4
North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804
January 17, 2014
CAMPUS LIFE
Bi
Internationals Return after Observing
Among the participants at the recent "Dash for Cash" benefit race in Greenville was a contingent
from the NCWC softball team (from left): Carly Creef, Alexis Jones, Noodle Allen, Brittany Manning,
Laura Roberts, Sierra Hayden, Tiffany Manning, and leaning on table Paige Pritchett Not pictured is
Jasmine Edgren. The annual race is a fund raiser for college scholarships in memory of Christopher
Cash, Sr., a 1993 NC Wesleyan graduate and service member who was killed in June 2004 at age
36 near Baqouba, Iraq.
PR Photo
NCWC Alum Serves as New Residence Life Area Director
Shenika Harper &
Decree Staff
(Editor’s Note: This is the second in an occasional
series about alumni and former staff members who
have returned to work at NC Wesleyan.)
Wesleyan graduate Jonathan Rice has just
■ completed his first semester as area director for
Edgecombe and Petteway residence halls, a job
that he finds challenging and rewarding.
Living in Rateway, he supervises a staff of six resident
advises. In his posticn, he helps to keep roans in adet; medi-
Jessie Langley, Associate Dean of
Students for Campus Life, said that Rice has
shown that he’s “interested in growing and
ASPIRE^
(i.e. Manteo, Wilmington, etc) and there is a need
for higher education in those areas. In many
cases North Carolina does have regional state
universities (UNC-Wilmington, ECU) but
they don’t offer education tailored to working
adults in an accelerated, evening model.
Q: Is the focus now on establishing more
satellite campuses or growing the existing
campuses? What do you project as enrollments
at each new campus in the next five years?
A: The main goal now is to strengthen and
increase our current locations but always being mind
ful of potential partnerships with other community
colleges in eastern North Carolina If it makes sense
and we have the support of Wesleyan constituents,
then we may entertain other instructional locations.
Over the next five years, I would love to see a total
ASPIRE enrollment of 2,000-2,500 students.
Q: What are some new programs ASPIRE
would like to add to individual campuses?
A: At this time, I think we have some very
effective and dynamic majors/minors that are
offered to our adult students. We need to add more
full-time faculty to support our current majors at
our Rocky Mount location as well as at some of
our other locations. I do think faculty and the entire
school need to think about graduate programs and
if that is something Wesleyan should consider for
Q: Some have expressed concern about
Wesleyan’s rapid expansion and that, for
example, the college may lack an adequate
number of qualified faculty to match the
program growth. How do you respond to that?
A: I certainly understand that concern, which
is one of the reasons I proposed and succeeded
in hiring five new faculty members when I was
Provost from 2012-2013 and why I supported the
three new hires for this coming academic year. I
will always suppest the hiring of more faculty to
support our growth in traditional and ASPIRE.
Q: What do you see as the trends, nation
wide, when it comes to adult education?
A: Most of the research states that non-traditional
students (adults) are growing in higher education,
and by 2020, that population could be as high as
70 percent This does take into account graduate
programs, which are exclusively adult students. For
undergraduate programs I would say that this number
will grow beyond the 50 percent mark over the new
few years. The need will only continue to grow for
quality adult higher education. According to the
2010 Census data, we see for the first time that 30
percent of American adults, aged 25+, have attained
a bachelor’s degree or higher. While this number is
growing, it demonstrates a large population of
adults who still do not hold a bachelor’s degree.
Q: What percentage of ASPIRE stu
dents take classes on-line vs. face-to-face?
And what do you think is the ideal ratio?
A: I would say that 90 percent of the ASPIRE
students have taken at least one online class on
their road to completing their degree. The beauty
of our structure is that we allow students to take a
mix of face-to-face, online, and hybrid classes to
complete their degree. I don’t think there is an ideal
ratio. I think each student is unique and in working
with their advisor, based on their learning style and
work situation, will devise a schedule that includes
the right ratio that works for.him or her.
1
learning in his position.”
Calling Rice a “positive, very caring person,”
Langley said that he possesses the right personality
and temperament for the job.
Erma Hedgepeth, a member of the Student Suc
cess Center staff, agreed with Langley’s assessment
She worked with Rice while he was a Wesleyan
student and a leading member of Voices of Triumph,
the college’s gospel music ensemble. She said that
Rice, a farner president of VOT, is a true leader. “He
handled the position in a very professional manner,
and if he needed to put students in their place, he did
so, but in a very respectful manner,” Hedgepeth said,
adding that Rice is “very charismatic” and effective
at building one-on-one relationships.
Trying to spend as much time as possible with
students, Rice said he wants them to know that he’s
in charge, while making them comfortable enough
to talk to him about their needs. He said that it helps
that he was once a Wesleyan freshman himself.
