Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / April 6, 1971, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE 2 THE DECREE TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1971 Over Troubled Water By BRUCE F. WRIGHT Once upon a time, in a small but mighty kingdom, the sun shone brightly, the birds chirp ed merrily, and the sweet fra grance of learning permeated the atmosphere. Life and suc cess in this kingdom did not come on the principle of achievement. Its god was Ex cellence. Academia was a unique king dom. Only the fit and the pro mising were allowed to enter. But entrance into the king dom was only the beginning, once an individual was allowed to enter, he encountered a ri- gourous intellectual journey of ten difficult, sometimes puni tive. The individual who fail ed or was unwilling to struggle was faced with the reality that Excellence was god, and he must strive towards godliness. But then news arrived from other kingdoms, news of econo mic difficulties and the de vastating results, thereof. Aca demia found Itself in an awk ward situation. Many people were choosing to enter other kingdoms, kingdoms in which A Note Of Thanks To The Wesleyan Community "Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special point at which the worlds phenomena Intersect only once in this way RONNIE DEAN and never again. That Is why every man’s story is important and worthy of every considera tion.” Herman Hesse Considering these words we would like to share with you Myra Dean's thanks for North Carolina Wesleyan’s consider ation at the loss of her bro ther. 4 To all the student body at N.C. Wesleyan: Words can’t begin to express my feelings for all the letters, cards, and flowers that were re ceived from Wesleyan upon the death of my brother, Ronnie. I wish to say “thank you” to everyone. I wish everyone good, and again I want to say that your kindness displayed has helped me to return to Wesleyan with a better feeling and a knowledge that people do care, Myra Dean life was easier, where accom plishment and "success” did not require such struggling. And so there came the most terrible crisis which can af flict the minds of men—a time \yhen the gods began to change. Academia changed its laws. The inherent right of man to fail, as well as to succeed, was removed; and the journey through the kingdom was made less difficult. Less was re quired of those who succeeded. Of course. Academia was not the only kingdom which these changes were made. Never theless, those who had strug gled so long to build Academia into a uniquely responsible kingdom were sad and disillu sioned. A god who is no long er worshipped cannot survive. And so it was, that Excellence fell victim to the Ides of March. Their god was dead, and his replacement was anentitywhich defied a name or any fixed standard of purpose. And so Academia, or what ever it was, continued. The leaders of the kingdom hoped that through the killing of their god, economic stability would be regained and more people would choose Academia as their home. At this point, the history of Academia becomes confused. It is not certain whether or not the leaders had attained the goal. And to this day, the fate of Academia remains a my stery. The killing of a god is a very serious thing. We all hope that Academia revised its sense of direction, and once again set its eyes upon Excellence. May the god of Excellence bless Aca demia and all other kingdoms who have forsaken Him. And forgive them, for they know not what they do. Senate Approves Hayek And Shoop For ’71 Orientation Beth Speake presiding. Mem bers Present: Joan Martin, J. C. Kermon, Debbie Jennings, Joe Vincent, Bruce Miller, Pat ty Sayers, Dave Forest, Connie Behnken, Wilbert Harrison, Beth Speake, Charlie Read and Doug Kozlowski. Reports from Standing Com mittees: Patio Committee: On April 8 at 7:30 pictures, slides, etc, of the proposed patio plans will be presented. So far, the patio project has cost about ttxtt OFFiaAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROUNA WESLEYAN COLLEGE EDITOR Julia Robinson ASSISTANT EDITOR Marshall Old BUSINESS MANAGER Chuck Martin ADVERTISING MANAGER Chuck Martin PHOTOGRAPHER Gary Christopher PRODUCTION MANAGER Gail Mabe ARTIST Will Thomson SPORTS WRITER Charles Rogers CIRCULATION Gail Mahe Business Address: Box 3056. Wesleyan College Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27801 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY WESLEYAN STUDENTS Opinions P>bUsbed Do Not Necessarily Represent Those of Wesleyan College $38.00 (for film, supplies, etc,) “Nominal fees” as of yet have not been decided upon. Allen Winter was present seeking Senate approval of his appointment for Chairman of the Orientation Committee. Dennis Hayek and Russ Shoop, due to their work and cooperation in already getting orientation off to a start, were appointed co- chairmen ofthe said committee. A