Brevard College - Pertelote Yearbook (Brevard, NC)

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Doris Potts, Biology 11 Profile I try to give the students a quality education; I do the best I can, and the rest is up to them. Thus was the response of Doris Potts, Assistant Professor of Biology, when the ques- tion was asked: What do you feel your pur- pose is here? Mrs. Potts, now in her sixth year as an educator at Brevard College, talked freely about her experiences and feelings that she shares with the college. All right, she stated, to begin with, I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and went through all my twelve years of public school there. After graduation from high school, I enrolled in pre-med school and stayed there for three years. Following this I worked as a medical technician until after the war. Then I decided to return to school, and after nineteen years of being away from education I entered Indi- ana University as a junior. There I remained until I earned both my B.S. and M.A.T. degrees. When asked what led her to the South and Brevard, Mrs. Potts said: It was after five years of teaching in high school that I decided to study marine biology at Florida State. Follow- ing my studies there, I attended Duke Univer- sity for more of the same, and while at Duke was asked to come here and teach. That was in 1966, and I ' ve been here since. She then discussed some of the changes and experiences in which she had been involved at Brevard College. Everything was rather quiet until 1968. Until that time we had rules such as the women students not being per- mitted to smoke anywhere except in their rooms or in the soda shop and the kids could not wear shorts. Then in the year 1968-1969 the Social Committee was established, and I was appointed as a member. I suppose that was the year of most change. 1969-1970 was the apathetic year. I suppose the finest class I ' ve ever taught was in 1970-1971. This year the students are not as interested in academic work. Last semester I had twenty-two D ' s and F ' s in my classes alone. And the students now aren ' t satisfied with what they have; what would be extremely lenient to a ' 69 student is a fence to a ' 72 student. When you are here for only two years at a time it ' s hard to see the changes as we faculty members see them.

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Leon H. Lee, Jr., Chairman of Language Division Leon H. Lee is chairman of the language divi- sion and a member of the Judicial Board. Dur- ing the first semester he was adviser to the CLARION. He is a graduate of High Point Col- lege and earned his master ' s degree from Wake Forest University. The study of English is very much a part of the academic life of the students because four semesters are required for graduation. Mr. Lee ' s philosophy of teaching is that the English courses should not only convey facts, but in- fluence attitudes, produce skills, and improve personalities. He opposes the traditional survey course in literature; it is more logical to study five writers in depth than to try to study twenty-five superficially. Students should enjoy what they read, so Mr. Lee mixes the traditional with the new. His English 12 classes read not only Homer and Bronte, but also John Steinbeck ' s THE CRAPES OF WRATH and Joseph Heller ' s CATCH-22. Classes are often taught in small group discussions in obscure places. The dialogue is seldom limited to the book but often wanders off into other subjects, helping students to see Mr. Lee ' s bright personality and concerned open- mindedness in relationship to his students. His attitude toward the CLARION is that the paper should be an outlet for student opinion: a man should have the right to express him- self and find himself as he writes. More stu- dents are showing interest in and reading the CLARION this year. Most issues within the col- lege community are brought to light. Publish- ers are always under attack, if not for present- ing controversy then from lack of prosecuting controversy. Mr. Lee says problems should be brought to light if they exist, the feedback being both the agony and reward of publish- ing. Profile 21

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Orion Hutchinson, Minister The church is going through a tremendous period of needed self-examination. Although many people have no use for organized re- ligion, churches continue to survive and to grow. Orion Hutchinson is very much in the contemporary church scene. A graduate of Davidson College and Duke Divinity School, with post-graduate studies at Emory, Duke and Harvard Universities, Mr. Hutchinson can re- late to people on their level; he has a bright personality and the serious look of a pro- foundly concerned man. Mr. Hutchinson has a deep feeling for and an understanding of students, and can appre- ciate their discontent with the institutionalized church. Ideally, one ' s worship should be very personal. Why, then, the organized church as such? Where would we be without it? No movement has ever made any kind of impact upon the world without organization. Mr. Hutchinson says the church has tremendous potential; it has come more and more into the social-concern picture with institutions that aid rather than merely moralize. He sees the church as intense at the moment, im- mense in the future. Could man live without the organized church? Probably, but with no structure, society would never know or feel the effects of religion. Can man live without religion? No! Man is a religious being by na- ture who is always seeking self-fulfillment. He ' s in a constant state of thinking, accepting and rejecting. Look at anthropology; all socie- ties have religious structure. Mr. Hutchinson ' s ministry at the First Meth- odist Church in Brevard has been marked by several unusual worship experiences. On one occasion, Edward Albee ' s play The Zoo Story was presented as a sermon. Unusual music is often presented - both the avant- garde and rock. On the issue of the Jesus Movement he comments: . . . it ' s a fad. Religion has always had its affectations . . . but all fads are not bad. They fit the needs of the moment. The needs of some people are fulfilled by the Jesus movement; other s can stay with the ' lasting structure. ' Com- menting further, he states: ' a religious experi- ence never remains stationery ... it moves from personal to social, organized to unstruc- tured and back. He is this year a special lec- turer in Religion. Profile 23 1L