Dorm conditions:
Students, officials disagree over who's to blame
By Becky Overton
and Joy Inniss
Many ECSU students say that they
t dissatisfied with the quality of
inpus housing, accwding to a recent
\mpass survey. The survey revealed
)ee ^ific categories of complaints:
(anliness, bugs and mice, and prob
ps with heat and hot water.
I“I have been without heat about
e times this semester,” said Letitia
venport, a resident of Doles Hall.
Tien 1 first returned to school for
i semester the third floor was with-
heat for about two weeks.”
“We were without heat and hot wa-
several times during the fall se
tter,” said Tara Howard, a Doles
II residen L “I t lasted anywhere from
fw hours to a whole day for water,
I a few days for heat."
"Symera was without hot water for
lonth after our return to school on
27th of March,” said Craig
ondo, a Symera Hall resident,
rhe University has a constant build-
)f chemicals in its pipes, according
kzekiah Cooper, Director of the
sical Plant, due to the nature of the
er in the city.
‘A lot of times when students
iplain about not having water for
rc than a day, the problem was too
for us to handle, and we had to hire
Jide contractors to solve it,” Coo-
.'said.
In answers to student complaints,
BU officials say the campus faces
tial problems housing students
tuse of the University’s rapid
'th and the relatively large num-
|of students who live on campus.
[eCSU houses 65% of its students,
|d Dr. Leon White, Vice Chancel-
for Student Affairs,”compared to
[Other 16 colleges in the UNC
fern. That’s a lot, since no school in
System houses more than 40% of
Hudents.”
last semester, the University took
! to ease the housing shortage,
;h saw some students living three
room, and female students living
e infirmary. To ease the shortage,
I University constructed the Park
tt Apartments, and the Honors
n on Hoffler Street. Students were
housed in a converted rest home,
larvey Building.
lost students in the New Com-
and Park Street say they have no
)laints about heat and hot water.
)me administrators say that stu-
i’ complaints about dorms are
gerated and that the students
iselves contribute to the prob-
continuedfrom p. 1
to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
“Most libraries that are heavily used on
lurdays are used because there are weekend
d graduate classes,” said Green.
ECSU offers two graduate programs,
wever, through UNC-CH and East Carolina
liversity. Most of these classes are at night
tl on Saturday. ECSU also has weekend
isses.
Some students also felt that the library
5dcd to extend its week night hours.
“I feel like the hours should be extended
fing the week,” said Angela Hager, a fresh
en pre-med major. “Some students have
‘‘Some
students
take their
frustrations
out on
their environment.
You have to have
some compassion for
them”
Dr. Leon White
lems.
“We spent about $127,000 on new
windows for Symera and Butler Halls
last semester,” said Roger McLean,
Vice Chancellor for Business and
Finance. “Why should we keep spend
ing money on repairs if the students
are going to be destructive?”
Students, however, often say the
University is slow to respond to their
complaints of broken windows and
other damages.
“The window was broken in my
dorm on February 18th,” said Felicia
Boone, of Mitchell-Lewis. “And no
steps were taken to repair them. A
workman even told me that the only
way the University would fix it was if
we had someone broken the entire
glass.”
One student said that her dorm
director “sits on her buU and does
nothing about our complaints. She
says she will get to it sooner or later,
most of the time later and later. This
means never.”
Students who have complaints
about repairs must first report the
problem to the Dorm Director, who
then fills out a job order form, ac
cording to Kenneth Roberts, Director
of Housing. “The form asks the loca
tion of the building, who requested
the work, a description of the work
desired and any special instructions,”
Roberts said.
One copy of the form goes to the
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs,
the originating office staff member
and on to the director of the Physical
Plant, Roberts added.
Roberts said there are three classi
fications of a dorm director: dorm
administrator, the hall director and a
support person. Dorm administrators
are counselors and not responsible
Students say they like
The Park Street Apts.
By Alva Jones
ECSU students who live in the
new Park Street apartments say
they are happy with their housing.
“Living on Park Street is like fi
nally being treated as an adult,”
said Donsenia Teel. “You are away
from a lot of supervision, and there
fore, you feel more comfortable
and relaxed. It is like being at home,
without your parents.”
