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ABUSE continued from page 4
child advocacy organization, “About 30%
of abused and neglected children will later
abuse their own children.”
What happens to that little frightened
little girl, with the tear stained face? What
happens to her when the system fails?
What happens to her when schools are
following procedures that send her home
to be abused again? What happens to
her when an over zealous deputy doesn’t
follow procedure and turns her over to
school authorities? What happens to her
when late at night a policeman fails to fol
low procedure and does not dispatch the
24 hour CPS supervisor? She just slipped
through the cracks and went home for an
other round of abuse. What happens when
CPS delivers her into the hands of another
abusive family member while trying to
preserve that emotional bond?
“The child protective system is devel
oped through North Carolina General
Statute and laws are federally mandated
but supervised by the state and admin-
stered by the county,” said Ms. Jackson
“We have little or no flexibility in chang
ing laws and procedures.”
This is a very complicated situation
with complicated outcomes.
“It is your responsibility to do what’s
right for the children and the family,” said
Fayetteville State University Department
of Social Work lecturer, Tamara Carter
“if anyone suspects child abuse or neglect
contact, Department of Social Services
(DSS) for any concerns. It’s something
every citizen should do. Ultimately who
suffers? You are doing an injustice to the
child and the family.”
This frightened little girl may just be
part of that .1 percent that falls through
the system. But in the moment she is 100
percent. She is everything. This is one hu
man life. She doesn’t understand she is a
statistic, a duty, a liability or a number on
someone’s report. She only knows she is
in pain. She only knows she has reached
out for help and help did not come.
She does not understand the complica
tions of the system or the liabilities. This
helpless girl standing there, hands trem
bling as she pushes the hair out of eyes
filled with fear, this child does not under
stand priorities. She only knows she is in
pain. She reaches out for help until she
stops believing help will ever come.
In 2010 Catawba County, North Caro
lina Child Protective Services came under
fire due to their handling of the case of
10-year-old Zahara Baker who was raped,
murdered, and dismembered. No one has
been charged at this time in connection to
this case, although her stepmother has vol
unteered information leading to evidence.
“When talking to an abused child, the
best thing you can provide is calm reas
surance and unconditional support. Let
your actions speak for you if you’re hav
ing trouble finding the words,” according
to guidelines by HelpGuide a non profit
organization that helps children of abuse
and neglect.
BUDGET continued from page 1
per semester. He emphasizes that
it is extremely important for stu
dents to preregister if they expect
to get the classes they need for
graduation.
Summer school classes will be
increased to help students meet
academic needs.
Rumors of job losses for pro
fessors have spread across cam
pus as the budget crisis takes
hold.
“Tenured professors basically
have jobs for life, while tenure-
track professors have multi-year
contractual obligations,” said Dr.
Young.
What the university may be
looking at is the pool of full-time
adjunct professors whose con
tracts will be up next year, ac
cording to Dr. Young.
Dr. Young said the strategy
may be not to fill vacant posi
tions. Some position changes
this year were not in regards to
budget woes. For tenure-track
professors tenure and promotion
comes up periodically and the
choice is to choose whether to
tenure, continue or not. These de
cisions are basically not affected
by the .budget. But in order to
meet certain budget restrictions
or short falls, some of these po
sitions may not be filled when a
tenured or tenure track professor
vacates his/her position. These
decisions are not driven by bud
get but by policies. But they do
reflect in the budget when deci
sions to allow these positions to
remain vacant are made.
“Even if we have a stellar pro
fessor in a declining area we have
to make that decision to tenure or
not,” said Dr. Young.
The university has to decide
whether to tie up funds for ten
ure for an area that is not grow
ing versus allocating funds for
an area that has rapid growth
potential. These are some of the
decisions and outcomes that may
affect positions within the univer
sity.
According to Dr. Young, los
ing 45 faculty positions does not
mean people could lose their
jobs. It means that some of those
losses may come from vacant po
sitions allowed to remain vacant.
Basically FSU is still trying to
sort this out.
FSU spent L6 million two
years ago on adjimct professors
versus the 1.2 million spent this
year. The expectation is that 1.2
million has to be cut in half by
next year.
