Apple triumphs in sales, Elon students show mixed reviews

By Laura Smith, Nov. 3, 2009 for The Pendulum

The sale of iPhones contributed to Apple’s recent 47 percent rise in sales profits. Photo Illustration by Justine Schulerud

At the end of October, profits from the Apple company rose 47 percent thanks to iPhone sales alone.

According to Apple, 7.4 million iPhones were sold in its fiscal fourth quarter, a number up 7 percent from the previous year because of a price drop and a new version released in June. At the same time, sales in Mac computers rose 17 percent, selling 3.05 million last year alone.
Elon University marketing professor Shimon Shmueli said this popularity could be the result of effective branding.

“The brand image that they are enjoying today, to a large extent, is the result of a past that was less than a great success and is not of their own making,” Shmueli said. “However, they are doing an excellent job in nurturing that image. Now, that image would not be sustainable if it were not backed by superb and consistent renewal in the areas of design, innovation, product introductions, retail experience and real value to users.”

Senior Kristen Clements purchased her iPhone during the summer of 2008.

“I wanted one mainly because I could check my e-mail on it, but also because of all of the different applications that can be downloaded,” Clements said. “The GPS has also been helpful in many situations.”

But Apple does have its share of competitors. When it comes to phones, the Blackberry is no longer just the device of choice for businessmen. Now, college students and housewives can be seen “BBMing” or checking their Facebook profiles on the hand-held device.

“(The) iPhone has a lot more to offer than the Blackberry,” Clements said. “The Blackberry doesn’t have anywhere near the same amount of storage space as an iPhone does. You can’t store thousands of songs on your Blackberry. The newest iPhone has the best camera, video and audio quality.”

Sophomore Quinlan Bergh said she feels the same way about her iPhone.

“There’s more organization than any other phone,” she said. “I also have applications like Yellow Pages, Facebook and Google. Safari is also offered on the iPhone, and I get 3G access from pretty much everywhere.”

But not all Elon students have hopped on the iPhone train. According to a voluntary, non-scientific survey conducted by The Pendulum Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, more Elon students own Blackberries than iPhones.

Fourteen percent chose a Blackberry for its Internet capabilities, compared to 9 percent for iPhone’s Internet features. But 3 percent chose an iPhone simply for trend compared to a Blackberry, which no one chose based on trend.

Technology rivalries also go beyond the cellular phone. When it comes to personal computers, the Apple company competes on a similar level as those companies that sell PCs, such as Dell and Toshiba.

According to Fred Melchor, director of technology support, Elon students use Macs as much as they do PCs.

“I know that roughly half of student computers (43 percent) connected to our network are Apple products,” Melchor said. “Also, I know that the last two freshman classes requested Microsoft Office for the Mac as much as they did Office for the PC. Using these two pieces of information, I believe that our students are equally divided between PC and Mac.”

Sophomore Brooke Dyson doesn’t follow the Apple trend. She said she bought a Toshiba personal computer for its features and design.

“There are so many reasons I think my computer is better than a Mac,” she said. “You have to re-format every program to make it compatible with a Mac, and I feel that it is a waste of time. A Mac would not do anything for me. It’s twice as expensive as the computer I own now and I didn’t have to do anything special to get programs to work.”

According to the students who took The Pendulum survey, 63 percent of students own Macs, and 90.8 percent of those who do chose them strictly because of the features they offer.
Those who own PCs (46.4 percent), chose a PC for the lower price. If given the choice, 63 percent of students would choose an iPhone instead of a Blackberry and 82 percent would choose a Mac instead of a PC.

Shmueli said despite Apple’s success, there will continue to be competition between companies.
“Microsoft, for a variety of reasons, has a lock on the market, so it will continue to be a challenge for Apple to continue to gain market share, especially now that Windows 7 is getting good reviews,” Shmueli said. “It learned some good lessons from Apple.”

New diversity tool helps bring awareness to campus

by Laura Smith, October 27, 2009 for The Pendulum

On Tuesday, the Multicultural Center and the Office of Student Life premiered its newest diversity education tool, “Deep Impact,” at the Carousel Cinemas at Alamance Crossing.

“Deep Impact” is a short film created by Elon’s student film society, Cinelon, to initiate discussions on race, class, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and religion.

