havt
f
of
The Blue
Banner
Volume 35 Issue 2
UNCA holds
conference
about Israel
ion
Kristen Willett
News Reporter
'hok^ The Center for Jewish Studies and
H the Humanities Program co-hosted
'05edH “Understanding Israel,” a confer-
)pl£ ■ ence to help students learn more
the ■I region, Feb. 2 through
vernl
: thm
'nfi-\
he
nsini
n wi\
ite.
WALTER FYLER/
STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER
Kenneth Stein
points to a map.
Feb. 4.
“This
CO n fe r-
encecame
about as a
desire to
under-
stand Is
rael,” said
Katie Pe
ters, a vis
iting pro
fessor of
history.
“It was
also, an
opportu
nity to
learn
about the
ecosystems of Israel and the region
in general.”
“We want people to come away
from the weekend with a greater
understanding of a complex soci-
[ ety,” said Peters.
Experts on various cultures came
to provide the students and com
munity the opportunity to learn
from them, according to Peters.
Over the past two years, UNCA
has sponsored conferences focus
ing on non-Western societies such
as China, India and Africa.
At the end of World War I, the
British promised the Arab people
independent Arab States for their
cooperation during the war.
In 1917, the British government
made a statement supporting the
formation oflsraeli territory, a Jew
ish homeland in Palestine.
The Arabs believe this land was
part of the land promised to them.
The conflict arose from these
land disputes, and has continued
to plague the region to this day.
“Both have legitimate claims to
the land,” said Eric Meyers, profes
sor of Judaic studiep at Duke Uni
versity, during his lecture at the
Sports
The University Of North Carolina At Asheville
“Bulldogs play hard, fall short”
■ see page 6
Also inside:
Features
“Understanding Israel” provides insight
■ see page 4
Opinions
“Holding on to the holidays”
by Sarah-Vance Goodman
■ see page 2
February 15, 2002
See CONFERENCE Page 8
Pegasus spending investimted
Lana Coffey
Investigative Reporter
Stuart Gaines
Investigative Reporter
Robert F. Yeager, who recently
retired from his position as a ten
ured literature professor at UNCA,
was removed from his position at
Pegasus Press last fall amid a UNCA
investigation into possible finan
cial improprieties at Pegasus, ac
cording to Bill Styres, UNCA’s di
rector of internal audits.
“The allegations against Dr. Yeager
are a catalyst that triggered an un
fortunate series of events and the
university does have a debt owed to
it by Pegasus,” said Rod Baird, chair
man of the Pegasus Press board of
directors.
Styres’s report, entitled “Schedule
of Questioned Costs,” which docu
mented some financial spending in
Pegasus Press’s records, showed the
allegations against Yeager included
double-billed travel expenses and
the purchase/return of office sup
plies.
No charges have been filled against
Yeager. The North Carolina State
Bureau oflnvestigation is currently
conducting further investigation of
the finances of Pegasus Press. The
SBI will report its findings to Bun
combe County District Attorney
R.L. Moore upon completion, ac
cording to an e-mail from John
Bason, public information officer
of the North Carolina Department
of Justice.
Pegasus Press’s increasing and cu
mulative debt to UNCA prompted
Styres’s investigation beginning
with the university’s request for a
debt repayment plan, according to
Wayne McDevitt, vice chancellor
of financial affairs.
Yeager, who had been employed
by UNCA since the late 1980s,
served as the executive director of
Pegasus Press, according to Tom
Cochran, interim vice chancellor
of academic affairs and a volunteer
member of the board of directors
for Pegasus Press, a not-for-profit
publisher ofRenaissance and medi
eval texts that is loosely affiliated
with UNCA.
In his report, Styres wrote, “I have
compiled relevant information cat
egories where it appears that double
billing took place. As the director,
Dr. Yeager approved all these ex-
RACHEL CRUMPLER/ NEWS EDITOR
Loosely affiliated with UNCA, Pegasus Press publishes Renaissance and medieval texts.
“It is my understanding, based on
the documentation that I have, that
Dr. Yeager was returning the items
that he bought from the store for a
credit on his credit card.”
-Bill Styres
UNCA’s director of internal audits
penses. There was no board over
sight for these items.”
Yeager had control over most as
pects of the press’s finances, ac
cording to Styres.
“He was the overall leader,” said
Styres. “The signing of the checks,
most of the time, was done by Dr.
Yeager.”
During his investigation, Styres
said he found that the number of
office supplies being purchased
seemed excessive and incompatible
with the supplies needed at Pegasus
Press.
Styres’s report of selected office
supplies purchased by Yeager for
Pegasus Press between March 3,
2000 and Sept. 22, 2001 showed
that Yeager purchased three Jaz disks
for $269.95 each. According to
Styres, Pegasus did not have the
equipment to use Jaz disks at the
time of purchase.
“It is my understanding, based on
the documentation that I have, that
Dr. Yeager was returning the items
that he bought from the store for a
credit on his credit card,” said Styres.
