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Vol. 1, No. 1
Thursday, January 24, 1974
Asheville, N. C.
Administration worried by new paper
By Marti Cooksey
The last pre-publica-
tion meeting of the Free
Press staff Wednesday af
ternoon in the Student
Government offices was
highlighted by the unex
pected visit of Tom Dea-
son, UNC-A dean of stu
dents, who arrived ten
minutes late and, after
figuring out what it was
all about, proceeded to
tell the staff that such
a project was a virtual
impossibility on the
UNC-A campus.
“There is no way to do
it," Deason told the
flabbergasted group of
student journalists, un
less the Student Govern
ment can get approval
from Chancellor William
Highsmith to start the
paper. '’I'm not opposing
you," Deason said, "I'm
saying go about it
right," Later in the di
alogue he admitted that
the chances of getting
Highsmith*s approval of
such a student free press
are "slim and none."
"At this university
students have more free
dom than any school in
the South," Deason said.
But under the University
of North Carolina system,
"the Student Government
president comes under the
jurisdiction of the dean
of students," he said.
"On this university
campus, you've got to get
the Chancellor's approval
before you do anything,
technically," Deason de
clared. He also opined
that any new paper on
campus would be in compe
tition with The Ridgerun-
ner, the campus newspaper
that hasn't published
since before Christmas,
"There would be nothing
wrong with a bulletin.
That would be fine," he
said. But if the stu
dents start a new paper,
"it has to have approval
from the Administration,"
Deason continued. " if
the Chancellor disap
proves , then you're in
trouble," he said.
The dean went on to say
he felt The Ridgerunner
was "the Free Press of
UNC-A." Students present
disagreed with him, and a
heated one-hour agrument
ensued.
"This would appear to
be a competitive situa
tion," Deason said. "He
(the Chancellor) will
call it an underground
newspaper. If it is not
approved, then he is go
ing to kill it. I know
he will do it," he said.
"The university has
worked very hard to have
an autonomous newspaper,"
Deason declared. "I know
how the chancellor feels
about this. You are only
Is the catalog wrong?
By Pam Thompson
"... an open, vital at
mosphere where ideas can
clash freely, where lear
ning is respected, and
where the pursuit of
knowledge and truth is a
joint student-faculty
endeavor."
This statement of the
6bjectives of UNC-A can
be found in the 1973-74
catalog, but a look a-
round campus is enough to
make one feel that stu
dents face problems and
seek goals confronted by
other campuses ten years
ago.
A major example of this
can be cited in the cri
teria used by Dr. Roy
Riggs, vice chancellor of
academic affairs, to e-
valuate an assistant pro
fessor whose contract is
coming up for renewal in
June. The professor's
identity will not be dis
closed here, for apparent
reasons.
The statement from the
catalog leads a prospec
tive student to believe
that individuality is
sought and respected on
campus. If this is true,
then the assumption can
be made that professors
and students who do not
conform to the status quo
are accepted if not en
couraged here.
Perhaps a few quota
tions from the January
27, 1972 evaluation of
the professor will il
lustrate my point:
"Were it not for his
head band, he would not
be particularly contro
versial; some of his col
leagues wear hair just as
long and dress just as
sloppily "
"Had he appeared the
first time wearing his
head band, I doubt very
much that he would have
been employed," Riggs
wrote,
Remarks such as these
from the administration
make one seriously doubt
their sincerity in rela
tion to stated goals.
How can there be an at
mosphere where ideas
clash freely when at the
same time a professor's
contract renewal is be
ing questioned because of
his dress?
The vice chancellor
clearly shows that indi
viduality is not only
discouraged, but that the
process of hiring faculty
members largely depends
on conformity in ideas
and dress.
What can students do if
they are concerned about
the hiring and firing
process? In the case
mentioned here, they
wrote letters to Dr.
Riggs supporting the pro
fessor's renewal but the
results were unfavorable
rather than beneficial to
the professor's position.
Recently a special com-
Continued Page 4 . . . -
going to have one newspa
per on the campus."
Meanwhile, the student
senate in a called meet
ing Wednesday night unan
imously voted to fund the
new paper with a $250
appropriation after hear
ing Wright describe the
paper's goals. About 15
students were present at
the meeting to support
the Free Press, and urge
the senate to give it
legislative support,
A motion to seek off-
campus funding for the
paper in the event High
smith kills the idea was
tabled until the next
meeting.
General sentiment among
the Free Press staff and
around Student Govern
ment, sponsor of the pap
er, was that publication
should go forward as
planned, pending applica
tion with the Chancellor
for approval as a bona
fide University publi
cation.
Mandatory food
program hit
By David Ramseur
Well aware of strong
student sentiment against
it, the administration
recently announced plans
for a mandatory food ser
vice for dorm students
next year. Ironically,
two days before this an
nouncement, the admini
stration received the re
sults of a poll showing
dorm students opposing a
mandatory service by 95
to 3.
When confronted with
the apparent lack of at
tention being paid to
student feelings at the
recent Campus Fonim meet
ing, the administration
strongly defended their
plan. Despite student
opposition to the plan,
the administration seemed
to feel it was the best
Continued Page 4 . . . .