There are eight different vignettes included, which discuss these seven types of diversity topics as well as monologues from the Black Box Theater. After each vignette, there is a series of educational exercises that can be completed.

“It’s great. It makes you look at a lot of different things,” said Kelsey Glover, student coordinator for the Diversity Emerging Education Program. DEEP has been instrumental in publicizing the event on campus.

The film builds upon the total Deep Impact education initiative, which, in its entirety, is a multimedia diversity education tool by the Multicultural Center and the Office of Student Life. In addition to the film, there is an educational curriculum and diversity education training manual which are set to be released sometime at the end of next month.

When complete, the entire tool will consist of a DVD of the film as well as the finished manual for use by all student organizations, classes and departments at Elon.

The tool comes from a grant by the Guilford Green Foundation, which offers funds for community improvement projects. A Deep Impact committee was created after the grant was given. MarQuita Barker, assistant director of residence life, used to work with the Multicultural Center and was on the committee.

“We wanted to use a diversity training tool that anyone could use across campus,” she said. “I think it will show real life scenarios that college students actually base on a daily basis.”

The curriculum for the initiative was created by Leon Williams, director of the Multicultural Center. Williams has been in diversity education for about 17 years and utilized what he’s learned from his experiences for this project, he said.

“It’s designed as a conversation starter,” Williams said. “This manual and instrument will allow you to start the discussion.”

Melissa Jordan, assistant director of Residence Life and the Multicultural Center, has been helping Williams with the project.

“I think Deep Impact is going to be a wonderful part of our retention climate,” Jordan said. “Efforts that will be made will help students have those conversations and a higher level of consciousness.”

The film’s premiere on Tuesday was the kick-off for the entire initiative.

Senior Ryan Mintz, Cinelon president, was in charge of planning the film from beginning to end.

“Conveniently, the Multicultural Center had a notebook filled with true stories of real people, so we took those ideas with the plan of creating  eight vignettes, eight short scripts, each of which was based on a true story dealing with a different branch of diversity,” Mintz said.

From there, Mintz formed a creativity team, planned shoots, wrote scripts and cast actors.

“When I started the project, I was aware it was an educational tool in the back of my mind, but the most important part for me was to keep it from being an ‘after-school special,’” he said. “We put a lot of effort into telling stories that would hit home and have a sense of realism. People are so desensitized to multicultural issues. This is a good tool because it will offend people and make them think”

Williams is hoping to eventually get a copyright for the Deep Impact  tool and sell it to other colleges and universities.

In addition to the curriculum, the Multicultural Center will offer diversity training to Elon faculty and staff. There has already been one training workshop, with the next scheduled to take place next week. The training exercises coincide with the curriculum and will help facilitate discussion on diversity, according to Williams.

“I think it will reshape the campus climate,” Williams said. “It will become more integrated and at the same time build advocacy around efforts we’re doing in the multicultural center and what teachers are doing in the classroom.”

Glover is looking forward to the awareness the tool will bring to campus.

“I don’t feel like Elon consciously deals with diversity on an everyday basis, especially outside the classroom,” Glover said. “People don’t step back and realize how much Elon has to offer. I hope people will have appreciation where there is (diversity) and take it with them into the workplace. It will make them a cut above.”

Sexual assault policies reorganized to provide more options for students, victims

Lauura Smith

The Pendulum

The Sexual Assault and Gender Issues Council has revamped some of its initiatives, both in the wake of the arrest of Leigh-Anne Royster, coordinator for personal health programs and community well-being, last spring and as a new initiative in general.

Royster was arrested by The Town of Elon police last spring for refusing to give officers confidential information about a victim of sexual assault.

The council, which is comprised of two student members and faculty, has been around since the implementation of Royster’s position but has remained fairly dormant until now, said Anne Cahill, council chair and philosophy professor.

“Reviewing of our protocols made us feel ever more confident that we were really doing the right thing,” Cahill said. “We are very committed as a university to protecting the confidentially of any survivor of sexual violence.”

The council exists to provide programming and education about sexual and interpersonal violence as well as provide response to incidents of assault. It also seeks to address other issues including body image and substance abuse on campus.

Last spring, the council decreased in size to better accommodate scheduling for meetings, and it began initiating new conversations about programming for prevention and response.

