VOLUME 95, ISSUE 5 // SEPTEMBER 2^, 2008
G O I L F O R 0 COLLEGE / / W W W . G 0 I L F O It 0 I A N . C 0 M / / GREENSBORO, C
Budget cut for
Diversity Plan
By Deena Zaru
Senior Writer
The Assessment for Strategic Indica
tors, released by President Kent Chabotar
in May 2008, reports that the budget for
the Diversity Plan and diversity training
initiatives was originally set at $137,000,
but has been "adjusted to $68,000."
The document states that "the reduced
funding will constrain workshops as well
as staffing and recruitment efforts."
Director of the Friends Center and
Campus Ministry Coordinator Max Cart
er, who attended the Quaker Life & Diver
sity meetings with the board of trustees,
said that the decision was not surprising
because the trustees asked the college to
minimize spending.
"Trustees wanted the document to be
at its best before presenting it to the full
Board, and SLRP (Strategic Long Range
Planning committee)—which I also sit
on—^had been asked to reduce budgeted
amounts, given the college's financial
challenges," said Carter.
According to Jeff Favolise, assistant to
See "Diversity Plan" on page 3
Chin sp^ks about his Funded Dollar Bill
Project, which will benefit the lead problem in the
soil of New Orleans in The Founds Hail Gafery
on Sept. 18.
Artist Chin discusses social change
By Kylie Gilliams
Staff Writer
"Mel Chin makes art
that makes a difference in
the world," said Kathryn
Shields, assistant professor
of art, in her introduction to
Chin's lecture in Founders
Gallery on Sept. 18.
Chin began his talk by
unhooking the microphone
from the stand and singing
Elvis Presley until a student
stood up and threw a ba
nana at him.
"The thing that was so
cool was you actually got
to see a great artist do per
formance art," said assistant
professor of art David New
ton.
Chin then showed slides
of his work, starting with
replicas of White Flouse
columns that he made us
ing materials symbolizing
the Reagan administration's
complicity in the devasta
tion and horror wrought on
Latin America by the United
Fruit Company.
Human suffering and
tragic events, such as King
Leopold ITs genocide of the
people of the Belgian Congo
and the first female suicide
bomber in Israel, have pro
vided inspiration for Chin's
work. In his lecture. Chin
explained how the same was
true for his current under
taking, The hundred Dollar
See "Mel Chin” on page 2
FYE program to be rebuilt
THE FUTURE OF THE FIRST
YEAR EXPERIENCE PRO
GRAM WAS THE SUBJECT OF
A SEPT. 17 FORUM
By Sam Jenkins
Staff Writer
The faculty held a forum Sept. 17 to dis
cuss proposed changes for Guilford's First
Year Experience (FYE) program.
The proposal contained three central
goals: to create a more cohesive community
of teaching and learning, to facilitate inter
disciplinary teaching and learning, and to
integrate Principled Problem Solving into
the general education program.
Faculty discussed a revised edition of an
initial proposal.
"The first draft was very similar to a five-
year plan from the U.S.S.R.," said Zerbe,
"It's going to take a lot of work and time,
but hopefully the faculty will get excited
about the new changes."
A central, overarching theme for the new
program was a major topic of discussion
during the meeting. Ideas for the theme
include "Making a Difference in the 21®*^
Century" and "Making a Difference in the
Universe." The latter was proposed to help
fit historical disciplines, such as Medieval
Studies, under the umbrella of a common
theme.
While the proposal says that all FYE
classes will incorporate the "Making a Dif
ference" theme, they are not required to
draw from the same content base.
The proposal outlines FYE curriculum as
"a stand-alone course using (a professor's)
own discipline as a starting place for an in
terdisciplinary class, with deep connections
to the common theme." However, in order
to follow the interdisciplinary direction of
the program, some classes may be grouped
into "clusters" with shared syllabi. Discus
sion of this matter is not yet finalized.
Some faculty at the forum expressed
worry that having a common theme might
destroy the individuality of their designed
courses.
"Most classes will only require a bit of,
tweaking to fit the new proposal," said Zer
be. "Anytime you do a curricular change,
some people get excited and some people
See "FYE Changes" on page 3