PAGE 2
THE
THE TWIG SEPTEMBER 6, 1979
(S;
KUVITH [S
TWHS World affairs headlines
reviewed from the summer
eCLLBOt
Guest Editorial
Honor ceremony
comprises honor
Last Friday’s honour code ceremony left me with mixed
feelings. To say the least, it left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
Re-signing the honour Qode, being asked to please come and
enhance the commitment to honour, and, in the same breath,
hearing that attendance was required, otherwise call-downs and
reports to faculty were to follow; that reminded me strcmgly of
practices usually reserved to less democratic institutions.
Nothing against the honour code per se, it is the procedure of
the event that was so unhappily chosen. It downgraded honour.
Honour can’t be institutionalized and thus forced on people.
Honour, true hnnour, is vep^ different. It is a spiritual value,
developed through and within our upbringing in God. It grew in
us; we freely developed it. Those who may not believe in prac
ticing this honour will only be converted by example, never by
force possibly executed by the Judicial Board acting as some sort
of “Meredith College Pupil’s Police Force”! Surely that is not in
the nature of Judicial Board!
No, such procedure is too narrow. It bears within it
forebodings of an atmosphere of abuse, mistrust, and in
difference. I would rather have seen five students attend the
ceremony voluntarUy as students than one thousand students in
this way, as pupils. Maybe there are grounds for thinking over our
commitment to honour, but in personal, academic, and spiritual
freedom.
Regine Nickel
by Regine Nickei
In this semester’s first
edition of the column I would
like to briefly recall this
summer’s main headlines in
world affairs.
The first big event was the
meeting between President
Jimmy Carter and the ailing
Soviet Premier Leonid
Brezhnev in Vienna last June.
This led to the signing of SALT
n and the President’s report
on atheist Brezhnev’s historic
remark that God would never
forgive the two nations a
failure of this important and
consequential treaty. An
emotional atmosphere
prevailed, at least in the
public displays, of the
meeting.
Shortly afterwards the
president went into his
“conclave” at Camp David to
emerge with his refocussed
energy policy. The resignaticm
of the entire cabinet and the
publication of the cir
cumstances which led to this
resignation were commented
on with surprise and con
sternation.
This summer several
European and American
leaders, great and small, felt
the urge to leave their mark
on history by solving the
Middle East problem. West
German ex-chancellor Brandt
and Austrian chancellor
Kreisky met with PLO chief
Arafat in Vienna. The pli^t of
the Palestinian people and
their right to a homeland was
voiced leading to a great
strain on Israeli - West Ger
man and Israeli - Austrian
relations.
The unofficial meeting of
a West German congressman
and a PLO representative,
followed by a statement of the
latter that West Germany had
thereby de facto recognized
the PLO, brought about an
unprecedentedly chilled at
mosphere between Israel and
Germany.
Requests concerning a
restatement of UN resolution
242 to the effect of recognizing
the right to existence of both a
Palestinian and an Israeli
state in the Near East induced
the Israeli government to use
the highest possible amount of
diplomatic pressure on its
allies. Talk ^ Arab oil as the
sole factor in these decisions
flared up. Thus far, the final
headline in that turmoil is the
fall of the US ambassador to
the UN, Andrew Young.
Finally Pope Jcrfm Paul
H’s visit to communist Poland
was another of this summer’s
most impressing events. The
fact that a communist country
allowed a pope to visit at all,
(a few years ago Poland twice
rejected Pope Paul Vi’s wish
to visit the country) the fact
that Polish government
televised the entire event
directly, and the fact that
literally millions of people
participated in un-
precendented. Even if one
takes into consideration that
Polish national TV never
really showed the millions of
people of all backgrounds and
all ages who came to see the
pope, but focussed their shots
on the pontiff or else featured
elderly people to officially
play the overwhelming appeal
in the event, the visit c^d
have been used to attack the
Polish government openly and
seriously. That this did not
happen was due to the ex-
trac^inary diplomatic skiUs
and caution exercised by both
the Vatican and the Polish
government.
Letter to the editor xhe Meadowline Tales
Dear Editor:
We have just a few comments to make cmiceming last
Friday’s honor code ceremony.
In the first place, it was rather upsetting to many of us that
we had to resign the honor code. It was never explain^ to us why
this resigning was necessary. Is our word only good for one or two
years? Had the honor code been changed somehow, necessitating
a new pledge? Or was it all just a way to impress the importance
of the honor code upon new students? For whatever reason, it
would have left a better taste in everyone’s mouth if we had
known why we had to attend the ceremony.
