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2 North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804 NEWS & OPINION March 31, 2011 Issue In-Focus 1: The Next SGA Administration Question: The student body the top three goals Alvin Hare What are the top three goals of the next SGA administration? That’s a good question. I thinlc a top priority should be more student activities that won’t cost an arm and a leg. I know that money is tight, but maybe the college can get creative or can ask for a student vote on the activities the school can provide with the new bud get. Another goal is that I think somehow, some way, the SGA should advocate for students who need work-study jobs. Many students are eligible for work-study but there is a lack of jobs. SGA might explore the possibility of expanding the job catego ries. The last goal is to improve the fcxxi at the school. It is now getting to the point 1 think I paid for a meal plan for nothing becau.se from lunch to dinner, on a daily basis, the food served either lacks ta.ste or tastes bad. I wi.sh we had a variety of food every day. That would be wonderful. Leila Heinonen The top three goals for the next SGA board are to inform the students about SGA, engage them to take part in it, and improve the student activity rate at school. I think it is important that SGA informs the .students about their meetings and how everyone can be part of it. It is important that the students would know what SGA is, what the purpose of it is and how to be part of it. That way, they would get more students engaged/ involved in it—more students have more power to change things on campus. It is vital that the students want to make the improvements and be part of it. I think the new SGA board .should also concentrate on the student body, and how to improve the .student life. There have been improve ments in student activities, but they should continue developing it more. Rodney Holley The new SGA president’s first goal should be to represent the student kxly. Students’ voices need to be heard and taken into account. Without the students’ support, the new SGA administration probably wouldn’t last long. Branch ing off Ihc first goal, the second goal should be to connect the students and administration to truly make Wesleyan a community. There seems to be a distrust on the students’ part toward the college and this needs to be resolved if Wesleyan hopes to retain its students. The third goal should be to think outside the box. I think the new SGA president should help organize concerts that showcase local talent (Wesleyan students and NC residents). This goal could help bring the campus to life, as many students complain about nothing happening. is about to elect a new SGA president and board. What are you would like to see the new administration set?' Joshua Meeks I think that the most important goal for the next SGA Board is to be visible to the students. Many students have no idea what SGA even is, let alone see what their intentions are. I think that if the students see that the people who represent them are doing things that are collectively in the students’ best interests, then it might cause the student body to become more involved in school functions. Secondly, 1 think the next SGA Board needs to relate to the students better, asking students for input on things they want done. SGA is the student voice but since most students don’t even know who or what SGA is, I feel even its existence is moot. SGA needs to reach out to the students and find what the students want. SGA will then have a better chance of representing the students. Finally, the SGA needs to find a way to build a better relationship with the administration. For some reason, there is a feeling that the administration is a large, abstract figure that does not connect with the students and is seen more as an enforcer of its rules and regulations than a body that is here for the students in the attempt to “create the nation’s next great college.” 1 think there needs to be better communication between administration and the .students, a conscious effort to bridge a gap so that we—faculty, staff, admini.stration and students—can get the best out of the college. Students want to know why tuition is going up at the rate it is and what the money is being spent on. SGA should take the initiative to improve the relationships among all of us. Kevin Quicker The first goal of the new SGA board is to make events on campus more known to the student body. Whenever there is a concert or .some sort of dance, a lot of students are unaware of these events going on. More signs around campus could help this problem. The second goal is to push to tighten up security inside of the dorms. Students’ valuables get stolen every year without the culprits getting caught. Setting up security cameras in the hallways will significarrtly decrease the thefts in the dorms. The third goal for the SGA is to try to change food services on campus. The food during my time at Wesleyan has always been subpar, and many students can attest to this. Sodexo has been trying to improve by adding healthier foods, but the taste has not improved. The SGA should seek improvement from this company or try to get it changed completely. Issue In-Focus 2: The Capital Campaign & Question: The college has embarked on a major capital campaign. What should be the Campus Improvements number-one priority as far as campus facilities? Michael Billinger I think that the top priority should be to improve the heating/air conditioning in the residence halls. There have recently been some issues with not having hot water, and some students’ heat not work ing in their rooms. These are things that the .students should not have to deal with, considering that we pay over $30,000 a year to attend this private institution. Imagine buying something that did not deliver what it was supposed to. That is almost how it feels sometimes. It would also be nice if the dorms could be remod eled; given the slate of the economy, and the school in particular, I doubt that will happen in the near future. The campus beautification was a great idea, and the president did a great job of focusing on the college’s outward appearance. Now the focus should be improving the inward appearance. It’s like a car dealer cleaning a car up to sell it to someone, while there are still problems with the engine. I understand that this institution is a business, but we should be selling quality to our buyers to ensure that their experiences reach their full potential. The Decree xifu'e I960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community.” STAFF Senior Staff Writers Rodney Holley, John Kostet, Alyson Matarazzo Staff Writers Michael Billinger, Georgettae Fields-Turrentine, Jacqi Flynn, Alvin Hare, Leila Heinonen, Ashley Mead ows, Joshua Meeks, Bristy Parker, Kevin Quicker, Melanie Rhodes, Kandyse Shaw, Jacob Strickland, Amadou Taal, Jessie Tamez Cartoonist Lorenzo Whitley Staff Photographers Claudricia Thomas Lorenzo Whitley Special Contributors Matthew Esterline Carl Lewis Jackie Lewis Grace Wallace Faculty Advisor Dr. William Grattan (ext 5336) 171 Braswell •Phone: 985-5336 Email: WJGrattan@ncwc.edu Copyright Policy The Decree holds the copyright of every article and graphic for one-time and future publication at the discretion of the editorial hoard. 