®be #utlf ortitan
Volume 79 Issue 7
mtfgm ipi
E*~ = Jr
a E, J!L WJm|
I -
Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of famed plaintiff in the Supreme Court decision,
Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education (1954) spoke to a packed Dana Auditorium on
the iSSUeS Of integration. Heather Glissen
CCE Students Petition
to Live on Campus
Luisa Constanza
Senate/Club Coordinator
Charlotte Weddle, director of the
Center for Continuing Education,
has submitted a proposal which
would allow CCE students to live
in on-campus housing.
"The particular interest of the
proposal is to try to provide a hous
ing wider range of options to CCE
students who live close to Guil
ford. Right now there are 17 CCE
Chalkings Erased by the Office of Admissions
Cozy Birdwhistell and
Kandra Strauss
News Editor and Staff Writer
On Thursday, Sept. 29, a
group of students, unaffiliated
with any organization, chalked
pro-gay, lesbian and bisexual
messages on sidewalks around
campus. The admissions office
erased them Saturday morning
before prospective students ar
rived far Preview Day.
families in Fraziers. We believe
there is an interest of other CCE
students to live on campus," ex
plains Weddle.
Kryste Hayworth, chair of Stu
dent Residence Council, expressed
that her committee is concerned
about the logistics of the proposal
and that they need more informa
tion before they can give an ap
proval to the proposal. If it is ap
proved, CCE students would pay
the same amount as regular Guil
ford students.
There has been much concern in
the gay, lesbian and bisexual com
munity as to the motivations be
hind erasing the chalkings. Amy
Jasper spoke to A 1 Newell, Dean
of Admissions, and she felt that
"they're [Admissions] not ac
knowledging the gay and lesbian
population [at Guilford]."
Newell explains he made the
"very difficult" decision to have
the messages erased because, "I
wanted prospective students and
parents to walk away with an ac
curate impression of the Guilford
Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.
CCE students now have access
to the Frazier apartments, but can
only live there if they are married
or have children. Laura Kennan,
a 23-year-old CCE student in sup
port of the proposal, explains,
"When I came to Guilford I didn't
have a place to live and I was not
allowed to live on campus because
I am CCE. I didn't have enough
financial aid to live off campus,
Please see CCE page 3
community." He wanted "the plu
ralistic society of Guilford" to be
fairly represented, and he empha
sized that he made the decision
with "a great deal of ambivalence."
"I would be concerned if the gay,
lesbian and bisexual community
was not upset," he states.
Jasper is angry that anyone at
Guilford would censor student ex
pression. Jasper says that the ac
tion, "wasn't tolerant of diversity,
a large part of Guilford's prin
ciples."
"I probably should have let the
Guilford's Historic
Role Recognized
by City Council
Daphne Lewis
Co-Editor in Chief
In a Sept. 29 ceremony celebrat
ing the 175 th anniversary of the Un
derground Railroad, the Greensboro
City Council recognized the found
ing Quakers of Guilford College.
These founders played an instru
mental role in the establishment and
continuation of the Underground
Railroad. The Railroad ran straight
through the Guilford College
woods.
In his speech, President Rogers
compared the contemporary tran
quility of the creek in the Guilford
College woods, to the present-day
facade of racial harmony. "There
is a deceptive tranquility in our
beautiful woods that belies the his
toric terror of that place where
people left in terror of being re
turned to slavery. Similarly, we lode
at society today and think that ev
erything is fine, that there is equal
opportunities for all races. But the
reality is that it is not; our aware
ness is numbed to injustice and lack
of opportunity. We need still today
to work for human freedom, under
standing and compassion, and to
improve relations."
The sentiments of the other
speakers echoed that of President
Rogers.
Rogers also stated that the pur-
chalkings be, but it is not a simple
cut-and-dry situation. I'm sorry
they [the gay, lesbian and bisexual
community] view it as an issue of
censorship, but as Dean of Admis
sions I have to cater to the needs
of 17 to 18-year-olds," Newell
adds. The messages of the
chalkings, he feels, need to be ex
plained in the context of Guilford's
Quaker heritage.
Beth Stringfield, a student who
was involved in writing the mes
sages, says that they were meant
to "[communicate] tolerance, un
October 7,1994
pose of ceremonies such as this one,
is to remember the struggles that
shaped our community, and to move
us to look at and improve our cur
rent situations and relations today.
Speakers at the ceremony in
cluded President Rogers; James
Johnson, a professor at North Caro
lina A & T; David Bills, of the New
Garden Friends meeting; Deena
Hayes, executive director of sit-in
movement, inc.; B J. Goddle, presi
dent of the Greensboro branch of the
NAACP; and Walter Pritchett, a
member of the Guilford County
Board of Education.
According to President Rogers,
the same Quakers that established
the Underground Railroad, later
founded the New Garden Boarding
school— which we know today as
Guilford College. "This shows that
Quaker concerns for social justice
and education are interlocked," he
said.
The "New Garden" community
of Greensboro, where Guilford Col
lege is today, was instrumental in
the Underground effort. Quakers,
such as Levi Coffin, whom seme
consider to be the father of the Un
derground railroad, and his cousin
Vestal, led slaves to the Under
ground Railroad in the Guilford
College woods. Levi was originally
a school teacher for slave children
at the New Garden Friends Meet
ing during the 1820's.
derstanding, and Quaker val
ues." One message iead, "Love,
Tolerance, Friendship, and Un
derstanding." Another said,
"Celebrate Diversity."
Stringfield also noted that the
chalkings were written in re
sponse to instances of harass
ment around campus. The week
before, women's rugby signs
and a bulletin board outside of
the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Asso
ciation resource center had been
marred with anti-gay and anti
lesbian graffiti.