VOL. 1 NO. 2
March 29, 1979
The UnivcrsiVy of North Carolina-Ashcvil
Student Government:
New Faces, A New Outlook
Mike Ochsenreiter, VP and Lynn Smith, Pres.
UNC and HEW Battle over
Desegregation Plan
According to an AP report in
the Asheville Citizen on March
27, 1979, both Secretary Joseph
Califano of HEW and The Uni
versity of North Carolina came
under fire concerning the Univer
sity’s proposed desegration plan.
Under the 1964 Civil Rights
Act, the following changes were
proposed by HEW to deal with
dual systems of higher education:
1. Increase the number of blacks
at traditionally white schools.
2. Strengthen traditionally black
institutions by giving them new
resources and programs.
3. Eliminate educationally un
necessary program duplica
tions.
Along with five other states
(Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Oklahoma, and Virginia) the
liiH Poricr
The March Student (ii)vcrniiiciU run-olT clcclion has pro\ iticd
UNC'-A with what appears to be an alternative to last _\car's iirohiciii-
ridden adiiiinistration. The election of l.ynn .Smith and Mike
Ochsenreiter to the posts of President and X’icc-prcsidcnt brii^js a
breath ol' fresh air to campus government, if lor ni) other reason ihaii
that they represent change.
Both Smith and Ochsenreiter will undoiibtedl\ bring a eerlaiii
amount ol' savoir fairc to their terms in office. l he> are both in their
mid-twenties, and hold 3.3 averages in their respective majors ol.
Sociology and Management. They are returning students, which in
itself speaks of maturity and direction. While Smith has served
previously in the Student Senate, Ochsenreiter is a newcomer to
student government. Both hope to bring a strongly businesslike
approach to student government.
Optimism about the new student government stems I'roin more
than just the mere inllux of new faces. Smith and Ochsenreiter have
brought in concrete ideas for innovations and improvements that, if
effected, will go far in improving the services offered to students b\
the campus government.
By way of a refresher, UNC-A’s student government is designed
to provide the following services:
1. Protection and preservation of student rights.
2. The creation of an atmosphere conducive to the educational
experience.
3. Enrichment of relations among students, faculty, and adminis
tration.
4. Provision of a framework for student self-government in
academic and non-academic affairs.
5. Encouragement to students to assume responsibilities as
members of the university community.
With the cooperation of the Student Senate and the Administration.
Smith and Ochsenreiter hope to bring student government to a
point where it can live up to these goals.
According to Lynn Smith, the number one objective of the new
administration is the restoration of credibility to student government.
Smith feels that if this restoration can be made, the administration
and senate can more easily implement the improvements they plan
for SG services.
Both Smith and Ochsenreiter see an upgrading of communication
as one of the primary means of accomplishing their goals.
Ochsenreiter stated, “I know this sounds hackneyed, but what we
really need is an improvement in communication. This improvement
needs to take place not only between the SCi and the student body,
but between the SG and the community."
One of the ways the new Student Government administration plans
to improve interaction between the community and the University
is to bring in a first-rate media commissioner. The new- commissioner
will serve as a communications liaison between the Student (jovern-
ment and the surrounding area. Ochsenreiter feels that a student
media commissioner working in conjunction with the University's
Public Information Director can be a major influence in upgrading
Away! You Crabbed Winter continued p.lo
Away! You crabbed Winter with your stale breath
UNC system had been directed
to submit a desegregation plan by
March 1979. Previous proposals
by UNC had been “provisional
ly” accepted as a result of a com
mitment by the University to
enroll students in “programs that
don’t exist on both traditionally
black and traditionally white
campuses.”
Califano, however, delayed
deadlines for a detailed duplica
tions proposal in the interest of
letting the University system
develop a viable enhancement
program for black colleges. This
most recent proposal has proved
unacceptable to HEW.
“David Tatel, director of
HEW’s Office for Civil Rights
said his office is satisfied with the
Unjversity’s plan for increasing
black enrollment at the white
continued n.lO
Of smoke steeped rooms and chimney gas:
This gale of spring has swept you out of doors
As briskly as a broom of fresh mown grass
With still some green to it although it dried
All winter on the stalk. Be gone, you hag!
You are not welcome in the month of March,
However much it pleases you to lag
By our front stoop. Take your soot and fumes.
Your sour looks, your grey and haggard light
And visit them on some more northern rooms
Where this south breeze should tug you by your cloak.
When Spring plays his pipes, you can only croak
And wheeze in your foul air some last exhaust
Of empty protest. Fresh air makes you choke.
Richard James