“It’s primarily a sounding board for Leigh-Anne,” Cahill said. “But it’s a place where a small but representative group of people can learn what we’re doing as a university both in terms of programming and in terms of response.”

One of the new initiatives has been the distribution of information about sexual violence to faculty and staff. Royster created a flyer listing resources one can use to respond to an incident and has given them to the members.

She is also planning to host information luncheons, which would include training for response and take any questions faculty and staff members might have.

“The hope is that we’re working toward developing a community where the people don’t necessarily have to feel as if they’re trained or equipped to deal with issues of sexual violence, but they know where to go if they see a red flag,” Royster said.

The council is also hoping to add more self-defense classes.

“Women take daily measures to protect themselves against sexual violence,” Cahill said. “It is a constant part of their life whether they’re conscious about it or not. Most of the things women do on a daily basis are about stranger rape, which is the least likely form of rape that’s going to happen, and they’re not taught a lot of skills for the kinds of sexual violence that they’re most likely to face.”

Another new initiative has been the addition of two emergency responders. Before the reorganization, Royster was balancing programming and education with responding to situations all by herself.

This summer, the council implemented a state-wide search to find adequate responders who are not staff employees. They switch off week-to-week to attend to calls. Students can still speak to Royster if they choose to, she said.

Before the council’s reorganization, it was overwhelmed with faculty, staff and law enforcement inquiries, Royster said. Now, Royster sits on the Alamance County Sexual Assault Team and corresponds with law enforcement that way.

“It’s a better model,” Royster said. “Someone is always present for (survivors) and someone is always present to educate the community.”

Both Royster and Cahill said they are hopeful about what the new initiatives may bring to the university.

“I think one thing that’s important about our policies … is that confidentiality is an absolute cornerstone of our response and that our commitment to it is deep and strong,” Cahill said. “Because it is, survivors should feel very comfortable speaking to a university official on whatever basis.”

Cahill said if the council is to succeed in its goals, there will be more reports of sexual violence, not fewer.

Royster feels this awareness of resources from the council as well as a commitment to confidentiality is of the utmost importance.

“I hope that the re-envisioning of this council and having people in the community thinking about this actively and regularly will ensure that we do continue to have a community where people are educated,” Royster said. “People are aware that there is an issue of sexual violence, and people feel empowered to respond to and speak out about those issues.”

College classrooms get smarter with new technology

Laura Smith

The Pendulum

Business professors teach in classrooms with high-tech gadgets in the Koury Business Center, which was built in 2007. Photo by David Wells

A few years ago, a colorful Powerpoint presentation was enough to teach a classroom full of college students about the principles of business or the alignments of the planets. Today, students are learning on a more advanced level thanks to the installation of new technology in classrooms.

At Oakland University in Michigan, the administration recently spent $15,000 in technology upgrades in each general classroom, according to an article by the Detroit Free Press.

Elon University is no different. The school has spent anywhere from $18,000 to $24,000 per classroom in the past several years, according to Fred Melchor, director of technology support.

“Back in the early days all a professor needed was a chalkboard and chalk,” Melchor said. “We have always tried to stay not ahead of the curve but on the curve. As the technology progressed, we went with it.”

Elon’s classrooms are considered either level one, two or three, Melchor said. A level one classroom has no technology. A level two classroom has moderate technology such as a TV and DVD player. A level three classroom has full hookups, including a TV, DVD system and a wireless control system.

According to Melchor, 90 percent of Elon classrooms are at level three and the rest are at level two.

In addition to HD televisions and DVD systems, Elon is moving toward the use of Smartboards.

Smartboards are white boards that can throw an image a short distance and allow for professors to map to other elements within the board using special pens and a projector that is built in.

Currently there are three in Lindner Hall, one in Duke, one in Belk Library and one in Mooney.

Smartboards are gaining popularity in the School of Education, Melchor said. Because of the rising prevalence of these systems in public schools, the education program at Elon felt it was necessary to have education majors trained in using a Smartboard.

Touch screen panels are also becoming more prevalent on Elon’s campus. Created by Creston Digital Media, these panels allow for information at the touch of the finger. There is a panel already installed highlighting Elon sustainability in the lobby of Lidner.

