Agnes Scott Alumnae Magazine [2003-2005]

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FALL 2003

Visual Arts and the
Liberal Arts Experience

SIGNATURE

The Value oj the Visual Arts in a Liberal Arts Education

"" came to Agnes Scott my senior year
of high school to talk with the pro-
fessors. I wanted a chance to do a
little bit of everything and to work
onc-on-one wrth the artists," says
Anna Chnstme l^oiilier 04, a double major
in studio art and religious studies. Boulier
selected Agnes Scott because it offered
precisely the breadth of experience and
exposure to a wide range of fields. "Liberal
arts," she says, "is all about doing every-
thing you possibly can."

The visual arts connect broadiv and
intensively with the liberal arts curriculum.
This issue of A/iifs Sco(( The Aliifjiiziiif looks
at the numerous ways this occurs and at
the lasting effects of such a connection.

Anne Beidler, associate professor of
art, approaches teaching as layered learn-
ing. "You start out with one little thing, like
attending a concert, and from that you
begin expanding. For me as a student it
was attending the ballet Prelude lo the
A/(f)Mooii of i! Fiiwii Nureyev was dancing
and I was transfixed," says Beidler. "I urge
students to start from experience and to
build from there. Art is an important part
of that because it helps you find another
way of expressing the creative ideas."

An integral part of a liberal arts educa-
tion, visual arts provide, as Beidler writes,
a "window, a framework, a guide, a magic
slate" for finding one's place in the world.
Boulier speaks about the link between her
work in art and her work in her other
classes. "So many things," she says, "have a
basis in art Advertisements are grounded
in art Religion is just steeped in art. NX'hen
you learn basic ideas about religion and
then the background about art, you can

apply that all to yotir life. And that is the
most amazing thing abcnit Agnes Scott
College You get a chance to do every-
thing, and then you learn about yourself
and find that you can do things that you
didn t know you could do, and voli
become good at it!"

Beidler stresses the importance of the
overlap between what students are doing
in their other academic classes and what

To explore, understand and

express life with a passion

that's the value.

they are doing in their studio art classes. "1
push this," she says, "and try to find ways
to help them express it in their visual
works." Terry McGehee, professor of art,
sees the connection between arts and the
sciences because of "the creative process
particularly in the lab. You try this and you
try that. Eventually you have the 'aha!'
experience you have it in the arts and
you have it in the sciences '

A printmaking class allowed art major
Mindy Killen '05 to create "Beyond the

Gates" by drawing from her knowledge of
the Holocaust gained in a class taught by
Kathy Kennedy, Charles A. Dana Professor
of History 'As she progressed with her art
and with her history class, she began to
understand how to comprehend something
of such horrific magnitude and to think of
how to convey this," says Beidler. "Doing
art is like learning to write and to express
yourself so that you can finally hone it
down to that essential kernel."

Visual arts enrich all students,- not just
the majors "I love the students who come
to class who have not made art in years but
have always wondered if they could, " says
McCehee. "They come to the table as an
open slate and they are producing work
that gives them confidence because they
did it And we put it up " One such student
savs, "All my life I've been told to 'stick to
math and science.' But my art professor
encouraged me beyond belief. I have
learned that there is more to art than draw-
ing and that even I tan express myself in
beautiful ways."

A science major says her art class
opened her to a new way of thinking. "!
have discovered a new passion that I will
continue to pursue the rest of my life. "

To explore, understand and express
life with a passion thats the value.

Rosemary Levy Zumwait

Rc^amiry Levy Zumii'iill is I'lCf fireiidnil for iiciiifcmic
cijjciii^ cvki ticciii oj ibe eolkife aJ projessor oj imtbrofiolo^y.

FALL 2003 I VOLUME 80 I NUMBER 1

Agnes Scott College educates women to think
deeply, live honorably and engage in the
intellectual and social challenges of their times.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Mary Ackerly

EDITOR

Jennifer Bryon Owen

DESIGNER

Winnie Hulme

COMMUNICATIONS INTERN

Martha Gaston '04

COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Sara Ector Vagliano '63, chair

Mary Ackerly

Lara Webb Carrigan '94

Christine S, Cozzens

Marilyn Johnson Hammond '68

Elizabeth Anderson Little '66

Susan Coltrane Lowance '55

Sally Taylor Manning '82

Jennifer Bryon Owen

Lewis Thayne

We encourage you to share views and opinions.
Please send them to: Editor, Agnes Scott The
Magazine, Agnes Scott College, Rebel^ah Annex,
141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 or e-mail to:
publication@agnesscott.edu.

2003 Agnes Scott College. Published for alumnae and friends
twice a year by the Office of Communications, Agnes Scott
College, Rebekah Annex, 141 E College Ave., Decatur, CA 30030.

The content of the magazine reflects the opinions of the writers
and not the viewpoint of the College, its trustees or administration.

Change of address: Send address changes by mail to Office of
Development, Agnes Scott College, HI t:ast College Ave.,
Decatur, CA 30030, by telephone, call 404 47 1 -6472 or by e-mail
to (Je!?clof>(ijoi(@()i;iiessco(t fiiii.

E-mail: publication@agnesscott.edu
Web site: www.agnesscott.edu

A(/ties Scott Ahittiitac Matjazim is recipient of:

Award of Excellence for Alumni K4agazines, CASE District III

Advancement Awards, 2001
Best of Category, Fall 2002 issue, Printing Industry

Association of Georgia
Award of Excellence, Spring 2002 issue, Printing Industry

Association of Georgia

On the cover: The RecociUaiioi\ o/lbeMonlitijiicsiinff Cit/miels over ihe
Dead Bodies oj Romeo and Juliet by Fredric, Lord Leighton. Photo by
Mike Jensen.

FEATURES

6 Shaping Clay
into Hope

This Agnes Scott ahtm knows firsthand
that creating with clay is therapeutic.

BY NANCY MORELAND

8 If It Speaks to You,
Buy It

Lifelong art lovers reveal the secrets ojwhat
it takes to join their ranks as art collectors.

BY KATHY REYNOLDS DOHERTY '67

10 Windows to Heaven

Religious icons lead this artist to a cjuiet
haven from the challenges oj daily life.

BY ALLISON ADAIWS '89

14 Turn that Pink Slip
into Gold

With unemployment at a record high,
almost no one is immune from receiving the
old "pinkshp." by maria iviallory white

19 The Intestinal Power
of Learning

Find something in lije about which you are
passionate, so passionate that it evokes a
physical response, by donna sadler

22 Designing Woman

This alumna creatively parlayed her love
oj art into improving everyday life through
industrial design, by melanie s. best '79

24 When Is It Art and
When Is It Pornography?

An Atlanta-based art critic contemplates
this highly charged issue, by jerry culluim

26 Beauty or Education?

Not unlike art displayed in any other
iwnie, the College's collection evokes a
multitude of disparate comments.

by WENDY CROMWELL

28 The Mystique of the
"Lord Leighton"

The College's most famous work of art
finds a new home, but not without creating
an interesting legacy at Agnes Scott.

BY LEE DANCY

30 Of the Making of
Many Books There Is
No End

Almost anyone can find a venue for
creativity and personal expression through
making books, by anne beidler

nP DA DTM F WTC

2 Reader's Voice
4 On Campus
33 Lifestyle

reader's VOICE

Balancing Act

Dear Editor,

Thank you tor your beautiful article on
julia Alvarez. Bringing to the campus
women like Alvarez and Angela Davis
validates the statement of Vagliano that
Agnes Scott educates women to think
deeply, live honorably and engage the
intellectual and social challenges of their
times.

Betty Alderman Vinson reminds us of a
different situation in the late 30s
and early

'40s. As 1 recall, at that time,
there was no longer a YWCA on campus.
Professor Arthur Raper, author of Preface to
Pciisanlry, I believe because of a race issue
raised by [Eugene] Talmadge [elected gov-
ernor of Georgia in f93l, 1934, 1940 and
1 946], was no longer at Agnes Scott. I came
to Agnes Scott a conservative, narrow-
minded fanatic.

The interracial meetings with other
students described in Betty's letter gave me
a different understanding of other people.
During summer vacation I attended
YWCA conferences. With the guidance of
Mildred Mell, who was in the economics
and sociology department, and other
professors, I learned to be open to and to
evaluate different ideas.

No parent should fear that presenting
different points of view feeds anti-
American and un-Christian thoughts.
Students with the advantage of a liberal
education are able to evaluate what they
read and hear. The real danger is the
tendency to characterize as anti-American
all criticisms of government policy. As was
so beautifully pointed out by Alice Evans,
our nation should have the humility to
listen and the courage to be motivated less
by fear and more by a vision of human

dignity. This is in accord with the teaching
of Jesus and the development of Christian
character.

Livinui Brown Geortje '(2

Dear Editor,

In the Spring/Summer 2003 magazine, 1
was distressed by accusations leveled at
President Bullock and the Board of
Trustees by Barbara Reiland. I have found
the views and articles in the magazine to
be a balanced mix of ideas representa-
,1 tive of the College's diverse life.

Many of the articles highlighted
in numerous editions of the maga-
zine dispute her specific concerns
regarding the College's efforts in the
"formation and development of
Christian character." Rarely does an
issue pass in which we do not read
about students engaged in social
justice and humanitarian issues.
These learning experiences
directly support the formation of
development of Christian character and
ultimately the mission of the College. I
believe Jesus himself dedicated his entire
life to such issues.

Furthermore, Jesus taught us to be
compassionate and accepting of "the other"
It strikes me that Ms. Reiland would prefer
Agnes Scott not expose students to "the
other," which contradicts the basic tenets
of a Christian life. Ms. Reiland may dis-
agree with Angela Davis or the many
other "leftist thinkers," but to quash such
views would actually hinder student devel-
opment and the College's commitment to
a "high standard of scholarship." Agnes
Scott cannot educate its students and pre-
pare them for a productive life without
exposing them to them to ALL facets of
our world

I strongly support the direction
President Bullock and the Board of
Trustees have taken Agnes Scott College.
They have created a positive learning
environment rich in diversity this is the
best way to teach students.

StViih Cardwcll o-l

Dear Editor,

in consideration of Barbara Young
Reiland's pleas for a "balanced point of
view" that appeared in the last issue, I offer

my own voice: What Ms. Reiland fails to
recognize is that the presence of Angela
Davis on campus does in fact promote
intellectual diversity and a balanced point
of view.

While I was a student at Agnes Scott in
the glorious 1990s, I was given a feast of
ideas, concepts and opinion, allowed to
think, act and engage in debate with a
level of freedom I could have never dared
dream; and shape my own intellect by
myself, with eyes, heart and spirit opened
by my professors, my peers and literature
including the works of Angela Davis.
Seeing Professor Davis at the lectern in
Presser brought tears to my eyes. While 1
cannot quote a thing she said, I will always
remember the emotion stirring within that
seeing this woman, beautiful and brave,
whose words so influenced me, in the
hallowed halls of ASC.

Ms. Reiland and our sister alumnae
need to remember that at the core of a
sound liberal arts education is diversity in
thought and respect for other disciplines
and ideologies. Her lack of tolerance for
the presence of Angela Davis violates her
own call for balance. How can young
women shape the world for themselves
when they are not exposed to a variety of
ideologies and ideologues? Professor
Davis' life is an example to all
women. She is an

embodiment of the
American spirit of independ-
ence, free thought and revolution the
base principles on which our country was
founded. I applaud Agnes Scott College
and Mary Brown Bullock for Angela Davis'
visit. My favorite professor, Michael
Brown, introduced me to Dr. Bullock
recently. He said of our relationship: "We
could not have been more different, but

2 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

we became the best of friends." We could
all do well to follow Dr. Brown's example.

Ancjie Tacker 93

Dear Editor,

I want to state my hearty concurrence with
the views expressed by Barbara Young
Reiland in the Spring/Summer issue of the
magazine. Several of my friends and 1 feel
that we were privileged to attend Agnes
Scott in its "glory days." The administra-
tion told us at the time of registration that
the College was unique in promoting and
teaching the Christian faith and at the
same time holding its students to the high-
est academic standards. 1 came to feel that
this was indeed true, and was very proud
and grateful to be a student there.

I enjoyed daily chapel service and
Religious Emphasis Week. The Bible
courses were among the most difficult and
challenging I took. Incidentally, I was a
Baptist and never felt excluded in the least,-
indeed, 1 came to admire very much the
Presbyterian dedication to scholarship.

At my class reunion in 1992 1 saw
several signs of lowered moral standards
and found this very sad. I know change is
inevitable and must be dealt with, but do
we have to push it along for its own sake? 1
think we should always keep in mind the
religious and intellectual standards of the
school we love, and adopt "change" only
when it fits those standards.

Ruth Heard Randolph '52

Kudos

Dear Editor,

As a scientist (chemistry and microbiology
majorat Agnes Scott), 1 am compelled to
tell you how marvelous this issue
[Spring/Summer 2003] is. The depth of
writing seems to increase with each issue.
There aren't just fluffy PR articles. There
are articles with real depth and diversity of
opinion, which I view as a healthy sign of
the intellectual climate that ASC creates
in students and alumnae. I also welcome
the accuracy of the science in the arti-
cles I find that uncommon in this type of
publication.

I am a faculty member at the successor
institution of the first medical school that
was opened for women (Female Medical
College, 1851). And 1 now direct a leader-
ship program to route women faculty in
medical and dental schools in the U.S. and
Canada to top leadership positions. We are
proud to say that of the current women

deans in all the allopathic and osteopathic
medical schools and dental schools, 30
percent are graduates of our ELAM
[Executive Leadership in Academic
Medicine] program. That's the glass half
full story. The glass half empty story is
that only 10 percent of the approximately
225 schools have women deans! So, we
have a ways to go before women will be
able to truly influence the climate for
women students, and address the long
standing needs in women's health.

That's why schools like ASC and single
gender programs like ELAM are still vitally
needed.

Pacje Smith Morahan '6i, Ph.D.

Dear Editor,

It's terrible to admit that 1 usually read the
quarterly [Acjnes Scott The Magazine] out of a
sense of obligation rather than anticipa-
tion. But, sadly, that has been my attitude
in the past. Agnes Scott The Magazine that
arrived yesterday is a whole different story
(or stories, I guess). It is just stunning! And
since I haven't had time to read it all yet,
I've been lugging it back and forth from
home to office in hopes of grabbing
another minute for it.

I am particularly miprcssed by the
opinion piece by Alice Evans. 1 wish the
College could publish it as an op-ed piece
in The New York Tuna. That failing, 1 am scan-
ning it into my computer and sending it
to some reflective non-Agnes Scott friends.

And, of course, 1 thought the articles
on the Science Center were lovely. (If only
we could get Agnes Scott to smile!)

Thank you so much for whatever you
did to make this edition new, different
and exciting!

Christie Theriot Woodfin '68

The Empty Seat

Dear Editor,

As a proud alumna, 1 was pleased to receive
the Spring/Summer 2003 edition oi Agnes
Scott The Magazine and hear of the reformu-
lation of Agnes Scott's mission and the
renaming of the former alumnae magazine.
1 also appreciate the efforts of Sara
Vagliano and the Communications Advisory
Committee toward ensuring that the
College's publications reflect that mission.

However, I was concerned upon read-
ing Ms. Vagliano's piece, "Signature: Think
. . . Live ... Engage," because it overlooked
one essential constituency of the Agnes
Scott community: the staff. In citing the
committee's mandate from President Mary
Brown Bullock, Ms. Vagliano specifically
recognizes the "alumnae, students, teach-
ers and administrators" but fails to mention
staff. In addition, she later ponders: "Who
are our students, our faculty?"

Perhaps the ancient academy could
have functioned with only students and
faculty, but the modern institution of
higher education cannot survive or operate
on a daily basis without the presence of
dedicated staff members. Whether these
individuals are maintaining the grounds or
physical plant, installing software, clean-
ing residence halls, processing financial
accounts, making student recruitment pre-
sentations, shelving books, raising donor
funds, patrolling campus, providing
administrative support or fulfilling a host
of other responsibilities, staff members
provide vital services to the institution so
that the education of women can occur.

If Agnes Scott and its publications fail
to include and recognize these individuals,
their roles, and their stories, then that "rich
table of experiences" mentioned by Ms.
Vagliano will have many empty seats.

KathyMcKee' 87
More letters on page 36.

ON CAMPUS 3

ON CAMPUS

Creative expression peppers the daily routine oj collecje lije.

by Martha Gaston '04

WHERE ART AND
SCIENCE MEET

Early 20th-centLiry teaching tools mixed
with colorful contemporary American
art impart color and insight to the Science
Center's open spaces.

"The artwork was selected to reflect
teaching materials, historical materials
from Agnes Scott science departments and
ideas in science," says Sandra Bowden,
Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology. "We
also selected pieces that had value beyond
their scientific impact."

Artwork was chosen to add synergy to
the different disciplines m the building.
On the chemistry floor, near the elevator,
is a painting that seems to be a formula
gone awry. Also on the chemistry floor is
a painting that resembles sewn and
stitched red corpuscles or cosmic map-
ping. Nine polymer clay nests hang in a
row near the second floor elevator. Images
of the nervous and circulatory systems are
on the wall near the office of Barbara
Batchley, associate professor of psychol-
ogy. Hanging near the biology faculty
offices are two photos of Mary Stuart
MacDougall, the College's legendai-y biol-
ogy professor.

Hand-colored .Aiidtihon posters from
1910, Cicrman lithographs and parts of a
193(1 Standford-Binet IQ test complete
with questions outdated in today's
world are among the collection, which
spans all floors of the building.

LIVING WITH ART

Agnes Scott students Hee-jung Cfiun '05, A, Elizabeth Lambert '04, R, and Jacqueline
Urda '03, T, stake out the College's Victorian house designated for an art emphasis
during this academic year.

Students living in the art theme house will interact with the Agnes Scott community, the
Decatur community and other local colleges through specific projects during the fall and
spring semesters. Proposed projects include a community craft festival in November in
which participants make and take home crafts and gifts, and a high school art show
competition and display on campus to encourage young artists. Another tentative project
is a "pin-up" show for local art school students to exhibit work for the public to view and
buy from the artist. Also, the new Art Club will join with house residents to promote
awareness of the visual arts.

It AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

COLLEGE RECEIVES POTTERY COLLECTION

Agnes Scott College recently acquired a collection of American pottery from the estate of
Jimmy Harris, an emergency room physician who died last year. Warren Miltimore,
executor of Harris' will, contacted Lisa Alembik, Dalton Gallery coordinator, about the
possibility of Agnes Scott acquiring the collection. The two met several times and concluded
that the College would be a wonderful place to house the pottery, a 350-piece collection,
which includes pottery made by McCoy, Roseville and Newcomb College.

"Dr. Harris asked that his pottery collection be displayed at a nonprofit institution. When
I saw the pottery, I thought it looked like a fit for Agnes Scott. The pieces will go all over
campus from the library to the President's office," explains Alembik. "He collected
obsessively in order to balance his hectic career with something calming. It is really one
human's hobby and the love of form and beauty."

SCOTTIE FINDS
A HOME

During a visit to Atlanta's Connell
Gallery, a small sculpture of a Scottie
dog captured the interest of Cue P.
Hudson '68, vice president for student
life and community relations and dean of
students, Betty Derrick '68, special
assistant to the vice president for stu
dent life and dean of students, and
Jan Johnson, former administra-
tive assistant to the dean of stu-
dents. Leo Sewell, a Philadelphia
artist, uses a technique called
"found art," creating sculptures
from scraps of metal, plastic and
Vi/ooden objects and gluing or
soldering them together.

As part of her pledge to Bold
Aspirations: The Campaign for Agnes
Scott College, Hudson commissioned a
Scottie dog to be made from items
donated by students, faculty and staff.

The dog, nou' on display on the second
floor of Alston Campus Center, contains
such objects as an Agnes Scott ring and a
Mortar Board pin. The sculpture was dedi-
cated to Derrick and Johnson, both dog
lovers, during Alumnae Weekend 2003.

Hunt 2 by Lucinda Bunnen

NOW SHOWING IN
DALTON GALLERY

Photography exhibit Edijes, Ey:posures &
Mayhem by artist Lucinda Bunnen is
open to the public until Dec. 7 in the
College's Dalton Gallery. Bunnen has
chronicled almost 50 years with her
camera, which she uses without flash. This
exhibit contains photographs taken during
a year's time in diverse societies ranging
from Georgia to Bosnia and includes past
projects that have been reworked techni-
cally. The Dalton Gallery, located in the
Dana Fine Arts building, is open from
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday
and Sunday. Entrance to the exhibit is free.

THE MOVIES RETURN
TO AGNES SCOTT

Beth Holder '82 and her daughters
Kelsey, 14, and Lindsey, 11, appeared
as extras in the film The Adventures of
Oclee Nash, part of which was filmed on
the College's Woodruff Quadrangle. Based
on the rtovei A Flower Blooms on Charlotte
Street by Milam McGraw Propst, the movie
premiered as the first film in the Coke Film
Series at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta this
summer. Featured were stars Keith
Carradine, Mare Winningham and Skyler
Day in the tale of a 9-year-old girl sent in
1898 from rural Mississippi to live with her
sophisticated aunt in Asheville, N.C.

ON CAMPUS 5

This Acjnes Scott alum knows firsthand
that creatine) with clay is therapeutic.

Shaping Clay into Hope

by Nancy Moreland

'^ff '^jT jr T^ hen Frances E. Anderson '63 applied her art
^k ^Lg i therapy skills to her own needs, she created

^L jf I "people pots, " another milestone in a journey
^/%/ into what was, when she began it, the emerg-

T ing frontier of art therapy. Along her journey,

her work has changed lives impacted by abuse and disability.

Anderson had been intrigued by a colleague's suggestion that
they use clay as part of group art ther-
apy to help victims of sexual abuse. So
Anderson, the colleague and a fellow
therapist began a nine-week art therapy
group that culminated in a mural made
of clay tiles.

"The women started by making ani-
mals out of clay and talking about their
experiences, explains Anderson. "Stories
like, 'My dad shot my pet,' emerged
Later my colleague commented that he
had no idea making a clay dog would do
this. We knew we were onto something.

As the mural evolved, Anderson was impressed by how many
iilcs depicted messages of hope and encouragement to other
victims. Yet, working with severely traumatized people pro-
foundly affected her. "It's the hardest work I've ever done. It has to
impact you or you're not a good clinician, but you must maintain
some distance."

Needing a way to cope with these women's horrific stories,
Anderson began making "people pots." "I started creating pots
circled by kids and animals. Gradually, the people and animals
became more connected and that was a metaphor for progress in
the groups."

She received six grants to continue the art therapy group.
More than a decade and dozens of people pots later, her creations
are in private collections, and she cannot keep up with the
demand for her work.

Anderson's pioneering iourney into art therapy began at Agnes
Scott. After her clergyman lather made a side trip to Agnes Scott

while visiting Atlanta, he encouraged his daughter to apply. She
did, and thus began her 30-year involvement with academia.

Always fascinated with art, Anderson's interest in psycholog>'
was influenced by her family and a College professor. "A core
value 1 received from my parents was the importance of con-
tributing to society. Agnes Scott reinforced that," she recalls. "Dr.
Miriam Drucker had a profound influence on my decision to take
as many psychology classes as possible."
The seed was planted when she dis-
i covered Thi Bidletm o^ kr\ Thenjpy (now
n'' The Jounuil of Art Therapy) at the College
library "Art therapy was a natural com-
bination of my art and psychology
interests and represented a means of
helping others and thus giving back to
society, " she says.

While a liberal arts education was "a
great preparation for life," Anderson
yearned to further her knowledge. She
enrolled at Indiana University and com-
bined art with a teaching certificate as part of a master's program.

After graduation, she taught a special education class of chil-
dren ages 6 to 14. "Nothing I'd been taught prepared me to deal
with these kids, so 1 had to be innovative, " Anderson comments.
Her solo voyage into the turbulent waters of special education
was excellent preparation for challenges yet to come. Wanting to
learn more about these children, she returned to lU and earned a
doctorate. (No art therapy training programs existed then.)

When she was hired by Illinois State Llniversitv, she met Larry
Barnfield. He was her mentor and fellow pioneer who trained
instructors to teach art to special needs children. "We'd discuss
how to work with the kids, then bring them into the lab school
classroom. Afterwards, we'd evaluate the process. It was a great
learning experience, I loved being part of a team helping kids,"
she says.

Anderson collected information and took photographs, which
became her first book. Art for All the Children: Approaches to Art

6 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

A "people pot" takes shape in the hands of Frances E. Anderson '63.

Therapy for Children with Disabilities. She has published six more
books, 49 articles, several chapters in books, 1 5 monographs and
a video, and has written 42 grants. Last year she retired from ISU
as Distinguished Professor of Art and director of the Graduate Art
Therapy program.

Using art to promote healing came naturally for Anderson. As
an artist, she had experienced creativity's therapeutic effects.
Drawn to the malleable nature of clay, she found it suitable for a
variety of clients.

The mural project sessions with the abused women began with
participants doing brief verbal "check-ins" of how they were feel-
ing. Facilitators explained what activities
would take place, but group members
chose the content. To deal with family
issues, therapists asked the women to
make symbols representing their family
of origin. "Creating symbols helped
them confront issues with perpetrators
and dysfunctional families. Talking to
symbols was more therapeutic than role
playing," says Anderson. Wolves sym-
bolized one client's family,- another
client made an egg carton with eggs
representing different family members.

The women also had to be in concurrent individual therapy.
"Clay is so powerful that you have to have a way of dealing with
things that come up. Their therapists told us how quickly art ther-
apy helped them deal with feelings. Art really connects the heart
and mind."

Anderson has worked also with sexually abused children. "The
earlier a victim gets treatment, the better their recovery outcome,"

she says. She notes that abused children often don't have the
vocabulary to explain what happened to them, so drawing about
their experiences helps them communicate.

While working with clients and teaching students, Anderson
built impressive credentials. She helped found the American Art
Therapy Association and received an AATA Honorary Life
Membership. She edited the AATA journal. In the late '80s,
Anderson helped develop the art therapy program at Florida State
University while a visiting professor there. She has received 42
grants. Most recently, Anderson was awarded a Fulbright grant to
assist the Instituto Nacionale Universitario del Arte in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, in developing the first post-
graduate art therapy program in South
America. She also collected drawings
by Argentinean children to establish
benchmarks for normalcy.

Anderson is once again working
with Barnfield, and she recently relo-
cated to Charleston, S.C., to consult
with the region's mental health agencies
and public schools.

Like any pioneer, Frances Anderson
has experienced challenges. The values
instilled by her parents and nurtured at
Agnes Scott have acted as a beacon. She summarizes her philoso-
phy by borrowing a Pueblo Indian phrase: "We have no word for
art; we do everything as well as we possibly can "

Nancy Morehviil is a /reeluiicc writer anii jrecfuent contributor to Agnes Scott

The Magazine.

TO CONTACT FRANCES: feanderl 7@hotmail.eom

SHAPING CLAY INTO HOPE 7

Lijeloui) art lovers reveal the secrets ojwhat it takes to
join tijeir ranks as art collectors. You may already he
one and not know it.

by Kathy Reynolds Doherty '67

An art collector often remembers the first artwork she
bought that inauspicious poster or reproduction
that decorated the wall of a newlywed apartment but
launched a habit that mutated into something much
more serious.
For Louisa Aiche! Mcintosh '47, it was a reproduction of a
Gauguin mountain landscape that she and her husband bought
from The New York Graphics Society just after World War II. She
found a frame for $3 and hung it on the wall. She also remembers
the first serious piece of art she purchased. "1 gave it to myself as a
Christmas present." It was an abstract oil and collage on canvas by
Marilyn Pennington, bought for about $45 from a shop in
Atlanta's High Museum of Art. Her young architect husband had
died, but she was carrying on their mutual interest in visual arts.

8 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

She eventually parlayed that interest into one of Atlanta's finer
galleries Mcintosh Gallery which she sold a few years ago
after she showcased some of the most promising artists and, as she
says, "aided and abetted" countless individuals beginning or
adding pieces to their collections.

For Suzanne "Susie" Goodman Elson '59, her habit began with
a wedding gift of a ceramic by Robert Westervelt, an art professor
at Agnes Scott. That pot spawned a collection of ceramics, sculp-
ture, handcrafted furniture and other art that graces the couple's
three homes. "We both had taken art in school, and as we could
afford more, we began expanding our wings," she says.

Elson and her husband began to collect works by young artists.
They were intrigued by the "New Realists," Philip Pearlstein
among them. As they traveled more, they began to collect the
work of young German artists. "This was the early 1 980s, and they
were so passionate," says Elson. 'They were people living in West
Berlin on the edge of East Berlin. It was a highly charged
atmosphere at that moment."

Is anyone who buys a pot or a painting a collector? Or is there
something that sets apart those who collect from those who
simply hang pictures? "Collecting carries a measure of self-
consciousness," says Mcintosh. "Many people are reluctant to say
they have a collection, but 1 say the collection occurs when you
have more than one or two pieces of original work or limited
edition prints."

There is, however, one additional criterion, and that is intent.
"It's not sentimental, it's not an embellishment and it's not to create
an atmosphere that you want to identify yourself with," says
Mcintosh. She recalls a trip to her bank several years ago. "1 asked
the manager, whom I knew quite well, 'Tell me, do you ride to
hounds? If not, then why do you have all these pictures of hunting
scenes in your lobby?' "

The bank's intent was not to collect. "Art usually decides it's
going to collect you," says Mcintosh. "And, of course, eventually,
it does create an atmosphere that identifies you." She and her
husband, John Edwards, collect prints, paintings and sculpture. In
fact, they met when he purchased a painting from her gallery.

A recent take on the reasons for acquiring art came in French
playwright Yasmina Reza's 1998 Tony Award-winning
play. Art. Audiences in Europe and the United States
howled as three male friends proceeded to put all their bonds of
friendship on the line over the worth or worthlessness of a
white painting on a white canvas. In a critique of the ideas in the
play, Michael R. Lissack of F^enley Management College offered
this interpretation: "The white canvas is but an object. It is art

"Art usually decides it's going to collect you."

because the artist said it was art, but more importantly it is
art because the viewer has a means of pulling from his/her rela-
tionship to the canvas a meaning or meanings that make sense to
that viewer. "

Lissack seems to say that art lies in the eye of the beholder.
Mcintosh and Elson are saying much the same thing: You buy
what you like that's how it begins. As you get hooked, you visit
more art galleries, you read more magazine articles, you travel
more widely, you seek advice from art dealers. And thus, they say.

you refine your taste and what you like becomes more sophisti-
cated, more tuned in to trends among artists, more risk-taking,
more discerning about how well the piece is executed.

The play's characters argue about why their friend bought the
painting. If he bought it because it was expensive, or because the
artist was in vogue or because he needed a white painting facing
a white sofa, then he wasn't collecting. He was acting to satisfy
his ego.

"To me, there's no way you can win an argument about art with
words," says Mcintosh. "It's emotional. It's not intellectual. The art
you collect should speak to you. It might not say the same thing
every day. In contemporary art, usually the artist leaves enough to

"The art you collect should speak to you.
It might not say the same thing every day."

your imagination that there is a dialogue between you and the art
and it remains intriguing over time. But your first intuitive reaction
says a lot. Combine that intuition with educating yourself, which
expands your horizons and enables you to appreciate much more."

Elson expresses similar advice. 'Tirst, you must look. Read art
publications, visit museums and art shows. Get a feel for what you
might like because there's such a range available today. Then
rely on a dealer or art consultant or museum personnel. Most
museums are very happy to help you."

For the beginner, she also has advice about the investment
required. As she and her husband began collecting, they set a bar
in dollars. Above that amount, they would be more careful in
their purchase. Below that amount, they felt comfortable taking
more chances.

For an aspiring collector, what measures can guide your pur-
chases once you find what you like? Mcintosh offers these
questions: Do you get a sense of the idea in the artist's mind
that impelled the creation of the work? FHow confident are you
that you recognize the artist's ability to execute, which is a visible
result of either training or years of experience, or both? And, if an
artist invested himself or herself in the work, it will be apparent.
Mcintosh calls this aspect "soul,"

The soul the artist invested in the work and the fact that it
speaks to you foretells a relationship that may deepen over time
and take your mind to places you may never have imagined. "I
learn from it," says Mcintosh. "It is a journey without equal."

Kathy Reynolds Doherty '67 owns a communications consuhintj practice in Washington.
DC, ipith clients as diverse as Airborne Express and the government oj Malawi.

TO LEARN MORE

"There is nothing that one can read that substitutes for looking
at art," says Mcintosh, who recommends that the beginning
collector dive off the deep end and go looking at what is
available. FHowever, here are three books to start the journey
into collecting:

Histoiy oj Modern Art by H.H. Arnason (Abrams)
Just Looking by John Updike (Alfred A. Knopf)

Living with Art by Solomon & Anderson (Rizzoli)

IF IT SPEAKS TO YOU, BUY IT 9

Windows to Heaven

mmi

mw^

MM u m^

The religious icons of

Suzanne Amidon Zoole '62

lead this artist to a d^uiet

haven from the challenges

of daily life.

by Allison Adams '89

While visiting the Eastern Orthodox churches
of Russia eight years ago, Suzanne "Sue"
Amidon Zoole '62 was captivated by the rich
symbolism, color and mystery of centuries-
old religious paintings of Christ, the Virgin
Mary and Christian saints. A few months later, she enrolled in a
workshop in Pennsylvania to begin to learn the ancient method of
icon painting, which unites prayer, meditation and art. Since then,
she has painted 1 8 of these stylized portraits of the holiest figures
of Christianity.

Often called "windows to heaven," icons typically depict their
subjects in symbolic detail, serving as an aid for contemplative
prayer for worshippers. Zoole draws on a form of Byzantine art
that dates back to the 1 0th century and persists as a powerful
spiritual practice.

Steeped in tradition, Zoole's icon painting involves tracing
ancient prototypes, such as the image of a saint, before painting it
in egg tempera or acrylic on finished layers of birch plywood,
cloth and gesso. The process is an act of devotion, calling for
quiet prayer throughout. Zoole often paints during silent retreats
at an abbey.

Zoole, who was a marriage and family
therapist for 25 years, embraces the reverent
hush of icon painting. "In therapy, there's a lot
of talk and emotions," she says. "And I have
become very interested in silence, stillness
and cultivating the inner life."

Zoole says the spiritual discipline of her
icons differs from her other, more secular
paintings, which typically depict interiors of rooms in a style she
describes as abstracted realism. "1 can go at it like 1 would go wash
the dishes I can go in hassled or angry. I just start," she says.
"But with icons, 1 want to be in a calm, centered place 1 make
sure I'm not upset or rushed, because I wouldn't want that to come
out in the icon."

The rituals of creating an icon leave little room for artistic vari-
ation. Particular details have become what Donna Sadler,
Agnes Scott associate professor of art, describes as "decoder
rings." For example. Saint Peter holds a key because he is the
founder of the Church, and Saint Thomas, as its founding
architect, holds a T-square. Heads of the figures are encircled in a
gold-leaf nimbus.

The images appear two-dimensional and without perspective.
That look, Sadler explains, contrasts with the developments of the
Renaissance, which did not touch Byzantine art. "In the 1400s in
Italy, you have Giotto rediscovering nature and looking outside
and modeling in light and shadow," she says. "But in the East,
artists never look outside, so they just keep copying these proto-
types. Things tend to be hard-edged copies of copies of copies.
You can always tell an Eastern work in 1500 as opposed to an
Italian Renaissance work, because of the method there's never
a switch to oil painting."

Zoole explains the importance of adhering to the prototypes
and symbols: "If churchgoers are accustomed to saying the
Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed in church, they would not
like the pastor to get up and say, 'I have a little creative impulse.
We're going to take this part out and add another part.' It would
be counter to tradition. These images are canonical in the same

"The icon represents for me
a call from Christ to eliminate

the chatter of our lives

and the many petitions to him

and to simply listen."

way. They're part of the liturgy."

She does not aim to duplicate, however. "You could have five
different iconographers doing the same subject, and you would
see slight stylistic differences," Zoole says. "The idea is to do it
honestly in the traditional manner, but individual characteristics
come through anyway. "

Zoole calls her most beloved icon Chriit the Holy Silence. In it,
Christ is depicted in cool blues and grays as an angel with
still, white wings and hands folded gently across his body.

"The icon represents for me a call from Christ to eliminate the
chatter of our lives and the many petitions to him and to simply
listen," Zoole writes in her artist's statement. "Prayerfi.il silence can
be deep and rich and create for us children of Cod an open place,
an open field in which we can meet God."

Christ the Holy Silence, which the Episcopal Church and the
Visual Arts included in an on-line exhibition, is one of 18 icons
Zoole has created on retreats, in workshops, and in her
Spartanburg, S.C., studio. She has kept most of them, displaying
them on one wall of a room where she paints and meditates.
Others she has given away. While she has had
one commission, she does not market herself
as an icon painter.

"It's very, very nice to give them away," she
says. "They're like children you love them
all, and they almost become he' and 'she,'
rather than 'it'."

As a result of her icon painting, Zoole now
holds a volunteer lay position at the Episcopal
Church of the Advent in Spartanburg to enhance the presence of
the visual arts in parish life. She is helping to build a museum-
quality collection to be displayed throughout the buildings of the
church, to collect art to be used in worship spaces and to tap the
talent and inspiration of parishioners in corporately created
works, such as quilts and children's art.

'This is all predicated on the fact that 1 think our world is get-
ting more and more visual," Zoole says. "The Episcopal Church
has always had beautiful altars and stained-glass windows, but not
other kinds of art."

Zoole's icons reflect a resurgence of interest in the form,
according to Sadler. "I've noticed it just being a medievalist," she
says. "Whenever 1 present at academic conferences, there's always
a crowd of lay people who are interested in this from their
churches or just from their own reading being interested in
what the symbols mean."

Allison Adams '89 is a writer and editor at Emoiy University, where sfcf earned her master's
decree in English.

TO LEARN MORE

The Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts:
www.ecva.org/exhibition/icons/pages/icons.html

Sacred Doorways-. A Beginner's Guide to Icons by Linette Martin

The Techniefue ojicon Painting by Guillem Ramos-Poqui

A comprehensive book list is available by e-mail from
Zoole: soozle@charter.net

WINDOWS TO HEAVEN 11

OPINION

Let the Patrons Pay

by Linda Grant Teasley '61

The National Endowment tor
the Arts began in 1965 with a
budget of $2.5 million that
grew to $104 million by
2002. Of the current budget,

19 percent covers administrative costs, and

20 percent goes to heavilv funded arts
organizations,- for example, last year the
Metropolitan Opera received $200,000,
which constitutes a miniscule portion of
the opera's annual revenue of $1 33 million.
The New World Symphony in Miami
received $200,000 and the Smithsonian
$150,000. Sesame Street, arguably the
most popular and commercially profitable
children's program in history, received
$25,000.

Clearly, federal fimding is character-
ized by much larger overhead costs than
should be expected, as well as by dona-
tions to organizations that could survive
without federal help.

Defenders of federal support for the
arts proclaim that art in the United States
would die without stibsidies to museums,
symphony orchestras and individual
artists. On the contrary, the visual and
performing arts would flotirish without
federal subsidies. From 1995 to 1996, the
budget tor the NEA was reduced by 40
percent, from $162 million to $99.5 mil-
lion. At the same time, private donations
to the arts increased by exactly the same
amount, 40 percent.

The public sector does step tip to the
plate when necessary and will give to the
causes it supports. Since NEA funding is
not crucial to the organizations it subsi-
dizes, individtial artists based on the
NEA's idea of excellence are the ones
who benefit most. Art is best funded not
by organizations that select recipients
based on the criteria of committees but by
individuals who are willing to pay for what
they like. Furthermore, taxes on the general
public support federal programs, btit this
general ptiblic doesn't necessarily benefit

Irom arts subsidies. Instead, those who
gain the most are museum visitors, orches-
tra buffs and other devotees of highbrow
art, not the poor or the middle class. It that
situation were reversed, as the NEA has
tried to do by funding more programs tor
ethnic and marginalized groups, the prob-
lem remains. Public monies that benefit

Linda Grant Teasley '61

one designated group of citizens over
another is discriminatory.

Artists who celebrate subsidies would
be well-advised to heed Robert Frost's
words when he said that the subsidized
artist faces a choice between "death or
Pollyanna," By death, he meant that the
Muse is held hostage in the inevitable con-
flict between politics and art

Conservatives denounce the NEA for
fimding erotic photography and the NEF^
for allocating money to PBS tor broadcast-
ing programs that editorialize about polit-
ical events and highlight alternative
lifestyles. Civil rights activists force the
Library of Congress to take down a display

on antebellum slave life. Veterans don't
like the Smithsonian's display on the
bombing of FHiroshima. These political
battles over how tax money is spent show
us that art involves deep commitments to
values that should be beyond the reach of
government sanctions.

The founding fathers understood that
the government should stay out of the
religious life of citizens and the same argu-
ment should be made tor the artistic pref-
erences of citizens. The NEA cannot be an
independent agency because its allocations
from public funds do not represent any

Artists who celebrate subsidies

would be well-advised to heed

Robert Frost's words when he said

that the subsidized artist

faces a choice between

"death or Pollyanna."

kind of consensus and serve only to polar-
ize opinions The reason is not hard to
find. As the director of Baltimore's Center
Stage said, "Art has power It has the power
to sustain, to heal, to humanize ... to
change something in you. It's a frightening
power, and also a beautiful power . . . And
it's essential to a civilized society."

Precisely. To energize art and acknowl-
edge its power of persuasion, we would be
well advised to establish the separation of
art and state.

Linda (.Jriiiil Tea^Uy I of Tiim/ii?, F/ii , hoLii i?m AI A
from Ceorilhi Slate Uiuvcrsily aiul a Ph D from Emory
University. She is ii (rnslcf 0/ the Collec/e and a mfm/)rr 0/
the steering committee Jor Bold Aspiratiom The Gim/iiiii/ii
for Atpiei Scott Collecje.

12 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

OPINION

Democracy Demands Wisdom and Vision in its Citizens

by Lynn Maxwell White '65

Cokimbus Day 1971, I drove
my old Buick Special from
Chapel Hill where 1 had
been working on a Ph.D. in
American literature to
Washington, D.C. There 1 would begin a
29-year adventure with a young federal
agency called the National Endowment for
the Humanities, sister agency of the
National Endowment for the Arts. 1 was
idealistic and ready for excitement.

The law that forms the basis of the
NEA and the NEH, The National
Foundation on the Arts and Humanities
Act of 1965, is one of the most powerful
statements I know about sustaining a
democracy. These excerpts can bring me
to tears: 1 ) "Democracy demands wisdom
and vision in its citizens. It must therefore
foster and support a form of education and
access to the arts and the humanities,
designed to make people of all back-
grounds and wherever located masters of
their technology and not its unthinking
servants. 2) ... it is necessary and appro-
priate for the Federal Government to help
create and sustain not only a climate
encouraging freedom of thought, imagina-
tion, and inquiry but also the material con-
ditions facilitating the release of this
creative talent . . ." And finally, 3) "The
world leadership which has come to the
United States cannot rest solely upon
superior power, wealth, and technology,
but must be founded upon worldwide
respect and admiration for the Nation's
high qualities as a leader in the realm of
ideas and the spirit."

Three decades later, I look in awe at the
difference that has been made by these
unique federal agencies. With very modest
funding (currently $ 1 1 7 million for NEA)
they have helped sustain our great cultural
institutions and bring arts and culture to
the citizenry. They have attracted many
times their federal budgets in matching
grants from private sources. Think how

often you see the phrase "Supported m
part by the NEA (or the NEH)" when you
see an excellent public television docu-
mentary or visit a stellar museum exhibi-
tion. The NEH and the NEA have helped
bring more voices to the table, highlrght-
ing the accomplishments of different
cultures and empowering individuals and
communities to explore and express their
experiences.

Among the NEA's initiatives is
"Challenge America" in which community
groups join to create public arts works or
participate in arts activities, and another in
which successful after school arts programs
for at-risk students receive "Coming Up
Taller" awards. The role of the arts in the
schools has received a great deal of atten-
tion lately, in part because of a report
issued in May 2002 by the Arts Education
Partnership (jointly funded by the NEA
and the Department of Education). This
report, Critical Littks: Leamiiu] in the Arts iiiui
Stuiiait Academic and Social Development,
demonstrates what every elementary
teacher knows artistic expression is
vitally important in education. It documents
a carryover from learning in the arts to
other subjects.

The bipartisan authors of the founding
legislation for NEA and NEH never imag-
ined that their basic assumptions about the
value of each individual in a democracy
would come under attack over the years by
public figures who do not trust the citi-
zenry. Neoconservative thinkers prefer
obedience and censorship to wisdom and
vision, advocate turning our schools into
testing mills rather than places of critical
inquiry, consider the respect of the rest of
the world irrelevant and believe them-
selves justified in withholding the truth
from the public. The attacks that have
been launched against the NEA and the
NEH ostensibly on the basis of a few
controversial paintings among many
thousands displayed by museums that have

had NEA funding are highly ideological
and come from this quarter.

A significant increase for these agencies
could make a huge difference in support-
mg the positive aspects of who we are as a
country. The reality, however, is that sim-
ple survival of the NEA and NEH has
meant an ongoing congressional battle. If
they are to have even modest increases in
the future, the public must become better
informed about the value of the work these
agencies do and about the ambitious polit-
ical agendas of the increasingly influential
ideologues that attack them. While some
private founda-
tions and individ-
ual philanthropists
do make impor-
tant contributions
to the arts, the Bt ^_^

federal govern-
ment is uniquely
able to maintain a ^^^m/
policy of service to Lynn Maxwell White "65
the citizenry as

well as a peer review system that remains
surprisingly balanced and objective despite
changes in political leadership.

As a lifelong educator and administra-
tor, 1 believe deeply in empowering others.
Artistic expression is key in opening up the
imagination and passion of students of any
age and in developing confidence and cre-
ativity that influence all aspects of life.

Support for the National Endowments
for the Arts and the Humanities represents
support for the kind of democracy that
honors all citizens, calls them to their
highest potential and prepares them for
self-government.

Lyiw Maxwell White 65 served as director oj the higher
education programs and was program officer in media,
challenge grants and education programs at the NEH. In
2000, sbc moved to Mars Hill College in North Carolina
where she is a dean.

OPINION 13

With unemployment
at a record high, almost
no one is immune from
receiving the old "pink
slip." But, with the
right attitude and
approach, even that
dreaded e:!(perience can
"be the best thing that
ever happened. "

GNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE.

Turn that Pink Slip into Gold

by Maria Mallory White

ou've lost your job.

Perhaps you were laid off, downsized, furloughed or fired frequent occurrences
these days. No matter what they called it, the net effect is that you had a job and now you
don't. Whatever the reason, the impact of losing a job can be devastating. But the loss
doesn't have to signal the end of your career or self-esteem.

"It's very, very hard to be unemployed," admits Jeanne Addison
Roberts '46. "It's very easy to get discouraged, and sometimes that
goes on i^or a long time."

Everyone handles the loss of a job differently. No one-size-fits-
all prescription for recovery exists, and yet the pain of job loss can
be quite significant.

"It always hurts," says Jane A. Thomas, a senior consultant with
Lee Hecht Harrison, a global outplacement and career services
firm. "There's a wound. Some feel it more deeply than others."
Still, she adds, "1 think for almost anybody, there's a kick in the
ego. Some people need me to listen to them for a while because
they're very hurt. They want to tell me about it because they feel
angry, depressed or fearful."

Anger was what Roberts felt. While teaching at Mary
Washington College, Roberts fell in love and married another
professor. When the school's president heard of the nuptials, he
fired the bride. "He said nepotism was forbidden in Virginia, so I
was rather suddenly unemployed," says Roberts.

For Ellen Wood Hall '67, dean of Agnes Scott from 1984 to
1989, the loss of a later position was not only sudden but also
painfully played out in public.

Hall had been recruited from ASC to serve as the first female
president of Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. The backlash
Hall experienced from hiring the school's highest-ranking
African-American administrator and other controversies culmi-
nated in Hall's departure from Converse.

"It was a very public and nasty termination," she allows.
"Theoretically, 1 resigned, but 1 was forced to resign and so it was
an extremely painful situation. 1 was attacked personally, verbally
and told how ugly 1 was and how badly 1 dressed and that kind of
thing. It was a very difficult story, a difficult situation."

Hall took refuge in her family. She resolved not to run away
from Spartanburg. "In a situation like that, you have to cope with
shame. You know you've done nothing wrong, but you feel you
have. 1 was given two months to leave the president's house, so we
[her family] put together a plan."

TURN THAT PINK SLIP INTO GOLD I5

A person's attitude can affect the search for a new position.
"How we handle this event emotionally is going to have a
huge impact on how we are perceived by our next potential
employer, " says Linda KammireTiffan, Ph.D., ofT- Consulting in
.'\tlanta. "If [you] are having job interviews or networking with
people with a bad attitude or sour grapes or feelings hurt or bad
mouthing an employer, that's not going to help at all "

Tiffan recommends releasing those feelings and attitudes.
Talk to close friends and family members about your situation
and do your venting there. If you're angry, hurt or scared about
the future, pick safe people to talk with about that. Get those
feelings expressed "

While you're looking for work, find other ways to be
productive, Tiffan advises. "Find other outlets for your energy," she
says. 'This is a good time to volunteer to feel productive.
[Volunteering] is a good way to feel like you're engaged in
meaningful activity again, even if you're not necessarily getting
paid for it "

When Claudette Cohen '87 was laid off from her job as a
technical writer in Laramie, Wyo., in March 2001 , she channeled
her energy into creative writing.

'Laramie isn't the easiest place to get a job. Since writing is my
main thing, I took the time to write," Cohen explains. "I wrote a
novel that summer, so I kinda turned lemons into lemonade, and I
took that time to produce something that may produce down the
road." And, at summer's end, Cohen had landed a job at the

University of Wyoming as editor of a geology magazine.

As difficult as it may be, sometimes the silver lining of losing
your job is that now you have plenty of room for a better oppor-
tunity. Sometimes a career crisis can clarify your commitment
to your vocation. Hall, for one, after spending some two years
away from academia, eventually realized what she wanted from
her career.

Sometimes the silver lining

of losing your job is that now you have plenty of

room for a better opportunity.

"It gave me a sense of who I am and what my priorities are.
Maybe I would have learned all that anyway, but as it turns out, 1
have a good life now and 1 thmk 1 learned a great deal about
survival and what it takes,' she says.

"1 had made a decision that I wanted to re-enter an academic
community, and 1 didn't want to do it at the presidential level. I
wanted to do it where I worked with the faculty on the educa-
tional program of the institution My best work is done at the
level of being an academic and an educator," says Hall, vice
president for academic affairs and dean of Wells College.

There are times when unemployment points us in directions
we may not have gone otherwise, as alumna Roberts found.

That infuriating "nepotism" firing years ago proved to be a

FIRST STEPS

Losing your job generally results in an immediate emotional
reaction, and it is usually negative or bewildered. Before signing
any papers, making any decisions or taking any retaliatory actions,
strive to return to a rational frame of mind. Steadfastly maintain both
your good sense and your common sense. Remember these points.

Immediately

It Is perfectly appropriate to have a lawyer look
over any papers before you sign them. Make
sure you know exactly what you are agreeing to
even if you think the firm has your best interests
at heart.

Wait until you feel more reasonable before
making major decisions regarding insurance,
finances and similar issues. Ask a trusted friend
or family member to validate your decisions if
you feel that you continue to be more emotional
than rational.

Do not burn any bridges. Temper your comments
in public.

When you are ready to look for a job

Think through the skills and qualifications you bring to a job. Be
able to list three to five key ones at the drop of a hat. Define what
your core interests, your core skills and your core strengths are.
Consider how these transfer to another job and make you valuable

to a firm. These could include, among others, communication, lead-
ership, teamwork/collaboration, decision making, problem solving
and developing partnerships in addition to your technical skills.

Develop a two- or three-sentence description of what you are
looking for. You've heard it a hundred times before: The best way
to find a job is to network. People generally are quite generous
with contacts and advice if they know what you
need. You must provide enough information so
that a person can offer meaningful support and
assistance. If you are taking this as an opportunity
to change directions or careers, tell people that
and then list your transferable skills.

When talking with prospective employers,
tell them what you can do for them not what
they can do for you. In today's working
environment, employers hire people that are
able and willing to contribute to the organiza-
tion first. For an employer, what the firm can do
for you is secondary.

Continue not to burn any bridges, judiciously
explain your circumstances to prospective

employers. Networks and connections are present in many forms,
and you want to maintain your good reputation within them all.

Catherine Neiner
Catherine Neiner is director of the College's Office of Career Planning.

l6 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

turning point in Roberts' life. "Being fired from Mary Washington
College turned out in the end to be a good thing because 1
wouldn't have gone back to school and gotten the Ph.D.," she says.

For Heather L. Flanagan '93, life after layoff has been good.
Flanagan had been a computer administrator for a fast-growing
dot.com. When she started the job, she was maintaining half a
dozen PCs. When she was let go, she was providing 24/7 service
and support to 65 computers in three regional offices. To make
matters worse, as the dot.com sector began to tank, Flanagan's
employer laid off the few people on staff who could lend a hand.

"1 was always on call," Flanagan remembers. "If I were to take
any significant vacation, it had to be planned about a year in
advance."

The unrelenting stress to keep up with the workload affected
Flanagan's health. "1 was starting to have digestive problems," she
recalls. "1 had to go to the hospital to see if 1 had an ulcer and
things like that. ! had lost 20 pounds, and I'm not a big person."

Ironically, the layoff proved to be just what the doctor
ordered. "I had wanted to leave, but at that point, there was no
one left who could do my job, and I didn't want to have that on
my conscience," Flanagan says.

Today, she works at Duke University in a department that
employs 14 people to maintain fewer than 200 computers.

"1 can say, 'hey, I'm going to take off today,' and 1 don't have to
worry about it. 1 got a pay raise, which is unusual going from the
corporate world to a university. Being laid off was the best thing
that happened to me."

Even though the "pink slip" may be the unexpected push you
needed, you still have to find that new position. Approach
your job search with thoughtful planning.
Revise, but don't stigmatize your resume. If you were laid off
or downsized, focus on setting aside any negative, self-imposed
stereotypes about your experience before you start reworking your
resume. Such attitudes can seep into your resume and taint your
overall job search, if you're not careful, warns Cayle Oliver, CEO
of Buckhead-based Execume, a career management firm.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF NETWORKING

In general

A networking meeting should last no more than 30 minutes
unless you are invited to stay longer.

You requested this meeting; you set the agenda. Do not waste
the person's time by not knowing what you want to talk about.

A networking meeting is not a job interview. It is a meeting to
gain information and to establish or build a relationship.

Open the meeting

Thank the person for meeting with you.

Begin to build some rapport with brief informal conversation.

Reiterate why you are there and your goals for the meeting.

Gather information

Briefly state your work history and/or background.

Conduct a focused conversation using prepared, open-ended
questions that will elicit the information you want. Some
questions could be (but are not limited to):

Do you have any suggestions for my resume?

What firms/organizations do you recommend I target?

Do you think someone with my background could transfer the

skills to this field/industry?
Which of my skills transfer?
Do I need some additional experience?
What obstacles will I encounter?
What steps do you recommend I take to overcome them?
What advice do you have forme as i take on this career

challenge or make this career change/functional area change?

Ask for referrals

Ask if you may use the contact's name when you call the referral.

If you have identified other people either within that organiza-
tion or in other organizations, ask if it would be appropriate or
beneficial to contact them.

"There's no stigma attached
to being downsized anymore."

"There's no stigma attached to being downsized anymore, and
1 think it's important that people get that message," says Oliver,
who wrote Execume': It's More Than a Re'sume', It's a Reflection of You.
"When dealing with the resume, you have to be in a position of
being confident in who you're going to be on paper. There's an
important self-perception there. You have to realize that [the
layoff is] not really a reflection of you, though if somebody's
telling you 'You don't have a job anymore,' it may feel like it's a
perception of you. But, you may have been moved, reorganized,
shifted or downsized by no fault of your own. That's why there is
no stigma to it."

Build an arsenal of the good to combat the bad. if you were
fired or left a job in some sort of controversy, beyond reflecting in
your resume the positive aspects of your work history, be ready to
confidently and honestly discuss your departure. Never lie, but be
sure to focus on your strengths, as well as how you may have dealt
with any responsibility. "You need to be prepared to show how

Close the meeting

Restate action or follow-up items.

Request permission to keep the contact up-to-date on your
progress.

Thank contact for his or her time.

Follow up

Write thank you note to contact.

Complete action items.

Occasionally apprise contact of your progress.

Catherine Neiner

and when you dealt with your issue or problem," says Emory W.
Mulling, chair of Atlanta-based outplacement and executive
consultancy The Mulling Companies.

Support the details of your turnaround and your ongoing
strengths with references from employers who can attest to your
good work. "You must depend on those good references to carry
you through," says Mulling, "by presenting them in this way: 'I

TURN THAT PINK SLIP INTO GOLD 1/

made a mistake, but look at all the other things I accomplished.
Please call all these other companies to check my references. ' "

Find your next work through networking. Don't sit behind that
computer all day. Get out and meet folks, says Tiffan.

"This is a time to get really involved m professional organiza-
tions or community organizations for opportunities to simply
meet vi/orking people, people vi'ho are inside other companies and
knovk' about job openings," says Tiffan. "If you're somebody who
has not been going to professional meetings, the dinners or the
breakfasts that's something that you really want to start doing"

And while you're out, be ready to tell your story. Don't be shy
about telling people you re looking. "Word of mouth is probably
the most popular vehicle right now in this economy [employers
use] for advertising open jobs, so tell your hairdresser, your man-
icurist, your PTA rep," she stresses. "You really need to get the
word out to everyone because your next job will probably come
from a very unexpected place."

Mmiii hiallory U^iilc operates Alullory/iife, nfreehmce wrilmg anii comultiiigjinn, whose
clients mclude the Atlanta lournal-Constltution/or whom she writes regularly o
business issues. She has been a stajj member of Business Week anil U.S. News and
World Report

TO LEARN MORE

The Job Loss Recovery Guide by Lunn Joseph and Carole
Honeychurch

Your Scri'ices Aie No Longer Recjuireti: The Complete Job-Loss
Recovery Book by Christopher Kirkwood

Fired, Laid Off, Ottt of it Job: A iWamuilfor Understanding, Coping,
Surviving by Byron Keith Simerson and Michael D.
McCormick

What Color Is Your Ptmiclmte? bv Richard Bolles

"I've lost my job"

i 've lost my job." It's not the kind of phrase you want to blurt out at
a cocktail party. I know because I've been there. People tell you
they are sorry, wonder how you are "holding up." 'Vou have a sudden
inkling that you may be viewed differently. There Is a sense of loss
because a chapter in the book of your career maybe even your
life has closed forever. After my layoff, I experienced all five stages
of Katharine Kubler Ross' grief process. Once I reached the
"resignation" stage, my search for a better job and for a better sense
of self began in earnest.

Most people have, at some time, lost their job due
to circumstances beyond their control. The world
has changed and job longevity is its casualty. But
change always brings opportunity. Seeking a new
job can be a fulfilling adventure with a very happy
ending. The story content each act and scene is
all in your hands.

At some level, a job loss brings a sense of relief.
You shed emotional baggage and workplace
stress. In a search, it's important to be clear about
the kind of workplace that best suits you. Once
you find it, you will feel empowered and energized.

Here are some steps to help you on your journey.

Knowthyself. Makealist an honestand thoughtful one of your
strengths. If you need help, ask people who know you well. If you
are not clear about your talents, it's hard for a prospective
employer to identify them for you.

Networking and informational interviews. With only 20 percent of
available jobs advertised, networking uncovers hidden opportu-
nities through word-of-mouth. Call colleagues to make appoint-
ments for informational interviews. Don't ask these particular
individuals for a job because that will limit your options and put

them on the defensive. Instead, share your strengths, talk about
your experiences and accomplishments, pick their brain about
others with whom you might meet. This one-on-one exchange lets
you make a positive impression. The result is one long chain of
people and perspectives. Chances are, somewhere along the way,
someone will see a fit and put you in touch with a company that
has the right opportunity for you. Talk to former work colleagues,
clients, friends and neighbors. (Are there Agnes Scott alumnae in

your field?) Most people are willing to lend an ear

as well as free advice.

Request outplacement. Many companies offer
terminated employees the services of an out-
placement agency This arrangement enables
you to conduct your job search in a professional
office setting by providing phone, fax, computer,
secretarial support, a career counselor, and per-
haps most important, camaraderie a people-
centered workplace to go each day

Keep your perspective. Chances are this search
will have a favorable payoff a better job in a
more compatible workplace. Your goal is a sim-
ple one to find one job, one right fit for your

skills. Of course, you will have blue periods; but turn to your support
system friends, family and faith. Don't be your own worst enemy
by being negative and down on yourself. I can't think of a job that
lists "bad attitude" as a prerequisite.

If you become one of "them" the unemployed give yourself time
to mourn. But at the end of the day, know that the future is in your
hands.

Linda Lee Newland Soltis '84
Linda Lee Newland Soltis ' 84 is director of marketing and public relations for
Kaleida Health, the 39th largest health system in the country, in Buffalo, n. y.
She received an m.b.a. from Emory University.

18 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL2OO3

I

The

Intestin

Power

of Leafmhg

Find something in life
about which you are
passionate, so passionate
that it evokes a physical
response. This professor
and art historian
contends the best way
to begin is with a liberal
arts education.

i& ROBERT HOLMES/C(

he first time 1 saw the Nike oJSamothrace perched on the prow of a ship at the top of the staircase of the
Louvre Museum, I felt a complex wave of beauty, nausea and lightheadedness that sent me careening
down two flights of marble stairs in a dead faint. My right leg and left arm have mended, the
humiliation has paled since most of the museum guards from that regime have retired, and I am now
extremely careful around breathtaking works of art.

THE INTESTINAL POWER OF LEARNING I9

Was iliis a case of Stendhal syndrome? This condition
was identified in 1982 in Florence after 107 victims
souf^ht help in the psychiatric wing of Santa Maria
Novella after being dramatically affected by the city's great works
of art. Dubbed the Stendhal syndrome after the French writer
who recorded a similar emotional experience on his first visit to
the Tuscan city in 1817: "On leaving the Santa Croce church, 1
felt a pulsating in my heart. Life was draining out of me, while I
walked fearing a fall '

Though my colleagues who dabble in statistics will find this
small percentage of tourists swooning at the feet of Michelangelo's
David unconvincing, I would argue that art does have the capac-
ity to provoke a visceral reaction, to transform the viewer Into
quite a spectacle.

NVhat was it about the figure of Victory, which once com-
memorated the Rhodian naval victory over Antiochus III In 190
B.C.E., that threw my ship so off course? Was it the sea-drenched
drapery that lashes against the figure's stomach, that forms a
massive wedge of cloth across part of her body while the other
leg strains against the thin layer of fabric plastered to It? Is It
the effortlessness with which the wings ease her landing on the
bow of the ship? Does one even notice that she lacks both arms
and head?

It was onlv years later when
Richard Parry, Fuller E,
Callaway Professor of
Philosophy, and I were leading
students on a Global
Connections trip to Greece,
that I saw the familiar signs of
'art sickness' in an Agnes Scott
student. We had stopped to pay
homage to the Chitriotm of Delphi
and remark on his astounding
beauty, much of which would
have been shrouded from the
original classical viewer. The
chariot he wielded would have
hidden the lower two thirds of

his body and the vantage point of the statue would have con-
cealed the windswept chiton and sweaty locks of hair clinging to
his neck. As I began to wax poetic on the charioteer's correctly
rendered inner maleolus and Mortan's toe, on the concept of per-
fection in Greek art, I recognized the liquid look in a student's
eyes, the strange lack of gravity playing around the lower two
thirds of her body as she succumbed to the bronze statue's
unflinching gaze.

Lack of breakfast:" Perhaps. But why not swoon in front of a
red figure vase? FHer symptoms were classic. I am not advocating
Stendhal syndrome as a way of lite . . . it's far too drastic on the
bone structure What I urge you to heed is the poignancy of those
classroom moments, when one is struck by the passion your pro-
fessor has for his or her work Somehow, despite the barometric
pressure, the hangover, or the jaded /e iic sois (jiioi, one is mesmer-
ized: learning happens. It seems that college Is the perfect arena
for finding the subject that makes one's gums ache with curiosity,
one's heart pound a little taster It was in college that I realized
only human beings make art (1 have never been a quick study), is

It |ust that opposable thumb that gives us the edge? Consider a
few images from art history that will probably have no effect
whatsoever on your equilibrium, but they are a testament to the
artistic spirit that dwells within even our most remote ancestors.

The spotted horses found in a cave at Pech-Merle from
16,000 BCE, with their shape suggested by the natural
rock formation and their coats Inspired by paleolithic
imagination, may strike us as a naive attempt at naturalism. But
those handprints, which are carefully outlined in natural pigments
and blown through a hollow bone or reed, speak volumes: Kilroy
was here! The Egyptians were not taking any chances with this
life their art a wonderful Impression of the future beyond the
grave. Banqueting, dancing, hunting and all the comforts of home
were incorporated in their funereal complexes in a style that also
promised permanence. Figures with two left feet, profile legs and
head and frontal torsos and eyes move at a much slower pace than
their descendants on the frieze of the Parthenon. But one of the
most intriguing aspects of art history Is the view of artistic process
that time unwittingly reveals.

