, Gamers open “Pandora’s” Xbox
■eatures
Sports
Goure strikes gold at 49ers Classic LtfcStvlc
■ see page 5
A postcard from Nippy Tassler
■ see page 8
Volume 39 Issue 8
NEWS
RIEFS
WWW. unca. edulhanner
asiH by Amanda Edwards
iiH Staff Reporter
"(iVIPUS CRIME
Campus Police received a re-
)ort of breaking and entering and
® la'll lage to property in Governors
Hall, March 20.
|i On March 23, Campus Police
* received a report of vandalism to a
irehicle.
' i
* WCA
Ijim Jarrett brings his production
^“Vincent,” a one-man theater
’Ipiece on the life of Vincent Van
".’Buh, to UNCA Tuesday, April 13
atl8 p.m. in the Lipinsky Audito-
ri|m. larrett started to produce and
perform “Vincent” around the
world in 1994 and had previously
appeared in several independent
flips. He will also be delivering an
Arts 310 lecture the same day.
“Vincent,” written by Leonard
N}moy of “Star Trek” and told
tl^oLigh letters Van Gogh wrote to
his'brother Theo, includes a multi-
^mjtlia presentation of Van Gogh’s
' work. Tickets are $6 for students,
l^$l^ tor faculty, $18 general admis-
* sior and can be purchased on cam
pus or by calling 232-5000.
FVILLE
ennis Kucinich will speak 10
a.m. April 3 at City Council Plaza
linjAsheville. He will address topics
jjsi^h as liberty, peace, health care,
_lemployment, education and the
[environment.
-‘I IVarious activities will follow
^Kucinich’s speech including
';®cches by inspirational speakers,
[spoken word performances, music
' anjd food.
TRYON, N.C.
, ^The Polk County Sheriff’s De-
'■ partment shut doyvn a metham-
\ phetamine lab March 21, the fourth
found within the county in the past
' two years. Joseph Burnett and
David Cole, charged with possess
ing immediate precursor chemicals,
t ?t^nufacturing methamphetamine
ant; other simple drug charges, are
being held at the Polk County Jail
under bonds. Rick Hetzel, N.C.
SBl Clandestine Laboratory Coor
dinator for Western North Caro
lina, told the Tryon Daily Bulletin
’ that the numbers of methamphet-
?mine labs in North Carolina are
i^ing. In 2001,38 labs were found
in North Carolina. The number
■ *"• to 98 in 2002 and to 200 in
- 2f03. So far this year, the number
of labs found in North Carolina is
70, according to Hetzel.
UNITED STATES
The death rate by poisoning in
the United States increased 56 per
cent in the past ten years, accord-
1^' to a new report by the Centers
% Disease Control (CDC). Last
year, more than two million reports
of poisoning were reported to the
National Poison Control Center.
The majority of deaths were unin-
t®tional with most caused by pain-
raler overdoses, the CDC study
- pows. More than one half of deaths
involved OxyContin and other pre-
styiption painkillers as well as other
illicit drugs. Fifteen percent in
volved cocaine, 8 percent alcohol,
percent heroin, 5 percent antide-
Pjessants and 5 percent methadone.
See BRIEFS ON PAGE 10
Nader visits UNCA
BY Adam McMullin
Staff Reporter
Presidential candidate
Ralph Nader spoke at
UNCA March 26. Nader
visited Asheville to round
up support so his name
can appear on the North
Carolina ballot in Novem
ber.
“The legislature in
North Carolina has got to
stop colluding between
the Democrats and Re
publicans to get rid of
competition and to turn
this state increasingly into
a one party district state,”
said Nader.
Nader said he would
form a new party, called
the Populist Party, which
he says will help him get
on the ballot in North
Carolina.
“We’d like to see it (the
Populist Party) go long
term, but you have to have
a legitimate party in North
Carolina. Otherwise,
you’ve got to get twice the
number of signatures in
60 days,” said Nader.
The strategy would cut
the number of signatures
his campaign must gather
in the state by 40,000, ac
cording to the Raleigh
News and Observer. It is
designed to get around
North Carolina’s election
law, which makes it diffi
cult for anyone but a
Democrat or a Republican
to get on the ballot.
There should be a cat
egory on every ballot that
says “none of the above,”
said Nader.
Nader said his grass
roots campaign in the state
is working feverously to
get his name on the bal
lot.
“We’ve got volunteers
coming from all over the
state,” said Nader. “People
are logging into our Web
site to get signature forms.
We’ve got to get 59,000
verified signatures by the
middle of May.”
Nader spoke to a full
house at the UNCA’s Jus
tice Center.
The 70-year-old con
sumer advocate blasted big
corporations and advo
cated for the legalization
of industrial hemp.
“Overall, I thought he
had some good ideas, but
I don’t think he had really
any good solutions,” said
Liz Laxague, a junior
French major and Demo
crat. “He tended to go on
and on about the corpo
rations and how evil they
were, but if he wants to be
elected president, what’s
he going to do about
them? He can’t just get rid
of them all.
“He has to have a solu
tion to it if it is a problem,
and if you’re running for
president, you need to list
your solutions, or at least
come up with a few. The
only solution I heard him
give was to grow industrial
hemp, and I don’t think
that will solve all our prob
lems.”
Some Democrats have
criticized Nader for enter
ing the race, saying he
took votes away from
them in 2000, which
helped President Bush win
the election.
“I think a lot of people
realized what he did last
time and, if he does take
away votes, I don’t think
it will be nearly as many,”
Students
comment on
Nader visit
Clyde Michael
Morgan
UNCA
alumnus and
candidate for
U.S. Congress
“I approve 100 percent of
almost everything he said. I
hate the big corporations as
much as he does.”
