Meredith Herald
Volume IX, Issue j Z
December 2,1992
Raleigh, North Carolina
News Briefs
• The Bush administration is
working to put together a coalition
of countries to take part in a US-led
operation to get food and medicine
to the millions starving in Somalia.
United Nations Secretary-General
Boutros-Ghali gave a recluctant
endorsement to the plan. He would
prefer a United Nations Force do
the job, but for now the American
plan will do.
• Paul Tsongas, former Demo
cratic presidential hopeful, con
firmed Monday that the growth in
his abdomen is cancerous. Doctors
say it is treatable with radiation
and chemotherapy. Tsongas is the
first known cancer survivor to cam
paign for the presidency.
• For the first time in 17 years
the moon will slip behind the Earth.
The lunar eclipse will occur Dec.
9. It will begin at 4:59 p.m.. The
moon will be totally blacked out
by 6:06 p.m. Everything will be
normal again by 8:28 p.m.
• Tony Robinson, the N.C.
State basketball player who com
mitted suicide last week, was bur
ied Monday.
• For the sixth time, the Su
preme Court rejected Dr. Jeffrey
MacDonald’s latest appeal of his
conviction for killing his pregnant
wife and two daughters 22 years
ago. The case was the subject of
the best stWtiFatal Vision.
• Orthopedist Nicholas
DiNubile told US News and World
Report that Cindy Crawford’s
Shape Your Body Workout” ex
ercise video may be dangerous.
DiNubile, as well as other orthope
dists, says the exercises may lead
to potential injuries to the back,
neck, legs, hips or knees.
Juniors celebrate Meredith tradition at Ring Dinner
by Tracey Rawls
Following the tradition set by
their Big Sister class, the Class of
1994 held their Ring Dirmer Tues
day, Nov. 24. Dr. Betty Webb,
Class of 1967 and Meredith English
professor, and Martha Inscore, Class
of 1992, spoke at the Ring Dinner.
Webb told the Junior class
about losing her ring in 1970. Two
years later someone returned her
ring to the switchboard operator at
Meredith, who contacted Webb. She
was thrilled to get her ring back, but
she wondered about the mysterious
person who returned her ring — he
did not leave a name or say where he
had found her ring.
Webb commented that her ring
probably had a great story to tell.
She asked, “What kind of story will
your ring tell?”
Webb told the class the his
tory of the Meredith class ring. The
version that we wear now was de
signed by Douglas
Reynolds in 1953;
Reynolds was the head
of the art department.
The Class of 1954 was
the first class to wear
the ring. Webb’s class
wanted to change the
design of the ring —
they recommended re
ducing the size of the
band and getting rid
of the oak leaves on
the side of the ring.
The changes were not
approved. Webb also
commented that her
ring cost $49.
Consulting her
dictionary of symbols,
Webb said that the first
rings were worn by the
Egyptians. The oak
leaves represent strength, protection,
durability, courage and truth. The
photo by Tracey Rawls
Martha Inscore, Class of 1992, and Dr. Betty
Webb were the featured speakers at the Ring
Dinner.
see DINNER page eight
Control end-of -the-semester anxiety with stress management
by Gina Roberts, Director of Personal
Growth and Counseling
November and December are
two of the most stressful months of
the year for college students. Aca
demic pressures are beginning to
rise, and payment comes due for too
much partying and procrastinating!
As final exams, jx-ojects, and papers
approach, anxiety, fear, depression
and guilt increase proportionately
to these academic pressures. In ad
dition, the end of the semester usu
ally means the depletions of finan
cial funds, and emerging financial
concerns associated with the finan
cial drain of the upcoming holiday,
as well as, the next semester. The
holidays bring their own set of stres
sors as seasonal parties and commu
nity and church responsibilities cre
ate additional social demands on
extra-curricular time. Furthermore,
“pre-holiday blues” related to family
conflicts, losses, and separation begin
to emerge.
Ask any college student what
makes life stressful for her and there
will be no shortage of responses, par
ticularly at this time of year. Often,
however, it is easier to identify the
stressors than it is to recognize the
stress they produce. We often refer to
the “stress” as that which is creating
havoc in our lives when, in fact, stress
is the physical and psychological re
sponse of the body as it attempts to
deal with internal and external de
mands perceived to be threatening or
dangerous. Physiological responses of
the body, such as increased heart and
breathing rates and flow of hormones
prepare one to act in response to stres
sors. In this way, stress can help us
meet ^lysical challenges, solve prob
lems, and reach goals. However, re
petitive exposure to the threats which
trigger the physiological responses
of stress creates a kind of physical
dependency on the adrenalin surge
which comes with being in a constant
and chronic state of “flight or fight.”
Recognizing and elimnating the stres
sors is the best way to ensure that the
body does not wear itself out in an
attempt to protect us from those things
which upset our equilibrium.
Causes of stress are as numer
ous as life is diVerse. Each of us faces
a unique set of internal and external
pressures. Some of the most com-
see STRESS page six