MARCH 15,1996 — THE DECREE — PAGE S
Moral education really is important
By CHARLES CREEGAN
The relation between morals
and education has gotten a lot of
attention recently at Wesleyan.
Some speakers have publicly
suggested that there should be a
closer connection between the two
categories here. They have some
times expressed dismay that
Wesleyan is a “party school.”
Others have argued forcefully
that morals should not, and per
haps cannot, be taught at a col
lege. They apparently fear any at
tempt to do so will turn Wesleyan
into a “Christian college.”
Before getting into the debate
I think it’s important to have a
working definition of “moral edu
cation.” At least some of the par
ticipants in the debate at
Wesleyan seem to be assuming
that moral education means teach-
Opinion
ing a specific moral code, or forc
ing people to behave in certain
predefined ways.
In the liberal arts tradition, the
idea of “moral education” sug
gests something quite different.
Colleges like Wesleyan, whether
Internet stimulates learning
(Continued from Page 4)
new from the Internet every day.
The Lynx browser currently avail
able to the students (option 3.
World Wide Web), first goes to
Yahoo, which is a search engine
on the WWW. A lot of students
think that Yahoo is the WWW,
which in fact it’s just another
search engine on the WWW.
There are at least two to three
other search engines which are as
good or better than Yahoo, but a
lot of the students have no idea of
the other search engines available
to them.
I don’t mean all students when
I say students, and in no way am
I saying students are stupid ei
ther. I am just saying there just is
not enough knowledge about the
Internet at NCWC as of yet.
"I am aware of students, and I
am one, who need to use the com
puters to do “real” work, but
sometimes have to wait for a com
puter and deal with all of the dis
tractions when a few people are
loud, but I can understand the fun
and excitement of the Internet. I
can remember, just a couple of
months ago, when the computer
lab was empty most of the time. I
kind of like having a “busy” en
vironment to work in. But, at least
the students are communicating
in a way that was not available to
them before the new system.
Just think, by this time next
year we’ll have a lot of “Net-
Savvy” students in our midst.
Rob Baker
rbaker@ncwc.edu
Even the hate groups
entitled to free speech
Dear Editor:
Should hate groups be allowed
to express their ideals in a school
paper? That is a question that has
this writer perplexed.
On one hand, some people
Understanding silence
(Continued from Page 4)
Other Demons, a tale about a
young Colombian girl who is bit
ten by a rabid dog, tossed in a
convent by her father, and (hap
pily) seduced by a priest. Cramps
cackled, “Why that’s just like this
little old girl who lived over to
Davie County back in the twen
ties...” Believe me. Cramps’ story
about rabies and illicit love would
teach even Garcia M^quez a les
son or two.
Then dark bloomed, as it does
when you are away from the lights
of civilization: a dark so thick
you breathe it in. Cramps didn’t
even notice; he was used to it.
But 1 began to long for some fa
miliarity. 1 even reached into the
darkness a couple of times.
Then I realized that because
Cramps has no TV, no radio, no
stereo, none of our American
noise-making diversions buzzed,
hummed, or banged. We were lis
tening to the land that even
Cramps’ grandparents had heard.
Finally, I said, “Gosh, it’s quiet.”
“Yeah?” drawled Cramps.
“Ain’t it supposed to be?”
Letters to the editor policy
The Decree accepts only signed letters to the editors. Un
signed letters will not be printed. Letters should not exceed 400
words. Letters need to be placed in the campus post office 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.
would argue that they should not
have to read about racist or hate
ful ideologies in a school paper.
Groups like the Aryan Nation,
Neo-Nazis, or KKK have galva
nized the majority of American
people in a way that suppresses
the rights of hate groups.
The First Amendment suppos
edly guarantees citizens the right
of free speech. This right needs
to be extended to the minority of
people that agree with unpopular
beliefs. Suppressing the voices of
these groups is comparable to si
lencing the voice of blacks after
the 13th Amendment. Blacks
were denied the right to speak
out for integration in the 18(X)’s
and early 1900’s just as these
groups and others are prohibited
from voicing their opinions to
day.
I am not one to practice or
condone racism, but neither am I
willing to suppress the First
Amendment rights of these
people. If I have offended any
body due to your beliefs or ideas,
I apologize. I am curious as to
what others have to say in re
gards to this issue.
Paul Pacheco
their heritage is specifically Chris
tian or not, are founded on the
idea that all education is “moral.”
Our primary offering is not infor
mation but training and social
ization in a particular attitude of
respect for knowledge and leam-
ing. As a corollary of this atti
tude, we argue that information
and decisions are never free of
consequences.
This is “moral education” in
the sense that it challenges the
beliefs and decision strategies of
everyone involved; not a class
should pass without both profes
sor and students being challenged,
and not a student should pass
through the college unchanged.
We believe that ideas matter, and
we try to arrange things so that
students will be permanently in
fected with that same belief
This model of moral educa
tion provides a perspective on the
two terms which have recently
been bandied about; “party
school” and “Christian school.”
Should Wesleyan be a “Chris
tian college”? If this means all
members of the College commu
nity should be required to sign a
Biblically based “lifestyle expec
tation” statement (and punished
if they deviate), no. Such a model
generally presupposes that
everyone’s moral education is
complete before they arrive. As
an institution of moral education,
Wesleyan must be in the business
of challenging presuppositions,
rather than enforcing them with
an iron hand.
But if by “Christian college”
is meant an institution which hon
ors the Christian moral and intel
lectual background of Western
culture, while at the same time
taking serious, reasoned dissent
from this tradition seriously
(whether it comes from within
Westem culture or from other cul
tures), then Wesleyan can be this
without disrespect to anyone, and
indeed with great benefit to ev
eryone.
Is Wesleyan a “party school”?
If this means a place at which
massive parties occur, probably
not. As we have been told, many
Wesleyan students go elsewhere
td find that sort of party. But if
this means a place where sex,
drugs, and rock n’ roll have higher
priority than studies, I believe it
is.
My belief is largely based on
anecdotal evidence collected from
my classes, so I urge each of you
to ask several students two simple
questions:
A. Do you routinely drive 50
miles to party?
B. Do you ever drive 50 miles
to visit a library?
If you get four or more times
as many positive answers to A as
to B, Wesleyan qualifies as a party
school.
I’m not interested in condemn
ing sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. I
simply want to suggest that “party
priority” thinking (whether actu
alized on or off campus, or frus
trated) is an impediment to moral
education, as I have defined it.
It would be sad enough if the
party animals only defeated the
moral enterprise as it applies to
them. After all, in our society they
are entitled to squander this pos
sibility. But in fact by not caring
and not participating in the intel
lectual life of the College, they
reduce the opportunities of chal
lenge and growth for everyone.
They reduce the educational
effectiveness of this community,
and that’s immoral.
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