THE GUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, NC
Halting progress on race issues
♦Administration soon to make big decisions, but communication questioned from all sides
BY CHRISTOPHER WEBER
Staff Writer
In a year defined by the issue of
race, the Guilford community is striv
ing to come into new ways of thinking.
Yet many see gulfs between faculty,
staff, and student, and wonder if the
community will arrive together or in
pieces.
Kris Belmonte is a third-year stu
dent who attended a recent presenta
tion on racism given by Ervin Brisbon,
an activist with American Friends Ser
vice Committee.
What she saw at the
presentation's end troubles her.
"When Ervin spoke," says
Belmonte, "many of the faculty mem
bers who were there got up and left
before the question and answer period,
where it gets really personal. I think
that is an indication of where we are."
"The community is insular now,
drawn into small groups, especially the
faculty."
Adele Wayman, clerk of the fac
ulty, agrees that professors do not al
ways value what students think impor-
Plans for Serendipity an
nounced; idea of community
encouraged
News pg. 3
£et us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. —Mark twain
tant. "Though there's a desire on the
part of faculty and staff to see student's
voices as equal," Wayman says, "I
don't think they're always seen as
equal."
This breakdown of communica
tion might have unforeseen conse
quences.
Santes Beatty, director of African
American affairs, fears students may
leave Guilford if they are not heard.
"Faculty and administrators don't
know what students are feeling. I hear
a lot that this is a time when people are
exhausted. A lot of faculty and admin
istrators are saying, 'Let's just make it
to summer.'
"Exhaustion and the repercussions
of not acting now will come back to
haunt us," says Beatty. '"lf I'm a stu
dent, I want to go away from school
seeing that Guilford has done things to
stem the problems that are hurting me
instead of talking about doing things."
But important decisions are nigh,
and Wayman thinks these will demon
strate a commitment to change.
The faculty is drawing near con
sensus on the new curriculum, which
Theatre studies plans AIDS benefit
♦The department will produce the nationally touring Pieces of the Quilt
BY ELLEN YUTZY
World Editor
While Guilford's theatrical produc
tions are usually popular, the spring produc
tion promises something special.
Guilford students, under the direction
of other students, will present the south
eastern debut performance of a nationally
touring play, Pieces of the Quilt. Part of
the college's AIDS Awareness month,
Pieces of the Quilt features one-act plays
by playwrights Tony Kushner, Danny Hoch,
Migdalia Cruz, David Henry Hwang, and
Naomi lizuka The theatre department has
set the lofty goal of raising $ 10,000 to sup
port AIDS treatment.
The problems with sleep
deprivation on a college cam
pus
Features pg. 6
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A focus on communication is a centerpiece of the recent discussions about race.
PHOTO BY BECCA LEE
requires all students to take at least one
course in cultural diversity, one in so
cial justice, and one in intercultural stud
ies.
English 151 has also been re
tooled. The course's new name will
be, "College Speaking and Writing:
Pieces of the Quilt was first con
ceptualized by actor Sean San Jose of San
Francisco, whose parents both died of
AIDS. Today the series of plays is touring
the United States and has become one of
Admission office has proof
this weekend of a job well
done
Forum pg. 12
"Hopefully we put together
a selection that is pertinent
to the Guilford College
community. Hopefully
people will leave the theatre
thinking more about it. "
Amy Gorelow
Many Voices," and it will emphasize
diversity in writing.
Faculty hiring may also be an av
enue to change.
Six departments have requested
tenure-track positions, and Guilford's
please see RACE on pg. 2
the most talked-about AIDS awareness
activities.
Guilford was awarded the rights to
produce the plays because Jack Zerbe.
chair of the theatre studies department,
asked San Jose what he would think of let
ting a college perform the pieces. San Jose
was receptive to the idea after hearing about
Guilford. Guilford's producing the plays in
an area where they had not been produced
was also important. "(The feet that Guilford
was in N.C.] was the thing that cinched it
for him," said Zerbe.
Guilford is the first college in the en
tire country to produce Pieces of the Quilt,
beating out San Francisco State by a mat
please see QUILT on pg. 2
Women's lacrosse team goes
on a tear, wins three straight
to start season well
Sports pg. 16
April 3, 1998