The Blue Banner
News
October 4,2001
NEWS
from the
Outside
World
Drug use costs students aid
^ .1/-. 1 • ] ^ ^ ,, r-r-\ I n rr
Rae Stephens
StafF Reporter
Supreme Court
bans Clinton
The Supreme Court barred former
President Bill Clinton from prac
ticing law before the court Oct. 1.
The ruling ordered that Clinton
would be suspended from practic
ing law in the court, and allowed
him 40 days to show cause why he
should not be disbarred. Clinton’s ]
lawyer David Kendall said he will
show cause why disbarment is not
appropriate.
Clinton was admitted to the Su
preme Court bar in 1977, but has
never argued a case there.
The justices didn't give a reason
for the action, but disbarment be
fore the Supreme Court often fol
lows a disbarment in a lower court.
Earlier this year, the Arkansas Su
preme Court suspended Clinton's
Arkansas law license for five years.
Clinton also paid a $25,000 fine
as part of a plea agreement with the
independent counsel at the end of
the Monica Lewinsky investigation.
New molecule
could fight cancer
Scientists developed a molecule
that appears to make cancer its own
worst enemy.
In laboratory tests on mice, the
molecule, called icon, killed tumors
by destroying the blood vessels that
feed them. It also caused the can
cers to produce copies of icon, which
spread through the body and at
tacked other cancers.
The process eliminated human
melanoma and prostate cancers in
the tested mice. The first trials in
people are planned for next year
The findings are reported in the
Oct. 2 issue of “Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.’
Interest rates cut
by Federal Reservel
Federal Reserve is widely expected
to cut its key federal funds rate for
the ninth time this year, bringing it
to the lowest level in nearly four
decades.
The real question is whether the
Fed rate cuts, which normally pro
vide a powerful boost to consumer
spending, will be enough to
over a nation still under shock and
gripped by fears of further terrorist
attacks.
Both of the major readings of con
sumer sentiment, done by the Con
ference Board in New York and the
University of Michigan, show that
confidence has been badly jolted by
the Sept, 11 attacks.
The Conference Board reading
fell by 14.4 percent in September,
taking the largest one-month
tumble since October 1990, when
the United States was preparing to
go to war against Iraq following its
invasion of Kuwait.
Military strikes
imminent
Thousands of Afghans rallied Oct.
2 in the Taliban home base of
Kandahar, shouting “Death to
America!” and “We are ready for
jihad!” amid new warnings that the
Taliban faces likely military strikes.
In a speech delivered to a Labor
Party conference, British Prime
MinisterTony Blair said that U.S.
led strikes will be directed at Osama
bin Laden's training camps and the
Taliban's military hardware.
The U.S. Department of Educa
tion could relax the restrictions of
the Higher Education Act of 1998
as of this semester.
According to the proposed
changes, past drug offenses would
not prevent incoming freshman
from receiving financial aid. More
than 35,000 people lost their loans
and grants in the 2000-01 school
year due to a ban preventing stu
dents with drug convictions from
receiving financial aid.
The Higher Education Act of
1998 came into effect Sept. 18,
2000. Two UNCA students lost
their financial aid last year as a
result of the financial aid restric
tions.
“The act is unfair and silly. It only
punishes kids that were stupid,
got caught and already paid their
dues,” said a senior creative writ
ing major. “Plus, the act was sup
posed to deter students from do
ing drugs, and drugs are all over
college campuses across the United
States. The act needs to be re
pealed, not just changed.”
The law denies financial aid to
students who affirmatively answer
the drug conviction question on
their college applications. The
people that skipped the drug con
viction box without answering
have received a different fate so
far.
‘More than 750,000 financial aid
ipplicants left the drug question
blank on the Federal Application
for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA),
and are receiving aid this school year,"
said the Students for Sensible Drug
Policy. “Under new regulations, how
ever, applicants leaving the question
blank in subsequent years will not
receive aid, escalating the number of
people likely to be impacted by the
provision into the hundreds of thou
sands.”