The new apartments were com
pleted in August, 1988, at a cost of
$250,000. They were built by a
real estate partnership, “The New
Home Builders.” The apartments
house 60 students at a cost of $ 150
per semester; however, only jun
iors and seniors may live there.
Seniors get first priority.
“Park Street is sort of like the
calm before the storm,” saidECSU
student Andrea Holley. “It gives
you a feeling of independence
before you are forced to get out in
the world on your own. It gives you
a sense of what real life is like.”
The fully air-conditioned apart-
ments consist of a single bath and
a half bath, two bedrooms, and a
kitchen equipped with an oven-
range, refrigerator, cabinets,
counter space and a storage closet
The living rooms are furnished
with a short love seat and chair
and a study desk.
Upstairs, the two bedrooms are
each furnished with a desk and
beds, and they include built-in
closets. Bathrooms havea shower,
bathtub, medicine cabinet and
mirror.
The apartments are fully car
peted, except the kitchen and
bathrooms, and each unit has a
storage unit at the back.
“I am pleased with the apart
ments,” said Roger McLean, Vice
Chancellor for Business and Fis
cal Affairs. “I hope the students
will keep them in good condi
tion.”
Park Street Apartments’ resi
dent director John Lee said he
feels the apartments are good for
students. “It gives them a chance
to be responsible young adults,”
I-£e said.
tor vandalism and theft, he said.
Roberts said students who dam
aged property would be held respon
sible for the damages, but when
damage is done to a public place such
as bathrooms no one can be held re
sponsible.
When asked about the students who
destroy their dorms Dr. White re
sponded,
“You have to have some compas
sion for those students who were
denied proper education. They see us
as just another part of society who is
expecting them to fail. They take their
frustrations out on their environment
You have to have some compassion
for them.”
Cooper took a different point of
view atout dorm vandalism:
“Why not run track or lift weights
to get the emotions out, rather than
tearing up the buildings,” he said.
“Students should find other outlets for
their frustrations, rather than being
destructive.
“This is their home away from
home, and they should try to make it
as beautiful as possible,” Cooper
continued.
Although the University has taken
steps to get rid of bugs and mice,
students say they are dissatisfied with
these efforts.
“We have problems with spiders
and roaches.” said Antoine Davis, a
resident of Womack Hall.”Trust me I
don’t contribute to their diet in any
way.”
“I do not have problems with
bugs,” said Lorie Burrell. “Only be
cause 1 brought my own roach and
bug spray from home.”
“Students are always complaining
about bugs and what ne^s to be done,”
said Mr. McLean. “Students in the
Complex have their own personal
locks on the doors, and they don’t
want to let the exterminator in.”
The University has a contract with
Whitco and Terminex to exterminate
bugs in the buildings, according to
Hezekiah Cooper, Director of the
Physical Plant. “The exterminators
are effective at doing their job,”
Cooper said. “B ut the students have to
keep their rooms clean, and not leave
“Why
should we
keep
spending
money on
repairs if the students
are going to be
destructive?”
Roger McLean
their food out. As long as they do that,
the bugs won’t come back.”
ECSU students say that dorm
conditions affect their attitude about
the school.
“Why spend money on new class
rooms when the students don’t have a
decent place to live? said Tara How
ard. “We lose lost of students because
they do not like the living conditions.”
“1 feel that to most of the students
living on campus is like living in
poverty,” said Lenny Hill a Butler
Hall resident. “Living in Butler hall is
like living in the ghetto.”
Dr. White and Mr. Roberts both
admit that Butler is in need of full
renovation.
“It is hard to do full renovations of
the dorms, said Roberts. “Full renova
tion would take almost nine months,
and we have no alternative housing
for those students.”
Renovation of the dorms is sched
uled for every three years. The girls
dorms usually follow schedule but the
male dorms usually have to be reno
vated every summer, according to
While.
“Because of different summer
programs many of the dorms are be
ing used throughout the summer which
makes it hard to find adequate time to
renovate,”said White.
The state does not provide money
for dorm renovations. White said.
Therefore, the money needed must
come out of the students tuition.
“We have a dilemma on our hands;
in order to improve housing drasti
cally we would have to increase tui
tion and that would cause problems
for our students who depend on aid,”
White said.
