VOL. 11, NO. 8 North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C. FRTOAY, FEBRUARY 9,1996 White inaugurated w mi ti "S «L ; * w ^ aJCwk ' PRESIDENT WHITE THANKS CHAIRMAN LEON DUNN BEFORE GIVING ADDRESS. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TELEGRAM.) Panelslooks'ot ‘clarity and charity’ By TEQUALA MOORE The Symposium discussion panel, “Clarity and Charity: Life of the Mind and Spirit,” consisted of a mixture of staff, students, and faculty. Directed by Dr. David Jones, professor of history, the panel’s participants were Jones, Resident Director Sigrid Bonner, Profes sor of Religion Dr. Fred Grissom, Professor of Religion and Chap lain Rev. Kirk Oldham, Profes sor Emeritus Dr. Rexford Tucker, and fourth-year student Kelly Wilson. Each panelist gave an approxi mately five-minute speech on the topic,'expressing different points of view. Jones presided over the panel. Oldham said that with respect to the relationship of the life of the mind with life of the spirit, “one benefits from the other and one depends on the other.” He also posed the question to the au diences of students, faculty, staff, and guests, “How can we test our faith without being able to learn the questions to ask?” Wilson identified herself as a fourth-year non-traditional stu dent. She spoke about what she believes it means to be educated. noting, “We can’t be truly edu cated if we have no morals.” She also spoke of Wesleyan’s reputa tion in the community as being a “party school,” and how it is im portant to have a good “Christian standing.” Bonner anchored her com ments around the North Carolina Wesleyan College motto, “Wis dom and Courage., through Chris tian... Foundation,” with a focus on the state of the student body. “There is a widespread disre gard for moral values,” Bonner said. “Students do not take re sponsibility for their own ac tions.” But she acknowledged that not all students fall in this cat egory and that there are several student leaders. She also cau tioned students to show respect for themselves. Grissom said, “Study of reli gion has a special place in a church-related college.” He also spoke about another aspect of the life of the spirit as a “witnessing to the power of work and knowl edge ... a teacher who demon strates care for a student is wit nessing to the life of the spirit.” Tucker had a multi-faceted speech, noting, “Education at (Continued on Back Page) Fourth president assumes office after weeklong series of events By TEQUALA MOORE Prior to Jan. 23, students, fac ulty, and staff dashed here and there preparing for the upcoming Presidential Inauguration. Dr. John Benson White was sworn in as North Carolina Wesleyan’s fourth President on Thursday, Jan. 23, but many events took place prior to the for mal swearing in. These events gave faculty, stu dents, staff, and the community a better insight into the current con ditions at Wesleyan and for White’s plans for Wesleyan’s fu ture. The first event, on Jan. 23, was the Inaugural Symposium with the theme: “What Should Liberal Education Be at Wesleyan?” After the welcome given by Leon A. Dunn, Jr., chairman of the board of trustees. Dr. White introduced the keynote speaker, Robert E. Calvart of DePauw Uni versity. Although many students en joyed the symposium, some still questioned why a member of Wesleyan was not chosen to speak about the liberal education of the college. One student, who asked not to be named, said the symposium “was very semi-politically cor rect. The topic went around the important issues at the college. They talked about what liberal education should be at Wesleyan, not what it is or how we planned to obtain it.” Other students, who weren’t so much into the symposium it self, found everything enjoyable because there was something to do on campus. On Jan. 24, at 9 a.m., two more (Continued on Back Page)