BLUE BANNER
A Taste Of New
York City
At Marco’s
Pizzeria
See Page 3
UNCA Men’s
Basketball
I oses in
Tournament
See Page 5
%
"The Absolute
Bottom Line,” a
Column by
Candice Carr
See Page 8
Volume 33 Issue 6 The University Of North Carolina At Asheville March 15, 2001
Numbers Point to Decrease in Diversity
Keith Cromwell
Investigative Reporter
In 2000, UNCA saw a de
crease in the black popula
tion, which totaled 3.2 per
cent, with all other minority
groups totaling 5 percent. In
1994, the number of black
students on campus was 3.4
percent, with all other mi
nority groups making up 3.4
percent of the campus.
“It’s difficult to convince a
minority student that they
will truly enjoy coming to a
predominately white cam
pus,” said Chris Vanderford,
a senior music technology
major.
UNCA does not maintain
set quotas for enrollment of
minority students. However,
Philip Weast, assistant vice
chancellor for enrollment
services, said the school does
try to actively recruit minori
ties through various pro
grams.
“The enrollment adminis
tration ran a summer pro
gram called Camp College
in hopes of attracting mi
nority students to the cam
pus” said Weast.
In addition to admissions
programs, UNCAhas finan
cial aid programs offered to
minorities.
“Some minority groups
have to have financial assis
tance and that’s what helps
them make the decision
See DIVERSE Page 10
WALTER FYLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Andrew Hainsworth, a junior political science major and residential senator, is the only black member of the SGA.
UNCA Plans to Attract More Ethnic Students^, Say University Ojficiab
Keith Cromwell
Investigative Reporter
Claire O’Brien
News Reporter
UNCA officials said an eth
nic minority of 8.2 percent
is not enough, and they plan
to increase diversity through
various programs.
Looking across campus,
“there are 25 people in sight,
none of whom are [ethn ic], ”
said Jeremy Russell, a senior
art major. “On the other
hand, our minority popula
tion [in the state] is low.”
A culturally diverse cam
pus prepares students for
their role in the global com
munity, according to Brenda
Greene, assistant to the chan
cellor for diversity and mi
nority affairs
Greene said UNCA needs
to increase minority enroll
ment of student and faculty.
UNCA currently has a
higher minority population
than Appalachian State Uni
versity and roughly equal to
Western Carolina
University’s minority popu
lation, according to UNC-
system data.
UNCA is doing a lot to
improve diversity, but still
hasalongwaytogo. Greeene
said she has looked at several
areas around campus to see
what needs improvement.
Greene has looked at the
magazines and other prod
ucts in the bookstore.
Greene said the magazine
selection does not tell mi
nority students that they are
a welcome part of the cam
pus because there are so few
magazines specifically for
them.
General requirement
courses are another aspect of
campus life that could be
more culturally diverse, ac
cording to Octavia Wright,
advisor to the African-Ameri-
can Student Association.
See ETHNIC Page 10
Department Receives $80,000 Grant
Eaton Foundation grants department funds for equipment and scholarships
Thad Eckerd
'Jews Reporter
UNCA unveiled the new
;lectricity and magnetism de
ign lab March 7. A portion of
he $80,000 grant from the
Eaton Foundation helped
"enovate the lab, which will
>id mechatronics and physics
tudents.
“Eaton is investing in the
uture for UNCA students by
providing the grant money,”
iaid Josh Weinstein, a junior
^lultimedia arts and science
iiajor and engineering minor.
Now, we will have the facili-
ies and the means to persue
-ngineering-related fields.”
“UNCA is not a research
ngineering national power-
ouse. For Eaton Cleveland
(0 step forward and give us
his amount of money is sig-
ificant,” said Alex Comfort,
'ssistant vice chancellor in
evelopment.
This is a great example of
ollaboration with the busi
ness community and UNCA,
and from North Carolina
State University and UNCA.
Not only was it fully collabo
rative, it was a great deal,” he
added.
The grant will help keep en-
gineering students near
Asheville industries. Eaton
Corporation Cutler-Hammer
in Arden, manufacturers of
power transformers for heavy
industry machines, asked its
Cleveland, Ohio headquarters
to pledge $20,000 a year over
a four-year period to UNCA,
said Comfort.
UNCA received the first
$20,000 to put into an en
dowed scholarship for
mechatronics students, said
Merianne Epstein, UNCA
public information director.
The remaining $60,000 went
to the Eaton Mechatronics
Design Lab.
When Eaton first toured the
physics department, they de
scribed the lab as pathetic,
according to Comfort. The
donation was the “second larg
est pledge Eaton had made to
"The professors are great, but
the equipment was not up to
snuff for what we need.”
-Alex Comfort
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development
a university that whole fiscal
year,” he said.
Eaton’s grant helped equip
the new lab with 12 comput
ers and furniture. Tom
Cochran, acting vice chancel
lor of academic affairs, said he
praised Eaton and program
organizers for their contribu
tions.
