THE GUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, NC Since 1914, but never quite like this & \ August 20, 1997
Last year's freshmen class welcomes the class of 2001 with open arms.
Welcome class of 2001
♦Guilford's class of the next millenium arrives and CHAOS begins
BY MARJORIE HALL
News Editor
Another year has rolled
around at Guilford, and with it
have come the students of the
class of 2001, the true first class
of the next millenium. Three
hundred and twenty-five new
students are arriving on the cam
pus, including 290 freshmen
and 35 transfer students.
Many of the new students
have already arrived for the vari
ous Avanti programs. Orienta
tion for all freshmen begins on
Wednesday the twentieth. Chaos
lasts until the twenty-fourth, the
day before classes begin.
"I have really positive feel
ings about what this class can
bring to Guilford and what Guil
ford can give back to them," said
A 1 Newell, Dean of Admissions.
The median SAT score of this
class is 582 verbal and 552
math, both up two points from
last year. The average new stu
dent graduated in the top 30
percent of their high school
class, and the average GPA is
about 3.1.
This class is definitely geo
graphically diverse. This class
contains more international stu
dents than previous classes. It
includes eight international stu
dents, including students from as
far away as Bulgaria and Japan.
Stateside, students hail from
more than thirty different states,
one student traveling here all the
way from Oregon.
Theologically, the class
members belong to around 39
different denominations and re
ligions. Ten percent of the new
class is Quaker, making Guilford
College one of the only Quaker
schools in the country with an in
creasing number of Quaker stu
dents. The number of Jewish stu
dents enrolled has increased con
siderably.
One unique quality of the
class of 2001 is the number of
them that indicated interest in
more non-traditional religions
on their applications —every-
thing from Buddhism to Wicca.
The firesides that Max Carter,
director of campus ministries,
has planned for the fall semes
ter reflect this diversity, includ
ing speakers on Buddhism,
Jainism, Hinduism, and Juda
ism.
( spend a lot of my time getting in the middle of things. —Dick Dyer
The class has shown inclina
tion to service activities. Many
of the incoming freshmen have
expressed an interest in the work
trips planned over fall break (in
cluding a trip to Cuba) and
spring break.
The class is 52 percent fe
male, average for Guilford. The
campus has become more di
verse. "The number of students
of color is up significantly,"
stated A 1 Newell, citing 20 per
cent as a low estimate.
The students chose to
come to Guilford over the most
selective group of other
schools Guilford has seen in
four or five years. Through
looking at cross-application,
we know that Guilford has
drawn students away from
schools like Brown, Earlham,
Haverford, Tulane, Oberlin,
Bard, Goucher, Lewis and
Clark, and Sarah Lawrence.
A 1 Newell and the rest of the
faculty of Guilford are excited
about the class of 'Ol. "We're
very pleased, " he said. "I'm al
ways pleased, but this class just
really seems to show the spirit of
Guilford."
Loss of
a gift
♦Start of school is
bittersweet as Guilford
loses Dick Dyer
BY MARJORIE HALL, ADAM
LUCAS, OLIVIA L. RIORDAN
On August 19 around 3 p.m.
the Assistant to the Dean of Stu
dent Life, Dick Dyer, collapsed in
the Moon Room while giving a
speech to welcome parents. He
died later that afternoon.
Although Dyer,4B, was an ad
ministrator, most students thought
of him as a friend. "Most of what I
do is listen seriously and help when
I can," he told The Guilfordian in
an interview last February.
Dean of Student Life Mona
Olds was a close colleague of Dyer's.
"He was in the business of getting
to know troubled students," said
Olds late Tuesday night. In his ca
pacity, Dyer also worked with the
Judicial Board advising students
brought up on charges.
Dyer's speech Tuesday after
noon addressed the separation
process of first-year students and
their parents.
"He was giving an absolutely
wonderful speech, the best I've
seen him give," said Olds. "He said
he had been here for 18 years and
he made a point in his speech that
he came here at the same time
these first-years were born."
President Don McNemar had
a specific memory of the speech.
"Dick said 'l've loved my 18 years
here and hope you find the same
joy. May it open your soul.' I hadn't
heard him say that before. You
don't often hear the word 'soul'
mentioned in a welcome speech."
As a Quaker minister, one of
Dyer's favorite metaphors was that
of a 150-year-old Shaker rocking
chair. Max Carter, director of cam
pus ministries, said "It symbolizes
his integrity, his balance, his care
for the kind of work you do."
Dyer made many contribu
tions to Guilford, which, as always,
he summarized best: "We're all
given certain gifts ... a lot of what I
do here is to help people discover
their gifts."