Wendy Segars
undeclared
sophomore
“He brought up some good
issues, but I’d like to know
more about what he actually
plans to do about it.”
Jorge Munoz
Weaverville
resident
“This is an extraordinary man,
an honest man who speaks the
truth. He’s one voice in the
desert. All he says is true.”
Tim Love
senior
political
science major
“I feel like he’s definitely
appealing to what people want to
hear without offering something
of substance to back it up.”
MAX TAINTOR/photo editor
Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, speaks at
UNCA March 26 (above). Students gathered in
Justice Gym to attend the political visit (below).
Nader said the point of his campaign is to give
voters an alternative choice on the ballots. Many
voters dislike Bush and Kerry, according to
Nader, and he hopes to give them a third choice.
See NADER on page 10 photos courtesy of laura cowan
KATE GUNTHORPE/staff photographer
Health care prices leave many uninsured
BY Lauren Abe
Staff Reporter
The price of health care contin
ues to rise in Buncombe County,
leaving more people uninsured or
underinsured, according to a local
doctor.
“I will be a full time student un
til the age of 24 to stay on my
parent’s insurance,” said Nancy
Glenn, a junior sociology major. “I
am considered a high-risk patient
since I’ve been to the emergency
room ten to twelve times and hospi
talized three or four times in the past
year for kidney stones.”
While at UNCA, students receive
free medical examinations and re
ceive laboratory services, medica
tions and surgical procedures at a
small fee, according to Susan Wil
son, a physician assistant. However,
as students graduate and are no
longer covered by the school or their
parent’s insurance, students face the
challenge of finding their own insur
ance.
“Because of the cost, I don’t have
health insurance,” said Scott
Jacyszyn, a junior management ma
jor. “I hope I don’t get sick.”
There are many factors which
KATE GUNTHORPE/staff photographer
A hot topic: The rise of prescription medication prices.
contribute to the rise of health care
including technology, pharmaceuti
cals, utilization, malpractice insur
ance, obesity and the health status
of the aging population, according
to Patti Moore, manager of compen
sation and benefits at Mission Hos
pital.
This rise affects the individual’s
ability to afford heath care. Further
more, it hinders the employer’s abil
ity to provide adequate plans at a rea
sonable price, according to Moore.
“The price of health care has been
going up for the past twenty years.
The fastest rising part is the phar
macy,” said Dale E. Fell, a plastic and
reconstructive surgeon. “Drugs in
America cost more than anywhere
else in the world. Our manufactur
ers have on average the highest profit
margin of any industry in the United
States.”
The pharmaceutical industry is
the fastest growing component in the
rising cost of health care. The num
ber of prescriptions each patient
takes has also increased. Health in
surance is the second fastest grow
ing component. According to Fell,
Blue Cross Blue Shield made an 18%
profit last year while physician in
comes and physician reimbursement
went down.
“Immigration is causing the
population in the United States to
go up,” said Fell. “More people cost
more money. The population is in
creasing by 1.2 percent every year.
That means that in 60 years our
population will double. In sixty years
our health care will double.”
Who pays the bills of uninsured
or underinsured patients? According
to Fell, hospitals and doctors absorb
the costs. Immigration, which con
stitutes 60 percent growth of the
U.S. population, increases the num
ber of uninsured and underinsured
patients.
“Immigration is certainly in
creasing our population. Therefore,
I do think that it affects utilization
which contributes to the rising cost
of health care,” said Moore. “Minori
ties also suffer from more health
See health on page 10
April 1, 2004
Academic
Affairs
merges with
Student Life
*
BY Terri Fisher
Staff Reporter
UNCA’s administration
launched an 18 month pilot
program to join Student Life
with Academic Affairs March
15.
“One of the things that (the
administration) is re;illy trying
to do is to integrate more aca
demic affairs and whar hap
pens outside of the class
room,” said Chad Morgan,
assistant director of recreation-
outdoors.
The physical difference
with this new unification in
cludes an administrative
change in hierarchy. The po
sition of associate vice chan
cellor of academic affairs and
student life will now be shared
by two individuals assigned a
variety of responsibilities.
The interim associate vice
chancellor of academic and
student affairs is Keith Ray,
formerly the chair and associ
ate professor of the Health and
Fitness Department. His spe
cific responsibilities include
health and fitness, residential
life and dining. Health Ser
vices, Recreation and Coun
seling.
Patricia McClellan, previ
ously Associate Vice Chancel
lor, now shares the title of as
sociate vice chancellor of aca
demic and student affairs, in
charge of advising, registrar,
Study Abroad, the Writing
Center, Student Activities, Ca
reer Center, and summer
school.
The program will benefit
students in their educational
experience, according to
Kevin Skolnik, senior ethics
and social institutions major.
Skolnik said he found the pro
cess to get credit for a study
abroad program complicated
because there were too many
people involved.
“Coming back from study
abroad, working with the reg
istrar and my advisor, trying
to get credit for classes was
complicated and I felt often
times that there was no one
person who knew the answers
to all of my questions,” said
Skolnik. “I like the idea of a
unification of offices, because
if study abroad is incorporated
into the other offices’ jurisdic
tion, then decisions about
credit for classes will be able
to be handled in one location,
at the very least, this unifica
tion has the potential to make
the transition from studying
abroad to getting credit to
moving on with ones educa
tion a lot simpler.”
The new structure may fur
ther the liberal arts education
at UNCA, according to Timo
thy Putnam, a junior environ
mental science major.
Putnam said he is trying to
incorporate a new environ
mental resident program on
campus. The program would
See merge on page 10