The University of North Carolina at Asheville
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Volume 27 Issue 10
April 2, 1998
Gay/lesbian conference deemed a success
By Nicole Miller
staff Writer
UNCA held its first gay and lesbian stud-
es conference last weekend on the univer-
iity campus.
The conference, titled “Queer Geogra-
jhies: Community and Place in History,”
,ras sponsored by the Office of Academic
affairs, departments of sociology and lit-
rature, humanities and honors programs,
tid student life task force.
“Gay studies had reached a point where it
needed to have its own conference,” said
David Hopes, professor of literature and
one of the conference coordinators. “It was
a desire to get together with scholars and
have a meeting the minds and exchange of
ideas.”
Hopes said that over 70 people attended
the conference, and that the number of
participants surpassed what conference or
ganizers anticipated.
“I was really surprised that it went so
well,” said Hopes. “In terms of numbers of
attendees, it was a surprising success. In
terms of the academic value of what went
on, it was a stupendous success.”
Jan Harrow, director of planned giving
and a coordinator of the conference, said
that it was difficult to get an exact count of
participants because people were allowed
to sign up for one or both days, and some
people attended only select events.
Although the conference was free to
UNCA students, Hopes said that only a
few attended. He cited lack of interest and
awareness of the conference as possible
reasons for the low student attendance, but
added that he had not expected a large
number of students to come.
“Mostly in these conferences you might
see graduate students, but you almost never
see undergraduates,” said Hopes. “So in
that sense it was a better than average
representation of undergraduate students.”
According to Hopes, conference coordi
nators plan to make the gay and lesbian
conference a yearly event at UNCA.
“It was called, deliberately, in every pos
sible place, the ‘first annual,”’ said Hopes.
Hopes also said that conference coordina
tors will put more effort into getting UNCA
students involved in next year’s confer
ence, and that he would like to see more
student papers submitted for presentation
at the conference.
According to Hopes, the cooperation
and support given to conference coordina
tors by the university was “very pleasing.”
He said that the planning committee re
ceived no opposition from the university or
student body when organizing the confer
ence.
However, he expressed disappointment
in local media coverage of the conference.
“There was an editorial in the Asheville
Citizen-Times on Sunday by the redoubt
able [Citizen-Times columnist] Will
Haynie, who had his panties in a wad about
our having this,” said Hopes.
See CONFERENCE on page 8
Confronting homelessness
PHOTO BY KEN BETSALEL
Forty photographs taken by Associate Professor of Political Science Ken Betsalel
are currently on display in Ramsey Library. The photographs are from his current
(jlorcumentary project, “Houseless is not Homeless: Photographs and Stories.”
Betsalel’s photographs will be on display until the end of April. See story on page 4.
’rogress being made on
Jighsmith renovation project
By Chris Brooker
News Editor
The proposed renovation and ex-
Wsion of the Highsmith Center
> moved one step closer to reality,
ie University of North Carolina
oard of Governors forwarded a
nding request for the Highsmith
ojectto the North Carolina Gen-
Assembly in late March.
The University of North Caro-
''a General Administration has
sde the recommendation to the
i'slature for all of their proposed
ojects, and the Highsmith Cen
ter is on that list,” said Vice Chan
cellor of Student Affairs Eric
lovacchini. “We think we are in
good shape as far as the university
administration is concerned, and
think that getting on the list of
requests was step one.”
The General Assembly will con
sider the funding request at its short
session this May.
The Board of Governors requested
that the legislature fund the full
$12.4 million cost of the project.
“Orignally when we submitted this
project a couple of years ago to the
Board of Governors, the amount
requested for the project was a little
bit less,” lovacchini said. “The
Board of Governor’s has upped our
request, which is great.”
According to Sharyn McDonald,
direcwr of the Highsmith Center,
the architecture and design part of
the proposed expansion is almost
complete.
