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North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804
NEWS & OPINION
November 6,2009
Issue In-Focus: The Web Page Should Reflect NC Wesleyan’s Diversity
h logging on to Wfesleyan’s web page in
recent nxxilhs, dLscemii^ readers may have
noticed a trend The coUege notates seven
photogTEqjhs in the top left coiner, which is the
focai point the home page. One photograph
is an exterior shot cf Braswell artd a second
features the college’s signature serpentine
wall. The other five photos show members erf
the Wesleyan community: three student-
athletes in action, a professor and two students
in a chemistry lab, and a smiling co-ed,
clasping her books, on her way to class.
Aiter looking at the photographs, one
may have wondered: Where’s \\fesleyan’s
well-known diversity? It’s noteworthy that all of
the saideits shown in the photogTE^ nMion
are white. As the coU^ ipgrades its webpage,
it shouW consider adding more photographs
of black and International students .so that the
page—the face of ^fesleyan to the outskle
workl, not to mention its cunent.students—is
more repiesertelive. Here are indivklual
responses fham Decree stalfeis.
Meghan Herd
1 believe that the pictures shown on the
college website are a misrepresentation
of what the Wesleyan community truly is.
Having been at this college for the last four
years, I have always believed that I attend
a diverse college, where the majority of
the students are non-white. 1 also feel as
if these pictures are not fair to prospective
students because it gives the idea that
we are not a diverse college which could
potentially alter one’s decision to attend
Wesleyan. Although I diink the pictures are
nice, I feel there could be a little more done
to insure that all .students are represented
and feel a part of Wesleyan.
Rodney Holley
As a student I feel this is a misrepresenta
tion of the school. How can the college’s
webpage feature no Aftican Americans when
two-thirds of the traditional program is made
up of black students? Is this just a ptoy to
encourage parents to send their chiMren to
a place that appears to have a “white picket
fence and nice neighbors” for lack of a better
comparison? £)o the higher ups of the college
feel there are no black .sOidents who can
represent the college in terms of academics
or at the very least appear presentable? If so,
1 hope I am not the only one offended that
the college has no problem with accepting
black students’ rrwney, scholarship ornot, but
has an ksue with placing their picture on the
webpage. So much for diversity and growth!
John Kostet
Looking at the NC Wesleyan website
this morning, it did not take long for me to
realize that something might not be right.
To be honest, the website is not the most
attractive, maybe not the most modem
and it definitely does not offer the coolest
functions and applications. But it was
not the lack of an appealing design that
struck me. It was the false pictures that
wekome you on the front page. I am not
saying that they were artificial or stolen.
The trees and the people are certainly real,
and the pictures are taken on campus. But
the selection made me very suspicious arxl
curious. There are seven pictures possible
and one of these is randomly selected every
time you land on the website. Besides the
two photos of campus, there are a total of
four students and three student-athletes
shown: Four giris and three guys, all white.
From what I’ve heard, our student body
is two-thirds black. So why is there not a
single black student on display? Should
not the webpage promote and represent the
reality? I am not saying that the webpage
has to be equal and represent the student
body to its very percent. Maybe it’s just
a coincidence. But maybe it’s not, and
if it’s not a coincidence we might face a
miserable problem.
Alyson Matarazzo
On Wesleyan’s main webpage the
pictures are all of white students. There are
white student-athletes and white students
just standing there and looking pretty.
When I applied here, I saw the web page
and thought “Is there any diversity?” While
the college is two-thirds black and the rest
of us are a bunch of white people from
around the world, why would we have
the school’s web page, which is supposed
to inform people about our school, not
really express the reality of the population.
I went to a high school that had kids of
all shapes, sizes, and colors and wanted a
college that was like that. When I came to
visit Wesleyan, I met all sorts of people and
thought this was the school for me. >^y
can’t we have some pictures of different
student organizations, pictures of friends—a
variety of them—sitting in the cafeteria for
lunch or dinner? Where are the photos that
actually depict the population and diversity
of this school? The pictures up on the web
site now seem to characterize the school as
all white, and all Americans at that Where
are all the international students? Our school
is overflowing with them and that’s, part of
what makes the school accessible to people.
Makeda Rose
For many years African Americans as a
whole have been under represented by our
governments and in the media. Apparently
The Decree
since I960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community.'
