PAGE 2 —THE DECREE — DEEMBER 6,1991
The Decree
OFFICIAL SWDBNT NEWSPAPER OF
NOSTH CAROirm WESUEYAN COLLEGE
Co-Edifors — John Fentress and James Oakley
Staffs — Cecilia Casey» Nicola Cox^ Trey Daws,
John Hearne, Kevin Hambrecht,
Stewart Crank, Joanna Holladay
The Decree is located in the Student Union, Ncnrtb Carolina
Wesleyan College, Wesleyan College Station, Rocky Mount, NC
27801. Policy is determined by the Editorial Board of The De
cree. Re-publicatiott or any matter herein without the express
consent of the Editorial Board is strictly forbidden. The Decree
is composed and printed by Ripley Newspapers of Spring Hope.
Opinions published do not necessarDy reflect those of North
Caroitna Wesleyan CoD^e.
Visitation policy
changes too little
The much anticipated
results of the Student
Government Association’s
proposal for visitation
came in a few weeks ago
and, to the disappointment
of many, minimal changes
were changed.
Requested changes in
visitation policy were 8
a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday
through Thursday and 24
hours Friday and Saturday.
The changes granted
were 8 a.m. to midnight
Sunday through Thursday
and from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Friday and Saturday — a
one-hour change in policy
from the current one insti
tuted.
Although Wesleyan stu
dents should be proud of
any changes they accom
plished, it is understand
able that many students
feel that they lost.
VWth the expectation that
the 24-hour visitation
policy was to be imple
mented for the weekends
and the promising voices
that told the students that
since they were going
through the right channels,
changes would occur, the
students who fought hard
for this change should be
disappointed.
Although there was
never a “guarantee” that
the changes were to be
made, it seems as though
the students that were
leading the fight for visi
tation change were quieted
with assurances that major
changes in visitation would
take place.
The students were led to
believe that the 24-hour
visitation policy was surely
to be processed and the
only speculation was on
the weekday changes.
But the only consider
able changes that were
made was the stricter en
forcement of the quiet hour
policy — not the expected
result that many were
looking for.
However, we have heard
little resentment from stu
dents nor have we received
any letters to the editor
asking why these minimal
changes were made.
Where are all the upset
students?
Why aren’t students
raising their voices any
more?
If the students feel that
nothing further can take
place, then they are wrong.
Continue to demand
changes. You have taken
that first step; however,
there are many more to go.
So go, go, and let your
voices be heard.
Mauled at the mall
Shopping no spur for spirit
By DR. STEVE FEREBEE
Have you ever wondered how
many Christmas presents you will
buy over your lifetime? I mean,
where does it all end?
I try to avoid two situations:
gatherings of Republicans at
election time and shopping malls
at Christmas time. And even
though it is neither election nor
Christmas, I recenfly found my
self at a mall with some of my
Republican friends. (I’ve been
trying to convert them for years,
and now George Bush is finally
doing it for me. But that’s a dif
ferent story. This is a Christmas
story.)
Two days after Thanksgiving
is the tackiest time for a mall visit.
Canned carols chorus from every
comer, sham snowflakes sparkle
from every sign; garishly gar
nished garlands glitter from ever
garment. And perseverant people
pound purposefully past each
other.
I noticed two basic types of
Dr* Steve
consumers: my friends who don’t
have to watch which credit card
they’re using for that “completely
cool” scar for their mothers; and
the rest of us who wonder whether
the scarf will last as long as that
pine cone which we painted years
ago and which Mom still puts on
the tree.
My friends accused me of be
ing Scrooge because I wasn’t
buying every gidget and gadget
glowing giddily at us from the
“frosted” windows. (Windows in
a mall? Why do they want us to
have the feeling we’re outside as
they trap us inside?) But I main
tained that they were the ones
missing the point of Christmas.
We sat down and started
watching people. We began no
ticing the ones who looked happy
and the ones who didn’t. Hun
dreds — possibly thousands —
of grumpy, harried, hurried,
-yuppied heralders of the season
marched staunchly three abreast,
pushing aside anyone not up to
their speed and rushing to fill up
their cars with packages (dutifully
locked in the trunks to deter
criminals). Their eyes looked like
Anthony Hopkins’ in Silence of
the Lambs.
Every once in a while, a couple
or an individual sauntered by,
perhaps whistling, perhaps talk
ing to someone. They carried one
or two packages at the most (not
wrq)ped), and thfey smiled at us,
sitting on a bench.
Then we saw “an incident.”
A woman with two kids in a
double stroller and another one
hanging onto her coat ran straight
into a couple who had stopped
for a kiss. The mother was yell
ing before she hit the floor; the
stroller bumped abruptly up and
(Continued on Page 3)
Put more stress on culture
By CECILIA LYNN CASEY
One of the benefits of attend
ing a small liberal arts college is
that it is easy to keep up with
college functions, activities, en
tertainers, and cultural events.
Having a small college often
means small audiences, which
often enables people to get more
from an event such as meeting
the performer after the event.
Opinion
participating in an event, and yes,
even getting a good seat. Also
within a small college, the stu
dents get more of a say in who is
selected to come to the college to
perform.
At N.C.W.C. where the motto
is ‘The Student Comes First,” the
decision-making process of who
will be chosen and who will not
is feirly democratic, and^ostly
the entCTtainers who come here
are the ones the students want.
This process is also enhanced
because of Wesleyan’s small size,
which is good at times. For the
most part this leads into one of
N.C.W.C.’s major problems with
(Continued on Page 3)