THE GUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, NC
How Quaker is Guilford?
♦Guilford tries to find a place for Quaker principles at an officially non-sectarian school
BY KELLY A. WHITE
Staff Writer
In the Guilford College
parking lots there are no
spaces marked "Horse and
Buggy Parking Only." None
of Guilford's buildings lack
electricity, and no one here
is forced to wear grey.
There are those who
would be surprised that, de
spite the absence of horses
and buggies, Guilford is able
to keep strong ties with its
Quaker heritage.
This tie to heritage is ex
plained well on the Guilford
College web page: "Guilford
is non-sectarian, yet gov
erned by Quaker principles,
which are implemented by
an independent board of
trustees and by the college as a
whole." This statement empha
sizes the influence that Quaker
ism has over Guilford, but at the
same is careful to point out that
Guilford is non-sectarian.
According to Max Carter, di
Student Life works to fill Dyer's place
♦ Guilford finds it hard to compensate for the loss of the assistant to the Dean of Student Life
BY ELLEN YUTZY
Staff Writer
In the past, students who were
being faced with possible judicial
action could turn to Dick Dyer for
advising and assistance. Dyer's
death in August leaves not only a
hole in the community at Guilford,
but also a gap in the Student Life
Office which deals with judicial pro
ceedings. As Paula Swonguer put
it, "Dick has been THE person for
this... He had the history. He had
been doing judicial affairs for
years."
Dyer had many reponsibilties
at Guilford. He was officially the
assistant to the Dean of Students
and, as such, he interviewed stu
dents faced with possible judicial
actions. He decided whether they
accepted responsibility for their ac-
It's a sad moment, realty, ashen parents first became frightened af their children.—Oma Pita f)idaa
Guilford students visit New Garden Friends for a potluck dinner
rector of campus ministries,
Guilford considered distancing
itself from its association with
Quakerism just a few years ago.
The college felt that common
Quaker stereotypes might keep
.. students from enrolling at Guil
ford. The result was a carefully
tions and then, to which branch of
the judicial system to send their
case.
He also advised students as
they went through the judicial sys
tem. In some cases, he acted as the
sole hearing officer and would lis
ten to a student's side of the story
and administer an appropriate
sanction.
Filling Dyer's position is an
immediate need. As Dean of Stu
dent Life Mona Olds admits, "One
of the things which is an aspect of
fairness is a speedy trial." However,
right now there are no hearings
planned, and this year's judicial
board has yet to be selected.
Once judicial board is operat
ing, personnel in the Student Life
Office will act as advisors to stu
dents with proceedings. "Right
now, we would assign a student who
worded opening statement which
emphasizes Quaker heritage
while acknowledging that
Quaker principles are still impor
tant.
Despite Guilford's assertion
that it is non-sectarian, the
Quaker presence is felt strongly
was having judi
cial problems to
somebody in
the Student Life
area," says Olds.
"We're missing
him a lot, but
we're able to
compensate for
right now."
Similar
methods will be
used if Dyer's
position is still
empty at mid
terms, when he
would ordi
narily have held
conferences
with students in
academic
trouble. Dyer
also was respon-
a
Dick Dyer is difficult to replace
September 12, 1997
in the community. For ex
ample, the Friends Center at
Guilford College, located in
Hege Library, is an impor
tant resource for Quakers
both at Guilford and in the
surrounding community.
In its statement of pur
pose, the Friends Center is
described as "a collaborative
endeavor of the college and
the Religious Society of
Friends to promote the
strengthening of Friends
and their institutions." The
Center is run by Carter and
his assistant, Deborah Shaw,
a Guilford graduate and
clerk of North Carolina's
Conservative Yearly Meet
ing. The Center sponsors
the Guilford College Campus
Ministries Office as well as
three Distinguished Quaker Visi-
Please see QUAKERS
on pg. 2
More on Quakerism
at Guilford on pg. 4
sible for the
college's reten
t i on
services and
talked to all stu
dents who left
Guilford pre
maturely.
In addition
to these official
duties, Dyer
served as much
more to many
Guilford stu
dents. To stu
dents, he was a
friend. He told
The
Guilfordian last
February,
"Most of what I
do is listen seri-
Please see
DYER on pg. 3