V^olume 31 Issue 2
February 10, 2000
Renovation delayed
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PHOTO BY WALTER FYLER
Dante’s will be closing in May, and will re-open as Chick-Fil-A in
August.
By Kathryn Krouse
staff Writer
Renovations to Dante’s in
the Highsmith Center have
been postponed until May
due to unexpected paper
work delays, according to
the director of food services.
“The university is com
mitted to getting it done.
It’s the state that has slowed
us down,” said Ken Bare
foot, director of food ser-
The renovations sched
uled to occur over winter
break were delayed because
the architectural plans are
still at the State Department
of Insurance (SDI) in Ra
leigh. The SDI was eight
weeks behind in their pa
perwork, according to Bare
foot.
Proposals to start renova
tion over spring break were
rejected. It seemed more ap
propriate to do them in May
so that Dante’s could re
main open for students af
ter break until the end of
the semester, according to
Sharyn McDonald Groh,
director of student activi-
Structurally, Dante’s will
change. The plans need ap
proval by the state before
construction begins.
Changes involve the floor
plan, furnishings, wall deco
rations, counter arrange
ments and cooking spaces,
according to Barefoot.
The spring renovation to
Dante’s will accompany
other planned renovations
in Highsmith. These in
clude the old serving area
that will become a coffee
house, and getting a new
roof, according to
McDonald Groh.
Construction for the
Chick-Fil-A will begin in
May after classes and fin
ished by August.
Expectations are that the
Chick-Fil-A will generate
more traffic in the
Highsmith Center, accord
ing to Barefoot. He said he
would like to see Highsmith
return to a gathering place
for students, a place where
pebple can grab a cafe latte
and a sandwich and watch
television with their friends.
“In Buncombe County,
there are three Chick-Fil-A
locations, and one of them
will be on our campus,” said
Barefoot, “I think it will give
Dante’s more draw. Maybe
it will even pull some com
munity folks. It’s a student
center and I would like to
see students come back.”
“I think it’s great that
Chick-Fil-A is opening. I
think it will be good for the
school and hopefully it will
be the beginning of new
things to coming UNCA,”
said Samia Fercha, a junior
marketing major.
The
renovations are
the be
ginning of larger construc
tion plans for Highsmith.
Since the funding for
Highsmith’s complete reno
vation was delayed last year,
these smaller renovations are
being completed, according
to Barefoot.
Chick-Fil-A will be fi
nanced by money that comes
out of the food service bud
get. The money for the other
renovations occurring this
summer will come out of
student fees, said McDonald
Groh.
Although Chick-Fil-A has
a policy not to operate on
Sundays, negotiations are
underway to determine how
Dante’s can serve some food
during those hours.
“It’s going to be a chal
lenge, but we’ll work some
thing out,” said Barefoot.
“Marriott’s contract with
Chick-Fil-A is that
(Dante’s) will be open. We
will not serve Chick-Fil-A
products, but we will serve
other products,” said
McDonald Groh. “We can’t
serve Chick-Fil-A, but we
can (serve) our own (food).”
Some students disagree
with the plan to replace
Dante’s with Chick-Fil-A.
“I don’t think it is a good
idea. The menu does not
give vegetarians an alterna
tive to the cafeteria,” said
Jacques Gambel Primo, a
sophomore recording arts
major. “Potatoes and cole
slaw can only go so far.”
Many students on campus
are vegetarian, according to
Barefoot. Efforts to com
pensate for Chick-Fil-A’s
menu will involve dining
services selling vegetarian
specials alongside the Chick-
Fil-A products. A garden
burger will become a main
staple of the Dante’s menu.
One of the challenges of
the Dante’s staff will be cre
ating sandwiches, particu
larly vegetarian ones. Stu
dents are encouraged to stop
into Dante’s and let the
manager know if they have
any recipes for vegetarian
dishes that can be kept cold,
said Barefoot.
