PAGE 2 — THE DECREE — OCTOBER 6,1995
i
\ C
h ftliGtly forbidden. 7A Dccryt b oomposed
i/op* Enterprise. Opinions published do no*
ot North Carolina Wesleyan College
Don’t just gripe,
be part of changes
Changes are coming, and
students better be prepared.
Our beloved North Carolina
Weslfeyan College is now go
ing through a rebuilding pe
riod and you can either be a
part of it or stand on the side
lines while progress passes
you by.
Some here believe that
their passiveness is somehow
“cool” or that their lack of
involvement makes some sort
of deep silent protest that has
a certain twisted nobility.
Well, it doesn’t!
Look, people, you are not
in a police state. You can
come and go as you please
unless you are past visitation
hours in the dorm. No one is
forcing you to pay Wesleyan
$13,000 and some change to
come here. There are plenty
of other institutions of higher
education very willing to take
your money and still you
stay!
So, if you are going to stay,
why not take an interest in
your surroimdings? If you are
going to complain, at least
first try to tackle the issue
you are complaining about
Complaining is often justi
fied here, but apathy is not
justified anywhere. No pity
is felt for a burning person
who complains about the
flames but refuses the water
that would put them out.
Many of you are angry
about the new Dunn Fine Arts
Center, and you are probably
right about most of what you
are saying, such as “Money
could have been used else
where.” However, reality
wa $A1P cur m peFlcnj
airm
check. It’s here and the
money has been spent There
is nothing you or anyone else
can do about it now, so why
not put up the white flag and
try to make the best of it
Students, the official open
ing should prove to be a spec
tacular event for our campus
and the school wants you
there. In fact, they need you
there.
Disregard the rumor abut
students not having access to
the building. President John
White said this is a building
for the students and not just
for the outside community,
although they will be using it
often.
Students, do not believe
that your involvement in all
the changes on campus is
nonessential. You are the life
of the campus. You are the
reason Wesleyan, or any
other college, for that matter,
exists. Every one of you is
important and is needed for
this school to function. Your
involvement is valued, even
though no one may say it.
Students, who are also adults,
ought to be able to function
without constantly receiving
proverbial pats on the back.
However, students, you
have to exercise your free
dom to get involved even if
that involvement means you
mobilize against an issue the
administration is backing.
Here, there are endless op
portunities to get involved
and exercise your personal
freedom — as long as you
are out of the dorm by mid
night.
Where were solutions?
Daggett talk was weak, divisive
By DR. STEVE FEREBEE
Recently I was reminded that
experience and titles and degrees
don’t guarantee effective commu
nication.
Last week, during the North
Carolina Honors Association’s
annual meeting at Mt. Olive Col
lege, I listened to an energetic,
unfocused, and apocalyptic talk
by Willard Daggett, the Director
for the International Center for
Leadership in Education.
Members of the center predict
the future of education by con
trasting the bureaucracy’s goal
with the actual needs of future
workers.
Dr. Daggett is arrogant and
overly fond of the sweeping gen
eralization; nevertheless he has an
impressively researched theory
about college education’s increas
ing irrelevance which is worth lis
tening to and arguing against. But
his style sabotages his message.
After predicting that the coun
try would go crazy when the O.J.
verdict was announced and com
plaining that teachers are afiaid
to teach “values,” Dr. Daggett
said that those points didn’t per
tain to his talk.
Then began two hours of
graphs, predictions, comparisons,
and asides. He made fun of people
who might disagree with him;
then he said he didn’t mean to.
Using a portable microphone,
he waded into the audience. He
cajoled individuals into “sharing”
personal information. He tossed
his overhead-projected graphs
onto the floor as soon as he was
finished with them. For a while
Dr. Steve
Muses
\
we liked watching him.
After he argued the state of
North Carolina is doing a won
derful job with its institutions of
higher education — if we are still
living in the 1950’s — he men
tioned his main point. According
to him. United States education
is elitist and old fashioned be
cause a “club” of powerful men
think that reading Shakespeare
and abstract physics are more im
portant than learning “technical
reading” and applied physics.
Unfortunately, the necessary
job skills for an “information-
based society” are increasingly
unrelated to “theoretical”
Shakespeare and physics classes.
He flashed some more graphs
showing that educators from other
coimtries teach more application
than theory. He accused us of be
ing jealous of car mechanics’ sala
ries.
He reached a moment when I
was sure he was going to offer us
some solutions to the problems in
education. But he made the same
mistake he was trying to convince
us we were making: He drowned
us in theory and didn’t tell us
how to apply it.
Here’s a guy, I found myself
thinking, who has been able to
travel all over the world and learn
about education systems, who has
been a public school teacher, a
college teacher, a university dean,
and the member of countless com
mittees. But he doesn’t see two
feet beyond his nose. He forgets
his audience.
As soon as he paused for a
long breath, the students streamed
out of the auditorium. He had lost
an important opportimity to help
them think about the kinds of jobs
they will be ready for when they
graduate.
I disagreed wholehearted with
much of what Dr. Daggett said,
but I was willing to respect his
opinion because of who he is and
the experiences he has had. But'
when he was finally finished and
we had respectfully applauded,
what he communicated was not
his message but a critical lesson
in weak rhetoric, unfocused ma
terial, and divisive tactics.
Letters to the editor policy
The Decree accepts only signed letters to the editors.
Unsigned letters will not be printed. Letters should not
exceed 400 words. Letters need to be placed in the campus
post ofHce and marked “Decree” or placed in the Decree
office in the Hardees 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.