Another feature Elon has been using is electronic response systems. These gadgets allow students to respond to a question anonymously by clicking.

“You can immediately see on the screen how many people chose what answer,” Melchor said. “You can see if you get (the answer) right or wrong.”

Tony Crider, associate professor of physics, uses these devices on a regular basis. He said they allow for group work where students can decide the answer in groups and as a whole.

“They keep students engaged,” Crider said. “Sometimes there’s no moment to say ‘What do I really think?’ It’s nice to pause and get input from everybody in the classroom. It’s helpful for students to put in an answer.”

Crider said he also enjoys using the Smartboards, especially for annotating slides.

“It’s difficult on the spur of the moment to draw on a slide,” he said. “You can’t do that with a mouse easily. (With a Smartboard) I can pull up a pen and start sketching right away.”

Crider is also a member of the Elon Visual Culture Group, which consists of different faculty members from varying departments who look at how visuals can help students and how data can be presented.

In the future, the Elon faculty is hoping to integrate even more technology into their lessons.
“I think you’ll see we always take into consideration what the faculty want,” Melchor said. “They would like to have more HD on campus … and remote clickers for Powerpoint.”

Another feature the faculty is hoping to acquire is video teleconferencing, Melchor said. This would allow professors to record their class and post it on Blackboard.

“Regardless of the Smartboards or whether it’s the clickers, you need to have multiple lines of information coming into the classroom,” Crider said. “I don’t like the idea of the instructor being the source of all knowledge.”

Joe Davis, assistant director of campus technology support for classrooms, said this technology is also beneficial for marketing the university.

“We’re bringing in students who almost expect to see (the technology),” he said. “If we don’t have it, what gives us that marketing edge? It also gives faculty members a new way to help transfer that knowledge to the students.”

Funds created for N.C. railroad improvements

With the recent occurrence of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding North Carolina highway and transportation projects, the state has shifted its focus to the railroad system.

On Sept. 1, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue announced the state had submitted the first of its high-speed rail applications for funding under the act. If the funds are allotted, the projects will help retain or produce an estimated 1,457 jobs for North Carolinians.

“The purpose for the ARRA funds is to stimulate the economy,” Elon economics professor Steve DeLoach said. “You want to stimulate the multiplier effect — money gets spent and that creates income for the workers.”

And for those who work on the North Carolina railroads, that is good news in bleak times.
“For the local area, it really depends on who’s getting hired,” DeLoach said. “If they’re local workers that are being hired to work on the tracks, they’ll bring money back.”

The N.C. Department of Transportation filed six “project-ready” applications totaling $92,612,936, and they are requesting $75,950,546 in Federal Railroad Administration grants. It pledged $16,662,390 in matching funds.

The NCDOT worked with the North Carolina Railroad Company, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation and Amtrak in order to complete the applications.

The projects include rehabilitating locomotives and passenger equipment for new service, doubling the size of the station in Cary, adding parking in High Point, lengthening the boarding platform in Burlington and grade separating Klumac Road in Rowan County.

If granted, the FRA requires the projects to be completed within two years of the award.
“These rail projects are critical for communities throughout our state,” Perdue said. “Working with our partners in other states will improve the transportation system in North Carolina and in the Southeast.”

In addition, North Carolina is partnering with Virginia to request funding for completion of final engineering for the development of a shorter Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor route with top speeds of 110 miles per hour. This would connect Raleigh with Richmond, Va.

Laura Smith

The Pendulum

North Carolina will use the ARRA recovery funds to repair state railroads and complete rail projects. Photo by David Wells

The two states will also partner to complete a corridor development plan which will connect Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Richmond and Washington, D.C. with passenger trains that can travel at top speeds of 90 to 110 mph.

The second group of applications for the corridor development plan is due to the FRA on Oct. 2., and the ARRA is providing $8 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects around the country.

Illegal immigrants allowed in N.C. colleges, protestors object

By Laura Smith

The Pendulum

Last Thursday, about 50 protestors met in downtown Raleigh, N.C. to demonstrate against the North Carolina Community College System’s newest approved policy, which will allow the entrance of illegal immigrants into North Carolina community colleges. Photo by Heather Cassano

On Sept. 17, about 50 concerned North Carolinians waved flags, held up signs and made their voices heard in a protest in downtown Raleigh against the acceptance of illegal immigrants into N.C. community colleges.

