Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / April 19, 1993, edition 1 / Page 5
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APRIL 19,1993 — THE DECREE — PAGE 5 College intolerant of differing views By KEN LEONARD As some of you might know, ZOE Unlimited Christian Fellow ship and the College Republicans put on a program called “The Si lent Vote,” addressing the sub ject of abortion, on March 26 evening. It has come to my atten tion that there are more than a few misconceptions about this af fair. First, there is the idea that the college paid for the event. Other than the $50 that was ZOE ‘s en tire budget for the year, all of die funding came from Republicans’ money raised from Rionathon and individual contributions. In less than one month, we raised the $510 needed for the program. (Continued from Page 4) birth control devices available to women, regardless of ability to pay. It is supported by contribu tions from individuals, corpora tions, foundations, and in some cases by government grants. Its personnel are highly dedi cated professionals who could probably make much better in comes in other circumstances. It is hardly an “industry.” It is an organization that has spread to 70 different countries. Of the over 700 clinics it sponsors in this country, only two percent perform abortions, none with government funds. Mr. McHugh described the state of abortion in Vermont where he said abortions could be performed without even the su pervision of a doctor. If abortions were outlawed as he has pro posed, all abortions would be per formed without medical supervi sion or even sanitary conditions. Prior to the legalization of abor tion, it is estimated that as many as 1,000,000 women died because of unsterile, unprofessional abor tions. Mr. McHugh has taken women into his own home. I only wish the zeal and energy that he and his feUow “Respect Lifers” ex hibit could be directed toward the tens of thousands of children who suffer from neglect and abuse each year. He spoke of the thou sands of parents who long for chil dren to adopt. Theae are thousands of children who are available for adoption — they may not be the same race, they may not be con sidered perfect, but they do need The SGA senate was less than cooperative in giving the College Republicans the budget to which we were entitled, citing an as- yet-unwritten budget policy and ignoring the directions we were given several times during the year. (We were informed that we were not eligible for a budget when we, in fact, were.) I admit that I arrived expect ing a great deal of trouble from the student protestors outside. A few of our signs advertising the event, had been removed or modi fied. To the protestors, I owe an apology for those thoughts. They behaved themselves quite well. The half-dozen or so that came inside (I have heard that there were more outside, but I can only permanent families. Melody Pullin of the Rocky Mount Pregnancy Center is try ing to minister to the needs of women who will be keeping their babies, but she sounded as though their resources wctb not sufficient Who can be there through all the years, that it takes to bring up a child? “The Hard Truth,” the video that ended his presentation, showed aborted fetuses. It con centrated on late term fetuses. In the case of these abortions, states can restrict access to them, and they are usually only performed in the event of danger to the life of the mother or problems in the development of the fetuses. These are only a few of the problems I observed in Mr. McHugh’s presentation. The main source of difference between his view and my own is due to a situation that he himself brought out He openly admitted that he was asking for some of us in our society to make this crucial deci sion for others. In my training and experience as a social worker and counselor I have grown increasingly aware that only the individual knows what is involved in his decision, or will be accountable for it. Counseling should serve as a means of clarification of issues, enhancing self knowledge and providing or improving the skills and strengths needed to carry out decisions. At this time, the Supreme Court interprets our Constitution to make this possible. Mr. McHugh and Respect Life would Opinion count five or six who came in) to the program were quite polite in their questions. With one minor exception, I think that they were aU quite reasonable. Given the editorial carried in the past issue of this very p^r, written by one of these demon strators, I expected quite a lot of nonsense trying to link all pro lifers to the murderer of Michael Griffin. Only a local newspaper reporter did so. (Remember, though, the press is unbiased.) In fact, the students from the pro-abortion side outdid the staff like to change this. They would like to able to make this decision for everyone else. Would you like them to make this decision for you? Betty Anne Whisnant School Counselor SNCAE appreciative of support of campus Dear Editor: On behalf of