FTCC
from page A1
for that highly motivated
student that's willing and has
the capability to discipline
themselves to do the work
because you know you're
essentially covering 16 weeks
worth of work in eight
weeks," said Yevin.
Yevin, along with Sybil
Riqehardt, dean of arts and
sciences, developed Fast
Track for FTCC.
Yevin said the program
also saves students money
since they only pay for one
year of community college
instead of two years, and they
will have to pay faiLless at a
four-year school since they
will enter as juniors.
Diana Campbell, the coor
dinator of the school's college
transfer program, said that
already more than 15 students
have signed up for some Fast
Track classes, with at least
two interested in doing the
entire year's worth of Fast
Track courses. She said she's
surprised at the popularity of
the brand new scheduling
option and that the amount of
courses will be adjusted in
the future based on demand.
Campbell said that the
courses have attracted both
traditional students, who
come to college right out of
high school, and non-tradi
tional students, whose path to
college has taken a little
Election
from page A2
"The diversity used to be
mainly in pretty safe states,
like Texas, California and
New York," he said.
The Census Bureau last
week released 2007 data on
race, age and Hispanic origin
for all 3,141 counties in the
nation. The Associated Press
used the data to analyze 129
key counties in 14 states
expected to be the most com
petitive in this year's presi
dential election. Each county
was decided by no more than
5 percentage points in the past
luin and
each sits in a state
that could go
either way this
year.
The analysis
showed that from
2000 to 2007,
minorities made
up a growing
share of the popu
lation in all but 12
of the swing
counties The
changes happened
among every age
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C-* ?
iors, though they
were much more
pronounced among the young,
including those too young to
vote.
Obama. who had a white
mother and black father, over
whelmingly won the black
vote in the Democratic pri
maries. and he is polling more
strongly than Republican John
McCain among Hispanics.
Both candidates are target
ing voters under 30. But while
young voters have increased
their turnout in recent elec
tions, they are still less likely
to vote than any other age
group.
Obama "may be generat
ing excitement," said Vincent
Hutchings, associate profes
sor of political science at the
University of Michigan. "But
is he generating enough
enthusiasm to excite people
who lack a formal education
and are disproportionately
young, and not likely to
vote?"
Hutchings said the demo
graphic changes could affect
this year's election, but he
expects the impact to be
greater in future elections a$>
young minorities, particularly
the booming Hispanic popula
tion, become older and more
politically active.
The Census numbers are
based on estimates, and in
some counties, changes in
racial composition are small
enough to be statistically
insignificant. But the trend is
clear: The nation is becoming
increasingly diverse, even
more so in areas that have
been decisive the past two
presidential elections.
The AP analysis looked at
counties in Colorado, Florida,
longer. She said the amount of
time students can devote to
their studies tends to be the
common thread in those who
want to do the year's worth of
courses.
"They seem to be in sort of
a period between two parts of
their lives, and they want to
spend this year in a really pro
ductive way, and this is ideal
for that," said Campbell.
One non-traditional stu
dent who has signed up for
Fast Track is 27-year-old
Mary Etienne, who recently
moved to Winston-Salem with
her husband, Jonathan. She's
attended colleges off and on
as a part-time student while
holding down a job as well.
Now that she's saved up
enough money to pay off
some debt, she finally has
enough time to devote herself
to college full-time.
Etienne, who wants to pur
sue a career in psychology, is
excited about the possibilities
that her future may hold if she
earns a bachelor's degree.
Fast Track will help those
possibilities come her way
much quicker.
"It helps me get to my goal
faster and at the same time fits
into my life a lot better than a
16 week course," said
Etienne, who eventually
wants to earn a master's.
For information about
enrolling at FTCC call 336
723-0371 or visit
wwwforsxthtech .edu .
Georgia, Indiana, Iowa.
Michigan, Missouri, North
Carolina, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and
Wisconsin. Nevada also was
analyzed because it is a com
petitive state this year. None
of the state's counties met the
criteria for swing counties in
the previous two elections,
but each has become more
diverse since the decade
began.
Some states are more com
petitive than others, and many
of the counties remained over
whelmingly white. But given
the closeness of the past two
presidential
elections, even
small changes
could make a
difference in
competitive
states.
For example.
