6 April 2001
No charges filed in statue case
By ERIKA JOHNSON
The statue of
John Wesley which graced the entrance to the Boyd Dining Center is not
scheduled to return anytime soon. The statue was vandalized by off-campus
guests on Oct. 28 and is being repaired in Norfolk. The donors of the statue,
Robert and Sara Boyd, are working with a sculptor to not only repair the statue
but make structural improvements. This includes the addition of another
pedestal, which will make the statue stand higher and provide a better focal
point in front of the Dining Center. The marble from which this pedestal will
be made comes from Tennessee, which is one of the reasons the repairs and
improvements are taking so long. I don’t look for him before graduation, said
Dean of Students David Buckingham. As far as the legal process goes for the
vandalism, the four perpetrators were identified. According to a detective of
the Virginia Beach Police who wished to remain anonymous, no criminal charges
were pressed. We were dealing with the college attorney, and they agreed to
take reimbursement, he said. Buckingham declined to elaborate on the case, due
to the delicate process of the college receiving full restitution for this act
of vandalism. I can’t speak for the police, he said.
By EMILY MCLAUGHLIN
After election
rules were violated during the first Student Government Association election, a
re-election was held on Thursday, March 22. There was a rumor about a petition
for a re-election, so the Student Government wanted to fix any problems as soon
as possible, said SGA president Josh Snow. Prior to each election, rules are
established. During the first election, a master list was to be present to
prevent students from voting twice, a faculty member was to be present at the
voting table, and the polls were to open at 9 a.m. and close at 3 p.m. However,
all of these rules were violated. A master list was not present for the first
30 minutes of the election; therefore eight students voted without having their
names scratched off the list. Also, a faculty member was not present when the
voting tables opened at 9 a.m., and the table closed 15 minutes early. The Student
Government sets rules, and if those rules are violated, the Senate can call for
a re-election, said Snow. In the first election, candidates Kelly Rust and
Robbie Cooke won against Megan Maynard and Matt Edwards, 157 to 83. In a 13-3
vote on March 5, the Senate voted to hold a re-election. Three of the
candidates are on the Senate, and the three all voted against a re-election.
The re-election was scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, however, it did not give
the candidates enough time to publicize after Spring Break. Everyone agreed to
push the re-election back to Thursday, March 22, said Snow. That way, both
parties would have had enough time to publicize. In addition, the voting table
was open for an additional hour to allow students taking late classes the
chance to vote. Instead of closing at 3 p.m., the table closed at 4 p.m. The
candidates were also allowed to have their pictures at the table, and they were
required to stay away from the voting table. A faculty member was present at
all times to prevent ballot tampering and to check student identifications and
no students were to be allowed at the table. A master list of all students was
also present. After the table closed at 4 p.m., the ballots were counted by
Snow, David Buckingham, Dean of Students, and Lina Cottingham, Associate Dean
of Students. According to Snow, 183 ballots were cast, with Maynard and Edwards
receiving 93 votes, and Rust and Cooke receiving 90 votes. Because the vote was
so close, we went back to the master list, and it showed that 181 people voted,
said Snow. So we threw out two votes, giving Megan and Matt 91 votes. No matter
how we worked it, Kelly and Robbie would have lost regardless. On Friday, March
23, Student Government Association vice-president Cara Swan, Buckingham, Cottingham
and Snow met with the candidates. The candidates had the chance to submit
complaints to Buckingham contesting the re-election. Because the first election
was void, the Senate was unable to put Rust and Cooke in office. Another
re-election meeting was called on Monday, said Snow. The Senate had two
choices. They could accept Megan and Matt as winners of the election, or they
could have voted for another election. In a 13-3 vote, the Senate voted against
another re-election. An argument for another election was the fact that the
flyers indicated that the voting table was between the Boyd Dining Center and
the Hofheimer Library. However, because it was raining that morning, the table
was moved underneath the library portico. The complaint was that the table was
not moved because it did not rain after 9 a.m. An additional argument for the
re-vote was that a professor was not sitting behind the table for the entirety
of his or her shift. Rather, the professor was talking to a library worker
within eye distance of the table. The Senate thought the complaints were not
large enough concerns to merit a re-vote, said Snow. I’m glad it’s over, said
President-elect Maynard. It’s been a long ordeal, and at times it was trying. I
hope next year brings more cooperation among students and faculty so we can
move on and have a better Student Government, added Vice-President-elect
Edwards. I hope that we can all learn from our mistakes so that no one else has
to go through the emotional roller coaster that all the candidates endured,
said Rust. It is sad that the entire re-election was done on the basis of a
rumor that people were going to petition. I wish that there would have been a
petition. I would also like to wish Megan and Matt well for next year, and
together we can hopefully avoid anything like this again. Cooke could not be
reached for comment.
Fine Arts Building in need of
improvement
By GENNA STARGELL
Despite all of
the construction occurring on the Virginia Wesleyan College campus, many
improvements are necessary in the already existing Fine Arts building. Dr.
David Clayton, choir director and professor of music, said the college has poor
and inadequate performance facilities that could be fixed very easily.
According to Clayton, the building does not look very appealing to new students
who see the building as it is. The new student center was needed, said Clayton.
I do not deny that. It’s just that we have been doing the best we can for a
long time now. It is really hard for a singer to go into the one practice room
we have and sing, because they are not soundproof. Clayton and the rest of the
music faculty are hoping for the Board of Trustees to put these concerns on the
agenda very soon. The cinderblock building can be a little dreary, said
Clayton. If they could just paint the walls and fix up the lobby a little bit
to make it look more attractive in the meantime, it would be great. Not only
does the Fine Arts building not have adequate performing space and lacks a
pleasant lobby, it also has limited office space and practice areas.
Artist-in-residence Lee Jordan Anders has an office complete with piano, desk
and computer. Clayton also has an office furnished with these things. Sandra
Billy, part-time director of the Center for Sacred Music, has an office shared
with voice instructor Billy Brown Youmans. These three offices are in the back
hallway, along with the two classrooms, also used as practice rooms. These
rooms have codes that must be unlocked before entering. Some students have
problems getting into the rooms because their codes don’t work. The practice
rooms are OK, said senior Nicole Linstedt. I really don’t use them, because
they aren’t soundproof and people can always hear me vocalizing. Linstedt is a
student who spends a lot of her time in the music building. If the facilities
were a little more up-to-date, I think we could get a lot more participation
here, she said. The kids that come to Wesleyan can’t possibly be impressed with
our theater. Senior Michael Dailey said that the music department has brought
in excellent groups to perform. If we bring in all these people and groups to
perform for us, and they see our facility, which is not an especially good room
to sing or play instruments in, they may not be inclined to return, said
Dailey. The program itself has really come a long way, but it is still
struggling because of the space that we have to work with. The theater is fine
for the drama department, but as far as acoustics go, there isn’t much to say
about that room. Dailey is part of the Virginia Opera and has been singing with
the Wesleyan Singers for four years. The building may not need to be completely
redone, but just fixed in certain areas, he said. It really isn’t fair for the
drama department to have to share the rooms with the music department. The art
wing of the building should be in a completely different building,too. We could
really use that space back there. Clayton says his choirs are doing well right
now, but he can only imagine what they could be if the facilities were a little
better.