the Wesleyan Chapter of SNCAE I would like to thank everyone who partici pated in some way in the Pie- TTurowing Event held on Wednes day, March 31, on the patio. The event was very successful and through it $112.50 was raised for children’s books which will be given to children who visit area clinics. I would like to thank all of the “purchasers” of the pies and I would like to extend a special thank-you to Trina Becker and Kelly Best for planning and pub licizing the event. And I certainly would like to thank all of those who tolerated having pies thrown in their faces and for being such good sports; Judy Boyd, Nicole Cox, Dr. Buike, 1^. Joplin, Steve Brummett, Mel Oliver, Sue McCormack, Mike Sanseviro, Gail Stafford, and Dean Bennett (who raised $25 alone). Thank you all very much!!! If you have any children’s books you would like to donate please put them in the box by the switchboard. All cash donations should be given to Janice Reming in the EDU dept, by April 23. Kristie Warren SNCAE President of this college. Tragically so, in fact. The night before the event, we received a call from Nurse Stump demanding to know why we were tiying to upset the students. She declared that the student morale is very low and that we were go ing to hurt matters. In trying to find out why this was happening, it came to our attention that Dean Derrick and Nurse Stump were meeting to dis cuss what to do about us. Al though this program was not sup ported by the school in any way, they were meeting to change our plans, and we were not invited. She told us, though, that she was h£^py that we were having the program. I have been accused of sup porting censorship, and have even been called a fascist I humbly point out that I would nevCT stoop to the depths of these staff mem bers. Betty Ann Whisnant attended the program, and was quite polite during the program also. After wards, though, she went to our speaker. Pastor Mike McHugh, and told him that he was not to do any counseling on campus. Pastor McHugh told her that he does not submit to thought police anywhere. The counseling dispute was started when Nurse Stump asked (Continued from Page 4) gan in 1979. The second TV se ries, then the third series continue the tradition of people and “oth ers” working together. For its part. The Grateful Dead represented the hippies’ belief in the communal power to change the quality of human life. The 1967 Great Human Be-In was more than another of Phil Graham’s and Ken Kesey’s mu sic-drenched, flower-powered af ternoons in the park. When the anti-Viet Nam War movement found its voice in bands like the Dead and The Jefferson Airplane, the Force was with us. This rock group, through various re-births, has depended not on top-selling albums but on live performances to keep its proletarian messages before its audiences. The Grateful Dead’s improvi- about it. She said that he is not qualified to counsel, despite his decade and a half experience in doing so, because he is pro-life. Presumably, she is unbiased. I would like to know if she has ever helped anyone get through the guilt of having an abortion — a well-documented phenomenon that is not easily eased. To one staff member, I would like to apologize. This is Rev. Kirk Oldham. We made a mis take in deciding how to mark the programs, and decided to list the ZOE money as “NCWC Reli gious Life Office.” He was not consulted, and I hope that we cor rected that error from the podium, and now in print To those on staff who tried to stop the program, I ask a simple question. Of what were you so afraid? Last I heard, we were sup posed to freely debate ideas here. We had to get outside suppOTt to have our views shown for one evening. You have an entire aca demic year and the entire school budget to advance your own agenda at our expense. McHugh has been in prison several times for so much as speaking on sidewalks, yet even he was shocked at the treatment we were given by the college. This tells me a great deal about intellectual inquiry, freedom, and tolerance. Or the lack thereof. sational, country/blues/folk mu sic, and long, free-form concerts now seem part of that innocent but wise belief in the powCT of good thoughts to change money- bagged, war mongers,’ or small- minded bigots’ minds. I saw it again at the concert’s teenaged and middle-aged impresarios wearing and selling tie-dyed tee- shirts. If Spock had walked up to them, they wouldn’t have blinked an eye at his ears. To paraphrases my Humani ties students, it’s just a rock group; it’s just a TV show. But I’m glad these two are still popular. Even though I don’t think of myself as a Trekker or a Deadhead, I find some solace in the resilience of tiie belief that humans can live long and prospCT togetiier and in diversity during this long strange tiip. May they not fade away. Counselor regrets losing her cool Group, ‘Star Trek’ keep idealism alive
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April 19, 1993, edition 1
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