The Higher Education Act also ef
fects students receiving financial aid.
A student already receiving financial
aid has eligibility suspended for one
year for the first drug offense, two
years for the second offense, and
indefinitely for the third offense.
“Congress hoped to convince kids
that drug crimes don't pay,” said a
June 13,2001 article in USAToday.
“As the law begins to take effect,
though, the message received is turn
ing out to be quite different. Namely,
that honesty isn't the best policy.”
Students said they doubt if the act
has had the intended positive effect.
“Most of the students I know are
receiving financial aid. Most of them
don't do drugs, but some do,” said
Bethany Gastright, a Northern Ken
tucky University senior, in the ar
ticle. “Drugs are easy to get. I have
had people just offer them to me
while walking across campus.”
Drug use on college campuses was
expected to go into decline with the
act, according to Indiana Republi
can Representative Mark Souder.
Drug use has not decreased at all,
according to some students.
“Most of my friends haven't even
heard of the Higher Education Act,”
said said Cambron McKeever, a
University of Southern California
senior, in the article. “It is not effect
ing drug use at all. If anything, I have
noticed cocaine use becoming even
more popular."
"American culture treats drug use
as an accepted part of the college
experience," said Souder. By tem
porally suspending federal aid for
students convicted of drug crimes,
the law sends a clear message. Ac
tions have consequences, and us
ing or selling drugs will ruin your
future."
People across America have ques
tioned the fairness of the act itself.
“The law singles out low-income
families and, due to racial inequi
ties in sentencing, non-white stu
dents,” said Phil Zabriskie of Roll
ing Stone magazine. “There is no
like provision for any other crime.
The federal government requires
no such disclosure when it awards
grants or subsidies to businessmen. ”
Supporters of the act, such as
Souder, believe it provides a posi
tive teaching tool. Souder believes
this financial aid restriction is ap
propriate punishment for the
crime.
“Federally subsidized student aid
is a privilege, not a right,” said
Souder. “Students who spend their
time and money using drugs or
selling them to others obviously
aren't focused on learning. Why
shouldn't their financial aid be
made available to other eligible
students more committed to their
education?"
The act, passed in 1998, and the
proposed revisions, will only effect
incoming college freshmen.
“Students who avoid drugs have
nothing to fear from the Higher
Education Act,” said Souder. “It
doesn't take a college education to
figure that out.”
Students offer differing views
on response to attacks
Lana Coffey
Staff Reporter
Many UNCA students said they
want retaliation against the terror
ists who attacked American civil
ians, but the students disagree about
what should be done.
“I want to make sure that, if we do
retaliate, we make sure we’re doing
the right thing in the right country,”
said Faith Boyd,
senior manage-
ment major, who
serves in a branch
of the military.
While the
United States
government be
lieves Osama bin
Laden had some
thing to do with
the attacks, it is
still investigating
who else was in
volved.
The govern
ment has not
made it clear to the public exactly
what its military plans are, but has
said much of the war will be fought
in secret, according to a CNN re
port.
Students’ opinions varied greatly,
but most seemed apprehensive about
a war in any country.
“Society today wants to go in and
get revenge, but the country, as a
whole, didn’t do anything,” said
Kathryn Bolton, a junior marketing
major.
Boyd expressed her concern about
“I never want
to see anyone
innocent die,
but thafs the
world we live
in/'
-Ben Lloyd
junior, history major
being called into duty for this war.
“I’ve been trained and I know
that if I get called to go to active
duty. I’ll go and I’ll be working
with good people that I trust. But,
I’m nervous,” said Boyd. “I’m 22
years old, and I had to make a
will.”
“I think there’s been enough talk
ing,” said junior history major Ben
Lloyd. “There ought to be some
kind of retaliation.”
While most students want retali
ation against the
terrorists, they have
different ideas of
what sho uld be
done.
“I don’t think we
should get into any
kind of a nuclear
mess,” said Lloyd.
