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Volume 38 Issue 2
NEWS
BRIEFS
The University of North Carolina at Asheville
September 18, 2003
Kristen Ruggeri
News Reporter
UNCA
Campus police dispatcher Michael
Gray, a UNCA alum, died Sept. 8.
Freshman Russell Thomas died
Sept. 15- Student Government As
sociation held a remembrance cer
emony for the second anniversary
ofthe Sept. 11 attacks and lit 1,000
andles on the quad.
CAMPUS CRIME
UNCA campus police received
our theft reports and recovered
5V0 stolen vehicles since Aug. 15.
Officers found a 33-year-old, non-
student parked in a campus lot with
a female companion. Police found
irass knuckles, a night stick and a
oaded gun in the car. Officers ar
rested the man for possession of
weapons on school property. Offic
ers also arrested a student on Aug.
22 for possession of marijuana and
drug paraphernalia. Public Safety
took one student to the county jail
for drunk and disorderly conduct,
mderage consumption and ob
struction of an officer.
ASHEVILLE
Asheville city council approved an
option-to-purchase agreement with
the Grove Park Inn in a 6-1 vote
Sept 16. The plans propose devel
opment in Pack Square and City
Plaza. The agreement would estab-
use and design parameters as
well as the sale price of the area
adjacent to College, Market and
Spruce streets. Plans include con
struction of 15-story buildings con
sisting of residential units, offices,
retail stores and parking decks.
NORTH CAROLINA
Vice President Dick Cheney spoke
itafitndraiserforRep. Robin Hayes
on Sept. 12 at the Charlotte Con
vention Center. Cheney urged
North Carolinians to re-appoint
Hayes to the U.S. House in the
2004 elections, saying' Hayes re
cently stood up for North Carolina
during manufacturing job losses.
UNITED STATES
In a Sept. 10 speech at the FBI’s
trainingacademyinQuantico, Va.,
President George W. Bush urged
Congress to further expand police
powers by adding death as a penalty
for more crimes and making it easier
for agents to seize records. “Con-
Sress should give law enforcement
officials the same tools they have to
fight terror that they have to fight
“cher crime,” said Bush, according
toNewsday.com.
UNCA names new director of Afficana studies
Suzanne Aubel
News Reporter
Afaf Omer has been named the
new Africana studies program di
rector for UNCA.
“She’s imminently qualified in
terms of her credentials,” said John
Wood, assistant professor of sociol
ogy and interim director of the pro
gram. “She’s done work in Sudan.
She’s done work with African-
American women. She is familiar
with the field of Africana studies.”
Wood was a member of the search
committee that sought a replace
ment for the program’s previous
director, Omer’s husband Elmoiz
Abunura.
“There was a commitment on the
part of the search committee to find
people who were knowledgeable in
both Africa and diaspora issues,”
said Wood. “The combination is
rare. Afaf met that combination.”
Wood will serve as the program’s
interim director for the year be
cause Omer is currently working as
a Fulbright Scholar at the Univer
sity of Qatar. She will spend the
academic year there teaching courses
in women’s reproductive health and
women’s studies in addition to con
ducting her own research, accord
ing to the UNCA Web site.
“I’m a place holder,” said Wood.
“What I’m responsible for is being
“Africana studies is a
discipline not simply
on the continent, but
to all the things that
come out of Africa.”
/o^n Wood
assistant professor of sociology
a focal point so students who are
interested in Africana studies have
somebody to come to and ask about
the program and ask how they can
get involved in it. I’m also respon
sible for getting some activities go
ing so that Africana studies has a
visible presence on campus and
there are opportunities for people
to get on board.”
Omer, a native of Sudan, has
^ worked at UNCA since 1995 and
has both her master’s degree and
doctorate in sociology from the
University ofMichigan. She teaches
courses at UNCA in population
and environment, development.
Middle Eastern studies, African
studies and gender, and is consid
ered an expert in the field of popu
lation studies, according to the
UNCA Web site.
“From what I’ve heard, I know
she has extensive experience in the
Middle East and she has a strong
background in women’s rights,”
said Emily Carter, a senior Span
ish major with a double minor in
international studies and Africana
studies.
The Africana studies program at
UNCA falls under the interdisci
plinary studies category, which also
includes, among other things,
women’s studies, humanities and
religious studies. It is available only
as a minor, and requires 21 hours
for completion.
“Africana studies is a discipline
not simply on the continent and
the culture and the issues related
to the continent itself, but to all
See AFRICANA Page 12
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JAYADKINS/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The much anticipated Reuter Center, a $4.3 million construction project, officially wrapped up June 6.
Campus dedicates Reuter Center
Erin Bereit
News Reporter
UNCA held a dedication cer
emony for the Reuter Center, which
houses the North Carolina Center
for Creative Retirement (NCCCR),
Sept. 13. UNC-system President
Molly Broad and UNCA Chancel
lor Jim Mullen spoke.
