VOL. 12, NO. 1
North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20,1996
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F orum hosts
husband-wife
political duo
GONE WITH THE WIND — Wesleyan students (from left) Erin Durbin, RJ. Forano, and Allen
Davis sit on a fallen tree in front of the campus, courtesy of Hurricane Fran. (Photo by Karolyn
Braun.)
Hurricane Fran blows through
Wesleyan campus during night
By BENNY SAINT ROMAIN
Hurricane Fran did not spare
North Carolina Wesleyan College
when it hit the Rocky Mount area
Sept. 5, leading to a long night
for both students and staff and
hours of campus cleanup after
wards.
Earlier that day there were sev
eral reports of school closings and
students were concerned about
their safety. The residence life
staff had met for an emergency
procedure meeting to prepare for
this event.
Cheryl McKenzie and Pam
Gourley reviewed emergency pro
cedures with the RD’s and left
several voice mails informing the
community of what to expect
from the storm. Security was also
notified of possible problems that
could occur during Fran and they
were ready for the challenge.
As the rain and wind began to
pick up, each residence hall be
gan to settle in for the storm.
Many students peered out the win
dows and stood outside and
watched as the storm approached.
As the hurricane intensified,
everyone entered their halls and
braced themselves for the storm.
The RD on duty that night,
Marc Gainey, said that each hall
had several ways of coping with
(Continued on Back Page)
By MOLLY McCLUSKEY
The Dunn Center was the
proud host Sept. 12 of speeches
by political consultants Mary
Matalin and James Carville.
The joint appearance was the
first of two events in a political
forum sponsored by the Rocky
Mount Area Chamber of Com
merce as a fundraiser for its edu
cation division. The second event
will be a November speech by
former first lady Barbara Bush.
Matalin, a Republican and a
northerner, was a top campaign
official in the Bush campaign in
1992, while her husband, James
Carville, a Democrat and a
southemer, was manager of the
Clinton campaign.
The Rocky Mount Chamber of
Commerce sold 1,100 tickets of
the 1,200 seats in Minges Audi
torium and donated 100 tickets to
the college. The tickets sold for
$100 apiece and the auditorium
was almost filled to capacity. Had
all the donated tickets been used
by Wesleyan students and fac
ulty, all seats would have been
taken.
After being introduced, Mary
Matalin took the podium with the
comment that she and Hillary
Clinton have something in com
mon.
“We both took the best part of
the south, its men ... It’s the only
thing Hillary and I have in com
mon,” she said. She went on to
share that she and her husband
were considered the Amy Fisher
and Joey Buttafucco of politics.
Matalin’s comments were both
witty and sarcastic. Several times
she poked fun at her husband,
whom she said “looks like he eats
small children.”
Matalin stressed the impor
tance of forming one’s own opin
ions about candidates, rather than
listening to the media. She in
formed those in attendance that
the reason for the political image
as a whole to have suffered in the
pa§t several years is that the me
dia has focused less on positive
coverage 4han it used to.
The coverage of the Kennedy
campaign, she explained, was
simply reporters sharing what had
happened. However, now all the
reporters give commentary. The
candidates themselves only re
ceived six percent of the collec
tive primary coverage. The rest
consisted of reporters telling how
(Continued on Back Page)
Convocation opens Wesleyan’s 37th year
By MOLLY McCLUSKEY
The opening Convocation on
Sept. 9 marked the beginning of
the 37th academic year at North
Carolina Wesleyan College.
SGA President Scott Cuviello
encouraged the student body to
“get involved. Don’t think there’s
nothing to do, or that it rains too
much. Don’t be so quick to make
up your mind.”
Dr. Mary Ruth Cox,
Wesleyan’s new dean and vice-
president of academic affairs, out
lined in her speech the true mean
ing of liberal education. Although
the concept was one students
heard many times during the in
auguration activities in January,
she offered a definition never
mentioned during those times.
Using a literal Greek translation,
Cox said liberal arts is “work be
fitting a free person.”
She further told the students
that it is their responsibility to
“know enough, understand
enough, question enough, listen
enough to be responsible enough
to remain free.” She encouraged
students to “give yourself whole
heartedly.”
The main speaker was U.S.
Rep. Eva Clayton of North
Carolina’s First Congressional
District. Clayton, the first Afri
can American woman ever to rep
resent North Carolina, said that
young people inspire her, because
she is looking into the faces of
the next generation.
Clayton reminded students that
“late nights at the library are for
good reason. Wesleyan has kept
you here so that it may set you
free. You are here because you
are preparing to be somewhere
else.
“Real education is being able
to know what you do and don’t
know,” she said. “It was Socrates
who said, ‘I know that 1 know
nothing.’”
She encouraged students to
vote, reminding them that if they
complain about injustice and then
do nothing, they themselves are
as unjust as the offenders.
“Fight for what you believe.
Whether or not you win — win
ning is not important; it’s what
you stand for that’s important,”
she said. “If there is no struggle,
there is no freedom.”