folume 30 Issue 6 October?, 1999
4, by
Oand
Z96.5 auctioned to highest bidder
Citizens and students
dissatisfied with FCC
By Sarah Wilkins
Staff Writer
PHOTO BY NAOMI RICHARD
Despite the auction that threatens to put Asheville’s Z96.5 under new
ownership, disc jockey Brian Lee conducts business as usual. Some
citizens and students disagree with the auction.
Z96.5’s frequency is cur
rently being auctioned off to
the highest bidder by the
Federal Communications
Commision (FCC) after
years of litigation.
“I think that (the auction)
is a disappointment,” said
Steve Ansari, a sophomore
atmospheric sciences major.
Some citizens feel that the
FCC should open more fre
quencies in the area for other
radio stations, instead of
auctioning off the 96.5 FM
frequency, according to Bill
Elliot, disc jockey for Z96.5.
“They should just open up
another frequency, and to
heck with all this stuff that’s
going on right now,” said
Elliot. “It would solve a lot
of problems.”
Although several people did
apply for frequencies, the
FCC does not want to create
any more because they be
lieve that the community
isn’t large enough to handle
them, according to Elliot.
“It’s not that the commu
nity can’t handle that fre
quency, but if somebody
wants to get in here, then
they should have the oppor-
tunity on another fre
quency,” said Elliot.
Some UNCA students said
that they believe the FCC’s
attitude toward the radio sta-
“I think it’s unfair how
they’re being treated by the
FCC,” said Ansari. Basically,
“the government is interested
in making money off of it.”
The auction “destroys the
whole American dream,” said
Susan Vemek, a sophomore
undeclared major. “You
work for something, and
then the government comes
The FCC is made up of
“educated, ignorant slobs
and they could care less about
the people,” said Elliot.
“They care about their job,
and they care about making
that big, fat dollar.”
“That’s all they care about,
who can pay them off the
most,” said Elliot. “The
whole thing is political.
“The congressman in Char
lotte (Mel Watts) had a big
hand in it,” said Elliot.
“He probably didn’t handle
the money himself. He
passed it on from the com
pany that wants the fre
quency, to the head honcho
of the FCC,” said Elliot.
“I don’t think they care
anything about the commu
nity,” said John Randall, a
disc jockey for WZLS.
Neither Watts nor the FCC
could be reached for com-
See RADIO page 10
Depression
screening pro
motes awareness
By Johanna Luks
staff Writer
Four local organizations are
giving free depression tests
for National Depression
Screening Day on Oct. 7.
A “significant number” of
UNCA students are de
pressed, according to Eric
Pyeritz, director of health
services.
“We want to make sure that
students have a working
knowledge of depression,”
The four participating hos
pitals are Mission St.
Joseph’s, Charter Asheville,
Park Ridge, and Pardee.
Depression is an illness that
affects 15 million Americans
a year, according to a bro
chure for the Western Caro-
liria chapter of the National
Alliance for the Mentally 111
(NAMI).
“There’s definitely a feeling
of isolation when you go to
school, at least for people I’ve
known,” said Alixanne Davis,
a senior literature major.
“Freshman year is usually
pretty tough. If you don’t
know people and get out and
do things, it’s hard to be
happy.”
“Depression is definitely a
big problem for college stu
dents. It’s such a transitional
time for us,” said Meggan
Farr, a senior psychology
Depression Screening Day
can save lives because it is a
way to determine if you are
clinically depressed and would
benefit from treatment, ac
cording to Florence Rowe, sec
retary and workshop facilita
tor for NAMI.
“Everybody feels sad some
times, but to be clinically de
pressed is an ongoing feeling
of sadness that does not let
up,” said Rowe.
“I think (the depression
screening test) is good tor
people to identify if they are
depressed and get the services
they need, but I don’t think
it’s the only way to bring
awareness to depression,” said
Vicki Brunnick, a counselor
and substance abuse consult
ant for UNCA’s counseling
UNCA held a Depression
Screening Day two years ago,
which 250-300 students par
ticipated in, according to
Pyeritz.
“It’s something that was such
a tremendous undertaking we
thought we’d probably have it
every other year. We might
consider doing it in the
spring,” said Pyeritz.
“It’s normal to have differ
ent moods and reactions. We
don’t have to be happy all the
time,” said Brunnick.
