EDITORIAL
March 14^ 20(17
TRANSFERS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
ing with my advisor left
me in tears. At the rate I
was going, it was going to
take me four more years
to graduate, even though
I transferred in seventy-
two credit hours after only
three semesters of college.
Really, Meredith College,
I can barely afford my
two- and- a- half remain-
mg years, much less a
year and a half more.
But then again, my advi
sor told me I had to take
CORE 100 and foreign
language, which I did
not. How did I find this
out? A little research on
the Internet that I did all
by myself. In my opinion,
Meredith College should
be more understanding
of the classes that trans
fer students bring in. I
was at a well-established
university before com
ing here. There is nothing
wrong with the freshman
English or college algebra
that I had tinere.
I also have a problem with
the professors' failure to
accommodate to trans
fer students. In opening
introductions in all my
classes, I always men
tioned that I was a trans
fer student. How do I reg
ister on Blackboard? What
is Web Advisor? No, I am
not a freshman or a senior
as the registrar has clas
sified me. Just the other
day a friend of mine who
transferred this semester
was criticized in front of
the entire class by her
professor for not register
ing on Blackboard. Guess
what? She did not know
how because nobody at
Meredith College had
taken the time to show or
tell her.
Despite my griping
about the welcome I have
received by Meredith
College administration
and professors, I do love
Meredith College, and I
am glad that I decided
to transfer here. I have
received a wonderful
welcome from the stu
dents. In class as soon
as it was established
that I transferred, girls
started asking me ques
tions and telling me that
they hoped I would like
Meredith. By far my most
rewarding experience
here at Meredith College
was actually the infa
mous Comhuskin'. A few
friends encouraged me to
participate, and I decided
to give it a try. At first I
could not fathom putting
in all the required time
and energy to partake, but
within the first few days
of practice, I began to be
welcomed by so many
people. And the welcome
was not just a "Hi, How
do you like Meredith?"
It was a flurry of "We're
so glad you are here,"
and "Let us know if you
need anything." During
Cornhuskin' I made so
many new friends, but I
also learned about cam
pus, professors, dorms.
and classes. Better late
than never, I guess.
I would like Meredith
College to know that
choosing to start my col
lege career somewhere
else and not giving them
four full years of money,
does not mean that I
should be treated differ
ently or respected any
less than those who have
spent four years here.
Meredith College admin
istration and professors
should take a few notes
from their students. A
welcome smile, a friendly
conversation, and some
inside tips about campus
can go a long way—much
farther than the distance
Meredith College is cur
rently going for its trans
fer students.
How Far Does Our Freedom of Speech Go?
By Amy K. Nickerson
Contributing Writer
A lot of processing has
transpired over the last
week and a half. A lot
of thought has gone into
this message. I did not
want this to be a rushed,
emotion-driven article;
therefore, I have waited
imtil this week's paper to
publish it.
I am an evangelical
Christian who supports
people of all races, ethnici
ties, orientations, political
affiliations or religions.
Notice that I did not say
that I support all orien
tations, political affilia
tions or religions. It goes
against my belief system
to support those, but I
do support the people. I
want you to know where
I stand before you read
the rest of this article.
I came into college fairly
sheltered. Taking CORE
100 in the spring of my
freshman year was an
eye-opener. But I left the
class feeling very much
condemned for my views.
After talking (I do this
excessively) with various
administrators and pro
fessors, I realized that
the condemnation of one
viewpoint was not the
intended goal of CORE.
Nevertheless, because
no place was given for
instructing students on
how to interact with vari
ous cultures in a respect
ful manner, regardless of
one's opinion of the beliefs
or practices of differ
ent cultures, I left CORE
100 feeling guilty for my
beliefs. Through various
personal experiences with
people of differing beliefs
and faiths over the next
few years, I developed
the imderstanding that I
hold today: I can love and
support every individual
on this campus without
agreeing with her person
al views and beliefs. I do
not believe, however, that
CORE 100 fostered that
belief inside of me.
I am taking Religious
Ethics this semester, and
once again, I dreaded the
idea of confronting my
own views as well as the
views of others. Though I
don't always speak up in
the class discussions, I am
amazed at how quickly
one viewpoint can "take
over" the discussion. We
are not often respectful of
the opinions of "the other
side." After one particu
larly heated discussion,
my professor approached
me in the hall. She
thanked me for speak
ing up despite the lack
of observable support for
my viewpoint. I told her
that many of us in the
class can be intimidated:
we do not want to offend
someone, so instead of
trying to find a "political-
ly-correct" way of phras
ing our beliefs, we remain
silent. She very quickly
replied that she didn't
want her classroom to be
one focused on political
correctness. She wanted
us to have reasons to back
up our beliefs, and she
wanted us to be aware
of our predispositions to
SEE DIVERSITY,
PAGE 4
D Staff
The
herald@meredith.edu
Editor. Laurel Benedum
Staff Writers.
Christy Nash Shiara Molina
Morgan Ericson Meredith Beeman
Taryn Oesch
Monisha Morrison
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The opinions expressed in the editorial columns
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Published by Hinton Press