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: WJGrat- tan@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 substaace. If you would like to request a correction, send an email to WJGrattan@ncwc.edu, or call 985-5336 Alvin Hare Let’s all be honest with ourselves. The school has made its mark in athletics with all the teams making big improvements. I think it’s safe to say the student body is dominated by ath letes that have come here to play sports and be a NCWC Battling Bishop. I feel that our fine baseball team has a great field, and the basketball team has a great gym to host its games. The football team has been left out and I think they deserve a stadium. If we’re talkiiig about improvements, they are the most improved team at NCWC and the school and student body have a lot of pride when it comes to that team. They win the conference about every year and every year put out a winning season. The least the school could do is say their efforts have not gone un noticed and build them a great stadium to call their home. Leila Heinonen The top priorities should be to improve the dorms, classrooms, and programs. The dorms really need some major improve ments. The college should renovate the existing ones; new bathrooms and new fiimiture would improve the look. By doing this, the school would have more students interested of staying on campus. NCWC should also improve some of the class rooms. Paint the walls and buy new desks and chairs, to make it more engaging and profe.s,sional for the faculty and stu dents. I think there are .several things that should be fixed or added to the campus, but one of the major ones is the academic programs. I think .some money should be put towards the language programs and communications. There is a lack of classes and programs at NCWC, and this affects the student enrollment and retention. Rodney Holley The college should focus some of the funds on further improvements to the Hartness Center. I would like to see an X- box 360 (or any newer gaming system) in the Hartness Center but the college won’t get one, probably because people keep trying to steal the exi.sting gaming systems (the Wii was recently removed from the Hartness because someone tried to steal it). I think the college could combat this ' by bolting the systems down in a case and only allowing workers to open them. I’d also like newer pool sticks and a new foosball table. There aren’t enough usable pool sticks and this has been a compliant for quite some dme. The foosball table’s playing surface is crooked and mis.sing a player. The ping pong table probably needs to be replaced too, along with balls and paddles because they never seem to make it through the entire school year. John Kostet I believe the priorities for the new capital campaign should be to take care of our dormitories. Most of the bathrooms are absolutely dreadful, and the need for renovations is obvious. The update has already started in some of the resident halls, but it’s far from a done project. I have heard smdents complain ing daily about the.se issues throughout my years here at Wesleyan, and lots of .students want to move off campus simply because of the low standards. But many are forced to stay on campus and live under these poor conditions due to new rigid policies, which force students to spend at least a semester in the dorms. There are probably more reasons for these rules other than to keep the resident halls filled. But I think the issue became clearer when the staff has to force students to live on campus. Instead, I believe changes should be made so that students actually want to live on campus. Joshua Meeks The top priority goes far beyond putting pine straw on the grounds and beautifying the campus. The living con ditions have to be improved in the dorms, mostly by upgrading furniture. Also, the cafeteria food needs improvement. I feel^that the school’s biggest problem is retaining students. The environment students live in is the biggest problem with retention. If a student is constantly having problems with the living condi tions and food, then they are not going to want spend four years here. A way to counteract the problems would be to first find a better food supplier Sodexo needs to be abolished from the school as soon as possible. Second, bettering the furniture where the students spend most of their time would increase the morale on campus. Finally, a much larger goal for the future would to build a new dorm • building. The building could be built with suites, which would also increase friendships and togetherness on campus. Kevin Quicker I think the top priority should be to improve the quality and cleanliness of each of the dorms. The school has added new furniture to a couple of dormitories, but it needs to change this in all buildings. Also, I believe the college needs to get the janitors to work harder to clean the bathrooms. Students have complained multiple times about how dirty and unsanitary the rest rooms are in all of the dorms. The school should also work on getting the desks and chairs replaced in the classrooms to give students a better learning environment when they walk into the classroom. Kandyse Shaw With the capital campaign, I think the school’s top priority should go to fixing up the existing dorms instead of in vesting more money into the Villas behind the campus or building a new dorm. I think if they were to fix up the old dorms, then more people vvould be interested in staying on campus. The dorms need new fiimiture in the rooms because the furniture is old and it brings mold and other problems. The bathrooms can also be in better conditions. The newer dorms, Centara and Boddie, are in better condition and more people want to live in there. I think if the school was to fix up the older dorms, then people wouldn’t mind having a roommate, being in a dorm with lOO-i- people, let alone like living on campus. If they were to fix up the dorms, I think more people would stay on campus and it would bring more participa tion with events on campus because fewer students would have to travel to attend them. When things are held on campus and students live in the Villas or in their own apartment, they are less likely to come back to campus all the time. Five Students Suspended But Overall Crime Wanes By Decree Staff Five NC Wesleyan students have been suspended on dmg chaiges and a sixth withdrew fiom school prior to his hearing. Dean of Students Randy Williams said the college’s HearingiBoard handed down the suspensions earlier in the year. Citing confidentiality rules, the college has declined to identify the students, except to say that all six were freshman males. All cases were marijuana related, and all six students were charged with drug possession. Dean Williams said. When it comes to drugs, the college has maintained a zero-tolerance policy. “We want to protect the students, but we’ll bring the hammer down on those who are found with drugs,” said Steve Myszak, director of residence life! Despite the recent drug cases. officials said that overall campus crime has dwindled as a result of steps the college has taken in response to a series of thefts, false fire alarms and other mischief that occurred in 2009-2010. According to Dean Williams, the college has increased campus patrols by Rocky Mount police cruisers and installed .cameras in some of the dorms. Peitiaps the most effective measure, he said, has been a new housing policy that has integrated upper-classmen in traditional fieshman residence halls like Petteway and Edgecombe. The change has allowed upperclassmen to serve as role models for the first-year students, the dean explained. Myszak added that residence life has made a priority of raising awareness among students and resident hall staff See CRIME pg3
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