North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804
CAMPUS LIFE
December 18, 2009
Internationals Deplore American Diet, Miss Home Cooking
By John Kostet
Decree Staff Writer
Fat, greasy, cheesy, fried and too
sweet—the international students do
not hesitate to criticize their cafeteria
and the American food culture in
general. The new diet has made
for a difficult transition for most of
Wesleyan’s foreign students, who all
seem to be used to lighter and healthier
food. But the new culinary experience
has not only been negative.
Amanda Frimpong, a freshman origi
nally finm Ghana, describes the food back
home to be healthier and usually much
fiiesher. “Everything is grown naturally,
nothing is genetically modified and more
often than not there is no preservation or
concentrates,” Frimpong said.
Emelie Lundgren, a freshman, says
that in the school cafeteria she finds
it difficult to get the healthy nutrition
provided in her native Sweden. “Most
frustrating is the lack of protein,” Lund
gren said. “Several of the entrees .served
in the cafeteria include only carbs.”
Lundgren has discovered that fresh
fish, a very rich source for protein, to
be much more common back home.
Lundgren likes the idea of different
food stations in the cafeteria and admits
many of the entrees to be all right. But
what she doesn’t like is the way the
entrees are made. “Vegetarian lasagna
for example, a perfect healthy dish—
they simply ruin by putting on way too
much cheese,” she said.
Dominic Forsdike, a sophomore
from England, admits that his country
isn’t known for its food culture, but
•Still thinks there is way too much fast
food served over here. “Nothing is
plain in America. Everything needs to
come with something. The vegetables
are drained in dripping oil or butter
and the pasta is never served without
the cheese,” Forsdike said.
Many may think that the northern
neighbors of Canada have similar eating
habits as the Americans, but Courtney
Jamieson, a sophomore from London,
Ontario, assures us that they eat a
lot more healthfully. ‘"The fruits and
vegetables sections in oUr grocery stores
are usually bigger than the snacks and
candy sections,” Jamieson said.
More healthy alternatives and
smaller portions at the fast food restau
rants are other examples of a different
food culture in Canada. “Our small
drinks are the size of a kids drink here
in U.S.,” Jamieson said.
Many international students seem
to struggle with adjusting to fast
food, even though most countries
have American fast-food chains like
McDonalds and Burger King. Darren
Lau, a freshman from Malaysia,
thought American food was going to
be all about burgers and fries. “After
being here for a while, I can say that I
was right,” Lau said.
It seems to be a widely held percep
tion, as Antti Saari, a sophomore from
Finland, thought the same before
coming here. “I knew Americans like
to eat fast food, like burgers and fries.
But I was still surprised at how much
unhealthy food they actually eat.”
In Malaysia, as well as in most parts
of Eastern Asia, rice and noodles are
usually the main ingredients in every
Randy Williams, seen here with freshman Bristy Parker, started his tenure as dean of students
this school year. You’ll learn more about Dean Williams' goals for student life and the story
behind his signature bow tie in an upcoming issue of The Decree. Photo bv c. Thomas
TtiE Decree
since I960 “of, hy, and for the Wesleyan community."
STAFF
Editor
Jarad Brown
Senior Staff Writers
Joyce Collins
James Randolph
Staff Writers
Nastasia Burnette, Richie Fender,
Georgettae Fields-Turrentine,
Amanda Frimpong, Leila Heinonen,
Meghan Herd, Rodney Holley,
Lorane Johnson, John Kostet,
Alyson Matarazzo, Ashley Meadows,
Kathleen Penrod, Juliana Richardson,
Makeda Rose, Gregory Spence,
Jacob Strickland, Jesse Tamez
Cartoonist
Lorenzo Whitley
Staff Photographers
Raishael Tanner
Claudricia Thomas
Lorenzo Whitley
Special Contributors
Joshua Cain
Grace Wallace
Faculty Advisor
Dr. William Grattan
171 Braswell • Phone: 985-5336
Email: WJGrattan@ncwc.edu
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meal. “I’m used to having rice and
noodles almost every day back home,
so I really miss it,” Lau said. The Malay
kitchen has a lot of Indian influences
and that’s something Lau would love to
see more of here in Rocky Mount.
Freshman Linh Nguyen from
Vietnam said his favorite dish in the
cafeteria is fried rice and tofu. Nguyen
gives the cafeteria soups a fair grade
but says they still aren’t comparable
to the soups in his home country. “We
have another variety of fruits and
vegetables in Vietnam, so I miss the
soups made with them,” Nguyen said.
Freshman Otis Madison from New
Zealand says he simply misses eating
a healthy diet. Lamb is something of a
Thefts Hit Campus Hard
Decree Staff Writers
Wesleyan honors student Jacob
Strickland said he had accumulated
extensive research on preventing crime
at Wesleyan, but then lost his work when
his laptop was stolen earlier this semester.
Strickland is one of several students
whose electronics and other valuables
were taken during a rash of thefts that
hit not only dorm rooms but common
areas such as the Dunn Center.
One freshman, a Nash Hall resident,
has been expelled as a result of the thefts,
acccwding to Dean of Students Randy Wil
liams, who said that six major thefts have
been re^xxted during the past two months.
Measures have been taken to strengthen
security, while the investigation is ongoing.
Strickland’s $ 1,500 HP computer—
the second of his laptops stolen on
campus in two years—was playing mu
sic for the campus Haunted Trail event
in the Gamer lobby. Nash and Petteway
dorms and student vehicles have been hit
hardest by the thefts. Other items stolen
include textbooks, cell phones, iPods and
an undisclosed amount of cash.
