™ HERALD
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Recent Domestic
Violence Related
Homocides Prompt
Conversation,
Speculation
Jessica Feltner, staff writer
WRAL reports that on Sept. lO four
teen schools in Wake County went on
lockdown due to an escalated domestic
violence dispute in a nearby shopping
center. Forty-one year old Kathleen
Betrand was shot and killed outside of
Pier 1 on North Woods Village Drive in
Cameron Village by her 42 year old ex-
husband Christopher John Betrand.
He killed himself later that day. The
dramatic event was the culmination of
a bitter divorce and custody battle.
One hundred and six homicides
involving domestic violence occurred
in North Carolina in 2011 according
to a report released by the Attorney
General. Sixty-four percent of the
victims were female and 76 percent of
the offenders were male. Four of the
homicides took place in Wake County
and ten homicides took place in Dur
ham County.
These statistics illustrate a slight de
crease from 2010 to 2011, the numbers
showing one less domestic violence
related homicide. So far this year,
the North Carolina Coalition Against
Domestic Violence (NCCADV) has
recorded forty five. In addition to these
numbers, WRAL reports that there
have been five domestic violence re
lated homicides in the last five months,
including the deaths of Kathleen Be
trand and Agata Flipska Vellotti, who
was killed by her husband outside a
Raleigh apartment complex on August
30.
In light of recent shootings, some
are wondering if 2012’s final number
of domestic violence related homi
cides will show a dramatic increase.
Dr. Amie Hess, a sociology professor
at Meredith College, explains her take
on the numbers saying, “I think there
certainly is a perception that they have
increased because of the multiple high
profile shootings of women by their
estranged spouses in a relatively short
time span. This has definitely shined
the spotlight on the issue of domestic
violence—and the relative short-com
ings of the legal protections that are in
place.”
Dr. Hess also comments on the
circumstance of the recent domestic
violence —cont. page 7
First Year Retention Rates at Triangle
Colleges and Universities
77% 79% 70%
_ « 61% 54% 57% 61% 62%
_cT ^ ^ ^
/V
Data from National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary
Education (NCESIPE) Data. Graphic by Mary Baines.
Retention Becomes a
Strategic Campus Effort
Mary Baines, staff writer
Campus Analysis — According to Dr.
Danny Green, Associate Vice Presi
dent for Enrollment Management
at Meredith College, “retention and
persistence rates are major indicators
of the health of an institution in terms
of student success, academic progress,
outcomes and ensuring financial stabil
ity.” Hoping to prove the health of the
institution and excel in these areas,
the strategic plan currently under
construction outlines ways to improve
the college’s retention rates. Dr. Green
notes that “students stay and graduate
from institutions that have strong aca
demic programs, excellent faculty, sup
portive academic and student services,
long-term traditions, loyal alumnae
and great community participation.
Meredith has great students and we are
continually doing all we can to help our
students to be more and more suc
cessful—academically, personally, and
professionally.”
Dr.Green notes that Meredith typi
cally accepts 60 to 62 percent of first
year applicants with approximately 40
percent of accepted students enrolling.
Wl)en looking at a three year average,
Meredith retains 75 percent of students
from the freshman to sophomore year,
65 percent from sophomore to junior
year, and 62 percent from junior to
senior year. College officials note that
the three percent of students leaving
between junior and senior year are
often in poor academic standing, en
rolled in a program that may no longer
be offered, lacking sufficient financial
aid or feel at odds with the Meredith
community. Therefore, the Meredith
approach to improving retention rates
operates on academic, financial and
community levels.
A key effort in retaining current
students is to accurately promote
the unique academic dynamic of the
college to entering classes. Meredith
College News Director Melyssa Allen
notes that “marketing staff work with
admissions staff to highlight the aca
demic programs offered, the benefits
of our location in Raleigh and campus
life at Meredith. We also put a spotlight
on the rigorous academic experience
Meredith students have, including
small class sizes, low faculty/student
ratio, internships, the undergraduate
research program and other experien
tial learning opportunities.”
With an emphasis on Meredith’s
rigorous academic experience, admis
sions counselor Grace Sugg elaborates
that it is important to the Admissions
staff to carefully and holistically evalu
ate incoming applications for grades,
test scores, coursework, extracurricular
activities and recommendations and
to select students they believe will be a
good fit for and successful at Meredith.
Dr. Liz Wolfinger, Vice President
for Academic Planning and Programs,
speaks to how she is working with
faculty and staff to ensure that stu
dents are achieving success once here
at Meredith. She notes that she “works
closely with faculty and staff to review
—cont. page 2
Photographer
Chris Jordan
Discusses Grief,
Art, Environment
with Meredith
Community
Shea Pierson, staff writer
interview -Chris Jordan is not your
average photographer. He describes
mounds of colorful garbage as ap
pearing “like a Monet painting.” He
has been capturing what he sees as
beautiful since he was young, but wary
of going into a full-time art career, Jor
dan went to law school and worked in
insurance law for ten years before fully
realizing his dream. Twenty-five years
into photographing, his work shifted
toward an environmental focus. Jor
dan dropped his job as a lawyer and
dedicated himself to his photographs.
On Sept. 19, Jordan visited the Mere
dith campus, discussing his work with
students, community members and
Herald reporters.
From Garbage to Gallery
After a few years of struggling for
artistic recognition, he came into the
spotlight in 2004, when gallerist Paul
Kopeikin placed on display his Intol
erable Beauty series—a collection of
photographs of garbage on a massive
scale, revealing modern consump
tion and waste in a powerful and even
beautiful way.
Pierson: What initially attracted you
to your line of work—or, how did you
get the idea for it?
Jordan: I had been really fascinated
by photography for many, many
years—ever since I was a kid. For a
long time I was just interested in pho
tographing color. And one place where
I found a lot of unexpectedly rich,
complex color was down in a court
of Seattle, where there were these re
ally colorful, giant stacks of shipping
containers and giant piles of garbage.
Standing in front of one of these huge
piles of garbage, if you only look at
the color, it kind of looks like you’re
standing in front of a Monet painting,
you know, it’s beautiful. So I started
taking all these photographs of these
giant piles of garbage, and it was other
people who saw them and said, “Hey
Chris, by the way, we love all the colors
that you’re taking —cont. page 7
NEWS BRIEFS
On Tuesday, world leaders congregated for the United Nations General Assembly debate in New York. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyhu will address the U.N. tomorrow. / Princeton
University’s first female president Shirley Tilghman is stepping down, becoming the third Ivy League president to leave their post this year. / The giant panda cub born last week in the
National Zoo in Washington, D.C. died Sunday morning. / Colorado, Oregon and Washington will add the legalization of marijuana to their ballots this fall. / A 25 year old man jumped
17 feet into the tiger den in the Bronx Zoo last week, claiming he just wanted to be “one with the tiger.”