Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Sept. 30, 1969, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE 2 THE DECREE SEPTEMBER 36, 1969 Religion-Restriction Within the framework of an academic society, one needs to learn about himself, his responsibility to himself and then to his society, and how to live. In a community where these needs are suppressed there is little opportunity for the individual to become a secure and productive citizen of his community. Coming to adulthood is not a chronoligical event, but rather an emotional one. If college students are truly adults, as we are told over and over again by parents, faculty, and administration, then the moral obligation for their responsible living falls off the shoulders of the Administration and drops to their own should ers. It is students' responsibility to live morally, ethically, and justly. Students must have the freedom to learn to live their own lives and not a silhouetted image of the Administration’s. In the past, a relationship between religion and restriction has been established. In other words, the greater the number of rules and the more strictly they are enforced, the more religious the college. In our modern world, not only is this assumption a drivel of absurdity, it is sacreligious. The Christian God has been depicted as a forgiving, lenient father, not as the stern lord and master, the omnipotent god of the past, who destroys all who are not His proponents. In the Biblical story of the Crea tion, God gave man the opportunity to make his own decisions, so let us hope that there will come a time when the Wesleyan Administration will permit us to do the same. It will indeed be a grand and glorious day when women students no longer are treated as four-year-olds, when they will be able to decide for themselves the proper time to return to their dorms at night, when students are permitted to use their own discretion in’ the choice of dress and appearance, when students can choose their behavious without interference from an overly-protective Administration, and when students are truly allowed to live and not merely exist as stereotypes of the mores of the past generation. It will be with loud rejoicing that this day will be welcomed.--J.V.L. Facade Collapses In a monent of indecision last week the facade of active po werful student leader fell from SGA President John Roberts. (See ‘Elections Disputed, etc.’ on page one.) Roberts, as SGA President, was in a prime position when James Gill threatened strong-arm tactics to maintain harmony among the residents of South Hall. Yet he stood idly by and ob served the intimidation of members of second floor without mak ing a single move to avert a possible outbreak of violence. Elected officials must maintain a good working relationship among themselves, and certainly Roberts and Gill must work together if they are to achieve any good ends for the students. But beyond that is a far more important consideration: the student government’s use of “storm troopers” and strong- arm tactics on students can only bring about an alienation that could make any improvement of the students’ condition on campus Impossible. Milton argues that everyone has the right to make a mistake and be forgiven, but Roberts’ failure to call Gill to heel was certainly a grave political and social error. -J.H.C. Anti-War Strike October 15 has been set as the date of a nationwide student strike against the war in Vietnam. THE DECREE whole-heart edly supports this strike, not with the goal of harming the aca demic process as Wesleyan, but with the goal of showing na tional leaders the extent of sentiment in the United States against the Vietnamese war. A campus-wide informal convocations program in which the war would be discussed has received the unofficial support of both the Dean of Students and the Academic Dean. We see no reason why the generations cannot get together in demonstra tion of honestly held beliefs. Next week’s issue of THE DECREE will carry announcements of the several forms the student strike will on the Wesleyan campus. Many students hope to organize a peaceful demon stration in Rocky Mount with the goal of showing the terrific toll that the war is taking on our country in economic and human values; others plan an educational display in Tarrytown Mall which would point up the absolute uselessness of the Vietnam war. ttxtt OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE EIDETOR Ed Smith ASSISTANT EDITOR Julie Robinson BUSINESS MANAGER Tom Mowbray ADVERTISING MANAGER John Himiant CIRCULATION MANAGER John Hinnant OFFICE MANAGER Marshall Old PHOTOGRAPHER J. H. Grumpier Business Addrtss: Box 3146, Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount^ North Carolina PUBUSHED WEEKLY BY WESLEYAN STUDENTS Opinions Published Do Not Necessarily Represent Those Of Wesleyan College. h ^OAiro neeo . Students Take Places (Continued from Page 1) lowed to participate in its de liberations. Finally, so that good stu- dent-faculty relations might be secured, Brantley recommend ed that one student be allow ed to sit in on all faculty meet ings. In