Hue DECREE
since 1960 “of, by, andfor the Wesleyan community.”
May 9,2014
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUN1
r, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Morrow Wins SGA Election, Olsowski To Remain VP
By Katie Beeman
Decree Staff Writer
Isaiah Morrow was elected as the 2014-
2015 SGA president in late March, beating
the former vice president in a close race.
Morrow got 121 votes to Sarah
Olsowski’s 104 in one of the highest
turnouts in recent years, according to
SGA advisor Adia Cuthbertson.
Ajunior, Morrow is a member of
the football team as well as a
resident advisor.
won,” he said, “I was ex
was to come and than
opportunity that I’ve
his main objectives is
with city council members.
Another goal is to improve
security. “I want to get it to the
point where all students feel
safe on campus,” said Morrow
Among his other plans, Morro
intends to improve the relation
ship between students and the
new president, help enhance
the food service offerings, raise
SGA’s profile on campus “to
give students more of a voice,”
improve student entertainment programs,
and revive school spirit by having students
participate in more campus activities.
President Jim Gray Says
Farewell after Five Years
By Katherine Crickmore
Senior Staff Writer
President James Gray stated that his time
as Wesleyan’s president had been rewarding,
but also the “most challenging I’ve ever had.”
Retiring after five years at the helm, the
president stated that the very definition
of the job presented trials, as there are so
many needs and much of the work must
be juggled with other responsibilities.
When he accepted the job as Wesleyan’s
president, Gray said that he was aware there
would be challenges. “I knew that there were
challenges with fundraising, enrollment and
other issues,” Gray said. “But I like challenges.”
In fact, Gray revealed that he left his
job as associate dean for external affairs
at UNC’s Kenna-Flagler Business School
for just such a challenge—leading an
institution like Wesleyan towards a better
place. Gray stressed that the situation at
Wesleyan five years ago was not “dire,” but
something definitely had to be done to lead
the school in a more profitable direction.
Despite the frustrations of the job, Gray
said his work has been highly rewarding, par
ticularly the relationships that were built with
the traditional students. ‘Tll miss the students
the most,” he said. He also mentioned that his
wife, Beth Gray, or ‘ Mama Prez,” enjoyed
that aspect of the job as well. “This is the first
job that we’ve shared,” President Gray said.
“She’s been involved with everything.”
Dean Randy Williams acknowledged
that Gray had a special relationship with
the students of Wesleyan. “Since his arrival,
President Gray has been accessible to every
one, always willing to give of his time to hear
the many people vying for his attention,” Dr.
Williams said. ‘He is a ‘students’ President,’
meaning that he took advantage of every
opportunity to engage with students. Whether
in the Blue & Gold Cafeteria, in the student
sections at athletic events, or in the hallway
of Braswell, President Gray made it a priority
to listen to the students. I admire that quality,
and so do the students.”
Zach Seitter, a senior, wished President
Gray well in his future endeavors and
senior Danyelle Rube said she will miss his
presence on campus. “We’ll miss him as
a figurehead,” she said. “As an athlete, I’ll
miss him. He supported a lot of our games.”
Gray admitted that there have been
stiuggles over the years. The president stated
that the hardest part of his job has been trying
to increase traditional student enrollment by “a
double-digit percentage” every year. With the
help of staff and administrators, Gray said he
Freshman Neryezza Calo has been
impressed by Morrow, calling him very
personable. Prior to the election, she said,
“He sat down and talked with me. He was
handing out petitions to the students and
seeing him do that showed me that he really
cared about what students wanted.”
Olsowski stated that she felt it was a
good election. “Over 200 students voted by
SI photo
SGA President Isaiah Morrow
paper ballot, which is excellent,” she said.
Morrow praised his opponent, an honors
student and member of the soccer team,
has stopped a previous decline of enroll
ment. He noted that the college, in fact, has
seen an enrollment increase in recent years,
including a 16-percent rise two years ago,
and a 6-percent hike last year.
Gray said that the trouble with enrollment
among high school graduates who want to go
to traditional four-year colleges. ‘There are so
many options available now,” Gray explained.
“There’s community college, online classes,
and courses like our ASPIRE program.”
Gray said that every school like Wesleyan
has experienced problems with enrollment
in recent years, and others have not been as
fortunate as Wesleyan. “Hopefully,” he said,
“this year will be another good year, with
enrollment continuing to go up.”
