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The
Blue Banner
“Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep." -- Fran Lebowitz
Volume 22, Number 13
The University of North Carolina Asheville Thurs., Dec. 9, 1993
staff Photo By Lat Ray
Speaker comes to campus
The World Affairs Council hosted Kazuyuki Hamada as a speaker on Dec. 6
Diversity workshop to be held in January
Brenda Webster
Staff Writer
The office of Student Development
and Multicultural Affairs will hold a
"Diversity Educators Conference" on
Jan. 29, 1994 at the Sidedoor in
Highsmith Center from 9:30 a.m. until
3 p.m.
“I feel that this program is very
healthy,” said Jeremy Patton, a senior
psychology major and UNCA Office
of Student Development assistant,
“Diversity means a learning about a
variety of cultures, not just black and
white.”
Students, faculty, and staff are invited
to attend the seminar and learn how to
educate others in the area of diversity
awareness.
The program will consist of one full
day of training and several short
evening sessions.
Upon completion of the training
program, Patton will pool the names
of the attendees and set up a database.
Faculty, staff, and leaders of campus
organization may contact Patton and
request a presentation of the diversity-
awareness information for a class,
campus organization, or department.
Patton said organizing the program
has helped him to better understand
other cultures and to change some of
his attitudes.
The experience has also helped him
to break down many unknown
prejudices and cultural barriers. He
plans to attend and participate in the
diversity training, he said.
“1 am really happy to be involved in
the program because it has been a time
of growth for me,” said Patton. “I have
never come in contact with anything
about cultural diversity, I know there
are other cultures out there, but this is
program really gives you a chance to
come in contact with African
American, Jewish, Asian, and
homosexual issues.”
The UNCA community has a great
need for this type of training program.
Many people feel they are open to
other cultures, but are really unaware
of how these cultures function.
As a result, far too many people do
not possess good interpersonal skills,
said Patton.
Cherryl Lawrence of Lawrence
Associates, educational and
management consultants, will provide
the training at the workshop.
The framework of the seminar will
show attendees how to create a climate
Issues Forum holds discussion on NAFTA
Kent Thompson
Staff Writer
The Issues Forum (IF) presented a discussion on Nov. 30 in the Laurel Forum
room of Karpen Hall. Arguments for and against the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were presented to a aowd of about 50.
“I think it was informative,” said Joseph Sulock, professor of economics at
UNCA, and founder of the IF. “What we’re trying to do, is promote discussion
on issues, among faculty, students, and the community, in what we hope is a
friendly and informal setting.”
Edwin Dickens, assistant professor of economics at UNCA, served as
moderator of the discussion. Dickens began the discussion by giving an
assessment of NAFTA. The audience was provided with copies of his assessment,
along with a fact sheet, listing cost and percentage statistics surrounding the
NAFTA issue.
The panelists for the discussion were Chuck Lilien, managing director. First
Boston Corp., who presented arguments in favor of NAFTA, and George
Yates, assistant professor of management at UNCA, who argued against
NAFTA.
Yates, who generally supports NAFTA, agreed to argue in opposiuon of
NAFTA, said Sulock. Congressman Charles Taylor, and members of his office.
Inside
Opinions 2
f}eport card
S.E. Peake
Perspectives 3
Schuman's resignation
Expression
Features 4
Hairspray Cafe
Dancing duo
Sports 6
Basietball teams iose
Intramural volleyball
Comics 8
Calvin and Hobbes
The Far Side
Announcements 9
Job opportunities
Events
Weather Report
The forecast calls for
nice but chilly weekend.
Friday's high will be 58,
the low will be 34.
Saturday’s high will be 50
with a low of 28.
Weather Report courtesy o( the NatlonaJ
Weather Service
UnCA Atmospheric Science Department
oflers updated forecasts through the 24 hour
WeatherHne...251-6435
Chemistry
professor
earns
award
Teri Smith
Staff Writer
S. Dexter Squibb, UNCA
chemisffy department chairman, was
recently presented the Western
Carolinas Distinguished Chemist
Award in honor of his 37 years of
teaching and 30 years of service to
UNCA. The award was presented
by the American Chemical Society ’ s
Western Carolinas Section (ACS)
to Squibb, who is retiring at the end
of this academic year.
Additionally, UNCA has
established a special endowment
fund, named in honor of Squibb, to
support a lecture series which will
bring speakers to UNCA who have
established themselves in the
scientific community, specifically
in chemistry, according to John G.
Stevens, professor of chemistry.
Stevens said the speakers will
interact with faculty and students,
perhaps teach a class, and give a
public presentation in the evening.
He said he hopes the series will
begin during next academic year.
“This seemed the most appropriate
way to recognize Squibb for his
dedication to this institution and his
Photo Courtesy of UNCA Office of Public Information
S. Dexter Squibb
contributions to the chemistry
department, specifically to his
students,” said Stevens. “We believed
this was a way to recognize him both
as a chemist and an educator.”
Squibb said it was “very satisfying”
to be recognized by his peers in this
manner.
Squibb said he first became
interested in chemistry in high school.
He majored in both math and
chemistry in college, but chose
chemistry for his graduate work.
