Pope House
evacuated
By Tom Gallagher
STAZT WRITER
If you can't take the
heat...move to Pope House.
It was round 4 a.m. on Sun
day, Jan. 30th when Mica
Gwendyn was awakened by the
smell of kerosene. Soon others
were risen by what Pope house
residents later described as "a
loud banging, clanging sound."
A ruptured jacket, which stored
water for the basement boiler,
caused the noise and odor.
Fumes came through the
heating vents, causing many to
question their safety. "It
smelled so bad that I thought I
would pass out," said sopho
more Sera Cleaver. "We just
went outside and sat in the
cold."
Freezing rain had covered
the campus in a layer of ice over
night, adding a degree of hazard
to any attempt to repair the bro
ken boiler. Road conditions
were dangerous, and given the
early hour, maintenance work
ers would not be available until
mid-morning.
Sophomore Alex Wilson,
who had spent the night at the
house, decided to call the fire
department.
Unfortunately, the door to
the basement was locked and no
one at the house had a key.
"[The firemen] had an axe and
they were about to bust the door
down, but then someone from
security came and let them in,"
said Senior Dan Blocker. •
The floor of the basement
was flooded by water that had
spilled from the boiler. As a pre
caution, the firemen decided to
turn off the boiler, which left
most rooms in the house with
out heat.
"There was no real danger
with the boiler itself. I guess
[residents] thought there was
oil on the floor, and that's why
they called the fire depart
ment," said head of mainte
nance Mark Miller.
The coming day would
bring more mayhem to the
scene. A tree fell within a few
feet of the house, damaging a
car in the gravel parking lot
nearby. "It was like the apoca
i i_ j , • v t
the- re/
THE
GUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro sit-ins marked
\ *FE i muflßShJm \ JKGFT] FI J
| m |
A member of the original sit-in and Mayor Holliday speak
to the crowd of about 75 people.
By Rebecca Muller
STAFF WRITER
The crowd stood in a circle
across from W. Friendly avenue,
waiting patiently for the great
milestone that was about to oc
cur: the unveiling of a site do
nated by Guilford College to
commemorate the Greensboro
sit-ins that occurred on Feb. Ist,
1960.
Forty years ago, African
American young men decided to
sit in a segregated area of a lo
cal Woolworth to eat. This event
and the events that followed
eventually helped lead to the
desegregation of the South,
changing the lives of millions of
people.
"Twenty years ago, there
was a marker on Elm Street,"
said Alex Stoesen, History Pro
fessor Emeritus. "Ten years
ago, Sycamore Street was
changed to February Ist street."
Now, Guilford is doing its part
to honor this event. The marker
is also intended to honor those
who were liberators and liber
ated before this time period by
the Underground Railroad,
which reportedly had a stop on
campus.
"Fugitives fled through
Guilford County, eventually get
ting to Canada," Adrienne Is
rael, Professor of African Ameri
can Studies, informed the
crowd. "In 1826, Levi Coffin
moved to Richmond, Indiana,
where he continued his danger
ous work."
Keith Holliday, Mayor of
Greensboro and a Guilford
alum, recalls visiting Richmond
many times as a Quaker youth.
"This rich heritage is shared
between Greensboro and Rich
mond," he said. "The unveiling
here signifies unforgettable
events."
Jib-Reel Khazan (a.k.a.
TheGuilfordian
c/o Student Activities
5800 W. Friendly Ave.
Greensboro, NC 27410
February 11, 2000
Ezeil Blair, Jr.), who attended
the Tuesday ceremony, was one
of the four men to participate in
the sit-in movement. "We set a
date to do this because we had
nowhere else to go," he said.
"Genetically and culturallly, I
belong here. I'm an American by
ancestry." He pointed out that
America is an Arabic word
"Amer" meaning "commander
and "ica" standing for "icon.
The words are Arabic for "sacred
portrait," one who keeps peace.
Khazan expressed his ini
tial hesitation at participating
in the sit-in. "I didn't want to
go," he said. "I didn't even like
the cooking of Woolworth. It was
more than getting a hamburger
and coffee —we wanted to test
whether we really 'hold all
these truths self evident.'"
Khazan believes that the
Bill of Rights should guide our
lives. "America is your oyster
you can make it what you want
it to be."
After reading a poem en
titled "The Potter's Clay,"
Khazan stated, "You should con
tinue to mold and shape democ
racy so it will be pleasing to
you."
Finally, the time all were
waiting for arrived. Several
children grabbed the string to
the cover, and George Black,
Guilford's choir conductor, led
the crowd in an old gospel song,
"Steal Away to Jesus."
Reverend David Bills,
leader of a Greensboro Baptist
church, gave a final benedic
tion: "For those who've gathered
to keep the world the way it
was designed to have 'free
dom for all.'"
Khazan firmly believes that
one should always be willing to
share what one has with others
to make society better. "Let's
keep the tree of life growing.
Don't be afraid to test the truth
or stand up for your rights.
There's one million people who
want to put their foot right
where we are today."
AARON THOMPSON
Please
:
recycle
this
paper.