The University of North Carolina at AsheviUe
Volume 25, Number 23
March 27,1997
NEWS
BRIEFS
Four named
to Board of
Trustees
The University of North Carohna
Board of Governors has named four
people to UNCA’s Board ofTrust-
ees. The appointments will be ef
fective in J uly.
George M. Groome, Sue
McClinton, and J. Wells Greeley
were appointed to four-year terms
and William Carter Orr was reap
pointed for a four-year term,
Groome, ofAsheville, is president
of Colton Groome & Co., a finan
cial and benefit consulting firm
He has served on the UNCA Foun
dation since 1992, serving as chair
in 1995.
McClinton, of Asheville, is vice
president of William S. Hein &
Co. Inc. of Buffalo, N.Y., a legal
publishing company. She has served
on the boards ofMemorial Mission
Hospital, the Community Foun
dation, Pack Place, the BB&T Ad
visory Board, and the Warren Wil
son Board of Visitors. She has also
served on the UNCA Foundation
Board since 1995-
Both Groome and McClinton will
resign their seats on the foundation
board when they join the UNCA
Board of Trustees.
Greeley, of Waynesville, is presi
dent of Wells Funeral Homes, Inc.
I of Canton and Waynesville. He is a
member of the First Union Na
tional Bank Board of Directors for
Haywood County, the Fund for
Haywood County, Community
Foundation of Western North
Carolina, Haywood 2000, and is a
former trustee of Haywood Re
gional Medical Center.
Orr, of Raleigh, is the executive
vice president for statewide com
mercial credit administration at
First Citizens Bank. He is a mem
ber of the Wake Community Col
lege Foundation Board and has
served on the boards of the
Henderson County American Can
cer Society and the Park Ridge
Hospital Foundation.
The UNCA Board of Trustees
consists of 13 members, eight se
lected by the UNC Board of Gov
ernors, four appointed by the gov
ernor, and the UNCAStudent Gov
ernment Association president.
Crystal Ball
Seminar
Two economic experts will explore
the business and financial outlook
through 1998, including state, na
tional, and international, at the 13th
annual Crystal Ball Seminar to be
held April 17 at the Owen Confer
ence Center. The seminar will begin
with a 6:30 p.m. reception, followed
by the speakers at 7 p.m., and a
question-and-answerperiodat 8 p.m.
Seminar speakers are David W.
Berson, chief economist at Fannie
Mae, and James F. Smith, professor
of finance at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Berson will discuss the implications
ofFederal Reserve Policy for financial
markets and address various invest
ments, with an emphasis on interest
rates and the bond market. Smith will
focus on the outlook for inflation,
employment, interest rates, and the
strength of the dollar, as well as ex
ploring the North Carolina budget
situation.
Admission is free, but seating is
limited. To register, call the Econom
ics Department at 251-6550.
Correction
In the March 20 edition of The
Banner, Scott Pastushok was
incorrectly identified as Rob
Esgro in a photo on page six of
the sports section.
Fliers accuse SG A candidate of racism
PHOTO BY DEL DeLORM
Vice-presidential candidate Josh Littlejohn defends him
self against fliers posted around campus accusing him of
being a racist. Seated to his right is SGA vice-presidential
candidate Tiffany Drummond.
By Catharine Sutherland
staff Writer
Fliers found on campus calling
an SGA vice-presidential candidate
a racist are the work of an outside
source and not a political oppo
nent, said the president of the Stu
dent Government Association.
“Looking at everything, I am posi
tive that whoever’s doing this is not
a candidate nor a member of SGA,”
Sergio Mariaca said. “This is of a
personal nature.”
Sophomore Josh Littlejohn, the
candidate under attack by the fli
ers, believes the slanderous assault
stems from his involvement in a
lawsuit filed against the UNC sys
tem to ban minority presence grants,
scholarships awarded to students of
the minority race at state universi
ties.
“I never imagined that anyone
would consider me a racist because
I’m against all forms of discrimina
tion,” said Littlejohn. “The grants
are something that are used to ma
nipulate the ethnic diversity' of the
campus. I’m all for ethnic diversity.
but I don’t think it’s fair that the
scholarships limit whites on our
campus- It’s public money and it’s
used for something based on some
thing other than merit or need.”