In 1966, for example, Italy suffered from severe flooding,
which in turn shed light on new methods of historic preservation.
The monks in Santa Croce prayed that their Giottos would be
saved as the waters filled their cassocks and reached a height of
more than six feet in the nave of the church. Across town in the
Church of Santa Maria Novella, the Dominicans (the Dominicnni.
the watchdogs of the Lord), bailed water continuously and sand-
bagged their frescoed chapels. Though some would find deep reli-
gious insight In this contrast between the Franciscans and
Dominicans, I will leave that to the theologians. Let us turn to an
out-of-the-way chapel In Tuscany where an Aiinmicuition. painted
c. 1 342 and attributed to Ambrogio Lorenzetti, risked destruction
from the rising waters. It was discovered that if one reversed the
process of painting on wet plaster, one could actually remove the
pigment that had bonded with the wall. By dampening the paint-
ing with a layer of glue, water and linen, the fresco could be rolled
off the wall and reapplied to another wall In the case of this
Aiiiiiniciiition, a sinopia (or underdrawing on wet plaster) was found
and it too was removed to another wall. Beneath the rather prosaic
treatment of this scene was a remarkable underdrawing of a Virgin
who grasps a column and swoons at Gabriel's glad, but surely
unexpected, tidings The artist turned away from conventional
depictions of this moment to reinterpret it from his own well of
human Insight, judging from the existing fresco, the patron
disliked the originality of Lorenzettl's work and a different painter

I would argue that art does have the capacity

to provoke a visceral reaction, to transform the viewer

into quite a spectacle.

was summoned to complete the fresco. The existence of this
juntimciito offers an extraordinary glimpse of an artist working
within a tradition-bound era, when iconographic and stylistic
change occurred slowly, yet with the Impact of a thunderbolt.
Though the word pmlimeuio. which refers to the underpainting that
IS ultimately discarded, comes from the Latin word to icijid, I would
argue that it is here that life is lived.

20 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

What makes college such an extraordinary time is the
layers and layers of first drafts that constitute one's
journey through a liberal arts education. It is not the
college transcript that provides the palimpsest of one's path, but
the overlay of experiences that define one. One reason I gravitate
toward the study of medieval art is the proximity of expression to
the human core, the honesty that blinks at us beneath the patina
of age. For example, in the capital from Autun Cathedral depict-
ing the Adoration oftheMacji, one sees the 12th-century sculptor
glossing over the theological recognition of the Messiah's birth in
order to express the childlike behavior of Christ as he grabs the
gift of the eldest magus. How different from Botticelli's Adoratioii
of the Magi in 1 480 where members of the Medici family are thinly
disguised as the Magi, and the artist, sporting an "1 smell
excrement expression," peers at the audience from the right side
of the canvas. What emerges from this contrast in tenor is actually
the basis of the first history of art written by Vasari in the middle
of the 16th century. He saw art as following a biological curve,
progressing from infancy to adolescence to maturity, and then
declining into senility. Though most art historians reject this
deterministic view of the course of art's history, 1 would like to
dwell in its adolescence for a moment, for that is the age of
pentimmti the age of Archaic sculpture, Romanesque art and
Giotto's unrivaled vision of human nature. It is also the visual
equivalent to the canvas one paints in college.

We know from tracing the giornate, the patches of wet
intonaco that mark each day's work, that it took Giotto 10 days to
paint the first scene of the Arena Chapel in Padua, a cycle exe-
cuted c. 1305. In the Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, Giotto
explores the hopelessness of the father whose lack of offspring
signaled his rejection from the temple. In stark contrast to the
young man whose offering had been accepted, Joachim is physi-
cally thrust out of the temple, clasping his rejected lamb protec-
tively to his chest, as he is about to step into the abyss. In the
following scene, Joachim returns to the sheepfold wrapped.

cocoon-like m his woolen mantle, downcast and without hope
that he and Anna, both pushing 90, would ever bear a child. The
sheep huddle together for warmth, the neckless shepherds
exchange knowing glances regarding the dejected figure of
Joachim. Only a great artist would include the tree behind
JoachmVs back, arching m an "Oh Death where is thy sting? Grave

In college you have the daunting opportunity to
sample a varied palette, paint exclusively in
cadmium red, or eschew lines for a semester,

knowing that these sketches may be tossed the
minute you are accepted to law school.

where is thy victory?" manner to underscore the pathos of the
scene. What makes Giotto the consummate storyteller? Who
alone approaches the desolate Joachim, sniffing with nonjudg-
mental delight, as the shepherds gossip and the sheep mull?
Spot! Indeed, it is as if the raw emotional content of the narrative
is always lurking in the compositions of the Arena Chapel.
Giotto's frescoes betray their inner workings, rather like pentimenti
that resist the effects of time and layers of plaster. In college you
have the daunting opportunity to sample a varied palette, paint
exclusively in cadmium red, or eschew lines for a semester, know-
ing that these sketches may be tossed the minute you are accepted
to law school.

It was not until the middle of the 1 5th century that Renaissance
artists mastered the technique of transferring elaborate under-
drawings or cartoons to the wet plaster to guide their final
paintings. This technological advance led to stylistic break-
throughs, as seen for example in the frescoes of Piero della
Francesca and later in the ceiling of the Sistine. Because the same
drawings are used throughout the frescoes in Arezzo, one encoun-
ters the same cast of characters in the Meetint] of Solomon and Sheba
and the Discovery and Promncj of the True Cross, simulating a visual
experience akin to a Fellini movie. The Olympic Sibyls that but-
tress the scenes from Genesis in the Sistine Chapel reveal that
Michelangelo relied heavily on underdrawings, often modifying
the figure only in the final stages of execution. But what about a
long-concealed fresco by Andrea del Castagno that was discov-
ered in 1952 in Santa Apollonia? In the sinopia underlying the
Resurrection of Christ by Castagno one finds three different types of
pentimenti from the geometric blocking of the soldiers at the
tomb, to the faint outlines of the triumphant Christ, to the rather
pedantic treatment of the angel that hovers above. Henry James
once cautioned that one should not describe a house in too much
detail because the reader would not be able to imagine any action
occurring in such a structure. Similarly, the over-determined angel
seems so wooden than he strikes us as incapable of flight.

What edifying message can a half-baked art historian derive
from such raw material? Find something that makes you weak in
the knees, that brings you joy, aesthetic or otherwise And revel
in your pentimenti, for it is the cumulative effect of these sketches
that trace the handprint one leaves on the cave wall.

Domia Sadler, associate professor of art, joined the Agne$ Scott faculty in I9S6. She holds
TTi a bachelor's degree from Boston University and a master's and doctorate from Indiana
University. She originally shared tbfsc words at the 2000 Sfiiior Investiture.

THE INTESTINAL POWER OF LEARNING 21

DESIGNING WOMAN

This alumna creatively parlayed her love oj art into improving everyday life through industrial design.

by MelanieS. Best '79

The assignment designing a step-on digital scale for
an eating-disorders clinic and how she addressed
it show why Kacie Croson '01 likens professionals in
her chosen field to inventors with keen psychologi-
cal insights.

"An industrial designer must be somewhat of an explorer,"
Croson says, "one with great interpersonal skills who communi-
cates ideas articulately " And, of course, "can draw really well,"
she adds.

In the assignment, from a recent class at Ohio State University
where she is pursuing a second undergraduate degree, Croson
designed a scale expressly for anorexics and bulimics. Her device
didn't have a read-out because, she says, "1 wanted to break
down the relationship between patient and scale, which for these
patients becomes a god-like thing." Through a hand-held
personal digital assistant, only the doctor or nurse would see the
weight reading. Furthermore, besides showing compassion,
Croson's design would "save so much paperwork," she notes,
because the PDA would connect to patient records in the clinic's
computer system.

Now entering her third year of a four-year bachelor of science
program, Croson is an ardent ambassador for the industrial design
profession. She marvels that industrial designers are asked to
apply advanced technologies in "areas you would never think of,"
that you can go from designing a diabetes pen one day to a ship-
ping pallet or children's toy the next.

"Things you use every day were designed by an industrial
designer, from your computer to drawer pulls to a piano," she
exclaims. She points to OXO kitchen tools as a brilliant design
success, originally created for people with arthritis and dexterity
problems. "But now everyone wants to use them the grip is so
easy on the hands "

The Industrial Designers Society of America defines industrial
design as "the professional service of creating and developing con-
cepts and specilications that optimize the function, value and
appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of user
and manufacturer" or, as OSU design professor Reinhart Butter
puts It, bringing marketing, engineering, ergonomic and aesthetic
considerations to bear in designing a product or a system.
"Industrial designers are problem-solvers, " he says.

It IS a measure of her devotion to Agnes Scott and commitment
to the profession that Kacie, an an major at the College, did not

abandon her ASC career midstream. "When 1 got my [class] ring
sophomore year, I knew 1 wanted to graduate from Agnes Scott,"
knowing this would postpone her design studies.

That same year she'd had an eureka moment. In a conversation
with Nell Ruby and Terry McGehee, art department professors,
Croson said she liked her art-making process to have a beginning
and end, but found that purposefulness difficult to realize in
traditional studio art. "They suggested industrial design, " Croson
recalls, "and changed my world."

Ruby says the field seemed a natural fit for dynamo Croson,
whom she describes as having an "incredible openness to materials
and ideas" and who approaches her work with a "can-do, will-do,
it'll-be-fun-to-do spirit." Ruby remembers Croson one day dis-
playing an article on soap-making from a Martha Stewart maga-
zine. "Kacie announced, 'We can do this. It will be our summer
project'. She could take Martha Stewart by storm."

Croson was born and raised in the Columbus, Ohio, area, in a
household with three brothers, a mother who is a chef and caterer
and a stepfather who headed up a mechanical contracting busi-
ness. In high school, she concentrated on visual and performing

"That's something Agnes Scott taught me:
If you have an opportunity, tal<e it."

arts, but entered ASC intending to major in something "practical"
like economics. In the end, art won out because she loved it.

Croson expected after graduation to pursue a master's at
Georgia Tech, but that option vanished when the school rejected
her application a blessing, she says now, because it led her back
to Columbus. There, uncertain how to proceed, she landed a
research assistantship at OSU's Center for Automotive Research
and Intelligent Transportation, or CAR, a research center partially
funded by the auto industry. At CAR, she worked alongside engi-
neering students developing advanced technologies for sport util-
ity vehicles. While Croson previously showed no particular
interest in cars other than, she noted, being aware of "looking
cool in my manual jeep Wrangler with big tires" she embraced
the work eagerly. "That's something Agnes Scott taught me, " she
says. "If you have an opportunity, take it."

CAR faculty and staff, impressed by her energy and verve,
steered Croson into its FutureTruck program, a university compe-
tition sponsored that year by General Motors, to advance the

22 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

energy efficiency of gas-guzzling SUVs. Tfie program's acfiieve-
ments were "amazing," says Croson, by "taking a regular SUV
with a V-6 engine and changing it into a [gasoline-electric power]
hybrid in less than a year."

Croson managed the public relations efforts of CAR's
FutureTruck team, began taking classes in the design department,
and by autumn 2002 was a second-year student there. OSU's
industrial design curriculum incorporates multiple disciplines. You
study materials science, says Croson, to understand the properties
of existing and emerging materials,- manufacturing and processes,
to grasp how things are made, market research, to discern what
people want and how those desires are shaped,- and model-build-
ing, to turn ideas into working prototypes.

Besides the courses, Croson is working with Professor Butter on
a "smart cockpit" proprietary research project. The funders
have asked for an automobile interior of the future, with sophisti-
cated systems for safety, steering, communication and entertain-
ment. Butter says Croson brings special value to the mostly male,
mostly foreign project team because of the demographics she
represents female, short of stature and American.

Over time, Croson sees herself diversifying away from the
auto sector to keep her thinking fresh and make room for new
challenges. Although today's tepid economy has limited job
opportunities temporarily, Croson remains upbeat about the field
because, she says, "I get to draw all day and research all kinds of
stuff!"

"1 have a message for art majors at Agnes Scott," Croson says.
"Here's a field where you can make money and have fun."

TO LEARN MORE

Industrial Designers Society of America: www.idsa.org

ID. Magazine: www.idonline.com

Wired magazine: Example of innovative graphic design, as
well as an information source on the latest in design and
products in the high-tech sector: www.wired.com

Melanie S. Best '79, a jreelonce journalist livintj in Hoboksn, N.J., specializes in interna-
tional business and culture.

Kacie Croson '01 constructs a model in her industrial design studio.

DESIGNING WOMAN 23

hen Is It Pornog

by Jerry Cul

2^ AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FAH^CO

l^.;

One person's art is another's pornography, h works
the other way around less frequently. Some
ancient art that we think of as devoted to "fertil-
ity" may actually have been created mostly for
purposes of sexual arousal (we simply don't
know), but only a tiny fragment of modern pornography has had
more than a smidgen of intelligent aesthetics in it. (There is, how-
ever, a debate about what constitutes "intelligent aesthetics," an
issue to which we'll return.)

Problems arise, in the contemporary context, when an image
that has more than a smidgen of intelligent aesthetics is entirely
devoted to sexuality. A decade ago, Robert Mapplethorpe and
Nicole Eisenman caused a stir by creating formally excellent work
showing us how it's done in certain subcultures. The composition
was wonderful, the content was thoughtful and the result contro-
versial. Other photographers and painters have left some folks
queasy by portraying children and adolescents in compositions
that aren't sexual but could be construed as creating erotic desire.
The problems aren't new, much Old Master art contains more
blatant eroticism than art historians will admit, and such 19th-
century artists as Courbet took on pornographic commissions
alongside their mainstream work. You don't have to believe in
Sigmund Freud to observe that sexual experience takes more
forms than any of us would believe possible and that it does so
most of all in cultures characterized by sexual repression. This
doesn't mean that less repressive societies are pictures of health,-
something about the way we're put together leads to versions of
sexuality that range from the unimaginatively functional to the
socially undesirable, with a great deal of wonder and beauty in
between. The same goes for cooking, clothing styles and music.
The difference is that people are less intimately affected by others'
bad taste in food, fashion, and music.

Maybe the only mutually agreed-upon definition in today's
multi-valued world is that commercial pornography is a
cynical attempt to create sexual arousal by any means necessary,
as an exclusive or nearly exclusive goal. This isn't the same as
eroticism,- any number of artists would admit to creating deliber-
ately erotic images that are, first and foremost, works of serious
art. There is also so-called transgressive art that involves blatantly
theatrical sexuality but not necessarily any intent to arouse desire,
the Mexican performance artist Ema Villanueva has described her
politically tinged bouts of public nudity as an attempt to kill the
little censor that still lives inside her.

A common complaint about pornography is that it objectifies
others, and thus, is an inhumane use of human beings. But, for rea-
sons that vary widely, a growing number of artists have chosen to
objectify themselves. This suggests that our earlier definition of
intent is the only one that even remotely works. Much as we
would like to define the desirably human use of human beings,
human relationships are simply too complicated to allow outsiders
to make such judgments.

It would be comforting if we could refer to the generally repel-
lent visual quality of most pornography, but we can't. Granted, the
loveliest erotic art in the world was produced by those Asian
cultures for which sexuality is merely one more desire requiring a
cure, just like the passion for possessions or personal greatness.
But for historic reasons having to do with our culture's attitude
toward existence in general, serious contemporary art is often

meant to be disgusting. It's an interesting side issue that gets us
nowhere on the art versus pornography front

So we're back to the idea that what distinguishes art from
pornography is the presence of self-conscious aesthetic contem-
plation. Pornographers intent on commercial success use a mini-
mum of artistic tricks,- the aesthetically successful pornographic
object is so by sheer accident. Serious art, by contrast, uses complex
aesthetic tricks even to accomplish the goal of being repellent.

This level of self-conscious reflection also explains why the
uses of sexuality in contemporary art might be defined as a
humane use of humanity. Even viewers who might disagree with
the artist's moral premises are likely to agree that issues of human
existence are raised by the work. It is possible to think produc-
tively in non-sexual ways about sexually arousing artworks,
whereas it is difficult to find any non-sexual implications in gen-
uine pornography. Art that objectifies other human beings is still
art. We may find it offensive, but it stems from a premise regard-
ing what human beings ought to be doing. Even the works of self-
declared pornography produced by artists stem from reflective
cynicism regarding human motivation.

In the end, we aren't likely to settle on any universally agreed-
upon definitions. For those who define pornography as any
images that result in mild or intense sexual arousal, a very large
portion of the everyday world should be defined as pornographic,
including more things than the definers might like to believe. The

Art that objectifies other human beings is still art.

definition of this or that as "pornography" works on the same
principle as the related declaration that art is, by definition, not
pornographic, because "art always appeals to our highest values."
If we disagree on fundamental definitions, of course we'll never
agree on whether something is art or pornography or anything
else. Names that sound definitive merely express approval or
disapproval.

This doesn't mean that the old saws are wrong. Art does appeal
to our highest values in the sense that it uses the most exquisitely
complex combinations of human thinking and making. It does so
well or badly, according to the rules that we like to call our
"aesthetics."' We have a right to make aesthetic judgments about
whether or not something is a work of art. We also have a right to
make moral judgments about whether or not something is an
ethically acceptable work of art. We do not have the right to fall
back on what are effectively cuss words ("pornography") just to
convey disapproval.

On the other hand, we need not claim that there is no such
thing as pornography in order to agree that whatever pornogra-
phy may be, art isn't it.

JfiQ' CulUim IS senior editor of Art Papers, an AtLmta-hciseil inlmuUioiuil mntlazine 0/
visunl anil perjonnancc art. He is also a poet, visual artist, and freelance critic and curator
li'bosf reiJifii's appear regularly in ARTnews, Art in America, and other publications,
includini) The Atlanta journal-Constitution. In 2002, hccuratcd No Agenda But
Their Own: A Decade of Work by Women Artists /or the Colleges Dalton
Gallery. Cullum holds a B.A. in literature from Eckerd College^ an Al.A. 111 religious studies
from fbc University of California Santa Barbara, and a Ph. D from the Institute of the
Liberal Arts, 111013' University.

WHEN IS ITARTAND WHEN IS IT PORNOGRAPHY? 25

Beauty or Education?

Not unlike art displayed in any other venue, the College's collection
evokes a multitude oj disparate comments . . . and that's the purpose.

by Wendy Cromwell

Inspirational, provocative, accessible.
A quick tour through the Agnes
Scott campus reveals an art collec-
tion prominently displayed to
engage the mind.
The art collection serves to inspire and
to teach," says Anne Beidler, associate
protcssor of art. "It helps expand notions
about beauty and raises questions about
the nature of art making. '

"The presence of art throughout the
campus serves to stimulate visual activity
and to forge new relationships with the
environment," says Donna Sadler, associ-
ate professor of art. "Art is one of the seven
liberal arts. Its presence on campus is as
necessary as grammar, math and astron-
omy and because our society is increas-
ingly more visual."

"Students are asked to

think visually many, perhaps,

for the first time."

Beidler agrees. "A collection of works
that IS in public places, that is designed to
help its viewers think and learn, is a perfect
complement to the liberal arts. Students
are asked to think visually many,
perhaps, for the first time."

(juite simply, art is about possibility
and adventure, elements essential to vital-
ity and fulfillment of life, says Nell Ruby,
visiting assistant professor of art.

An art advisory committee, formed by
President Bullock, assists in the placement
of pieces throughout campus and with the
acquisition of new pieces.

"We are always working on getting as
much of the collection Lip as possible," says
Beidler. "Most of the newly acquired work
is exhibited on campus We have spent a
lot of time going through the collection
and determining which ol the older pieces
are appropriate for exhibition on campus."

The collection, displayed in Alston

With You in Mind 2 by Nina Bovasso in the lobby of Alston Campus Center: Tlie art advisory
committee cliose this piece by the New Yori< artist because it is so vibrant, energetic and playful.
It was selected to send a message to those entering the campus center, which is a place of play,
relaxation, community and business. The piece captures the sense of activity throughout the
building and offers a view of the building on an emotional and social level.

Campus Center, McCain Library, Dana
Fine Arts Building and the Science Center,
is used to illustrate techniques, historical
periods and compositions, as well as stir
imaginations

"1 have used the Japanese print collec-
tion [gift of the Margaret Law '25 estate] in
my survey class and my pilgrimage
course," Sadler says. "The Barbara Kmger

piece is an excellent example to introduce
ideas of postmodernism. What is the rela-
tionship of the text to the image?"

Beidler also uses the Law collection to
explain printmaking techniques and to dis-
cuss their composition as works of arts.

"Artwork, such as the woodblock prints
in the Margaret Law collection, can
express a place and time that the viewer

26 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

Untitled (Everything will be ol<ay/Everything
will work out/ Everything is fine) by Barbara
Kruger in the Black Cat Cafe in Alston Campus
Center: Kruger, the most historically important
artist in the collection and one of the most
politically oriented artists today, uses her work
to create social commentary. Certain works of
hers deal explicitly with issues of rape and
class, and in all cases, her ambition is to use
art to create social change. The art committee
decided this piece would be helpful for
students to not just learn about the world but
to transform what they've learned into change.
The work has been noted as a source of inspira-
tion for many students and a source of baffle-
ment and consternation for others. She is the
only artist in the College's collection who is
also in the art history textbook along with
Michelangelo, Raphael and MaryCassatt
used on campus.

may not have a chance to experience and
encourage her to learn more about that
era," says Lisa Alembik, Dalton Gallery
coordinator.

The Science Center greatly expanded
the display space for the collection.
Alembik, with the help of science faculty,
selected pieces highlighting the respective
disciplines.

"My personal favorite works are the
combination of Joe Walters' Nests and the
Audubon bird prints on the second floor of
the atrium," Alembik says. "1 love the
subtle interaction between the gorgeous
illustrated prints with the more poetic and
earthy sculptures by Walters."

Sadler voted for the just-sold Lord
Leighton painting Reconciliation of the
Montagues and Capulets as Agnes Scott's most

valuable piece. She also ranks the Barbara
Kruger piece, the Sally Mann photo and
the Pam Langobardi piece in the Amelia
Davis Luchsinger Lounge in Alston
Campus Center among the College's most
valuable.

The collection reflects the history of
gift giving at the College, Sadler says.

we are very fortunate to have this work by
her," says Beidler. "Quintessentially post-
modern, her work is designed to raise
questions of the viewer.

"She asks us to brmg some of our own
experience to the work and what we get
from the work is based on who we are as
individuals," Beidler continues. "Many of

"The art collection serves to inspire and to teach.

It helps expand notions about beauty and raises questions

about the nature of art mal<ing."

which is why the advisory committee
has worked to catalog and assess the
collection as well as develop a philosophy
for collecting.

The committee also advises on appro-
priate art gifts to the College, says Beidler,
an accomplished printmaker whose diptych
print Daphne hangs in McCain Library.

"The committee is open to a variety of
works," Beidler says. "We hope for collec-
tions or individual pieces that have a
didactic quality, not necessarily the most
contemporary pieces. . . . We have been so
happy with the recent acquisition of the
collection of fine Japanese prints."

Only recently has the College worked
to organize its collection and begun col-
lecting pieces by contemporary women
artists, including Kruger, Mann and
Atlanta artist Annette Cone-Skelton.

"We are always eager to acquire work
by contemporary women artists," Beidler
says, "especially works on paper."

The Kruger piece Untitled (Everythint) will
be okay/Everything will work out/Everything is
fine] in Alston Campus Center inspired
much discussion on campus after it was
installed. A photograph of houseplants
with "affirmations" underneath, it can be
interpreted as sarcasm or a form of solace.

The middle of the campus center the
hub of activity is the right place for this
particular work, according to Terry
McCehee, professor of art. "The painting
is contemporary and reflects the complex
times in which we live by engaging our
emotions about these times," says
McGehee. "We tell ourselves 'everything
will be alright' but at the same time ques-
tion whether this is so. It is an important
visual symbol for our students and the
institution as a whole."

"Barbara Kruger is one of the most sig-
nificant contemporary women artists, and

us are used to standing passive in front of a
work of art. We expect to be entertained.
We don't always expect to have to struggle
to understand its meaning. The Kruger
piece is important because it makes us
think. It makes us move beyond where we
were before viewing it."

Sadler agrees. "The most important role
art can play in our campus is to make us
think to stop and question our visual
surroundings! This work does this."

Wendy Cromwell is editor of Main Events and senior
writer/editor in tlje Office of Communicntions.

Daphne by Anne Beidler, associate professor
of art, on the ground floor of McCain Library:
The large color woodcut and Xerox transfer print
is based on the story of Daphne, who was
pursued by Apollo. As Apollo reaches for her,
she is transformed into a tree by Zeus, an image
representing fertility, the anxiety of being
sexually violated and, more positively, coming
together with nature.

BEAUTY OR EDUCATION? 27

The College's most
famous work oj art
finds a new home, hut
not without creatini)
an interesting legacy
at Agnes Scott.

by Lee Dancy

The Mysticjue oj the
"horiheighton"

Just how the "Lord Leighton," as it has been dubbed, arrived
at Agnes Scott may forever be unclear, but the painting's
departure makes its mark in the College's history. Almost a
year after being offered at auction at Christie's m London,
Agnes Scott has agreed to sell the massive 19th-century
British oil painting for more than $1 million.
During Its post-auction hiatus. The Reconcdialwn of the MontacUies
iiiij Cdfiiilfis oi'cr the Deaii Bodies oj Romeo and Juliet traveled to Italy and
returned to London, That's appropriate, because Frederic, Lord
Leighton painted the Shakespeare-inspired scene while he stud-
ied in Italy during I 854- ] 855. Now it seems the painting will
reside in Britain, Leighton's homeland.

"The buyer is a merchant in Britain who prefers to remain
anonymous at this time," says Mary Brown Bullock '66, president
of the College. "We understand he will display the painting in
his home."

The painting was sent to auction last year after the High
Museum of Art Regional Conservation Center in Atlanta managed
its careful restoration a process requiring more than two years.
Money earned from the sale will benefit the College's fine arts
program.

During its Agnes Scott years from the mid-1960s until reno-
vation work began on McCain Library, only students and the
occasional visitor to its cavernous reading room had been able to

enjoy the painting. More than 5'/: feet tall by 77: feet wide, the
dark painting illustrates the closing scene in one of Shakespeare's
most famous plays.

In the painting, the bodies of Romeo and Juliet have been dis-
covered in the Capulet's burial vault following the young lovers'
suicides. To the right of Romeo's and Juliet's bodies lies the dead
Count Paris, whom Juliet's father hoped she would marry, Romeo
had killed Pans following a confrontation as he entered the tomb.
Lady Capulet clings to her daughter's body as she grieves.
Standing above the bodies, the lovers' fathers Lords Capulet and
Montague shake hands in reconciliation in a poignant gesture of
futility. Friar Lawrence kneels in the lower left corner of the paint-
ing in a plaintive gesture eyes upward.

A British aristocrat who pursued a career as a pamter with the
support of his wealthy family, Leighton moved to Rome in 1 852.
He was 2 1 and already had studied painting in Frankfurt, Baissels,
London and Amsterdam. He painted Romeo and Jultct during the
same two years as perhaps his most famous work, Cimahue's Celebrated
Madonna is carried in Procession tlnouijh the Streets of Florence. Queen
Victoria bought the painting featuring the Procession of Cimabue
when it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1 855. The painting
remains in the royal collection, and it is on loan to the National
Gallery in London.

Chain of ownership for Romeo and Juliet is not as clear. It was

28 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

The Reconciliation of the Montagues and Capulets over the Dead Bodies of Romeo and Juliet by Fredric, Lord Leighton

acquired by a man named Harrison in Philadelphia in 1 858, after
exhibition in Europe for the previous three years. Exactly how the
painting came to be owned more than a century later by Neva T.
Neal Nelson of Atlanta is unclear, nor is it known why she
donated the artwork to Agnes Scott in 1963. The painting hung
first in Rebekah Hall and later was moved to the western wall
of the McCain Library Reading Room. It was removed from
McCain in the late 1990s when expansion and renovation of the
library began.

in 1969, Sir John Rothenstein, the director of the Tate
Museum in London, arrived at Agnes Scott as a visiting professor
and noticed the painting. He confirmed the painting's historic and
estimated market value to its startled owners. Only six years after
its arrival on campus, the painting's provenance already was a
mystery. To this day it is unclear why Nelson gave the painting to
Agnes Scott.

More than 30 years after Rothenstein noticed Romeo aud Juliet,
Christie's agreed to provide Agnes Scott with a high-quality, full-
scale copy of the painting as part of negotiations to manage its
sale. Donna Sadler, associate professor of art, thinks the wall in
McCain is the perfect location for the copy.

"As much as I wanted to see the College build a museum to
properly house the original, I also knew that just wasn't feasible,"

Sadler says. "That's essentially when we decided to prepare the
painting for sale.

"Having the copy will provide a valuable reminder of Agnes
Scott's 'Lord Leighton years,' and the source for additional fund-
ing the fine arts department will enjoy," she says.

In October 2002, Christie's displayed Romeo and Juliet at its
New York offices at Rockefeller Plaza for New York-area alumnae
and College staff to view before the painting was shipped to
Christie's London office in preparation for the auction.

After the unsuccessful auction, Agnes Scott accepted an offer
from an organization based in Verona, Italy, to include Romeo and
Juliet in an exhibition called Shakespeare in Art. The painting was
displayed Feb. 16-June 15 at the Palace of the 16 Diamonds in
Ferrara, about 50 miles southeast of Verona.

Among the 70 works featured in the show, artists included
Hogarth, Delacroix, Romney, Blake, Fuseli, Millais and Holman
Hunt. Artistic periods represented by artwork in the show range
from Rococo to Sublime, and from Classic to Romantic.

"Perhaps the trip to Italy was exactly what Romeo and Juliet
needed to sell," Bullock says. "Only about a month after it
returned to England, we had a buyer."

Lee Dancy is manager ofneips services for the College.

THE MYSTIQUE OF THE "LORD LEIGHTON 29

"Peach Mountain Haiku, from daughter" by Laura Butler '02 uses Japanese binding, letterpress and woodcut to
create a format for the student's own poetry.

OF THE MAKING OF MANY
BOOKS THERE IS NO END

The creative form known as the artist book has
become a format for an unusual kind of interaction
between the viewer and the creative work. The
viewing takes place as an intimate visual dialogue.
The book invites touch, needs to be held, can be
browsed at leisure. Each dialogue is unique.

The artist creates a journey for the viewer. Choices of materi-
als and structural design contribute to a variety of messages
including the purely aesthetic, whimsical or politically charged
Ideas can be resolved in multiple dimensions of form and
sequence with analogies to film media. Artists' books are linked to
prmtmaking, pamting, drawing and even sculpture, not only
through specific media, but through a unique spirit of intense
creativity.

Current modes of the artist book explore traditional forms that
employ fine bindmg and letterpress as well as non-traditional
forms that include sculptural books, book installations and digital

books. Artists' books not only challenge the tradition of convey-
ing information through the printed word in block text, in a sense
creating a visual metaphor for the written novel, they also
transform the entire aesthetic encounter in a unique way.

A printmaking class with an emphasis on book art is available
to Agnes Scott students. This class helps students develop a sense
of narrative, learn how images work together to present an idea,
see how their own style develops over time and gives expression
to students' explorations in other classes.

Making a book creates an Intimate encounter between the
viewer and the artist. The artist book is held in the hand of the
viewer. Creating books in this class gives students that experience.
And it moves the student.

Anne Bcuilci, iissociale /ro/cssor of cirl iwd co-chair of the (ic/xirtmriil, fcoUs ii hachelor's
from Earlbitm College, a BEA.from the Lliiiversily of Coniicclicul tvtd uii M.F.A.from
ihe University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

30 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2OO3

From scrapbooks to blank books to artists' books,
almost anyone can find a venue jor creativity and
personal expression through making books. Learn the
basics and let your imagination soar

by Anne Beidler

"Locker" by Laura Brit '98, a tunnel book with a definite sense of humor, "Beyond the Gates" was a book created by M indy Killen "05 about the
gives the viewer an inside view of the student's locker. horrors of the Holocaust using Xerox transfers from history images. At

the time she completed this book, Killen was taking the history seminar

on the Holocaust.

"ideal" by Justine Brantley '02 explores Brantley's studies in science. The Ideal Gas Law explains the
relationship of gas particles to temperature, pressure and volume.

OF THE MAKING OF MANY BOOKS THERE IS NO END 3I

"Sold" by Charmaine MinniReld '95 is a tribute to generations of men in
her family who struggled with the effects of societal ills and their
journey to overcome.

"the tree" by Beth Smith '97 encases the artist's fragile prints about the
destruction of a beloved childhood tree in heavy sheets of rusted metal.

"Amsterdam" by Elysia Wheat '04 is a panorama book created from a
photograph the student made while visiting Amsterdam during spring
break.

TO LEARN MORE

Beidler recommends these books for learning the basics of
structure and technique, and they contain great bibliographies
and are inspiring.

Cover to Cover. Creiitive Technii^uei for i\[aking Beautiful Books,
Jouniiih k Albums by Shereen La Plantz, Lark Books, 1995
This book of clear directions and inspiring examples is used
as the textbook in the College's book art class.

handmade books, A Step-by-Step Guide to Craftimj Your Oicii Books,
bv Kathy Blake, a Bullfinch Press Book, 1997

The Eisentuil Guide to i\ Itkinij Htiiidmiide Books by Gabriella Fox,
North Light Books, 2000

iWdking Books Tkit Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up. Tavist, iwd
Turn. Books for Kids to Make, by Gwen Diehn, Lark Books,
1998

The Decorated Paije, Journals. Scrapbooks & Albums Made Simply
Beautiful by Gwen Diehn, Lark Books, 2002

www. philobibloncom/l inks. htm

www centertorbookarts.org

wwwmnbookarts.org

www.sfcb.org

32 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

LIFESTYLE

Stoves Cameras Electrical Ec^uipment!

Alumnae use creativity and innovation to venture into the unknown.

ART DEGREE GOES
UP IN SMOKE

As an art major at Agnes Scott,
Christina Johnson 02 did not learn to
construct a stove. Skills she did acquire,
however, proved valuable when she built
stoves and worked with villagers to design
public murals in Mexico.

Her first trip in 2000 for a six-week
intensive language study and home stay at
the University Tec de Monterrey, funded
by an Agnes Scott study abroad grant,
fueled her love for the country. "I only got
a small image of Mexico when I went
during the summer," explains Johnson.
"We're so close and we have such a rela-
tionship with Mexico, but we're not
acknowledging it enough as a historically
and culturally rich country. I wanted to go
back and learn more "

Johnson returned to Mexico for six
months after graduation, first as a co-facil-
itator with Service, Development and
Peace, A.C., and then as a Rotary
Ambassador Scholar. SEDEPAC, an organ-
ization that encourages multicultural work

we were just learn-
ing also. You could
see when the light
bulb was coming
on when they
knew more about
the stoves than
we did."

Each stove-
building project
required indi-
vidualized, spe-
cialized work.
"For each stove

we used a half bag of cement and
about equal parts sand and dirt. Sometimes
we added in ash from fires and rocks and
cement blocks. The amount of time to
build the stoves depended on how
demanding the individual stove was. Some
took about five hours, but others took nine
or 10."

One problem that repeatedly plagued
the group was proper construction of the
smoke-funneling portion of the stoves.
"We had to work a lot to correctly fix the
angle from the chamber to chimney."

"Terry and Nell taught me to be flexible and creative,
and to create with limited materials and limited time."

on community projects, partners youth
from Europe and the Americas with
indigenous communities in and around
Xilitla, Mexico. Johnson's SEDEPAC group
included seven participants from Puerto
Rico, Mexico and Belgium, as well as dif-
ferent states in the U.S. While a SEDEPAC
co-facilitator, she helped indigenous peo-
ple construct 1 5 stoves with special chim-
neys to alleviate the problem of homes
filling with smoke.

"We tried to involve the families in
construction of the stove," she says. "The
idea was to empower them so they would
know how to do it, but at the same time

Relationships with art professors Nell
Ruby and Terry McGehee were especially
helpful in building stoves.

"Teny and Nell taught me to be flexible
and creative, and to create with limited
materials and limited time," she says. "In
Mexico, sometimes people were sick and
couldn't work, and there was very limited
water and food and other resources. "

Johnson's Rotary scholarship came after
Cue Hudson, vice president for student
life and community relations and dean of
students, encouraged her to apply and
took her to a Decatur Rotary meeting.

"I saw the ambassadorship as an oppor-

Christina Johnson (right) and colleagues
cook on a stove they helped build.

tunity to represent who I am, and I tried to
be an ambassador of goodwill."

While a student at Agnes Scott,
Johnson, who minored in Spanish, lived in
the Spanish Theme House and tutored
other students in the language. Even with
her strong hold of the language, however,
former anthropology professor Martha
Rees told her that unless she established an
emotional connection with the language,
she'd never fully understand it. Johnson's
time as a Rotary Scholar helped solidify
that connection.

"1 lived with a host family in Cuernavaca
and attended language school six hours a
day, five days a week," says Johnson.

Johnson is considering her next steps.
"I may go to school on the west coast for
art approaching it ecologically, dealing
with urban agriculture. "

As for another trip to Mexico, she plans

to return. "I see myself doing SEDEPAC

again if not next summer, in the future."

Victoria F. Stopp 01

Victoria F. Slopp 'oi.jormcr writer for the Community
Review m Decatur, Ga., is working on a master of fine
arts in crentipe nonfiction at Goucher College in Baltimore.

LIFESTYLE 33

Marion "Pinky" McCaK Bass '58

SOUL SAVER

When Marion "Pinky" McCall Bass '58
graduated from Agnes Scott with a
Bible degree, she never expected to
become a photographer with numerous
exhibits to her credit. She planned to
marry and join her Presbyterian mmister
htisband as missionaries in Mexico City.

She did marry, and in Mexico, Bass led
l)ible studies and taught piano lessons
while raising a family. Across the street
Irom the seminary was the home of an
artist Bass hadn't yet heard of the late
Frida Kahlo who had died in 1954. Out of
curiosity, she toured Kahlo's house. The
visit made a "profound impression," says
Bass, who noted the bed where Kahlo had
been confined as an invalid and the mirror
she had used to paint

"When she was flat on her back in
bed, she would use a mirror to see her face,
and draw and paint from that," explains
Bass, adding that she was struck by the

personal nature of Kahlo's painting and the
physical suffering she endured. Bass has
seen the recent movie about Kahlo, and
while she liked it, she doesn't think it
expressed the depth of Kahlo's anguish.

Bass had painted and drawn as a child
and had taken art classes at Agnes Scott. "It
was always my soul saver," she says. "It was
a way 1 took care of myself." After college,
she painted in her spare time and took art
workshops and classes.

In her late 40s, Bass enrolled at Georgia
State University to get a master's degree in
art- She planned to focus on painting and
drawing, but felt a strong pull to photogra-
phy. "That was my voice," she says, calling
the discovery 'one of the greatest gifts" of
her life.

She started working with pinhole cam-
eras when mainstream photography
became routine. "Once I've mastered
something, I have to find a new edge, " she
explains. Pinhole pictures can deliver

surprising images due to leaking light or
movement by or around the subject, which
delights Bass. "Magic things happen 1 just
love mistakes!"

She has 'hundreds " of cameras, making
them out of everything from a box of
Macedonian cappuccino to a Mexican
skeleton face. Bass has also made pinhole
cameras that double as purses, letting her
take pictures in places such as churches,
where regular cameras would be awkward.

The human figure, the aging process
and death are among her subjects.
Mexico's colorful Day of the Dead cele-
brations impressed her. "In Mexico, you
embrace death, " she says "The whole mir-
acle of being born and dying is amazing to
me. "

Bass worked for Atlanta's Piedmont
Arts Festival for about 15 years and now
lives in Fairhope, Ala. She teamed up with
North Carolina-based potter and fellow
alumna Clara "Kitty" Couch '43 for joint
exhibits, including one at Agnes Scott in
the early '90s. Together the friends led a
workshop "Pinhole Photography and
Tcky-Tacky Art for the Soul " at North
Carolina's Penland School of Crafts this
summer.

Having also worked for Alabama's Arts
Council, Bass has taught "hundreds" of
workshops for people of all ages, and espe-
cially enjoyed teaching pinhole photogra-
phy to Hfth-grade students. Students learn
about light, images and the human eye.
"They begin to see how things are shaped
and formed," says Bass.

An avid swimmer who plays cello in a
bluegrass band called "Lock. Stock &

"Magic things happen.
I just love mistakes!"

Barrel," Bass believes art belongs to every-
one. "A lot of times, we get hooked into
the idea that you have to meet a certain
standard. You don't have to please any crit-
ics or judges. If somebody is determined, a
lot of things can be learned. Yoti might not
be the Ansel Adams of the world, but it
doesn't mean it isn't art."

Miranda Hitti

Mirtiihh Hilli is ii freehvicc mrihr fii AlLiiitii, Ga.

TO LEARN MORE

www.alabamaarts.org/bass.html

3^ AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

ENTREPRENEUR
REINVENTS HER
BUSINESS

Addie Mathes never imagined that she
would some day be responsible for the
engines, generators and switchgears that
keep Atlanta's skyline buildings lit up and
humming. After all, she was a history major
at Agnes Scott, and two decades ago there
just weren't many women in the business.

But that was before she met Roger
Bisher. Technically brilliant and a master of
all things electrical, he devoted himself to
repairing complex electrical switchgears in
his small shop on Veterans Memorial
Highway in Mableton. The two became
partners in both life and work.

One day, while working together in his
shop, "He looked at me and said, 'You
know, all this electrical switchgear I'm
repairing, we could build ourselves,' " she
recalled. "We could do it a lot better"

Soon afterward, the couple embarked
on what was to become a highly successful
and innovative business. It was also
the beginning of a struggle that tested
Mathes and taught her how to be strong
and resilient even when the odds were
against her.

For her success as co-founder and
president of Prime Power Services Inc.,
Mathes was named the Woman Business
Owner of the Year by the Atlanta chapter

of the National Association of Women
Business Owners.

Today, Prime Power is one of the lead-
ing providers of maintenance services for
engine-generators, switch sets, automatic
transfer switches, load bank testing and
other industrial electrical equipment.

Although today it's a multimillion-
dollar company with nearly 50 employees,
at first it was just Mathes and Bisher.

In the beginning, she knew little about
the electrical equipment. She did bring to
the table an innate business sense and an
ability to see the big picture.

The two spent many days and nights
building the electrical devices that Bisher
designed, and then installing them for
customers throughout the Atlanta area.
Eventually, they were joined by Richard
Taylor, then a student at Georgia Tech.

The company was an immediate
success, with more than $1 million in busi-
ness. Customers such as The Coca-Cola
Co., Ford Motor Co., The Home Depot
Inc. and many others wanted their prod-
ucts. To say that meeting that demand was
difficult is an understatement. It was only
because vendors were willing to extend
credit that the company made it.

Throughout that time, Mathes contin-
ued to manage the business, doing the
hiring and strategic decision-making about
expansion and new product lines. Bisher
was the primary salesman.

Addie Price Mathes '78 received the 2003 Woman Entrepreneur in Atlanta Award from the National
Association of Women Business Owners Atlanta and the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

"He was convincing because he was so
brilliant, and if you could get him in front
of customers, there was no technical ques-
tion that any engineer could ask that he
couldn't answer," she said.

The business was doing well. Mathes
and Bisher were named co-winners of the
U.S. Small Business Administration's
Georgia Small Business Person of the Year
award. But Bisher was very ill and,
although neither he nor Mathes told any-
one, they knew he was dying.

In a sense, it was a race against time.
Mathes realized that she had to build a
strong group of engineers around them
who could carry the company forward
when Bisher could no longer work.

"It was kind of hard to go get money
with the key man being sick," she said. "So
we weren't big enough to go great guns on
it at that time when the niche opened up
to bigger competitors."

Their success had attracted larger com-
panies with the capital to expand. Prime
Power needed to find a new business and,
in the process, reinvent itself. So they
shifted away from manufacturing and
expanded into servicing the motors and
switches they had previously built.

"1 was able to tell Roger, before he died,
that we did it," Mathes said.

"Addie has had the ability to persevere
through some difficult situations," said
Alan Lowe, a longtime friend and chair-
man of The Executive Committee (TEC),
a business-owner support group of which
Mathes is a member. "That's one of the
traits that has made her very successful in
situations where other people would have
folded their tents and slipped away."

Although sales were flat last year for
the first time, profits were still more than
double the previous year's level. Thanks to
investments in new productivity software,
hand-held GPS devices for field techni-
cians and other cost savings, they have
continued to move forward.

Today, when she looks across the city's
skyline, Mathes is aware that most of the
buildings she sees turn to her company for
their vital service work. Furthermore, she
knows that her success depends on the
ability to recognize opportunity and act
on it.

Randy Southerland,
contributing writer

Reprinted with permission. 2003 Atlantd
Business Chronicle. All rights reserved.

LIFESTYLE 35

GETTING STARTED WITH A PINHOLE CAMERA

READER'S VOICE

A hox, a dm, jusl about anything with
a small hole and photographic paper in
il can become a pinhole camera. Make
one with your children, grandchildren
or just jar yourself. Learn basic
photography and have fun while taking
images with a lens-less camera.

Materials

six 8-inch squares of black foam core

one 7 7: -inch square of black foam
core

two 5-inch squares of black card stock

black masking tape

X-acto knife

#10 sewing needle

Him or photographic paper

(you will need a way to develop this)

If using photographic paper as a nega-
tive material, create light-safe condi-
tions with a flashlight covered in several
layers of red cellophane.

The foam core squares form the walls of
your camera. Four of these squares will
be the outside walls. The side with the
pinhole is the front of the camera. The
side that carries the film or photographic
paper is the back of your camera.

Making the camera

Pinhole

To make the pinhole, pierce a hole in the
center of one of the card stock squares
with the sewing needle. The other
square will be used as an e.xposure flap.

Front

Cut a 4-inch hole in the middle of the
front foam core square Using the black
masking tape, firmly attach the piece of
paper stock that contains your pinhole
to the inside of this square. Turn this
foam core square over and hinge the

other piece of black card stock to the
square by running a piece of masking
tape across only one edge of the card
stock square. When lifted this flap
reveals the pinhole and exposes light
onto your emulsion material.

Back

The back looks like the sides, but must
be hinged at the top so that you can
easily remove the negative. (This must
be done in light-safe conditions). To
create a more light-tight box, glue or
tape the 7 'A-inch square so that it cen-
ters in the back. This is the surface to
which you will attach (with tape) your
film or paper

Assembly

Seam the four sides together with mask-
ing tape. Make sure you run the tape
along the entire side to ensure a light-
tight box. You may want to cover both
the inside and outside seams with tape.
Secure your "front" wall with tape on all
four sides. Remember to put the pinhole
side on the inside and the flap on the
outside. To attach the back wall, use the
masking tape to create a strong seam
across one side only. Tape this seam from
the inside and the outside. Use another
piece of tape to create a tab to secure the
back when you are ready to shoot.

Now that you have constnicted a pinhole
camera, learn how to use it by checking
the resources in "To Learn More."

Nell Ruby

Neil Ruby IS fisilim; iissisdint professor oj nr(. She
holds a B.A.from Rice University imd iiii tW.EA from
Washiiicjtoii University.

TO LEARN MORE

www.pinhole.org

www.pinhole.com

www.pinholeresource.com/

Aihentures ifith Pinhole i, Homaniuie
Cameras by John Evans

Pinhole Photography: Rediscoperinij a
Historic Technicjue by Eric Renner

Cheers?

To whom it may concern,
1 graduated from ASC in 1995. 1 just
received the most recent ASC magazine
and the article titled 'Cheers?' grabbed my
attention. I foolishly fell victim to alcohol
abuse. On August 25th, 2002, I received
my first DUI. My second arrest on another
DUl charge was on December 3 1 st, 2002.
I went to jail for 21 days. 1 am currently
finishing a 6-month house arrest sentence,
and you can only imagine the stories and
lessons 1 have to tell.

This does not make me a bad person.
Even though what 1 did was very wrong, 1
am such a stronger person. 1 look forward
to visiting as an alumna once off house
arrest, traveling and hjrthering my career 1
graduated with a chemistry degree and
now am working in the marketing field.

From one classmate to another, 1 would
like very much your help in getting my
voice out and heard on our campus.

Natahe Morad El-Jourba()y '95
mo mat irad@yahoo.com

DejaVu

13ear Editor,

The Spring/Summer 2003 issue was grand!
Loved the batgirl, but was moved to write
when 1 saw the "Pioneer Tourist" essay.
My husband and 1 experienced an elder-
hostel: Ireland, North and South, and it
was an overwhelming experience. As 1 read
Kristin's adventure, I recalled ours. We
were led in discussions, role plays, and
tours by young adults from the Republic.
We visited police stations and felt a police-
state fear also the fear police felt We
met members of the Northern Ireland
Assembly and saw the fractured state.
David and I stayed an extra week to look
for his roots found little as his family
were Methodists and most records are in
the established church. We visited
Corrymeela and real possibilities for
peace one on one.

Excellent edition! Thanks.

Anne Eaton 'soX

We encourage you to share views and opinions.
Please send them to: Editor, Agnes Scott The
Magazine, Agnes Scott College, Rebekah Annex,
141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 or e-mail to:
publicationognesscott. edu.

36 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2003

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Save the Date!

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Alumnae Weekend April i6, 17 and 18, 2004

18; ly, 20.

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JOIN OUR CIRCLE

Frances Winship Walters Society

T

hrough her gifts to the College, Frances Winship Walters helped to ensure the continuance of
Agnes Scott's liberal arts tradition. You can join a circle of friends with similar commitments by
including Agnes Scott College in your will or planned giving.

Planned gifts are an excellent way to support Bold Aspirations: The Campaign for Agnes Scott
College. All charitable gift annuities, most charitable remainder taists, and documented bequest intentions
from donors who will reach age 70 by June 30, 2004, count as gifts to the campaign.

For more information, contact Chip Wallace, director of planned giving, at 800 868-8602 or
cwallace@agnesscott.edu.

Agnes Scott Colllge

THE WORLD FOR WOMEN

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Welcome to

Agnes Scott

TOP 50! - U.S. Mews & World Report

iTsy?

I

"wH

.'j^

I ^1 1

V}Jki^:

Rethinking Todays Family

II doesn't take tetnsus data to convince
most of us that family life in America
is changing. We see the changes with
our own eyes in our lamilies and com-
munities Divorce is commonplace
Lhiwed parenthood is the norm in some
communities. More children live with
single parents, in hlended families and in
cohabiting homes than live In traditional
two-parent homes.

The 200(1 census data only confirm
what we already know,- the numbers tell
how pervasive the changes really are. For
instance, less than 25 percent of house-
holds now fit the traditional model of the
nuclear family mother, father and
childiren) This compares to 40 percent
that fit this model in 1970. A significant
portion of these "traditional households
are not in fact traditional, but are instead
blended families htisband, wife and chil-
dren of one or the other spouse. The
household tvpes on the increase are single-
parent families (70 percent increase since
1970), persons living alone (95 percent
increase) and unmarried couples, with and
without children (460 percent increase).

These changes have significant eco-
nomic and social effects on both families
and their individual members. Children, in
particular, are allected because of their
dependence on the family for reliable
sources of financial and emotional support
and preparation for adulthood.

Economic support, for instance, Is not
usually an issue in the intact lamily, where
pooled resources meet the needs of all
lamily members. Rarely is it necessarv to
invoke a parent's legal responsibility to
suppoi I his or her child. ^

When one or both parents are absent
from the child's hotisehold, linancial sup-
port tends to shrink e\'en when a court has
ordered that support be paid

The decline of the traditional lamilv
has resulted in serious disriiptions ol chil-
diens sciLial and emotional support systems.

When divorce and remarriage not to
mention unwed parenthood and serial
cohabitation become commonplace, a
SLiccession of parent figures can move in
and out of a child's lite, creating a network
of extra-legal relationships with adults who
are important to the child in various ways.
An absent parent may play a significant
role, or no role whatsoever. In the child's
life. A current or former step parent may be
a lynchpin of the child's emotional security.

American law lacks the flexibility to
evaluate these relationships and protect
those most integral to the child's well-being.
To do so, we would have to abandon, or at
least adjust, some of our most basic assump-
tions about the nature of families. Both the
general public and the law tend to think of
family relationships in biologically rooted
terms. A child has two parents, a mother
and a father. Whether or not they are
married to one another, live with the child
or are involved in the child's life, they are
the touchstones for all social, economic
and legal matters affecting the child.

New household configurations call
these assumptions into question

Regardless of their role in the child's
life, extra-legal parent figures are not
allowed to make decisions about the child's
health care, obtain access to his school
records or consent to his participation in
sports or other activities They have no
legal responsibility for support of the
child, and if these persons leave the home,
neither they nor the child is entitled to
visitation or other contact. If they die, the
child is not entitled to survivor's benefits,
no matter how economically dependent
she may have been on the deceased.
These problems ilkistrate the potential
disconnect between the child's legal rela-
tionships and his social relationships.

Some scholars urge that rather than
trying to force the public back into the
lifestyles of an earlier age, it is time to
adapt law and policy to the new reality.

They advocate, tor instance, liberalization
of adoption policy to allow children to
form legal relationships with established
parent figures regardless of their gender or
marital status. Thev would also allow new
legal relationships to be created without
severing the child's legal relationship with
his or her birth parent.

Alternatively, extra-legal parent figures
could be given limited legal authority in
regard to such things as the child's school-
ing and health care Eligibility for benefit
programs could be expanded to include an
individual's de facto children in addition to
his or her legal
children.

Policy makers
will have to wres-
tle with these and
many more issues
created by the rise
in new family
structures
Evidence grows
that definitions of family and family
relationships on which we have relied for
centuries no longer fit the lives of most
Americans. Many now agree with the
child who described "family" as simply
"people who love each other and take care
of each other." The current dilemma Is
how to create policy around this eminently
variable constaict.

The pages of Ai/iifs Scoti The Aliy<iriiif
recognize the complexity of the issues
facing all of us in this arena and provide a
look at how some members of the College
community define and live family.

JLU3Sk^

Elizabeth G "Lihhii" Pattcrioii 'oS is ii projessor al the
(./iMi'crsily of Soiill' Ciiro/iiiii Si:hool of Liw SI'C s/iccm/-
iri-* in chiUrcn .iiiJ the Ino, IctlishUioti ,vul (roiisliliilioiiii/
1.111', .imJ from I opp lo 3003 iiMS stiilc Jinxtor of the Soiilb
Cirol/iiii Depiiitment of Soiitil Sm'acs.

Agne^Sl^llJJ

SPRING 2004 I VOLUME 80 I NUMBER 2

OUR MISSION

Agnes Scott College educates women to
think deeply, live honorably and engage the
intellectual and social challenges oj their times.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Mary Ackerly

EDITOR

Jennifer Bryon Owen

DESIGNER

Winnie Hulme

COMMUNICATIONS INTERN

Kristin Kallaher'04

COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Sara Ector Vagliano '63, chair

Mary Ackerly

Lara Webb Carrigan '94

Christine S. Cozzens

Marilyn Johnson Hammond '68

Elizabeth Anderson Little '66

Susan Coltrane Lowance '55

Sallie Taylor Manning '82

Jennifer Bryon Owen

Lewis Thayne

We encourage you to share views and opinions.
Please send them to: Editor, Agnes Scott The
Magazine, Agnes Scott College, Rebekah Annex,
141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 or e-mail to:
pubUcation@agnesscott.edu.

2004 Agnes Scott College. Published for alumnae and Friends
twice a year by the Office of Communications, Agnes Scott
College, Rebekah Annex, 141 E. College Ave. , Decatur, CA 30030.

The content of the magazine reflects the opinions of the writers
and not the viewpoint of the College, its trustees or administration.

Change of address; Send address changes by mail to Office of
Development, Agnes Scott College. 1 4 1 East College Ave.,
Decatur, GA 30030, by telephone, call 404 471-6472 or by e-mail
to dtotlopmcnl^agntSicQttxdu.

E-mail: publication@agnesscott.edu
Web site; www.agnesscott.edu

Affiles ScoU Alumnae Magtizine is recipient of;

Award of Excellence for Alumni Magazines, CASE District II

Advancement Awards, 2001
Best of Category, Spring 2003 issue. Printing Industry

Association of Georgia
Award of Excellence, Fall 2003 issue. Printing Industry

Association of Georgia

Cover; illustration by Jim Frazier

FEATURES

8 The Past ... Is Not
Even Past'

A slice oJ history flourishes into present-
day drama as a Marine's World War II
diary makes its way into the life and
memories oj an Agnes Scott alumna.

BY JENNIFER BRYON OWEN

12 Strength in Numbers

One isn't the loneliest number anymore,
thanks to an alumna's vision to bring
women together for support and practical

help. BY NANCY MORELAND

14 Writing Our Stories

Agroup oj Agnes Scott women experience
the thrill oj understanding themselves and
connecting with other women as they allow
stories from their personal histories to flow
onto paper, by lara webb carrigan '94

17 Under One Roof

While demographics of today's Jamily
are changing rapidly and taking perhaps
unexpected turns, many people are estab-
lishing a satisfying and rewarding family
life for themselves, by paula schwed

20 From Board Rooms
to Minivans

Educated to meet the challenges of the
world, many Agnes Scott alumnae find

that the world begins in their home and
are joining the growing number of stay-at-
home moms. BY DAWN SLOAN DOWNES '92

22 Growing Old
Gracefully and Prepared

Communication and planning enable
seniors and their families to move
confidently through the elder years.

BY CELESTE PENNINGTON

24 Who Grew In
Your Heart?

Members of the Agnes Scott community
who adopted children say their families are
iinicjue, and, at the same time, most ordinary.
For them, the operative word is 'family.'

BY jerry gentry

28 A Stentorian Life

It is the voice of Patricia Collins Butler '28
that has been labeled "stentorian, " but it is
her life that exemplifies another definition
powerful. Hers is a life of forging new paths
for women and one of helping Agnes Scott
students prepare their own paths.

BY JENNIFER BRYON OWEN

DEPARTMENTS

2 Reader's Voice
4 On Campus
31 Lifestyle

reader's VOICE

Growing Appreciation

Hi: I rcLcivcd the fall 2003 magazine in
the mail today and just felt moved to write.
I am s(j impressed with some of the cul-
tural events, I would have loved to have
heen there to hear Angela Davis, and I
know the Cuierrilla Girls will be great! So
much of It looks really wonderful how
awesome for the students, staff and com-
iiuinity to have such cool events! Thanks
liir sending the magazine and for keeping
me Lipdated on things at ASC.

When I was younger, I wouldn't have
expected to feel much appreciation toward
ASC, but I do. I'm grateful for everything
thai came in the mail, seeing things evolve
there. The magazine always e.xpands my
sense of the ASC community, and i get a
better feel for the true breadth of it

I started out at ASC with an absolute
sense of despair I made an effort to not
have friends. The last place that I wanted
to be when I went to college was a
women's school in the South! I honestly
believe that one reason I chose ASC was
Its accessibility to MARTA! I managed to
get through that first year. But 1 realize in
hindsight that there were good things
about being here. 1 feel that it's important
lor there to be places where women can
thrive in a predominantly female environ-
ment, and there is much to be gained at a
place like ASC. I'm glad all those resources
are there and that women are benefiting
hom being there.

Pill Givrison '90X

Humbly Saddened

Editor's NotC: Thejollowing alunuM asked that her

letter he printed in iN fiifiifly alont] with President

Bullock's response.

1 )ear Madame President,

1 was iust at my 30th Reunion this past

spring. The campus is beautiful and is

definitely 'keeping up with the Joneses"

if not surpassing them, with the building

additions and the new science capacities,

etc And sadly, in its nonbiblical stances.

I am writing because of the discussion
among several individuals and groups in
our class of '7.3 concerning the apparent
pro-atmosphere for homosexuality.

The sinner must be loved and we are
ALL sinners.

But we are also called to rise above the
sinning that comes so easily to us to
stop the sinning. There is no question that
Cod designed woman tor man (Genesis)
and that in both the New and Old
Testaments homosexuality is not pleasing
to God. With the background foundation
of Agnes Scott, this atmosphere is iiol
acceptable. 1 agree wholeheartedly with
Barbara Young Reiiand '50, as stated in her
letter to you concerning the Mission
Statement of Agnes Scott. I have not given
any money to the College as it began to
sway away to the left and away from its
origins in Christian biblical principles,
which are timeless.

We are to be in the world but not of it.

1 am not alone in wanting the World to
know Jesus, nor in knowing what is
pleasing to him: That is, to love justice, do
mercy and walk humbly with (Him)
(Micah). All we need do is trust Him and
(leaning not to our own understanding),
obey Him. How and what to obey is
clearly spelled out in His Word. I am fully
aware that this letter might be construed
to be "homophobic, " whatever that may
really mean, but in fact, it is homophilic
[sic]: wanting God's saving Grace to be
received by all since He makes it available
to all. The more we accept in ourselves
and others what God never intended for
us, the more likely we will rationalize the
Flesh tendency and excuse ourselves and
lose out on realizing His Gift of Mercv

and Grace. I would appreciate your
response and the printing of this letter in
the Aijnes Scott Quarterly. All responses for
dialogue are welcome. There is in Christ
no condemnation only in those of us
[who] would refuse to receive His Word.
Most humbly saddened,

Helen E. "Betsy" Watt '73
AID., Al.PH.

Dear Betsy:

Thank you for your recent letter regarding
what you describe as the apparent pro-
atmosphere for homosexuality at Agnes
Scott. I know your concerns reflect deeply
held religious convictions, and I appreciate
your sharing them with me. Questions
about homosexuality have elicited prayer-
ful concern for many people in several
denominations. As I am sure you know,
there are many people of strong religious
faith who differ from you in their perspec-
tive on this issue.

Homosexual students are enrolled at
Agnes Scott, as they have been in the past,
and probably in no greater numbers than
are found in the general population, which
is estimated to be about 10 percent.* We
believe our responsibility to these students
is the same as for any student and is stated
in the College mission: "Agnes Scott
College educates women to think deeply,
live honorably and engage the intellectual
and social challenges of their times."

Agnes Scott College values the
Christian traditions that are the founda-
tion for the College. The College's ties to
the Presbyterian Church remain strong.
We value the reformed tradition, which
emphasizes the necessity of inquiry to
faith. We also strive to be "a just and
inclusive community that expects honor-
able behavior, encourages spiritual inquiry
and promotes respectful dialogue across
differences," as the mission of the College
further states.

Your writing to me indicates a commit-
ment to Agnes Scott College, which I
appreciate and value. Thank you for your
letter.

Mary Brouin Bullock '66
Presidmt
Editor's note: In checkinij the data. 10 percent seems
to he the popular lore, hut i/k' actual statistics may
he closer to 3 to ( percent.

2 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2OO4

Readership Survey Responses

Responses

103

By class decades

1920s

1

1930s

6

1940s

14

1950s

18

1960s

17

1970s

10

1980s

11

1990s

10

2000s

4

Relationship to Agnes Scott College

Alumnae

91

Faculty

1

Staff

1

Other

10

Which of the following describes how you
read the magazine?

Not at all 2

A few articles in each issue 23

All or almost all of each issue 68

Which types of articles would you like to
see in the magazine?
Information on ASC students,

faculty and College activities and

achievement
Features about alumnae
Current issues and events with

commentary by alumnae and

College faculty
Features on history and College

nostalgia
Features on literary subjects and

interviews with authors
Opinion pieces
How-to articles

What picture of the College does the

magazine give you?

Positive

Negative

Do you ever share the magazine with

prospective students?

Yes

No

Would you consider paying for a subscription
on a voluntaiy basts?

Yes 23

No 62

77

1 -1 VJ

V./.i.

75

Do you ever view the online version of the
magazine?

Yes

2

58

No

83

57

What three magazines do you read most
frequently? (Top iO answers listed]

55

Time

22

33

Smithsonian

21

17

Reader's Digest

14

National Geographic

13

The New Yorker

13

Newsweek

12

95

U.S. News & World Report

1 I

3

Southern Living

11

The Economist

9

Guideposts

5

23

Note: Responses to (tuestiom may uot etjuul total responses

77

since some readers Aid not ansiver all questions.

Reader Opinions Confirm Diversity

The most outstanding overall result from
the readership survey included in the last
issue of Agnes Scott The
Magazine is the amazing
amount of diversity of
opinion among Agnes
Scott alumnae. This diver-
sity is both an editoria
challenge and opportunity
as we strive for balance in
magazine coverage.

Your opinions are summa-
rized here, but to view
exact and anonymous
quotes, go to iviviv.agnesscott
.edul -magazine. Most of you like
the quality of the magazine, its
design, photography, writing and
editorial direction, all of which give
you a positive impression of the
College. Overwhelmingly, you like to
keep up with your classmates and fellow
alums and their activities through the
magazine's pages.

Some of you feel ASTM is too glitzy
and too edgy, while others think it isn't
enough so. A couple commented that too
much money is put into the magazine in
light of the appeals for donations that you

receive from the College. Some articles are
too long and too boring, the subject mat-
ter isn't interesting or is not
appropriate in a magazine
from Agnes Scott. That the
magazine seems to feature
only high-achievers and not
the ordinary alumna
concerns
some. The
publication
schedule isn't
dependable lor
some and oth-
ers applaLid the
fact that there
are fewer errors
in the magazine.
Most of you
support the direc-
tion and the
improvements being
made in the magazine, while a few feel the
content and presentation are amateurish
and an embarrassment.

Readers may not know that the Office
of Admission gives Agnes Scott The Magazine
to certain prospective students, and the
last reader survey returned is from a
prospective Freshman or Freshwoman,

as she wrote it. She liked most the wide
variety of interests [reflected in the maga-
zine] and said it made her excited to turn
the page. "I enjoyed it all. "

One of our goals is to produce a maga-
zine that all of you enjoy tapping into at
some point, even if every article is not of
particular interest to you. To do this, we
need your help. Please send ideas for arti-
cles and names of alums you think would
be good subjects for a magazine article.

