125th Anniversary Edition
March 17, 2016
Lecture Recalls "The Big Three" Professors-of English
Macy Allen, Staff Writer
Founder’s Week 2016 celebrated
the 125th Anniversary of Meredith
College. The week was filled with
Crook Hunts, tea parties, lip synch
battles, and special guest speakers to
commemorate the distinctive qualities
that have made Meredith College
“Going Strong” for the last century and
a quarter. On Monday, February 22,
Founder’s Week began with Dr. Betty
Webb, who spoke of “The Big Three”
in Meredith’s English Department: Dr.
Johnson, Dr. Knight, and Dr. Rose.
Dr. Webb entered Meredith College
in 1963. She had heard of “The Big
Three” from her Big Sis, who described
the professors as “really, really tough,
but excellent.” Dr. Webb described
herself as being “too naive to be
daunted” and asked to be placed into
an English 101 class taught by either
Dr. Johnson, Dr. Rose, or Dr. Knight.
She was placed in Dr. Johnson’s
English class by Dr. Johnson.
Meredith’s English department and
curriculum were not what Dr. Webb
expected as a first year student.
Instead of reading novels she loved
by authors like Austen and Bronte,
Dr. Webb recalls reading essays by
Carlyle, Ruskin, Bacon, Dequincy,
and Hazlitt as well as writing essays—
seven a week, to be exact. She
recalled Dr. Johnson as witty: “she
said, for example, about her unmarried
status, that it took an awfully good man
to be better than no man at all.”
Dr. Webb then talked about her
sophomore year at Meredith with Dr.
Knight, who was a former student of
Dr. Johnson. Dr. Webb described Dr.
Knight as “ferocious” with “bright blue
eyes that never blinked.” She was
an amazing teacher who loved the
literature: “She would get so excited
about the passage under examination
that she would leave the podium but
continue to recite the lines. When
she would eventually come to the
end of what she knew by heart, she
would blink herself awake and dash
back to the podium looking somewhat
embarrassed. We were not exactly
sure where she had been, buT we
loved her for going. By sharing with
us openly her love for language and
literature, he taught us what would
otherwise be unteachable—to feel it,
as Wordsworth says, ‘in the blood and
along the heart.’”
It wasn’t until Dr. Webb’s junior year
at Meredith that she had Dr. Rose as
a professor. Dr. Rose was witty and
loved comedy. She used her love for
wit and humor to bring Shakespeare
to life for her students: “None who
studied Henry, IV, Part I with her could
forget her swaggering, belly-slapping
depiction of Falstaff.” She always
demanded excellence from both her
students and herself. Her striving
for excellence was illustrated in her
perfect Palmer penmanship, because
“anything worth doing, she thought,
was worth doing well,”
The Big Three were tough women, but
they were kind, sweet, philanthropic
women who were heavily involved
in the Baptist church. They loved to
teach Sunday school, and when they
weren’t grading essays, they were
teaching children and giving back to
their beloved community.
The Big Three were, and always will
be, big at Meredith,
Sitting behind a couple of my
professors on Monday, I watched
them nod their heads at Dr. Webb’s
observations and laugh at her stories
of the Big Three. Although I never
had the original Big Three as my
professors, I’ve had pieces of their
spirits embodied through my own
professors and their unique take on
the classics. After listening to Dr.
Webb speak about these women, I
know many professors who share
qualities of the Big Three. I’ve had
professors whose love and energy
brought literature to life—even when
those stories weren’t told in modern
English (I’m thinking of a man named
Chaucer and a playwright named
Shakespeare), Their portrayal of the
Wife of Bath and King Henry V leave
students on the edge of their seats in
British Literature and Shakespeare.
I’ve had professors whose profound
knowledge in their chosen subject-
matter enthralls students and makes
thern want to further their own
education through research projects
and conferences. Their extensive
knowledge pushes students to think
critically about their own interests
and favorite novels, whether it be
analyzing Little Women through a
feminist lens, or finding connections
between Mark Twain and Ernest
Hemingway. I’ve had professors who
want their students to be well-rounded
women, not only in their academics,
but in their community, so they
incorporate service learning projects
into the curriculum by relating them to
a popular young adult lit book.
The Big Three seemed to set the
standards in the English Department
at Meredith College. According to Dr.