general, Brantly feels that the program would, with the presence of “qualified” stu dents throughout all phases of college activity, quell some of the damaging rumors fostered by theoretically closed meet ings. The next panel member to Volunteers (Continued from Page 1) ^ they have helped the school to build closer ties with the sur rounding community. This in turn has increased the aware ness of Rocky Mount as to what actually occurs here at Wesley an. Now that the natural bar riers presented by the con frontation of college students with middle class working men have slowly erroded, the my stique that all Wesleyan stu dents are “psycedelic shit” has likewise fallen aside. Time and close association have ren dered false the opinions formed during the years when college students were only known for the false alarms which they sofre- quently turned in. Certainly all problems con cerning our community rela tions have not been uncover ed much less openly discuss ed. However, a start has been made from which to expand into many directions. The challenge is likewise still apparent and ominous in nature. Perhaps you as a student have considered your relationship with the community around the college. Here is your chance to become actively involved and to work to bring about change and better understanding. Accept the challenge and vol unteer your time to bring add ed problems, frustrations, ex citement and reward. Contact the DECREE office for further information. speak was Ed Smith, Editor of THE DECREE. Smith attempt ed to lend pragmatic comments to the discussion of student in volvement drawn from his ex periences on student-faculty committees. The demand, said Smith, is for “extremely re sponsible” students to sit on these meetings in order to pre vent the young from becoming “patsys” to the “oral promis es” of the old. He gave three concrete guidelines which stu dents can follow when placed in such a situation. First, they should “do their homework” and prepare their arguments from the students’ point of view. “Don’t worry about the college, . . . worry about the students,” was Smith’s dictum for this first phase. Second, he encouraged stu dents to have no fear of being rude to college officials if the situation warrants such action. Finally, the Editor suggested that students on committees be vocal in reporting their obser vations to the entire student body. The Editor added that THE DECREE would serve to present student opinion on this and all other issues. Representing the college Ad ministration at the assembly was Dr. Sim O. Wilde, Dean of Students, who had little to add, except to remind the au dience that “we have encour aged student involvement in the past.” The Dean agreed with Smith (Continued on Page 4) Elections Disputed (Continued from Page 1) it necessary to come all the way from the segregated thrid floor to quell our outburst of spontaneity.” “The fact that the camp us ARC, Tom Fredericks, who is the commander of Dean Wilde’s student representa tives, was already on the scene made no difference. Wishing to rub in the fact that we were defeated and to dampen our spirits, Leyda thrust upward his arms to order us to cease and desist. At this moment Leyda did not exist to the demonstra tors. He assumed the role of a ‘pig’ at Berkeley.” “His cries of punishment in the form of fines were heard with dismay and disbelief,” Mowbray said. He continued, “At this point the demonstra tors’ shouts reached their peak, and Leyda’s efforts to maintain the establishment were crush ed. His authority collapsed be cause there was no respect for what he represented. The ‘pig’ settled for taking names, as does a class monitor in ele mentary school.” Mowbray continued, “Yet even this was not to be the end. We were then confronted by one of our student government’s highest elected officials, James W. Gill, our Attorney General, followed by his muscular storm troopers from Ferrum College: the ultimate example of the law’s representatives and the pigs which back it.” Mowbray stated, “While we readily consented to quell the noise and indeed fell silent, we were invited to ‘step off the campus’ so that they could set tle the matter in the highest system of logic they can han dle: muscle. This is the demo cratic, freedom-loving, hypo critical apporach of our Attor ney-General,” Mowbray said. Concluding his statement, Mowbray commented, “If Gill and his ‘boys’ want to play cops and robbers, let them do so on the grounds of reality. We pro mise that our only recourse Is to consult the law of the land. We remind him that merely to threaten bodily harm is to be guilty of assault, and that to car ry out such threats brings on one the penalties of assault and bat tery. We remind him that a law far stronger than his measly po wer looms outside of these walls of sanctity. Here perhaps our student government and its leaders can come to under stand democracy and the power and truth of the law.”
North Carolina Wesleyan University Student Newspaper
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Sept. 30, 1969, edition 1
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