News
Page 10
Budget not
a concern,
according
to officials
By Lisa Gillespie
STAfF Writer
State funding has decreased in
the last five years as unemploy
ment has increased, leading to
speculation that the university is
in financial trouble because of
cut-downs in student worker
wages and a decrease in money
for student organizations.
“If you thought that the cutback
to 20 hours was because we were
trying to cut the student tempo
rary wage budget, that wasn’t it at
all,” said Pat McClellan, associ
ate vice chancellor for academic
and student affairs. ‘The money
that is going towards student
wages has not decreased. We are
not in financial trouble. We are
not attempting to cut student
employment wages.”
UNCA implemented the 20-
hour work week this fall. It is
very common at academic institu
tions, according to McClellan.
“This is the school’s way of try
ing to control students to focus on
their .studies. I would assume that
there has been a trend of students
working overtime and their
grades suffered,” said David Cox,
sophomore student. “I don’t think
there is any way that the school is
limiting it to 20 hours because of
financial reasons; I think that
would be a very public issue.”
In 2000, there were 1,903 first
time-freshman, according to the
Office of Institutional Research
Fact Book. By 2004, there were
2,571 first-time freshmen.
“As the economy worsens, peo
ple stay in school longer,” said
Steve Honeycutt, university
budget officer. ‘This means we
have an influx of students, but the
slate has a decrease in tax rev
enue.”
The 20-hour idea is that if the
student is full-time, then that is
their full time job, according to
McClellan.
‘There are some students that
are RA’s and student senators,”
said Tarik Glenn, senior manage
ment student and president of the
Student Government Association.
“If they do not get that waiver to
work more than 20 hours, they
will have to cut down on some
thing.
“If I were to guess the reason
for its implementation, there have
probably been several students
who had worked more than 20
hours and they were on academic
probation.”
In 1997, 12.1 percent of rev
enue came from tuition and fees.
By 2004, 18.5 percent came from
tuition.
“You can follow the economic
shifts in how much money we get.
The state support we are getting is
declining. The opposite is true of
tuition,” Honeycutt said. ‘The
amount of money we are getting
from tuition is going up.
“This means that we will hear
that unemployment is going up,
and a little after that the tax rev
enues will come in at less than
expected. The students will tend
to stay in school because there are
no jobs.”
A small amount of scholarship
money comes from the state, and
most of the money comes from
private donations, according to
Honeycutt.
“I have heard about so many
people getting turned away from
financial aid and not getting
helped at all,” said Cayce Ward,
sophomore student. “This makes
me think that the financial aid
office does not have enough
money to help us.”
The budget for student organi
zation is derived from campus
commission, a panel of eight to
10 people. A student organization
goes to the panel before the
school year is out.
“This year we got 16,000. In
the years past we got 16,500,”
Glenn said. “The new adminis
tration wasn’t in office in time to
submit a budget. Fortunately,
Robert Straub gave us the same
amount as in previous years.”
'ITic Blue Banner - Serving the University of North Carolina at Asheville since 1982
ACLU-NCLF sues Woodfin
Civil liberties
group calls sex
ojfender ban
unconstitutional
By Kella Zaic
Staff Writer
In March, the town of Woodfin
set up an ordinance that makes it
illegal for registered sex offend
ers to be on or about its public
parks. On August 26, the
American Civil Liberties Union
of North Carolina Legal
Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) filed
a complaint with Buncombe
County.
“I feel this ordinance is justifi
able. TTie safety of our citizens is
number one,” said Brett
Holloman, Woodfin’s chief of
police. “In today’s times I feel
parents should have their guard
up regardless.”
The challenged ordinance.
Section 130.03, exempts the
presence of a registered sex
offender on or about public
parks. The consequences of
being caught in the parks as a sex
offender are at least 30 days in
jail or a $500 fine. The three
entrances of Woodfin’s public
parks have official signs posting
this information.
“I think when one passes the
sign, it puts people on notice,”
said Jason Young, Woodfin town
administrator. “Truthfully
speaking, there’s no magic barri
er you can put up.”
The police department uses
this ordinance as a device for the
deterrence of registered sex
offenders from town parks.
Another tool that police and citi
zens can use to safe check indi
viduals who seem suspicious can
be found at the North Carolina
Sex Offender and Public
Protection Registry,
http://sbi.jus.state.nc.us/DOJHA
HT/SOR/Default.htm. On this
Web site you can search by zip
code for offenders and you will
receive their picture, address,
other personal information and
convictions with sentence time
served.
“Wd thought this would be a
good tool,” Young said. “If
observed known pedophile were
seen at a park doing something
suspicious, we can now remove
that person from the park. There
have been numerous parks where
sexual assaults have taken place.
We want to enhance the citizens’
awareness of this.”
Police officers are not going to
have constant surveillance on the
parks. Offenders do not wear
identification stating who they
are. People should stay as alert
for suspicious activity at all
times.
“We have familiarity with the
local sex offenders,” said Young.
“We have an uncomfortably high
number of them. The truth is that
there are a number of offenders
■’.rasi
* •»!
m
...
f .t,.
Cherie Thompson/staff PHOTOGRAPHER
Woodfin Police Chief Brett Holoman, above, says he believes the ban on sex offenders in
public parks to be a necessary and protective measure. A sign in a woodfin park, below,
spells out the specifics of the ban which ACLU-NCLF has called into question.
not listed at the correct address.
Many people have been able to
plea-bargain their name from the
list. Ultimately, the parent has to
be on the lookout.”
The complaint came after a
registered sex offender called
attention to the ACLU. The
offender, hiding behind the pseu
donym John Doe, and the
ACLU-NCLF are alleging that
the ordinance violates constitu
tional laws.
