Many misinterpretations followed the implementation of The Early College at Guilford on the Guilford College campus in 2002. The Early College has come to be seen in a negative light by some Guilford students in the two years since its inception. These misunderstandings need to be addressed so there is greater understanding of Early College and therefore less tension.

I have heard traditional students complain that Early College doesn’t pay for lunch in the cafeteria, though we pay $90 for 20 meals, which is the same as what traditional students pay. There are new labs being built in the basement of Frank, and contrary to popular belief, they are for all Guilford students.

A main complaint about Early College is that students taking Guilford classes don’t pay for them. The Guilford classes that Early College students take as juniors and seniors are paid for by the Guilford County Schools system. Early College is about getting ahead and receiving an education that isn’t available at a traditional public high school. It’s a privilege to be here. If we don’t live up to the standards set for us and we make anything below a C in a Guilford class, we pay $1,000.

While money is a big issue, our presence as kids on the campus is a more immediate one.

Tony Lamair Burks II, principal and director of Early College, states in the school information packet, “Students must be formally admitted to college-level studies at the end of tenth grade. An Admissions Team- including staff from the school and the college- reviews applications from prospective students. The Admissions Team conducts individualized reviews of each application.”

This admissions team also looks at readiness for a college campus environment, as does the team considering applications to the lower grades of the school.

These students are freshmen and sophomores, who spend the majority of their time taking classes in the modular unit between Frank and Bauman. Upon exhibiting behavior unfit for a college campus after having been accepted, they don’t make it past the admissions team and aren’t allowed to attend Guilford classes when the time comes.

Before that time, underclassmen are learning what it means to be on a college campus.

“The only problem is the underclassmen,” says Early College junior Spenser Rubin. “They are really the only thing the college students are universally aware of. Most Guilford College students only know about us when we introduce ourselves, or when they see them. The easiest way for the school to look good is for the underclassmen to look their best each day. The rest of us are pretty much on a person-to-person basis.”

As the students become accustomed to the campus, and with direction from the administrators realize the privilege of such a rare opportunity, the importance of respect to the campus and its students becomes clear. I ask that you look at things from our perspective, and be patient with the younger Early College students.

Though Early College may have had a bit of a rocky start in 2002, it must be understood that the school was just getting to its feet. There were bugs to be worked out and there were incidents like broken doors and misplaced Magic games, but I hope no grudges are held. Unaccustomed to new freedoms such as a large campus, a longer lunch period, Hege library and Bauman labs, some students abused their privileges just as any student probably does when they encounter the new freedoms of college.

Another group that gets criticism on campus is CCE students. They are like us, the Early College students, in that they are apart from the traditional group, have a lot expected from them, and probably feel out of place at first. Early College students feel more understanding than anything else from CCE students.

As Early College students, we have a lot to live up to, and we’re entering your classes so we can do that and gain knowledge that we couldn’t otherwise gain. We don’t aim to take away from discussions, goals, grades, or atmosphere.