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THE DECREE
Monday. Etecemfaer 4. 1968
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EDITORIAL
Instead of an editorial, I a'm going to make sev
eral comments on the events of the past several
weeks.
First of all, I am pleased to announce that the
Sophomore Proficiency Exams have definitely been
canceled. This decision reflects a wise decision or
the part of the faculty at the urging of the English
Department.
The continuing discussion concerning Dean
Moore’s Convocation Proposal seems to lead to one
particular point, the question of whether or not
academic sanctions should ibe a part of this .pro
gram. Dean Moore claims the necessity of attach
ing an academic standard in order to obtain a
monetary grant from a foundation. Many students
claim that this program will merely be another
hindrance in the quest for upper level hours. This
“course” will also hinder students who want to
take electives which will parallel their toajor. I
would like to see this program become a reality at
Wesleyan, but in a more acceptable form. The
needs and desires of a wide variety of students must
be considered and reworked into a desirable cosm-
promise. I feel that each student should be pre
sented with the choice as to whether or not he
wishes to participate.
Finally, the apparent inadequacies O'f the 1967
Dissenter are the fault of those students who did not
work on it. It is hoped that the formation of a Pub
lications Committee within the SGA and a new staff
will produce a result ivhich does not reflect the
mediocrity of Wesleyan’s students.
THE DECREE
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Mowbray
ASST. EDITORS Michael Knott, John Dorsey
FEATURE EDITOR , Jim Clark
BUSINESS MANAGER Jerry Winberry
CIRCULATION MANAGER Tony DeMuth Jr.
OFFICE STAFF Rich Monk, Susan Dixon
FEATURE STAFF—Angie Powell, Linda Lane, Jim Clark,
John Dorsey
NEWS STAFF—Maria Gargano, Sarah Askew, Virginia Hall
SPORTS STAFF-Steve Smith, Jim GiU '•
CIRCULATION STAFF—Teddy Wall, Nancy Gresh, Jim Price
Business Address—Box 3146, N. C. Wesleyan College
Rocky Mount, N. C.
This Is the first in a series
of monthly articles by the popu
lar piano stylist, Ramsey Lewis.
In months to come. Lewis
will run the gamut of the Viet
nam conflict, soul food, plays,
today’s music, politics, dances,
black power, pop art, movies,
and night club and concert per
formances by every major
artist in the United States and
Canada. Ramsey will go back
stage to visit performers and
to relay questions directed to
him by readers.
I am told that on a bright
spring morning in May, 1935,
great joy filled the home of
one Ramsey and Pauline Lewis,
of Chicago, Illinois, The oc
casion was the arrival of their
first, and as it developed, only
son. Their pride, it is re
ported, was equaled only by
the loud squalls of an infant,
whose destiny had been rather
fully plotted the moment Ram
sey Lewis Senior laid eyes on
him: He would be a musician.
Actually, it was my older
sister, Lucille, who had been
tapped to lead the family cru
sade into the music world But
in 1941, it became clear that
journalism held a greater at
traction for Lucille. So, at
age six, the musical banner
was firmly thrust toward me,
along with many hard argu
ments (the hardest of them
landing on the seat of my pants),
as to why I must hold the musi
cal banner aloft. I reluctantly
took hold. It seemed at this
point that eighty eight little
monsters had come to occupy
and control my life. The neigh
borhood sand lot, which to me
held so much promise, was
virtually declared off limits.
The carefully calculated routine
moved at a pace that seemed
to shorten the space between
daylight and dark: Regular
visits to the home of Ernes
tine Bruce, the neighborhood
music teacher at fifty cents a
lesson; two hours daily prac
tice at the piano followed my
six hour day at Jenner Ele
mentary SchooL Then came
the home work.
In 1946, the hard work really
began. Ernestine Bruce gave
way to Miss Dorothy Mendel-_
sohn. Miss Mendelsohn moved*
with an almost frightening in
tensity to sharpen the raw edges
of my musical knowledge; im
posing a structured technical
proficiency born of the classics.
