On-Campus Apartments Will Provide Students Convenience and More

Meredith juniors and seniors who are ready to live on their own but don’t want to give up the convenience and camaraderie of campus living will soon have an additional housing option.

Construction is slated to be complete in June, and the building will open in fall 2009. According to Project Manager Zane Dickerson, the exterior façade of the building is 95 percent complete.

“Work inside of the apartments is going very well,” Dickerson said.

“We are finishing up all of our rough-ins and now the interior rooms are really starting to take shape. Currently we are in the middle of hanging and finishing drywall and will be starting to paint, install flooring and begin cabinet installation over the next few weeks.”
 
At the end of the fall semester, Dickerson and Meredith Director of Residence Life Heidi LeCount led more than 200 students on tours of the building. Additional tours are scheduled for this month.

Highlights of the student apartment project include the following:
1)  Convenience. Living in the Meredith apartments offers students both freedom and convenience—no traffic, no extra mileage on the car or worries about gas prices. If students prefer not to cook, a meal plan option is available for purchase.

2)  Security and Dependability. The apartments will benefit from 24-hour security. The apartments are also College-owned and managed, so students can depend on a consistent landlord.

3)  All-Inclusive Price. The 12-month rental agreement, which will be billed by semester, covers everything, including utilities, water, local telephone and wireless internet service. Each apartment is fully furnished with full-size beds, desks, a couch, dining room furniture and appliances, including washer/dryer and full-sized refrigerator. The apartment rental fee is included in the cost of attendance at Meredith, and will be considered when determining financial assistance packages for students for each term enrolled.

4)  Quality and Sustainability. The LEED certified building practices being used to construct the apartments translate to quality of life features such as superior air ventilation and water purification systems, and non-toxic paints and carpets.

Sign-ups for the new apartments are scheduled for February 23. For more information on the newest housing option at Meredith, visit www.meredith.edu/apartments.

History Class Participates in North Carolina Archives Project
By Stefanie Gregory, ’09

Last semester, Assistant Professor of History Dan Fountain led his History 334: Methods in Historical Research class to participate in a project for the North Carolina Archives.

History 334 is an introductory course in historical research, the class focuses on finding, evaluating and using historical sources, organizing and presenting historical research, and analyzing historical literature.

“While meeting with public history professionals in the summer of 2006, I met Sion Harrington who directs the Military Oral History Project for the State Archives,” Fountain said. “I learned then that they were collecting interviews from North Carolina veterans and knew that it would be a good opportunity for our women to do real historical work and make a genuine contribution to the archives.”

With a set of questions developed by the Military Oral History Project, students interviewed NC veterans. “The interviews typically last[ed] an hour and asked veterans for a description of their experience in the military,” said Fountain. “We have interviewed service personnel from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as others who did not experience combat.”

Afterwards, the students would transfer the interview from a digital recorder to their computer and, using an audio software package, they would transcribe the interview into a word document. Then, they would burn a CD copy of the oral interview for the archives. At the end of the semester, Fountain sent these completed projects to Harrington.

There was much to be ascertained by the students throughout the project. “They learned how to conduct oral histories which are a major source base for the historical research since the early twentieth century,” Fountain stated. “They learned how to conduct interviews properly so that they can incorporate that skill into their own research. Students also learned about how sources are created and the level of rigor necessary to maintain historical accuracy.”

According to Fountain, students also learned about the difficulties of “getting the whole story” because interviewees are often hesitant to discuss certain aspects of their experiences.

“This is a tough assignment that requires discipline, patience and attention to detail,” said Fountain. “It pushes students and they are usually pretty surprised by the level of difficulty. However, most also express satisfaction with their interaction with the veterans and the students are very proud that their work will become a part of an established archival collection. I am proud of our women’s contributions to the State Archives and am pleased that the professionals downtown appreciate and praise their work.”

Kandice Lewis, ’09, a student who participated in the project, is proud of her participation in the project.

“We interviewed a whole range of veterans – young vets from the Iraq War all the way to older vets from World War II – and we each walked away knowing that our interviewees were true American heroes. I was thrilled when we got a thank you email from the NC Archives saying that our projects had been added to the collection; my work and the work of my classmates was part of a larger project t

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