“There hasn’t been a stereotypical
victim,” Williams said, adding that
many thefts resulted “from careless
ness.” He called many of the thefts
“crimes of opportunity,” with thieves
entering rooms through unlocked doors.
like Strickland, senicff William Boyd
lost a computer. He was in the gym, he said,
when the theft occurred in his room. “The
fact that my lap tq) was stolen made me feel
like my life was stolen,” he said. ‘It had all
my personal infcnnation and email accounts,
passwords, and Social Security number.”
Noting that his roommate’s
computer was taken as well, Boyd
complained that it took a long time for
security to respond to the incident, say
ing that the detail is “short-staffed and
busy with other incidents on campus.”
Boyd said that the college should be
more aggressive in pursuing suspects.
Petteway resident Drew Cousby
echoed Boyd’s comments, saying, “I
think the college administration should
do a better job of following up on leads
from reliable sources.”
Cousby said he intends to leave Wes
leyan as a result of the recent crime on
campus. “I came to a private college so I
wouldn’t get lost in the crowd and escape
ft'om the nonsense of bigger schools.
After this, though, I plan on leaving.”
Since the thefts have occurred,
the administration has taken steps to
prevent future incidents. Williams said
the college has educated the com
munity through emails, hall meetings,
and individual conferences on crime
prevention. At the same time, the
college has stepped up the presence
of Rocky Mount police, which has
increased patrols on campus, both in
the parking lots and inside buildings.
Williams said the police and campus
security presence are to “both curb
criminal activity as well as create a
sen^ of safety.” He said the measures
have helped in recent weeks, citing a
decrease in criminal activity.
Strickland, the SGA president, said
the college should do still more. Because
it’s a private college, he said, he feels that
Wesleyan should increase searches of
student rooms, a move, he said, that Dean
Williams has been reluctant to make.
Noting the findings of his honors
project research, Strickland recommends
that the college install video cariKras in
the dorms and other buildings, repair
the many faulty screens in the first-floor
windows, and implement a card system—
ratfier than keys—for entering and exiting
the dormitories. “It’s cheaper to replace
cards,” he said, “pliis cards keep an
electronic record of comings and goings.” ■
Cousby thinks crime victims should be
compensated by the college, explaining
that “this would put more pressure on
administration to find out who is doing it”
(This story was reported hy Meghan Herd
and Gregory Spence.)
national dish, with New Zealand being
one of the leading exporters in the
world. Besides lamb, Madison says he
misses eating seafood, which has been
very rare on the cafeteria’s menu.
Someone else who misses lamb
is sophomore Marcelo Prata from
Brazil. Prata said that the food culture
in Brazil differs a lot from region to
region, just like in the United States.
But in his hometown, the capitol city
Brasilia, meat and black beans are very
common. The favorite dish is picanha,
rump cover in English, which is
considered to be the best cut of beef.
Prata said he is far from impressed
with American food. “There’s got to
be something wrong when almost
everyone is overweight,” Prata said.
“My hometown has about tiiree million
citizens, and I would not be surprised if
Rocky Mount had even more fast food
restaurants.”
But not all internationals dislike the
American food. For example, Nguyen
has become a huge fan of french fries.
“We got French fries in Vietnam too,”
he said, “but they don’t taste the same
and are usually bigger.”
' Saari admits that the buigers here in the
United States are way better than those
served in Finland, especially die ones
served at Cook Out. The fast food culture
has been spread all over the world, but in
Finland such restaurants are far from as
popular as here in U.S, Saari said.
Emmoth said that the breakfast has
become his favorite meal in the cafete
ria. “In Sweden people generally don’t
eat as much for breakfast,” he said.
“We’ll have a sandwich, maybe a bowl
of oatmeal if we got the time to make it.
We definitely have a cup of coffee and
then we’re off to school or work.”
He expressed surprise at the emphasis
Americans place on breakfast, saying “It
is more of a real meal with scrambled
eggs, fried potatoes and bacon.”
Renovations To Begin in Dorai Bathrooms
By Rodney Holley
Decree Staff Writer
The college will renovate one of
the bathrooms in Petteway Hall as
part of a planned refurbishing of the
dormitories.
Petteway was chosen as the starting
point for the project because it receives
the most use, according to Residence
Life Director Davon Davis. The project
will be conducted this summer.
Students have long complained
about the condition of campus
bathrooms in the older dormitories, buf
were not heeded until President James
Gray and Dean of Students Randy
Williams saw the bathrooms first hand.
College officials have acknowledged
that the shabby condition of the dorms
hurts the college in both attracting new
students and retention of existing ones.
Sharrod Croom, a Petteway resident,
is pleased that the renovations will
be made. He cited tiie condition of
the third floor bathroom in his dorm,
noting the dirty appearance and tiie fact
that the “middle showers splatters and
spurts hard, so much” that residents
avoid using them. He added that only
one of the toilet stalls has a lock.
“Nobody wants to use the other ones,”
he said.
The president obtained funding in
excess of $25,000 for the renovation
projects from the Reynolds Foundation
and Mims Foundation.
Davis said that even though renovating
a bathroom may seem like a small task, it
shows that the college is committed to the
students and their needs. He added that
the renovations show Gray’s commitment
to bettering the college.
After the college finishes the
bathrooms in Petteway, it plans to
move on to Edgecombe Hall and then,
Nash and Collins.
Wesleyan s two-year-old ROTC outfit led a Veterans Day memorial in November at the college library. From left: Chaplain Barry Drum,
Jacob Strickland, Juanisha Gibbs, NCWC Alumni Association President Michael Pratt ('66), Director of Alumni Relations Joshua Cain,
Charles Haley, and Major Todd Jackson. Stormy weather forced the event inside from the campus tennis courts, dedicated to alums '
who fought m the Vietnam War; according to Cain, one of Pratt's Wesleyan roommates was killed in that conflict PR photos