Webb, they didn’t set the standard for
curriculum or create a new tradition
for the college. They set a standard
for professors and for students. They
were passionate teachers who were
tough, ferocious, sweet, witty, sharp,
and passionate. They held their
students to a high standard, at times
probably driving their students to an
almost mental breakdown. Still, while
looking into the crowd on Monday in
Jones Chapel and seeing the alumnae
who came to hear a tribute to their
tough English professors, I know all
those nights staying up to write their
seventh essay of the week paid off.
For in the crowd that Monday, I saw
Meredith women who had survived
Dr. Rose’s Shakespeare class or Dr.
Johnson’s English 111 class, and they
were smiling, nodding, and laughing
along with Dr. Webb’s anecdotes
about the Big Three. Some of these
women teach and work at Meredith
today, keeping the spirit of the Big
Three alive.
And who knows, maybe in fifty years
there will be another speech given
during the 175th Founder’s Week
about the everlasting impact of the Big
Three.
"Make It Count for Meredith" Reaches More than Double its Initial Goal
Seung Pang and Kayla Kushner, Staff Writers
A special fundraising campaign
planned in honor of Meredith’s 125th
Anniversary, “Make It Count for
Meredith,” raised 222% of its goal
within 24 hours on Feb. 23. The 24-
hour challenge, which aimed to raise
$125,000, surpassed its initial goal
and raised more than a quarter of a
million dollars by midnight.
“The campaign to raise $125,000 has
not only met, but blown past its goal.
before noon,” said President Jo Allen.
Along with her message of victory, she
proposed the new goal, “Double It in
a Day” to raise $250,000 within the
remaining 12 hours.
Hour by hour, funds increased
steadily until midnight. A grand total
of $277,621 was raised for Meredith,
pushing the Make It Count campaign
to 222% of the initial goal. Director Erin
Cleghorn said 1,765 donors supported
the campaign. “We are so enthusiastic
about the love, spirit, and generosity
of all who have given,” said President
Allen. 91 % of the donations were given
by alumnae; 6% by parents; 5% by
faculty; and 3% by students and their
friends. Allen noted that the donors
wish to, support the college’s greatest
needs, financial aid and scholarships,
study abroad, academic programs,
athletics, and more.
in response to the success of
the fundraising campaign and
generosity of so many in the Meredith
Community, President Allen said, “just
know that so many people out there
admire you, your hard work, and
your achievements-enough to do all
they can to make sure that Meredith
continues Going Strong I”
Meredith is Mad for Tea
Caroline Eggleston, Courtney Batts, Staff Writers
Photo Credit: Courteny Batts
Meredith's 125th Anniversary
will forever be known as a weeklong
celebration of events inspired by
traditions, including an Alice in
Wonderland-themed tea party. The
Mad Hatter’s Tea, hosted in Belk
Dining Hall, was an inspired by this
year’s play. Characters from the show
joined guests to enjoy refreshments,
take photos, and learn more about
Meredith’s history and traditions.
The tea party was held from 4-6
p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in BDH,
where guests could come and go as
they pleased. Tables were lined with
teacups and refreshments such as
sandwiches and cookies. Many of the
faculty members who participated as
characters in the play were present,
including the Mad Hatter himself. The
actors remained true- to character
while mingling with guests.
The scenery of the event also
reflected the Alice in Wonderland
theme. BDH was transformed by
the use of a bright and cheery decor,
coordinated almost entirely by Dr.
Diane Ellis. “It was a lot of fun putting
this event together,” said Ellis, “We
really wanted it to be as authentic as it
could be.” Her inspiration behind the
decoration stemmed from a personal
love for tea parties. The teapots
used as centerpieces were her own,
which she had originally bought for
her daughter while traveling through
Europe. Ellis also said she had crafted
all of the flowers and chosen the color
scheme for the event.
The finishing touch of the tea party’s
aestheticism was a six-layer, Alice in
Wonderland-themed cake placed
in the center of the room. The cake
was made by UNC Chapel Hill pastry
chef Stephanie Rosse. “The layers of
the cake take you through the story,”
Rosse said. Each layer represented
an important character of the story.
Rosse used psychedelic colors to
incorporate the “adventurous, topsy
turvy” nature of the story.