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PAGE TWO
MARS HILL COLLEGE HILLTOP
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
protant, survival of the insti
tution of effective education
of students?
Dear Sir:
II.
I. Academic standards
A few weeks ago, the Hilltop
carried a list of those students
on the Honor Roll of the
Academic Dean. Require
ments are “a quality point
ratio of 3.5 on a minimum of
12 semester hours and no
grade below C”. One hundred
and eighty-six people were
on that list out of an enroll
ment of 1464. The percent
age of the student body on the
Dean’s List is therefore
12.7%. If we use the number
that started the fall semester
(1515), that percentage is
12.3%. The average of SAT
scores reported in the ACE
Profile for the class entering
in the fall of 1972 was 847,
and is not noticeably differ
ent for other years previous
to 1972. Students here are
obviously not of exceptional
ability when evaluated by
national standards, and yet
that number on the Honor
Roll still glares at me. As an
outsider, I might think that
the college is doing an ex
cellent job with the material
at hand. However, as one
inside this system, I cannot
agree. I know a fairly repre
sentative segment of the stu
dent body. 1 know the ap
proximate amount of time my
fellow students study. And I
know that 186 students
should not have made the
Honor Roll when this col
lege claims high academic
standards.
The competency-based cur
riculum that is in the making
may remedy this. The pres
ent system could remedy
this, but at present the college
is much more concerned with
keeping enrollment up to
profitable levels. I know
that too many drop-outs
mean too little income. 1
am well aware that the col
lege has responsibilities
other than those to the stu
dents, but what has happened
to some of the goals in the
college’s Statment of Pur
pose? Which is more im-
TO ARRIVE
do not constitute student
involvement; open forums
held in each residence hall
the week preceding fall
break do not constitute stu
dent involvement. Cannot
something more be done?
HI. The quietus of traditional
Co-ordination of the groups
within the college community
If we divide the different
parts of the college accord
ing to function five cate
gories become apparent;
administration, faculty, stu
dents, staff, and alumni. I
realize that students are
transitory to a greater degree
than is any other group
mentioned, but all groups
must be considered when
policies are formulated. The
mechanism for reciprocal
communication between stu
dent body and administration
exists, but that mechanism is
functioning poorly at pres
ent. “A well-organized Stu
dent Government Association
... is the agency through
which the students govern
themselves and have voice
in the management of the
college.” It is understood by
this statement that the ad
ministration depends upon
student government for indi
cations of student opinion.
The student handbook says:
“SGA is your voice to the
faculty, the administration,
and those outside the
academic community. You
have a duty (emphasis mine)
to support the organization
and to communicate your
needs to the elected leaders
of the Student Govern
ment Association”. In Art
icle V, Section (C-4),
the SGA constitution states
a duty of the legislative
branch: To “. . . pursue rec
ommendations from the stu
dents of Mars Hill College.”
Unfortunately, SGA gets
only trifling input from other
students; we are notori
ously apathetic. Even this
spring’s football controversy
was short-lived.
The proposed competency-
based curriculum can fost
er student involvement, but
the embarassment is that
students have not partici
pated more in the planning of
this new educational ap
proach. A few students on
the Curriculum Committee
education
Recently, the foreign lang
uage requirement was e-
liminated and “culture
courses” replaced it. The
rationale seems to be that a
knowledge of another cul
ture can be attained without
its language. The speech
of a nation is an integral
part of its culture. No a-
mount of “culture courses”
can replace a working know
ledge of a language.
The college affirms in its
Statement of Purpose “ . . .
its commitment to liberal
education . . .”. This “liberal
arts” college no longer re
quires courses in history,
literature, music or art
appreciation, philosophy, or
public speaking. All of these
subjects are worthy of at
tention in a liberal arts school.
Two Human Societies
courses and “at least one
course in communication
skills” cannot act as effective
catch-alls for all of these
disciplines. 1 fervently hope
that the competency-based
curriculum at least in part
revives traditional educa
tion, for the present approach
is a travesty of the stated
goals.
APRIL 26, 1974
ing to the extreme to know, as I
leave, that this letter has served
a constructive end.
IV. Conclusion
I am not a radical by any
stretch of the imagination,
but I sometimes feel the zea
lot’s passion when I consider
the corruption of education
in this college. That there
are better or worse schools
is not at all the point. Mars
Hill College can and should
do a better job:
is^WEEK IN MAY
The ’74 Laurel is scheduled to arrive from the printer during the
first week in May. The eligibility of students to receive a copy of the
book will be certified by the college business office, which will distri
bute (through the college post office) cards of eligibility sometime
around the first of May.
Students who do not receive a card should check with the business
office to settle unpaid accounts there, at the library, traffic office,
infirmary and similar places on campus.
Faculty and staff members may purchase copies of the yearbook
through the bookstore.
(1) A new curriculum can
not alone raise academic
standards. The faculty
can solve that problem
if allowed to demand
satisfactory work with
out hints from the ad
ministration that the
students must be allow
ed to pass.
