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VOL. 4, NO. 13
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, N.C.
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1989
Role of Student Life stirs review
By DON RHODES
This year, as last, the Office of
Student Life has received a great
deal of criticism, some deserved,
some not, from the North Caro
lina Wesleyan College commu
nity. Before passing any more
judgment on the Office of Stu
dent Life, however, both the poli
cies and the beliefs behind those
policies must be reviewed. To do
that, the history of the Office of
Student Life must first be exam
ined.
Dr. Carleton McKita, Campus
Minister, came to Wesleyan ten
years ago to administer a title
three grant in the Strengthening
Developing Institutions Program
and to perform some institutional
research. He earned a Bachelor
of Arts degree from West Vir
ginia Wesleyan, and a Masters of
Sacred Theology and a Doctorate
of Ministry from Boston Univer
sity before moving to Rocky
Mount.
After working with the federal
grant, putting the Registrar’s rec
ords on microfilm, and helping
with the funding and structure of
both the Learning Resources
Center and the Cooperative Edu
cation program, a mid-year va
cancy developed in the Office of
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Student Life. At- that time. Dr.
McKita became the Dean of Stu
dent Life, a position which he
held for three and a half years.
The Office of Student Life
was very different from today.
“We all knew that the college had
come through a serious financial
crisis and all offices were under
staffed,” said McKita. The staff
consisted of the Dean, a nurse
who worked half-time, a secre
tary who worked quarter-time,
and four Resident Directors who
also had other duties. McKita
added that “none of the Resident
Directors were professional stu
dent life people.”
The Code of Conduct was also
very different. “There was very
little written in the way of a code
of conduct,” but justice was ad-
(Continued on Page 4)
Forum issues
center around
residence halls
Fleming (center) with her friend the deaf cat, portrays “Audition” in
North Carohna Wesleyan’s production of “Talking With,” by Jane Martin, while looking on are
fellow performers (froni left) Elizabeth Liles, Wanda Sherman, and Robin Exum. The play is an ex-
Drug legalization debated
By DAVID PAYNE
Every year, says Newsweek
magazine, the U.S. government
spends about $8 billion a year on
drug enforcement. Cocaine and
marijuana sales bring drug lords
more than $20 billion every year
and Latin American thugs gain
about $2 billion per year.
Because of such costs, many
people are calling for an idea that
once was unthinkable: the legali
zation of drugs.
Among the leaders of the le
galization movement are Balti
more Mayor Kurt Schmoke, a
former prosecutor who argues,
“If you take the profit out of drug
trafficking, you won’t have
young children hiding drugs for
$100 a night.”
Another advocate for legali
zation is Joseph McNamara, po
lice chief in San Jose, Calif., who
says “the fight against drugs for
the past 70 years has been one
long glorious failure.” He also
notes “the courts are overflow
ing, there is violence on the
streets, and the problem seems to
be getting worse.”
Nobel prizewinner Milton
Friedman feels “the harm that is
done by drugs is predominantly
caused by the fact that they are
(Continued on Page 4)
By DON RHODES
Residence hall questions were
the issue raised most often at the
second Forum on the College
held Thursday, April 20 at 8 p.m.
The President’s Council fielded
a variety of questions ranging
from academics to athletics, but
the most heated debate occurred
an hour into the event, which
lasted over two hours and drew
about 70 students. Responding to
one student. Dean Marron stated
that “There is some notion of
neglect. Students are not going to
be neglected. It is our responsi
bility (to teach students to live
harmoniously).”
Many athletes also com
plained that they will now be
forced to live further away from
the gym and other athletic facili
ties, to which President Gamer
replied* that the extra 200 yards
they (the athletes) will have to
walk is not really much. Dean
Marron added that the college “is
not in the business of the conven
ience of putting athletic students
together,” and he added that the
school will not segregate on the
basis of academics and athletics.
Gamer continued, stating that
“every student here is here for
academics,” and many people
applauded. Gamer added that
nationally, students who live in
coeducational dormitories have
higher grade point averages than
students who do not, and he said
that there is less vandalism in
coed dorms.
Several students also raised
questions regarding security.
One student asked about the new
security police force to be em
ployed here next year, and an
other asked about compensation
for damages incurred in a group
of recent thefts.
Dean Marron responded that
the college will hire its own po
lice force modelled after those
ah-eady in place at other schools,
and Ray Kirkland, Director of
Finance, replied that the “college
does not have to assume damage
incurred to private automobiles.”
Marron added that we (college
community) are not going to be
intruded upon at a private institu
tion, and we will do whatever is
necessary to protect the students.
President Gamer opened the
forum with a 15-minute sp>eech
in which he explained some of
the decisions which have been
(Continued on Page 4)