“We are working with (facilities
planning) on the final design of the
food area, which includes a coffee
shop and food court,” McDonald
said. “Everything else is done. We
will have one more final look, where
each group that will be housed in
the facility can check the plans to
make sure things like electrical out
lets and computer outlets are in the
right place.”
Housekeepers may
be forced to work
graveyard shift
Committee claims that nighttime hours
will increase housekeepers' efficiency
By Gene Zaleski
staff Writer
A UNCA committee has endorsed
a plan to change the hours that
academic building housekeepers
work from a daytime shift to a
nighttime shift.
Academic building housekeepers
currently work from 5 a.m. to 1:30
p. m. The new hours under consid
eration are 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., or 11
p.m. to 7 a.m., said Stephen Baxley,
director of facilities management.
The UNCA Outsource Steering
Committee is recommending the
change as a cost-cutting measure.
Bookstore Manager Mike Small said
that the Outsource
Committee was as
sembled in re
sponse to a man
date by the North
Carolina General
Assembly, which
called on all state-
funded universi
ties to increase the
efficiency of their
university support
departments, and
to investigate the
possibility of con
tracting out uni;
versity-support
services.
The Outsource
Committee is also
reviewing several
other university-
support offices
such as publica
tions, printing ser
vices, and grounds
work to see if any
changes can be
made to make the departments
more efficient.
The committee looked at house
keeping and endorsed to change
it,” said Baxley. “However, none of
fhis has been decided as of yet.”
Housekeepers who would be af
fected by the change voiced con
cern about the impact that night
time hours might have on their
families.
“We will not be able to see our
families because when we are sleep
ing, our families are working, and
when our families are at home, we
will be working,” said Housekeeper
Reva Waldrup.
Housekeeper James Ramsey said
that he takes care of his mother at
night, butwill “make other arrange
ments in order to accommodate the
new hours.”
Housekeeping Team Leader
Tammy Justice said that she is wor
ried that housekeepers might quit
as a result of the change in hours.
“As a team leader, I have to worry
about people quitting in my group,”
said Justice. “For some people it is
just not feasible to work at night.
Everyone’s schedule will have to be
changed.
“Sleeping hours, eating hours,
times when you must run certain
errands. It will all have to change,”
said Justice.
Many housekeepers said that they
will rearrange their schedule in or
der to work the nighttime shift, but
According to Baxley, the night
shift will allow the housekeepers to
get more work done.
“(Housekeepers currently) have
from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. to get any
significant cleaning done, Baxley
said. “From 8 a.m. on, the build
ings are being used and the house
keepers really do not have the op
portunity to get it cleaned and to do
their jobs to the level we would like
to see it done.
“It is commonplace in large busi
nesses to have a housekeeping staff
come in and do the heavy cleaning
at night so the business can run
more successfully,” said Baxley.
Baxley also said that the change in
hours will also help the students
who have classes in the morning.
“We think if all the cleaning is
PHOTO BY PRESTON GANNAWAY
Housekeeper Kit Hensley (pictured above) may have her work schedule
shifted to nighttime hours as part of an university effort to increase the
efficiency of UNCA support services.
added that they prefer the current
hours.
“I don’t really like the idea,” said
Housekeeper James Teague, “but I
need the job, and if working at
nights means keeping it I’ll do it.”
“It is either change our hours or
outsource,” said Housekeeper
Julene Wilson. “A lot of us have a
lot of time invested in the system,
and you really do not want to lose
the benefits and the hours that you
do have.
I work two jobs, and the hour
change will just reverse my sched
ule a little. I’ll just work one and
come here instead of working here
and going there,” said Wilson.
done before 8 a.m., the student will
be able to come in and go to class
without having to step over any
buffing cords,” said Baxley.
“It will also allow students to use
the restrooms without having to
interrupt the housekeeping crews,”
Baxley said.
However, Waldrup said that
housekeepers serve many student
needs during their current daytime
schedule.
“We are needed during the day,”
said Waldrup. “We can help stu
dents who need help such as clean
ing up broken glass. Ifwe worked at
See HOURS on page 8