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by Grant Millin
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The Blue BANNER
Volume 36 Issue 3
The University Of North Carolina At Asheville
September 19, 2002
[Black student enrollment falls to five-year low
ED FICKLE/NEWS EDITOR
While UNCA’s overall enrollment statistics are higher than ever this year, the university struggles to
drawf minority students, especially blacks. There are 11 new black students at UNCA this semester.
Christina Clayton
News Reporter
Despite overall enrollment being
at an all-time high for UNCA, the
number of black students enrolled
is decli ning, according to a recently
published report by the Office of
Institutional Research.
“I see the blame being passed from
the administration, to the faculty,
to the people in the admissions
office and so on,” said LaTashia
Atkinson, president of the African
American student association
(AASA). “No one wants to own up
to or provide an answer or reason as
to why each year UNCA recruits
less and less black students.”
The black population of the uni
versity was the hardest hit by a
decrease in enrollment. Of the to
tal 3,294 students enrolled in classes
this semester, only 232 are minor
ity students. Seventy of the minor
ity students are black. Black stu
dent enrollment dropped 22 stu
dents from last year, and only 11 of
the black students are freshmen.
Reasons include “lack of financial
assistance, decrease in a support
system for black students, lack of a
social scene or activities that cater
to the needs (and) interests of black
students and retainment of black
students (who) fall below good aca
demic standing,” said Atkinson.
Organizations, such as AASA, try
to provide activities for black stu
dents. Atkinson does not feel this is
enough to increase growth of mi
nority students, especially blacks.
“I believe that UNCA should
change that plan of action and fo
cus on schools that are graduating
higher percentages of black stu
dents,” said Atkinson.
Samuel Williams, director for
multicultural student affairs, be
lieves the isolated location ofUNCA
within the mountains could be one
reason for lack of increase in minor
ity population.
“We want to promote a healthy
cultural climate for all the students
who are here, including minority
students, so that they feel comfort
able here at a predominately white
university,” said Williams. “We will
possibly work with the other re
gional institutions, Appalachian
State (University) and Western
Carolina (University), to bring mi
nority students together and give
them some sense of community,
not just on campus but off campus
as well.”
A report from the Southern Asso
ciation of Colleges and Schools
(SACS) claims UNCA is focusing
on “recruiting students of color
because it is the ‘right thing to do’
rather than clearly communicating
the educational value of having the
diverse perspectives of students of
color brought to bear upon the
cognitive and affective development
of all students.”
“The majority of black students
that come to UNCA feel that we
were lied to when we came here on
previous visits to the campus,” said
Atkinson. “We were introduced to
just about, if not all, of the minority
faculty and told about student or
ganizations that are here and cater
to the needs of black students. Once
we got here as students, things
started to be taken away from us.”
The enrollment report shows that
over the past five years, the decrease
See ENROLLMENT Page 8
Renowned scientist stresses reemergence of malaria
Sara Miller
News Keporter
Jessica Hensley
News Reporter
Dr. Robert Desowitz, advisor to
the World Health Organization
(WHO), world-renowned doctor
and scientist spoke at UNCA Sept.
5 about the eradication and return
of malaria.
“Malaria has emerged, it has re
merged. . .and we have ignored it.
It has become a kind of metaphor
for everything that is wrong.. .and
right in the way we treat a disease,”
said Desowitz. “It is one of the
great killers of the world.”
Desowitz began his speech by say
ing that the threat of malaria was
accepted, treated, forgotten, and
now needs to be accepted again.
“Approximately 3 billion people
are at risk to malaria and there are
at least 300 million cases peryear in
which 3 million people die,” said
Desowitz.
Malaria’s most common victims
are children and pregnant women,
according to Desowia. The dis
ease passes from a pregnant mother
to her child and increases the chance
of anemia, low birth weight, and
stillborn babies. Desowitz showed
a slide of a young boy infected with
malaria. The child was severely
anemic, had thin legs and a bloated
abdomen.
