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Student Activities

Students Take on Third World Challenge
By Elizabeth Caldwell '07
STAFF WRITER

Imagine you had only a few cups of water a day, and had to struggle to keep that water clean. This is a problem most of the developing world faces. This summer, seven SBC engineering students with several faculty members will be traveling to a 70-student middle school in Guatemala to learn about and try to correct these water management problems.

In Guatemala, there is a six month rainy season when water is abundant. The rest of the year is the dry season and students at a local school must collect water from a spring in buckets for all their needs. This is a problem because it makes water collection haphazard and unsafe. There is no way to know if the water is clean.

To deal with this issue, our students will be constructing a water tank and two spring boxes. The spring boxes are two brick boxes that will encase the spring and keep it from touching the ground. The tank will store water and make collecting it easier. It will enable the community to properly treat their water to eliminate sickness, as well.

Ultimately, the group will be facing down the problem of third world water management on a small scale.

“Water is a huge problem in most of the world,” said Dr. Jim Durand, a new professor of engineering here at Sweet Briar and one of the coordinators of the trip. “We couldn’t even comprehend it. Everyone in America probably uses about a hundred gallons of water a day.”

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International Hall and Eco Floor Options Expand Possibilities for SBC Students
By Blair Mullally '10
STAFF WRITER

With course selection, final exams and graduation preparation in full swing, the question of where to live next year is paramount in many SBC students’ minds. This year, the on-campus housing options for SBC students will be expanded with the additions of two themed halls: the Ecofloor and the International Hall.

The International Hall, which will be located on the third floor of Dew, is targeted not only towards those proficient in foreign languages, but also to those with a strong interest in foreign issues.

Kelly Espy, Director of Residence Life and Housing, explained that the location for the International Floor was chosen because of the availability of four singles (for teaching assistants), kitchen access and the availability of the EB room as a meeting space. Dew’s ramps and elevator also contributed to increased accessibility. According to Espy, the majority of student interest expressed was from the class of 2010.

According to Pam DeWeese, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, there has been interest in an international hall on campus for much time. House I used to serve as a language house, but when House I was closed for renovation the international option was changed to a language hall. Eventually, housing issues contributed to the discontinuation of these halls as well.

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SGA: Not a Popular Ticket
By Katie Fish '09
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Student Government elections this spring had an even lower candidate turnout than usual.

“I was disappointed and somewhat surprised at the number of positions that went unopposed this year. Generally a few positions go unopposed, or have to be voted on in emergency elections, but this year, most positions were uncontested,” said newly elected SGA President Kristin Barnes ’08.

This year, sixteen candidates ran uncontested, and nine SGA and class officer positions have been left to emergency elections because no one ran for the positions. Several reasons could be cited as to why so few students showed interest and ran for positions with SGA.

This lack of participation in Student Government raised questions about the amount of political awareness on campus and whether students are apathetic, or are truly happy with the way things are currently done.

“I have the impression that the student body is more balanced politically than it was when I first arrived. In recent years, the Young Democrats have actually been a presence on campus. The Young Republicans have always been here,” said German Professor Ron Horwege, a member of the Sweet Briar faculty since 1971.

Students represent a more diverse political group than in earlier years, but belonging to a political party has no effect on whether a student becomes active in the college’s government.

Students today are less interested in running than in years past “not because they are apathetic, but because there are so many more things to be involved in now – socially and politically – both at Sweet Briar and in the larger community,” believes Turning Point student Barbara J. Payne ’08 who first attended Sweet Briar in the 1960’s.

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