Also, we want to hear your opmions all
the time, not just when we send you a
survey. Your comments about specific arti-
cles and specific issues are welcome. The
letters to the editor section, "Reader's
Voice," gives you the opportunity to be
heard, not only about the magazine, but
about any College-related issue you would
like to address. We encourage you to
write.

Send letters to the editor, comments
and suggestions to:

Jennifer Bryon Owen

Director of Creative Services

Agnes Scott College

141 E. College Ave.

Decatur, GA 30030

404 471-6301

publication@agnesscott.edu

READER S VOICE 3

Shared experiences, learning, play a place for people

COLLEGE 101

Give lust-year students digital cameras
and access to post online journals,
and you get an unvarnished look at life at
Agnes Scott and a powerful recruitment
tooL

Having students talk about their life on
campus has become one of the hottest
ways to attract prospects, and research has
shown that a college's Web site is one of
the most important recruiting tools in the
institution's arsenal

For the second year in a row, Agnes
Scott asked incoming first years to submit
samples of journal entries they had written
and photos they had taken. These were
reviewed by last year's journalists, who
recommended the finalists. Take a look at
the results.

Susanna Lewis '07 on the all-important
Black Cat mascot "This week we voted for
our class mascot. Every year it's the sopho-
mores' 'duty' to sleep in vans outside of
Party City/ bug first-year mascot meetings/
bribe first-year class officers into revealing
their mascot then they get to announce it

Developing friendships are documented.

at ihcir party night'. Every sophomore
class since the beginning of time has
guessed it correctly, but this year the first-
year Black Cat chairs decided to be a little
i( Higher. First years are supposed to reveal
their mascot to Mortar l?oard, the student
honor society, but this year our chairs
decided to tlex our young muscles, to crack

the whip, to shatter the
glass ceiling that hung
above our heads and not
tell Mortar Board our
mascot, because rumors
suggested that Mortar
Board would tell the
sophomores. To avoid
this, our Black Cat chairs Online journals
only told the dean of stu-
dents. And only her. The class didn't find
out until days later after the sophomores
blindly guessed correctly anyway.

"As you might guess, this caused A
LOT of drama. . "

Eunice Li '07 on the challenges of dorm
life "The dorm life experience is just one
of the many things that differentiates high
school from college ... Living together
with a lot of other people definitely
teaches a person to be more considerate
and more accepting of others, in particular,
at Agnes Scott, there are so many different
women from so many different walks of
life. On my hall alone, there are women
from Sweden, Nepal, Ghana and China.
You learn very quickly what quirks each
person has. Either you learn to accept each
person for who she is or you exhaust your-
self trying to impose your views on others."

Sarah Scoles '07 on the things pro-
fessors say "When looking through my
notes in preparation for upcoming tests, 1
am always amused by the random things
professors say during lectures. I faithfully
record them in the top margin of my
paper, and there they wait until I decide to
start studying something.

1 would like to dedicate this entry to
four humorous and insightful people who
can make both sense and sensation out of
the academic world.

Dr. Bowling, Physics I 10; "The more
mass you have, the less you want to get hit

show the fun of the first-year experience.

by it. The more velocity you have, the less
you want to get hit by it. So this is a good
estimate. Multiply them together and you
really don't want to get hit by it. "

Dr De Free, Astronomy 120: "F^elium is
the second most abundant element in the
universe. And it's essential for birthday
parties."

Dr Lewin, Calculus 11: "What's the
second derivative? Yuck. What's the third
derivative? Yuckity yuck."

Dr. Mathews, Music Theory 211: "A
single diminished 7th chord can take you
anywhere."

Alexis Gassenhuber '07 on a funny place
to spend a Saturday evening We nearly
froze Saturday night! We slept outside on
the Quad in cardboard boxes [photos
posted soon!] in order to raise awareness
about homelessness and to raise funds for
the Spring Break F4abitat for FHumanity
trip to build houses in a needy community.
Two students went trick-or-treating for
funds to the dorms and our Agnes Scott
neighborhood and raised more than
enough for their trip. . . "

Tim Hussey

Tim Hussey is idc Colkiji'i direclor o) iMlfnicd'i'f commn-
nuiUion.

To read more of the students" online
journals and to see photos of their first
year experiences, go to hup://imrir.inpiei
scott.eiiu/niimissioii/p_colkge 10 1. aip

l^ AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200^

FAMILY FRIENDLY
BY DESIGN

Ask Catherine Neiner what concern
Agnes Scott students preparing to
graduate share with her most frequently,
and she will tell you managing careers and
family life.

"When we discuss career plans, that's
the issue on the minds of many young
women today," says Neiner, director of
career planning, and the daughter of
Clairelis Eaton Baxter '52. "When mother
graduated, few Agnes Scott women
planned to pursue careers and families con-
currently, but now that's the dual role most
prospective graduates anticipate."

During the years since Baxter gradu-
ated, the number of people employed by
Agnes Scott has more than doubled
from about 160 in the early 1950s, to more
than 390 today. Fifty years ago the admin-
istrative staff was less than 25 percent male
and the faculty was 31 percent male.
While records could not be found to
confirm it, most agree that the College's

at ASC over the past 50 years, yet Karen
Gilbert, director of human resources, sees
many of the same concerns among Agnes
Scott employees as Neiner does in students.

"Several years ago President Bullock
asked that College departments, especially
human resources, assess themselves to be
sure policies are in place to allow employ-
ees a reasonable balance between work
and family life," Gilbert says. "We did a
study and found, basically, the College has
good policies, but had not done a good
job of making those policies clear to
employees."

The College provides 14 holidays, two
to four weeks of annual leave and three
personal days. For almost two summer
months, the work week changes from a
five-day to a four-day schedule for most
employees.

Generous employee leave benefits are
available. "The College offers family leave
for maternity, paternity, adoption or foster
care. By law we are required to offer up to
1 2 weeks unpaid, but because of our gen-
erous sick leave accrual, many employees

Activities for children at College events encourage participation by tlie whole family.

female faculty and staff in the early 1 950s
were single and paid significantly less than
their male counterparts.

Today, College personnel records are
confidential regarding issues of remunera-
tion and marital status, but the numbers of
men on the payroll have increased on the
administrative side to 32 percent and
among the faculty to 39 percent. A scan of
the employee directory indicates a likely
majority of employees identify a "spouse
or significant other."

Demographics have become more bal-
anced among male and female employees

have accumulated enough leave time to be
paid for their entire absence," Gilbert says.
And since 2001 the College offers domes-
tic partner benefits. "Anything we once
covered for spouses and their dependents,
we now cover for domestic partners."

Current technology makes telecom-
muting a family friendly and environmen-
tally sound option. Employees can request
this opportunity in writing, which will be
considered by management.

"Clearly, some employees are unable to
do their jobs by telecommuting, and
everyone benefits from regular face-to-face

interaction with co-workers," says Gilbert.
"But there are times when working from
home is a way people can get a lot done
with tew interruptions."

Telecommuting may not be viable for
all Agnes Scott employees, but time off for
illness is a must. Agnes Scott allows all
half- and full-time employees to earn sick
leave, and now colleagues can donate
unused paid time off for illness to other
employees who have used all theirs
because of chronic illness.

"Making a donation of sick leave to
another employee who really needs it
might be the ultimate family friendly act,"
Gilbert says.

Children represent the preeminent
concern for parents and especially for
working parents. A College task force
recently studied the feasibility of provid-
ing child care by researching services
offered at other comparable liberal arts
colleges and by surveying students, faculty
and staff to gauge the need.

"There aren't any colleges Agnes Scott's
size that offer onsite child care," says
Gilbert. "We do offer an online database
that allows those interested to research
nearby care not only for children, but for
older adults, adolescents and even pets."

The College also supports family life in
less formal and more fun ways. An annual
holiday party for employees, students and
their children began a couple of years ago.
For some campus-sponsored dinners,
spouses and partners are included.
Individual and family discount tickets to
area attractions and events are available
through the Office of the Dean of
Students.

The Cultural Events Series provides
opportunities for family participation. The
fall kickoff picnic for the last three years
has been a family affair with activities for
children. Faculty and staff receive dis-
counted tickets to campus events, and spe-
cial requests for additional tickets are
accommodated as available.

"We receive requests from faculty or
staff members for additional tickets for vis-
iting family members or someone who
wants to bring her daughter's class," says
Demetrice Parks, director of special events
and conferences. "We're glad to fulfill
those requests. We encourage faculty and
staff to reach out to their family and
friends with our cultural events."

Lee Dancy

Lee Dniicy is manager of news services for the College.

ON CAMPUS 5

When Laughter Isn't Enough

by Allison 0. Adams '89

Negotiating the ambiguities oj cross-cultural etic(uette

jrecjuently challenges international travelers, but everyone's experience

and America's image can be enhanced through simple preparation.

Before a two-week sojourn in Provence, 1 tried to learn a
few French phrases. But during the trip, the critical bits
eluded me at the worst moments.
I tried to buy Hve stamps from the village post office.
Not only did 1 not know how to ask for stamps, 1 couldn't
recall how to pronounce cincj, five. Sink:' Sank? Sahnk? 1 took
a guess.

1 have no idea what 1 said to the clerk how strange or
incomprehensibly rude it might have been. He met my utterances
with a stare. He gruffly corrected my pronunciation and sold me
five stamps, and then laughed at me. Baffled, I just laughed with
him. Later that week he saw me across the street as 1 walked
through the village, and we shared warm greetmgs, still laughing.
Somehow, one of the trip's most awkward moments had turned
into an exchange of goodwill.

Traveling abroad requires a certain amount of humility, if not
humiliation. It is wise to learn some customaiy etiquette for your
destination. But assuming you cannot learn everv'thing, sometimes
admitting your own ignorance and confusion mav be the most
graceful way to avoid offense.

"First you're humble, then you're apologetic, then you can
make a joke about your error, if it's not too serious an error, " says
Jennifer Lund, Agnes Scott's director of international education,
who leads cross-cultural communication workshops for students.

My traveling companion in France, Daphne Burt '89 (whose

French far surpasses mine), says learning those nuanced gestures
of politeness helped establish friendly communication. Little
things, she says, like don't pick up your glass to have somebody
else pour wine into it. Leave the glass on the table. 1 laughed and
said I'd do it better the next time "

They may seem inconsequential, but in an era of rising anti-
American sentiment around the world, such small gestures are
more critical than ever. "Our government's position has been
perceived by much of the world as very arrogant, " Lund says. "But
most of the people our students meet abroad eventually make a
distinction between the government stance and the ordmarv' cit-
izen. Even if governments are at great odds, usually at the citizen
level there is some understanding and respect."

The experiences of June Moseley '58, who has traveled
recently in Italy and England, are a case in point. "Since we began
talking about war the summer before last, people have asked me.
Isn't it true that all of President Bush's cabinet members are some-
how in the oil industry?'" Moseley says she tries to answer such
questions as truthfully as she can, debunking stereotypes and
myths about Americans when she is able.

No matter how much you prepare for travel abroad, social
blunders are all too easy. Teresa Kindred Brown 61, traveled
extensively in Europe and Asia while her husband was an Army
officer. At a military ball in Thailand, Brown's husband asked the
wife of a Thai officer to dance. "We didn t know it was strictly

6 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200^

PAY ATTENTION TO

Sacred spaces: Moseley and Brown both recommend that if you
visit a church or temple as a tourist, find out what is considered
respectful dress and behavior.

Public transportation: Moseley suggests that you notice who is
given preferential seating for example, pregnant women or the
elderly.

Water use: In some nations, water is treated as a more precious
resource, says Lund. Do people get wet in the shower, turn off the
faucet to soap up, then turn it back on to rinse?

Tipping: Moseley tries not to commit "that American faux pas of
over tipping," she says. "It might be misinterpreted in some places
as charity, and that can be offensive." On the other hand, gifts of
money in other places might be deeply appreciated.

Eye contact and gestures: "Even smiling and nodding can get you
in trouble," says Lund. Eye contact in some cultures can be a
challenge to authority, and different gestures can mean different
things.

Food and eating: If you are uncertain of sanitation in meal prepa-
ration, ordering vegetarian is often the safest option, Moseley
says. At the same time, Lund observes, "In the United States we
have the privilege of deciding to be a vegetarian or a vegan or
goingon the Atkins diet. But if you're going to Mongolia and stay-
ing with a host family, you really need to look at that. They eat what
is available, and they don't have a choice."

forbidden for a Thai woman to dance with anyone other than her
husband," she says.

Lund recounts the story of a high school student who spent a
year in Australia on an exchange program. When the student
arrived at the home of her host family, they had prepared a
wonderful dinner. She wasn't really hungry, but she ate to be
polite. When they offered her seconds, she ate more. But when
they offered her thirds, she said, "Thank you, but I'm stuffed."

A disapproving pall fell over the gathering. After some
agonizing minutes, the young woman learned that in Australia,
"I'm stuffed" means "I'm pregnant."

What do you do when the inevitable occurs? "There are two
critical questions to ask," Lund advises. "What just happened, and
what might it mean to the other people? You ask whoever seems
the most approachable: 'Did I just do or say something wrong? 1
didn't mean to. Would you please inform me what it was?' And
most people will do that."

Eve Smith '01, a former Peace Corps volunteer, suggests
finding a friend from that culture to advise you. Smith's "cultural
informant," who worked with her in southeastern China where
she taught children oral English, was critical after one incident in
her classroom. "One of my students who didn't really interact with
people finally began talking," she recalls. "But all the other
students were making fun of him. 1 said to them, 'none of you are
perfect in your pronunciation,- you have no right to do this to a
fellow student.' He went back to his seat, put his head on his feet,
and wouldn't look up. 1 wasn't aware of it, but I'd caused him to
lose an incredible amount of face. One of the major points in
Chinese culture is saving face avoiding embarrassment. And in
causing him to lose face, 1 also lost face."

Such subtleties can be elusive. Carina Fernandez-Golarz '04,

from Uruguay, observes that U.S. Americans often don't realize
that their openness can be misconstrued. "This is a positive
American characteristic," she says. "But I have found myself in
conversation with an American acquaintance 1 haven't known for
very long, who talks about personal things That is seen as unusual
by somebody who comes from a background where being
reserved is seen as the 'proper' way to act."

To make the best of your cross-cultural encounters, our experts
offer some advice.

Study up. Brown, who also ran a travel agency for many years,
suggests taking a course in the culture you are visiting. "Before 1
went to Thailand for the first time, 1 took a course in Buddhism,"
she says. "Understanding the religion of a country is important if
you're going to be there for any length of time. Learning the sym-
bols, learning not to offend." Moseley encourages reading guide-
books for history, customs and etiquette.

Hire a guide. Similar to Smith's cultural informant. Brown also
recommends seeking a guide once you arrive. "Even if it's a bus
tour in a city, you can get an overview," she says. "You can learn a
lot about the people just from having that person with you for
three or four hours "

Speak the language. "Don't be afraid to ask questions, and
attempt to speak the language no matter what," Burt suggests.
Take a course, or practice with language tapes or CDs.

"Just be able to answer politely," adds Moseley. "Even if it's just
'good morning,' 'good afternoon,' 'good night,' 'thank you' and
'please.'

Look around you. Become a keen observer of etiquette.
"Watch what other people are doing," says Lund. What do they
do with their hands? Do they wait for one particular person to
begin eating?

"All people care about being respectful and polite," Lund con-
tinues. "But how one is respectful and polite can be vastly different
from one culture to another, and indeed can be polar opposites."

Allison Adcims 80 IS a writer and editor at Emory University, where sLie earned her master's
degree in Encjlish-

r

TO LEARN MORE

Do's and Taboos Around the World. 3rd ed., Axtell, Roger E., ed.

Mind Your Manners: Manacjini) Business Cultures in the Netp Global
Europe. 3rd ed., Mole, John

interculturalpress.com/shop/index.html

Publisher specializing in books, simulations and other
training materials about crossing cultures.

s www.culturegrams.com

Offers four-page, concise, reliable and up-to-date country
reports on 1 8 1 cultures of the world.

www.lonelyplanet.com/
www.roughguides.com/

Both publish highly respected travel guide books, also
available in bookstores.

www.bbc.co.uk/languages

The BBC offers online training in multiple languages
geared especially for travelers.

WHEN LAUGHTER ISN T ENOUGH /

Wiiliam Fdulkuer

WML

><>%

\

f^

V

t

/

/

AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZrNE SPRING 2

It's the thing of rainy-day novels and three-
hanky movies World War II, girl meets
boy, promises made, boy enlists, boy never
returns. The story of numerous couples,
this one has a twist.
Sixty years after the boy's disappearance, the
girl of long ago learns of his war-time diary, in
which she figures prominently.

Violet Jane "V.J." Watkins '40, a history and Latin major at
Agnes Scott, returned to her hometown of Nashville, Tenn., to
attend graduate school at Vanderbilt University. In a 1940 fall
semester political science class, she met Charles Winnia.

"Dr. Fleming seated his students alphabetically. Hence,
Watkins, Winnia," she says. "Oh, we hadn't known each other for
a week before we started dating "

She supposes their first attraction may have been a mercenary
matter: The professor asked the class to buy a particular book, and
Winnia suggested he and Watkins share one.

"I found out before we had known each other any length of
time that we both felt the United States should stop sticking its
toes in around the edges and go to war on Britain's side. That was
one thing that certainly attracted me we felt very much the
same about the war situation.

"in fact," she continues, "when we went down to the little bars
and night clubs oh, how grown up we felt, how sophisticated,
you know and had a little Coke high or something of the sort
(a highball made with Coke was one of the popular things then,
though I shudder now at the thought) our toast was 'To you and
the war and the peace to come.'"

Winnia was tall, nice looking, with excellent manners, and he
could clearly and eloquently express himself all things that
attracted her, says Watkins.

"I am just 5 feet 3, and he was more than 6 feet tall, " explains
Watkins. "When we danced in those little night clubs, he liked to
say. Just as high as my heart.' And you know how girls swallow
that kind of stuff."

THE PAST ... IS NOT EVEN PAST 9

i'-

FROM THE DIARY OF A CORSAIR PILOT IN THE SOLOMONS, THE YEAR 1943

Thursday 7 January

Heard from V.J. Watkins written on 9 Nov. 42. Won't allow communi-
cations to so lapse again. I hope some day to make her Mrs. C.C.W.

Friday 12 February

Late mail brought 3rd letter from V.J. Though we haven't seen each
other since Dec. '40 we seem to have strong natural interest.
Anxiously awaiting further developments.

Thursday 18 February

Feel like writing V.J. but must see her reaction to more familiar note
of last letter.

Friday 26 February

Wrote a long letter to V.J. If I have any luck when she comes through
on this one, I'll know she is on my side of the fence.

Monday 15 March

Letter from V.J. and mother. V.J.'s snapshot arrived. It really set me to
wondering. Either it is a lousy picture (I hope) or she is quite
changed and getting dumpy. Let's hope not. Her letter was lacking in
expected warmth, but I hope for better. [Watkins says she plans to
talk with Winnia about this particular entry.]

Monday 22 March

Letter from V.J. Don't know what to think now. Seems to want to see
me, but doesn't actually warm up in the general tone of the letter.

Thursday 29 April

2 letters from Mother praising V.J. highly. Says "marrying is up to
you, but will go further and fare worse." The plot thickens.

Monday 17 May

Strange letter from V.J. Wonder if I really know her?

Friday 28 May

After six days here it finally hit me. Seeing these fair complexions &
blue eyes under dark hair bothered me & now I know why. V.J. I sud-
denly realize just how much I want to see that girl again. She takes
up on looks where these girls leave off on looks, personality and
morals. Lord if I ever catch her and she is as I think, I'll not let her go.

Wednesday 2 June

Sat in cool breeze watching sunset and dreamed a little of Violet
Jane. Lord how I want to come home to that girl.

Thursday 10 June

1 had a wonderful one [letter] from V.J. I sure hope and pray we are
really in love.

Friday 11 June

Wrote V.J. a good letter. She is certainly the one to come home to.

Sunday 18 July

[This entry in a different hand.]

It. Winnia lost in dog fight over Kahili. ... Only 11 pilots left.

Editor's Note: Further research on the diary revealed thejollowing message
preprinted on a red background and affixed to the top of the page for
Saturday, August 21, "Tomorroui is your wife's birthday. " V1''iitJ;ins ii'tis
born on August 22.

On a visit to ttierr favorite niglitspot, tlie F-'ink Elepliant, Winnia
told her he was going to join tlie Marines or a Canadian regiment.

"1 agreed witli him, and I did not shed tears," says Watl<ins,
"That was the way we were brought up in our family you don't
weep over your people when you send them off to war or what-
ever. You shed your tears after they have gone, i was, of course,
applauding his intention and hoping that all would be well and
looking forward to seeing him again. And he apparently was look-
ing forward to seeing me again when he got back."

In December, Winnia returned home to California and joined
the Marines. "We had just three months actually of knowing each
other right here. Our friendship well it was more than that, of
course our dating grew rapidly I'm afraid I neglected some of

"Our toast was 'To you and the war
and the peace to come.'"

my Vanderhih allairs for those delightful evenings. But, our letters
were what brought our relationship to blossom."

Winnia was not the only one with whom Watkins corre-
sponded during the war

"I corresponded with a number of my .Agnes Scott dates and
Nashville friends," says Watkins. "He [Charles] wrote marvelous
letters. 1 knew it was so easy to glamorize or romanticize. A sol-
dier wants a girl he left behind. 1 didn't want him to commit him-
self or, for that matter me, Lintil v\'e were together again. 1 was

doubtful, but he was quite convinced and said everything would
be just fine as soon as we were together again "

One of Winnia's last letters was to Watkins' father, a letter she
believes carried a statement of Winnia's intentions toward her.

"My father was not much of a correspondent and had not got-
ten around to answering Charles' letter. 1 am just so very, very
sorry about that. My father was a doctor, and during the war when
all the young doctors were in service, the middle-age doctors like
my father were just working themselves to death. 1 can under-
stand, but I've always wished he had lived up to his intentions of
writing Charles back. He would have done it if Charles hadn't
been shot down."

Winnia was shot down in July 1943, she thinks over
Bougainville, the largest of the Solomon Islands in the South
Pacific. No trace of Winnia was found, and he was officially
declared dead three years later, although there was some indica-
tion he was captured. Watkins corresponded with his mother,
who actually heard a radio propaganda message from the Japanese
with Charles talking.

"He was captured, no doubt about it. The Japanese part of the
propaganda message had him saying they had saved his life by
dressing his wound or something of the kind," says Watkins. "I'm
jolly well sure he didn't put it like that. But one or two of the
personal allusions in the message that started it, I don't think they
could have found out except if he was alive when he came down."

Winnia's mother went to Japan as a civilian employee in the

10 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2004

War Department, hoping to find some trace of her son while
there, but to no avail.

Watkins' last letter from Winnia arrived shortly before he was
shot down. She still has all of his letters. "A couple of years ago, 1
recopied his last letter because the ink was fading. Yes, every now
and then, 1 let myself read that last one.

"Of course, his diary, which was written just for himself, was
nothing like as beautifully expressed or as well done as his letters."

Winnia's war-time diary was discovered when Watkins made
"a little gift annuity" to Agnes Scott. While working with her on
the annuity. Chip Wallace, director of planned giving, and Beth
Ma, development researcher, discovered the diary on the World
Wide Web.

Because Winnia had planned for a military career, Watkins and
Winnia had fantasized a life of "traipsing around all kinds of
interesting places." After Winnia's disappearance, reordering her
life was difficult, but Watkins says she did try. She
enjoyed her professional life as a teacher.

"He was a restless sort of person.
Some people are in love with danger,
and he was one of them."

"There were a couple of nice guys
who were foolish enough to pro-
pose," says Watkins. "1 did consider
one of them. I was very fond of him,
but could never quite bring myself to it.
Finally, he told me, 'If you can't make up your
mind after 20 years, I'm going to marry some-
body who will.' 1 agreed with him.

"Of course, a lot of war marriages ended in divorce. So, if
Charles had come home, we might have gotten married and
regretted it. "

Because of his considerable talents, Watkins believes Winnia
would have been an asset to the Marines if he had survived, but
also thinks he would not have lived to be old. "He was a restless
sort of person. Some people are in love with danger, and he was
one of them."

Winnia's diary records the dangers of war sprinkled with
references to "V.J." Although she has not seen the actual diary, she
did receive a transcript.

"It makes me inclined to dwell too much on a part of my life I
try not to dwell on. After all, even at 80-plus, while one is still
here, one should be concentrating on some other aspect of life,"
says Watkins. "He was a remarkable person, and sometimes 1 say
to him just to myself, but also to him 'Charles I'm prouder of
you than all the other nice guys put together.'

"Certainly, Charles is a very cherished memory."

Jennijer Biyon Owm is Agnes Scott's director oj creative services and editor of Agnes
Scott The Magazine.

TO LEARN MORE

www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/epilogue.html
National Public Radio:
www.nprorg/features/feature.php?wfld= 1671596

THE SURVIVAL OF A DIARY

The last diary entry was by Lt. [later Capt.] Alonzo B.
"Brew" Treffer, orTreff, Lt. Charles C. Winnia's mentor
and frequent division leader. The diary had been in his
possession since Winnia was lost.

After the war, Treff spent time as a civilian test pilot and
retired from an engineering position at Kennedy Space
Center. He was killed in a home invasion in 1994.

The diary went to his son, David Treffer. Carl Richardson
of Merritt Island, Fla., while visiting with Treffer after church
one Sunday in 1999, mentioned he had been in Marine avia-
tion. Treffer replied that his father had been a Marine pilot
and had flown from "some little island in the South Pacific in
WWII." He asked Richardson to find out about his dad's
squadron, which Richardson later identified as VMF-2 1 3.

A couple of Sundays later, Treffer, thinking it
might help in researching his father's past, handed
Richardson a small, old diary he had found among
his father's possessions. The diary had been in the
garage behind a drill press.

While transcribing the diary, Richardson

became emotionally involved with Winnia, Brew

Treffer and, through them, the many men who

fought in World War 11. Seeking more

information, he posted the diary on the World

Wide Web.

Meanwhile, Dan McAnarney of Kansas had
become the unofficial historian of squadron VMF-2 1 3 , that
of Ray Boag, his father-in-law. McAnarney discovered
Richardson's posting, and had put his inquiry about Winnia
on geneaology.com.

While conducting a routine Internet search last spring,
Beth Ma, researcher in Agnes Scott's Office of Development,
found McAnarney's posting:

"Violet Jane Watkins ~ 19 15- 1925

Looking ^or information about Violet Jane? Watkins. I have a (copy
of) a WWII Marine's dairy, in tpbicb Corsair pilot, Cbarles C. Winnia
mentions ber almost every otber day in among bis tbougbts about the war
He hoped to return to ask for her band in marriage. Sadly, be never
returned from Guadalcanal.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. She ivas perhaps born
19 i 5 to 1925, and her father was a doctor Though I have no idea of her
home town, I have hope that sbf still may he living. "

Ma recognized the name as that of an alumna with whom
she and Chip Wallace, director of planned giving, were con-
sulting about a gift to the College. When Wallace called
Watkins to confirm delivery of materials from his office, he
told her about the diary. She did not know of its existence
and was not sure she could read it.

Since then a flurry of phone calls, e-mails and overnight
deliveries has transpired between McAnarney, Richardson,
Mrs. Rose Rosin (owner of a squadron patch), Watkins and
Agnes Scott College. In addition to this article. National
Public Radio interviewed Watkins for a "Morning Edition"
feature, which aired in February.

Watkins has read a transcript, and the diary remains in
Richardson's possession, on loan from the Treffer family.

THE PAST ... IS NOT EVEN PAST 11

strength

'. imhers

by Nancy Moreland

One /sii'f ihe loneliest number anymore,
lihjnks to an ahtmiia's vision to brincj women
loi]etherjor support a}ui practical help.

Carolyn Newton Curry '66

It's a question Carolyn Newton Curi-y '66 hears frequently:
'What's a married woman like you doing in a place like this?"
But the place Curr~y finds herself is exactly where she wants
to be in the company of women expanding their horizons
and creating community, it's just that the place where
Curry married for more than 40 years finds herself is popu-
lated by single women.

In fall 2002, Curry formed Women Alone Together with a mis-
sion to mitigate women's natural tendency to withdraw once they
Hnd themselves alone. Women Alone Together welcomes women
of all ages who are widows, divorcees, single by choice or married
but feel alone because of a chronically ill spouse or because they
are physically, mentally or spiritually separated from their mates.
Appropriately enough, Curry didn't go it alone when she
decided to start the group. "I thought, 'What better place to
host a group like this than at a women's college, and what better
place than my women's college?'" Indeed, Agnes Scott College
has played an integral role since the group's inception. President
Mary Brown Bullock was an early supporter, as was Marilyn
Hammond of the Alumnae Association. Several Scotties helped
Curry form a committee and board of directors. "From the very
beginning, I've worked hand-in-hand with the College and alum-
nae " Curry explains

The committee's primary concern was to present substantive
information to single women. Secondly, they wanted to create a
venue for women to meet others with similar experiences and help
iIkiii realize they arc not alone. And they wanted to do some-
thing special for women who often do special things for others.

Like many great concepts. Women Alone Together developed
gradually. Curry's passionate interest in women's history and
well-being was awakened at Agnes Scott "They valued women,

appreciated our intelligence and believed in us. We had so many
female professors something 1 didn't appreciate until graduate
school when 1 met students who hadn't had any female professors. "

Curry spent the tumultuous years of the Women's Movement
rearing her children. The seed planted at Agnes Scott sustained
her for 10 years until she was able to begin graduate school.
While studying history for a master's and later a doctorate, she
discovered a lack of classes on women's history. Curry and her
classmates began requesting these courses. "I did all my papers on
women's issues," she recalls.

Curry's dissertation focused on the diary of Ella Gertrude
Clanton Thomas, a 19th-century woman born in Augusta, Ga.
Thomas spent her early years as a privileged planter's daughter,
but later became a women's rights activist. "Her diary made me
think about how women coped with difficulties," says Curry. After
barely surviving the Civil War, Thomas joined the Women's
Christian Temperance Union. "Women put 'Christian' in the title
and wore hats to make the groups look respectable! From the
WCTLl she moved into the fight for women's suffrage. I don't
think we realize how much courage it took for women to be
involved in the suffrage movement, especially in the South. A suf-
fragette was radical back then," explains Curry.

Arotind 10 years ago, while teaching part time at the
University of Kentucky, Curry was asked to teach a course
called, "Women in Contemporary Society." Her students
represented a cross-section from 70-year-olds to middle-aged
divorcees to college coeds. Curry enjoyed her students' dialogue
so much, she invited them to a covered dish get-together During
dinner, she voiced her desire to create group discussions that were
free from grades and papers.

12 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200^

The idea that emerged at a leisurely gathering gained new
urgency when a close friend died in a plane crash, and Curry
helped his widow struggle through a bewildering time. "There was
so much to be taken care of for which she was not prepared,"
Curry says. The widow asked Curry, "While there are support
groups like Mothers Against Damk Drivers, where do women like
me go?" She offered to help if Curry would start a group.

Curry is one of those increasingly rare women in a long-term
relationship. Though happily married to Bill Curry, former foot-
ball coach at Georgia Tech, the University of Alabama, and the
University of Kentucky, she was often alone during her husband's
demanding career The family's frequent moves presented another
challenge. During those upheavals, Curry became responsible for
her own happiness and created meaningful teaching and mentor-
ing roles in each new location coping methods now taught in
Women Alone Together seminars. It was during one of her hus-
band's business trips that the concept for Women Alone Together
solidified. "I was alone in my mountain cabin and asked myself,
'What do I want to do now?' I thought, 'Well, 1 love Agnes Scott
and I love women's studies.' From soul-searching, friends' experi-
ences and years of studying women's history, the group was born.

While Agnes Scott was the incubator and alumnae the mid-
wives of Women Alone Together, the gatherings are open to any
woman who wishes to attend. "We see ourselves as stewards of the
program, but it belongs to the women," says Carolyn Clarke '64,
who was instrumental in starting the group. Clarke has never mar-
ried, and while she maintains an active life, she has a "general
interest in the isolation faced by a lot of single women. We under-
stood there was a need ready to be tapped and we've had a
tremendous response," she says.

Fifty women attended the group's first seminar,- 120 were
present at the second. The one-day seminars present expert
speakers discussing one of the group's three areas of focus:
financial/legal, emotional/spiritual and health/wellness concerns
of women who live alone. Mini-series run three consecutive
Saturdays and include a guest speaker, question and answer period
and in-depth discussion.

Lucy Herbert Molinaro '64, a widow, "took copious notes"
during seminars. "There are holes in your life when you lose a
spouse, so 1 have found support groups that fill those voids," she
says. Women Alone Together is distinctive, Molinaro feels, in that
it honors the struggles and successes of single women. She appre-
ciates the stories of women who have transformed potentially
devastating experiences into personal strength. One woman, for
example, spoke of surviving breast cancer. A widow recalled
kissing her husband as he left for a business trip only to later learn
that his plane had crashed. A divorcee described her ex-husband's
abandonment of their son.

Women Alone Together strives to be responsive to the needs
of participants. A reading group was started when women
expressed difficulty finding activities for single women in a couples-
oriented culture. Curry opened her North Carolina cabin for a
retreat, an event so popular it may become an annual occurrence.
Drawn to the group for many reasons, Rosemary Kittrell '61
attended the first retreat. "I have very little family, so the need for
companions and support groups has become more important.
Women Alone Together helps normalize the experiences of sin-
gle women who feel awkv/ard in certain social situations." The

FindingYour Family of Choice:
Seven Tips for Creating Community

One of the main reasons women isolate themselves is
depression, according to Carolyn Curry. Depression can make
women feel fragile, withdrawn and reluctant to reach out to others.
While these emotions are normal under some circumstances, they
shouldn't linger. To that end. Women Alone Together presents
seminars designed to help women enjoy their own company and
create a sense of community. Here are a few Ideas shared during
recent seminars:

You are responsible for your own happiness. Examine
your life and discover what you really enjoy doing, then
participate in activities that bring you pleasure.

Be proactive. Call a former classmate to accompany you to
a movie or visit a museum.

Be brave. Attend couples-oriented events even if
uncomfortable at first. Your true friends will include you in
their activities.

Cultivate your faith group. Go to places filled with
nurturing people.

:>

Take courses and attend support groups.

Start a potluck or dinner club group made up of singles
and people without family nearby.

Be a mentor to a child.

group helps these individuals realize that there's "a whole com-
munity of women out there who feel the same way," says Kittrell.
That community includes more than 42 percent of American
women, according to Betsy Israel, author of Bachelor Girl The Secret
History of Smgle Women in the Twentieth Century. "The average woman
outlives her husband by seven years, and experts are predicting
that many baby boomer women will outlive their husbands by 1 5
to 20 years," Curry comments, noting that such statistics are all
the more reason to continue connecting, informing and inspiring.

Nancy Morelani} is ii Ciorilia freelance writer and afre(^uent contributor to Agnes Scott
The Magazine.

TO LEARN MORE

For more information on Women Alone Together, call
404 816-5332 or 404 231-6807.

Aging Well Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the
Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development, George Vaillant

Flying Solo: Single Women in Midlife, Carol Anderson

On Your Own: A Widow's Passage to Emotional and Financial
Well-Being, Alexandra Armstrong and Mary Donohue

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS I3

llf AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200^

Before my grandmother lost her mind, she was a queen.
Tall, thin, elegant, she wore stylish clothes, hats and
gloves, and was never without the brightest lipstick
money could buy.
After she lost her mind, she traded in her stylish
wardrobe for a closet full of undistinguished and undistinguish-
able housecoats.

Before she lost her mind, my grandmother read all the latest
fiction, was politically aware and opinionated. She was as creative
as she was frugal, and far from dainty or flighty, she was what one
might call a serious social butterfly. At 5 feet 8 inches, more than
6 feet in heels, her tales were even taller.

After she lost her mind, her heels were replaced with worn
slippers, her books tossed aside for soap operas. She stopped
socializing.

My grandmother became queen of the sofa. With cigarette in
one hand, Hershey's kiss in the other, she was not altogether
benevolent. The bright ash of her unfil-
tered Pall Mall would grovi' to precarious
lengths, threatening bodily harm if you
came too close. And the chocolate kiss, her
sweet of choice, was not a treat she meant
to share.

We, her grandchildren, were her min-
ions and visited her with a mixture of
delight, deference and wishful thinking
that we might be invited to watch one of
her soaps (or game shows, westerns or
detective shows) that she watched all day,
every day for as long as I can remember.

This was my grandmother's problem:
She couldn't remember. She suffered from
short-term memory loss, which left the
present and all of what should have been
typical and predictable routines either
completely unfamiliar or oddly capricious.
If she had dinner plans, she forgot them,- if
she didn't, she suspected that she did.
Doctor's appointments slipped her mind
right along with grocery shopping. On the

off chance she remembered to put dinner in the oven, she would
forget to take it out. Always a proud woman, her main explanation
for not socializing with the neighbors was her fear someone
would refer to a conversation they'd had earlier, and she wouldn't
remember.

My grandmother became sad, angry and slightly paranoid.
The sofa was safe, so she sat there and tried her best to rule what
was the rest of her life. But even in this diminished state, my
grandmother's tales were tall, tall. If she couldn't remember the
present, she could remember the past, and when she was in a good
mood, she'd tell you about it.

The time she polished every single pair of granddaddy's shoes
and boots, wound up covered head to toe in polish, and never
even received a thank you. "And that's the last time I ever polished
his shoes again."

The Christmas during the Depression she stood in line to buy
her sister's present: a rare and coveted pair of hose. The journey
that took her to Germany, at the age of 24, by ship, train and cab,
with her 4- and 2-year-old daughters in tow. The Sunday

afternoon a neighbor who had stayed home from church played a
practical joke on another neighbor who had a turkey in the oven,
replacing it with a small Cornish hen.

My grandmother could still laugh, and was just as likely to
burst out with a song as she was a story: "Chattanooga Choo
Choo," "Nobody Likes Me," "My High Silk Hat," "The Dummy
Song." These were just as revealing. I think 1 realized even then
my grandmother wasn't simply telling me stories, she was telling
me about her.

T

A group oj Agnes Scott
women experience the
thrill of understanding
themselves and connect-
ing with other women as
they allow stories from
their personal histories to
jlow onto paper

elling our stories. A gift. A remarkably special, entirely
personal way of sharing our lives with other people. Call
it my grandmother's legacy to me: Ears so charmed by her
tales have been in thrall to stories, books, words and the writing
of them ever since. A writer and an editor, 1 work daily with
women and men who struggle to find the perfect words to tell the
perfect story. Some of these stories are
true. Some are not so true fiction as a
way of conveying the emotional truths,
ideas and discoveries that nonaction some-
times can't.

Because of my love for stories and
because of my love of Agnes Scott and any
opportunity to meet with alumnae, I joined
a remarkably large group of women one
barely sunny, blustery October day at the
home of Sally Bainbridge Ackridge '68 in
Oxford, Md. Harleigh, as her home is
called, is also a gift. Informal and formal
gardens sit on either side of a white 1 850s
Georgian house, a wonderful contrast in
chaos and control, plants and flowers and
vegetables of every sort and color growing
right up to the edge of a lawn that sweeps
majestically down to the Chesapeake Bay.
This is Sally's Labrador retrievers' play-
ground, complete with a swing that
appears at the very moment earth meets
water. A large, inviting seat swings seduc-
tively from a tree, at the ready for anyone in the mood for a vig-
orous workout, legs and heart pumping faster and faster, or for
that more subtle form of exercise: daydreaming.

In such a setting, the topic of our meeting felt more than
obvious. Storytelling. Hardly a foreign concept to the Agnes
Scott graduate. Our group immediately dove into telling tales of
our years at Agnes Scott. With women from the classes of 1 930 to
2000, the stories were refreshingly familiar and surprisingly new.
During lunch and garden tours, alumnae shared how they had
come to the DC. area. A special guest, Mary Brown Bullock '66,
President of the College, shared inspiring stories of the College's
progress.

But Ackridge has more than a unique house. She has a unique
mind, and she had brought us together to do more than tell our
stories. She suggested we write them. Writing our stories, then. A
completely different kettle of fish. Words and stories that seconds
before felt familiar, easy, even intuitive suddenly felt awkward,
embarrassing and surprisingly difficult. Write a story? Write my
story? How?

WRITING OUR STORIES I5

I coLiId only draw from my experience working \\'ith other
writers to get our group started, my overwhelming feeling is that
It is always easier to write about our lives specifically than vaguely.
It is not always the larger messages of stories or books we read, no
matter how important or affecting, that stick. What lingers are the
small, intimate objects and moments salad green Tupperware
bowls, fresh snow on a park sidewalk, the hope-inspiring, sweaty-
palm second before knocking on the door of a potential voter.

The place to begin in writing a story is with something spe-
cific: an image, a place, a conversation, a person. Describe in
detail what it looks like, feels like, sounds like. At the risk of being
redundant, make this specific thing absolutely as specific as possi-
ble. Now, my grandmother had a little help from her faulty mem-
or\' in blocking out the annoying pressures and obligations of the
present and conjuring her stories and songs. Ver>'
possibly, they were the only thmgs she had left
to remind her, and her family, of who she was,
and they came to her readily. Most of us needed
a little more time, but after awhile, in chairs, with
pads and pencils, to the disconcerting tick of a
grandfather clock, we wrote.

Telling and writing stories is a lot about
remembering. The stories that emerged at
Harleigh were full of moments and images out of
our pasts that consciously or unconsciously still
hold sway, that motivate us even in our pursuit of
full yet ver\' different futures.

Robin Mansfield '85 says her story was com-
pletely spontaneous. Although her mother, a
newspaper columnist and "hysterical writer the
Erma Bombeck of the Midwest, " had died years earlier, the mys-
tery of her life, and ironically the words her mother didn't put
down, still captivated her. She had spent years going through her
mother's journals and travel diaries, only to be left with sentences
detailing the number and types of meals she ate each day
Mansfield's own memor\' was much more telling.

"1 remember my mother telling me about my father's crisp
white shirts. They were the initial thing that attracted her to him.
She had led a mostly rural life, was used to seeing work shirts,
farm shirts. His white shirts represented security, an end to a rural
life ' Ironically, years later, after her mother had raised six chil-
dren, those white shirts came to mean something far different.
They were bland, staid, boring,' says Mansfield. Her mother
wound up divorcing her father and growing in ways that he evi-
dently could not.

Mansfield's memory of a perfect white shirt became a way to
shape her mother's life and to understand her, "her courage," in
ways that had previously escaped Mansfield.

Tracey Oliver '98 is a graduate student who writes often, but
not necessarily creatively. The writing exercise for her turned out
to be a way to put a theme to different periods of her life. With
her October J? 1 birthday right around the corner, Oliver was
reminded ot her first birthday celebrated at Agnes Scott.
'Crowing up, 1 thought Halloween was created just for me. 1
always had a party on my birthday. Everyone dressed up in cos-
tumes. And I always had a cake with a Halloween theme." The
realization that Halloween wasn't made just for her, that the world
didn't necessarily revolve around what she wanted, was an awak-
ening. She says she grew up a lot at .A^gnes Scott, and now, when

The place to begin

in writing a story

is with something

specific: an image, a

place, a conversation,

a person. Describe

in detail wliat it looks

like, feels like.

sounds like.

people give her gifts or do things for her, they are extra special
because she realizes they don't have to.

A part of the afternoon that Oliver took away with her was the
thrill in being specific. "I make my own cards now for family and
friends, and 1 always take the time to remember something from
that person's past to share with them, to remember the things that
help make us who we are. The little things. '

After spending a summer in a remote Canadian town with her
seven dogs, Helen Sewell Johnson '57 was lured from the
Philadelphia area in part by the prospect of socializing with other
alumnae, but mainly by the opportunity to write. A self-confessed
poetry junkie, she has twice participated in the Key West writers'
festival, taking poetr\' and writing workshops, and regularly
attends Philadelphia's Bryn Mawr College's writer events.

Not surprisingly, her story emerged as a
poem, but not so much a memory from the past,
as a vivid, albeit painful, wish that her present
would become the past Her mother has
Alzheimer's, and Johnson struggles with the
anguish and anxiety of loving and taking care of
a woman she barely recognizes, and who never
recognizes her.

Johnson's approach to writing has been "to
just start where you are emotionally at that
moment. Start with what's really affecting you."
She's written many poems on aging, a topic she
says isn't covered nearly enough, "as if the con-
fessional poets did themselves in before they got
to the subject."

Women writing about women this didn't
surprise any of us. "It only takes the one time to hear your mother's
words come out of your mouth to realize you are more similar
than you realize. To understand their lives is to understand yours,'
says Mansfield.

What did surprise us was how little time our writing exercise
actually took: 20 minutes.

Writing our stories was not so different from that favorite
childhood activity of mine: listening to stories. Both require quiet.
Both require listening. Writing our stories simply insists that we
take the quiet and listen to ourselves, not necessarily for long, but
intently, to the particular, peculiar patterns that shape and change
our worlds. Words are sometimes the only way to capture the
leaps our lives and imaginations take. Words become a way of
capturing the smaller, fleeting moments, the ways they intersect
and add up to larger and often very important meanings.

Writing our stories a responsibility? Perhaps. But also, very
simply, a way to savor and share our lives. Make them taller.
Inventively, enviously so.

Lirii Carri^aii. a freelance writer and editor serves on the College's Communications
AJviiO'y Commillcc She is (bf iiiil/'or o/The Best Friend's Guide to Planning a
Wedding.

TO LEARN MORE

Birii by BirJ: Some Imtnictions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott

Wntiin) Doii'M the BoneS: FreeiniJ the Vl''ri(fr Within. Natalie
Coldberg andjudith Cuest

l6 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200^

stay-at-home dad and M.A.T. student Steve Brett enjoys a break with son, Kyle, and daughter, Caitlin, at Paideia School, where he substitute teaches
and they attend.

^

UNDER

)rapmcs oj today sjamily are
changing rapidly and taking perhaps unexpected turns,
many people are establishing a satisfying and
rewarding family life for themselves.

by Paula Schwed

UNDER ONE ROOF if

The business that was the pride and joy of Loucy
Tittle Hay '87 was sold last year.
In the rolling hills of rural Oxford, outside
Atlanta, Merryvale Assisted Living Center was envi-
sioned as a dignified place where elderly people
could maintain independence with the support and care they
needed With a degree m economics from Agnes Scott, Hay could
see the need in her rural community for such a business. She
enlisted the aid of an architect whose mother required assisted
living, and they took a very personal approach to the design of
ihis facility "one we wouldn't mind living in."

After Merryvale opened in 1996, business was brisk and
r|uickly doubled. Hay cherished the residents and knew their fam-
ilies well. She celebrated their good days and worried about their
welfare on nights and weekends. When her infant son arrived in
1998, she needed no baby monitor because residents took turns
watching over the sleeping boy so Hay could work.

But as her son grew and another baby arrived, Hay found her-
self torn between the demands of work and motherhood.
"Wherever I was, 1 felt like 1 was needed somewhere else," says
Hay. "My career was wonderful, and 1 worked very hard. But I had
always wished 1 could be somebody's mom, and the children
deserved and needed my full attention."

Reluctantly she found a suitable buyer and broke the news to
her beloved residents. To her surprise, they were not surprised.
They encouraged Hay to follow her feelings.

"One thing I took away from those folks is that every single
day counts," says Hay. "The elderly have been through so much
not just globally but personally. And it changes your perspective.
For them, death is not the demon it is to us. You never know what
tomorrow will bring. And children grow so fast."

Now her banker husband is the sole breadwinner, and Hay is
a stay-at-home mother. Once the norm in America, it is what
many still view as ideal. But only one-tenth of American house-
holds fit that picture. Married-couple households have declined
from 80 percent in the 1950s to 50.7 percent today. And married
couples with children now total 25 percent, according to the lat-
est count by the U.S. Census Bureau, which projects a drop to 20
percent by the year 20 1 0.

Behind this huge demographic shift are numerous factors: peo-
ple are marrying later, cohabitating more, splitting up in greater
numbers, forming non-traditional families and living longer.
Statistics alert us to these seismic changes in how Americans are
redefining the meaning of family. But the numbers do little to por-
tray the twists and turns life actually takes, outstripping the labels
and the categories and maybe, most of all, one's expectations.

After 1 years as a stay-at-home father, Steve Brett enrolled
at Agnes Scott last fall to study for his master's in educa-
tion. His wife works as creative director at an advertising
agency. One teenager heads to college in the fall, the other has
three more years of high school.

"We call it the flip flop," says Brett. "I'm the housewife. She's
ihe breadwinner For 10 years, I have been the primary caregiver
I have had all those responsibilities for the kids, the shopping, the
laundry, the cooking. Rita used to call me at work when 1 was a
hotshot ad executive and ask me, 'When are you coming home?'
Now I know what that feels like."

Brett says the decade he has devoted to child-rearing has been

enormously satisfying. He points with pride to his children's inde-
pendence as well as their close bonds to him. Brett shrugs off any
suggestion that others may disapprove of the unconventional
course he and his wife chose.

"The funny thing is, I think a lot of men were jealous because
1 got to spend so much time with my kids, " he notes. "Some of the
greatest moments happen by accident. Fathers see few of those
moments when they're working 60, 70 or 80 hours a week. 1 can
be chopping onions and making a few phone calls in the kitchen,
and [daughter] Caitlin will be doing her homework. Suddenly we
find ourselves in one of those conversations you remember for a
long time. Those are the great moments."

Brett concedes there have been drawbacks to their arrange-
ment. It has been hard at times for his wife to be away from home,
although he believes she shares a deep connection to the children
fostered in the early years after their birth. He probably hovers
less than a mother would, Brett says, recounting with laughter
how the kids would cry much less over separations from him than
from their mother.

An unexpected benefit of his role swap was that it led him to
his next career. Brett says the time he spent volunteering in his
kids' classrooms brought him to the realization he wanted to
teach. He is enthusiastic about being back at school, even though
this 50-year-old man is a distinct minority.

"This new direction is very exciting to me. At this point in my
life, 1 have perspective. 1 have the enthusiasm for learning. And
fortunately, we have the time and the resources to make this
change," he says. ""Our master plan is that when 1 get my degree, I
can be the one who has the regular job, and Rita can have the flex-
ibility to freelance."

Last summer, Melissa Nysewander '98 and Cathleen Keyset '00
traveled to Canada and to Vermont to be joined in civil
unions. Both graduate students at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nysewander is in the fourth year of a
Ph.D. program in astrophysics and Keyser is pursuing a master's
in library science.

At a time when many more adults than ever before are forgo-
ing marriage, these women chose to make "a lifelong commit-
ment," despite the stigma of same-sex partnerships.

"This was the next step," says Nysewander "I wanted to make
a lifelong commitment to Cathleen, to have a family and give kids
a stable lifestyle to grow up in. Up until now, Fve been intensely
focused on myself and my career, and that's not very conducive to
family life. Now I'm thinking of other things."

Keyser says the civil union ceremonies brought her closer to
Nysewander, with whom she already shared checking accounts
and car titles. "We're no different from anyone else. We're noth-
ing to be feared or hated. We're normal people who just happen
to like the same gender"

Nysewander understands those who oppose gay marriage out
of religious convictions. "But marriage is not only a religious insti-
tution, and their religion should not prevent gay people from
having a civil contract with each other."

Keyser says her family considers Nysewander "as great as
apple pie," and Nysewander's family has embraced her mate now
that members have come to terms with the fact that she is gay.
"My family is thrilled about Cathleen my father thought 1 was
going to be some old spinster!"

l8 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2004

Marriage just never made it to the top of the overflowing
to-do list maintained by Carolyn Clarke '64. She
wanted great adventure, and she got it.

"When I left Agnes Scott, the typical options in those days
were becoming a schoolteacher, getting married or working for
BellSouth. I didn't want to do any of those things. I did not want
on my headstone that 1 lived my entire existence in Montgomery,
Ala., [her hometown], and Atlanta, Ga. It's a big world out there."

With a master's in public health and an M.B.A., she developed
public health projects in Georgia and California, worked in Jimmy
Carter's presidential campaign and traveled the world as the first
program director for the Friendship Force international exchange
program. Always interested in marketing and innovation the
"chaos of novelty," she calls it Clarke spent 17 years with The
Coca-Cola Company before retiring in 2000.

"I call it my 'gypsy work career' that didn't fit any mold. 1 was
traveling in high cotton, flitting around meeting fascinating peo-
ple and going to fascinating places," she says. "1 wasn't defining
myself by a relationship, although I dated plenty of men, and

Carolyn Clarke '64 (center) discusses Bel Canto with her bool< club, which
includes Carolyn Curry '66 (left) and M. C. Lindsay '51 (right).

some of them were quite wonderRil. I have a strong feminist core."

F^er family supported Clarke's single life, although she felt
pressure from others, and "I can't tell you how many times I've
been a bridesmaid.

"In my 30s, it began to dawn on me that this might not happen
for me. You can marry at any age, but it was very hard to accept
I might never have children I really enjoy children," she notes.
"1 treasure my relationships with the children of my friends and
family."

Her life is enriched by what she calls her "chosen family" as
distinct from her "birth family."

"My chosen family is intergenerational and includes couples,
single men, single women and children. These are folk with whom
I share much, and for whom I have great affection," she says. "My
birth family is enhanced by my chosen family."

Clarke does not want it said that she consciously chose a sin-
gle, childless life.

"I didn't choose intentionally not to marry. What 1 chose was
to explore and experience. 1 didn't think about it. I just lived it. Of
course, there have been drawbacks. You always look wistfully at
what you don't have It's a loss not to have an ongoing intimate
relationship. But it's not easy being in a marriage, either. Life sim-
ply is not easy, whatever it is."

Now in what she calls the favorite season of her life, Clarke
joins Carolyn Curry '68 in forming Women Alone Together [see
page 12]. While far fewer women remained single in the days
when Clarke left Agnes Scott's campus to find adventure, the

census shows that if a woman lives to age 70, she will spend more
of her adult life single than married.

At the time of her 1997 marriage to Agnes Scott political
science professor Juan Allende, Diana Jordan Allende '90
was living in Auburn, Ala., where she is the minister of the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. For several years, the couple
alternated the 1 30-mile commute. In fall 200 1 , the couple bought
a house in Fairburn, Ga., lengthening his commute to work, but
shortening hers. This made it possible for them to live together,
still in the ever-changing routine of a commuting marriage.

"I'm not sure I thought we'd go on this long [with the com-
mute]," she says. "Our schedules are always a little out of sync.
Not only do I work weekends when Juan is off, but he's often in
bed asleep when I arrive home from Auburn. Then he's up at 5
o'clock in the morning, preparing for classes, when I am sound
asleep. We have to be very intentional about our time together."

Both Allendes say the arrangement has numerous advantages,
and she believes it would be detrimental to their relationship were
either partner to forfeit the work they value. But she is frank about
the drawbacks. Both have higher commuting expense, and the
constant driving can be exhausting.

"On the other hand," she says, "when I lived in Auburn and felt
content there, 1 also felt confused, even a little guilty. I wasn't ever
quite sure where 'home' was. Now that Juan and 1 live together in
Fairburn, my center of gravity is in one place. This is enormously
important to me."

Although she spends fewer days in Auburn than before,
technology allows her to stay in touch with her congregation. "I
spend three or four days a week in Auburn, keeping office hours,
meeting with members of my congregation and attending
community events."

'Juan and 1 realized that we're not immortal or even particu-
larly young so we reached a point where we needed to adjust.
Finding one house closer to a midpoint is part of that adjustment.
We continue to ask ourselves if this is workable. So far, it has
been, but maybe we'll have to adjust again," she says.

Juan Allende's family in Chile were perplexed by the entire
idea of a commuter marriage. "They could not understand why
Diana was driving 175 kilometers. In Chile, if you travel that
distance, you find yourself in the desert. They were always
predicting the worst. But we adapted."

Juan Allende believes in many ways their marriage thrives on
this ever-shifting framework of time spent apart and together.

Certainly, he worries about her safety on the road and the
exhaustion that accumulates. Hers is the "greater burden. " And he
misses his wife at times, but confesses, "1 am, by nature, a solitary
beast." The arrangement allows plenty of time for the reading and
scholarly work he loves.

"I think that paradoxically, the time apart has pushed us
together in terms of the attention we pay each other and the qual-
ity time we are so conscious of. When we are apart, we are always
checking in with each other. We are all the time calling and
really talking to each other. When she is home, we go to the
bookstore, the movies, to dinner and we talk, talk, talk. 1 like that."

"You could say our marriage has been one long conversation."

A former journnlist who iiou' writes for biisiiifss and nonprofits, Paulci Scbwed lives in
Decatur.Ga., with her hushitnd and three cb/Urcii.

UNDER ONE ROOF 19

From Board Rooms to Minivans

Educated to meet the challenges of the world, many
Agnes Scott alumnae find that the world begins in
their home and are joining the growing number of
stay-at-home moms.

by Dawn Sloan Downes '92

Amy Cottsche Miele '88 always saw herself staying home with her
children. Unfortunately, this self-described "type A + " personality
didn't believe doing so was possible when she had her first child. A
lawyer, she had just made partner with a national firm, Kutak Rock.
With student loans, Miele says staying home was not feasible.
When her daughter was born two years later, balancing family life with a career
marked by long, unpredictable hours led Miele to trade in her career for a minivan. It
just seemed right.

20 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200(

Increasingly, career-minded women view leaving the career path
for family as a valid option. Others argue these women under-
mine gains made by the feminist movement. Stay-at-home
moms consider themselves daughters of the movement who made
a choice the fruit of battles fought by earlier generations.

Census Bureau statistics validate their numbers. According to
one report, 44.8 percent of mothers with infants chose to remain
home in 2000, up 3.5 percent from 1998. Stay-at-home mothers
in 2002 cared for 10.6 million children younger than 15, an
increase of 1 3 percent in less than a decade.

Experts speculate a backlash against the superwoman image by
Generation X members, who were among the first children with
working mothers. Others surmise the increase reflects a societal
paradigm shift that values family and relationships above material
accomplishments.

"I don't regret my decision," says Miele. "Both my children
took their first steps for their nannies. But, the things they do get
more exciting every day like when my son let us know he could
read by reading the ticker on CNN! It's fascinating watching
babies become children.

"My family's stress level is so much lower," she says. "When 1
was working, the least thing could throw our world out of bal-
ance. Many women are capable of being good lawyers and good
mothers, but I didn't think 1 could do it. No matter where I was or
what 1 was doing, I felt guilty for not doing the other.

Miele plans to return to work. "1 miss the tangible rewards of
work, like a paycheck and the sense of accomplishment. 1 don't
expect the transition to be easy due to the inflexible nature of
work, but even men who don't take time out to raise children can
enjoy two or three careers."

Shannon Grace Greene '92 also wants to return to work, but
is unsure where to begin. Originally planning on law school,
she became pregnant after working one year as a paralegal.

A diabetic, Greene was warned the pregnancy was high risk.
She lost vision in one eye while pregnant and partial vision in the
other shortly after her daughter's birth. Greene regained her
vision and had a second child. However, her son was born early
with severe health problems. Requirements of his daily care elim-
inated the full-time job option.

Greene worked part time in her father's medical practice until
moving to Memphis and away from reliable child care meant
staying home full time.

Greene credits Agnes Scott with helping her remain a role
model for her daughter.

"I rebelled against the notion of 'woman as everything,' but
Agnes Scott greatly impacted my life in a positive direction,"
Greene says. "I minored in art history. I volunteer with a fine arts
department. I also participate in parent tutoring and work with

"Make your decision and maximize it.
This is your career, caring for your cfiildren."

kindergarteners at my kids' school. And I'm in charge of the Kids
Kan collection drive for the Memphis Food Bank."

Isolation is the hardest part. "1 miss educated conversation. My
desire to go back to work includes a desire to meet new people
and simply get out of the house."

Lynn Wilson McGee '77 understands. The mother of four
boys, McGee returned to work as a marketing professor at
Indiana University Purdue University at Columbus after 10
years off.

"1 never planned to stop-out for so long. I took a leave of
absence to get a Ph.D. in marketing, thinking I would come back
into the corporate world armed with a unique set of tools," says
McGee. "By the time I got my Ph.D., we had two children In 10
years, we moved four times and had two more children. It just
worked out that I stayed home."

McGee kept her expectations in check as she transitioned to
work. "You have to be willing to start at the bottom. The culture
of mothers and children is very different from corporate culture,
and you have to learn to talk to adults again 1 interviewed retired
business people just for practice. The hardest part, though, is
finding a way to describe the missing 10 years on your resume."

She encourages other women. "Make your decision and maxi-
mize it. This is your career, caring for your children," says McGee,
who homeschooled her children.

"Remember that young children need you. You have about
seven or eight years when you can shape their values and help
them become the kind of people you want to be friends with
when they're 30 and you're 60."

McGee never felt a sense of letting down a movement.
"Whenever you make a choice that's different, some will support
you, but there are going to be people who are threatened. You can
make it easier for them if you seek to understand their choices."

Tonya Smith Grieco '93 dreamed of a career and all the
perks. However, a successful career as a mental health pro-
fessional for United Behavioral Health left her unfulfilled.

On Sept. 1 1, Grieco waited in the Philadelphia airport to
board a plane for San Francisco. This trip would have increased
her visibility and put her in charge of training for new offices, but
her flight was cancelled. Stunned upon learning why, Grieco
returned to her office where she and her staff fielded calls from
employees of their clients in the Word Trade Center.

By day's end, Grieco decided to leave her job, realizing she had
been equating happiness with success. Within a few weeks she
became an Easter Seals Foundation receptionist, reducing her
commute to 1 5 minutes and her salary by half.

"1 always wanted a career, the travel, the raises and promotions.
But it wasn't what 1 thought it would be. 1 wanted a child.
Confronting Sept. 1 1 helped me see you can change your mind. I
have been shocked that such a tragedy could bring about such a
positive change in my life."

Grieco points out that most people would not try to put 100
percent of themselves into two careers, but she thinks that's how
it would be to try to be successful at her career and as a mother. "I
can't be at a job and not put that level of commitment into it. I had
to decide which was most important to me, and 1 think raising a
child to be a good person is the most important thing you can do.

"We're expecting a daughter, and I want her to have freedom
to be whoever she wants to be," says Grieco. "She may feel she has
the resources to have a successful career and a family. That's the
beauty of what 1 learned at ASC. You can do and achieve whatever
you wish; the only limitations are the ones you put on yourself."

Diiicii Sloan Downes '92 is ajredatKe writer in Tucker, Ga., and tbf mother of Brandon

FROM BOARD ROOMS TO MINIVANS 21

Commiiniccitiou ivui
phvining enable seniors
and their jamilies
to move confidently
ihrough the elder years.

by Celeste Pennington

Growing Old Gracefully and Prepared

Diiriuc) her )8 years as a dance therapist,
Sarah Campbell Arnett 's i worked with a
number oj elderly women. One sl^e remem-
bers oividly: small boned with white hair
"hi her mid-HOs, " recalled Arnett, "she was
inKommunicalive, lifeless and blank."

PLiyiiu/ 'lus musit and iakini] one step at a time, Antett, who
holds a master's decjree in dance/movement therapy from Goucher
Lolleije, drew the woman out. "She didn't l.iave a vety ()ood
memoiy, but s/'c iOuLi snn] an entire sonc). One day I took her
hand aiiii did a lilile waltz. I Lould see the connection. A smile.
A direct gaze. The sparkle in her eyes.

"There is power in mooemenl. Just a little can affect mood
and memoiy," said Arnett. 'I lore workinc) with seniors."

Americans age 85 and older make up the fastest growing seg-
ment of the population. Of these, about 25 percent are in nursing
homes. The rest live independently or in assisted living. At the
same time, explains Arnett, more than 80 percent of the country's
22 million caregivers are unpaid and 68 percent are women.

The challenge to care for older Americans will intensify as
baby boomers begin reaching retirement age in eight years.
Speaking at a U.S. Government Administration on Aging (AoA)
Summit this past October in Florida, Assistant Secretary for Aging
loselina Carbonell noted, "By 2030, the number of Americans age
65 and older will more than double, to 70 million-plus. While
there will be large increases in the numbers of older people who
are active and in very good health, there will also be increasing
numbers of Americans in need of long-term care.

'We are in the midst of one of the most profoimd changes in
American history, " says Carbonell

Tapping into the need and her own passion for empowering
the elderly, Arnett, who designs professional development
programs for employees of the Moses Cone Health Care System
in Greensboro, N.C., became an eldercare coach two years ago.

22 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200/(

Through ElderCoaching, she assists families who want to
maximize their options as a loved one encounters the emotional,
financial, legal and spiritual impact of aging and dying. Through
conference calls, Arnett can connect often geographically far-
flung families and start the conversation with key questions: Do
your parents need help, what are their medical needs, do they
have long-term insurance, who has power of attorney?

She encountered the stark need for this kind of service a few
years ago. Her 94-year-old neighbor lived alone. The woman's
son, in his 70s, resided on the West Coast. He called his mother
regularly, visiting her in North Carolina about once a year. But he
was not ready for what happened when his mother had a heart
attack. Days later the son arrived in disarray. He did not know if
his mother had Medicaid or if he had the health care power of
attorney. "I was the one who found her, checked her into a nursing
home, and connected them to all sorts of help, " says Arnett.

