2 CAMPUS NEWS
Hege, Hottel each want to serve Meredith
as 2003-04 SGA president
REBECCA
BARRINGER
Staff Reporter
Student Government
Association (SGA) presi
dential candidates spoke in
Kresge Auditorium on
Monday at 10 a.m. to help
inform students of their
platforms.
"I thought the speeches
were really great," said cur
rent SGA president Lora
Tillman. "The candidates
did a great job articulating
who they are, what experi
ence they have, and what
th^ can bring to the posi»
tion of SGA president."
Presidential candidate
Jenna Hottel emphasized
her "dedication, loyalty,
and integrity" to the student
body and to Meredith
College.
"I will be committed to
representing Meredith and 1
will always be here to lis
ten and stand up for the
issues of the student boidy,"
Hottel said.
In addition to these quali
ties, Hottel said that she
has shown a leadership role
through her position as a
resident assistant for a
freshman hall.
She has shown her dedi
cation to the school through
her two years on the vol
leyball team. Hottel cites
athletics as a great way to
unite students of different
backgrounds and interests.
"By uniting together to
stand behind the athletics,
we stand together behind
our college name," she
said.
Her campaign tag, Jenna
"Full-Throttle" Hottel,
stems from an old volley
ball nickname, she said.
"That's how I approach
life," she said. "If elected, I
would show passion for
students and my desire to
make a difference."
Candidate Erin Hege
focused on her experience,
including her current posi
tion as SGA vice president.
Hege discussed a current
project she is working on to
create a SGA Web site,
complete with comment
boxes, a photo gallery, and
online voting for future
elections.
Hege said the research
she has done indicates a 25
percent increase in voter
turnout once a school
implements this online vot
ing system.
"It will be able to raise
student participation while
also accommodating to stu
dent convenience," Hege
said. "It's a win-win situa
tion."
If elected, Hege proposes
to encourage diversity
among the student popula
tion by giving diversity-
related issues more atten
tion. She proposes creating
an additional seat for the
executive board to advocate
diversity-related issues.
"It's too lai^e an issue to
include under student life,"
she said. "It should be
included on the executive
board."
Hege said that she would
like to build on her current
role in the SGA as vice
president.
"I feel I would be dedi
cated, committed and pas
sionate as president of the
SGA," Hege said. "I
believe in the integrity of
the student body and the
power of each individual
student. That is the reason I
am running."
Both candidates said they
are looking forward to the
last week before the elec
tion.
"It will be intense but
that is the way a political
race is suppose to be,"
Hege said. "I am looking
forward to an exciting and
challenging week ahead."
"I think this race has
been a big learning experi
ence," Hottel said.
"Regardless of the out
come, I've had a great
time."
Current SGA President
Tillm^ says she will also
enjoy the race. "I've run in
the last three elections," she
said. "It's nice to watch
everyone else run around
and be able to just sit back
and get educated."
Honors students enjoy a mountain excursion
JESSIE WILLSON
Staff Reporter
Meredith Honors students
were offered the chance to
climb up a mountain of dis
covery this past weekend as
Aey traveled to Black
Mountain, N.C., to learn
about the former Black
Mountain College and its
contributions to the arts.
Vans left Meredith at 8
a.m. on Friday carrying the
29 students and a handful
of faculty. As an extra
inspiration for the week
end, the group stayed at
Blue Ridge Assembly, a
YMCA/conference center
that once served as the
original campus for Black
Moimtain College.
Established in 1933,
Black Mountain College
lasted just over two
decades, promoting radical
experimentation and mod
em artistic conventions.
While testing the limits and
often crossing the lines of
societal norms, tiie students
and faculty considered each
other as equals and shared
the desire to find new ways
of creating and expressing
themselves through the
arts.
The revolutionary ideas
developed at the college
became popular nation
wide. Unfortunately, those
once interested in attending
the school eventually left
Black Mountain for bigger
markets, such as New York
and San Francisco.
Dr. Garry Wahon,
English professor and head
of the Meredith Honors
Program, chose Black
Mountain College as the
subject of this year's
Honors retreat for a number
of reasons. "The college
was made m a kind of rev
olutionary moment,"
Walton said. He also said
Black Mountain College
had contributed unique
styles and creativity to the
artistic world.
Walton, who said he
admired those who endeav
ored at the former college,
told his Meredith group, "I
hope that we will be able to
re-create some of the
moments that they had
here."
Dr. Janice Swab, a pro
fessor in Meredith's biology
department, led the herbs
group, describing the envi
ronmental atmosphere in
which the Black Mountain
College community lived.
Pointing out the foliage
within the campus grounds,
Swab shared with her
group the origins and utility
of everything natural that
the eye could see, as well
as how fragile it all could
be. Swab said, "We refuse
to control our automobile
traffic...it will do the [envi
ronment] in eventually."
Dr. Jack Roller of instru
mental music teamed with
Alyson Colwell-Waber
fit)m the dance department
to lead the music/dance
group. The duo guided
their group to an under
standing and appreciation
of Black Mountain
College's unorthodox views
of music and dance. Roller
and Colwell-Waber
exposed them to Merce
Cunningham and John
Cage, whose raw tech
niques transformed every
day sounds and movements
into choreography and
compositions.
Suzanne Britt, a professor
in the English department,
inspired journaling to help
her students express them
selves through writing, just
as the Black Mountain
College students once did.
Sophomore Allison
Clapp said, "It was a great
way to get to know every
one in a way you wouldn't
normally do."
Reflecting the basic les
son of the exercises.
Freshman Kelly Beth Smith
said, "It's not just who I
am, but how I express
myself."
Art professor Carol
Hayes inspired the crafts
group by supplying every
one with clay to make a
personal tile. Hayes taught
her group how to do posi
tive and negative casting,
enabling them to create a
mold for their tiles so they
could make jeplicas. The
theme Hayes chose for the
project was the idea of
one's sacred space, and
See Honors
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