Features
Orchid show
brings spring
and color to
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Sports
Martial arts club
begins weekly
practices in
Justice Gym.
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Volume 31 Issue 8
March 30, 2000
Students face drug charges
PHOTO COURTESY OF AN ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTOR.
Public safety recently confiscated marijuana paraphernalia during three incidents involving students In dormito-
ries.
By Susan McCord
Staff Writer
Sarah Wilkins
News Editor
UNCA public safety recently
handled three separate incidents
of marijuana possession by stu
dents on campus, a crackdown
which is part of the UNCA zero-
tolerance policy for drugs and
alcohol, according to Jerry Adams,
public safety investigator.
“Students need to know that we
have zero tolerance for alcohol
and for drugs, and ifwe get called,
we are going to take action,” said
Adams.
The incidents occurred when
students and resident assistants
reported to public safety that they
smelled marijuana coming from
dormitory rooms in Governor’s
Village and Founders Hall, ac
cording to Adams,
“I don’t believe it’s right to tell
on people,” said a female student
charged with possession of mari
juana, who does not wish to be
identified.
“Ifwhat we were doing was both
ering a student, it would have
been a lot more courteous to knock
on the door and say, ‘Hey, I’d
really appreciate it if you all.
wouldn’t do that,” said the stu
dent.
The students that were inter
rupted smoking marijuana in the
rooms were generally cooperative,
and handed over the contraband
to the officers, according to
Adams.
“In two cases we did not have to
search, in the other we did, some
what,” said Adams. “We found
some things, and the rest of the
stuff was given to us.”
Two of the students, a male stu
dent and the female student, will
be prosecuted by city courts, ac
cording to Adams.
The other student, whose name
public safety would not disclose,
will be penalized by UNCA’s stu
dent conduct committee, accord
ing to Adams.
Officer discretion determines
whether students are penalized
through the school or sent down
town.
Even if a student is charged with
marijuana possession by city po
lice, he or she may still be subject
to punishment through UNCA
by the Student Conduct Com
mittee, according to Meg Dutneli,
assistant director of student devel
opment and a participant in the
committee.
“At least two students sit on the
committee, in addition to a staff
chair,” said Dutneli. “It’s a very
fair system, set up to help the
student succeed.”
The punishments imposed de
pends on a number of factors,
including whether the student has
a previous record, according to
Dutneli.
“It’s a very individualized sys
tem to protect the students (and)
to give them a fair shake,” said
Dutneli.
If the offense was coupled with
another violation, such as an al
cohol violation, punishment
could be worse, according to
Dutneli.
Also affecting how the Student
Conduct Committee handles
marijuana offenses is how well
the student cooperates with the
committee and with university
officials.
“If a person is more cooperative,
the officer sometimes takes a dif
ferent route,” said Adams. “Each
See DRUG
paget
Biochemistry added to program
By Kathryn Krouse
Staff Writer
UNCA chemistry majors can take
classes under the new biochemistry
concentration this fall, which could
double the amount of chemistry
majors, according to representatives
of the chemistry department.
“UNCA’s admissions office has
already indicated that they would
find the biochemistry concentra
tion to be a valuable recruiting tool,”
said Keith Krumpe, associate pro
fessor of chemistry.
The new concentration under the
chemistry major will allow students
to graduate with a Bachelor of Sci
ence degree {mainly pre-fnedical)
or a Bachelor of Arts degree (mainly
pharmaceutical) in biochemistry,
according to Bert Holmes, chair of
chemistry.
“It fits the spirit of what UNCA
wants to be in terms of being an
interdisciplinary, broad based, lib
eral arts school,” said Holmes.
UNCA will be the only state insti
tution to offer the biochemistry
concentration in Western N.C.,
according to Holmes.
“This will make our students com
petitive in the job market with this
curriculum because it is similar to
that of our peer schools,” said
Holmes.
PHOTO BY JASON GRAHAM
Keith Krumpe, associate professor of chemistry, is in
volved in the biochemistry concentration.
Hiring new faculty is not neces
sary to teach the concen tration right
now, according to Holmes.
There are only two new classes
being added for the concentration.
The rest of the courses already exist
in the biology and chemistry ma
jors.
“^We can cover it this year by hir
ing adjuncts. Since it is mainly a
combination of courses that are al
ready being taught, with different
packaging, it does not require a
new set of courses with new profes
sors,” said Holmes.