“The Reuter Center has given us a
permanent home that we can count
on,” said Dr. Ron Manheimer, di
rector of the NCCCR. ‘We now
have adequate space to do all the
different types of programs that we
want to be able to do.”
“A Home to Call Their Own has
been the program’s theme since the
NCCCR construction committee
began planning the Reuter Center
about five years ago, according to
the UNCA construction Web site.
“It took us five years to raise the
money and build the building,”
said Alice Walker, co-chair of the
NCCCR fund-raising cpmmittee.
“Our members donated a lot of
money and we had wonderful grants
from the Janirve Foundation.”
Irving J. Reuter, whom the build
ing is named for, left his estate to
establish the foundation that con
tributed significant funds for the
building.
Construction of the building be
gan Feb. 8, 2002, after raising the
funds. June 6, 2003 marked the
completion date for the 19,000
square foot Reuter Center, accord
ing to the UNCA construction Web
site.
Stephen Baxley, director of the
construction committee, com
mended the members of the
NCCCR for their ability to suc
cessfully raise the funds for the
Reuter Center.
“I think the architects did a good
job of giving us an attractive build
ing on the site,” said Baxley. “I
think the users should be applauded
for being able to go out and raise
the funds to do something like that.”
NCCCR members raised approxi
mately $4.3 million to construct
the Reuter Center and are satisfied
with what the building will provide
for the program, according to
Manheimer.
“It’s provided us with more social
space for people to meet informally
and meet other people,” said
Manheimer. “Before this, we had
classrooms and that was it. There
was no place to gather, no place to
meet people.”
The NCCCR’s purpose is the pro
motion of learning, leadership and
community service opportunities
for retirement-aged individuals.
There are approximately 1,100 lo-
See REUTER Page 12
Financial aid office al
ters scholarship policy
on off-campus housing
Hilary McVicker
News Reporter
UNCA students have had issues
with financial aid despite adequate
communication.
Tasha Daniels, a senior with a
double major in political science
and sustainable development, re
lies on a Francine Delaney scholar
ship to cover tuition, room and
board.
“My biggest problem is that no
one said anything to me all sum
mer, even though I had called,” said
Daniels. “Apparently, the tuition
allotment wasn’t enough, and they
had been covering it from my room
and board. They never told me
this.”
According to Daniels, she encoun
tered several problems regardless of
efforts to keep in regular communi
cation with the financial aid office.
“All summer long, my account
balance was zero,” said Daniels.
On the Friday before classes be
gan, Daniels called the financial aid
office and they confirmed that a
refund would be available for her
the next week, according to Daniels.
“But then on Monday, they told
me that not only would I not get my
refund, I ended up owing $400,”
said Daniels. “Sol had to go through
the hassle of wondering ‘what am I
going to do?’ That was just incred
ibly stressful during the first week
of school.”
The statewide budget crisis has
not touched the money available
for financial aid, according to Beth
Bartlett, UNCA’s associate direc
tor of financial aid.
4 ! '
MICHAEL KING/STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER
Beth Bartlett, asscociate direc
tor of financial aid, at work.
“We haven’t lost anything. At this
point in time, student funding is
the last thing to be affected, said
Bartlett.
UNCA awarded $12.2 million
in federal, state and other funds to
students during the 2001-02
school year.
“The state education assistance
authority works very hard to main
tain those funds for North Caro
lina students,” said Bartlett.
This semester, Daniels had the
opportunity to live off campus.
When she called the financial aid
office, they told her that she would
still receive money for her room
See FINANCIAL Page 12
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Academic affairs merges with student services
Erin Bereit
News Reporter
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IKJi
11.^
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JAY ADKINS/STAFF PHO TOGRAPHER
:^ser Center services include job appraisals and internship searches^
Serving UNCA Since 1982
University staff reorganized ca
reer services, academics and service
learning to form the UNCA Center
for Career Development and Com
munity Partnerships (CCD/CP).
“It gives us a certain amount of
momentum to make some things
happen that has been more difficult
to make happen in the past,” said
Keith Ray, director of the new
CCD/CP. “One of those is to clear
up lines of communication, con
tinue building stronger partnerships
with faculty and to continue to
extend our reach out into the com
munity.”
UNCA made the move as part of
a current trend in higher education
and to accomplish more for stu
dents, faculty and the community.
The re-organized program hopes
to serve as a central location for all
career and academic concerns. Fac
ulty and community members may
assist students seeking help with
career or educational concerns.
The CCD/CP combines indi
vidual efforts of programs like the
Key Center for Service Learning,
the Career Center, Support Pro
gram, Pre-Med, Pre-Health Advis
ing, and the new Alumni Mentoring
to accomplish more.
In the past these programs func
tioned alone. Since coming together
WWW. unca. edulhanner
as one single unit, members of the
programs feel that they are ca
pable of achieving even more with
help from one another.
“What we do in the Key Center
is.so involved with the commu
nity,” said Lloyd Weinberg, asso
ciate director ofCCD/CP. “Work
ing with other organizations that
are also involved with the com
munity, like the Career Center,
See CCD/CP Page 12
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