Increased enrollment was just one
of several accomplishments Gray cited
with pride. He said that others include:
lina Center for Business and Entrepreneurship,
which is set to break ground in August
• a better relationship with the Student
Government Association
• an increased graduation rate from 18
percent in 2009 to 33 percent this past year
• closer ties with the city of Rocky Mount
• campus improvements that included
the renovation of Nash and Edgecombe
see FAREWELL pg 4
Wesleyan Student-Athletes of the Year for 2013-14. The two seniors
are seen here with Professor Carl Lewis, the faculty NCAA rep. si photo
who was SGA vice president as a sopho
more. “She put on an excellent campaign,”
he said, adding, “I feel for Sarah.”
Jacob Wilson, a freshman, ran unop
posed as a candidate for vice president,
but resigned his position after the election.
Contacted by The Decree, Wilson declined
to provide a reason for his resignation.
About a week later, Morrow then
appointed Olsowski the new vice
president. “She’s very intelligent
and full of ideas,” Morrow said.
“She’s a very qualified person for
the position, and I look forward to
working closely with her during
this upcoming school year.”
Olsowski stated that as vice
president she will remain a
strong advocate for the students.
Besides working to improve
food services and housing, she
said she will continue to push for
a recycling program on campus.
The election began on Monday,
March 24, and continued until
day, with the winners announced
on Friday. Students were given the
option of voting by email or paper
ballot in the school cafeteria, but the
online process was discontinued on
Monday following technical glitehes. SGA Vice President Sarah Olsowski si photo
Within hours, an email was
sent to alert students of the problem. All
online votes were discarded and all students
were urged to vote by paper ballot.
Both candidates were disappointed by the
problems. “I was a little upset about the techni
cal difficulties that did occur during the voting,”
said Morrow. “I was glad that it happened
within the first hour or two, when there weren’t
as many students who had already voted.”
Olsowski said she was let down by the
online polls. ‘I felt like it hurt me because I think
I reached a lot of ASPIRE students,” she said.
Katherine Crickmore, a commuter
student in the day program, wishes that
the online voting had worked. “I have
Men’s Tennis Team Wins Sixth
Title, as NCWC Women Rebuild
By Decree Sports Staff
The men’s tennis team won its sixth
straight USA-South Conference title, beating
rival Methodist University, 6-3, at the Slick
Family Foundation Tennis Center on April 13.
The tournament victory capped a perfect
run in the conference as the Bishops posted
a 9-0 record, with eight shutouts. The only
close regular season match was a 5-4 win
at Methodist on March 11. The Bishops
fared far worse against non-conference
opponents, winning only 3 of 11 matches.
In the conference title match, the Bishops
took a 2-1 lead in doubles play, with the duos
of Elias Kerem/Eduaido Ugalde and Philipp
Vylcgzhanin/Bcn Tolhurst earning 8-2 and
avoided the sweep with a 7-5 tiebreak win at #1.
In singles action, Ind-seeded Kerem
and 6th-seeded Vylegzhanin sandwiched
straight-set victories around a Monarch win
classes through lunch and I don’t live
on campus, so I’m not here during din
ner.” Crickmore stated that the online
voting would have been convenient for
commuter students.
Ilie election came a week after a candidate
debate. Gathering on the night of March 19
in Minges Auditorium, the two presidential
hopefuls took part in a question-and-answer
session, with about 50 students in attendance.
Asked to identify the biggest problem
on campus, Olsowski mentioned the food
services, while Morrow pointed to campus
security. “As an RA, I deal with lots of
problems, and security still doesn’t respond
quickly enough,” he said, noting that he
wants to see the college add more light
ing as well as a second courtesy police
officer on the north side of campus.
“Incoming students need to feel safe,”
said Morrow. “This is something that af
fects their decision about coming here.”
At the forum, students asked about
Wesleyan’s drinking policy. Many would
at #5 to give Wesleyan a 4-2 lead, while
an MU victory at #1 made the score 4-3.
Needing just one point to secure the title, the
match would come down to Peter Hviid and
Ugalde's three-setters at the #3 and #4 seeds.
After dropping their opening sets, both
players battled back for wins in the second,
Ugalde’s coming by a 6-4 tally and Hviid's by
a 7-5 score. Ugalde then raced to a 3-0 lead in
the third set and held serve the rest of the way
to clinch the match. Hviid went on to earn a 7-5
win in his final set to secure the 6-3 team vic
tory, Wesleyan’s 55th straight over USA South
opponents dating back to the 2009 season.
