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Volume 26 Issue 2
September 4, 1997
UNCA earns 'Best BuV status
By Martha Ball
staff Writer
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For the third year in a row, UNCA has
been named a “best buy” in the annual
Fiske Guide to Colleges. The award makes
UNCA one of 42 public and private
colleges nationwide to be selected as an
institution that provides excellent edu
cation at a reasonable price.
“UNC-Asheville has emerged as one of
the premier institutions offering the kind
of education you would expect at a small
private liberal arts college, but it pro
vides it at a public price,” stated the Fiske
Guide.
The reasons for UNCA’s “best buy”
status are obvious, said Merritt Moseley,
dean of faculty development.
“I think we provide the most impor
tant characteristics of the small liberal
arts college. But, unlike the rest, we are
state-supported, and we’re cheap,”
Moseley said.
. “If you can pay our tuition and get the
experience and education rather than
paying $25,000 a year, it’s a great deal,”
he said. “We have good students intel
lectually, a dedicated faculty, and a good
library.”
Freshman Shirley Robinson agreed.
•“I like the price because it’s a really
High-rated school, but it’s a lot less ex
pensive than other high-rated schools in
the state,” said Robinson.
The only other N.C. school included
in Fiske’s “best buy” list was UNC- CH.
In addition to earning a “best buy”
listing from Fiske, UNCA was also in
cluded in the 1998 edition of the
Princeton Review’s The Best 311 Col
leges.
The Princeton Review listing is stu-
TON AVE.
Linerica
20
America
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS
Literature professor Ed Katz displays the energy of a dedicated faculty, one of UNCA’s many attractions.
dent-driven, citing actual comments from
students for its summaries of universities.
UNCA students gave the university high
marks for offering “a big learning experi
ence in a small package,” stated the review.
Professors were applauded for their knowl
edge of subject matter and their ability to
teach it, as well as their accessibility outside
of class.
The review summary offered “What’s
Hot” and “What’s Not” lists based on
student surveys. In the UNCA listing, health
facilities, religion, the city of Asheville, and
residence halls were said to be “hot,” while
student publications, beer, hard liquor,
campus food, and intercollegiate sports
were “not.”
UNCA’s review in the Fiske Guide de
scribed the school as “a strong public lib
eral arts university that offers rigorous aca
demics, small classes, and a beautiful set
ting, all at an incredibly low price.”
The university’s location attracts many
students.
“Asheville’s always been one of my favor
ite cities because of the weather, the people,
and most definitely the location,” Matt
Dover, a freshman from Kings Moun
tain, N.C., said.
“It’s right on the (Blue Ridge) Park
way and close to everything-Charlotte,
Atlanta, Spartanburg. It’s like a hub,”
Dover said.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the qual
ity,” said Tom DuVall, a first-year stu
dent in UNCA’s master of social work
See BEST BUY on page 10
Police aim
to halt area
speeding
By Veronika Gunter
staff Writer
Asheville police officers instituted a traf
fic safety campaign in the UNCA area in
response to neighborhood concerns about
speeding drivers, according to one police
officer involved with “Operation
Speedbreaker.”
“Because we’ve had a large number of
complaints for speeding and stop sign run
ning, we are in the neighborhood,” officer
Sean Pound of the Strategic Traffic En
forcement Program (STEP) said.
Among other duties around the city.
Pound and up to three other officers en
force traffic rules in the Edgewood Road
area. Edgewood Road provides access from
UNCA to Merrimon Avenue.
“We’d like to make everyone aware of the
problem there and ask people to obey the
stop signs and other regulations,” Pound
said.
“I don’t want UNCA students to think
the neighborhood thinks they are the bane
of our existence,” said John Quigley, presi
dent of the Jackson Park/Woolsey Neigh
borhood Association 0PWNA), which en
compasses the area surrounding UNCA.
“I think many people not affiliated with
the school use Edgewood as a short cut to
19/23, but we all need to be aware, to think
when we drive,” he said.
See SPEED on page 8
Gallery displays faculty artwork
PHOTO BY ALICE BAIN MARTIN
onald Lane examines artwork by professor Robert Tynes.
By Mandisa Templeton
staff Writer
The University Gallery is featur
ing work from nine UNCA art fac
ulty members through September
16. This is the second year the
gallery, which is located on the first
floor of Owen Hall, has featured
professional artists.
“We like providing an opportu-
ni^ for the UNCA campus and the
wider community to become ac
quainted with the art faculty not
only as professors, but as profes
sional artists,” said Robert Tynes,
art department faculty member and
gallery director in a press release.
The University Gallery usually ex
hibits pieces contributed by art stu
dents. However, both faculty mem
bers and students believe the exhi
bition of professors’ work holds
great value for art students.
“It’s cool to see what other people
are doing, and to know the profes
sors actually paint and sculpt,” said
Beth Horton, a prospective fine
arts major. “I like knowing the
people teaching me know what they
are doing, and seeing what the teach
ers do so I know they have current,
practical experience.”
“It’s showing you from a student’s
point of view that if faculty can do
this work, just think what their
students can do,” said Andrea
Logan, a junior financial manage
ment major.
