MEREDITH
HERALD
Vol. 4 No. 6
Meredith College. Raleigh, NC 27611
Dr. Eble Speaks
by Amy LaVoy
Dr. Connie Eble of the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was
the guest speaker at convocation
on October 3 in Jones Auditorium.
The subject of Dr. Eble’s speech
was college slang, which she has
studied for the past 15 years.
Dr. Eble first became interested in
college slang through her students.
She used the occurrence of slang in
the English language as a tool for
helping her students understand how
words enter our language.
Dr. Eble compares the function of
college slang to the function of cloth
ing fashions: she says it is an inclu
sive/exclusive element that lets peo
ple know who Is in and who is out.
Dr. Eble nas also found that col
lege slang centers around the fads
of the time. For instance, in the
1970s slang most often referred to
different types of drugs and their
effects. Today, there is less drug
slang among college students, not
because drug use is down, but
because it is less acceptable.
She also said that most college
slang tends to be nation-wide be
cause of the increased communica
tion between college campuses
across the country.
Some of Dr. Eble’s slang terms
include "talking to Ralph on the big
October 11,1988
white phone,” which refers to vomit
ing; "NTS” which stands for ‘‘name
tag shaker”—a cute guy you might
see at a mixer; and "to play tonsil
hockey,” which refers of course to
kissino.
Dr. Eble, who has published nu
merous articles on college slang, is a
consultant to the forthcoming Ox
ford Companion to the English Lan
guage, and a member of both the
American Speech and the South
eastern Conference on Linguistic
Review editorial boards. She cur
rently teaches at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A
Honors Program Offers Students Challenge
by Kay Jernlgan
Each year the Honors Committee
invites about twenty entering stu
dents who show the most academic
promise to participate in the Honors
program.
The Honors program was estab
lished in 1984 to provide selected
students with creative intellectual
stimulation that goes beyond that of
the usual college experience. Dr.
Cochran of the religion department
is the Director of the Honors pro
gram.
The Honors curriculum is Inte
grated into the four years of under
graduate study. The Honors courses
are designed to expose students to
the breadth of knowledge across
several subjects as well as in-depth
study in their majors. Many of the
courses are presented with innova
tive and challenging teaching styles
such as interdisciplinary studies and
team teaching. Besides enriching
the academic life of students, the
Honors program also offers co-cur-
ricular opportunities such as semi
nars, special lectures, and field trips
to area performances that stretch
the imagination.