STAFF
Editor
Jarad Brown
Senior Staff Writers
Joyce Collins
James Randolph
Staff Writers
Nastasia Burnette, Richie Fender,
Georgettae Fields-Turrentine,
Amanda Frimpong, Leila Heinonen,
Meghan Herd, Rodney Holley,
Lorane Johnson, John Kostet,
Alyson Matarazzo, Ashley Meadows,
Kathleen Penrod, Juliana Richardson,
Makeda Rose, Gregory Spence,
Jacob Strickland, Jesse Tamez
Cartoonist
Lorenzo Whitley
Staff Photographers
Raishael Tanner
Claudricia Thomas
Lorenzo Whitley
Special Contributors
Joshua Cain
Grace Wallace
Faculty Advisor
Dr, William Grattan
171 Braswell • Phone: 985-5336
Email: WJGrattan@ncwc.edu
Jhe Decree office is on the firstfloor ofthe Hartness Center.
Copyright Policy
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publication at the discretion of the editorial
board. Submission implies agreement with this
policy.
Editorial Statement
Commentary/opinion and letters to the editor
represent the individual author's views, and
not necessarily those of North Carolina
Wesleyan College, the Decree
staff or the Decree advisor.
Submissions
To suggest an article, or submit an opinion
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Style.
Corrections
The Decree corrects mistakes of substance.
If you would like to request a correction, send
an email to WJGrattan@ncwc.edu,
or'call 985-5336
this condition is also aj^licable to college
websites. If one wouW visit the home p^e
of North Carolina Wesleyan, you would be
led to believe that the studait body consists
of only white students. This is far from true.
Blacks account for two-thirds of the popula
tion on campus. It would not be impetuous
to assume that the governing body of the
college was trying to project a certain image
to those who are not familiar with Wesleyan.
This image would be that the majority of
the students that attend Wesleyan are white
and therefore the environment here would
lack all the stereotypes associated with
people of color. At this point in our nation’s
history, this is very disheartening. It should
not be that images of Hispanic or Asian or
black students are absent from our webpage.
It may not be an obvious slight to those
who were fairiy represented by our school,
but to people of color it is just another
reminder to us of past injustices. Attending
college should be an experience where we
leam and grow together, not a place where
.students should feel inferior or forgotten.
We contribute to this school academically,
socially and financially just as everyone
else does, so we should be given the same
privileges and respect.
Gregory Spence
Here at Wesleyan our campus is by
and large populated with more blacks but
pictures on our school web site only include
white students and white athletes. I find this
to be a disturbing and unfair representation
of our school. Those who view our web
page will definitely get a false perception
SERVICEi,omp,.
and the Bassett Cento; a homeless sheher for
Rodcy Nfount fknilies. \blunlEeis also woiked
at ttie Down East Festival helpig set ip the
&oe paintir^ sections and inflatabb rides.
Barbara Sears, an NCWC buc^ officer,
colMxirafcd with studerts Jasmine Harris and
Kimbeiiy Drajtoi to reatrar^ flie store fkrt
and set If) display shelves at the HistoiKal
Reservatkm Sodety of Rocky \faurt. Tlie gjop
also moved doors and cast-iron sinks back irft)
stor^ and Sears jcted that they “couki have
used a few more gi^” to he^ with the job. After
fini^irg their Sears and the studerts wete
treated ft) Boone’s hotdog^ the leslmiant is a
historic larickTiatk.‘‘\^fe had fiin,’’sakl Sears.
Cox-Steinernoted that there will be a
Hunga'Awareness wedc fiom Noverriier 16-
20 and that there will be a Hungpr Banquel and
a panel that will consist of ^)eakas fimi the
Bassat Center. The speakers will debunk “the
myths sumounding homelessness,” she said.
of our school. This type of negligence is
harmful and unfair not only to the students
here but potential students who may view
our school’s web page. Not only that but
why do you have to be an athlete to be on
the school web page? There are other rep
resentations of our culture that could have
been posted, such as performing arts, talent
shows, various choirs, and also academic
organizations. Yes, a lot of people come
to participate in sports here at Wesleyan;
nevertheless a large number of students
come only for a good old fashioned
education. The bias that the website creates
is reckless and inappropriate.
Jarad Brown
As a student I’m not sure how big
of a problem it actually is since it had
to be pointed out to me and most of my
colleagues. Wrth that said, it is an absolute
joke that of seven pictures shown as the
main picture of the page, five include white
students and the remaining two are of
scenery. Now it’s not necessarily a problem
simply because no black students are
shown; what makes it a problem is that tfiere
are no blacks shown when the traditional
day student breakdown is two-thirds black.
If more than half of the traditional students
on campus are black, how then, can the
college display seven pictures and ncxie of
them include a single black student?
