Letters
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Baseball wins
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Spring Alive
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Inside
vvcndoli s Window page 3
N3A
Dance pre
Healthbes
The Blue Banner
’’Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.” — Kettering
Volume XVIII Number 14
The University of North Carolina Asheville
May 2, 1991
UNCA to graduate largest
class in school’s history
Davey Ramsey
Staff Writer
The 1991 graduating class begins
commencement ceremonies
practice May 10. Actual
graduation ceremonies are
scheduled for May 11 on tbe quad
in front of Ramsey Library.
"This should be the largest
graduating class ever at UNCA,"
said Doris Harmon, administrative
assistant to the registrars office.
"There should be over 350
graduates, although the exact
number of graduates can not be
determined until final grades are
received May 3."
The first step toward graduation
begins with a prerehearsal
breakfast sponsored by the Office
of Student Affairs. The breakfast
will be held May 10 from 8:30 to
9:30 in the Highsmith Center
cafeteria.
"Alt graduating seniors and
department chairs are invited to
this breakfast,", said Thomas
Cochran, associate vice chancellor
for academic affairs, and organizer
of the 1991 commencement
ceremonies. "During the breakfast
each chair will be asked to bestow
departmental distinctions on one
or two students who they feel have
done outstanding work in their
department. Later the vice
chancellor will issue university
honors based on faculty votes,"
said Cochran.
Immediately following the
breakfast, students will travel to
Lipinsky Auditorium for a
commencement rehearsal.
Following rehearsal, seniors will
cross the quad to Phillips Hall for
the marshalling of the class.
Marshalling is a ceremony
involving inspirational speeches
intended to challenge graduates in
their future endeavors.
After the marshalling ceremony
seniors will assemble on the
terrace of Ramsey Library for a
class picture before adjournment
of practice exercises, said Cochran.
Once graduation practice is over,
the stage is set for the real thing.
The day starts with a reception
at the chancellor’s house, from 3
p.m.to 4 p.ra. for graduating
seniors and their parents, said
Cochran. After the reception, line
up begins promptly at 5:30 p.ra.
and commencement starts at 6
p.m.
"The commencement ceremony
should take approximately two
hours," said Cochran. Afterward
there will be a reception in
Phillips Hall for all those in
attendance.
In addition to the actual handing
of diplomas, graduates will also
fiear an address by a guest
speaker.
"Jason McManus, editor in chief
of Time Warner Inc., will be the
guest speaker for 1991 graduation
ceremonies," said Tom Byers,
special assistant to the chancellor.
"McManus is quite a remarkable
individual since there have only
been three previous editors in
chief of this company in its 66-year
history."
The 1991 graduation ceremony
also includes something different
than graduations in the past.
"This year we will be issuing the
first Master of Liberal Arts
(MLA) degrees in the history of
UNCA," said Cochran.
■ %
a,
Hopes lands
Disney movie
oontract
LeeAnn Donnelly
Staff Writer
What are the chances of a major film, studio picking
up a UNCA professor’s first screenplay? For David
Hopes, the chances have proven great.
Hopes, associate professor of hterature, recently
signed with Disney Studios to develop Beowulf, the
literary classic, into a script for movie production.
An agreement with Disney Studios came as a
surprise for the first-time screenwriter. After
completing the piece, Hopes sent it to Peter Miller,
his agent in New York City. Hopes said Miller, who
also works as an assistant producer, returned it saying
he didn’t think a demand for the script existed.
"He said, ’Look, the script’s OK, but no one would
ever want to do a movie about Beowulf.”'
Then, about sue months later, Hopes said Miller
contacted him with news of a comnanv looking to
Please see Hopes, page 10
Walk-America
Participants in the March of Dimes April 28 walk-a-thon enter UNCA's
check point .
UNCA honors
excellence
Renee Rallos
Staff Writer
City life
Spring sun shines on City-County Plaza.
Photo by Miranda Wyatt
The UNCA Leadership and Academic Awards Presentation will be
held on May 2, at 7:30 p.m, in the Heritage Ballroom at the Grove
Park Inn. A reception will follow.
The UNCA Office of Student Development and the UNCA Alumni
Association are sponsoring the presentation.
"The purpose is to recognize and honor excellence in leadership and
in academic achievement," said Nina East, director of student
development.
"It’s an open invitation. You don’t have to receive an invitat.on in
order to come. The whole idea is that this is a university-wide event
so we want as many people as possible to come," said East.
The basis for the awards is academics, but each department sets its
own criteria.
"Not every department is giving an award there. Some have their
own award ceremony or they choose to recognize excellence and
academics in a different way. There are different departments in
Student Affairs as well as in Academic Affairs who give awards," said
East.
Some organizations who give awards include Student Development,
Student Government Association and Counseling Center.
The awards can be certificates, scholarships or books. Awards are
Please see Presentation, page io
Businessman offers prize
for computer innovation
Stacy Ubby
Staff Writer
Hugh Loebner, founder of ih'
Loebner prize, spoke April 24 in
Carmichael Hall concerning "Can
Computers Think?" "[The Loebner
prize] is a fund I’ve established for
the person who develops the first
hardware or software that can
satisfy the Turring Test," said
Loebner.
In 1950, Alan Turring wrote an
article examining the concept of
artificial intelligence. He discussed
a very simple test, m terms of the
concept behind it.
It involved a computer in one
room and a human in the other,
with the man acting as an
interrogator, said Loebner. "If it
gets to the point you can’t tell the
difference between the computer
and a man or seems like a man is
answering, then you could say the
computer could think."
"There has been a lot of
arguments on whether the test
means anything and whether
computers are intelligent or not,"
said Loebner.
The test had never been done,
but greatly discussed, he said.
"Talk, talk, talk, talk, but nobody
was doing anything about it."
The prize will be $100,000. It
seems to me, however, that anyone
that has a program to make
computers think would not need
my money, he said.
"(The prize] seemed to me to be
valuable to get people moving in
this direction," he said. So each
year, the annual prize will be given
to the program that merely works
better than the others, he said.
"I’m hoping that by doing this,
that someone will say ’I can do
better than that’ and the next year
create a belter program," he said.
1 always thought it would be
interesting to create artificial
intelligence, he said. "[But then]
they said, ’Oh, they’ll never be
able to do that. [The computer]
will have to be as tall as the
Empire State Building.’ You don’t
hear that anymore."
Originally I found the thought of
artificial intelligence attractive
because I was lazy, he said. "I
thought the machines could work
instead of humans, like a kind of
slave labor."
Now though, since I don’t have
any children, these computers
could kind of act as my children,
he said. "Humans generally think
of God to be the one that created
them. Then with computers, their Study break
Please see Computers, page 10 Mike Dorf (L) and Joey Norman play ball on the quad .
Photo by Mirrnda Wyatt
UNCA
supports
United
Way
Julie Partin
Staff Writer
Tlie contributions of the state
employees at UNCA and the other
16 state institutions provide
funding for United Way programs
ranging from rape crisis to
YMCA, said Tim Drummond,
campaign assistant for the
Bumcombe County United Way.
Drummond said that UNCA
employees gave, on a per capita
basis, $55.69.
"On a per capita basis, UNCA
ranks right at the top of the list,"
said Drummond.
This was surpassed only by UNC
Greensboro.
Please see UNCA, page 10