Meal plan supplements,
like Munch Money, should
continue, according to Bare
foot. Negotiations are in the
works with Marriott Din
ing Services and Chick-Fil-
See DANTE'S page 8
Gay and lesbian con
ference next week
By Devon Heath
Staff Writer
The third annual Gay and
Lesbian Studies Conference,
being held next week, is an
opportunity for students, fac
ulty and community mem
bers to experience alternative
groups in an academic set
ting, according to a represen
tative of the conference.
“The conference is to pro
vide for the exchangeof ideas,”
said Michael Jones, assistant
professor of classics and con
ference organizer. “It’s a fo
rum for students, faculty and
community members who are
interested in things that have
to do with gay, lesbian, bi
sexual, transgendered and
queer identities.”
The keynote speaker this year
is Marjorie Garber, a profes
sor from Harvard University.
Garber will present “Sexing
the Squash, or Visualizing
Bisexuality.”
“This year’s conference
theme is Terformance and the
Body,’” said Melissa
Burchard, assistant professor
of philosophy and conference
organizer.
The conference is sponsored
by several campus depart
ments, including the office of
academic affairs, the cultural
special events committee, a
grant from the Mills Fund
and UNCA Out, according
to Burchard.
UNCA Out is a campus or
ganization for gays, lesbians,
bisexual and trans-gendered
students who want an oppor
tunity to feel a sense of com
munity, according to Julie
Witt, a senior art major and
co-leader of UNCA Out.
The conference has the abil
ity to accomplish many things
on a lot of different levels and
it is a good starting point for
discussions to occur more fre
quently, according to
Burchard.
“Creating a visibility forum
for people of alternative or
queer identities, makes it easier
(for individuals) to understand
themselves as real,” said
Burchard. “For us to be real, it
makes it real for other people. ”
Students come away from
the conference feeling a sense
of empowerment. There are
people who gain a stronger
sense of self by getting in
volved and playing a more
visible role in the conference,
according to Jones.
“Issues are brought up to the
forum where (they are) treated
as education instead of sub
versive culture. To be able to
come (to the conference), ex
plore who you are and to be
part of a community is really
cool,” said Joshua Kumm, a
junior psychology major and
UNCA Out co-leader.
“To enlighten, inform and
support UNCA’s gays, lesbi
ans, bisexual and trans-
gendered students and all
members of the university
community interested in pro
viding a safe and affirming
environment on campus, is
Out’s mission statement, ac
cording to Witt.
UNCA Out uses many tools
in addition to the conference
to educate people, according
to Witt. Guest speakers, post
ers and safe zone signs are a
way of getting their voices out
there.
“Being involved in the plan
ning stages of the conference
and being involved in UNCA
Out is helping me feel more
connected to people,” said
Witt. “This is a place where
you can be yourself, a place
where I can explore who I am
and what that means to me as
a person for my future.
“We try to get students in
volved in all stages of the con
ference,” said Burchard. “We
want them to feel that this
event really belongs to them.
“(The conference) is enlight
ening,” said Kumm. “I feel
comfortable and it’s an in
credible way to talk with pro
fessors.”
Laurian Richards, a senior
political science major and co
leader of UNCA Out, said she
made a conscious effort to be
involved and be a focused
member of Out, which has
over 90 members.
“I feel as long as there are
some of us who stay involved
and keep people informed
(then) we’ve made the cam
pus a little bit safer for those of
us who are not straight, and a
little more diverse for those
who are,” said Richards. “We
do a lot just by being here and
staying active.”
UNCA is on the right track
since these types of events help
to legitimize diverse groups
and issues, according to
Burchard.
“If we don’t recognize that
these issues are important,
then we haven’t really under
stood the world in some im
portant ways,” said Burchard.
“If UNCA is about anything,
the liberal arts mission should
be about understanding the
world. Let’s really learn what
the differences mean and try
See GLSC page 8
New program bonds
UNCA with Asheville
By Susan McCord
staff Writer
The Great Smokies Writing Pro
gram will connect the regional writ
ing community with UNCA
through a monthly reading series
and new extension courses, accord
ing to a literature professor.
The new series, called “Writers at
Htjme,” will feature monthly read
ings by local writers who “have
been publishing, and who are wor
thy of our attention,” said Rick
Chess, director of the university s
creative writing program.