Secondly, we were all thanked at the ceremony for volun
tarily coming to resign the honor code. Not understanding why
the resigning was necessary, many of us would probably not have
attended the ceremony if not for the fear of retribution faithfully
instilled in us by our hall proctors. We were threatened with caU
downs, being brought before the Judicial Board, and having our
name sent to all our teachers for not signing. Given those odds,
whether we agreed or disagreed, understood or not, we all went to
the ceremony and dutifidly resigned the honor code. Hardly
voluntary.
Our last question is simply whether or not this event is going
to be repeated each year. If it is, we think the students deserve an
explanation as to why.
Kristy Beattie,
Martha Lewis,
and others
THE
MEREDITH
TWiG
COLLEGE
Editor
Mary Katherine Pittman
Assistant Editors
Dawn Haii, Daria Stephenson
Managing Editor
Kristy Beattie
Reporters
Vaierie Ray. Regine Nickei,
Ginny Porter, Dana Warren,
Carmen Warren, Mariene Debo
(Others to be iisted iater)
Sports Editor
Darla Stephenson
Photographer
Susan Kellum
Cartoonist
Geri Deines
Business Manager
Leslie Landis
Advertising Manager
Leigh Stirewalt
Circuiation Editor
Geri Deines
Layout Editors
Suzanne Barr, Deborah Bartlett,
Sonya Ammons, Susan Jones
Faculty Advisors
Dr. Tom Parramore,
Mr. Bill Norton
by Ann Stringfield
“Well, well, boobie dolls,
here we are again at Meredith
College where another nerve-
racking semester has started.
And who have we here?”
“My name is John
Weems.”
“Well, John, you look
troubled. Too much caffeine?
Roaches in your kitchen?
Dissatisfied with your mouth
wash?”
“Uh, no. Well I...You see,
this reporter wants to see a
Nan Meadowline, and she
simply does not exist.”
“Ah, but John, this is the
mythological fantasy land of
Meredith, and if you’ll just
imagine with me, you’ll tind
yourself in...
“218 Faircloth?” I asked
the fair-skinned girl.
“Yes.”
“Does Nan Meadowline
live here?”
“Yes, just a minute.”
I look^ around the room,
noting especially the multi
color^ carpet.
“Like that? I laid it
myself, which may explain
why it’s coming apart.”
“Nan! How have you
been? How was your sum
mer?”
“Fine to both questions.”
“Well, what did you do?”
“I went to Buckingham
Palace and had audience with
the queen. I had spinach with
the queen too, and that was
much better.”
“Seriously...”
“But seriously, folks, I
spent my vacation at 3-Mile-
Island and got the most
wonderful tan.”
“Well, I can see I’ll get
nowhere about your summer.
So how long have your been
here?”
“19 years today.”
“NO! I mean at school.”
“I came a week ago to
advise the freshmen.”
“And?”
“I advised them to
become sophomores.”
“Be serious!”
“Serious? How could I not
be serious after this morning’s
honor assembly?”
“A solemn occasion?”
“A surrealistic occasiwi.
There I was at this gigantic
lawn party with Glen Miller
playing in the background and
then Dean Burris walks up in
his Oxfords, prompting me to
say, ‘May I have this dance?”’
“And then?”
“Well, we all were
disappointed that there wasn’t
any mint julep, but we
satisfied ourselves with
righteousness, solemnly
swore not to steal aspirin
articles and rode off into the
sunset, hand in hand.”
“And did you ever dance
with Dean Burris?”
“No, I had forgotten my
loafers.”
Compus Pcipeibcick Destscllers
1. The World According to Garp, by John Irving. (Pocket
$2.75.) Hilarious adventures of a son of a famous mother.
2. Evergreen, by Belva Plain. (Dell, $2.75.) Jewish immi
grant woman’s climb from poverty on lower Manhattan.
3. Wifey, by Judy Blume. (Pocket, $2.50.) Housewife’s ex
periences on road to emotional maturity: fiction.
4. The Women’s Room, by Marilyn French. (Jove/HBJ
$2.50.) Perspective on women’s role in society: fiction.
5. My Mother/Myself, by Nancy Friday. (Dell, $2.50.) Ar
examination of the mother-daughter relationship.
6. Bloodline, by Sidney Sheldon. (Warner, $2.75.) Won'ian
inherits power and international intrigue: fiction.
7. Scruples, by Judith Krantz. (Warner, $2.75.) Rags to
riches in the fashion world: fiction.
8. The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson. (Bantam, $2.75.)
True story of terror in a house possessed.
9. Alien, by Alan Dean Foster. (Warner, $2.25.) Space travel
lers encounter horrifying creature: fiction.
10. Illusions, by Richard Bach. (Dell, $2.50.) Messiah’s ad
ventures in the Midwest: fiction.
Compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education from information
supplied by college stores throughout the country. September 3,
1979.