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Volume 79 Issue 11
Report calls for action to decrease attrition
Kandra Strauss
Chris Weber
Staff Writers
Dean of Admissions A 1 Newell,
Dean of Student Life Mona Olds,
Academic Dean Cyril Harvey, and
Provost Dan Poteet released the
administration's "official" analy
sis of the retention issue this week.
The report analyzes five groups
of data and organizes them into the
broad categories of admissions,
academics, and student life. Itrec-
Ytn niinf* Develo P ment plans spur
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Community members cite traffic problems as one reason to oppose the proposed zone
change at the area next to Flamingo Dr. and New Garden Road. See map on page 5.
Cara Skeat
Staff Writer
Guilford College may some
day have a new neighbor to the
north if a recent application for
an amendment to Greensboro's
zoning laws is approved.
In mid-December, the
Starmount company entered the
request to change the zoning of
the Waynick property from resi
dential to commercial. This
property adjoins the soccer
fields and the apartments.
If the request is approved, the
company would like to build a
shopping center containing a
Harris Teeter grocery store, fast
food restaurants and other busi
nesses. The Starmount com
pany has built several area shop
ping centers including Friendly
Center.
Starmount plans to donate
ommends an orientation process
which extends through the semes
ter, an earlier declaration of ma
jor, and expansion of the Career
Development Center.
Although the administration
studied the retention issue inten
sively, they admit that, "the col
lection and analysis of retention
data must continue and become
more systematic."
Much of the school's action will
stem from the recommendations
included in this 20-page report,
eighteen acres of the land it hopes
to acquire to the YMCA which
rents space from Guilford Col
lege. If this occurs, the land will
probably be used for playing
fields, says Joe Warwick, presi
dent of the area YMCA.
Warwick says the YMCA is
neutral regarding the request.
A change in zoning, he says,
would be "an opportunity. We are
neither for nor against the center,
but we would take the land if it
were offered to us." Warwick,
however, has signed the request
for the zoning change that would
make the building of the shopping
center —and the donation of the
land to the YMCA—possible.
Alex Spears, the Chairman of
the Board for the local YMCA,
has sent letters to about 10,000
"YMCA Friends," as the greeting
on the letter says. His letter reads,
"Starmount Company proposes to
Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.
which is available at the circula
tion desk in the library.
The following questions repre
sent key facets of the retention is
sue.
To what extent is retention a
"problem"?
Although a single figure remains
elusive for the retention rate of last
year's freshman class, approxi
mately 99 freshmen (about 30%)
transferred.
Due to the small size of last
year's national freshmen class
develop commercial property
on New Garden Road, and a
part of that development would
include donating 18 acres of
land to the YMCA. In order for
this opportunity to become a re
ality. . .a zoning change must
take place. Community support
is needed." Spears then invites
the recipients of the letter to at
tend a public meeting to "show
your support" or "bring opin
ions to our [the YMCA's] atten
tion."
Community opposition to the
proposed zoning change has
been organized. Clarice Smith,
member of the Robinridge
Neighborhood Associaion, has
written in the Greensboro News
and Record that the organiza
tion is "appalled that Starmount
has not looked into the concerns
Please see STARMOUNT page 5
Guilford was forced to accept
some below-standard students in
order to fill quotas. Many of these
freshmen —who would not ordi
narily have gotten into Guilford—
were forced to leave the school due
to academic difficulties.
Despite these withdrawals, Guil
ford remains unusual because its
graduation rate is usually larger
than its freshman retention rate.
Accepting in-coming transfers re
mains a significant way for the
school to absorb new students.
Senate approves Apt.
alcohol policy; Student,
Res. Life voice concern
Cory Birdwhistell
Nexus Editor
The Community Senate has ap
proved a revision to the student
aparunents' drinking policy. The
policy allows students 21 or older
to consume alcohol in tiie open
"common area" of the aparunents.
The policy will soon be consid
ered by the Administrative Coun
cil and the Board of Trustees.
According to Senate President
Rich Ewell, the expansion of the
drinking policy is in students' in-
Heather Glissen
Abu-Nimer
peace in Ga
Cory Birdwhistell
News Editor
Over the holidays, people tradi
tionally delight in giving and cher
ishing peace. The holidays had a
special peace-giver, however, in
Mohammed Abu-Nimer. The So
ciology/Anthropology professor
spent his break introducing prac
tices of conflict resolution in the
violent Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian who grew up in
Isreal, Abu-Nimer will be speak
ing about his experiences Febru
ary 7 in Dana Auditorium.
Abu-Nimer was working as part
a team from a Washington D.C.
based organization, The Search for
Common Ground —Initiative for
Peace in the Middle East. The
main purposes of the group are to
introduce conflict resolution, com-
January 20, 1995
Additionally, retention figures
are misleading because they in
clude students on leave who are
planning to return to Guilford.
Neweli asserts that Guilford's
retention rate is average. When
compared with similar schools like
Antioch, Haverford, Oberlin, and
Earlham, Guillord ranked in the
middle regarding rate of retention.
Other schools also report retention
problems similar to Guilford's, in-
Please see REPORT page 4
terests. lle has worked to develop
this policy throughout the year,
beginning with the first step of al
lowing apartment residents to con
sume alcohol on their porches.
Ewell believes the apartment
dwellers will act responsibly. The
major impact of the new policy, he
believes, would be to allow resi
dents to walk between apartments
with alcohol.
Several administrators, how
ever, express concern about the
Please see POLICY page 5
fm
Abu-Nimer
rnunity building and non-violent
organization in the area.
Their goal in Gaza was to estab
lish a local conflict resolution cen
ter. "We want to focus on the com
munity itself," Abu-Nimer ex
plains. This is unique because in
Egypt and Jordan, for example, the
Please see GAZA page 5
i
Heather Glissen