motion was made to this ef fect by Debbie Jennings and was carried by a majority vote of the Senators present. There was discussion on the method of selecting nominees for the Leadership and Ser vice Awards, As recommend ed by Dean Cordts, the Senate would vote for 3 males and 3 females who would then t>e pre sented to the student body to be voted upon. The Senate, feel ing that it could not projx'rly represent the entire Student iKXly’s o{>inion, rejected the above suggestion by Dean Cordts The election will l>e turned over to the Election Committee with hopes that the method of choosing winners of these awards will be carried on as in previixis years. Bob Leyda appeared before (Continued On Page 3i Editorial When considering the phenomena that occurred in last week’s faculty meeting, we are forced to concern ourselves with the implications that lie l)ehind such a ruling. Probably the first charge against the languages is the state ment that the brief study of them is irrelevant. While this hack neyed term fits well in almost any context, we wonder if those who charge the implication of that accusation. It is hard to con ceive how anyone conscient of his relationship to the universe around him can seriously believe that the study of the language of another culture is irrelevant. There’s little need to elaborate upon the fading of the time barriers in the work in which we live. Any faculty who endorses the traveling in May Term, must also be aware of the immense educational value of exposure to a for eign culture. With the encouragement we receive to travel, it is difficult to comprehend how that same body can eliminate so important a tool as a requirement for language. Perhaps just as harsh as the charge of irrelevancy is the accusation that the languages are difficult and are a barrier to graduation. Perhaps this is so. But then, just as foreign language is an impairment for some students, so is every other requirement. We wonder why Religion 1, six semesters of Convocations and four of Physical Education, Math, science, and English 11 still remain. It is certain that if enough students were polled, nearly all of the above requirements would dis appear. It is disappointing to realize that the majority of the faculty is so whipped by student and administration pressure, that they can honestly believe that this was the best course of action they could have taken. Letters To The Editor To the DECREE Editor and the student body: March 21 through 23 was a trying time in the life of our college community. Almost all of us were, in one way or ano ther, affected by the sudden death of one of the members of our community. I am writing this for several reasons, not the least of which is to raise the question: What have we all learned from this sad experience? Certainly, we’ve been impressed by our vulnerability — the stark fact that such an accident could oc cur to any one of us. The mes sage is clear. Life is, indeed, previous. We would all be wise to cherish this great gift of life, to guard and protect it. We are, hopefully, more con scious of the need to follow and honor all those things which tend to sustain and fulfill life, and to avoid that which endan gers or threatens life or makes it less worth living. Another reason for this letter is to commend and praise those students who came forth in this time of crisis, responding ma turely and magnificently to the many needs which had to be met. The students who saw to it that emergency needs were met immediately after the accident, those who met and worked with Ronnie’s father, those who took the initiative in organizing and carrying out a most appropriate memorial service, all those who journeyed to Fuquay-Varlna on March 23, and all others who, in many different ways, helped in this sad time—all deserve our praise. Have we learned something else? Though difficult to put in writing. I’ll try to report on the nature of a conversation Mrs. Hagins and I had on our way back home last Tuesday. We concluded that the concern and care which came forth so freely during the tragedy was wonderful to behold. We also concluded that it would be even more wonderful if these feel ings could be with us most of the time, without needing a cri sis or tragedy to evoke them. The simple kindness and con cern for others which we have witnessed, if present in more of our ordinary, every-day be havior, would be a healing balm for all our wounds, from the slight scratches to the deep cuts which we often experience in our relationships with others and in our work. This magic of caring need not be only a once- a-year phenomenon. We could —yes we could—have it with us most of the time. Just simple kindness. If this recent tragedy has (Continued On Page 4) Gee, fellas, I’d like to l)e of service, but when they dropped the language requirement I decided I didn’t need one.
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