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Volume 29 Issue 1
February 4, 1999
UNCA will soon pay to print in labs, library
By Mike Bryant
staff Writer
Users of laser printers at the
Ramsey Library and UNCA com
puter labs may have to pay for print
ing beginning with summer school
sessions in 1999.
“The amount of paper waste and
large-volume copying has made it
necessary to initiate a policy of
charging for printing in Ramsey
Library,” said Robert Bland, asso
ciate university librarian for techni
cal services.
Similar reasons for charging stu
dents for printing were stated by a
representative of the computer lab
center at UNCA.
“The increasing amount of wasted
paper and the substantial increase
in volume of copying from Internet
sources has led to the need to charge
for printing,” said Mike Honeycutt,
academic computing coordinator
at UNCA’s computer center.
Meetings involving library and
computer lab representatives have
occurred over the past year to con
sider the implementation of a print-
ing-charge policy, according to
Bland.
“We have given careful consider
ation to the needs of the students at
UNCA,” said Bland. “We want to
continue to provide the students
with the resources to meet their
printing needs at the lowest pos
sible cost to each of them. We in
cluded representatives of the SGA
in one of our December meetings,
and welcome their continued input
in this matter.”
UNCA is one of the last branches
of the university system that con
tinues to offer free copying to its
students, according to Bland.
“UNC-Chapel Hill charges 5 cents
per page for copying, and North
Carolina State University charges 6
cents per page,” said Bland. “There
is one school that charges 10 cents
per page for copying. We feel that
those charges are certainly too high.
A charge of 3 cents per page is our
target at UNCA.”
This charge for printing would
exclude any copying using the dot
matrix printers, according to
Honeycutt.
“We will still provide the use of
the dot matrix printers for students
at no cost,” said Honeycutt. “We
realize those printers do not match
the speed or quality of the laser
printers, but they will be available
to students at no cost, if needed.”
Student response was mixed at the
possibility of the implementation
of a policy that would add to the
cost of their education at UNCA.
“I think it is ridiculous to charge
the students for making copies,”
said Lauren Owens, an undeclared
In honor of MLK Jr.
PHOTO BY TRAVIS BARKER
A parade and keynote speaker Willie Fleming, a faculty fellow at Appalachian State University, were part of the
celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 21. The event was sponsored by the UNCA African Ameri
can Student Development Office.
sophomore.
“I can see why they may have to
begin charging for copies,” said Troy
Shurtleff, a sophomore math and
computer science major. “I work in
the computer labs, and I see a large
amount of wasted paper, especially
with the laser printers. I think that
charging a minimal amount for
copies would eliminate a big por
tion of that waste.”
The need for involvement by the
SGA was voiced by a number of
UNCA students before this charge
for copying is implemented this
summer.
Input from the SGA and any other
students are welcomed, according
to Honeycutt.
“I would urge anyone who has any
suggestions or comments regard
ing this matter to contact us,” said
Honeycutt. “It is important to us
that the students understand and
have input because it most directly
affects them.”
“One of the reasons for consider
ation of charging for copies is to be
able to continue to upgrade the
equipment available to the stu
dents,” said Bland. “This is not a
money-making venture, but rather
an alternative method that would
allow us to meet increasing costs
that have resulted from a more ex-
See PRINT page 10
UNCA cooper
ates with water
regulations
By Meghan Cummings
staff Writer
In response to the recent water
shortage in Asheville, UNCA has
taken strides to conserve water on
campus. These efforts have aided in
the overall reduction in water us
age, according to sources at the
City of Asheville Water Resources
Department.
“I think the school is doing a
pretty good job,” said Jennifer Ball
from the City of Asheville Water
Resources Department. “Their
maintenance staff seems to be on
track in trying to keep leaks to a
minimum and trying to keep water
usage down. They have been doing
that for several years, even before
this drought.”
The amount of water used in the
December and January billing pe
riod this year was significantly less _
than that used last year, according'
to Stephen Baxley, director of fa
cilities management at UNCA.
“We have reduced consumption
by about 13 percent,” said Baxley.
“I’d say 13 percent of the amount
of water we use is a pretty signifi
cant amount.”
All users of the Asheville water
supply have been asked to be in
creasingly conservative with water
because of the severity of the short
age, according to Don Hollister,
mechanical engineer and consult
ant with the Waste Reduction and
Technolog)' Transfer program.
