(The Daily alar Mrrl
NCCU Revives Nursing Exam Scores
By Benjamin Glover
Staff Writer
A year ago, N.C. Centra] University’s
nursing program seemed about as likely
to post the highest passing rates in the
UNC-system as Florida State now does
to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference
basketball standings.
With a passing rate of only 66 percent
in 1999, the Board of Governors threat
ened to shut down the program unless
their scores improved.
Just a year later, N.C. Central boast
ed the highest score in the state - 94 per
cent passing rate - on the National
Council Licensure Examination of
Registered Nurses, referred to as the
N.C. LEXRN.
Donna Benson, who served as inter
Virus Originator 'OnTheFly' Confesses to Crime
The Associated Press
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -
Dutch police on Wednesday arrested the
hacker known as “OnTheFly,” a 20-
year-old man who claims he wrote a
computer virus that backed up e-mail
systems worldwide by purporting to
offer a photograph of tennis star Anna
Koumikova.
Authorities charged him with damag
ing private property and computer pro
grams, and sent the man home with his
parents, saying the offense didn’t war-
V-DAY
From Page 3
During the discussion, members of the
audience wondered about the purpose
and reason for this tradition.
In “Warrior Marks,” Walker
explained that the ritual makes societies
consider women pure. She said it is also
VAGINA
From Page 3
Monologues” outside and thought it was a
pornographic show. He sat down and said
to a woman next to him, “God, what are
all these women doing here, this is like a
chick flick, you know?” Ensler said.
“The man watched the show and he
was grunting and moaning throughout
and being a little depressed by it, but when
it got to the Bosnia part and the woman
talked about being raped with a rifle, he
gasped audibly and by the end of the show
he turned to this woman with tears stream
ing down his face,” she said.
As Ensler performed “The Vagina
Monologues” in cities all over the world,
GPSF
From Page 3
in becoming a mentor.
“I had a lot of people help me to get
where I am today,” she said. “I want to
give back and help others who have
similar interests as me.”
But Nora Harris, a junior history
major, was wary of what the mentor
project offered. She expressed concern
that the e-mail mentorship would not be
as effective as face-to-face counseling
sessions. “E-mail is impersonal,” she
said. “It doesn’t promote the kind of dis
cussion that would be necessary for giv
ing advice about important issues.”
Woody said he hopes the initial con
tact obtained through e-mail will lead to
more productive meetings between the
undergraduates and their mentors.
“E-mail is just a way to get (the men
torship process) started,” he said. “Basic
questions that undergraduates have
about graduate school can be easily
answered by e-mail.” ’
To obtain more information about
the mentorship project, send an e-mail
to gradmentor@tarheelblue.com.
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
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im chancellor at N.C. Central in 1992
and worked with officials to raise test
scores, said she employed several meth
ods to help the school improve its pass
ing rate, such as new software, external
consultants for the test, small work
groups of students and tutorial services.
Benson said much of the school’s
improvement resulted from improved
classes and curriculums but added that
the students played a vital role.
“The most impressive aspect of this
improvement was the students’ commit
ment,” she said.
N.C. Central’s nursing problems
started in the 1980s, when fewer than 90
percent of the school’s graduates passed
the N.C. LEXRN the entire decade.
The school’s score ranged from 46 to
88 percent in 1982-89.
rant holding him.
A prosecutor will decide later
whether to seek a jail sentence or a fine
for the suspect.
“The offenses with which he has been
charged aren’t enough to hold him,”
said police spokesman Robert
Rambonnet, adding that they carry up
to a four-year sentence.
The man’s name was withheld under
Dutch privacy regulations, but he was
identified as a resident of the small town
of Sneek, 60 miles northeast of
Amsterdam.
assumed that if a woman does not enjoy
sexual intercourse, she will be less
promiscuous. After the procedure, the
girl is sewn up and continually re
opened and closed to control her sexu
al activity.
“You control a woman as you would
control any object,” one African woman
in the film said.
Most of the students exhibited shock
she saw and heard firsthand the terrible
consequences of violence toward
women. It was clear that something
major and dramatic needed to be done,
she said.
Her piece inspired V-Day in 1998,
when a group of professional women in
New York joined with Ensler and found
ed the anti-violence movement.
“V-Day is a catalyst, a movement, a
performance that simply demands that
violence must end, proclaiming
Valentine’s Day as V-Day until the vio
lence stops,” Ensler said. “Then it will be
known as Victory Day.”
Ensler said the connection between
the two days is ironic because it is actu
ally in the name of romance that a lot of
violence is committed toward women.
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State & National
In response to this trend at N.C.
Central’s nursing school, the BOG
threatened to shut down programs with
a passing rate of 75 percent or below for
two consecutive years.
N.C. Central’s passing rate ranged
from 100 percent in 1992 to the decade
low of 66 percent in 1999. After such an
embarrassing year, N.C. Central under
took an aggressive and comprehensive
transformation of their nursing program.
Gretchen Bataille, UNC-system
senior vice president of academic affairs,
added that N.C. Central made a “con
certed effort at all levels - classes, labs,
curriculum, etc.” to try to improve stu
dents’ scores. Bataille said the nursing
school also sponsored a four-day study
session before the exam.
But such methods have never been
“It’s up to the public prosecutors
whether and for what he should be pun
ished,” said Peter Boomsma, the police
spokesman in Sneek.
A district court was expected to hear
the case in a few weeks.
