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WCU - Western Carolina University Publications

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

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Item 1 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
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Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

HL_WesternCarolinian_1976-07-01_Vol42_No03_01
Item 2 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
wcu_publications-7249.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

HL_WesternCarolinian_1976-07-01_Vol42_No03_02
wcu_publications-7250.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

HL_WesternCarolinian_1976-07-01_Vol42_No03_03
Item 4 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
wcu_publications-7251.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

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Item 5 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
wcu_publications-7252.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

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Item 6 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
wcu_publications-7253.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

HL_WesternCarolinian_1976-07-01_Vol42_No03_06
Item 7 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
wcu_publications-7254.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

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Item 8 - Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03
wcu_publications-7255.jp2

Western Carolinian Volume 42 Number 03

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  • THURSDAY, JULY 1,1976 THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN Robert Carter: closing the gap CAROLINIAN FEATURE STORY AND PHOTOS BY FRED BARBOUR An alarm clock shatters the quiet stillness of early morning A hand reaches out finds the alarm, and turns it off Another day has begun for Robert Carter. He gets up, takes a shower, shaves, dresses, eats breakfast, and walks to class. Is there anything unusual about this routine? Well, yes and no. Robert, blind since birth, performs these everyday tasks without assistance. He also has some talents, such as playing guitar and water skiing, that he has developed to a greater extent than most sighted people To many people with sight, these facts are hard to swallow. Ask any blind person about the conversations he gets into with strangers and most likely he or she will tell you they often center around the sighted person expressing sympathy Of feeling sorry for the person without sight. For instance, Robert, who is an English major, says a common question addressed to him is, "You're into lit and you can't even read?" Apparently, they have not heard of braille or the tape recorder. Dave Waldrop, counselor for the visually impaired, says "the gap between people with normal vision and visually impaired people has grown wide." He fears that it will take some time for this gap to be closed, which can occur only after sighted people overcome their misunderstandings and prejudices about people with visual handicaps. For Robert proving that the gap can be closed has not always been easy. He says "people don't realize that we are a lot more like them than we are different." A friendly confidence is one of the first things noticed when talking to Robert. He attributed this confidence to his parents who "always though I could do whatever I made up my mind to do". Playing a gig at the Down Under supper club in Sylva. "People don't realize that we are a lot more like them than we are different" Subsequently, Robert's belief that he could do whatever he applied himself to has resulted in his engaging in a variety of activities ranging from hiking on the Appalachian Trail to water skiing. But music is the field that really lets Robert shine He plays and sings all grades of down home music, from bluegrass to Jimmy Buffet, with a generous sprinkling of Kris Kristoffer- son and original work in between. His own lyrics, set off by flat pickin', or finger picking, ring with country humor. In a song about the economy co-written with Mike Cross, he sings: Bad luck is sprouting Like weeds in a garden Hard times blowin' like a gale Just my fortune To get my pardon When I'd just as soon stay in jail. During the past two summers, Robert has toured eastern Canada, playing gigs with the Funky Pickers Bluegrass Band, from Charlotte. After he graduates, it is his ambition to get into the music business on a full-time basis. His confidence in himself, and his knowledge that blind people have nothing more to fear in venturing out into the world than anyone else, has led Robert to a staff position in the Early Bird Project. Early Bird is a cooperative project between the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind and Western Carolina University. The project, in its tenth year of operation at WCU, is designed to help visually impaired students adjust to college life. Now a junior at UNC Chapel Hill, Robert was enrolled in Early Bird in 1974. To know Robert is to be reminded of a valuable lesson; we should accept ourselves for what we are, and not let our limitations become excuses for laziness. Backpacking is an outdoor activity enjoyed by Robert. In the above picture, he and a friend are on top of Whiteside Mt. ESP Robert, who has water skied for about 5 years, slaloms on Lake Lure, near Chimney Rock. Shaving is no problem.
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Western Carolina University Publications

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University’s student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolin...

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