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VOL. 11, NO. 7 North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C. FRTOAY, FEBRUARY 2,19%
College to cut tuition 23 percent
By KIM CURSEEN
Dr. John White this month an
nounced that next year instead of
the regular annual increase in tu
ition, for the first time there will
be a 23 ptrcent decrease in tu
ition for the 1996-97 academic
year.
King Forum
looks at hope
of integration
By JESSICA BROWN
A full house of about 100
people was packed into Leon
Russell Chapel on Jan. 15 to cel
ebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., the famous civil
rights activist.
The event was N.C. Wes
leyan’s eighth annual Forum on
Race Relations, titled “From King
to Farrakhan: Is Integration Still
Possible?”
Professor of History Dr. Rich
ard Watson, whose main focus is
African history, gave a brief his
tory of the civil rights movement
in America. He spoke about the
struggle for equality during the
1960’s in which Dr. King partici
pated. He then mentioned that to
day the struggle for equality still
continues, led by activist Louis
Farrakhan.
After giving the history,
Watson introduced the panel of
six speakers who would give their
opinions on the subject of inte
gration.
The speakers in order of ap
pearance were senior Anneliese
Hatcher, who is the only white
member of the Wesleyan Gospel
Choir; Everett Mayo, an African
American visiting artist whose
work is currently on display in
the Dunn Center; Hassan Jarra, a
1989 graduate of Wesleyan from
Africa; African American Tirik
Spencer, a senior from Harlem,
N.Y.; Dr. Mary Lou Steed, pro
fessor of sociology; and N.C.
Wesleyan’s new president. Dr.
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The tuition, originally $13,650,
will be cut by $2,000, making the
tuition for next year only $ 11,650.
White guaranteed that this tu
ition move will only decrease the
amount a student will pay at
Wesleyan and, in his words, “in
the least case scenario, a student
will pay the same amount... but
will not pay any more.”
The money cut for the tuition
is not from money used for the
educational services offered by
the college but the money cur
rently being used to offer students
“unfimded” financial aid.
Unfunded aid are the
Wesleyan Awards, grants that ap-
COMMUNITY MEETINGS—President White discusses WesPIan
with students on Jan. 18 in the Dunn Center, one of several
meetings to explain impending changes for the college.
White holds series
of student meetings
By JESSICA BROWN
In a series of community meet
ings in December and January,
college president Dr. John White
introduced WesPlan and other
topics, including reduced tuition
rates, a new recreation center, new
tennis courts, aerobics classes, a
January term, and more.
With the help of three action
teams —recreation, retention,
and quality of life — White has
come up with a plan for Wesleyan
or, as he calls it, “the WesPlan.”
It all began on Dec. 4 at a
meeting in the Dunn Center.
There the chairs of all three teams
presented their conclusions to the
faculty and staff as to what
Wesleyan’s current needs are.
Pat Ceijan of the Admissions
office headed the retention com
mittee, which decided that to re
tain more students, Wesleyan
should make some changes.
Some of the suggestions are to
raise admissions standards, coor
dinate a directory which would
allow better student-faculty rela
tions, have a gathering where
members of campus organizations
are recognized, giving more
awareness to on-campus activi
ties, and other ideas.
Next, coach Mike Fox, who
chaired the recreation team, gave
their ideas. They suggested the
school should make existing fa
cilities more available to students,
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proximately 80 percent of the stu
dents at Wesleyan receive. The
unfunded aid was used as an in
centive for students to come to
Wesleyan by what White calls
“discounting tuition.”
White pointed out that when
the school had to determine the
increase for each academic year.
officials had to budget the un
funded aid. Thus over time the
increases in tuition began to be
less for the actual financial sup
port of the institution and more to
support the unfunded aid.
White also said that if the col-
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White unveils
new ‘WesPlan’
for Wesleyan
By FELICIA DAY
New Year’s resolutions aren’t
the only things members of the
Wesleyan community have to
look forward to these days. John
B. White, NCWC’s new presi
dent, has big plans for the fiiture.
White calls his 10-page pro
posal the “WesPlan.” The pro
posal is an attempt to refine the
institution by focusing on the im
provement and advancement of
faculty, staff, student enrollment,
curriculum, and campus facilities.
White believes that strength
ening the faculty and staff, ex
panding the curriculum, and en
couraging community support
will ensure a successful future for
this institution.
White focuses his vision on
“trying to respond to some of the
challenges I see Wesleyan and
higher education facing. My goal
is to try to do as many things as I
can to fiirther the quality of expe
rience here.”
Among the many ideas men
tioned or noted in the WesPlan,
the most attractive are implement
ing a 23 percent decrease in tu
ition, the use of the Worid Wide
Web site with faculty and student
access to e-mail, a Winter term
used for special purposes such as
performing internships and fac
ulty/student out-of-state travel
projects, international student re-
cmitment, and. a possible pre-med
major or pre-med special advis
ing program.
He also proposes the new ex
pansion of old facilities for aero
bics and exercise, new recre
ational outdoor space for roller
blade hockey and basketball, ad
ditional intercollegiate sports (ten
nis and cross country), entertain-;
ment ambiance in place of the
SAC multipurpose room, and dor
mitory renovations.
Many of these changes are ten
tatively set to be completed no
later than fall or winter of this
year.
“All the ideas (in the plan)
have a direct impact upon stu
dents,” claims White. Included in
his plans are alumni representa
tion on the Board of Trustees and
placing strong emphasis on the
assessment of student leaming.
White also wants to address in
depth accountability, as he be
lieves that holding community
members accountable will tighten
responsibilities and produce more
quality efforts.
With a difficult road before
him, no one wants to walk in
White’s shoes. But many admire
the path he has chosen. Paul
deGategno, NCWC’s chair of hu-
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