Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Oct. 17, 2002, edition 1 / Page 1
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The Blue Banner Features Mmmm . . . “The Simpsons” still on top ■ see page 3 Sports MLB player visits Bulldogs ■ see page 4 Campus Student ready to change the world ■ see page 6 Volume 36 Issue 6 The University Of North Carolina At Asheville October 17, 2002 Student diversity calls for campus-wide eflFort Christina Clayton News Reporter The ongoing struggle to improve diversity at UNCA proves to be a project that needs the help of all students, faculty and administra- “It has to be a campus-wide ef fort,” said Scot Schaeffer, director of admissions and financial aid. “We have to come together and find solutions to the problem.” UNCA graduates a large number of its minority students. However, few new minority stu dents enroll, so UNCA cannot in crease or sustain the population, according to Dwight Mullen, spe cial assistant to the chancellor for diversity and multicultural affairs. “With the African American popu lation, we’re j ust going in the wrong direction,” said Mullen. “Even though our numbers are as high as they’ve ever been for Asian and Hispanic populations, we’re not making much progress.” Students, not only administration, must help combat the lack of stu dent diversity at UNCA, according to Schaeffer. “We have gone into negative criti cal mass,” said Mullen. “Critical mass is a number that is self-sus taining for a healthy community, but we are at negative critical mass which means we have gotten into numbers that we can’t sustain. Rather than attracting people, the numbers are actually causing people to leave.” Some UNCA students are already taking action. Sean McDonald, a junior ethics and social institutions major, currently helps recruit stu dents from the Cherokee Indian reservation. “We have the chance to enhance our school by diversifying the cam pus,” said McDonald in an e-mail. “This is not limited to multicultural and ethnic people. We need to have a balance of society at UNCA, not a certain type of student.” Diversity is important because of the atmosphere it brings to the uni versity, not because of population statistics, according to Mullen. “To have a mix of students from COURTESY OF ISA One of the campus diversity groups, the International Student Association (ISA) held a fashion show on the quad last semester at UNCA. University officials believe improving diversity in the UNCA population must involve the help of students, faculty and administration. all regions, ethnicities, genders, re- dents,” said Schaeffer. “I spoke to ligions and ages really provides en- about 60 students, and they will be richment to the education environ- receiving follow-up calls from (my- ment outside of the classroom,” said Mullen. “You can’t have a liberal arts education without a di verse popula- Other recruit ing efforts also began at UNCA. The university par ticipated in a college fair by the National Scholarship Service earlier this semester. df) people on campus. We are working more closely with the AVID (Ad vancement Via In dividual Determi nation) program out of Asheville High School,” said Schaeffer. AVID works with mid-level students (low B to C aver age) from middle school through high school and provides them with the skills they need 3 succeed in college. ;ollege fair geared specifi- In his third month as director of cally toward African American stu- admissions and financial aid. “It has to he a campus-wide ef fort. We have to work together and find solu tions to the prob lem. “ -Scot Schafer director of admissions and financial aid Schaeffer believes UNCA needs to take a different approach when re cruiting students because of UNCA’s low minority population. “When we talk to students who are of diverse background, we have to be honest and tell them that they are going to be part of the solu tion,” said Schaeffer. “They have to be willing to be a change agent. The more students we get here that are of that mindset will help the critical mass develop.” Federal Law required universities to enact race-based recruiting pro-‘ Michigan several years ago, laws no longer enforced those program, and minority populations at campuses all over the United States dropped, according to Mullen. “They found that you can’t really talk about having a diverse popula tion without having strategies de signed to meet these sub-popula- tions of students and their expecta tions,” said Mullen. Recently, however, universities returned to recruiting programs designed to target certain popula- Along with other recruitment ef forts, UNCA also uses Spanish- language brochures. Recruiters use second-language skills, and focus on areas with a high concentration of certain mi norities. “When the numbers get like this, things have to change,” said Mullen. “We need more scholarship money and better recruitment efforts. Things have to change on campus, but I’m