INSIDE:
SPOUTS: Women's basketball feom
(kfeats Umeslm College p. 5
OPINION: cm
is not funny
"Afy definition of a fi-ee society is a society
where it is safe to be unpopular. "—Adlai E.
Stevenson
The Blue
FEAWHES: Grove Park Inn lights
up for the holidays
COMICS: BaU Street. Another prozac
morning p. 6
BANNER
WEATHER: Variably cloudy
with a chance of showers this
weekend.
VOLUME 23
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE
NUMBER 13
STUDENT SAYS BANNER IS SIMPLE AND EDITOR IS IMMATURE; STARTS OWN NEWSPAPER
Greg Deal
Staff Writer
A UNCA student, who said that The Blue Banner
is a “sham,” recently began publishing another
newspaper on campus. The student said that the
main reasons for starting the paper were because of
the Banner’s suppression of his free-speech rights,
and also to give students an alternative form of
news coverage.
“Initially, all I wanted to do was make a compari
son of what a student newspaper can be and
presently what it is,” said John Edwards, UNCA
senior and publisher of the underground newspa
per, The Undergraduate Underground. “The mo
tive is to serve the students.”
According to Edwards, his problems with the
Banner began last spring when he felt that the
paper edited his work incorrectly. “I wrote an
article, and it was edited to delete the qualifier, ‘she
laughed’,” said Edwards.
He said that the article was about student sex on
campus, and that the counselor he interviewed
said, jokingly, that she tells freshmen to wait and
think about having sex ten years after they get
married. “Obviously, that was funny,” said
Edwards. “That was her approach.
They [the student newspaper] ran a statement of
jest with a statement of fact, and it sounded
stupid,” he said. Edwards said that he had to go
and explain to the counselor that what he wrote
was not the same as what was published. He said
that he was very embarrassed.
“Editors don’t create statements that cause con
flict and confusion. Editors clarify. What I wrote
should have been left alone. A good editor would
have let it stay the way it was written,” said
Edwards.
Edwards said that Richelle Bailey, former editor-
in-chief of the student newspaper, published a
statement following the time when the article was
submitted, stating that the Banneryjo\x\A not print
articles written by him. Edwards said that this was
the first occurrence of what he felt was a suppres
sion of his free-speech rights.
"Editors don't create statements that cause conflict and
confusion. Editors clarify. What I wrote should have been
left alone. A good editor would have let it stay the way it
was written,John Edwards, UNCA senior
“According to the student handbook, all students
should have access to the newspaper,” he said.
Edwards said that a second incident occurred
when he attempted to submit another article to the
student newspaper. He said that the article was not
published, and he feels that the current editor-in-
chief, Lizzy Pressley, lied to him about the reason
it was not published.
On Nov. 21, Edwards met with Pressley, Mark
West, newspaper faculty advisor, and Eric
lovacchini, vice chancellor for student affairs, to
discuss issues related to his concerns about free-
speech rights. Edwards said
that, in his perspective,
nothing good came about
as a result of the meeting.
“My feeling was that I
was supposed to just ac
cept, ‘that’s the way things
are. Sorry about that’,” he
said. “I don’t think
[Pressley] is mature enough to accept the respon
sibility of an editorship,” said Edwards. “I don’t
think she’s educated enough to be editor of the
student newspaper. To me, that was what was
Please see, "Newspaper," page 8
Extraterrestrials Are Here^ Says Lecturer
Greg Deal
Staff Writer
The director of the Center for the
Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence
(CSETI) gave a lecture to a standing-
room-only crowd on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in
Lipinsky Hall. The lecture focused on
human/extraterrestrial relationship, and
included the showing of slides of UFOs,
and also a verbal account of close en
counters.
“I spend probably three-quarters of
my time working on a project whose
ultimate goal is the building of a bridge
between human civilization and civili
zations from other places in our uni
verse,” said Steven M. Greer, dii'ector
of CSETI.
CSETI is a non-profit scientific re
search and educational organization that
is dedicated to the understanding of
extraterrestrial intelligence, and is inter
ested in the peaceful furtherance of this
intelligence, according to the
organization’s literature.
Greer said that the purpose for the
lecture was not to convince people of
UFO or extraterrestrial existence, but
rather to share a vision of coming to
gether as a people to create a sustainable
civilization on this planet and to begin
an era of open contact with extraterres
trial civilization.
Steven M, Greer, director ot the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence spoke to a standing-
room-only crowd at Lipinsky Auditorium last week. photo by Randy Marrs
“There is an overwhelming, in fact an
embarrassing, large amount of data to
suggest that this planet is being visited
by at least one, and probably four or
five, extraterrestrial civilizations, which
are working in concert with each other
in a project involving our planet,” he
said.
Greer said that this fact has been known
by various people in the military, as well
as certain leaders from time to time in
the history of our nation. “The real
question we should be asking is not are
they there, but really, ‘what are we going
to do about it'?”
Greer proposes that the people of the
planet come together and establish a
dialogue on this issue, and quickly move
the issue out of obscurity, rurhor, and
sensationalism, into a discussion that
can result in a course of action. He
proposes that nothmg short of the bal
ance of the planet and its future is at
stake.