These laws include due
process, the right to travel and
the right of criminals not to be
subjected to retroactive punish
ment once the terms of a sen
tence are complete.
“The ban is overbroad and does
not actually increase safety. We
do believe that the blanket ban
imposed by Woodfin violates
numerous constitutional rights,”
said Jennifer Rudinger, the exec-
ATTENTION
II IS A CRIHINAL VIOlAriON
OF IHE HflOOflR HUNICIPAl
CODE FOR ANY lECISrEREO
SEA OFFENDER IQ 8E ON
OR ABOUT THIS RECREATIONAL
FACILITY. YIOIATQRS ABE
SUBJECT TO IHHEOIAIE ARREST
AND FINES OF $i00 PER
OFFENSE (CHAPTER 13003)
utive director of the ACLU-
NCLF. “If someone intends to
commit a crime, that person will
not care about this ordinance.”
“Our opinion is that a zoning
ordinance wouldn’t withstand
constitutional muster,” Young
said. “In looking at our parks,
which are subjected to a degree
of oversight, we feel we are on
safe grounds.
“We want to establish a safe
place for families. I don’t believe
this ordinance violates the con
stitution and is justifiable.”
The defendants for this case are
the Town of Woodfin and
Holloman.
September 8, 2005
Community
ponders plan
for chancellor
residence
By Tara Luetkenhaus
Staff Writer
]
Concerned faculty and
Montview-Hillside residents
attended a meeting Monday
evening to discuss university plans
for the chancellor’s new residence,
“Biology and environmental
studies faculty were consulted ij
this process, but the consultation
was perfunctory and appeared to
be directed more toward co-opting
rather than consulting the faculty,”
said David Clarke, biology profes
sor and resident of the Montview-
Hillside neighborhood. “How
does the university intend to con
sult stakeholders in the future?”
Charles R. Tolley, UNCA board
of trustees chair, hosted the meet
ing. According to Tolley, the
board located the residence in the
most appropriate place.
“I don’t know how much coordi
nation we could have done prior to
selecting a site,” Tolley said. “The
chosen site is on the south side of
Weaver Boulevard, and we put it
on that tip, number one because it
would be closer to campus, nun-
ber two, it would leave the rest s
that area alone.”
Siting the house on the edge of
parcel is a central principle whe
designing areas for preservationr
according to Clarke. He said thiil
minimizes the creation of edge.
According to The Landscape]
Restoration Handbook, edge areas
are basically the place where one]
habitat ends and another begins,
for example where the edge of the'
forest and a roadway meet. Edge
areas have known negative'
impacts on wildlife and plants,
inhibiting their ability to " move
about in search of mates, food and)
territories and making them signif-'
icantly more vulnerable to preda
tors.
Clarke suggested siting the facil
ity on the existing temporay
freshman parking lot as one w»
to create less edge.
“I’m familiar with the parking
lot,” Tolley said. “I don’t know of
any plans to demolish that parking
lot, or to abandon it, but that may
come in time. I don’t know how
long temporary is.”
According to Kitti Reynolds,
environmental studies professor,
this is the second research area she
and her students have lost due to
construction.
“My main interest in coming to
the meeting was to make known
my interest and that of other peo
ple in our department to have land
set aside within the overall bound
aries that could be used for out
door lab space,” Reynolds said,
“This doesn’t mean having any
thing developed at all, it just
means leaving it alone so that we
could go back there year after year
with our classes and do some basic
ecological studies. We have our
little spots. Now if we could just
keep some of them.”
work together,” Kirby said.
According to Kirby, Moog
“taught electronics, he taught
electronic music, and he taught a
seminar in electronic music com
position.”
Even after departing from the
faculty, Moog continued to con
tribute to the UNCA community.
“He came back on a regular
basis,” said Kirby. “He attended
my students’ concerts - the stu
dents in electronic music would
present concerts at the end of
each semester and he was very
supportive.
“He came and met all the stu
dents. He’s come and given talks
here for the Humanities program,
the Arts and Ideas program, fur
ther programs on campus over
the years.”
As recently as last spring. Dr.
Moog could be seen visiting the
university, often driving his
unique, old-model Toyota,
whimsically hand-painted by his
daughter.
Moog’s spirit continues to live
on at UNCA. Yesterday Kirby
presented a lecture and demon
stration of theremins and other
instruments designed by Moog.
According to Kirby, the
UNCA Music department recent
ly purchased “virtually all of the
equipment that Moog Music
makes right now,” including “a
series of processors that are used
commonly for guitar players and
keyboard players,
Moogerfoogers. Basically
they’re exactly the same as the
modules in his modular synthe
sizers from the late 60s and early
70s and also the electronics that
are in the Minimoog.”
The department will also
receive “the new Voyager
Minimoog with all those oscilla
tors and all the Moogerfoogers
which have some features that
the Minimoog doesn’t have.
Also a breakout box so we can
access all the individual compo
nents of the Minimoog,” said
Kirby. “My students will start
working with it this semester,
then we’re going to have a full
blown electronic music course
for students with the necessary
prerequisites in the spring,” he
said.
Moog was the subject of a doc
umentary film, “Moog,” featured
at the 2004 Asheville Film
Festival. Filmmaker Hans
Fjellestad was one of many in
attendance at Moog’s public
memorial, held August 24 at the
Orange Peel.
“I once asked Bob if he thought
his instruments could remember
him,” Fjellestad said. “He
answered that yes, he supposed
his inventions could carry a
memory of their inventor. I
agree.”
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