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Nov. 4, 2005 FORUM Page 13 Football ‘highly suggests’ Sunday chapel for its athletes Nasimeh Easton Staff Writer Sundays at Guilford are quiet days. For most students, Sundays are the time to catch up on sleep, homework, and whatev er else they didn't manage to do earlier in the week. For football players, Sunday means a day of indoor conditioning ... and chapel? Yes, chapel. Every Sunday, as part of their routine and regardless of their reli gion, all football players attend a 3 p.m. chapel service. This chapel time is supposedly "highly suggested," but former football player Stephen Dziedzic told me it might as well be mandatory. "There's no point in not going to some thing coach tells you to go to. That's just stupid," said Dziedzic. When I heard about the chapel time, I was more than a little confused by it. I'm a spiritual person and certainly respect all forms of religion, but I find myself wonder ing: does religion have any place in foot ball? Were this a more religiously-oriented school, that association would make sense. But on a campus famous for its diversity and acceptance of religions, it seems a little bizarre. "I don't think forced religious service of any kind really has a place - especially at Guilford," said first-year John Rock. "I could see myself feeling really uncom fortable being forced to go to any religious service. I'm skeptical as to what it accom plishes to force players to go to it," said first-year Nick Laskow. I have to agree. I just don't think that chapel time has anything to do with football, nor do I find it beneficial to the team or players at all. If anything. I'd say it's detrimental, especially if the players don't want to be spending their Sunday afternoons there. "To a lot of the foot ball players, it wasn't about the religious aspect," said Dziedzic, "They just didn't want to be there." Football already takes up so much of the players' time - they prac tice Tuesday through Friday, have a game on Saturday, and condition on Sunday. If nothing else, this chapel time adds even more to a team member's busy schedule. Then again, I don't find that time is the main issue here. The issue, pure and simple, is that nobody on this campus (or anywhere) should be forced to go to a religious meeting if they don't want to. I'm not claiming that all of the football players hate going to chapel, or even that they don't want to go - not at all. There are Many players fear a loss of playing time if they don’t attend Sunday chapel at least a few, though, who don't want to go, and who may even be uncomfortable going. Due to that, chapel should be an optional thing, not "highly suggested." "It doesn't fit here," said Dziedzic. "It doesn't." You're right, Stephen. I understand that the coach is a religious man, and I absolutely respect that. In return, I think he should respect his play ers and understand when they don't want to take part in a worship service. Guilford College is not the place for mandatory worship of any kind, for anyone. Of all places, everyone should be free to religiously express themselves here.§€ Alleged rapist is innocent until proven guilty at Guilford Emilie Grant Staff Writer I was confused about why, in a recent sexual misconduct case, the accused was allowed to remain on campus. I thought that these situ ations were straightforward, black and white, easy to decipher. I was wrong. I will clarify for the Guilford community that what happened was not classified as a rape. It was considered an "alleged rape," an "alleged sexual misconduct." Public Safety and the school worked together in this investiga tion, and until anything was proven, no actions could be taken. Reginald Hayes, Director of Public Safety, spoke to me briefly about what Public Safety did in this incident. There are several ways the community can help with prevention. Guilford College complies with the Jean Cleary Act, an act which "mandates that colleges and universities publish statistics for certain categories of substanti ated crimes, to help ensure that students, faculty, and staff at those institutions are aware of the facts about crime and safety on their campus.". TTiis list can be found on page 5 in the Guide to Campus Safety. Keifer Bradshaw, Security Coordinator, was present during my interview with Hayes. Bradshaw teaches R.A.D: Rape Aggression Defense System, a course that Guilford offers to help students protect themselves. "We need to educate the com munity on what we do," said Bradshaw. The best way to find out is to ask. Hayes has sent an open invitation to anyone seeking answers visit him during his open office hours, Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) is another good forum to discuss situations like this one and what we can do to help prevent them. The SAAC "gives students an opportunity to come together and discuss issues, ask questions, and speak about things that directly concern students," said Randy Doss. The group meets once a month to discus issues concerning student-athletes on campus. Before hearing what Doss and Hayes had to say, I was worked- up about the "rape case," as stu dents are calling it. I was mad that the alleged rapist was on campus. I believed, and still do, that he posed a threat to every woman on campus. Living in South Africa, I heard all kinds of stories and "facts" about college, sexual assault, and par tying from the media. In my opinion, he is the stereotypical sexual predator, a college ath lete using his strength to overpower a young woman, just like on TV. But because this was an "alleged" rape, and the victim hadn't pressed charges, he was still on campus. However, enough evi dence has now been col lected, and the convicted has been proven guilty. As Aaron Fetrow, Dean for Campus Life, said, "we believe that here at Guilford, people are innocent until proven guilty." Students of Guilford, I will re-iter- ate Aaron's statement, until anything was proven, he remained innocent. The best thing we can do in situations like this look out for one another as a community, and, like Hayes said, "it takes a community for pre vention. IF YOU HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED: 1. Call a friend for a ride to Moses H. Cone to receive treatment for injuries, STD’s, test for pregnancy, and/or evidence collection. 2. Call Family Services Rape Hodine for a support vol unteer REMEMBER...ITS NOT YOUR FAULT... * Do not eat, drink, shower, douche, change clothes or use the badiroom * Bring a change or clothes to the hospital. Your origi nal clothes will be used for evidence and will be returned to you. ' * Deciding to prosecute is YOUR CHO.lCF^ * Consider seeing a counselor (extension 2163) IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Guilford College Public Safety (24 hours) 316-2911 Family Services Rape Hodine (24 hours) 273-7273 Gay and Lesbian Hodine 855-8558
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