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THE TWIG
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Newspaper of the Students of Meredith College
VOL. XLIX NO. 17
MEREDITH COLLEGE. RALEIGH. N.C.
APRIL 28. 1976
Women authors kick off RSW festival
by Nancy Newton
Novelists, Patricia Hagan
Howell and Sylvia Wilkinson,
participants in Meredith
College’s “Festival of
Creativity’’ sponsored by the
Program for Raising the
Sights of Women, were on
campus Wednesday and
Thursday of last week for
informal conversation and the
Silver Shield,
Induet members
Two of Meredith College’s
honor societies, Silver Shield
and Kappa Nu Sigma,
recently inducted new
members.
Nine juniors were in
ducted into Meredith’s
honorary leadership society
Monday, April 5. The in
ductees were selected by the
current members of Silver
Shield and faculty, according
to President Louise Crouch.
The inductees were Mary
Kay Allsbrook, Hazel
Browning, Kathy Frazier,
Menda Sue Godfrey, Beth
Leavel, Virginia Norton,
Betsy Rowlette, Phyllis
Smith, and Beverly Steen.
These nine members will
elect the remaining nine
students of their class’s
membership in ceremonies
next fall.
Kappa Nu Sigma, the
college’s academic honor
society, inducted twenty-four
juniors and seniors at their
spring banquet held in late
March.
An academic average of
3.5 or better qualifies a
student for membership in
this organization.
Inductees into Kappa Nu
Sigma were Cecilia Allen,
Betsy Blair, Sally Mac Blue,
Hazel Browning, Amelia
Bryan, Debra Coates, Sara
Cotey, Deborah Doss, Carmel
Finger, Chariot Frye, Susan
Lawrence, Gail Ledbetter,
Jennie Carter Lynch, Lou
Mickey, Robin Morgan,
Margaret Odell, Miriam
Elizabeth Privett, Margaret
Rehder, Shearon Roberts,
Betsy Rowlett, Jane Siceloff,
Elizabeth Steagall, Lou Anne
Burke Strickland and
Suzanne Frances Styron.
l*hiAlpha Thota
1976-77
office*
Phi Omicron, the
Meredith College chapter of
Phi Alpha Theta, elected of
ficers for the 1976-77 school
year at its April meeting.
They are: Layne Baker,
president; Lou Cocker, vice-
president; Julie Jones,
secretary-treasurer; and
Saralyn Gillespie, historian.
This is the second year
that Phi Alpha Theta has been
in existence at Meredith. The
advisor is Dr. Frank Grubbs.
readings of some of their
work.
Ms. Howell and Ms.
Wilkinson provided Meredith
students with information
concerning the literary
world’s receptiveness to
women writers and told a little
about their own work and
philosophies.
Kappa IVu §i^ma
Both women have written
fiction, magazine articles, and
juvenile literature. Ms.
Wilkinson has recently
published a work in the non
fiction area.
“If I meeta barrier I can’t
cross and I want to, 1 fight to
knock it down for reasons of
personal pride in my work -
not feminine pride. The fight
is between the typewriter, the
paper and myself,” said Ms.
Wilkinson.
The main point is that I
don’t like to mix the politics of
the Liberation with my work,”
she continued.
The women reflected on
the effect of the women’s
liberation movement on their
work. According to Ms.
Howell, “the movement has
had little effect except to
provide writing material and
to sell my books.”
Both women are involved
with reporting various types
of motor racing, an area
traditionally barred to
women. There again they
observed that they were not
harrassed by professionals in
that field but by spectators
and people on the edge of the
racing world.
She observed that the
professional men in the
publishing field do not harrass
her but rather “it is the public
that presents the problem.”
“They think that because
I am a woman writer that I
think that I am smart, and so
they try to attack me and pull
me down to their level. They
think I’m out of my realm and
try to prove it,” said Ms.
Howell.
Ms. Wilkinson presented
thoughts along the same lines
as Ms. Howell, stating that
“as a woman I don’t want to
be elevated or protected from
abuse because I am a woman -
being a woman gives me
writing material.”
Ms. Howell revealed that
her main pressure came from
male press agents reporting
the races and from “the
racers’ wives and girl
friends.”
Ms. Wilkinson, who wrote
a non-fiction account of racio&i
related her difficulty in
overcoming the superstitions
against women in the racing
field and recalled how she was
once “bodily removed from
the racing pits!”
In a final observation,
both women commented on
the freedom of today’s
woman. Ms. Wilkinson stated
that women the age of most
Meredith students “don’t
recognize the struggle of
women’s liberation and are
basically reaping the benefits.
