Per
LD
3916
. A12
CXCA PERIODICALS
The Blue Banner
LD3916 .A12
43:2 
Men’s basketball loses to
High Point Panthers despite 12
points by Oliver Holmes
Opinion ' Will parking problems cause dhisions Ix'tw een students?' 5
Thougli tanning Ix'ds ha\e
their Ixnelits, tliey may
eause more harm titan gKKl
anthers Pre\ ail
e:mse more harm man g;
The Bl
ue
B
anner
See Sports 7
Volume 44, Issue 2
HHnHnmu-uui aaitut...
Serving the University of North Carolina at Asheville since 1982
Campus Police advance weaponry
)rs
J\few handguns
and shotguns
allotted
for officers
,-a
li'iiK!.-
'•i'M .
By Kristen Marshall
Staff W rtter
Campus Police recently pur
chased new equipment, including
two new shotguns, in order to pro
tect and serve the UNCA campus.
“It was to better equip the
department,” said Steve Lewis,
director of Campus Police.
The North Carolina Governor’s
Crime Commission issued a grant
of around $24,000 to UNCA
Campus Police last year, which
they used to purchase the
weapons. The Commission admin
isters over $30 million in grants to
justice programs all over the state,
according to Lewis.
Two Remington Model 870
pump-action shotguns now sit
between the front seats in two of
the Campus Police vehicles.
“An advantage of the shotgun is
its longer range,” Lewis said.
“Every new officer who’s come
through basic law enforcement
tnining has trained with a shot-
Each officer also received a new
handgun, a .40-caliber Clock 22.
‘To my knowledge, we were the
last agency in Buncombe County
that did not furnish the officers
their handguns,” Lewis said. “The
officer had to buy his or her own
gun. That creates training prob
lems when everything’s not stan
dardized.”
The department also purchased a
recording device, to keep track of
radio transmissions and telephone
calls. Funds from a different
account also allowed them to pur
chase bullet-proof vests, which
each officer now wears at all
times.
“A lot of those things, handguns,
shotguns and vests, are items that
we certainly hope we’ll never have
to use,” Lewis said. “Every day
that goes by that we don’t have to
use them, we’re very, very thank
ful.”
There were no seriously violent
crimes that occurred last year on
campus, and in the past three
years, there has only been one
forcible sex offense, according to
the Campus Security Statistics sur-
Brian Davis - Photography Editor
Campus Police recieved a grant from the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission last year, with
which they purchased new handguns and shotguns. Two Remington Model 870 pump-action shotguns, like
the one shown above, are now located in two of the Campus Police vehicles.
vey, an annual report of all offens
es committed on UNCA’s campus.
Ideally, there are at least three
officers on campus during each
12-hour shift. There are currently
11 officers on staff, but a new offi
cer and sergeant are in the process
of joining the department, accord
ing to Lewis.
The bulk of offenses reported are
property offenses, like larceny and
breaking and entering motor vehi
cles.
The second most common
offense is underage drinking,
according to Lewis.
Most students consider UNCA a
safe campus and are not afraid of
living here.
“I think this is an extremely safe
campus,” said Emily Jones, fresh
man student. “Where I come from,
it really isn’t a safe environment,
so I’m used to having to lock my
doors. I know people here who
leave for class who don’t even
lock their doors.”
The new weaponry the Campus
Police now have has shaken some
students who were not aware of
the new weapons, according to
Amanda Meyers, senior art stu
dent.
“They already carry handguns in
their holsters,” Meyers said.
“What is the point of having two
types of guns when this is a rela
tively safe campus?”
Freshman student Meredith
Wagner-Hoehm agrees.
“It doesn’t make sense. I can
understand why they would need
some sort of weapons, but I’m not
sure if they would need guns in
general,” Wagner-Hoehm said. “I
think having multiple guns is a lit
tle over the top.”
For the younger officers in the
department, it is an on-going
struggle to be taken seriously by
the student body.
When it comes to making
charges, some students do not
think Campus Police has the right
to issue citations and make arrests,
according to Lewis.
“Most of us who have been here
for awhile have grown accustomed
to that, being called security rather
than police,” Lewis said.
A lot has changed in the past
decade as far as the safety of the
campus is concerned.
“When I started in 1995 as a
security officer, day shift officers
did not carry weapons, but evening
shift officers and night shift offi
cers did,” Lewis said.
The number of security phones
on campus has increased, as well,
jumping to about 12 from only
four in a few years.
“Since they are real police, they
should be armed as such,” said
junior Roland Crandall, junior stu
dent. “People aren’t yelling and
screaming about normal cops hav
ing shotguns. I don’t see what the
problem is with Campus Police
being armed as real policemen
because that’s what they are.”
Some students have never expe
rienced anything to cause them to
feel threatened on campus and
think Campus Police is going
overboard to protect students,
according to Meyers.
“There’s no fence around
UNCA,” Lewis said. “Most of the
things that have the capability to
happen in downtown Asheville
have the capability to happen
here.”
Seniors experience reality check
With the ^real
world^ approach
ing seniors face
added stress
By M.R. Vincent
Staff W rtihi
As the needle of the real world
nears the collegiate-buffered bub
ble of UNCA’s graduating seniors,
many of them wonder if they will
rise or fall.
, “On the one hand. I’m graduat-
mg,” said Max Cooper, senior
photography student. “But on the
mher hand, I have an exhibition to
plan. And on the other hand I’m
jj'jonying about life after college.