“This isn’t a great solution for America,” said Frank Roche, who is running for Congress in the fourth district of North Carolina. “It’s an incentive for more illegal immigrants to come.”
The State Board of Community Colleges approved the decision that day with only one member to vote against the matter, according to a press release from the North Carolina Community College System.

“This policy reflects the admissions standards of other states and of the public universities by offering educational opportunities to those who are willing to work hard to obtain it,” said R. Scott Ralls, president of the NCCCS.

Since May 2008, there has been a no-admissions policy for illegal immigrants. Now, with the new policy, illegal immigrants can enroll in any of the 58 community colleges in North Carolina if they have graduated from a U.S. high school.

According to an outside consultant’s report, community colleges had 111 illegal immigrants enrolled in the 2007-2008 school year.

Ron Woodard, a Cary resident and the president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, was at the protest to show his dissaproval of the decision. He also spoke at Elon University several years ago at an immigration debate.

“I’m confused about why, with the 11 percent unemployment rate, we’re helping immigrants get education,” Woodard said. “We’re taking it away from North Carolinians.”

He said he is also concerned about how changing the current law will look on behalf of the state.

“We’re sending out the message that the rule of law doesn’t matter,” Woodard said.

With the new policy, illegal immigrants will have to pay the out-of-state tuition rate of $7,700 per year and cannot apply for financial aid. They also may not displace a North Carolina or U.S. resident from a class or program.

For some, the decision is one of great benefit to the state.

“This is not a policy the Board came to lightly or without contemplation and study, but with Thursday’s vote, North Carolina is a step closer to having a consistent admissions policy for undocumented immigrants among its public higher education institutions,” said Hilda Pinniz-Ragland, Board chair. “Once the administrative rules process is completed, our community colleges will be able to cease the back-and-forth of the last eight years, and these students, who are striving for a better future, will have access to a seamless educational pathway from K-12 and beyond.”

For those who protested the decision, the matter was one of great concern and, despite the rain last Thursday, the picketers stood their ground on the issue.

Pam Patterson of Raleigh came with her family to argue against the new rule.

“I feel like we’re going to pay a lot more for so-called benefits of having these illegals,” she said. “It’s about preserving this county. It’s part of the reason we’re going bankrupt. We have to give them benefits and educate their children.”

While Patterson respects the motives of illegal immigrants, she hasn’t been able to bring herself to agree with the policy, she said.

“As good-hearted as you are, you can’t let in everyone,” she said. “A system that ignores the laws it passes has a very bad future. If people don’t respect the law, we’re in trouble.”
William Gheen of Raleigh organized the protest because the public was not allowed to voice its opinion, he said.

“Sixty to 80 percent of North Carolinians oppose what they’re trying to do,” he said. “We either had to organize something like this or walk away.”

The policy must go through the administrative rules process, which usually takes six to 12 months.

N.C. legislature will still have the opportunity to reject the rule or override it with its own law in May when it reconvenes. Until then, the current law of not allowing undocumented immigrants into community colleges will remain. 

Inspiring interaction, encouraging education

By Laura Smith/ The Pendulum

On Monday, Elon University released its expansion plan for the implementation of new programs within the Multicultural Center.

Elon’s Multicultural Center creates educational programs based on diversity and culture, including programs for black students, Latino students, Asian-American students and more. Originally, it began in 1992 as a center for African-American students.

The focus of the new plan is on retention, multicultural education and academic success, according to Leon Williams, director of the program.

Williams came to Elon in October 2008 and has been working on the plan ever since.
“The question on the table as I entered into Elon was: How do we broaden multicultural services?” he said. “What do you do when you’re good and you’re nationally-recognized? My idea of it is we have to go wider and dig deeper.”

Plans for the expansion began in 2008 with a charge from several African-American students to clarify the center’s mission and devlelop more programs, according to Jeff Stein, associate Dean of Students.

A committee for the search for the new director, co-chaired by Associate Chaplain and Director of Religious Life Phil Smith and English professor Prudence Layne, was then developed to implement the plan.

Stein was a committee member and helped chair the search for Williams.