“Perhaps some
kind of military
bombing.”
“I think we defi
nitely need to
bomb the govern-
ments (ofAfghani
stan) and try not to
kill too many innocent people,”
said Josh Meade, a junior sports
management major.
“Innocent people die in situations
like this, and there will probably
be some of that on both sides,” said
Lloyd. “I never want to see anyone
innocent die, but that’s the world
we live in.”
“I don’t think it’s prudent to in
vade a country that’s oppressed,
because they’re harboring a terror
ist,” said senior philosophy major
Laurie Meilleur.
Alumnus
continuedfrom page 1
The fraternity now has 659 chap
ters and more than 150,000 mem
bers worldwide.
“African-American fraternities
differ from other fraternities in
that most of the members are
graduates from higher education
institutions, who are now pursu
ing their professional careers,” said
Stevenson.
The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity
boasts members, both African-
American and Caucasian, includ
ing civil rights leader Martin
Luther King Jr., Supreme Court
j usticeThurgood Marshall, former
New York City Mayor David
Dinkins, and saxophonist Gerald
Albright. Stevenson is the execu
tive director of the Alpha Phi Al
pha Fraternity Education Foun
dation. Among other things, the
Education Foundation hosts col
legiate scholarship bowls, and pro
vides programs to the community
which focus on mentoring, teen
age pregnancy prevention, and
voter education and registration.
While he was not involved in
fraternity life at UNCA, Stevenson
was student body president of the
SGA during his senior year. In his
sophomore year, he was the edito
of the campus newspaper, The
Ridgerunner, the predecessor of
The Blue Banner.
“I developed a lot of leadership
skills based on my experiences [at
UNCA],” said Stevenson, “I got
the things that have helped me to
be as successful as I have become
thus far. It was an important expe
rience for me, and an important
place for me to be.”
A native of Greensboro
Stevenson chose UNCA over his
other consideration, Long Island
University, for the size and loca
tion.
“My education at UNCA was
top-notch,” said Stevenson. “I had
the help of some excellent faculty
members, including history pro
fessor Milton Ready and art pro
fessor Tucker Cooke.”
Building
and the less building we can build.
We don’t want to do that at the
expense of ignoring issues that we
could continue to have some control
over,” Baxley said.
At the same time, however, there
are currently five building sites that
the university has in mind for the
location of the science building.
When evaluating these sites, issues
of environmental damage are taken
into account as well.
“What’s important about this pro
gram is that it points out that if you
look at sustainability issues early.
continued from page 1
often you can incorporate those in
your design, in your buildings with
out increased cost,” said Baxley.
Some of the environmental issues
that were discussed at the meeting
included water runoff, the types of
vegetation present, the effect of the
building on existing plant and ani
mal life, light pollution and energy
factors.
“We’re in the project develop
ment phase, where we determine
how much we can build with the
money we have available, where
we’re going to site it, and what the
requirements are as far as research
laboratory versus general classroom
space and labs,” Baxley said.
The new building will be an addi
tion to the science department.
The plan is to make the new build
ing into a lab space, and then reno
vate Rhoades and Robinson halls
into more general classroom space.
“At the moment, we’re concentrat
ing on the chemistry and biology
departments because we have a real
need to give them better facilities
than they have. A lot of their labo
ratories are in Rhoades Hall, which
The Blue Banner Weather
Seven Day Forecast
Local Almanac Last Week
was one of the original campus
buildings,” said Baxley.
“If we can open a new facility for
them and move them out, then we
can go back and renovate Rhoades
for general classroom space and
office space. That is a lot less ex
pensive than renovating that area
into a lab space,” said Baxley.
“I’m excited at the folks of the
community and the folks on the
campus and maintenance folks in
facilities to the student groups that
participated. It speaks for all of us
as a community,” Baxley said.