Btat’s three hands. I don’t have
rimee hands.”
Conveniently located on cam-
Pus, the counseling center serves
^ one place a stressed-out senior
can visit.
TTie many brochures, pamphlets
mid flyers found there assure one
that stress plays a normal part in
college life since college is such a
transitional period for some peo
ple.
The reality of that transition can
really hit home when one’s college
career draws to a close.
‘Transition and change is stress
ful, even when it’s positive, and
even for people who know what is
next for them,” said Maggie
Weshner, director of UNCA’s
Counseling Center.
Weshner compared graduates
from college to other positive
events that create stressors in one’s
life, such as marriage or moving
into a new home.
“College was more stressful the
closer I got to graduation,” said
Erica Richards, UNCA alumna.
“Sometimes I wanted to just quit.
But I kept trekking through it
because some part of me realized I
was very close to accomplishing
something very big.”
The stress is referred to by many
as “senior stress” and harbors
somewhat of a varied nature.
Many times, a senior searches
for the right words to express
these muddled emotions, howev
er, finding these words may
prove elusive, according to
Weshner.
Continual exposure to stress can
comprise the immune system,
according to Weshner.
This can compound the stressful
feelings, feelings which end up
having an effect on the body.
Some students deal with stress
by ignoring it.
By the time graduation nears
student’s lives and schedules are
the most busy and hectic they have
ever been.
Some students simply stop going
to class, ignore other responsibili
ties and sleep irregularly, even
throughout the day.
Other students sometimes give
up hours of sleep for hours of
study.
Still, other students self-med-
icate themselves, potentially using
alternative or unhealthy sub
stances.
Students voice opinions
about Chartwells at Food
Committee Meeting
By Anna Lee
Staff W ritef
SEE Stress page 101
Students showed up with criti
cism, praise, advice and ques
tions for Chartwells Dining
Services at a Food Committee
Meeting on Jan. 26.
Dining Services is continually
evolving, according to Director
Danny Dawkins, who led the
meeting’s discussion.
“Part of what lifestyle dining is,
is what we have to change. We
have to add, because we know
that after you’ve seen the same
thing like eight weeks in a row,
you’ve got to have something
else,” Dawkins said.
Dining Services will make
many of these changes as a direct
result of students’ criticisms,
according to Dawkins.
“We took a lot of the things stu
dents were asking for last semes
ter and put them in this semes
ter,” Dawkins said.
Dining Services is also doing
renovations, according to
Dawkins.
“We have money set aside for
the next four years, and we have
more money set aside for the
health and wellness initiative
that’s going to take place in year
four of our contract. So, it’s going
to come to around 1.4 million
dollars,” Dawkins said.
Chartwells is trying to be more
socially conscious, according to
Dawkins.
“Every one of our coffees is
organic, fair trade and shade-
grown,” Dawkins said. “All (cof
fee) proceeds go back to children
in the coffee-growing countries.”
Students attended the meeting
with various issues.
“I was diagnosed with diabetes
SEE Dining page 101
February 2, 2006
cause
issues
By David Hodges
Staff W rit»
The UNCA campus is under
going major renovations, thanks
to the Higher Education Bond
Referendum, which donated
$50.2 million in voter-approved
funds.
“1 think that it’s nice that we
are getting some new buildings
on campus,” said Lillian Byers,
senior French student. “Most of
the buildings have gotten pretty
old, and new ones will help the
campus to look more attractive.”
New Hall is the next building
scheduled to open, as construc
tion was completed in January.
The $5.5 million project will
house the history, foreign lan
guages, philosophy and human
ities departments.
The largest of the construction
projects is the Zeis Science and
Multimedia Building.
The building is named for
Asheville businessman Steve
Zeis, who donated $3 million to
UNCA, the largest private gift
in the history of the university.
The new four-story building is
expected to feature state-of-the-
art technologies.
It will hold 44 teaching and
research labs, 36 offices, a com
puter lab and two multimedia
lab classrooms. It will also
house the chemistry, biology
and multimedia arts and sci
ences departments.
The on-campus construction
creates some transportation and
parking problems for both stu
dents and faculty members.
“I have noticed that it seems
to take a lot longer to find an
open parking space since the
construction started, especially
late in the morning and early in
the afternoon,” said Amanda
Lusky, junior philosophy stu
dent. “You just can’t seem to
find a spot that is anywhere
close to where you need to be.”
Koslen reminded students that
Campus Operations has made
significant efforts to limit the
inconvenience to both students
and faculty.
“We tried to save as many
parking spots as we could,”
Koslen said. “We have also
doubled the amount of bus
transportation on campus to
help students. Asheville Transit
buses now pass through campus
two times an hour, and they
have printed new maps and
schedules that will help students
with transportation.”
With the parking situation
expected to continue for at least
another year, Koslen pointed
out that the problem is not as
significant as it seems.
“The problem that I think
many students have is that they
now have a longer walk to get
where they are going,” Koslen
said. “Still, there are consistent
ly 125 to 150 unused parking
spots everyday, and that
includes faculty, resident and
commuter spots.”
Koslen recommended that
those with parking problems
look for spaces in the lesser-
used lots.
‘There are always open com
muter spots in lot F,” Koslen
said. ‘There are also open resi
dent spaces in lot A and faculty
spaces in lot 11. These are lots
that people may want to check
in the future.”
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• ^
• «
• •
• *
• \ ♦'
• •
• .«
s',
•
f #