toluME XIX
?0 January 2004
NUMbER 5
inside
tl^is
issue
Page 3
Student Life
Politics, Religion and Blood
Page 4
From the peanut gallery
Reality meets “srM
V, i9Si
Page 5
Winter Wonderland
Copy Editor Carla Fitzwater takes
a walk around Campus
Page 6
BEWARE THE HACKER
Page 7
The Ad Page
Page 8
As^ ''MoMmui J
if you hiLue s(ie hM oAtswers
The Poetry of Justin Cooper
Page 9
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!!
$2,000.00 available for summer
Page 10
The Faculty Page
Communicating...with More
Positive Results:
Announcements, Attachments,
Email
Page 11
Sports
2002-2003 Athletic Awards
Women's Soccer Holds Clinic
Page 12
Parting Shot
Life is good
2003 December Commencement
2003 Graduates assemble for Comnnencement Exercises
By: Ron Fitzwater
December Commencement
was a time to celebrate the
accomplishments of our Seniors
and begin a new tradition for future
classes.
The celebrations began on Friday
December 12 2003 with the first ever
dinner for December graduates.
This tradition was started with the
spring graduating class of 2002.
The evening opened with drinks and
hors d’oeuvres at the Presidents
house where the students and their
family members could mingle with
the professors and staff members.
The festivities then moved to the
Carlton boardroom in the Dunn
Center where Wesleyan Board
of Trustees Chairman Thomas A.
Betts, Jr. Addressed the graduates
saying that it made him “feel good
to be around seniors, because
you’re what we’re all about. You
are our end product.” continuing
Chairman Betts also told them that
they were “like a new car, ya’II are
brand new, shiny and full of great
expectations.”
The evening ended and the students
left to prepare for the follovving days
commencement ceremony.
On Saturday December 13 2003 the
graduates gathered in the Carlton
boardroom to await the beginning
of the ceremony which opened with
much pomp and circumstance. After
taking their seats the graduates
listened as President Ian Newbould
welcomed the assembled crowd.
Following the commencement
address by Professor Richard L.
Watson III, the Graduates received
their degrees and were inducted
into the alumni association.
At the end of the services the
graduates, faculty, staff and family
members gathered in the lobby and
in front of the Dunn Center to take
pictures and enjoy the da\
Thanks DJ, We V You,Too!
Wake Up!!!
Photo: www.caraccidents.com
(No casualties suffered in crash)
By Ron Fitzwater
Finals week at any college or
university is a time of stress,
relief, panic, and fatigue to name
only some of the conditions and
emotions that students deal with.
Fall finals week of 2003 at NC
Wesleyan came with some
additional emotions; shock,
disbelief and sadness.
NC Wesleyan lost one of our own
on December 10, 2003, when
Senior, Elementary Education
Major Chande Pittman was killed
in an automobile accident on NC
Highway 97 in Edgecombe County.
Although notthe driver responsible,
Ms. Pittman was the victim of an
accident caused by what the NC
Highway Patrol Investigator on
scene, called fatigue.
How many drivers on the road
today can honestly say that they
have never driven when they were
too tired?
The belief that “I can make it a few
more miles.” or “I’m almost home,
then I can go to bed.” has on more
than one occasion been the cause
of an accident like the one that
claimed the life Ms. Pittman.
In his testimony on driver fatigue
before The Subcommittee
on Highways and Transit
Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, National Sleep
Foundation Senior Director for
Government and Transportation
Affairs, Darrell Drobnich said,
“Each year, automobile crashes
claim thousands of lives and cause
billions of dollars in damages and
property loss. Although traffic
crashes have many causes, driver
fatigue has long been an under
recognized factor impacting driver
performance.”
Drobnich additionally stated that
“The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA)
conservatively estimates that
100.000 police-reported crashes
are the direct result of driver
fatigue each year. These crashes
cause over 1,550 deaths and
71.000 injuries as well as $12.5
billion in diminished productivity
and property loss.”
In most cases fatigue-related
accidents tend to be the single-
vehicie type in which a vehicle
leaves the road and turns over
or hits a fixed object. It has been
estimated that between 40 and 60
percent of these accidents are due
to driver fatigue, drowsiness or
inattention. (NHTSA)
So you say, ‘That’s not going
to happen to me. i had plenty of
sleep last night and besides, I’m
only taking a trip up to DC for the
weekend.”
Well that may be true for you but
then again it might not. The Traffic
Safetv Board of Osweao Countv
See Wake Up page 12
^ORTh CaroIIna WesIeyan CollEqE Rocky Mount, NortH CaroLIna 27804