2008 Woodie Awards
Staff Editorial
Donor generosity needs on-campus reciprocation
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Forum
- Page 1 of 1
With a quick glance across the campus, a phone-book directory of names can be pulled off of the buildings. Most of these are living testaments to over a century of generosity, ever since Duke Memorial Hall was built in 1897 with donations from Benjamin and James Duke. Frank Family Science Center, Hege Library, Shore, Bryan, English, and Dana Auditorium were all built through similar acts of incredible philanthropy.
The latest of these gifts, the $1.6 million donated by Seth and Hazel Macon for a new welcome center, is ushering in a new generation of generosity. But with each act of kindness comes a challenge; if these people from outside the college are so dedicated to our campus, shouldn't each member of the on-campus community be even more so?
While a quick glance can open your eyes to a century of large donations, the same can illuminate acts of carelessness, destruction, or decay. Every semester, cigarette butts and trash are thrown on the ground, dorm-buildings and college structures, like the gazebos, are vandalized and college property is stolen.
If generations of wonderful people like the Macons can care so much for our school, why do we, the people that live here, work here, teach here, or are taught here, often seem to care so little? With each act of kindness that comes from outside, our own faults are illuminated. So let us all - students, staff, and the administration - come together as a community to match the respect and care so generously given. Improvements can be made in any number of ways, from right here on campus.
Be proactive. Volunteer to improve the campus grounds - or at least throw away your trash and try not to tear sinks out of the walls. Each piece of property destroyed or stolen steals funds away from the community, and yourselves.
These actions, while they may not get a building named after you, or secure you a place in the Guilford College history books, all go toward making the college a better place to be, both now and in the future. If nothing else, it will show our long history of donors that we're as committed to Guilford as they are.
The latest of these gifts, the $1.6 million donated by Seth and Hazel Macon for a new welcome center, is ushering in a new generation of generosity. But with each act of kindness comes a challenge; if these people from outside the college are so dedicated to our campus, shouldn't each member of the on-campus community be even more so?
While a quick glance can open your eyes to a century of large donations, the same can illuminate acts of carelessness, destruction, or decay. Every semester, cigarette butts and trash are thrown on the ground, dorm-buildings and college structures, like the gazebos, are vandalized and college property is stolen.
If generations of wonderful people like the Macons can care so much for our school, why do we, the people that live here, work here, teach here, or are taught here, often seem to care so little? With each act of kindness that comes from outside, our own faults are illuminated. So let us all - students, staff, and the administration - come together as a community to match the respect and care so generously given. Improvements can be made in any number of ways, from right here on campus.
Be proactive. Volunteer to improve the campus grounds - or at least throw away your trash and try not to tear sinks out of the walls. Each piece of property destroyed or stolen steals funds away from the community, and yourselves.
These actions, while they may not get a building named after you, or secure you a place in the Guilford College history books, all go toward making the college a better place to be, both now and in the future. If nothing else, it will show our long history of donors that we're as committed to Guilford as they are.
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