The Decree
VOL. 5, NO. 1 North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29,1989
Homecoming dance Oct 7 at Sheraton
By DIANE JENSEN
The Rocky Mount Sheraton
will be the locale for the 1989-90
Homecoming dance, to take
place the evening of Oct. 7.
“Athens Under The Stars,”
the theme of the dance, is appro
priate because the Greek organi
zation and SAC are co-sponsor
ing the occasion. Semi-formal
dress is required for admission
into the dance, which is being
held in the new conference facil
ity at the Sheraton.
Matt Dyson, President of the
Greek Council, is responsible for
the overall organization of
Homecoming this year. The
dance is one of the first steps to
show how the Greek organiza
tions are working together in the
true spirit and idea of Greek or
ganizations. One representative
from each of the three fraternities
and two sororities on campus are
working diligently to prepare for
Oct. 7.
The representatives are Jack
Penafiel, Pi Kappa Phi; Carl
Anderson, Sigma Pi; Dennis
Manning, Alpha Delta Chi; Dora
Los, Sigma Phi Delta; and Cindy
Flowers, Pi Epsilon. These rep
resentatives have met together
and decided upon the important
AUTHOR ALLAN GURGANUS GREETS FANS AFTER READING AT WESLEYAN
Native best-selling author
enjoys coming home again
Rocky Mount native Allan
Gurganus, who now lives in
Manhatten, admits he had to
move away from the South in
order to be able to write about it,
but unlike Thomas Wolfe, he
still loves to come home.
Sept. 16 he had the opportu
nity, as he read from his best
selling novel. Oldest Living Con
federate Widow Tells All. Due to
a power failure during the late
afternoon storm, the reading was
held by candlelight, evoking a
true 19th-century atmosphere in
the College’s Student Activities
Center.
Gurganus, responding to a
standing ovation of some 300
people, said, “Tonight I feel like
the luckiest man alive — to be in
a room where there is so much
love and compassion. Very few
writers get to make a homecom
ing like this in their own time. I
am grateful to each of you for
being here.”
Behind a desk with an oil
lamp and four ivory candles Gur
ganus sat, in black bow-tie and
tuxedo jacket, conjuring up the
spirit of his 99-year-old confed
erate widow and heroine, Lucy
Marsden. Fot his listeners, it was
a supernatural transport back to
Civil War days, and Gurganus
set the stage as only a master
storyteller could. In the dark still
room only the enduring voice of
the confederate widow could be
heard.
Gurganus, who is just begin
ning to bald on top, and who
grows his slightly-greying hair
just a little longer on the sides,
has a distinctive mustache which
curves downward just enough to
meet his smile. His voice is mel
lifluent and rich, his tone conver-
(Continued on Page 4)
details of the event, including
refreshments, decorations, and
music.
Tickets will be on sale for $5
per person the week before
Homecoming, in front of the
cafeteria and also at the door on
the night of Oct. 7, at the Shera
ton. A lavish spread of refresh
ments will be available and mu
sic will be provided by a DJ.
A Homecoming King and
Queen will also be a part of
Homecoming this year.
According to Matt Dyson,
“The 1989-90 homecoming will
be the best that anyone on cam
pus has seen yet.”
In speaking with several stu
dents in general conversation,
the consensus is that they are
excited about preparing for and
attending Homecoming this
year.
SGA authorizes
funds to several
student groups
By D.A. LENTZ
On Monday morning, Sept.
18, Wesleyan’s Student Govern
ment Association (SGA) held an
hour and a half long meeting.
Much of this time was spent set
ting up committees and ratifying
the new provisional constitution,
but SGA voted on a number of
issues of more direct interest to
the average student
Student Government was al
lotted a budget of $53,400 for the
1989-1990 school year. Reserv
ing five percent for possible
emergencies, and keeping 10
percent for their own needs,
SGA decided to distribute the
remaining $45,390 among the
various organizations on cam
pus.
Some organizations, such as
the yearbook and the Greek
Council, have a fixed sum, while
others, such as the Black Student
Movement (BSM) and the
Criminal Justice Club, will share
a $5,340 lump sum.
In order to be recognized by
SGA, all organizations are re
quired to submit a registration
form that includes a proposed
budget The SGA plans to allot
funds to these organizations ac
cording to the budgets they pro
pose. These registration forms
are due in by October 16.
The SGA has also set aside
$1,060 for Black History Month.
Any organization that plans an
activity that will support the
Black History Month may be
entitled to a share of this money.
In addition to its $53,400
yearly budget, SGA has an un
disclosed amount left over from
last year, some of which it will
spend on new computers for the
residence halls. The SGA is also
exploring the possibility of rent
ing or buying ice machines for
the dormitories. Because it feels
the open-and-scoop type of ice
machine to be unsafe, SGA is
hoping to find machines that
hold bags of ice.
After voting on the budget,
SGA discussed the possibility of
creating a Junior Varsity Base
ball team but decided to post
pone a decision. Then SGA de
cided to meet with the
Registrar’s Office to discuss
ways to shorten the registration
process next semester and to
standardize the grading scale.
Student Government holds
open meeting every other Mon
day at 10:20 a.m. in the multi
purpose room of the Student
Activities Center. All interested
students are invited to attend.