^ r north CAROLINA ESLEYAN COLLEGE The Decree Rocky Mount, N.C. VOL. 16, NO. 3 Wesleyan's Student Voice Since 1984'^ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8,2000 Three faculty win Garner recognition CROSSING BORDERS Members of the International Heritage Society are (from left)- Bernadette Lesperance and Robert Mitton from Haiti; Chris Quander and John Quander from Barbados- Matthew Dixon, Donna Lee, Andrei Cuffe, Andre Russell from Jamaica; Laila Ghafur and Joel Street from Trinidad and Tobago; Kwabena Boakye from Ghana; Soyini Goodluck from St. Vincent; Palomita Moreno from Mexico; Abraham Walker from Liberia; and Abdoulaye Foula from Senegal! ^After Thanksgiving^ dinner feeds exchange of cultures By LAILA GHAFUR President, IHS After a busy semester, the In- teraational Heritage Society fi nally be undertook its first activ ity of the semester. President Charles Glassick was kind enough to extend a warm invitation to the group to have its annual interna tional dinner at his home. This event took place on Nov. 28 as an After TTianksgiving Cui sine. There was a variety of tradi tional dishes served at the dinner. Each member prepared a dish from his or her native country. There were dishes from Haiti, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Ghana, St. Vincent, Mexico, Liberia, Senegal, and lots more. Vice President Palomita Moreno prepared a typical Mexi can dish called “Quesadillas.” President Laila Ghafur and Joel Street prepared the traditional dish from Trinidad called “Roti” which is curried chicken, curried pota toes, and chana all wrapped in a flour pastry. Abraham Walker and Demar Payne prepared “Jellof Rice” which is a traditional dish from Liberia that is served every Thanksgiving. Soyini Goodluck prepared a dish from St. Vincent called “Pelau” which is brown rice mixed with peas and chicken. This is just a taste of the many dishes that were served at the din ner. Also, Vice President Palomita Moreno is in the process of de veloping a web page for the de veloping group. By MADELINE WALLS North Carolina Wesleyan Col lege announced three faculty re cipients of the Leslie H. and Evelyn G. Gamer Faculty Lead ership Awards for 2000-2001. The recipients are Drs. Marshall Brooks, Erica Kosal, and Carol Lawrence. They were recommended by the faculty’s professional development com mittee and the vice president for academic affairs. The joint proposal by Dr. Brooks, a professor of education and now vice-president for aca demic affairs and dean of the Col lege, and Biology Professor Dr. Kosal, was to begin a campus “greening” initiative and to iden tify and organize environmental volunteer opportunities for our students. They requested funds to research and collect resources, receive training, identify and or ganize volunteer opportunities, and to organize campus forums. “Our aim is to generate long term programs on campus such as recychng, composting, and es tablishing a nature preserve, in which the students can help plan, facilitate, and train others,” said Dr. Brooks. “This will not only provide valuable experience, but it will strengthen our campus unity and potentially bring in out side community members. For example, we are interested explor ing how Wesleyan’s natural ar eas can be used as an environ mental education resource for the community. “We believe some of the cam pus’ areas could be developed as a ‘living laboratory.’ We envi sion our students being involved in the planning and maintenance of such areas, and potentially lead tours for school groups,” he said. “These areas would then provide the community and region a re source for learning more about sustainable environmental prac tices.” Dr. Carol Lawrence, profes sor of mathematics, received her Gamer Faculty Leadership Award for her proposal to fund software to incorporate technology into existing mathematics classes. She has purchased computer algebra software. “People who pursue math- ematics-related careers are using the computer in the process of ‘doing’ the quantitative analyses needed in the workplace,” said Lawrence. “For instance, students (Continued on Back Page) ‘Nutcracker’ will turn Dunn Center into ice Come see the Dunn Center tage transformed tonight into a professional ice rink made of real ice when the “Nutcracker on Ice” I? performed at 7:30 p.m. by the !>'■ Petersburg State Ice Ballet. This magnificent production of Tchaikovskyis “Nutcracker" jnade its world premiere in the United States in 1996. The full- ^feth production is the largest theatrical show of its kind. Tick ets are $40 for adults and $38 for seniors and students 17 and un der. Tickets are available from the Belk Box Office, or by call ing 985-5197. Before the performance of “Nutcracker on Ice.” from 6-7 p.m. join in celebrating the holi day spirit with the lighting of the 40-foot Christmas tree, sineine carols, and a visit by Santa Claus. A company of 35 champion ice dancers in the tradition of the world-renowned Kirov Ballet in a unique combination of art and entertainment will grace the stage with more than 100 costumes and full opera house sets in the grand Russian tradition. The production appeals to audiences of all ages with its special magic that is cre ated as the theatre is transformed into a skating paradise. Since 1967 The St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet has performed more than 5,000 performances of “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Rom eo and Juliet,” and “The Nut cracker” worldwide. “The production recalled the grand traditions of Russian ballet with lush production values, lav ish costuming, and exquisite cho reography. “The performance was at once intimate and larger than life,” said American Skating World. The f)erformance is produced by Park Avenue Theatrical Group, out of New York City. It is spon sored in part by Oldies 107.9 FM and Roanoke Valley Ice Company in Roanoke Rapids.