D
*1 ••
Premiere lea\'es many guests
enehanted, thirsting for more.
ilkamesh
JavisI
Women get first eonferenee w in.
.(K*ccr
anner
See EnteRXTAIN 4
Ill ■■
See SI’OK I'S 8
Volume 45, Issue 4
Scr\ing the University of North (]arolina at Ashe\ ille .sinee 1982
September 21, 2006
n.
iNSflDE
PAGE
STUDENT ART
EXHIBIT
CAU9E8
Controversy
PAGE'
WELL-BRED
Bakery
OFFERS A
Lot more
?AGE
LEARN
ABOUTTHE
QUAKER'S
RELIGION
. i '■
WEEKEN0'\^>^
W'E/vT
Widespread rumors infiltrate student body
By Caity Pelliccia
Staff Writer
New Pledge
law causes
controversy
across state
By Courtney Metz
Staff Writer
A new law passed this summer,
which mandates all North Carolina
classrooms schedule a time for stu
dents to say the Pledge of
Allegiance, sparked controversy
throughout the state.
Boards of education across
North Carolina must require the
display of the national and state
flags, the recitation of the Pledge
and must provide age-appropriate
teaching on the meaning and histo
ry of the flag and the Pledge,
according to the senate hill.
As a grandparent and as a par
ent. I m opposed to it,” said
Brenda Hopper, director of the
Teaching Fellows program. “I
would tell my children or my
grandchildren, ‘Sure, participate.
Bui if you don’t want to, that is
okay too.’”
While the hill requires class-
SEE Pledge page 31
UNC Asheville’s newly
installed granite replica of the uni
versity’s seal on the Quad has cre
ated questions among the student
body over where the school
spends their tuition money.
‘‘I didn’t even realize they were
putting it (the seal) in,” said Laura
Ingersoll, sophomore student. “I
just walked by one day and was
like ‘Where did this come from?”’
Many students assumed the
school used tuition money to build
the new addition.
“I figured the school was using
our money to try and make our
school look better,” said Megan
McGrady, sophomore student.
In fact, the class of 1999 gave
the seal to the university as a gift.
“Every senior class makes some
sort of collective gift to the uni
versity,” said Rebecca Lamb,
annu^ fund officer. “In 1999, they
decided to give a giant replica of
the university seal.”
Many students said they do not
actually know what their tuition
money is being used for.
“I guess I don't really know
where my tuition goes,” McGrady
said. “We seem to pay so much,
but I just don't see what it is all
going to.”
William Massey, vice chancellor
for alumni and development, said
it is important to point out these
issues and inform students and
families, who spend thousands of
dollars a year, where their money
goes.
“Tuition basically becomes part
of state dollars,” said Jolene
Elkins, the university controller.
“It’s combined with other money
like our state appropriations and
other things that are collected that
belong to the state. This becomes
part of the state budget and this is
allocated usually through univer
sity senior staff.”
Administrators said it is impor
tant to know the difference
between gifts given to the school
and things bought by the universi
ty through tuition and state
money.
“Most of it (tuition money) goes
to the academic support, to pay
faculty and to pay staff,” Elkins
said. ‘That’s a good portion of our
budget.”
Other material items covered by
tuition funds include classroom
supplies, according to Elkins.
Some students trust the univer
sity with the money they give to
>V*
 r
-spfr
3
'T *
'
''Af V VN
Abby Kent - Staff Photographer
The graduating class of 1999 raised about $7,000 in order to purchase this unique granite seal for the
main Quad. Weighing more than 4,000 pounds, the sudden presence of the gift caused many students
to speculate the university used student fees and tuition money to purcha.se the seal. While the school
uses student fees to pay salaries, among other things, no tuition money was used to purchase the seal.
the school, according to Jared
McGee, intern for the University
Ambassadors and senior music
student.
“I got a great deal for a four-
year college,” McGee said. “I
trust the school with the utmost
confidence that they can'keep the
money in order.”
However, when the extensively
detailed seal made its home on the
Quad at the beginning of the
semester, students began to won
der.
The school became so excited
about installing the seal, that a
sign explaining the gift did not
appear until after the it previewed,
according to Rebecca Lamb,
annual fund officer.
“We had the seal ready and
wanted it to be in place for the
installation,” Lamb said. “And so,
we haven’t had the dedication yet.
It hasn’t been identified who the
gift eame from. We know that
caused confusion.”
The gift adds something special
to the Quad, where it was previ
ously lacking, according to Laura
Beth Payne, junior history stu
dent.
“I think the new seal on the quad
is beautiful. It seems to complete
the ilagpole area,” Payne said.
“My question is why did it take so
long for the gift from the class of
1999 to arrive?”
The purchase of the seal
required the entire class to raise
more money than any other pre
ceding class.