not really sure what would happen if our best dreams came true. Suppose we got all the stu- See DIVERSITY Page 12 Ceremony at Warren Wilson to honor executed witches Jason Moore Guest Reporter A ceremony created to honor the victims of the witch hunts during the Middle Ages will take place Oct. 29 at Warren Wilson College (WWC) in Swannanoa. “It’s a service that focuses on the fact that in the past a lot of women identified as witches were burned, tortured and marginalized,” said WWC minister to students Andy Summers. Summers is a key sched uler of the ceremony. While the ceremony primarily honors women, millions of victims of war and torture will also have a time of remembrance, according to Summers. Summers manages sev eral campus human rights cam paigns and provides spiritual coun seling to students. The “Memorial for the Nine Mil lion” recognizing persecution of suspected witches started nearly a decade ago, with help from Kim Duckett, a WWC sociology profes- An ordained high priestess of the Dianic Wiccan tradition, Duckett founded Women’s Holy Inspira tional Spiritual Performance Events and Rituals (W.H.I.S.P.E.R.) She also usually attends the ancient Celtic New Year celebration, Samhain, on Oct. 31, All Hallow’s “The bottom line is there is more than one religion, and they are all valid and sacred,” Duckett said in a 1999 Asheville Citizen-Times ar ticle, referring to criticism by Chris tian groups towards the growth of local pagan communities. People frequently use the term pagan to describe someone who does not follow a monotheistic faith like Christianity, Judaism or Islam. Neo-Pagan, a more general term, describes modern day followers of ancient deities and customs who often incorporate modern-day knowledge. Wicca makes up one of the largest growing neo-pagan faiths with fol lowers who generally use the term pagan in describing their faith, ac cording to the Ontario Consult ants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT). The ceremony at Warren Wilson recalls a period known as “The COURTESY OF VIRGINIA.EDU Trials and executions of suspected witches reached a peak between PAf^ANT Paop 19 1560 - 1650, resulting in an estimated 50,000 - 100,000 deaths. Credit cards, student debt focus of lecture Heather Anderson Guest Reporter Accounting professor Gregory Bushong will host a workshop on Nov. 11 to address personal bud geting skills at UNCA, because of concern for the high level of stu dent debt. “I will be talking with them about personal planning and preparing a personal budget,” said Bushong. The Money Management and Fi nancial Planning workshop gives students practical suggestions for improving their success. The work shop is part of a brown-bag lunch series at UNCA, intended to pro vide students with additional learn ing experiences. “Students get in trouble with credit cards,” said Bushong. He did not have specific statistics, but Bushong’s lecture is intended to help students expand their knowl edge of planning a budget and per sonal borrowing. “I can only touch on both of the topics due to time, but I could spend a few days on them,” said Bushong. “I’ll be covering the real cost of borrowing.” Bushong said he wants to help students stay out of debt, which for college students usually means credit card debt. Students frequently receive credit card applications many times on college campuses. “Throughout the year in front of the cafeteria there are representa tives offering free gifts like T-shirts, sunglasses, CD’s and Other stuff only if students agree to first fill out a stack of forms,” said undeclared sophomore Amy Murphy. Student groups who bring com panies onto UNCA’s campus get paid or reimbursed from that com pany either through a flat fee or a percentage, according fo UNCA assistant director ofstudent life Rick Brophy. In addition, reservations are mandatory through the Stu dent Affairs office. “No one is allowed to just set up and solicit anything on out campus without permission from the Of fice of Student Life,” said Brophy. Any outside vendor wishing to sell on this campus must be sponsored by a campus organization, either student or administrative.” In order to avoid discrimination, Student Affairs must be fair to all vendors. The Student Affairs office does not supply information on student groups to vendors, so they must wait to be contacted, not the other way around, according to Brophy. “The main objections have been from student affairs staff,” said Brophy. “We know the problems these credit cards cause students, and do not care for their practices.” Local bankers say they are inter ested in college students as new prospects for credit cards. “Certainly it’s a small percent, but every year it grows,” said Brenda Thomas, a Bank of America worker See CREDIT Page 12 Serving UNCA Since 1982 WWW. unca. edu!banner
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Oct. 17, 2002, edition 1
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