Roberts predicts the accelerated
growth at ECSU will soon create
another housing shortage.
“Because of rapid growth at ECSU,
my biggest challenge is developing a
housing plan that we can stick with.”
Roberts also predicts more of both
commuter and live on students.
“The University is preparing for
the anticipated growth by assembling
a list of available housing off campus
that can be leased back to the
school.”Officials are also seeking
people who would like to rent out
rooms in their homes.
In addition>x,the University is.
looking for more property to build
multiple student housing like Park
Street Apartments, as well as the new
dorm that is in process.
The University has planned to build
a new $3 million residential dorm
southeast of the New Complex., to
house approximately 200 female stu
dents. Tlie new dorm is to be com
pleted in May, 1990, according to
McLean.
“The new domi will be approxi
mately 50,000 square feet,” said Skip
Saunders, acting building systems
engineer. “The ceihngs will be higher,
and the rooms will be brighter, and it
will have an elevator and common
kitchen area for students.”
Saunders said the University is
working on “the second phase” of the
program, which is “the design and
development process.” Saunders
added that construction of the new
dorm should begin this summer.
Despite the University’s long term
efforts to improve living conditions,
some ECSU students say they aren’t
willing to wait.
“Along with educating the sfit-' ■
dent, the school also has the re--;,
sponsibility to provide adequate, cleans,
rodent-free housing,” said Lynette,
Lindsey, a resident of Mitchell-Le
wis.
“Somehow dignity gets compro
mised when we are expected to live in
less than adequate housing.” said.'
Stewart (Ruffy] Beard, a resident of
Butler Hall. “Good health and sani
tation standards should be as high a
priority as education. In fact they
should be compatible.
“We all have a stake in ECSU,”
Beard added. “Therefore, it should be
a coojjerative effort to maintain a high
standard at ECSU that will foster a
healthy environment for all. Erosion,'
decay, and depreciation have a com-'
pounding effect on student life. The
more apathetic we are to our sur
roundings the less self-respect we will
have as a people.”
IBRARY
time to use the library.”
University Players’ president, Lynn
Chapman agreed and said that the 10p.m. clos
ing did not give members of her organization
any time to use the library on week nights.
Many students also complained about a
shortage of research materials.
“The public library is often a better place to
find needed information,” said Michelle
Anderson. ‘To me that is very sad when you
consider that this is suppose to be a quality
university library where students can do aca
demic research.”
“I feel the library has neglected its respon
sibilities to the students of ECSU,” said Na
talie Weeks, junior accounting major. ‘The
library needs to upgrade, update and revise its
collection of books. We need information for
today, not 20 years ago.’
LIBRARY
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“I know that we have limited resources in
terms of the number of books and the number
of periodicals,” said Dr. Joseph M. Ventura of
the Department of Business and Economics.
“We need to do something about that. Maybe
we should ask that people donate their sub
scriptions.”
In the 1987-88 academic year, the library
spent $185,000 on books. This year the library
has been appropriated $175,000 for books.
“The amount of money that the library gels
is based on the number of students at the
university,” said Roger McLean, Vice Chan
cellor of Business and Finance.
“Our library could use more up to date
literature,” said Velma Brown, an instructor in
the Department of Language, Literature and
Communication. “It needs to have everything
computerized.”
ECSU’s library was oneof the first libraries
in the UNC System to be computerized ac
cording to Green. The conversion to a com
puterized check out system began in the Spring
of 1988. Under the new system, books contain
a bar code to identify the book; however, the li
brary has not yet put all the books on the
computer system.
“Last semester, one of my professors
cancelled our research paper due to the lack of
research materials in the subject area,” said
Donna Gregory, a junior English major.
“And most of the books that were available
about the subject were not yet in the computer
and therefore could not be checked out,” added
Gregory.
Green said that a student can get a book
within 24 hours by requesting that it be put on
the computer system.
“I attempted to check out several books that
were noton the computer system that I needed
for a research paper on a Monday at 11:00 a.m.
and 1 was told that I would be able to pick up
the books on Tuesday,” said Gregory.
