Meredith
October 2nd, 2002
ERALD
Volume XVIV, Issue 6
Forum allows students
to voice concerns
Alcohol policy, senior graduation checklists, academic
integrity discussed at Free Your Mind Forum.
CHRISTY
SADLER
Managing Editor
Students had a chance to
be heard by administration,
faculty and staff during the
first Free Your Mind Forum
of the year, held last
Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
in Belk Dining Hall.
Student Life Chair Beth
Brown opened the forum
and invited Thad O’Briant,
director of dining services
at Meredith, to address any
questions related to the din
ing hall or the BeeHive.
Senior Don White voiced
a concern about the odor in
the dining hall, a concern
that was raised and
addressed last year but has
since become a problem
again. O'Briant said that
although the problem was
remedied last year when the
staff stopped cooking, food
out front, complaints about
the declining quality of food
led to the staffs beginning
to cook the food out front
once again.
O'Briant promised to con
tinue to experiment with
cooking methods and venti
lation to try to find the best
solution to the problem.
Other concerns addressed
by O'Briant included ques
tions about the location of
Grab-n-Go lunches, when
soup would be returning to
the dining hall menu, and
future changes in meal plan
options. O'Briant said
changes that were made this
year in meal plan options
for juniors and seniors will
be evaluated before any
future changes are institut
ed.
SGA President Lora
Tillman then initiated a dis
cussion about the academic
climate at Meredith.
Tillman said academic cli
mate has been a primary
concern of SGA, Honor
Council and faculty this
year, with student apathy
and academic dishonesty
being identified as the two
main problem areas.
Tilknan said that part of
the problem is caused by the
fact that faculty and student
expectations often do not
match. She asked students
to share their expectations
of faculty.
"I expect everyone to be
honest, and I expect my
teachers to challenge me,"
said student Stenisha Green.
"When I leave here, I expect
to have enough skills to suc
ceed in the business world."
Other students echoed
Green's opinions. Students
responded that they expect
ed their professors to be
interesting, to stay on*topic,
to be concerned, and to rec
ognize and respect educa
tional backgrounds of trans
fer students.
Senior Sara Thornton
expressed her concern that
the rising level of academic
Continued on
Page 7
Bowles-Dole debate may
come to Meredith
STAFF REPORT
Meredith College may
be hosting a debate
between Erskine Bowles
and Elizabeth Dole, can
didates for North
Carolina’s Senate seat.
“A debate committee
was formed in August to
explore the possibility of
hosting a U.S. Senate
debate,” said Kristi
Eaves-McLennan,
interim director of mar
keting and communica
tions. “Following last
month’s primary election,
the College sent a letter to
the U.S. Senate candi
dates’ campaign head
quarters offering
Meredith College as a
host site for a debate.”
The College has been
contacted by both cam
paigns about the possibli-
ty of Meredith being the
host for a debate between
the two candidates.
There have been some
media reports throughout
the state that Meredith
has officially been chosen
as a site, but at deadline,
officials at the College
told the Herald that the
candidates are still in the
negotiating process con
cerning the times and
places of any debates.
With the November
election quickly
approaching, Dr. Jim
Piazza, chairman of the
debate committee, said
that President Hartford’s
office should receive defi
nite answers from the
candidates stton.
Details about how many
people will be allowed
inside the debate, includ
ing how many students
will be able to come, will
not be known until the
candidates confirm a date
and location with College
officials.
President Hartford is
working to ensure that as
many Meredith students
as possible can attend the
debate should it be held
on campus.
Look for more informa
tion on this breaking story
in next week’s edition of
the Meredith Herald.
On the inside:
Learn what happened at the
Master Plan sesions
P^e 2
Is Meredith a cult? Decide for
yourself
Page 6
Read about the FYE classes’-
funtfralser for breast cancer
research
Page 3