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Volume 41, Issue 8
NEWS
BRIEFS
by Leah Shellberg
Staff Reporter
Icampus Crime
fiampus Police arrested a man
Ei drug possession and issued a
[DWI in the State Employee’s
^edit Union parking lot off of
roadway Avenue on March 27.
[Campus Police saw Kevin
E.xton, 23, from Granger, IN
rcling the parking lot on
mnders Drive and then speed-
Ig onto W.T. Weaver
joulevard.
’olice followed Sexton as he
ade a right onto Broadway
Uvenue and then pulled Sexton
Ito the State Employee’s Credit
inion lot. Upon approaching
le vehicle, police observed a
[ong odor of alcohol.
^’olice searched the vehicle
iid found marijuana and drug
’ raphemalia. Sexton consented
[to an Alco-Sensor test and regis-
Ired a0.17.
iHis passenger, John Mramer,
fas also under the influence of
Jcohol, but was not arrested.
K officers towed the vehicle
id took Sexton to the
[Buncombe County Detention
[enter, where they held him on
bond.
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State
North Carolina’s stance on the
ttery may be changing.
Speaker of the House Jim
I Black said he intends to submit
legislation for a state lottery.
jNorth Carolina is one of only
110 states in the United States
|iat does not support govem-
|ent-mn gambling.
1 Nation
I " Terri Schiavo received part of
(ioly communion on Easter
junday.
jHospice priest Rev. Joseph
Fraun placed a drop of wine on
[Schiavo’s tongue, but could not
dminister the bread because
er mouth was dry. Schiavo’s
lusband Michael did not agree
pith her parents’ request for her
[fo receive communion.
f The announcement that
chiavo received communion
few cheers from the crowd of
ctivists, who have been outside
nc hospice since Florida courts
yipheld the request for the
pmoval of Schiavo’s feeding
pe
ll Johnnie Cochran, Jr., famed
attorney from the O.J. Simspon
Hial, died March 29. Cochrane
[tied of brain cancer, in his
onie, at age 67.
World
Countries bordering the
idian Ocean recieved tsunami
lerts due to an 8.2 earthquake
larch 28.
The quake could cause a
widely destructive tsunami,”
pcording to the U.S. Pacific
sunami Warning Center.
The epicenter of the quake
'as located approximately 125
tiles offshore from the
1 ndonesian island Sumatra,
f'hich suffered damages from
I he December tsunami.
The center does not have tide
auges in the Indian Ocean and
oes not know whether an actu-
®1 tsunami was generated as of
yet.
i The quake happened around
SEE BRIEFS, PAGE 2
Funding improves UNCA research projects
by Justin Wagner
Staff Reporter
A local science education out
reach program received $1 million
in federal funding. Republican
Rep. Charles Taylor, lobbied for
the money to expand local technol
ogy opportunities, said a UNCA
physics student.
“He wants to bring more engi
neers to Western North Carolina,”
said Andrew Nicholson, senior
physics student who conducted
research at the Pisgah
Astronomical Research Institute.
“I would assume that means more
big companies coming to Western
North Carolina, so I guess he
wants more of a high-tech job
force.”
Taylor secured the money, which
will allow the Pisgah Astronomical
Research and Science Education
Center to expand educational out
reach programs and increase
research opportunities for stu
dents, faculty and researchers
throughout the UNC system.
This will influence economies in
the region because “ultimately it
makes the area more congenial to
technology,” according Brian
Dennison, physics professor.
The bill also allocates funding to
PARI, which will allow the facility
to improve research equipment.
The institute, located 35 miles
southwest of AshevillCi is a
research setting for astronomers
and physicists hoping to pursue
more intimate, long-term projects,
according to Dennison
“There are things you can do
there that you just can’t do any
where else,” said Dennison.
“Students who go out there are
going to get hands-on exposure.”
Most astronomical research
facilities in the United States deal
with researchers throughout the
PHOTO COURTESTY OF UNCA PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
Chuck Fultz, senior physics student, explains his research. The money wili aliow the Pisgah
Astronomical Research and Science Education to expand programs and research for students.
country and world and allow 30-40
hours of research at a time, accord
ing to Dennison.
The combination of increased
access and advanced research
equipment displayed by PARI is
available at only a few places,
such as MIT or Cal Tech, accord
ing to Dennison.
Certain projects undertaken by
researchers at PARI require a level
of sustained commitment that is
impossible for researchers at more
crowded observatories to achieve,
according to Dennison.
“There are some projects that
just can’t be done that way
because they require daily obser
vations for years,” said Dennison.
“Students who work out there get
hands-on experience, and they
don’t get that at national radio
observatories, because they’re dol
ing out time to hundreds of users
who come in and expect every
thing to work.”
National radio observatories also
often have less equipment in addi
tion to allowing less research time,
according to Dennison.
“There is very little chance for
students to be trained in the instru
mentation, so there are people who
get Ph.D.s in radio astronomy and
have never really touched the
equipment,” said Dennison.
Aside from emphasizing applied
research, PARI also encourages
local involvement in the form of
students, faculty, researchers and
community members.
“It’s not just an isolated research
institution,” said Dennison. “The
mission of PARSEC and the mis
sion of PARI is very much orient
ed towards getting a lot of people
involved.”
