OCTOBER 17,1986 — THE DECREE — PAGE 3
College more than button placing
By CARLETON MCKITA
Is it really true that Napoleon
sewed buttons on the sleeves of his
officer's uniforms to prevent their
wiping their noses on the sleeves?
And because of that my suit coat has
four buttons on each sleeve that just
hang there and look important?
I often wonder if this isn't the
image some people have of Student
Life work — an impression of a
staff of people dreaming up clever
schemes to prevent students from
doing dumb, rude, or crude things.
Behaviors they should have learned
long ago are not acceptable for up
wardly mobile about-to-be polished
individuals who cannot only earn a
living, but enjoy doing it while
being able to discriminate between
the bad and the ugly and the good
and the good looking.
If that is all we are — button
makers and placers, we are surely
condemned to a child's world of
"button, button, who's got the but
ton," "cowboys and Indians," "cops
and robbers," and (most challenging
of all) "pin the tail on the hind end
of the rneanest looking donkey on
campus."
Great news! It isn't that way (or
shouldn't be) in colleges where all
the members of the campus com
munity arc committed to getting
much more for their money and time.
For example, we arc working
hard to arrive at a collective under
standing of the character and mission
of the college and, in Student Life
especially, we are building "line
upon line, precept upon precept" the
idea that a developmental model for
helping students is the only accept
able one for a College such as ours.
Indeed, it is the only one which will
assure our graduates there will be
place to come back to of which they
Dollar explains flat growth
in Wesleyan's Annual Fund
(Continued from Page 1)
we're doing, because the need for
these dollars is so great. I have found
that we work harder each year than
the year before, because, it is be
coming more and more difficult to
raise money."
"Part of the reason for this
difficulty is the competition for dol
lars. Philanthropists are becoming
more selective to whom they donate
money. Since their money can only
be spent in one place, they are
looking for a return directly or in
directly," said Dollar.
The Development Office, under
Dollar's direction, is in charge of
fundraising at North Carolina Wes
leyan. Annual fundraising begins
with the "A Day for Wesleyan" cam
paign, which is held on the second
Tuesday after Labor Day. Dollar
developed the campaign upon his
appointment in 1982 to replace the
"Our Wesleyan Now" campaign cre
ated by his predecessor, Dr. Robert
R. Rowland.
According to Dollar, "Fundraising
is a science, its simplest formula
being, the right person asking the
right person for the right amount at
the right time." Dollar applies this
formula when contacting persons
about bequeathing money to Wes
leyan. Bequests are an added bonus
that are not included when the budget
is drawn up. Bequests increaded from
$54,557 in 1982-83 to $570,043 the
following year. This significant in
crease was due to the untimely
deaths of Bob Everett and Calvin M.
Little.
The Development Office also
raises a considerable sum during its
annual phon-a-thon to alumni and to
parents of alumni and current stu
dents. Letters of solicitation to foun
dations and corporations along with
frequent personal visits by Dollar are
also used by the Development Office
to raise money.
Attention, Seniors!
On May 9, 1987, four years (five for some) of hard work
will end with graduation from North Carolina Wesleyan
College. Those carefree, easy days^ of college will end and
your entry into the real world will begin. However, before
you take the plunge from the lofty, ivy-covered towers of
academia, you must walk across the stage and receive your
diploma. That's why your Graduation Application is so
important. Without a Graduation Application, the College
will not order you a diploma or even consider you for
graduation. Therefore, if you plan to make that trek from
upperclassman to college graduate on May 9, you must
complete a Graduation Application by December 1, 1986.
Applications are available in the Registrar's Office.
There is a $30 fee for graduation. This fee covers your cap
and gown, diploma, Bible, and other assorted items
associated with commencement.
REMEMBER — Graduation Applications are due in
the Registrar's Office by DECEMBER 1, 1986.
are proud and where they will want
to return to rekindle memories and
friendships.
This developmental model hasn't
just recently fallen off the turnip
truck, but has been in place in many
very successful colleges and univer
sities. It suggests that, as students
mature into adulthood, they begin to
becomc less dependent on externally
imposed rules to govern behavior
(feel the buttons dropping ofQ and
better able to disccrn what is appro
priate behavior apart from peer and
beer expectations.