“About three or four weeks ago,
the water levels in the reservoirs
were at the lowest ever recorded,”
said Hollister. “It gets pretty scary
when you think that we are depen
dent on those reservoirs. If they
run out we will have nothing left.”
According to a news release from
the City of Asheville Water Re
sources Department, as of Jan. 20,
the two reservoirs that serve most of
Buncombe County held 104 days
supply of water. Although this is an
improvement over the 85 days of
water that was recorded on Dec.
See WATER page 10
Environmental studies receives $1.7 million grant
By Emma Jones
staff Writer
UNCA environmental studies professors
and students are pursuing their lead con
tamination research thanks to new grants,
according to one of the lab’s water quality
experts.
The lead contamination in homes is a big
public health problem, said Richard Maas,
director of the environmental studies pro
gram at UNCA. Maas also coordinates the
Environmental Quality Institute (EQI)
with Steven Patch of the mathematics de
partment.
“The EQI is part of the environmental
studies program at UNCA, and it really is
a collaborative undergraduate research pro
gram of Steven Patch and myself,” said
Maas.
Both students and outside scientists are
involved in working with the EQI’s re
search grants, according to Maas. The EQI
is presently working with a number of
grants, one of which is through the New
York City Department of Environmental
Protection (NYCDEP). The $1.7 million
grant funds NYCDEP’s project to elimi
nate lead contamination in the public wa
ter system.
“New York City is the ultimate place to
try to do this research because you’ve got
millions of homes that are all connected to
the same water supply. Other larger cities
have a number of different water sites, so
the water chemistry is different in this part
of the city than in that part,” said Maas.
Grants as large as this one are competitive
and open to the public for bidding, accord
ing to Stuart Erdfarb of the NYCDEP.
“The great majority of our contracts for
which there are detailed specifications are
publicly advertised and are solicited using
Competitive Sealed Bids,” said Erdfarb.
“Such contracts are awarded to the respon
sible bidder who submits the lowest re
sponsive bid.”
With a reputation for objective research,
UNCA’s lab was chosen for the grant even
though they were not the lowest bidder,
according to Erdfarb.
“With specific regard to the contract
awarded to the Environmental Quality
Institute, there were nine bids submitted.
See GRANT page 9
Emergency student loan suffers due to nonrepa)mient
By Samantha Hartmann
News Editor
UNCA’s emergency student loan
fund, a short-term institutional loan
for students in the event of an emer
gency, was temporarily unavailable
at the beginning of this semester
due to an unpaid balance of
*19,428.38, according to the
UNCA controller’s office.
We are still working on the out
standing balance,” said Jolene
Moody, university controller. “We
are doing everything we can to col
lect.”
The Leonard S. Levitch student
loan fund, better known as the
emergency student loan fund, was
established in 1974 to assist stu
dents financially in the event of an
emergency.
“It is a revolving type of program,”
said Carolyn McElrath, director of
financial aid. “We are dependent
on students repaying the loans in
order to make it available for other
students.”
Alice Means, accounting techni
cian in the university controller’s
office, said her records indicate an
approximate total of 128 unpaid
student accounts from 1991 to the
present. Of the 128 accounts, 39
are pending from 1997, and 49 are
pending from 1998, according to
Means. If this pattern continues.
Means said it is possible the avail
able balance may be depleted sooner
than expected.
According to the Levitch promis
sory note that students are required
to sign upon emergency loan ap
proval, repayment must be submit
ted in full by the end of the current
semester.
“We say in the promissory note
that it is the responsibility of the
student to ascertain if the account is
free of emergency loans and has
been repaid either by refund de
duction or direct payment prior to
the next semester,” said McElrath.
If a student is a financial aid re
cipient, emergency loans are not
automatically deducted from their
aid refund, according to the prom
issory note.
“The current procedures are to
loan up to $250 per semester per
student, with the financial aid di
rector being allowed to approve a
higher amount in extreme circum
stances when financial aid is pend
ing,” said a memo from Moody
dated Jan. 28.
According to McElrath, students
would qualify for an emergency
loan if they had difficulty paying
rent or utilities, needed car repairs,
were awaiting financial aid because
they applied late, or had a medical
emergeny.
“Sometimes, we have students who
are in dire need,” said McElrath.
“Let’s say they applied late, or we
happen to have some technical
problems in the office. Until finan
cial aid hits our system, we will
allow a loan in excess of $250. If it
See LOANS page 10