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Volume 25, Number 27
April 24, 1997
NEWS
BRIEFS
Ecology
Club aids
flood victims
The UNCA Ecology Club is spon
soring a flood relief package for the
citizens of North Dakota displaced
by the recent floods. The club will
collect clothes, blankets, canned and
non-perishable foods, and personal
items until the end of April. Do
nated items can be taken to a collec
tion box in Highsmith Center.
Spare change containers will be
placed around campus to aid North
Dakota families in need.
Percussion en
semble to perform
The UNCA Percussion Ensemble
will perform at 8 p.m. on Thurs
day, April 24 in Lipinsky Hall, room
018. Byron Hedgepeth is directing
the ensemble.
Concert highlights include “Three
Brothers” by Michael Colgrass,
“The Song of Queztecoatl” by Lou
Harrison, and “Toccata” by Carlos
Chavez, as well as a piece written by
Hedgepeth for the Frame Drum
Ensemble.
Admission is free, but a $4 dona
tion is suggested. For information,
call the music department at 251-
6432.
Pitts appointed
to task force
Dr. James P. Pitts, vice chancellor
for academic affairs, has been named
to Project Kaleidoscope’s National
Issues Task Force. Project Kaleido
scope, headquartered in Washing
ton, D.C., is a national alliance
committed to strengthening plan
ning for undergraduate science,
mathematics, engineering, and
technology education. The task
force has been established to help
buikl a bridge between individual
campus-based reform and larger
national issues regarding science
education.
Internet poetry
contest
All poets are invited to submit
their poems to the North American
Open Amateur Poetry Contest, held
online at www.poetry.com. More
than $48,000 in cash and prizes
will be awarded and every entered
poem has a chance to be published
in an anthology.
Entries are free and the deadline is
April 30. A new contest opens May
1.
Poets can enter their work online
by visiting the website or mailing a
poem, no more than 20 lines long,
to The National Library of Poetry,
1 Poetry Plaza, Suite 19811, Owings
Mills, Md., 21117-6282.
“Debtbusters
2002” program
The Concord Coalition, a grass
roots, nonpartisan organization that
educates the public about the na
tional debt, is sponsoring an educa
tional program at UNCA’s Owen
Conference Center from 7:30 to 9
p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.
Participants in “Debtbusters
2002” will assume the roles of mem
bers of Congress and attempt to
devise a five-year plan to eliminate
the federal deficit and balance the
federal budget. Congressional Bud
get Office figures will be used to
calculate the budget and partici
pants will receive copies of “A
Primer on the Debt and the Defi
cit” and “Options Summary.”
Registration is required before
April 25. For information, call 253-
9401.
l-iangin’ out at UNCAMANIA
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PHOTO BY DEL DeLORM
Freshman Sharon Baggett takes a ride on the Cosmic
Orbiter at UNCAMANIA, held on campus Saturday.
Renovations to begin
Highrise to get air conditioning by 1998
By Shelley Eller
staff Writer
Plans are underway to install an
air conditioning system for UNCA’s
300-bed Highrise residence hall,
according to the director of facili
ties planning and construction.
However, construction for this
project is not scheduled to be com
pleted until at least the summer of
1998.
“In fall of 1996 the planning be
gan for the air conditioning sys
tem,” said Ron Reagan, director of
facilities planning and construction
at UNCA. “Construction will prob
ably begin in spring of 1998 and
will be completed by late summer
or early fall of 1998.”
According to Reagan, Sud Associ
ates, an engineering company from
Durham, has been hired to com
plete the project. The company also
has a branch in Asheville which will
be aiding in the project.
“Sud Associates has worked with
us on other projects,” said Reagan.
“After being selected for this
project, they spent a lot of time
looking at Highrise, doing a study
of the building.”
The company provided informa
tion about all the possible options
available and the cost factors in
volved. The project will be funded
through housing reserves, Reagan
said.
“We picked what we thought was
the best system we could get,” said
Reagan. “The system chosen has a
price tag of 1.2 million.”
Sud Associates is currently in the
process of drawing up plans and
specifications for the system. The
branch in Asheville will be concen
trating on the mechanical aspects
while workers from Durham will
be dealing with the electrical parts
of the job, said Reagan.
Thefi rm is also working with the
architect doing the renovations for
Highsmith Center, said Reagan.
According to Reagan, this is an
important factor because the air
conditioning system to be installed
in Highrise will be joined with the
system in the renovated Highsmith
Center.
“Doing this is more cost effective
and provides a back-up for the en
tire system,” said Reagan.
The air conditioning system to be
installed in Highrise will be de
signed to stand alone, if the renova
tions to the Highsmith Center are
not completed, said Reagan.
According to Pete Williams, di
rector of housing and residential life
at UNCA, it hasn’t been determined
whether students will be able to live
in Highrise in the summer of 1998.
“We’re still finding out from the
company how disruptive it would
be for students to live in Highrise
while the system is being installed,”
said Williams. “Last fall we had
overhead lights installed in Highrise
and this was only a slight inconve
nience to the students.”
According to residents of Highrise,
the prospects of an air conditioning
system is a welcome change to the
heat.
See AIR page 8
Ordinance may affect campus zoning
By Melinda Pierson
staff Writer
UNCA may soon see more re
strictive zoning for the land owned
by or located near the university.
Members of the campus commu
nity recently met with representa
tives of the Asheville Planning and
Development Department to dis
cuss how the Unified Development
Ordinance, a city-wide rezoning
plan, may affect UNCA.
“If the UDO is passed as it now
reads, we will see one section that is
more restrictive in its zoning,” said
Chancellor Patsy Reed.