As the concentration’s student
enrollment numbers increase, the
need for new faculty may arise if
new sections need to be added or
when new research opportunities
become available, according to
Holmes.
The funding for the concentra
tion comes partly from general ad
ministration, according to Holmes.
The N.C. Center for Biotechnol
ogy will also provide resources to
institutions that offer biochemis-
try-
“I can assure you that our stu
dents, when they graduate, will be
as good, or better, than graduates
from the larger schools,” said
Holmes.
The biochemistry courses will be
a concentration instead of a major
because of the requirements placed
on the curriculum, according to
Holmes.
“To do a major, you have to get
permission to plan,” said Holmes.
“You have to have the plan ap
proved by the general administra
tion, and then it will take three or
four years to get it implemented,.”
“If you add it as a concentration
within an existing major, you can
begin in ayear or so,” said Holmes.
The project to offer the concen
tration began a year ago when
Holmes and Krumpe attended a
conference at McAlester College in
Minneapolis, Minn., according to
Holmes.
The conference guided the chem
istry department’s design for the
biochemistry curriculum, accord
ing to Holmes.
Biochemistry “is an emerging field.
The pharmaceutical industry is
booming,” said Holmes.
“There are a lot of job opportuni
ties for biochemists. Out of college,
the lowest starting salary for a stu
dent with a degree in biochemistry
was $32,000,” said Holmes.
See MAJOR page 8
N.C. campuses
need $6 billion
By Davon Heath
Staff Writer
A study by the UNC system has
indicated that over six billion dol
lars will be needed for capital im
provements for the 16 UNC
schools, according to Tom Byers,
special assistant to the chancellor.
“Three years ago the legislature
asked the university system to un
dertake a systematic study of the 16
UNC campuses, to evaluate the
equity and the
Hail, Phillips Hall and Lipinsky
Hall.
Plans also call for adding 365 new
beds to replace'some existing ones.
Additional parking and other gen
eral campus improvements will also
be made, according to the Facilities
Profile and 10-year Capital Plan.
“The list of needs for UNCA is
extensive,” said Byers. “This cam
pus is 40 years old.”
The buildings “have been well
taken care of, but things do wear
out, and they become obsolete,”
said Byers. “It is the obsolescence
that’s become the big issue now on
all the UNC
campuses
took into con
sideration sta
tistical infor
mation, such
as enrollment
figures and
projections,
and looked at problems on site.
“UNCA’s projection (for ex
penses) over a 10-year period is set
at about $152 million,” said Byers.
The appropriations request for
UNCA covers renovations and ad
ditions to the Highsmith Center, a
new math/science building, a new
physical plant building and reno
vations to Carmichael Hall, Zaiger
PHOTO BY WALTER FYLER
Appalachian State University
Chancellor Frank Borkowski
presents some financial needs
at the meeting on March 27 at
UNCA,
institution,
said Byers.
“We have all
agreed we’ll
focus on the
science building, because almost
every one of the 16 UNC campuses
science facilities are an issue. “
Improvements at this level will
have to go through a legislative
process, according to Byers.
The legislators’ campus visit in-
See MEETING page 8
Cellular phones
given for safety
By Alison Watson
staff Writer
Bell Atlantic Mobile (BAM) and
the North Carolina Coalition
Against Domestic
Violence (NCC
ADV) came to
gether and do
nated 10 wireless
cellular phones to
UNCA’s public
safety department
to help protect
students against'
domestic violence.
“1 feel like these
phones are a gooii
idea, but their ef
fectiveness isques-
tionable,” said Art
vonLehe, an envi
ronmental science
major.
If a student feels
PHOTO BY JASON GRAHAM
Vicki Harris, public
safety victim/witness
officer, charges one of
the cellular phones given
to UNCA.
threatened, such as being stalked,
they can go to public safety and
pick upone of the wireless phones
to keep with them in case of an
emergency.
The question concerns whether
someone in a violent domestic situ
ation will actually have the oppor
tunity to pick up the phone and use
it.
“We realize nothing is foolproof.
These phones will still be available,
and may make
the difference
between life and
death,” said
Allen Tasker, a
BAM represen
tative.
The NCCADV
and BAM gave
phones to other
N.C. universities
as well. The two
g’i'oups felt that
providing wire
less phones to
college campuses
may save lives in
the future.
“This, is a
chance to add
more options towards safety on
See PHONES page 8