li 11 Decree
since 1960 “of, by, and/or the Wesleyan community.” November 30,2015
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Some Students Bemoan
Gender Imbalance, Others
Fine with Status
Many Bishops expressed dis
satisfaction with the current gender
imbalance among Wesleyan’s student
body while others seemed surprised
at numbers that showed a total
enrollment in the traditional-day
program skewed toward males.
The male-female ratio is a 60.4 to
39.6 percent in favor of males, according
to information provided by the provost's
office in late October. Among freshmen,
males make up even more of the student
body—63.9 percent. Back in September,
the college reported a record total
enrollment of 900 students.
Wesleyan’s gender ratio bucks
national trends for four-year colleges
and universities. Nationwide, on aver
age, women hold a decided advantage
at about 57 percent, according to data
from the Department of Education and
stories reported in the national media.
NCWC students Grace Lee, Holly Long
and Erin Shaw all said that the imbalance
has not been an issue for them. “I’ll be
honest, I haven’t really noticed,” Long
said, though she did a recall one large class
where she was one of only three women.
Cable Beck, a commuter student, said he
was not concerned by the imbalance on the
Wesleyan campus either. “It doesn't really
affect me one way or the other," he said.
Rafael Bella agreed—to a point. “It
doesn’t concern me too much, since I'm
enrolled to learn and get an education," he
said. But he added, “The campus would
look a lot better with more women, no
doubt, at least from my point of view.
Plus, women take better care of almost
anything while men try to break stuff."
Like Bella. Ayla Brewer and Slade
Dale stressed the effects males have
had on the appearance and cleanliness
of campus, in particular the residence
halls. Brewer, an honors student and
Students Excited
About College’s
Recent Growth
By Carolynn Davern
Decree Staff Writer
NC Wesleyan’s recent growth has been
apparent to everyone on campus: there are
plenty of new, smiling faces in classrooms, as
well as a significant lack of parking spaces.
School administrators aim to increase the
traditional-day student population by 100
students every year until a cap of approxi
mately 2,000 is reached. Their intention is to
expand facilities and resources as enrollment
increases, and to maintain an attractive
faculty-to-student ratio. Equipped with this
information, students and faculty shared their
ideas on the positive and negative effects of
the increased number of students on campus.
Several interviewees expressed the opinion
that having more students will increase diversity.
“An influx of new students would make it
easier to mingle and hang out with different
kinds of people,” mused sophomore Jacob
Evans. He also hopes that the increased
diversity would help to achieve more of a
balance between athletes and non-athletes.
With a high percentage of student-athletes
currently enrolled, he noted that it sometimes
makes non-athletes feel out of place.
Senior Dillon Becker thinks that the
diversity of a larger population would make it
“easier to make friends and find connections,”
whether one is part of a sports team or not. Rex
Sauls, a member of the biggest freshman class
yet, feels that this effect has already become
evident in the student body this fall. “The vast
array of people that we’ve gotten with the fresh
man class this year is very good.” he said.
A big part of the expected diversity would
be the enrollment of even more international
students. Sauls commented on how he likes the
exposure to different cultures and ideologies
that comes with meeting people from different
countries. Dr. Pamela Patterson. Associate
Professor of Chemistry, also appreciates having
international students in her classes.
See GROWTH pg 4
Quo
a setter on the volleyball team, said
she dislikes the current situation and
believes campus life suffers as a result
of the imbalance. "The women’s
standard of living has dropped,” she
said. “The men are disgusting.”
Dale, a transfer student and a
first-year member of the football and
baseball teams, concurred with Brewer.
Though he said the imbalance was
not a major concern for him, he noted
that men “tend to be less sanitary than
women. The campus and dorms may be
cleaner if there were more females.”
Alexis Rodriguez would like to see
the college emphasize the recruitment
of women. “We should like the fact that
there are so many guys at this school,"
she said. “But it’s way too much.”
Many students put the blame for
the gender imbalance on the football
program, which was introduced in
2004. Its roster totaled 128 athletes at
the end of the season. That does not
include players who have left the team
since August training camp.
(For comparison’s sake, rival
Greensboro College had 89 players
on its mid-November roster, while
Methodist brought about 250 to sum
mer training camp—one of the highest
totals in the country—according to
Sports Information Director Nate Jer-
vey, who said that his school enrolled
1,750 students in its day program).
