THE TWIG
VOL. LI NO. 11
MEREDITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH. N.C.
DECEMBER 8, 1976
Missing dishes create extra food costs
by Debbie Doss
Huge numbers of dishes,
trays, and pieces of flatware
are being removed from the
Belk cafeteria here at
Meredith and are not being
returned. According to
manager of Food Services,
Tony Hardee, “It’s a terrible
situation.”
Since school opened this
year, according to Mr. Har
dee’s records, 700 settings of
flatware have been lost. In
addition, about 500 glasses
have also disappeared from
the cafeteria, along with four
to five hundred bowls from the
salad bar.
“We realize that a small
part of the loss is due to
breakage in the cafeteria,”
Mr. Hardee said, but he add^
that he believes the large
amounts of dishes he has had
to replace this year are due to
their removal from the
cafeteria to the dormitories.
“We’ve even had several
salt and pepper shakers and
sugar bowls to go out of here,”
Mrs. Renegar, assistant
manager, noted.
“This year doesn’t seem
to be any worse,” said Mrs.
Renegar, “but it’s the con
tinuation of a bad practice of
the past.”
Evidently, many students
have ignored the cafeteria
rules outlined in the. Student
Handbook, one of which is that
“No dishes, silver, trays or
other equipment may be taken
from the dining hall.”
,“We send people around
to the dormitories one or two
times each week to collect
dishes,” Mr. Hardee said,
“and we’ve gotten quite a few
back this way.”
“However, we have to
soak some of them for two
days to get them clean.”
Others, he added, are broken
or virtually unusable.
“Many dishes have even
been found in trashcans by
housekeepers,” he noted.
Extermination problems
have also been complicated by
the leaving of partially eaten
food in the dormitories, Mrs.
Renegar noted.
However, neither Mr.
Hardee nor Mrs. Renegar
believe that the cafeteria staff
should be responsible for
inspecting what is taken out of
the dining hall.
“I don’t think we should
be the policemen,” Mrs.
Renegar said. “It’s not
possible.”
“I don’t want to put this in
a threatening manner,” Mr.
Hardee said. “I have not said
one word to one girl walking
out of here with food or
dishes,” he said.
These dishes have been accumulating in the basement of Poteat for the last three weeks. Guards
report that dishes are found everywhere, especially in the tunnels and stairwells.
However, he emphasized
the economics of the situation,
noting that “in the long run,
girls pay for these dishes.”
“We base next year’s
budget on this year’s,” he
said, “and the more it costs
this year, it means we will
project to a higher cost next
year. This could make the
board rate at MerediRi go
up.”
The loss of dishes over a
year’s time is substantial, Mr.
Hardee said. He added that
the cafeteria dishes are more
expensive than might be
expected because of the
special heat treatment they
receive to prepare them for
190-degree dishwasher water.
Mr. Hardee also pointed
out that he would like to do
more special things for those
dining in Belk cafeteria. “If I
didn’t have to spend hundreds
of dollars on replacing dishes,
I could do a lot more,” he said.
The Legislative Board of
SGA has made recent at
tempts to help the cafeteria
regain hundreds of these lost
items, and is asking the
student body to become more
aware of the problem, to
return dishes to the dining
hall, and to refrain from
removing plates, glasses,
cups, and flatware during the
coming semester.
Davidson professor speaks on nrban crisis
by Darlene Smith
“The City in Crisis:
Human Values and Urban
Development” was the focus
of the November 29 Junior
League - Meredith College
Community Forum Series.
Dr. John T. Young, professor
of philosophy at Davidson
College, presented the
keynote speech.
Dr. Elizabeth Koontz,
assistant State Superin
tendent of Teacher Education,
and Dr. Ellen Winston, former
professor of economics as well
as former United States
Commissioner of Welfare,
acted as discussants following
Dr. Young’s address.
Beginning with a comical
story about “sweet Aunt
Maud” whose neighborhood
grew too much and too
quickly. Young set the scene
for urban crisis. Aunt Maud,
he said, was symbolic of the
city.