For the past two years, the
university has sustained six and
seven percent budget cuts but is
now facing a potential 15-percent
reduction, which will affect every
aspect of university life.
Right now the university is
in the process of notifying full
time adjunct professors of their
situation in regards to next year,
so they can prepare and begin to
look for new positions.
In the next four to six weeks,
the administration will lay out
a more detailed picture. Some
considerations may be to further
reduce hours of operations for
areas such as the library. There
may be also be further reductions
in student service areas. There
will be reductions in operational
expenses.
Cut backs may include reduc
tion in hours of operation as well
as some services being eliminat
ed all together.
The main impact will be in
course offerings.
Dr. Young points out that al
though larger universities may
seem to have larger cuts but for
FSU that $7 million cut is more
painful than the $80 million re
ductions some universities have
had to make.
“We don’t have multiple lay
ers. It’s like a sports team that
doesn’t have reserves,” said Dr.
Young.
What the university will not
do is compromise educational
standards. He states that the pri
ority is to serve students so they
can earn their degrees. The uni
versity commits to protect the ac
ademic core, which is a priority.
“I understand they have to do
what is right for the budget. They
should look out for students.
They should cut health care, like
our insurance. They really don’t
do much,” said Senior Edward
Norris, outraged as he heard the
possibility of the extreme mea
sures FSU will have to take to
meet budget shortfalls.
Dr. Young says that students,
professors and faculty should be
aware that the cuts the university
is facing are unprecedented. “No
one should take the continua
tion of their jobs and courses for
granted.”
He advises students to register
early.
“Don’t mess around in class,
don’t fail or withdraw from class
es. They may not be available
next semester,” said Dr. Young.
As for professors and faculty,
they may see furloughs as a way
of reducing salary without reduc
ing staff positions. It is a strategy
of protecting jobs.
- “I would be willing to take
five days unpaid leave if it meant
someone could keep their job,”
said Dr. Young
CASTING continued from page 1
before, during, and after service.” The
park will consists of the “Oath of Ser
vice Wall” that will be decorated with
100, bronzed hands of military veter
ans, which will represent each of the
one hundred counties of North Caroli
na. There will be 50 columns that will
bear 400 cement tiles with a relief of
veterans, their family members and ci
vilian’s hand. Each cement tile will be
made of soil from the county the hand
will represent. Every column will rep
resent two counties and their citizens.
The grand total is 500 hands in dedica
tion to North Carolina’s long history of
military service and civilian support.
Those from FSU who are involved
with the project feel very honored
and privileged to be a part of it. They
say that each veteran has a story that
should be told and for the most part,
stories that they never talk about. Each
have their own first-hand accounts
about World War II, Vietnam, Korea,
Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, according
to Professor Martin, they don’t com
plain about it.
“Listening to the veterans stories
and [those of their] families, it’s very
interesting. I feel very honored to be
on this project.” said jimior visual arts
major with a concentration in sculp
ture, Marcela Casals.
Casals recounts how while getting
their hands casted, the veterans would
sit around the. table and exchange sto
ries. Surprisingly, this was the first
time most of them had shared these
stories with anyone. Casals remembers
one marine’s story, about losing their
ship, and being stuck in the water for
three days.
“They’re very humble about the
whole thing,” said junior, Marcela
Casals.
The park will also house a
3,500-square-foot visitor’s center, a
Veterans color garden, story garden, a
service medal wall, the North Carolina
soils wall, reflecting pools, sculptures,
areas for picnics and an amphitheater.
The park is a cornucopia of symbol
ism. Professor Martin hopes that peo
ple will see the park for what it was
meant to be. A place where people can
come, relax, enjoy the art and reflect
on its meaning.
Casals says, “It’s not a memorial for
the dead. [The Veteran’s Park] is there
to contemplate the level of service the
state has provided.”
Voice photo by Dea Spicer
Giving Honor
Keyana Brown, a member of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority, Inc., liglits a candle in lionor
of tlie 22 founders of the organization. They
celebrated 98 years of service Jan. 13.