drunks haj>
pines*. Now be on yer way and
stop tominn" yerselfl Git on
"
Tiey, Tm not depressed,
L&omtvß> good vibes and such.
Ani what's with that muJchin'
5 0t critters breedin'
some kinda tribe of pig gut 1
just f -?cA :a git outta this here
band* •
y era If?. >i?selfs, herselfs, tree
hugz, stubs ofbugzzz"
Jfeaturt*
ies at UNC-CH. But, one day a
neighbor of mine told me about the
school and about the people and
about how the school was unusu
ally collegial and friendly and I
knew I would like it.
"But that is not what I like most
about the school. What struck me
as the most important to me is that
the faculty at Guilford is expected
to have a close relationship with
Not a lucky summer
Reagan Hopkins
Subscriptions Manager
Regardless of popular "Guilford
consensus," art professor Roy
Nydorf claims that his so-called
"unlucky summer" was actually
super.
Nydorf's bad luck began in Italy
during a trip he and his wife took
this summer. While stopping in
Florence on their way back from
visiting friends, Nydorf's rental car
was broken into. The thieves took
all of their clothing, some of his
wife's hand-made jewelry, and
three of his paintings. Some of the
paintings stolen were Italian paint
ings from previous visits Nydorf
had made to the country.
Nydorf said, "I got over it in
about three hours. What else could
I do?" He feels that the incident
could have been a whole lot worse
and is thankful that the thieves took
only material things.
Nydorf's luck didn't improve
: The Guilfordian needs a Features Editor. I
* You think this section just happens by itself? Well, it doesn't. *
I If you can write, edit other people's writing, and want to get I
* some experience with our fine newspaper, stop by the Pub Suite •
I or call us at ext. 2306, and ask for Joan or Karen. I
the students, while at the
same time put a premium
on teaching. I feel this is
important to the learning
process and making each
faculty member readily
available to the student
can only add to the ben
efits of acquiring an edu
cation.
"I also like
Guilford's attitude to
wards its students and
faculty. The school has
taken the stance that stu
dents are here to learn
and though they do not
discourage faculty mem
bers from writing papers
Photo by Ben Cadbury
or attending symposia,
they do stress that the faculty's first
priority is to teach. And once that
is taken care of, we can see what
type of financial support the school
can dig up to allow you to do some
research."
Leeper's views tend to fit in very
well with those of many of the stu
dents and faculty members at Guil
ford. But what he tries to stress in
his classes is that there are "at least
Roy Nydorf working with a student.
much when he returned to the
States. While out in his yard later
in the summer, he was stung twice
on the head and once on the eyelid
by a not-so-friendly bee. Nydorf
claims, "I thought then that it was
the beginning of a bad day, I just
didn't know how bad!"
Later that evening, as he was
walking over to help his next door
neighbor fix a burglar light on the
&he &uiltortnan
two sides to every issue and both
sides deserve respecL It is up to
each person to know both sides and
try to come to an understanding of
them. It is normal to disagree, but
what comes from that disagree
ment is what is important." That
is why, Leeper, who describes him
self as having slightly left-of-cen
ter political views, has assigned for
his American Politics course the
book, The Way Things Ought To
Be by Rush Limbaugh.
"I think Rush is a symbol of
right-wing conservatism, and
though he may be extreme at
times, he supplies a very good
overview of the conservative
agenda. It is the conflict that arises
from learning about a view that
may be different from your own
that enhances your learning and
makes us all better citizens in the
future."
Leeper is looking forward to ful
filling many of the goals he has for
himself: become a positive part of
Guilford, start a family with his
wife, and complete his doctoral
dissertation - not necessarily in
that order.
side of his house,
Nydorf felt a sharp
sting on his foot.
As he bent down to
fine the culprit
thorn vine to re
move it from his
foot, he came face
to-face with a cop
perhead snake
coiled in striking
position. "Then, I
ran," Nydorf states.
"I knew it was a bad
day!"
Nydorf says
that he was more in-
Poto by Rob Davidson
terested in the hospital' machines
than the bite. After five days, he
was feeling great.
His attitude about his whole
summer is extremely positive.
Nydorf feels his unlucky streak
provided some great stories to tell,
but his summer really was fine.
Incidentally, Nydorf's next
door neighbor was robbed in broad
daylight the very next day.
7