She and her mother, the Rev. Ann Young '50, offer a better
model. Through formal and informal conversations. Young has
discussed aging and dying with her children. All three children
have copies of her will and living will. Young has long-term health
care insurance and hopes to remain in her home as long as possi-
ble. She designated Arnett to make any health-related decisions,
and her sons are co-executors of her estate. "1 am planning my
funeral. Since 1 am a pastor, I have strong ideas about how it will
be handled.

"The main issue to be dealt with now," says Young, a retired
Presbyterian minister, "is will I stay in Little Rock or move to
North Carolina in my later years? Church connections and friends
provide enormous support. If I am in my right mind, 1 will
probably stay."

Young and Arnett have seen what can happen when a family is
caught off guard. "Any medical emergency or unexpected death
can catapult a family into crisis," says Arnett.

DO THIS FOR YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN

In most cases, It's best for parents 50 and older to have ongoing
conversations with their adult children about legal, financial,
health and spiritual matters. Maintain a file or binder with lists and
current information on:

Bank accounts

Credit cards

Health and medical history

Insurance policies

Inventory of assets/liabilities

Investments

Legal documents

Durable powers ofattorney for finances

Durable powers of attorney for health care

Will and testament

Obituary

Personal/professional directories

Retirement accounts

Safety deposit box

Savings bonds

Social Security

Tax records

Titles

Trusts

PREVENT A CRISIS

Keep up with changing health care laws. Since passage of the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, health
care professionals must abide by an advanced directive from the
patient concerning who is privy to his/her health care information.
Make this and similar decisions before you're in a crisis mode.

Peggy Davis Gold '82

Purchase long-term health insurance before your health starts to
deteriorate. "My suggestion is make a decision about the policy
you prefer by age 50 and pay for it before you hit age 60. Then it's
taken care of." Sarah Campbell Arnett '81

It's often at the moment of crisis that Peggy Davis Cold '82
steps in. She serves as a chaplain to families and patients
primarily those diagnosed with mental illness or HIV/AIDS at
Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

"Death and dying. Long-term illness. These are part of life,"
says Gold. "Yet we are reluctant to talk with our own families
about it. Everything in the world seems set against our having this
conversation."

"Death and dying. Long-term illness.

These are part of life, yet we are reluctant to talk with

our own families about it. "

Many patients express that, above all, they don't want to be a
burden. "Individualism is so ingrained in us that sometimes we fail
to act together to help another," says Cold. "That is actually what
the Christian community has to offer 'I will be with you
through death and dying.' Sometimes I just want to say, 'This is
your time to be cared for. Next time it will be my turn.' "

Gold calls patient advocacy an art form knowing when to
assert, when not to. She appreciates the families who have
modeled that for her.

"I am grateful for the patients who showed me new ways to
serve, who said, 'My favorite hymn is Amazing Grace' and then
encouraged me to sing it!"

To Gold, one peerless advocate was the mother of a middle-
aged woman dying of AIDS. "The hospital room can be an empty
canvas. This elderly mother spread out on her daughter's bed a
beautiful quilt from home and filled her hospital room with music.

"These have been my teachers."

Celeste Penninifton, n Georilin-baseii jreelance writer, manacles several publications.

TO LEARN MORE

Another Country, Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our EUers,
Mary Pipher, Ph.D.

Caregiving: Hospice-Proven Technicfues for Healing Body and Soul,
Douglas C. Smith

Ritual and Pastoral Care, Elaine Ramshaw and Don S.
Browning

The Complete Eldercare Planner, Joy Loverde

The Wounded Storyteller, Arthur W. Frank

GROWING OLD GRACE FU LLY AN D PREPARED 23

Who Grew

In Your Heart?

by Jerry Gentry

Sara, the liaiighter of Rosemary Cunningham,
Acjues Scott economics professor, likes to ask,
"Who grew in your belly?" Cunningham
answers, "Ian," her son. Sara then asks, "Who
grew in your heart?" The answer, "Sara. "
"She loves that," says Cunningham, and it's obvious
mom loves it, too.

Adoption, it seems, rarely makes news without a tragedy:
custody tights, medical problems and psychological problems, but
there are ample happy adoption stories, and, due to the growing
phenomenon of international adoption and acceptance of adop-
tion by same-sex couples, adoption creates a diverse range of
family types.

One of the biggest challenges faced by Cunningham and
other parents is simply getting people to think of an adopted child
m the same way they think about a biologically related child. She
sees her two children so similarly that it strikes her as odd when
anyone else doesn't.

"I don't look at Sara each day," she explains, "and remember
that she came into our family through adoption. She is my daugh-
ter and that is the end of it." She is especially puzzled when some-
one asks something like, "Why did you adopt?" No one asked her,
after she gave birth to Ian, "Why did you deliver a baby?"

Other odd comments commonly heard by adoptive parents
are such things as "Oh, don't worry. That is your child," which are
well intended but still carry the unspoken message that an
adopted child is somehow differently related to the parents. Some
comments are downright rude, and several parents interviewed for
this article say they experienced them but did not want them
repeated less they unintentionally perpetuate false assumptions.

Agnes Scott art professor Anne Beidler, who with her husband
adopted two girls from China, urges everyone to see adopted chil-
dren simply as children Their family can be labeled unusual
because it is interracial and niuUicultural, but plenty of families
that did not adopt have similar differences within the family.

"Adoptive families," she says, "face most of the same issues as
any family: How to find good daycare. Which school will be best?
Big questions, like how to raise kids in today's complex society."

Both Beidler and Cunningham make sure their children learn
about China. They celebrate Chinese holidays and learn about
Chinese language and culture. Beidler helped organize a Chinese
class at her daughters' school. She says both Chinese and non-
Chinese children attend. "We have found this has presented more
exciting possibilities than challenges," she says. "And we feel so
much support and friendship within our Families with Children
from China group."

Cunningham says, "1 go into Sara's class to talk about Chinese
New Year, help the kids with a craft and provide traditional
snacks. At home we have lots of books and videos about China "

Beidler sees her family and Cunningham's creating a new
dimension in America's diverse population. "Our daughters," she
explains, "are certainly Chinese, but they will not be Chinese in
the same way as, for example, the daughters of recently arrived
Chinese who are working very hard to find a new life for families
in the United States or kids of Chinese-American parents who
themselves are now second generation. We are our own unique
version of what it means to be Chinese-American or . . .
American-Chinese. We need to embrace this and at the same time
figure out exactly what it means to us as a community and in our
individual families."

Deadra Moore '85 and Elizabeth B. Davis '85, an Atlanta
couple, started thinking about raising a child seven years ago. Via
artificial insemination, Moore, an Atlanta actor, director and stage
manager, conceived and delivered a boy, Walker. She and Davis,
an environmental law attorney, contacted a lawyer who special-
izes in second parent adoption, which allows a non-biological
parent to adopt the partner's biological or adoptive child without
that parent losing her legal parental status.

Six of the eight judges in their county would consider second
parent adoption, but judges are assigned by lottery, and, as luck
had it, they were assigned to one who would not consider second
parent adoption. "That was a huge, huge bummer," Moore says.

24 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2004

Members of the Agnes Scott community who adopted children

say their families are unicjue and, at the same time, most ordinary.

For them, the operative word is 'family. '

WHO GREW IN YOUR HEART? 25

I'M A GRANDMOTHER finally!

For a long time, Sarah Cunningham Carpenter '39 only listened
as her friends told grandchildren stories and proudly showed
off pictures. Now she keeps up with the best of them.

"It seemed I would never experience that joy," she recalls.

Then she received news from her son, but she wasn't sure whether
it was good or bad. "Bob and his wife, )an, told me they were start-
ing the long process leading to a trip to China to adopt a baby girl.

"I admit at first I was apprehensive about the whole idea. The
paperwork, etc., would take a year or more. Frankly, I wondered If
it was something they should do. But as time passed, I realized
how desperately I wanted this child in our family."

By the time her first grandchild arrived. Carpenter was over her
fears. "I was at the airport when they returned, and there was little
Jessie, 14 months old," says Carpenter. "Jessie is now 6, and I feel
that she and I have a special bond."

The family returned to China and adopted
Sarah, now 3, who had been speaking
Chinese quite a while when adopted at
18 months. Now, "she never stops talk-
ing," in English. Jessie and her mom
are learning to speak IVlandarin
Chinese. The parents teach their chi
dren about China and Chinese cus-
toms, and the family belongs to
Families with Children from China,
which has a large membership in
their neighborhood.

Carpenter often travels from her
Decatur, Ga., home to see them
heronlytwo grandchildren and
especially loves being with them
on Christmas morning.

"My two beautiful grandchildren," she says, "are the wonders that
God has given us, and they bring untold happiness to our lives."

"Once you are assigned a judge, you can't just talce it avvay and
re-file later You are always assigned to that judge." So they
temporarily moved to another county to establish residency. By
this time all their required evaluations were completed, and the
adoption was granted by a judge amenable to second parent
adoptions. "Having that piece of paper," Moore says, "means both
ot us arc allowed to make various decisions about Walker and to
get medical information. And his revised birth certificate has both
our names on it Our lawyer got them to take out 'father' and put
in 'parent."'

Olivia Hicks '68 and C'arol L. Buell wanted to raise a child
from infancy. They learned that adopting an infant domestically
could be difficult, so thc\ v.nxl n iniernationally. Upon learning
thev could adopt an infant ciuitkK' jrom Vietnam, Buell maneu-

vered the approval process and made the trek four years ago. Back
in New York, Buell re-adopted the baby, and Hicks adopted as a
second parent.

They believe living in a large diverse metropolis allows an
acceptance they might not find elsewhere. "1 feel for those in the
hinterlands," Hicks says, "who don't see other families like
themselves."

One of the perceived oddities is their age. "My parents had
concerns," Hicks says, "and I do, too. 1 want to see her graduate
from college and be a grownup, but it's not going to be easy.
Fortunately, there are plenty of gray-haired parents these days.
We sometimes feel a little out of the norm, but we know so many
people who have adopted, especially from Asia, and we know a
lot of gay people with children from Asia. Our daughter will know
other families like hers."

Most adoptive parents prefer an infant, but some adopt
older children as did ASC Payroll Manager Terry
McMichael and her husband, Eric. They had one
biological son, Sean. When they first began the adoption process
15 years ago, they were stunned when told by county caseworkers
that their chances were slim. As an African-American couple,
they thought adopting would be swift because they
wanted an African-American child and were willing
to accept one as old as 5. They learned demand is
high for all small children, not just white infants, as
many assume.

After much discouragement, they stopped pursuing
adoption for several years, but decided to try one last
time, this time with a private agency. They were willing
to adopt older children, and within a year, Sean, 1 3, had
two siblings: sister Samarrah, 10, and brother Dayvon, 11.
Sean had to deal with sibling rivalry and a roommate.
Samarrah and Dayvon had to develop a sense of security
after life in foster care. Terry and Eric had to deal with it all.
Samarrah, especially, took several months to accept
McMichael as her mother. "It was a battle of wills,"
McMichael recalls. "For a while she would refer to me only
as she' or 'her.' She was afraid she might be sent back to a fos-
ter home. The social worker said 1 would have to prove to
them what a mother really is, and she was right.

"For a while when we went to see a counselor, Eric and 1 saw
her first, then the children saw her by themselves. Samarrah
would ask the counselor where 1 had been sitting, and she would
not sit in the same chair even if it meant making one of the boys
move like 1 was the wicked witch of the west. The social worker
kept encouraging us to stick it out, be firm. 1 had to constantly
remind myself that they were children, and it was up to me to
hang on despite their hurt feelings, etc. It was a real challenge. "

Samarrah rebelled with typical teenage defiance, some days
wearing clothes to school that McMichael calls "wacky."
"Sometimes I just had to let that go," says McMichael. Samarrah
also would not let Terry come close to comfort her. "She could
suck up tears like no kid I'd seen "

Her husband's experience with the two was different because
they had not had a father in the foster home. Samarrah even said
to him, "I've never had a dad before, and this is pretty neat. "

The social worker told them that when Samarrah accepted
Terry as mom, she would cling to her, and that's what happened.

26 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING :>004

^'i:.;*JB3C--

They had visited Samarrah's and
Dayvon's older sister, and
when they talked later,
Samarrah wept openly and
crawled in her mother's lap
and hugged her neck. "She is
now glued to me."

K4cMichael believes both
children now feel like they are in
a permanent home. "We tell them
that no matter what. Mom and Da
will be here for them even whe
they bring home snotty-nosC'
grandchildren."

Now that Dayvon and
Samarrah have been in their
home almost five years, the
same length of time they
were in their last foster home,
McMichael expects this to be
an important time when the
two develop a stronger sense
of being in a secure family. She
was touched recently when she
left the house to take some
children home, and Dayvon
asked her not to stay long. He
wanted her back home.

Beidler Neiditz family

Many social scientists
consider adoption in the United States under-
researched, as no comprehensive national source of sta-
tistics on domestic adoptions exists. According to State
Department statistics, international adoptions more than doubled
from 1991 to 2001. Most international adopted children are from
Asia, 64 percent are girls, and 90 percent are younger than 5
years, according to the Donaldson Adoption Institute.

When advising others who are considering adoption, all of
these parents urge them to do their homework and be flexible.
Moore advises, "It's going to cost more than you think. [A Chinese
adoption can cost around $15,000.] Try not to be too afraid of
people assessing you, asking if you're a fit parent. Yes, you are and
it will be OK. And if you have a good experienced attorney,
you're halfway there."

"I had to constantly remind myself that they were

children, and it was up to me to hang on despite their

hurt feelings, etc. It was a real challenge."

One important way to get information is to ask those who
have already adopted. Adoptive parents have learned the ropes
and are usually happy to share what they know.

Cunningham advises people to avoid thinking of conceiving
and adopting as two starkly different methods. "Make the same
decision," she says, "as if you were going to conceive a baby. I
don't see that much difference between a biological and adopted
child. My biological child is a teenager, and he can be very chal-
lenging. I imagine Sara will, too. People worry about adoptive

\

parents not knowing the genetics involved, but 1 know

my gene pool, and it's not the greatest. I'm willing to go

with the chance of adopting. Be ready to take care of

a child who doesn't meet your every expectation

which is true whether you adopt or not."

International adoption does pose serious ques-
tions for anyone considering it. Cunningham's
daughter was 9 months old when they
adopted her from an
orphanage. "You worry if
she was left alone often,"
she says. "She likes lots of
physical contact. Maybe
she would have been that
way from birth anyway, but 1
think maybe she needs it
because she didn't get it early
on. 1 just worry what nine
months without a parent's
^''sei mom and children "" ^ Constant holding and atten-

tion might have done."
Hicks adds, "You need to understand how much work, emo-
tionally and physically, is involved. The process can be agonizing.
We were lucky. Ours went smoothly, but a man 1 worked with and
his wife were promised a baby, but the birth mother changed her
mind. They went through an emotional roller coaster."

All of these adoptive parents have had support from their
families an experience that is typical and which, again, rarely
makes the news. Cunningham's story is common: "The extended
family has been great! Both Tom's [her husband] parents and my
mother were thrilled with Sara. None of them ever questioned
why we adopted her or saw Sara any differently from the way
they did Ian. Plus, since we adopted, one of my cousins adopted
a little girl from Korea. "

All these parents believe society is becoming more accepting
toward the family arrangements created by adoption, especially
the ones that aren't the typical "nuclear family." Moore says,
"Adoption is not as much thought of as a secondhand way to have
children. Society is becoming less afraid, more humane."

These parents enthusiastically encourage others to adopt.
Cunningham says, "Had we known how easy our adoption would
be, we wouldn't have waited 10 years between children!"

Atlanta writer Jerry Gentry is the author oj Grady Baby: A Year in the Life of
Atlanta's Grady Hospital. He and bis wije, Tina Pippin, Aijnes Scott projessor oj
reliijious studies, are parettts oja 5-year-old daughter, Jacy.

TO LEARN MORE

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse

a comprehensive source of information about all aspects of
adoption http://naic.acf.hhs.gov

Chinese Children Adoption International
www.chinesechildren.org

Adoptive Families magazine

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
www.adoptioninstitute.org

WHO GREW IN YOUR HEART? 27

A Stentorian Life

It is the voice oj Patricia Collins Butler '28 that has been labeled "stentorian,"

but it is her life that exemplifies another definition powerful. Hers is a life oj forging new

paths jor women and one oj helping Agnes Scott students prepare their own paths.

by Jennifer Bryon Owen

Patricia Collins Butler '28 gained perseverance while
attending Agnes Scott that proved essential to her long,
amazing legal career.
"I almost missed the opportunity to go
to Agnes Scott," says Butler.

Her father had arranged for his only child to
attend Oglethorpe University until a neighbor in
their new Atlanta area, whose daughter was entering
Agnes Scott, suggested he look into the school. "My
father took me by the hand, and we went out to see
what Agnes Scott was all about."

Butler is Catholic, and a question was raised
regarding the required Bible classes at the
Presbyterian school. Only one other student was
Catholic. The matter was resolved as it had been in
her case: Bible classes for all.

"It was hardly anytime after I started until 1 met Hazel Huff,
the other Catholic," says Butler, "and that became a lifelong
friendship."

Even after being accepted, Butler wasn't sure she would be able
to stay. "My school had been Sacred Heart High School, run by
the nuns completely. They were devoted and devotit. I was
completely crazy about them, but 1 must say training was more or
less casual."

Whenever her mother saw Butler, a day student, returning
home from Agnes Scott with a lot of books, she often asked, "Did
they turn you away?"

'My first year was a struggle," says Butler. "I kept thinking 1
wasn't ever going to make it. I don't know how I got my stride, but
by the second vcar 1 was doing pretty well. My relaxation came
with English and histor>' as my majors. I was able to feel more at
home, and by my iunit)r year, 1 was part of the population."

Years later when plans for the new campus center were devel-
oped at Agnes Scott, Butler recalling those experiences, wanted
to create a professional space fur day students. The Patricia
Collins Butler Center is the resuli (^oi.sisting of a suite in Alston

Patricia Collins Butler '28

Campus Center, it provides a comfortable and technologically up-
to-date place for commuting students and Woodmff Scholars

Graduating with majors in English and history,
Butler entered Emory University Law School the
only woman in her class of about 30 men. The forti-
tude that ferried her through Agnes Scott again sup-
ported Butler

"In that class of men, your self confidence is really
shaken, " she explains. "Whether you should be there,
what you should do, how you should react, whether
they re laughing at you is all part of the experience.
Notwithstanding, I liked the idea of being one girl
among all those boys. 1 enjoyed the mental compe-
tition "

Her father had suggested she pursue being an

attorney, a career she says he would have loved. "In

my day, young women made a debut, if they could afford it, and

got married. But my father had the feeling that you shouldn't

depend on that,- you should be independent."

w;

PAT BUTLER STORY: BUYING AN ANNUITY

fhen I got out of law school, my fatfier, wfio was witfi the
Traveler's Insurance Company, said, "I want you to have an
annuity, and I want you to get it and pay for it yourself." At that
time, I was getting a pittance of some kind of various little jobs
around. So I got a $5,000 annuity. It provided $50 a month begin-
ning at age 55.

After a few years he said, "Now you've been paying on that $5,000.
You're a little better off. I think you'd better have another annuity
Make it $10,000. With that $100, that will really seal the bargain."
I'm still getting $100 a month. The Travelers probably figures, 'How
long are we going to have to send her $100 a month?'"

28 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRIN G J?00.'

A 1999 issue of The Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly featured
this early ptioto of Patricia Collins Andretta '28 with her husband,
Assistant Attorney General Sal Andretta (center), Solicitor General
Phillip Pearlman (left) and Attorney General Tom C. Clark.

She graduated second in the law school class of 1931, making
her the third female graduate of the law school.

A woman finding work with an Atlanta law firm in the early
'30s was practically unheard of. So Butler volunteered with the
Legal Aid Society and at research projects on a grant from the
American Law Institute until 1935 when a former law professor
arranged an interview for her for a position in the US
Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Her mother was opposed, but her father insisted: "Let Pat give
it a try."

"My father finally talked her into it, saying, 'It's our duty to let
this child have her independence. Let's make up our minds that
she goes for one year We'll see how it works out.' Unwillingly, my
mother agreed. She would go to Washington with me and see
what the setup was."

That setup lasted four decades. In 1935, Butler joined the
antitrust division of the Justice Department during
Franklin D. Roosevelt's first administration. In 1939, she
was admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court.
When later she was appointed a member of the Board of
Immigration Appeals, she was the first woman in that quasi-
judicial body of five members and held the title of "judge." During
her career, she worked for 16 attorneys general.

She knew Robert Kennedy well enough to characterize him.
"Bobby was underestimated because he was a Kennedy," says
Butler. "He was a unique individual with respect to his communi-
cation with people. He took over the Office of Attorney General
at a very difficult time in the midst of our struggle with civil
rights. 1 had a great deal of respect for Bobby Kennedy."

It was during World War II that her opportunity arrived. "Little
Patricia seemed to be in the spot where she got picked to be in the
AG's office. I had dealings with the attorney general's office from
then on."

Soon after the United States became a partner in the war, a
conference was called between state representatives and the
Department of Justice to discuss alien enemy legislation. "We had
many people of alien enemy nationalities living in the country
during the war," explains Butler. "They were the people with
whom we were at war the Germans, the Italians, the Japanese.

PAT BUTLER STORY: HER PARENTS

They botfi came from Newfoundland. My motfier was an early
professional. She had a position as director and manager of
Woods Candy Store in St. John's. At the time when she met my
father, he was a newspaperman. She used to see him, and I think
just kind of brushed him off. He was 25 and she was 40.

In the course of their friendship, there occurred this incident at
Signal Hill in Newfoundland. My father went out to see what was
going on, and he got intrigued with this Italian gentleman who was
in a little lean-to. This man entered the lean-to every morning and
closed the door. My father got the idea that something interesting
was going on, and he couldn't understand just what. He gradually
learned that this was an experiment with what they called
wireless.

The instigator turned out to be Guglielmo Marconi. So an early
successful experiment with the wireless [proving that wireless
waves were not affected by the curvature of the Earth], which
Marconi conducted, took place from England to Newfoundland.
When the signal came through, it was the letter "S." Marconi
opened the door, came out and handed my father a little piece of
the tape with the letter "S" on it. My father, of course, said, "This
is a milestone. This is a marvelous thing." He went to the newspa-
per, the St. John's Telegram, and said, 'Here's this wonderful thing.
Here's this man Marconi, an Italian who has come to this country
to do this, and so forth. And the editor at the desk 1 can always
remember my father repeating what he said to him he said, "Oh,
that fellow, for gosh sakes, forget it."

This was pretty disappointing. Here he had this big story, and
finally, they gave him this little piece on the inside of the St. John's
Telegram. My father came to the conclusion that Newfoundland
wasn't big enough for him. So he took the big risk of going to
New York.

Meanwhile, he had been courting Miss Power. And Miss Power
probably thought "That's out of my life." But she must have grad-
ually thought, "I gave up something pretty good!" So she came on
to New York, and they were married. As I have often said, "This is
how I happened to be born in New York."

We had to have unified legislation that would take care of docu-
menting those people Someone from the attorney general's office
found me asking questions of the state representatives during the
conference, and he recommended that 1 be in the AG's office. 1
acquired a weighty title: assistant to the special assistant to the
attorney general."

She was assigned to research World War 1 records on alien
enemies.

"1 worked on what eventually became the proclamation of the
president, directing the pickup of all the Germans and the Italians,
and later the Japanese, in this country who became alien enemies
upon the declaration of war," explains Butler. "I was one of those
who drafted and finalized those proclamations. When war was
declared, the first thing the next morning that had to be in the
president's hands was those proclamations."

A STENTORIAN LIFE 29

She describes her work in preparing for war as surreal. On vis-
its home in Atlanta, she would talk about the possibility of war,
but people refused to believe it was coming. Then she would return
to Washington and return to work on documents preparing for war.

Another opportunity came for Butler in 1 949 when she success-
fully argued an immigration case, Johnson v. Shaughnessy, before
the Supreme Court. She denies being the first woman to do so

There were some early women, some of whom were not even
attorneys," explains Butler. "I was probably the first after a long
period in which no woman had appeared. 1 was not fond of being
an attorney in the Supreme Court, but I took over in an emer-
gency. I had only about 10 days to prepare."

She recalls being terrified. 'The bailiff knew I was worried and
asked if I'd like to go to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. I did, and
when I took my seat again, 1 had apparently regained my strength.

'justice Robert Jackson was sitting on the court, and he said.
We re happy to have had you, and anytime you come back, we're
happy to have that stentorian voice,'" laughs Butler.

That voice was no accident, Butler's mother always empha-
sized speaking skills. "Children used to be given elocution
lessons," explains Butler. "And I've always felt people
should speak out. Make your words felt. Project!"

So strongly does Butler believe women need to speak clearly
that she created The Patricia Collins Butler Endowment for the
Center for Writing and Speaking to support an outstanding pro-
gram in public speaking at Agnes Scott. Modeled after the
Writing Center with student tutors trained to assist their peers in
learning and improving their skills, the Speaking Center was cre-
ated 1996, and the two programs were combined. The first such
program established in the region, it is still one of a few in the
country. This endowment allows the Speaking Center to reach its
goal of making Agnes Scott's program in public speaking one of
the best in the country.

Butler's excitement about the possibilities for Agnes Scott's out-
standing students stems partially from her belief that one should
think in terms of her life making a difference in some field.

"I've regarded my training as an attorney as a gift that I'm
happy to have had."

Although Butler's independence coupled with her career
dedication somewhat interfered with her social life, it didn't
bother her.

"Someone with a strong urge to be independent doesn't thmk
of what you're giving up otherwise," she notes. "1 remember
people calling to ask if 1 could go to lunch or some such thing. 1
was kind of happy to be able to say 1 couldn't because I was too
busy or had to be at the office.

"That was the sort of thing mainly. I was never inclined to a
social life 1 was much more interested in pursuing my career."

liventually, marriage and career did merge. She has been
married and widowed three times. She married Salvador Andretta,
an assistant attorney general and a Justice Department colleague
in 1948, William Dwinnell, a Lajolla, Calif., businessman in 1974,
and Frank Butler, a member of the diplomatic service, in 1989.

"1 had thought when 1 started my career that 1 probably never
would be married. 1 didn't particularly want to be," says Butler.
"But then that man came along and changed my mind."

Among many accomplishments during her career Butler, with
former Chief lustice Warren I'uv^cr, helped found the Supreme

HONORS AND RECOGNITION

First post-graduate Phi Beta Kappa awarded by
Agnes Scott College

Agnes Scott 1976 Outstanding Alumna for Career
Accomplishments

Pat Butler Week at Agnes Scott College

Department of lustice recognition of "outstanding performance
of the highest order," i960

Emory University School of Law Distinguished Alumna Award
for Lifetime Service to the Profession, 1997

Margaret Brent Women Lawyersof Achievement Award,
1998 nomination

The Emory Medal, 2000

Court Historical Society in which she has served on the board of
trustees and executive committee since its foundation. She was a
founding editor of what is now the Federal Register and the
founding secretary of the American Bar Association section on
administrative law.

Retirement in 1974 only created more work She added nine
retirement years to the 22 she had already sen/ed on the Board of
Trustees for the National Trust for FJistoric Preservation. At the
time she moved to California, she became involved in health
issues. "I am now on the board of trustees of the Neurosciences
Institute," says Butler, who supports women in science and is
thrilled with the Science Center. "I have no trouble being busy. "

Patricia Collins Butler attended the Science Center Celebration In 2003.

She participates in festivities for Bold Aspirations: The
Campaign for Agnes Scott College, having attended the launch
event in Southern California and the Science Center Celebration
on campus. She is a past president of the Washington, DC, area
alumnae club and a former Alumnae Association Board member
and is a member of the Frances Winship Walters Society.

In endorsing Butler's 1998 nomination to receive the Margaret
Brent Women Lawyers Achievement Award, President Mary
Brown Bullock '66 said, "Agnes Scott College is very proud of
Patricia Collins Butler. ... Pat laid the path for the success of
countless other women in the legal profession. If ever there were
a woman lawyer of achievement, Pat is she. "

Jaiiufcr Bryon Oii'fii is Acpies Scotl's director oj crealive scn'ica .iiii/ cJitor 0/ Agnes
Scott The Maj^azinc.

30 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SS'KiN

,:i4

LIFESTYLE

Alums mother frat hoys, counsel high schoolers and attack child abuse detection

by Kristin Kallalier '04

EMPTY NEST CURE

Martha Haley '46 is a proud mother of
34 young men all Beta Theta Pi
members. After moving 17 times, Haley
found a home as fraternity house director
at Washington and Lee University in
Lexington, Va.

Haley heard about the "house-mom"
position nine years ago after the death of
her husband and decided she was up for
the challenge of a new "family," since her
children had graduated and moved out.

"I was excited, especially because the
Betas at that time were having a rough
time academically as well as socially," she
says. Early on, Haley held meetings to go
over rules and to stress her role, which was
"not to spy on them and report bad behav-
ior to the dean of students like they
thought, but to be their friend," she says.
"We had a lot of informal get-togethers
where they could be heard."

A typical day finds Haley rising early to
put out a continental breakfast for the
fraternity, followed by checking the house
to make sure everything is in order. She
hires the cook, plans meals, budgets and
serves as hostess during special weekends.
Since Betas need a 2.5 GPA to stay in the
fraternity, Haley tries to instill good study
habits. She advises the boys about per-
sonal and health problems.

"1 know which boys are on medications
and see that they take it daily," she says.
"You have to keep reminding them that
some medications won't mix with alcohol!
1 also remind them of the importance of
going to the infirmary when sick they
are so macho and won't seek medical
attention until they are half dead.

"You are a surrogate mom," she says.
"You have boys for four years, and often
you feel as if they belong to you. It's inter-
esting to watch their development from
freshmen to seniors to leaders in the world."

Haley's Betas illustrate the adage "boys

Although Martha Haley '48 does not actually serve breakfast, and, if she did, she certainly would
never serve donuts, she does enjoy being Mom to her Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

will be boys." She recalls one who had the
habit of leaning back in his chair and
putting his foot on the table while eating
his meals.

"1 told him that this behavior was not
acceptable. His reply: 'Mom Haley, in my
house it is a tradition!'"

A downside to being "house-mom" is
the occasional lack of sleep. "Traditionally
at Washington and Lee, party nights are
Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. With
the loud bands and my small apartment
being over the party room, I'm lucky to
average three to four hours of sleep on
those nights!"

All has not been so lighthearted,
however. "My most difficult situation here
was losing a Beta in a drunk driving
accident three months before graduation, '
she notes. "His death had a tremendous
impact on the boys and me."

Agnes Scott prepared Haley for the
various roles she has played. Her time at
the College taught her the importance of
the family and of working as a unit to
accomplish goals. She feels she was
instilled with the confidence to undertake
challenges and try new things.

"My new prospect for the Betas is to
get them involved more with community

service," says Haley, who has volunteered
with Habitat for Humanity and cancer
drives. "There's a great deal of poverty in
Rockbridge County, and 1 stress to the
boys that the people in our community
have many needs."

FROM 'AT RISK' TO
'AT COLLEGE'

Six years ago, Rebecca Baum '02 was
choosing a college. Now, she's helping
others make a similar decision.

"As academic adviser for Educational
Talent Search, 1 work with approximately
220 middle and high school students in 15
schools throughout Polk County, Fla.,"
says Baum, a psychology major at Agnes
Scott. "I assist them in the pursuit of higher
levels of academic achievement, resulting
in their enrollment in post-secondary
education. 1 meet with students at their
schools and make sure they are on the
right track academically and socially. 1 also
conduct workshops on topics ranging from
study skills and goal setting to scholarships
and college admissions."

Polk County's program, funded by
a federal grant, is in its sixth year.

LIFESTYLE 3I

CoLintyvvide, the program works with
about 700 at-risk students.

"I am excited about the opportunity to
help introduce the possibility of going to
college to youth who didn't see college as
an option, " she says, "Polk County, which
is slightly larger than the state of
Delaware, has a college completion rate of
about 12 percent. In the areas targeted in
our grant, the rate is about 4 percent.
These shocking statistics show why many
youth in this country do not have adults in
their lives that they can look to as role
models regarding educational pursuits."

Rebecca Baum '02

Baum often visits one of her schools in
ihe morning, pulling students OLit of non-
academic classes to meet.

"The topic of the meeting varies
depending on the grade, but recently I
have been working with 1 Ith- and 12th-
graders on choosing colleges and careers
that are interesting to them, and ninth-
and lOth-graders on making the most of
their time in high school, both academi-
cally and socially," she says.

"I am excited about the opportunity

to help introduce the possibility of

going to college to youth who didn't

see college as an option."

She sees about 10 students a day. After
the school day is over, she heads to her
office where she records her observations
on each meeting. She prepares workshops
and meets with parents when necessary.

Baum was proud ol her students at the
coLinty-wide college lair, where she saw
her ellorts begin to pay oft.

"! worked really hard to meet with all of
niv I Ith-graders bclore the lair mi 1 rould

get them thinking about college and give
them some pointers on what to do at the
fair," she says. "That night, I ran into a
number of my students. They all had fol-
lowed the suggestions I gave them in a
brochure I made most of them had the
flier with them' In a sea of students in
shorts and tank tops, my students were by
far the sharpest dressed and best prepared."

A BETTER MODEL

We're trying to prevent the horror
stories as much as possible," says
Anita Barbee '82, citing the three million
calls per year in America reporting child
abuse. "Child abuse is one of the hidden
pieces of the world everyone hopes
someone else is going to take care of it "

But Barbee, associate research professor
at the Kent School of Social Work at the
University of Louisville, is taking care of
the problem. She directs the National
Resource Center on Child Welfare
Training and Evaluation.

"We evaluate the work force that goes
into homes, assesses risk, determines if
abuse has been going on and decides if
children need to be placed in foster care,"
she says. "We work with the system rather
than directly with clients. We've been
hammering home the importance of work-
ers having a social work degree and exten-
sive in-house training, as well as the need
for upgrading caseworkers' skills."

The work force to deal with the num-
ber of child abuse calls is low, while the
complexity of cases is high. Most families
with child-abuse instances are poor.
Parents often suffer from mental illness,
mental retardation, substance addiction
and/or domestic violence. Removing the
abuse without harming the child is most
important, Barbee says.

"There was a case of a mother with an
IQ of 68," she says. "Her parents had sexu-
ally abused her and she was in foster-care
tor years. She was then in a relationship
with a violent man who got her pregnant.
Despite the fact that she neglected the
child, the child was attached to her. Two
years down the line, child-protective serv-
ices came along and pulled the child out of
the home. The mother's like a child herself
thinking, 'What did I do wrong?' And I'm
thinking, 'Why can't we have protection
tor both mother and child!"' I had a Ph.D.
and I didn't know what to do. I couldn't
imagine how young workers right out of

college were coping with situations like
these."

The system is not creative in dealing
with foster-care situations, Barbee says.
"One of our goals is to promote system
reform that keeps children safe, yet mini-
mizes disrupting attachments."

Armed with about $2 million in grants
this year, Barbee hopes her research will
help put child-abuse experts on the front
lines. 'I want people with the best clinical
skills and the best eyes to look at these
families and children," she says, "because
these cases are so complex and sensitive."

Barbee's research revealed that learner
variables, such as conscientiousness, learn-
ing readiness, supervisory and team mem-
ber support, and gains in knowledge and
skill from the classroom affect caseworkers'
abilities. She developed the Louisville
Training Evaluation Model, which predicts
training effectiveness on these variables.

"Child abuse is one of the

hidden pieces of the world

everyone hopes someone else is

going to take care of it."

She and her team are working to incorpo-
rate this training evaluation model in
numerous states, including Oklahoma,
California, Wisconsin and Georgia.

Barbee, who received her doctorate in
social psychology at The University of
Georgia, also researches the formation and
maintenance of close relationships, social
support, women's health and organiza-
tional development. She is a fellow of the
American Psychological Association and
has published more than 60 scholarly arti-
cles. In 2003, she was awarded the
President's Outstanding Scholarship
Research and Creative Activity Award in
the Social Sciences from the Llniversity of
Louisville, where she earned her master of
science in social work.

"I know I'm part of the effort that's
really changing systems and helping kids,"
she says. "Psychology really moved in
another direction, but because 1 started out
in a liberal arts environment, I got a really
good, solid background in the literature
and in research design, which served me
well when 1 went into social work because
it's more of a practical, applied field."

Knsl/ii Ktjllabcr. Office of Commc(?iiCiiliOMS iiilcrii, n
recipient of the College's 2002 Sara Wilson "Sally"
(ilenjtnninti ./ounuilisiM Au\irii

32 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2004

One Gift Yours Makes It Possible

o

Agnes Scott

o
S

They've always had bold aspirations.

Your gift to the Annual Fund makes it possible for Agnes Scott students to
realize their dreams.

Please make your Annual Fund gift before the fiscal year ends June 30. Just
use the envelope in this magazine or contribute online through our secure
Web site: www.agnesscott.edu/give

Every gift to ihe Annual Fund is also a cjift to Bold Aspirations:
The Campaign for Agnes Scott College.

"Mom ... Dad ...

my next research project's

in Costa Rica."

We've spent more than $36 million building a state-of-the-art
science center with collaborative research space for
undergraduate students and faculty. Even though we offer
the latest in research equipment, our students don't spend
all their time here - 38 percent of our 2002 graduates studied
abroad during their time at Agnes Scott. Opportunities
are available at 140 colleges and universities in more than
50 countries.

The Agnes Scott woman.
She reaches higher.

www.agnesscott.edu

admission@agnesscott.edu
404471-6285 or
8008688602, ext. 6285

omen

Office of Admission 141 East College Avenue Decatur, GA 30030

Agnes Scott College

THE WORLD FOR WOMEN

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ORGANIZATION

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PAID

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PERMIT NO. 469

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Bold Aspirations Southmi Calijonua Styl

Patricia Collins Butler '28 (center) joins Larry Scott (left) and Lyle and Patricia Hampton '^Zf at festivities launching Bold Aspirations: The Campaign for
Agnes Scott College in Southern California. See page 28 to read more about Butler.

>^i,'

^

<^

SIGNATURE

'By Example' Proves a Powerful Teacher

^r "^r TT T^ hen registering for

^k ^ X X classes my sophomore

^L jf / year, I made a life-

^/^/ changing snap deci-

T sion. Unahle to get

into Jane Pepperdene's English literature
survey, I had chosen another professor's
class. After leaving the room, I went back
and waited until I could get into her class.
I got in I vividly remember the electricity
ol her teaching. Her enthusiasm and
excitement, her intensity and dramatic
delivery swept mc into the fascinating
world ot literature. Duruig the course of
that class, I decided to become an English
major, and, when I became a college pro-
fessor, I knew I wanted to create the same
kuid of excitement.

I was mspired also by Merle Walker in
philosophy, who encouraged us to think
deeply about the enduring metaphysical
questions, by Chloe Steel in French, who
expected us to meet the challenge of a
class conducted entirely in French from
the first day and by George Hayes in
English, who, sitting on the edge of his
desk as he taught us the tantalizing
intricacies of Donne's poetry, told us in
that gruff voice filled with laughter, "Ha,
girls! That's how a real lover feels!" I, for
one, didn't have any idea how a real lover
lelt, bLit he convinced us that Donne did.

I drew my own credo from these
inspirational models. The two most
important characteristics go hand-in-hand:
an in-depth knowledge of one's subject,
and passion and enthusiasm in conveying
it. There is not a day that I walk into the
classroom thai 1 am not excited about the
work under consideration, sometimes
entering so fully into Eliot's The Waste Land,
Lcssing's "To Room Nineteen," or
Shakespeare's Kinij Lear that my students
have to tell mc that class is over or idis
over five minutes ago.

The art ol teaching involves relating
the subject's significance to the lives of

students. 1 tell my students what Dr.
Pepperdene olten told us: Literature tells
our story as human beings our experi-
ences, emotions, difficulties and triumphs.
Successful teaching requires that
students become involved in the learning
process through a variety of techniques.

some of which seem contradictory. I
impose high standards on my students and
challenge them to meet or exceed them,
while at the same time being very infor-
mal. I absolutely demand correct English
and logical thinking supported by evi-
dence, both in speaking and in writing.
Because I encourage discussion in class,
students know I value their views, but they
also learn they must support them con-
vincingly. I ti^y to convince them (a tough
sell, especially with honors students) that
it is not the end of the world to be wrong,
that making and correcting mistakes is part
of the learning process. Even more impor-
tant is giving them self-confidence by
helping them learn to think on their own.

One way in which I have both forged
bonds with students and extended the
learning experience beyond the classroom
is by taking them on trips to Oxford,
Miss., to visit sites associated with William
Faulkner and to the Alabama State Theater
to see plays, as vv-ell as by inviting them to
my house to view a video of a work such as
Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into
Night and to have dinner.

Finally, humor is an invaluable means
of establishing rapport and creating a pos-
itive learning environment, i often include
cartoons among the many types of visual
aids I use, when I teach Dante's Inferno, for
example, one of my favorite cartoons
depicts the gate of hell inscribed with the
famous last line, "Abandon all hope ye who
enter here,' beneath which is written in
small print, "If you have already aban-
doned all hope, please disregard this
notice." Can any student fail to smile, but
then swiftly and suddenly to realize the
terrible reality behind the humor?

And so I come back to my Agnes
Scott professors, who demonstrated bril-
liantly the art of good teaching. I remem-
ber their classes with joy and gratitude for
all that they taught me, not least about
how to teach, in an atmosphere that was
engaging, enlightening and exciting.

Y^^t-, jDttviu^ sMi^

r^^

Nancy DuViill H.iri/rorc '03 is professor of Eitflliih iiii.f
Willi. nil L. Giles Distinguished Professor at Mississippi
Sliitc University. She Ixjs reecived numerous tctichinil
au\irds iind is the lUithor of Landscape as Symbol in
the Poetry of T.S. Eliot ((978 j (IhiJ The Journey
Toward Ariel: Sylvia Plath's Poetry of 1956-
1959 ( 1994], 38 fssiiys in hooks and scholarly jounials.
She is the recip\enl of four Fulhrulht lyr.iiils, the first
of which mas a student grant to France fcfr sfiiior
yfiir 111 Agnes Scott, and is a finalist for a Fulhnght
Distinguished Chair Award in Humanities and Cultural
Studies at the Uninersit)' of I'iciiiT.i in Austrui

FALL 2004 I VOLUME 81 I NUMBER 1

OUR MISSION

Agnes Scott College educates women to
think deeply, live honorably and engage the
intellectual and social challenges oj their times.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Mary Ackerly

EDITOR

Jennifer Bryon Owen

DESIGNER

Winnie Hulme

COMMUNICATIONS INTERN

Kristin Kal!aher'04

COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Sara Ector Vagliano '63, chair

Mary Ackerly

Lara Webb Carrigan '94

Christine Cozzens

Barbara Byrd Gaines '77

Marilyn Johnson Hammond '68

Elizabeth Anderson Little '66

Sallie Manning '82

Jennifer Bryon Owen

Michael Schlig

Lewis Thayne

We encourage you to share views and opinions.
Please send tinem to: Editor, Agnes Scott The
Magazine, Agnes Scott College, Rebekah Annex,
141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 or e-mail to:
publication@agnesscott.edu.

2004 Agnes Scott College. Published for alumnae and friends
twice a year by the Office of Communications, Agnes Scott
College, Rebekah Annex, 141 E. College Ave, Decatur, CA 30030.

The content of the magazine reflects the opinions of the writers
and not the viewpoint of the College, its trustees or administration.

Change of address; Send address changes by mail to Office of
Development, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Ave, Decatur,
CA 30030; by telephone, call 404 47 1 -6472 or by e-mail to
dn'clo/uiit'trl@rt(/Messcoli.e;in.

E-mail: publication@agnesscott.edu
Web site: www.agnesscott.edu

At/ties Scoll A(Hm;iflc Matlazim is recipient of:

Award of Excellence for Alumni Magazines, CASE District III

Advancement Awards, 2001
Best of Category, Spring 2003 issue. Printing Industry

Association of Georgia
Award of Excellence, Fall 2003 issue. Printing Industry'

Association of Georgia

Cover photo Ralph A. Clevenger/CORBIS

KIMBERLEVTRUETT

2 Reader's Voice
6 This Old House

Through renovating a neglected house,
Catherine Fleming Bruce 84 honors a
historical role model by nancy moreland

8 The "Affable Familiar"
Ghosts of Agnes Scott

hinda Lentz Hubert 62 recalls the endearing
professorial ghosts who haunt her and
maybe you. by linda lentz hubert '62

13 Free Speech
Everyone's Right and
Everyone's Responsibility

Do Agnes Scott students jeel jree to express
their opinions?

16 The Bakersfield Bunch

A i950s westward migration turned
alumnae into teachers and lifelong
friends, by kristin kallaher '04 and

IVIARY ALMA DURRETT

18 The Art of

Teaching Today

While the ultimate goal remains the same,
teaching styles evolve and change to meet the
needs of the students.

BY BETH BLANEY '91, M.A.T. '95

22 Parents as Teachers

Homeschooling's lure turns many alumnae
into their children's K-i2 teachers while
this increasingly popular educational trend
delivers to the college students who are
ready to go. by iwelanie s. best '79

26 Body Story

Through her new memoir, an Agnes Scott
professor shares her struggle with her body
image, by julia k. de pree

29 From War to
Education

War survivors a)i alumna and two
students share intensely personal stories
of their journey from war-torn countries to
Agnes Scott, by allison adams '89 and

VICTORIA F. STOPP 'oi

32 Life's Little Turns

An alumna single, no children, no
dog invites five children and their dog
into her home and heart.

BY CELESTE PENNINGTON

34 Life in Savoonga

Helping students reach their potential and
"raise the scores" of their school creates one
kind of challenge. Doing this in Alaska
presents an even greater challenge.

BY JESSIE YARBROUGH '05

reader's VOICE

A Winner

Dear Editor:

Spring Agnes Scott The i\\ai)iizine arrived at
the Civens Estates yesterday 1 read it
"cover to cover" right through the Braves
hallgame I didn t know the Braves lost, but
I was reminded that Agnes Scott is indeed
a winner. The magazine emphasized that
dramatically. Thanks!

Miimie Lee Riitliff Fincler 'lo

Eiiiton Note: The followinij unis seut to Stephanie
Bidmer, nsiocmtc vice presiiient for cnroUment and
Jean of aiimisiion. (rom Anita Garland, dean oj
admission, al Hampden-Sydncy Colkije.

Hes', Stephanie!!

just want to let \'ou know that of all the
magazines 1 receive from various colleges,
the only one 1 read is from Agnes Scott.
Please compliment those who put it all
together. They do a good job.

Anita

A Proud Connection

Dear Editor

1 attended ASC as a Return-to-College
[now Woodruff Scholar] student but was
unable to complete my degree there
because of financial reasons. Even so, 1 will
always consider myself a Scottie at heart

Reading your magazine is a bittersweet
experience because it reminds me that 1
can not fully claim the ASC legacy for
myself. 1 console myself with the thought
that since I grew up in DeKalb County
(and went to high school around the cor-
ner), ASC is also my "hometown" college.

The April magazine, in particular is
exceptional. It makes me proud to have
any claim at all to an "ASC connection,"
however tenuous that claim may be.
Speaking of RTCs, I'd love to see an
update on that program, and perhaps some
features about non-traditional graduates 1
often wonder if Tina Backus '98 fulfilled
her dream of teaching, and I know Saliem
Ruffin '98 is near achieving her goal of
becoming a doctor and Vicki Sturdivant
97 had all kinds of adventures post-ASC! 1
think you will find that there are some
wonderful examples of Agnes Scott
changing women's lives, even when those
women were well into their SOs (or
beyond) when the>' arri\cd at ASC 1

2 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

know my two years left an indelible mark
on me!

I now co-own a casual restaurant In a
small town just south of Newnan, Ga.
Even though I am not a graduate, please let
the alumnae office know that if there are
enough folks down this way to warrant a
small gathering of alumnae, prospects or
donors, 1 would be happy to play hostess.
(And I'd love it if you could convince
Cathy Scott and Gus Cochran to make an
appearance!)

Kim Phillips Snsso '98x

Adoption

Dear Editor;

Greetings from the "Hinterlands!" 1 am
writing In response to Olivia Hicks' 68
comments about raising an Asian child In a
small town. Enclosed is a picture of our
daughter, Mary Claire, adopted from
Vietnam in 1975. She was one of the
"Babylift" children, if you are old enough
to remember when hundreds of
Vietnamese children were airlifted out of
Saigon as the city fell to the North
Vietnamese The other picture is our
lovely grown daughter. She has a master's
degree and specialist degree in counseling
and works at the NASCAR Technical
Institute near Charlotte, N.C.

Mary Claire
was raised In
Calhoun, Ga., a
town of 7,000 in
north Georgia,
with her two
older brothers,
Tom and .Andrew.
The entire town
embraced her from
the first moment
and ever\'one loved
and accepted her. I'm
sure that this close-
knit environment was
a real plus for Mary
Claire, not a negative

Olivia and Carol
will probably find, as we did that little
girls want to "fit in and be like all the
other girls. I sought Asian families and
children for her, but she was never ver\'
enthusiastic. She saw herself as she was,
"All-American " and not different I believe

Olivia and Carol's daughter will have
every chance for acceptance and a happy,
balanced childhood, wherever they live.

Mary Claire has been a continuing joy
for our family for these last 29 years. My
best wishes to Olivia, Carol and their
daughter in this great adventure.

Kay Gerald Pope 64

Dear Editor:

I just read with great pleasure the article In
the spring issue, "Who Grew In Your
Heart?" It describes beautifully the great
diversity of people touched by the adop-
tion experience.

As the parent of twin boys adopted at
1 3 years of age, Puerto Rican by heritage,
and now 25 and struggling to find their
adult feet, I could relate to much of what
was discussed. My husband Is also an
adoptee, adopted as an infant through a
New ^'ork City agency. As a social worker,
I have worked with adopted individuals in
support groups and have been bombarded
with their conviction that the larger world
has no idea what It is like to be adopted.
Hence, this letter.

The part of adoption that your article

glossed over, in my opinion. Is the great

difference for the

|i| adoptee between

being part of a

famiK' through

birth or through

adoption. There

is another fam-

ilv out there,

no matter how

great the

adoptive family is, and that family is in
most cases unknown to the adoptee. As
the biological child of my parents, it is
hard for me to enter the mindset of not
knowing my origins. It is in most cases a
great gaping hole, and adoptees often feel
a strong kinship to "aliens." In spite of any
explanation given, the adoptee on some
level feels defective, because otherwise the
biological parents would have kept
him/her. As an adoptive parent, I found it
hard to acknowledge this facet of adop-
tion,- my husband and I were ecstatic to
have a complete family and wanted our
children to feel the same joy, without the
accompanying pain and loss.

We began our family at the ages of 53
and 54, after 25 years of marriage, and it
has been wonderful. 1 can't imagine life
without our sons, but I know that for them
it is bittersweet.

Keep up the great work 1 understand
the challenge of trying to put everything
that is great about ASC into 60 or so pages
per year! I did find the Woodruff section
online. Maybe if you can't do a magazine
feature you could just ask the admission
and IT people if that could be a little easier
to find on the Web site?

Anne Morrison Carter 'fio

Humbly Saddened

Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to Dr. Helen E.
Watt's letter, "Humbly Saddened." I came
to Agnes Scott College in 1989, the same
year that the first African -American faculty
started teaching at the college, and I am
the first Latino professor tenured and
promoted to full professor. In my 15 years
at the college, I have been a witness to and
proud participant in changes within the
college's social, ethnic and religious fabric.
Like American society at large, the college
was adjusting to equal treatment for all
individuals, regardless of skin color, reli-
gious beliefs, sexual orientation or physi-
cal abilities. These changes have been
inspired by an ethical and civic responsi-
bility to provide for the well-being of all
individuals. My disagreement with your
letter arises from your statements about
your religious beliefs. You may live your
life according to your chosen religious
creed, and so may we all. Do you feel that
all Agnes Scott students, faculty and staff,
regardless of their own religious or ethical
beliefs, should accept your interpretations
of what is pleasing to God? Agnes Scott

College is my place of work, and your
opinion that "homosexuality is not pleas-
ing to God" is, indeed, homophobic and
rather insulting to me and to all students,
faculty and staff who are gay and lesbian,
1 would like to take this opportunity to
acknowledge publicly President Bullock's
support on behalf of the ASC gay and
lesbian community. As 2000-2003 co-
chair of the diversity committee, I had
opportunities to meet frequently with her
in conversations that are still vivid in my
mind for their humane and personal com-
ments about her concerns in this matter. It
is my hope that her commitment and lead-
ership will continue.

Rafiiel Ociisio
Spanish program

Dear Editor:

We, two young alumnae and M.A.T stu-
dents at Agnes Scott, are writing in
response to recent criticisms and accusa-
tions of Agnes Scott The Magazine and the
college itself as advancing a "pro-atmos-
phere for homosexuality."

We wholeheartedly support Agnes Scott
The Magazine in its endeavor to change
with our times, as it remains dedicated
(just as it should) to acknowledging and
promoting an awareness of our increasingly
dynamic society. To us, it seems as if the
purpose of the magazine should be to
reach the largest audience of Agnes Scott
alumnae it can, which is certainly no easy
feat considering we have tens of thousands
of alumnae and, thus, just as many differ-
ing viewpoints!

While there are those who say that
there is too much promotion of a "homo-
sexual agenda" (whatever that phrase
really means), we are living testaments to
the fact that there are those of us alumnae
who believe there is simply not enough
representation of such current issues in our
campus publications. When we read Agnes
Scott The Magazine and Main Events, which
we read cover-to-cover because we care
deeply about the life of our alma mater, we
see very little evidence that the college is
swaying from its current mission, which is
to "educate women to think deeply, live
honorably and engage the intellectual and
social challenges of our time."

We were privileged to receive an out-
standing education from Agnes Scott
College. After participating fijily in the life
of the college in many extracurricular and
curricular ways for four years, we both

graduated as women who were respected
highly by our peers, professors and cam-
pus employers. One of us graduated with
high Latin honors and numerous depart-
ment awards. We were and are high
achievers who are now out in the world
working to use the experience and knowl-
edge with which Agnes Scott instilled us
to better our society.

We are also two women who are strong
allies for the queer community, both at
Agnes Scott and in the world at large.
During oin- time at Agnes Scott, we
learned to he not only tolerant but appre-
ciative and accepting of different cultures,
ethnicities, religious orientations and
socioeconomic statuses. Sexual orienta-
tion, while accepted by some, was by no
means accepted by all. Queer students and
allies at Agnes Scott still do not have many
of the same accommodations afforded to
their heterosexual peers.

Also, we ourselves come from strong
Christian backgrounds, and yet we find it
problematic that some Christian alumnae
feel it their duty to speak on behalf of all
Christians. There are numerous different
denominations of Christianity, many of
which have embraced a loving attitude
toward the queer community, as they
should if they are truly Christ-like. We
also realize that the Bible is a fallible
document, written by fallible human men
who, as we now know, had their own
political agendas when they decided what
did and did not go into the Bible.

We are happy that the college fosters
an environment, as President Bullock said,
which "encourages spiritual inquiry"
beyond this historical document. Faith and
the study of it in its various forms is alive
and well at Agnes Scott, as easily evidenced
by the popularity of religious studies
classes and our Faith and Learning Guest
Lecture each spring.

So in response to those alumnae who
are not happy with the direction the
college is taking and feel the mature thing
to do is to take away their money from fur-
thering the life of a wonderful institution
which gave so much to them and to us, we
say, "Very well." We will be the ones (and
there are many of us) who support the
college and its quality publications as it
continues to promote acceptance and
awareness of the lives of all of its graduates
and constituents.

Kristin M. Kallaher '04, M.A.T '06
Jana L Lott 'o2, M.A.T 'o6

READER S VOICE J

Karen Hughes' Visit

Dear Editor:

After reading an excellent article m The
Atlanhi Jounuil-ConstiUitwn by our Dr.
Catherine Scott, protessor ot political sci-
ence and foreign policy, I contacted her
about attending one of her classes. 1 dis-
covered she has a good rapport with the
students and elicits thinking and response
Irom them as they study different types of
governments. A particularly thought-pro-
voking comparison was made between
countries that have separation of church
and state and those in which church and
state seem to be the same. Iraq and other

were planning to demonstrate with an
organization that had permits for two loca-
tions on campus. I invited them to a popu-
lation and environment workshop, and
thev invited me to bring a sign and march
with them. This visit was nine days after
the gathering of one million women in
Washington Ms Hughes had equated the
women with terrorists.

So, Tuesday, there I was, coming out of
the parking deck with my sign, praying
that Karen would see it at one of those two
locations, and there she stood, all alone
just K.aren and me. She commented on my
sign, and we agreed that I had a right to

Agnes Scott students demonstrate against Karen Hughes' visit to campus.

Nkislim countries came to our minds, and I
saw the difficulty of our country trying to
export democracy to those countries.

Several students were from India and
one from Bulgaria. What an opportune
time to be studying political systems with
an expert and to have young people from
different countries examining the
differences. It reminded me of Oxford
University.

The students commented on the
Lipcoming visit lo the mi-i^'us by Karen
Hughes, special comniunicat-oiis nssistant
to President Bush, A few u! :-, .- -ients

express my opinion as she had a right to
speak and express hers 1 told her I had a
letter for her and would try to get it to her
before she left campus This letter spoke of
the patriotism of my family: my mother's
older brothers fought in France in WWI,
and the young brothers fought in the
South Pacific in WWII. Women didn't get
the vote until 1 920 when she was 15. After
putting herself through two years at
Auburn (basketball 1924-26) and two
years at Peabody, she was not allowed to
teach later in our hometown because you
had to be single and live in the teachers

dormitory. Of course, the men could live
anywhere they wanted and with
whomever they wanted.

1 concluded my letter to Karen with
these words: the women in this family
have worked too hard to improve the lives
of women to have you equate us with ter-
rorists, and we don't see anything compas-
sionate about these anti-women policies.

1 appreciate having the opportunity to
go to a place as special as Agnes Scott and
consider it a major factor in my life as my
mother did in her life when she got on a
train in Alabama to go to F\'abody College
in Nashville with no money Going to a
school or college for women is one of
three mam factors influencing women in
their life path. That was one of the conclu-
sions 1 drew from my research at Oxford.
JiR(jHeliMf Phvtt Fincher .56

Dear Editor:

As 1 was reading the May 5 AthviU] Jounuil-
(.onstitulion, 1 was saddened to read about
Karen Hughes' reception at Agnes Scott.
The headline was very generous to call the
protest cordial!

Were there no young women there to
represent the pro-life viewpoint?' If so,
they weren't mentioned.

This woman successfully served her
country and President Bush as his presi-
dential adviser, and then made the decision
to resign that job to prioritize her family.
She wrote the book Toi Aliiiiilfs jroiii Nonmil
describing her life. I would think her strug-
gles would be so relevant to young women
at ASC who will confront similar decisions
about the priorities of career and family,
although they may not reach her same
conclusions. 1 hope the ASC campus has
not become so liberal that they cannot
welcome women who have chosen to put
family first.

Kiithryn AUiynarii Swick 74

Fighting Injustice

Dear Editor:

Having encouraged alumnae to share
views and opinions concerning the maga-
zine, 1 want to commend you for its excel-
lence, both in quality and overall content.
The spring issue is impressive and 1 read it
from cover to cover. Congratulations!

Now I would like to suggest the possi-
bility of doing an article about the legacy
of Dr Arthur F. Raper, who was a charis-
matic sociology professor at Agnes Scott
during the mid- 1930s. His rather brief

Z) AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL ^-^00

Arthur F. Raper

tenure at the college appears to have been
uncelebrated after he affiliated with liberal
movements, which were focused on
change and then so unpopular in the Deep
South. He'd worked fervently with Martin
Luther King, NAACP and others in the
Atlanta area who embraced social changes.
(One of my classmates, Eliza King
Paschall, was among them.)

Although prejudice was not con-
sciously taught at home, "White
Supremacy" was the norm for most
students' families.
Until we met Dr.
Raper in our class-
room, we'd never
confronted issues
of legal or racial
discrimination,
yet he opened our
young minds and
hearts in a chal-
lenging way. He
taught us to fight
these injustices in
our cities, states
and nation as much as possible. He
brought prominent black people like James
Weldon Johnson to our classroom to read
from his book God's Trombones. He awak-
ened awareness of devastating damage
being done to the ecology by scheduling a
field trip to Copper Hill, Tenn., where
strip mining had made it impossible to
grow grass or trees where copper mines
once existed. On Sunday evenings in the
Raper's Decatur backyard, groups gathered
for cookouts, where we were free to
discuss many disputed issues, which our
parents never talked to us about at home

Fofmer students will confirm that only
he demonstrated such courage when mat-
ters were so controversial. In tribute to an
amazing man, who broke down barriers
before his time, our 1938 Silhouette was
dedicated to him. Many whose lives were
dramatically influenced would be glad to
see Dr. Arthur Raper's legacy belatedly
acknowledged.

Elsie West Duval '3 8

Editor's note. Look for an article on Raper in an
upcoming issue.

Moms and Work

Dear Editor:

Thank you for the wonderful article con-
cerning stay-at-home moms in the spring,
2004 issue of Agnes Scott The Magazine. 1

have heard all of the usual quips concern-
ing my decision to stay at home, from
"why are you wasting your education?" to
"do you sit around and watch soaps and eat
bon bons all day like Peg Bundy?" (For the
record, I do not consider raising a child to
be a waste of a fine education, 1 only watch
one soap opera, and 1 would not be caught
dead in a pair of leopard print capri pants!)
It was lovely to see that Agnes Scott
accepts those of us who decided to
become "domestic goddesses," as well as
those of us who decided to become doc-
tors, lawyers or executives. I can't think of
a better female role model for my daughter
than her strong, educated mother!

The only complaint about an otherwise
fine article that 1 have is this: where were
the young stay-at-home Scotties? The most
recent graduate mentioned in your article
is a member of the class of 1993. 1 know
that I can't be the only recent graduate of
ASC to decide to stay at home with my
kids!

Jennifer Heckman Stewart GO

Editor's Note-. Altbotigb we look for names in a
number of ways, one of our challenges is in finding
appropriate people to interview for articles We
welcome your suggestions of people at any time.

Dear Editor:

1 was not surprised by your spring article,
"From Boardrooms to Minivans." Your arti-
cle brings into focus the reality of the con-
flicting demands of a career and family for
many women.

However, your article neglects to
address that this "reality" is fundamentally
a societal and cultural force that discrimi-
nates against women's opportunity for
advancement in the workforce. Both com-
pany policies and norms rooted in
American business culture create enormous
obstacles for women that simply do not
exist for men. Discrimination against
women in the workforce today is as overt
as multi-million dollar class action law suits
against Wal-Mart and Morgan Stanley and
as subtle as the inability to balance the
desire to raise children and to also one day
make partner at a law firm.

Women should not be forced to
choose. The fact that we often do high-
lights the need for a greater number of
women leaders in businesses and govern-
ment creating social and cultural change at
the corporate level and building businesses
that value work/family balance. Women

are 47 percent of the workforce,- however
we make up 14 percent of Congress, and
of Fortune 500 companies, women CEOs
number approximately six. Given the
scarcity of women leaders at the top, it's
not surprising that various issues of
work/family balance, which hinder
women's promotion and advancement, are
not being tackled by business and govern-
ment leaders.

I whole-heartedly respect the decisions
the women in your article made, but it is
not enough to accept the culture and soci-
etal structure that has forced those deci-
sions. We must also work toward changing
that system. A number of businesses now
offer flexible work/life solutions for fami-
lies. Working Mother magazine names not
only the 100 Best Companies for Women,
but also the Best Companies for Women of
Color. The models of success are out there
and it's up to us to continue this transfor-
mation in corporate culture and in society.

1 really enjoy reading the alumnae mag-
azine. Thanks for all your hard work.

Jessica Owens Sanfilippo '98

Boy Scouts

Dear Editor:

1 must correct an item in Susanna Lewis'
description of Black Cat. It is not true that
every sophomore class has correctly
guessed the mascot of the freshman class.
In 1979, our class succeeded in keeping
the secret. The sophomores guessed
"Scouts" but we were, and are, "Boy
Scouts." Our uniform included khaki
pants, white shirts, caps, green kerchiefs
and badges with pictures of "The Boy I
Scout" (mine was my baby brother,- my
roommate had a psychologist). Even 21
years since graduation, most of us can
recall our song:

Are you a Boy Scout?

1 said a Boy Scout.

Are you proud to wear that Green and White?

If you're a Boy Scout,

I said a Boy Scout,

Then show your spirit tonight.

If you 're a member of the troop

With digits 8 and 3,

Then come along and take a bike

And camp with me.

Are you a Boy Scout?

I said a Boy Scout,

We're the Class of '83!

Is there any other class that won Black
Cat all four years?

Sallie Rowe Roberts '83

READER'S VOICE 5

Throucjh renovating a }ieglected house, Catherine Fleming Bruce '84 honors a historical role model and
challencjes new generations to develop lives of understanding, activism and social change.

by Nancy Moreland

Visionary persistence propelled Catherine Fleming
Bruce '84 to transform a rundown house into a
center for social change and democracy.
Despite limited time and money, ideals formu-
lated at Agnes Scott kept her going. To Bruce, 2025
Marion Street St., Columbia, S.C., was more than a late 19th-
century vernacular house: It was a symbol of justice, equality and
Civil Rights history. The house had been home to Modjeska
Monteith Simkins, the state's matriarch of the Civil Rights
Movement.

