North Carolina Wesleyan College - Dissenter Yearbook (Rocky Mount, NC)

Page 18 text:

g l 4 ,X about the Proclamation. The Senate lost no time in debating the merits of the Proc- lamation. It has taken all year to revise the Proclamation and the students have had a voice - a large voice in the revision. The struggle between the Business Office and the SGA over the pool table money is another example of students trying to identify and maintain their rights. less and his supporters were aware of the financial problems of the college, and they were very aware of the inefficiencies of the maintenance of the campus. Their concern about the lack of student services in com- bination with the fact that when the pool l l . l P A! ,wx pil: 'mi ' rrp, ,, ii -l .,Q ,l i lx ' , rl ' ' .1 N' film: H ,Wifi swirl' illltl p, i vii, l- . . 'l li l.l'f,i'il l shi ' .il i, l T wi ll :ruin ' ,rl ni.. ,il 1 f ililllil N ,Dill Q btw. if ll' 1- fl iw. T ini. , ,wi rr, Jim i tables were set up, that money was to go to the students lead them to stop turning W 1 Y li., iw 1. T ig ,V wwf it l ,3l'il'lfl ,i -.l l i my V .al l . ill-Il . f iw' ,ul disegilul'l11 . ,- ' 1, li Tv' X,',1ii f'l'Wfli the money over to the Business Office.lflfj'l.j.?,jlli 1 Because the money came from the students, fi '1 , , tint X they wanted it used for them. A yearlongllf lllr 'it4illi': lead to the agreement that the SGA would have 752 of the money and 252 would struggle for student control of this moyneymiii r-ri it , ' ,lgilllqllrlyiliwi T 'gli -'ti will - ' F-':.:i,Hj:iA,3r5f l, turned over to the Business Office. .1 5 T itll? Concern of a different nature provoked student's interest in action on behalf of Greg Hall. Students were asking whatlthey could do about faculty members they, thought were being mistreated. Campus: it iw M.: .1 .L f .ll i ii, will , ' , ,i Jw X,..i1 , ., T, ilu ,i id im. M , 'tiff ll: T ii ,,r,, V wi if i'l'Ul3l1.' l .r , M T, ,,,i!,,,,,H,,V- r , . u 1 ,i, '1'.'1llt'1 1 l. ,, , ,i,. . -it--1. ,tgirl it- ,ati xl C - li'-. ,vii '-ill .,,,r5iliXir:f.:, ,ra newspaper coverage, conferences with yyi. President Collins, and a threat to prompted a face the meeting to discuss the problems lofi college. A three-hour conference resolve any problems, but the confrontation of students andlladlmiirnistijaa tion helped convince everyone that more dialogue is needed. Plans have been made for such communication next year. The cone ference did accomplish twoimportant things.. tl: Nl-L '1 ti 5- -' T wif t l ,, -tilul' Y ,: 1 'ill lf .fl 5 :is Rumors about administrative decisions' were dispelled - factswere straightened out and students found, out that there are roles , W lf, ,- - ri 1-' is x it 1, :li

Page 17 text:

participate actively in the academic and extracurricular affairs of the collegeg and to uphold those rules and regulations which have been openly and democratically decided. For some of our students this policy does add to their discontent because it forces them to decide for themselves what they will or will not do. It means that they must live with their decision - for the first time for some of our students. Our office is not going to snoop around and check to see if they are abiding with the rules or not. VVe're not going to check to see that they have been to class or if they are studying in their room or down at the Retreat. The students involved in the situation must help me decide whether their action was responsible or not. DISSENTER: In your opinion, do students want this responsibility? VVILDE: Quite a few of our students do. Others find it frustrating. In fact, the majority of the crises of this year in stu- dent affairs have been because students wanted to be involved. They have been in conflict with themselves and the college over their role in the college. The President's Proclamation which came in the midst ofy the boycott in Rocky Mount caused students to l question what their role was and how effective it could be. Students and administrators debated what the proclamation meant, how it could be enforced, how it affected off-campus activities, and what students could do

Page 19 text:

that they can not play, specifically the hir- ing and firing of professors. Because, in Dr. Collins opinion, all too often students are interested in only the immediate situation while tenured faculty members, administra- tors, and members of the board of the trus- tees have the long-range vision of the coilege in mind when they make decisions. DISSENTER: How can students be influen- tial in making changes that they think will improve Wesleyan in the long run? WILDE: First, they should examine the situa- tions they think need changing yery critically and carefully. Find out why something is done a certain way. Secondly, construct a feasible program or policy to correct the things that need changing, talk to adminis- trators, faculty membersg listen to criticism they receive and review their position. If after all this thinking and reviewing, they feel that they are correct then they should petition, publicize and convince people they are right. Most important, they should remember that Wesleyan is still growing, as l've pointed out, and there are many deci- sions to be made. Any student can influence the administration if he offers constructive criticism and is willing to struggle patiently. lf what he wants is worth it, then he should be willing to fight for it. But first, he must decide if it is worth it.