News
The State of the State
By Mimi Mays, Associate Editor
As we publish our first
issue of 2019, we reflect on the
many newsworthy things that
have happened since our last
issue of 2018 (Dec. 5). “The State
of the State” aims to refresh au
diences on the latest in North
Carolina and US news with a
short, succinct bulletin. Sources
include Gov. Roy Cooper’s Press
Office and CNBC.
Winter Weather Week
Raleigh and much of
North Carolina is preparing for
another round of sub-freezing
temperatures and winter
weather over the next few days.
A strong cold front will move
across the state Tuesday bring
ing accumulating snow to por
tions of western North Caro
lina. Wind chill values well
below zero are likely across the
mountains Wednesday and
Thursday mornings. In central
and eastern parts of the state,
significant snow accumulation
is not likely as just a dusting of
snow is expected late Tues. Jan.
29 evening, primarily on grassy
surfaces. As temperatures
fall below freezing Tuesday
night, isolated-slick spots could
develop by Wednesday morn
ing in locations where pavement
remains wet. Wind chill values
will be in the teens Wednesday
morning and in the single digits
Thursday morning across north
ern portions of central and eastern
NC. North Carolina Emergency
Management and the State High
way Patrol are monitoring the
forecast and conditions across
the state, and stand ready to
respond as needed. "North Caro
lina is bracing for more cold and
snowy weather, and I urge people
to monitor their local forecasts
closely and take proactive steps
to stay ready, warm, and safe,"
said Governor Cooper. Additional
winter safety tips can be found on
the free Ready NC mobile app or
online at readync.org.
Funding for Coast Improvements
North Carolina coastal
communities will receive over
$1.1 million in grants to improve
public access to coastal beaches
and waters. Governor Roy Coo
per announced Tuesday, Jan. 29.
“North Carolina’s coast is one
of our greatest treasures and we
want it to be accessible to all,” the
governor said. “These grants will
Kappa Nu Sigma Induction
By Kathleen Daly, Staff Writer
On Jan. 24, Meredith’s
honor society Kappa Nu Sigma
held its annual induction ceremo
ny for students with 3.9 GPA and
over 75 credit hours or students
with a 3.8 GPA and over 90 credit
hours. Along with the induction
of new members, the ceremony
also acknowledged the 39 first
and second-year students who
received the Helen Rice Scholar
ship for having the highest GPA
in their classes. There was excite
ment and joy expressed from both
the parents and new members.
“I’m really excited I got to do this,
even though I missed a class for it.
This was a really big deal for me
and my family,” Dominique Bate
man, an inductee, remarked after
the event.
After the new members
took the Kappa Nu Sigma pledge,
the event ended with a speech
from guest speaker Dr. Lisa Bul
lard. With a PhD in Chemical
Engineer
ing, Dr.
Lisa Bul
lard is the
Director
of Under
graduate
studies in
help coastal communities wel
come more people to enjoy our
spectacular beaches and water
ways, increasing investment in our
state’s economy.” 12 total com
munities along the coast—from
Manteo to Holden Beach—^will
receive funding from the state’s
Division of Coastal Management
in the North Carolina Department
of Environmental Quality.
Government Shutdown
On Friday, Jan. 25, Presi
dent Trump signed a funding bill
that will allow the US government
to remain open until Feb. 15. This
decision ended the 35-day govern
ment shutdown, which the US has
been enduring since December
2018. This shutdown hiatus occurs
without the $5.7 billion allocation
towards a border wall, something
that was previously described
as absolutely necessary by the
President. Until Feb. 15, lawmak
ers will be working to structure a
budget that will satisfy Trump’s
immigration goals, though bipar
tisan compromise on that matter
is not guaranteed—but, according
to Truntp and other Republicans,
if is also hot heeded. North Caro
lina Representative Mark Mead
ows tweeted that “compromise
is important, but not required,
to secure our border and protect
American families.” House Major
ity Leader Steny Hoyer stated, “I
hope the experience of the last 35
days has taught us that we should
never repeat this exercise of shut
ting down governrhent again.” An
official statement from Governor
Cooper on Jan. 25 reads, “Today’s
agreement finally ends President
Trump’s unnecessary shutdown
and alleviates anxiety for thou
sands of working families in North
Carolina, and for all who rely on
the federal government to inspect
our food, ensure safe travel, test
water samples and more. I urge
leaders in Washington to work
together on a responsible, perma
nent solution to keep the country
running.”
The State of the State qffhe
Union
President Trump’s State
of the Union Address was origi
nally scheduled for Tuesday, Jan.
29, but with urging from House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and in light
of the wake of the government
shutdown, the address has been
rescheduled for Feb. 5.
the Department of Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering at NC
State. Dr. Btillard said that she
treats students coming to her as
if they have a package for her.
She said that whenever someone
comes to you, you have a choice:
you can either tear open their
“package” carelessly to get to the
thing inside or you can examine
and appreciate all the aspects of
the package. To remind her of this
idea, she keeps a package on her
desk with a beautiful wrapping
she picked herself. Dr. Bullard
summarized, “Each [person’s
story] is an offering to you, and it’s
your.choice as to how to respond
to the gift given: their talents, their
hopes, and their fears. Be the one
who chooses to unwrap the pack
age.”
For students who want to
join Kappa Nu Sigma, Olivia McK-
ain advised, “Prioritize time and
study. Also, it’s okay not to always
get an A.
I’ve gotten
grades that
are lower
than As
and I’ve still
been able to
do well.”
In the Arnns of the Angels: How You
Can Help Shelter Pets
By Olivia Slack, Staff Writer
Companion animals are
a key part of many Americans’
lives—the average pet-owner
takes great joy in caring for and
spoiling their dogs, cats or exotic .
animals. However, many domes
ticated animals in the US. have
no owners and are taken in by
animal shelters like the SPCA or
county adoption centers. Accord
ing to the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani
mals (ASPCA), approximately 6.5
million cats and dogs enter ani
mal shelters every year. Of those,
about 3.2 million animals are
adopted, but nearly 1.5 million
are euthanized. This overcrowd
ing of shelters, and more broadly
overpopulation of companion
animals in general, is a serious
issue, but one that can help be
resolved by almost anyone.
There are many things
you could do in order to help the
plight of shelter animals. For one,
if you’re able, you could adopt
or foster a shelter pet. Around
the Triangle area there are many
adoption events that regularly
take place. Local businesses like
AniMall in Cary Towne Center
offer spaces for animal rescue
groups to hold adoption events,
and doing an online search or
looking at event calendars yields
many results for adoption events,
especially on weekends. An up
coming local event is the TICA
Time Cat Show, which takes place
the weekend of Feb. 16-17 and costs
$5 for adult admission. Besides be
ing a cat show and a place to learn
about different breeds of cats, the
event will have cats available for
adoption from local shelters.
Of course, adopting or
even fostering a pet is a huge re
sponsibility and should be thor
oughly thought through before
any decisions are made. In fact,
that is one of the reasons so many
pets end up in shelters: the idea
of owning a pet and the reality of
owning a pet are quite different,
and animals who are purchased
from breeders sometimes end up
brought to shelters because their
owners did not realize the true
responsibility of owning a pet.
If you don’t think you’re
ready to bring a new pet into
Continued on page 3
Photo courtesy of Dr. Kelly Roberts