“Students, by and large, see the Guilford administration as a churning monster, uncontrollably chewing up what this school has worked so hard to become and barfing out fancy schmancy new buildings,” said sophomore Leah Begin. I’ve talked with many peers who feel that way.

I don’t think Kent Chabotar and Randy Doss are monsters, but after my first year, I’ve been concerned that Guilford may be intentionally changing its image as its enrollment and physical size grow.

“If we speculate wide appeal, we focus on creating an image that will not be offensive or exclusionary,” said Jeff Jeske, Professor of English. “Not that Guilford advertises itself inaccurately, but as we broaden our intended audience, that affects messages we send.”

I couldn’t interview everyone I hoped. I don’t claim to have data. But I will present the views I gathered on the “image change” issue.

“All members of the Guilford community should be familiar with the Strategic Long-Range Plan,” said Randy Doss, Vice-president for Enrollment and Campus Life, “because that is our blueprint onwhat will happen here at Guilford for the next several years.”

The SLRP can be seen on Guilford’s website.

“People who see the changes negatively have to stay and be active,” said Begin. “Only time will tell whether the changes are positive or negative, but it’s safe to say going with the flow won’t bring positive changes.”

“If you believe in a place, you connect yourself to the challenge of keeping that place alive and vital,” said Doss. “Guilford has a place in America’s higher educational system, but most small colleges are low-endowed and so have financial problems.”

A few years ago, Guilford had low enrollment, no money for faculty raises, and deferred maintenance.

“There were problems with heating and cooling, peeling paint and broken sidewalks,” said Kent Chaobtar, President. “Posing issues of image and life-safety, Students were not likely to be attracted to a school that didn’t look as good as its academic program.”

Doss said that since 77 percent of Guilford’s revenue comes from student tuition fees, the strategy of growth will allow Guilford to hire more full-time faculty and pay faculty more, keeping the student-to-faculty ratio at 16:1.

Maybe growth is financially necessary, but what does it mean for Guilford?

“Part of Guilford’s charm is it feels like a bubble,” said prospective student Peter Gott. “Increasing enrollment detracts from the strengths of a small college.”

By the end of my first year, I recognized nearly everyone I passed. Not so last year or this year.

“We call our teachers by their first names, and students and faculty can grow close bonds,” said senior Jai Dave. “I liked that about Guilford.”

“People choose to go to Guilford so they can be names, not numbers,” said Kathy Oliver ’05. “That’s being taken away, though you wouldn’t know it from the brochures.”

Already we’ve added three student apartment buildings, and Guilford will continue to add residence halls to compensate for the growing student body.

“The new apartments’ quad is a parking lot, which doesn’t seem to facilitate community,” said sophomore Natan Harel. “Renovations and expansions may be necessary with increasing enrollment, but they should be examined with Quaker values more in mind. Quaker values are not about outward image.”

“Simplicity has always forced deemphasizing societal standards of beauty and truth,” said Max Carter, Director of the Friends Center and Campus Ministry Coordinator. “There’s some truth that people have been turned off by Guilford’s deferred maintenance, but there has been a bit of overreaction in that we’ve poured a lot of money into curb appeal issues.”

Begin’s biggest concern is “irrecoverable change.”

“How can Guilford claim to know its students at all if there are even ideas of building in the meadows and by the lake?” she said.

Dave said, “This natural environment drew me to Guilford. Traditionally our buildings’ beauty has been enhanced by, instead of detracted from, nature’s beauty.”

Enrollment growth, necessary as it may be, has already affected Guilford in ways that are sometimes hard to verbalize. These articles are my start to a conversation that I hope continues.