Volume XXI, Number 7 ‘^n^for the Wesleyan community.
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE ROCKY MOUNT. NORTH CAROLINA
7 April 2006
27804
I
I
Sirois Declares Candidacy
For President of SGA
Photo by Grace VVa!i«ce
Freshman Luke Williford and the Bishops headed into a weekend series with
Christopher Newport on April 8 and 9th with a chance at a title and an invitation to
the regional tournament. See sports coverage on pages 4-5,
College To Determine Future
fiy Shannon Williams
Decree Editor
NC Wesleyan’s yearbook, the
Dissenter, is currently under review by
the administration. The college has been
Receiving input from faculty, staff, and
Students on ways to improve the year-
ook overall to avoid its elimination.
Peter Phaiah, Dean of Students,
as been consulting with several of
Ithe college’s faculty and staff, as well
as SGA representatives on ways to
ake the yearbook more cost effective.
'According to Dean Phaiah, the yearbook
^as received a substantial amount of
: poney for production over the years,
but the book lacks the organization
and creativity he feels is appropriate
for the amount of money being spent.
The yearbook receives approximately
20,000 for production and distribution
osts.
Several reasons have been cited for
the book being put under review. At a
ecent meeting, SGA voted 12-1 to keep
the yearbook and make improvements.
he action came after President Kelvin
Clark presented information given to
im by Phaiah, stating that the lack
of student involvement was the main
'eason for the review.
Phaiah discussed the lack of an
organization to run the yearbook. A
^iistinct organization had existed in the
(past, providing continuity from year to
year and semester to semester. Now the
'College offers classes. Communications
197 and Communications 297, in which
Itudents receive two hours of credit
/hile working on the yearbook staff,
j Maurice Dawson, a senior and
Dissenter staff photographer, said few
tudents will sit for their photographs.
That- s one of the main problems,” he
3id. Dr. James Traer, Vice-President
■ Academic Affairs and Interim Dean
,^of the College, commented on the lack
- ^'Of student interest as well. “Lots of
.^^^tudents decline to be photographed, so
>"it is not a complete record of a year at
: |the institution,” he said.
Grace Wallace, staff advisor for the
Dissenter, disclosed infonnation on the
number of students, faculty and staff
who sat for photos during 2005-2006: 67
seniors, 23 juniors, 23 sophomores, 49
freshmen, and 28 faculty/staff members.
According to Wallace, “Seniors and
freshmen have always supported the
book the most. I guess that’s because it’s
the seniors’ last year and the freshmen’s
first year.”
An additional problem, according
to Clark, is that there is an insufficient
number of yearbooks for distribution to
all students. “So much money is spent
on producing these books,” he said.
“Then they’re distributed based on se
niority, and as a result, some freshmen,
who pay activity fees like everyone else,
aren’t able to get one.” Even with the
books being distributed based on senior-
By Jessica Bowen
Decree Managing Editor
Sophomore Tina Sirois is running unop
posed for SGA President. Wesleyan students
can vote from Monday, April 10 through
Wednesday, April 12 during regular lunch hours
in the cafeteria.
Sirois and cunent SGA President Kelvin
Clark were nominated at the March 27 SGA
meeting, though Clark has since decided against
a second run. Clark said in a recent interview
that he plans to throw his support behind Sirois.
Since the nomination, Sirois has obtained the
required 100 signatures needed to place her
name on the ballot.
Clark and. Sirois were the only ones
nominated at the SG.Al meeting, but senior
Kristin Hurd expects to ran again for secretar>’.
According to Hurd, junior Amber Huggins has
expressed interest in treasurer As of April 3,
there were no candidates for vice president.
In a recent interview, Sirois said that she
of Yearbook
it’s basically first come, first serv'ed.”
According to Wallace, it costs
$17,600 to print 500 copies of the
typical 144-page book. Other expenses
include fees for the portrait day pho
tographer, art supplies, shipping and
distribution, as well as costs associated
with the ad solicitation letters sent to
parents.
Wallace said the college could save
money by reducing the number of total
pages in the book and using a more
basic cover design, which has been done
in the past. This year, in fact, the staff
has cut back to 128 pages and plan to
simplify the cover design.
