PAGE 2 — THE DECREE — NOVEMBER 16,1990
The Decree
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Editor — Dhana Chesson
Staff—Mark Brett, John Fentre;^, Teresa Pitts,
Stewart Crank, Keiin Hambredt,.Trey Davis
The Decree Is located in the Student Union, North Carolina
Wesleyan College, Wesleyan CoDege Station, Rocky Mount,
NC 2780i. Policy is deternnned by the Editorial Board of The
Decree. Repablicatiott of any matter herein trithout the ex
press uinsent of the Editorial Board is strictly forbidden. The
Decree is composed and printed by Ripley Newspapers of
Spring Hope.
Opinions published donot necessarily reflect those of North
Carolina W^eyan College.
Feeding the hungry
is year-round duty
loDitfbR
MflS
CPS
Responding to Helms hard
Around this time of year,
organizations throughout the
United States seem to suffer
from a common misconcep
tion: that people only go
hungry on two days out of
the year.
Perhaps it should be
pointed out to these groups
that people in this country
go hungry 365 days a year,
not just on Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
These organizations have
food drives, free meals, and
countiess other projects to
feed the hungry. They mean
well in their actions. Butthey
have forgotten the adage:
don’t give a man a can of
tuna, teach him how to fish.
If all the energy and effort
spent in feeding the hungry
during the holidays were
channeled into other year-
round programs for the
needy, the hunger problem
could be solved or dimin
ished instead of being merely
appeased.
Life is not really absolute
By STEVE FEREBEE
I’ve been thinking about abso
lutes lately.
All summer, for instance. I’ve
been trying to thinkof “important”
songs from the 1960s. My current
choices for“most important” song
is Aretha Franklin singing Otis
Redding’s, “Respect.” But I
change often.
We seem fascinated with
questions like this. What is our
most embarrassing moment? Who
Dr. Steve
Fast food harmful to planet
By TERESA PITTS
TTie clock approaches midnight
at Wesleyan, and many students
who are studying or partying start
to feel hunger pangs. According
to most students, the remedy for
this problem is a quick run to
Hardee’s, however, we must ask
ourselves if this is such a wise
decision.
Many people are unaware of
the effects fast-food restaurants
have on the environment. We need
to realize that these restaurants
contribute to a host of environ
mental problems when they use
styrofoam and sell beef.
Many fast-food restaurants use
styrofoam as packaging for their
food — with the exception of
McDonald’s, which recently an
nounced the discontinuance of the
material, and Burger King, which
uses paper. Consumers purchase
sandwiches packaged in styrofoam
and then immediately discard this
packaging.
However, many do not realize
the effects of this unnecessary
material once it is discarded. Not
only does it contribute to the waste
stream but it is non-biodegradable
and unable to be recycled; there
fore, this product will remain in
landfills indefinitely.
Also styrofoam, because of its
structure, takes up a lot of room
for its weight, thus occupying
enormous amounts of space in
landfills. Styrofoam also contrib
utes to the greenhouse effect
(which is a gradual warming of
the atmosphere) and depletes the
ozone layer (a protective upper
atmospheric layer which blocks
outharmfulultravioletrays).Who
would ever think this small pack
age could be responsible for so
many problems?
Another problem associated
with fast-food restaurants is the
environmental destruction caused
by the beef industry. Consumers
rarely think about the process
employed to produce the Big Mac.
Many are unaware that areas of
the rain forest are destroyed so
that cattle can graze there. This
destruction is significant because
the rain forest is burned, thus re
leasing carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. This in turn contrib
utes to the greenhouse effect. Also,
once the cattle are brought on the
land they produce methane
through their digestive process.
Methane is harmful since it traps
more solar heat than carbon d-
oxide.
Another factor to consider is
that the rain forest serves as a
home for a myriad of animal and
plant species. Destroying their
habitat in order to raise cattle
causes extincti(»i of some species;
furthermore, plants are destroyed
which may offer potential cures
for diseases such as cancer or
AIDS. Also, the land becomes
infertile and is subject to erosion
when the area is burned for cattle
to graze.
(Continued on Page 3)
is the most important person in
our lives? What’s the best course
to take? Who is the easiest pro
fessor to choose? Where is the
best party for me this weekend?
People want to confine then-
lives within some clearly per
ceived boundaries; they don’twant
to be caught on the “wrong” side.
They avoid discussions of both
sides of an issue because they are
afraid they will have to change.
Some politicians are expert at
corralling supporters with this
tactic.
I was thinking of all this after a
majority of the people who went
to the polls re-elected Jesse Helms
to represent us in the U.S. Senate.
I wanted to hate him; I wanted to
scom and scoff at him for being on
the other side of my boundaries. I
talked with friends all over the
country and declared myself as
completely different from him, as
completely opposed to what he
stan^ for.
Suddenly I wondered what I
was sounding like. Who else
condemns those who are different
from him, those he doesn’t un
derstand, those whom he fears
don’t understand him? I had to
face the fact that I was acting like
the very person I was attempting
to distance myself from.
Now don’tpanic. I’m not about
to announce my newly discovered
conservatism, nor can I find a
single saving grace for Mr. Hehns.
He is unutterably boorish and
contemptibly petty-minded and
proudly bigoted. His vicious re
marks the night of his re-election
underUne just how far he is will
ing to go to divide the people of
this state along whatever lines best
suit his purpose. I can find solace
only in the hope that he has so few
comrades in the Senate that other
than shrill demagoguery, he will
accomplish little before happy
retirement.
Nevertheless, having said this,
I must try to find a way to discover
some method of dealing with him
that distinguishes my reaction
from his machinations. What good
will I do by following his lead and
insisting that everyone who agrees
with me is on the side of right and
everyone who agrfees with him is
on the side of wrong?
The mind which cannot deal
with ambiguity and subtle shad
ings of ideas is the mind which
attaches itself to prejudices. Many
people avoid genuine debate be
cause they fear that the other ar
gument will cause them to realize
they must start thinking again.
New ideas are frightening because
they challenge the status quo; but
even more than this, they belie the
belief that an uncrossable chasm
divides the two sides.
Now, again, don’t panic. I’m
not about to say that I will meet
Jesse Helms halfway on his bigotry
against blacks and gays and pro-
choicers and just about eveiyone
else. What I’m trying to say is that
if I am different, I must act (and
react) differently.
I’m sorry to say that some of
the people I worked with in this
election stoop to Mr. Helms’ tac-
(Continued on Page 3)