The Montreal Co 11 ^ aT? Student Voice
WHETSTON
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Volume III, Number VI Mbntreat, NC 28757 January 31, 2002
Smoldering Ashes
Spark Blaze at Warren
Wilson College
-Staff Reports
Warren Wilson College’s Schafer
Dorm blazed to the ground minutes
after 4:00 a.m. Sunday, January 19.
Approximately half of the 118 beds
were filled, but all students evacuated
and only two were hurt.
Sophomore Maggie Taylor broke
her wrist and is at home in Penn
sylvania recuperating, according
to Warren Wilson’s Web site. “One
girl cut up her face jumping from a
second story window, but it wasn’t
too bad,” mentions one student.
Warren Wilson’s president,
Douglas M. Orr, Jr., explains, “The
fire marshal is in the final stages of
investigating the cause of the fire,
but the best evidence indicates that
it was an accidental result of two
students building a small outdoor fire
(a violation of campus regulations) in
the Schafer courtyard. The students
extinguished the fire and placed the
smoldering remains in a recycling
bin where the fire began a couple of
hours later.”
Katrina, a junior from Michigan,
and resident advisor in one of the col
lege’s ball field dorms says she could
hear the noise when the fire broke
out. “1 just heard people screaming
and running around. 1 got up and
started waking other people up too.”
The college is “fully insured
with a $10,000 deductible” through
Montgomery Insurance Company,
President Orr assured those attending
a community meeting Sunday after
noon at Warren Wilson Presbyterian
Church.
“We plan to finish deconstruction
and begin reconstruction of Schafer
almost immediately,” says President
Orr. .
College officials pursue quiek
healing for the campus wound. Stu
dents began counseling, and filing
loss reports Sunday with the help of
Continued on page 4
Officer Swann ‘Weeds’
Out Narcotic Ignorance
By Kortney Blythe
Illegal drugs seized from students
over the years served as teaching
guides on Monday January 13 when
campus policeman, Tracy Swann,
‘trashed’ the naivety of the R.A.s
concerning narcotics.
The Black Mountain campus gym
reeked of marijuana after the hour-
long summit where Officer Swann
displayed marijuana, ecstasy (in pill
form), crack, and drug parapherna
lia (mainly pipes). As suggested by
Assistant Dean, Tom Oxenreider, one
of the objectives for the pre-semester
counsel was to seal the distinct mari
juana smell in the R.A.s’ minds.
Officer Swann produced ille
gal substances and paraphernalia
recovered from anyone in Montreat
starting from the late 90’s. Accord
ing to Swann, “most of the problems
with drugs occur during the summer
months because of the large number
of people coming and going for the
conferences. However, that does not
mean it does not exist during the
school semester.”
Anderson R.A. Bailey Massey
recalled, “Tracy took out the first
joint and lit it but said it was too old
to smell right, so he took out another
one, lit it and said that one was too
old, so finally he passed around the
third one for us to smell. 1 was thinking,
‘how much drugs has he got in there?”’
“We keep the drugs for two rea
sons,” Swann asserted, “First, for
legal evidence in a court case. And
second, where else are we going to
put it?” All confiscated drugs rest in
an alarmed locker at the police station
until the stale date, at which point the
FBI disposes of them.
Meredith Fletcher, S'*" floor Ander
son R.A., revealed, “We had prob--
lems last semester with drugs, much
of it involving visiting non-students,
so the meeting was a good way to help
reduce and avoid future problems.”
Officer Swann exposed some of
the drug names used only on the
street among dealers and regular
users. He justified the importance,
“If an R.A. overhears a person saying
they want to buy some ‘dust,’ for
instance, it should raise suspicions
and cause them to listen and watch
that person closely.”
Continued on page 8
Three rock walls stand tali in the rubbish of what used to be Warren Wilson Schafer Dorni.
Charlotte SPAS Sponsors
Four Families for Christmas
By Deborah Wright, Director of Char
lotte Campus
My family and 1 usually try to
do something at Christmas to help
others. I have found that the experi
ence and the impact for my daugh
ter, lasts much longer than the toys
she gets. This year the project was
expanded and included my Montreat
family - that is the students and staff
that make up the SPAS program.
What started with a really good
schedule and plan was soon in jeop
ardy after the ice storm of 2002. (Yes,
it is already legend in Charlotte.)
Thousands in Charlotte were without
power, heat, and comfort in general,
for days. Even after it was over, the
loss was tremendous as people emp
tied out freezers and refrigerators.
How would we feed 4 families of 6
when so many of our own were strug
gling to replace items? Prayer works!
1 found myself remembering the
disciples in Matthew 15:33-34 “And
his disciples say unto him Whence
should we have so much bread in the
wilderness, as to fill so great a multi
tude” And Jesus said unto them, How
many loaves have ye? And they said.
Seven, and a few little fishes. Well,
we had seven dollars at that time!
By December 19, with the deliv
ery date being the following day, we
had raised $950+ dollars. We had
donations of food, gift cards, bikes,
and clothes in addition to the money
and all the items we had purchased. 1
was taken aback by the offerings that
were presented to me each day from
cohort groups the previous night.
Students were wrapping, staff mem
bers made beautiful delivery boxes
and cards that all the cohorts signed.
It was a miracle in the making
1 made one of the deliveries on
Thursday. The father was at the dialy
sis clinic that morning and their staff
were setting out Christmas goodies ii
the lobby. 1 left the box in the lobb;
for him, filled with gifts, and foo(
and candy. I thought, “Won’t he b(
surprised when he comes out?”
This year, as a campus, we did :
good thing for a lot of good people
1 am so proud of everyone and 1 an
thoroughly convinced that we an
blessed to be a blessing to others.
Erik Chuprevich loads a bike for a lucky child’s Christmas gift.
I^erse of the M/eehl
"As a church we lack repentance and we lack true affection
Not only in our minds hut our hearts need correction
And man that’s true religion, resignation and contrition
To love each other so much that we'd die before division ”
- "Return of the Revolution”
Supertones