WIGIITLFORDIAN
Greensboro, N.C.
monl prepares
for 10-year review
Taleisha Bowen
Staff Writer
Its not going to interrupt stu
dents' lives," said Elwood
Parker, a professor in the Mathematics
Department who is also a Guilford
alum.
"As a student -1 was a senior - the
only reason I even knew it was happen
ing was that I happened to be among
the leadership of some of the organiza
tions. If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't
have even known it was going on,"
Parker said.
Guilford administration and faculty
members are already working in prepa
ration for a reaffirmation of accreditation
by the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools (SACS). Groups have
been formed to determine places
Guilford may need to focus on to
ensure compliance with SACS stan
dards.
Mary Ellen Chijioke, Director of Hege
Library, will present initial findings later
this month. These findings will serve as
a preliminary estimate of what steps, if
any, the college will need to take in
order to be in compliance with SACS
guidelines.
These initial results will form the
structure of a compliance document,
required by the SACS Commission on
Colleges, consisting of the college's
own estimate of how well it currently
meets SACS standards. The compli
ance document must be submitted by
March 2006.
"I don't think there are any places
where we're not in compliance, or won't
be by 2006," said Guilford president
Kent Chabotar.
"The hard part isn't being in compli
ance," said Chabotar. "The hard part is
having the documentation to back it
up."
" 'Accreditation' is review of the quali
ty of higher education institutions and
programs," according to the website for
the Council for Higher Education
Continued on Page 3
Volume 91, Issue 18
www.guilfordian.com
Smoking policy revamped
Lisa Meagher
Staff Writer
an effort to have less
-*■ smoking on campus,
Guilford has again revised the
new smoking policy for the
2004-2005 school year.
Campus Life is now working
TALEISHA BOWEN/GUILFORDIAN
on changing
the designat
ed areas for
the dorms,
the last areas
to have non
smoking
entrances.
The policy,
which was
introduced in
fall of 2001
and has
changed
since last fall,
began with
smoke-free
dorms and
New gazebos exist due to changes to the smoking policy
has progressed each semes
ter with more smoke-free
areas.
Campus Life felt it was
important to clear the air from
the main entrances of build
ings and most public areas on
campus.
Administration has pro
gressed slowly to eliminate
smoking, so as to not rush
the policy and let the student
body know of the changes
along the way.
"I think it's hard for people
to get used to, but it's more of
a public health danger" said
Anne Lundquist, Dean of
Campus Life.
Guilford has a higher popu
lation of smokers than non
smokers.
Guilford's goal is not to be
smoke-free, but rather a more
air-friendly and safer environ
ment in which to live. For the
most part the changes are
made, but there are still some
questions and unfinished reg
ulations regarding the policy.
"We did decide to allow
Residence Life to work with
students this spring to deter
mine which entrances to
Resident Hall Buildings would
be smoking (or) smoke-free"
said Lundquist via-email.
'That is happening now and
will go into place once set
tled."
Concerned about the safety
and health issues for all stu
dents living in the dorms,
Lundquist said there could
and would be problems if a
cigarette is left unattended in
a dorm room, or if non-smok
ers are breathing second
hand smoke.
The two past surveys about
cigarette smoking on campus
helped administration figure
out how and where the desig
nated and non-smoking areas
were to be.
These surveys asked ques
tions about smoking areas,
issues, preferences, sugges
tions, etc., and spawned a
few community forums that
discussed the issue.
The forums helped Campus
Life implement the smoking
gazebos and place urns
where they were needed for
the smokers.
"Having a designated space
is helpful, like the gazebos,"
Lundquist said.
Assistant Professor of
Foreign Languages and
Division Director Hiroko
Hirakawa said
via e-mail, "As a
smoker, I think
ifs good
because I don't
have to feel
guilty about 'con
taminating' the
air for non-smok
ers as much as I
used to."
And for those
who are trying to
quit, having less
places to smoke
could possibly
decrease the
amount in which
they do.
"It forces me to go outside -
smoking in the rain, snow,
etc. - which helps me smoke
less," said Hiroko.
Although the policy has
taken four years to become
publicly acknowledged, there
are students who are still
unsure as to where the smok
ing areas are on campus,
besides the gazebos.
There are no-smoking signs
where there are ashtrays and
smoking urns, including the
front entrances of some build
ings on campus such as Duke
hall and Hege library.
"I think it's conflicting that
they have ashtrays where
they have no smoking signs,"
said senior Josh West.
"(Campus Life) is trying to be
clear. I see where there are
signs, but it's just a time of
adjustment."
Continued on Page 3
February 11, 2005
On the record:
The new director
of Student
Counseling
Page 4
Hide and Seek
review
ence The Art of
Kissing
l
Kathy Oliver's
Katharsis
Page 6
Page 7
Page 9