Pdge 10
The Blue Banner
September 14,2000
news
Web site used for communication
Annie Crandall
Staff Writer
The student government associa
tion (SGA) is currently working on
a new Web site for student.s where
they will be able to vote online
ballots and provide feedback to
SGA, according to Ryan Southern,
SGA president and a senior politi
cal science and multi-media arts
and sciences major.
“We intend to make students’ lives
better by keeping them informed
and helping when we can to resolve
issues here,” said Southern. “Stu
dents need to be aware in order to
be empowered to help themselves.”
SGA is an organization that is a
resource for the student body to use
to voice concerns and opinions re
garding campus issues, according
to Southern.
“We are coming up with different
ways the students can get plugged
into campus,” said Southern. “For
instance, we are designating vari
ous campus officials to meet with
an SGA senator once a week, then
the senators come and report back
to us in our meetings.”
By meeting weekly with campus
officials, SGA plans to have an es
tablished link to these departments
should any situation arise when the
input of the SGA staff is called for.
“That may seem like something
we should have been doing all
along,” said Southern. “But, for
some reason, we were not doing
that.”
Several students said that SGA has
an important role at UNCA.
“For the most part, they are effec
tive, and it is good to know they are
there, said Bess Arendall, an unde
clared sophomore. “They act as a
liaison between officials and stu
dents.”
“I think SGA is effective to a de
gree, some of the stuff does not get
done, but they do give it their best,”
said Scott Morehead, a sophomore
industrial engineer and manage
ment major.
A specific goal for SGA includes
better communication with the stu
dent body in general by using ad
vertisements.
“We tried very hard to get the
word out,” said Southern. “We
posted advertisements on freshman
residence doors, we put up banners
and we put up information in the
cafeteria.”
As a result of the canvassing, SGA
had 12 people running for fresh
man senate positions. They have
not had that kind of participation
in 12 years, according to Southern.
“The commuter senate positions
have always been hard ones to fill,
but this year we had 11 people
interested in the position,” said
Southern.
There are a total of 18 senate
positions in the SGA, which in
cludes three from each class, three
from residential students and three
from commuters. Every student at
UNCA is eligible to vote for presi
dent and vice president of SGA,
while students vote for the senators
in their class rank.
“We have all new executives and a
mostly new senate this year,” said
Southern. “We are organizing a
retreat for the new members so that
we can meet and exchange ideas in
an effort to work totally as a team to
get things accomplished.”
Another function senators perform
is to write legislation that is appli
cable to the student body at UN CA.
As senators, they are required to
write at least one bill per semester,
and then present it to administra
tion as something that students are
requesting, according to Southern.
“Our resident senators got together
and wrote a bill introducing change
machines in each residential dorm,”
said Southern. “It is important to
the student body to have those ma
chines and have that voice.”
Students should come to the SGA
staff with any problem or concern
that affects them or the UNCA
campus. There have been issues such
as parking, change machines, stu
dent fees and academics raised by
PHOTO BY ANTHONY GRECO
Ryan Southern, SGA president and a senior political
science and multimedia arts and sciences major, along with
other SGA members, is currently working on a website.
SGA staff to officials, according to we can not effect change or influ
ence, so we are willing to meet with
anyone and any group who would
like us there,” said Southern.
SGA is planning a Fall Fling to
draw attention to SGA and their
role on campus.
■ “We actually have a committee
that has been working on this. In
the past, it was pretty much thrown
together,” said Southern. “This year,
we are ready to do it right.”
The Fall Fling will be held Oct. 7,
and Mandorico, a Afro-Cuban band
from Atlanta, will provide music.
Southern feels he has the support
of the chancellor in his efforts to
reach students at UNCA.
“Many times, (Mullen) has come
to me to discuss events that are
going to happen,” said Southern.
“I feel fortunate to be working
with him and having him include
me in issues.”
Southern.
“We can look into the situation
and be able to tell the officials what
is going on,” said Southern. “Even
if we can not necessarily do any
thing about a problem, we at least
have 26 voices expressing concern
to the officials. They listen.”
Southern’s personal goal as presi
dent is to inform, organize and
empower students.
“I think students need to be orga
nized and informed in order to
effect change,” said Southern.
“They need resources, and we can
help them. No decisions should be
made on campus that affect stu
dents without our students having
involvement.”
SGA is currently sending out let
ters to student groups to offer their
services at meetings.
“If we do not know about issues.
The JD Project, a modern dance company, is now giving audi
tions for dancers, 18 years old or over, for the 2000 to 2001
season. Auditions will be held Sept. 16 from noon to 2 p.m. at
75 Broadway. For more information, call (828) 253-4719.
If you’re buying overpackaged or throwaway products, you’re essentially
buying trash. That means some of what’s on your shopping list wastes
energy, wastes natural resources and even increases pollution. So the n&«L
time you’re in the store, look for less packaging, and choose stuff that’s
refillable and reusable. What’s in your cart could make a world of difference.
For a free shopping guide, please call T-8CX3-2-RECYCLB
BUY SMART.
WASTE LESS. SAVE W1 O R Ef^
www.environmentaldefense.org
eNVIRONMieNTAL DeFCNSe
finding the ways that work
Our VOICE, Inc,
formerly Rape
Crisis Center, is
offering a 30-hour
training session for
Volunteer Victim
Advocates in Sep
tember.
