PAGE 2 — THE DECREE —APRIL 13,1990
The Decree
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Editor — John Pernell
Staff — Dhana Chesson, Mark Brett,
D.A. Lentz, Danielle Meckley
The Decree is located in the Student Union, North Carolina
Wesleyan College, Wesleyan College Station, Rocky Mount,
NC 27801. Policy is determined by the Editorial Board of The
Decree. Republiciation of any matter herein without the ex
press consent of the Editorial Board is strictly forbidden. The
Decree is composed and printed by The Spring Hope Enterprise.
Opinions published do not necessarily reflect those of North
Carolina Wesleyan College.
Letters welcomed
The editor of The Decree
looks profusely around the
room for some ideas for dis
cussion in the next editorial
masterpiece that will roll out
of his Smith Corona. On his
desk, he sees a stack of past
newspapers. He flips though
the pile reviewing past edito
rial topics. They range from
date rape, student drinking,
security with guns, the great
condom debate, security with
out guns, to the infamous
question “Why?”
The Decree's major intent
is to provide information on
these various topics in hope
that the students of this insti
tution will take this aware
ness and work to solve these
problems. If the student body
continues to read the newspa
per and say “Someone should
do something about that,”
then how are the problems
ever going to be solved?
The purpose of a newspa
per is to inspire change in the
world. Sometimes changes
are slow to get started. Just
remember, if the Berlin Wall
can be knocked down, then
the students of a small south
ern college can fight to trans
form their school to their own
standards. The newspaper is a
place to begin discussions.
Letters to the editor are rarely
rejected in order to allow all
opinions known, but without
the involvement of readers in
such a way, The Decree can
not achieve that function.
IHATS a
( ousT iosr my cr°B
VifW Dof
%
CPS
But ifs often a pain in the back
Gardening fun in abstract
By STEVE FEREBEE
To me, owning a home means
having a garden, so one of the
happiest moments of my life hap
pened the day I dug the first hole
in my yard.
Almost two years later I am
still digging holes, suffering for
days afterward with an aching
back. Since I’ve come to hate
mowing, this spring I’m digging
Dr. Steve
Muses
out grass and planting bushes in
the back. Saturday was a cool
blue day, so I gathered my tools,
put some rousing rock and roll on
the portable, and surveyed my
grounds. I looked first at the area
I dug out last spring to reassure
myself the back pain would be
worth it. I pushed my shovel in to
the rhythm of an old Mitch Ryder
song.
I like the feel and sound of a
shovel cutting through mats of
grass and then sinking into damp
earth. The foot and a good tool
make sweet combination. I began
(Continued on Page 3)
Editorial slights fine arts on campus
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I am writing to challenge the
editorial “Not-so-fine arts” of
March 30. The editorial states,
“The quest is to discover why we
are called a liberal arts college
when there are few fine arts tak
ing place on this campus.”
The term “liberal arts” is de
fined as “the course of instruction
at a modem college granting an
academic (as distinguished from
an engineering or other technical)
degree, comprising the arts, natu
ral sciences, social sciences, and
humanities” (The American Col
lege Dictionary.) According to
the college catalogue, “... the
College requires each student to
complete a number of courses in
each of the divisions of humani
ties, sciences, and social sci
ences.” Thus, Wesleyan is a lib
eral arts college because this is
the type of education the school
offers.
Yes, it would be wonderful if
Wesleyan were thriving with fine
arts. It would be great if
Wesleyan had an art studio, for
example. But while Wesleyan
does not profess to be a fine arts
school, students here have more
opportunities for “hands-on ex
perience” in fine arts than the
editorial recognizes. Despite the
theatre’s “minute budget,” many
students have been involved in
the three productions this year;
“House of Blue Leaves,” the
Traveling Show, and “Getting
Out.”
Many more people this year
than last year have been involved
in theatre. This year Wesleyan
had the first Traveling Show it
has ever had. The show consisted
of about 12 students dancing,
singing, and acting. The music
department offers students pri
vate voice and piano lessons, as
well as instruction on various
musical instruments. The
Wesleyan Chorus gives students
a chance to perform.
Despite the “hands-on experi
ence” students are getting at
Wesleyan, the editorial suggests
that Wesleyan is a fine arts
drought.
Wesleyan offers a broad vari
ety of cultural events to the stu
dents; however, the editorial
barely mentions such “readings,
concerts, and seminars.” We are
fortunate to have writers such as
Alan Gurganus, Reynolds Price,
and Kaye Gibbons to come to
speak to us. The NEW Arts Series
and the free film series are also
available to students.
Last year’s Spring Sympo
sium on the culture of Eastern
North Carolina and this year’s
Symposium on the culture of
Eastern North Carolina and this
year’s Symposium on the envi
ronment were valuable contribu
tions to our liberal arts college.
These are just a few of the cul
tural events Wesleyan offers.
But perhaps the greatest fault I
find with the editorial is its failure
to acknowledge the auditorium/
fine arts center that the college is
planning to build. Four million
dollars of the $8.3 million cur
rently being raised will be used
for the fine arts center. The pro
posed fine arts center facility will
include a 300-seat theatre, a
1200-seat auditorium, gallery and
rehearsal space, and classrooms.
Wesleyan deserves more
credit than “Not-so-fine arts”
grants it. As we try to improve
upon Wesleyan, it is important
not only to be aware of what is
wrong with Wesleyan, but to be
aware of what is right with
Wesleyan.
Elizabeth Cooper
Students can help
Dear Editor:
A reply to the letter from John
Heame, in part concerned with
the Wesleyan Symposium, by the
organizers of the 1991 Sympo
sium, seem appropriate.
The Wesleyan Symposium is
intended as a forum in which stu
dents, faculty, and residents of
the region participate. The
(Continued on Page 3)