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March 30,
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"It is a fool who saith in his heart there is
not God. But what shall we call the man
who tells us that with this sort of a world
God bids us be content?”—Henry George
BANNER
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE
Pamlists Discuss Issues Of Racism On Campus
Vllll «TI'I
WEA THER: Partly cloudy on
Saturday. Mostly sunny on
Sunday. Highs in mid 50s.
Lows in mid 30s.
Todd Hagans
Staff Writer
Panel and audience members of UNCA’s forum
on racism discussed last Thursday evening the
existence of racism in today’s society, and possible
ways to eliminate it from society.
Dwight Mullen, chairman of UNCA’s political
science department, served as the host of the
forum, which resembled the current talk show
format. The forum, entitled “Racism; Fact or
Fiction,” was held in the old dining hall in the
Highsmith Center at 7 p.m.
“This [the forum] is a conversation, and it is the
beginning, I think, of possibly identifying some
common ground, as well as identifying some issues
that we need to discuss,” said Mullen. “Theoreti
cally, there really is no race. We could just as well
choose some other variable than skin color. This
is an issue that is perpetually found in this country,
the issue of race. Obviously, we have not solved it. ”
During the forum, the panel members were
asked by Mullen to define racism, and asked to
give a personal experience of racism in their lives.
Members of the audience were given the opportu
nity to ask the panel members questions, and make
statements about racism. The panel of 12 people
consisted of UNCA students, UNCA faculty, and
members of the community.
“Racism is a systematic way of oppressing a group
of people based on race, color, creed, or in other
cases, financial status,” said Tarasai Samuels, a
member of the panel, and a UNCA education and
spanish major. “It has to do with a group of people
who are in a position of power to oppress people.”
T think racism is alive
and well here at UNCA,
but I’d like to make a
distinction between ac
tive and passive racism,”
said Cathy Mitchell, a
member of the panel,
and chairman of
UNCA’ s mass commu
nication department.
“Very few people would
actually look you in the
face and make a racist
statement, or do not
when I am present as a
faculty member. The
lack of African-Ameri
can faculty, and the lack
of African-American
students here tells me
that we have a serious
problem.”
“Racism is alive and
well in Buncombe
County, and it is alive
and well within the setting that we are in now,”
said John Hayes, a member of the panel, and a
member of the Asheville community. “You need
to turn loose of the fear because the only reason
you are holding on to that racism, [is because] it
helps you sleep better at night.”
“People have been hurt by racism in the past,”
said Ken Betsalel, a member of the panel, and an
assistant professor in UNCA’s political science
department. Some people have been treated less
than equal, and other people think that certain
A panel of faculty, students and community members discuss racism
f’hoto by Tanya Melton
groups get favoritism because of their race. There
were a wide variety of perspectives. Not everyone
[at the forum] agreed, and I think that was also
important. Race relations aren’t going to be
improved, institutions aren’t going to be improved,
if people remain silent.”
“I still don’t know what racism is. I really have
absol utely no handle of the concept of racism, even
after all that has been said,” said Deryl Howard, a
See "Racism," page 8
Programs Focus On Opening Eyes To Rape And Violence
Chris Small
Staff Writer
Rape Awareness Week events are
underway on campus, offering students
a chance to participate in discussions,
attend a candlelight vigil, create and
view artwork, and learn more about sex
in the 90s.
There are programs planned that ad
dress issues about violence, including
rape and domestic violence, and infor
mation will be available in the lobby of
Highsmith and Ramsey Library
throughout the week.
“I think it goes beyond stopping it
(violence), said Jennifer Ledford, resi
dent director at UNCA.
“I think it goes to being
Imowledgable about it, and being
educated to know whether it is hap
pening, to know what’s available out
there as far as resources to help us, and
to be knowledgable enough to help a
friend.”
The risk for rape is four times higher
X
he Wall is displayed in Higfismitfi Center tfiis week. It is one of several extiibits intended to bring
lore public awareness to trie issues of rape and violence, according to organizers.
Photo by Lat Ray
for women ages 16-24, the primary
dating age, than for any other popu
lation group, according to statistics
in the book I Never Called It Rape
by Robin Warshaw.
The most common form of rape is
acquaintance rape, a form of sexual
assault that occurs between people
who know each other, whether from
dating relationships or otherwise.
According to statistics in Warshaw’s
book, if you are a woman, your risk
ot being raped by someone you
know is four times greater than
your risk of being raped by a
stranger.
HELPMATE, Inc., a domestic
violence service, and the Rape Cri
sis Center in Asheville are involved
in the events on campus. The
Clothes Line Project was on dis
play in the Highsmith Student
Lounge, symbolizing violence
against women through powerful
messages on a variety of colorful T-
shirts, representing different types
of violence.