In a complaint filed against the
president of the University of North
Carolina last March, Littlejohn,
along with two other UNCA alumni
and students from four other state
universities, asked the court to de
clare the grants unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs contended that the
grants exclude them from compet
ing for or receiving a government
benefit based solely on their race,
being white students in a predomi
nantly white institution, and there
fore the grants violated the four
teenth amendment.
“This is not something we initi
ated, this is something that was
brought to us and we were asked to
be a part of it,” Littlejohn said.
“Some people will say, ‘He made
this decision and he asked for it,’
but I never asked for this.”
“I expected the issue to be raised
because it is important, but I never
expected it to be raised in this man
ner,” said Littlejohn. “This is ludi
crous. I really don’t know what
would give someone the motive to
do this.”
Speculation continues as to who
may have posted the fliers.
Mariaca named Tiffany
Drummond as Littlejohn’s only
opponent in the race for SGA Vice
President, but said he did not con
sider her a possible source of the
fliers.
“She is way above this,” Mariaca
said of Drummond. “Tiffany and
Littlejohn are good friends. They
respect each other and are equally
strong candidates for the job.”
“I think this was done by some
body new this year who was given
the signal by someone else,” said
Adrian Tatum, a presidential can
didate in the upcoming elections.
“He wasn’t attacked last year at all
like this.”
Though Littlejohn escaped attack
after his stance on the grants came
to light last year, he did meet with
some opposition to his views on
campus.
Alumnus Mark Dann authored a
See FLIERS page 8
140-hour law now in effect, penalizes some
By Chanse Simpson
staff Writer
Some seniors who have entered
UNCA since fall of 1994 will soon
face a new 25 percent tuition sur
charge each semester they remain
in school-
Although there are several excep
tions included in the legislation,
the state-mandated surcharge on
tuition will affect students who ac
cumulate more than 140 hours in
the pursuit of a single major. Vice
Chancellor of Enrollment Services
Caroline Miller said the General
Assembly in Raleigh approved the
surcharge in 1993 in an effort to
maximize the use of public educa
tion money.
“The reason the legislation was
passed was to encourage students to
complete their degree in a timely
manner,” said Miller, “and that is
because the public higher educa
tion system in North Carolina is
funded significantly from taxpayer
dollars.”
The state of North Carolina con
tributes nearly $7,000 annually for
each in-state full-time student in
the public university system during
the spring and fall semesters.
UNCA senior David Marshall
plans to graduate next spring with
three majors and two minors and a
cumulative 210 hours completed.
Even though he was already in
school before the surcharge took
effect and will not be impacted by
the change, he views the situation
more as a punitive measure against
students who want to explore vari
ous academic endeavors rather than
an efficient use of tax money.
“It hurts those students that are
most interested in learning and ex
panding their educational hori
zons,” said Marshall.
“You’re talking about students
who are here for other reasons than
merely looking for some kind of
marketable skill. You’re talking
about students who are going to be
the leadership of the state tomor
row, and this kind of limitation on
them is bound to hurt the state in
the long run.”
The surcharge only applies to
tuition costs, and does not include
fees, Miller said. Currently tuition
for a full-time in-state student is
$365 per semester. The 25 percent
surcharge would add another
$91.25 to the bill.
Full-time out-of-state students
who already pay $3,523 would be
charged nearly $900 more each se
mester. Part-time students in this
situation will pay a pro-rated
amount based on the number of
hours attempted.
Because the policy is new and has
yet to affect any students, said Reg
istrar Rebecca Sensabaugh, there is
considerable confusion and misin
formation regarding the change.
Students think “that it’s a low
threshold that everybody is going
to reach,” she said. “But we really
don’t have that many students who
cross over the 140-hour require
ment.”
Also complicating the situation
are the exceptions to this new rule.
