pril 19. 1969
tion
ickmen faced
ewman team
;ame out an
e were, how-
inces by sev-
pK>int to bet-
)n progresses.
5'm" in the
iring won the
only .6 sec-
record. Ed-
test half mile
second from
issell Barrett
scord in the
igns
ition
Director, Bill
his post with
Athletic De-
1 early May.
staff of “The
E Life Insur-
aleigh, N. C’
,st Bill will
)m Mars HiH
n d Western
;o help them
irance prO'
ans spoke of
he took his
of 1967.
“I
een a part of
here at Mar®
that what 1
3 contribute
lation of ^
athletic puh'
ficial to the
fortunate to
e fine coach'
Department.
[ support has
ipossible joh
)st of all 1
ig with the
athletics are
better with
few people
dous aid and
been to the
artment and
wishes and
ibers
dth
tday
:e
rage
the Mars Hill College
Hillrop
If a man does not keep pace with
his companions, it is because he
hears a different drummer. Let
him step to the music he hears,
however measured or far away.
—Thoreau
Vol. XLIII. No. 15
MARS HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
May 3. 1969
Administrative Changes I CloSS of '69 Ond the Wor/cf
Confirmed by Dr. Bentley { Awaiting MHC Commencement
It’s now official; Dr. Bentley has
‘Confirmed the rumors that have
been circulating on campus for the
last two weeks: Dean William
I'ynch wiU become director of
counseling and Dr. Bill Sears will
h®come dean of students.
The changes will become effec-
tive with the opening of the fall
l«rm.
The double-pronged armounce-
aient also indicated that a Coun
seling Center will be formed to
assist students with personal, so-
hal, academic, moral and emotion
al problems. Further, the Center
'^ill offer aptitude and vocational
lasting and will stock all sorts of
aoreer literature.
br. Bentley said the changes are
pother effort to strengthen and
‘ftiprove the total program of the
College.
“When Dean Lynch joined the
aollege staff in 1956,” Dr. Bentley
aa^Plained, “he was primarily in-
l^rested in counseling; however,
aver the years his duties have
*laawn him more and more into
Micy-making and administrative
^asponsibilities, diminishing his
apportunities for counseling. Now,
yith the formation of the Counsel-
‘ag Center, he will be able to de-
himself almost entirely to
a'^Unseling.”
College Chaplain Robert Melvin
apd the Rev. James Long, pastor
of the Mars Hill Methodist Church,
will be affiliated with the new
Counseling Center, Dr. Bentley ex
plained.
An ordained Baptist minister,
Mr. Lynch specialized in counsel
ing at Colgate-Rochester Divinity
School and did a year’s interne-
ship at the School of Pastoral
Care, which is affiliated with the
Baptist Hospital and Bowman
Gray School of Medicine in Win
ston-Salem.
As dean of students he exercises
supervision over the dormitory
hostesses, the dean of women, the
chaplain and the college infirmary.
He also is the chief administra
tive officer dealing with student
government, and all phases of stu
dent life. In addition he is as
sociate professor of psychology in
the Department of Education. As
director of counseling he will re
linquish all of those duties except
the teaching.
Dr. Sears, who joined the
faculty last summer, is assistant
professor in the Department of
Education. His teaching specialty
is educational psychology, but he
is also director of the student
teacher program and of the de
partment’s placement service. His
wife is associate director of the col-
lege’s Upward Bound Program.
(See feature on Dr. Sears below.)
The Commencement Exercises
of the class of 1969 wiU highlight
the activities for May of this year
as a host of seniors, who have suc
cessfully gone through the grind,
wiU be launched into the world of
1969 with all its promises, disas
ters, problems, and hopes that
these students have studied for the
past four years.