Rice acknowledged that his job is challenging.
Dealing with plenty of first-year students, young
Ask Student Affairs: Handling Roommate Problems
Question: What advice would you offer a .
freshman who’s experiencing difficulties with
his ex ho roommale? Let’s say that the problem
stems from contrasting lifestyles. The student
comes to you and says the following: ‘ I like quia,
while my roommate enjoys listening to music at
all hours. I like to turn in early while my roan-
mate is a night person. I like my space lobe clearly
‘ ‘communaT ’ approach, sharing clothes, food and
video games, etc.” How would you respond?
What steps should the aggrieved roommate take?
Response by Jessie Langley, Associate
Dean of Students for Campus Life:
I would say that the lack of good
communication is the undeifying issue to
mentioned are definitely common and can
be resolved if both roommates are willing to
have mature, ongoing communication about
them. The Residence Life team and I regularly
help students navigate these types of issues.
Often when students come to us requesting
permission to switch rooms, we find that the
reason behind this is that one party has let an
issue fester for far too long without speaking up
about it, and then he or shejust wants to get out.
The problem is that this student will
very likely run into challenges with a new
roommate, even if they’re not the same issues.
Another problem is that the students involved
would miss the opportunity to learn about com
munication and conflict resolution, invaluable
skills they will use throughout their lives. For
these reasons, we encourage students to have
Cookout Wins Again
Fer the fourth consecutive year: Cookout was the
runaway winner in The Decree’s informal restaurant poll of
students, faculty and staff.
Located at 1020 N. Wesleyan Blvd, Cookout
racked up 25 first-place votes, 17 more than Zaxby’s,
the second-place finisher in the fast-food category.
The North Carolina-based restaurant is known
for its low prices and wide variety of sandwiches
and milkshakes. According to local store manager
Daniel Barbee, its most popular items include
the Cookout hamburgers and double-burgers,
and chicken nuggets. The top-selling shake is the
strawberry cheesecake.
In their responses, many Cookout enthusiasts noted the
wide range of side items: french tries, cheese fries, onion
rings, hush puppies, can dogs, chicken nuggets, chicken
When he’s at Cookout, student Trey Cooper lavas the
Cockout “tray,” of course. He adas chicken quesadilla
(as an entree), a double order of cheese fries, and a sweat
tea; pice tag: $459 plus tax. “Cookouf s cheap and offers
variety,” he said.
Carly Creef appreciates the low prices as well.
She orders chicken nuggets, fries, and sweet tea. “It’s
only three bucks,” she said, “and the food has the
homemade flavor that other fast-food doesn’t have.”
Like her classmates, Trffany Joyner emphasized
the value offered at Cookout She gets the chicken strip
tray with double cheese fries and a large sweet tea. ‘I
love Cookout because they have very cheap prices and
you get your money’s worth,” she said.
Olive Garden once again took first place in voting fix
Unique Holiday Traditions
By Katie Beeman
Decree Staff Writer
North Carolina Wesleyan College has
always had a significant number of interna
tional students that come from all comers of
the world. This year, in fact, Wesleyan hosts
students from 20 different countries.
While Christmas for Americans usually
with family, and religious ceremonies, fa-
international students these traditions may vary.
Asia
Motoko Asano, a freshman from
Kanagawa, Japan, explained some of the
differences between how Japan and America
celebrate the winter holidays. “Christmas
Area Director Jonathan Rice ('07)
men and women, he indicated that his daily schedule
is variable and that he often faces long days,
“depending on what’s happening.”
When he began his new position, Rice
open communication about issues when they
first present themselves. This usually allows for
things to be resolved before they escalate and
calm conversation becomes more difficult
We also provide students with support to
have these difficult conversations. We can
role-play to help them feel more ready to
we can be involved as facilitators of those
conversations until the students are ready to
begin tackling these situations independently.
The resident advisors (RAs) can even sit
down with both roommates to develop a
"roommate contract" that defines the
"rules" of their room. For a contract to
work, both parties will have to be willing
to make compromises and be creative in
identifying solutions. For example, a "night
owl" might be willing to use a small lamp
for light and headphones to listen to music/
TV after 10 p.m., so that his/her roommate
can maintain a sleep schedule that involves
going to bed early. The other roommate
might be willing to wear a sleep mask and
prepare all of his or her clothes/items for
the next day before going to bed so as to be
quiet in the early-morning hours when the
"night owl" is just getting into REM sleep.