(2) 1 believe students will
cease to be apathetic
only when they have an
honest expectation of
being heard. Imagine
the excitement if we
felt we could truly share
in policy decisions!
(3) The competency curri
culum can remedy some
of the deficiences now
existing in this school’s
educational system. 1
commend you on a step
forward if you do not
again defect to the camp
of mediocrity.
Sincerely,
Danny Wellborne
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Comments on the editorial
written by Ken Chamlee in the
April 15 edition of the Hilltop.
Upon reading the article by
Ken Chamlee and how he compli
mented the Elections Committee
on their outstanding work, I
feel I must speak for the Track
Team, who would also wish to
extend their gratitude to the
Committee for not giving them the
opportunity to vote. One must
realize that the margin of victory
was a mere 23 votes out of over
800 total votes.
I would also like to thank the
Elections Committee for the
response they failed to give when
a legitimate protest was filed on
behalf of the track team. 1 must
agree with Mr. Chamlee, how
could any committee have been
any more fair?
Sincerely,
David “The Kid” Boschelli
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
This is written in response to
the article appearing in the April
15th edition of the Hilltop written
by Ken Chamlee. I feel an obli
gation to respond due to the
inaccuracies and misrepresenta
tions presented, which can not
fairly go unchallenged.
Mr. Chamlee would have us
believe that the campaign of
David Boschelli for President was
one of “slanted accusations”
which gained the endorsement of
a few misguided individuals.
Lets look at the facts of the cam
paign, as painful as it may be for
Mr. Chamlee.
In the first ballot for S.G.A.
elections, position papers were
issued by Larry Pike and David
Boschelli. The Pike position
papers came out before those is
sued by Boschelli. In short, Larry
Pike did not know what positions
David Boschelli would take when
his paper was released. Yet in
the Pike paper he stated that
his opposition were making
“headstrong demands” which
would not be heard by the Admin
istration. He stated that his op
position were “radicals that would
be the ruination of Student Gov
ernment” on this campus. Mr.
Pike was engaging in one of two
things in my opinion; 1) he has
an amazing ability as a seer, who
can predict the actions of his op
ponent, or 2) he was using an old
political technique of playing off
your opposition as radicals thus
trying to alienate the voters from
that candidate, before that
candidate can reach the voters
with his real opinion. When the
Boschelli paper did come out, I
find it hard to believe that any
reasonable person could real
istically call it radical. Yet the
damage had been done, and fot
the rest of the campaign Bos
chelli spent much of his time de
fending himself against the radi
cal label, instead of devoting him
self to the real issues of the cam
paign.
Mr. Chamlee tries to portray
Pike as the victim of unfair
accusations, yet David Boschelh
only discussed the issues. ^
challenge anyone to show me
anything that was put out under
the Boschelli-Gardner ticket
which was anything less than an
attempt to put the issues before
the Student Body. I can not say
the same for the material issue
by Larry Pike.
Finally, 1 think it is sad to thin
that we had a Vice-President fnr
a year that thinks so many of
people he represented are “gn*
ible people . . . that never tdin^^
but only repeat criticism they hear ■
as hard as this S.G.A. may
they can not write off 49% of
voters as merely “gullible pn®
pie,” many of whom had nev^*^
been involved at all, but did so fn^
someone they thought was rea i
trying to do something for them’
will not lose hope. As
Kennedy once said, “A ripP
of hope can break down ^ 1 ^
mightiest wall of oppression,
many people on this namp
David Boschelli was that ripP ^
of hope, it is really a shame
he was so misunderstood by
many who never bothered to g'
him a fair hearing. But there
mill a laii iivaimg.
still much to be done and V
are the only ones who can ma
it work.
Jim
Rams^^
Hilltop Staff
EDITOR ERICGAR^jP
-x'TwT- r^-r- A 1--T- Al/UIXi: TT\/f
THE STAFF TONI WHITE, JIM , f)
LARRY PIKE, JUDY
JVVA
1 expect this letter to accomplish
very little. It is only my last plea
for the administration to stop
side-stepping problems that have
been here for years. When I
graduate this spring, I will begin
to be less involved but not less
interested. It would be gratify-
BEN SPROUSE, GENE HOLD'"'(j(
DIANE KING, CONNIE MONtA^jii
JON RIDDLE, ANDY STEFA* o
ANGIE STEPHENSON, BELENDA SCA^^p
VERNON THOMASON, SARAH TRA^ ^j^I
ADVISOR JOHN CAMP^
The HILLTOP is published on a fortnightly basis by the s
tuden‘^.:
Mars Hill College. Mailing address is Box 1148-C Mars Hill
Mars Hill, N. C. 28754. Entered as Second Class mailing
Hill, N. C. Rates for subscription are calculated at $2.00 per
advertising rates at $1.50 per column inch.
Mi
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