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The Blue Banner
Volume XV, Number 9
Serving the students and faculty of UNCA
November 2, 1989
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‘Better behave’
Daytona Beach officials say
1990 may be the last year they
welcome students to vacation
there during spring break.
City visitors bureau officials
say they will send a squad of
representatives to a number of
campuses in early ’90 to warn
students to behave well when
they head south this spring.
"We want students to party,
but we want them to do it
responsibly," said Suzanne
Smith, director of the city’s
spring break task force.
Smith said Daytona Beach,
one of the last places left that
actually welcomes students for
spring break, may follow other
vacation spots like Miami
Beach, Fort Lauder-dale, Palm
Springs, Calif, and Virginia
Beach, Va., in discouraging
them from congregating there
if things don’t change.
Since 1984, seven people have
died and 34 injured in falls
from Daytona Beach hotel and
motel balconies. Last year, the
city was largely unable to
control the 40,000 students who
visited, Smith said.
Students trashed hotels,
urinated on lawns, passed out
in driveways and disturbed
residents with blaring radios
and parties, she said.
Protest drinking age
Hoping to reverse a political
movement toward prohibition
and new drinking age limits,
University of Wisconsin at
Oshkosh students have staged
a series of protests.
Both have ended in mass
arrests and have divided the
campus.
The higher drinking age at
Oshkosh, as at other campuses
around the country, effectively
has led underaged students in
private apartments to set up
bars of their own, often
charging classmates money to
draw beer from kegs.
To set an example for the
school year, local police in
September raided a party in
the basement of some Oshkosh
students’ house, confiscating
kegs, arresting 80 students and
slapping students who lived
there with a $17,000 fine.
In response, Oshkosh
students protested first on Oct.
12 and again on Oct. 19 in
angry street demonstrations
ithat led to 55 arrests and about
;S2,500 in property damage.
15,000 protest cuts
A crowd of about 15,000
students protested further cuts
in Massachusetts’ higher
education budget at the state
capitol in Boston Oct. 18.
Tihe upheaval began when
Massachusetts Gov. Michael
Dukakis announced public
campuses would have to
endure another round of
budge.t cuts to keep the state
from i'oing broke.
Students were angered by
Dukaki's’ call to cut another
$25 million from the state
college budgets, meaning that
scores of faculty members
would be laid off and many
course sections canceled.
Massachusetts already has
chopped $14 million out of its
public coli'ege budget in five
cuts during the last two years.
Several college presidents
openly said they plan to defy
Dukakis’ order.
The extended forecast for
Friday through Sunday calls for
partly cloud}' skies Friday,
becoming fair Saturday and
Sunday.
Temperatureis will be quite
cool throughout the weekend.
High temperatures will reach
the 40s Friday and rise into the
’ 50s Saturday and Sunday.
Lows will mostly range in the
upper 20s to around 30 for the
entire weekend.
Jim Owen
Atmospheric Sciences
Firemen
respond
to false
alarm
Kimberly Cooley
Staff Writer
Four Asheville City fire
trucks were dispatched to
Owen Hall Thursday at 4:40
p.m., according to Captain
Jimmy Fox of the Asheville
City Fire Department.
According to Fox,
someone was burning leaves
around the trees that line
University Heights near
Owen Hall. "There were
windows open on the right
side of the building and the
wind blew the smoke into
the building," said Fox.
"We went through every
floor but found no source.
When we saw the leaves
burning and found which
way the wind was blowing,
we knew that was the
source," said Fox.
According to Fox, when
smoke was detected in the
building, someone pulled
the fire alarm. "We didn’t
have a key to unlock the
alarm. That’s why the alarm
went off for so long even
though there was no fire in
the building," said Fox.
Hanging around Photo by Miranda Wyatt
De De Ramsey relaxes in her own way as she reads a newspaper recently.
Worker’s
condition
critical
by Lee Pearson
Staff Writer
An Asheville man was
injured last week while
performing construction
duties on the graduate
center and classroom
addition on the UNCA
campus.
