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Volume 41 Issue 4
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February 24, 2005
NEWS I Homecoming exceeds tradition
BRIEFS
by Jamie Ellingsen
Staff Reporter
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by Leah Shellberg
Staff Reporter
Campus
Campus Police stopped a
^-ehicle after noticing a South
:arolina license plate with a
'Jorth Carolina inspection stick
ler Feb. 18 and ran a check
■through the DMV database. The
lofficer found the license plate to
Ibe fictitious and the driver to be
Iwithout a valid U.S. driver’s
license. The officer took the
■driver to the Buncombe County
[Detention Center for an inter-
jpreter and impounded the vehi-
[cle, according to Campus Police
Irecord.
Campus Police stopped a
Iswerving vehicle observed on
[Broadway Street on Feb. 20.
[Police detected a strong odor of
[alcohol from the stopped vehi-
[cle, according to the report. The
[officers asked the driver to step
[out of the vehicle and adminis-
[tered two field sobriety tests to
[him, both of which he failed,
[ihe passenger of the vehicle
[admitted he was underage and
[under the influence of alcohol.
[The passenger refused an alco-
I sensor test, according to the
[report.
State
The North Carolina
[Democratic Party announced
[jerry Meek as its pick for chair-
[man over Governor Mike
[Easley on Feb. 19. This selec-
[tion reflects the discontentment
[with the party values. The vote
[totaled 271-242 in favor of
[Meek. Meek, a lawyer from
I Fayetteville, represents the
future for the state’s Democratic
I Party, according to Larry Jones,
[the party chairman in Wayne
[County. Easley, among other
[members of the committee, did
[ not attend the Saturday meeting,
[according to the Associated
I Press.
UNC-Charlotte announced
[plans to build an on-campus
[chancellor’s home. The 7,500-
[ square-foot house is part of a
[ $300 million construction proj-
ject which includes plans for
I more classrooms, laboratories, a
I new alumni center and new fra
ternity and sorority rows. The
I school hopes this project will
[ help boost students living on
campus, which is currently
[ about 20 percent of the student
[ population, according to the AP.
Nation
A Utah man dug himself out
I of an avalanche after he fell
1,000 feetdown the side of the
mountain, while hiking up
Mount Nebo. Mark Thomas
I reportedly slid down the moun
tain while riding the avalanche
feet-first. His two fellow hikers
went for help while Thomas dug
himself out of the snow after his
fall. He met rescuers as they
I came to retrieve him. Thomas
suffered only minor injuries,
I according to the AP.
Both Democratic and
Republican governors have
voiced opposition to the
planned Medicaid cuts by
President Bush. Bush proposed
reducing federal funding to the
states on Medicaid by about $40
SEE BRIEFS, PAGE 14
UNCA held its annual home
coming celebration this year with a
larger attendance than ever before.
Most popular of the events includ
ed a homecoming parade around
University Heights and dance at a
new venue.
Campus Life hosted the home
coming dance at the Crest
Mountain Center. May Wahdan,
program assistant for Campus
Life, took part in organizing the
homecoming events.
“It really wasn’t just one or two
people,” said Wahdan. “It was
Campus Life altogether.”
The homecoming parade took
place Feb. 18 around University
Heights at 3 p.m.
Campus Life awarded ribbons to
the UNCA Alumni float for “Most
School Spirit,” with the dance
team and cheerleaders winning
second place. ISA won the “Most
Original” award, with UNCA
Outdoor Education as the runner-
up.
Students found the parade a suc
cess and equally enjoyable.
“I thought the parade was awe
some,” said Porscha Yount, senior
environmental science student and
SGA President. “It reminds me of
our redneck traditions back home.
There’s this place called Cat
Square, where this guy has a Bug
covered with corncobs and it’s
hilarious to watch him drive it
down the street. Our homecoming
parade is 20 steps above that, and I
loved it.”
In past years, UNCA held the
homecoming dance at the S&W
Building. The Crest Mountain
Center provided a new venue for
UNCA to involve in the annual
homecoming events.
The attendance for the dance
totaled between 400 and 450 peo-
/'l
A.
m
ELIZABETH RYAN/ STAFF PHOTGRAPHER
International Student Association celebrate the homecoming parade in “Jungle Book” theme
float. The parade circled University Heights on Feb. 18.
pie, according to Wahdan. The
dance included food, drinks, and a
Disc Jockey.
“It was interesting because it
was a new venue, and we didn’t
really know what to expect, but the
turn out was really good,” said
Wahdan.
“Everything went really smooth
ly, we didn’t have a lot of prob
lems, and I think people were
happy for the most part.”
Michael King, a senior mass
communication student and the
student assistant manager for the
women’s basketball team said he
enjoyed the new location.
“I thought the dance this year
was great,” said King. “There was
a really good attendance, a lot
more people than I’ve seen in the
past, and most definitely it was in
a very nice location.
“Homecoming
was a lot of fun,
but it was really
difficult getting
there and getting
back because of the
shuttles”
Benjamin Boyles
mdelcared freshman
“The dances in the past have
taken place at S&W. The place this
year was very nice, it was a lot
more upscale.”
King also said he believes he
found this year’s homecoming
events more successful than the
events in years past.
“In the past years, we’ve had a
fairly low turnout for the home
coming dance,” said King.
“This year, 1 think the new fresh
man and sophomore classes have
provided a different group of peo
ple and a lot of them were there at
the dance.”