The academic affairs pro
gram agreed to match the
money with funds the state
gives UNCA for new equip
ment.
In return for their gift, Eaton
hoped to get some good engi
neers to work for them after
they graduate. Eaton repre
sentatives did not show for
the event, however, according
to Comfort.
A four-year residential pro
gram for students from this
area will benefit local indus
try, according to Comfort.
Students stay resided at
UNCA, but their degree will
come from NCSU.
“The Manufacturers Execu
tives Association and the
Chamber of Commerce have
long been saying that we want
an engineering school in
Asheville,” said Comfort. “We
had a‘two-plus-two’ program,
which is great, but that meant
the students would leave and
go to Raleigh to finish up their
last two years. They didn’t
tend to come back,” said Com
fort.
Comfort and other
fundraisers evaluated the best
way to promote the
mechatronics engineering
program.
“If we are going to have good
mechatronics students, we
need strong undergraduate
science programs,” he said.
The physics department sup
ports the mechatronics pro
gram, which needed money
the most.
In the physics department,
the “professors are great, but
the equipment was not up to
snuff for what we need,” said
Comfort.
Comfort said keeping up
with adequate equipment con
cerns many learning institu
tions. Sometimes local busi
nesses try to help by donating
old equipment.
“That doesn’t help us be
cause they are out of date,”
said Comfort.
In particular, the department
plans to purchase design
equipment, the “sacred cow
of engineering programs,
now,” said Comfort.
UNCA Student
Reports Man's
Indecent Action
Lena Burns
News Editor
A sunny and moderately
warm March 10 afternoon was
disrupted when a middle-
aged, white male allegedly
sexually violateda UNCA stu
dent, who was sitting in her
vehicle, waiting for her fiancee
to get off work.
“This guy saw me sitting
there, and saw an audience
waiting to happen,” said the
student, who wishes to remain
anonymous, in an e-mail. “I
know it had nothing to do
with me, personally, other
than the fact that I am fe
male.”
The student is in her mid
twenties. She had parked her
vehicle at the United States
Courthouse on Otis Street.
“Normally, I pick him up at
the door,” the student said.
Since it was a nice day, “I
(figured) he could walk down
and meet me at the street en
trance.”
While she sat balancing her
checkbook, with her vehicle
windows rolled down, the
man approached her, accord
ing to the student.
The man walked up to her
window, saying phrases such
as “Hey baby. I’m horny,” to
that extent, said the student.
She said she then realized
that the man was exposing
himself to her and fondling
his genitjls. She told him to
get away from her, and at
tempted to drive away.
As she began to grasp her
keys to start the ignition, the
man reached into her car and
touched her neck.
“He got his jollies off of
making me want to throw up,
crawl into a little ball and
throw up some more,” said
the student. “This isn’t a mi
nor event to me. I have the
mental picture of this weirdo
jiggling his limp penis at me
and reaching towards me. It
really shook me up and infu
riated me.”
The man is in his mid-for-
ties, around 5’9” to 5’ 11 ” feet
tall, 180 pounds, brown hair,
full beard and a mustache.
The day he approached the
woman, he was wearing a base
ball cap, aviator-style sun-
See STUDENT Page 10
Death Penalty
Raises Concerns
Angela Brock
News Reporter
UNCA students and faculty
said problems exist with the
current death penalty during
the Internation Death Pen
alty Abolition Day March 1.
“It is important to have an
awareness of the reality of the
death penalty because it is not
applied equally, and it is not
fair,” said Laura Hastay, a se
nior sociology major and co
ordinator of UNCA’s inter
national death penalty aboli
tion day. “It is important to
draw attention to the death
penalty and the problems with
it.”
The international death pen
alty abolition day is recog
nized every year on March 1
to inform people about the
practice and to discuss alter
natives to the death penalty.
Guest speakers included
Keith Bramlett, a lecturer from
the sociology department, and
Margaret Eullwood, the
mother of a death row in
mate.
The death penalty is dispro
portionately imposed on mi
norities and the poor, accord
ing to members of UNCA’s
Amnesty International.
“Between 1930 and 1976,
455 men were executed in the
U.S. for rape, and 405, or 90
percent, were black,” said
Bramlett. “Even today, the
killing of a white is treated
more severely than the killing
of a black.”
“Approximately 90 percent
of those on death row cannot
afford to hire an attorney,”
said Bramlett.
Since 1900, there have been,
on the average, more than four
cases per year in which an
innocent person was convicted
ofmurder in the U.S., accord
ing to Bramlett.
“Approximately 3,600
people await execution in the
United States, and 214 people
await execution on North
Carolina’s death row,” said
Bramlett. “Between 1930and
1990, 4,016 people were ex
ecuted in the U.S.”
“Of these people, 2,129 or
53 percent were black, and
during this time African-
Americans comprised roughly
12.5 to 12.8 percent of the
nation’s population,” said
Bramlett.
The death penalty is no more
effective than long-term
prison sentences, according to
See DEATH Page 10
Serving UNCA Since 1982
WWW. unco. edu/banner