The next several years were
to be given to musical tech
nique, ear training, and har
mony courses. Then came
what may have been the most
exhilarating of all experiences.
I was invited to play for the
church choir, directed by my
father. In no time at all, I
became totally engrossed in the
emotional, and rhythmic forces
of Negro gospel music. Out
of this combination of classical
training, and deep involvement
in the powerful rhythmic ex
pression of Negro church mu
sic, came what many have come
to regard as “THE RAMSEY
LEWIS STYLE.”
The latter phenomenon, the
Ramsey Lewis Style, may be
a matter of individual defini
tion, or identification. What
ever it may mean to others,
for me it means at least pen
etrating the mysteries of music
beyond the mere technical abil
ity to get over the keyboard
with ease. It means the fullest
expression of even the deepest
emotion...the kind of expression
that may evoke a tear with the
melodic refrain of ^'awnoroK-
er;” a smile to the thought
of “I’ll Wait For You;” or even
a “Yea Man” to the pulsating
beat of “Wade In The Water”,
or “In Crowd.”
It is rare that I ever em
bark upon a sea of words
without my piano as a life
raft. But, having been priv
ileged to pursue a career that
has taken me the length and
breadth of our nation, and onto
the campuses of more than
two hundred American colleges
and universities, I am inspired
to speak to, and keep in touch
with a viable and living public
as often as I can. Here is
hoping that you will choose to
join me in the future as we
regularly comment on the vital
issues of our times; closely
examining famous “Soul Food”
recipes or engage in candid
interviews with Nancy Wilson,
Dr. Benjamin Spock, Bill Cos
by, Gayle Sayres, Bishop Jo
seph A. Pike, and other out
standing personalities.
COMMENTARY
BY MATT GAFFNEY
Now that the students of Wes
leyan have had their mid-term
examinations and have enjoyed
a short holiday, they are in
a position to study their prog
ress in their various courses.
Each student is able to com
pute the grades he must ob
tain on future tests in order
to remain off academic pro
bation. A large part of each
student’s final grade will de
pend also on the quality of his
required termpapers, projects,
and book reviews. To this end
our college library plays an
important part.
Understandably, students are
restricted in their use of the
library in that they can bene
fit from the library’s facili
ties only outside of their class
and meal times. The library
is open Monday through Friday
from 8:00 A. M. to 10:00 P. M.,
Saturdays from 8:00 A. M. to
12:30 P. M., and Sundays from
2:00 P. M. to 5:30 P. M. and
from 7:00 P. M. to 10:00 P. M.
However, the only times during
the week which are open for
all students to attend without
missing classes or meals are:
Monday through Friday from
6:00 P. M. to 10:00 P. M.;
Saturday from 11:00 A. M. to
11:30 A. M.; and during all
open hours on Sunday. Each
student is guaranteed a total
of twenty-eight (28) hours of
uninterrupted study and re
search time, not enough time for
the student to devote himseU
effectively to his many tasks. '
In order to provide the students
with ample opportunity to com
plete their work, the library
hours should be extended to
10:00 P, M. on Saturdays.
There are, certainly, many
hours during the week when each
student could use the library
between classes, but these op
portunities are usually of short
duration, lasting one or two
hours at a time, preventing
the student from attaining a
satisfactory degree of concen
tration. In addition, the stu
dents should use these brief
pauses in their routine to so
cialize and attend to their per
sonal needs.
The only action to improve,
the students’ situation is to*
extend the library’s hours to
10:00 P. M. on Saturdays. At
lantic Christian College in Wil
son has library hours until
4:00 P. M. each Saturday. The
Rocky Mount city library is
open every Saturday until 9:00
P. M, Students without cars
have a difficult time benefit
ing from these hours. TheextraT
time would also provide mora \
hours for students to eliminate
their work grants.
Rocky Mount for 33 Years
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139 SOUTH MAIN STREET
Rocky Mount, N. C.
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