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THE DEGREE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1976
Beefy's Bag
Sitting in the Snack Bar a few
days ago munching on my usual
hot dog—with mustard, chili,
and relish, and began to ob
serve something that I have
seen all year but failed to really
see at any time before. Being
prone to occasional deep
thoughts and a revelation every
now and then and pondered the
sundown and weekend syn
drome (named so by myself) of
the Wesleyan student body.
There I was in the snack bar
with twenty or more students
most of whom were having a
good time talking with class
mates, playing pool or pinball,
puffing cigarettes, and drinking
a Coke or Mr. Pib. All of these
persons appeared to be enjoy
ing themselves and relaxing to
the highest degree before re
suming their academic activi
ties that afternoon. This hap
pening occurred and was ob
served by me during the lunch
hour. Because of the hour I
knew the sundown syndrome
would strike in approximately
six hours. The basic premis of
the sundown syndrome is that
those same activities which
provide recreation and relaxa
tion during the daylight hours
cannot provide the same degree
of satisfaction after sundown
without the addition of a very
special ingredient. This same
ingredient appears to be neces
sary for weekend recreation
and relaxation also, even
during dayling hours. Thus the
name sundown and weekend
syndrome is applied to the
change in the minds of those
who require this special in
gredient for their after sun
down and weekend activities.
Having recognized the syn
drome, my next thoughts were
questions. Why does it have to
exist? Why here? Is it every
where? I reasoned that if I
could identify why, then maybe
I could begin to cure the
syndrome and help those who
suffer from it.
After much thought I realized
that this syndrome is a univer
sal enigma of our society. One
which dictates use of the special
ingredient for acceptance in
most economic, political, and
social circles. Actually the only
people who can do anything
positive about the sundown and
weekend syndrome are those
who suffer from it.
Aren ’f Flipping Out
For the past several weeks
you have probably noticed
people, wearing lavalieres, run
ning around carrying cans of
Pledge, walking canes, or
paddles hanging from their
belts. These people aren’t
flipping out or trying to create
a new “image,” they are simply
pledging a Greek System.
To many this may seem to be
a total waste of time, but to the
pledges it is a event that they
will never forget. Please don’t
get me wrong, it isn’t all fun
and games. There is always the
fear of not having your twenty
cents when ask for it, or being
kidnapped and finding yourself
on some road not knowing
where you are. But by putting
up with these fears and a few
other embarrassing details, you
finally are able to become a part
of a system where people meet
you on a entirely different level
than before. You are able to
meet and make friends with
people that normally you would
never have even spoken to. You
find yourself working and
associating with people you
always passed in the halls and
nodded your head and mumbled
an unfriendly “hello” to. You
seem to develop a sense of trust
and faithfulness with your fel
low brothers and sisters. You
find new friends that you can
talk to and discuss over
problems with and feel sure
that they will keep confidential.
Surely Pledges put up with a
lot of bull and ridicule but the
reward is one that entitles you
to feel proud. You have become
a member of a group of people
who are looking for more than
just a “good time”, these people
are interested and involved in
community and school affairs.
They work hard and are proud
of their accomplishments, and
they have a right to be. So the
next time you see someone
carrying up more than one tray
in the cafeteria, remember he
doesn’t have an eating problem
or an appetite that just won’t
stop. He is simply a Pledge
doing a Pledge’s thing.
ALPHA OMEGA
Do you have to use alcohol as a
drink? Do you dare to be dif
ferent? What are the perma
nent effects of alcohol on your
physical well being? Finally,
are you becoming an Alcoholic?
That closes Beefy’s Bag for this
time. Think!
ByBEEFY
Morals And Maturity
Is Alcohol Really Such A Big Deal ?
—Is alcohol really such a big
Deal?—
For you people out there who
do not enjoy alcohol of any type
for any reason, it isn’t.
However, how about for those
people who might enjoy a cold
beer every once in awhile?, it
might very well be a big deal.
What I am talking about is the
possibility of selling beer in our
own Student Union. Logically
this seems to be much safer
than driving down to Mack’s
Tavern and (for you faithful
Hughie fans) The Rainbow Club
to get a cold beer and then risk
driving back under the influen
ce of that cold beer.
This would serve several
purposes both for the students
(even those who don’t drink)
and for the school. For the
student there would be a better
atmosphere in the Student
Union than could be found
either at Mack’s or The
Rainbow Club. That money
raised from this project could
be pumped back in to improve
the Snack Bar and the Student
Lounge. Secondly, a larger
cross section of the student
body would probably enjoy
going to the S. U. more often.
