Page 10
The Blue Banner
Celebration held to raise support for hemp
Irish Parker
Guest Writer
The second annual Hemp
Ball was held at 31 Patton on
March 1. The organizers sold
products made from hemp to
raise money in efforts to fight
marijuana prohibition laws.
Dan Waterman, an Asheville
resident, said he wants to see
the prohibition laws concern
ing marijuana repealed.
Waterman presently heads
N.C. Hemp. The organiza
tion is a group of activists dedi
cated to fighting marijuana
prohibition. “We (N.C.
Hemp) have a couple of ac
tions in mind. We are circu
lating a petition to present to
the Asheville City Council to
ask that Asheville be declared
a compassionate use zone
Waterman said. He explained
the meaning of compassion-
ate-use zone.
“In other places, such as San
Francisco, people have started
cannabis buyers’ groups that
are cooperatives to buy can
nabis for AIDS patients, can
cer patients, people with glau
coma or various medical prob
lems.” He added that people
who want to acquire the mari
juana must have a prescrip
tion, or a letter from their
physician verifying medical
need for the plant.
“Besides the medical uses, we
(N.C. Hemp) would like to
see the laws in the greater
Asheville area changed, so no
one will be arrested for pos
sessing small amounts of mari-
juana for their personal use.
Last year, there were 481,000
people arrested and charged
for marijuana possession in the
United States,” he said.
Waterman said of those ar
rests, 83.7 percent were pos
session charges.
The physical damage a mari
juana user inflicts on their
health is comparable to to
bacco, North Carolina’s most
infamous cash crop.
Waterman said.
Waterman also said mari
juana income for N.C. is equal
to tobacco.
The tobacco industry is a
multi-billion dollar business.
Legalizing marijuana would
add the equivalent of a second
tobacco industry to the state’s
taxable economy, he said.
“Hemp can be processed into
paper, fabric, lamp oil, plas
tics, and many other prod
ucts,” said Waterman.
“The plant has many uses
and can be grown easily. Busi
nesses may fear the competi
tion a legal marijuana crop
could give them,” Waterman
said. “People who want the
laws repealed should contact
politicians and state their po
sition.”
He also suggested pleading
not guilty when charged with
simple marijuana possession.
“It may be a small fine the first
time, but it goes on your record
permanently. If you are ever
charged again, you are per
ceived as a repeat drug of
fender,” he said.
Waterman moved to
Asheville after living in Wash
ington state.
He was active in working to
change marijuana laws in
Washington, and founded
N.C. Hemp.
Test
continued from page one
Plan
continued from page one
building a new entrance to the
university that would have
Edgewood road bypass the
campus by running across the
parking lot below the Belk
Theater.
This lot would be replaced
by a parking building in that
area and one across from the
Humanities Lecture Hall.
This drawing also showed the
traffic moving one way around
University Heights.
This idea would allow a four-
foot-wide bicycle lane and
easier entrance to parking lots,
Pruett said.
He also said the new entrance
would keep through traffic
away form the campus.
The last set of plans Pruett
showed included the develop
ment of the north end of the
campus located beyond the
Health and Fitness Building
and the south end of campus
located across W.T. Weaver
Boulevard.
The drawing of the north
end showed Division Street
being lengthened to connect
with the street that leads up to
Chestnut Ridge.
The land between the track
and Division Street could be a
site for a new baseball and
soccer field.
The area above Division
Street could be a site for a new
convocation building and
parking lot.
This could also be the new
location of the Physical Plant,
Pruett said.
The south end of campus
could also be the site for a new
convocation building and a
soccer stadium, or a building
including both a conference
center and convocation cen
ter.
This area would be a better
choice for the center, because
it has more space to put the
parking lots needed, Pruett
said.
The final drawing Pruett pre
sented was a proposal of a small
conference center located on
Chestnut Ridge.
In this plan the ridge would
only be 40 percent developed,
said Pruett.
The drawing also proposed
a small university retreat build
ing and conservation area.
After Pruett finished his
speech, he opened up the floor
for questions.
A student asked why the sci
ence building was the largest
new building on the plan.
John Stevens, professor of
chemistry, helped Pruett an
swer the question by saying
the math and science depart
ments use 40 percent of the
class room space presently on
campus.
Stevens asked why there was
not anything planned for the
area between Division Street
and Broadway where the
church used to be located.
Pruett said that area was just
too small for anything like a
building or a ball field.
Pete Williams, director,
housing and residence life,
went up to the drawings and
pointed out that the area where
the gravel parking lot is pres
ently located could be another
alternative site for new dormi
tories.
He also said he liked the idea
of building the new dormito
ries on the wooded area beside
the Dining Hall.
“We are starting to hear com
mon threads of concerns,”
Pruett said as he ended the
forum.
He will record the comments
that he receives from these
meetings and consolidate them
into one or two final concepts
in April.
Beginning Monday, March 18,1996
M-Th: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 7 p.m.-ll:30 p.m.
