The University of North Caroliaa at Ashcvilte
Volume 26
Number 1
August 28
1997
Freshman boom, no bust
PHOTO BY ROB HAMMONDS
Senior Jessie Pisano pleads her case with Public Safety Officer Dale Williams. Since the start of the crowded
school year last week, Williams said he has been averaging 70 to 80 tickets per day.
By Martha Ball
staff Writer
Despite the serious housing short
age expected due to the largest
freshman class in UNCA’s his
tory, placing students in on-cam-
pus housing was not a major prob
lem last week, according to ad
ministrators.
I At the end of the business day
Aug. 20, 476 freshmen were en
rolled at UNCA, according to Ar
cher Gravely, director of institu
tional research.
■This gave UNCA a total 3,157
students, compared to 3,088 at
this time last year, Gravely said.
Last year’s freshman class was 455
students.
While campus crowding was
manageable, the first week of classes
did involve some cramped condi
tions. Housing coordinators
tripled students in double rooms
and placed a few in residence hall
lounges and a local motel during
the first week of classes, Eric
lovajjchini, vice chancellor for
student affairs, said.
“^e’ve had some real patipit
people,” lovacchini said. '
The housing problem appeared
to be solved by Friday, according
to Pete Williams, director of hous
ing. “We will have a permanent
spot for everyone and the over
flow problem will be solved,” Wil
liams said.
Administration knew it had
more students than space and
purposely overbooked dorm
rooms, lovacchini said.
“It’s like the airlines. You
overbook and figure out how
many aren’t going to show,” he
said.
In the case of dorm rooms, it was
a little more complex. Students’
room preferences and genders
were matters in the guesswork,
lovacchini said.
“Student numbers reflect more
men than usual,” he .said.
The enrollment shift went from
55 percent women, 45 percent
men to a 54-46 ratio.
“For UNCA that’s a shift of 30
to 50 people, which causes an
other challenge. It’s like a chess
game.”
There were more no-shows than
usual in Governor’s Village, a col
lection of single-room residence
halls that are a popular housing
choice for upperclassmen,
lovacchini said.
However, the Village rooms were
held open until Friday, when the
students’ reservations would be
canceled.
Few students were inconve
nienced during the week, accord
ing to Williams.
Eight spaces were used at the
Four Seasons Motel on Merrimon
Ave,, five students had to add
»hemseh'es te a double rootr, and
a few slept in beds set up in the
lounges of the Governor’s Village,
he said.
“We had 25 spaces (available in
the lounges), but didn’t have to
fill all of those. We had a higher
priority to move those people out
of the lounges,” Williams said.
Another way administration tried
to make space available for incom
ing freshman was by offering stu
dents who had reserved rooms in
the residence halls a $200 credit
on their fall semester bill to give
See HOUSING on page 10
Racquetball
courts closed
indefinitely
Ojficials continue, to search
for cause of floor problems
By Amanda Thorn
staff Writer
Bowed glass and moving floors
have indefinitely closed the rac
quetball courts for class and stu
dent use in the newly renovated
Justice Gym.
Three weeks ago. Justice Gym
employees noticed that the carpet
outside the racquetball courts had
moved, said Ron Reagan, director
of facilities planning. An investiga
tion by the physical plant deter
mined that the glass wall surround
ing the courts was bowing toward
the basketball courts and the floor
was moving, all causing the carpet
to move. Only the glass at the bot
tom of the courts has bowed, Reagan
said.
“We are currently trying to find
out what is causing the floor to
move. It could be a combination of
things, and we are trying to narrow
it down,” Reagan said. A flooring
contractor has removed boards near
the front of the glass to help find the
cause of the problem, he said.
According to Reagan, it is normal
for wood to contract and expand
due to a rise or drop in the tempera
ture. Expansion joints were placed
in the floor of the racquetball courts,
which were constructed last year
during renovations to the gym, to
allow the floor to expand and con
tract naturally.
“We are looking at the humidity
level in the courts and expansion
joints as a potential cause of the
(floor) expansion,” Reagan said.
“Right now we just don’t know
exactly the cause of the floors mov
ing. We do know that the courts are
moving more than theyshould. Our
contractors are all key players in
trying to resolve the issue,” said
Reagan. Reagan is unsure how long
the courts will be out of use.
“It could be two weeks, two
months, or next semester. I hate
this happened right before school
started and inconvenienced the stu
dents,” Reagan said.
The racquetball courts became a
popular option for students using
the new gym facilities after their
official opening last January. Last
semester, the facility was used con
stantly, said Maggie Smith, facili
ties manager at the Justice Gym.
“It was bad timing for this to
happen to the racquetball courts
right before students arrived,” said
Smith.
Senior Jamie Kibler played rac
quetball in the new courts nearly
every day last semester.
“I am not happy that the courts
are closed because I might not get a
chance to play racquetball again at
UNCA since I am graduating,” said
Kibler, an atmospheric science ma-
jor.