For more infor
mation, contact ;
Becky Davis at
(828) 252-0562.
Group debates
U.S. NMD issue
Lauren Owens
Staff Writer
Four UNCA students and Dot
Sulock, professor of humanities and
mathematics, have organized a
nuclear discussion group at UNCA
that advocates open debate about
the deployment of a U.S. National
Missile Defense system (NMD).
“One reason I am against the use
of an NMD system is because by
the year 2015
it will cost
$60 billion to
produce
long-range
ballistic mis
siles,” said
Sulock.
“This esti
mate will
probably
double be
fore it hap
pens. We
could cure a
lot of disease
and really
help clean
the environ
ment for that
amount of
money.”
The main
goal of
NMD is to
track and de
stroy ballistic
missiles that
could enter
the U.S., ac
cording to
the Ballistic Missile Defense Orga
nization (BMDO).
The arguments against a NMD
system are very numerous, accord
ing to Sulock. The arguments in
clude the fact that the NMD sys
tems would violate the Anti-Ballis
tic Missile Treaty and create prob
lems with arms control.
“I am against the defense system,
because it will not increase national
security, but will break down inter
national relations,” said Heidi
Plowe, a junior environmental stud
ies major and a member of the
group. “It will work against the
progress we have made with other
countries.”
Other arguments against NMD
include the idea that there will be
no limit to the number of poten
tial ballistic missiles all over the
world, according to Sulock. Argu
ments also stem from the NMD’s
failure to protect people against ev
ery kind of weapon.
“It does not protect against cruise
missiles (low flying aircraft),” said
Sulock. “It does not protect against
short-range missiles (missiles from
a merchant ship on the ocean) or
biological weapons. It also does not
protect against the smuggling of
weapons into America.”
U.S. NMD
plans could
also affect
China, since
the country
has two
dozen mis
siles that
could reach
the U.S. If a
NMD sys
tem were de
ployed, then
China could
strengthen its
long-range
missile de
fense, and it
could cause
other coun
tries from all
over the
world to be
come allies
against
America, ac
cording to
Sulock.
“Wei
would end
up with a|
militarized world like in ‘Termina-i
tor Two,’” said Sulock.
There are several arguments in
favor of an NMD system, accord
ing to Sulock. Some people think
the weapons are important in de
fense. Also, the U.S. could shoot]
down a Rogue Warhead.
The primary argument in favor ol
NMD, according to the BMDO’sj:
website, is to respond to attacks!
against the U.S., since America]
needs to protect itself against at
tacks.
The NMD website also mentioned
that America needs to implement
the use of an NMD system to offer
protection against Third World
countries and rogue nations.
PHOTO BY WALTER FYLER
Dot Sulock, professor of hu
manities and mathematics,
organized the nuclear discussion
group.
Co
Pe^
nat
on
Anr
dia
spc
cot
ale
“W
ton
nor
ma
25
Th(
tak
the
Ce
F(
fori
(82
90^
Correction: The Sept. 7 article, “HBV
concerns students,” was written by
Lauren Owens.
~ V -4 ■**TV ^
Art
continued from page 1
Tuesdays &
Thursdays.
used to provide performing arts stu
dents with a constant audience.
People downtown will walk by and
be able to watch students practic
ing and performing, according to
Cooke.
“Creativity happens at every level,
so the idea is to engender creativity
in people who would not normally
be participants,” said Cooke.
A maximum of three classes at a
time would be offered at the down
town center, and most would be in
two- or three-hour blocks to ac
commodate transportation issues,
according to Cooke.
We will be able to implement a
flexible schedule down there pretty
easily,” said Cooke.
Until the building is remodeled,
the front window space of the build
ing may be used to display artwork
from the university, along with signs
stating the upcoming opening of
the UNCA arts center, according
to Modlin.
Student and community input is
an important part of the planning
process, according to Mullen.
“We are going to work very
closely with the departments in
volved in this,” said Mullen. “We
want this to be a very open conver
sation around campus.”
The community’s input will come
through the Foundation by work
ing with the members of the group
to introduce the idea to their sector
of business. Apart of that input will
come in the form of businesses us
ing space on the top floor of the
building as a source of revenue and
interaction for the university, ac
cording to Mullen.
“One of the issues for the Founda
tion is going to be that (the busi
nesses) all support some program
that originated at UNCA,” said
Mullen. “We do not want a stand
alone in a building using space that
is not supporting an interest or
opportunity that has been devel
oped here on campus.”
Modlin said she wanted to make
sure that students know that
though there may not seem to be
a lot of immediate activity in the
building, much will be in progress.
“There is a lot that will be going
on behind the scenes,” said Modlin.
The key departmental players in
the brainstorming process of the
arts center project are Cooke; Scott '
Walters, chair and assistant profes
sor of drama; Rick Chess, director
of the creative writing program;
Charles McKnight, chair and asso
ciate professor of music; John
Kundert-Gibbs, director and assis
tant professor of multi-media;
Connie Schrader, lecturer in health
and fitness; Bruce Larson, chair and
professor of economics; and Peter
Caulfield , associate professor of lit
erature.