“I could get money to study
chemistry, but at that time they
wouldn’t pay you to do graduate
studies in math,” said Squibb. “It was
away forapoorboy off the farm to go
to school.”
“All of my good teachers were an
influence,” said Squibb. “You try not
to be like the bad teachers. I’ve had
a lot of heroes for teachers, people I
try to emulate.”
“Professor Dexter Squibb’s career
at UNCA has been one filled with
achievements and distinctions,” said
UNCA Chancellor Samuel Schuman.
“His students, past, presentand future,
are the beneficiaries of his caring
perspective, his commitment to his
discipline, his wit and his
intelligence.”
“1 will miss my students. There’s no
doubt about it,” said Squibb. “I will
miss the interaction and contributing
to their success. I won’t miss the
bureaucratic drudgery, like
paperwork.”
Squibb says he hopes the chemistry
department and the school will
continue to develop academic
excellence. “Academic excellence is
the cornerstone of everything we do,”
said Squibb. “Nothing else matters.”
for diversity, said Patton.
Several of the topics scheduled for
discussion are as follows: “The
Cultural Awareness Training Process
- Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills,”
“Cultural Self-AwarenessandCultural
Assumptions,” “White Awareness,”
‘Techniques of Training - Developing
Trust, Voices & Mannerisms,
Facilitating Discussion, and Becoming
a Good Listener,” and “What To Do
If..?”, according to the company’s
training proposal.
“Multicultural teams become a
resource that empowers the institution
and its membership to value the
resources and benefits that diversity
affords the overall educational
community,” said Forrest Toms, author
of the book entitled, “Multicultural
Teams: A Tool for Achieving,
Retaining, and Nurturing Diversity in
the 1990s."
“The teams illuminate the resources
of diversity within the institution; thus,
preparing (empowering) them for the
realities of the 1990’s and beyond,”
said Toms.
The Office of Student Development
and Multicultural Affairs hopes the
Diversity Educators program will
accomplish this goal for the UNCA
community, said Patton.
were invited to UNCA to debate the NAFTA issue, but the invitations were
declined, he said.
“We tried to get Mr. Charles Taylor, our U.S. Representative, to argue the anti-
NAFTA position, and he agreed to do that. Then, his constituents became quite
angry with him, and he started getting to many telephone calls. He decided that
the best approach to NAFTA is silence,” said Dickens. “Dr. Yates has agreed
to present Mr. Taylor’s position, as best as we can understand it from his public
statements.”
“I really wish we could have had someone on the agenda that was genuinely
against NAFTA,” said Sulock. “1 think what was missing was an adamant
NAFTA opponent.”
Lilien discussed several points in favor of NAFTA. He argued that NAFTA
has more to do with symbolism, than with substance.
“The details of the treaty go far beyond trade and goods. They talk about our
establishing a relationship with Mexico, as we have established with Canada,
which allows us to live with neighbors who are inter-penetrating each other
economically, culturally, and environmentally. It allows us to set up a dialogue
and a basis on which to deal with change, and try to adapt change to make this
a better world,” said Lilien.
Yates addressed the negative aspects of NAFTA, as expressed by Ross Perot,
See "NAFTA," on page 10
See “Squibb," on page 10
staff Photo By Karen Brinson
Discussing the issues
The board of trustees met on Dec. 2 and 3.
Police arrest three youths
for campus break-ins
Lynne Dellc
Staff Writer
Law enforcement officers arrested three 16-year-old boys for breaking the
windows out of nine cars parked on campus early Halloween morning.
Dennis Gregory, investigator for the UNCA public safety department, swore
out warrants for the arrest of Samuel Fox, Christopher Houston, and John Reid
on Nov. 10.
The three, along with another unnamed 15-year-old , allegedly broke the
windows out of about 40 cars around the Asheville area in the early morning
hours of Oct. 31.
“They just did it for the thrill of it,” Gregory said.
The boys allegedly used C02 pellet guns to shoot holes in the car windows.
After shooting the windows with the pellet guns, they hit them with rocks,
sticks, or whatever was around, according to Gregory.
Gregory found a piece of the broken handle of a pellet gun in a campus parking
lot and worked with the Asheville city police to find its owner.
City police were also looking for suspects in the other vandalism crimes
around town.
Asheville police received information from someone who had seen a boy with
a pellet pistol that night, and along with the broken handle that Gregory found,
the gun was traced to one of the suspects.
After the owner of the pistol was picked up, he confessed to the crimes and
named around seven other boys who were involved, said Gregory.
The group of vandals had about five pellot pistols among them, Gregory said.
“Kids can buy the guns themselves,” said Gregory. “They’re not against the
law.”
That type of gun shoots a small metal pellot, a little larger than a B.B.
The pellot has spiraled grooves along its side to make it spin as it comes out
of the barrel of the gun.
“It will kill a small animal,” Gregory said.
The boys confessed to vandalizing cars around town since June of this year,
according Gregory.
When the boys go to trial, Gregory will ask the judge to order them to pay for
the damage done to the cars on campus.
Car windows cost between $500 and $1,000 a piece. With the nine cars
damaged on campus, and the others around town, the amount of damages asked
for will be high, he said.
“Getting restitution in that amount is going to be awfully hard,” Gregory said.