Nastasia Burnette
On Wesleyan’s home page, several
pictures are displayed and the images do not
signify how diverse the campus really is.
NCWC’s population is actually two-thirds
black and many participate in student
activities, are honor students, athletes,
oiganization members and leaders. Some are
also very photogenic and would be honored
to represent our school.
Dr. Matthews Entered the Arena
Political Sdetx® professor Cameson
Matthews competed in Rocky Mount’s
recent city council elections, placing fourth in
ward six with three pacait of the ovaall vote.
The incumbent, W.B. Bullock, wai re-
election to the ward, located in the southwest
part of the city, claiming 53 percent
Dr. Matthews, 31, a Houston native with
a PhD. fiiom the University of Houstwi,
teaches a range of political science courses
as the only fiiU-time member of Wesleyan’s
political scirace dqjaitmenL His specialty is
the American presidency.
When he’s not teaching. Dr. Matthews
plays receivCT fa- Fantasy Hall of Famas,
an intramural flag football team at WesleyarL
He roots fffl-his hometown Houston qx)rts
teams and he’s a passionate fan of the Denver
Braicos. Twice a month, he discusses politks
as host of a talk show, “The Spotli^t,” on
WZAX (993 FM), a Motown station in
Rocky Mount Dr. Matthews’s wife, Rosie,
is a filst-year law studmt at Campbell
University.
Following the electicm. Dr. Matthews was
interviewed by staff writa" Bill Grattan:
Q. Tell us about the office you sought.
A. I ran for the Ward 6 on Rocky Mount
City Council. The ward stretches from
Sunset to the city's southem border and
across to its western border. City council is
responsible for setting the general direction
of the city, establishing official policy and
approving the budget that is carried out by
the professional staff.
Q. What prompted you to run for this office?
A. Why not run? Rocky Mount has a
lot of potential and I thought I could do a
J
m
"College Service Day"
lot to help it achieve that potential. I still
do and will try to do just that although not
on council.
Q. What was your wife’s reaction to
your decision to run?
A. She was fine with it. She probably
knew that it was only a matter of time.
Q. Describe the type of campaign that
you ran.
A. Low budget It was really the
campaign of the poor. I had to rely on low-
cost resources (God bless the students who
chose to help out!) and wholesale politics.
Q. Were students involved in the process?
A. Yes, of course. I wouldn't be much
of a political science professor if I didn't
get them involved somehow. Mostly, they
made phone calls to registered voters on
my behalf between studying for my class
and writing all the papers I assign.
Q. What might you do differently if
given the chance to run for office again?
A. Run the campaign of the riqh! It's
much easier. I'd also choose an occasion
when I had more time to give to the effort.
Campaigning requires more time than
there is in a day and really pushes other
things out of your life. I had responsibili
ties - like my work at the college - that
had to come first.
Q. Put on your pundit hat: Why did
you lose?
A. I wasn't the incumbent. Never, ever,
ever misunderestimate the sheer power of
incumbency. They have pre-existing name
identification, which is all-powerful in
elections like these. Incumbents don't have
to do a thing to get elected, but everyone
else does. We shouldn't be surprised that
all the incumbents won on election day.
Q. What was most surprising to you
about this process?
A. How important, or perhaps
pervasive, social networks are in the
city. While that in-and-of-itself is not
uncommon, I was surprised about how
strong it was.
Q. In what ways will your run for office
benefit your teaching and your students?
A. We'll find out soon enough. At
the very least I'll be able to start some
sentences with, "When I ran for office..."
and then watch the eyes roll.
Q. Will you run again?
A. I don't know. The seat is up again
in four years. We'll see. I think I'm more
suited for party politics, so I might explore
that avenue later on, after I get tenure.
DIVERSITY..^,
Sherman PEpraled a breakdown of 622
percent male and 37.8 patent female in the
class which adds to an aheatfy maJe^
dominated carrpjs.
This diq)atity couki be attributed to
atfiletics whkh attract large ntrmbets of males
via the Ibotball team.
“I think things are getting a little better,”
senior Anthony Tyus said. ‘T think foofcall
txings a lot of guys to campus. Also with
ROTC on campus r)ow, guys interested in
the Army might be being drawn in.”
Not ^ students thou^t the imbalance
was a positive thing. JuniOT roommates
Trena Williams and Jasmine Knotts agt^
that having so many guys on campus trings
a certain level of immaturity.
“I dcKi’t feel like it affects me personally,”
Williams said. “But I think s«ne females
might feel overpowered in the presence of
so many males.”