After graduating from ASC, Bruce worked in Decatur, then
returned home to Sumpter, S.C. To her surprise, she found herself
back on a college campus shortly thereafter. "It was a terrific way
to follow up Agnes Scott. Agnes Scott is a small, intimate school,
and graduate school was a similar experience, even though the
University of South Carolina is a large school," says Bruce.

She worked in the communication and cultural fields after
completing her master's While producing a documentary, she met
Charles Webb, a member of the arts community. Through Webb,
Bruce discovered Simkins and though there was a dearth of
documentation on Columbi: s African-American history, Bruce
read everything she could about ihis local legend. A dissertation
tilled "Black Woman Activist in lOth Century South Carolina:

Modjeska Monteith Simkins" was a "real eye opener in terms of
Modjeska's contribution. "

Also, about the same time, Bruce began a documentary,
"Perfect Equality,' to explore the history of blacks and race
relations from 1786 to about 1987. Her documentary won a
Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for
State and Local History. It also led to a friendship with Simkins.

Even though Simkins was elderly, her fire had not dimmed.
She was interested in young people and in sharing her experiences
with them

"Once you started discussing history, she was very direct in her
assessment of what needed to be done, " says Bruce. When she
asked Simkins about her opinion of the Confederate flag, the leg-
end replied, "Oh, let them wave their old rag That way you know
what's in peoples' hearts "

Bruce began contemplating preserving the Simkins house and
told her, "Your house would make a great place for you and your
work to be remembered." The elderly Simkins brushed off Bruce's
suggestion, saying, "Thats for people who come after me to worry
about." Simkins lived in her home until she was hospitalized and
died in 1992.

As always, Bruce was never idle In addition to making the
documentar>' and puisLiing her doctorate in mass communications,

6 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 200^

MODJESKA MONTEITH SIMKINS

Modjeska Monteith Simkins (1899-1992) was a civil riglits
advocate in a time when that role could have life-threatening
consequences. Born in Columbia, S.C, she was active in public
health and social reform. In 1931, she became South Carolina's
only full-time African-American public health worker.

Her residence was a meeting and lodging place for many key
players in the Civil Rights IVIovement, including Thurgood Marshall,
former U.S. Supreme Court justice. Her most significant work took
place in 1950, with the federal court case Briggs vs. Elliott.
Working with other NAACP members, Simkins co-wrote-with
much of the work done at her dining room table the declaration
for the school lawsuit requesting equalization of Clarenden County
schools. The case eventually became one of several challenging
the separate-but-equal doctrine in the U.S. Supreme Court case of
Brown vs. Board of Education.

Simkins is remembered as a woman who challenged the white
political leadership for fair treatment of all people and as one who
also challenged blacks to demand their rightful place in South
Carolina and America.

she was active vi^ithin Columbia's historic preservation community
and the South Carolina Humanities Council. While serving on a
panel to identify South Carolina's top 10 endangered sites, she
found an application for the Simkins house. Although the African-
American Heritage Council had placed the house on the Historic
Register, no restorations had occurred and the house was slipping
into disrepair.

In 1995, Bruce founded the Collaborative for Community
Trust, the group that would be instrumental in saving the Simkins
home. "We wanted to develop creative ideas for social change by
involving many disciplines," Bruce explains. "We were looking at
strategies for incorporating culture, history and other areas into
our ideas."

"Whenever grant money didn't come through,

we had to keep moving forward and letting people know

this house had a significant story to tell."

The roots for this endeavor had been nurtured at ASC. "1 did a
number of things that helped me grow," she recalls. One such
action was revitalizing an international group called CHIMO.
College counselors had disbanded the group, and Bruce wrote
them a letter about why they shouldn't. As a result, CHIMO was
revived, and Bruce learned from interacting with its multicultural
members.

The collaborative works with partners from many arenas,
including academia, activists, historic preservation, nonprofits and
community-based organizations. Their efforts are blossoming,
says Bmce. "People are starting to get a sense of who we are."

The collaborative decided the Simkins house was the perfect
venue for a human-rights center, museum and collaborative head-
quarters. Bruce and board members worked for two years to
resolve legal matters with the estate. Once ownership was trans-

ferred to the collaborative, the real work began. When Bruce had
first visited, the house was in fair condition. It was different when
she returned.

"Homeless people were living in the house. The furniture and
light fixtures were gone. The property has two buildings and the
rear building was significantly burned."

The house was built about I 880 in a downtown area that had
been integrated by free blacks. Two families lived in it prior to
Simkins and her husband, Andrew, who moved there in 1920.

For Bruce, the most challenging aspect of renovation isn't dust,
dirt or decay. It's dollars. Initially, the collaborative received dona-
tions from numerous public and private sources. "Whenever grant
money didn't come through, we had to keep moving forward and
letting people know this house had a significant story to tell," she
comments.

Fund raising, like housework, is never done. "We're still trying
to achieve financial stability. We want the people who support us
to recognize the value of K4odjeska's contributions and having a
center dedicated to exploring justice and democracy," Bruce says.

Fortunately, she'd had some fund-raising experience at Agnes
Scott. "1 applied for and was awarded money for events that were
part of the Multicultural Awareness Symposium. 1 learned about
grant writing and pulling together an event by working with
faculty," says Bruce.

Opening day was the most rewarding moment of the effort to
presen/e a piece of Civil Rights history. The house was renovated,
but empty. No furniture was in place and the walls were blank.
People came anyway, to see what the collaborative had done. "She
took a house that was significant but had been forgotten and
worked extremely hard to get it off the ground," says Krista
Hampton, head of historic preservation for Columbia.

Later, when the house was filled with furnishings donated by
Simkins' relatives, visitors could visualize what life was like for a
determined black activist whose ideas were ahead of her time.
Simkins was a well-read woman who placed importance on ideas,
which Bruce believes illustrates the necessity of education for an
activist. Even after her furnishings disappeared, Simkins' books
remained and are proudly displayed.

Baice and the collaborative are developing a media center and
library and hosting meetings and school field trips. The collabo-
rative participates in conferences with the World Summit of
Information Society and received a Nongovernmental Observer
Status from the United Nations.

Columbia's mayor, Robert D. Coble, a longtime supporter of
Bruce's work, notes, "She has done an outstanding job of restoring
Mrs. Simkins' home. She has honored a great citizen."

According to Bruce, the Simkins house is not just about one
person. "We're hoping Modjeska's life will serve as a model for
social change. People must stay engaged in democracy. We're
hoping to provide a space for people to do that. After I'm gone, if
that's still happening, then this has been a successful process."

Niincy Moreliiihi is a freelance iDriterand editor

TO LEARN MORE

For more information on the Collaborative for Community
Trust, visit www.collab4community.org.

THIS OLD HOUSE 7

by Linda Lentz Hubert '62

During her years as a
student and projessor,
Linda Lentz Hubert '62
has lived irith innnerous
professorial ghosts. In
her 2004 Founder's Day
tribute, s/;e reveals the
e}iduring characteristics
oj some of her favorites.

The ''Ajjahle Familiar'

Ghosts

oj Agnes Scott

Perhaps any women's college that has an October ritual called Black Cat
can be predicted to have ghosts. Come fall and Halloween, the stories
about the Dana specter and the Tower Ghost swirl like autumn leaves,
speaking mortality with spirited force.

Our primary founder's mother never set foot on tfie campus that bears her name her ghost may
hover in her native Ireland or in Alexandria, Pa., where she is buried in understandable preference
to hanging out here though her presence is happily felt through members of the Scott family who
remain part of today's college community

My notion is to conjiu'e the persistent essences of former Agnes Scott College jiiijulty m
particular a few of the individuals who have inspirited me It is their unuilly affable ghosts that reinforce
the spectral spine of this place

The speaker of Shakespeare's sonnet 86, from which I have wrenched my title, protests that a rival
noet of "great verse" has stolen his poetic subject, a yoLing man whose admiration and affections they
both seek, leaving his own verse empty and "enfeebled." Indulging in hyperbole, he poses a rhetor-
icrJ question: "Was it his spirit, bv spirits taught to write/ Above a mortal pitch, that staick me dead?""

8 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2OO4

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c'i::_^*'

\ '

% \ A-<-^x

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The answer is "No." It is none of the more-than-mortal sources of
poetic power visited upon tfiis competitor that have left him, the
poem's speaker, artistically bereft He insists that the power of his
rivals lines to dram him of "matter" substance as well as purpose
derives entirely from the subiect that inhabits them the trans-
forming power of the young man himself.

The rival referenced here is probably Shakespeare's erstwhile
contemporary', George Chapman. Shakespeare's speaker acknowl-
edges but yet disdains a variety of
specters that he deems inspiritors of
Chapman's verse, but he mentions
in particular "that affable familiar
ghost/ Which nightly gulls
[Chapman] with intelligence"
Homer, so the story goes, appeared
to Chapman as an apparition
directing him to make the English
translation of his work. (Chapman
obliged with the seminal translation
that Keats honored in his famous
sonnet two centuries later.) Logic
would suggest that the applicable
Renaissance meaning of i|i(/ls in this
context is "crams or stuffs" (OED),
and i)i(flli(;fiicc refers not merely to
news but to that capacity of mind
that permits reasoned thought or
sound judgments indeed even the
high-mindedness that may have
been responsible for some of the
moral probity with which Chapman
and his poetry is often identified.

[Disembodied entities that are capable of rational thought are
known then as now as "intelligent spirits."

These ghosts are sensed reliably among us. For me Wallace
Alston, who knew me as a student and hired me even so,
looms over the campus like the Colossus of Rhodes Carrie
Scandrett, dean of students, was special to me because she treated
me as if I were special. In "honoring my independence," as she put
it, she proved sympathetic to the distance 1 had come to be part
of a Southern world that I found stranger than any of the many
places I had lived.

Ellen Douglass Leyburn had been a student at Agnes Scott,
graduating in 1 927 with her smart and talented classmate Roberta
Winter, whose portrait graces the theatre named for her in Dana.
Miss Winter and Miss Leyburn were among the factilty I most
respected.

Those ol us in Miss Leyburn's freshman English section knew
that she had gone to Yale after Agnes Scott, knew that she had a
prtjdigious vocabulary and knew that she had extraordinary
expectations ol us We snooped in old annuals for pictures of her
when she was a student, because we could hardly imagine that she
had ever looked diUcrtnt from the awesome, mild-mannered,
middle-aged scholar before whom most of us who were less cer-
tain in the class trembled even.' Monday, Wednesday and Friday
at 2 o'clock in spite ol the warnnh we could read in her crinkly
blue eyes. We subdued our shuffling loafers and stifled our breath
as we focused intense energies on iiof beiui) i.iilled on. And we prayed

"Goodness, I seem to have
dispersed the vegetables."

that if we shotihi be so unlucky as to hear our own name emerging
from the self-conscious stupor of avoidance, we would at least
understand the question being askedl Never mind the answer.
Miss Leyburn would be trusting to pluck from the air a particular
response something that followed the carefully crafted script of
her pre-programmed "discussion."

Few of us, bright as we were supposed to be in English, could
supply just the right words (my classmate, now Dr Kay Gilliland

Stevenson of Essex University, was a

notable exception), but Miss

Leyburn was unaccountably kind,
and she would strain to work with
our inept responses. Several times I
remember the surprise of her saying
flatly "No' to some intelligence
offered by a student Distortion no
doubt accounts for my memory of
finding these infrequent but exasper-
ated and defeated retorts rather
comic.

Our teacher had a distinguished
brother. James Leyburn came to the
campus for one of our mandatory
Wednesday convocations. His not-
very-scintillating sounding topic was
"Magnanimity' 1 have loved the
word ever since and continue to
search and commend to my heart
those few who seem to me to possess
that grand virtue.

Her brother stretched our minds
and our vocabulary that one time,-
Miss Leyburn did it time and time again. She amazed us with the
precision of her words. She had a slight stammer sometimes
and launching a sentence, she could keep us in suspense as she
stuttered towards a concluding word that we could hardly believe
was so exact. Some of the time, of course, it was the word itself we
just couldn't comprehend: her words could be breathtakingly
exotic, entirely unfamiliar We didn't ask for definitions in class
such practice might well have consumed the entire hour. We pur-
sued otir dictionary research as soon as possible, but later

Leyburn vocabulary stories abounded in my student days or
at least 1 remember fondly the fun it was to hear her startle with
her diction. One day, she sat with her usual reserved dignity
among a few of us at lunch (an unusual occurrence given the exis-
tence, then, of the "Faculty Dining Room"). Her knife inoppor-
ttinely slipped, and the sudden motion sent peas and carrots
sprawling across the table She looked at us with utterly con-
trolled consternation, it that is possible and she uttered:
"Goodness, 1 seem to have dispersed the vegetables "

Some years later when students took to spoofing my vocabu-
lary in Black Cat skits, I felt a certain amount of pride in the frag-
ile connection that seemed sometimes to exist between my
teacher and her sttident poor knock-off that I might be. My
favorite classroom moment is linked to that legacy. One day a film
crew, making one of Agnes Scott's first admission videos was in my
2 14 literature class and we were attempting to conduct a dis-
cussion of Eudora Welty's story, "The Traveling Salesman, " that
felt very artificial, very staged me with a mike snaking up under

10 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

my blouse and a boom swinging around Buttrick 22 I to pick up
the sallies of the students. Comment by comment, word by word,
the class worked into the discussion every word that they had
identified all term with the humorous excesses of my vocabulary.
They threw their Hubert buzz words back at me with a density
that was brilliant. It took me a few of their comments and
questions to catch on to the parody but of course 1 couldn't let
on for the film crew, and we played out the taping with straight-
forward faces.

One other small bit of Leyburn legacy that I have preserved
a couple of phrases that constantly turned up when she graded our
themes: "marred by careless errors" and "your spelling is shock-
ing." These were not the days of writing as process, and my essays
tended to be first drafts typed once and furiously in late night fits
of obligation. Earning more times than I care to remember a B +
instead of at least an A-, seemingly because of typos and a couple
of spelling mistakes often the same word misspelled twice 1
was well acquainted with both phrases.

The last course 1 had with her a seminar in literary criticism
for senior English majors I wrote a paper on Virginia Woolf's To
the Lighthouse, one of the many 20th-century texts taught by this
scholar whose speciality was 18th-century literature and who
wrote books on both James and Shaw, two 19th-century figures.
Determined in my last hurrah to avoid the shocking spelling
phrase, 1 actually proofread my essay before the last minute,
indeed I read it over and over and over. I looked up every word
even little ones that I knew 1 knew. I don't remember the grade. I
do remember that "my spelling was shocking": 1 had managed to
misspell almost every proper name in Woolf's novel.

1 still must guard against careless errors in my own work,
prepared even now under pressure and with haste. It's lovely
retribution, nonetheless, when in spite of the elaborate aibrics and
lengthy comments mandated by today's assessment strategies, I
find apt occasion to write one or both of those fond phrases on
the essays of my own students.

My second "affable" ghost was not always so affable in life.
Professor Elizabeth Zenn of the classics department,
known as Betts, could be marvelously cranky, hyperbol-
ically critical as she waged her constant war on contemporary
compromises with the severe academic standards by which she
lived. An accomplished pianist of the non-performing kind, she
was an informed and demanding, even harsh critic of musicians,
particularly pianists,- she tolerated neither less-than-exemplary
musical performances nor even slightly deficient instruments.

Sketched in my mind's eye, she holds forth in animated dis-
cussion in the "faculty and staff" dining room defining the charac-
teristics of the ideal Steinway or deriding the latest "corruption of
the curriculum." Her lean and lanky ghost stalks across the quad-
rangle of the past the less-than-ever greensward that was
bisected by the "Hub." Some among you will remember the orig-
inal college library building that by then was the campus center,
a smoky den of bridge players and iconoclasts. 1 imagine some-
times that Professor Zenn's troubled spirit may still be intent on
overtaking the handsome professor of music whom she, so criti-
cal of everything else, admired most uncritically.

Perhaps I write of Betts in partial atonement for finding humor-
ous rather than hurtful the relentless Black Cat or Junior Jaunt
skits that betrayed her passionate attachment to this colleague in

the music department, an elegant and handsome gentleman-
about-town, who retained his vulnerability as an extremely
eligible bachelor until after he removed from Agnes Scott and
subsequently married Those skits were legion and persistent.
The Miss Zenn impersonator, lurking behind an enormous, fake
boxwood, would spring out in front of the handsome gentleman.
Her intense face, all angles, would lean into his as she held him
hostage with her chatter until they reached their destination.

But Betts was never that crass in truth though 1 think her
affections ran deep. Indeed I suspect she cared as much for the
musical passions they shared as she did for the man himself.
Regardless, she bore up well as he eluded her attentions and she
seemed glad to relax when he was no longer about the campus to
trouble her or to elicit the torments of thoughtless, insensitive
students.

Without doubt Betts was an inspiring teacher those keen,
penetrating black eyes full of the flourish of classical life realized
fully in the present. But her zeal reached further than the class-
room: Professor Zenn labored in the vineyard of student devel-
opment even during the summers, back when faculty summers still
were sacred personal time. She arranged for student trips in tan-
dem with her own regular study visits to Italy.

i*'

Betts made the food

poisoning debacle funny after all,

none of them had died.

My favorite story from that time was one she no doubt embel-
lished in the telling and at her own expense. Her youthful com-
patriots at an excavation site near Rome, earnestly intent on their
work, left their box lunches exposed under the hot sun. Upon
eating them later, they dragged back to work and then one by
one fell out with what turned out to be terrible stomach cramps.
The sandwiches were chicken and egg salad, or something of the
sort and susceptible, because of mayonnaise, to corruption from
lack of refrigeration. Betts made the food poisoning debacle
funny after all, none of them had died and she took the rap

THE AFFABLE FAMILIAR GHOSTS OF AGNES SCOTT 11

herself for not always being as attentive as tier role required to the
practical consequences of escorting students abroad. No one
complained, to my knowledge, however, and like them, if given
the chance, Id have gone off at a moment's notice to experience
the Rome that she knew In her name, as you know, an Agnes
Scott student is funded each year for such study abroad an
entirely appropriate memorial.

When Flizabeth Zenn died of cancer, she was away from
the camptis But her campus friends and mourners filled Gaines
Chapel, President Alston presided over her service. I was struck by
his words when he said a complex and troubled spirit was now at
peace I wonder I still feel the agitation of her energies, of her tierce
contempt tor anything but the highest of academic ambitions.

J I a\' Fuller, pianist tor the college and piano teacher par excel-
I lent, IS the thud lovely, friendly, affable spirit. His memoiy has
I generated no academic chairs, and nothing substantial in that
ne may ever happen. In spite of his study at two distinguished
institutions Johns Hopkins and the Peabody Conservatory
Mr. Fuller had never sought a Ph.D., and so was unable to move
in the academic ranks past assistant professor. Except for his
music he was ever a quiet presence on campus indeed he's a
quiet and soothing ghost but he brings to my spectral land-
scape qualities that I think of as very Agnes Scott.

lays gifts were rich and real and his goodness unqualified.
He was a lovely piano teacher I know that firsthand because I
was at one point one of his less than stellar pupils I tried to
resume the study of piano some years after I returned to teach at
the college. Rarely having time to practice, I would inevitably
enter jay's studio unprepared and compel him to discuss music
theor\', musical preferences, indeed anything that might divert his
attention from the pieces I was intended to play. He was patient
though not to a fault. I remember his gently chiding voice
well "You'll get it, Lmda, but you'll have to give it some time."
I know he was grateful when his going on leave meant losing
me as well as my reluctant daughter as pupils.

But we worked together long years on college events and
developed with now retired music professor Ron Byrnside the
Kirk Concert Series, which bestowed upon all three of us consid-
erable pride and joy. Jay supervised the setting up of the stage and
the music shell, he monitored lighting and tended to any instru-
ments that the college needed to provide. In fact, he performed
all care and feeding functions for most of the various musical
performances on campus. His attentions to these tasks went past
responsibility to nervous love

Gaines would be filled for his own annual recitals, and lay
would stride out on a stage, his tall figure dashing in a tuxedo, and
take stock of the scene. Those of us who knew him well were
aware of the monstrous long hours he spent practicing and yet
we held otir breath hoping that he would get launched on his pro-
gram and sec it through without the memoiy lapse or two that
proved all but inevitable as he grew older. Before the final concert
of his career, lay had become an engaged member of an evangel-
ical church. His pastor and friends held an uniistial prayer session
in the hall outside Gaines. The preconcert prayer service did not
entirely reassure me and in that I know I was not alone.
Nonetheless, the last concert was performed with passion and
without flaw by a totally concentrated and composed Jay Fuller.
When he ended his series of encores with his traditional "Kitten

on the Keys, " we were all transcendent in his glory.

Jay died not many months after he retired, a victim of the
relentless smoking that consumed him. I was surprised and
impressed when I paid him a hospital visit during those last days
and there was nothing of music in sight. 1 offered to remedy that
lack but he said "no," he no longer needed to listen to music. 1
trust he meant that he had enough within his own head, I know

Except for his music,
he was ever a quiet presence on campus.

that he left my head full of his music. Seldom do I walk past his
old studio in Presser Hall without seeing him there and hearing
him play He's one of that loyal legion of facult\' that has enriched
this place with both his talents and his character and Im afraid
that we tended to take him for granted.

All Agnes Scott ghosts, like these three, must have good mat-
ter to work with, to inspire and to transform. My hope is that each
Agnes Scott student will ultimately feel the spectral force of all the
great spirits that inhabit this special place and be challenged with
and by their intelligence if not to write "great verse," then to
realize and contribute her own great gifts I hope, too, that each
alumna will occasionally allow her own personal faculty ghosts to
inspire her waking as well as her sleeping hours and that she
will shower those oh, so, tangible evidences of gratitude down
upon her alma mater so that our past and future spirits may thrive.

""/ offer ihc^c raiuvki m honor oj Aysc Cardaioo. Oiir Apics Scott commmiity iujicreJ .111
iiioniiOMS loss with Ayscs iJeiilLi hut hers is one of ll'osf speciitl s/)in(s li'lw will hiujer
loihl III oiirmiiist.

Lniilii Lent: Hubert 62. professor cmentii of Eiulhsh, retircil (/)ls spriiul iiftcr 3.5 years of
tciiihnnl lit the colkeje.

12 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

Tina Lee '05, English and political science

Eunice Li '07, undeclared

Jessie Creel '04, religious studies

Free Spe

Everyone's Right and Everyone's Responsibility

"Do youjeeljree to express your opinions in class and out?"

Gus Cochran, Adeline A. Lorldans Professor of Political Science

Jessie Creel '04: If I were more concerned about grades, I would
be less likely to speak out in class. I would feel that they were even
more subjective if I were to censor myself, because 1 would feel
that was inhibiting my freedom of speech. Most people here are
concerned with grades. I can see how they would be likely to cen-
sor themselves, because professors are pretty open about how
they feel.

Tina Lee '05: 1 don't ever feel censored. 1 probably have views that
the dominant amount of campus agrees with, but even when I'm
disagreeing with most of the class, a lot of the times teachers like
it when you talk even if it's not something they agree with. The
only time I feel uncomfortable is when I make a statement I don't
believe I can back up because 1 don't know enough.

Creel: When 1 think of intimidation, I think of it being more from
peers than the professors. I've been in classes where it's been
pretty bad. There have been some pretty bad brawls. The prob-
lem I have with professors is when someone accepts you're racist
or you're sexist or you're oppressive or you're a communist as okay
arguments, and I think that it's the professor's job to say, "You need
to do more than that." That's why I feel censorship happens.
People will, after you're called a communist or racist, say, "1 better
not talk in that class."

Lee: A lot of times in class instead of saying, let's discuss why you
would say "Oh, that person's being a racist," or "What are you
talking about?" everyone says, "Let's just not talk about this,- we're
going to argue about this. If you're arguing, that means there's

something to it that you need to get into deeper Arguing can lead
to better things. Students are the ones who don't want to talk
about it, and that drives me crazy.

Creel: Is that unique to an all women's college? In a co-ed
environment you're less likely to have the impulse to save people's
feelings. I don't mean to stereotype women, but I feel like there's
that under the surface. Sometimes it's better to be in an academic
environment where there is debate, and if being women gets in
the way, that can be a problem.

Lee: A lot of times people say, "Can we not talk about this right
now?" because they want to get back to what's going to help them
on the exam.

Creel: "Is this going to be on the exam?", and if it's not then, "why
are we even talking about it?" Usually it's the stuff that's not going
to be on the exam that I like talking about. Maybe grades have
induced the climate of us being afraid of free speech. Agnes Scott
attracts people who are pretty loud and pretty vocal.

Lee: Or they become that when they get here. A lot of my pro-
fessors are basing grades all on participation.

Creel: When I get a grade 1 don't think 1 deserve, one of my first
reactions is, "Did I say something political that they didn't agree
with? Or was it just a really bad paper?" More often than not, it's
been a really bad paper.

FREE SPEECH everyone's RIGHT I3

Lee: I never think It's because
they didn't agree with my
political views. I always tend to
think it's because my argument
wasn't strong enough It's more
about your ability.

Creel: It's like what Dr.
Cochran said a k'w weeks
ago if you fear that conser-
vatives arc not allowed to
speak on campus, you're not
going to speak on campus.

Lee: Who's a conservative? just

anyone who voted for Bush:"

And all of a sudden all your

opinions are defunct;" That doesn't work that way. Same thing

with liberals. Somebody who considers herself a liberal can talk to

mc and wc can still disagree on pretty much everything.

Eunice Li '07: Ive heard that so
much. I know a lot of people
are afraid to speak out I feel
that people assume just
because i go here I have certain
opinions or views. That has
been an issue. Outside of class
III have talked with people,
and they'll be open to sharing
their opinions, but in class they
won't say anything. And if
someone conservative does
speak up, they'll say, "Just to
add another perspective . . "
instead of saying, "This is what
I think."

Lee: \'ou might also feel that since the professor did write his the-
sis on this subject, maybe he knows what he's talking about I can
back it up against another student, but I can't back it up against
this professor who's written a book on the subject.

Free Speech Alive but Threatened

by Augustus B. Cochran, Adeline A. Loridans Professor of
Political Science

Free speech and liberal-arts education are integrally
related in purpose and method. Constitutional scholars
identify supporting self governance, truth seeking and
individual expression as the purposes guiding the First
Amendment's guarantee of free speech.
The liberal-arts tradition seeks to educate by "leading out"'
minds from the shadows of parochialism and prejudice into the
light of liberal learning. Agnes Scott"s McCain Library recognizes
this liberating mission by displaying the Biblical inscription "The
truth shall set you free." Enlightenment frees individuals to live as
thinking, reflective persons and equips citizens for self-rule.

What is the state of free expression on campus today? Despite
rumors to the contrary, free speech is thriving, although not
unthreatened from several directions The rich mix of students at
Agnes Scott is an invaluable educational resource enhancing free
speech by expanding the range of viewpoints represented on cam-
pus Another factor contributing to the vibrancy of campus debates
IS that today's students seem more vocal than previous generations,-
for better or worse, they air their opinions with less reticence.

Diversity and outspokenness challenge as well as enrich free
expression. Diversity necessitates "dialogue across difference."
Voicing opinions enccjunters limits, typically pedagogical rather
than political Practical considerations such as class time and size,
lelevancc and coverage set bounds, as does educational purpose.
Liberal education is not simply an exchange of opinions,- it seeks
the cultivation of judgment and that requires evaluation and cri-
tique of opinion. The ver>' notion of "discipline" implies restraint.
For example, what counts as a valid political explanation in my
( onstitutional Law course might not pass muster as legal reasoning.

Students may feel "repressed" when their ideas are subjected to
criticism, but clashing ideas are essential to the deliberative dia-
logue on which political free speech and liberal education rest.

In the classroom, of course, teachers exercise authority and
their judgments are even backed by an element of coercion
grades. Students often fear that disagreeing with the instructor's
opinions will result in lower grades. Although it is difficult to sep-
arate one's own views from the evaluation of students academic
performance, I believe students vastly overestimate this problem.
1 had the illuminating experience of jointly grading student work
with five fellow political scientists and with colleagues in four
other disciplines. What is striking is how similar our assessments
were, especially among the political scientists, whose grades vir-
tually never varied by more than one-third of a letter grade (.and
those slight variations were more a matter of different scales than
by conflicting evaluations of individual performance).

Teachers should appreciate and reward with participation
grades expressions of contrary opinions as contributing to the
search for truth in the classroom. Professors must remember that
free-flowing deliberation is a powerful truth-seeking method, to
be balanced with disciplinary methods and expert authority as
well as practical constraints, and that an even more exalted pur-
pose of liberal education is developing the ability to make one's
own decisions. Rather than pouring definitive truth into empty
vessels, our role is to inculcate habits of mind that enable gradu-
ates to make discerning judgments as lifelong learners and wise
decisions as free citizens.

Many contemporary trends imperil campus free speech. Some
conservatives charge that liberal bias is rampant on American col-
lege campuses, a complex claim too often stated in simplistic slo-
gans. Regardless of its merits, the charge carries a double-edged
threat. Nonconservatives and the very reductionism of casting
all academic and political disputes as liberal-conservative debates
is an obstacle to unraveling this issue may stifle their thoughts

14 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

Creel: That's what I feel when we're debating actual texts in a
political science or religion class, and we're debating things like
Marx, for instance. There's no way I'm on the same level as Marx.
There is a humbling aspect to what we read, and it's not that peo-
ple censor themselves because of their views,- they censor them-
selves because it's Marx versus Jessie Creel. Also, 1 speak freely and
somebody else speaks freely. Because they disagree, doesn't mean
that 1 can't speak. A lot of people see free speech as just the origin
of a conversation, and when someone says, "Absolutely not," that's
a violation of free speech. It's not. It's just them calling upon their
right to free speech.

Lee: People say, "1 can't even say anything without anyone argu-
ing with me." That's the whole point. If I'm going to argue with
you and you can't come back with something else, then how
strong was your argument? 1 think that's part of the thing with this
Karen Hughes situation How fearful are you of your opinion if
you can't let someone who disagrees with you speak?

Creel: But saying, "We don't think she should come," is those peo-
ple's right to free speech. I can start to see speech codes. There

needs to be some sort of comfort level with people speaking on
campus. There needs to be some sort of respect. Maybe it could
be a kind of honor code just to get people to learn how to treat
each other with respect. Also, there needs to be an attempt for
Agnes Scott to say, ok, we need Karen Hughes here, we need
Angela Davis here we need all of these people here. And we
need also to teach students that they shouldn't be saying, "Angela
Davis shouldn't be allowed here," or they shouldn't be saying
"Karen Hughes shouldn't be allowed here." At a liberal arts college
you need all sorts of sides represented.

Lee: Part of proactivity is being able to talk about it. It seems when
I talk to a lot of "conservatives," they say "the reason we don't like
to talk is because you guys are just talking and you're not actually
doing anything." But you can't get to where you can do anything
unless you can talk about it, and no one can talk about it yet.

Eiiitor's Note. Lasl April, Karai Hutlbes. White Home counselor niui director oj communi-
cations for Preiidait Georcle WBusb, spoke about her bookJen Minutes from Normal,
a proc/ram presaited on campus iii cooperation witb the Georc/ia Center for tbe Book.

for fear of being branded partisan, liberal, or, especially after
Sept. 1 1, unpatriotic. Ironically, the campaign against campus
liberalism may operate as a self-fulfilling prophesy, warning stu-
dents to refrain from voicing conservative views to avoid encoun-
tering libera! suppression.

From the left looms the sterility of political correctness.
Although popularized PC concerns are overly hyped and out-
dated since their heyday in the early 1990s, discussions of sensi-
tive issues, such as race, gender, sexual orientation or, rarely, class,
can appear "PC when analyzed exclusively as individual or moral
failings. Neglecting structural inequalities and social causes of
injustice too readily breeds personal acrimony that can inhibit
deeper exploration of social wrongs.

Within the academy, the "technification" of education dimin-
ishes intellectual dialogue as prestige of large universities,
research, "value free" science and professional disciplines increas-
ingly overshadow traditional liberal arts fields, influencing even
the self-understanding of those subjects (e.g., political science as
a science akin to physics). This trend is exacerbated by stu-
dents and as 1 can attest as a college parent myself, by their
parents who are footing the extravagantly high bills for their
education who view college as primarily a track to a vocation.
While professional training deserves esteem, it is narrower, more
geared to the transmission of technique and information and less
dependent on dialogue, than traditional liberal arts, whose aims
include building character as well as developing minds capable of
leading holistic, self-directed lives.

From without, contemporary culture looms increasingly
hostile to the ideals of liberal education. Our society treats us as
consumers, not citizens, a trend spilling from the marketplace into
politics, civil society, media and education. Consumers make
choices and need information, but the selection is offered, and
shaped, by others, and the values and assumptions behind those
offerings and choices are simply unexamined.

Consumer society is rife with talk, but much of it amounts to
mere noise, in effect yelling, that threatens to drown out the
quality of deliberation cherished and protected by the first

^i*,,^

amendment and the liberal arts tradition. Modeling and
teaching that kind of reflective dialogue is the core of the liberal
arts mission.

To maintain Agnes Scott's vital role in nourishing the kind of
talk that supports rather than undermines self-governance, all
college constituencies must be dedicated to encouraging free
speech on campus. Our very democracy, as well as our educa-
tional heritage, depends on it.

Gus Cochran is Adeline A. Loridans Professor of Political Science and author of
Democracy Heading South: National Politics in the Shadow of Dixie and
Sexual Harassment and the Law: The Mechelle Vinson Case.

FREE SPEECH EVERYONE'S RIGHT I5

The Bakersfield Bunch

/)! the late 'sos, a group oj alumniie needed jobs
iind Calijonua needed teachers. The results oj this
westward micjration have been pure gold.

by Kristin Kallaher '04 and Mary Alma Durrett

AcentuPt' after a wave of forty-niners headed to
California to stake ttieir claims, Hazel Ellis '58
and Margaret Woolfolk Webb '58 beat their
own path West to find and polish a more
valuable treasure the mmds of Bakersfield's
youth.

In 1958 Ellis and Webb were recruited to teach in
Southern California's San Joaquin River Valley, the destina-
tion of the fictitious load family immortalized in The Gnipes of
\Vi\itb- Ellis and Webb were followed by four members of the
class of 1959: Elizabeth "Betty" Garrad Saba, Leah "Bugs"
Mathev\'s Fontaine, Nancy Craves Mull and Frances Elliot
Kempen

Serendipitous circumstances led to their westward adven-
ture Ellis a Spanish major from Chesterfield, S.C., and Webb,
a psychology major from Columbus, Ga., had attended a meet-
mg in February of their senior year with a recruiter from the
Bakersfield school system. At the time, Agnes Scott had no
formal teacher-education program and neither one had ever
thought of teaching.

To tell the truth, I found [the recruiter's] lecture uninspiring,
so Margaret and I left early," says Ellis.

Within days, both Ellis and Webb received telegrams stipulat-
ing job offers with generous salaries between $4,700 and
$4,800. Master pranksters, each thought the other had sent the
telegram, so they dismissed the offers.

"There was only a two-cent difference in our salaries," Ellis
remembers. "I thought, 'somebody has sent this telegram as a joke,
and I'm not about to call and make a fool of myself.'"

But one rainy Sunday night in May, Ellis and Webb realized
they were about to graduate without jobs.

"I had not ever had the slightest idea of teaching, " Ellis says,
"but we were desperate. 1 said, 'Let's call Bakersfield ' That was
career planning 101 "

Luckily, the offers from Bakersfield desperate for teachers
were still on the table.

It was an adventurous thing to do, " says Webb, "and Agnes
Scott prepared me very well for it "

When the young women journeyed from Georgia, Bakersfield
was riding the crest of the post-World War II baby boom, causmg
swells in schuul enrollment. But Bakersfield's agricultural base and
burgeoning oil fields distinguished it from other cities. Cotton,

tomatoes, grapes, almonds, alfalfa,
oranges and olives thri\ed in the fertile soil of the San Joaquin
River Valley, while black gold had bubbled to the surface in north-
east Bakersfield in 1899. Within a decade, the nearby Lakeview
gusher helped transform the landscape of Kern County into a
forest of oil derricks. (Today, Kern County is reportedly the
number one oil-producing county in the nation.)

By the 1950s, the Okies and the Arkies who had migrated dur-
ing the Great Depression were entrenched in San Joaqums green
valley. Subsequent waves of migrant and permanent farm workers
flooded the valley to accommodate the growing farm production.

In this environment, Ellis and Webb arrived ready for their first
teaching assignments. For Webb, this meant teaching reading at
Emerson Junior FHigh School, where she taught seventh- and
eighth-graders for nine years.

"1 had taken one education class at Agnes Scott that had done
me in " Ellis laughs. "So I walked into a class of junior high

16 AGNES SCOTT THE MAb^.-:

FALL 200^1

students on my first day, not ever having taught in my life. But it
was exciting, and I had a really good feeling about it."

She felt a real bonding with the students. "It was exciting to see
the light come on when they got a concept."

While Ellis enjoys the challenge of "facing whatever needed to
be done at the moment the need arose," she admits being
discouraged by recent stresses on the state's education budget, as
well as the effects of drugs, alcohol and gang violence in the

school populations.

"Teaching in 1958 was very
different than teaching in
1999," says Ellis, who left
teaching to earn a master's in
counseling in 1981. "Many of
the students were much less
serious about school and less
willing to work hard. They
seem to have shorter attention
spans, which I attribute to tel-
evision. They felt like they
needed to be entertained,
which made it more difficult
to get them to produce."

Counseling allows Ellis

to work with students but in

a different capacity. She

contends that "seeing a

student really succeed" is

worth every bit of struggle

on her part.

Webb describes her
life in Bakersfield and her
career in teaching as a
"wonderful adventure."

After teaching sixth
grade for two years,
Webb took off when she
had her first child. She
moved back into teach-
ing by tutoring and did
not return to teaching full time
until her youngest son went to
college.

"I interviewed with the
nearby DiCiorgio school sys-
tem," says Webb, "and the prin-
cipal hired me right away. I had
to drive 25 miles to get to it,
but 1 had some wonderful kids, and that made it really fun to
teach there."

Webb, who taught second, third, and fourth grade, especially
enjoyed her fourth-grade class, which she took on field trips to
explore California missions. She retired after 10 years there.

Elizabeth "Betty" Garrad Saba followed Webb and Ellis to
Bakersfield in 1959, admitting to "a wild hair that lives in me."

Having taken no education courses and knowing her whole
life she was not going to teach, Saba turned to teaching in
Bakersfield only because three friends had signed up, and she had
entertained no other options.

Agnes Scott is the first topic of
discussion wlien these members
of the Bal<ersfield Bunch get
together. They are, left to right,
Margaret Woolfoll< Webb '58, Leah
"Bugs" IVIathews Fontaine '59,
Marguerite Kelly Pulley '69 and
Hazel Eltis '58.

"On a whim, I made the phone call, and the woman hired me
over the phone right then," she says, "not really from any assets of
my own, just from the fact that she had three of my friends from
Agnes Scott signed up, and Hazel from the year before."

Saba had never been out West, but says she was young enough
that she never looked back.

"The move was not difficult. I like to do radical things," she
says. "My parents were certain I would return home after one year,
that it would be a sightseeing tour, but it didn't turn out that way."

Saba, who met her husband the second day she was in
Bakersfield, taught eighth-grade English for two years, before she
left for "a very fulfilling life as a homemaker and volunteer in
Bakersfield."

"To not have had one thing in terms of preparation, teaching
worked out fine," Saba reflects. "The teaching-level back then was
very relaxed. I was able to formulate my own lesson plans, and I
did just fine."

'"The Bakersfield Bunch' is a natural little term," says Saba. "We
have our own version of The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."

The group, plus Marguerite Kelly Pulley '69, gets together
every four to six weeks for lunch. Ellis and Webb say the women
were drawn closer by the death of Frances Elliot Kempen '59, who
had taught kindergarten and first grade in Bakersfield.

"As we get older, we realize what a priceless thing
we have in the midst of us our friendship."

"We had all been getting together before the onset of her can-
cer, but seeing Franny decline, going through that with her and
supporting her made us more conscious of our closeness in one
another," reflects Ellis. "We found out how important we are to
one another"

"As we get older, we realize what a priceless thing we have in
the midst of us our friendship," says Saba.

"The special thing for me is just the long thread that has run
through our parallel lives," she adds. "It's a wonderfijl experience
to spend four years of college with certain women and then for
the rest of our lives be in a faraway place where it's just you your
little group that's there so that it becomes a really fulfilling
female friendship." She notes Agnes Scott is always the first item
of discussion at their get-togethers.

Although none of the women live very close together, their
contact with one another is more now than it has ever been. Saba
says the group has discussed how important having girlfriends is
at this stage of their lives.

"I'm so glad that we've come to a place historically that
women's friendships can be appreciated," she says. "They begin at
a women's college in just such a very special way. These are the
ties that bind."

Kristin Knllnbcr 'oj, ofjicc oj commmuciitions intern, is enrolled 111 the colkijes muster of
arts HI teaching secondary English procjriim. She is the 3002 and 200J recipient of the Sam
Wilson "Sally" Glendinning Journalism Award and tfcf 2004 recipient of (bf Louise
McKinney Literary Award and the George P. Hayes Fellowship Aiimrd for graduate study
in English-
Mary Alma Durrett is editor of Loose Canons at Emory University.

THE BAKERSFIELD BUNCH 17

The Art 0/ Teaching

by Beth Blaney '91, M.A.T. '95

While the ultimate goal remains the same, teaching styles evolve and change
to meet the needs oj the students. Professors at Agnes Scott find that one of the most
effective ways they improve the educational process at the college is to share
their oivn successes and failures with their colleagues.

Lesley Coia, associate professor of education, grows
animated as sfie descrifies her job.
"People become teachers because they're in love
with ideas," she says. The director of teacher education
programs at Agnes Scott, Coia projects teaching as an
intellectual profession the intellectual profession

She muses about nudging her students to become more sophis-
ticated thinkers. Helping students sort out what they believe
through writing and discussion a process she refers to as "strug-
gling through language" is her charge.

With scholarly enthusiasm, Coia speaks of Lev Vygotsky, an
early 2(lth-century Russian psychologist, who first theorized that
learning depends on interaction with others Indeed, intellectual
development requires much more than studying independently.
"Learning is a social endeavor," says Coia.
And at Agnes Scott, that's true for the faculty as well as the
students.

"Agnes Scott professors always want to learn more, " says
Christine Cozzens, professor of English These days, they're
learning a great deal from one another. "There's a lot of thotight

and conversation about teaching," she says. Faculty members
exchange ideas and experiment with new ones in the classroom.

Changes to the curriculum in recent years have initiated some
of the buzz First-Year Seminars, in particular Added to the cur-
riculum in 2001 , First-Year Seminars are designed to teach stu-
dents fresh out of high school to think critically by interpreting
alternate explanations and sharing informed opinions. Seminars
in 2004-2005 range from "The Body Chemical" and "Afterlives
and LInderworlds" to "Music in Chinese Film " and "Discourses of
Fashion."

'"Participating in the workshops preparing instructors to teach
First-\'ear Seminars has been the most fun and intellectually stim-
ulating experience I've had in teaching," says Gus Cochran,
Adeline A. Loridans Professor of Political Science. He describes
the inaugural year of the program as "a totally unexpected sur-
prise," thanks to the insights he gained from colleagues, especially
with regard to teaching writing.

"Ironically, teaching is a veiy lonely profession, " says Cochran.
"But First-Year Seminars have prompted faculty to open up and
disctiss leaching. Thevve provided a forimi for sharing ideas."

18 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 200^

This discourse fosters better teaching, according to Cozzens.
She agrees with Cochran that otherwise professors are isolated

Sharing of techniques and styles takes place in numerous set-
tings. History professor Michael Lynn says he gets new ideas by
speaking with colleagues at conferences. He likes to ask them
how they teach, and, in particular, how they assign writing. Peggy
Thompson, Ellen Douglass Leyburn Professor of English and
director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, says that in
addition to informal chats with other professors, she occasionally
observes their classes.

"I get new ideas from my colleagues, both here and at other
colleges," says Cathy Scott, professor of political science.
"Sometimes 1 stumble upon them myself, after trying something
that doesn't quite work but has potential. I also receive material
from professional organizations I belong to."

What's more, "teaching and learning" lunch meetings, which
began as summertime get-togethers five years ago, are now held
at least three times a semester. Organized by classics professor
Sally MacEwen, the meetings have covered topics such as teach-
ing writing in nonwriting courses, the use of technology in the
classroom and engaging students in higher-level reasoning.

Discussions on teaching and learning have always had a place
at Agnes Scott in a variety of contexts, according to mathematics
professor Myrtle Lewin. But with the newly established Center for
Teaching and Learning, the college has stepped up its commit-
ment to keep these fruitkil dialogues going strong.

"The Center for Teaching and Learning will reaffirm what's
always been true at Agnes Scott that teaching and learning are
primary," says Thompson, who was recently named as the center's
director. "It will provide a locus for conversations, both formal and
informal," adds Thompson. Ultimately, the center will supply
more structure and value for teaching and learning at the college.

Ever the history professor, Lynn recounts teaching styles past
to provide context for understanding paradigm shifts in pedagogy.

Lectio continuo, or continuous talking, dates back to the I 2th cen-
tury when universities began to appear in Europe, he explains.
Academics delivered lectures to impart knowledge, and lecture-
based classes prevailed for centuries.

Cochran says the dominant model of good teaching when he
came to Agnes Scott in 1973 was the lecture. While this method
of instruction was honed to a fine point by talented professors, in
his opinion, it risked encouraging passivity. Similarly, Lewin
remembers employing the old saw "teacher full, student empty,"
when she lectured large classes at engineering schools where she
first taught in the 1960s.

In the second half of the 20th century, academics began tbtnk-
ing about pedagogy. Today's teachers steer away from the passive
"I talk, you listen" model. MacEwen, who's been on faculty since
the early 1980s, says she became more "intentional" about her
instruction about 1 2 years ago as she slowly realized that a huge
body of information about teaching and learning exists. She cred-
its Tina Pippin, professor of religious studies, for being active
about new techniques. "No one told us about that in graduate
school," says MacEwen.

Likewise, Cochran says when he was pursuing his Ph.D., aspir-
ing professors weren't taught how to teach. "A Ph.D. was consid-
ered a research degree. People learned to teach by emulating role
models, though often it was by trial and error." Cochran observes
that teaching now versus then requires significantly more
attention and preparation. "1 used to think almost exclusively
about the material I'd cover in class. Now, 1 have to think more
about class dynamics, exercises, and student involvement. We're
much more self-conscious about the art of teaching and student
learning," he says.

Having long ago abandoned the lecture model, Lewin now
teaches with the belief that she must explore students' minds and
understand what they're thinking. She says she learns with her
students through discussion and helps them integrate what she's

THE CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING OPENS

Teaching and learning two interrelated activities that always
have been at the heart of the college gain a significant resource
as the Center for Teaching and Learning opens this fall. The center is
at the core of the recently adopted Quality Enhancement Plan, which
focuses on intellectual engagement at Agnes Scott.

Framers of the QEP believe this center has the potential to transform
the culture of the college. It will help faculty better understand the
research relative to enhancing intellectual engagement, especially
that having to do with women's colleges, as well as helping faculty
address special issues presented for teaching and learning by a
student body as diverse as that of this college. The QEP notes that
"Achieving real diversity in points of view is perhaps the greatest
challenge faced by any learning communication that means to foster
and encourage Intellectual engagement."

"Overall, the center fosters the art of teaching that enhances the free
and civil exchange of ideas characteristic of an intellectually vital
college," says Peggy Thompson, director, Ellen Douglass Leyburn
Professor of English. "We do this by offering programming and
resources that promote dialogue as well as disseminate information."

Some programming targets particular segments of the faculty such
as those who teach capstone or Global Awareness courses, but many
of the center's activities appeal to the faculty as a whole and thereby
encourage cross-disciplinary conversation.

Occasionally, the center will play host to a
nationally-known expert, but most of its activ-
ities will draw on the expertise of Agnes Scott
faculty. Faculty gather, for example, to
exchange ideas about broad topics such as
philosophies of teaching and more focused
issues such as designing and evaluating
group projects.

Peggy Thompson

"The center provides structure and opportunity for communal reflec-
tion on teaching and learning," says Thompson.

To Learn More:

For information on specific programs and events, look for the Center
for Teaching and Learning homepage on the college's Web site,
www.agnesscott.edu.

THE ART OF TEACHING TODAY I9

ON TEACHERS AND TEACHING

I teach because I believe it Is important to create young women who are
capable of doing new things and expanding their thinking. My most
outstanding professor at Agnes Scott was Richard Parry because he
allowed me to see the intrinsic value of obtaining knowledge.

Erika D. Robinson '02

Philosophy professor Merle Walker embodied my idea of a scholar-
brilliant, kind, receptive to our ideas, yet demanding. How often she'd
proclaim, "I don't know anything about . . ." and then wax eloquent. She
was a consummate learner/teacher. I chose the teaching profession
because I thought I had something to offer; I thought I could make the
elementary classroom a more engaging place than the classrooms I
knew as a child. Over the 20 years teaching in elementary schools and
10 years teaching at the university, I have gained a different perspective
of why I teach. I am a learner, and the field of education feeds my
passion for continuous learning. Pat Austin '72

Dr. Constance Shaw taught me to look for deeper meaning in every-
thing I read and she gave me an appreciation for poetry.

Julie Custer Altman '84

Before Margaret Pepperdene's class, I didn't understand the point of
reading and studying literature. Now, I am a book-reading addict can't
go more than 12 hours without reading something. Goingto her class
was going to a fascinating adult story time every day.

Betsy Benning Roche '84

Hands down. Myrtle Lewin is my favorite teacher. She devoted endless
hours to helping me believe in myself and a math scholar I'm not. She
helped me see more than the torture of calculus, and I laughed along
the way. She helped me develop self-confidence. I've grown into a won-
derfully determined woman because of my Agnes Scott experience, and
Dr. Lewin was an enormous part of that.

Sally Humphries Barnes '87

Chloe Steel was excellent a real battle horse; not particularly pleas-
ant to be in the classes that met every day; nowhere to hide from her
verbal question attack if you were stupid enough not to finish the 70-
page reading assignment that we had every night. As I was teaching
Balzac the other day, I remembered her comments about his descriptive
prose. Dorothy Schrader '69

Marlon T. Clark was always available to talk with his students about
anything and everything beyond just the organic chemistry lessons we
were studying. Without his inspiration, I doubt today I would have
chosen and stayed with chemistry. I worked in the field of chemistry for
many years with some moderate success due in great measure to
Marion T. Clark. - Cynthia Carter Bright '67

Dudley Sanders was the one person who inspired me to do better, to
dream bigger and to explore opportunities I hadn't considered. Dudley
told me I had some natural talent and should try out for a play. I did and
I never looked back. In theatre I found my passion, my career path and
my lifetime dream. Shannon Allen '00

Art history professor Donna Sadler taught me that the best academic
and life endeavors are distinguished by a sense of joy and awe.

Janets. Rauscher'99

Anyone who graduated from Agnes Scott in the 1990s remembers the
tall woman with the fiery red hair who would occasionally eat with us in
the dining hall. She was Barbara Blatchley, one of the most dynamic
professors in Campbell Hall. She made learning fun; even statistics
class with Dr. Blatchley was enjoyable. Amber Henry '88

I am an elementary special education teacher. I teach because
I love kids (especially those with special needs!) and crave learning.
Sara Ripy encouraged learning and had an amazing way of connecting
with students via respect and her great sense of humor. She had a great
name, too! Sarah Tarpley '91

Ayse Garden provided an example of the kind of person I wanted to be
. . . intelligent, funny, compassionate and elegant. She set standards of
excellence for which I continue to strive today. Ruth Feicht '86

Outside other knowledge of the subject area, Miriam Drucker was quiet
and patient, and her calm demeanor conveyed confidence in her
students. Despite my cluelessness, she made me really believe I had a
purpose in this life and could do almost anything.

Carol Douglas Kirshner '90

I am a teacher of science teachers. 1 help others find the "scientist"
within themselves and help them to develop inquiry skills to facilitate
learning in young children. Arthur Bowling combined fact, theory, and
a bit of humor to engage us in critical thought.

Katie Pattillo Fisher '90

George Hayes was a gifted teacher, whether his subject was Victorian
poets, Shakespeare comedies, or Greek literature. He made compar-
isons, such as that of the Greek heroes to professional football players,
that opened up our conventional '50s small-town minds to infinite
possibilities. He changed the way I look at things, therefore, my life.

Rebecca Wilson Guberman '60

I model my teaching after John Tumblin and show my students how art
provides connections among and between all the facets of their lives.

Martie Moore '74

I was in awe of Kathryn Glick from the very beginning of college. I
remember most the time she kept me after class to tell me to stop feel-
ing inferior to some of the girls who were more show-offy in class. She
really raised my self-esteem and my sense of what women intellectu-
alsand college teachers could be in the days when those concepts
weren't as well known as they are today. Susan McCann Butler '68

Kate McKemie cared about my whole person, helped me balance the
demands of a new college life and shared her life with me through
family stories. She yelled "Mornin' glories" from her office window each
morning as my friends and I started the day sometimes jolting us
awake. -Janet Kelly Jobe '78

20 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2OO4

teaching with what they already know. "Much of their existing
knowledge is vahd. But when necessary, 1 try to guide them to
admit new ideas by relinquishing problematic preconceived
notions those riddled with logical inconsistencies and other
inhibitors to learning. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't,"
says Lewin. "A student layers what she learns, so her background
is important to consider."

Coia agrees that effective teaching requires getting to know
your students. Speaking with them is important, she says. Straight
lecture doesn't allow room for student-teacher dialogues.

Just as the teaching profession has evolved, so has the way
students learn. "Today's students respond to the challenge of
active learning," says Cochran. They don't want to be passive in
the classroom.

"College students seem to learn best when they're actively
involved and responding to books, articles and monographs, and
the ideas that flow out of them," says Scott. "The one-hour lecture,
for good or ill, is a thing of the past." Scott says she still often
begins her classes with every intention of delivering a cliffhanger
lecture. "But students invariably raise questions or points, and it
turns into a discussion."

Interaction in the Agnes Scott classroom is key. Psychology
professor Barbara Blatchley describes her style of teaching as con-
versational. "Several of the classes I teach cover material that's
considered especially difficult statistics and bio-psychology, in
particular. I put a great deal of effort into allaying fears and mak-
ing the material accessible. I present the difficult bits as a subject
of conversation and try to draw the students into joining me in the
discussion," says Blatchley.

Classics professor Jim Abbot says he recently used papers
called "think pieces" as the main work of his First-Year Seminar on
tricksters. Students were required to react in writing to an
assigned work. Their written reflections then became the starting
point for class discussions. Also, after class, Abbot wrote a
thoughtful response to each student's ideas. While it required a lot
of effort on his part to go a step beyond correcting grammatical
mistakes, he considered these intellectual exchanges between pro-
fessor and student to be indispensable. Students were surprised
and engaged by the in-depth feedback they received, says Abbot.

Breaking a class into small groups also gets students engaged,
especially students who tend to say less in larger settings.
"Students process content so much better when they're leading a
discussion," says Cozzens.

But that's not to say lecture is entirely dead in Agnes Scott
classrooms.

"Teaching can't be all group work, debate and discussion," says
Cochran. "Teachers still need to deliver some instruction by
lecture." He thinks a plurality of approaches works best in the
classroom.

incorporating multiple styles in their teaching clearly suits
Agnes Scott professors. "1 like to try out different pedagogical
techniques as the appropriate situation arises," says Lynn.

The dawn of another academic year finds professors retooling
their courses with both minor tweaks and massive overhauls.

Dennis McCann, Wallace M. Alston Professor of Bible and
Religion and chair of religious studies, is committed to building a
sense of community among students. Last year in his First-Year
Seminar, "The Ways of China: Building a Spiritual and Material
Civilization," he took his students out as many professors do

for a celebratory meal at the end of the course. This year, he'll
plan an outing earlier in the semester, it's a small change, but it's
sure to have far-reaching benefits on class dynamics, not to men-
tion the insights he'll gain about his students much sooner.

Scott's U.S. foreign policy class will undergo significant
changes. She says students will write memos, argue before a mock
United Nations and role play as members of the State Department
and Defense Department. "The exercises ensure that we'll address
multiple points of view," notes Scott.

Experimenting with film in the classroom is increasingly pop-
ular at Agnes Scott, and Lynn plans to give it a try. in his
"Medieval Civilization" course this year, he'll incorporate a vari-
ety of historical films such as The Seventh Seal He plans to treat film
like a historical monograph. "An argument is made through film
like it is in texts.

Students can't just read the book or view the film, they have to
think about it," says Lynn. What's more, his history students must
learn the language of cinema to express how they're thinking
about film a language Lynn will also learn prior to teaching
the course.

It's important for students to see their professors developing
too, says Lewin. "They tend to view us as having stopped learn-
ing, as being completely educated in our subjects."

On the contrary, professors at Agnes Scott have an insatiable
appetite for growth and change. They're risk-takers. They're not
afraid to try something new that might fall flat in the classroom.
More important, they're lifelong learners learning frequently
from one another.

When asked where she's headed with her teaching, Thompson
replies: "After 19 years, I'm ready to rethink everything I do. I'm
very interested in new ideas."

Without a doubt, the new Center for Teaching and Learning
will open a world of possibilities for keeping the faculty energized
about fine-tuning their craft.

Beth Blaney '91, AIA.T" '95 carneA an tA.A. m crtatwe tioii/iclioH at Columbia
University, and leaches a iwnfiction writing course at Agnes Scott,

tiiiiYi I

THE ART OF TEACHING TODAY 21

22 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 200^

Homeschooling's lure turns

many alumnae into their children's

K-i2 teachers while this increasingly popular

educational trend delivers to the college

students who are ready to cjo.

Parents as Teachers

by Melanie S. Best '79

For Tracy Bengtson '84, the turning point came about two years ago, after one too
many late nights helping her daughter with math homework. "It was always, 'We
didn't get to this in class can you help me?'" recounts Bengtson.

"We'd never considered it," says Bengtson, but the repeated 10 p.m. homework
sessions convinced her and husband David homeschooling was the way to regain
control of family life.

Watching "the lights come on" as her three children grew propelled Leslie Doyle
Brenegar '79 into homeschooling. "It was such a pleasure to observe their 'ah-ha'
moments," says Brenegar. "I didn't want to give them over to someone else for eight
hours a day." A desire to ground her three children in the Christian faith moved
Gretchen Pfeiffer Foley '87 to educate them at home. "I consider it a calling," she says.

Through homeschooling, the family of Megan Morris '05, who has three
siblings, found a way to minimize the disruption of frequent relocations. The Puerto
Rican parents of Sofia Becerra-Licha '04 decided educating their three children at home
would preserve their fluency in Spanish culture and language.

PARENTS AS TEACHERS 23

These members of the Agnes Scott community personify
different currents of homeschooling. Although its share of the
school pie is small, homeschooling may be the largest and most
important trend in American education today, signaling a rising
demand for greater educational choice and renewed interest in
classical education. And as a social movement, homeschooling is
expanding the family unit's sphere of responsibility and authority

As a news-making phenomenon, homeschoohng seems to
have sprouted and blossomed during the past 30 years, yet home-
schoolers have always existed in this country. Public education did
not become widespread until the United States industrialized and
urbanized. The first law making school attendance compulsory
passed in Massachusetts in 1852 But a century later, social reform-
ers began questioning the value of mandatory attendance, and the
tlickerings of homeschooling in the 1960s and '70s tended to
reflect anti-establishment impulses. Some historians believe a
change in tax laws in the 1980s, which led numerous Christian
schools to close, spurred the boom in faith-driven home educa-
tion in that decade Since the 1990s, a new generation of assertive
and often well-educated parents, determined to take charge of
their children's education, have broadened the movement.

Homeschooling is now legal in every state. Most require
teaching parents to have a high school diploma or GED and to
register their children with the local school board, but beyond
ihosc minimLims, regulatory oversight varies.

Statistics are hotly debated because of different reporting
requirements across jurisdictions, the disaggregated nature of
home-based study and the fact that some homeschooling families
choose to fly below the radar screen of state scrutiny. Although
competing studies purported numbers as high as 690,000, the
Educational Resources Information Center in 1995 calculated
about 500,000 children were being educated at home that year
approximately 1 percent of the total school-age population By
2000, the home-educated population had risen to 1 .6 percent to
2 percent of the total somewhere between 850,000 and 1.2
million by most counts (some say it's closer to 2 million).

This population is unevenly distributed, however. Where net-
works of homeschoolers coalesce, and are reinforced by a recep-
tive wider community, the numbers grow in the Southeast, for
instance. Georgia counted 32,309 children 2 percent of its
school-age popLilation being educated at home in 2001-2002.
The advocacy group North Carolinians for Home Education
reported at least 53,000 homeschooled children as of July 2003,
about 3.6 percent of North Carolina's school-age children

And homeschooling's demographics do not mirror the diver-
sity of the US population. A study published in the May 16,
2002, Education Polny Analysis Archives, a peer-reviewed scholarly
lournal, finds SLich families tend to be non-Hispanic white, with
three or more children, headed by a married couple with moder-
ate to high levels of education and income and with one adult out
of the labor force.

Given home education's popularity in Southeastern states, the
academic rigor of many homeschool curricula and the personal-
ized learning environments of homeschool settings, there would
seem to be a natural affinity between homeschooling and the
Agnes Scott educational experience. The size and intimacy of a
residential liberal-arts college, which lets students make creative
choices, renders Agnes Scott an appealing place for homeschooled
women, according to Stephanie P-almer, dean of admission and

associate vice president for enrollment

Yet, Balmer admits, the explosion in homeschooled applicants
the college anticipated in the mid-1990s has not materialized.
The first homeschool applicant was enrolled in 1995, and while
homeschooling overall is gaining some momentum, the ASC
homeschooled population remains fairly flat. Consistent with the
pattern of recent years, six of the 1 ,252 applications received for
the ASC class of 08 were from homeschoolers.

Aided by greatly enhanced documentation of homeschool
coursework, more than 1,000 US colleges and universities,
including Ivy League schools, now admit home-educated appli-
cants. Accrediting agencies that issue formal certification to stand
in (or high-school diplomas have emerged. Admissions officers
have devised standards for evaluating homeschooled applicants,
and Agnes Scott is typical in requiring them to submit scores from
at least three SAT II subject tests.

From an academic standpoint, what most distinguishes home-
schooling from traditional public or private education is the
widespread adherence to a "classical" curriculum, which
organizes study around language and history Explicitly Christian
curricula also abound An array of textbook publishers and cur-
riculum developers have sprung up to serve homeschoolers, and
many families partake of materials from several simultaneously.

Eight o'clock on a weekday morning finds Miranda and Miles
Bengtson, sixth- and fourth-graders, respectively, pulling out their
Saxon program math books home educators are advised to start
off with math, because it demands the most mental energy and
settling down at the kitchen table or in their rooms. "I'm available,
if they need me," says their mother, "but 1 don't have to teach them."
After an hour, if it's autumn, they shift to grammar, using books
from the A Beka series (After Christmas, writing replaces gram-
mar.) Next comes Latin study and recitation, using Latin

A new generation of assertive and

often well-educated parents, determined to

take charge of their children's education,

have broadened the movement.

Christiana books and flashcards, followed by history, usuallv four
days a week, or science on the other days In October, the
Bengtson children were covering thermodynamics, the tollowing
semester they would switch to astronomy. For history, lhe\' use
The Well-Trained Mind curriculum's Stotj of ihc World stor\'book.

The Bengtson school day ends with French, guided by the
Learnables program. At noon or 12:30, formal class work is fin-
ished, leaving afternoons free for piano lessons and art classes,
Miranda's dance instruction she plans to become a professional
dancer and Miles' baseball practice, as well as unstniclured play.

Leslie Brenegar also puts history up front Brenegar, who has
sampled different study programs and improvised her own courses
dtiring the more than 10 years she's been doing it, says, "They
need to read biographies and historical fiction, to learn what

2^ AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

happened before and after and to create a cultural context." Her
oldest, Troop, as a high-school senior, chose this year to study
Celtic history and selected nine books covering the time of
Caesar to the 20th century for his reading list.

The image of homeschooling families as islands of academic
self-sufficiency is a distorted one in most cases, given that com-
munities where homeschooling is especially popular have
spawned specialty schools, arts centers and tutoring programs tar-
geted to these children. The parallel teaching establishment it has
engendered is one of homeschooling's most striking impacts on
the educational system.

If homeschooling by its nature manifests families' desire for
more educational choices, the market is responding enthusiasti-
cally. Looking ahead, homeschooling parent Susan Whitten
Padgett '83, whose children are 10, 7 and 5, is eyeing centers in
Charlotte, N.C., where home-study students can take a class in
any subject that may be too daunting for parent-instructors. "It
makes sense for high-school science, or a foreign language you
don't know," she says.

Miles and Miranda Bengtson have enrolled in midday classes
tailored to homeschoolers at Charlotte's Matthews Playhouse and
the North Carolina Shakespeare Theatre. Private art schools and
music teachers welcome homeschooling clientele because these
students can attend when others are in traditional classrooms.

Troop Brenegar and younger brother Stewart jumped a premier
violin teacher's waiting list because they were free to take lessons
on a weekday morning.

Professionals, particularly in medicine and the sciences, moon-
light as teachers for small homeschooler groups. Becerra-Licha
knows of a high-school science teacher who in off-hours runs a

chemistry class in her well-equipped home laboratory. An obste-
trician in Hendersonville, N.C., teaches human anatomy to
homeschooled high schoolers on his day off. The mother of
Catherine Crompton '06 discovered a "homeschool hangout" in
Alpharetta, Ga., where parents sell used textbooks and barter
specialty teaching skills.