While we’re not aiming to have students
create something as lengthy as Sheldon
Coopers infamous "roommate agreement" on
“The Big Bang Theory," details certainly are
important Both roommates must be involved in
the creation of the contract to ensure that issues
of importance to both parties are covered fairly.
the top area “sit-down” restaurant It garnered 9 first-place
votes to edge Applebee’s (8), Chili’s (7), and San Jose (6).
Robert Kjellberg, a native of Sweden, voted for
Olive Garden. His favorite menu item is seafood alfredo
pasta. ‘ It reminds me of the food from Europe,” he said
In the survey, conducted last fall, Decree staff
members asked participants to select their favorite
sit-down and fast-food restaurants in the Rocky Mount
area. Follow-up questions asked respondents to explain
their choices and identify their favorite menu items.
While a total of 70 members of the NC Wesleyan
community were surveyed not all responses indicated
a fast-food restaurant For the purposes of this survey,
the Decree defined a sit-down restaurant as one where
a customer is served by a waiter or waitress.
Here is the final tally:
Sit-down Restaurants
Olive Garden (9), Applebee’s (8), Chili’s (7), San
Jose (6), Ruby Tuesday (5), Outback Steakhouse (4),
El Tapatio (3), Red Lobster (3), Texas Steakhouse
(3), Golden Corral (2), Ichiban Japanese Steak
House (2), Pizza Inn (2), Brian's Cheesesteaks (1),
Chico's (1), Crepe World (1), Gardner’s (1), Grill
on Zebulon Road (1), Highway Diner (1), Hunter
Hill Cafe (1), K&W Cafeteria (1), Madison’s
Seafood (1), On the Square (1), Pizza Hut (1), Prime
Smokehouse (1), Waffle House (1).
Fast-Food Restaurants
Cookout (25), Zaxby’s (8), McDonald's (7), Chick
fil-A(6), Bojangles' (4), Subway (4), Wendy’s (4), Sheetz
(3), Taco Bell (2), Arby's (1), Burger King (1), Hardee’s
(1), Sonic (1).
is not huge like it is in the United Stales,”
said Asano. She said most Japanese families
have a small tree, about three of four feet tall,
and some even put lights on their houses.
A special Christmas treat consists of some
form of cake. Christmas doesn’t hold much
religious significance, she explained, seeing
as most people in Japan don’t have a religion.
“Usually Japanese go out with their boyfriend
or girlfriend; it’s a more romantic holiday
rather than one you spend with family,” said
Asano, who went on to say that presents are
exchanged on New Year’s Day.
Sabina Paudel, of Kathmandu, Nepal, said
that their version of Christmas isn’t even dur-
said that he looked for ways to relate to
students. “Since I don’t play sports, I had
to start building relationships by finding
things that we had in common,” Rice said,
explaining that he builds rapport and respect
with the students by getting to know their
likes and dislikes, in areas such as movies
and video games (“Hunger Games” is one
of his favorites), not to mention music, one
of his passions while he was at Wesleyan.
In his free time, Rice has continued to perform
gospel music. In 2012, he toured Germany with
die New York-based Glory Gospel Singers. And
last month, singing “For Your Glory” by Tasha
Cobbs, he finished 16th in a qualifying round of
the Super Bowl Gospel Festival. The competition
was conducted on-line with performers uploading
YouTube videos that were rated by viewers.
Had he finished in the top 10, Rice would have
advanced to the next round in Atlanta, where he
would have sung before a live audience as well
as well-known gospel recording artists Kierra
Sheard, Bishop Paul Morton and James Moss.
A Henderson native, Rice has experienced
the difficult North Carolina job market first-hand
of them part-time. He has been employed at the YMCA
in Rocky Mount and Hendoson, saving in a range of
Most recently, he worked at Infinite Possibilities, a com-
program was geared toward giving students a sense of
purpose,” Rice said, noting that the teens were involved
Bang a facilitator was very rewarding. Fm still in contact
with sane of the students today.”
Rice said that he always wanted to return to his
alma mater as an employee. Now that he’s back, he
feels a sense of accomplishment
TENNISfrom page 3
‘I’m honored to be given this
opportunity at North Carolina Wesleyan,”
said Amores. "I look forward to building
upon the regional and national success of
the men’s program, and I welcome the chal
lenge of establishing our women’s program
as a yearly contender in the USA South.”
Amores competed for Division I
Jacksonville State University (Alabama)
from 2005 to 2008, winning a pair of Ohio
Valley conference titles in 2005 and 2007. In
2009, he moved to the sidelines as a student
assistant coach and helped the Gamecocks
secure another conference tournament crown,
as well as a spot in the national rankings.
After completing his degree in business
administration that same year, Amores served
as a professional instructor at the Anniston and
Willow Oaks Country Clubs while working
on his master’s degree, which he completed in
sports management at JSU in 2011.
