VOLUME XVII, NUMBER 11
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N.C. WESLEYAN COLLEGE. ROCKY MOUNT. N.C.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1978
Africa,, Poverty or Prosperity?
by Robin Coller
How would you like to
spend eVz weeks touring four
countries in West Africa?
Well, that is exactly what
Richard L. Watson, Associate
Professor of History here at
North Carolina Wesleyan
College did this past summer.
Dr. Watson, who acquired
his B.A. from Duke University
and his M.A. and Ph.D. from
Boston University, was one of
eighteen college professors
from colleges throughout the
southeast who visited Africa
from June 26th to August 11th
of this year. This trip was
coordinated by the Southern
Atlantic States Association of
Asian and African Studies and
was funded by a grant from
the federal government’s
Office of Education.
The purpose of this trip
was to study the economic
development of Africa. It is
well known that Africa is a
very poor country. How poor,
and why they are so poor were
the two main questions to be
answered.
Senegal, Mali, Upper
Volta, and the Ivory Coast
were the four countries
visited. Included in this trip
was a twenty-eight hour train
ride. Fortunately, the
professors travelled first
class. Second class included
goats and chickens, among
other things.
According to Dr. Watson,
the economic problems stem
from two major factors. First
is the environment. These
countries border on the
Sahara Desert which results
in very erratic rainfall and
poor soil conditions. In ad
dition there is always the
problem with disease that
accompanies high
populations. Malaria, for
example, affects nearly
everyone in one way or
another. The dams which are
built to increase the water
supply also increase the
mosquito population which in
turn increases the number of
people infected with malaria.
As Dr. Watson described it,
“By building dams more
people get sick and die of
malaria, but you have to have
more water for crops. A
vicious cycle.”
Secondly, and perhaps
most important is the
Africans dependency on
foreign aid. Much of African
aid comes from France.
However, many French
businessmen have moved into
the Ivory Coast, for example,
and are capitalizing on the
situation. This inhibits the
African businessmen from
moving into the business
world and makes it very
difficult for them to get
control of their economy.
Naturally, the French
businessmen pay taxes to
France, and as a result it can
be assumed that “A lot of
foreign aid helps the countries
who are giving it more than it
helps the countries who are,
receiving it.” This depen
dency and domination in
creases the poverty of African
countries.
Dr. Watson explained that
while they were in the cities
they stayed in “hotels of
moderate quality.” They
received $7.50 a day from the
government for food.
However, while they were in
the Ivory Coast and Upper
Volta, they stayed in villages
with families. These families
lived under what we would
probably consider "primitive
conditions” with no electricity
and no running water.
However, Dr. Watson con
sidered this to be the highlight
of the trip, because “we were
as close as we could get to the
social and economic
problems.”
“We were treated with
extraordinary hospitality and
courtesy all the way across
Africa. The Africans were
extremely friendly, and
delighted to talk about their
situation once they discovered
we were Americans,” ex
plained Dr. Watson.
He concluded that the
most remarkable thing about
the African people was their
lack of bitterness. Upper
Volta is one of the poorest
countries in the world, but this
doesn’t affect their “joy for
living.” They know how to be
happy, and the overall im
pression is that they truly
enjoy life. Even in extreme
poverty, the Africans have not
forgotten how to laugh. At
least in this respect, they may
be richer than the countries
who are sending them aid.
m
Mosque in the anciet city of Djenne, Mali
m:r\
Blacksmith shop in Upper Volta
College or a Coliseum?
by Jean Goolsby
What is North Carolina
Wesleyan College? Is it a
school for the students’
development of knowledge in
the humanities, natural
sciences, and social sciences,
or is it a big playground for
the athletic department?
Out of about 200 freshmen,
twenty-six of them are
presently declared as physical
education majors in one form
or another. This doesn’t sound
like many, but when one looks
at the list of team members,
one notices that about ninety
percent of the teams are
composed of freshmen. What
does this mean? Does it mean
that the freshmen class is just
more active in sports, or does
it mean that the majority of
the recruiting done last year
was done by the athletic
department?
North Carolina Wesleyan
College offers approximately
twenty-four majors which are
equally distributed among the
humanities, natural, and
social sciences. Unfortunately
most of the emphasis here is
not in directing students to
these areas. Instead, many if
not most of N.C.W.C.’s staff
and faculty cater to the
athletic department’s needs.
How many more years
will pass by before the
proposed auditorium will be
built. While the college is
catering to the athletic
department, what happens to
the theater department and
the music department who
both need such a facility? Are
they going to be continually
ignored? These two
departments are a very
important part of the arts.
Until this year, even most
high schools had a more
tasteful place for dramatic
productions. Finally this year
some additions are happening
in the theater department.
What about the music
department? The miserable
little space offered to them is
overflowing with things that
don’t belong there. Now that
some of the rooms are being
used for storage, there are no
offices for faculty members.
ihere is also the threat of loss
of present practice rooms.
This is just a milfl spat
tering of the inequality that
exists among different
departments. Other depart
ments have similar if not
worse problems. So I
challenge the other depart
ments to stand up for their
“rights” and return N.C.W.C.
to its original state as a liberal
arts college, instead of a
playground for the athletic
department.