Standardized curricula and accreditation have muted charges
that home education, with teacher-mothers signing off on
unverifiable report cards, is not rigorous. But serious criticism
remains: that homeschooled children are socially isolated and
unexposed to diverse world views, and that homeschool families
have withdrawn from the overall educational and civic life of their
communities.

Homeschool families can be acutely aware of the stigma
school teachers and administrators, friends and neighbors ascribe
to homeschooling, and some go out of their way to disprove unfa-
vorable stereotypes. Morris, an English and German major at
Agnes Scott, was an exemplar of volunteer service in high
school acting one day a week as a costumed docent at the
Atlanta History Center, another day assisting at a therapeutic
equestrian program for the handicapped. Padgett claims home-
educated youngsters more easily socialize across age lines than
those brought up in age-segregated classrooms. "My middle child
plays with 3-year-olds as well as 9-year-olds," she notes.

But social isolation, particularly among religious consewatives,
is an explicit goal of some homeschool families. And volunteer
work, at a food bank or nursing home, is not the same as working
through the PTA to effect change in local schools. Nevertheless,
the negative branding seems to have dissipated as homeschooling
has spread. Becerra-Licha recalls that when people would ask,
"What school do you go to?" it felt like a hostile question.
Standing up for being different made her stronger, "but it's easier
now because more people are likely to have come in contact with
homeschooling."

From Agnes Scott's experience, what most distinguishes home-
schooled women from their peers once they reach college?
According to Balmer, a few cannot adjust to the formalized struc-
ture of a residential college. But parents, administrators and stu-
dents themselves insist most homeschooled students carry into
college a great strength; self-directedness. "At the middle and
high end, they are such self-starters," says Balmer

In fact, the autonomy home-educated students take on at an
early age can make traditional college classrooms seem like a step
backward. "It was odd the first year at Agnes Scott, being in
lectures where 1 felt spoon-fed," recalls Becerra-Licha, a talented
singer who hopes to become an ethnomusicologist. "I was used to
learning everything myself, so lectures made me feel less" she
pauses, searching for the right word "responsible."

Regardless of their particular circumstances, homeschooling
signifies that families have wrested back from a highly-structured
education system precious time and the freedom to use that time
as they wish. This achievement is one of their proudest accom-
plishments. Notes Brenegar, "Every single one of their public
school friends says, 'I wish 1 was homeschooled,' because of the
freedom my children have."

Melaine S. Best '79, ajmlance jounuilist living in Hohoken, N.J.. specializes in interna-
tional business anA culture.

PARENTS AS TEACHERS 25

BODY

Realizincj she is teaching jar more than French,

an Agnes Scott professor jeels compelled to risk

sharing with the young women in her classroom ^=s.

and with the rest of the world what she has learned

through her struggle with body image.

by Julia K. De Free

I

t is late August 2001 at Agnes Scott. I am sitting
with a group of nervous first-year students and parents. The spare air-conditioned classroom contrasts with
ihe lush green heat outside. John Lucy [then director of personal counseling, now associate dean of
students] and I are conducting an orientation session, and he has asked them to articulate their most
persistent fear as they begin college.

More often than the fear of meeting high academic standards, the young women cited the fear of
gaining weight. Once the first student admitted to this fear, others nodded and repeated it.

As I looked around the room at their faces darkened with worry, my heart sank. I thought of all the
mental energy being spent on this preoccupation, grieving the fact that young women continue to be so
oppressed by the cultural mandate to be slim. And I remembered my own experience, being 1 8, confused
and anorexic, and being ;: i r ified of gaining weight during my first year at Duke University.

26 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 200if

I had become anorexic in high school, starting in 1983, and
had not received adequate treatment for my anorexia. During this
time, my torso was outlined with the straight rows of my visible
ribs. My body then was weak and dangerously emaciated less
than 120 pounds on my 5-foot, 10-inch frame and my menstrual
cycle had completely shut down.

To be young and female in contemporary American culture is
to confront a relentless and erroneous mind-body equation. The
equation proclaims that your personal identity and individual
worth are intricately bound up with your weight and body shape.
The lower the better, the smaller the better Some researchers
have called the effect of our dieting culture "the invisible girdle."

By the time 18-year-old women enter their first college

classroom, they have been bombarded by countless images,
slogans and ads that systematically erode their potential for self-
acceptance. The overridmg cultural message to girls and women
is: you should take up as little space as possible. In the absence of
any resistance to this cultural message, girls internalize it and try
to conform to it.

As an educator, 1 began to notice ways in which this cultural
"body story" was affecting my students' reactions to me. During
the space of several years, 1 learned how to fine-tune my aware-
ness of their curiosity, and 1 realized that students were often as
interested in my personal body story as they were in my
intellectual strengths. Once during a French 202 class, 1 men-
tioned the fact that I had two daughters as an example illustrating

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT BODY STORY

1

h

torn

SIORY

\

ij

juiic < DePree

Q: What prompted you to write BodyStoryl

A: Body Story began as a chapter in a dif-
ferent manuscript that I was writing on psy-
choanalytic theory, it then took on a life of
its own and became its own book. I have
yet to expand the original project on trans-
ference and its relation to what I call the
"scene of writing." I may never get back to
the manuscript origin of Body Story. But I
am glad that Body Story was the result!
Writing generally involves detours such as
this. It is an adventure.

have a full recovery, 30 percent have a partial recovery, and 20
percent have no substantial improvement."

I would not say I have succeeded in a full recovery in the truest
sense. I still struggle. For example, the holidays are a difficult time,
as they are for everyone! That being said, I am convinced that writ-
ing Body Story has opened me up to my experience, and laid it on
the page, in a very candid way, for the reader. IVIy hope is that my
writing might provide insight to readers who are seeking some
understanding in their own lives.

Q: What advice can you give to people who are struggling with body
image problems, disordered eating or a clinical eating disorder?

Also, my role as a professor at a women's college revealed to me how
many women focus excessively on their weight and image, and I
realized how deeply I wanted to share my story.

Q: What was the writing experience like for you?

A: This story more or less poured out of me. I wrote it in the spring
of 2002 in the space of about five months. I think this is because it
had been queued up, or dammed up, in my mind for many years. IVly
experience in psychoanalysis is what loosened up the log jam and
opened me up to write the memoir.

Q: Can you say something about the title of your book?

A: My advice is to resist the cultural onslaught of images and lies
the extreme makeovers, the red carpet, achieving size zero. Our cul-
ture is currently a house of distorted mirrors. The fact that clothing
manufacturers even create a size zero tells us a lot. I know that this
resistance is easier said than done. I believe that my own means of
resistance came about through the writing of my story putting my
experience into crafted language as a means of making some sense
out of it, if not completely getting past it. I believe that good writing
can redeem us from the distortions of the cultural mirrors.

Also, I encourage anyone struggling with an eating disorder to seek
professional help. This is not just an issue about one's looks or
image. Eating disorders are serious and life-threatening illnesses.

A: I chose the title in order to encompass all readers. Each and every
one of us has a body story that is unique. I have never met any
woman who has not suffered in some way due to the absurdly
unrealistic body ideal that is set before her. Increasingly, men are
afflicted by the same pressures that have oppressed women
for decades.

Q: How has writing this book helped you with your recovery?

A: In addition to writing my personal story, I have researched eating
disorders fairly extensively. Anorexia nervosa has a relatively poor
recovery rate overall. The Harvard Eating Disorders Center cites the
following percentages: "About half of those with anorexia or bulimia

Q: How does clinical depression factor into the book?

A: Clinical depression very often accompanies eating disorders in
terms of the etiology of both illnesses. They are like intertwined, tan-
gled weeds. In my case, the depression that accompanied my
anorexia remained more or less tolerable until I faced the challenges
of career and motherhood. At that point I knew I had a huge task
ahead of me: to confront both of the afflictions once and for all and
to get better. I had to do this for myself, but even more for my two
young daughters, lam incredibly grateful for the progress that I have
made. I am more open to living now. Writing this book has been a
part of that opening up.

30DY STORY 27

a grammatical structure. A student in the back row blurted out, in
English, "1 can't believe you have two children, you're so tiny."
That was a strange teaching moment. There were other questions
and comments, particularly during my pregnancy with my second
daughter. "You don't even look pregnant," was the reaction I heard
most often.

"I wanted to transform my personal

experience into something useful for my students,

a story for others to read."

Although 1 did not enjoy the mtrusive nature ot these personal
comments, 1 do not fault the students for them,- having internal-
ized the cultural message about women's bodies, it was natural for
them to try to read into my own. Nevertheless, this aspect of my
interactions with students continued influencing my thinking
about my struggle with anorexia and my painstaking recovery.
Their transference was like a grain of sand inside a dark shell, a
mild irritant that began to create something new.

1 wrote my just-published memoir. Body Story, for many
reasons, some of which remain opaque to me, like the dark light
inside of the closed shell. But the students and the teaching envi-
ronment at Agnes Scott are important reasons that compelled me
to create something new a pearl, if I am lucky within writing.
I wanted to take up some narrative space, to claim my experience
within language and to invite it to be read.

The personal is not only political, but also intellectual. And if
It were to be intellectual, then it had to be artistic. 1 wanted to
transform my personal experience into something useful for my
students, a story for others to read. I wanted to teach to the whole

person, not just to the intellect, and for that to happen it was
natural for me to create a kind of literary self-portrait of myself as
a whole person mind, body, and soul, in sickness and in health.

In her influential book Writinij a Woman's Life, Carolyn Heilbrun
wrote "women of accomplishment, in unconsciously writing their
future lived lives, or, more recently, in trying honestly to deal in
written form with lived past lives, have had to confront power and
control. ... Power is the ability to take one's place in whatever
discourse is essential to action and the right to have one's part
matter" In writing the text of my body's story, 1 wanted to repre-
sent the dangerous effects of our culture's powerful influence on
girls and women

Publishing my memoir has felt risky. I have opened up another
realm of my life for anyone who cares to read it This is the realm
of the personal, of my physical and emotional struggle with
anorexia and with depression. TTie writing takes up a kind of space
that our culture does not openly invite women to inhabit. The risk
of taking up that written space has made me understand my life
better as a woman and as a teacher. 1 dedicate that risk and that
space to all of the students I have ever taught and to those yet
to come.

Julio K Di Pm, associiUe professor of French, jomed f))f Agi\es Scott faculty in 1 996.
She is also (bf (iii(fcoro/The Ravishment of Persephone; Epistolary Lyric in the
Siecle des Lumieres.

Body Story, puhhsheii by Ohio University Press, is available at the Agnes Scott College
bookstore and other bookstores around the loiiiitry.

TO LEARN MORE

Harvard Eating Disorders Center: www.hedc.org/

-^ rwA.A'.kj

FACTS AND FINDINGS FROM THE HARVARD EATING DISORDERS CENTER

Facts

More than 5 million Americans experience eating disorders.

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder are
diseases that affect tfie mind and body simultaneously.

Three percent of adolescent and adult women and 1 percent of men
have anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder.

A young woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die than
other women her age without anorexia.

Fifteen percent of young women have substantially disordered
eating attitudes and behaviors.

Between 10 percent and 15 percent of those diagnosed with
bulimia nervosa are men.

Forty percent of fourth-graders report that they diet either "very
often" or "sometimes."

About half of those with anorexia or bulimia have a full recovery,
30 percent have a partial recovery and 20 percent have no sub-
stantial improvement.

Findings

In a study of children ages 8 to 10, approximately half of the girls
and one third of the boys were dissatisfied with their size.
However, most dissatisfied girls wanted to be thinner while about
equal numbers of dissatisfied boys wanted to be heavier. Boys
wanted to grow into their bodies, whereas girls were more worried
about their bodies growing.

In a study of girls ages 9 to 12, slightly more than half reported
exercising to lose weight, slightly less than half reported eating
less to lose weight and approximately one out of 20 reported
using diet pills or laxatives to lose weight.

Recent findings indicate that girls who smoke to suppress their
appetite are a group of new nicotine addicts.

Girls participating in elite competitive sports, such as ice-skating,
gymnastics, crew and dance, in which body shape and size are a
factor in performance, are more at risk for eating disorders than
girls who do not compete in such sports. Boys who participate in
similar sports, including wrestling, are also at increased risk.

28 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 700^

From War to Education

War survivors an alumna and two students
share intensely personal stories oj their journey from
war-torn countries to Agnes Scott, as well as insights
on the lingering effects oj that journey.

ARJANA MAHMUTOVIC LILIC '99
by Allison Adams '89

Sometimes Arjana Mahmutovic Lilies stomach still leaps
at an unexpected knock on the door.
"During the war," explains the tall, poised woman
whose manner is calm and smile is broad, "when some-
body knocked, you knew it was the Serbs coming to
take you away."

In the tidy serenity of the new Tucker, Ga., townhouse Lilic
shares with her husband, Rusmin, and their chow-shepherd mix.
Max, it is difficult to imagine the trauma of her life a decade
before. In December 1994, Lilic, her parents and her younger
sister arrived in the United States as refugees from Bosnia, where
ethnic strife had erupted into war. But she won't forget her ordeal,
and it has inspired her to leadership in Atlanta's Bosnian commu-
nity of about 10,000.

Following the 1992 collapse of the Soviet Union, Radovan
Karadzic led the Serbian Nationalist militia in an occupation of
Bosnia, where a multitude of ethnic and religious groups had long
peacefully coexisted. The intent of the Serbian Nationalists was
"ethnic cleansing" to systematically eliminate all non-Serbians,
chiefly Muslim Bosnians and Croats. From 1992 until 1995, more
than 3 million people lost their homes. Some 175,000 people
were wounded, and 275,000 were killed or went missing.

Lilic's family is from Doboj, a small city in northern Bosnia.
Her father, a community business leader, was an electrical engi-
neer and her mother a restaurant owner,

"The life was good," says Lilic. "We were considered upper-
middle class in the town."

When Karadzic's troops occupied Doboj in May 1992, "it was
just like the movies," says Lilic, who was 1 3. "One morning we
woke up and heard the soldiers going around saying everyone

"One night [my mother] just

showed up at the door ... with the most

beautiful face I have ever seen. That was

the happiest day of my life."

should turn themselves in they had the city surrounded." The
family hoped to leave through one of the exits left open from the
city for a small time, but they waited too long for their extended
family to join them. The others were unable to cross a checkpoint
because they were Muslim. Lilic and her family were trapped

The Mahmutovic family hid in the home of their neighbors, a
sympathetic Serbian man and his Muslim wife. "You couldn't live
in your house," Lilic explains. "But if you abandoned it, someone
would move in and take it over." So Lilic's mother stayed in their
house at night. "We thought because she was a woman, no one
would do anything to her."

About a month into the siege, however, someone exposed
them to the militia. "They pulled my mother out, put a gun to her
head and told my father if he didn't come out they would kill his
wife," Lilic says. "So of course my father came out. They started
beating him right there in the street. I watched from a window."

Her father was taken to a concentration camp, a converted fac-
tory in the city. For three months he was beaten and tortured
while his wife worked desperately for his release. "She collected
anything we had of value in the house to bribe someone," says
Lilic. "And she did get him out."

But under Serbian control, Muslims could not work or go to
school, bank accounts were frozen, and curfews limited their
movement. "Everything was gone," says Lilic. "We had no food.
We would cook grass to survive. One day someone found a cow,
so we had milk.

"I had never prayed in my life, but my grandfather had taught
me how. All I did, especially when my father was taken away, was
read books. And when I got tired of reading, 1 would pray: 'One
day we are going to get out.' That was all 1 could think about."

In September, Lilic's mother arranged for their evacuation to
Croatia, but she stayed behind. "There was no room for her,"
explains Lilic. "And she hoped she could save our property
because everyone thought the war would be over soon."

FROM WAR TO EDUCATION 29

It was not But a year later, Lilic's mother escaped She bribed
one of Radovan Karadzic's assistants into smuggling her out of
Bosnia, through Serbia to Belgrade in Karadzic's car. From
Belgrade, she managed to get to Croatia For seven days the family
did not hear from her. 'Then one night she just showed up at the
door," Lilic recalls. "She was in a coat and hat with the most beau-
tiful face I have ever seen That was the happiest day of my life."

For two years the family tried to establish citizenship in
Croatia, but rising hostilities between Muslims and Croats dis-
couraged them So they immigrated to the United States. Having
requested resettlement m a warm climate and strong economy,
they arrived at HartsHeld International Airport on [5ec. 5, 1994
After spending two months at a transitional community that helps
refugee families adjust to living in the United States, the
Mahmutovics moved into an Clarkston apartment for two years
while they rebuilt their lives.

Both Lilic, then 1 6, and her sister worked part-time jobs while
attending school, and her parents each held two jobs They saved
enough for a down payment on a house in Stone Mountain Lilic,
who speaks six languages, became the chief negotiator for her
family She also was frequently called upon to help other refugees
with matters such as doctor's visits and financial transactions. "It
made me more mature before 1 was ready, " she says. "There was
pressure to make sure everything was right. But I don't regret it
I'm glad I was able to help."

Lilic enrolled in Georgia State University, but she felt a need
for a greater challenge Through All Saints' Episcopal Church,
which had sponsored her family when they first arrived, she met
Betty Derrick '68, special assistant to the vice president for student
life and community relations and dean of students at Agnes Scott

"When she visited the college, she fell in love with it immedi-
ately," says Derrick "We held our breath because we needed to
figure out how to get her here, but Arjana was ahead of us She
had looked at what she could earn, what she could borrow. She
was so mature, pragmatic and grounded, it was very humbling."

With a scholarship, Lilic enrolled as a resident student her jun-
ior year and majored in economics. Last December, she com-
pleted an MBA at Georgia State. She works as a manager for a
telecommunications consulting company.

Establishing economic security for herself, her family and her
community is part of what has driven her. "I know what 1 went
through, how tough it was on my family, " she says. "It's a Bosnian
tradition to own your own house. You want to be independent
not relying on anybody else to help you out."

Lilic is active in several nonprofit organizations, serving often
as a translator and a liaison with the Bosnian community. She is on
the board of Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of
Atlanta and volunteers with ArtReach, which is committed to
healing children's trauma caused by war or natural disaster, and
with the Bosnian-American Society, which sponsors the education
of young Bosnian scholars who were orphaned by the war. F^er
volunteer work has become a sincere passion and a possible future
career path

"Because I'm able to, I want to help as much as possible," she
says. "I'm not going in be hungry if I give away my time or my
money."

Alliion Adams '89 is a wrikr and editor al Emnry University, where she canted her nuiiter'',
degree in English.

AMIRA CERIMOVIC '07 AND KALEH KARIM '07
by Victoria F. Stopp 'oi

For Amira Cerimovic '07 and Kaleh Karim '07, the route
to Agnes Scott was circuitous and dangerous. Now
best friends, they are also refugees.
Cerimovic fled from her home in Zvornik, Bosnia,
after Serbian fighters marauded her town, killing civil-
ians. Her father was a victim of Serbian violence, as were other
members of her extended family. Karim, who is Kurdish, escaped
genocide in northern Irncj in 1986. Both women were children
when they fled the violence

"My father was a mechanical engineer, " says Cerimovic. "He
had nothing to do with the army. People warned him that we were
going to get attacked and that they would only kill men. He left,
but couldn't stay away from his family when people were shoot-
ing at them He came back and they [the Serbs] put him in a car
and took him. It's been twelve years."

30 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

"At the time we left, there was genocide against the Kurds,"
says Karim. "Five thousand people were killed in one day. One of
our houses was bombed, and one we had to leave. We had noth-
ing. We went barefoot and lived in caves for two months, and
after that we walked. Our main transportation was a donkey, and
we crossed over the mountains and then went to Iran."

War, hardships and politics caused both women's families to
move multiple times before reaching the United States. They
learned new languages, said goodbye to friends and family and

"We had nothing. We went barefoot and lived

in caves for two months. Our main transportation

was a donkey, and we crossed over the

mountains and then went to Iran."

worked hard to adapt to each country's customs. English is
Cerimovic's fourth language, although she only counts it as her
third because she says she's forgotten Dutch. Karim speaks differ-
ent dialects of Kurdish and Urdu plus Persian and English. She
learned Spanish in high school and plans to take Arabic at Emory
University next year.

"The hardest thing about being a refugee has been leaving,
moving a lot, not having stability," says Karim. "You can't have
friends. I had to say goodbye, and I didn't have a stable language
We had to leave Iran and go to Pakistan in 1991 because the war
between Iran and Iraq started. We were considered Iraqis, not
Kurds, because nobody recognized Kurds. We stayed in Pakistan
for eight years. We were just looking for a safe place to live."

That safe place was the United States where Karim and her
family landed five years ago.

Cerimovic, her mother and younger brother first fled to
Slovenia, where they stayed for about three years. They then
landed in the Netherlands, then Germany and finally the United
States in 1999.

"When we first started, there were a lot of people donating, but
after a while people quit donating and we had to move," says
Cerimovic. "it's hard not having a complete family. We ran out of
food and necessities. The first couple of months were hard, but
you adjust," she says. "1 liked the Netherlands. I was just a kid, and
it was fun. But as a kid you miss out on certain things because it
takes a lot to learn the language, and while you're learning the lan-
guage you cannot learn the curriculum for your age. I was forced
to catch up."

Karim and Cerimovic met while working at Refugee Family
Services, a Clarkston, Ga., organization that works to improve the
lives of local refugees especially children.

"Not only do 1 tutor the students, 1 try to get them used to life
here," says Karim. "I try to be a friend they can rely on and talk to
when they need something or when they have a problem at
school. Usually, when you come to a different country, parents
have a harder time adjusting to the culture as opposed to the kids.
I try to be there to give them advice. '

Although Cerimovic no longer works at Refugee Family

Services, she works in the nursery of St. Luke's Episcopal Church,
does filing for a cardiologist at DeKalb Medical Center and plays
a strong role in her family such as going to parents' meetmgs at
her 1 3-year-old brother's school because their mother speaks lit-
tle English. Karim, who lives in Clarkston with her parents and
two younger sisters, also handles a tight schedule, working at the
Agnes Scott post office and as a tutor and mentor at Refugee
Family Services.

"I'm involved in the Muslim Student Association and I am the
co-president of FHabitat for F^umanity. I'm in Tri Beta, and the
handiwork club also," says Karim of her Agnes Scott activities.

Both women think they have found a permanent home in the
United States, despite sometimes dealing with prejudice.

"I was really looking forward to the United States," says
Cerimovic. "It's very different from Europe. When I first got here,
I had a feeling that everyone was welcome, but after Sept. 11,1
realized it's not as easy to be accepted. Most people working at
Refugee Services are of different colors and religions, and they
were affected by it," she says. "A lot of people are afraid to be dif-
ferent. You have to show them that it's all right to be different."

Karim agrees.

"People are not as willing to understand your differences," says
Karim. "I think that's most difficult, not just for refugees but for
any foreigner."

Although they discovered Agnes Scott in different ways
Karim because she served on a post-September 1 1 panel at the
school dealing with the effects of terrorism on the lives of
refugees, and Cerimovic while chaperoning refugee children to
the campus to give them a taste of college both women were
impressed with the college and decided to apply.

"The people are so friendly here," says Karim. "I feel at home.
I just love it here, and I want to thank all the people who have been
so welcoming and so understanding. Dr. Gibson is awesome. He's
so willing to talk, so open and has made me feel comfortable."

"Agnes Scott is very nice, and I can stay at home [in Stone
Mountain]," says Cerimovic. "The people are really nice, and they
make it affordable. I like being able to go to professors to ask
questions, and it's easy to get from class to class."

Cerimovic has not returned to Bosnia, but hopes to spend her
junior year in Germany with a week set aside to visit her former
home country. Although some of her extended family lives in the
United States, she still has family in Bosnia, and most don't want
to leave.

Karim, who is contemplating a major in molecular or cell biol-
ogy with a pre-med focus, hopes to return to Kurdistan once the
war in Iraq is over. She aspires to become a doctor and serve
refugees wherever there is need.

"I want to help refugee children," says Karim. "No matter what
the reason for a war is, children end up getting hurt. I've been a
refugee as far as I can remember, ever since I was three, and 1 want
to help refugee children if I become a doctor."

After all they've been through, their goals don't seem out of
reach for two women who aren't yet out of their teens especially
because they have the support of each other.

"We're best friends," says Karim. "We understand each other
completely because we come from such similar backgrounds."

Victoria F. Stopp 01, It jormer office of communiciitioiis intern, is pursuin() a nuisteroffine
arts in creative nonfiction at Gaucher Collei}e in Baltimore.

FROM WAR TO EDUCATION 3I

"My mother [Cornelia "Neenie" Taylor Stuhbs '3 i]

was sojunny. I think she got to heaven and said,

'God, I think Katherine is going to need something tojocus on'.'"

That "something" includes five children and a

little black dog named Shadow.

Life's Little Turns

by Celeste Pennington

It's Monday nii^ht out.
The "Basement Guy," Andrew Page, along with Edgar
Lopez, 1 5, and his brother Diego Ramirez, 12, are crowded
with Kathey Stubbs '67 around the table in a neighborhood
Mexican restaurant In Spanish, Edgar has just ordered enchi-
ladas ^rffii enchiladas.

Good-natured banter flits around the table Then Andrew, a
second-year medical student at Emory University School of
Medicine, asks Edgar point blank: "Did you tell Kathey about our
vibrato argument?" Green eyes gleam as Edgar shakes his head and
laughs a little. Earlier Edgar had critiqued Andrew's violin-playing
technique only to learn from his Sutton Middle School teacher
that playing vibrato is the nim. Diego laughs. Edgar grins. "I was so
embarrassed! "

It's all in fun, with the spotlight on Edgar, who is dressed in a
starched white shirt and black tie and flush from performing
with his school's mariachi ensemble for the Spanish Club dinner
at Emory University The ensemble, Stubbs notes, received a
standing ovation

Their conversation jumps from Andrew's winning a Ben &
jerry's ice cream-eating con
Alumnae Weekend visitors, to
gave up for Lent hot salsa, te
and back to Andrew who had
California, where he participa
m a national conference on
sickle-cell anemia

After the meal, they all
drive to the dignified home
that has been in Stubbs
lamily since 1 93 I . Andrew
boards in the basement. At
the bcgmning of each week,
Edgar and Diego live
upstairs with Stubbs
and their little dog
Shadow

Stubbs is a "cat
person." "God defi-
nitely pulled this group
together," she laughs.

Her association with the kids started at Garden Hills
Elementary where she's a fifth-grade teacher.

Marie Andujar, the mother of a Garden Hills student, had
befriended Edgar, Diego and their three sisters, Jennifer, now 1 4,
Maira, 9, and Mirian, 8, who were her neighbors. When the chil-
dren's mother ran into legal problems, Andujar and her husband,
Bruce, offered to help. Stubbs remembers the call from Bruce.
"Now, K.C.," he told her, "I had just been praying asking God
to expand my horizon and extend my boundaries and I got this
call from my wife, 'How would you feel about having a family of
five move in with us?'"

That same week, on the pages of her journal, Stubbs had been
pondering questions about life and death and what she might do
next. After a decade of caring for her mother, she was grieving the
loss of 93-year-old Cornelia "Neenie" Taylor Stubbs '3 1 .

Counter-clockwise from lower left: Maira,
Jennifer, Mirian, Andrew, Diego, Shadow,
Edgar; Kathey Stubbs '67 is in the center.

Lively Neenie, a former fifth-grade teacher at Kirkwood
Elementary School, and brilliant Trawick, a Harvard-educated
public health/mental health physician, were parents who had
opened their hearts and home to others. Stubbs' care for her
mother throughout the long illness built on that family legacy.
Yet, she insists, "1 am not 'Dolly Do-Good.' It was just a joy being
with Neenie all those years. For me, her death was like the sun-
shine being turned off. I didn't have any idea how 1 would deal
with the grief."

Barely two weeks after Neenie's death came Bruce's phone call.
Stubbs agreed to assist with the five children for a few months to
help them finish out the school year.

Since her Agnes Scott days, Stubbs has seen her life as a series
of "side projects." While she describes her friends at college as
"scholars and brilliant people" dutifully focused on study, "I was
always on my way to the library!"

She would later earn a master's and an Ed.D., from the
University of California-Los Angeles, yet her real loves at
Agnes Scott included field hockey and volunteer work
with the Christian Association. Compassionate and
competitive, in these fields she made lifelong
and life-changing friendships.

On the hockey field, Stubbs was a center
forward playing against center forward Cue
Hudson '68, now vice president for student
life and community relations and dean of stu-
dents at the college. Their friendly rivalry, from
sports to politics, changed to admiration after
Stubbs included Hudson in a senior psychology
experiment testing an individual's tendency to con-
form. "Of all the individuals 1 tested. Cue was the
one who couldn't be swayed by the group," recalls
Stubbs.

Year after year these "old Agnes Scott jocks," as they
refer to themselves, have run together in the Peachtree
Road Race and now are hiking the Appalachian Trail, one
section at a time. Over time they've turned to each other
for humor and advice. "Cautiously, 1 reared three children," says
Hudson. "She helped me through that "

Stubbs made the "Mary Brown Connection" through the
Christian Association where Mary Brown Bullock '66, now presi-
dent of the college, served as her inspiration and mentor Bullock
encouraged Stubbs to undertake a service project in New York
one summer. After graduation, Stubbs was puzzling over joining
the Peace Corps. "The day 1 got the invitation to go to Korea,
Mary flew into town. 1 had wanted to go to Africa or India. Those
places sounded more like Peace Corps to me. Mary, whose parents
were missionaries in South Korea, said, 'Of course you are going!'"

In a southern province, Stubbs worked with a physician to
train women in maternal and child health, tuberculosis control
and family planning.

Next to erudite titles on Stubbs' home bookshelves are the
Lemony Snicket series about the unfortunate events of the three
Baudelaire orphans and Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.
Recently Diego was at Stubbs' house poring over an application
for the six-week Reach for Excellence summer program at Marist
School. Even Shadow, a pure-bred miniature pinscher and the
kids' family pet for years, has taken up full-time residence in
Stubbs' heart.

"God definitely

pulled this group

together."

More than a year ago, the children's mother faced deportation
to Mexico. Backed by long-term commitments from the Andujars,
Stubbs and another teacher, all five kids decided to remain
together in Atlanta.

The Andujars serve as these children's base of operation, a
mother and father meeting day-to-day needs. After her Bible
study on Sunday night through Wednesday morning the boys are
with Stubbs. She is the grandmotherly grammar patrol who over-
sees homework, encourages their interaction with young adults
like Andrew and uses her considerable professional resources to
orchestrate formative experiences for the kids.

Right now, she is looking into a performing arts program
for Edgar.

Last summer, she took Edgar and Jennifer with the youth
group at Trinity United Methodist Church on a mission trip to
her old haunt. New York City, and to Washington, DC. "You
don't get to know teenagers by chatting over a nice
meal, you get to know them by going places," is
her theory. Their side trips included a
Broadway play, a visit to the World Trade
Center site in New York and to the U.S.
Supreme Court and National Cathedral rn
Washington, D.C.
I At the Andujar home, the children go

^ full steam ahead. In Stubbs' home, they can
find a quiet nook by the fireplace to read or
practice music or play with Shadow.
Sometimes they recite poems aloud or joke
and talk with Stubbs and Andrew. At bed-
time, they may sleep in a bedroom or pull
out a hide-a-bed from the peach sofa in the
living room with its squared-off satin cor-
nices and long, narrow, shuttered windows.
From Diego's perspective, his brother and
sisters made a wise choice to remain in Atlanta. In
Mexico, explains Edgar, "I might have been work-
ing. Here we get an education that's better." Yet,
when Maira talks about her mom, "Sometimes she gets
emotional, I hug her, and sometimes I tell about how things were
when the whole family was in Atlanta." Edgar also misses his
mother. "She calls me 'O, Jose Gato,' because 1 have green eyes
(like a cat's)."

Fairly eloquently, both brothers express their appreciation for
Stubbs and the Andujars. "1 got these lines from Shakespeare," says
Diego. '"Two households, both are alike in dignity.' Both are
respectful."

Stubbs also expresses her thankfulness for the unexpected turn
her life has taken.

"God has led me into an experience that capitalizes on my own
strengths and enables me to enjoy life more," she concludes.
"Lemony Snicket is right up my alley! I love these kids."

And the dog? "Shadow embodies the Greek aesthetic of
beauty. When 1 take him for a walk, people notice. The other day,
these two hunky college guys saw him and just stopped. Shadow
is a gorgeous little dog."

Celeste Peiwiii^on, a Georgia-based jreeLince ivriter, manages several publications.

LIFE'S LITTLE TURNS 33

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Life in

SAVOONGA

Helping students reach their potential and "raise the
scores" oj their school creates one kind o^ challenge.
Doing this in Alaska presents an even greater
challenge Jor an Agnes Scott student who now knows
there is a reason s/^e is a native oj the South.

Story and photos by Jessie Yarbrough '05

On an approved leave from Agnes Scott College,
Jessie Yarbrough 05 was selected by her
employer a position she found through the
college's office of career planning to join a
team working with an underachieving school.
The following glimpse at part of her e-mail journal to friends and
family reveals what she learned in the process.

AUGUST 18, 2003

The ocean is right beside the school. This village is coastal a
tiny city sitting on a small piece of land that juts out into the
water. The buildings are mangy wooden structures connected by
a series of wooden "bridges." Many planks are broken or missing,
so a simple trip to the store is a perilous adventure, if you fall off
the wood, you can easily end up in a foot of standing bog water,
surrounded by trash. Apparently, if it snows 10 months out of the
year, trash disposal is not a major concern. If you follow the shore
about 100 yards, you'll hit the cliffs. The cliffs and the area behind
them are full of wild animal species (puffins! . . . and thousands of
lemmings!). St. Lawrence Island was a volcanic island at one point.
The people (Siberian Yupik Eskimos . . . but don't use the word
Eskimo because it's derogatory) have been here for more than
1 ,500 years. They speak St. Lawrence Island Yupik. No one else
in the world speaks this language. It's even different from the
other village on this island. It's a guttural language that 1 will never
be able to master. I can barely even (accurately) repeat what the
children have tried to teach me. Their English is called 'village
English' because it does not always match grammatically what you
and I would say. About 600 people live here, and there are 170
students in grades K-I2.

34 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FAIL .>..J0',

The beach is black (volcanic rock) with white speckles
(broken shells). The water changes from deep shades of blue to
light greens depending on the weather. The sky is often cloudy,
but the sunsets and sunrises are phenomenal. They last for hours,
and they fill up half of the horizon. Enormous white whale bones
are scattered across certain areas of the shore, and apparently they
will soon be bringing in whales that are more than 40 feet in
length. Non-natives are not allowed to take anything from the
island (i.e. rocks, artifacts, etc). We even have to buy a pass if we
want to hike out of a three-mile radius. The natives own the island,
and they consider everything on it to belong to their people.

My bedroom/office has no windows. 1 am basically living and
working in a supply closet. It's a potentially depressing situation,
but I'm doing my best to liven it up a little bit.

The general store is about as general as it gets. The prices are
so high that it's hard to purchase anything without wanting to cry.
1 bought a bottle of Febreeze for $9, and 1 have a small tub of but-
ter that cost $5. The tuna fish is almost $2 a can, and canned
soups/veggies are close to $3 each. Oddly enough, they have a
moderate selection of foods, but I haven't seen bread for days.

Everyone is related here. I have absolutely no privacy and
every move I make is carefully observed and scrutinized by my
friendly coworkers. Some of them are nice, but many are just
crazy. 1 guess it's the ill effects of living out here for so long.
Fortunately, the villagers are absolutely incredible offering four-
wheeler rides, always waving, stopping to introduce themselves
and invite me to dinner and that is what really
matters to me. The children are just too
adorable. They are surprisingly bold and appro-
priately confident. 1 cherish my conversations
with them because they neutralize the idiocy
that surrounds me at "work."

The villagers are
absolutely incredible
offering four-wheeler
rides, always waving,
stopping to introduce
themselves and invite
me to dinner.

AUGUST 29, 2003

Adaptation truly is the key to survival, and I'm starting to get used
to village life. There are good and bad things about this island.
Here are a few of them:

Good: Lemmings As a lifelong hamster lover, 1 am con-
stantly entertained by these tiny, furry rodents. They're every-
where! They dig complicated networks of holes underground, but
they are constantly running across and around the surface.

Bad: Animal remains There are dead whales, seals, walruses,
birds, etc. all over the place, and they stink. They are primarily
rotting on certain parts of the shoreline, but you can catch a whiff
of them from the dirt road that runs about 100 yards back from
the coast. The natives should be catching three to five whales
averaging 40 feet long this season. 1 nervously await the stench
of that endeavor

Good: The cliffs When the weather is nice, 1 like to hike up
to these cliffs that lie about a mile eastward from the village.
There are dozens of bird species that inhabit the rocks up there,
and 1 enjoy sitting still and catching close up photos of them and
the lemmings. My favorite things about the cliffs are the view and
the puffins.

Bad: Trash Again, 1 say, trash is quite an issue on this island.
They must carry all the waste (by four-wheeler) over to some
unseen area and, therefore, some people find it easier to just drop
it where they create it. The area around my school is ridden with
"pop" cans and myriad discarded items window screens, decom-
posing boxes, candy wrappers, cigarette butts. Yesterday, 1 went
outside with gloves and trash bags to pick up around the school.
Within 10 minutes, 1 had almost a dozen kids helping (voluntar-
ily!), but we barely brushed the surface.

School started Thursday, and Jaynelle and 1
have spent our time testing, scoring, and placing
the 10th-, 1 1th- and 12th-graders. The students
are remarkably bright, polite and cooperative.

Last night, as 1 was standing on the shoreline,
a bird actually landed on my head. One of the
natives an elder was noticeably disturbed
by the whole situation. He said that he had lived
there all his life and never seen a wild bird make
voluntary contact with a human being.

LIFE IN SAVOONGA 35

r

-if

Two seagulls were lying dead on the ground, shot by 7-year-old
boys with guns, I'm stire. No joke ,,, all the kids have guns. 1 had
the displeasure ot watching two little girls rip their wing feathers
oh and stomp them to bloody pulps. Maybe it's my weak stomach,
but the kids here are just a little more apt to kill than I'm used to
back home. Again, just another part of subsistence existence that
I will have to accept

Friday night we ended up at the "coffeehouse," actually a two
room shack serving black coffee for 50 cents, but that was just a
bad idea all along. Apparently, it's sort of the place to be if you are
a teenager, so you can imagine our embarrassment when we burst
in and crashed the party. It's hard to maintain a professional
demeanor when you're hanging out at the same spots as your stu-
dents not to mention we were followed by a troupe of kids
(ages 4-14) so that certainly didn't add any cool points, it's rare
for me to be able to walk anywhere without a trail of kids follow-
ing my every move.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2003

Sixteen months ago I left the mundane and largely unrewarding
world of camping equipment to work for Lmdamood-Bell
Learning Processes. Its primary focus concerns the cognitive
processes that mtluence the art of learning reading, spelling and
comprehension and it offers intensive, remedial, one-to-one
treatment for kids and adults. At the Atlanta center I am a clini-
cian, and the majority of my time is spent working with students
under the direction ot consultants and the clinic director The
consultants test, diagnose and pace the students, while the clini-
cians conduct the majority of the one-to-one treatment I worked
for them fiill time last summer and part time during my lunior year
and into this past summer Five weeks ago, 1 got the news 1 had
been selected to participate in the Center in a School project in
Bering Strait, Alaska. The goal of each project is to integrate the
LBLI' techniques into struggling school systems to provide a tan-
gible foundation lor general education My job here requires the
duties of both a consultant and a clinician, but without the direct
support netwoik of a regular clinic. It's challenging, but I fee!
lucky to be able to take advantage of this.

So, now I'm here on an island in the middle of the Bering Sea,
living among the natives in a village of 600 people, 200 dogs and
10,000 lemmings.

It's true! Weekends are only truly appreciated when you work
full-time Monday through Friday. FHighlights and lowlights of my
week:

Good 1 just walked into my room to find an unexpected
piece of notebook paper on my "bed " (just a sad, deflated air mat-
tress with a pillow on top). On the paper was a pencil drawing of
me with an enormous head, a half sun and four clouds in the back-
ground. Scribbled on the bottom was; 'To: Jessi, From: Mandy
Iworrigan ... September 5, 2003 ... What time is at ... 4:00 p.m. ' 1
have no idea who this person is, but my best guess is that she is
younger than 6 and attending classes down the hall.

Good Care packages Oh the joy of opening a box that
includes items 1 haven't seen in weeks! It's comforting to see the
handwriting of my friends and family. I've always been prett>' easy
to please, but I never thought a can of Pringles would bring a tear
to my eye.

Bad Alcoholism and gambling are slowly destroying many
lives here. Last night, two women were beat up by their drunken
male family members. And 1 thought the South was a patriarchal
mess! Though many of the villagers have fairly modern concep-
tions of reality, there are still a few elders who continue the "head-
of-household " traditions.

My students decided today that 1 officially deserve a Yupik
name After an intense discussion (of which 1, of course, could not
understand a word), they decided on 'Teetsaghaq " which means
rose In English. It sounds sort of like Pizza-ghawk

A little Savoonga history: In 1879, 1,600 natives lived on this
island. Two years later, only 300. In 1881, a ship docked and
introduced hard liquor and foreign disease. FHalf the village of
Gambell died, and a village that lay three miles east ot what is
now Savoonga was wiped out entirely. In the early 20th centuiy,
five families set up a permanent camp In Savoonga to take advan-
tage of the reindeer herds that prefer more eastern areas of St.
Lawrence Island. Though it was a nice, fresh start, the roots of this
community are slowly being uprooted by some of the same things
that destroyed so many of their ancestors.

36 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FA.

SEPTEMBER I5, 2003
The sunrises are just as breath-
taking as the sunsets here, and
they are both closing in on one
another as the days roll along. 1
think we lose something like
seven minutes off of each sun-
set every day. 1 was told that by

the end of this semester, the sun should be rising around 10 a.m.
and setting just four or five hours later.

1 visited Lisa's family one

I can stand outside

without gloves or

thermals only when the

wind dies down.

Otherwise, my legs lose

feeling, and my hands

begin to ache.

night after gym, and it was
quite an eye-opener The fami-
lies are not only close, but they
are huge and all-encompassing.
Many of the kids are adopted
by close relatives, and very
young children will often use
the phrase "biological mom"
(or dad) when describing their
families to me. The house 1
entered was dark and cramped, but they made the best of it with
a huge mattress/palette strewn across the floor of the main room.
All of the kids were piled on it watching cartoons, and the older
people sat in chairs surrounding the mattress. Though most of the
villagers are more than friendly here, it's always uncomfortable
when I go into their houses and see their personal spaces first-
hand. It is here that I tend to meet the people who don't come out
during the day, and they are not as accepting as their counterparts.
No one is openly mean here, but that is because it is custom to
simply ignore your enemies and/or the people you just don't have
the time or energy to get to know.

Last night, 1 watched some hunting videos that Richard, the
bicultural teacher, let me borrow. 1 saw rare footage of the Bering
Sea hunting expeditions that take place after the ice breaks up.
The most amazing parts included a polar bear chase across broken
ice and freezing water It was just unbelievable. Polar bears are
neither adorable nor friendly. They are intelligent, man-eating

beasts, and 1 will do everything
in my power to not see one up
close. The only polar bears 1
may see will be the ones that
cross the frozen sea in search
of food this winter I've been
told that they have as many as
60 come through the Savoonga
area each season, but they kill
them as soon as they are found.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2003

Today was a beautiful day in
Savoonga. When the clouds
part and the sun shines
through, the island looks, smells and feels like a different place.
The water reflects a navy blue, and the white waves crash in con-
trast to the dark water and black shoreline. It's getting colder here,
and it's hard to believe 1 wore sandals outside just a few weeks ago.
I can stand outside without gloves or thermals only when the
wind dies down. Otherwise, my legs lose feeling, and my hands
begin to ache. I've begun a love-hate relationship with the wind
because while it chills the air it also keeps the waves going. When
those die down an eerie silence falls over the village, and I've
never been a fan of eerie silence.

Last Tuesday, 1 saw my first aurora show just after midnight. It's
hard to describe. It's always unbelievable to see things you've
never seen before, especially when they fill up the sky you
thought you knew so well. You can also see satellites blinking
across the horizon, and falling stars are not as rare.

Rob, a special-education teacher, brought me two salmon,
each a couple feet long. I shoved them into the freezer in the
kitchen, but I'll get the wrath of the lunch ladies on Monday.
They're a little territorial, but 1 don't blame them because it is their
workspace. They are quite friendly, especially considering the fact
that I'm basically squatting in their kitchen. I live in the closet that
used to store extra food, and 1 use their wonderful yellow bowls
when they aren't looking.

On the other hand, Shirley likes to start her laundry in the
morning just before I begin class, and I end up fighting to be heard
over the roar of an industrial strength washing machine. She even
came in one day last week and folded a load while 1 was trying to
teach my classroom is also the laundry room. 1 assumed that it
would be obvious that people shouldn't do laundry while I'm
teaching, but 1 guess I'm going to have to put up a sign or some-
thing. My room is evolving quite nicely into a dorm-like palace.
The walls are paper thin, so I can still hear conversations going on

LIFE IN SAVOONGA 37

n

down ihc hall I am awakened

each morning by the sound ot

those huge, brown paper towel

dispensers that are in every

school bathroom in the nation.

One hangs on the other side of

the wall in the kitchen ]ust

inches from my head as I sleep.

I don't quite have the nerve to

say, "Shirley, could you please

Lisc a softer hand when dispensing paper towels, and, while you're

at It, could you not fold your underwear while I'm teaching." I

guess I'll start being that direct at the same time 1 decide to ask the

teachers to quit commenting on the mundane details of my daily

existence.

There's just not an easy way to ask a person to stop being rude
when they are doing so unintentionally. For example, 1 just put a
cake in the oven, and two teachers passing by extended their
comments It doesn't sound that bad, but imagine those comments
being the same ones everyday, and imagine them being applied to
eveiy move you make. In my worst moments here, I feel like I've
been shipped off to a hell designed just for me. That being said,
plenty of joys come with daily life here, and I try to concentrate
on them to maintain my sanity.

OCTOBER 10, 2003

I went through a period where I was going out every night, but
that has begun to taper off over the last few days. It's considered
the ultimate insult to the natives if I disappear for even one night,
so I have to make regular appearances to keep up a good rapport.
There had been talk about me turning into a recluse until
Thursday of the week before last. Two of my students finally con-
vinced me to go to gym with them that night, and 1 reluctantly
decided that it was time to make another public appearance. 1 find
it nearly impossible to accurately describe what the process of
"going to gym" entails. The younger kids all surround me and fight
over who gets to play with my hair. 1 come out of there with corn
rows and French braiding more nights than not. They can't get
over the fact that my hair is naturally light in color and "so long."
Hair IS a big deal here, and I've never seen such creative cuts and

coloring in my life. A group of
girls shaved their heads a few
weeks ago, and that is now the
official cool thing to do.

In the gym, everyone basi-
cally just sits around drinking
"pop," fighting over the ball,
and, of course, gossiping. Soft
drinks and gum are like gold in Savoonga. They chug Pepsi in the
hall before class, bragging over who finished a "six pack" that
morning.

When the gym closes about 10 or 11, everyone heads to
Eugenie's, the coffee shop. The most horrible pop music blares out
of the stereo the entire time, and if 1 hear another Christina
Aguilera song, I'm going to pull my hair out. For the next few
hours, everyone gets wired on black coffee and more pop, in order
to prepare for the endless FHonda riding that goes on until the wee
hours of the morning. 1 usually slip away before that begins.

A 1 5-year-old boy killed himself in Cambell last weekend, a
fairly regular occurrence in these villages. It was still pretty
depressing. F^is girlfriend had just told him that she was pregnant.
A good friend of his tried to hang himself the same night, but they
saved him. A few of my students went over for the funeral, and
everyone was nervous that it would happen in Savoonga as well.
Though most of the suicides and murders are alcohol related,
teenagers often kill themselves out of desperation and isolation
from the larger world. Everyone 1 know has a relative and/or a
good friend who has committed suicide, and they talk about it on
a regular basis.

1 have a new friend here
Sonny Boy. F-Ie's a 16-year-old
school dropout with dreams of
becoming a mechanic, marry-
ing at 22 and having two chil-
dren. The first time we spoke,
he told me about his rough
childhood, specifically because
of the teasing he received for
being "white trash.'" It led to

him dropping out of school, and he is earning his CED. His dad
is from Oregon, but his mother is a Savoonga native. Children
who have a white parent are subject to constant torment from
their classmates, especially in elementary school. He certainly
doesn't look "white," and there is no specific look here in
Savoonga anyway. When I visited Cambell, most of the natives
had a similar facial structure and body type, but Savoonga natives
vary dramatically m appearance. Sonny has an impressive sense of
humor, and he is able to communicate on a level that many of the
natives lack He lived in Anchorage for a few vears, so he has a

Last weekend I tried

whale for the first time

not the meat, but the skin.

It was blackish-blue and

had solid white blubber

attached to the side.

38 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

little more world experience than most. 1 was taken by the fact
that he feels comfortable enough to discuss his problems with me,
but 1 suppose it makes sense considering I am one of the few peo-
ple who can offer an objective point of view. He told me about
the times he's tried to kill himself, specifically one [time] three
years ago when he had the gun pointed under his chin and his
finger on the trigger. He sat like that for 1 5 minutes until he finally
talked himself out of it. He laughed and said, "I thought 1 was
weak for doing that" (not pulling the trigger).

NOVEIWBER 3, 2003

Ahhh. another day in Savoonga I'm bored to the point of sheer
craziness. I've started to enjoy and reap great satisfaction
from the sound of my own voice. Sometimes I just laugh out
loud ... all by myself . . . sitting in my tiny room. It's one of those
laughs that teeters on the edge of a good cry. My most exciting
moments revolve around making dinner and checking e-mail

Last weekend I tried whale for the first time not the meat,
but the skin, it was blackish-blue in color and had solid white
blubber attached to the side. Anyone who knows my feelings
about raw animal fat should understand how hard this was for me.
I'm standing in my friend Tisha's kitchen, and the entire family is
staring at me as 1 slowly raise it to my lips. 1 chew . . . and smile . . .
and chew and smile some more. It was like eating a marinated
chuck of tire. I discreetly tossed it in the trash can. Perhaps 1 won't
be delving into the Yupik delicacies as I had planned! They also
coerced me into trying the infamous sea peaches. No one could
explain to me what exactly they were, despite the fact that we
were sitting at a table with dozens of them lying in front of us.
They were bright orange, had the texture of ham, and, most of all,
they were salty. Very salty. More chewing, more smiling and more
tossing into the trash can. To top the night off, her dad brings in
a cardboard box full of, what else, reindeer legs! 1 keep reminding
myself that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but that will
never be enough to convince me to eat the pickled baby walrus
that 1 keep hearing about.

Weekend before last was the Anchorage trip, and was that a
fleeting series of moments. When 1 got off the plane back in
Savoonga, 1 turned around and watched it fly away with tears

streaming down my face. Fortunately, 1 was met by a caravan of
teenagers, claiming that Savoonga was "soooo boring" without
me. 1 really don't know what 1 do that adds excitement, but they
were all relieved to see me get back. 1 think it has more to do with
their fear of abandonment from teachers in the past. For example,
one teacher went to Anchorage recently to get a root canal and
never returned.

The weather here has become quite a battle for me. When it's
a nice day in Savoonga, the sheer beauty of it can blow you away.
When it's any other day in Savoonga, I want to run through the
soggy tundra and jump off the nearest cliff. I was born in the
South for a reason, and that is because I am a huge wimp in the
face of cold weather.

On Halloween, I spent over four hours painting faces at the
carnival in the gym. This is big stuff for Savoonga, and everyone
was there, it was an utterly exhausting experience, but I had a
really good time. My full-face butterflies were quite a hit, but
perhaps not so much as the half yellow/half blue look (the school
colors of the Savoonga Huskies). There was a long line at my
booth the entire night, and the teachers bathed me in envious
stares. I get a lot of slack from the staff for being popular in the vil-
lage. All you have to do is talk to them, and they will love you for-
ever, but some people just don't like to leave their tidy teacher
housing. I'm starting to realize that teaching must wear on your
patience until you have no more because I am utterly appalled at
the way some teachers treat students.

I'm not sure how this happened, but my room has recently
become the hangout for a gang of fifth-grade girls who think I am
the coolest thing to hit Savoonga since 50 Cent and Eminem. It
all started with a simple request to play a CD in my room after
school. From there it turned into a rowdy girlfest that lasted until
10 o'clock that first night. 1 wasn't sure what was happening until
1 opened my door to see five 10-year-old girls lounging in my
room like they owned the place.

DECEMBER 1/, 2003

As 1 stood on the frozen sea, hundreds of feet of twisted ice and
snow between my shivering body and the shoreline, my thoughts
were with the half-eaten bag of Fritos dangling from my pocket.
It's funny how your mind works when it flips into emergency

LIFE IN SAVOONGA 39

mode. I tend to take a mental
inventory of the amount of
tood on me, and when it mif^ht
iiin out.

After a long day of school, 1 stood in my classroom talkmg to
a few students when Albert, a former student, rushed in to ask if I
wanted to go boating with him now 1 threw on my ski pants,
hoots and iacket, and we were on our way to pick up our friend,
Derek, a current student of mine. We headed west to a spot about
a half-mile from town, and Albert pointed to these tiny black dots
of people about 300 yards from the shore. That was our destina-
tion, and we were going to walk there

At the edge of what used to be the water was an 8-foot drop
that I basically just fell down. Looking back, 1 began to calculate
my chances of making it back up, but 1 shrugged it off to tackle
the task at hand We began making our way through the jagged
jungle of ice chunks larger than me We stopped at one point
while Albert poked a hole in the ice with his handy seal hook/ice
poker (a wooden contraption about 6 feet long
with metal on both ends). The hole in the ice
iust added to my growing worries concerning
the vast expanse of cold, deep water than lay just
below my feet. 1 slowly turned to get a good
look in all directions because this was definitely
a place I'd never been before. Like many times in
Savoonga, I took a moment to reflect the sheer
ridiculous nature of my situation. I'm standing on
the Bering Sea in the middle of December
fishing We caught a little bottom-dweller, and,
as expected, it looked like something out of a
science-fiction movie. A man from the group far-
ther out yells they need help hauling in a walrus.
It was cold, and the sky was beginning to darken, so I told the
guys that I would meet them back on the shore. I wanted to watch
this scene unfold more than I wanted to participate 1 made my
way back, trying to follow the rough trail of footprints, when 1
realized that 1 had lost the path, and now it was just me and the
elements. I cautiously crossed a few dozen yards until 1 reached a
patch of suspiciously smooth ice where 1 decided to stop and wait
lor Albert and Derek by now, two tiny black dots on the north-
ern horizon

This brings us back where we started, as 1 contemplated the
rationing of my Fritos 1 sat there, trying to act natural, until the
seal-totmg caravan of hunters finally came meandering my way.
I've never been so happy to see burly men with dead animals in
my lilc. 1 followed their trail of fresh seal guts (all the while get-
ting a close-up view of adorable seal faces bouncing over the ice).
( )nc of the older men helped me up the steep embankment, and I
tried not to look as helpless as I definitely was at this point. When
1 got home, mv cheeks and hands glowed a deep red for more
than an hour.

Like many times
in Savoonga, I took a
moment to reflect tiie
sheer ridiculous nature of
my situation. I'm standing
on the Bering Sea in the
middle of December-
fishing.

Last Friday, none of my students were at school because the
entire village had been cutting up whale until the wee hours of the
morning. A 53-foot Bowhead had been snagged on Thursday
evening, and it was a mad dash to remove the meat before it froze.
It took four tractors to pull it up on shore, and there were at least
a half dozen boats involved in toting it up to that point. It's really
amazing to see the natives come together to harvest a whale.
People of all ages come along, and you can really feel the excite-
ment of the whole group.

Tonight is officially my last night in Savoonga. After much
deliberation, 1 decided I will not be returning next semester, so
these last few days have been pretty sad. I knew it would be hard
to tell everyone,- it brought a few people to tears, and I'm a sucker
for crying.

This evening was a wonderful way to end my
adventure. 1 went to Linda's house her daugh-
ter, Nicole, is my "honorary little sister. " We ate
a traditional dinner, and 1 was impressed by it all.
The whale meat was delicious, and the Shake-n-
Bake muktuk was edible (despite the blubber
dangling off the side). Linda let me select a
number of items from her collection of Russian
dishes and knickknacks. Everyone's been pouring
gifts on me, and 1 feel as if 1 have nothing to give
in return. I gave away a lot of my things because
it just wasn't worth it to pay for the shipping. It's
been nice to see little kids running around in my
clothes all week, made it easier to let go of the
things that I thought 1 needed.

As much as 1 want to get back home, I'm going to miss the
people here so much. 1 can't wait to see if our students get to grad-
uate. 1 know that five of them have passed their high-school exit
exams since they've been working with us, and their post-test
results were amazing. There's still a lot of work to do, though, and
I'm sad that 1 will not longer be a part of it directly.

Editor's Nok: Ajter Yarhrou^h left Alaika, she icus part of a similar procfram in Bennuda
this summer. A studio art and sociolocjy and anthropology major.Yarhroucjh is hack at '
Agnes Scott and is a private tutor as well as an Atlanta Food Bank intent.

Z(0 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE FALL 2004

One Gift Yours Makes It Possible

Agnes Scott

o

They've always had bold aspirations.

Your gift to the annual fund makes it possible for Agnes Scott students to
realize their dreams.

Please make your annual fund gift before the fiscal year ends June 30. Just
s use the envelope in this magazine or contribute online through our secure
o Web site: www.agnesscott.edu/give

JOIN OUR CIRCLE

Frances Winship Walters Society

Through her gifts to the college, Frances
Winship Walters helped ensure the con-
tinuance of Agnes Scott's liberal arts
tradition. We invite you to join a circle of friends
with similar commitments by including Agnes
Scott College in your will or planned giving.

A gift through the will is among the most simple
and meaningful ways to show your commitment

to Agnes Scott. Through a charitable gift annu-
ity or charitable remainder trust, you can pro-
vide generously for the future of the college
while securing lifetime income and considerable
tax savings.

For more information, contact Amy Nash,
director of capital gifts, at 800 868-8602 or
anash@asnesscott.edu.

Agnes Scott College

THE WORLD FOR WOMEN

NONPROFIT

ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

DECATUR, GA 30030

PERMIT NO. 469

141 E. College .Ave

Decatur, CA 30030-3797

www.agncsscott edii

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

An alumna - single, no children, no dog - invites five children and their dog into her home and heart. See page 32.

on CamDUS

: AND TO yiRTUE KNOWLEDGE

:TERl:5

Relicjion at Agnes Scott

I

t may surprise many that religion and religious studies are thriving at Agnes Scott in the 21st
century. Elective courses in religious studies have never been more popular with topics ranging
from the Historical Jesus to Comparative Religion to the Hebrew Bible.

A healthy number of students continue to
major in rehgious studies, and in the last
few years, many have combined this maior
with majors such as chemistry, studio art,
history, psychology, English literature
-creative writing and classical anthropol-
ogy. Students contmue their theological
inquiry in graduate school. Recent gradu-
ates attend seminary at such places as
Princeton Theological Seminary, Candler
School of Theology, Philips Theological
Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School.

What is different these days is that
fewer students come with traditional main-
stream Protestant backgrounds. We see
students ot almost every faith tradition
attending Agnes Scott. How does the col-
lege handle this diversity? How do we
relate to the students' spiritual quests as
well as their pursuit of knowledge?

Based on my six years teaching here,
my impression is that religious faith and
practice are probably as vibrant and pei-va-
sive as ever. The chaplain's office, under
the impressive leadership of the Rev
Sylvia Wilson, has made enormous strides
with limited resources to serve students'
needs But think for a moment just how
difierent our sttidenls are hom those of
yesteryear. Of students who have indi
cated religious |irelerence, Roman
Catholics are the largest identifiable
Christian group, followed closely by

Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and
other Protestants.

Our community also is graced by the
presence of practicing jews and faithfi.il
Muslims, as well as devout Hindus,
Buddhists and followers of other forms of
Eastern spirituality, all of whom seek not
only recognition and respect but also ways
of growing in their understandings of the

With its roots firmly planted

in Presbyterian soil, religious

study and practice historically

have figured prominently

in the life of this college.

Persons of diverse faiths and

religions now make up the

student body on a campus that

fosters spiritual inquiry.

religions of the world. The diversity is not
simply ethnic or traditional, but also intel-
lectual, as students already regard their
own faiths in wavs that are exclusivist,
mclusivist and pkiralist

Faculty and students engage in lively
debate on how and when to acknowledge
the religious and cultLiral diversity in vari-
ous academic settings. While these con-
cerns may be marginal to the study of
mathematics, they surface throughout the

humanities and are inescapable in religious
studies. There, on a daily basis, my col-
leagues and I struggle to find ways to help
our students rise above the polarization
and mutual misunderstanding that seem to
characterize public discussions of religion
in our society. We believe innovative ped-
agogies designed to facilitate the explo-
ration of personal experiences in a
supportive intellectual community really
do contribute to what our students can rea-
sonably be expected to achieve in a liberal
arts curriculum The rewards to be gained
far exceed the risks involved in deliber-
ately moving beyond conventional aca-
demic approaches to the study of religion.
The stLidy and practice of religion at
Agnes Scott now may be more of a personal
choice than ever What is impressive is just
how often and how intensively our saidents
freely make that choice

DtllMIS AlcGlMM is

the Wiilluc W- Akion
Professor of Bible .111 J
Reliijion. As ti rfcipiciil
0/ u Fulhrighl
Fellowship for the
2005 - 2006 acadanic
year, McCami will be scholar in residence al ihe Hone)
Konij America Centre at the Chinese Unit'ersity of
Hong Kong.

SPRING 2005 I VOLUME 81 I NUMBER 2

HAWAME5KINYAR'94X

OUR MISSION

Agnes Scott College educates women to
think deeply, live honorably and engage the
intellectual and social challenges of their times.

ACTING VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL
ADVANCEMENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Mary Ackerly

EDITOR

Jennifer Bryon Owen

DESIGNER

Winnie Hulme

COMMUNICATIONS INTERN

Amanda Furness '08

We encourage you to share views and opinions.
Please send them to: Editor, Agnes Scott The
Magazine, Agnes Scott College, Rebekah Annex,
141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 or e-mail to:
publication@agnesscott.edu.

2005 Agnes Scott College. Published for alumnae and friends
twice a year by the Office of Communications, Agnes Scott
College, Rebekah Annex, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030

The content of the magazine reflects the opinions of the writers
and not the viewpoint of the college, its tmstees or administration.

Change of address; Send address changes by mail to Office of
Development, Agnes Scott College, HI E. College Ave., Decatur,
GA 30030, by telephone, call 404 471-6472 or by e-mail to
iic[?eIopi)ifnl@(7(fticsscol(e(ln.

E-mail: publication@agnesscott.edu
Web site; www.agnesscott.edu

Aj/Hes Scott Alumnae Mctgazim is recipient of:

Award of Excellence for Alumni iMagazines, CASE District HI

Advancement Awards, 2001
Best of Category, Spring 2003 issue, Printing Industry

Association of Georgia
Award of Excellence, Fall 2003 issue. Printing Industry

Association of Georgia

Cover: Artist's rendering of the nine-panel, jewel-colored window
given to the college by the class of 1952 in honor of Wallace M.
Alston. Illustration by Christopher Hickey.

9 Senator Hillary Rodham
Clinton Addresses Class
of 2005

Graduates are challen()ed to improve
the lives oj all women.

12 "The Birthright of
Our Tradition:" The
Presbyterian Mission to
Higher Education

Agnes Scott's president explores the
church and college relationship.

BY MARY BROWN BULLOCK '65

15 "Got Honor Code?"

Are honor codes viable on today's
college campus?

BY BETH BLANEY '9I, M.A.T. '95

18 Worship with Feet to It

This alumna-led congregation turns
focus away from its own needs.

BY VICTORIA F. STOPP 'Ol

20 A Seeker of Truth

From high tech to a convent this alum
tells why. by melanie s. best '79

22 He Taught Students
to Think

His teaching in the 'sos changed the
lives oj students, who still talk about
Arthur R Raper

BY KRISTIN KALLAHER '04, M.A.T. '06

26 A Light for Dark Times

Alumna pens helpjor other parents oj
troubled teens, by dawn sloan downes '92

28 To Everything,
There is a Season

Priesthood came ni its own good timejor
this alumna, by amanda furness '08

30 Gathering of Souls

Students oj diverse jaiths and traditions
find religious expression here.

by AMANDA FURNESS 'o8

DEPARTMENTS

2 Reader's Voice
4 On Campus
6 Arts and Letters
32 World View
35 Excerpts

reader's VOICE

From pniisc oj professors cvui ihe iihtvuuu' magazine to cof/necfions and "settincj the record slraight" to deep
concern about the college's direction, readers create interest and provoke thought.

Teacher Tributes

This issue ol the Agnes Scott magazine
was a dehght' Thank you for honoring
excellent teaching at Agnes Scott. While
many of my most memorable professors
were listed, 1 mtist add a tew names who
should be individually recognized
Walter Posey, Michael Brown and
Catherine Sims Boman were part ol an
inspiring history department and con-
vinced me to maior in this subject.
Geraldme Meroney, then new to the
department, mentored and guided my
independent study on Ireland and
encouraged my interest in intellectual
histoPi'. Mike Brown continues to teach
alumnae and others through captivating
lectures and travel groups. I still ponder
questions first raised by Professor Kwai
Chang m Bible class. He is a gentle, wise
master ot the art of teaching. IDean C
I'entnn feline taught me that serious
scholars don't always have to be serious.
His wry smile and indulgent good humor
were a lesson in how to balance the
examined life All of my professors,
regardless of subiect, required excellent
writing 1 remain grateful to this day.