“Whatever you have heard and seen
and read on this subject, please keep in
mind that about 95 percent to 99 per
cent of that is rubbish,” he said. “It is, in
Please see "UFO," page 8
Students Steal Christmas
Teri Smith
News Editor
While most students were nestled all
snug in their beds on Dec. 1, a live 15-
foot Christmas tree disappeared from
the lobby of Highsmith Center.
Two UNCA students, Todd Wright
and Quince Burnett, have admitted to
taking the tree, according to the UNCA
public safety department. A third stu
dent, Douglas Horrell admitted to loan
ing his truck to Wright and Burnett.
According to a public safety report,
“evidence indicated the tree was dragged
down the hallway next to the gameroom,
out the side door, down the steel steps,
and loaded on a vehicle.”
“I would guess that tree weighs about
250 pounds,” said Dennis Gregory, in
vestigation officer with the public safety
department at UNCA.
“The students who took the tree en
tered Highsmith through a door that
doesn’t secure very well,” said Gregory.
Wright and Burnett, both Highrise
residents, told Gregory they had taken
the tree after a dare to do so was issued
by Horrell, who resides at 21 Maney
Avenue.
The tree was found by campus police
laying on an old couch in the rear yard
at Horrell’s residence, which is the
former fraternity house for Theta Chi.
According to a public safety report,
evidence indicated the tree had been
hauled to the house in a 1989 Chevrolet
truck, which was parked in Horrell’s
driveway.
“There have been a lot of rumors going
around the campus that some of our
members had something to do with
this,” said Ben Leonard, president of
Theta Chi. “That upset me a little,
because it’s not true.”
“That house is not a fraternity house. It
is the home of a former member,” said
Leonar.d. “We’ve cut all our ties with
that house.”
“I think we’re always going to be
under scrutiny because of our back
ground,” he said. “There are elements
here on campus who would have no
problem pinning this on us.
"The individuals involved are not
members ofTheta Chi, but we are being
scrutinized for this incident,” said
Leonard.
Leonard said that Horrell is not longer
an active member ofTheta Chi.
“I can personally guarantee that there
were no active members of Theta Chi
involved in this incident,” he said.
Horrell told campus police that he
issued a dare to Wright and Burnette on
Please see "Tree," page 8
SIUDf Nrs CAN KICK BACK AT PRE-EXAM CRAM JAM ON FRIDAY
Teri Smith
News Editor
UNCA students will be celebrating the release of
their first album, “The Sky Sessions: Volume
One,” with a concert from 7 p.m. to midnight on
Dec. 9. at UNCA’s Lipinsky Auditorium.
More than 10 groups and artists will perform,
including Analytic Engine, Clock, Mr. Bass’s Plan
etoid, Sugar Lloyd, Lord Bones, Trey Van Riper
and Jimi Galloway.
Brent Robinson, a WZLS disc jockey and a
UNCA mass communication student, will emcee
the event.
Paul Schuh, of Schuh-Fits Magic and a UNCA
music major, will be performing between acts.
Two other UNCA students will be working as his
assistants.
Both the production of the album and organiza
tion of this week’s concert were projects of stu
dents in the Music Business and Industry class,
which is taught by Wayne Kirby, professor of
music.
“The idea was that I provide them with the
necessary background information for these
projects,” said Kirby.
“In class we discussed copywriting, recording
and publishing contracts, budgeting, production
techniques, and other aspects of the industry which
were pertinent to the projects,” he said.
“The project gave people a clear picture of some
of the hassles that occur in the music business,”
said Damon Whittemore, student and stage man
ager for the concert.
“Just like so many things in other industries,
everything revolved around money. I learned a lot
about teamwork and how to work unsupervised,”
said Whittemore.
“I provided the necessary resources for the two
projects and essentially turned them loose with
subtle supervision,” said Kirby.
“Doc was always there when we had questions
and didn’t know how to do stuff,” said Emily
Hazelwood, a psychology major who said she is
taking Kirby’s class because of her love for music.
“We did it enough on our own to learn, especially
the legal aspects of the project. I know that part
backwards and forwards now because I had to
work with it,” she said.
Kirby said that about 50 students were involved
from various majors.
“The neat thing about the course is it involves
people from a variety of different majors,” said
Kirby
“Hundreds ofhours were involved in this project,”
he said. “We had people literally working around
the clock.”
Admission to the Pre-Exam Cram Jam is $3 for
students and $5 for the general public.
“The Sky Sessions” album features 18 groups and
artists from UNCA, Asheville, and the surround
ing area.
The class auditioned and selected the groups, and
then went on to deal with financing, contracts,
copyrights, and marketing, according to Kirby.
On the technical side, students also did the
engineering, production and digital editing at
UNCA’s 24-track recording studio. The album is
available on cassette tape.
“We expect to make a profit from the sale of the
album,” said Kirby. “Proceeds will benefit the
music department.”
“Hopefully, we will make enough profit to ex
pand this project and release a CD with additional
artists next semester.”
"This album has been a student product from
start to finish," said Kirby.
"A real synergy develops between the music per
formers and the students interested in careers in
management and music engineering," he said.
"It's the first time a UNCA class has taken on a
project like this, and it's been terrific."