Michael Smith, TJ Wilkie. Karen
Wood, Brittany Miller, and Lee were
among the students who attributed the
imbalance to the high percentage of
football players on campus. Lee and
Wood pointed out that many new football
players quit in their first year and, in
some cases, leave the college. Smith, a
member of his high school football team,
said Wesleyan should lower the number
of football recruits, while Wilkie, a pitcher
on the Bishops baseball team, called for
Wesleyan to replace cross county with
“more popular” women’s sports.
Ashley Wooley agreed that there’s
too much emphasis on men’s sports such
as football and baseball. Like many, she
suggested adding more sports for women.
Other students focused on the academic
programs offered at Wesleyan. Many, such
as Beck and Long, recommended that the
college establish a nursing major. Beck citied
Barton’s success with its nursing program.
Provost Michael Brown said the
college is taking steps to address the
current situation. “We’re looking at new
majors and campus activities that may
be more appealing to women.” he said.
Among the new programs under
consideration are a communication major
and a concentration in web development
within the CIS major, he said.
Dr. Brown noted the one step has already
been taken: The college has hired a full-time
coach to oversee the cheerleaders and new
dance team. "That’s already increased the
college’s recruiting in those areas,” he said.
Responding to a Decree inquiry, the Ad
missions Department issued the following
statement: "Our counselors focus heavily
on recruiting females, and we promote the
female programs that we have on campus
such as cheer, dance, and sororities. We
have also added more photos with females
in our recruiting materials. In the future
we will do more female targeting in our
outreach to prospective students."
Unlike many of her classmates.
Sharon Cofield saw Wesleyan’s gender
breakdown as a positive sign. An educa
tion major, she argued that the situation
on Wesleyan's campus dispels the notion
that many young men are indifferent
students. “This is great news from an
educator’s point of view,” she said. “I
think this breaks the stereotype that young
men do not take their education serious.
This data lets people know that our young
men are taking education serious and that
they want to better themselves.”
Freshman Adrian Minondo emerged as NCWC's featured running back with a strong homecoming
game and then rushed for more than 200 years in each of the team's final three games, all wins.
See football coverage and other sports on page 3. SI photo
Former RM Police Commander
Sears Named to Security Post
Wayne Sears has joined the Wesleyan
staff as Director of Security, as the college
continues to grow and schools nationwide
put increased emphasis on safety.
Sears, 56, comes to Wesleyan with
more than 30 years of experience in law
enforcement, most of it with the Rocky
Mount Police Department, where he
retired as commander of the Staff Services
Division in 2010. From 2008-10, he headed
the FBI’s 7th Judicial District Violent Gang
Task Force. In his most recent post, he spent
five years as National Director of Security
at MBM, a food distribution company based
in Rocky Mount. He holds a BS in law
enforcement from Mount Olive College.
Wayne Sears G. Wallace photo
A Rocky Mount native, Sears and
his wife, Audrey, have three sons,
Payton, Josh and Nick, and belong to
First United Methodist Church. In their
free time, Sears and his wife like to
fish in area waters for flounder, drum,
and trout. He’s an avid duck hunter and
skeet shooter, who holds six state titles.
The Decree conducted an email
interview with Sears about his new
position, his background and goals.
Q. What attracted you to this job?
A. I spent the last five years in corporate
security for an international company
overseeing a $4 million security operation
within a $9 billion company. The job was
great, but the travel was killer—not in a good
way—we had eight facilities in California
alone. Some Wesleyan administrators inquired
whether I’d consider coming to the college
in this position and since I had expertise in
emergency preparedness and security, a law
enforcement background, and years of policy
and procedure implementation, I thought it'd
be a good opportunity for all involved.
Q. What has occupied your time since
you began in September?
A. My overall focus has been on the
vulnerability study I've been doing for the
entire NCWC campus. Next we've managed
to get the emergency notification system
up to a 99-percent successful delivery rate.
We’re getting ready to launch our first educa
tion video on active shooter preparedness.
The college's Emergency Operations Plan is
a good one, but we’re looking to improve it
by using Department of Homeland Security
guidelines that focus on prevention and
mediation as well as incident management.
I’ve been working on grants for security
equipment. First we're seeking 9-1-1 towers
(the ones with the blue light on top), which
will allow members of the Wesleyan
community to push a button and connect to
a9-l-l operator. It activates a strobe light
to help emergency services find you. Then
I’ve been involved in typical college issues
and investigations, disorderly conduct, a
few minor drug issues, and a few situations
where somebody took something that did
not belong to them. These incidents have
led us to send out monthly press releases
on safety and crime prevention tips through
various campus media.
Q. How will your extensive experience
at the RM Police Department help you in
the new post?