Phaiah noted that the college could
take the opposite approach: invest more
money in the production in order to
make a more attractive book that, in
See"Yearbook" on page 6
ity, he said, “there is no sign-up sheet, so
International Student Profile: Dorcas Ndomale
By Shannon Williams
Decree Editor
North Carolina Wesleyan College has
welcomed many international students over
the past few years. One of those students is
fast approaching the end of her career as an
NCWC student.
Dorcas Ndomale has been in Rocky
Mount for the past four years, living witli
a sponsor family and attending NCWC.
Ndomale is originally from Bangui, the
capital city of the Central African Republic.
This is not her first time residing in the
United States. When she was about six years
old, her father attended a theology seminary
in Indiana, so she and her family had to live
in Indiana for four years. Including Indiana
and North Carolina, Ndomale has visited
13 states in the U.S., most of them along
the East Coast. Ndomale actually met her
sponsor family, the Parkers, in Newport
New'S, Virginia. They were brought together
through the help of mutual friends. The
husband and wife were both doctors at a
hospital in Newport News, where friends of
Ndomale also worked.
Just like her father was many years
ago, Ndomale is an international student,
which makes her a legal U.S. immigrant
while attending the school of her choice.
Ndomale is a senior majoring in pre-med
biology, with hopes of graduating in
December upon completion of a few more
chemistry requirements.
Her sponsor family told her about
NCWC. “I like it here,” said Ndomale about
W'esleyan. “I can easily get the help I need,
as far as tutoring. I can also get help from
my professors with my English.” Along with
English, Ndomale speaks French and Sango,
the official language of her homeland.
Ndomale noted several differences in
her country and America. “We’re a poor
country,” she said. In the Central African
Republic, one American dollar equals 500
francs, which is the type of currency used
there. The countr>' of about 3.8 million
people is actually rich in diamonds, but
does not have the proper equipment to
process and export the material. “Foreigners
come over to process it for us, but we don’t
receive just compensation,” she said. “So
basically, they just take it and leave.”
Unlike the average four seasons found
in America, the Central African Republic
only has two, which she described as a rainy
season and a dry sea.son. In the northern part
of the country, the dry season lasts longer,
but in Bangui, farther south, the rainy
seasons last longer. “We have a lot
See"Ndomale” on page 8
wants to meet three goals as SGA President.
One is to create additional office space for SGA
organizations, an idea she attributes to student
Mike Fernandez, a coordinator of the college’s
intramural program. She noted that the groups
need space for storage purposes. “If you’re a
leader of an organization, you end up with signs
and posters thrown in your room,” Sirois said,
adding that the lockers located by the grill are
inadequate.
A second goal is improve campus life.
She wants to see more compromise between
the administration and the students. Sirois
said “there are so many rules that students get
suffocated.”
She believes that NC Wesleyan’s “tradi
tional rules” are inappropriate for sUidents “liv
ing in modem times.” For example, she would
like to see the administration compromise on the
rale about overnight guests of the opposite sex.
She said students should be allowed overnight
guests, even if it’s just on weekends at first.
Sirois added that she would like for the
administration to lessen the number of credits
required for students to move off campus.
Her final goal is to continue the improve
ment of the cafeteria atmosphere and food
items. Sirois said that “students get tired of
eating the same food, especially at dinner.” She
says both the cafeteria and the grill are “doing a
pretty goal job, it just needs to continue.”
Sirois would like to see students get more
involved in activities. However, she said that
part of the problem with the lack of student
involvement is the timing of the activities.
“Since we’re a small school, we only offer
activities one time,” Sirois said, “and often
Students have other plans during that time.” She
would like to work at activity scheduling in an
effort to increase involvement.
Decree ?holo by Jessica Bowen
Tina Sirois has been nominated to run for
SGA president
A Maryland native, Sirois is an Honors
Student, with a major in English and a minor
in accounting and justice studies. She is an SI
leader for biology 101.
She has served as president for the college’s
chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a captain of
the cheerleading squad, secretary of Alpha Phi
Sigma and a member of Phi Eta Sigma. She
believes her experience would make her an
effective leader for NCWC’s student body.
“I get really involved in activities” she
said. “Being SGA President would be a chance
to make a bigger difference. I’m very motivated
and determined. If I have to stay up until 5:00 in
the morning to get somediing done, it’s going to
get done.”
If elected, Sirois would take office on May 11.
During the voting period, each student
must present a valid student ID in order to cast a
ballot. Votes w'ill be counted within 24 hours of
the end of the election (April 12).