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VOLUME FOUR by Malcolm Hohmann ACC student Sharyn Owens has won, a ‘special award’ inthe Na- tional College Poetry Contest. The contest involved college students from all over the country, and of- fered 5 cash prizes, 80 honorable mentions, 500 special awards, and additional awards for foreign language verse. * : Owens, an accounting student, won her award for her poem enti- tled ‘As You Are’, which reflects “allowed freedom in intimate relationships.” Her award consists of free publication in an anthology entitled’American Collegiate Poets, Fall Concours, 1981’. Her poem will be representing ACC nation- wide when the anthology is released in February 1982. It is worthy of note that ACC is known primarily for its technological curriculum rather than for its artistic output. Sharyn says she has been writing poetry since she was in the sixth grade. In addition to peotry, she also writes short stories such as ‘The Wizard’ which appeared in the Update as a regular feature last year. Her inspiration has always been emotional: “You write what you feel...from experiences.” She i currently studying to become a CPA so she can “...raise enough finances that | can afford more time for writing.’”” Her own personal poem is ‘Annabel Lee’, she says but that-was penned by some fel- low named Poe, not her. * a AS YOU ARE By Sharyn Owens In your arms, | am invincible, the epitome of perfection, Beauty and Truth. You engender confidence and serenity, Security in your love. You say you don’t want to be my everything, You feel you can’t fulfill the demands that position requires. You needn’t ever be more than yourself. | love you as you are, Because you are... You, CAMPUS UPDATE ISSUES SEVEN & EIGHT ACC STUDENT WINS POETRY Alpena Community College, Alpena, MI DECEMBER 16, 1981 Mystery Man of December 25th by Bill Garant As the snow begins to fall out- side, symbolic of the approaching Christmas season, a question pops into my head and begins to eat a- way at me. I’m not sure why it pop- ped into my head so suddenly, or why it popped into it at all, all-! knew is that it must be answered. immediately before it totally tore me away from all sense of reality. The question that gave way to all this anxiety was, Who is this person called ‘‘Santa Claus’’? ‘For decades people have talked about this jolly old elf who appears in December of every year and cre- ates excitement in the hearts of all children. Nothing can tempt a child as much as toys, and this person called “Santa Claus’ brings with him the expectations of trucks, dollies, teddy bears, wagons, guns, bikes, and an infinite number of things that make a child's heart | beat a little faster. To millions of children all over the world he is the jolly old man who wears the red suit and delivers gifts to all children who have been good over the pre- vious year. He-rides aboard a gallant sleigh drawn by eight reindeer, lead by the one with the shiny nose, Rudolph. After pondering on that for awhile, | decided to accept that as one of the possible answers to my questions. However, another ques- tion came to mind: What happens to “Santa Claus’’ after December 25th? Each year, millions of children write to the jolly elf and tell him what little angels they have been, then ask him to deliver to them all the things they deem necessary to get through the upcoming year. They come visit him when he comes to town, sit on. his aging leg ° and rub sticky candy cane into his clean’ white beard. His bright red siut takes a beating from the mil- lion and one children who climb up and down from his lap. However that is not the matter at hand. What happens to the candid little man after he has so-called “delivered’’? Do any of the millions of children ever write Santa back and thank him for all the goodies that they found under their Christmas tree? For some reason | picture this dis- heartened little man with a swol- len leg and sticky beard trodding off to some place called the North Pole. Does anyone care that he is tired, lonely and will have to spend hours trying to get the sticky red eandy out of his beard? Does any- one think about him between Janu- ary and November? What happens to him? CONTINUED ON P4 GE 3 AWARD Take Time Out for Christmas by Sharyn Owens Christmas lights % Warming the homeward path Lighting the loving lamp of Peace. So seldom do we take the time to tell our dear ones we care. How frequently, months on end expire without that little extra effort. At Christmas, everyone seems to love» just a little more, a tiny bit deeper. How wonderful it would be if we all kept a Christmas glow of love the year ‘round. Christmas magic The miracle-worker of childlike hearts Instills, on icy nights, a glow of Warmt! While many of us cherish con- tentment in.our loved one’s pres- ence, others suffer an-agony in the extreme--Christmas alone. Sur- rounded by hoards of cheerful people, the bitter heart flounders: in loneliness. fhe most joyful sea- son of the year is earmarked by an exhorbitant suicide rate.. Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate, not Christmas,,but ourselves. Christmas giving Sharing treasured moments Engendering golden memories of Love. Christmas love shouldn’t be stored away, hidden like a -miser’s gold; it should be lived. Instead of investing $200 in a coat for Grandma (unless she really needs one), give her something. small. Then, once every month, personally deliver a dozen roses to her. Don’t spend that horrendous amount of money on toys for the kids. They'll feel more securely loved it you give them yourself instead. That special someone would much prefer a few hours of your undivided attention to a new watch. Don’t commer- cialize Christmas. Let it come from the heart. Enjoy Christmas, and live it--every day of the year.