THE GUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, NC
Interlink numbers down in recent years
♦Some say declining international enrollment contradicts Guilford's dedication to diversity
BY ADAM LUCAS
Editor-in-Chief
After years of serving as a major
hub of the Interlink program, Guilford has
seen its number of international students
decline in recent years.
At the height of the school's involve
ment with the program in 1990, the cam
pus hosted as many as 85 foreign stu
dents enrolled in Interlink. While the num
bers have increased recently to the point
at which 54 students are now at Guilford,
they sagged to around 25 students in 1995.
"The founders of Interlink came to
Guilford because of its mission statement
and commitment to diversity and interna
tional education," said Interlink director
David Parsons. "I hope that we'll con
tinue to see that commitment coming out
in terms of what Guilford does in terms
of curriculum revisions and what it does
to actually have students as well as
courses on the campus."
The problem is compounded by the
fact that few people on campus actually
understand Interlink. Enrolled students
are not admitted to Guilford but do use
on-campus housing, with most living in
Worth House I.
After successful completion of the
Plans for YMCA take a new direction
♦Moses Cone Hospital may play a role in the long-rumored new YMCA construction
BY MARJORIE HALL
News Editor
Over a year ago, Guilford decided
that developing better athletic space was
a priority of the school. The college may
soon get that space courtesy of Moses
Cone Hospital and the Greensboro
YMCA.
As the college was beginning dis
cussions of the new athletic facility, the
Greensboro YMCA was considering
building a new YMCA in Greensboro.
Currently, there is a greater demand for
facilities than can be met by the Guilford
YMCA. The school and the YMCA en
Art gallery hosts a guided tour of rare 18th
and 19th century paintings Friday after
noon.
News pg. 3
program, students are able to apply for
regular admission to Guilford, an option
selected by approximately five percent
of each year's participants.
The decline in enrollment has been
m |Hp
Spotting Interlink students in the Underground has been a little more difficult recently
PHOTO BY CHRIS CARLSTROM
attributed to several factors, with the
college's current budget crunch heading
the list, 'interlink came here at a time
when the college was providing funding
for Interlink students," said admission di
rector A 1 Newell. "At this point, all that
is now available to them is merit-based
tered into discussions and decided that
many of their needs were the same. If
they work in conjunction, the facility can
be even larger and serve not only the
Guilford community, but the rest of
Greensboro as well
During these discussions. Moses
Cone Hospital was mentioned. Commu
nity hospitals all over the country have
begun to sponsor satellite "wellness cen
ters." Moses Cone was approached and
showed interest in developing an outreach
center.
These centers often include reha
bilitation facilities, classrooms, and
therapy pools, and offer information and
/ am not young enough to know —Carrie
Students organize protest as
professor Michael Strickland
is denied tenure.
News pg. 5
Since 1914, but never quite like this
scholarships. The college certainly has a
bigger decision to make, and that is how
committed are we to international stu
dents?"
Funding is not the only problem.
Since Interlink operates on a slightly dif
ferent schedule than the rest of Guilford,
housing can create dilemmas at certain
times of the year.
Even when the calendars coincide,
however, contact with international stu
dents is limited by the fact that many live
counseling on diet, exercise, and substance
abuse. "Their feeling is, the more the
public is involved in taking care of them
selves. the less the incidence of serious
illness," said Art Gillis, chief financial of
ficer.
Under the preliminary design, a
single entrance would serve the Alumni
Gym and the Ragan-Brown fieldhouse,
which would be linked A new building
with a multi-function orientation would be
built behind Ragan-Brown. The new
building may have space for functions
such as concerts and convocation. The
building could be built in as little as 18 to
24 months.
A little friendly assistance for
an obviously confused
Guilford College community.
Forum pg. 12
in an area of the campus that is not fre
quented by most students.
While academic dean Martha
Cooley would like to see an increased
Interlink participation at Guilford, she re
alizes that not all the factors are under
the college's control. "International stu
dents have an interest in more technical
degrees, and we don't have that,'' she
said. "Also, Guilford doesn't have a
graduate program and we're not in a big
city, which is often a plus for foreign stu
dents."
The fact that Guilford and Interlink
are currently unsure of their relationship
is reflected in the most recent contract
signed by the two parties.
While most other schools that work
with the program —including Guilford in
the past —have worked under three-year
contracts, the leaders of Interlink decided
in January that they would only renew
their deal for two years.
The college has some significant
work to do between now and January of
2000, but Cooley knows that it hinges on
one significant factor.
"The reasons are varied," she said.
"But we probably don't work hard
enough here to make them a part of the
community."
Contrary to some students" fears,
the school will not build a new road,
though it will probably widen the road and
smooth out the 90-degree turns in front
of New Garden
All three parties are still reviewing
possible plans. The YMCA and the col
lege are both committed to the plan, which
would bejointly funded Moses Cone has
not made a decision. '"No agreements
have been signed amongst the three par
ties yet, but it does seem easily in the realm
of possibilities for the next few months,""
Gillis said.
Gillis stresses that if conflict should
please see YMCA pg 2
January 30, 1998