Are these students ready for the
world? The proper question would
be, rather, “Is the world ready for
them?” The answer: Yes, the
world is more than ready; it has
been waiting for centuries for
them. This graduating class rep
resents the potential of aU success,
or even failure, that society is
capable of having. It is the end of
a long trail of toil and sacrifice,
but it is just the beginning of an
endeavor of even greater sacrifice
and commitment. Truly deserving
are these students of the honors
and festivities bestowed upon
them during their week of com
mencement.
Friday, May the Ninth, will
mark the opening day of the Com
mencement Week at 4:00 P.M.
with an Art Exhibit in the Fine
Arts Building. The Board of Trus
tees wUl meet the foUowing day
at 10:30 A. M. foUowed by a Joint
Limcheon Meeting of the Board of
Trustees and the Board of Advis
ors. A Business Meeting of the
Alumni Association wiU meet in
Moore Auditorium at 3:30 P. M.
followed by the Class Reunions of
1904, 1909, 1914, 1919, 1924, 1929,
1934, 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959,
and 1964 at 4:00 P. M. Highlight
ing the evening will be an Alumni
Banquet at 5:30 P. M. with Mrs.
Rachel Crawley (Class of 1939) as
guest speaker. At 8:00 P. M. the
Dramatics Department will pre
sent the play “She Stoops to (Con
quer” by Oliver Goldsmith, in the
Fine Arts Building.
The Alumnus of the year will
be Dr. William H. Plemmons, re
tiring President of Appalachian
State University in Boone, N. C.,
and the Alumna of the year will
be Miss Flossie Marshbanks, a
native of Mars Hill and a retired
attorney, who was formerly affili
ated with the State Department of
Public Instruction as Assistant to
the State Superintendent. Both
wiU be honored at the Banquet on
May 10th.
On Sirnday, May the Eleventh,
at 11:00 A. M. the Baccalaureate
Services will begin at Moore
Auditorium. Dr. R. Eugene Owens,
Pastor of Myers Park Baptist
Church in Charlotte, North Caro
lina will deliver the Baccalaureate
Sermon. An Organ Recital will be
held at 2:30 P. M. in the same
Mars Hill Hospitality Impresses 'Dr. Dill'
By Mike Mills
^n unusual quality of friendli-
and personal concern was a
Jl'^ior factor in bringing Dr. Wil-
j. Sears to our campus this
l^hool year. Dr. Sears commented
‘«at he had immediately felt right
home in the family-type at-
!*'osphere “and this was just an
Interview,” he smiled. After gain-
a favorable impression of the
^'^hool, Dr. Sears was finally won
^'’er by the opportunity he found
siting at Mars Hill.
‘T>r. Bill”, as he is often called,
^ s new addition to the Educa-
Department where he teaches
is
national psychology. He joined
faculty last summer and work-
u as associate director of the
PWard Bound Program, head-
S the recreation activities and
.®^Ving with his wife as dormi-
j y counselor. Mrs. Sears, the
Judy Hudson from Salis-
i^y, continues in Upward Bound,
her husband’s shoes as as-
late director and visits the
%:
Soc
%
Sri
■*k)ls every week as a follow-
function of the summer pro-
am.
growing up in the small com-
jj'^hity of Olar, South Carolina,
jJ'' Sears attended Olar High. He
^,^hd the struggle for academics
* ficult when he attended Clem-
^rs>
Appalachian State Teach-
College, where he met his
lovely wife, provided his next step
as he finished there with a mas
ters degree in education. After a
couple years of high school teach
ing, Dr. Sears decided to finish
his long educational process by
gaining his doctorate degree from
the University of Alabama. It
was a long, hard road for a small
town boy, but with perserverance
and hard work he attained the
high mark of achievement.
Dr. Sears holds a special interest
in sports and at one time coached
in HartsviUe, South Carolina. He
may sometimes be found running
around the track or playing ten
nis to keep himself in shape.
Reading is also a favorite past
time when his schedule permits,
and he and Judy like to pair off
as partners in a friendly hand of
bridge. They also hold dear those
times when they can get away
from the grind and enjoy an out
side picnic or excursion.