William Ray, 44, fell last
Thursday morning from a
position on the building site,
a physical plant
spokesperson said. The
accident reportedly occurred
when the scaffolding, on
which Ray was standing,
gave way.
Ray was taken to
Memorial Mission Hospital
and admitted to intensive
care for treatment of head
injuries, a hospital
spokesperson said. The
injured construction worker
remained in serious
condition in the intensive
care unit of the hospital a
week after the accident.
The general contractor for
the campus project, L. P.
Cox Co., declined to
comment on the accident.
Wood and Cort, the
architectural firm in charge
of the site, also would
not comment,.
Van Slyke named security director '
-
by Michael E. Gouge
News Edilor
Jeff Van Slyke has
officially taken over as
director of security and
services this week,
according to Eric
lovacchini, vice-chancellor
for student affairs.
lovacchini said Van Slyke
was chosen over 40 other
applicants by a search
committee made up of
students, faculty and staff
members.
"We were looking for
someone with experience -
teaching experience and
group leadership
experience," he said. Van
Slyke was able to express to
the committee "a philosophy
that fit well with the
university," lovacchini said.
Van Slyke said the first
major concern for campus
security is to improve
communications. As it is
now "it’s sometimes hard to
get response if there’s a
problem," he said.
He also would like to see
a balance between the
needs for a public-service
type of department and the
role of a law enforcement
agency, he said.
"Campuses are not a
popular place for law
enforcement. Their main
goal is academic excellence.
I feel the two go hand-in-
hand. I’d like to send the
department in the right
direction because no
institution is safe from
crime," he said. "It’s crucial
to have a balance between
law enforcement and
administrative service
departments."
Van Slyke also said he
will strive to improve public
relations with the security
department. "I’d like to get
some input from students,
faculty and staff to find out
what their needs are."
"There has to be better
communication between
myself, as chief, and the
university," he said. "I have
an open door policy and
will welcome comments
from the public."
Van Slyke was formerly
employed by Auburn
university as parking
manager. He is an Auburn
graduate with a bachelor’s
degree in criminal justice
and has formerly worked as
I
A- ^
A
Jeff Van Slyke
a police officer and
corrections officer at
federal prison, he said.
Focus: Security priorities
Moving up in the world
Mike Jackson enjoys spending his spare time
climbing the side of Robinson Hall.
Drug offenses at UNCA
sometimes overlooked
by Benny Smith
Staff Writer
In spite of recent drug
arrests on campus, minor
drug offenses are not
considered a major
priority by campus
security and may be
overlooked in some
cases, according to a
security staff member.
According to the
UNCA Policy and
Procedures section in the
administrative procedures
manual, the possession
and use of marijuana
where there is no intent
to sell is on the list as a
"low priority" with
security.
The UNCA department
of public security and
service defines low
priority offenses as those
that the department has
few resources to handle.
The department will act
on a low priority offense
only as the result of a
specific complaint or
when the offense is
observed by a security
officer during his or her
routine activities,
according to the manual.
Other matters the
UNCA department of
public security and
service defines as low
priority are gambling,
statutory sex offenses
between consenting
adults and illegal
possession of alcoholic
beverages.
On the other hand, the
possession of "hard
drugs," such as cocaine,
without intent to sell is
categorized as a routine
priority by security.
"These are matters that
are handled as lime is
available," according to
the Administrative
Procedures Manual.
Other matters listed as
routine priority in the
manual include moving
traffic violations,
trespassing, vandalism
and violation of general
nuisance statutes (such as
noise violations).
High priorities are
matters in which major
crime prevention, patrol
and intelligence efforts
are regularly allocated,
according to the manual.
Nonviolent sex offenses,
burglary, larceny,
assaults, possession of
weapons on campus and
manufacture, distribution
and sale of controlled
substances are included
as high priority matters.
Driving under the
influence of drugs and
alcohol on campus is also
a high priority matter.
See Priorities, Page 10