A. I've had command experience in emer
gency preparedness and actual emergency
operations. This includes mass casualty events
and multiple-victim shootings. The prevention
side is where we’re concentrating our efforts, but
when, and if, an event unfolds, you can never
have planned for it exactly; therefore, experience
is the guiding force. The planning process will be
invaluable here, but the experience is something
you can't buy or acquire by reading.
Q. What will be most challenging in
your new job?
A. In this interview, I’m trying not to focus
on the law enforcement side of my career. I’ve
arrested hundreds of dangerous criminals. Dur
ing my time in charge of the FBI Safe Streets
Violent Crime Task Force, we dealt with some
of the worst in society. I’ve been involved with
or supervised over 120 murder investigations.
I’ve been involved with seven police officer
shootings, and many others where officers shot
a suspect. What I want to do at Wesleyan is not
be the icon of a police officer to our students. I
want to be seen as a person to help keep them
safe and assist them in making good decisions.
I want the police officers and security officers
here to have the same mentality.
Q. Explain the working relationship
between you and Tameka Locke, the
on-campus police liaison, and the private
security firm now employed by the college.
A. My job is to assist them in ensuring that
they know their role here and that they have
the tools to do that job and the support to do
it successfully. To achieve that, we must have
mutual respect for each other’s roles. I know
Officer Locke from when I was a commander
of the police department and she and I get
along great. I have the upmost respect for her.
I'm getting acquainted with the individual
security officers and their abilities. What I see
as the most important part of their job is that
they know how to interact with our students.
Q. Within the past year, the college has enlisted
the aid of RM police, whose officers patrol campus
during the evening and weekends. Will the patrols
continue? Describe their role in our security.
A. The patrols will continue. The police are
a valuable part of keeping the campus and our
students and faculty/staff safe. And as the college
grows, their role and presence will likewise grow.
Q. What do you see as the immediate
needs for beefing up security on campus?
A. Outside of preparedness and planning
and the 9-1-1 towers, I think we need to focus
on cameras. Cameras are recorders of history.
When someone goes in your room and takes
your TV, we want to know what the cameras
show. If someone backs into your car, what
do the cameras show? If we have a fight, who
started it? I don’t like the intrusive side of
cameras, and we only review them if there has
been an incident. I do like that the cameras
don’t lie or are not mistaken in what they
record. What they see is a tangible fact. If you
don’t do things that will get you in trouble,
you won’t have to worry about cameras.
Q. Can't cameras sometimes mislead a
viewer by not providing adequate context?
In other words, the viewer may not see
what happened just before and just after
the incident that’s been recorded?
A. Your analogy is correct, but they’re
not mistaken on what they do see. That
view is better than an “eye witness,” as there
are no mistaken, filtered, or biased views
on a camera. Seldom does what happens,
out of the camera’s view, affect the total
understanding of a situation. We resolve
issues every day based on evidence without
cameras; they’re just an additional tool.
Qltwas reported that a recent burglary
arrest on campus occurred after a video camera
captured a student entering the victim’s dorm
room. Do you foresee a time when camera use
might be expanded to include classroom build
ings, recreational facilities, and outdoor venues?
A. Yes, our long-range plan is expansion to
areas subject to abuse. The short-range plan is
to improve the system in the resident halls.
Q. What are some of your other
long-term goals?
A. We need technology that helps us
keep our Wesleyan family safe, including the
cameras and towers we’ve already discussed;
a robust active-shooter plan including yearly
drills; regular drills on natural disasters, such
as a tornados; an increased officer presence
on campus; and greater student involvement
in campus safety and security. We’d also like
to acquire computer-automated design soft
ware that shows every room, building, road,
electric line, gas line, water valve on campus.
Having that type of data is very important in
not only the maintenance of our facilities, but
for emergency preparedness as well. I would
like to see license plate-recognition cameras
at the main entrance so we know who’s on
our campus; and I think we need key fobs or
card swipes for entry to all residence halls.
Q. How do you feel about the college’s
current weapons ban?
A. The current weapons ban is the
correct decision for several reasons:
1. Young persons can be very reactive
in their emotions when they’re confronted
by stressful and challenging situations.
That emotion and a gun can be deadly.
Young people tend to react on raw emotions
before they process the consequences of
such actions. I’ve seen it many times. Our
responsibility is to the safety of the entire
campus community, not just a few who feel
they should have the ability to carry a weapon.
2. Even if you possess a permit to carry a
concealed weapon, you wouldn’t normally be
trained in how to react in a highly populated
environment, such as a classroom or hallway.
With most states, the training focus is on lawfully
See SECURITY pg 2