“This is about the future of the university in terms of preparing students for global citizenship,” Stein said. “This is about the growth the university will experience in turn.”

Williams said he hopes to incorporate more students of a multicultural background within the programs, as well as recognize the role of white students within the center.

“Every student should come in contact with one another, learn from one another, share their experiences with one another,” Williams said.

To do this, Williams and his colleagues have implemented several programs for the next three to five years.

One of these is the Difficult Dialogues series in which students, faculty and staff, along with those from historically black colleges and predominately white schools, will meet to discuss multicultural issues that plague society today.

The first Difficult Dialogue will take place Oct. 8. It is called “Comparing Experiences” and will incorporate 18 to 20 schools within an hour of Elon, according to Kelsey Glover, president of Elon’s multicultural student organization, Diversity Emerging Education Program.

Another program will be a multicultural conference.

“We want Elon … to make that claim that we are the number one resource in the south for multicultural education,” Williams said. “Students from all over the region can come here and learn in depth about multicultural education.”

Within the university, Williams said he is hoping to strengthen diversity training in orientation so new students will feel comfortable knowing about different backgrounds as well as where their resources are located. This is being encouraged through an interactive media tool called Deep Impact, which is a DVD created by the communications department and is comprised of student performers, which will be shown in Elon 101 classes. It includes six vignettes that cover class, race, disabilities, religion, gender and sexual orientation.

Externally, Williams is hoping to expand community service projects such as the Martin Luther King program, where students clean up a local church, and to partner with Centro La Comunidad to support Latino students in local high schools.

He said he also hopes to one day have an exhibit at Elon displaying artifacts and slave narratives, as well as bring in more multicultural performing arts shows, such as the Alvin Ailey dance company.

In addition, the plan will cater to the LGBT community, creating training for safe zones to help facilitate the discussion when a student is struggling to come out. Williams has also written a grant to host an LGBT advocacy conference soon.

Glover couldn’t be more excited about the implementations.

“This year we really want people to face the issues they don’t want to talk about … not in an adversarial way but in the world we live in,” she said. “You have to be comfortable in talking about these issues.”

In addition to these new programs, DEEP will continue to hold DEEP Days, which will include diversity-aimed education programs. It will also continue its annual events, such as Thanksgiving with a Twist, where students celebrate Thanksgiving from a different perspective, and the Tunnel of Oppression. The organization is also beginning a branding logo for students to recognize this year.

“We want to reach outside the bubble and really inform and educate people in the community that might not have had any outside experiences,” Glover said. “I feel like Elon is really behind this drive, wanting to make this a more diverse campus. Elon has diversity, you just have to look for it.”

Williams is looking forward to what the plan will bring to Elon as well.

“I think this will put us in a different place in the market for recruiting and attracting students,” he said. “I think they’ll be very attracted to Elon as being not only a place with physical ethnicity (and) race diversity, but a multicultural experience as well.”

He also said he believes these programs will help students in the future.

“Students will be prepared and equipped with the knowledge to go out in the market and compete very well with an advanced cultural competence level of understanding,” Williams said. “We shift from becoming members of the discussion to leading the discussion, and that’s a great opportunity for Elon students.”

Postcards showcase Greensboro’s history

By Laura Smith

Go Triad

For a little more than a decade, Tara Sandercock has been collecting postcards — mostly from early 1900s to 1960s. Credit: Jerry Wolford/News & Record

For Tara McKenzie Sandercock, the postcards she has been collecting in the past decade are more than just a message sender, they are a piece of history.

“A postcard doesn’t take up much room, yet is speaks volumes,” she said. “It tells a story.”

Sandercock, who is vice president of grants and initiatives at The Community Foundation of Greensboro, recently acquired her great-great-aunt Carrie’s collection of postcards from around the world. Combined with Sandercock’s own collection, the cards are now displayed for the public at the Foundation in its latest Community Collects exhibit, “Greetings from Greensboro!”

It all began as a little girl when Sandercock’s grandmother, Ruth Louise Davis, shared Carrie’s postcard collection with her.

In the early 1900s, Carrie —- her full name was Caroline Farquhar —- was a Quaker and Latin teacher who traveled around the world with her siblings. In her travels, she collected postcards from the countries she visited including places in Europe, Japan and Egypt.

