PAGE 2 — THE DECREE — FEBRUARY 26,1988
OFFICJALSTUDENT NEWSPAPER OF
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
C(»-'Edftw-&»-Chtef— Tom Rivers and Mike Trubcy
StsdSf Reporters—Melank Bolling, Marie Crum,
Sh^on Evan^ Pam Hairison,
Dell Lewis, Wayn.c Martin
The Deeree » iocaled io the Student Uaion, North Carolina
Wcste3ffl» Oafiegfe Wesleyan College Statioa, Rocky Mount, NC
27?01* PoUsy is 4etenjEun,ed by the Editorial Board of The Decree.
RqwsblfcaSoa «ay maiter herein witljout the expre»& consent of the
EditoriW Board is. strictly forbidden. The Decree is composed and
T^m)if^l>yTMSprmgH)peEmerpri$e.
CJpinionspnblidied d» not necessarily reflect those of North Caro
lina Wed^an College* ,
Students not taking
advantage of college
Students at Wesleyan are
constantly complaining that
there is nothing to do around
here. Well, this year there has
been more opportunities to
get involved than ever before
— opportunities to be on the
Student Activities Commit
tee, to get involved with the
Student Government Associa
tion, and particularly to get
involved in intramurals. But
once again, students have
failed to get involved and
these programs have suffered
because of a lack of involve
ment.
The director of intramurals
has done a super job in offer
ing new and innovative ideas
for intramurals. There have
recently been opportunities to
have a three-on-three basket
ball team, enter the Residence
Hall Trivia Pursuit Contest
(which only two residence
halls participated in), and
there is an upcoming Resi
dence Hall Pictionary Tour
nament. It is understandable
that not everyone wants to get
involved in this type of intra
mural sport, but there are oth
ers. There is student/staff/fac
ulty bowling and also a bad
minton tournament, another
one of those competitions for
which no one signed up.
How can the students at
this college expect anyone to
try and do things for them
when they won’t take advan
tage of the offerings? Do you
want the intramural director
and her staff to get out there
and play for you, too? If these
activities are not the ones you
want to have, well go and tell
someone; don’t just sit there
and complain* The efforts of
the Student Life staff have
been exhaustive this year to
try and provide things for the
students to do, but all the stu
dents do is say that Student
Life does nothing for the stu
dents.
Student Life will probably
be the first to admit they are
not the best staff in the nation,
but they do the best they can
with what funds they have to
work with. Hopefully, the
Wesleyan community will
make an effort to get in
volved, make suggestions,
and quit griping. Help the
staff to help you.
Symposium useful
Students, staff, and faculty
at Wesleyan are indebted to
Dr. David A. Jones and the
Symposium Committee for
tiie Spring Symposium that
was put on here last week. The
lectures, panel discussions,
and movies made all who at
tended (which, by the way, ■
weren’t many) thankful for
the Constitution of the United
States and what it represents ^
'' us.
fiG miSf 4 imsfe HUKTO, c\WTe
w OPT
Are you smart about STD?
Wednesday and Thurs
day's Spring Symposium at
Wesleyan was informative
a»d educational for-those who
took part in it. Those who did
not attend lost out on a valu
able educational experience.
Again, thanks arc in order
to Dr. Jones and his commit
tee for putting on such an
event that has very timely im
portance to each and every
one of us involved.
By JANICE STUMP, R.N.
Director4>f Health Services
It has been brought to my atten
tion too many times this year that
some stadents at Wesleyan College
are not very smart. Of course, I don’t
mean academically, but in their sex
ual preferences.
We need to take a few minutes to
reflect on Sexually Transmitted Dis
eases (STD) and their cause and pre
vention. Let’s set a few things
straight from the start.
1. STD can happen to anyone
who is sexually active. It is not who
you are, but what you do that deter
mines if you are a risk for STD.
2. STD are not picked up from
toilets, handshakes, door knobs, or
just sitting in someone’s seat after
them. They are caused by “catching”
a virus or bacteria from having sex
with a person who is “carrying” that
virus or bacteria.
3. Just being a really “nice” per
son or a “clean” person will not pro
tect you from STD.
The most common STDs that are
seen on college campuses are: gonor
rhea, nonspecific urethritis, venereal
warts, herpes, syphilis, pubic lice,
trichomoniasis, and nonspecific vag
initis.
There are a total now of over 20
types of STD- If you are sexually
active and do not protect yourself,
you will be at risk of catching one or
several of them.
I have often heard statements
concerning students knowing their
sexual parmers’ past history but
later, after testing, these stodents are
very surprised that their partners
were not totally honest with them. If
you decide to have sex with some
one, you will technically be having
sex with that person’s total sexual
history. Please take some time and
give some thought before making
that decision. You could be saving
your own life.
Just recently, I was meeting with
some smdents and the subject of
AIDS came up. One student stated,
“Don't do anymore on AIDS. We’re
tired of it. Why lo we have to hear ,
about it all the time?” /
I realize that we4n the health pro^
fessions, in particulM, know what’s
going to happen to you if you get
AIDS. We know how much you will
suffer. We know there will be little
we can do to help you endure the pain
and wasting away. We are frightened
by the thoughts of deling with huge
amomts of AIDS victims with very
little in the way of medications and
treatments to help us. Finally, we
know you are our only help right
now. The public will have to take it
upon themselves to make the right
kind of decisions concerning their
sexual practices.
If you have a STD, then you are
living a lifestyle that puts you at risk
of AIDS. It is that simple. You
should take a good look at your sex
ual practices and decide how to make
the proper changes to take you out of
that risky lifestyle.
The information is out there to aid
you in making these choices. Stop by
the Student Health Centre, or Pubhc
Health Department, and pick up
some information. Leam about high-
risk activities, condoms, “safe sex,”
abstinence, and the relationship of
drugs and alcohol to STD. When you
know the facts, you can make the
choice that’s best for you. Don’t
allow anyone else to make that
choice. Become informed, take time
to think, and then act upon what you
know and feel is right for your life.
Boredom is self-induced
By DON RHODES
Wesleyan campus residents con
tinually complain that there is noth
ing for them to do. However, there
was something to pass the time on
Feb. 12, and few people took advan
tage of the opportunity.
The event to which I am referring,
of course, was the Valentine’s Dmner
and Dance held at the Carleton
House. For $8, a person got $11.10
worth of food, and a dance was also
iiKluded.
Cost should not have been a factor
in a student’s decision not to attend.
The dress was black -tie optional,
meaning that a male did not have to
spend $50 for a tuxedo rental, and a
female did not have to spend more
than that for a dress.
Worse than the fact that students
Sid not attend, however, is that sev
eral students rented a hotel room to
throw their oWn party. The fact that
they rented a hotel room proves that
cost was not a factor in the students’
inattendance. These students simply
did not want to go to the formal be
cause it was school-sponsored, and
they believed that it would not be fun.
Granted, students are attending
some school-sponsored functions:
the video dances continue to be a
success, and the movies held in Doc’s
and the T. V. Room are gaining popu
larity. Unfortunately, this spattering
of student interest only occurs once in
a blue moon.
It is impossible to guess why stu
dents refuse to attend school-spon-
sored functions. Is it due to student
apathy, or an assumption that evems
sponsored by the school will neces
sarily be a bad time? To be sure, if
students assume that a school func
tion will be no fun, it will not be.
Perhaps students should just once
attend an event. They might be sur-
pris"^