PAGE 4 — THE DECREE — DECEMBER 14,1992
Tlie Decree
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Editorial Board — CecOia Casey, Nicole Cox, Delinda Lee,
Tiffany Page
Staff— Brad Barnes, Jennifer Beemer, Kim Curscen,
Ken Le(»iard, Dan Moynihan, Ellen Stanton
Photograpbers — Beth Sberrard and Cbris Taylor
Advisor—Dr. Margee Morrison
The Decree is located in th« Sprufl) Building, North Carolina Wes
leyan College, Wesleyan College Station, Rocky Mount, NO 27801. Policy
1$ determined by the Editorial Board: of 2^Ae i)ecref. Re>publicatloit c4^ :
any matter herein without the express consent of the Editorial Board is
strictly forbidden. TAteDecree Is: composed and printed by Ripley N^ews*
papers (^ Spring Hope.i OplnionS: published do not necessarily reflect
those of North Carolina Wesleyan College.
Good neighbor
policy needed
Wesleyan prides itself on
being a “community.” We
have “community” meetings,
“community” celebrations,
etc., but unfortunately we
have no “community” spirit,
at least not for resident stu
dents. Because one key ele
ment of community is miss
ing — neighbors.
When faculty and staff
and commuters go home,
they have their own commu
nities, with their own neigh
bors. But for resident stu
dents this is it; and regretta
bly, there are few “neigh
bors.”
It is a shame that most
resident students have no
idea of how to live in a com
munity or how to be a neigh
bor. They are so wrapped up
in themselves and their own
actions that they don’t take
time to consider how what
they do will affect others.
One only needs to look at
the staggering amount of
community damages levied
against residents to realize
this point. Because some
people don’t know how to
live in a community, and get
their kicks from smashing
fire extinguisher covers or
stealing cable boxes, all stu
dents have to pay —liter
ally.
And how many times has
a resident been awakened by
his “neighbor’s” music, or
heard a “neighbor” yelling
to another “neighbor” down
the hall, or not been able to
get change because a “neigh
bor” stole the change ma
chine? Or think about times
a resident has been trying to
sleep when his dorm got ser
enaded by a group of stu
dents, or has slipped on the
floor because some “neigh
bor” decided to suds it with
the fire extinguisher?
With the holidays and fi
nals approaching, one hopes
that those in the residence
halls can be a litde more
neighborly. Now is the sea
son to be kinder, and think
of other people. Let’s at least
hope that for at least one
week people can move from
their self-centeredness to put
their “neighbor” first.
The community atmo
sphere is what makes Wes
leyan great. Unfortunately,
the resident students are ru
ining it for themselves and
their “neighbors.”
Letters to the editor policy
The Decree accepts only signed letters to the editors. Unsigned
letters will not be printed. Letters need to be placed in the campus
post office and marked “Decree” or placed in the Decree office m
the Spruilll building. Letters must be received by Friday of the
week prior to the next issue in order to be printed in that issue. The
Decree reserves the right to edit or reject letters for grammar,
libel, or good taste.
mm
n
91
m
Wsst
Innocence died with Kennedy
Assassination heralded era
By STEVE FEREBEE
I am writing this on the anni
versary of John F. Kennedy’s as
sassination. I was moved by a
commentary on the radio to write
this column about my memories
of that day.
Putting Oliver Stone aside for
the moment, why does Kennedy
raise such moments of reflection?
Why do people stand quietly on a
street in Dallas and think about
life and death?
I don’t think much of Kennedy
as a politician and president any
more. As a child, the murder of a
man who had children and a beau
tiful wife seemed tragic. When I
went to college and read history,
I rejected the mythology. And yet
Dr* Steve
Muses
I am still moved by someone’s
melancholy words about the man.
Many murders have subse
quently moved me. Malcohn X,
Martin Luther King, Bobby
Kennedy, John Lennon. But when
Kennedy died, I was wholly un
prepared for the intrusion.
It is trite to say so, but I do of
course remember the moment I
heard that the president had been
shot. I was taking a social studies
test in Miss Hatcher’s sixth grade
class in Albany, Ga. The
principal’s secretary came in and
told us, and I turned back to the
test to finish answering a ques
tion about the geography of Af
rica Later I woriced in the library,
shelving books, and heard the li
brarian say it was about time
someone taught those Yankees a
lesson. (She didn’t say Yankees,
but I still can’t bring myself to
say “Nigger Lover.”)
I went home, and my family’s
house cleaner, a tall black woman
who lived on the side of Albany
where Martin Luther King was
working, sat in stimned silence
after I turned on the television.
“Why would anyone want to
kill that nice man?” she asked.
(Continued on Page 5)
Attack on slogan was unfair
Dear Editor:
I challenge your Nov. 20 edi
torial, “Wesleyan slogan litde but
rhetoric,” in which you charac
terize “Y^ere the student comes
first” as a catch phrase used to
hide the failings of the college.
Certainly we have failings. We
also have policies with which you
disagree, and some of our bright
ideas later turn out to be mistakes
that we wish would go away. And
the students are more often than
not the people who pay the price.
As editor of The Decree you
have a responsibility to point out
failings and problems. When you
find prople or policies here that
consistently fail to live up to the
Letters to
the Editor
motto, rouse the student body and
march on the President. I’ll come
with you.
But your editorial is an all-
inclusive accusation of deliber
ate indifference and misrepresen
tation, and diat’s a slap in the
face to a lot of good people who
don’t deserve it.
The next time you walk past
the SAC, go in and tellMs. Stump
to her face that she doesn’t care
about you. When Dr. Anderson
invites her sorority to her house
for an overnight, say that she’s
just doing it to hide the failings
of the coUege. Ask Rev. Oldham
to tell you about his abuse of “hol
low advertising slogans.” Surely
Dr. Joplin and Dr. Steed are in it
only for the money and social
prestige. And these are just the
people you see. Most of the staff
and what they do on your behalf
are behind the scenes and invis
ible to you.
The college is us — every
person you encounter here, fac
ulty, administration, staff, or stu-
(Continued on Page 5)