As a child, Sandercock hoped to acquire the collection someday.

“They were just fascinating to me as a child,” said Sandercock, vice president of grants and initiatives at the Community Foundation. “I remember looking at these incredible photos, and I loved that design era where they were hand-colored.

“I remember we would see the postcards and we would look up their places on the globe,” Sandercock said, “and it was an early part of my education. Just the photographs of these were amazing.”

Sandercock moved to Greensboro 12 years ago and spent a good deal of time at antique fairs and flea markets in search of her other collectible interest: pottery.

While “flea-tiquing,” as her brother calls it, and looking for pottery, Sandercock came across a stand selling old postcards, and a postcard of Greensboro caught her eye. The postcard helped her remember how much she had loved her great-great-aunt’s collection. So she bought the card.

Since that day, she has made it her passion to find old postcards, mainly from the 1900s to the 1960s. Her great-great-aunt’s collection has only added to the compilation, and she estimates the oldest card she has is from about 1902.

Sandercock looks for postcards from Greensboro and the town where she grew up, Clarksville, N.Y..

She searches flea and antique markets as well as her latest discovery, eBay, where she says she usually gets postcards as cheaply as $1.50 each to about $8 for a set.

The most she has ever paid was $35 for a postcard displaying N.C. A&T with students tilling plots in front of the administration building.

A postcard, she says, is a representational account of how much has changed throughout the years.

“I’ve learned that there’s a lot of stereotyping, certainly around race, in some of the older postcards,” she said. “It’s interesting.”

Sandercock is no stranger to the subject of history, as she has been interested in the subject her whole life and even married a history teacher. She said she sees the postcards as a representation of day-to-day living in certain socio-economic groups.

One of the most memorable experiences she’s had collecting the postcards was giving her father-in-law a postcard from the small town in Pennsylvania where he grew up.

“It blew him away,” she said. “He made photocopies of it and sent it to family and friends.”

Since acquiring her great-great-aunt’s collection in May, Sandercock has added those postcards to her own collection.

Although postcards from Greensboro are the main focus in her searches, she appreciates any postcards she can find.

“I want the collection to be as broad as possible and to feature institutions that the vast spectrum of people in our community will identify with,” she said. “People that invest in the community foundation are investing in Greensboro; it’s a visual way to get some of the idea of the history.”

At the Carter Family Gallery at the Foundation, the public can see watercolor postcards from Japan, photographic postcards from Egypt and scenes from the earlier years of Greensboro. Some postcards include scenes from Bennett College, Proximity Mill, the old Emanuel Lutheran College and even the bus depot.

“It’s not just about the landmarks,” Curator Adeline Talbot said. “It’s the way people look at them; they’re amazing to look at.”

Adults can be kids, too!

By Laura Smith

News & Record/ Go Triad

PlayDate Triad allows grown-ups to be kids again by gathering to play games such as Jenga. Photo submitted

The poor economy has only made Atlanta businessman Imari Havard’s company grow stronger, and it’s all thanks to the help of Hungry Hungry Hippos, Connect Four and Twister.

PlayDate, the brainchild of Havard and his two business partners, Ryan Hill and Ronald Gaither, has visited 26 cities in the U.S. and will come to Greensboro this Saturday. This is the second time the event has come to Greensboro; the first was in July. It’s also been to Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Raleigh.

PlayDate is an event for adults 21 and older. Instead of techno music and dancing, you’ll find a group of 30-somethings tangled up in Twister or a group of friends huddled around a game of Jenga. The cost? $10.

“We want people to realize that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to go out and have a good time,” Havard said.

And with thousands of people showing up at one event, along with food, drinks and music, there’s no lacking of fun.

“It’s proven to be one of those businesses that’s recession proof,” Hill said. “It’s difficult to find something that has high value in terms of entertainment but at a cheaper cost.”

The event began in Atlanta in 2005 when Havard, who was working for a small marketing company at the time, was looking for an alternate way to have fun besides going to clubs. So, Havard and his wife held a get together with about 80 friends at a billiards room in Atlanta with board games and cocktails. The event was so successful, numbers grew by the hundreds and by 2007, Havard, Hill and Gaither created its parent company, Timeless Entertainment Concepts (TEC).