1 am glad to be at Agnes Scott once
more and see that excellent teaching by
dedicated scholars continues

Betty Derrick 'oH

When Catherine Sims Boman died on
Sept. 15, Agnes Scott alumnae lost what
was surely the most infkiential teacher for
many generations ol students Always
adhering to the highest scholastic stan-
dards herself and inspiring others to strive
to meet them, she will be remembered (or
her elegance, eloquence and kindness, as
well as tor her erudition and wisdom.

Most ol us were unaware at the time of
her civic activities that won her two
'Woman of the Year" awards in Atlanta,
but I had personal experience of working
with her in the world beyond college and

of the unparalleled esteem indeed, awe
she inspired among the national Phi
Beta Kappa Society officers and staff dur-
ing her presidency there. She simply got
things done, tactfully and efficiently, with
a grace that made all those famous-named
colleagues eager to work together There's
never been another leader like her there.

Agnes Scott which, I believe, was
her favorite among the educational institu-
tions at which she worked, including
Sweet Briar and the American College for
Girls m Istanbul owes her a debt for
enriching the lives of its students for so
many years.

PriiiilLi S Taylor '53

Stellar Job

After reading the last four or five editions
of AiUies Scott The Miii^iiriiif, 1 felt compelled
to write a big "THANK YOU" note to the
publication's staff for doing a stellar job.
The articles I find in this magazine have
been interesting, informative and very
much worth reading before 1 get to my
Time- or Neipsweek or Wall Street Journal that
come in on a weekly basis. I put off every-
thing else until I've finished A^iifs Scott The
iWaijaZine from front to back. Keep up the
g(jod work. It keeps me connected to you
from afar in Sacramento, Calif. I do notice
a great improvement in the design quality
from about two years ago to now. The
illustrations on the cover and color graph-
ics used are much better as well Keep up
the good work!

Rei]ina Creco Tochtermati "2

Old House Ties

1 read with interest the article "This Old
House." 1 have been there several times
and have met Catherine Fleming Bruce,
btit did not know she was an Agnes Scott
graduate. I really look forward to going
back to the house and talking to her about
Agnes Scott. My family has a tie to the
house. Mv datigbter, Louise, is married to

Ellen Modjeska Montelth, resting In her father's
arms, is the latest Agnes Scott connection to
the Modjeska Montleth SImkins house.

Charles Monteith His great-aunt is
Modjeska Monteith Simkins, and they
named their daughter Ellen Modjeska
Monteith. Ellen Modieska's great-grand-
mother and my mother Mar\' Ellen
Whetsell Timmons, graduated from Agnes
Scott in 19i?9.

We have all been to the house.
Catherine has done an excellent job of
collaboration to see that the house was
restored and in preserving a piece of civil
rights history, and, especially, Modjeska's
influence in the Civil Rights Movement.
Thanks for the article and sharing a little
ot the life of Modjeska Monteith Simkins.
Sarah Timmom Gladiien 65

Legacy of Words

1 \ery much enjoyed Professor Linda
Hubert's article on the "'Affable Familiar'
Ghosts of Agnes Scott ' Dr. Hubert (as I
will always think of heri herself remains
for me one of the "persistent essences ' of
my Agnes Scott experience.

2 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

I was particularly touched by Dr.
Hubert's discussion of Ellen Douglass
Leyburn's vast vocabulary and her pride in
carrying on Miss Leyburn's legacy. In my
student days, Dr. Hubert's vocabulary was
indeed legendary, 1 recall many times
sharing a knowing glance with another of
my English classmates as we dutifully
wrote the day's new and unfamiliar word
(or, more often, words) in the upper right
hand corner of our note pages. We, too,
looked the words up later rather than
confess to our ignorance on the spot. It
became a sort of game for us, listening to
the likes of "plethora" or "corporeal." I was
fascinated by Dr Hubert's command of
the English language, and not a little
awestruck but also giddy with the
possibilities.

Now an assistant professor of English
myself, 1 attempt to cany on this legacy of
learned words in my own classroom.
Students are not always as receptive to it as
1 was,- once a student chided me for "using
big words " But somewhere in the room 1
imagine there is a student quietly making
note of those "big words" in the margins.
And more often than not, someone just
asks: "Dr. McGlaun, what does that word
mean?" Students nowadays are a bit bolder
than 1 was, lo, those not-so-many years
ago in Buttrick Hall.

I will never forget the day Dr. Hubert
threw an eraser out the window to get the
attention of the man blowing leaves right
under our classroom window during class,-
the memory of her boldness inspired me a
few years later to demand a halt to the
noisy chipping up of a felled oak outside
my own classroom window while students
were giving presentations. Though 1 was
unable to contribute to Dr Hubert's retire-
ment scrapbook due to some personal
challenges I was facing at the time of its
compilation, 1 hope this letter will in some
measure thank her, and all my former
Agnes Scott professors, for having "inspir-
ited" me with their passionate and erudite
(another good Dr Hubert word) teaching.
SandeeK. McGlaun '92

Black Cat Secret

After reading Sallie Rowe Roberts' letter
regarding the class of 1983 successfully
keeping their class mascot a secret from
the sophomores at Black Cat, 1 felt I needed
add that my class 1988 also kept our
mascot under wraps until the bonfire.
Because of some cleverly worded hints, the

sophomore class guessed "The Aristocats,"
but we were, in fact, the Pilots. To this day,
I have my pilot hat and aviator scarf! So
please add the class of 1988 Pilots to the
list of those who have kept their mascot a
secret at Black Cat

Beth Brubaker Comelison '88

Word Travels

Thank you for allowing us to reprint this
article ["From 'At Risk' to 'At College,'"
featuring Rebecca Baum '02, spring 2004
ASTM.] 1 know our employees enjoyed
reading about Rebecca and also gained
some perspective mto what the Educational
Talent Search program is about. The
grant-funded programs at Polk Community
College tend to be widely misunderstood
by employees, and 1 think this article gave
a quick overview of why this program is
important at PCC.

1 have to also let you know 1 really
enjoyed reading the magazine's other
articles. All the pieces 1 read were very
warm and inviting, demonstrating the
family environment that Agnes Scott has
created. Keep up the good workl

Marianni Geortje
Cooninuitor of Development

Deeply Concerned

The spring 2004 issue of Aijnes Scott The
Miiijazine regarding the changing family
completely jarred me out of my compla-
cency. 1 had assumed that my beloved col-
lege was adhering to one of its basic
foundation goals of assisting students to
grow spiritually into Christlike young
women. Instead, after reading and reread-
ing the magazine in disbelief, 1 found the
college seemingly condoning all sorts of
perverted lifestyles acknowledging them
to be "the changing family." The destruc-
tion of the home and traditional marriage
(one man and one woman joined together
in a lifetime commitment in Holy
Matrimony) are all we need to finish us off
as a nation. As one of my classmates
stated, "One by one we're going down the
spiraling road to perdition."

I feel 1 should be candid about the state
of the college and speak boldly.

When 1 entered Agnes Scott in 1 947 as
a young, vulnerable student, I looked up to
all my professors as Christian role models.
1 "hung onto" every word spoken in the
classroom. Christian values and principles
permeated every aspect of each and every
subject taught. It appears that since that

time these timeless values have been
gradually cast aside and the high moral
principles that once existed lowered.
Homosexual unions, cohabitation, femi-
nism, so-called domestic partners or
significant others are accepted as a normal
way of living even to the extent of
assenting to the employment of professors
with these odd lifestyles. AND young, vul-
nerable women thinking they are attend-
ing a Christian college are thrust into the
atmosphere!

1 would certainly want to know the
lifestyle of each and every professor on the
college campus before I would consider
sending my granddaughters to Agnes Scott.

The college has become a worldly col-
lege. It has sunk into a secular humanistic
view. Truth has become a matter of taste.
Morality has been replaced by individual
preference. The individual is in control of
moral matters, not Cod. It is man or me
centered, not Cod centered.

Our young people today are confused
about what truth is. Eternal Cod is the
source of all Truth. He is the Absolute
Truth. From Him emanates all that is
perfect, pure, good, lovely and right. He is
the absolute standard from which our
morals of right and wrong originate. These
good and perfect standards are timeless. In
the Bible Cod makes clear what He means
by Holy living. Our goal is to seek what
we can to please Cod, not ourselves. The
Christian life begins with obedience,
depends on obedience and results in obe-
dience. The standards by which we live can
be found only in the Bible. It is our duty as
Christians to see that Cod's standards of
righteousness are upheld and taught.

1 am writing these comments because 1
am deeply concerned about the direction
the college is taking. 1 know this letter is
very straightforward in its criticism, but I
felt compelled to express my concerns. 1
care about the future of Agnes Scott, and 1
care about the hearts and minds of the
young women enrolled in the college.

Winifred "Winnie" Norton Martin 'si

Correction

The last paragraph of the Reader's Voice letter
from Anne Morrison Carter 'fio in the fall 200-1
I'ssiif of ASTM was misplaced and was actu-
ally the last paragraph of the letter from Kim
Phillips Sasso '98X. We apologize for the error.

reader's voice 3

AjiiH ivtti lutive spring semester encompasses the serious and scholarly tempered iviih thejiin and unusual.

President Mary Brown
Bullock '66 Is On the Ball

So says the Women's National
Basketball Association, who chose
Bullock as one of several female lead-
ers honored in the league's "Who's On
The Ball " campaign. Bullock is
featured on the WNBA Web site with
athletes Jamenda Whitehead '08,
Evan joslm '08, Whitney Morgan '08,
Ashley Cohoon '08 and mtermural
athlete Sara Schercr '06. The cam-
paign was created by the WNBA as
an aventie with which to recognize
the outstanding leadership of women
in the United States. To learn more:
www.wnba.com/draft index.html

AGNES SCOTT BENEFITS
REGIONAL ECONOMY

Agnes Scott pumped approximately
$64.8 million into the metropolitan-
Atlanta economy in fiscal year 2003,
according to an economic impact study
recently released by the Georgia
Foundation of Independent Colleges
Board of Trustees.

CHEMISTRY MEETS MAKEUP

Scholar-athelete Charlisa Daniels '05, recipient of a renewable scholarship from the
American Chemical Society, was recognized in the winter 2005 issue of Chemistry, the
society's journal, along with its executive director and students from five other schools for
their participation in the national conference. Her love affair with chemistry began with an
appreciation for science as a whole, but became more specified as she saw how chemistry
encompasses life in general.

"There are all types of science," Daniels says. "But chemistry has something
to do with everything around us. The living, the dead, all those things that sur-
round us on a daily basis."

Daniels has interned with Mary Kay Cosmetics' research development
department for the past two years. Upon graduation, she's hoping to attend
graduate school and later join the company's product development force so she
can assist in the effort to create more "wearable" makeup for women.

Her experience with athletics she's an ASC volleyball player and an
accomplished dancer led Daniels to appreciate the need for cosmetics that
can accommodate the busy lifestyle of today's working woman.

"It's important for active women to be able to look good, too," she says.
"Appearance is something we all pay attention to, whether we admit it or not."

Franklin Encourages ASC Women

to "Find Their Voice

During the college's annual Martin
Luther King Jr Convocation, Atlanta
Mavor Shirley Franklin aspired to motivate
students to embrace King's legacy and
called them to examine their commitment
to social betterment

"You are the luture leadership of our
cotmtry," said Franklin in her speech, "as it
will he realized through women. I hope
mv service as mavor will open doors, so
that there will be no qtiestion about
women's abilities."

She expressed concern about the lack
of involvement among young women.

"We don't hear from voung women,"
she said. "We need to hear from you. We
are planning your future every single day
in the halls ol Congress, in the halls of city
hall II vou don t tell us what you want and
need to succeed and what vour dreams are.

>

we may miss the opportunity to serve you
better."

Franklin reflected on the sacrifices and
contributions King made, as well as the
importance of student involvement in the
civil rights struggle. "When we find an
issue to be passionate about, we must work
to see it achieved and realized," Franklin
added "Dr King raised up all those who
labored, so that they might uplift human-
ity and dignity. F^is life teaches us that
with faith and struggle, we can achieve
what has been deemed impossible,

"There comes a time when silence is
betrayal. Throughout our history in
America, there have been atrocities. One
of the reasons those atrocities continued
was that people sat on the sidelines and
were quiet. You cannot be silent, instead,
vou have to find vour voice."

4 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 200$

Beach Party Kicks Off New
Summer School Program

Early April found students enjoying a party at Evans Beach
an enticement to get them interested and informed about
the college's first undergraduate, coed summer school.
Enrollment for all summer school programs is 139 with the
undergraduate program at 90.

19

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Smart Women Sweat

An athletic-recruitment campaign is turning more than a few heads throughout the
region, says joeleen Akin, athletic director. The recruiting effort consists of
posters featuring photos of scholar-athletes and the slogan "Smart Women Sweat."

"1 love them," Akin says of the posters, which are strung throughout the Woodruff
Physical Activities Building and are being sent in tubes to prospective recruits. "They
target what our student-athletes are smart women who sweat."

Agnes Scott is being talked about throughout the conference. "I don't know of any
other Division ill school doing anything like this," says Akin, who is also the basket-
ball coach. "It shows that we're thinking outside the box and being aggressive. For me,
it means that we're starting to make progress and that the college is beginning to
really see how important the athletic department can be for enrollment."

It's tough, she adds, to balance academics with athletics, and that's one reason that
she targets students who have been athletes in high school. The athletic director
maintains study hall for her players four days a week for up to two hours each day.

"We recruit student-athletes who can be great ambassadors for the school," Akin
says. "My vision for the athletic department is to reflect the academic reputation of
Agnes Scott. This campaign can get the ball rolling. It gives us an edge."

ON CAMPUS 5

ARTS AND LETTERS

Sharing their tricks oj the Iriuie ami ojjerincj insights into their personal writim) lives, two authors make their
mark /';; the colleije's rich literary traditio}!.

by Jennifer Bryon Owen

FROM EYES TO BRAIN
TO FINGERS

A Niitioiuil Book Awcird toiuncr repeals bow
iiH lilt deijrce Lonlnbuks lo her lije as a writer.

You might not want to stand too
close to me, " author Julia Glass told
her audience at Agnes Scott last fall,
"['erhaps it is because I was a visual artist
1 am endlessly collecting mental snap-
shots, images both grand and trivial. 1 can't
help working on specitic notions of where
they migln fit into mv writing one day, "

one of her last radiation treatments lor
breast cancer, heading to meet the man she
loves. "

Another image was collected early one
morning when a man was bicycling down
Class' street, sitting very erect, one arm
steering, the other one clamping against
his body a massive bundle, which when he
passed, revealed itself as a virtual bush of
lilacs wrapped in a newspaper.

"That one 1 haven't used yet, but 1 know
exactly where it is if and when 1 need it, "
she says. Another ordinary picture did find
Its place m Three Junes.

Julia Glass (second from left) discusses Three Junes, her novel read by all first-year students, with (left to right)
Halley Kuhlmann 'o8, Jessica Cooley 'o8 and Laura Grass 'o8.

Glass was on campus to discuss her
novel, Three iiiMfs, winner of the 2002
National Hook Award for Fiction and
required reading of first-year students.

"On a cold, windy day, I passed a
woman whose black coat flew open for just
a moment to reveal a ruffled white blouse,"
says Glass. "Years later, 1 used it in a short
story when a woman leaves a hospital after

"1 once lived on a street planted with
several Rose of Sharon trees. They have
the most beautiful sort ol ttilip-like, trLim-
pet like, purple and pink flowers, " explains
Glass. "When the flowers wilted and fell to
the sidewalk, they look like stich peculiar,
sad objects, shaped like crushed cigars.
They had turned from gay magenta to a
brownish purple, exactly the color of a

bruise. 1 held onto that image a long time,
until It found its place in Three Juiiei. at a
moment when the hero is stunned by the
disappearance of his lover."

In Three Junes, Glass admits she was
probably creating a parallel drama to her
own life. The book deals with how people
survive incurable heartache, and Glass
found solace in creating it.

"I had been through a very, very hard
period in my life in very' rapid succession,
a divorce, a diagnosis of breast cancer and
the suicide of my sister, my oldest sibling
who 1 loved very much.

"Literary fiction writers
are not just people who feel
compelled to tell stories but
people who need to answer
the important questions
about life. It's cathartic. It's
almost like you hope you
can cure your own heart
through curing someone
else's heart "

Tl'rff Junes uses her love
of New York, eating, cook-
ing and her mother's love
of dogs as well as her own
lantasy of owning a book-
shop. "I used the things I
never meant to learn when
1 worked for an organiza-
tion that helped gay men
with AIDS take care of
their pets," says Glass.
'\bur growth as a writer
would be stunted if you
don't do the work neces-
sary to write what you want to know "

A slow reader. Glass couldn't imagine
reading the required book a week to earn an
English major from Yale University, so she
chose art. She graduated summa cum latide
in 1978 and proceeded to support her-
self through editing and freelance writing.
"As a kid, I loved to do two things more
than anything go to my room and draw

6 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

pictures or write stories," explains Class.
"There came a point in my early 30s when
1 thought that as much as I loved painting
and drawing and sculpting, there's nothing
that moves me more than a great work of
fiction. 1 continued to be a freelance editor
and writing magazine articles mostly
about pets. 1 started writing short stories
and then, eventually not meeting a great
deal of success that way, 1 obviously took
the plunge to write a novel. After that, the

"As a kid, I loved to do two

things more than anything

go to my room and draw pictures

or write stories."

stars really aligned for me. For those who
are envious that my first novel got so much
recognition, 1 remind them it wasn't pub-
lished until 1 was 45 years old. It's a lot of
life experience kind of saved up there."

Glass received the 2000 New York
Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in fic-
tion and has won several prizes for her
short stories, including the Nelson Algren
Award and the Tobias \(/o\i Award.
"Collies," the first part of Three Junes,
received the 1999 Pirates Alley Faulkner
Society Medal for Best Novella.

Acknowledging the criticism that noth-
ing much happens in her fiction. Class says
she writes about character more than plot.
"I consider myself to be a scholar of human
emotions. So if I'm writing about a very
emotional moment for a character, and if
I'm really seeing through the character's
eyes, some image will pop into my head. I
can just rely on my brain to bring back
something to me."

In her endless collecting of images, she
takes notice of different sidewalks in dif-
ferent neighborhoods, people's verbal tics
and aversions, signs and bumper stickers
and song lyrics.

"I collect odd professions," says Class.
"I hear people who do all of these things,
and I keep them in a special closet like
party dresses or uniforms, just waiting for
the right character to come along and put
them on. A few months ago, I met a
woman who runs a bookshop dealing
entirely with old cookbooks, but has a
curious volunteer job for New York City.
She rides around Central Park on horse-
back and gives tickets to dog walkers flout-

ing the leash law. Now imagine the private
life of a character who has chosen that mix
of occupations what a metaphorical
gold mine! "

Her favorite subjects come from ordi-
nary life in its most intimate, revelatory
moments: the moment of falling in love,
the moment of giving birth, the moment
of realizing a spouse is having an affair. "It's
those common but momentous experi-
ences that happen for different people in
countless different ways, and have never
happened for each of us personally as we
have spent hours of our life imagining they
might have," says Class. "Those are the
best things we writers collect. I can never
hear enough stories about labor and birth,
proposals, weddings and funerals."

FHer current work stemmed from music.
"I was listening to a Shawn Colvin tape
and suddenly a line I'd heard many times
just popped in relief: 'May we all find sal-
vation in professions that heal.' It's given
me a thematic anchor in my new novel
where the principal characters have occu-
pations aimed at directly making people
happy," says Class.

F4er writing philosophy? "I've decided
to always look at the world very closely."

Book for First-Year

Students,

Class of 2009: i

Bee Season 1

ff Bee ^B
l(Seaso)l'

by Myla Goldberg M

WHEN PENCIL
MEETS PAPER

Having one oj her creations selected jor
Oprah's Book Club may have opened the
reading world to a new author, hut it changed
the world oj the author very little. Each time
Anita Shreve puts pencil to paper, her goals
remain pretty much the same.

There's a point where I walk in to
my husband and say, 'I can't be
stopped.'"
This is when author Anita Shreve knows
she has her next book, knows the ideas she
has been exploring and knows the words
that bring them to life are workable.

Shreve read from her latest endeavor.
Light on Snow, last fall at Agnes Scott
through a program with the Georgia
Center for the Book, which is housed at
the Decatur Public Library.

In Liclht on Snow, a girl and her widowed
father find a baby abandoned m the snow.
Some have asked if Shreve is making a
statement about women abandoning
babies, but she declares she writes with no
agenda and doesn't write to discuss
"women's issues." She won't allow herself to
be considered an expert on issues that may
creep into her books.

"I quickly get out of that. I only know
what's in the book," says Shreve, "In this
book, I was writing about what finding the
infant does to this father and this daughter."

FHIer writing addresses her own anxi-
eties. "The fact that I've dealt with the
death of children two or three times is my
way of working it off. If I write about it, if
I appease the gods by writing this anxiety
out ... 1 don't examine it too closely because
I'm getting too close to the well."

She admits one goal wanting to
write a simple, spare novel. "I've always
had that agenda," says Shreve. "At the
beginning of every notebook, at the top in
block letters, I write 'Keep it simple.' I've
never achieved it. All of my novels are
multilayered and complex and going back
m time. On this one I was determined I
was going to write a simple novel.
Unrelated to that, I had this powerful
image of a father and a daughter walking
in the snow. "

Believing various threads weave
together to create the story, Shreve says
that, in addition to this scene, the threads
of this book are the writing, the language,
the desire to explore the relationship
between the rigid, baffled-by-grief man
and this 12-year-old, feisty, desperate-to-
rejoin-the-world girl,- how that tension
would play out, and how they would re-
emerge into the world.

She has no preconceived ideas about
what readers should take away from her
books. "I've said this before, and I think it
is absolutely the truth writing is a very
selfish act. When you write, you cannot
think about your family, your editor or
your readers. 1 write entirely for myself.
That said, my hope is that my books will
be received as telling something about the
human heart."

Writing, for Shreve, is "pure total
engagement. 1 can't say it's always pure

ARTS AND LETTERS 7

pleasure because there are moments ot true
fear, problem solving, anxiety. But the
pleasure shouldn't be understated. That's
why I do it. Im drawn to it 1 love crafting
sentences. 1 love that sensation when 1 sit
down at my desk, look up and it's 10 mm-
utes to 12, and I'm stunned Bemg com-
pletely, completely absorbed there are
few things in lite 1 do that are like that But
this one produces a living "

also taught me how to shape a story to fit
')() lines or 400 words or whatever. "

Shreve disagrees with the title domes-
tic sensualist, as some have called her
because she uses household items as images
in her writing. Detail is important.

"I'm very much in the school of real-
ism," says Shreve. "I hate it when I read a
book and the flowers start to talk. I love
reality. It's important as a novelist to create

probably spend halt the time allotted to a
novel on the Hrst 50 pages "

The possibility ot what can happen on
those pages provides the fire for Shreve.
"Putting that big fat pencil on the paper
and what might happen that's exciting,"
says Shreve.

When Shreve visited Agnes Scott, she
was looking tor the point in her next proj-
ect at which there was no stopping But

Anita Shreve

"I'm very much in the school of realism. I hate it when I read a book and the flowers start to talk.

I love reality. It's important as a novelist to create layer upon layer of reality so that when your character

takes that extraordinary leap, your reader is willing to go with her because the reader trusts you."

Living became easier after Oprah
Winfrey selected The Pilot's Wije for her
book club, but Shreve believes sudden
notoriety hasn't changed her. '1 have many
more readers, and I sell a lot more books,
and those things are terrific, " says Shreve.
"We have five children, and I used to panic
about how we're going to educate them I
worry less about that now.

'"If you took a slice ot my lite m 1994
and again in 2004, you would see very
little difference except that I've aged I
write in m\' bathrobe 1 sit at my desk.
When Its done, I have my shower. I do my
chores I wait tor my kids to come home.
The dav is actually very, very similar to
what it used to be."

Shreve's work approach evolved Irom
her 15 years as a lournalist in Nairobi,
Kenya, and New York. She knows it is
time to write because the clock says 5 after
8, a schedule established when her chil-
dren were small and she had only four
hours for writing.

""journalism was really helpful. It was a
lot of years ot good practice as a writer. It
made me not afraid of research, which has
been important in a number ot books It

layer upon layer of reality so that when
your character takes that extraordinary
leap, your reader is willing to go with her
because the reader trusts yoti. If it's resist-
ant 194S Belgium, World War II, you need
to know if It would be a lace tablecloth or
an oil tablecloth on the table. The tiny
details make a reader feel he or she is actu-
ally there."

Because her creativity stems from dep-
rivation and too much stimtilation inhibits
creativity, Shreve's ideal writing situation is
m a bare room at a bare desk. "It theres
clutter, my impulse is to spend my time
tidying up, so I'm better off if 1 walk into a
space where there are no chores."

During her one-year stint as a visiting
writer at Amherst College, Shreve saw her
role as one of encouragen She dreamed tip
'a lot of little exercises" designed to help
her students achieve one perfectly crafted
page In finding that page, she savs a writer
has a sense of when to move on,- of when
the writer has achieved what she or he
htjped to achieve. I don t go forward tintil
what I have is what I want," explains
Shreve. "I'm not one who writes a whole
novel land then goes back to rewrite]. I

she would not talk about it. "It takes the
tizz out of the bottle," savs Shreve.

BOOKS BY ANITA SHREVE

Nonfiction

Remaking Motherhood: How Working
Mothers Are Shaping Our Children's
Future, 1987

Women Together, Women Alone, 1989

Fiction

Eden Close, 1989

Strange Fits of Passion, 1991

Where or When, 1993

Resistance, 1995

The Weight of Water, 1997

The Pilot's Wife, 1998

Fortune's Rocks, 2000

The Last Time They Met, 2001

Sea Glass, 2002

All He Ever Wanted, 2003

Light on Snow, 2004

jfiiinlii /in'OM Oii'cii IS iiimlor n/crtvilipf Sfri'icfs iimi
Cililoi oj .Agnes Scott The Magazine.

8 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2OO5

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Addresses Class of 2005

Receiving what one reporter called a "tumultuous welcome, " this year's commencement speaker called for
(graduates to commit themselves to spreading hicjher education around the world and to make opportunities
available to all women and girls.

Thank you so very much. I am dehghted to be here
this morning.
1 have such a high regard for this college, its
extraordinary record of educating women and its
commitment to carry on that legacy into the future.
1 am so impressed with the enthusiasm and energy 1 see on this
campus.

In fact, the first time 1 came it took awhile to sort through
both the memories 1 had and the records that I could find. And the
college was a great help because all 1 could remember was that
sometime in the late '80s or early '90s 1 came to this college on a
beautiful summer evening and went to Rebekah Scott Hall and
had dinner with a group of Agnes Scott faculty and students and
representatives of other colleges and high schools from around
the South, who were looking for new ways to encourage and pro-
vide support for young people from all walks of life whose fami-
lies may not have had the privilege of a college education to be on
the path themselves to attend and graduate from college.

There was something about this campus and that night that
stayed with me. I often just reflect because of my strong

!"

.^^^3C 1

commitment to women's colleges on what a wonderful job was
being done right here at Agnes Scott. So when I was asked if 1
would make this commencement address, 1 thought about it, and
1 realized it might be the perfect opportunity to apply for a Fifth
Year free.

You know, I think every once in awhile, we all need a break,- to
sort of take stock of who we are and where we're headed and what
we intend to do with our lives. The idea of a Fifth Year free is just
so smart.

And it reminded me of perhaps the shortest commencement
speech 1 have ever heard. I can't even remember who delivered it,
but it seemed so appropriate for today. The speaker stood on a
beautiful day like today on a campus like this and looked around
silently for about a minute, and then addressed the graduates by
saying, "Why leave?"

But of course, for most of you, leaving is part of the journey. It
is a commencement for a reason. Because there has been so much
in your lives leading you to this point. But it is also a beginning,
and in this audience today are family members and friends and
supporters and advocates and cheerleaders who helped you along

the way. They share the pride
and satisfaction of knowing
you have made this step on
your life's journey.

As you walk across the
stage a short time from now
and receive your diploma,
there will be a thousand pic-
tures flashing through the
minds of all the people who
love you as they watch you.

I remember so well watch-
ing my daughter receive her
diploma. 1 had to keep blinking
my eyes because it was hard to
imagine that this young woman
was the same child with whom
we had read to and gone on
adventures with. Bill and 1 used
to, when she was very young,
take turns picking out a night
of the week where we would
have an adventure.

Each of us would get to
choose. The adventure might

SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON ADDRESSES CLASS OF 05 9

PRESIDENT BULLOCK INTRODUCES SENATOR CLINTON

The vice president of the United States, the president of the
World Banl<, the former first lady of Egypt and a Jordanian
princess all have been speakers at Agnes Scott College. Yet, I am
quite certain that none has created such a buzz and sense of antic-
ipation than today's commencement speal<er, Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton. Welcome to Agnes Scott College.

Sen. Clinton, our paths first crossed 12 years ago in Washington,
D.C., when our daughters were on the same junior high Softball
team. The weather was cold and windy for the annual
parent/daughter game and not all parents showed up. You had just
become first lady, but arrived without fanfare carrying two bags of
hot-dog buns in plastic grocery bags and asked me where to take
them. You played on the parent team my daughter remembers
putting you out at first base and mingled easily with parents and
daughters. I remember thinking then: She is already a great parent
and is on her way to becoming a great first lady.

Our paths crossed again, several years ago, at the 25th anniver-
sary of the Women's College Coalition, an occasion that celebrated
the history and future of 60 plus women's colleges. By then you
had become the senator from New York, and your presence and
advocacy of the continuing importance of women's colleges was
the highlight of that occasion.

And now, today, it is my privilege to welcome you back to Agnes
Scott College. You were here in the early 1990s, serving as keynote
speaker for a conference on preparing the underprivileged for a
college education. That commitment has only widened over the
years as exemplified by your sponsorship this year of the "Non-
Traditional Student Success Act" in the U.S. Senate. In your words,
"this bill is designed to address the challenges facing nontradi-
tional students, and to help them stay in school until graduation ...
students such as the mother of a 2-year-old, someone who works
full-time and finds herself with child care for a semester." I know
that you will be pleased to know that today Agnes Scott graduates
10 Woodruff Scholars, just the kind of strong, nontraditional grad-
uates this country needs.

Although you received your law degree from Yale University, it is
as a most distinguished graduate of Wellesley College, our sister
women's college, that our seniors greet you today. One sentence
in your autobiography, Living IHistory, resonates with their feelings
today. "What I valued most about Wellesley were the lifelong
friends I made and the opportunity that a women's college offered
us to stretch our wings and minds in the ongoing journey toward
self-definition and identity."

Sen. Clinton, we know you could be at any commencement in
the country today. You honor our graduates, their families and this
college with your presence. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me
in welcomingThe Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, former first
lady and now United States senator from the state of New York.

be to go to a movie, or the adventure might be to tiirow the ball
in the back yard One imie, Chelsea's choice of adventure was to
buy a coconut and crack it open. Now, probably between Bill and
me, we have decades of higher education, but nothing prepared
us for a coconut that would not crack. Hammers,- throwing it onto
the driveway.

It was, 1 would venture to guess, the lirst time this little girl,
who could not have been more than 4, realized that these parents
of hers were not all powerful. You know, that is one of those
lessons you absorb along life's way.

So, today is a day of beginnings, but it is also a time to look at
your friends and the faculty members and others with gratitude.
There is something else though at work today that 1 wanted to
spend just a few minutes addressing

There has never been a time in human history where it has
been better to be a young woman alive than today in America.
There has never been any generation of young women with so
many choices and so many opportunities to live up to their own
God-given potentials.

Now with that e.xtended opportunity comes new responsibilities.

Those of you who have traveled abroad during your college
years may have seen firsthand some of the tension that exists very
obviously in other societies, but still persists below the surface
even in our own.

What do women want? How will we determine what is best
for ourselves, for our families, for our futures? How do we balance
the various demands in our lives? How do we chart our own
course, but do so in a way that is sensitive to and understanding of
the needs of those who care most about it? How do we build an
individual identity, but maintain and nurture relationships?

The old rules were pretty clear, and the lack of opportunities
made choices difficult. But today, here in this country, and increas-
ingly around the world, women are assuming their rightful places
in every walk of life. I'm very pleased about that. I can remember
not so long ago when 1 was your age, there were still schools that
didn't choose to be all women or all men any longer, but still there
were barriers for people attending or having certain scholarships
or being admitted in certain programs

A lot of the external barriers have been eliminated. Now it is
up to each of us to decide what we want to do and how we will
contribute.

Ten years ago, I was privileged to speak at the Beijing
Conference on Women, in that speech, as the representative of
our government, 1 tried to explain clearly, for the world to hear,
that there could no longer be women's rights and human rights as
though they were not one in the same. That what we had to do,
and what was important to the United States to do, was to stand
for women's rights. To work with governments and societies to
open doors to health care and education and to the full participa-
tion in society.

In those last 10 years, we have made a lot of progress, but we
still have work to do. And it is my hope that more young women
in America will not only demonstrate here in our country how
they are putting together lives of meaning and purpose, but also
contribute to that great struggle abroad.

There are so many stories that we have seen in our own media
over the last several years that clearly argue for the importance of
women's kill participation not just because it's the right thing to
do, but because our belief in democracy and freedom really
demand that it occur

I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan twice as a member of the
[Senate] Armed Services Committee. I've met with women in
both of those countries who have seen so much hope, but are
aware of the continuing dangers to them as they go to school, as
they try to practice a profession, as they show up to vote, as they

10 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2OO5

run for office. I'm very proud of our country for standing with
these women, as they have struggled against great odds to fulfill
their own hopes and aspirations.

In other parts of the world, we see tremendous change
happening in women's lives. And I don't believe that change can
necessarily last unless we in America provide support publicly
and privately.

And there is no more important job than educating women.

I'm very happy that I went to an all women's college. People
ask me today, "Is there still a role for women's colleges?" And 1
answer immediately, "Absolutely!"

There is not only a role, there is a necessity for places Hke
Wellesley and Agnes Scott places where for just a few short
years, you can concentrate on your studies, on developing your
mind, on understanding the opportunities for leadership that
come from a place such as this. What I hope we can do is spread
women's education around the world. It could be one of America's
greatest legacies.

There are so many young women denied the right to higher
education, often denied the right to secondary and primary
education. Yet, we in our country know that we could not have
achieved all that has been accomplished without the unique
system of higher education that has made it possible. Here at
home, 1 worry that in many parts of our country, the doors to
higher education are getting harder to push open for many fami-
lies. I'm very impressed that Agnes Scott makes it possible for so

People ask me today, "Is there still a role for women's
colleges?" And I answer immediately, "Absolutely!"

many students to attend such a fine college and takes care of their
financial needs. But there are not enough Agnes Scott Colleges.

There are not enough places that seek out students and pro-
vide the financial incentives and resources that their families
require. It is now harder for a student who comes from a family of
modest economic means to attend and graduate from college

because of financial pressures than it was 25 years ago. At the state
and federal level, we are backing off from keeping up with the
financial pressures that increasing costs have placed on students
and families.

So, I would just hope that we would do two things simultane-
ously;

Reassert our commitment to higher education in our own
country, to the diversity of higher education, to seeking out students
who would otherwise not be able to afford to go to college and
graduate and do everything we can to make that possible again.

Secondly, that we would take the model of American higher
education and seed it throughout the world. Provide the chance
for even more girls and women to have the education that 1
enjoyed and that you have had here at Agnes Scott. This is not
just some luxury or nice thing to do. I think it is absolutely essen-
tial to our national security and to the furtherance of peace and
freedom and democracy around the world

You cannot have a democracy if half the people are shut out.
You cannot have freedom if half the people are told at birth they
are inferior. You cannot have peace where half the people can
authoritatively decide how the other half lives.

It is imperative that we stand not just rhetorically for
peace and freedom and democracy, but that we work to help edu-
cate young women to take their places in free, democratic soci-
eties that will be friends and allies of the United States for years
to come.

So, I end where I started in congratulating you, in welcom-
ing you to the so-called adult world,- in hoping that as you com-
mence from this place, you remember the lessons and all of the
hard work that you did to reach this point,- and that you go forth
intent upon integrating your own lite and looking for the ways
that are uniquely yours to combine your deepest feelings and
values, family responsibilities, work and public involvement.

Because there is no one else like you. There is no blueprint.
And it is unlikely that you will live a life that is totally ordained.
That sitting here today, you know where you'll be when you're 30,
when you're 40, when you're 50 and you're 60, and you'll live on
average so much longer than women have ever lived. You will
have different stages of life to fulfill some of your deepest journeys
and hopes. As you construct that life of yours, you will be touch-
ing so many other lives.

Go through your life with kindness. Give it wherever you can,
even if you don't expect it in return. Show compassion for those
who are not as fortunate or as lucky.

Understand that many of us have blessings that we had nothing
to do with. They're a gift from our creator,- they were in our genes,
and we didn't pick our parents.

As you make this journey, consider ways you can help other
young women along. Mentor someone. Tutor someone. Think
about how you can teach, whether it be formally in a classroom or
in some other setting, and broaden that horizon that is now ours
to look far beyond our own shores.

Work toward creating opportunities so that other young girls
and women who will never know our names, could one day be
sitting in place like this in charge of their own lives looking
toward their own futures and making contributions to the kind of
world that we want for all of you.

Congratulations Class of 2005! And God bless you on your
life's journey.

SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON ADDRESSES CLASS OF '05 11

"The Birthright of our Tradition:"'
The Presbyterian Mission to Higher Education

by Mary Brown Bullock '66

A religious and spiritual revival is under way on the campuses of American colleges and
universities. It is propelled by students searching for meaning in their lives, by the
growing religious pluralism in American society and, perhaps surprisingly, by the
post-modern movement itself. No campus is free from its influence, but only a few
have recognized its power. To the extent that we Presbyterians understand our
higher educational mission as a mission to promote Presbyterianism, we may achieve a sectarian
goal but miss being a part of this extraordinary movement.

\\ c rniisl begin with respect for the contributions of intellectual
inquiry to faith and spirituality, with recognition of the difference
between colleges and churches and with gratitude for the
dynamic presence of Cod in even our most secular universities
We must avoid typologies of colleges and tiniversities as being
more or less Presbyterian, more or less faithful but rather seek to
understand the differing ways in which their Presbyterian roots
inform their ongoing educational ministry. Only then will our
minds be open to respond to the current spiritual context of
young America and the enormous religious potential of all col-
leges and universities.

THE REFORMED TRADITION

1am proud to be president of a Presbyterian-related college
because the Presbyterian tradition has contributed so much to
American and global higher edtication. It is time to reclaim the
great intellectual heritage of the Reformed tradition, not to
bemoan its defeat by secular learning. The Presbyterian and
Reformed tradition shaped the nature of American higher educa-
tion in the 19th century, especially the culture and mission of
liberal arts colleges, and its values still shape those university and
college values today.

The place it began, and tlie place to which we return, is
Princeton University. John Witherspoon ( 1723- 1794) is credited
with bringing the tenets of the Scottish Reformed educational
tradition to Princeton and from thence to the rest of the country.
Central to those vaitics were the importance of the encounter
between faith and knowledge, the creation of a college as a moral
commtinity, a belief in a Christian sense of vocation and the
preparation of students for service to the wider world. These
precepts informed the many institutions that were begun
by Presbyterians and patterned after Princeton, especially
Presbyterian liberal arts colleges.

What became distinct, and is still distinct, abotit the .American
liberal arts college is its emphasis on educating lor a life beyond
self, beyond pure knowledge and its emphasis on character and on

the full human potentiality of all persons. These values persist to
this day.

Many are not familiar with the origins of this educational
model In restating the historical framework for Agnes Scott in
2002, we decided we wanted to say something ipith pride about this
Presbyterian tradition:

While their [our jounders] leadership extended into the South the
Prcihyterian educdtional moi'fmeiit that began with Princeton, Agnes Scott was
established with a new mission, to educate women The Reformed tradition in
which (/jc colkije was created helped shape the intellectual, spiritual and ethical
values affirmed to this day: individual mcjuny, comiiiiliiifHl to the common good,
the importance of character formation and enijailement with the world. These are
reflected in its motto from II Peter 1.5, "Now add to your faith virtue^ and to
virtue knowledge."

And what happened to faith and knowledge at Princeton
University^ It is common to trace the growing demise of the
Presbyterian-afliliated college to Princeton's decision to sever its
ties with the Presbyterian Church, but a closer look at Princeton
University today reveals that the importance of Princeton is not
that it was once Presbyterian and has "lapsed." It is that it still
embodies some of the strongest aspects of the Reformed educa-
tional tradition, public service and, yes, the encounter between
faith and knowledge. The structure is no longer via an institu-
tional affiliation with the church, but in the multiple ways in
which faith and learning continue to intersect at Princeton.

A thriving Presbyterian church has pride of place on Nassau
Street, a strong and creative Westminster Fellowship ministers to
sons and daughters of Presbyterian families that seek a strong
intellectual education and continuing touchstones for their
faith. A vigorous religious-studies faculty contributes different
perspectives on the Bible, Christianity, ethics and world religions.
I watched my son, Craham, navigate these perspectives: the
encounter between faith and learning was very much a part of his
college experience. Wallace Alston jr. (whose father Wallace
Alston was president of Agnes Scott when I was a student!) was
minister at Nassau Presbyterian dtiring mv sons college years, and

12 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2OO5

there Graham encountered a searching intellect with a powerlul
faith that communicated both to this university community. A
class with Professor Elaine Pagels on the historical Jesus raised
questions he had not previously addressed about the social and
intellectual context of the Holy Land during the time of Jesus. Yes,
this course challenged some of his beliefs, but it also sent him
back to the Bible for a closer textual reading. Leadership on the
interfaith council provided him the opportunity to organize a
seminar series on science and religion, inviting professors to
address topics such as the big bang, evolution and genetic engi-
neering from both a scientific and religious perspective. And Mark
Orten, the Westminster chaplain, organized Friday night fellow-
ship, food and nurture for a group of students who had shared
Montreat youth conferences and church involvement as high
school students. What more could a Presbyterian parent want?

Princeton is not alone m being a "secular" institution where
religion still plays a role in the life of the institution. Harvard's
Jewish president, Lawrence Summers, chose the Tuesday prayer
meeting at Harvard to express his concern about recent anti-
Semitic protests. Harvard prayer meeting? Yes, Harvard
University, as an institution, has sponsored a daily gathering for
Christian prayers since its inception. Harvard's Memorial Church
also occupies pride of place in the middle of Harvard Yard, and it
too has not been turned into a museum, but is a living, active,
vigorous church. 1 have worshipped there on a number of
occasions, mcludmg Palm Sunday, and have always been impressed
by the full pews, dignified Protestant service and feeling of a
spiritual community.

As Presbyterians we begin our ministry to higher education by
renewing our understanding of John Calvin's fearless emphasis on
the necessity of inquiry to faith and by recognizing anew that no
Presbyterian need fear the "secular" university or the apparently

siirijed ill recenl years."

"The rise oj post-modern, post-positivist, jemhiist and minority-group
scholarship has called into (juestion the ideals of ohjectivity and value-free
scholarship/'

"A new relicjious pluralism is transforming student life."

While it is too soon to predict the future of this movement, we
can make several observations. The first is that students today are
far more "religious" than their respective faculties at almost any
institution. The second is that Christian htndamentalists and the
parachurch movement are often more visible on college campuses
than mainline Protestant denominations or Roman Catholics. The
third is that the increasing numbers of Muslims, Hindus and
Buddhists, as well as Christians from Asia, Africa and Latin
America on American college and university campuses are expos-
ing students to the religions of the world beyond Christianity and
Judaism daily, and often for the first time The fourth is that there
is a growing spirituality movement that cuts across all faiths and
is attractive to young Americans. The fifth is the passion of this
generation for service, for volunteer activity. And finally, that the
Enlightenment epistemological canon of rational objective knowl-
edge has been challenged by post-modernism and related move-
ments, opening the door within the academy to a more open-
ended view of knowledge, one that includes subjective as well as
transcendental possibilities.

It may at first seem heretical, but a few further comments on
spirituality, religious pluralism and post-modernism may con-
tribute to a deeper understanding of why these movements can be
seen to be opening new doors for Presbyterian ministries to
higher education.

Several years ago Wellesley College sponsored a national con-
ference on "Education as Transformation: Religious Pluralism,
Spirituality and Higher Education." More than 1 ,000 participants

Presbyterian-affiliated colleges have a mission to support the faith journeys
of all of their students and at whatever points along that journey.

secular college. Only when we embrace this concept can we begin
the complex task of imaging new forms of ministry to students at
our largest, most secular and most prestigious institutions, as well
as liberal arts colleges throughout the country.

STUDENTS TODAY

What are today's students really like? An entire issue of
the Association of American Colleges and Universities
monthly magazine Liberal Education was recently
devoted to religion on campus, the first time it has ever done so.
Titles of articles tell part of the story: "Crowing Spirituality
During the College Years," "Religion: A Comeback on Campus, "
"The Future of Religious Colleges," "Out of the closet and into the
classroom, the yard, and the dining halls: Notes on Religion at
Harvard." Highlighted passages tell more:

"We have reached a moment in higher education where our students are now
more likely to ask, "Where do I meet God^" than to ponder the (Question "Does
God exist?"

"Never completely banished from campus life, voluntaiy religious activity

came, including college and university presidents and representa-
tives of boards of trustees. Presbyterian colleges represented
included the College of Wooster, Davidson and Agnes Scott.
Most of us came as delegations, including faculty and trustees.
Recognition that spirituality was a legitimate topic in an academic
context was a radical new idea that has not been around since per-
haps the early part of this century. Recognition that education
higher education can be seen as spiritually transformative chal-
lenged rationality at its very core.

Some of the emphasis on spirituality has come from greater
familiarity with religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism where
meditation leads to enlightenment or salvation. But religious plu-
ralism, a feature of American society that is especially pronounced
in many college and university settings, also brings new awareness
of the faith practices and rituals associated with different religious
groups. For many, such as Muslims, daily prayer rituals are practiced
de rigeur and periods of fasting honored far from home. Exposure
to these different traditions rarely makes Christians want to
become Muslim: it does awaken in them a greater curiosity about

"THE BIRTHRIGHT OF OUR TRADITION I3

their own religious traditions, many oi which have always been
taken for granted or honored in the breach. It awakens in them a
new curiosity about mherited belief systems, encouraging deeper
study and often more active participation with their own church
families At Agnes Scott, we hnd our religion courses whether
biblical or about world religions are full and overflowing.

To treasure the communion of

faith and learning in education is the

focal birthright of our tradition.

It has become common to chastise post-modernism for its
denial ot any objective truth or knowledge and its rejection of tra-
ditional forms of literary or historical or religious authority But
post-modernism, at its core, represents a new way of looking at
knowledge. It opens the classroom door to subjective, personal
experiential knowledge instead of enshrining only objective sci-
entific knowledge. And in recognizing the power of experiential
knowledge it opens the epistemological door to faith.

Today's students are exposed to all of these movements and
more In their search for personal meaning and in their extraordi-
nary commitment to service, they are bringing their own trans-
formative power to college and university campuses around the
country. An effective Presbyterian college ministry must be con-
scious of this milieu, must be ready to reinvent itself in order to be
present m the interstices of student life whether it be in times
ol quiet spiritual meditation, interfaith dialogue, restrained
Protestant worship, exuberant African-American song or robust
Christian fundamentalism

PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGES A VARIED, EXPANSIVE MISSION

To be sure, the range of these movements and of these dif-
ferent population groups vary from region to region and
from college to college. Every college and university has a
distinct constituency and a distinct mission, including those affil-
iated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is why we
should be careful about our typologies of Presbyterian-affiliated
colleges and universities

As 1 have come to know my sister institutions, I have been
impressed with the attention given to what it means to be
Presbyterian, especially how we can assist in training a new gen-
eration of church leaders. Recent funding from the Pew
Foundation enabled many of our institutions to institute new pro-
grams on exploring Christian vocation, Douglas Oldenburg, for-
mer moderator of our church, visited Agnes Scott, among other
institutions, meeting with potential ministerial candidates. Our
collective focus on service complements and reinforces the mis-
sion of the church. And our many encounters with different faith
groups further the Presbyterian emphasis on interfaith dialogue.
But a college is not a church, and there can be a tendency
among church circles to transfer criteria relevant for church mem-
bership to college and university communities, to think primarily
of a college advancing the mission of our specific church, the task

of expanding the Presbyterian constituency. This is asking both
too much and too little. Too much because it is difficult for col-
leges to be successful at a task that has proved elusive to church
and family, as Presbyterian numbers continue to decline. Too lit-
tle because an effective and innovative Presbyterian ministry in
colleges and universities could position the Presbyterian Church
to once again be an expanding, national and even world leader in
the all-important continuing dialogue between faith and learning.
The church often regrets the decline of its institutions into "secu-
larism" without examining what the engagement with the secular,
intellectual forces of our times requires.

Such an engagement means first and foremost reclaiming John
Calvin's confidence in the necessity of the intersection between
faith and learning, and that requires renewed respect from church
people for intellectual inquiry. My favorite Calvin quote is from
the btstituks, and 1 often use it at Agnes Scott College: "Indeed
people who have either quaffed or even tasted the liberal arts pen-
etrate with their aid into the secrets of divine wisdom." Such an
engagement also recognizes that the location of such engagement
can be anywhere, anytime and with anyone Presbyterian-affili-
ated colleges have a mission to support the faith journeys of all of
their students and at whatever points along that journey.
Presbyterian chaplains at research universities should contribute
to the university's ethical, humanistic debates about science or the
struggles over diversity, as well as to the regular members of the
Westminster Fellowship groups There is no single model and no
one has a monopoly on the best ideas for how this is done.

Several years ago, the Association of Presbyterian Colleges
and Universities held its annual meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland,
revisiting the roots of Presbyterian higher education. John
Kuykendall, former president of Davidson College and one of the
speakers, reflected an appreciation of the breadth of Presbyterian
higher education by noting his concern with the "poorly camou-
flaged conviction or must we say bias that only this or that
particular model will suffice as a proper paradigm or template for
what it means to be an institution that really intends to maintain
the relationship between faith and learning. " F^e went on to chal-
lenge the many Presbyterian college presidents assembled in
Scotland to continue to pay attention to the communion between
faith and learning:

FHere, I believe, is a distinctive feature of our particular heir-
loom: Our tradition simply will not be put into that sort of strait-
jacket. We have before us a remarkable opportunity to express and
exercise faithful insights in different ways pertinent to different
settings and environments. To treasure the communion of faith
and learning in education is the focal birthright of our tradition.

This conference concluded with Sunday morning worship at
St. Giles Cathedral, the home of John Knox and the Scottish
Presbyterian movement The many Presbyterian college presi-
dents who attended from around the world returned to their home
institutions with a deeper appreciation of the intellectual and
spiritual power of the Reformed tradition, renewed in our sepa-
rate, distinct, and vet united educational mission.

iWcvj Brown Bullock 66 is prenciail of Aipiei SuotI Co/lfi/c. This iirliclc is reprinted by
permiiiion from The Presbyterian Outlook, Oct 2S, 2002, Vol. (S, No 3d

1 luiin \V Kuykcndall Doclor Wuherspoon^ Bcquesl an address to the annual meeting: ol the
Association ol IVesbylcnan Collc>;es and Universities, lune 2i. 2001 , p 19

2 Mission ol Aynes Scott College, Foundations .August 2002

^ Association ol American Colleges and Universities. LihrraiEducitUon. Vol. 87, No 4 (Fall, 2001 1

1^ AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

"Got Honor Code?"

While recent studies praise the strength oj longstanding honor codes such as the one at Agnes Scott,
the college realizes and expects that its almost loo-year-old Ho}ior System is not perfect and neither

are those who sign it. Yet, the ever-evolving system works.

by Beth A. Blaney '91, M.A.T. '95

T

o the Agnes Scott
community
long steeped in
the values that
support the col-
lege's legacy of honor recent
findings about cheating trends
come as no surprise.

In a study titled "Got Honor
Code?" graduate-level statisti-
cians at Georgia State
University set out to determine
if students at local schools with
formal honor codes (Agnes
Scott, Mercer University and
Brenau College) are less likely
to cheat than students at
schools \\f\th more informal
policies concerning academic
honesty (Georgia State, Georgia
Tech and The University of
Georgia).

Of the students surveyed at
the Georgia schools vv'ithout
formal honor codes, 31 percent
adm.itted to cheating on exams,
while 37 percent admitted to
cheating on written work. At
the honor-code schools, 15
percent admitted to cheating
on exams and 13 percent
admitted to cheating on written

work. Cheating rates at Agnes Scott were considerably lower than
at the other five schools surveyed.

In a similar study conducted at more than 20 colleges and uni-
versities nationwide, Donald McCabe of the Center for Academic
Integrity based at Duke University found that cheating usually
occurs one-third to one-half less often on campuses with honor
codes than on campuses without them.

Since 1 906, when Agnes Scott instituted its Honor Code, the
college has sustained a culture in which students strive to gain
knowledge honestly.

"Our Honor System is the cornerstone of campus life," says
Cue Hudson '68, vice president for student life and community

relations and dean of students.
'You must understand that to
understand the importance of
mtegrity at Agnes Scott."

"There's a certain level of
trust that exists at Agnes
Scott," says I^hil Gibson,
associate professor of biology
and director of the environ-
mental studies program. Gibson
approaches teaching here "with
an assumption of a higher level
of academic integrity, ' thanks
to the Honor System.

'The Honor System was
one of the reasons 1 chose to
come to Agnes Scott," says
senior Cora Harrington '05. "1
wanted to attend a school
where students live and learn
honorably."

First-year student Jessie
Harmsen '08 also credits the
Honor System as an integral
part of her decision to come to
school here. "Students accept
[the Honor Code] as their
'way of life,' and you can really
sense that on campus."

Nonetheless, news of col-
leges and universities rife with
cheating abounds. While Agnes
Scott students are far less likely to cheat than students from many
other institutions, honor-code infractions occur every semester.

"During my first couple of years at Agnes Scott, 1 found the
Honor System to be very effective. Students seemed to treasure
it," says Harrington. "Sadly, now it seems that fewer students are
adopting the Honor Code as a way of life academically (with
regard to cheating) or personally (as concerns dorm-room theft
and vandalism). 1 don't understand why people come to a school
with an honor code when they have no intention of following it '
When asked how the administration handles campus expecta-
tions of the Honor System and the disenchantment that
sometimes arises Hudson asserts that "a violation is not an

"GOT HONOR CODE?

15

indictment ot the system The assumption exists that we some-
times make mistakes, she says. 'The Honor System gives you a
chance to assume personal responsibility and admit your mistakes,
violations are a normal part of a healthy process."

She thinks "the system works because students at Agnes
Scott when they sign the Honor Code take it to be their per-
sonal code of honor, it works because the students who believe in
it are willing to join a community that carries that kind of respon-
sibility." Hudson attributes the Honor System's long-term success
to students who have supported and nurtured it, particularly the
women of the Honor Court.

As for the role ol the administration: "We have to orient stu-
dents. While the system works because the students believe in it,
the institution has an obligation to be sure the Honor Code has
the right kind of institutional importance. We must continue to
evaluate the Honor Code and support it, " says Hudson.

Honor Court President Michelle Currica '06 said that as of
March, she had seen approximately 25 violations this school year,
she expected a total of 30 by the end of spring semester

Betty Derrick '68, special assistant to the vice president for stu-
dent life and community relations, observes how few cases exist
based on the student population. "Less than 3 percent of students
at Agnes Scott are involved in Honor Court cases."

"The honor system was one of the reasons I
chose to come to Agnes Scott. I wanted to attend a
school where students live and learn honorably."

CORA HARRINGTON '05

Even so, certain types of abuse are on the rise.

"I think Internet plagiarism has caused a huge problem. It's
becoming more common, " says Gibson. To discourage it, Agnes
Scott professors attempt to explam issues related to internet pla-
giarism more thoroughly in their course syllabi and discuss the
matter with students. In addition, the college subscribes to an
online resource called Turnltln.com, which helps professors iden-
tify papers containing unoriginal material

Also, some students have taken advantage of the self-sched-
uled Hnal-examination process

This vear, the college implemented major policy changes to
the end-of-semester examination process. No books or notes of
any kind can be taken into Buttrick Hall during exam week, unless
students are using them for an open-book/open-note examination.
In addition, students can no longer take in personal items such as
backpacks or purses

"1 think this is one of the toughest restrictions we've had to
deal with as students," says Currica. "I'm one of those students
who like to sit in line [prior to picking up my exam] reading and
studying up to the last minute. "

The new exam restrictions should stop those few students who
are tempted to neglect end-of-semester protocol, and, for exam-
ple, complete a self-scheduled exam under the guise of taking an
open-book/open-note test, when they are not permitted to do so.

Naturally, members of Agnes Scott are offended and disap-
pointed when breaches of conduct, such as academic dishonesty,
take place.

"Agnes Scott is part ot a community that says honor is a cen-
tral part of our lives. Abuse undermines the community trust," says
Tracey Laird, assistant professor of music. "You'll recover from a
poor grade, but it takes a long time to rebuild your integrity."

Gibson argues that if a person doesn't have integrity to begin
with, "signing the Honor Code pledge doesn't make a difference
in that person's behavior."'

According to Hudson, having an honor code does not mean
that the college consists only of faultless students, "it means that
we have students who are committed and bound by the oath to
live honorably in a community where honor is the pinnacle of
daily life."

'"Agnes Scott offers students the experience of living in an hon-
orable community, not a perfect community, " adds Derrick. "It's
part of the holistic educational process that prepares students for
their lives beyond college."

To raise awareness and deter would-be violators, the Agnes
Scott Honor Court has become more conspicuous on campus.
Members host Honor Week at least once a year, which includes
mock trials and plagiarism workshops. Popular films dealing with
a particular aspect of honor also are shown

As a result of Honor Court's increased visibility, Currica says
more people are paying closer attention to the Honor Code.
However, because Honor Court cases are handled privately and
the outcomes usually aren"t evident, the system remains elusive to
many members of the campus community.

Gibson views this level of secrecy as problematic. "An issue Ive
had difficulty with since coming to Agnes Scott 1 years ago is that
nobody knows what's going on with the Honor Court. 1 get this
feeling sometimes that there's this secret court making decisions
that no one knows about, and everybody's scared. As a result, theres
too much fear in the system and not enough understanding."

But Hudson says the way most colleges handle judicial viola-
tions is to respect the privacy of the individuals involved, "it's a
challenge to determine how much information we can share with-
out humiliating the person accused, " she says. Honor Court alerts
faculty of the sanctions given in any cases they turn in. In addi-
tion, she notes that Honor Court is trying to share with students
more factual information about the cases it hears

For instance, based on a recommendation that came out of the
honor-system taskforce review headed by Sandra Bowden,
Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology, in the mid-'90s, Agnes
Scott's student newspaper, The Projilc, has published annuallv a list

16 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

of all Honor Court cases, along with sanctions, for the last five
years. To respect privacy, the names of all students involved are
withheld.

Bowden's review team also recommended a stronger introduc-
tion to the Honor System for incoming students, faculty and staff,
as well as "open, cross-constituency dialogue" about the Honor
System, among other suggestions. "We found that many staff peo-
ple didn't know exactly how the system worked, but wanted to
support it. [Honor] feels more like a community value if all know
about it, all support it and all regard it strongly," says Bowden.
Since the taskforce made its recommendations last decade,
numerous changes to the Honor System have been implemented.

"The Honor System gives you a chance to assume
personal responsibility and admit your mistal<es;
violations are a normal part of a healthy process."

GUE HUDSON '68,

VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFE AND

COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND DEAN OF STUDENTS

Honor Court now offers four- to six-week sessions for first-
year students at the beginning of the school year to explain how
Honor Court and the Judicial Board function. Currica says she's
seen particular success with new students and the Honor System,
thanks to these informative sessions and the clarifications on pro-
cedures they provide.

This year, the advocate program has been instituted by Honor
Court. Each student who must go before Honor Court for a vio-
lation is assigned an advocate (a member of the Honor Court) to
walk her through the process. The student's advocate provides
explanation and assistance throughout the entire case and accom-
panies the student while she awaits the ruling on her case.

Kathryn Smith '06 says she turned in a student for academic
dishonesty this year and was thoroughly impressed with the pro-
ceedings. "My recent encounter showed me just how important
the administration views the Honor Code as well as the level of
dedication of the Honor Court members. They went out of their
way to see that everyone involved in the case got a fair run of
things. 1 was well-educated and informed of the steps during the
entire process and fully supported by the Honor Court and the
administration."

The advocate program has made the Honor System more
successful, says Currica. Students gain a greater understanding of
how the Honor Code is upheld and word spreads. Knowledge
bolsters adherence.

Currica also says she's seen more success with "dual responsi-
bility," which makes her proud. "When students come to Agnes
Scott and sign the Honor Pledge, they commit to being responsi-
ble for their own actions as well as to being their sister's keeper."

If a student witnesses someone behaving dishonorably, she's
obligated to confront that person and encourage her to turn herself
in,- sometimes the witness must make the tough decision to turn in
a student who refuses to assume personable responsibility for a
mistake. "It's very hard to turn in one of your peers, " says Currica.

Currica has also seen more students turning themselves in, for

plagiarism, tor example, alter realizing they didn't follow proce-
dures properly while writing a paper.

"When people say the Honor System here doesn't work, it's
often because they aren't taking the steps necessary to uphold it, "
says Currica.

When asked about the biggest challenge the college faces in
sustaining academic integrity, Hudson says "the easy answer, in
some ways, is to say plagiarism and the Internet." She grows pen-
sive and then shifts her focus to the conceptual idea of honor. "1
think [the greatest challenge is] continuing to educate people
about what it means to live in an honorable community and hav-
ing them agree that that's a value they want to accept."

"There's a difference between the Honor Court and all its
mechanics, and the sense of an honorable community and the
Honor System," says Derrick. "I think we sometimes get bogged
down in how the cases go forward, rather than focusing on what
I see as a real miracle at Agnes Scott that there's an honorable
community here." It's in keeping with the mission of the college
to teach people how to live honorably, so that when they get out
into the world [honor is] part of their intentions, she says.

Despite its flaws, having an honor system is a good way to say,
"We have a certain standard of conduct that we're going to accept
and expect here, and we're all going to live by that," says Gibson.
"We need to give careful consideration to what the code means
and how it can be used most effectively to enhance the academic
experience and quality of our institution." In his opinion, a code
of honor is most effective when it focuses on academics alone.

Based on surveys previously administered by the taskforce,
however, alumnae, students, faculty and staff strongly support an
honor system that covers both academic and social aspects of
campus life, notes Bowden

Laird finds the Honor System at Agnes Scott liberating and
character-building. 'The Honor Code is a reference point," she says.

"Honor is a daily struggle; it's not
something you achieve and move on.
Getting there is what really matters."

TRACEY LAIRD,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MUSIC

"One thmg 1 can do [as a role model for my students] is live
honorably myself," adds Laird. To do so, "I say what 1 mean, and
mean what I say." She explains that she sets high standards for her
students, communicates them and maintains them. Laird tries to
interact with students as individuals who come from different
backgrounds. She assumes they're putting forth their best effort
and always helps them in their academic pursuits.

"Honor is a daily struggle,- it's not something you achieve and
move on. Getting there is what really matters," says Laird.

"I've seen students make some tremendous mistakes, but still
handle them in an honorable way," says Hudson. "1 believe in our
process."

Beth Blaney '91, M.A.T. 95 eameci nn AI.FA. in creative iwnjiction at Columbia
Uiiim'riit)' and has tanclht nonaction writin/} at Acjnes Scott.

GOT HONOR code:'

17

Worship with

Members oj a neu'/y
created church, pastored
by an Agnes Scott
alumna, putjeet to their
praise and worship oj
God byjocusincj on doing
good for those in need.

By Victoria F. Stopp 'oi

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Atter hearing concerns from several people who
wanted to create a church that focuses on worship,
care and outreach, the Rev. Elinor Perkins "Perky"
Daniel '74 did just that. An ordained minister in the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), she is the founding
pastor of the Genesis Community Congregation, a diverse group
of worshipers ranging in age from 12 to 93. The congregation
meets in Daniel's home across from Agnes Scott.

"We committed to meeting in borrowed spaces, using our
'building funds' for Habitat for Humanity houses," says Daniel.
"Instead of a praise singing time, we spend the first 30 minutes of
alternating weeks doing an act of praise and gratitude to God by
making 300 sandwiches for the hungry folks on the streets here.
We experienced God's call to create a needs-based ministry, with
much more focus on moving outward and living our vocations
24/7, rather than being busy within the church trying to create
programs to pull people in. Our primaiy scriptural mandates come
from the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, fruit of
the spirit and Micah 6:6-8 ['doing justice, acting with loving
kindness, walking humbly with the Lord']."

Daniel's church has grown from six members to between 60
and 70. This year, members may need to move to another space
or divide into two or more congregations.

"We're experiencing an amazing inspiration of the Spirit in
prompting many who have had little or no previous faith experi-
ence, or previously had abusive experiences in the church, to trust
us and become actively involved in worshiping, studying scripture,
praying, giving of themselves and their resources," says Daniel.