Fri: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 8 p.m.-ll:30 p.m.
Sat: 8 p.m.-ll p.m.
, Sun: 7 p.m.-ll:30 p.m.
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is some preparation available
at the Sylvan Learning Cen
ter. “That’s fairly new,” said
Williams.
Williams said many people
go far out of their way to keep
from taking the GRE on the
computer. Some reasons could
be because the computer test
is not as good and some be
cause of peoples resistance to
change, she said.
“I wasn’t very happy about
that (the elimination of the
October date) but in ETS’s
defense, these are the choice
years. You can take it either
way. In the past, you couldn’t,”
said Williams.
There is a maximum capac
ity of people who can take the
test on a particular date at
UNCA, explained Williams.
“We don’t often reach that
maximum capacity, it depends
on when they register,” she
said. The first 100 or 120 stu
dents that register can be ac
commodated here, she said.
“We also take people on a
walk-in basis, and since I have
been here giving test, three
years now, we haven’t turned
away any walk-ins,” said Wil
liams.
If a student registers and the
total registered is over the
maximum capacity, then that
student gets the next closest
site, which might be Char
lotte, NC.
But, they can show up that
morning at UNCA to see if
there is an opening, said Wil
liams.
“We can’t guarantee them
that they can take it here,”
said Williams, “but since I have
been here we have accommo
dated all walk-ins or change-
of-site requests.”
WilHams said that this is usu
ally on first-come-first-serve
basis, but ETS sends betweeij
20 and 30 extra tests.
A student registers to take
the GRE by getting a registra
tion booklet from the career
center.
This booklet contains the reg
istration form and envelope and
it explains the payment sched
ule, and what kind of identifi
cation is needed.
Williams said ETS accommo
dates special needs request and
learning disabilities.
“ETS has been extremely stu
dent-centered,” she said.
The 1995-96 General Test
Descriptive Booklet, available
at the career center, explains
the computer-adaptive test
(CAT). It marks the beginning
of several planned changes in
the GRE General Test designed
to improve assessments of the
abilities of potential graduate
students.
CAT provides precise infor
mation about an examinee’s
abilities using fewer questions
than the traditional General
Test, because questions are tai
lored to an individual
examinee’s ability level in each
of the three standard General
Test measures (verbal, quanti
tative, and analytical).
Oscar Mayer intern praises Weinermobile
(CPS)-Work experience:
Hotdogger. Ambassador of
good will for hot dog com
pany. Skills include greeting
people at parades, festivals,
other public events. Can paral
lel park a 27-foot-long hot dog.
Put that on the resume, and
it’s bound to attract attention
from employers.
Without a doubt, the Oscar
Mayer Weinermobile wins the
award for the world’s zaniest
internship. Where else can one
spend a year road-tripping
across the land in a gigantic hot
dog-on-wheels? To get the full
“flavor” or this internship, Dan
Duff, one of 12 “Hotdoggers”
who piloted the Weinermobile
during 1995, tells his story.
What does it take to be a
Hotdogger?
You have to be extroverted.
You’ve got people coming up
to you everyday asking all sorts
of questions. You can’t be shy.
Some people ask about the his
tory of the Weinermobile, oth
ers ask about the specifications
of the vehicle. Occasionally,
someone will as k if (the
Weinermobile) floats, because
the buns look like pontoons to
some. Others ask what it runs
on. I usually say, “High-octane
mustard.”
What is your favorite memory
as a Hotdogger?
On July 4th, we did a Fourth
of July parade in upstate New
York, and then we hauled our
buns down to Washington,
D.C., for the Fourth of July
party at the White House. We
actually didn’t take the
Weinermobile onto the drive
way of the White House-we
parked on the Ellipse. Then we
went into the party and watched
the fireworks display from the
South Lawn.
Are hot dogs actually avail
able from the Weinermobile?
Although we have a micro
wave and a refrigerator, we
don’t go around grilling dogs
in the Weinermobile. Some
times we’ll go to an event, and
they’ll have a grill for us, and
we’ll actually work the grill.
What does the Weinermobile
license plate read?
Our license plate is “OUR
DOG,” and the other ones are
“HOT DOG,” “BIG BUN,”
“YUMMY,” “WEINER,” and
“OSCAR.”
Have you ever been pulled
over in the Weinermobile?
We’ve been pulled over by
policemen a lot. New Jersey
and Pennsylvania state troop
ers love to pull us over-just to
see the inside of the
Weinermobile.
But, I’ve never been pulled
over for speeding or gotten into
any accidents.
Is the Weinermobile a mag
net for romance?
Well, sure. You meet al sorts
of people. You definitely get
people coming up and flirting
with you.
It’s kind of funny, because
my partner is a woman. We
witness how guys will come up
and talk to her, and girls will
come up and talk to me. it s
kind of fun to watch your part
ner when people start totally
flirting.
M-Th: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Fri: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
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