0ASEBA.IuL ON A. ROUL^ Sports 8 FARMERS MARKET, Features 6 VIRGINIA TECH, Opinion 10 Volume 46, Issue 11 University looks at lore than test scores By Tim Meinch Guest Writer Blue Banner When reviewing freshmen pplicants, UNC Asheville dmissions officials look yond numbers and statistics 0 see students for who they are ,nd how they will fit into the stitution. “We really do look at the hole person. Whaf s the pack- ,ge they’re presenting, what are ley bringing, and based on past xperience, does it fit with the itudents that have come here md are successful?” said Scot chaeffer, director of admis- ions and financial aid. Apart from the minimum ourse requirements set by the itate, UNC Asheville does not let any minimum test scores or equired attributions over appli- ants, admissions counselors aid. The university now has a hancellor’s Acceptance, which flows the chancellor to grant cceptance to a student not eeting the minimum course equirements in extraordinary ases, according to Melinda alien, assistant director of dmissions. We don’t have set things ecause we really do take into ccount the whole person, here are kids that will get in ere with 1000 SATs and there people we’ll deny with 1400 ATs,” Schaeffer said. The whole admissions staff at JNC Asheville discusses each rsl ^‘dividual freshman applicant to "■lecide who is a good fit for the institution, according to chaeffer. “It’s not an exact science,” he aid. “It would be if you just icked numbers: This GPA, this :est score, this rank in class and ou’re in. But then it really es out the personal side of itudents.” The admissions director of ive years said the institution lees more and more students ith special talents, which the dmissions counselors take into onsideration in the applica- ions. Art students are starting to lend in portfohos and music stu- ents are starting to send in Ds,” Schaeffer said. “We’re leeing much more additional nformation being sent in, so e’re getting a full picture of e student.” The Admissions Office offers ^pphcants an optional one-hour interview with a counselor, jMT-'hich often significantly helps students in the gray area, ccording to admissions staff. “The personal interview is the ost important thing the student an do,” Bullen said. Every year counselors push or the acceptance of five or six ipecific smdents who lack the pressive numbers, but pos- less something that the coun selor saw in the interview, ccording to Bullen. “We want to make sure we’re boosing the right people, that hey understand what UNC sheville is, what the require- ents are and that they’re going 10 come here, stay here and iraduate,” Schaeffer said. ‘Who you enter and who you 'ring in automatically helps f^ftvith retention, if you’re making good fit and a good match.” Nearly 60 percent of freshmen ho enrolled between 1996 and 003 stayed through their senior ear. “We’Ve got more students that ant to come here than we have oom for,” Schaeffer said. When you have that, you can ust be more selective in the lecision making process.” Serving the Universin of North (Carolina at Asheville sinex; lySa Students stand together 3m fp>X. P'--' kV fy M- ‘-T’ H f 41 Ai.l Photos; Prnnie Leas - PHimKiKAPHY Editor Students, faculty, staff and administration gather around the flag pole on the Quad Thesday to commemorate the victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech the day before. Corie Schreiher, freshman student, prays in front of the flower arrangement by the flag pole and seal. A bag piper plays on the Phillips Hall balcony before the ceremony begins. Student Body President John Noor stands beside administration mem bers during a moment of silence. A student chalks the message, “Today we’re all Hokies”on the sidewalk in front of the seal. UNC Asheville mourns Virginia Tech deaths D ays after what the press is calling the “Massacre at Virginia Tech,” UNC Asheville Joined the world in mourning the victims of the United States’ worst school shooting, topping both Columbine in 1999 and the shootings at the University of Texas in 1966. While a bagpiper played nearby, students, staff, faculty and administration members cir cled around the flag pole on the Quad Tuesday to offer their words and prayers to the 32 victims of Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year- old English major at VT. As more and more reports surface about the mental instability and motives of Cho, VT administrators work to restore the university, where over 25,000 students are currently enrolled, and people all over the world con tinue to grapple with the abruptness and enor mity of the tragedy. While the world reels, many are already speaking out against lax gun laws, citing them as the cause for the shooting. VT members along with the community remembered the victims at a vigil Wednesday. ■ Kristen Marshall, news editor Thursday, April 19, 2007 The News in Brief SGA to hold new elections next week After the Student Government Association’s second round of elections, they have yet to release resuhs and will hold new polling next Monday and Tuesday, due to irrefutable evidence of voter fraud, according to Student Body President John Noor. Noor said he hopes to have Buncombe County Board of Elections provide congressional voting machines instead of relying on campus computers. The machines will ensure the voting process will be legitimate, accord ing to Noor. The machines will be located on the Quad all day Monday and Tue.sday, or paper ballots will be available. For further information, contact Noor at jdnoor@unca.edu or call the SGA office: 828-251 - 6587. NC rated second in releasing pollutants A study conducted by the federal Toxic Release Inventory stated North Carolina as the state releas ing the second largest amount of air releases of toxic pollution. These toxic pollutants are sus pected causes of respiratory ill ness, according to the study. The largest source of the toxins came from the Duke Energy Belews Creek Steam Station in Stokes County, which reportedly released more than 13 million pounds of respiratory toxins into the air. North Carolina also ranked fifth in the country for releasing emis sions containing toxic chemicals known to cause developmental problems. The federal Toxic Release Inventory is a public right-to-know program that requires industrial facilities to disclose their toxic releases to the public. Pet food with rice protein recalled The Food and Drug Administration expanded a nation wide pet food recall this week which includes products contain ing rice protein laced with melamine. Menu Foods recalled more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food last month. The toxin in melamine can cause kid ney failure in pets. The FDA said they encourage any pet owner who might have purchased any Menu Food product to go online and check the list to make sure they are not feeding their pets contaminated food. Universities participates in air quality research By Annabelle Hardy Staff Writer UNC Asheville and UNC Charlotte joined forces to create a supercomputer grid that vill simu late the effects of development on air quality in the Asheville- Charlotte region, according to John Stevens, director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center at UNC Asheville. ‘This is what you call a grand challenge problem. It needs extraordinary resources and new tools and technology to solve. That’s what we’re putting together. We’re developing new techniques and then applying them,” said Bill Ribarsky, head of the visual grid project at UNC Charlotte. With $500,000 in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, the project is in the pilot phase of creating a visualization grid that will compile and visually represent'over 100 interacting fields of information related to air quality in the region, according to Stevens. “The visual grid is not just about bringing together the hardware and connecting these computers, it is also about bringing people togeth er,” Stevens said. Early planning for the project began in 2005 and the funding from the EPA came in early 2006. More than a year later, the first phase is nearly completed and sci entists are beginning to undertake more complex simulations and analysis, according to Stevens. Other modeling programs exist nationwide, but few of them con tain as much data as this one, according to Stevens. Most models use data points located every 12 miles of a given region, which means that data collected in the mountains is often not useful. “Here in the mountains a lot happens every 12 miles, so those models don’t do a good job pre dicting what may go on. We are trying to get our project down to a data point every kilometer. You need that kind of resolution to be able to understand what’s happen ing in the mountains,” Stevens said. Once the visualization grid is fully operational, it can become a SEE Air Quality page 31 y.A B’- • • AN