"I also don’t understand how this
could happen after putting so m uch
money and time into building the
gym,” Kibler said. Thejustice Cen
ter renovations began in November
of 1994 and took over two years to
complete. “I hope there are not any
See COURTS on page 10
Violent summer sparks safety concerns for students
By Veronika Gunter
staff Writer
Statistics show teenagers and
wenty-somethings to be the most
ikely victims of violent crime in
Vsheville and, although on-campus
:rime remains at low levels, students
leed to protect themselves, said
Vsl^eville’s chief of police.
“Most any crime, particularly ag-
;ressive assault, involves youth,”
Vsheville Police Chief Will Annarino
aid. “Statistics and experience show
hat.”
“Like it or not, there are rules you
lave to play by to be safe.”
The most serious crimes reported
>n (campus in 1995 and 1996 were
wo simple assaults involving push-
ng, according to the Department of
*ublic Safety’s annual report.
UNCA has ranked safest in com-
>aiative studies of colleges in the
loutheast for several years.
Despite campus statistics, however,
he recent unsolved murders ofyoung
vomen in Asheville has heightened
Wncern for youth-directed crime.
Amber Lundgren, 20, went down-
own with friends the night of June
•• She was last seen alive walking
lone up Lexington Avenue.
Her nude body was found the next
oorning. She was stabbed to death.
Lundgren planned to attend
UNCA this semester, studying art
or photography.
Police found the nude body of
Garnetta Davis, 19, beside aware-
house three miles from UNCA.
Police have not released her cause
of death but have determined foul
play.
It appears the victims did not
know their killers, who remain at
large.
“These crimes are very alarming
to us,” UNCA Public Safety Di
rector Dennis Gregory said.
“The persons responsible are still
out there and no motive is known,
to my knowledge. We should get
the word out to all young women. ”
This type of crime is among the
hardest to solve and hardest to
protect the community from,
Annarino said.
“It’s random crime, being at the
wrong place at the wrong time,”
he said.
Young people are involved be
cause they are out in the commu
nity interacting more than other
age groups and often put them
selves in a position to be a victim,
Annarino said.
“It frustrates me that people don’t
practice safety more. We want to
assume the best so society becomes
complacent about crime.”
Gregory considers the level of
student awareness of public
safety’s on-campus services “pretty.
good.” The department comprises
eight sworn police officers and
two security guards.
Public safety presents outreach
activities for the community sev
eral times each semester. These
tend to be crime prevention pre
sentations held in the residence
halls.
“I feel great about safety on cam
pus,” Gregory said. “There are so
many crimes just outside of our
jurisdiction, but not on campus.”
During 206 traffic stops of sus
picious vehicles in 1995-1996,
many students coming home late
were inconvenienced, but no com
plaints arose.
“I think this shows that our of
ficers behave with a great deal of
courtesy and students realize that
we have student safety in mind,”
Gregory said.
“I hope we don’t become a vic
tim of our own success. We can
get over-confident and fail to do
things to prevent crime,” he said.
Asheville’s crime statistics im
prove annually, Asheville Police
Department Officer Debby Yanik
of the Criminal Analysis Unit said.
Rape, aggravated assault, larceny,
robbery and burglary rates have
steadily decreased over the past
three years. Homicides have re-
VIOLENT CRIME
UNCA lias consistently suffered fewer incidents of
violent crime than schools of comparable size located
in cities of comparable size to Asheville.
{Numbers are per 100,000 students.)
Assault
City State Unlverstt/ (NC)
Mary Washington College (VA)
II Winston-SaiemState University (NC)
I Coastal Carolina (SC)
UNCA
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Maiy Washington Coilege (VA)
Elizabeth City State University (NC)
UNCA
mi Coastal Carolina (SC)
I Winston-SalemState University (NC)
0
50
100
150
200
mained constant, with 12 per year
between 1994 and 1996.
Asheville has repeatedly had the
lowest crime rate in the state for
cities of its size, according to the
Uniform Crime Report compiled
by the North Carolina Bureau of
Investigation.
“Numbers can not console a
victim’s family,” Annarino said.
To date, six homicides have been
or are being investigated in
Asheville. Criminal charges have
been placed in two of the killings
and suspects are in custody.
The victims ages, five, 19, 20, 24,
29 and 78, reflect the element of
youth in victims of violent crime,
Annarino said.
Gregory estimates that a third of
crimes on campus go unreported,
though officers are available 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
“It takes time, you have to get
involved; these things dissuade some
students,” said Gregory.
“It may seem not worth the effort,
but I wish they would come for
ward.
“We take reports over the phone,
we understand that students have
classes and are often working,” he
said.
“We want students to have fim, to
have a great college experience. We
don’t want crime to interfere with
that,” Gregory said.
SOURCE: INF0MER1CA1995
GRAPHIC BY JEANETTE WEBB