Lake County,
just northeast of
Cleveland, is
still 92 percent
white. But since
the start of the
decade, the num
ber of Hisp&nics
has grown by 73
Vincent Hutchings
percent and the
black population
has increased by
47 percent. The number of
whites has dropped slightly in
a county that President Bush
narrowly won in 20P0 and
2004.
Hillsborough County,
N.H., home to Manchester, is
still 89 percent white. But the
number of Hispanics has
grown by 57 percent and the
number of blacks has
increased by 56 percent. The
white population has
increased by just 2 percent in
a county that Bush barely won
twice.
The nation's minority pop
ulation has grown through
higher birthrates and immi
gration. As a result, the share
of minorities increased
between 2000 and 2007 in
every state but Hawaii and the
District of Columbia.
Nationally, the white pop
ulation grew by just 2 percent
in that time, while the number
of blacks increased by 10 per
cent and the number of
Hispanics grew by 29 percent.
In the swing counties
examined by the AP, the black
population grew by an aver
age of 18 percent and the
number of Hispanic^
increased by 45 percent. The'
white population on average
grew by less than a percent in
the 129 counties.
"In many ways demo
graphic differences are the
raw material for party poli
tics," said John Green, direc
tor of the University of
Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute
of Applied Politics.
"If the election is close, it
could come down to small
demographic changes in some
areas."
Diversity festival promotes unity
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICL E
They were black and white
and every shade in between
and as varied as the bubbles
they created with a pail of
soapy water and an assort
ment of odd-shaped doodads.
The scene was a far cry
from a Norman Rockwell
painting, but in 2008, the
racially
eclectic
children
that
laughed
and
played
together
Saturday
a t
j| Lanterns
White of Hope
are a
snapshot of the new America.
Annually, Lanterns is held
to celebrate the county's
growing diversity while
bringing people together to
celebrate differences and sim
ilarities.
"This is something that we
want to make sure takes place
every year," said Joel White,
the co-chair of the Forsyth
County Library's Cultural
Diversity Committee, which
counts Lanterns as one of its
most important initiatives.
Seldom does a week pass
when there is not some sort of
Library promoting the cul
tures of the various people
who now call this county
home. White says it is the
library's responsibility to take
the lead in trying to knock
down racial and cultural barri
ers and replace them with
bridges.
"Everyday, we get people
from all backgrounds (at
Photos by Kevin Walker
Above: Chad Morris per
forms on Saturday.
Right: Tricia Willard with
sons, Luke and Travis.
library branches). We are the
meeting place for the commu
nity," he said.
If it is not at the library or
a local school, Tricia Willard
makes it her business to find
cultural awareness programs
to take her boys to.
"I think it is important that
we all know each other. It is
something that we all need to
do," she said.
Willard is white and the
father of her sons, Travis and
Luke Lawrence, is African
American. She says her sons'
mixed heritage has never bla
tantly been an issue (although
she is sometimes asked if she
is baby-sitting the boys). But
on a recent trip to
Washington, D.C., Willard
noticed that no one gave her
family a second glance. There
weren't any stares, either.
"I think we (Winston
Salem) still can make a lot of
improvements," she said.
White and others hope that
Lanterns of Hope is a small,
positive step in that direction.
For more than two and a
half hours Saturday evening.
attendees were entertained
and occupied by several kids'
attractions, live music and
dancers and generous chunks
of sweet watermelon - all of
which was enj0yed inside
downtown's Corpening Plaza.
As is tradition, the event
ended when attendees floated
the lanterns they made from
paper and sticks in one of the
plaza's concrete water basins.
The lanterns were decorated
with things like colorful
hearts and stars and words
like "peace" and "love." The
mini candles that were placed
in each white lantern were lit
before they went adrift, creat
ing an eye-catcliing scene as
dusk approached.
Chad Morris thinks events
like Lanterns should not be
underestimated in their ability
to build bonds and change
mindsets.
"There is a lot of fear, I
think, that causes most
(racism). We are scared of
something different,"
Morris, who performed a
lively musical set with the
bands Don Quijote and The
Windmills, feels fortunate
that his eyes were opened
early as he grew up in Spain,
where his parents served as
missionaries. He speaks (and
sings) Spanish fluently, and
counts among his friends peo
ple of all cultures and races.
"1 think 1 was lucky grow
ing up in Spain." he said.
One day. White wants peo
ple to say that about Forsyth
County - that they learned to
love and embrace diversity
while living here. But he
knows that will take some
time and work. The Library,
he says, is ready and willing
to invest both.
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