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CROSSROADS
Belmont Abbey College
V* #• « s s r o ti
Not unlike the famous statue of IwoJima, the Boy Scouts
claim their land.
Abbey Host To
750 Boy Scouts
“I will do my best to do my
duty to God and my Country ...”
so goes the oath of the Boy
Scouts, and that oath resounded
over the campus of Belmont
Abbey College as 750 scouts from
Gaston county participated in
the 1972 District Camporee April
28, 29, and 30, 1972.
The campsite laid ‘ out in
Jamboree style became a lake of
green tents punctuated by
electric colors. Rising above the
canvas “homes” were flags
bearing troop insignia and
colorful ribbons of cloth attesting
to their proficiency in various
helds.
Red clay clouds drifted from
the access road Friday afternoon
as the troops checked in and
prepared their individual
campsite. That evening the
aroma of wood fires mingled
with the appetizing smell of
stew, burgers and steaks cooked
over hot coals.
Six-thirty Saturday morning,
first call was sounded, followed
by reveille at 6:45 and the flag
raising ceremonies. After a
hearty breakfast the Merit
Badge events began. These
included Signaling - Semaphore
or Horse Wigwag: Water Boiling
by flint and steel; Lashings -
Tripod, X and T; Compass - a
measured distance on a given
compass direction; Obstacle
Course; First Aid Relay: Map
Reading; Knot Tying Relay;
Flag Pole Raising and Bob Saw
Relay.
Belmont Abbey students
manned each event and served
as judges. Of these events
probably the most frustrating
was the Water Boiling by Flint
and Steel. You could hear the
sharp clink, clink of hard steel
By H. Allen Morris
against rock as the scouts
huddled around in expectation of
the spark that would fill them
with the feeling of ac
complishment. Three minutes
were allowed to build the fire and
to boil water. One troop
achieved this monumental task
in 1 minute, 24 seconds. (If you
are not impressed, try it)
That evening under a sky filled
with heavy clouds the troops
gathered around the big camp
fire for the Order of the Arrow
Tap Out ceremony. Down
through the dark woods the path
wound, lighted softly by candles
concealed in paper bags.
Reaching the clearing one could
imagine a pow-wow or ancient
Indian ceremony was about to
start. And it did. Short Indians,
tall Indians, thin Indians and
portly Indians filed around the
huge stacked fires as shadows
danced on the faces of those
watching in this hidden place.
The distant thud, thud of a tom
tom drifted through the forest as
stars pin-pricked the dark sky
towering above the new leafed
trees.
The Order of the Arrow rites
were conducted with dignity,
initiating more “Indians” into
the order, another exciting phase
in the life of the Boy Scout. The
crowd snaked quietly back along
the narrow trail to the campsite.
Visiting parents and friends said
good-bye and the troops
gathered around their individual
campfire.® to discuss the success
of the Camporee, offer advice,
sing songs and pray.
It was my honor to join Troop
No. 56 from Belmont who won
the award for the best campsite.
See SCOUTS Page 7
Survey Shows
Freshman
Vacancies
At Private
Colleges
A survey by the American
Council on Education’s Higher
Education Panel shows that
entering freshman classes at
private colleges and universities
reached only about 82 percent
capacity last fall. Under
enrollment was greatest in the
two-year and nonselective
private colleges, and lowest in
the private universities and
selective private colleges.
The survey was based on in
formation from 409 institutions,
or 86.5 percent of the 473 colleges
and universities included in the
panel of more than 500 in
stitutions.
The report states that although
first-time, full-time freshman
enrollments increased by an
estimated 12 percent between
1970 and 1971, nearly 85 percent
of this total increase was ac
counted for by public two-year
colleges. Increases at other
types of institutions were well
below ten percent, and public
four-year colleges , showed a
slight decrease.
In reporting on black and other
minority enrollments, the study
states that the absolute number
grew between 1970 and 1971, but
that proportions of blacks and
other minorities among all first
time freshmen declined slightly
during the same interval. “This
proportionate decline was ac
counted for entirely by the public
two7year colleges,” the report
states. “All other types of in
situations show increases in the
proportions of both black and
other minority freshmen.”
The Higher Education Panel
was established by the Council
last year as a means of obtaining
information rapidly on matters
of interest in the higher
education community. Initial
funding is provided by the
National Science Foundation,
National Institutes of Health,
and the U.S. Office of Education
(See Vol. XX, No. 32) Single
copies of the survey of freshman
class vacancies are available
without charge from Higher
Education Panel, American
Council on Education, One
Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.
20036.
(Higher Education and
Nationai Affairs, Voi. 21, No. 14,
April 7, 1972.)
Focus
MR. DON SHULL,
DIRECTOR GUIDANCE
On the college scene there is
one person who really gets to
know the current student
population - that person is the
guidance counsellor. In Mr. Don
Shull, Director of Guidance,
Belmont Abbey College has a
very personable and
professional man to feel the
pulse of the campus.
Don approaches counselling in
a low-keyed manner which
enables him to establish a solid
rapport with students. His
success is perhaps due as much
to his quiet charm as it is to his
training in guidance. In the
tension filled atmosphere of
today’s society, which spills over
onto the campus, the students
find his relaxed informality a
refreshing change.
He commutes to the’ Abbey
from his home in Shelby, N.C.
where he was born and grew up.
He married his childhood
sweetheart, Barbara Moore.
They now have two children,
Libby and Susan, ages twelve
and ten. Barbara teaches the
sixth grade at Cleveland
elementary school in Shelby.
Don attended Gardner-Webb
College and then went on to
Wake Forest to earn the
bachelor’s degree in biology. His
graduate study was done in
several universities: Duke,
Appalachian State, and the
University of Florida, where he
received a Master of Education
in earth science. His work in the
field of guidance was at the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
Along the way to his present
position, Don tried his hand in
the business world as an
automobile underwriter for
Allstate Insurance and as a
chemical analyst for Celanese
Corporation. However, his
See FOCUS Page 2