“When I returned Tuesday, the books were
not ready. I did not get the books until Wednes
day afternoon,” added Gregory. “This is not
the first time that I had to wait two days for
books.”
Although the survey dealt with student re
sponses to the library, an instructor—Ven
tura—seemed to sum up students’ overall feel
ings best:
“The library should be the central service of
the university, and therefore much more stu
dent oriented in terms of hours and facilities.
The library should be an intellectual prepara
tion center, not a place to socialize.”
NTE scores improve;
95% pass Core Battery 3
By Ginger Blount
Two required courses for sophomore and
senior teaching majors are making a dramatic
improvement in the percentage of majors
who are passing the National Teaching Ex
amination (NTE).
“This past March we had 22 students who
took the NTE Core Battery 3 (PK), and 95%
of them passed,” said Dr. Boyce Williams,
Coordinator for Teacher Education Program.
“We have outlined a procedure and it is
really working,” said Dr. Eloise Roberts, who
helps conduct special NTE workshops. "Some
students may feel that this is unfair, but we
won’t let them take the test until they have
met certain requirements.”
The Sophomore Seminar prepares teaching
majors for Core Battery 1 and Core Battery 2;
and the Senior Seminar Course helps teach
ing education majors prepare for speciality
areas on the NTE. TheSeniorSeminarCourse
is supplemented by a special NTE workshop,
taught by Drs. Eloise and Andrew Roberts,
and designed to help students pass Core Bat
tery 3, Professional Knowledge (PK).
In the past many ECSU teaching majors
have had special difficulty passing the NTE,
especially as it related to parts 3 and which
tests ones knowledge in professional education
and specialty areas. The UNC System has
required a 70% pass rate in order for schools
to keep their teacher education programs.
“From 75 to 95% of our students pass Core
Battery one and two,” said Sherry Lewis, who
set up the Sophomore Seminar in 1985, orig
inally as a workshop. ‘The students feel it
really helps them. TTie course helps prepare
them for what to expect, and puts them in a
testing frame of mind.”
When asked how the class helped prepare
her for the NTE Candace Brown, an educa
tion major responded, “The class did help me
when taking the NTE. As far as some of the
information that was on the NTE, I felt that
some of the questions would have been more
familiar to me just coming from high school,
but I thought it was a fair lest."
Lewis said the course “introduces »>rospec-
tive teaching majors to the concepts and skills
they are required to master when they take the
NTE. I try to teach them to look at questions
and analyze them. They also have to think
middle class and pretend they are not living in
Elizabeth City, for the professional knowl
edge section of the test.”
Core Battery 1 is divided into four different
30 minute tests, according to Lewis. These
tests include listening, reading, writing and
essay. Core Battery 2 is also divided into four.
30 minute sections which test social studies,"
math, literature and fine arts, and science.
“To help prepare students for the tests,
students are administered a series of sample
tests," Lewis said.
In the fall of 1982, Dr. Olive Wilson set up ■
the Junior Seminar, now known as Senior
Seminar, to help teacher education majors-
pass the NTE PK. This year Dr. Andrew and
Dr. Eloise Roberts established the NTE work
shops to supplement the course. “We have *
very good attendance considering none of
this is required. Students are recognizing the
need for this in their careers to gain the ■
additional insight for the exam,” Dr. Andrew ■
Roberts said. , -
“The workshop on the NTE was set up as a -
supplement to, and not a replacement for the
Senior Seminar,” said Roberts. “My wife and -
I volunteer our lime, energy, and efforts to all -
persons, whether they are ECSU graduates,'
currently enrolled ECSU students, or gradu
ates from other colleges or universities. The •
workshop seminar is free," Roberts said. *
Roberts said the NTE workshop “makes
sure students are able to respond, reply, and'
have the knowledge they can apply on Uie ■'
test, which measures, in part, how well you '
can apply techniques.”
Roberts staled, “Persons’ who are cultur- “
ally, socially, economically, and educatioi- -
ally disadvantaged for whatever reason will ”
find tiie NTE to be biased against their back- -
ground. The NTE does not test one's ability '
to be an effective teacher; it tests one's knowl- -
edge base of professional education and one’s' -'
demonstrated ability to apply that knowl-' ■
edge.”