The University of North Carolina at Asheville
vww.unca.edu/banner
IVolume 27 Issue 9
March 26, 1998
bur ounces of marijuana seized from resident
By Amelia Morrison
staff Writer
lUNCA Public Safety officers seized four
lunces of marijuana and drug parapherna
lia during a search of a student’s room in
founders Hall on March 13, the Friday
lefore spring break.
I The marijuana belonged to Sophomore
Alexander Moran, a resident assistant, who
lonsented to the search and signed a waiver.
1 “The marijuana was in sandwich bags,
Ind is probably worth about $500,” said
Dennis Gregory, director of public safety.
“At this point no charges have been filed
[by the Buncombe County district attor
ney.] They are pending until the end of the
investigation,” said Gregory. “We expect
to find at least one or two more people that
may be involved.”
Public Safety Investigator Jerry Adams
said that the investigation is focusing on
finding out who Moran got the marijuana
from.
Gregory said that potential charges in
clude two felon ies: possession of four ounces
of marijuana, and one count of sale and
delivery.
Moran may also face the misdemeanor
charge possession of drug paraphernalia.
Possession of 1.5 ounces or less of mari
juana qualifies a misdemeanor. Any amount
beyond that can be considered a felony.
“A felony is punishable by up to five years
in prison and a fine,” said Adams.
At the close of the investigation, the dis
trict attorney will decided what charges, if ■
any, will be pressed.
“We’ll send a completed report to the
District Attorney who will review the re
port and press the charges he is most com
fortable with from this investigation,” said
Gregory.
“After the submission of the report to the
district attorney, there are usually about
two to three weeks before a first appear
ance, and then about two to three months
until the official court trial, depending on
the request,” said Adams.
Although UNCA will not decide which
charges to press, Gregory said that he does
not want the university’s role in the inves
tigation to end.
“We are not only here to enforce the law,
but we certainly want to extend help, some
kind of drug abuse counseling, to the ex
tent of what these people will accept,” said
Gregory. “We are always concerned for a
student who possesses or could be using
drugs.”
According to Gregory, the confiscation of
marijuana on the UNCA campus is not
unusual. “We know that we have mari
juana on campus, and we generally make
from four to six arrests a year, depending
on the student body,” said Gregor)’. “It is
certainly not uncommon, but the quantity
[in this case] surprised me.”
According to the police report, Moran
placed a bag containing approximately one
ounce of marijuana in the front of his pants
during the search and asked to go to the
bathroom. The bag was removed from his
pants.
Gregory said that the investigation should
be complete in about one week. Moran did
not respond to phone calls made by The
Banner yesKtd3.y for comment.
Big Mac attack
PHOTO BY PRESTON GANNAWAY
Grammy-award winning musician Sarah IVIcLachlan performed at the Asheville Civic Center on March 24. UNCA
students and faculty attended the show to hear her hit songs “Building a Mystery,” “Sweet Surrender,” and “Pos
session.” See a review of the concert on page 4. Additional photos of the concert are posted on The Banner Online.
New SGA officers
elected for 1998-99
By Gene Zaleski
staff Writer
The UNCA Student Government
Association (SGA) announced the
results of its elections for 1998-99
officers on Mar. 13. The only con
tested races were for SGA president
and vice-president. All candidates
for SGA senate positions ran unop
posed.
Junior Alphonso Donaldson Jr.,
who served as a junior senator in
the 1997-98
SGA, was
elected SGA
president.
Donaldson re
ceived 63 per
cent ofall votes
cast, opponent
Claudia Perez-
Hurtado re
ceived 37 per
cent.
Soph omore
Eric Winters, who was a sopho
more senator in 1997-98 SGA, de
feated Junior Jay “Mole” Johnson
in the race for SGA vice-president.
Winters received 55 percent ofvotes
cast, Johnson received 45 percent.
Over 350 students eligible to vote
cast ballots in the SGA elections
held on March 11-12.
Winters said he was disappointed
by the low voter turnout.
“We had between 300 and 400
people vote out of3,200 students,”
said Winters. “That kind ofbothers
me because 1, like to be a student
representative, and now 1 am only
Alphonso
Donaldson
representing the students who
voted.”
Donaldson and Winters said that
the new administration will focus
on i n VO 1Vi ng a greater percen tagc of
UNCA community in SGA opera
tions by setting up task forces for to
address the needs of different seg
ments of the UNCA student popu
lation.