On the more serious side of his
interests. Dr. Sears leads Sunday
seminars for the young people at
the Mars Hill Methodist Church.
A recent topic of discussion has
been concerned with love, court
ship and marriage. Although he
attends the Methodist Church, he
is not denomination-prejudiced and
exercises much dedication to all
young people in his religious life.
A new set of responsibilities
awaits him since he recently ac
cepted the offer of Dean of Stu
dents for Mars Hill College, be
ginning next year. He is very
concerned and thoughtful about
the new position and remains open
to all helpful suggestions from stu
dents in how to Ccirry out the
purpose of his office. Recogniz
ing that Mars Hill is definitely in
a transition period. Dr. Sears hopes
the students will not need a heavy
hand of authority to accomplish
the work he thinks they should
do themselves. He intends to
Dean Sears
work with the students and listen
attentively to their needs, while
exercising his role of office in con
junction with the new Student
Activities Director.
When asked why he picked Mars
Hill to serve in the education
field. Dr. Sears responded that
he and his wife wanted to find
a place where they could teach,
supervise, or administrate — and
perhaps a little of all three. He
sees Mars Hill as offering that kind
of diversity because of its present
period of growth and transition.
The faculty is young, friendly, and
deeply involved in the structure
of the college, unlike many other
larger institutions where it is dif
ficult to make acquaintances.
The location served as another
factor in choosing Mars Hill. The
Searses love the mountain area of
North Carolina and appreciate the
beauty of the campus and its sur
roundings. Again Dr. Sears em
phasized the type of reception
they received as one of the big
reasons for their decision to come
here.
Friendliness, academic achieve
ment, and personal concern are the
attributes that attracted Dr. Sears
to Mars Hill. He reflects these
qualities himself and fits into the
community life, hoping to help
make Mars Hill a better place in
which to work and live.
building. The Commencement
Weekend will be climaxed by the
Graduation Exercises at 3:00 P. M.
at Moore Auditorium.
For Academic Dean Ralph M.
Lee, who is retiring at the end of
the summer session, it will be the
final occasion on which he will
read out the names of the gradu
ates and present each to President
Bentley, who will award the de
grees and shake hands with each
graduate.
Two Editors
Are Named
Editors for two of the major
student publications have been ap
pointed for 1969-70, according to
the advisor, Walter Smith.
Linda Baldwin has been re-ap-
pointed to the editorship of the
student newspaper, The Hilltop;
and Hayes Goodrum, rising junior
from Myrtle Beach, S. C., has been
named editor of the yearbook. The
1970 Laurel.
“As far as I know,” Mr. Smith
explained, “Linda may be the first
student ever to be named editor
of the newspaper for two consecu
tive years. She certainly is the
only i>erson so named during the
15 years I have worked at the
college.”
She is a rising junior from West
Columbia, S. C.
Hayes was a member of the staff
of the ’69 yearbook and will bring
some valuable experience to his
new position. Tentative plans for
the ’70 edition — mostly technical
matters — will be formulated dur
ing the summer, but the organiza
tion of the staff will not begin
until the fall term starts late in
August.
Selection of an editor for the
third student publication. Cadenza,
the literary and art magazine, is
the responsibility of the chairman
of the Department of English.
“No one knows better than I,”
Mr. Smith elaborated, “how much
responsibility and hard work the
editorships of these publications
demand. I appreciate Linda and
Hayes being willing to accept the
duties, and I look forward to
working with them diming the
coming year. We all have learned
much during 1968-69 which will
help in the future.
“It might be well at this point
to re-state some basic facts: First
of all, these are student publica
tions, intended to reflect student
viewpoints and student abilities;
they are not promotional pieces
designed to boost the college.
Readers among the faculty and
staff and off-campus should keep
this in mind. Likewise, students
must remember that these publi
cations will serve best when used
responsibility and constructively
rather than as weapons.”