The Unified Development Ordi
nance, or UDO, is a city-wide re
zoning ordinance currently before
the Asheville City Council.
The UDO, as it now reads, will
provide more restrictive zoning for
two areas located at or near the
university, which the university feels
could effect its long range plans.
According to Adrian Tatum,
president-elect of the student gov
ernment association, the hands of
the university will be tied if the
UDO passes.
“It will be very hard for UNCA to
do anything at all if this goes
through,” said Tatum.
The UDO may alter the current
designation of an area that lies in
the extreme southeastern portion
of campus, along Vivian Street.
If passed, this portion of land,
which currently houses a UNCA
warehouse, will be turned into a
single family neighborhood.
“It does not seem logical to alter
this designation,” said Reed in a
letter to Planning and Develop
ment Director Julia Cogburn.
Although Reed stated this desig
nation will not alter the current use
of the land,
the univer
sity IS inter
ested
maintain
stricti ve
zoning
future
use.
Further
more
Patsy Reed
would not allow for multi-family
housing in the area between cam
pus and Merrimon Avenue.
Although this area is privately
owned, the university wants to en
sure that it remain available for
multi-family use.
“For the long-range vitality of
Asheville’s public university, it is
essential to provide a diverse range
of housing options easily accessible
to the campus,” said Reed.
Reed said the benefits of multi
family housing nearby campus are
varied. They include financial ben
efits, economic benefits, environ
mental benefits, and quality of life
benefits.
Furthermore, Reed said that
multi- family housing is beneficial
to both faculty and staff
“For students of all ages, and for
faculty and staff (in particular those
in the early stages of their careers),
it is important to be able to live
nearby,” said Reed. •
Reed submiRed these requests to
Cogburn and members of city
council, and is optimistic about
them being taken seriously.
“1 have to assume that they’re as
concerned with zoning as we are
and that our comments are being
taken seriously,” said Reed.
The UDO has been in the works
of Asheville’s city council for over
seven years and consolidates the
city’s current eight land use ordi
nances. The council has held a series
of public hearings regarding the is
sue in which the public was invited
to express their concerns directly to
the council.
Reed said that Tom Byers, special
assistant to the chancellor, will ap
pear at the April 24 hearing to speak
on behalf of UNCA.
The council is expected to pass the
UDO on May 27.
UNCA representatives met with
city council members last Thursday
to discuss the university’s 10-year
plan.
Groundbreaking for greenway held
By Catharine Sutherland
staff Writer
The university’s links to the city
multiplied last Tuesday as univer
sity administrators and city offi
cials broke ground for Asheville’s
first greenway on university prop
erty. The greenway will provide
easier access to downtown for stu
dents, and will mark a cooperative
effort between the universir/ and
the city, according to the chancel
lor.
“We’re really excited about this.
This is a partnership with the city
and it will give our students walk
ing and biking access to Merrimon
(Avenue),” said Chancellor Patsy
Reed. “We’re extremely pleased to
be partners with the city and to
work toward joining this campus
with the community.”
Reed joined with Mayor Russ
Martin in scooping the first shovel
fuls of dirt in the groundbreaking
ceremony on the corner of W. T.
Weaver Boulevard and Barnard
Avenue. Student Government As
sociation President Sergio Mariaca,
UNCA Board of Trustees Presi
dent Ann Turner, and several
Asheville city council members fol
lowed.
The groundbreaking marks com
mencement on the “tail end” of
phase I of the greenway, which
v.’ill run along W.T. Weaver Bou
levard from Barnard Avenue to
Merrimon Avenue. Construction
will probably begin this week and
will last anywhere from two to six
months, said Erin McLoughlin,
Asheville city planner.
McLoughlin said the closure of
the fourth lane of traffic on W.T.
Weaver Boulevard will occur
within the next month in order to
make room for the portion of the
green way closest to Merrimon Av
enue.
“I don’t think we’ll find any traf
fic problems,” said McLoughlin.
“The ciry council’s been very sup
portive.”
The lane closure signifies a step
in the right direction according to
McLoughlin, who lived in Port
land, Ore., and Boulder, Colo.,
two cities boasting extensive
greenway systems, before coming
to Asheville two years ago.
“We’re behind in our greenway
system, but we’re trying to catch
up,” said McLoughlin. “Asheville
has so many good things going for
it — the natural environment, the
historical environment. We just
need to add amenities to that, and
to make the city function for
people, not just for cars.”
The cost of making the city func
tion for people will start with a
$110,000 price tag on the first
phase of the greenway. A large
chunk of the money will come from
an $80,000 appropriation for side
walks along W. T. Weaver Boule
vard several years ago that went
unused, while the remaining
$30,000 will come from the dry’s
general fund, said McLoughlin.
McLoughlin estimated the price
of the second phase of the project at
around $200,000, and said the city
may not commence with the sec
ond leg of the greenway until next
spring. Phase II will involve more
complicated procedures due to two
stream crossings and the stabiliza
tion of an eroding stream bank,
McLoughlin said.
City officials hope to extend the
greenway system throughout
Asheville following completion of
the W.T. Weaver Boulevard
project.
“This is the very first urban
greenway in our city,” said Martin.
“It’s the first, but not the last. We
hope to have many more.”
Chancellor Reed expressed simi
lar sentiments about greenways
within the university campus. The
university wants to expand the
walkability of the campus, she said,
noting that the current master plan
includes a walking trail that enve
lopes the campus.
“We see this as a part of maintain
ing our green spaces,” said Reed of
the greenway.
PHOTO BY DEL DeLORM
Chancellor Patsy Reed breaks ground for the city’s first
urban greenway in a ceremony on April 15.