Malaria kills a child every 30 sec
onds worldwide, according to
Desowitz.
Brian Byrd, UNCA graduate and
event organizer, said public health
is a huge issue, one that must be
understood not only biologically,
but also culturally, socially, eco
nomically and religiously.
“[Malaria] has affected the
economy, social structure and even
probably the intelligence of huge
numbers of people,” said Desowitz.
“Africa can’t get ahead in this world
because of their people dealing with
such great sickness.”
According to Desowitz, malaria
has existed for 60-70 million years.
Desowitz studied under Henry
Short and received his degree from
the London School of Tropical
Medicine in 1951.
In the 1950s, malaria was “as
American as the heart attack,” said
Desowitz.
Screens for windows and doors
were introduced at this time and
the insecticide,
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
(DDT) was used to control the
mosquito-borne malaria, according
to Byrd.
As a result of the basic biological
I ! no malaria
O malaria risk
This map shows countries with malaria.
In most of these countries, the malaria risk
is limited to certain areas.
COURTESY OF MALARIAVACC1NE.ORG
The deally disease malaria has re-emerged as a threat to modern societies all over the world. Those at
the highest risk are in undeveloped countries with rapid population growth.
and hygienic inventions of the
1950s and 60s, scientists and the
WHO thought that malaria would
soon be eliminated.
“Malaria is about to be eradicated
and you’ll never make a living, let
alone a profession out of it,” said
Desowitz recalling what Short had
told him. “Let’s step out of the jungle and
On a trip to West Africa, Desowitz come a little closer to home,” said
still a very Byrd. “Do
found that malaria
prevalent disease. By the 1970s,
malaria was back and on the rise.
When he introduced Desowitz at
the lecture, Byrd tried to relate
malaria to western North Carolina.
consider western
North Carolina exotic? In today’s
global community, exotic is in your
See MALARIA Page 8
Bowles and
Dole face ofF
in upcoming
election
Dearborn McCorkle
News Reporter
CEpNC.ORG
Erskine Bowles
Erskine Bowles and Elizabeth
Dole will fight for North Carolina
Senator Jesse Helm’s seat in the
upcoming Nov. 5 election.
Bowles, President Clinton’s
former White House Chief of Staff,
prevailed in the nine-way demo
cratic primary race, edging out two
longstanding party regulars.
Republicans overwhelmingly
voted for Dole, former Cabinet
Secretary and Red Cross chief, to
replace the
party’s re
tiring Sena-
The Dole-
Bowles race
of the high-
profile
battles in
this key
year. Democrats hope to pick up
the seat Helms occupied for 30
years to help maintain control of
the closely divided Senate.
The primary election took place
Sept. 10 following a four-month
delay, due to a legal fight over leg
islative redistricting.
Helms, currently the ranking mi
nority member of the Committee
of Foreign
Relations,
announced
2001 ^ he
would not
seekre-elec-
2002. His
decision
sparked a
frenzy of
candidates
in both the democratic and repub
lican parties.
State Board of Election returns
showed Bowles, a Charlotte invest
ment banker, had 277,334 votes,
about 43 percent. State Represen
tative Dan Blue had about 29 per
cent with 184,233 votes, and Sec
retary of State Elaine Marshall had
about 15 percent with 94,394 votes.
Dole’s margin was more substan
tial, according to the State Board of
Elections. Dole walked away with
approximately 80 percent, or
342,633 votes. Her closest com
petitor in the seven-way race, law
yer Jim Snyder, had 14 percent.
Bowles, 57, positioned himself ^
the front-runner late in the cam
paign. He led the democratic nomi
nees in fundraising, taking in over
$3 million dollars in campaign fi-
He embraced his work in the
Clinton White House, according
to the Erskine Bowles for U.S. Sen
ate Web site. He got a balanced
budget passed in 1997 by a Repub
lican led Congress. However, he
FB.COM
Elizabeth Dole
See CANDIDATES Page 8
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