For example, we are determined
that the discipline system at NCWC
will be less of a "law and order" and
"make my day" response to mis
behavior, and more of a balance
between the kind of justice which
protects the community and a con-
cem for the individual which en
courages self-responsibility and inte
grity. (there go a few more buttons.)
This week, a Campus Judicial
Board composed of students and
faculty was convened, for the first
time in recent memory, to hear
disciplinary cases. On its maiden
cruise it quickly lost some of its
innocence and learned that there are
no quick fixes or easy solutions. But
it is working and will continue to be
a valuable instrument for setting
community standards and for dealing
with those who still need a botton
here and there.
It has some very fundamental
needs.
First, a few good people with
energy, compassion, vision, and
good ideas.
Second, a genuine commitment
to and and honest-to-gosh in-place
program for dealing with the "whole
person." Small liberal arts colleges
today and tom by the tension be
tween the liberal arts and the pro
fession curricula. It is an unnecessary
aggravation.
On campuses such as ours, where
liberal arts is the dominant theme in
the mission statement, the "whole
person concept" is perfectly at home
in this setting and we should all
celebrate the connections between
intelletual and socio-emotional de
velopment. A possible impediment
to this union may be that faculty
members have had their most recent
experiences in post-graduate pro
grams at large universities where
reason, fact, and theory have pre
vailed nearly to the exclusion of
other ways of learning and develop
ing.
Therefore, a major task is to
clarify the connections between the
curriculum and out-of-class experi
ences.
Third, our environment is ideal
for integrating all aspects of learning
and developing. We are small pond
people and this has curses and
blessings. When one of us falls, it
becomes instantly known and the
cause celeb of the day. Conversely,
the support sub-systems, community
council, athletics, inU-amurals, and
social organizations are populated
exclusively with people who know
each other and each others needs.
NASPA (National Association
for Student Personnel Adminis
trators) has proposed a modest
agenda for the small liberal arts
college and I enter.it into the main
stream of our discourse.
1.) Discover and integrate student
life into the "organizational saga" —
that is to interpret the functions of
student life within the ethos of the
college.
2.) Ground our policies and
actions in moral authority based on
the core of values that supports and
susteains members of the campus
community and reflects the college's
purpose and heritage.
3.) Include student life in as
many dimensions of campus life as
possible.
4.) Be an advocate for students
but only when this is consistent
with the mission of the college and
campus community standards.
5.) Blur the distinctions between
student affairs staff, faculty, and
academic administrators.
6.) Monitor and record students'
involvement in the life of the
college. Merely being "close" to
students is not enough. We should
take seriously our responsibility for
encouraging and documenting stu
dents' involvement in social and
academic activities.
We do not want to be button
placers and will not be trapped in
that misguided milieu. We support
the contributions of faculty and
others in the academic community
and, modestly, hope to embellish
those. Our success will be measured
by the extent-to which this college
bccomes, for most students, a de-
velopmentally powerful experience,
and alumni reflect the distinctive
character and culture of North
Carolina Wesleyan College.
CORRECTION
The Friday, Oct. 3 issue
of The Decree inadver
tently misquoted Acting
President Stephen Fritz.
The coIlcge borrowed mo
ney from its operating
cash reserve, not from
the endowment. The De
cree apologizes for its
error.
F
orce
Make It Work
D
istance
SENIORS WANTED FOR
MANAGEMENT TRAINEE
POSITIONS
Planters Bank Recruiter on cam
pus in January — Completed cre
dential files required.
Sign-Up Deadline — December 12
Rose's Recruiter on campus in
November — Completed credential
files required.
Sign-Up Deadline — October 20
Perdue Recruiter on campus in
January — Completed credential
files required.
Sign-Up Deadline — December 12
Recommended Readings:
Jobs for English Majors and Other Smart
People by John L. Munschauer
Making The Most of Your First Job by the
staff of CATALYST.
Office of Cooperative Education/Career Planning
Rooms 139 and 141
Office Hours 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Evening Hours By Appointment