Dr. Young, continuing in a
humorous note, related an
anecdote of his experience
with the urban problems. He
told of being sent to check the
car tires every 15 minutes
while visiting an aunt in the
Bronx.
He was also amazed by a
small child’s foul language,
which he described as being
worse than any sailor would
ever use. These things, he
said, are a result of the city in
crisis.
Some perspective in the
situation might be gained
through history. Dr. Young
explained. Through time, he
said, cities have been known
for their degradation.
Genesis has tales of cities
which were “dens of
iniquity,” he explained.
Roman poets, he add^, tell of
the filthy, unhygienic cities
where trash was thrown out
windows into the streets for
lack of sanitation facilities.
Egyptian cities and great
structures that were built at
the great expense of human
lives was another example he
gave. There has been a
history, said Young, of fleeing
the cities for a more virtuous
rural life.
On the other hand, he
continued, there are many
that believe that the quality of
life is better in the cities.
There arts can flourish
because of the urban
economics basis.
Dr. Young expressed the
belief that Americans are
more aware of immigration
than the influx of rurals to
cities. We gracefully took
immigrants into our society,
he said. Why can’t we do tte
same in urban areas? he
added.
Dr. Young went on to
outline the problems of im
proving the quality of life in
the midst of urban crisis.
There is first a great deal of
fragmentation - many groups
of people of various interests
and backgrounds. Secondly,
cities are more diversified
than rural communities. For
example, in rural area the
economic basis might all be
dependent on cattle-
production; therefore,
familiarity and co-operation
develops in the community
where everyone is
economically tied. In cities.
however, there are no close
ties with clientele because
people are not all
economically dependent.
Dr. Young advised his
audience not to look to the
past, but to try to push for
ward. Any city, he said,
should exist for all the people
in it. We must foresee
rationally and plan rationally,
he concluded.
RSW FUNDS
According to Sarah
Lemmon, chairman of the
Raising the Sights of Women
committee, (RSW) six
organizations have requested
financial aid through RSW
since applications have been
made available.
Among the groups is Dr.
Thomas Parramore’s
American history class,
which wishes financing for
publication of a magazine
they are compiling.
Another organization in
this general subject area, the
Mer^ith delegation to the
North Carolina Student
Legislature, has asked for aid
to attend the N.C.S.L. general
session here in Raleigh in
March.
The Psychology Club is
requesting aid for two
separate projects: one to
provide for a speaker for the
Carolinas Psychology Con
ference here at Meredith and
the other to finance a
delegation to the National
Psychology Conference in
Philadelphia.
Students in the National
Newsbriefs
Art Education Association
also wish RSW to fund a trip to
their conference in
Philadelphia.
The music department is
asking for financial aid to
have an alumna recital here
on campus. The Renaissance
Singers are requesting money
to have a woman composer
come to the Raleigh area.
Lastly, the math
department and mathematics
majors have asked for RSW to
fund their proposal to have a
woman mathematician come
to Meredith.
Tryouts Announced For
“Come Blow Your Horn”
Mrs. Nancy Truesdale
announced tryouts for the
spring semester production of
Neal Simon’s “Come Blow
Your Horn.” The tryouts will
be held January 10 and 11 at 7
p.m. in Jones Auditorium.
Production dates are set for
the last weekend in February
and rehearsals will be con
centrated between these
dates.
Three major female parts
and three major male parts
constitute the cast along with
many openings in the
backstage production com
pany. Anyone interested in set
construction, make-up,
costuming, and publicity is
asked to contact Mrs.
Truesdale and students are
urged to tryout for the acting
roles.
Phi Alpha Theta -
Williamsburg Trip
Six members of the
Meredith chapter of Phi Alpha
Theta visited Williamsburg,
Va. recently on a weekend
trip.
The group of history or
political studies majors toured
Colonial Williamsburg, seeing
the Governor’s Palace,
Weatherburn’s Tavern,
Bruton Parish Church and
many other eighteenth cen
tury buildings in the restored
area. .
Members of the
Williamsburg chapter of the
Meredith Alumnae
Association provided housing
and Virginia hospitality for
the group and there was even
time for reminiscing about
Meredith’s history depart
ment.