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UILFORDIAN
Greensboro, N.C.
Volume 92, Issue 6
www.guilfordian.com
October 7, 2005
Karen Armstrong kicks off Bryan Series
Laura Milot/Laura Blythe-Goodman
Staff Writers
Ex-nun discusses her journey of faith
On Sept. 27, the Biyan Series intro
duced the first of three speakers, Karen
Armstrong, an award-winning novel
ist. Armstrong shared both her person
al faith journey and her expertise on
the major world religions.
Jackie Amis, junior, enjoyed both the
content and the delivery of
Armstrong's talk. "She had a very
British sense of humor," said Amis. "It
was interesting the way she put things
together. She said things you might
know already, but she said them in an
interesting way."
At age 17, Armstrong entered a con
vent "hoping to leave the mess of my
adolescent confusion far behind." She
talked about her struggles in the con
vent and about her decision to leave the
convent. "I knew I had to leave because
I wasn't going to be a good nun, and if
you're not going to be a good nun,
there's no point in being one at all,"
Armstrong said.
After leaving the convent,
Armstrong struggled to adjust to life
and continue her education. "The hard
est thing was trying to live in a world
Ex-nun Karen Armstrong spoke on
as a secular when inside I was still a
nun," she said. "I was convinced I
would end my days in a locked ward. I
became suicidal and anorexic, not
because I wanted to die, but because I
didn't know how to live."
In addition to the harsh conversion
to life as an ex-nun, another cause of
Sept. 27 as part of this year’s Bryan Series
Armstrong's anxiety was her undiag
nosed epilepsy. The diagnosis of her
epilepsy alleviated some of her worry
about her sanity, but she continued to
feel lost.
"Once I thought I could trust my
own mind, I knew I had a future,"
Armstrong said. "It was a bit of a bum
mer that I was going mad, but besides
that I realized there was something I
could do in the world."
After graduating and working for
television, Armstrong took the oppor
tunity to work in Jerusalem. While
there, she experienced the similarities
of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. She
developed what she calls "triple
vision," which is looking at events
from the perspective of all
three religions.
Continuing her studies of these and
the other world religions, she discov
ered the common thread of all religions
is the importance of compassion.
"What holds us back from the Holy is
selfishness; if we get beyond that then
we discover a new dimension of
humanity," said Armstrong.
Armstrong discovered that the most
important thing about religion is not a
person's specific beliefs, which makes
conflicts over these beliefs seem unim
portant. Instead, Armstrong found that
religion is compassion in motion.
"Theology is a process, it makes no
sense unless you put it into action; you
can only understand it if you put it into
Continued on page 2
Tulane students come to Guilford
Pascale Yallee
Staff Writer
After the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina in New
Orleans, tens of colleges were
flooded, and some destroyed.
Two students, Paul Jordan and
Jordon Lenter, relocated to
Greensboro to attend Guilford
as transfer students from
Tulane University.
Paul Jordan, sophomore,
came to Guilford because his
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mother was familiar with the
college. "She knew it was a
good school," said Jordan. He
is a double major in History
and Asian Studies.
Originally from Manhattan,
Jordan's family moved to
Chapel Hill, N.C, when he
was a young child. Jordan ini
tially wanted to attend UNC
Chapel Hill to be closer to
home after the Katrina disas
ter. "They basically told me to
go take a hike," said Jordan.
Jordan applied to UNC
Chapel Hill as a transfer stu
dent two days after their dead
line. Jordan was rejected due
to this technicality, despite his
extenuating circumstances.
His mother then got in touch
with the administration at
Guilford, and Jordan was reg
istered at the college two days
NC resident and sophomore Paul Jordan Continued on page 3
Master planning continues
JabariSellars
Staff Writer
At night, the sound of
hammers pounding can be
heard from English hall.
Students can't go one day
without seeing construction
equipment on campus. The
music of machines is the first
sign of drastic change at
Guilford.
On Sept. 28, after an open
forum and presentation,
Guilford proceeded with the
second phase of its long-
range campus renovation
known as "The Master Plan."
The plan is being used to
decide how the campus will
be renovated and improved
for future students, alumni,
professors and members of
the community.
"The Master Plan is about
utilizing the physical space
on campus," said Aaron
Fetrow, Dean for Campus
Life. "All of this coincides
with the fact that we are a
Chabotar spoke on Sept. 28
growing institution."
In the second phase, lead
ers of the Master Plan held a
presentation for the next
Continued on page 3