“It’s an awesome concept,” said Latrina Harris with PlayDate affiliate, Unique Affairs, which is helping organize the event in Greensboro, as well as in several other Southeastern cities. “They saw a need to redefine what we see in nightlife with the parties that really mirrored the club scene. A lot of people have grown tired of that.”

PlayDate allows adults to be kids again by offering open tables with games, including Operation, Jenga, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Sorry! and others.

“Some don’t do the club atmosphere, so it can be hard to meet people,” Harris said. “But when you pass a game of Connect 4, you might sit down and ask to play; it gives you an excuse to meet one another.”

At 11 p.m., PlayDate takes guests “back to the playground,” Harris said. Participants can immerse themselves in signature games of Red Light/Green Light, Red Rover, musical chairs, limbo and even karaoke.

The last PlayDate in Charlotte brought in about 1,000 people, and the one in Raleigh brought in about 600.

“We sell it as an economy friendly event.” Harris said. “We’re in hard times but we want to provide an opportunity to get out and have a good time and get your mind off things.”

It doesn’t hurt that the desire to be entertained will never go away, either.

“It’s about just being as silly as possible,” Hill said. “For one night, you can come out and forget all of your adult problems and pretend you’re a kid again.”

Artist explores the meaning of mantra

By Laura Smith

News & Record/ Go Triad

Sherri Lynn Wood travels with her “mantra trailer,” helping people find the words that inspire them. Photo submitted

When Sherri Lynn Wood hitches her small trailer to her truck, she does not set out on a weeklong camping trip. She takes it to a street corner or university quad and encourages people to come inside and discover things about themselves they may not know.

Wood has been hauling her trailer around for the past two years. Her “mantra trailer” as she calls it, is visually similar to a message board seen in front of churches, spelling out an inspiring message to passers-by.

“I like to say the mantra trailer is parked at the intersection of imagination, evangelism and propaganda,” Wood said.

With the project, individuals can create their own mantras (chanted words or phrases) on the side of the trailer or go inside and record them to be posted on the Internet.

Displaying phrases like “Life is an adventure” from Davidson, “To God be the glory” from Chicago, and “Everything has its time” from Athens, Ga., patrons have been leaving their marks, and mantras, with the trailer.

Wood’s project has taken her all across the country and now to the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro in the newest participatory art exhibit, “Our Subject is You,” which displays a replica of the trailer.

“I think she’s really very generous with her artwork,” curator Xandra Eden said. “She really has a wonderful way of allowing people to be creative, but at the same time to express something about their inner selves to others; it’s something very therapeutic.”

Wood, 45, got the idea from a growing concern of how language was being used in today’s culture with repetitive phrases about the War on Terror and “advertisement bombardment,” she said. “I thought it would be good to start a conversation about how language is used in mass media and how we use it ourselves as an internal monologue.”

The artist, who lives in San Francisco, discovered the power of mantras several years ago when she began using them on her own.

“When I found there was a phrase or a word or an idea that was cycling in my mind, I began to just say it out loud,” she said. “I discovered that often I would get a new understanding about what was cycling in my mind and it changed; it became different and gave it a new meaning.”

Wood said she has always been interested in the sound of voice and wanted to share her discoveries of it with others.

Now, Wood gives others the chance to do just that through her trailer project.

“I invite people in to connect with their interior; their meditative space,” she said.

Through private donations, she traveled for about four months last year, visiting universities, community art centers and galleries. She only allows those who record their mantras inside the trailer.

“They usually come out with some sort of discovery and are more appreciative; more relaxed and focused,” she said.

Wood had been living in the Durham area since 1976 but has taken her work to San Francisco for the last year. She graduated with an MFA from Bard College and a Master’s of Theological Studies from Emory University. She is working part-time as a parish administrator at an Episcopal Church in addition to her community-based artistry.

Wood is also exploring her love of repetition through sewing, or what she calls mantra stitching — another original project of hers that will also be featured as a workshop at the Weatherspoon.

Mantra stitching consists of a group of people stitching together, saying their mantras out loud with one another.

“It’s another exploration,” she said. “It’s not about just doing something yourself but asking people to move from being in their person role to a group/member role and the tension between those things.”

For many people, she says these healing activities are “something they really feel compelled to do to stay grounded &ellipses; it brings people together.”