Although the registrar’s office will
factor into account all attempted
hours by a student, including failed
classes, withdrawals, and courses
that were audited, it will not count
hours earned from advanced place
ment classes prior to entrance into
UNCA nor those courses com
pleted during summer school,
Miller said.
She added that this part of the
policy stems from the fact the state
contributes considerably less money
toward summer school, and stu
dents themselves pay more of the
bills.
While the state began implemen
tation of this 140-hour rule with
the freshman class of 1994, each
transfer student who has entered
the university since that time has
been evaluated on an individual
basis.
Because requirements often vary
from one school to another. Miller
said, a transfer student coming to
UNCA may have to complete more
core curriculum courses in addi
tion to classes in their chosen ma
jor.
In this type of situation, she said,
the student is allotted more time to
complete their education, or spe
cifically 110 percent of the hours
remaining to fulfill their degree re
quirements.
For example, a transfer student
needing 70 total hours to graduate
would be allowed to complete 77
hours, or 110 percent, before ad
ministrators would apply the sur
charge.
Miller also said the new policy is
not designed to hinder students
seeking double majors.
“If they are in fact on track to do
a double major, then they won’t be
penalized for that effort,” she said.
“It’s the student who keeps chang
ing his mind and changing his mind
and never completes something that
gets penalized.”
Describing it as “arbitrary and
inflexible,” triple-major Steven
Gross said the new policy is indica
tive of the state’s attitude about
getting students through the sys-
See HOURS page 8
Students tutor for financial aid
By Shelley Eller
staff Writer
A community service program
supported by UNCA’s financial
aid office makes it possible for stu
dents to help pay tuition costs while
giving something back to the com
munity.
The program began three years
ago and is designed to help students
decrease loan costs while working
for non-profit organizations,” said
Carolyn McElrath, director of fi
nancial aid.
In the past, students have worked
for organizations such as the Boy
Scouts of America, Caring for Chil
dren, and the Daniel Boone Boy
Scouts.
Stiidents involved with the pro
gram have also worked for welfare
agencies, public safety, social ser
vices, and recreation.
“Ms. McElrath matched me up
with a job I was interested in,” said
ennifer Wiley, a freshman major
ing in biology. “I help with the
Daniel Boone Boy Scouts. I do
secretarial work, stock work or ba
sically whatever they need me to
do.”
Currently, the program is focused
on providing reading tutors for stu
dents in Asheville and Bun'come
County elementary and middle
schools.
“I have met with Sandra Byrd, the
director of Partners in Learning.
We are making plans for her to
train prospective students as tu
tors,” said McElrath. “We can still
place students in other community
service organizations, but the tu
toring program will receive the most
attention this fall. We’ve received
an increase in work-study funds
and the increase goes toward the
tutoring program.
UNCA sent out letters to
Asheville City and Buncome
County elementary and middle
schools offering their tutoring ser
vices, according to McElrath.
“We first had to assess the need of
the schools,” said McElrath. “We
had a significant response for help.
We need as many tutors as possible.
One good aspect of the program is
that it generally pays more than
jobs on campus.”
In order for students to become
tutors through the community ser
vice program, they must be eligible
for financial aid or work study.
The program also requires that
student tutors work between four
to ten hours a week and provide
their own means of transportation.
‘We re looking for all majors who
are interested in working with chil
dren and are willing to dedicate
time as a paid volunteer,” said
McElrath. “The tutor must have a
sense of commitment toward
them.”
Tutoring in the upcoming aca
demic year will be different because
of President Clinton’s promotion
of the America READS program,
designed to improve school
children’s reading and comprehen
sion abilities, said McElrath.
“President Clinton wants college
tutors to be placed in elementary
and middle schools across the coun
try,” said McElrath. “His plan is to
start kids reading early to improve
their abilities.”
The community service andPart-
See SERVICE on page 8
Spirit of Ireland visits Asheville
PHOTO BY BONNER BUTLER
Irish National Radio Orchestra and Dancers performed
“The Spirit of Ireland,” at the Diana Wortham Theater at
Pack Place on March 18. The orchestra presented
arrangements of traditional Irish dances and songs
such as “Danny Boy,” “Bantry Bay,” and others.