First-year Coach Andres Amores was
interviewed after the conference finals
about the men’s prospects in NCAAs and
the rebuilding of the women’s team, which
finished 3-9 on the year. The women were
often forced to forfeit two or more sets at each
match, because Wesleyan fielded only four or
five of the required six team members.
Q. The men’s team sailed through the confer
ence again—though Methodist gave you two
tough matches. What will it take for the Bishops
to advance far into the NCAA tournament?
A. It will depend mostly on two things:
how prepared we are, and how mentally tough
we can stay during play. We’ve come a long
way during our season, and we’ve played very
tough teams, but those matches have made us
realize what it takes to perform at that level,
and how to handle tough matches. I think the
preparation is there, so all we have to do is go
out there and play tough, and realize that we
have nothing to lose against those teams that
have high national rankings.
In the NCAA tournament, and in any
tournament, the key is being efficient
and aggressive in doubles. Being up
3-0 in doubles, or even 2-1, can be a big
momentum changer for our players, which
will give them more confidence throughout
their singles matches. We’ve proven success
against other strong doubles teams in the
nation, so I’m confident that we’ll go out
there and play aggressive doubles, and if we
See TENNIS pg 4
like to see the college permit drinking
for students 21 and older, but the two
candidates agreed that the college should
remain a dry campus, pointing to its
history as a Methodist-affiliated school.
Junior Dillon Becker felt that the debate
was won by Olsowski. “She seemed
to know the issues more arid she was
confident in her responses. Isaiah seemed
more nervous,” said Becker.
The 2014-2015 SGA executive board
will consist of Morrow, Olsowski,
treasurer Deontae’ Swain, and secretary
Kelly Cranick. Swain, last year’s
treasurer, and Cranick ran unopposed.
NCWC Faculty Votes
‘No Confidence’
In Board of Trustees
By Jonathan Winchester
& Decree Staff
North Carolina Wesleyan faculty voted
“no confidence” in the college’s Board of
Trustees, due to concerns that range from the
process used to select the incoming president,
• to the board’s treatment of the student govern
ment president at a February board meeting.
Taken at a special faculty meeting on
April 23, the vote was 25 in favor and 11 op
posed. Of the 49 full-time faculty members,
13 were not present at the time of the vote.
In his response, Will Lassiter, the new
board chairman, focused on the selection
of Wesleyan alum and former board chair
Dewey Gaik as the successor to James Gray.
While stating the board “appreciates the
difference of opinion with faculty council”
and that an “academic environment should
encourage diversity of thought and ideas,”
he said the board disagrees with the faculty’s
views on Clack’s selection. He argued that
a search committee was formed to include
board members, faculty, staff, student body
and community. “Once the process began, a
strong candidate emerged and he was recom
mended by the search committee to the full
board of trustees,” Lassister said. “The board
discussed the unusual process and in the end
determined that Dr. Dewey Clark, a graduate
of NCWC and at that time chairman of the
board, was in fact a very strong candidate.”
Referring to the board’s statement, Dr.
George Whitwell, chair of faculty council,
pointed out that the disagreement is not just with
the faculty council, but the faculty as a whole.
In a statement released after the
no-confidence vote, the faculty said that the
college had gone against ‘ ‘traditional hiring
processes” and failed to conduct a national
search for the next president Such a search
would have allowed Wesleyan to consider
women and minorities, among other qualified
candidates, the statement said. Many faculty
members have asserted that Gark, a former
executive at Rocky Mount-based MBM
Corporation, lacks the proper background and
credentials to be a college president
The faculty statement said that the process
used to appoint Gaik as the next president
“was not professional, collegial, or in the best
interests of the college.” Faculty members
expressed concern that the selection process
and other moves made by the college may
invite increased scratiny, and perhaps sanc
tions, from its accreditation body, SACS.
Besides the presidential search, faculty
members have criticized the board’s treatment
at the Fetauary board meeting, Laurens
presented a petition signed by 251 students.
SGA was seeking a role for the student body in
the selection of the new dean of students, after
Dr. Randy Williams announced, in January,
that he would leave the college following the
school year for a position at Elon University.
Laurens faced sharp criticism from
individual board members while giving her
presentation, prompting the faculty to rise
to her defense. “Instead of acting in the best
interests of the college,” the faculty state
ment said, board members “berated and
threatened the students’ elected representa
tive when she tried to present the petition.”
Contacted by The Decree last week, Lassiter
addressed the board’s response to the SGApetition.
In an email, he called it “unfortu
nate” if board member comments were
“perceived by Chelsea as hurtful,”
SEE TRUSTEES pg 4