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1 he Decree
VOL. 7, NO. 4 North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8,1991
Wesleyan helps youths make PIT Stop
By NICOLE COX
It is often said that today’s
college students are apathetic and
do not care about helping others,
but third-year Johnston Fellows
at Wesleyan are running a pro
gram which is far from apathetic
— the Peer Interaction Tutoring
(PIT) Stop in conjunction with
the Cities in Schools program.
According to Cities in Schools
(CIS) teacher Shelly Willingham,
CIS is a “national non-profit or
ganization that works with stu
dents in the sense of providing
them support.” CIS addresses the
many needs of youth at highest
risk of educational, social, and
economic failure, and them brings
them together with community
organizations to help meet these
students’ needs.
Wesleyan students are cur
rently working with CIS to help
combat the problems that, ac
cording to the N.C. Child Advo
cacy Institute, affect nearly
300,000 students across the state.
Under the PIT Stop program.
LIBERAL STUDIES SEMINAR MEMBERS POSE NEAR CAPITOL IN WASHINGTON
Seminar visits Washington
By DAVILYN CAGLE
A group of eight students in
Dr. Navangul’s Liberal Studies
Seminar class spent the day Nov.
1 in Washington, D.C.
When they arrived, finding a
legal parking space was difficult,
so Dr. Navangul and one student
searched while the others quickly
toured the White House. When
tlie two groups merged, the posed
for a photograph and briefly
toured a quilt exhibit in a small
arm of the Smithsonian Institu
tion.
Two of tlie students split apart
from the rest of the group and
began their own joiuney. After a
lengthy walk, the group of seven
stopped in a gazebo-like place to
get a drink of water and sit down.
While four students went to see if
Congress was in session at the
House of Representatives, the
others sat and rested. Eventually,
Dr. Navangul and the others left,
too.
On the way, they saw Speaker
of the House Thomas Foley. Af
ter only minutes, the group got
bored and divided again. Some
went to the Air and Space Mu
seum, another group went to an
art museum, and Dr. Navangul
went elsewhere.
Around 4 p.m., the entire
group met back at the van to de-
fireshmen students from Edwards
Junior High School in Rocky
Mount meet weekly with volun
teer tutors at Wesleyan.
During 60-minute sessions,
homework is reviewed, difficult
subjects are tutored, and the stu
dents get the opportunity to de
velop a personal relationship as
well. The Wesleyan tutors serve
as role models, sharing problems
with the youth and encouraging
them to stay in school.
Says Shannon Farrow, a
freshman at Edwards, having a
tutor “really helps a lot. I know
that whenever I have a problem,
she’ll be there to help.”
(Continued on Back Page)
Wesleyan gets
$30,000 grant
for Bellemonte
part from Washington, D.C.
“If nothing else, the trip made
everyone a little more well-
rounded,” one student said.
“The whole trip was very in
teresting and I’m glad I got a
chance to visit the nation’s capi-
tol,” said Richard Brennan.
“When we arrived at Washington,
D.C., I was like in a dream state.
I have a list in my head of tilings
and places I’d like to see, and
D.C. was one of them.”
“During the trip the whole LSS
class grew closer to each other,”
another student said, “and of all
the things we did this was the
most beneficial.”
North Carolina Wesleyan
College has received a national
grant totaling $30,000 from the
Hillsdale Fund based in Greens
boro to restore the interior of the
Bellemonte House, the campus’
national historic landmark.
The College wants to make
Bellemonte House into a regional
meeting facility where the ex
change of ideas and formulation
of plans for the future of eastern
North Carolina can take place.
“We are excited at the prospect
of providing the region with a
meeting place,” said Wesleyan
President Dr. LesUe H. Gamer,
Jr. “The College is the perfect
setting for area leaders to gather
and produce plans to strengthen
and boost eastern North Caro
lina.”
As the College continues its
commitment to the region, it seeks
to become a forum where ideas
that will shape the future of the
region can be explored. But such
a forum requires space for meet
ings of business, govemment, and
education officials as well as
conferences and seminars where
students, faculty, and community
leaders can confront problems and
solutions. There currently is no
regional center for discussion,
consultation, and the exchange of
views.
The planned restoration of
Bellemonte House will not only
provide such a regional center and
meet the public service aspirations
of the College, it will also pre
serve an important part of the
culture of the region. The House
was built perhaps as early as 1815,
and the N.C. Department of Ar
chives and History says it is
among the finest examples of
Federal architecture in the state.
Established in 1963, the
Hillsdale Fund places an empha
sis on private elementary and
secondary education, social ser
vices, and the arts. It also gives
support to activities concerning
the environment, media, health
care, civil liberties, and religion.
The fund makes both single- and
multiple-year grants for general
purposes, building funds, and
equipment and materials.
Inside
Anderson visits
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Loads of letters
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NCAA tournament
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