“We are setting up a freshman,
residential, and commuter task
force, which would help address
the needs of these groups,” said
Donaldson. “Amid all the hustle
and bustle of
business these
types of things
fall by the way
side some
times.
“I want to
open up the
SGA to make
it more inclu
sive to the rest
of the cam
pus,” said Donaldson. “I would
love to get more people involved in
SGA.”
Donaldson said that the new ad
ministration will give more atten
tion to the needs of commuter stu
dents, and try to involve commut
ers more closely in university af
fairs.
“What we are doing as a university
on the whole is catering to the
traditional residential student.”
Donaldson said. “There is a whole
demograph ic group out there which
we are missing.”
See SGA on page 8
Eric Winters
UNCA faculty rate high in student survey
By Amelia Morrison
staff Writer
A survey conducted by The University of
'orth Carolina General Administration to
Sess the undergraduate experience of all
ludents in the UNC system showed that
'NCA sophomores were satisfied with the
university’s faculty, but were unsatisfied
'ith campus safety, orientation, and regis-
tation procedures.
The survey was administered to sopho-
tores system-wide in the spring of 1997•
UNCA sophomores said that university
Kulty interact well with students in and
'ut of the classroom, set high expectations
"r students to learn, and encourage stu
dents to be actively involved learners.
^NCA ranked above UNC-Chapel Hill
nd most other system schools in questions
'lated to faculty performance.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
lines Pitts said he was not surprised that
IE UNCA faculty was rated favorably by
^NCA students.
to
“We are dedicated to providing a chal
lenging education for serious studenrs,”
said Pitts. “We staff our courses with qual
ity instructors. In ratios of students that
make students and fac-
ulty accountable to each
other. We’re organized
for a very powerful and
transforming education
on this campus.
“Our faculty are more
available than faculty at
some other institutions,”
said Pitts.
The survey indicated
that students are satis
fied with the current class
sizes at UNCA. Pitts said
that current plans for
university growth will
not dramatically increase
the average class size at
UNCA.
“We plan to grow only
modestly. We are one of
the larger four-year liberal arts institutions
in the nation, therefore we are reluctant to
We are dedicated
providing a
challenging edu
cation for serious
students. We staff
our courses with
quality instruc
tors.”
-Vice Chancellor
of Academic Af
fairs James Pitts
do unrestrained growth.”
Pitts also said that the university plans to
add more faculty as the student population
grows to keep class sizes stable.
UNCA rated poorly
on questions of per
ceived campus safety.
Over 95 percent of
UNCA sophomores
who participated in
the study indicated
that they do not feel
that the university has
taken sufficient steps
to ensure physical
safety.
UNCA ranked 13
out of the 16 state
schools on the ques
tion of safety, falling
behind larger cam
puses like UNC-
Chapel Hill, North
Carolina State Uni
versity, Appalachian
State University, and Western Carolina
University.
“The lighting is bad,” said Kirsten Byrd,
a sophomore psychology major. “You can
nc walk across campus alone at night.
Nobody would hear you if you screamed.”
Director of Public Safety Dennis Gregory
said that despite the student perceptions,
UNCA is overall a safe campus.
“Our statistics do not at all reflect an
unsafe campus,” said Dennis Gregory, di
rector of Public Safety. “But it is a true fear,
and we need to take steps to make our
students feel safer.”
A study based on U.S. Department of
Justice crime statistics released last mondi
ranked UNCA as the safest college campus
in the state, and one of the 70 safest in the
nation.
“We are a very safe campus, ranking num
ber one in North Carolina for safety on
campus, but we’re not doing a good job of
interacting with students,” said Gregory.
Gregory said that the university is taking
steps to combat lighting problems.
“We added lights in the park beside the
library, around Belk Theater, and at the
rear of South Ridge,” said Gregory.
The study also showed that UNCA sopho
mores were not satisfied with the orienta
tion program, as the student satisfaction
rating was 1 5 out of the 16 system univer
sities. Students were especially dissatisfied
with the length of orientation and the
registration process.
Assistant Director of Student Develop
ment Amyjustice said that the administra
tion is in the process of changing the orien
tation program.
“We are trying to meet the needs of stu
dents that are very busy,” said Amyjustice,
assistant director of Student Development.
“We are cutting out anything unnecessary,
the fluff, and putting in quality programs.”
At the request of students, Student Devel
opment will offer evening programs for
part-time students, do away with some
placement tests, and help make the regis
tration process easier.
“Registration is going to be different this
year because we are going to be online;
we re going to do web registration,” said
Justice.
The lines students have to wait in are
See SURVEY on page 8