Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Feb. 8, 2008, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804 OPINION February 8, 2008 In-Focus: What Qualities Would You Like to See in Next SGA President? Chris Ochoa The next SGA president should, first and foremost, be open-minded and possesses good communica tion skills. The president needs to be able to conduct himself in a professional and friendly manner. The student body must be able to feel like they can talk to the president and count on him or hen Another important quality that I would like to see in the next SGA President is organizational skills. All these qualities and being an exemplary student and role model are necessities when it comes to the next SGA President. I would hope the next SGA President will be devoted to helping the student body by being their voice and working to improve student life at Wesleyan. The president should take pride in being the leader for the students and use his or her position to create positive changes to the campus. The next SGA president should be able to construct ways to involve as many students in SGA as possible. It is important that the next SGA president take steps in order to preserve the SGA organization for future years. James Randolph For the person running for SGA, I would like to see someone who is passionate about the welfare of the school. This would include the students and faculty and also the school itself. A lot of times, people run for positions like the SGA office out of willingness to extend resumes or even just because they were encouraged to do so by a group of friends. Although this may work out for the benefit of both the student body and the individual running for office, I would much rather see someone genuinely interested in the Wesleyan com munity than someone who decides to run on a whim. If the person is devoted to the betterment of the school and is willing to commit their time and effort, their individual opinions should not hinder them from making Wesleyan a better place for all. In other words, if you really want the make improvements to the school and focus on making those improvements, eventually, no matter how slowly or in what incre ments, the school will get better. Joyce Collins The next SGA President must have leadership qualities, such as public speaking abilities and time management and human relations skills, as well as being assertive. Part of being a good president is saying what needs to be said in a direct fashion and without fear of offending anyone. I would also like to see an SGA President who is organized. Many times within organizations there is too much confusion. You show up at the Interest Meeting and no one knows what is going on and who should be doing what. I would like for meetings and programs to all start on time with an agenda. The SGA president should be profes sional and carry him or herself at a higher standard than the rest of the student body because of the posi tion being held. The SGA president should set an example for the rest of the students. Kyaire Daniels The next SGA President should be an accurate representation of the “average” NC Wesleyan student. This should be a well-rounded and diverse individual who shares the same ideals and values that we, the students at Wesleyan, feel are of most importance. This new presi dent should come to the table with new and innovative approaches to campus activities, fundraisers, and community service projects, and he or she should help the student body to speak to the administration with a unified voice. The next president should be dedicated to building a strong foundation for SGA so in the years following, SGA can continue without having to be broken down and rebuilt every few years. The next president should focus on building strong networks not only within the Wesleyan Community but the city of Rocky Mount as well. Jarad Brown A student body president needs to have leadership skills as well as good networking abilities along with previous high regard by students and faculty on campus. Leadership skills are a no-brainer simply because that is the job and focus of the student body president, to lead the voice of the student body. At NCWC this voice is one of many and of vast diversity. The president must be able to lead for the good of ALL of the voices on campus. The networking skills again seem to be a no-brainer; however, they are again very important. Much like the student body here at NCWC the faculty and administration are also very diverse, both racially as well as culturally. This diversity Will call for the SGA president to be able to work with all of these differ ences successfully and efficiently. Without this quality the president may be working for the voice of the students but that work will be falling upon deaf ears. Finally and probably most importantly, the SGA president will need to come in with the high regard of the student body as well as the faculty and administration here at NCWC. The president needs to be someone that the students can trust, and someone they believe is working for their benefit. If this is not the case, interest in SGA overall would fall and become a dead issue. At the same time the president must be held in high regard by the faculty and administration, for much the same reason as why they would need to have networking skills. If the faculty and administration think poorly of the SGA president, they will more than likely be disinterested with what he or she is trying to accomplish. Nastasia Burnette I was not even aware of last year’s SGA president, so I would really like for next year’s president to be friendly and more involved with the student body. The main purpose of the SGA president is to ensure the student voice will be heard and I would love for this person to be committed to their duties. In addition, I would like to see a president who can guarantee that students will be able to establish more fun clubs, groups, events, and activities. The leader of SGA would have to be very bright, exemplifying that with a high GPA, of course. Honesty is an extremely important characteristic that every leader should possess. Most im portantly, the next SGA president would absolutely have to be strong and bold because they have to be a great leader for the student body as well as the presidents to come. Jenna Davis An SGA President should definitely be someone who is full of gumption. He or she should not back down easily when discussing heated issues. Otherwise what’s the point in having a student representative? Students need someone who is going to fight for the things that students want on campus. An SGA President should be well organized and efficient in getting things done as well. Since the SGA President is supposed to be a representative of the student body, he or she should listen and be well aware of the wants and needs of the students. The next president should not just vote based on personal wants. Also, an SGA President should be conscientious in deciding if the things or ideas that the students want are worth the time and money. Finally, but probably the most important, an SGA President should be honest and hard working. Dianne Daugherty The ideal candidate for student body president should be hard working, motivated, dependable, and honest. This person should be a go-getter, someone who can get things done. But in addition to being able