t last the -Blue Banner The Uniuersity of north Cdrolina at Hsheuilte Uolume 33 Issue 1 February 1,2001 -S § •' fc- “Cheese is the food of heauen” at “The melting Pot” See page 3 Track and Field sets records at ETSU Inuitational See page 5 Support Bush as president, by Liam Bryan See page 9 Tviition may increase by $600 Keith Cromuiell staff UUriter The board of trustees at UNCA recently approved a tuition hike that would in crease tuition an extra $200 per year over a three year period, totaling $600, be ginning Fall 2001. Most students knew noth ing of the increase, or that it was even being considered. “It is not fair of the univer sity to do this and not talk to the students about it,” said Sari Janczlik, a junior inter national sociology major. All the money generated by the i ncrease at UNCA would go to enhance the student academic experience, both inside and outside the class room, rather than increasing faculty salaries, according to Chancellor Jim Mullen. “All funds generated by this increase would go directly into the academic programs and student services,” said Mullen. “No funds from this increase (will) be directed to athletics or salary increases.” Mullen said he did meet with several student groups on campus. “I (spoke) informally (and) formally with over 100 stu dents,” said Mullen in an e- mail. “I met with Student Government Association, orientation leaders, resident assistants, recreation student staff and ambassadors.” There are 3,123 students enrolled and 80 clubs and organizations at UNCA this year, according to UNCA s Web site. Some students said that while it was good to talk to groups such as SGA and RAs, a meeting of the gen eral student body would have been appropriate. “This gives the message that the opinions ofselect groups, such as RAs, are what count, and that the opinion of the PHOTO BY WALTER FYLER Some of the money that could come from the increase in UNCA’s tuition by $600 over the next three years will go to academic programs to purchase new equipment, according to Chancellor Jim Mullen. average student body does not,” said Brian Lovern, a senior atmospheric science major. Informing students “would have been the professional thing to do,” said Lacey Childers, an undeclared jun ior. The recommendation for the tuition increase was sent to the University of North Carolina Board of Gover nors for review, where offi cials said it should pass and be implemented beginning next year. “The tuition initiative holds outstanding potential to en hance academic and student life at UNCA,” said Kevan Frazier, visiting professor of history. The increase “will be an effective way to sup port our academic mission as we continue to offer one of the best liberal arts educa tion in the nation.” The increase is expected to generate a total $3,362,000 for UNCA. Dividing the total up, $552,000 will be for revenue for the univer sity its first year, $1.10 mil lion its second year, and $1.7 million in 2003-2004, ac cording to Phillip Weast, As sistant Vice Chancellor. Several other UNC schools have had similar increases in tuition. UNC-Greensboro recently became the first UNC system school to ap prove a tuition increase dur ing the 2000-01 school year, according to Weast. At UNCG, tuition will in crease by a total of $300, $75 per year for four years. Of the increase, 60 percent would suppleiment faculty and staff recruitment and salaries, 29 percent would fund student aid, and the remainder would go to boost student services, said UNCG Associate Provost Alan Boyette in an article in UNC- Chapel W'lWsDaily Tar Heel. UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina University and UNC-Wilmington have al ready approved a tuition in crease, and officials at UNC- Pembroke and Appalachian State University also have tu ition increase proposals in the works, according to the Daily Tar Heel. Of the increased revenue, forty percent would go to classroom and instructional support. This includes money for programs such as Teaching Fellows, the Hon ors Program and under graduate research according to Eric lovacchini, vice chan cellor of student affairs. In addition, this revenue provides funds for the pur chase of new scientific and academic equipment for vari ous departments. Of the new funds, thirty- five percent will be used for student support services, such as providing increased assistance for students with disabilities, additional career counseling services and ex panding multicultural pro gramming. In addition, money will be available for additional on- campus jobs for students, ac cording to a UNCA press release. The remainder of the funds will be set aside for students receiving need-based finan cial aid, insuring that the tuition increase is covered for all of those students, ac cording to Mullen. “This one of the most im portant parts of proposal,” Mullen said. Ryan Southern, SGA presi dent, and Kevin Brinson, SGA vice president, both said at the Board of Trustees meeting that UNCA’s stu dent body supports the in crease. “I can speak for the entire student body to say we sup port this,” said Southern to the Board of Trustees. After hearing about the in crease, some students said they do not mind paying the increase as long as the money