PAGE 2
THE TWIG
NOVEMBER 27, 1973
THE
MEREVITH
TWIG
COLLEGE
Letters
to the editor
Dear Editor:
I want to comment upon
the implication made in the
anonymous letter in the
November 27, 1973, issue of
the TWIG. The letter asks that
the President put “pressure”
on me “to investigate
students’ complaints about
certain faculty members and
listen to students’ desires
about new majors and
courses.” Every complaint
that has come to me has been
investigated and either I or
the departmental chairman
has discussed the matter with
the faculty members in
questiai. I have discussed
with a substantial number of
students - including SGA
officers - the question of
curriculum changes, ex
plained the process of
academic change, and offered
my advice and assistance on
the substance as well as the
procedure for change.
Sincerely,
Allen Burris
Vice President and
Dean of the College
Dear Editor:
There is a serious over
sight in our judicial
procedures. Where is the
“precedent” whereby a
Judicial Board member may
be tried for serious offenses of
which she is accused? I have
found none. Certainly
Judicial Board members are
not above the laws of Meredith
College, but any trial of a
Judicial Board member
without precendent would be a
“trial and error” effort. If it
would be improper fcr tbe
Judicial Board to try one of its
own members, as I have been
informed, then the Judicial
Board should establish an
appropriate board. If there is
a precedent for the trial of
Judicial Board members, why
does the Chairman of Judicial
Board not know about it?
Shouldn’t trail procedures for
Judicial Board members be
clarified as are the trail
procedures for other
students? Shouldn’t these
procedures be made readily
accessible to every member of
the student body by means of
the HANDBOOK?
I would also like to ask,
“What assurance do these
students brought to trail have
that their cases will not be
discussed outside Judicial
Board Chambers?” It is the
Judicial Board Chairman’s
opinion that it is “not
necessary” fa- each Judicial
Board member to take an oath
regarding the confidential
nature of her position. I amof
the opinion that such an oath
becomes a necessity when the
mere reminder of a Judicial
Board member’s respon
sibility in this area has not
sufficed. Now, if a Judicial
Board member discusses a
case outside of the l^al
bounds, there is no punish
ment save a possible
reprimand. The discussion of
a case in this manner is a
serious infringement of the
defendant’s rights. If Judicial
Board members were
required to take an oath upon
assumption of office, then the
breaking of such an oath
would constitute perjury and
would require the offender’s
removal from office. Some
measure must be taken to
insure the protection of the
accused; we at Meredith
College can no longer feign
blindness to these short
comings of our judicial
system.
Meredith McGill
Dear Editor:
I am greatLy concerned
about the present renovation
in Jones Auditaium. I was
recently measuring the stage
to begin the set design for the
upcoming spring production
and was absolutely appaled to
discover that over an ll-foot
extension has been added to
the existing curtain line. Why
is such an atrocious extension
being added? Who is
responsible for this mistake? I
am sure the theatre con
sultant who Meredith is so
proud to have secured and has
paid a large sum of money for
is not responsible. Anyone
involed with theatrical
REW receives
^'^no small praise
99
REW ’73 is over and deserves some words of praise. Sue
Tripp and Michelle Lee put together a generally well-received
week. Anyone who has ever tried to organize anything on this
campus to attract student interest knows how difficult it is to do.
Most student opinion I’ve heard around campus has been
favorable in reaction to REW. And that in itself is no small praise.
Michelle commented Monday that she and Sue were “well
pleased with the turnouts at everything”, and that she was par
ticularly pleased that “all three morning speakers tied
everything together so well.”
While the attendance might have been down at the dorm
discussions, Michelle noted that great attendance was not ex
pected at each event, and small groups actually added to better
group meetings in some cases. Perhaps best of all, Michelle also
noted that the organizers learned a great deal from putting the
week together. Since the idea is to let student leaders plan college
events such as REW, it is good to know that the girls are profiting
from the experience. REW has again shown that students are
responsible enough to plan and execute school events, and, most
importantly, that it is possible to get student response without
requiring attendance.
productions is more than
aware that any extension^,to a
stage beyond 6 feet is totally
inconducive to effective
staging. There will not be
enough room fa a production
in front of the curtain. But to
use the extension along with
the rest of the stage means
that the curtain will slice the
set in half, leaving furniture,
etc., in front of the curtain
when it closes. I would like to
know why Meredith College is
making what was to begin
with an ineffective stage, even
more disastrous fa dramatic
productions. I deplore the
ineffective planning displayed
by Meredith College.
Marlene Hart
Dear Editor:
In light of all of the debate
and discussion about con
vocations, we would like to
inform the Meredith Com
munity of convocation plans
for next semester. The SGA
convocations for this semester
were very well received. We
have assumed responsibility
for six convocation programs
next semester. Ms. Wilma
Scott Heide, President of the
National Organization of
Women, will speak on
“Sexism is a Disease and
Feminism is the Cure” on
Monday, February 4, 1974. On
February 18, Dr. Renee
Wescott, head of the North
Carolina Department of Social
Services,. will speak on day
care in North Carolina. On
March 11, Stage ’74 will
present their poetry and
prose. On March 18, the Young
Democrats club will provide a
politician, (possibly Senator
Sam Ervin or Lt. Governor
Jim Hunt). On March 25, SGA
and the Cultural Affairs
Committee will present
Senator John Tunney (D.,
Ga). The week of March 25-29
will offer “The Press, the
President, and the People.”
