• t
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE
Blue Banner
Lifestyles
Mountain State Fair
brings the fun,
see page 5.
Travelogue
Student travels to Ecuador
and brings back thoughts on
politics, see page 10
THUR. 79 61 FRI. 77 59 SAT. 78 56 SUN. 77 5(>
Thursday, September 13, 2007
WW'W.
unca.edu/banncr
Vol. 47, Issue 3
THE
NEWS
IN BRIEF
Apple iPhones go
cheaper thanks to
customer feedback
Apple announced a price cut on
[its iPhone model last week, drop
ping the price of its most powerful
model from $599 to $399. The
change came days before Apple
announced it sold its one-millionth
iPhone weeks before its Sept. 30
[deadline.
Responding to consumer com-
I plaints the price cut came too soon
I after its introduction, Apple
offered a $100 credit to anyone
[ who purchased the iPhone before
the drop.
The iPod received facelifts
recently, with updated versions
adding touch-screen technology
and Wi-Fi capabilities.
Boxer continues
if to find himself
with legal woes
Former heavyweight boxing
champion Mike Tyson faces drug
charges in his upcoming hearing,
scheduled for Sept. 24. Tyson pre
viously pleaded not guilty to pos
session of cocaine, which police
accuse him of having on his person
and in his car last year.
Tyson was convicted of rape in
, 1992 and pleaded no contest to
I assault charges in 1999.
Hispanic heritage
celebrated all
month on campus
UNC Asheville honors Hispanic
Heritage Month with special
events celebrating Latino culture.
Films, dance performances, open
discussions and lectures highlight
ing Hispanic contributions to
American culture take place on
various dates between Sept. 15
through Oct. 15.
-compiled by Aaron Dahlstrom
Campus accessibility maintained
RuN»aiRrn,»n ——aMKSi—B3BWW g M Thc choice of upfitting
By Neal Brown
Investigative Reporter
While UNC Asheville scored
fairly well on a study regarding
accessibility for the handicapped,
the report done by outside con
sultants checking on the universi
ty’s compliance with the
American Disabilities Act as well
as state mandates, there are a few
areas where improvements could
be made, according to Ethan
Fesperman, head of disabilities
services.
“There a lot of areas where we
are not in compliance and that’s
true of any college,” Fesperman
said. “We could improve things
like proper signage and people’s
familiarity with buildings and
bathrooms. Lots of areas in the
report indicated that we needed a
lot better signage.”
When evaluating a campus’
accessibility there are many fac
tors a person has to take into
account and UNC Asheville did
pretty well compared to a number
of schools, according to
Fesperman.
“I think that when they did the
evaluation they were surprised at
how accessible our campus was
considering the topography that
we have,” he said.
The issue of accessibility for
people with disabilities is on the
mind of some faculty members
often, especially issues with park
ing and the issue of sidewalk curb
cuts.
“Fm always looking at parking
and asking myself, ‘Are there
places where we could lower
curbs of sidewalks?”’ said Jackie
McHargue, dean of students.
For Garrett Male, junior envi
ronmental science student, who is
in wheelchair, accessibility on
campus for him has not been too
big of an issue. Faculty and staff
have been accommodating,
according to Male.
“Overall, it’s actually pretty
good,” Male said. “Everyone
works really closely together and I
don’t see any glaring areas.”
The student organization
Project Access, which Male
heads up, has been around for
about eight years and currently
has around 20 members, accord
ing to Ken Betsalel, professor of
political science and a faculty
co-advisor to the group.
City council hopeful,
alumnus plans big
main concerns is with the city’s
water supply.
“Most of the long term citizens
in Asheville are aware that the
water system is in terrible shape,
Meredith said. “We spend $30 mil
lion currently on our water system,
yet we are losing 25 percent of the
water just delivering it from the
reservoir. This is unacceptable,
especially because we are current
ly in a drought.
55 The system can
easily be mod
ernized, but it is
Q m a-o 1 think the modernization of ^ priority that
repairs ^*Lu\d our infrastructure, which is has been pushed
caSse major prob- old and in disrepair, needs to to Je back bum-
lems in the near be our No. 1 priority. f^e, curren
future if they are ^
William C. Meredith
U.\Cj Asheville Alumnus
By Caroline Fry
Staff Writer
UNC Asheville alumnus and
Asheville City Council hopeful
William C. Meredith wants to raise
awareness for local issues and get
people interested in voting.
“I think that the modernization
of our infrastructure, which is very
old and in disrepair, needs to be
our No. 1 priority,” Meredith said.
Meredith, who
attended UNC a
Asheville from
1992 to 1994, said j
not handled
immediately.
“A recently
released report
notes that one-third of all of the
bridges under the care of the city
of Asheville are in desperate need
of repair,” Meredith said. “If these
repairs are not made, we could
encounter a major tragedy like the
bridge collapse in Minnesota.”
Meredith, who has lived in
Asheville for the past 20 years, is
raising many issues about the cur
rent state of Asheville. One of his
er by the current
city council
many times.”
Mayor Terry
Bellamy, who is
part of the
Asheville City Council, also said
she agrees the city’s water system
is in need of repair.
“I am working to make sure that
our infrastructure is upgraded in
order to provide a quality product
to
u the users,” Bellamy said.