goes back to student services. “If paying an extra $200 a year allows me to have access to better equipment, then I am willing to pay (the in- See TUITION page 10 Fate of parking deck still undecided Orin Sheperd staff Writer PHOTO BY ANTHONY GRECO The parking deck should be completed in mid-April. The new 48-space parking deck located across from Zageir and Lipinski Halls, is currently under debate over whether the facility will be for commuters or resident stu dents. “It should be for commut ers, although I do not think (parking is) that bad,” said Melinda Huntsinger, a sopho more psychology major. “I have heard from some people that it is sometimes hard to find a parking space.” The parking facility should be completed around mid- April, according to workers from Thorpe Construction. In the fall 2000 semester, UNCA had 2,094 commut ers and 983 resident students. according to the Office of In stitutional Research. The parking deck is expected to be resident parking, al though commuter parking is bad right now, according to Jerry Adams, public safety in vestigator. “Despite whether it is resi dential or commuter, it will add some valuable parking space to that particular sec tion of campus,” said Adams. “Our general philosophy has been not to consider anything permanently dedicated to spe cific parking,” saidTom Byers, executive assistant to the chan cellor. “We try to retain some flexibility so that as the cam pus continues to evolve, we can make needed adjust ments.” For the project, money will come from parking fees, such as parking tickets, rather than the bond money granted to UNCA from the general elec tion held Nov. 7, 2000, ac cording to Adams. Until the parking deck is complete, “there is a parking area (being worked) on now, just above the parking deck,” said Adams. “That area is now available for students to park in, though it is a dirt parking lot. It is a much bigger area than the parking deck.” Another parking deck is in the planning stages, and will probably be placed on the site of the current Physical Plant building. The proposed deck will tie into the new Physical Plant and dormitory projects, ac cording to Adams. Parking is “a litde crowded, but I can always find a spot,” said Dustin Guyer, a fresh man environmental studies major and resident of Mills Hall. Inauguration stirs protest Rngela Brock staff Ulriter Several UNCA students went to Washington, D.C. Jan. 20 to protest the inaugu ration of President George W. Bush. “I went to the protest be cause the way Bush was elected is undemocratic, and I think he was selected rather than elected,” said Sum mer Star ling, ajun- iorecology and cre ative writ ing major. “I think that if Bush had respect for d e m o c - racy, he would concede.” Esti- mates show that there were around 2 0,000 people who attended the protest, ac cording to an article in the Asheville Global Report. Dem onstrators were allowed to gather along the streets dur ing the inaugural parade. “It seems like he was elected because of who he is and be cause of his corporate connec- "It was good to let people l^now we are angry, since third-party votes did not get counted here. That is not demo cratic.” -Elizabeth Alien, junior causes and consequences of American poverty major. tions and money interests,” said Heidi Plowe, a junior en vironmental studies major. Protesters attended the in augural parade for different reasons, according to Starling. “Some people were there in opposition to the death pen alty, Bush’s environmental policy or women’s rights,” said Starling. “Protesters outnum bered supporters, and gener ally, the moral was really high. ” “Protesters were pretty uni fied,” said Starling. Those who were unable to travel to Washing ton held a demon- stration in down town Asheville Jan. 20, bringing in around 45 people to protest the inau guration, according to Eliza beth Allen, a junior causes and conse quences of American poverty major. “I think what we did in downtown Asheville was im- See PROTEST page 10 Arts 310 gets a new curriculum Claire O’Brien staff Writer The redesigned Arts 310 cur riculum would allow for more depth and cre ate more room for issues related to aesthetics and art, according to Melinda Costello, direc tor of the arts and ideas pro gram. The faculty is enthusiastic about the changes, ac cording to Costello. How ever, some stu dents are unaf fected by the new curricu lum. “I do not have much interest in the new program,” said Col leen Murtaugh, an undeclared sophomore. “The class is too unstruc tured and floating in the air,” said Wasim Al-Abed, a senior PHOTO BY DREA JACKSON Senior psychology major Alendia Hartsworth takes notes. management major. Costello said she hopes stu dents will have open minds when it comes to judging the revised program. The new program “is great,” said Andrew Hainsworth, a junior political science major. The previous version of Arts 310 was struc tured into blocks of four weeks, with each block be ing primarily focused on one type ofart, such as drama or painting, ac cording to Costello. The revised Arts 310 pro gram is struc tured around eight questions, each of which addresses the relevance of art, as well as its uses. “Each question will be See ARTS 310 page 10