The Decree
VOL. 7, NO. 2
North Carolina Wesleyan CoUege, Rocky Mount, N.C.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11,1991
Student Life explains alcohol policy
By NICOLE COX
It is Thursday night and two
students, sitting in a room with
members of the faculty, look very
depressed. What are they dong?
Alcohol counseling. Campus
party night and these two are be
ing counseled because of alcohol
violations.
“If the student really comes
first at Wesleyan,” one ponders,
“then why am I being forced to
come here against my will? Why
can’t they just leave me alone?”
According to the federal gov
ernment, if the college “leaves
you alone” and does not enforce
an alcohol policy, it can be pe
nalized. Congress recently added
more specific requirements to the
institutional anti-drug and alcohol
abuse plan required by the Drug
Free Schools and Communities
Act of 1986. The current penalty
for noncompliance is the loss of
all federal assistance, including
grants and contracts as well as
student aid.
The new legislation requires
that each insititution annually
make the following available to
each student:
1) Standards that clearly pro
hibit the unlawfid possession, use,
or distribution of illicit drugs and
alcohol by students and employ
ees on an institution’s property
(Continued on Page 4)
>•
Colloquium focuses
on ‘Soviet Disunion’
DR. ALLEN J0HNS6N DISCUSSED “SOVIET DISUNION”
By CHRISTY SKOJEC
As the Soviet Union disinte
grates and the world contemplates
the causes and ramifications of
the huge changes that are occur
ring, Dr. Allen Johnscm discussed
"Soviet Disunion” with faculty,
staff, and students in his Fourth
Monday Colloquium lecture.
Johnson, professor of history
and geography, said one of the
main problems in the Soviet
Union has been the Communist
Party itself. The Party goal in the
1960’s was to catch up with and
pass the United States in stan
dard of living by the 1980’s. In
the 1950’s, the standard of living
increased at the rate of 15-20 per
cent a year. But by the 1960’s,
the rate had dropped to 10 percent
a year. By the 1970’s, it was down
to five percent a year and falling.
As long as economic gains
were being made, the citizens
accepted oppression. By the
1980’s, however, the standard of
living was declining. As a result
of this decline, Mikhail Gorba
chev introduced Glasnost and
P^estFoika in 1985. TTiis new
openness and restructuring
pleased the common people, but
it did not, however, please the
members of the Conununist Party.
In 1988, a Communist Party
Congress was held to discuss the
direction of the party. At this
Congress, Gorbachev offered a
sweeping program of reform. The
Party endured the changes for a
few years, but recently the entire
system has collapsed.
Within the last five .veeks, the
Communist Party has been dis
solved, outlawed, and declared to
be a criminal operation by the
Soviet Parliament Johnson said
nationalism is taking the place
that communism once held.
Of the 15 republics of the So
viet Union, 12 have declared in
dependence from the Soviet
Union. The three Baltic republics
have become ind^ndent, while
the oflier firee republics are trying
to form a loose fedei^on.
This is nctgoin^tobeasimple
(Continued on P^e 4)
NCWC observes ‘Banned Books Week’
By CECILIA LYNN CASEY
Read any good books lately?
Or, more importantly, any bad
bodes? If you have, it might tt^ve
been to support Banned Books
Wetk which ran the weds: of Sq)t
29 through Oct 6 in an eff(»t to
:xmnteiact censordi^ diat is bdng
[xacticed in many libraries across
the country.
The object o( Banned Bode
¥eek was to get peo^e to read
some of the censcxed material and
decide for themselves if'these
books, magazines, newsps^rs,
and articles are obscene or if they
might have any social or intellec
tual value that could be an asset
to the community.
North Carolina Wesleyan’s
Pearsall Library observed the
week by setting up a disiday
ftecdom through censorship. The
diqiiay enduuned a few of the
bodes that are being censored in
a number of libraries to a bookcart
and put the display in the middle
of tiie library. Some of the offwi-
sive books teing banned are the
American Heritage Dictionary,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
Little Red Riding Hood, and Val
ley of the Horses.
Pat O’Keefe, owner of the
bookstore Murder for Fun, also
observed the wede by di^ying
wroe bamed books in her win
dow and talking to her customers
about c^sorship wh^ they asked
about the display.
When asked why some books
are censored, she told customers
that some peoide feel “books are
dangerous because they contain
ideas.” She also iqxxted that most
(^hn cusKmiers were shocked to
team that some books are not al
lowed in some libraries. She ob-
(Coatfaaed OB Pace 4)
Homecoming 1991
Sunday, Oct. 20
Sigma Pi’s
Airband Contest
8 p.m. — S.A. Center
Monday, Oct. 21
Pi Epsilon’s Second Annual
Pizza Eating Contest
9:45 p.m. — S. A. Center
Tuesday, Oct. 22
C.A.B. Presents
MudPest ‘91
4:30 p.m. — Front Lawn
Wednesday, Oct. 23
Outdoor Club’s
Bonfire and Spirit Rally
9:30 p.m. — Outside SA. Center
Thursday, Oct 24
Delta Sigma Phi Presents
Comedian Jimmy Tingle
9:30 p.m. — S. A. Colter
Friday, Oct. 25
Pi Ki^pa Phi’s
HomecDming Dance
9 p.m.-l p.m.
Sho'aton Gateway Centre
Saturday, Oct. 26
Magic ^^e Parade
1 p.m. —Tyler Drive
Saturday, Oct 26
Homecoming Game vs.
Virginia Wesleyan
2p.m.—Soccer Reid