“The exhibit gives the art students
the opportunity to see the faculty’s
professionalism,” said Dan
Millspaugh, who contributed two
sculptures made from steel, stain
less steel, and cast iron to the dis
play.
Millspaugh also said the students
can see the effort the faculty mem
bers put into their work, and use it
as an example to show what they
can do if they put enough time and
effort into their art also.
According to Tynes, the faculty
art exhibit is a great way to intro
duce students to new faculty mem
bers such as Megan Wolfe, and the
student exhibits are an excellent
way for new art students to have
their work seen in a public forum.
Pieces shown in the gallery were
created out of a wide variety of
mediums.
Some of the paintings were con
structed with oil, graphite, gouache,
acrylic, and/or toned silver print.
The sculptures are made of steel,
stainless steel, terra cotta, bronze,
or cast iron.
“It is interesting to see different
styles of art,” said Tucker Cooke,
who contributed an oil and graph
ite painting called “Rape of the
Sabines.”
“The department uses diverse tech
niques. There isn’t a style that is
very distinctive or unique to our
department?” Cooke said.
“The exhibit educates students
about the faculty’s role in making
art, and students can see the diverse
ways of making art,” said Tynes,
who has two pieces featured at the
exhibit. “I encourage students to
find their own medium.”
Each faculty member has an area
of specialty, such as photography,
painting, or sculpture, but can cross
over into other forms of art, said
Millspaugh.
The art department’s faculty mem
bers each have distinct reasons for
See GALLERY on page 8
■SGA officers strive for campus coimection
By Amanda Thorn
staff Writer
Despite the fact that nearly $10,000 of
itudent fees went to finance the salaries of
Student Government Association officers
last year, both students and SGA officials
:ldim a lack of connection and awareness
^ b^een the student-run government and
its Constituents.
I think the majority of students are aware
lilt there is an organization called ‘SGA,
>ut unfortunately I don’t think most stu-
lents know how they can use it to advance
Wy causes or concerns they might have,
said Alphonso Donaldson, a junior senator
in SGA.
SGA serves as ^ source of leadership for
stl^ents when dealing with three groups at
die versify: UNCA faculty and staff,
U®JCA administration, and the University
lf|North Carolina General Administra-
Cton, said Adrian Tatum, SGA president.
“SGA protects the students’ concerns at
all three levels,” said Tatum.
SGA officials are paid to serve the student
community by student fees. Under last
year’s administration, senators received
$125 per semester, the vice president re-
Meet your SGA
representatives
see page 10
ceived $600, and the president received
$750.
However, these figures do not reflect the
salaries of 1997-1998 SGA officers, which
have yet to be finalized in the new budget.
“Each administration sets its own bud
get,” said residential senator Doug Jones.
Jones predicted “drastic” cuts in this year’s
budget, as opposed to last year’s.
The budget for the upcoming year was
presented for discussion on Sept. 3. SGA
officers will vote on the proposed budget
on Sept. 10.
SGA officers have the option of declining
their stipend, a choice several have made
this year, including the president.
“I am not taking a stipend this year. The
money needs to go to the students and the
activities,” said Tatum.
“I am not taking away money from the
students to do a job I wanted to do. Not
taking a salary is one campaign promise I
am keeping.”
Tatum cited the organization’s student-
fee funding as another incentive for stu
dents to become involved in SGA.
“I encourage everyone to take an active
part in what is going on because they pay to
have organizations like SGA. SGA should
be utilized by students since they are al
ready paying for its services,” Tatum said.
Not only do some students not take ad
vantage of their fee-driven student govern
ment, but they are not aware ofwhy it exists
on campus.
“I am not really sure what SGA does, but
I guess it is here to help lead students in
activities and guide them through campus
decisions,” said freshman Mark Ebert.
Increased student awareness of the pur
pose and power of SGA stands as one of the
organization’s goals this year, said Tatum.
“SGA is designed to protect students’ and
individual’s rights at UNCA. It is also in
existence to provide an environment for
healthy growth on campus,” Tatum said.
SGA ensures that students have the means
to facilitate grievances and make sure those
grievances are heard in a timely fashion, he
said.
“Students can attend SGA meetings at
any time and bring their grievances,” said
SGA Vice President Tiffany Drummond.
Any student can initiate a bill, she said. The
bill must then be submitted by a senator,
“put on the floor,” and voted on.
“A bill is presented on a Wednesday, the
senators are given one week to research it
and talk to students, and the following
week it is discussed and voted on,”
Drummond said.
“I can’t say that we can fix every little
thing, but we do our best to reconcile any
problems that students have. SGA tries to
fix things that have a major impact on
student life at UNCA,” Tatum said.
SGA senators exist as one of the main
avenues for students to make themselves
heard, according to Donaldson.
“Our major role is as a communication
network” between SGA and the studentss
said Donaldson. As a junior senator, he
said his job “is not only to bring my ideas
to the table, but to communicate with
people in the junior class, and all the classes.
All the senators communicating with all
the classes is an ideal goal.”
See SGA on page 10