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THE WESLEYAN DECREE
May 10, 1962
Editorials
To The New Editor
Congratulations, new editor. The Wesleyan Decree and
you are a team now and as such you will play a vital role
in our college community for the tenure of your editorship.
In the past two years we have watched our paper de-
velope from a hope and plan to the reality that you see to
day. We have worked to make a newspaper that looks,
reads like a newspaper—a real college newspaper. You
know because you have been a part of it this past year.
Being a young college with no upperclassmen and tra
dition to guide us made us more susceptible to unchecked
mistakes and faulty judgments, but our efforts have been
sincere. Through all our fumbling we did progress. Now
take our efforts and sometimes painfully-gained know
ledge on to make the Decree an outstanding newspaper.
It is an honor to be the executive editor, a position of
pride that you will feel. However, soon the criticism will
come because you will be expected to be above reproach,
incapable of making mistakes while all the time you are
only human—no diffei’ent from any other student.
You will be faced with controversial issues—what to do?
If you take a stand you will be labeled as prejudiced or
even termed as radical. If you don’t you will be called a
coward, afraid of public opinion. You might even get to
the place you are afraid to trust your own opinion.
You will begin to look on your editorial privileges with
mixed emotions. Just when you have patted yourself on
the back for writing a good editorial, the sting of unex
pected reprimand penetrates.
Forsight comes slow and hard and the lack of it is no
amall thing. You can drop a bomb shell and not even realize
it. “Why was that one small word, revenge, in the story?”
You know now that it shouldn’t have been printed but it’s
too late to change. You can’t explain it away, and “I’m
sorry” just doesn’t seem appropriate.
Even though you are called down by your fellow stu
dents and administration you must not lose faith. Never
resort to the position that all criticism is petty, malicious
and of no consequence. You are in a predicament common
ly referred to as “learning the hard way.”
There will always be the pressure of the next deadline
and along with it the realization that you have got to get
the paper out on time. Stories have to be written. It doesn’t
matter that little has happened in the last two-week per
iod that is not stale news and you are piled high with one-
line announcements. It doesn’t matter that the sports pro
gram is still in its first phase and the game you were de
pending on w'as cancelled. It doesn’t matter that there are
no fraternities and sororities to depend on and the social
commission hasn’t sponsored a dance or anything. Stories
have to be written and a deadline met.
Yours is the final responsibility. When a reporter comes
to you with “I can’t” you will have to. No tangible rewards,
it is just part of your position.
However, knowing all this, you wouldn’t trade places
with any one elso on campus because you are doing some
thing that no other student can quite do in the same way.
You are editor of The Wesleyan Decree.
So I end my editorship with a sense of accomplishment
but also with a kind of melancholy feeling, a reluctance to
give up the paper.
A
There are three kinds of lies—lies, damned lines and statistics.
—Mark Twain
SPECTRUM. . .
The advent of the blazing sun
bi ings forth more than hibernating
snakes to bask in its wormth. The
southern end of the Women’s Dorm
is strewn with girls in various
stages of attire out for a suntan.
The result is various hues of red
and brown.
A cross-section of the sun-temper-
cd conversation sounds something
like this:
“Well, well. Here comes Miss
America! What have you got on un
der that towel? . . . Yeah, well
you’d better be careful there . . .
Hand me that cup of water. That’s
the best thing to keep you from
blistering ... I know. It has salt in
it, too . . . We could go and run in
the sprinkler system.
Okay. But isn’t it cold?
Yes, but I feel like I’m going to
melt right through this sidewalk if
I don’t do something . . .
. . . Well, I give up. I sure can’t
read out here in this sun . . . Look
at your toes. They look funny. Toes
look funny, don’t they? . . . They
sure do. Hey, can the bottoms of
your feet blister?
... I guess so. Yours are getting
kinda red . . . Maybe I 'had better
turn over. Blistered feet I don’t
need . . . (Careful shifting of body
position) . . . Who’s that boy coming
up the sidewalk?
. . . That’s Hey, you can’t
come any further. This is off-limits!
Go back! . . . Well, can’t I just
stand here? . . . No, go away!
All right, all right! (Boy fades
into distance).
. . . You’d better go in. You’re
getting awfully red . . . Yeah, I get
red and you get brown. It’s dis
couraging. (Reflective silence.)
Well, maybe I’d better go in. I
don’t want to peel.
. . . Where’s that book? Don’t
want to lose anything.
. . . Here let me help you.
. . . See you later.
. . . Yeah, later.
And the door closes on another
newly-red redskin.
—Mona Cozart
The trustees of Wake Forest Col
lege adopted a resolution on April
27 calling for desegregation of the
undergraduate school. The vote was
17-9, with four trustees abstaining.
THE WESLEYAN DECREE
(Published by the students of NCWC)
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Wanda Exum
NEWS EDITOR Grace Markham
ASS. NEWS EDITOR Mary Jo Barkley
SPORTS EDITOR Mary C. Hodgin
CIRCULATION MANAGER Cherry Gorham
BUSINESS MANAGER David Caison
PHOTOGRAPHER Tony Inscore