The items were “purchased with
his personal credit card originally
and returned to the store, usually
within 48 hours.”
“So, his credit card washes clean,
yet he still has the original receipts
which he submitted to Pegasus for
reimbursement. Of course, he is in
charge of writing checks himself,”
said Styres.
From December 1999 until Sep
tember 2001, Yeager purchased
approximately $12,500 worth of
COURTESY OF UNCA’S
PHOTO ARCHIVES
Former UNCA professor Robert
Yeager.
office supplies. While being reim
bursed by Pegasus for this full
amount, Yeager returned $9,657.79
worth of those supplies for credit
back to his credit card, according to
Styres’s report.
Travel expenses may have been
billed to both the university and
Pegasus Press, according to Styres’s
report. On four business trips, in
cluding one to Washington, D.C.
See PEGASUS Page 8
Student
charged
with assault
on a female
Elizabeth Moe
News Reporter
A UNCA student was arrested on
charges of second-degree trespass
ing and assault on a female Jan. 28.
The arraignment is scheduled for
Feb. 18.
“This is an extremely harsh and
unjust ordeal to go through,” said
Marcus Bethea, a senior sociology
major and employee of UNCA
public safety. “There is factual in
formation to show that I am inno
cent of these accusations, and the
facts will definitely come clear in
court. Everyone who knows me can
understand that my dedication to
my job, my academics and my
friends has always been sincere.”
According to the incident report,
Bethea physically assaulted a woman
Jan. 25. The victim called the
Asheville police department at 3
a.m. the following morning.
The Asheville Magistrate’s Office
issued warrants for Bethea’s arrest.
APD officers took him into cus
tody two days later.
Adams said the victim’s injuries
are “very minor.”
When pressed to answer more
pecific questions, Adams declined
to speak.
“I’d rather not answer any ques
tions directly relating; to this case,”
said Adams. “It’s a personnel issue
with us, since he was employed
with us at the time.”
However, Adams said Bethea’s
duties within the department were
minimal.
He’s a student employee for us,”
said Adams. “He’s not a public
afety officer. He has no authority.”
Bethea’s duties included answer
ing the phone, providing fellow
students with an escort, letting stu
dents into their dorm rooms,
jumpstarting cars and locking up
buildings at night.
See FEMALE Page 8
Student banned from campus after assaulting a public safety officer
Whitney Setser
News Reporter
A UNCA student was arrested for
underage drinking, assaulting an
other student and assaulting a law
enforcement officer Jan. 23.
“UNCA takes assault on a staffer
faculty member seriously,” said
Jerry Adams, public safety investi
gator.
Sean Patrick Heffner, an unde
clared sophomore who was un
available for comment, was taken
to the Asheville Magistrate’s Of
fice after two UNCA officers re
sponded to a call they received
involving a fight in progress in
Founders Hall.
Steve Lewis, the public safety shift
supervisor and one of the respond
ing officers, tried unsuccessfiilly to
calm Heffner, who claimed an
other student stole his jacket, ac
cording to the public safety inci
dent report.
“We do not expect that kind of
behavior from students,” said
Adams.
Heffner, who was reported to have
been intoxicated in the incident
report, assaulted Lewis by pointing
his finger, striking Lewis with his
finger and pushing Lewis in the
shoulder, according to the public
safety report.
This was not the first offense of
this kind caused by Heffner, said
Adams.
“We had a report of a disturbance
that (Heffner) was creating in the
residence halls less than a week prior
to this situation,” said Adams.
Heffner accused Jason Isbanioly,
a sophomore environmental science
major, of stealing his jacket.
Isbanioly was able to secure arrest
warrants on Heffner for communi
cating threats and assault, accord
ing to the public safety incident
report.
Isbanioly declined to comment.
“From what I know of Sean, he’s
a decent and down-to-earth guy,”
said Elizabeth Duquette, an unde
clared sophomore.
Assault is defined as “intention
ally offering corporal injury to an
other by force, under such circum
stances as to create a well-founded
fear of imminent peril, coupled
with apparent ability to execute
the attempt, if not prevented,” ac
cording to UNCA student con
duct policy found in the UNCA
catalog.
College students are not drinking
as often or as much as people think,
and underage drinking has actually
been declining, according to the
Web site for Underage Drinking
and Alcohol Abuse.
“I've never had a problem with
people drinking in the dorms, ex
cept sometimes,” said Amanda
Bowman, an undeclared so pho-
more. “People can be loud late at
night.”
Although underage drinking is
slowly declining, aggression is still
heavily linked to alcohol abuse, ac
cording to the Underage Drinking
and Alcohol Abuse Web site.
“We have zero tolerance for alco
hol violations. If we get called to a
violation or observe a violation, we
have to take one form of enforce
ment, which could be sending some
one to student conduct or issuing
someone a state violation,” said
Adams.
Alcohol abuse occurs highest in
See ASSAULT Page 8
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