I suggest a trial run of this
project. If it fails, (We could not
abuse this privilege.) so be it
and if it proves satisfactory and
successful, then good enough.
We are adults now, let’s face it.
Wouldn’t it be nice to go to the
Student Union Snack Bar for a
cold beer instead of having to
go down the road? Let’s gfive it
a try. Let’s make the S. U. more
attractive. Let's make it a place
for the students.
FRANK NUNN
President AAX
President of Junior Class
Re (di) vivus Again
to be an asset
I heard some people talking
yesterday about the disad
vantages of being a Wesleyan
student. One made the com
ment that if he wished to enter
a medical school and told the
administration that he gra
duated from N. C. Wesleyan
College, the admission’s direc
tor would laugh in his face. I
agree that a Wesleyan biology
graduate might not have the
prestige of a Duke pre-med
student, but that is not to say
that N. C. Wesleyan does not
have many strong points in its
favor.
Probably the most important
of these is the Three-Track
system. Through Track-3 a
person can major in almost
anything he wishes, including
pre-med. One obvious case is
that of Bunk Dawson, a current
Wesleyan student who is
majoring in conducting. It
seems that he is the only
undergraduate in the country
who is majoring or has majored
in this field, for it is not offered
on any campus as a degree
granting program.
Another important factor is
the size of the school. A small
college like Wesleyan tends to
give a certain amount of
importance to each student,
which many find necessary in
order to complete their work
for a degree. Also there is an
ease in communication between
the students themselves. The
S.O.S. campaign, students
working to save Wesleyan,
were among the first to act
when the possibUity of closing
the college almost became a
reality. Their goal was not only
to raise money, but to show
college officials and people of
the surrounding area that they
wanted the college to survive.
It was students working toge
ther for a common goal and
thanks to them, the people of
Rocky Mount and the sur
rounding area, and the Metho
dist Church, that goal was met.
Other points in Wesleyan’s
favor (which unfortunately
many people do not utilize) are
the main library, the music
library, and the language lab.
Also the many student groups
such as Wesleyan Singers,
Wesleyan College Concert
Band, Wesleyan Players, the
fraternities (the list begins to
get ridiculously numerous if
you really think about it), are
open to most anyone.
So remember, it is fine to
complain about existing prob
lems. Your ideas may help to
solve them. But don’t cut
Wesleyan too far, for remem
ber, too, you haven’t made an
effort to leave.
By CLYDE CASH
I have of late, along with
some exceedingly worthy Wes
leyan students, been working
my way through a great and
original American book: Henry
David Thoreau’s Walden. He
would probably not much
appreciate my putting it that
way, as he scarcely worked at
all as we count work. He did,
however, challenge his readers
to undertake serious intellec
tual exercise, so perhaps I may
be permitted to work my way
through his book after all. If
anybody lived life through and
through it was old Henry
David. His eyes saw, his ears
heard, his nose scented (he
forever sent the, cent on its
way), and his, feet felt the
ground beneath him. Reading
him again forces one to consider
just how quietly desperate
most of us truly are, even if we
do live in the age of the big
bang.
I do not think he has left us
his thoughts on roasting marsh
mallows, though he might have,
but I find myself now inclined
to consider that fireside enter
prise more thoroughly than has
been my custom. How might he
have said it, how might he have
drawn for us some deeper
meaning from such a simple act
so appropriate for either soli
tude or compansionship?
Perhaps he would have
mused that in the end it is
simply like living, and if one
lives richly and fully and
deeply, then surely one will
grasp the art of marshmallow
roasting. The calling and the
glory is “to brown without
burning.” Can we say it better,
or imagine it more clearly, or
feel it more surely? “Ripeness
is all,” we are told by the board,
and a marshmallow mellowed
to brown, without burning,
allows us to taste the poet’s
truth. We do, after aU, require
the fire but want not the
burning. The browning is
enough and sufficiently hard to
come by. Amid life’s other cer
tainties—demise, taxes, and the
attempt of American corpor
ations to bribe themselves into
some foreign promised land,
which turns out to be a far
country indeed—this one as
sures us that when we look the
gjrim reaper in the scythe we
can rest content. If we have
browned, without burning, we
have in reality proven true
blue.
DAVID JONES
When a man makes a beast of himself by drunkenessy he gets
rid of the pain of being a man.
Samuel Johnson
1709-1784