Now instead of lacking the
choice to work women lack the
choice to decide not to work.”
This will be the last issue of the TWIG for this school
year.
The TWIG thanks its staff for its fine work and looks
forward to reorganizing early next fall.
Thanks also to students and staff for its support.
mer.
Good luck on exams and best wishes for a happy sum-
Regional meeting hosted
by Karen Britt
The Meredith chapter of
Phi Alpha Theta hosted the
regional meeting for the state
of North Carolina Saturday,
April 24, on the Meredith
campus.
History papers were read
in the morning sessions by
students from different North
Carolina universities and
colleges. Papers were heard
by the group on such topics as
“Medical Reform in Mid-
Nineteenth Century
England,” “Gold Mining in
North Carolina,” and “The
Winston-Salem 1919 Race
Riot.”
Meredith students
presenting papers were Vicki
Branch Pritchard, Marla
Tugwell, and Mazie Fleet-
wood.
After a luncheon in the
President’s Dining Room, the
group was addressed by Dr.
Bernard Wishy, chairman of
the history department at
North Carolina State
University on “Our Crisis and
Our History.”
Dr. Thomas S. Morgan of
Winthrop College represented
the national office at the
meeting and closed the
session with a discussion of
Phi Alpha Theta affairs.
Phi Alpha Theta chapters
represented at the state
meeting included those of
East Carolina, Wake Forest,
Winston-Salem State, Ap
palachian State, UNC-
Greensboro, Pfeiffer, and
UNC-Charlotte.
Phi Alpha Theta is an
international history honor
society. It is the second
largest honor society in the
nation, (second only to Phi
Beta Kappa).
Autbirs Patricia Howeli, ieft, and Sylvia Wiikinson, right, reiax
as IWey discuss their work with students and faculty members at
an informal coffee in Cate Center. The writers were sponsored as
a part of the Festival of Creativity, held in conjunction with REW.
Ms. Wilkinson and Ms.
Howell, graduates of the
University of North Carolina
at Greensboro and the
University of Alabama,
respectively, are primarily
Southern in their writing.
They both draw a great deal
from their’ childhood ex
perience.
The Program for Raising
the Sights of Women is funded
from a grant of the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation, Inc.
Peacock retires
by Suzanne Styron
Dr. Leishman Peacock
summed up his career with,
“It’s been fascinating!” No
doubt. Dr. Peacock, who will
be retiring this spring from
his position as English
professor, has a fascinating
career to look back on.
president of the first class to
graduate on this campus.
Before coming to
Meredith in 1948, Dr. Peacock
had lived in various places. He
was an instructor at Wake
Forest, taught at Colgate
University, Pennsylvania
State University, Ottaway
College in Kansas and was
dean both at Ottaway College
and Kalamazoo College in
Michigan.
Considering the changes
in Meredith over the past
twenty-eight years. Dr.
Peacock concludes that most
changes have been in physical
expansion. He recalls earlier
days when Meredith was just
the quadrangle, the tem
porary classroom buildings
and dirt roads.
Dr. Peacock feels the
students are the same,
however. “Customs have
changed,” he exclaims, “but
the essential Meredith ideals
are the same.”
Twenty-eight years ago,
he came to Meredith as dean
and as a teacher of American
and modern literature. Dr.
Peacock adds, “I was happy
to come back to Raleigh and
Meredith!”
When questioned about
his plans after retirement. Dr.
Peacock acknowledges no
definite plans - he only ex
presses his desire to remain
flexible.
Dr. Peacock was no
newcomer to Raleigh when he
came to Meredith as dean. He
had grown up here, and his
father was president of Shaw
University for seventeen
years.
This summer, though, the
Peacocks do plan to go to
Massachusetts. In the fall. Dr.
and Mrs. Peacock are going to
Europe for three weeks. Their
trip will take them through
England, Holland, Germany,
Austria, and Italy, among
other countries.
Dr. Peacock has many
ties to Meredith in other than
his professional one. His sister
graduated from Meredith and
taught here. His sister-in-law,
Mary Kelly Peacock, also
graduated from Meredith and
wrote Queen of Our Hearts
Alma Mater.
Dr. Peacock said he has
not seen all of Europe yet and
is looking forward to the tour.
A cousin, Margaret
Wheeler Kelly, was the
Dr. Peacock’s career at
Meredith has been remem
bered by Meredith Alumnae
and friends who still refer to
him as “Dean Peacock.” Dr.
Peacock’s devotion to
Meredith and warm per
sonality will be long
remembered!