2004 10 15

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Women with Children take drastic measures

Flu Season Tips Page 5

Environmental forum coming to Wilson Page 8

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October 15, 2004

Wilson College

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Vol. 36, No. 2

THE

WILSON BILLBOARD At college ‘teach-in,’ an Iraq veteran earns dissenters’ respect MaryClaire Dale Associated Press Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Late on a Friday afternoon, as other college students get an early start to their weekend, about 100 students gather in a ninth-floor classroom at Temple University to hear a young Marine officer discuss his time in Iraq. Midway through his graphic tale of hunting and killing “terrorists,” students start to interrupt. Wouldn’t some call them “freedom fighters”? Can the United States ever pull out of Iraq? Does the Marine support President Bush’s re-election? Thus began the latest “teachin” at the North Philadelphia campus, a weekly, no-credit session led by a Vietnam-era protester-turned-college history professor. The sessions, which started three years ago as an offshoot to professor Ralph Young’s “Dissent in America” course, invite students to challenge views _ including their own _ on issues from war to feminism to photojournalism. Friday’s topic kept students going for more three hours.

“Even if I have somewhat of a left-wing view myself, I don’t want to impose it. I just want them to look at the historical past, and basically make their own conclusions,” Young said. The teach-ins came full circle with the visit Friday by 1st Lt. J. David Fleming, 29, who took Young’s “Dissent” course at a Penn State satellite campus in 1998 and sent occasional emails during two tours of Iraq. “I had these images of what combat was going to be like,” said Fleming, who enlisted at 17. “I wanted to go kill somebody. I wanted to go to war, to answer the question for myself, ‘Hey, do I have what it takes?”’ Years later, after time out for college and retraining as a Marine officer, Fleming finally saw war firsthand. The view was not so romantic. “It’s survival,” he said of his up-close battles with the enemy. “I’m doing everything in my power to survive and so is he.” Several students challenged his use of the term “terrorist”

SEE TEACH-IN, PAGE 2

W HAT ’ S I NSIDE News............................................Page 1 Features......................................Page 4 Editorial......................................Page 7 Community.................................Page 8

Wilson Community Mourns Loss of Copper Beech Tree Stephanie St. Louis Staff Writer The Copper Beech Tree, a gift from the Class of 1920 and the second tallest of its kind in Franklin County, has finally died of age and disease. The tree started dying about five years ago and Wilson College has done everything that they could to keep the tree alive. They even brought in specialists and tree experts to help, but to no avail. It was planted outside of Warfield Hall sometime between 1920 and 1932. Although people are unsure of how old the tree actually is, it is believed that the tree is about 85 years old, according to President Edmundson. This tree has been part of Wilson College for almost nine decades. Wilson College’s Copper Beech Tree has also been the subject of many photos, poems and drawings. Swings hung from its branches. As time went by, the swings were replaced by benches in order to protect the tree from injury. The tree has been a focal point for many different things that have taken place on campus. For many years, professors have brought classes out under the branches of this beautiful tree. Professor Michael Cornelius of the English department remembers bringing his advanced writing class outside to have class under the Copper Beech Tree. One student had written a poem about fruit and Dr. Cornelius thought that it was really cool since they were studying poetry anyway. There have been special vigils that have taken place there, including one for September 11, 2001. According to President Edmundson, there were even streaking parties at the Copper Beech Tree in the 1970’s. Dur-

photo by Kyungjoo Cha

Workers start to cut down Wilson’s beloved copper beach tree Tuesday. The tree has stood on campus for at least seven decades.

ing Fall Weekend, Lucille O’Toole read stories to the children from the Women with Children program under the branches of the Copper Beech Tree. Now, because it is a safety hazard, our beloved Copper Beech Tree has to come down. On September 30, 2004, there was a ceremony to celebrate the beauty and happiness that the tree has brought to Wilson College. The speakers included President Edmundson, Professor Cornelius, and Jamie McCauley, a member of the Class of 2005. Both Professor Cornelius and Jamie McCauley had written poems about the Copper Beech Tree.

In her poem “The Remembrance…”, Jamie described the tree as: “A gift once given and now received; a kiss from the stars to capture etemity; a touch of rain down your trunk; you are a sole presence amongst a fleeting worldnever to be forget in remembrance of a copper beech tree.” Marie Lancer Beck, Class of 1976, and the interim director of alumnae activities says that the

SEE TREE, PAGE 2


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2004 10 15 by The Wilson Billboard - Issuu