PAGE. 2
THE DECREE
FWDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1970
rACULTV MEFTiKiGr
IN VROG-RE.'SS i:p;vv.
Over Troubled Water
The way I see it, we may as well call him the S.G.A. Presi
dent’s Representative to the faculty.
Courts System Analyzed
By BRUCE WRIGOT
The afternoon was accented
by a soft, tranquil breeze and
the sobering thought that today
is Sunday. The cares of the
classroom half lingered as
dreams of yesterday. South Hall
was engulfed in somber medi
tation. Then just as delicate
ly as the afternoon had set in;
a shout, the scrambling of bo
dies and the clash of flesh and
furniture began the nightmare.
Hanging from windows the
northern edge of South Hallsaw
the body of a young girl and a
mirror half slashing her twist
ed, fallen frame. Her name
is unimportant, her fate in
Rocky Mount’s hospital facili
ties is unimportant. The femi
nine form will live, the life her
mind and body will give in the
future will remain unharmed
by this incident, for time will
heal the wounds and scars of
this tranquil afternoon. Why?
Last year, as the culmina
tion of a series of efforts for
greater student involvement in
the world of decision-making,
the faculty granted approval to
the reasonable request for stu
dent representation to the fa
culty. This representation was
later extended to provide for
one student member on most fa
culty committees. This is good.
Any responsible measure which
leads to greater cooperation
among the various segments of
the college is theoretically very
good. However, one must ad
mit that, in actual practice, this
new source of student involve
ment was not fully exploited.
The struggle for student po
wer through the United States
has brought some remarkable
results. It seems a bit ironic.
Why was she inSouth?andmore
important what will happen to
her after she has headled phy
sically?
The laws of Wesleyan and the
justice that the students wish
to concern themselves with is
established in three judiciary
bodies. A dormitory council,
a Primary Court and a Supreme
Court rise in that order in re
sponsibility and authority. The
dorm council is concerned with
minor infractions of dorm re
gulations and will place limit
ed punishments on violations.
Often fines of a dollar or two,
paying for broken furniture and
campus restrictions will con
stitute the variety of punishment
for the guilty. Primary Court
tries violations of laws con
cerning “alocholic beverages”
gambling and a variety of more
serious offenses. Next the
Dorm Councils as well as ap
peals from the Dorm Council
verdicts. Because of the si
milarity of the written word
of our constitution, the dif
ference established between
Primary and Supreme Court is
one of “major infractions”.
The Discretion of the attor
ney general and the Supreme
Court, in a lesser extent, will
stand as the decision as the
question of “major infrac
tion”. The court a person is
before is justifiably the re
sponsibility of the attorney ge
neral. The student of course
has only the responsibility to
appear before the court that
summons him. The laws bro
ken must be tried. And tried
in the sense that laws can be
come out-dated and tried in the
sense that the civilization that
exists at Wesleyan only exists
as a result of the strength of
the courts. The justice im
plied and perservedbythedorm
councils. Primary Court and
Supreme Court can only exist
as the concern of Wesleyanstu-
dents exist.
Concern? The courts offer
the place and the prosecutor but
where and how does the de
fense develop. One man is
elected to stand as a public
defender. Yet one man can not
encompass Wesleyan’s variety
of cases and people with the
legal talents he may possess.
So what men or women at Wes
leyan could handle a court Case ?
Where does gossip for defense
(Continued on P^e 4)
however, that students will fight
long and hard to obtain certain
goals and then, once the goal
has been attained, the students
are satisfied to sit back and
rest for a while. This has been
evident on countless occasions.
Enthusiasm runs high during
the struggle but once the vic
tory is won, the enthusiasm
fades.
Perhaps for some this token
sbident power is enough, but
what have we really gained if
we fail to follow through, to
exploit the power which has
been given us? It is important
to emphasize the word “giv
en”. The faculty did, in fact,
give to the student body the
right of representation on fa
culty committees. Should we
abuse the power, the gift can
be revoked. But equally as
bad would be the students’ fail
ure to exercise our powers
to the fullest degree, respon
sibly and spiritedly. Failure
to do so could easily result
in "faculty backlash,” an un
derstandable hesitancy to co
operate with future efforts for
even g^reater involvement.
This year the faculty will
By ED GUNTER
Too many Student Govern
ment Organizations begin their
opening sessions of the year
without really being fully in
formed of the problems and is
sues for the coming year. This
year before conducting the first
official business meeting of the
“1970-71” Senate, perspec
tive senators and representa
tives to the Senate will become
fully informed in a orientation
meeting of the exact issues and
problems that the Senate is
confronted with. In this way
prospective representatives on
consider many matters of ut
most concern to all Wesleyan
students, especially in the areas
of curriculum change and de
gree requirements. It would
be a dreadful indictment against
our student body if we fail to
exploit every available means
of involvement in these deci
sions. The selection of a stu
dent representative to the fa
culty is of paramount impor
tance. The current provisions
state that this appointment is
to be made by the S.G.A. pre
sident. It is my opinion that
the filling of an office of such
magnitude and potential shouki
be determined by a general stu
dent election, with procedures
to be determined by the S.G.A.
elections committee. I call
upon President Leyda for his
cooperation in this matter which
will be brought before the Se
nate for consideration at the
earliest possible time.
It is a new year. And we,
the students, must prove our
selves both spirited and able,
worthy of the confidence the fa
culty has placed in us. Our
misuse, our failure to use
these new powers could lead to
serious repercussions.
this years Senate will become
the most informed students on
campus on student affairs.
Each of the major issues this
year will later be published in
full detail in this paper. Each
member of this year’s Senate
will contribute information and
criticism towards the issue and
the Senate handling of that issue.
The orientation meeting will
emphasize to the new S.G.A. the
tremendous responsibility to
gain back student support. I
believe that the most tremen-
dais issues and problems can be
accomplished with that support.
Editorial
By The People ...
There has been little discussion of the Importance of the role
of the student representative to the faculty committee. Admit
tedly the DECREE has failed to report upon activities of the
student representative with the exception of the instances of
d^al of a seat at meetings. We hope to make up for our neglect
this past year.
At this point, we question the method of selection of the student
representative to the faculty committee. According to the agree
ment, if we may call it that, between the administration and the
Student Government Association, the current Student Government
Association president appoints the representative to the com
mittee. It appears that the most appropriate way to represent
students is to allow them to nominate and elect the represen
tative of their choice in a general referendum.
The motion is now before the Senate. We urge all students
to consider and elect senators with discretion. We also urge
that all students consult their respective senators and make their
wishes known in this issue.
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OP
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN 0»J£GE
EDITOR Jidia Rt^inson
ASSISTANT EIHTOR MarshaU Old
BUSINESS MANAGEIR C^ck Martin
ADVERTISING MANAGER Chock Rbrtio
PHOTOGRAPHER Gary ChristoiAer
PROWJCTION MANAGER Gail Mabe
ARTIST Will Thomson
SPORTS WRITER Bob O’Keef
Business Address: Box 30S6> Wesleyan C^ege
Rocky Moimt, Nortli Carolina 27801
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY WESLEYAN STUDENTS
Opinions Published Do Not Necessarily
RepracBt Those of Wesleyan College
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Gunter Orients The
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