INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER
Do you think Guilford lives up to its billing as a " service college"?
I think it tries real
hard, they do a lot of
things for the environ
ment They try to live
up to the image. They
had a blood mobile
today.
Ben McKnight,
first-year
by Becca Lee
Electing where to vote
EMILY DINGES
STAFF WRITER
When we leave for college, we bring
with us clothing, music, books and post
ers—all of which we have chosen to iden
tify with in some way. These things are
what we skim off the top of the collective
body of our high school experience, leav
ing that stage of life behind and taking only
the representations of our most refined
selves with us.
But what do we do with that which must
necessarily be left behind, such as our par
ticipation in local politics?
The option of changing one's voter reg
istration from home to North Carolina has
come to the fore at Guilford because of the
upcoming election. With the "Rock the
Vote" campaign at Guilford and the peti
tioners soliciting signiatures to fight against
the proposed Jefferson Pilot development,
as well as the incentive of voting against
controversial Senator Jesse Helms, many
students had to ask themselves whether or
not hometown politics or North Carolina/
Greensboro politics were more important
to them.
Do you have an opinion?
An opinion about anything?
If you agree or disagree with articles printed in the Guilfordian, or even have
somethng to say about an issue we have not covered, then drop us a note. The
Guilfordian welcomes letters to the editor.
September 27,1996
e 9
r H
Well I think there's
the opportunity for the
students to be part of
community service.
Whether the students
choose to or not is an
other story.
Tom Bryant,
sophomore
The issue closest to home at Guilford has
been the Jefferson Pilot petition. Max Carter,
religious life director at Guilford, presented
several reasons why this issue should be es
pecially important to students. Besides be
ing one of the last stretches of land of its
size in Greensboro, the 340 acres have spe
cial historical significance. The fact that the
battles of Guilford Courthouse and New
Garden took place along Old Salisbury and
New Garden Road, and in particular the fact
that many pacifist Quakers were buried at
the New Garden intersection, were signifi
cant reasons for students to consider. Add
to this the inconvenience that a new shop
ping development accompanied by the traf
fic of a four to six lane road would present.
Or, perhaps most influential to deliberating
students was the possibility of the destruc
tion of Guilford's beloved Meadows.
Clarice Smith, coordinator of the
Jefferson Pilot petition drive, estimated that
between 50 and 100 Guilford students
signed the petition which passed over
whelmingly. Although this number of stu
dents was not very large, Smith commented
that the students which did sign or consid-
forum
H
WH
Yes I do. One of
the main factors of
that is that they're try
ing to pass this Com
munity Fund Bill so
that different clubs
and organizations can
get together and vol
unteer. Students just
have to look into it
Tay Stocks, junior
•;
There are a lot of
students involved in
community service. I
think ifs a ht more in
volved than other
schools in the area.
But I think the stu
dents are sometimes
lacking to not go out
on their own to do
stuff.
Roy Jessup, senior
ered signing it were very well-informed and
concerned by the issue. One such student
was Jenny Crane, a junior from Florida.
"Local politics are more important than fed
eral ones, and you can't participate in local
politics at home [while in college.]" Crane
claimed that she signed the petition because
she feels that there are better ways to de
velop the property in question. For students
such as freshman Shivangee Dalai, however,
the decision was not so easy to make. Dalai,
from Louisiana, was torn by her desires to
vote against David Duke in her home state
or Jesse Helms here; she opted to keep her
home registration.
1 personally wish that I had changed my
own registration. Clarice Smith commented
that Guilford students "spend the bulk of
their lives in Greensboro all of their day
to-day interactions [occur there.]" It is for
this reason that I wish I had acted differ
ently. Although we shouldn't stop being
concerned with what happens at home, be
ing directly involved in Greensboro may act
as a catalyst for being involved in politics
and community events in general; this is
surely a trait we strive for as we enter adult
hood.
The Guilfordian
/ think a lot of stu
dents do it on their
own. Depends on the
student, but I do think
they are given a lot of
opportunities.
Richard Dailey,
sophomore
Changing
views on
censorship
LINDSAY OLDENSKI
editorials editor
""There is no better compliment than to
be banned by the Religious Right."
Or so a good friend of mine used to say.
She and I would celebrate when conserva
tive individuals or groups protested the anti
discrimination, pro-sex education, freedom
of religion, and gay rights articles we pub
lished in our high school newspaper. We
viewed this opposition as an affirmation that
we had reached somebody. Ruffled some
feathers. Held beliefs that distinguished us
from the small-minded regulators of moral
ity. We experienced censorship, fought cen
sorship, and won.
Perhaps I am getting mellow in my old
age. Censorship no longer excites me.
When I recently heard about a failed at
tempt to ban Carlos Fuentes' The Old
Gringo in a Guilford County high school, I
did not perform a victory dance for the win
ning side.
I was relieved that a novel of such qual
ity was allowed to remain in the school's
curriculum. At first I was euphoric that the
teachers and administration at Grimsley
High School were intelligent enough to
judge a book based on its overall message
rather than on a few sexually explicit pas
sages. Then I reconsidered my joy.
Why should those who fight censorship
be seen as valiant crusaders? Human beings
have a basic right to free choice. This should
be the rule, not an exception to it. The par
ents who opposed The Old Gringo filled me
with sadness rather than rage. Sure, they
recognized the problems in our society. They
were trying to protect their children from
the harshness of reality. What they did not
understand is that hiding from problems
does not make them go away. Empowerment
and knowledge rather than fear and denial
are the key to change.
Throughout the years, children have been
deprived of such works as To Kill a Mock
ingbird, Tom Sawyer, Romeo and Juliet, and
the Catcher in the Rye because of "con
cerned" adults. C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of
Narnia have even been classified as satanic
in some areas.
Consider the example of To Kill a Mock
ingbird. Parents and teachers banned this
book with the intention of preventing expo
sure to the racial slurs used in the text, while
ignoring the barrage of racial slurs surround
ing their children in school and social situa
tions. If students had been allowed to read
the book, they would be exposed to a very
real, very powerful portrayal of the dangers
of racism.
Literature and the arts can deal with is
sues and reach the heart of a problem in
ways that simple conversation and lecture
can not. Attempts to censor such means of
expression signal the lack of a basic under
standing of the world.
I no longer consider that a compliment
In fact, it scares me.
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