This political forum is a “first
for Meredith and should prove
to be one of the highlights of
the spring semester. Our
programs will conclude on
April 1 with the installation of
new association officers.
The major problem is
getting quality programs is
financial. We would like to
express appreciation to those
groups which gave financial
support. Students are to be
commended for giving us
support, especially those who
have expressed concern in the
TWIG. We would also like to
thank Dean Burris for letting
us assume the responsibility
fa planning these programs.
We hope we have helped to
listen his load. Dean Burris
will be responsible for plan
ning two programs next
semester.
Many and varied possible
programs were reviewed. It
was suggested that Sidney
Abbott, a lesbian author of
SAPPHO WAS A RIGHT-ON
WOMAN, speak at con
vocation March 18. Because
her lifestyle is termed “a
delicate issue” and because
students would be required to
hear such a controversial
speaker, Sidney Abbott has
been rejected by Dr. Weems
and Dean Burris for the
Monday convocation
program. The ultimate
concern implied was not
whether such a controversial
speaker would be enlightening
for students but how such a
controversial speaker would
be received by our Board of
Trustees and the outer
community. It is often difficult
fa students to recognize this
perspective and this
responsibility our top ad-
ministratas must consider.
While we personally un
derstand this opinion, we
believe that “what other
people think” should not take
precedent over the
enlightening programs we
could offer. If we must defend
our programs, we then can not
take such risks as having a
lesbian speak at the Monday
convocation hour. After much
deliberation, a good com
promise was reached. Sidney
Abbott will speak on
“Lesbianism, Feminism, and
Huam Sexuality” on Monday,
March 18, 1974, at 7:30 p.m. in
Jones Auditorium (if Jones is
finished!). The only
stipulation is that there is no
off-campus publicity. We are
very happy that Sidney Abljott
can speak here at ni^t and
we appreciate the efforts
made by our administrators in
trying to work out a
reasonable compromise.
So, to all of you who have
been concerned or depressed
over the convocation crisis,
next semester looks to be
more promising.
Sincerely,
Elaine Williams
Genie Beiley
Dear Editor:
Your editorial of
November 27, 1973, has
prompted me (even at the risk
of sounding defensive) to offer
some reflections on con
vocation at Meredith. Many
people consider the idea of a
REQUIRED ASSEMBLY to
be anachronistic and alien to
the principles of a free
society. This may be true, but
whatever the case, it is a fact
that college students in this
generation as well as in my
own resented required con
vocation, or “Chapel.” But,
whatever you and I think, it
will never be popular, no
matter what its caliber.
Mediocre or excellent, a
requirement that does not
carry academic credit is
seldom acceptable to
students. Nevertheless,
Meredith has continued to
think that convocation is an
important experience and has,
therefore, continued to
require it.
Now, it does seem im
portant that I make clear the
procedure fa arranging the
progpms. Contrary to what
was implied in the anonymous
letter to the editor, only a few
of the programs are planned
directly by me. The idea is to
give the various organizations
on the campus the opportunity
to plan a program. You
complimented the Student
Government Association
programs. They have been a
part of the process for a good
while - planning 25 percent of
the programs over the past
two years. Other
organizations, including the
academic dej»rtments, take
the responsibility throughout
the year. Personally, I think
that this is a sound approach.
My function is to coordinate
the effats and to arrange
occasional programs.
I am not here going to
defend or apologize for any
particular program. I think
that they have generally been
good, stimulating, and even
entertaining. Whatever the
case, they have reflected the
taste of the various
aganizations on the campus.
Only occasionally has the
convocation been utilized to
bring “stars” to the campus.
'This has been the respon
sibility of the Cultural Affairs
Committee and they have on
occasion utilized the con
vocation period for that
purpose. The Lectures in
Religion have featured a
series of prominent,
nationally known people. But,
for the most part, the idea has
been to utilize people who are
from the local area and who
have something to say. I
that this has been fairly well
accomplished. The calibre has
been mixed but that is not
surprising.
I doubt seriously that the
faculty doesn’t attend because
the programs are mediocre.
Many do feel an obligation to
attend convocation, chapel,
and other public programs but
many do not. I wish that they
did but I also know what kinds
of demands are made on their
time and that it is inevitable
that they must make some
choices. Certainly some,
perhaps many, of them do not
approve of required con
vocation and, therefore, do not
support it as a matter of
principle. They have that
prerogative. It may well be
that convocation as a required
activity has had its day. I have
discussed this with several
student leaders and with the
President, long before the
thinkeditorial, and the matter
will be given careful study by
responsible students, faculty,
and administration.
No doubt, short of making
it voluntary, convocation
could be improved. The
renovated auditorium will be
an improvement over the
gym. More money could be
spent and more glamorous
programs be brought in. We
could concentrate on having
more controversial speakers
and thereby create ex
citement. A single committee
or person could do the plan
ning and thereby present a
more cohesive schedule. I and
the various campus
organizations could give more
thought to our programs and
thereby improve them.
Students could decide to be
attentive and work at listening
to whatever is going on with
the expectation of gaining
something from it. Some
students could decide to be
respectful to the speaker and
their fellow students by just
being quiet and looking at
tentive - even though they are
bored stiff. What I am saying
(Continued on Page 3)
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