The UNCA Counseling Center is
also involved in providing service
and information for victims of cur
rent or past incidents of rape, and
to provide extra support for those
who need it.
In many situations , having more
than one counselor is confusing.
In this kind of situation, I think it’s
just having twice as much support,
said Dr. Margaret Weshner, Di
rector of the UNCA Counseling
Center.
“Sometimes students don’t want
to go off campus (to Rape Crisis),
sometimes they would rather go
off campus, and we work with
them on that and try to figure out
what is the best situation for them. ”
Rape Crisis does offer a support
group for victims, and so it is a good
resource for students, according to
Weshner. Weshner also stresses that
any contact with the Counseling
Center at UNCA or similar ofF-cam-
pus services is confidential.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. there will be a
program called Sex Talk held in the
Side Door, below the Highsmith
lobby. It is an opportunity to ask
questions to a panel of staff and fac
ulty concerning relationships and sex.
Students have the option of either
asking questions direcdy to stafT, or
writing questions down on paper.
“I think, very often, people don’t
talk to each other about their expec
tations and their limits, and I think
that we need to learn so much more
about doing that,” said Weshner.
Another important factor besides
miscommunication in acquaintance-
rape incidents is alcohol. According
to the survey statistics in Warshaw’s
book, about 75 percent of the men
and at least 55 percent of the women
involved in acquaintance rapes had
been drinking or taking drugs just
before the attack.
I hope that this week will be an
eye-opener for a lot of students, and
they will take more notice of the
relationships that they are in and the
decisions that they make about those
relationships,” said Ledford.
There will be a candlelight vigil
tonight at 9 p.m. for all students,
staff, faculty, and community to dem
onstrate their support against rape.
It will meet in front of the new Din
ing Hall.
It involves a walk around the cam
pus and a gathering on the quad to
hear a speaker , and singing from
Wild Mountain Thyme, t\ie.As\iew'i\\c
Women’s Chorus.
Man Charged With
Murder and
Arson Indicted In
Mountain Trace
Apartment Fire
Will Rothschild
Staff Writer
Jamie Lamont Smith, the man charged with
arson and two counts of murder in connection
with fires at two Asheville apartment complexes,
was indicted Mar. 6 on charges stemming from a
third fire, set Dec. II in a UNCA student’s bed
room closet at Mountain Trace Apartments.
Smith, 19, was indicted on one count of first-
degree arson, one count of second-degree bur
glary , and one count of felonious larceny by a
grand j ury, according to court records. The Moun
tain Trace fire was set in the bedroom closet of
former UNCA student Beth Reneau. UNCA leases
Mountain Trace apartments for students who
want university housing, but do not receive an on-
campus residence.
With Smith still awaiting a grand jury hearing on
the other charges against him, Asheville police and
the district attorney’s office are saying little about
the Mountain Trace investigation and subsequent
indictment.
“There is not a whole lot I can tell you,” Detective
Kevin Taylor said Monday. “We believe there was
someone with him, but I cannot comment on that.
That person will probably be indicted in the next
few weeks.”
The Mountain Trace fire was set 10 days before
the fatal Grace Apartment blaze Smith is charged
with setting, and more than a month before the
an. 18 fire Smith is charged with starting at
Woodberry Apartments. Taylor made it clear no
one at the Mountain Trace complex saw Smith the
night of the fire.
I don t know where you got your information,
3ut the idea that eyewitnesses saw him there is not
correct,” Taylor said.
"There is not a w/io/e lot I can tell you.
We believe there was someone with
him, but I cannot comment on that.
That person will probably be indicted
in the next few weeks."— Asheville
Police Detective Kevin Taylor
However, Taylor did say investigators do not
believe Reneau knew Smith. “It doesn’t appear
there was any connection (between Reneau and
Smith),” Taylor said. “It appeared to be a random
act, other than the fact, and this is speculation, that
he lived down the street.”
At the time ofhis arrest, Smith listed an Edgewood
Knoll Apartments address.
Reneau, who left UNCA and returned to her
parent’s home in Raeford, N.C. before the spring
semester started, has refused to comment on the
incident.
Taylor would not comment on how investigators
linked Smith to the Mountain Trace fire, saying
only that Smith became a suspect sometime after
the other two fires he is charged with starting —
one at Grace Apartments on Chestnut Street and
one at Woodberry Apartments on Alexander S treet.
The Dec. 21 fire at Grace Apartments killed a 27-
year-old man and injured five others. Officials also
relieve Smith set the Jan. 18 fire at ^^^oodberry
Apartments in an attempt to cover up the murder
of Kelli Froemke, the 19-year-old woman who
ived there. The Woodberry fire, like the one at
Mountain Trace, was set in a bedroom closet.