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The Belles
VOLUME xuy. numbers
900 HILLSBOROUGH STREET,
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N.C.
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St. Mary’s
College
DECEMBER, 1984
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES
by Sara Dowling
With ail the excitement of
fall, football games', the dance,
and the general business, it is
hard to beiieve that Christmas
is just around the corner. There
are many things going on dur
ing the holiday season at St.
Mary’s. With the pressures of
exams there are many activities
planned to make the season
truly special.
A Christmas concert will be
held in the chapel at 8:00 Sun
day, December 2. The combined
choirs of St. Mary’s and the
East Carolina University Men’s
Chorus wiii perform with the
North Caroiina Symphony. This
special Christmas concert wiil
be directed by Emmett Win-
ham as part of the Smedes
Parlor Concert Series.
The “Lighting O’ the
Green” is planned for Tuesday,
December 4 this year. This is a
St. Mary’s tradition enjoyed by
many residents of Raleigh as
weil as the St. Mary’s famiiy.
The lighting of the forty foot
pine tree in front of the chapel
is a gift from St. Mary’s to the
city for its support of the Col
lege. The front campus of the
College is decorated with
luminaries, one representing
each student at the school. The
tree will be lit by Martha
Stoops. There will be caroling
and refreshments served to all.
The annual Circle-Beacon
Christmas Party will be held
Wednesday, December 5 at
7:00 in Smedes Parlor. The
Cold Cuts will perform, and Mr.
Tate will read the “The Night
Before Christmas”. Everyone is
invited to come in her night
gown. Refreshments will be
served.
These are only a few of the
many things going on around
campus. There will be exam
breaks with refreshments from
9:00 to 9:30 every night during
exam week. The week before
exams the tradition of “Secret
Santas or Peanuts” will be
carried on. At the end of the
week there will be hall parties
where everyone finds out who
their “Secret Santa” is. Mr.
Murphy has also planned a
special Christmas dinner for
Thursday, December 13. Many
things will be happening, and
the holiday season promises to
be joyous.
Writing Center Aids SMC Students
By Shannon Taylor
It’s almost that time again,
everyone’s favorite time of the
year It is almost the end of the
semester and exam time. Every
one has numerous papers and
exams, but there is help for one
yet. This fall a special Writing
Center was created by Profes
sor Charlotte Jones of the
Department of English. She will
help you with writer’s block.
term papers, essay exams,
English as a second language,
application essays for senior
institutions, and personal
writings. She works with people
who are just seeking help and
those referred by other profes
sors.
The Writing Center pro
vides a pleasant environment
with space, time and a consul
tant for talking about ideas,
exploring meanings, and en
gaging in the trial and error of
putting ones thoughts into
writing. The only materials
needed are the student’s rough
draft or her ideas about the
topic to be written about. Some
students find they need an
audience to clarify their
thoughts, and Dr. Jones will be
their audience. She will not only
listen but also ask the student
questions about the topic to
help add details to support
St. Mary’s students go to the
-Writing Center to improve their
writing skills.
arguments or to help generate
outlines and break rriajor tasks
into small units. The student’s
writing must accurately reflect
their opinions, so to be able to
discuss their ide^ is very
important. Dr. Jones will also
help revise and proofread aii
papers in order to help improve
one’s skiils.
If you would like some help
(Continued on Page 8)
ST MARY’S SUPPORTS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
An impressive number of
St. Mary’s students attended
the protest-vigil prior to Velma
Barfield’s lethal injection. The
results of the Belles' survey
lead one to assume that their
interest was simply curiosity.
An overwhelming number of
students indicated that they
support capital punishment.
Surveys from 255 were return
ed; 192 indicated that they
support capital punishment in
some cases. Oniy 66 opposed:
do not support the death
penalty in any circumstances.
Surprisingly, there is little
One ot St. Mary s
girls expresses her opinion on
capital punishment.
correllation between religious
preference and opinions in
volving this issue. The (Datholic
church supports a pro-life
stance, it is opposed to capital
punishment. Of the 27 that
claimed (Catholicism, only 10
are opposed. This percentage
(approximately 40 percent) is
certainiy larger than the percen
tage of opposition found with
students who are Protestant or
“other.”
The ratio of student and
facuity, opposing vs supporting
is essentially similiar. The
freshmen support capital
punishment 37 to 9, the sopho
mores 40 to 11, the juniors 45 to
11, the seniors 30 to 9, and the
administration and staff 28 to 5.
The faculty, however, emerged
15 to 12 in opposition to capital
punishment. In the Belles’
mock election the faculty also
differed from the rest of the
school.
Those supporting capital
punishment unaninrously sup
ported it in the case of multiple
murders. Only 152 of the 192
support it for a convicted
murderer. 53 of the 192 support
punishing a chiid abuser with a
death sentence. 72 support
capital punishment for con
victed rapists.
Those answering the sur
vey found it difficult to choose
their reason for supporting a
death penalty. The survey pro
vided three common argue-
ments and asked students to
indicate which one' best ex
presses his reason. Most (94) feei
the death penalty is adequate
punishment. The second most
popular (80 supporters) ex
planation was deterrence. 39
support the death penaity
b^ause it is cheaper for the
state. A considerable number of
students indicated that a com
bination of reasons is respon
sible for their choice to support.
Among interesting com
ments: One student cited
Numbers 35: 16 as it teaches “a
man who murders should be put
to death.” Several indicated that
capital punishment is the only
way to protect society since life
sentences are never completed.
A student opposed to the death
penalty noted that capital
punishfnent is just as expensive
as iife in prison. Another asked
“Why do we kiil people? To
prove that killing people is
wrong?”