Additionally, I am working with
neighboring communities in order
to assist them with their short and
SEE Alumnus page 21
Ci.iNT Lathinghou.si: - Stah- Puot(xiraphi;r
Long Heu, sophomore multimedia arts student, ascends the ramp outside Carmichael Hall between
classes. Despite a study stating UNC Asheville’s accessibility is decent in comparison to most univer
sities, campus officials said there is always room for improvement and continue discussing the issue
There are around 200 people
on campus with disabilities,
including learning disabilities,
and there are probably four or
five people on campus who are
mobily disabled, according to
Betsalel.
The university’s size helps with
the issue of accessibility, accord
ing to Heidi Kelley, anthropology
professor and faculty co-advisor
for Equal Access. While size is an
advantage, a map of campus
accessibility would be helpful for
students, faculty, staff and visi
tors.
“We are small and being small
helps,” Kelley said. “Individuals
do not become isolated from one
another. But, some easy to read
guides for students and campus
visitors would be nice.”
The accessibility of the library
is also a concern, according to
Betsalel. A person has to go
around to the side of the library
in order to get to an elevator so
that he or she can enter the
library.
“There should be more than one
way to access knowledge from the
library,” he said. “This has been a
major complaint among .students.”
Faculty and staff try to address
every aspect of campus access
for people with disabilities, but
it is an expensive process that
varies extremely on a case-by-
case basis, according to
Fesperman.
“If we were mandated to fix
everything and bring everything
into compliance according to thc
accessibility plan, you’re talking
about $20 million.”
The choice of upfitting build
ings is an issue because ol the
expense and also because with all
the new construction on campus, a
person never know when a build
ing might be demolished.
“It’s really expensive to rctrotit
all existing buildings, but in my
work with students here who have
accessibility issues we work
together with the faculty and with
facilities to come up with a rea
sonable solution,” Fesperman
said.
While there are a few areas that
faculty, staff and students all agree
in need of improvement, many are
happy with the university’s acces
sibility, according to McHargue.
"1 think that we are a very
aware campus,” she said. “1
think that if there’s a concern, it
gets addressed really quickly
because we care so much about
our students and their experi
ence and their success."
There arc things that the univer
sity does well when it comes to
access around campus tor people
with disabilities, according to
McHargue.
“1 think we do a pretty good job
in comparison to a lot ot places
that I’ve been,” she said. “1 think
we have better ramp systems than
a lot of places.”
Everyone around campus is
helpful and accessibility is a col
laborative effort shared with
everyone involved in and around
campus, according to Betsalel.
“People have always been open,
accommodating and friendly,” he
said. “It has never been a people
problem.”
Male said he agrees that people
around campus have always been
helpful as well.
“Communication between fac
ulty and staff has been good,” he
said. “The facilities management
staff arc always conscious of dis
abilities management.”
There arc many areas of accessi
bility to be proud of, and the uni
versity is great at following up
with issues like this, according to
McHargue.
“I think that one of the things we
do best is that we pay attention. I
think we pay attention to our facil
ities, and most importantly, we
pay attention to our students,” she
said. “We say that we care, and we
show that we care.”
Creative retirement focuses on the future
By Jon Waiczak
Staff Writer
While receiving international
accolades and appearing in publi
cations ranging from Parade mag
azine to the New York Times, the
North Carolina Center for
Creative Retirement remains rela
tively unknown to UNC Asheville
students.
“Despite our efforts over the
years to create more recognition
on campus through intergenera-
tional venues, our successes have
been sporadic,” said Ron
Manheimer, executive director.
The center, which celebrates its
20th anniversary this year, is
always looking for creative ways
to engage students in its programs
and with its members, according
to Manheimer.
To mark its anniversary,
NCCCR planned three main
events, including an intergenera-
tional course entitled Introduction
to Complementary and
Alternative Healing Therapies.
Around 25 undergraduates and
eight senior citizens are partici
pating in the class this semester.
The intergenerational aspect of
the class is beneficial because of
the life experience of the seniors
citizens, according to George
Dobson, sophomore physics stu
dent enrolled in the course.
“They are very willing to share
their experiences and knowledge
with us, but at the same time are
interested to hear what we have to
say and what is important to us,”
Dobson said. “This is what a true
learning experience is, in my
opinion.”
NCCCR is also facilitating a
health fair on Nov. 15 and an
intergenerational dance and fash
ion show scheduled for February.
“The theme we are using is
looking forward from 20. Rather
than focusing on the past, we are
focusing on the future, including
our role at UNCA,” said
Manheimer.
Intergenerational computer lit
eracy courses will be taught again
this semester. The classes are free
to participants and designed to
teach local low-income and
minority seniors basic computer
skills, according to NCCCR. They
are funded through a Smith
Barney grant.
Classes are taught by UNC
Asheville students, who receive a
stipend. NCCCR is currently
searching for teachers.
“Intergenerational, to me, is a
lot like diversity,” said Patti
Cameron, Smith Barney and
Leadership Training for Older
Persons program coordinator.
“Diversity brings a fuller, richer
and more meaningful experience
to the learning process. The beau
PENNIK t.F.AS - PHOTfXIRAEUY EDITOR
A senior and several students participate in a yoga session during an
intergenerational class oft’ered in the Reuter Center through the
North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement.
ty of the Smith Barney program is
that the intergenerational experi
ence enriches the lives of both
undergrads and participants.”
On Oct. 21 and 22, three execu
tives from NCCCR, including
Manheimer, will travel to Taiwan
to attend an international forum
SEE NCCCR pac;f. 2 1