The church's litanies of accomplishments are testament to its
effectiveness. From making nearly 2 1 ,000 sandwiches for the hun-
gry to supporting the Atlanta Food Bank to collecting funds for
tsunami relief, congregants have touched the lives of countless
people. Habitat houses, camp scholarships for inner-city youth
and assisting with stocking the Oakhurst Presbyterian clothes
closet are a few projects the church has undertaken.

"From year-end 2001 through year-end 2004, we have done
more than $100,000 of mission/outreach," says Daniel.

The congregation functions with nearly paperless communi-
cation, focusing on technology as an efficient means to reach one
another. Its prayer list connects from Georgia to California.

"Each week I send e-notes with a prayer list, care news, our
Biblical text for the week and schedule," says Daniel. "When a
prayer need arises or there's news to share, anyone in the group
can send an e-mail to all."

Daniel and her congregation wrote a new communion liturgy
that has strong ethical implications and stays within Reformed
theology. Sunday-evening services are multifaceted acts of fel-
lowship and faith and consist of contributions from Daniel and
church members, including youth. They serve sparkling red grape
juice and homemade bread made according to Calvin's grain spec-
ifications and begin gatherings with a kiss on each cheek to sig-
nify members' dedication to peace, fellowship and the objective

of their efforts.
With a congregational focus on "In earlier times a kiss of

otiiers, Elinor Perkins "Perl<y" greeting indicated the pecking

Daniel -74 (standing under the ^^^^^ ^f society," says Daniel.

house numbers) and the Genesis , , , ,

Community Congregation However, ours reminds us that

celebrate the completion of a there is neither Jew nor Greek,

"Habitat" house. neither slave nor free, neither

male nor female, but all are one in Christ'."

A wife and mother, Daniel carefully balances family life with
her responsibilities as a church leader. If a congregant has an
emergency, she welcomes a call at any hour, but also dedicates a
time for just her family.

"1 try to seize moments or days here and there to be with fam-
ily if I've been working more, or to catch up on work when I've
recently been more focused on family," said Daniel. "Several
mornings a week, I get up at 5 or 5:30 to study and write while the
house and world are quieter. At night, we have family devotional
time with at least prayers of thanksgiving for the gifts of the day
plus various requests for the well-being of friends, family and the
world, often also reading from the Bible."

"We committed to meeting in

borrowed spaces, using our 'building funds' for

Habitat for Humanity hiouses."

Twenty-two years ago, Daniel was called as a pastor by the
congregation in which she completed a 10-week internship
during her second year of seminary, but her mterest in religion
began even earlier in life

"During high school and college, churches gave me an oppor-
tunity to serve in music ministry," says Daniel. "From those
experiences, I grew into music and youth ministry, which led me
into seminary for growth in understanding."

A music major at Agnes Scott, Daniel later graduated from
Columbia Theological Seminary in 1 986 with a master of divinity
degree and then from Georgia State University in 1994 with a
Ph.D. in English. She savors her memories of student life at
Agnes Scott, including Glee Club concerts, a candlelight Mortar
Board ceremony and the cohesion of the community during a
major ice storm.

"Agnes Scott reinforced my family's values of faith, integrity
and lifelong learning and affirmed and enhanced my understand-
ing of my calling in ministry," says Daniel. "Friendships and '
connections made during my college years continue to mean
much and bring ]oy and fresh perspectives to me even now, thirty
years after graduation."

Victoria F. Stopp 'oi, n fomer ojficc oj communications intern, is a canMdiite jor the mnsler
o/(Jf iirts 111 creative nonaction from Goucher Coliei)e.

WORSHIP WITH FEET TO IT 19

A Seeker

oj Truth

by MelanieS. Best '79

Lfdi'mi; people emy- People lawinij me biTni. . Lmi'iiu; has
been the mhwr key thtjt hiis nuide this whole aiiventure a little sad
sometimes , . . I'm blessed in that I bloom uihere I am planted and
don't tend to get homesick . but I do have fears about leavinc) my
old hfe behmd

So wrote Joy Payton '98 in a December 2003 installment of
her online blog, Convent Files. These days, she posts her blog
from a convent in Haverford, Pa. Payton, who just two years ago
was a computer programmer rising through the ranks at an Atlanta-
based travel services company, is becoming a Catholic nun

In the process, she hopes to educate and inspire others.

"There are lots of misconceptions about religious life. 1 hope
the Convent Files help allay them," says Payton. "Also, other
women are being called to the religious life but may feel they're
not holy enough or special enough to do it. Through my blog, I
can say, 'I'm an ordinary human being, but God picked me anyway'."

Being picked led her to a life as a sister in the international
Catholic congregation. Handmaids of the Sacred FHeart of Jesus.
After a Pentecostal-oriented childhood and several years as a
Presbyterian, she converted to Catholicism in 2001 and was active
m her Atlanta parish. Immaculate Heart of Mary. Even so, turning
away from a likely future of professional advancement, and possi-
blv marriage and children, marked a sharp redirection.

[disclosing her choice on a blog was much easier than face to
face with loved ones.

"My mother started sobbing this was in a restaurant, which
1 chose deliberately, hoping she wouldn't freak out," Payton
recalls "Fortunately, they were tears of joy."

Her dad, divorced from her mother, gave nonchalant approval,
but the news stunned one sister and troubled the other, who
worried Payton's decision was an act of sacrifice and self-denial.

To Payton's surprise, Catholic friends reacted most negatively.
"You're sure about this? Convents are filled with old women," was
the typical response. In contrast, the Agnes Scott community
extended the greatest support. "Even nonreligious and politicallv

20 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

liberal friends were thrilled tor me."

Payton, an extroverted 5'3", believes her path to the
Handmaids reflects Agnes Scott.

'When 1 arrived at college 1 was really struggling," she says.
Payton calls her Tennessee upbringing "not dysfunctional,
exactly," but admits that in the 12 months before arriving in
Decatur she was alternately homeless and in foster care.

"I went to Agnes Scott and blew it. I flunked four classes and
was doing what it took to survive."

Payton says she cheated in some courses that first year. As part
of her confession of wrongs to those she had hurt, Payton
returned to campus in 2003 to disclose her violation of the Honor
Code in a public forum sponsored by Mortar Board.

Payton told the audience that she did not take the Honor
Code seriously. Calling herself a "fraudulent alumna, " Payton said
she received her diploma at the cost of her self-respect and honor.

"Now is the time to do the right thing," she confessed.

Payton turned into an A-student and respected campus leader
"Some people my professors. Dean [Cue] Hudson ['68], Mollie
Merrick ['57] cared enough about me not to let me fall through
the cracks."

She spent those years trying on various identities. "'1 desper-
ately wanted to fit in. With one grotip 1 would be one way, with
another, Fd be someone else ""

Fittingly, for a searcher, Pa\ton majored in philosophy. She
poured activist energy into the Pro-Choice Movement, establish-
ing the campus chapter of the Georgia Abortion Rights Action
League She joined the Newman Club, the Roman Catholic
student group. By graduation, shed rejected the pro-choice
position though not her friends who held it.

"Agnes Scott took a real risk on me, and formed me into an
adult, a person of responsibility who can appreciate differences. '"

"When I first felt the nudge toward religious life, I thought I
was crazy," Payton recalls. For months in 2001, she seemed to be
receiving or seeking messages from all over She read a book

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Leaving behind the fast-track, high-tech world
for a more focused, contemplative and serving life,
one alumna chooses a journey off the beaten path.

whose main character becomes a nun. She would surf the Internet
and land on homepages of nuns. On a job interview in London,
she picked up a local Catholic diocesan newspaper and ended up
at the "nun ads" in the back pages.

"I'm bossy and loud. 1 like to go to parties. I had a career and a
boyfriend. It was nuts to think of becoming a nun!"

But the nudge was persistent, so she made what she called a
bargain with God: to indulge her longstanding desire to live and
work overseas, she would find work in Europe, try it for a year,
then reassess her calling.

In September 200 1 , Payton was preparing to fly to Switzerland
to start a job with SwissAir. She'd given notice to her Atlanta
employer, Worldspan, and disposed of her household goods

Sept. 1 1 shredded her game plan. Swiss authorities, hoping to
preserve endangered airline jobs for locals, rejected her work-visa
request, and a few weeks later SwissAir went out of business.

"Worldspan let me 'un-resign'. But otherwise, Sept. 1 I took
away my every presumption of safety," said Payton. "Sitting in my
empty apartment, it came to me: 1 can do the religious life. Since
I know it will make me happy, why pass it up? Having given away
most of my possessions made it easier."

That October, she attended a mass for those considering a reli-
gious vocation and for the first time admitted life as a nun might
be her destiny. "Once 1 said it out loud, my fears melted away. '

After a monthlong application process and year of being a pos-
tulant, Payton relocated to Pennsylvania in January to start a two-
year term as a novice. A postulant is a "mini-nun" one remains a
free agent, with her own money and the ability to travel. Payton
lived in the Handmaids' Miami convent for her postulant period
and spent some of that time in El Salvador helping impoverished
children.

For a novice, however, the outside world recedes. Days are
devoted to prayer and education in the doctrines of the church
and the Handmaids congregation. In this first year, Payton must
remain fairly isolated not cloistered but neither encouraged to

visit family or experience a social life unconnected to the church.
The thing she misses most in her new life? Shopping!

Days begin at 6 a.m. Prayer and mass fill mornings. Several
afternoons a week she attends a support group for male and
female novices. Late in the day she may check e-mail and com-
pose an addition to the Convent Files.

"After dinner, if there's time, we gather around the TV to
watch the national news," Payton said. "As sisters, it's cmcial for us
to know what goes on the world, to be plugged in." Eight sisters
and a young applicant from Vietnam live in the St. Raphaela
retreat center with Payton.

In the evening following prayers, she may study for her
Christology course or review the Handmaids' constitution. She
also drills on Spanish verbs, anticipating the possibility of return-
ing overseas to work with the poor. Payton's in bed by 9:45.^

Ahead lies another year and a half of novitiate life, followed by
the taking of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. For
Handmaids, these vows are considered temporary for six years.
Then Payton will commit to vows forever and return to her
convent or be dispatched on a mission in one of the 24 countries
where the congregation is active.

"I have friends who think my beliefs are a crock but respect me
as person," Payton said. 'Agnes Scott fostered that. My love for
truth comes out of my Agnes Scott education. There is truth out
there, and we exist to find and follow it."

Mehvtk S. Best '79, n jreelance jounmliit living in Hohokcn. N.J., specializes in interna-
tional business and culture.

TO

LEARN

MORE

To read Payton's

"Convent Fil

es,

'go to

http

//www

acjusa.

org/conventHles

htm

A SEEKER OF TRUTH 21

He Taught students

" Think

'*:

By Kristin M. Kallaher '04, M.A.T. "06

He moved through the lije oj the college cjuickly,
hut made huge and significant waves as he
did so. Many alumnae credit Arthur Raper with
having a lije-changing impact on their lives.

He was such a short man, but we looked up to him,"
says Elsie West Duval '38 of part-time sociology
professor Arthur F Raper, who taught at Agnes
Scott from 1 932 to 1 939. "He made me believe the
unbelievable."
Raper, a social-science analyst, rural sociologist and civil rights
activist, has been acknowledged as both visionary and gifted by
many including historians, sociologists and former students
who describe him as a man before his time and as a professor who
taught students to think for themselves.

"Although prejudice was not consciously taught at home,
'white supremacy' was the norm for most students' families," says
I^uval. "Until we met Dr. Raper in our classroom, we'd never con-
fronted issues of legal or racial discrimination, yet he opened our
young minds and hearts in a challenging way. He taught us to
fight injustices in our cities, states and nation as much as possible.
He broke down barriers decades before his time "

Mildred Davis Harding '38 was an English major who only
took one of Raper's sociology courses.

"Awed and shy, 1 sat in the back row, hoping to be invisible,"
wrote Harding in a letter to Duval.
"From the moment he entered the class-
room, a man of medium height and
build, a shock of brown hair on one side
of his forehead, his blue eyes alight with
intelligence and enthusiasm, the air was
charged with his energy. He lectured
and led discussions vigorously, walking
around in front of the class, sometimes
gesticulating or asking questions."

In 1938, the Silhouette was dedicated
10 him. Describing Raper as a man "who
lives by practical theories rather than as an advocate of theoretical
practices, " he was called a man "who as a student leader relates the
problems ot the world and its peoples to those of its future citi-
zens, whom he stimulates to genuine thought regardless of
whether it agrees with his views" and "a teacher whose classes are

Raper, 1935

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Agnes Scott students of
the 1930s see first hand the.
environmental ravages at
Copper Hill, Tenn.

continually increasing because of his reputation for sincerity and
honesty and enthusiasm in presenting his subject "

If Raper's teaching methods were unorthodox, so was his
arrangement with Agnes Scott, says Cliff Kuhn, associate profes-
sor of history at Georgia State University and director of the
Georgia Government Documentation Project. Kuhn is writing a
biography of Raper and during the spring semester was invited by
Mellow Teaching Fellow Ellen Spears to talk about Raper in her
History of the "New" South class.

"During his time as part-time instructor at the college, Raper
also served as research secretary for the Commission on Interracial
Cooperation," says Kuhn. "Raper never had a conventional con-
tract with Agnes Scott. Rather, the college paid his salary directly
to the interracial commission. The reason for this arrangement
was two-fold: to award Raper a measure of independence as he
pursued his work with the interracial commission and later with
various New Deal agencies,- and to protect Agnes Scott from crit-
icism and interference concerning its hiring policies and Raper's
activities and views in particular, although the college still came
under fire several times during Raper's tenure."

22 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

?* s-

v:

Field trips constituted a central part of Raper's teaching, says
Kuhn. "He took students to an exhibit at the Southeastern
Fair, and The Agnoitic, the college's weekly newspaper,
reported that this trip was for the purpose of studying the
American Indian village and its relationship to the early stages of
family life. His social pathology class visited the New Deal's reset-
tlement program at Pine Mountain, Ga., to teach students 'such
important modern problems as soil conservation by tenancy, up-
to-date housing of farmers and the practical applications of the
latest farming methods to the mass of Southern farmlands.'"

Duvall recalls the field trip Raper led to observe the environ-
mental devastation caused by the smelters at Copper Hill, Tenn.
"New trails were blazed by that trip, where we went to view the
tragic soil erosion at a period in my life when even the word
'Ecology' was unfamiliar."

In late 1934, according to Kuhn, Raper took two students to
an interracial conference at historically black Paine College in
Augusta, Ga. He also arranged numerous informal meetings
between Agnes Scott and Spelman College students in particular,
and informed his Scott students that their counterparts were

studying the same things they were.

Kuhn notes that Raper invited several prominent African
Americans to speak on campus. One was Atlanta University
Center President John Hope, who in 1935 delivered a speech
titled "Peace" at the campus YWCA's chapel program. On another
occasion, he brought James Weldon Johnson, author of God's
Trombones and a leader in the national NAACP, who spoke in
chapel m the morning and had a tea in his honor in the afternoon.

"In between these two events," says Kuhn, "occurred an
episode that reveals how Raper, and by extension his students,
often transgressed prevailing racial mores. After Johnson's
morning presentation, he, Raper and two students one of whom
was Winifred Kellersburger, a leader in the campus "Y" who later
authored a book on the Bantu language in America had lunch
at a cafe on Auburn Avenue, the heart of black Atlanta, an activit>'
that was strictly taboo. That evening, the students and Johnson
dined together again at the Rapers' house."

Kuhn explains Raper did not go to the college administration
for permission, but Raper later recalled, "There was no way of
doing this except to just do it."

HE TAUGHT STUDENTS TO THINK 23

ARTHUR RAPER'S PLACE IN HISTORY

by Clifford M. Kuhn

No Southerner mirrored the South's prob-
lems and promise more than sociologist
Arthur Raper. Born on a North Carolina farm,
Raper attended the University of North
Carolina, where he studied with sociologist
Howard Odum. In 1926, Raperwent to work
for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation
in Atlanta, the region's leading liberal organ-
ization. As research secretary for the com-
mission, Raper monitored race relations
throughout the South, described the impact
of the agricultural depression of the 1920s
and 1930s, and worked closely with various
New Deal agencies.

Perhaps Raper's most influential work was
The Tragedy of Lynching, published in 1933.
A study of every community where a lynch-
ing had occurred during 1930, The Tragedy of
Lynching was widely reviewed, made an
important contribution to the anti-lynching
campaign and is still one of the foremost
works on the subject more than 70 years
after its publication. In addition, Raper wrote
three books on the rural South, which are
also considered classics from the period:
Preface to Peasantry (1936), an attack on the
plantation system in Georgia's Greene and
Macon counties; Sharecroppers All (1941),
coauthored with African-American sociolo-
gist Ira Reid, which portrayed the culture of

dependency throughout the region; and
Tenants of the Almighty (1943), describing
Greene County's Unified Farm Program.

Raper's research was intertwined with his
activism. He worked closely with the Farm
Security Administration and other New Deal
agencies that sought to provide relief for
farmers and lift them out of tenancy. As much
as any white Southerner of the day, Raper
also regularly challenged prevailing racial
mores in his publications and actions. His
transgressions of regional racial codes often

drew criticism, as in Greene County in 1941,
where he was brought before a grand jury for
using polite titles for African Americans. He
was an original member of the Southern
Conference for Human Welfare.

In 1939, Raper went to work for the
Carnegie-Myrdal study on race in America,
which led to the acclaimed publication An
American Dilemma. His report was considered

by project director Gunnar Myrdal to be one of
the most valuable in the study. In 1940,
Raper began a two-year stint as a partici-
pant-observer of Greene County's Unified
Farm Program, before moving to
Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Bureau of Agricultural
Economics. After World War II, Raper turned
to international rural development, writing
books on Japan, Taiwan and East Pakistan
and explicitly linking his efforts in land
reform and community development to his
earlier work in the South.

While Raper has often been mentioned by
historians of Southern liberalism, what is not
well-known is the fact that at the peak of his
career, from 1932 to 1939, he also worked as
a part-time professor of sociology at Agnes
Scott. Indeed, at his numerous speaking
engagements and appearances throughout
the 1930s, he often was identified as being
with Agnes Scott instead of the Interracial
Commission. He was an active member of
the college community and a very popular
teacher. Although his work at Agnes Scott
has been overlooked by historians and the
public, he left an indelible impression on
numerous Scott students.

Clifford M. Kuhn, associate professor of
history at Georgia State University, is writing
a biography of Arthur Raper.

"The students," says Kuhn, "were well aware of the possible
reaction should their actions become publicized, and they were
discrete about it. In Raper's words, They elected not to gab it/"

Kuhn says perhaps the biggest furor took place in late April
19.S5 when Arthur and Martha Raper, along with professor
Katherine Omwake, escorted nearly 40 students from his
Introduction to Sociology and Race Relations classes on an
overnight trip to historically black Tuskegee Institute in Alabama,

"They were received by Tuskegee President Robert R. Moton
and his wife, met the famous George Washington Carver and vis-
ited the library, the gym, the science building and other depart-
ments as well as the Negro veterans hospital," says Kuhn. "They
also posed for a picture with a class of Tuskegee sociology stu-
dents in front of the Booker T Washington monument, and while
every student who went on that trip had a copy ol the photograph
taken with these Tuskegee students, I haven't been able to dis-
cover anyone who still has her photo."

They spent the night at the guesthouse, according to Kuhn,
where Raper made sure they looked in the guest book and saw the
signatures of people like Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Ford.

"Word of the Tuskegee trip soon got out," says Kuhn, "and in
its wake. President [James Ross] McCain received numerous let-
ters calling for Raper's resignation. The next time Raper planned

an out-of-town trip the one to Pine Mountain he made sure
to ask permission at the faculty meeting tor his students to go. On
that trip, no fewer than eight female faculty members went along
as chaperones "

While Raper's methods alienated manv, his then-radical
teachings formed the heart ol what endeared his stu-
dents to him, even seven decades later in [Duval's case.
She remembers how Sunday-evening cookouts at the Rapers'
Decatur home provided her with the opportunity to talk about
issues never discussed at her home with her parents.

"As a product of comfortably complacent Virginia aristocracy,
I entered college at 16 with what is sometimes known as tunnel
vision," wrote Duval, who served as director of The Voluntary
Action Center for 2 1 years, in a 1979 letter to Raper in which she
told him of his tremendous influence on her lite. "Because of your
courageously unorthodox teachings, I finally broke out of the
mold and learned to make my own considered judgments on mat-
ters of pride or principle. It is largely to your credit that I have
been able to stand tirm whenever I hold an unpopular view."

Raper's influence led Harding to begin what she calls her
"double life."

"He made me see the injustices and sufferings in the Depression

24 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

world around me the miserable, trapped lives of the tenant
farmers,- the bitter racial conflict,- rapes, Ku Klux Klan lynchings,-
abject rural and urban poverty,- as well as the hypocrisy, prejudice
and greed that caused and perpetuated those evils. Early in the
course, I thought, 'With all that misei"y around me, how can I bask
in the delights of Agnes Scott College and do nothing to help?'"

She joined the social-service committee of the college YWCA,
and when McCain told her students at Columbia Theological
Seminary would like a few Agnes Scott girls to accompany them
in their work in Atlanta's "Syrian Mission," she immediately
gathered a few and they "plunged in."

"Throughout my sophomore and junior years, I led that double
life my thrilling life at Agnes Scott and a strenuous, eye-open-
ing one as amateur social worker in Atlanta's slums on Sunday and
Wednesday afternoons and evenings."

Harding earned a master's and a doctorate in English literature
from Columbia University and became a college professor, but
she never forgot the values Raper instilled in her. In the mid-
1950s, when Harding and her social anthropologist husband,
were teaching at a women's college in Baghdad, Iraq, Raper fortu-
itously reappeared in her life. Harding met an American woman
whose husband was working for the U.S. government in Iraq and
learned Raper, who was also working m the Middle East, was
visiting the couple that weekend. The woman insisted Harding
come to tea to visit Raper, and Harding conversed "intensely" with
him for two hours.

"I told him how influential he had been in my life and how, at a
crucial time, he had represented 'the road not taken,"' says Harding.

'"You know, Mildred,' he added, 'the whole time I was at Agnes
Scott the Ku Klux Klan and the FBI were after me. The FBI has a
file on me this thick,' he indicated with his fingers a space of about
three inches. 'They thought I was a communist. Once the local
newspaper announced "Communist Professor at Agnes Scott!"
Conviction of communism, even accusations of it, meant profes-
sional death in those days, you know. But Dr. McCain always sup-
ported me. So did the girls. When FBI "investigators" asked them,
"Did Dr. Raper ever take you to black schools or churches? Did
you ever have a meal with black students?" They all covered for
me. They answered evasively sometimes they even lied.
Imagine! Agnes Scott girls lying!'"

After the 1938- 1939 year, Raper left Agnes Scott. "Given
the persistent attacks on Raper and the pressures on the
Agnes Scott administration, many in Atlanta's liberal com-
munity were convinced, even decades later, that he had either
been fired or asked to resign," says Kuhn. "The truth of Raper's
departure was somewhat more complicated. According to Raper,
because of a change in the way the college was arranging its work-
load. President McCain offered him a full-time position, which he
did not want."

Kuhn notes a letter Raper wrote to the noted author Lillian
Smith in which he said, "I did not lose my job at Agnes Scott, so
much as I elected out rather than stay in. So long as I was there as a
part-time visiting professor, I was not under the control of the board.

Raper later recalled in conversation with Kuhn, "So rather than
go under its control, I took my leave. I wasn't going to teach there
and be told what to teach. I wasn't going to do it."

In addition, says Kuhn, Raper, who had a maverick, restless
streak, had received overtures to work with Swedish social scien-

tist Gunnar Myrdal on the Carnegie Commission's Study of the
Negro in America, the findings of which would be presented in
the classic work. Ah American Dilemma.

The collection of Raper's life's work, to which Duval's letter
was contributed, is housed in the Southern Historical
Collection of the library at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Raper earned his bachelor of arts
and his doctorate in sociology and rural economics. He also
earned his master of arts in sociology and political science from
Vanderbilt University.

Born in November 1 899, Raper grew up in North Carolina on
his family's tobacco farm. His father worked hard to send his son
to college, and Raper distinguished himself there by his excellent
grades and commitment to community service.

When, after earning his doctorate, Raper was offered the
opportunity to study sociology firsthand in Georgia by Will
Alexander, executive secretary of the Commission on Interracial
Cooperation, he eagerly accepted. Arriving in Atlanta in 1926,
Raper worked with local committees to help prevent lynchings
and promote positive race relations

After Raper left Agnes Scott, he embarked on a post-World
War II career as a social scientist, studying conditions in japan and
Taiwan, as well as countries m Asia, North Africa and the Middle
East. He remained a steadfast advocate for resolving issues of rural
development, becoming senior adviser to the Pakistan Academy
of Rural Development in 1962. Two years later, he returned to
America, serving as a visiting professor at Michigan State
University before retiring in 1967. Until his death in 1979, he
continued his mission as a social activist to end economic, politi-
cal and social injustices.

"Arthur Raper was a dynamo, an iconoclast, a courageous,
lovable force for good," wrote Mildred Davis Harding '38.
"Though I never heard him mention God or Jesus except in the
title of his book. Tenants of the Almuibty, as I look back I see Arthur
Raper, with his passion for truth and justice, as a kind of Old
Testament prophet, but a prophet with a warm heart and, on occa-
sion, a humorous twinkle in his eye."

"I felt he had flung open windows in my mind, which gave me
for the first time in my life a chance to think for myself," says
Duval. "Until then, I only thought as my parents had influenced
me to think. I wrote to thank him."

In that letter, Duval said to Raper, "It was you who introduced
me for the first time to black people who had risen above domes-
ticity. . From my simplistic understandings, lynchings never hap-
pened in reality. Georiga's chain gangs were purely fictional. You
made me believe the unbelievable. We were invited to your home
to sit around a campfire and discuss issues we never talked about
in our homes. I found this new awakening of the mind a stimulat-
ing personal experience."

Duval's letter to Raper arrived shortly after his death. It was
included with his papers at the University of North Carolina,
which "makes me feel that he got my message."

"Everything I've done in my life has been spun out of this influ-
ence of Dr. Raper," concludes Duval.

Kristin Kallaber 04 completes her Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary English ui Agnes
Scott in July and will teach English and be yearbook adoiser at Stone Mountain High
School in Georgia.

HE TAUGHT STUDENTS TO THINK 25

>

ON"^'-

.x^-"^

v^

Caught in the turmoil
oj parenting a wayward
teen, an Agnes Scott
ahimna (iinis to writing,
and those words are
providing hope and
inspiration jor countless
other parents.

By Dawn Sloan Downes '92

itti Smith Murray '78 walks into the cafe, and it

seems as if a light has come on. Her warmth and

genuine friendliness exude the same grace and sense

of hope that fill her first book, A Lomi Way Off. Hope

ami Heahni] for PamiH of Prodigah

Originally written as journal entries and articles for her sons'

school newsletter as Murray and husband, Bill, struggled to deal

with oldest son Matt's rebellion and drug use, the book has

become a handbook on faith for parents of prodigal children

"There were lots of books on how to 'fix' your troubled child, "
says Murray. "1 didn't want to write another of those because the
same solution won't work for every family. 1 wanted to write a book
for parents in the thick of it, that would help maintain their faith."
A Long Way Off reflects a faith refined in the furnace of a
mother's broken heart and an intense compassion for parents who
grieve the loss of relationship with their children and who fear the
outcome of the paths walked by those children.

"When Bill and I were dealing with Matt's problems, the other
parents at our Christian school would avoid us. There was no
network of support available to us. We went to the administration
and said we'd like to establish a parent-support team to help
parents like ourselves Then 1 began writing on the issue for the
newsletter, both to help other parents and myself. '

In addition to writing, Murray says that to survive she and Bill
made a commitment to be honest with themselves, God and

26 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2OO5

FOR DARK TIMES

others. They also focused on never blaming each other and on
loving their son unconditionally even when they had to be
tough. The most important thing they did, she says, was to pray
almost constantly. "We just cried out to the Lord and listened."

Murray e-mailed the articles to her parents, who saved every
one. Her dad took them to a friend who was an acquisition
research editor for Broadman and Holman Publishers. The editor
soon asked for more. Murray was asked to write a book proposal,
and soon she had an advance and a contract to write a book.

To get the job done, however, Murray had to abandon the
flexibility for which she worked as a wife and mother and re-
establish a structured routine.

"1 have been a writer since college. [Professor] Bo Ball told me
1 should wait tables and write. 1 wrote some poetry and short
stories after college and had some published here and there. But
then Bill became pastor of his first church, we had five sons, and
life edged writing out," says Murray.

"Now 1 write in the early morning. 1 take my laptop and move
from room to room, writing. 1 also keep a notebook where 1 jot
down book or story ideas, character names, etc.," she adds.

Murray envisions her journaling and prayer time as the seeds
of A Long Way Oj[f. "The book was written in two stages: the cru-
cible of our experience and then crafting that into something that
could help other parents. It is about my spiritual journey through
the process of raising my kids through difficult times."

While many families might want to avoid sharing their per-
sonal trials, Murray's has been encouraging. "Bill is just a great
cheerleader, totally supportive of whatever 1 want to do."

Matt, now 23, lives and works in Savannah. He gave his bless-
ing to the work as well, telling Murray "that if other parents could
be blessed by our struggle then 1 should go for it. One of our
other sons told me, 'Mom, even good kids pose challenges,' so I
felt like they understood the need for this book "

According to Murray, a tremendous need for healing exists
among the parents of troubled teens and young adults, whether
the problems involve extreme issues or more simple ones. Several
family therapists throughout Atlanta routinely give Murray's book
to their patients, although she says she is uncertain how they
became aware of the book. "Broadman and Holman releases I I or
1 2 books per month, and though the publisher markets each one,
much of the marketing falls to the author. Much of the book's
success has been due to word of mouth "

Murray and Karen Norris, a teacher at Atlanta's Wesleyan
School, are cowriting a book targeting the physical, mental and
spiritual well-being of young women entering college. It will be
called The Frahman Fifteen.

Dawn Sloan Downes 92 is ajreelattce writer living in Tucker, Ga.

A LIGHT FOR DARK TIMES 27

To Everything, There is a Season

Thuw'ted from the priesthood, this cihimna

remained jaithjul to her calling by simply taking

the next step that would lead her

along her own true path.

by Amanda Furness '08

28 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

"Since 9/11 we've begun to realize tliat
what a person believes makes a difference;
America had forgotten that what you believe

about eternal verities drives your life."

The life of lean McCurdy Mead '64 has been defined
by honor.
This Episcopal priest became aware of the con-
cept at an early age as she sought to accommodate
the desire to sei"ve others that stirred within her soul.
Throughout her formative years in San Antonio, Mead shaped her
existence around the need to uphold that calling. She became
involved in various ministries and immersed herself in Bible study.
It wasn't until she arrived at Agnes Scott, however, that the
word "honor" took on literal and definitive meaning.

A self-professed "goof-off" in her early years. Mead says she
initially took offense at the many rules imposed on students. To
her surprise, she soon discovered she felt committed to the Honor
Code she'd signed upon her admission.

"It was the first time in my life 1 realized your word is your
bond," Mead reminisces. "If you don't mean something, don't say it."
As a teenager, she'd been entrusted with freedom, responsibil-
ity and personal accountability, and embracing those ideals bol-
stered her interest in maintaining them on a personal level.

"Being an honest person was more important than drinking
beer," she says. "It was a revelation."

A breakdown of Mead's education journey reads like a hand-
book for today's working and goal-minded woman. At 16,
she became the fourth of five girls in her family to attend
Agnes Scott. She graduated four years later with a bachelor's
degree in English and moved on to Duke University, where she
received her M.A.T and met the man she would come to love and
marry, involvement in her church community, teaching stints at
the high school and college level and four children soon followed.

in all of this. Mead felt a pull toward the church that seemed
stronger than that of many of her counterparts. She felt destined
for the priesthood and possessed the service record to merit
acceptance as a full-time student at the University of Notre Dame,
becoming the seminai"y's first non-Catholic graduate. Ordination
was not an option, the Episcopal Church, of which Mead was a
member, did not ordain women as priests. When the church did
start talking about ordaining women, friends and associates con-
vinced her to seek the priesthood. "It wasn't just a personal calling
anymore. The church, the people and Cod were now calling me,"
she says.

Mead pursued ordination, but was denied by a diocese that
had yet to open its own heart and mind to women as spiritual
leaders.

"It was crushing," she says, "but I knew God could get me
through it. Maybe 1 wasn't going to get ordained, but I could still
lead God's people."

Ever determined to honor herself and her purpose. Mead

decided she could get the religious education she desired, and that
realization led her to study religion at Oxford University. Then
her first husband, from whom she was divorced, drowned.

Forced to step away from her studies. Mead was called to
expend the bulk of her energy in walking the couple's children
through their grief and in settling her ex-husband's estate. Her
duties afforded little time for introspection and scholarly activity,
and in retrospect, she's glad she didn't have the responsibilities of
a priest at that point.

"I have many friends who are Catholic priests, " she says, "so I
know what the inner life of the priesthood is like. Being a priest is
in many ways like being a mother. You can talk about it, you can
read about it, but until you actually hold that child in your arms,
until you are actually entrusted with that sacred trust, you can't
really understand it."

The job, she says, is demanding. "You have to prepare spiritually
for it. There is this huge sense of responsibility before God when
you give the Eucharist, and it doesn't allow for being distracted in
any way. You have to be fully present and fully prepared."

As the chaos in her life subsided. Mead applied for and
received a fellowship to Tulane University. Supported by her chil-
dren and her second husband, an attorney who is her parish's
chancellor, she earned her Ph.D. in philosophy in her late 50s.

In 2002, Mead's commitment resulted in her ordination into
the Episcopal priesthood. "It was an amazing feeling," she says. "In
God's time, all these things really do come to pass."

ead has found seiA'ing as a priest to be far more tulfillmg
,1 than she had thought it would be thanks in part to
it the experiences she's had as a student, wite and mother.
She devotes her time counseling parishioners, organizing Bible
instruction for adults and children, working to preserve her
church a historic parish built in the 1850s and, in general,
cradling the community she has long desired to lead.

Throughout her struggles. Mead learned invaluable lessons.
The need for individuals to embrace a sense of universalism in
their spiritual beliefs is one to which she clings tightly.

"Since 9/1 1," Mead says, "we've begun to realize that what a
person believes makes a difference, America had forgotten that
what you believe about eternal verities drives your life."

For Mead, those beliefs have determined a quality of life that
has meant family, scholarship and truth seeking,- the seasons of
that life have culminated in the priesthood and a sense of obli-
gation to self and community that has its roots in ASC soil.

Amandii Furuesi 'os is <i Wooiirufj Schohir niul lUi office of commiiiiictitioiis iitteni. She
receuily received the collecle's Kiircii Green Humnn Relntions Auhird.

TO EVERYTHING, THERE IS A SEASON 29

Gath

enng

of Souls

Students oj a variety oj faiths and religious preferences
find support for their journey while at Agnes Scott.

by Amanda Furness '08

Firmly grounded in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
Agnes Scott shelters a student body with growing diver-
sity in its rehgious composition. Increasing numbers of
students from varied backgrounds, traditions and faiths
create opportunities for the college to meet a variety of
spiritual needs.

"Religious life on this campus is as healthy and vibrant as it is
in any institution of this size," says Sylvia Wilson, Acting Julia
Thompson Smith Chaplain. As head of the office of religious life,
she is responsible for providing for all students an array of services
that relate to caring for one's spirit helping students identify a
house of faith, organizing prayer meetings and Bible studies, and
assisting in planning the spiritual aspect of campus events.

The Presbyterian and Christian religious heritage is fostered
through regular worship and service opportunities as well as inter-
faith dialogue. A weekly Christian ecumenical service is held on
Sunday evenings, and other special religious services mark the tra-
ditional Christian celebrations of Christmas, Ash Wednesday and
Holy Week.

Student groups such as the New Westminster Fellowship,
Canterbury Club, Baptist Student Union, Wesley Fellowship and
Newman Club have regular activities. Faith Works, a Christian
faith-based service experience, is coordinated through the offices
of the dean of students, experiential learning and chaplain and the
department of religious studies. Participation is open to students
of all faiths. In 2004, Faith Works participants went to Cuba, and
in 2005, the group spent spring break at Koinonia Farms in
Americus, Ca.

The chaplain's office coordinates the annual James Ross
McCain Faith and Learning Lecture, which brings religious lead-
ers to campus. In 2004, Kathleen Norris, a Presbyterian and best-
selling author of The Cloister Walk and other books, spoke on
exploring the spiritual life. The 2006 speaker is the Rev. Peter
Comes, an American Baptist minister and Plummer Professor of
Christian Morals at Harvard University. John Esposito, director
ot the Center lor Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown
University, spoke this year.

'The community as a whole welcomes and celebrates a diver-
sity of faith and traditions," says Wilson "But, there's continual

30 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2OO5

need for us to learn ways to support and acknowledge people of
all faiths ' This year, in an effort to foster such understanding and
to explore ways to further meet students' needs for spiritual
expression, Wilson formed the chaplain's advisory team with a
membership that includes a Presbyterian minister, representatives
of several Protestant denominations, a Catholic priest and a rabbi.
An Imam is being invited to join.

"\ believe my Christian faith and that of students is enhanced
by learning about other religions and faith traditions," says Cue
Hudson, vice president for student life and community relations
and dean of students. "Our students will live and work in a global
world, which grows smaller each day. An important part of the
college's educational mission is to support not only a student's
personal faith but to provide opportunities to understand world
religions."

Agnes Scott College strives to be a just and

inclusive community thiat expects lionorable behavior,

encourages spiritual inquiry and promotes respectful

dialogue across differences.

FROM THE MISSION OF AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE,

OFFICIALLY ADOPTED BY THE AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AUGUST 2002

As part of its role in assisting students with their religious prac-
tices, the chaplain's office structured opportunities for Muslim stu-
dents to interact with other students as well as provided them
with a prayer room. Trustee Jim Philips donated prayer rugs for
Salat, the five daily prayers of Islam.

Muslim student Salma Stoman 07, says she hasn't experienced
discrimination on campus. Rather, she finds students from other
faiths are curious about Islam, especially as it pertains to women.
Her scarf, a modernized version of the veil worn in some Muslim
countries, is a big topic of interest. Stoman's life doesn't center on
maintaining traditional "Islamic" female roles, but religion is pri-
marv in her daily schedule. Usually, she fits prayer in between

classes. "I'll grab a corner at work or go to my room \i I have time,"
Stoman says. A member of the Muslim Students Association, she
also attends its weekly Quran class.

Eunice Li '07, is a member of the student-led Campus Crusade
for Christ and a discipleship group leader for its sub-group, New
Life. Discipleship groups meet for Bible study and fellowship at
least once a week and sponsor worship nights and prayer meetings.
For Li, these meetings are a source of strength. "Officially, Agnes
Scott is very welcoming to students being open about their opin-
ions and beliefs," says Li. "However, there is a culture of underly-
ing fear that comes from not wanting to be politically incorrect or
offensive. This fear causes people to not be as open about what
they believe, because they do not want to offend anyone.

"Sometimes," Li continues, "I wonder what campus life would
be like if people were as open with what they believed as they felt
inside. This is not a result of anything the school has or has not
done, but rather a culture that has persisted."

Wilson, an ordained Presbyterian minister noting that being
open to other faiths and traditions is part of the Presbyterian her-
itage says most students are considerate of each other's beliefs.

"In general, they have a tolerance if not a respect for other
religions. Sometimes, a student might come in carrying zeal with-
out wisdom and knowledge, but after four years, their zeal
becomes tempered with faith," says Wilson. "During their time
here students of various religions find ways to relate to others
while maintaining their own opinions."

Julie Ceigler '07 is president of the Jewish Students Association
on campus and attends weekly Hillel meetings at Emory
University. Next year, she hopes Agnes Scott JSA will have teach-
ms so students from other backgrounds can learn more about
Judaism. For her, such bridge building is a component of the spir-
itual development she holds dear,- in respecting others and in shar-
ing of herself, the student feels that ethical standards have become
much easier to uphold.

"A sense of ethics is very important in Judaism," she adds.
"Members of the Jewish Student Association differ in their reli-
gious observance, but all of them feel ethics is highly important to
being a Jew. Tikkun Olam the act of making the world a better
place is central to JSA life on campus."

Mathematics professor Myrtle Lewin, faculty adviser, wants
the Jewish Student Association to be a community for any student
who feels some Jewish identification. A Jewish identity is not
based exclusively on one's religious practice, Lewin stresses.

"Being Jewish is much broader than that," she says. "Being
Jewish for any one individual may be predominantly cultural or
historical or ethical or a sense of identification with a people a
group. Yet, there are Jews for whom the religious (spiritual)
dimension is very important.

This year, the Jewish Students Association held two on-cam-
pus celebrations one for FJanukkah, the other for Passover,
both of which Lewin describes as wonderhil experiences.

A new group formed this year through the multicultural affairs
office is the Daughters of Gaia. Dominique Khan 08 and Rebecca
Simmons '08 decided to put the group together after they and
others discovered a shared interest in Wicca and earth-based reli-
gions. "I was really nervous at first," says Khan. "But people have
been really excited about it. 1 think a lot of them appreciate diver-
sity on campus. Lots of people ask 'What is that?' but they're in no
way negative."

Members of other religious groups have expressed interest in
the group's practices, if only on an academic level. "I believe the
college and the students openly welcome religious expression, "
says Arsed Joseph '06, Student Government Association president.
"It is evident in the amount of diversity in student-led religious
organizations."

Joseph sometimes attends the nondenominational service led
by Chaplain Wilson. From a Catholic and Methodist background,
she holds close to her heart the admonition to "do unto others as
you would have them do unto you." She recognizes this can be
hard when traditions and religions collide, but she believes
bridges can be built, especially if people make a commitment to
overcoming differences and to being open about and respecting
one another's beliefs.

Students unite on campus to commemorate Sept. ii.

Joseph is also one of 75 students who form the college's Joyful
Noise gospel choir, which began with seven members almost 20
years ago. While not a religious organization per se, the experi-
ence is very much a spiritual one, says Nathan Grigsby, the direc-
tor for most of the choir's existence,

"We don't promote a specific denomination," says Grigsby.
"But I would say it is a religious experience. We welcome every-
one, no matter what their walk of life, to come sing gospel music,
which is Christian music."

Grigsby says their Wednesday night rehearsals are a relief for
many. "A lot of them say it helps them get through the rest of the
week."

Tma Pippin, professor of religious studies, believes having an
array of groups on campus is a positive thing. "The school's reli-
gious legacy is part of the history, but lift it up alongside other
faiths," says Pippin, who notes some other colleges are modeling
possible approaches to doing this.

Pippin believes the input of Agnes Scott's student body is
invaluable in this process. "It's important to have visible student
leadership," she says. "Change happens from the students,- they're
the ones with the smartest, most articulate take on our world for
women."'

Amnnda Furness 'os is n Woodruff Scholar and an office of communications inkni. She
recently received the college's Karen Green Human Relations Award.

GATHERING OF SOULS 3I

WORLD VIEW

Hawa Meskinyar '94X at
home in Afghanistan.

t i^mwOifSMi

With Islam as her compass,
Hawa Meskinyar '94x returns
to Afghanistan to rebuild and
reach out to its war-torn women
a}id children.

by Celeste Pennington

Before daybreak on January 5,
1 980, Hawa Meskinyar '94x and
her mother, Mary Osman,
dressed to escape
Under all the layers of warm
sweaters, pants and native clothes, Osman
wore a wide elastic belt stitched the night
before by Meskinyar's great-grandmother

Tucked in its hand-sewn pockets was
money 30,000 afghanis. In her stockings,
Osman hid photos reflecting the family's
halcyon days. As the daughter of a career
diplomat in Italy, Osman was educated and
well-traveled. She was working at the TV
station in Kabul (her husband was a civil
engineer), when their world lurched upside
down with the unexpected invasion ol
Russian communists in 1979.

At gunpoint, Afghanistan's governmeiu
had quickly toppled, communists replaced
school teachers with doctrinaires. Both
friends and relatives became political pris-
oners some tortured and some killed

Admits Osman; "We were in danger
Nothing would be worse than getting
caught by the Russians and their sympa-
thizers. Yet I was never afraid. We left that
morning thinking that we would come
home soon "

Under the cover of darkness, mother
and daughter fled by car from their home
in Kabul tojalabad.

After a fitful night, they prepared for
the next leg of their journey, which was by
bus Dusting their faces, glossy black hair
and hands with dirt, the two layered on
the costumes of nomads reddish pants
and richly embroidered tunic for winsome,
talkative Meskinyar. Her mother put on a
deep blue dress with maroon pants, and
over it all, a thick black veil and pale blue
burqua. Through all the checkpoints
and soldiers clambering on board the bus
the two remained prayerfully quiet and
undisturbed that day. "It was the first time
1 had worn a burqua, ' says Osman with a
little laugh 'I could not walk in it or see. "

That night, the two slept peacefully on
soft lambs wool spread on the floor of a
nomad's warm tent. Before dawn they were
wrapped in handmade, cotton-stuffed
comforters and tightly secured, by rope,
onto the back of a camel. Their flight from
Afghanistan would end with Meskinyar, 8,
perched on a contrary donkey her
mother sometimes pushing it from behind
as they trekked over natrow and tortuous
mountain trails into neighboring Pakistan.

32 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

In early 1980, Meskinyar had kissed
her tearful great-grandmother good-bye
forever. But Meskinyar and her mother
were free. By the time Meskinyar was in
fifth grade, she and her parents had
moved, via Germany, to the United States.
Eventually, Osman's parents, Meskinyar's
uncles, aunts, and other members of their
extended family, would find safety in the
West.

Even so, Meskinyar would never forget
that journey, a fact often embellished with
family stories about their vibrant people,
the languages, feasts, fasts and potent faith.
Informed by Islam's halal (what is pure and
safe) and haram (what is harmful and forbid-
den), Meskinyar grew up altruistic and full
of self-restraint. From her mother, she also
gained a full measure of independence.
Says Osman, "1 have always said, 'You have
to stand on your feet and work hard. Do
exactly what you love to do. Be the kind of
woman that no man can push.' That was
my advice at every stage of her life."

In 1990, Meskinyar graduated in the
top 2 percent of her high school class and
enrolled at Agnes Scott College. She fit in.
She especially appreciated studying and
living in a community by the Honor
System. She found the campus open and
inclusive, yet academically rigorous. "As a
student, 1 enjoyed being surrounded by
educated and aspiring women whose
primary focus was their education," she
recalls. Islam strongly advocates education.
"Being Muslim has been the driving force
in my life," Meskinyar says. "Whenever I
have faced questions, problems or deci-
sions, I have used Islam as my compass."

From the badiths of the Prophet
Mohammed, Meskinyar took to heart this
saying.- "The best of people are those who
benefit mankind." From her childhood on,
that idea informed Meskinyar's practical
decisions and shaped her career path. In
1991, she narrowed her major to architec-
ture and explored Agnes Scott's dual-
degree program with Washington
University. Deciding not to study out of
state, she transferred to Georgia Institute
of Technology to earn a bachelor's degree
in architecture in 1995 and master's degree
in city planning in 1998, with specializa-
tion in economic and land development
While working as an urban designer with
the Corporation for Olympic Development
in Atlanta and later as an associate with
Economics Research Associates in Chicago,
providing market analysis, financial

forecasting and feasibility studies for
developers and public agencies, she was
preparing for a life of service.

Ztikat, or almsgiving, is one of the five
pillars of Islam. In 2000, Meskinyar paid
her way to Afghanistan to assist women
and children torn by war and economically
paralyzed under the Taliban government.
"How can you let her go?" nearly everyone
quizzed Osman. "First I said, 'God is the
one who takes care of her.' Then I said, '1
have to let her go.' Over the years, 1 have
told Hawa, 'The women of Afghanistan are
amazing and strong, just like you.' Hawa
was doing what 1 would like to do, but
couldn't," says her mother.

Veiled and protected by a sturdy body
guard, Meskinyar distributed alms donated
by fundraisers, family and friends among
hospitals in Kabul and nearby Wardak and
at facilities housing the homeless and des-
titute. While world news had sharply
focused on the burqua, symbolic of the
plight of women under the Taliban, what
Meskinyar found was human devastation
in every direction.

making it difficult to separate the two." At
the same time, she foresaw an international
reaction to the militant minority which
would "guide policy and influence deci-
sions."

Motivated by the crying need there,
Meskinyar researched nonprofits and inde-
pendently founded jAHAN, Join and Help
Afghanistan Now, a Washington-based
organization run by volunteers in the
United States and Afghanistan to provide
immediate assistance to orphans and wid-
ows. JAHAN transfers 100 percent of its
donations to those in need.

In 2002, she married her childhood
friend, Nadim Amin, who had reestab-
lished family business ties in Afghanistan.
One year later, she closed their comfort-
able apartment in Washington, DC, left
her job as a program analyst for the Office
of Research on Women's Health at the
National Institutes of Health, and headed
back to Afghanistan.

On and off during Meskinyar's life,
Kabul has been a war zone. She and Amin
have returned determined to use their

"Truly, my greatest reward is in the little girls' and boys' faces.

In each child I see the light of hope that things can and

will improve, inshallah, God willing."

"It was not just women who were mis-
erable, but men and girls and boys.
Everybody was 'cooped up.'"

Meskinyar was perturbed that many of
the Taliban's prohibitions were not true to
Islam. "The culture has woven a thick fab-
ric of confusion to cast over the religion,

education and experience to help rebuild.
"Agnes Scott instilled in me a certain
kind of confidence in being a woman that
I did not possess before," says Meskinyar.
"It demonstrated clearly that women could
be leaders. What may be more important
here, it taught me not to fear failure. There

WORLD VIEW 33

is so much need and so much desperation,
one does not know where to start."

Pondering "where to start" led
Meskinyar to assist the transitional gov-
ernment in its estabhshing a stable infra-
structure. First, she managed a group of
men and women supporting the human
rescjurces database for the Transitional
Islamic State of Afghanistan. They
worked out of the office of the vice presi-
dent and chair for Independent
Administrative Reform and Civil Service
Commission, which gathers and interprets
human resource data for the entire civil
service, including the central government
and provinces.

In less than a year, Meskinyar trans-
ferred into a management position for the
executive committee of lARCSC's
Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund
Expatriate Program, filling job requests
horn the various ministries through recmit-
ment of natives like herself, who bring back
to Afghanistan valuable expertise in every-
thing from agricultural services to Lirban
development.

At the close of 2004, she settled into her
own professional niche, hired as an archi-
tect by the Afghan-owned Technologists
Inc., a Hrm based in Virginia.

On the bulletin board behind
Meskinyar's desk is a beautiful kaleido-
scope of faces close-ups of children,
some with sunny smiles, others with
somber, dark eyes. And there are photos of
women, old and young, wrapped in yards
of hand-woven and brilliantly colored fab-
rics. "My religion's focus on helping the
needy," notes Meskinyar, "brought me to
Afghanistan."

She snaps these portraits as she scours
tent cities and low-income communities to
offer immediate assistance food for the
stai^ving, and thick blankets to warm them
in winter. Currently, JAHAN is working to
establish a sewing center for women. All
income from sales of their handiwork will
be used to pay salaries and expand the pro-
gram. "You stay positive and set small
goals," explains Meskinyar.

Already, JAFHAN has secured interna-
tional sponsors for more than 90 Afghan
children. Regularly, volunteers use Friday,
their day off, to look after the needy and
distribute funds, $30 to $50 a month.
JAFHAN's long-term goal is to provide
quality education for Afghan girls and
boys. For now, Meskinyar strongly encour-
ages families to send their daughters and

WOMEN VOTERS BRILLIANT BLUE FLOWERS

Rockets bursting in air heralded the dawn of Afghanistan's first free presidential elec-
tion last year In the capital, Kabul, "We woke up that morning expecting chaos," recalls
Hawa IVleskinyar '94X. "However, everyone dressed up and went to the mosques and
schools to vote."

Meskinyar and her cousin, Homira G. Nassery, adviser to Senior Women In Management
there, shared in this historic moment. In an e-mail, Nassery described one masjid where
polls were set up and the arrival of a truck full of women wearing chardaris who looked
"like brilliant blue flowers."

She asked the Hazzara gentleman accompanying 20 of his womenfolk if he instructed
them in who to vote for. He replied, wryly, "Madame, I cannot even instruct them to simply
broom the carpet. How can you expect me to have that kind of influence?"

Waiting in line, one lovely woman, maybe 34, with "to-die-for cheekbones but no teeth,"
fretted that she was Illiterate. Nassery assured her that ballots included pictures of the can-
didates. Then Nassery noticed an uncommonly handsome young army officer encourage
the woman in her quest. "You maybe illiterate," he assured, "but because of this moment,
your children won't be."

Pride swept through the voters, including Nassery. "When I looked at the list of candi-
dates, so professionally prepared on that ballot, I put a big X In my selection box, then
added a happy face and circled the picture too, just In case someone didn't get it," she
reports. "I folded the paper ballot, said a little prayer and then kissed the ballot boldly with
my mulberry lipstick. Only then did I drop it in the box. To no one in particular, 1 said, 'Here's
one for peace and justice!'"

Meskinyar agrees. "It was an exciting moment, to see so many Involved in this election
especially the women."

sons to school. Sponsorships also provide
these children with additional hope as they
connect with friends outside their world.

In a land where electricity and potable
water often constitute luxury, the nagging
question of "where to start" has led
K4eskinyar to several effectual choices.
Recently, she organized "Love Kabul,
Clean Kabul." She smiles. "We believe it is
time for people to stop complaining about
the shape of the city and do something
about it." The grassroots effort starts with
parks, schools and orphanages. To kick off
the project, friends and co-workers
scrubbed and painted the Taye Maskan
orphanage for 700 boys in the Parwan Se
neighborhood. Children are at the heart of
Meskinyar's efforts. "Truly, my greatest
reward is in the little girls' and boys' faces.
In each child I see the light of hope that
things can and will improve, inshallah, Cod
willing."

Although Meskinyar and Amin would
love to start a family, she wrestles with the
question: raise one child or help 100? To
start, she and Amin may adopt an orphan.

The other family matter is the distance
between .Afghanistan and the United
States. During Ramadan, Meskinyar flew
to Atlanta last year to be with her mother.

To celebrate the end of their monthlong
fast, Osman cooked their favorite Afghan
dishes and relished each moment that
Meskinyar was nearby. Yet Osman
expresses a sense of wonder that her child,
who narrowly escaped the effects of the
Russian invasion, has returned to invest,
with all her fortitude, in Afghanistan.

"All parents want something for their
children. This," Osman insists, "is my
miracle."

Meskinyar and her husband fully
understand the necessity of this choice.
"The first time we were forced to walk
away," says Meskinyar, "it was a military
invasion. But if we walk away again, how
can we expect things to remain stable?"

Cckitc PniiiniijIOH, (1 Georijta-hased jrcchwce wnkr,
iiiiiiiiii(cs several publications.

TO LEARN MORE

For more information on lAFHAN,
visit www.jahan.org

Suggested reading by Maiy Osman:
Kite Rtumer bv Khaled F4ussaini.

34 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

Acjnes Scott professors explore the heijinniyicjs oj country music and spotlight sexual harassment laws through
the pages oj their latest hooks.

'HAYRIDE' TUNES
IN TO THE
RADIO ROOTS OF
COUNTRY MUSIC

Louisiana Hayride: Radio & Roots
Music Along ttie Red River

By Tracey E.W, Laird. Oxford University
Press. $29.95. 208 pages.

Reviewed by Rheta Grimsley for The Atlanta

Journal-Constitution (Rcpnnted by pmnission]

All academics analyzing country
music should hire Tom T. Hall to
_.. do the writing. Nashville's old
Storyteller, Tom T, could do the colorful
stories justice.

That said, in "Louisiana Hayride,"
author Tracey E.W. Laird an ethnomusi-
cologist at Agnes Scott College in Decatur
shares solid research, fascinating facts
and considerable insight into the history of
the former Shreveport radio show.

Everyone who cares already knows that
country legend Hank Williams made his
national debut on "Louisiana Hayride" in
1948. What Laird reveals, and what many
of us hadn't realized, is that Williams and
"Hayride" simultaneously made their first
big splash into the pool of popular culture.
The hillbilly music show on KWKH was
only 3 months old when Hank arrived to
sing his megabit "Lovesick Blues."

After that landmark appearance. Hank
ruled. And, with the example of Hank, the
radio's "Louisiana Hayride" had secured a
reputation for launching major commercial
successes. For once, the planets of talent
and technology had aligned in the world
of country music.

"The 'Hayride' might have remained
just another live radio broadcast of provin-
cial importance were it not for the fortu-
itous coincidence of several factors," Laird
writes. Inspired by Hank Williams' success.

"Young and talented musi- \
cians flocked there, and
many of them went on to p
become the most distinct \
and influential voices of \
country music during the \
postwar period and after."

The list of country musi-
cians who showed up for the
chance to earn a whole lot of
exposure and a little money
less than $25 an appearance-
reads like a who's who of hillbilly
talent. By the droves, country hopefuls fol-
lowed Hank to Shreveport, among them,
Johnny Cash, Webb Pierce, Faron Young,
George Jones, Kitty Wells, Red Sovine,
Slim Whitman, Jimmy C. Newman, Floyd
Cramer and Jim Reeves.

Laird, a native of Shreveport, skillfully
makes the case that what's now aptly called
"roots" music country, rhythm-and-
blues, Cajun often had the same themes,
appeal and sometimes the same radio audi-
ences. Young white musicians were influ-
enced by the rhythm-and-blues artists they
heard on KWKH and other regionally
potent stations. The black and white worlds
inevitably converged, bringing about rock-
abilly and a sea change in music.

The most famous of these early rocka-
billy artists, of course, was Elvis Presley,
who appeared on 'Hayride' in 1954. He
was 19 and called himself "The Hillbilly
Cat." Laird writes:

"In sound, in repertoire, and in posture,
Elvis Presley of the mid-to-late 1950s
represented nothing short of a desegrega-
tion of musical aesthetics. This signaled a
degree of desegregation of the music busi-
ness itself, as companies marketed him and
rock-and-roll artists like Little Richard,
Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee
Lewis to teenagers across racial lines."

Laird's best licks come near the end of
the book, when she traces the unsung
careers of four Shreveport musicians

whose lives exemplify the

musical melding of black

and white. One of them,

guitarist Jerry Kennedy,

recalled for Laird his

teenage memories of

attending a local

black club known

as Club 66.

"I remember
that they had a
little cage, a glassed-in
place where white people could go in.
Sort of like the opposite of the way it was
during segregation down there. ... I saw
Jimmy Reed there. That's where I saw
Bobby Blue Bland, If I'm not mistaken, I
probably saw Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, for
sure. But anyway, there was only room for
like 1 2 people to get into this little space."
With Kennedy and Dominic "D.J."
Fontana, James Burton and Joe Osborn as
native sons and lively examples. Laird suc-
cessfully makes her case that Shreveport
helped shape popular music as we know it.
It wasn't only the stars of "Hayride" who
were nurtured in this cross-cultural gene-
sis; the sidemen and music business moguls
as well often got their start in Shreveport
by the Red River.

The year Presley debuted on "Hayride,"
the watershed decision in Brown v. Board
of Education began toppling an entrenched
social order. It's not much of a reach, then,
to see "Hayride" and its denizens as inter-
esting examples of how the world was
beginning to break out of its little glass
cages.

In Shreveport, all musicians were cre-
ated equal and learned from one another.
As Osborn tells Laird about the atmos-
phere backstage on "Hayride":

"Elvis had had his first hit, but he wasn't
the star yet. They were accessible. You
could go in and meet them and sit and talk
with them. 'How'd you do your lick?' you
know." Nobody was crusading for social

EXCERPTS 35

justice, just looking for better music And
so the evolution was a natural one and to
a lively beat,

Rhttii Crim^ley Jo/;msoh, a jormer coliiram's/ (or The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, liivictes her time hclweat
HiimmoxJ. Li , .iiiii lukci. Miss.

LANDMARK
LEGAL CASE SET
IN CONTEXT

Sexual Harassment and the Law:
The Mechelle Vinson Case

By Augustus B C.ocliran 111 University
IVess ot Kansas. 2004, cloth $29.95,
paper $ 1 4,95. 256 pages.

Reviewed by Jude Seaman

In 1979, bank teller Mechelle Vinson
sued her supervisor Sidney Taylor and
her employer, the Capital City Savings
and Loan Association, for employment dis-
crimination under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. She claimed that over
the course of her four years of employment
at the bank, Taylor had coerced her to
have sexual relations with him more than
50 times, had fondled her, made crude
remarks to her and even on a few occa-
sions had forcibly raped her. Vinson
claimed she submitted to Taylor's unwel-
come sexual demands because he sug-
gested she would suffer adverse
consequences at work if she did not.

At the time Vmson filed her Title VII
complaint in Federal Court in the (district
of Columbia, most courts and many people
did not view Taylor's conduct as illegal sex
discrimination. Sexual harassment was, as
leading feminists had said, a harm without
a name and without a clear legal remedy.
Yet, after years of litigation and appeals,
the LI S Supreme Court in 1986 ruled in
the Vinson case that sexual harassment of
the type suffered by Mechelle Vinson, in
which she was made to work in an envi-
ronment that was hostile and abusive, was
sex discrimination in violation of Title VII.

In SfXHiil HiUiiiima\l and the Liiit': The
Ali't/.ifllf I'iMsoii Ciisc, Augustus B. Cochran
111, Adeline A. Loridans Professor of
Political Science, has done a remarkable
job of situating this landmark legal case in
its social and historical context and exam-

ining Its place within the larger sociopolit-
ical landscape of gender relations, employ-
ment, and the ongoing struggle for
equality. Sacrificing neither accuracy nor
nuance, this book manages
to be both broad and deep,
every significant legal and
policy debate surrounding
sexual harassment law is
not only mentioned but
described with balance and
sophistication. And, In the
fascinating chapters that
constitute the heart of the
book, Cochran presents
the personal and legal
drama surrounding the
Vinson case. His descrip-
tion Integrates the techni-
cal legal rules and
maneuverings, the personal
stories of the major actors
involved, and what Is known of the
behind-the-scenes posturing and negotia-
tions of the Supreme Court justices.

In the final chapter of the book,
Cochran comments on the complex rela-
tionship between law and cultural change
and whether we can expect laws regulating

.Vuguslus B. Coch

Sexual
Harassment

and the

Law

social and gender Interactions to push
societal change or merely to reflect
changes that are already in progress. He
suggests a potentially new way of looking
at this complicated Interac-
tion that avoids some of the
< pitfalls of the 'chicken or
= egg" arguments that tend to
5 characterize this area of
inquiry. In sum, for those
interested in sexual harass-
ment law. In the regulation
ot discrimination and gen-
der relations, in the place of
work in American society
and the role of women
within that place, and in
the intricate inter-relation-
ship of law and society, this
book provides a wealth of
information and food for
thotight. And those simply
interested in learning the details behind a
compelling Supreme Court case likewise
will find much of Interest in this well-
written and thorough account.

Juhc Seanum rs assnttvit projesior oj Liw ill Emory
Lhiiversity School of Lnr

.JIM

As the college nears its fiscal year end
on lune 30, we express our appreciation
to all who support our students and the
operation of our campus through the
annual fund.

And just a reminder, although
Commencement is over and the fiscal
year is ending, annual-fund needs go on.
Your contribution at any time is welcome.

Save time, give online at www.agnesscott.edu/give

36 AGNES SCOTT THE MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

Wl

To the class of 2005

From Marsha Norman '69

omen of the class of 2005, as you no longer have to sign up for physics,
French or field hockey, I offer this charge to you.

Sign up for friendship, for it is women who have seen to our survival on this planet.

Sign up for family, both born and created, lost and found, dysfunctional and crucial.

Sign up for faith to work miracles, for flying in the face of tradition,
for festive occasions and favorite foods.

Sign up for hard work and free time and free thought and free will,
for freedom of expression and exploration and ecstasy.

Sign up for a handmade life, for holding hands, young and old.

Sign up for challenges met, responsibilities honored and heritage passed along.

Sign up for unexpected triumphs, mysteries explained, births and deaths,
music in the mornings, and afternoons where nothing happens at all.

Sign up for long conversations with people who listen and longs walks listening to silence.

Sign up for peace in our world and compassion in our hearts.

Sign up for women presidents and the presences of women in the world.

New graduates of Agnes Scott, I wish you Godspeed

and good fortune in your new course of study. Your New Life. May you love

what it has in store for you, every golden day of it starting now.

Pulitzer Prize-winnin() phywright, Marsha Norman 69, was awarded the college's first honorary dcijrec. the doctor oj humane letters,
honoris causa, at commencement 2005. She is co-director oJ the Playwrights Program at The Julhard School.

Agnes Scott College

THE WORLD FOR WOMEN

141 E. College Ave,

Decatur, GA .50030-3797

www agncsscott edu

NONPROF{T

ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

DECATUR, GA 30030

PERMIT NO. 469

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Agnes Scott's First Summer
School Gets Rolling

Shelley Boyd '06 receives a new
bicycle from Fred Boykin, president
of Bicycle South Inc., as part of the
Agnes Scott Beach Party held early
this spring in the college's dining
hall. Boykin donated the bicycle to
the college as part of this event,
which was designed to increase
awareness on campus about the
college's first summer school.
Boyd, a women's studies major
from Mount Pleasant, S.C, received
the bike in a drawing open to all
Agnes Scott students. Boykin's
mother, Betty Robinson Milliard, is
a 1946 graduate of the college.