Boomsma said the man was released
on his own recognizance; it is ordinary
practice in the Netherlands to let people
go until trial.
The discovery of the apparent hacker
in the Netherlands harked back to the
1980s when the country gained a repu
tation as a virtual transit point for hack
and seemed disturbed after the presen
tation. During the discussion, one stu
dent wondered what could be done to
help women in these situations.
Benton said an alternative ceremony
that does not include mutilation has
been created, but many communities
are reluctant to accept it.
She also said education is a positive
tool toward stopping female circumci-
“We picked Valentine’s Day because
the theme was to take the romance out
of Valentine’s Day and put the vagina
back in,” Ensler said. “I am not anti
romance, but I am anti-romanticization
of patriarchy and domination.”
The global movement sponsors cul
tural events to raise awareness and
money for existing women’s organiza
tions. The ultimate goal of V-Day is to
present a message that entertains and at
the same time creates a dramatic shift in
consciousness.
Ensler stresses that the centerpiece of
the V-Day movement will be produc
tions across the country of “The Vagina
Monologues.” The play is expected to
earn between $3 and $5 million for
women’s organizations, in addition to
needed in UNC-Chapel Hill’s nursing
program.
“UNC has never been in a situation
even close to falling below the required
scores and generally posts scores above
90 percent,” said Linda Cronenwett,
dean of the UNC-CH nursing program.
UNC-CH passing rate is 89 percent
in 1999 and 93 percent in 2000, which
was the second highest score in the state.
UNC-CH has consistently earned
one of the highest passing rates in the
UNC-system on the N.C. LEXRN.
Cronenwett said the school’s success
was due to “good faculty, a good cur
riculum, and adequate resources from
the state and federal governments.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
ers trying to break into U.S. government
computer systems.
In 1999, the national police set up a
special unit of dozens of cyber detec
tives, but they were apparendy clueless
that a Dutchman was to blame for the
most widespread Internet bug in nearly
a year.
In a letter posted on the Internet on
Tuesday admitting responsibility, the
computer buff said he copied “the
worm” from a program he found on the
Internet, because “I don’t know any pro
gramming languages.”
sion.
“Many women do not know what
they are losing,” she said.
In her movie, Walker gives women
hope in fighting these practices.
“You can fight back even after you are
injured.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
the more than $3 million it has already
raised.
Ensler, who is currendy writing a fea
ture film for Miramax with Glenn Close
directing, describes the incredible suc
cess of “The Vagina Monologues” as
somewhat of a mystery.
“I sometimes feel like I’m just in the
wake of a great vagina miracle. The
monologues are based on real women’s
stories, so when women hear them they
hear their own stories back at them.”
“The Vagina Monologues” will be
performed at 8 p.m. Feb. 15-17 at the
Haymakers Theatre. Tickets are $5 for
students and $7 for the community.
The Arts and Entertainment Editor
can be reached atartsdesk@unc.edu.
Princeton to Fund
sl6 Million Grants
By Rachel Nyden
Staff Writer
A recent decision by Princeton
University to replace student loans with
grants has caused an upheaval in some
areas of the higher education communi
ty, but UNC and Duke University offi
cials say it will not affect them.
Princeton officials announcedjan. 27
that they will spend an additional sl6
million from the institution’s endow
ment to fund grants for students in an
effort to relieve them of the burden of
loans.
This decision could give prospective
students, especially middle-class stu
dents who aren’t eligible for need-based
financial aid, incentive to attend
Princeton over other institutions.
But John Bumess, senior vice presi
dent of public affairs at Duke, said most
schools are not in a financial situation to
compete with Princeton’s decision.
“Princeton historically has funded
virtually all its financial aid out of its
endowment,” he said.
“It has not had to dip into its operat
ing budget.”
Bumess also said he is not worried
about losing potential students to
Princeton because many would be like
ly to pick Princeton over Duke.
He added that other universities
might feel the need to adjust their own
financial aid systems, especially other
Ivy League schools, but that not many
schools have the finances available to
enact such a plan.
“It will create some pressure but prob
ably, with the exception of Harvard and
Yale within the Ivies and Stanford out
side the Ivies, the endowments aren’t
going to be able to match what Princeton
is doing,” he said. “Each institution will
have to determine how best to respond.”
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Richard Williams said the high cost of
attending schools like Princeton gives
them a need to adjust financial aid pro
grams in different ways than less expen
sive schools such as UNC.
“With (UNC) tuition so low, afford
ability is not a big problem,” Williams
said.
He also said he does not think the
decision will affect the University’s abil
ity to compete for top students.
“I think that we’re always going to be
in a position to compete with the very
best,” Williams said.
“I don’t think it will give Princeton an
advantage over us.”
He added that even with the grants,
students will still have to pay a large
amount to attend Princeton.
“It doesn’t mean they won’t have to
pay anything, just that the financial aid
will be in the form of a grant,” Williams
said.
But Princeton Director of Financial
Aid Don Betterton said the school’s
decision will spark conversation about
financial aid on other campuses.
“We (made it easier to get financial
aid) three years ago, and we had (in)
some sense, given our competitive
stance and where we stand, that there
would be action on other campuses,” he
said.
Betterton said he thinks Princeton’s
plan will cause other universities to
examine their own financial aid pro
grams to remain fiscally desirable to stu
dents also applying to Princeton.
He added that schools also will have
to consider changes that are compatible
with their schools’ missions.
“The key thing is institutions should
make the proper response for their pop
ulation.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
9