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WWW.GUlLFORDIAN.COM NEWS Academic Convocation '08: 172 years of community By Meredith Jones Staff Writer "I'd like to begin by taking you back a few years," he said. He proceeded to ^ detail the experiences of a former editor- The sound of 800 pairs of feet thunder- in-chief of the Guilfordian who never, ing down the aisles of Dana Auditorium despite her efforts, managed to con- announced the start of this year's Aca- nect meaningfully with other students demic Convocation on Sept. 3. at Guilford. He went on to discuss how The convocation marked the begin- to prevent the dilemma of this woman, ning of Guilford's 172nd academic year. recommending that students take advan- Max Carter, campus ministry coordi- tage of Guilford's community spirit, em- nator, led a brief prayer that culminated phasis on academics, and "truly vibrant in a moment of silence. After that, Presi- campus life office under the leadership dent Kent Chabotar took the podium to of Aaron Fetrow." give his commencement address. "I truly believe that the focus on aca- Chabotar detailed Guilford's achieve- demies and recognition of the distinc- ments, which included its ranking as one tiveness of Guilford were a perfect com- of the top colleges for political activism bination to kick-off our academic year," and the increased size of its graduat- said Dean of Students Fetrow about the ''what does 'become more' mean to you?" Kent Chabotar, President ing classes. He listed what he termed Guilford's "competitive advantages": a small, community-focused liberal arts campus, the presence of the Early College at Guilford, and its core Quaker values. As he spoke, images ap peared on the screen behind him. In one, a girl clutched a sign that read, "Quakers oppose all war." In another, the green, canopied campus stretched out before the viewer. Finally, two words flashed across the screen: Become More. "What does 'become more' mean to you?" Chabotar asked the graduating class of 2012, before leaving the stage to much applause. A short interlude providing informa tion about Guilford clubs and organiza tions followed his speech. Then Adri enne Israel, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, introduced Jeff Jeske, the keynote speaker. Jeske, Dana professor of English, took the stage next. convocation. Students poured out of the doors of Dana after a performance of the school alma mater. Some added their own ideas to Chabotar's list of Guilford vir tues: "The people are so nice and accept ing," said Elijah Da- costa, first-year. Kiyomi Lafleur, first-year, added "I really like the Quaker values, you know?" Some of the named virtues were more specific. "I like calling teachers by their first names," said Ben Chaves, first-year. "The trees!" exclaimed Emily Silver- man, first-year. Many students mentioned the ever present sense of community at Guilford, which seemed to be even thicker in light of Jeske's remarks. "That's where we draw our strength," Jeske said, "from our mutual willingness to put aside selfishness and bureaucracy and hierarchy to create a loving commu nity." Guilford's women's choir, directed by Wendy Looker, singing the alma mater. mm Photos by Claire Oosterhoudt/Guilfordian Kent Chabotar, president of Guilford College, gives one of his famous powerpoint presentations at convocation. Hey you! With the brain! The Guilfordian needs your awesome thinking power for our weekly publication. i Email: jjeske@guilford.edu Write stories, take photos, design pages. However you want to contribute, it's fine as long as we can have your brain.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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