The symptoms of depression
include physical and emo
tional changes, according to
“Depressed individuals may
have trouble eating and sleep
ing, as well as feeling hopeless
See SCREENING page 9
Students question survey's smoking statistics
By Greg Sessoms
staff Writer
Posters placed on campus by peer
education, as part of a study on
obacco use, have beenmet with
kepticism from several student
mokers.
I do not believe the statistics. I
ivalk out of class, go outside, and
walk through a cloud of smoke. ”
iaid Lewis Winder, senior biol-
major. “I actually know very
people who do not smoke on
:ampus.”
The posters display statistics de
rived from an on-campus survey
that indicates non-smokers make
up the vast majority of students.
The survey was conducted using
objective research methods ac-
ording to Vicki Brunnick,
UNCA counselor, substance
abuse consultant and project di-
ctor of the study.
‘We did a random survey sam
pling. We had to survey 504 stu
dents, and 282 students returned
the survey,” said Brunnick.
However, the posters’ lack of
:omprehensive documentation as
0 the origin of the statistics both
ers some smokers.
“1 have to question their statis-
ics,” said Mike Sears, junior eco
nomics major. “If you look at the
posters, there is nothing on there
about how they got those statis
tics. I am sure I could go out there
if 1 wanted to and take a survey of
campus and find statistics that are
exactly opposite. There is no docu
mentation on the statistics at all.”
Some smokers also questioned
the posters’ effectiveness in en
couraging students to quit smok
ing- ..
“People in college have already
set in their minds what they are
into. People that smoke start
smoking at an earlier age. I do not
think I have seen many people
who have come to college start
smoking,” said Anuj Moondra, a
senior business management and
“I think all the posters will do is
make smokers angry and increase
prejudices against people who
smoke,” said Sears.
“I think there is this image of the
smoker as just being the bad guy,
and instead of saying ‘Look, smok
ers are people just like everybody
else, and if they want to quit they
need our help,’ the posters are
just promoting the image of the
smoker as the guy in the trench
coat on the street corner molest
ing girls,” said Sears.
The posters and study employ
social norming theory which in
volves “re-framing public health
messages to fit what is going on
Brunnick.
It is based on sociological stud
ies of perception versus reality,”
said Brunnick. “A lot of times
people assume that everybody is
doing something, when in reality,
they may not be.”
The theory has been used before
with much success when applied
to the problem of binge drinking,
according to Brunnick.
“The University of Arizona and
the University of Montana have
both used it, and they have found
the theory to be extremely help
ful,” said Brunnick.
The posters currently displayed
are the first step in a media cam
paign intended to convey social
norming messages to students.
“People will start noticing the
message out there because it is
going to take many different
formats,” said Brunnick. “Our
goal is to get these messages out
there as many times as possible
within the next year.
“We are going to use public
service announcements and we
are going to be on ‘Evening
Rounds’ with David Hurand of
WCQS,” said Brunnick.
Following the distribution of
the information, another sur
vey will be sent to the initial
recipients in order to gauge the
program’s effectiveness at en
couraging healthy behavior and
changing perceptions.
“In the spring, the surveys will
be sent out again to the original
504 people, and there will be a
response. Based on what they
have seen in the last year, they
may or may not be affected. It
could affect them positively, or
it could affect them negatively.
Hopefully, just seeing posters
will not make somebody go start
smoking,” said Brunnick.
Brunnick said she hopes the
study will encourage some smok
PHOTO BY WALTER FYLER / MODEL JENNIFER BORRELLI
Some students have disputed results of an on-campus survey reporting that the
majority of UNCA students are non-smokers.
ers to take action and give up
using tobacco.
“We want to get a message out to the
campus that is healthy, but at the
same time, we want to set up people
who may be thinking, ‘Gee, I would
like to quit a bad habit’ with people
who can help,” said Brunnick.
The study was made possible when
Bacchus and Gamma, a research
firm, was provided with a grant
from the Center for Disease Con
trol (CDC) and chose to conduct
the study at UNCA, as well as five
other college campuses.
“The CDC was looking for a
North Carolina school because, the
perception is out there that every
one in North Carolina is smoking
all the time. I was approached by a
contact I have at Bacchus and
Gamma, and asked if we were in
terested. That is basically how we
got it,” said Brunnick.