to get things done this person should be someone who cares about student issues, opinions, and ideas. Therefore the candidate needs to be a good listener and someone who is will ing to put aside their own desires for the good of the student body when this is necessary. In other words, the candidate needs to have the ability to follow as well as lead. The ideal candidate is one who is aw^e of campus issues, someone informed. He or she needs to be a people person, someone who is willing to get out and talk.to the diverse populations on campus and find out what their needs are. The candidate needs to be someone who has a broad perspec tive on campus diversity, someone who can think outside the box in terms of groups on campus. What are the different groups and categories of students on campus? The candidate should be able to see this as a multifaceted question as well as a question with a constantly changing definition. The candidate should have excellent communica tion skills. He or she should be able to talk to different groups of people in a way that makes them feel comfortable. In other words, the candidate needs to know how to effectively communicate with the president, faculty, and staff as well as students from various backgrounds. The candidate needs to be someone who is willing to learn from their mistakes and turn obstacles into advantages. Meghan Herd I believe that a well-rounded Student Government Association president should be someone who excels as an individual and has a great degree of support to others while maintaining great leadership skills. This person should also be capable of going above and beyond the expectations of others. In addi tion, a SGA president is one who is well organized and responsible. By holding this position, I believe, you are given the trust of others and have to meet the expectations, thoughts, and ideas from all types of people. Furthermore, having a strong and powerful voice will also assist in grasping the attention and fellowship of others. Finally, being able to communicate and work with others to reach goals is what truly makes an SGA president well qualified. Jade Johnson The qualities that I would like to see in an SGA president would have to be a commitment to increasing student activities as well as honesty and enthusiasm for the position. I think that the role of SGA president is a big responsibility for the student who chooses to take on the task. He or she would have to be someone who is able to balance the duties of president as well as maintain their academics. I feel that the student body is ready for someone who can lead without having to always turn to the faculty or staff of the college. I think that a junior or senior with at least one year at NCWC would be the best candidate. I think that the students here need someone with the knowledge of what the students really want out of their college experience. The Decree since I960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community." STAFF Co-Editors Jenna Davis Chris Ochoa Assistant Editor Jannes Randolph Staff Writers Nastasia Burnette Julie Cyr Kyaire Daniels Dianne Daugherty Kimberly Garrett Meghan Herd Brandon Jones Amanda Landi Opinion Page Editor Jessica Smith Sports Editor Jade Johnson Associate Sports Editor Trevor Seibert Sports Writers Ashley Ball Jarad Brown Mikey Case Brock Griffin Campus Life Editor Joyce Collins Photographer Kathleen Penrod Cartoonist Lorenzo Whitley Special Contributors Anthony DeGregorio Matthew Esterline Grace Wallace Faculty Advisor Dr. William Grattan 171 Braswell • Phone: 985-5336 Email: WJCrattan^cwc.edu The Decree office is on the firstfloor of the Hartness Center. Copyright Policy The Decree holds the copyright of every article and graphic for one-time and future publication at the discretion of the editorial board. Submission implies agreement with this policy. Editorial Statement Commentary/opinion and letters to the editor represent the individual author’s views, and not necessarily those of North Carolina Wesleyan College, the Decree staff or the Decree advisor. Submissions To suggest an article, or submit an opinion piece or letter to the editor, send an email attachment (Microsoft Word) to: WJGrattan@ncwc.edu. Note that the Decree staff checks all submissions for accuracy and edits in accordance with acceptable grammar and punctuation as well as AP Style. Corrections The Decree corrects mistakes of substance. If you would like to request a correction, send an email to WJGrattan@ncwc.edu, or call 985-5336 ‘What’s On By Jessica Autumne Smith Decree Opinion Page Editor Almost everyone knows about Hollywood’s writers’ strike. You can tell just by turning on the television. Every channel is showing either reruns, which are boring; game shows, which are tiresome at best; or reality TV, which is by far the worst of all. When reality TV was brand new - had never been done before - it was almost half-way interesting; but now that the novelty has worn off, you realize it is just a few average people, sitting around, cussing each other. Where’s the entertainment in that? So far the strike has lasted for about three months and cost more than a bil lion dollars, according to one cbsnews. com article. As you probably know, many shows, such as ABC’s “Desper ate Housewives” and “LOST” and NBC’s ‘The Office” and “My Name is Earl,” have their own websites, where viewers can enjoy entire episodes online. How much the writers will make off the Internet showings of their intellectual property is the explosive issue that led to and sustains the strike. Personally, I’m a little conflicted about the whole thing. On the one hand, I’m sympathetic to the writers. After all, their work is their own intellecnial property and they should be justly compensated for it. On the other hand, I am also frustrated with the lack of selection on television. A new episode of a specific show on a certain night was, for me, something to look forward to. A reward for working TV Tonight?’ hard and not procrastmating; getting assignments done so that I would be free to watch. But with the strike still ongoing - as of January 23, the Writer’s Guild of America had entered into negotiations on whether or not and in what time frame they would negotiate - there is no appointment TV time to look forward to. Worst of all, “LOST” (Season Four), a personal favorite, starts soon. Last I heard they had filmed only eight episodes of the sixteen-episode season. Having a “mini-season” interrupted by weeks of reruns (as in Season Two) greatly disappoints fans. If you know anything at all about the show, it’s that the plot has so many twists and turns you must keep up with everything for any part to make sense. Many fans will most likely ttim to different forms of entertainment, the Internet being the most likely diversion. In the end, television is a business, an ‘entertainment industry.’ As men tioned before, the strike has already cost upwards of a billion dollars. Some of that amount is lost advertis ing revenue. With no new episodes, advertisers are probably not eager to spend money, producing commercials many people will never see. Also, die writers are probably not getting paid to strike. With so much at stake, hopefully both sides will be willing to settle, and the strike will work itself out soon, preferably before “LOST” runs out of new episodes.
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