King said he feels the school is
beginning to come together in
terms of schol spirit, from what he
gathered at the homecoming
dance.
Many of the students’ concerns
centered on the transportaion, to
and from the dance, according to
SEE EVENTS, PAGE 14
Vice Chancellor McDevitt leaves UNCA
by Sarah Schmidt
Staff Reporter
UNCA’s vice chancellor of administration,
financial and external affairs plans to leave his
job March 1 to take a new position as senior
vice president of the UNC university system.
Wayne McDevitt will take on the responsibil
ities of senior vice president of the UNC sys-
tem.
Part of his responsibilities will include work
ing on communication between the UNC sys
tem and the public, and within the institutions
of the system. This communication could cre
ate new cross-institutional programs and
degrees for students.
“One of the challenges we will face will be to
find a way to develop the emerging capabilities
in science, in technology, and
in the broad array of disci
plines we have on all the cam
puses, including liberal arts,”
said McDevitt.
“They (the UNC system)
will also be in capitalizing on
those capabilities in a way
that has impact on people’s
lives, and then finally in fos
tering a collective collabora
tion of all the 16 campuses in
ways that perhaps even give
incentives for the campuses
to collaborate on programs or
even on degrees.”
UNCA currently offers
three cross-institutional programs with North
Carolina State University, all in the engineering
either transfer to N.C. State after their sopho
more year at UNCA or graduating from UNCA
by taking distance-education courses from N.C.
State.
“We now have a joint degree with N.C. State
and UNCA, and perhaps there are other pro
grams and other kinds of things that we ought
to be providing incentives for,” said McDevitt.
One of the reasons to be looking into greater
cross-institutional cooperation results from a
lack of revenue in the N.C. budget, according
to McDevitt.
Historically, the state always funded the uni
versities. As far as economic recovery. North
Carolina is in a moderate state of recovery, and
the next few years possess a challenge, accord
ing to McDevitt.
“There are more needs than get funded, and if
we’re not looking at a large enough picture,
then we’re not being vision-
"ary enough,” said McDevitt.
it IS not possiuic retreat at all in the focus
to ‘replace’ him or education, and univer:
r _ sity s being a part of that dis-
the extraordinary cussion.”
..... / McDevitt’s other responsi-
array of abilities ne bilUies include working on
strategic development and
■?*
KIM BARTO/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Vice Chancellor Wayne McDevitt plans to
acheive many goals as senior Vice
President of the UNC system.
brought to US.”
Jim Mullen
UNCA Chancellor
planning for the system and
working with federal and
state government on legisla
tive and budgetary issues that
affect the UNC system.
“We have presence in
Washington, D.C. with an
office there, so I’ll be working with our own
congressional delegation with the administra-
number of federal issues that impact the univer
sity system, tracking those, and making sure
that we’re taking a position that matters,” said
McDevitt.
McDevitt also expressed his opinion on the
current state and future standing of UNCA.
“This is a great institution. This is a great uni
versity, and I’m not talking just about the
Carolina State univcisiiy, ui m .
department. Students in these programs can tion and others in Washington, D.C. about a
SEE MCDEVITT, PAGE 14
UNCA
continues
chancellor
search
by Justin Wagner
Staff Reporter
Officials hired a private com
pany called A.T. Kearney
Education Practice to assist
efforts in locating and hiring a
new chancellor, according to
McClinton.
Shelly WeissStorbeck, a mem
ber of the company, assists the
search committee and the
UNCA community with efforts
in advertising and hiring.
“She knows what the con
stituencies would like to see in
our next chancellor,” said Sue
H. McClinton, chancellor
search committee chair and
UNCA Board of Trustees mem
ber. “The search firm is very
much aware of people out there
looking for a change.”
The company will place
advertisements in the Chronicle
of Higher Education and maga
zines like Black Issues, Women
in Higher Education and
Hispanic Outlook, according to
McClinton. They will assist in
locating a prospective chancel
lor from a diverse range of
backgrounds.
The president of the UNC
school system instituted a
Chancellor Search Committee
to oversee the process of hiring
a new chancellor at UNCA for
fall 2005.
The committee takes sugges
tions from faculty, staff and stu
dents regarding what qualities a
new chancellor should possess.
“We’re looking for a person
who really wants to continue to
build academic excellence and
national visibility,” said
McClinton.
“It would be nice if they had
liberal arts experience, but
what’s more important is an
appreciation of it.”
Current UNCA Chancellor
James H. Mullen plans to leave
this May in order to become
president of The College of Our
Lady of the Elms in Chicopee,
Mass. UNC President Molly
Corbett Broad advised the com
mittee to find a new chancellor
by the summer.
“I’m hopeful we can meet
that schedule, but it’s not
mandatory,” said McClinton.
Forums sponsored by the
search committee in January
indicated that students primari
ly wanted a new chancellor who
will maintain an “environmen
tally progressive” stance and
“understands the uniqueness of
UNCA.”
Students also want a chancel
lor with the political ability to
work with diverse constituen
cies on and off campus, accord
ing to the chancellor search
Web site.
Separate search committee
forums for faculty indicated
that they would prefer someone
with prior experience in the lib
eral arts and university
fundraising. Staff members
would like to see a chancellor
who could adequately represent
the university on the state level,
according to the chancellor
search Web site.
“We’ll find a dynamic per-
SEE SEARCH, PAGE 14
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