Researchers at PARI, including
certain UNCA students, work to
enhance science education aware
ness and involvement through
interactive equipment directed
SEE FUNDING, PAGE 2
Police arrest students for Highsmith arson
by Leah Shellberg
Staff Reporter
Campus Police handled an arson incident
outside Highsmith University Union on Feb.
27. ^ ^
The incident began just after midnight. Sgt.
Jerry Adams witnessed Eli Banikazemi, 19, and
Michael Higgins, 19, setting fire to a large
stack of napkins against the rear wall of the
Highsmith University Union.
Banikazemi and Higgins ran when they saw
Adams.
Adams followed and ordered them to stop
and requested assistance from the Woodfm
Police Department. Banikazemi and Higgins
ran into Mills Hall, where UNCA Security
Officer John Huffstickler, Woodfin Police
Officer Michael Dykes and an officer from the
Asheville Police Department came to help
Adams search the buildin, and were unable to
locate Banikazemi and Higgins. Officer
Huffstickler extinguished the fire.
Adams interviewed Banikazemi at the
Campus Police office in Vance Hall on Feb. 28.
Banikazemi denied knowing anything about it,
and said he was in Mills Hall during the time of
the fire, according to the police report.
Banikazemi gave the names of four friends of
his that could verify his alibi. Adams contact
ed them, and two of them said they had not seen
Banikazemi until later that afternoon.
Banikazemi also gave Higgins name, and
Higgins told Adams that he spent time with
Banikazemi the night of the incident.
During the interview, Higgins admitted that
he and Banikazemi were responsible for setting
the fire. Adams took Higgins to see
Banikazemi, and he finally admitted.
On March 2, Campus Police obtained arrest
warrants for Higgins and Banikazemi, and
transported both to the Buncombe County
Detention Center for processing. Police
TYLER BREAUX/ PHOTO EDITOR
Olivia Humphrey, undeclared freshman and Amanda Baranski, undeclared junior, talk
in front of Highsmith University Union where an arson incident occured Feb. 27.
charged them with burning of a schoolhouse
and resisting/obstructing a police officer.
UNCA students expressed mixed feelings
about the incident, and how Campus Police
dealt with it.
Mary Gwen Kistler, undeclared freshman,
said she believes officials gave the correct pun
ishment to Higgins and Banikazemi.
“I think the guys who did it were stupid for
doing it in the first place, and I think they kind
of deserved what was coming to them,” said
Kistler. “That’s me, but it’s the truth; If you’re
going to do something stupid, you’ve got to
deal with the consequences.”
Hilary Gibson, undeclared freshman said she
doesn’t think police should have made such a
big deal of the incident.
“It’s ridiculous and trivial, considering that it
was done outside and at nighttime, and it was
just a mere pile of napkins. 1 just don’t see it as
a big threat or anything. Arson, to me, is a com
pletely different definition,” said Gibson. “1
think arson is a major attempt to intentionally
bum something down or destructively burn
something.”
Kimberly Hersey, undeclared
freshman,expressed disapproval for their pun
ishment.
“Really, it wasn’t arson. They didn’t bum
anything down,” said Hersey. “Everything
was fine. There weren’t even really scorch
marks or anything like that on the building.”
March 31, 2005
Grad
center
moves to
UNCA
by Angele Mainhart
Staff Reporta-
The Asheville graduate center
administration will move to
UNCA’s campus July 1, but stu
dents will not really notice
much of a change, according to
the associate vice chancellor for
academic and student affairs.
“The graduate center is here
already on campus, and, for the
most part, 1 don’t think people
will notice any particular
changes at all,” said Pat
McClellan, associate vice chan
cellor for academic and student
affairs.
“It’s sort of the administrative
oversight of the office. The
director of the Asheville gradu
ate center has been reporting to
and was sort of overseen by the
office of the president over in
Chapel Hill. So, the administra
tive oversight is changing' to
UNCA.”
Once the graduate center
administration shifts to UNCA,
it will probably make it easier to
add more graduate programs,
according to Don Locke, direc
tor of the Asheville graduate
center.
“As it is now, this office is not
a part of UNCA. It’s just housed
here,” said Locke. Once it
becomes a part of this, the infra
structure that exists for educa
tion in general at UNCA can be
applied to the graduate center,
and it will likely provide a more
seamless process for imple
menting additional graduate
programs.”
In order to create a new grad
uate program,a significant num
ber of people must show inter
ested in the program. More than
a few people must show interest
before further work is done to
create the program, according to
Locke.
“When you come in and say,
‘We need to have a masters pro
gram in veterinary medicine,’ 1
would say, ‘OK, what 1 need is a
significant number of people to
communicate to me that they are
also interested, and it’s not just
you,”’ said Locke.
“Once 1 get that body of infor
mation through affiliated organ
izations then I would develop a
needs assessment and send it out
to people to determine their real
interests so that it isn’t just one
person.”
Usually one out of every four
people that show interest will
actually enroll in the program.
The number of people who
show interest must be about four
times what it would take to fill a
class, according to Locke..
“So, if you want to get a class
of 20, you have to get 80 people
to express their interest to
assume that we would get 20
people who would ultimately
apply to the program. It’s a fair
ly complex process. I suspect
that UNCA, upon its assump
tion of leadership of this center,
will do something similar to
determine the needs before
implementing the programs.”
Once more graduate programs
SEE CENTER, PAGE 2