PAGE 2 — THE DECREE — FEBRUARY 8,1991
The Decree
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Co-Editors — Dhana Ghession and John Pernell
Staff—Jamie Stump, John Fentress, James Oakley,
Stewart Crank, Kevin Hambredtj Trey Davis, Allen Felton
The Decree is located in tht Student Union, North Carolina
Wesleyan College, Wesleyan College Station, Rocky Mount,
NC 27501. Policy is determined by the Editorial Board of The
Decree. Re-publication of any matter herein without the ex
press consent of the Editorial Board is strictly forbidden; The
Decree is composed and printed by Ripley Newspapers of;
Spring Hope.
Opinions published do not necessarily reflect those of North
Carolina Wesleyan College.
Decree will stay
neutral on war
In recent days the ques
tion of the war has been pre
sented to the editors of the
The Decree. What side of the
war will the newspaper of
ficially take? Will the policy
support or protest the war?
The answer is that The De
cree will take a neutral stand
on the war so as to remain
objective in the reporting of
the student opinion.
So long as the copy sub
mitted is of journalistic im
portance, it is subject to
publication. If the piece at
tacks a particular person or
instutiton, the author must
sign his or her name to the
article. No anonymous
works wiU be published.
Submissions may be
turned in to John Pernell,
Dhana Chesison, or The De
cree office in Room 102 in
Nash.
Writers needed
The editors of the Decree are looking for writers in
terested in working on the newspaper. If anyone is
interested in writing news or feature stories, music or
other cultural reviews, sports, editorial columns, or
even joining the Decree staff, please contact us through
Box 3666 at the NCWC post office.
NEVIBITEM- SW 5WS U.5. YOUTU MORE SEXUAUYACTWE.
Contradictions distressful
Gulf War has no real winners
By DR. STEVE FEREBEE
The Persian Gulf War causes
most of us a great deal of distress.
Find someone to talk with about
it In my own attempt to explain
my thoughts to others, I am
amazed by the complex contra
dictions the War presents.
A Marine-in-training said on
National Public Radio that he just
hoped the War would last long
enough for him to kill some of
“them;” a woman said that if we
had known it was going to lower
gas prices, we should have gone
to war “a long time ago;” Presi
dent Bush implied that the gods
were on our side because it was a
“just” and a “moral” war.
Journalists claim that the mili
tary is practicing censorship which
harms the nation’s right to know.
Dr. Steve
Other people complain that the
reporters are trying to lose the
war. Military and political leaders
say this wiU not be another Viet
nam, but don’t explain what that
means —no bombing pauses?
Limited media coverage?
People march in pro-war ral
lies. Others march in anti-war
rallies. Both claim to support the
troops. One side calls the other
traitors; one side calls the other
dupes of the capitalist system
which caused the war. Vice
President Quayle criticizes pro
testors; President Roosevelt’s
granddaughter praises them.
Some students complain that
no one cares; other students com
plain that people talk about little
else. Students ordinarily quiet and
unassuming suddenly flare up in
eloquent and passionate debate
with others. Students wrestle with
each other in frustration and fear.
The Super Bowl and the Scud
Bowl merge.
Iraqis surrounded by rubble
appear on television and ask,
“Why do you Americans love
war?” Muslim leaders call for a
holy war. American religious
leaders pray for an allied with
drawal; others bless the soldiers.
Americans express relief that so
few people have died; the military
refuses to speculate on how many
(Continued on Page 3)
Practice 'safe sex' to combat STDs
By JANICE STUMP
Sexually transmitted diseases
(STD) are on the rise this year not
only at Wesleyan but on all col
lege campuses through the U.S.
So why all the fuss? It is very
easy for anyone to catch an STD.
STDs are infectious, some are
bacterial, and some are viral. No
one is immune. If you are sexually
active, it doesn’t matter if you are
rich or poor, gay or straight, male
or female, you can get and trans
mit an STD. It’s not who you are
that makes you vulnerable, but
what you do.
The most common STDs on
college campuses are chlamydia,
genital warts, and genital herpes.
I am seeing a lot of trichomoniasis
this year, and some students are
under the impression that “trich”
is not an STD, but it is a very
common one. Other STDs that
are found on all college campuses
are gonorrhea, syphilis, and non
specific urethritis.
We do not have anyone on our
campus, to my knowledge, who
has been identified as HIV posi
tive or as having Acquired Im
mune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS). Please do not breathe a
sigh of relief at this statement.
You need to know that the Center
for Disease Control (CDC) in
Atlanta, Ga., reminds us that there
are at least three AIDS victims
per 1,0(X) of ourpopulation. When
we are all together on campus,
there are well over 1,000 of us. In
the U.S. alone, the number of
traditional college age victims is
6,956 cases, with 1,577 cases in
North Carolina. These are re
ported cases. It’s impossible for
us to know true statistics.
So what can any of us do about
this deadly situation? Fortunately,
there are many things you can do
to eliminate or decrease tlie risk if
you are sexually active.
First, I want to say that if you
are not sexually active, please
don’t feel an urgency to join the
“at risk group.” One of my favor
ite sayings in the educational pro
grams I give concerning this sub
ject is “this equipment will last
for decades; don’t feel you have
to run out and Cry it out or use it
up.” If you are not sexually active,
we are living in a time when I
might suggest you stay abstinent.
Abstinence is the only 100
percent way to stay safe. If absti
nence is not for you, then you
must take precautions to protect
yourself and your partner. Sexual
intimacy can be a warm, caring,
exciting experience for those who
choose to be sexually active, but
it can become a nightmare with
an unwanted pregnancy or the
presence of a sexually transmitted
disease that could cause you an
ger, frustration, and can hurt or
destroy the relationship that
brought about the sexual in
volvement.
Other STDs contribute to cer
vical cancer as well as pregnancy
problems. The infections can
cause changes in the cervix
(opening to the uterus) which can
leader to cancer. This has hap
pened at our college to some of
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