Sharks attack! Kind of...
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Bulldogs battle injuries early in season . a i 2
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Access workshop: Getting involved on campus
X ■ see page 6
UNCA PERIODICALS
MPUS CRIME
UNCA police investigated the
indalism of a Ramsey Library copy
lachine on Sept. 1, according to
emo*mpus Police _
Campus Police received a call
om Cindy Branton, director of
tinting services, who stated that
omeone tried to break into the
jopy machine money compart-
5 ‘y lent. The incident had no wit-
csses, according to the report.
The person who attempted to
ding T dooi; did not get the
[ loney compartment out, but
msed $100 in damages to the
opier, according to police.
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SHEVILLE
UNCA students and faculty en
ured water supply contamination
nd the cancellation of the remain-
!g week’s classes Wednesday, as
topical depression Frances flooded
lumerous areas of Asheville.
Biltmore Village stood beneath
ree to four feet of water, on-cam-
)us students left for their native cit-
and the newly opened Starbucks
amidst a river of rainwater after
flooding. Gasoline and sewage
lolluted area water supplies, rivers,
ind freshwater tributaries, leading
Ificials to speculate a water short-
of up to a week or more.
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Test
Local artisans are questioning the
onstruction of a new visitor’s cen-
er on the Blue Ridge Parkway that
ould draw tourists away from the
learby Folk Art Center, according
: Asheville Citizen-Times.
Nothing’s a done deal,” said Phil
'loblitt, parkway spokesman. “(The
raft guild) have been really great
,|jjj. lartners, and the last thing we want
0 do is somehow injure them.
Congress designated nearly $1
nillion for the construction of the
ew visitor’s center, and plans for
be center include a digital theater,
marketing center for visitors to
earn more about local attractions
ind a “mountain experience cen-
er,” according to the Citizen-Times.
lATIONAL
National opinion polls show that
'resident Bush is ahead of Demo
cratic candidate John Kerry, 52 per-
c to 41 percent after the Repub-
ican National Convention, accord-
■rg the Associated Press.
Time magazine completed its
>oll of 926 likely voters on Sept. 2,
ind has a sampling margin of error
irf plus or minus four points, ac
cording to the Associated Press. His-
lorically, post-convention bounces
can last only a short time, or fore
shadow a longer-lasting bounce,
recording to the AP.
RAQ
Iraq’s government confirmed
hat the man captured after a
hootout in Tikrit is not Izzat
hrahim al-Douri, the former top
hde to Saddam Hussein, according
0 the British Broadcasting Com
pany.
According to Sabah Kahdim,
laterior ministry spokesman, the
See BRIEFS on page 10
students fuel local economy
This year the city of Asheville
may thank UNCA for the num
ber of new freshmen and return
ing students it will bring into the
local economy. A total of 707 new
freshmen join 2,295 returning and
continuing education students,
according to the UNCA Office of
Institutional Research Preliminary
Census Data Published Sept. 1.
In the fall of 2003, UNCA had
599 new freshmen and 2,119 re
turning and continuing education
students. The addition of parking
lots, the new Highsmith Univer
sity Union and a growing number
of faculty parking areas around
campus are physical signs of a
growing university.
“Students return to UNCA be
cause of its intimate learning envi
ronment,” said David Squires, a
junior interdisciplinary studenr.
“You get a lot of personal arten-
tion because it’s a small school.”
Even though the sight of stu
dents circling parking lots in search
of any open space may seem dis
heartening, local business owners
see this as a sign of higher profits.
Students assist the local economy
by utilizing all of the amenities the
city has to offer. Asheville offers
any kind of food you can imagine
and almost endless entertainment
options, along with the natural
beauty of the area.
Restaurants, gas stations, rental
agencies, movie theatres, clothing
BRIAN DAVIS/staff photographer
New and returning UNCA students spend money at local shops, cafes, restaurants and video
stores. David Squires, a junior interdisciplinary major show that college students boost the local
economy and provide a good source of labor
stores and bars are just a few of the
recipients of the money students
spend in the local area within this
school year. From August until
May every school year students
pour their money into local busi
nesses of all kinds.
“UNCA students have a dispos
able income to go out to eat, but
they are also contributing to the
local housing market,” said Chad
Bright, co-owner of Urban Burrito
on Merrimon Avenue. “Students
definitely have a huge impact on
the economy in Asheville.”
Students provide a source for
cheap labor, helping businesses to
maximize their income while pro
viding students with spending
money.
“■We haven’t heard anything
negative about the number of sru-
dents coming ro the area,” said
Bright. “There’s nothing negative
period. I can’t imagine how any
one could complain, unless it was
about the traffic or something. The
benefits far outweigh anything I
could see as negative.”