A native of Quito. Ecuador, Amores was
heralded as his country’s No. 1 playa in both
singles and doubles in the Under-14 and
Unda-16 divisions. Additionally, he was
ranked No. 1 in doubles for the Unda-18
division, while representing his country in
four South American Junior Circuits, as well
as several European junior tournaments. At
16, Amores moved to Europe to train and
play ITF and satellite tournaments, and he has
since competed and trained with Davis Cup
players from Ecuador. More recently, Amores
has volunteered his time and efforts to work
with the top junior players from Ecuador,
coaching players who have been ranked in the
(Article courtesy of Sports Information)
ing December and is broken into two periods.
Christmas goes from September to October.
“The first period lasts for 10 days and the
other for five,” she said, explaining that during
celebration. Presents are given by parents or
grandparents, but not from Santa.
Some Nepalese celebrate the English New
Year as a more commercialized event, similar
to what they see in American movies. “Most
young people celebrate the English New Year.
The Nepali New Year is celebrated the same
way, just at a different time,” said Paudel,
noting that the Nepali New Year is in April.
Europe
Christmas doesn’t come to Russia until
January 7, explained senior Iraklii Marutain, a
native of St Petersburg. “We’re Orthodox, so
we have dinner with family and then go to the
church.” The main celebration for Christmas is
just a big dinner, he said. There are no presents
for Christmas, but rather for New Year’s Day.
“New Year is a bigger holiday,” stated
Marutain. “This is the time that we have
the tree and presents.”
For England native Joe Storer, Christmas
means family, pubs, and football (or soccer,
as we call it in the Stales). A resident of
Alfreton in Derbyshire, Storer said that
Christmas Eve is spent with family and then
the younger people go out as if it were a
regular Saturday night “We get home around
2 or 3 a.m. and Santa has already been to the
house,” Storer said, “but we're far too drunk
to even consider opening presents.”
Presents are opened on Christmas morning
and then it’s back to the pubs in the afternoon.
“Well see a lot of people we haven't seen for
a few years in the pubs on Christmas day, so
it's good to catch up and chat” said Storer.
Most families cook a turkey, or some other
bird for Christmas dinner. “We usually have a
capon (rooster) in my household,” said Storer.
“We all like that much better. It's a bit more
expensive but we get one cheap because our
family friends are butchers.”
England recognizes Boxing Day as a
national holiday that falls on the 26th of
December. According to Storer, this is the best
day to go see a football game. Most women
go shopping, he said, noting that the sales are
much like Black Friday here in America
Latin America
Ewardo ‘ Lalo” Ugalde, a freshman from
Queretaro, Mexico, talked mainly about the
traditional food. “We have a special dish that is
called 'romeritos,”’ he noted. ‘It’s mole, a special
sauce made with chocolate and chile, with
pastas, such as spaghetti and ravioli, are also a
part of the Christmas dinner in his family.
Ugalde said that it is common for families
to go to church around 8 p.m., before dinner.
Families put up a tree and exchange presorts. ‘ At
midnight everyone exchanges the Christmas hug
and fireworks are common as well,” said Ugalde.
In Venezuela, Christmas is fairly similar to
the United States, according to Ricardo ‘ Ricky”
Ciuffetelli, who’s ftom Caracas. The family
to talk and have appetizers until dinner is served
at 10. Atypical Venezuelan dinner consists
of hallaca, sides of chicken salad, and pan de
jamon (Venezuelan Christmas bread). ‘The
hallaca is like a chicken pot pie, but more dry.
It can have chicken, or beef and have different
vegetables inside,” said Ciuffetelli. “And pan de
jamon is a type of tread with ham inside.”
At midnight, presents are exchanged and
afterward the family socializes by talking,
drinking coffee, and playing games. “On
Christmas morning we wake up around 11 or
12 after a long night and open mere presents, the
ones that Santa brings.'' he said. “And then we
all get together again in the same house we went
for Christmas Eve.” The family saves turkey
fa - lunch and stays together until night time.
Africa
Muhamadou Jallow is a student from
Banjul, the only city in Gambia. For
Christmas, he related, Christians first go to
church and then everyone gathers in Banjul.
“Everyone comes to the city and there’s a
big parade,” said Jallow. Participants dress
in costumes with masks made out clay.
‘The masks are shaped like different animal
heads and some have horns,” said Jallow.
Jallow explained that since Gambians
return to the country for Christmas from all
over the world, the style of street clothes
varies from person to person during
this large celebration. After the parade.
Gambians go home and exchange gifts with
their family or go out to clubs.
The New Year’s celebration is the same as
Christmas, but it is even bigger, Jallow said.