Oct 4, 2001
Temps Last Week
THURSDAY
Sunny
High: 78 Low: 47
FRIDAY
Showers Possible
High: 71 Low; 49
SATURDAY
Showers Possible
High: 65 Low: 48
SUNDAY
Partly Cloudy
High: 66 Low: 42
MONDAY
Partly Cloudy
High: 69 Low: 45
TUESDAY
Showers Possible
High: 70 Low: 48
WEDNESDAY
Showers Possible
High: 73 Low: 46
Day
Wednesday
High
I.ow Normals Precio
65
40
74/52
0.00"
Thursday
71
42
74/51
0.00"
Friday
68
42
74/51
0.00"
Saturday
68
42
73/50
0.00"
Sunday
66
41
73/50
0.00"
Monday
71
40
73/49
0.00"
Tuesday
75
46
72/49
0.00”
Precipitation for the week 0.00"
Normal precipitation for the week .... 0.84"
Departure from normal for the week . . -0.84"
Precipitation for the year 30.12"
Normal precipitation for year to date . 37.13"
Departure from normal for the year . . . -7.01"
« Precipitation includes snow converted to rainfall
Local High / Low Temps Lust Week
Wed Thu Fri Sal Sun Mon Tue
North Carolina Recreational Forecast
High pressure will hold on across the state today with sunny skies and sea
sonable temperatures expected. A cold front will bring increased clouds from
west to east Friday with scattered showers expected across western North
Carolina. Showers will occur statewide Saturday as the front moves through.
High pressure will regain control Sunday and Monday resulting in partly cloudy skies and
cooler temperatures. An area of low pressure with an associated cold front will move in by
the middle of next week triggering another round of showers. High temperatures will be in
the 60s and 70s. Low temperatures will fall into the 40s.
Weather Trivia
What time is it at both the
North and South Poles
right now?
7
Sun/Moon Chart This Week
Lst Qtr
10/10
Sunrise
7:28 a.m.
7:28 a.m.
7:29 a.m.
7:30 a.m
7:31 a.m.
7:32 a.m
10/16
7:33 a.m.
Sunset
7:10 p.m.
7:08 p.m.
7:07 p.m.
7:05 p.m.
7:04 p.m.
7:03 p.m.
7:01 p.m.
Mnonrise
8:38 p.m.
9:10 p.m.
9:47 p.m.
10:29 p.m.
11:19p.m.
12:16 a.m.
Moonset
9:14 a.m.
10:13 a.m.
11:15 a.m.
12:17 p.m.
1:19 p.m.
2:19 p.m.
3:15 p.m.
1st Qtr
10/23
Full
11/1
All forecasts, data and graphics
provided by Accessweather.com, Inc.
© 2001. All rights reserved.
www.accesswealher.com
National Weather Summary This Week
, A cold front will dive into the eastern United States to end this week.
. f . Showers and breezy conditions will accompany this front from the
/1Great Lakes states into the Southern Plains. This front will pull up sta-
tionary across the Gulf Coast states this weekend producing scattered
precipitation. An area of low pressure will develop across the central
Rockies early next week producing the possibility of rain with some snow in the high
er elevations. This low pressure center will mo.ve into the center of the nation by the
middle of next week and intensify. Widespread precipitation will fall throughout the
Great Plains as the area of low pressure will move toward the Midwest and the Ohio
River Valley states.
To find out the answer, log onto
http://www.accessweather.com/theblue-
banner.html to find today’s trivia answer
and previous Weather Trivia answers.
Weather History
Oct. 6. 1985 - A tropical wave,
later to become Tropical Storm
Isabel, struck Puerto Rico. As
much as 24 inches of rain fell in a
24-hour period. The rain caused
severe flooding and numerous
landslides. When all was said and
done, a total of ISO people per
ished due to this wave.
Oct. 8. 1871 - A prolonged
drought and dessicating winds
led to the great Chicago fire, the
Peshtigo horror and the Michigan
fire holocaust. Fire destroyed
more than 17,000 buildings and
killed more than 200 people in
Chicago. In parts of Wisconsin
and Michigan, 2.5 million acres
of land were burned to the
ground.
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