UNCA’s growing size year after
year causes the area to constantly
expand in order to meet all of the
needs and wants of the students.
The almost guaranteed customer
base makes very few think twice
about opening a new business near
the UNCA campus.
“You get a little bit more busi
ness, but it broadens your day out.
When they’re not in school you get
a lunch rush and the dinner rush.
When they’re in session you get
busy all day long,” said Bright. “1
would say anywhere around 20%
busier when classes are in session.”
Asheville is a unique area filled
with large chain corporations, as
well as small, independent busi
nesses. This makes for a very di
verse marketplace giving students
many options for whatever their
needs may be.
With all of the options in
Asheville, the student population
stands out as a viable audience for
advertising. Segrof, an independent
video store, sits on Charlotte Street
in North Asheville. As a small busi
ness, Segrof must compete with
larger chains for the student busi
ness.
“I certainly see a lot of students
come in, but I wouldn’t say they
are the majority of our customers,
but certainly we do better with
them and we advertise to them on
campus,” said Squires. “I assume
students have some effect on the
local economy, but I don’t think the
student population at UNCA is
that large a portion of the general
See economy on page 10
UNCA students question school
policy on alcohol consumption
BRIAN DAVIS/staff photographer
Russell Johnson, an undeclared freshman, disagrees with the
policy of Campus Police regarding student consumption of
alcohol.
BRIAN DAVIS/staff photographer
Edwin Terrell, a junior history major, was present on the night
of Johnsons arrest and agrees that police had no grounds for
their charges.
BY Sean Robinson
Staff Reporter
Some students feel the
university’s policy on consumption
of alcohol by a minor is unfair and
should be amended, according to
UNCA students Russell Johnson
and Edwin Terrell.
As in the case of Johnson, un
derage persons can be charged with
possession of alcohol without even
having a container of beer any
where near them, according to Ser
geant Jerry Adams of UNCA Cam
pus Police.
“In terms of possession, it can
be either physical possession, as in
holding it, or it can be inside their
body also,” said Adams. “We con
sider (alcohol) in the bloodstream
as possession, also.”
Contrary to what many believe
to be school policy, police can
charge a student with possession in
this case without even administer
ing a Breathalyzer, said Adams.
“We do Breathalyzer tests, but
we also go by odor or apparent
physical impairment of a person,
either by field sobriety test or some
thing like that,” said Adams.
Johnson, an undeclared fresh
man, was charged with misde
meanor possession of a malt bev
erage on Aug. 25, the same night
junior pre-law student Terrell was
given a Student Conduct Citation
for underage possession and con
sumption.
“I owe 125 bucks in court fees,”
said Johnson. The charge against
him was written as a State Citation,
carrying the penalties of a misde
meanor, accord
ing to police.
Johnson must
attend court at
the Buncombe
County Court
house on Oct. 10
to await a trial
and possible sen
tencing for this
charge, said
Johnson.
Student Con
duct Citations
carry far less se
vere penalties, said Terrell.
“I have to do community ser
vice, I have to go to alcohol coun
seling and I have a student conduct
meeting with an administrator,”
said Terrell.
On the night in question, four
individuals, including a man over
age 21, were present in the Mills
Hall suite and of the three under
age students, only Johnson was not
given an Breathalyzer test, accord
ing to the police report.
The students were cooperative
and allowed police to enter the suite
and search Terrell and Johnson’s
room. Police administered a
Breathalyzer test on Terrell and one
“In terms of possession, it
can be either physical
possession, as in holding it,
or it can be inside their
body also. We consider
(alcohol) in the blood
stream as possession, also.”
Sergeant Jerry Adams
UNCA Campus Police
other student. The other student
blew a 0.018, while Terrell tested
positive with a 0.16 blood alcohol
content, said the report.
Police did not charge the per
son over 21 with aiding and abet
ting a minor, even
though the man
claimed responsi
bility for the alco
hol in the room,
said Johnson and
Terrell.
This oddity
stands in stark
contrast to the
school’s policy on
the matter.
According to
Section 8.1-E of
the UNCA Stu
dent Handbook, “Any person who
is over the lawful age to purchase
and who aids or abets another in
violation of purchase shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine of up to $2000 or imprison
ment for not more than two years,
or both.”
Public safety officers did not
seize the alcohol in the room, nor
had it even been opened, said
Johnson.
“(The beer) was closed and in a
bag,” said Johnson. “The cops
never saw the beer.”
The police report does not re-
SEE ALCOHOL ON PAGE 10