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PAGE 4 — THE DECREE — OCTOBER 4,1996 OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROUNA WESLEYAN COLLEGE Editur-in-Chicf—Jessica Brown Copy Editors — Kevin Corbett, Molly McCluskey Staff—Tequila Moore, Karolyn Braun, Monica Alston, « Grant Long, Janies Bell Contributing Writers — Steve Ferebee, Benny Saint Romain Advisor — Chris LaLonde is located In the Hardees Building, North Carolina Wesleyan College, 3400 Wesleyan Blvd., Rocky Mount, NC 27801. Weekly staff meetings are held Wednesday at noon in the Decree office. Re-publication of any? matter;herein without the express: consent of the Editorial Board is strictly forbidden. rAe iJecrec is composed and printed by the Spring Hope Enter prise. Opinions published do not necessarily reflect those of North Carolina Wesievan College. Don’t just ‘drop out’ without even trying At the start of the school year, most clubs and organi zations looked forward to the large freshman class taking an interest and becoming in volved. However, with more than a month having gone by, very few freshmen seem in terested in anything other than classwork and them selves. With such a large number of people from different places, different cultures, dif ferent ideas, the class of 2000 could show a great deal of promise, but instead they stick together, staying out of most campus events and gatherings. That’s too bad. The only way to make a difference here at Wesleyan is to become involved. If you see a problem you are pow erless to do anything about it unless you are involved enough to know what to do about it. Many freshmen have expressed the concern that Wesleyan is just not what they had expected it to be. Now these same students are considering transferring somewhere else. If only they Give us a hand If you want to help make a difference on campus, con sider writing and reporting for The Decree. The student newspaper needs people who have curi osity, like to write, and who care about issues on campus and in the community enough to inform others about them. Just contact Editor Jessica Brown at 5328. We want to do a good job, but we need help. Sign up. W CtiE Little boy learns wrong lessons would make their concerns heard, the problems could then be addressed, possibly solved, therefore eliminating the need to transfer. Anyone who does nothing to solve their problems has no right to complain. So what if you didn’t make the baseball or soccer teams, is that really the end of the world? There are plenty of other things to do on cam pus, plenty of other groups who are looking forward to having new members. Make your mark somewliere else; maybe you will CN en enjoy it? Wesleyan is what we stu dents make of it. It is simple to become active. Most orga nizations accept new mem bers at any time; all you need to do is express an interest. In the end, it comes down to one conclusion: Wes leyan’s campus can be a fun place to live, full of students who are informed, caring, and involved with the college, or it can be boring. The choice is up to us, so let’s make the right one! Too much ado over nothing By DR. STEVE FEREBEE Sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or yell obsceni ties. A fanning of the flames in Jerusalem; Yehsin’s upcoming heart surgery: a presidential elec tion campaign. These stories are bumped off media screens by il luminating stories about two Johns. John Kennedy, Jr. mairies his on-again/off-again sweetheart. First, give credit where it’s due: they managed to marry without televising their prenuptial agree ment debates and without details of the bachelor party. Why is this guy news? Why do reporters still hound him? Why does the public want to know? What has he done except start a magazine, inherit both the Bou- vier and the Kennedy beauty, and exemplify his mother’s class reti cence to blab to the press? Don’t misunderstand me; I choked up with the rest of the country when “John-John” stepped forward in that little coat and saluted his father as the presi dential hearse passed. It will re main one of the enduring images of the twentieth century. But enough already. The net works acted as if Bob Dole has pulled ahead or an AIDS vaccine had been found. Even the major- domo of misanthropes, John McLaughlin, gushed that People once declared Kennedy “The Sexiest Man Alive.” And so hun dreds, thousands, millions of women (and not a few men) are supposed to go into mourning or what? Dr. Steve Muses I wish the happily beautiful couple many good years together. But, frankly, even if one of them wants to be a public official, I don’t want a blow-by-blow ac count of their marriage. The other John in the news was John Prevette, a six-year-old who (allegedly) kissed a fellow first grader on the cheek. I accept John’s explanation that he just wants to be friends. The reason this buss made the news (besides the shameful me dia exploitation) is that John was accused of sexual harassment and forbidden to attend an ice cream party. Now his mother is grant ing interviews, John squirming and giggling beside her, and she is speaking in ominously lawyer like sentences. Don’t get me wrong again — a six-year-old boy is capable of hurting and/or humiliating a six- year-old girl; and school officials have a duty to discourage im proper behavior. The seeds of abuse take root early. But come on. Why didn’t some adult just watch John to see whether or not this was an iso lated incident? If he raced around the playground grabbing other girls or kept trying to touch that same gid, then take him aside and talk with him. You could even use an innocent peck to encour age a few minutes of conversa tion in the classroom about re specting other people’s privacy. What has John learned? Boys shouldn’t touch. Boys shouldn’t feel or express affection.. And, though of course he doesn’t un derstand it like this: Sex is bad; all boy/girl relationships are sexual; we can’t be friends. I heard some students dismiss all accusations of sexual harass ment because of this incident. That’s the danger that makes me want to yell: when we allow the absurd to overshadow the reality, we allow genuine harassment to go unnoticed and/or unpunished. Both John and his friend do need to recognize the borders for behavior and language. But push ing the borders to prohibit a six- year-old from showing affection? I don’t think so... And I hope they’re still friends. Letters to the editor policy The Decree accepts only signed letters to the editors. Un signed letters will not be printed. Letters should not exceed 400 words. Letters need to be placed in the campus post office and marked “Decree” or placed in the Decree office in the Hardees building. Letters must be received by Friday of the week prior to the next issue in order to be printed in that issue. The Decree reserves the right to edit or reject letters for grammar, libel, or good taste.
North Carolina Wesleyan University Student Newspaper
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Oct. 4, 1996, edition 1
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