The program, held in the
LaurelForum, will also hold work
shops in poetry and prose, which
will be taught by local writers.
Chess and Valerie Leff, a local
writer, formulated the program of
readings and workshops, when Leff
expressed to Chess her wishes and
those of her colleagues in the local
writing community.
‘We kept expressing the same
wish: that there was a forum where
could get together, share our
Writing and see what other people
were doing, and a place where we
could study,” said Leff.
Chess then drew on university
resources to put the program intb
place.
“There wasn’t (a location) that
was featuring people who were sort
of in that in-between place of not
being flown in from New York for
a book signing, but who were ready
to get up and read for 20 to 25
minutes, and who were publish
ing,” said LefF.
The “Writers at Home” series is
trying to fill that gap, according to
Leff.
UNCA faculty named this col
laboration between the university
and regional community. The Great
Smokies WritingProgram, because
the biggest focus of the program is
that it’s for the region, for the com
munity, according to Leff.
Students who attend “will be ex
posed to the work of these really
fine writers. They will have an op
portunity to learn from these writ
ers,” said Chess.
The workshops are as beneficial
for community writers as they are
for traditional UNCA undergradu
ates, according to Chess.
Developed with the office of spe
cial academic programs, the work
shops were designed for individuals
who are “looking at writing literary
fiction or serious poetry, said
Chess.
As extension courses, the work
shops are open to non-degree seek
ing writers who miss out on regular
creative writing classes at UNCA,
because they register last, accord
ing to Chess.
The workshop will help a writer
“take the plunge” and complete a
first writing project, “even if it’s a
mess,” according to the workshop
flier.
“In general, the university is try
ing to offer programs for the com
munity, like the College for Se
niors, and the Super Saturday for
kids,” said Leff “They want to be
come more of a community re
source, not just for undergraduate
education.”
The writing community shows an
encouraging response. “What’s
been wonderful is seeing how many
eligible readers we have. We have
enough people at this point to fill
up two years of programming, do
ing 10 readings a year,” said Leff
Malaprop’s, a local bookstore,
helped by providing a mailing list
of interested people, according
Leff.
In addition, the spring workshops
have several interested participants,
according to Chess.
See SERIES page l
Space issues more crucial
than copyright crimes
PHOTO STAGED BY WALTER FYLER
Brian Smith, a freshman English major, downloads MP3
files. The advent of a new law prohibits downloading
copyrighted material on the Internet.
By Sarah Wilkins
News Editor
The Nov. 1999 Millennium Copy
right Act has not affected the UNCA
computer center 'policies on regu
lating copyright infringement, ac
cording to a representative of the
compuer center.
“Our real concern is not what the
students are doing or not doing,
because we don’t actively police the
networkhere,” said Mark Fox, com
puter consultant for the UNCA
computer center. “We are con
cerned about our system resources.”
The Millennium Copyright Act
amended the current copyright laws
to make computer stored informa
tion copyrighted, according to a
computer center flier.
Everything from 1989 to the
present is automatically copyrighted
by sheer nature, except for a con
cept. A person or^ company no
longer has to go to the copyright
office and register their material,
according to Fox.
“Therefore, nearly everything
on the Internet is copyrighted
and it is your responsibility to
get permission before using
someone else’s work,” according
to the flier.
In the past year, there has been
a significant increase of people
copying m ()eg 1 layer 3’s (MP3),
or sound files, according to Fox.
Several UNCA students have
been asked to remove their serv
ers from the system because they
had high volumes of MP3’s. This
was done because it was decreas
ing the bandwidth of the system,
according to Fox.
“As long as you don’t do it in
the (computer) labs or in large
amounts, there should not be a
problem,” said Derek Meeker, a
sophomore computer science
major.
Anytime files are uploaded or
downloaded, the computer cen
ter network resources are being
used up, and it becomes a con
cern for the computer center,
according to Fox.
The computer center is look
ing for excessive bandwidth, yet
they have no interest in personal
See CENTER page 8