VOL. 13, NO. 6
4 Student ^acce Settee /9^
North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C.
FRIDAY, APRIL 17,1998
Gallery backers say donors were misled
Artist Daisy Thorp and novel
ist Alan Gurganus have publicly
accused NCWC President John
White of fraudulent spending of
donated funds.
Five years ago Wesleyan held
a fundraiser for the Daisy Thorp
Gallery that would house the 400-
piece Lynch Collection of Out
sider Art that the college pur
chased in December of 1987.
Gurganus says that the fundraiser
“raised hundreds of thousands of
dollars to build a Arts Center in
Daisy’s honor.”
It was Thorp and Gurganus’s
understanding that the Arts Cen
ter would be the sole beneficiary
of the fundraiser proceeds. Alle
gations began when Thorp vis
ited Wesleyan and claims that
“the small gallery was lost in a
maze of marketing offices.” Pres
ently the gallery is a small dis
play area surrounding a reception
ist desk.
Thorp’s anger intensified when
she learned “through hearsay” that
White intended to sell two-thirds
of this very collection in order to
complete construction of the arts
building.
President White contended that
the allegations are the result of a
misunderstanding.
“Our goal has remained that
the students come first,” says
White. “I think it is a real tragedy
that the Lynch collection is not
seen. Our goal was to put it on
display and use it for learning.”
According to White, as time
passed and deficits increased, the
Lynch collection became more of
a liabihty than a stepping stone.
When White came to Wes-
Construction behind
on residential suites,
but target still Aug. 15
By CAMERON BATCHELOR
There has been many rumors floating around campus
about the construction on the new residential suites. The
rumors suggest that construction is far behind schedule
and that the college is planning to rent blocks of rooms at
the Fairfield Inn for students if their new rooms are not
completed by fall.
The rumor about construction being behind is true, but
the situation is not as bad as many people think. Although,
construction is behind by about three weeks, the original
deadline of Aug. 15 has not been changed.
The deadline “is still doable,” according to Belinda
Faulkner. The contractor is going to have more people
start working on the job and possibly even longer work
hours to make up for the time Aat has been lost.
As for the other rumor about Wesleyan making plans to
rent blocks of rooms at the Fairfield Inn if the residential
suites are not completed by next fall, “that is purely a
rumor,” according to Faulkner. She said “in the unlikely
event that some unforeseeable obstacle prevents the project
from being complete -by Fall opening, the College will
have a back-up plan for students in those suites.”
The construction is being watched very closely, but the
college is certainly still planning on the completion dead
line of Aug. 15.
By
Rochelle Rosen
EdUor-in-Chief
leyan in 1995, there were several
problems concerning finances.
The Dunn Center needed $1 mil
lion to complete construction, de
creased enrollment led to a
smaller budget for the campus,
WESQ-FM’s management had
been transferred, the Wesleyan
Press had lapsed, and $650,000
was still needed to complete con
struction on the Pearsall Build
ing.
White said, “I was really com
mitted to both Daisy and the
Pearsall family. I wanted to see
the construction completed. The
Lynch Collection is a wonderful
resource.”
It became apparent that
Wesleyan had to start at the be
ginning. Several steps that had
been overlooked would make it
difficult for the college to func
tion to the best of its ability and
remain competitive with other
campuses. And after several plans
began to interfere with one an
other, the destination of the Lynch
Collection had to be reconsidered.
The Admissions and Financial
Aid offices had to be moved in
order to create a more function
ing campus.
“We hired a consultant in en
rollment management in Novem
ber of 1996. He said that imme
diate steps had to be taken to
move financial aid and admissions
because these offices couldn’t re
main on the edge of campus, they
had to be the center,” said White.
There were two possibilities for
housing a new enrollment center:
the Spruill Building and the Stu
dent Activities Building. This
would further affect the Lynch
Collection.
In September of 1997, White
released a memo to faculty and
staff indicating that the focus of
the college had to remain on at
tracting and retaining students.
In October of 1997 at a Board
of Trustees meeting, the Board
approved moving ahead with the
Thomas J. Pearsall Jr. Building
as an enrollment office and the
Daisy Thorp Gallery would be
completed as soon as final design
(Continued on Back Page)
Wesleyan announces
tuition increase in fall
By CAMERON BATCHELOR
It’s official. Next year students
at Wesleyan will have to dig a
litde deeper in their pockets to
pay for tuition. Many students re
ceived a letter over Spring Break
containing the news of the tuition
increase and the reason for the
raise.
Wesleyan College has made
many changes and advances in
the past few years and is plan
ning to continue to do so in the
future. Just this year, the Hartness
Center and Alumni Tennis Com
plex opened. Next year, the Tho
mas J. Pearsall, Jr. Building, the
Daisy Thorp Gallery, and new
residence suites will be com
pleted. Also, in the summer of
1998 construction will begin on a
new recreation facility. So the tu
ition increase is due to all the
changes, improvements, and the
rising cost of everyday living.
Next fall, 1998-1999, tuition
will increase by $248 to total
$7,348 as stated in President
White’s letter. Room fees will in
crease by $44 and board fees will
(Continued on Back Page)
Women’s history honored in March
By STACIE MILLER
“Women’s History is the pri
mary tool for women’s emanci
pation,” said Gerda Lemer, Ph.
D., History, as the month of
March was celebrated as Wo
men’s History Month.
March marked the 150th anni
versary for the Women’s Rights
Movement. During this time
people celebrated women who
made historical contributions to
our nation, such as the women
who were important in helping to
By ,
Stacie Miller
Staff Writer
establish charitable and culture
institutions.
North Carolina Wesleyan Col
lege had a chapel service during
March to celebrate Women’s His
tory Month.
Rev. Audrey McCarter Hedge
peth, who comes from a long line
of ministers, was the guest
speaker. Her message was “A
Few Good Women that God can
Use.”
She focused on the women that
God used in the past such as
Mary, Ester, and Ruth. Mary was
Jesus’ mother. Ester became
queen and saved her people from
persecution, and Ruth gave up her
own life to serve others.
Rev. Hedgepeth told how God
can use women today just like He
did in the past.