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THE WESLEYAN DECREE
Wednesday, March 6, 1963
Editorials
An Open Letter
North Carolina Wesleyan College in 1968 will be
an extension of what we are making it now.
There will be more—more buildings, students, fac
ulty, staff—but we are creating the pattern and
establishing the guide lines by which we expand.
The campus in 1968 should include all of the
buildings we now have, or have under construction.
In addition we should have the gymnasium-—well
worn, the library—well read; the auditorium—fine
arts building—well attended. The fifth dormitory
will probably be occupied by young men and it’s pos
sible the sixth will be in use by young ladies.
The greenhouse and formal gardens will be cen
ters of interest. We can also hope for the comple
tion of the beautiful Chapel in the front pines by
this time.
You will find the conversations more numerous
since we anticipate 750 to 800 students on campus,
with approximately 600 in residence. Our present
25 faculty members will have grown to 50 or 55
full-time professors.
P''or these things to come to fruition, we must
have the continued support of our close friends, the
Founders of the Rocky Mount Community and the
Methodists of the North Carolina Annual Confer
ence.
We are committed to a program of excellence in
liberal arts education so the number of majors will
still number only three or four more than our present
dozen. W'e prefer to do well what we attempt rather
than to attempt everything and do nothing well.
To attain the concept of Christian Higher Educa
tion, we must work together, administration, faculty,
and students to produce a growing sense of com
munity, Christian commitment, and trustw'orthiness.
No single element of the community can make
these goals a reality. Any single element can pre
vent this accomplishment. Therefore we must be
“laborers together with God” and we shall look
forward to 1968 and after with eager anticipation.
Thomas A. Collins
President, Wesleyan College
Milestone Year
This issue of the Decree offers a preview of Wes-
leyan’s first milestone year, 1968. Expressed on these
pages are the carefully thought-out plans of the
architects, the expectations of the administration,
the aspirations of the faculty, and the hopes of the
students.
The prevalence of such a bright attitude regarding
the future indicates to us that Wesleyan has ex
perienced in many ways a remarkable history. To
reminisce in search of w'hy’s and wherefore’s seems
mandatory as perhaps the recognition of these items
will add somewhat to the full realization of future
goals.
Wesleyan’s'most valuable asset has been the mag
nanimous encouragement and support from among
the surrounding populace; had it not been so freely
offered, Wesleyan would not exist to this day. These
people, who hav'e helped to form the very founda
tions upon which this institution is built, have asked
little in return other than the dividend of higher edu
cation itself.
Our administration has proven itself unique in
successfully tackling the innumerable problems in
volved in the establishment of sound procedure so
necessary to effective administration. It has done
well in providing this very institution with a faculty
of exceptional quality, and also in attempting to
make available to the students the most challenging
and comprehensive program possible.
Among all these who have played any part in the
histoi'y of Wesleyan, the students deserve the highest
praise. In several short years they have provided the
college with an admirable government already noted
by similar groups for its excellence. The present stu
dents have gone to all lengths to insure that Wes
leyan’s future life blood will have worthy traditions
to uphold and a more meaningful college experience,
both socially and academically.
In retrospect, I see challenges that were success
fully encountered by forward-looking people all
concerned with the bettei-ment of the total life of
Wesleyan College. If the past be a crystal ball point
ing pathways to 1968, we can carefully expect all our
aspirations to be realized.
—Mr. X
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ARTIST’S SKETCH OF THE FUTURE WESLEYAN CHAPEL
Hailey Supports Proposed Chapel
In a recent interview Dr,
James Ilailcy gave Wesleyan
tudents new insights on the
much needed Chapel that is
proposed for future construc
tion.
The Chapel will have a chap
lain to lead all religious ac
tivities. Weekly chapel services
will be held on Thursdays ais
well a;s a worship scrvice on
Sundays. The Chapel will be a
regular church to serve the col
lege community, with its ac
tivities closely resembling the
churches in town.
This concept is based on the
assumption that a church-relat
ed scliool must have a strong
religious life as an important
and vital addition to college
life. The student m^ay, for this
reason, hold an associate mem
bership in the college church
while still holding membership
ties with his home church.
Large Sanctuary
The interior of the Chapel
will feature a large sanctuary
©It? U^Hlpgan Dfrrrr
Official Student Newspaper of
North Carolina Wesleyan College.
Printed bi-weekly in
Nashville, N. C.
witli an adjoining cliapel. This
chapel will be open, along with
the sanctuary, for personal use
and meditation. There will be
an office for tlie chaplain in the
Chapel, as well as recreational
facilities.
The Wesleyan Chapel will
probably be non-denominational,
giving greater elasticity to the
service orders and to further
meet tlie individual student’s
needs.
Organization of religious life
will be handled by the Inter-
Faitli Commission as a part of
the total Student Government.
Separate groups under Inter-
Faith guidance will enlarge
their membersiiips for more ef
fective chapel presentation and
organization.
Baptist Student Union, Me
thodist Youth Fellowship, Can
terbury, and Westminister Fel
lowship will be the more pro
minent denominational councils
v/ithin the Inter-Faith Commis
sion. The Inter-Faith Commis
sion chairman and the presi
dent of each denominational
group will hold Senate seats
and co-ordinate the total re
ligious program.
There will also be a minister
ial organization for pre-minis-
terial students. The goal of the
Wesleyan administration is to
make available facilities .and in
struction to all students for
growth and new understanding
in their religious life.
Academic Standards
To Be Strengthened
SI
MEMBER
EDITOR
Susan Black
ASSISTANT EDITOR
John Gillls
LAY-OUT EDITOR
Winni Stine
BUSINESS MANAGER
Vann Massey
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Walter White
REPORTERS
Gingrer Nesbitt
Bill Morris
Shere Leslie
SPORTS
David Reeves
Tlie most prevalent comment
on Wesleyan academic stand
ards according to a recent sur
vey taken by The Decree edi
tors was that one of the princi
pal aims of Wesleyan College
is to offer a good, solid, strong
major in a fev/ fields, instead
of offering lower quality stand
ards in many varied major
study areas.
Statements of this type are
in direct c onflict with what
miany people think will be tlie
future of Wesleyan. The curri
culum-planning agencies of the
college are definitely opposed
to lowering standards in a maze
of different fields of study. The
11 major areas of study will,
of course, be continued and
strengthened, and only a few
more majors will be offered in
the proceeding years.
The college v/ill continue to be
basically a liberal arts institu
tion, with no courses being of
fered in the professional fields.
Curriculum studies are being
made continuously, and the aim
of these studies is to move to
ward free, more experimental
schedules of study. Individual
curriculum practices and poli
cies, miany of which will be ex
clusive to Wesleyan, will begin.
The curriculum study group’s
desire for beneficial, original
ideas can be seen in unique
results already obtained by
them, such as the present fresh-
m.an religion requirements (In
troduction to Religion and World
Religion) and the Humanities
courses, which include investi
gations into all the fine larts
with examinations of their basic
similarities.
It is hoped that Wesleyan
may one day offer an extra
special area of istudy—one in
which the collcge may become
recognized as excelling all other
schools in its teaching.
All areas of the present cur
riculum are to be expanded,
with new courses being offered
each semester. More languages
v/ill be available, as will ex
panded science courses. At the
present time Wesleyan has no
real art program, but as the
college expans a full area of
study in art will be offered.
The policy in the past has
been one of “do it right or not
at all,” so gradually courses
such las Principles of Aesthetics,
Introduction to Painting, etc.,
will become realities.
Requirements for graduation
(Continued on page 4)