“It was really the most ambi
tious campaign,” Lamb said. “It
was more money than anyone had
ever needed to raise. They didn’t
get the money before graduation,
and they continued to raise
money.”
The class of 1999 raised the
money for the replica entirely by
themselves, according to Lamb.
They did not use any tuition or
state funds.
The project ended up costing
around $7,000, which proved to
be a huge endeavor for the 465
students who graduated in 1999,
according to Lamb.
“(The seal) is made from a sin
gle block of granite that weighs
over 4,000 pounds,” Lamb said.
“They had to mine that piece of
granite specifically for this project
because normally they quarry
granite in four-foot blocks. They
had to identify a piece of stone in
the quarry that was perfect to be
able to use for a project like that.”
Students and administrators said
the senior class’ tradition of giving
gifts to the university is important.
“I think giving gifts show that
students can actually give back to
the campus since students were
given the opportunity for higher
education,” McGee said.
The university seal is an impor
tant part of the university’s histo
ry, according to Lamb.
The seal depicts Mount Pisgah,
which can be seen from the steps
of the Ramsey Library. Created in
the 1930s by a local engraver,
Harry Safe, it is symbolic of the
university’s ties to the community
and its setting around the moun
tain, according to information pro
vided by the university.
“I think putting the seal on eam-
pus really helps the university
bring forth more understanding of
why we are a liberal arts universi
ty,” McGee said.
The school expects to receive
gifts from other graduating class
es, including a clock for the Quad
from the class of 2000, a mobile
for the Highsmith Union from the
class of 2003 and a waterfall for
the front entranee into campus
from the class of 2005.
Installation brings Ponder home,
reminds campus of its history
By Christa Chappelle
Staff Writer
Megan Wildman - Staff Photographer
Chancellor Anne Ponder took an oath and officially accepted the seat as the head of the university on the
Quad Friday ^any friends, colleagues and public figur^ from across the nation came together to cele-
hrafo o.- • r not onlv for Ponder, but for the university as well. After the ceremony,
eue«;t ijome in the South and enjoyed a buffet of fried chicken, green bean
SroTe and apple cobbler, all topped off with a ice-cold glass of sweet tea.
In an emotional ceremony fea
turing words from longtime
friends, colleagues and public fig
ures from across the nation last
week. Chancellor Anne Ponder
took an official oath to serve as
UNC Asheville’s sixth chancellor.
“I’ve actually felt the joy I’ve
seen only twice in my life,” said
Erskine Bowles, president of the
UNC system. “The first time was
when I told Madeline Albright she
was going to be secretary of state.
(Chancellor Ponder’s installation)
was really the second time in my
life I’ve felt the joy I saw.”
Before returning to her home
town of Asheville, Ponder served
as the president of Colby-Sawyer
College for 10 years.
“She had a wonderful part of her
career at Colby-Sawyer College,”
said Doug Atkins, former col
league and vice president of
administration from Colby-
Sawyer College. “Knowing that
this was her mountain home and
her roots. I’m sure she will do
wonderful things for the university
because she loves this area and the
people of this area from the bottom
of her heart.”
After the university formally
installed Ponder in a ceremony on
the Quad Friday afternoon, guests
and participants attended a moun
tain picnic.
Several attendees said Ponder
will serve as the perfect fit for
UNC Asheville.
“She is the right leader for this
university,” Bowles said. “The
one thing I heard when I talked to
academics throughout the country
about Anne Ponder was what a
great strategic mind she has. I’ve
called her a lot and asked her for
advice on strategy.”
The chancellor came into office
in October, but the university
decided not to have the installation
ceremony in the spring because of
the already scheduled National
Conference of Undergraduate
Research, according to William
Massey, vice chancellor of alumni
and development, who also
chaired the committee of students,
faculty and staff that planned the
ceremony.
“We did not have the capacity to
stretch ourselves to do two huge
events in the same season,”
Massey said. “Chancellor Ponder
was very generous in saying that
NCUR has already been scheduled
for many years, and the date of that
should not be changed and her
installation can be moved to the
fall.”
While Founders Day fell on last
Friday, the installation ceremony
took the place of the regular pro
gram held each year, according to
Massey.
“We traditionally have a pro
gram for tradition and felt that
(Ponder’s installation) was the
most important thing to bring to
our university community,”
Massey said.
Rather than the ceremony con
centrating solely on Ponder, it also
focused on the university, accord
ing to Jared McGee, senior music
student.
“1 spoke with some people about
the installation, and some say they
thought the installation was prima
rily focused on her, but the way I
witnessed it and during her speech,
she really emphasized the univer
sity on how she wanted it to grow
through the liberal arts education
by raising the curriculum level up
SEE Installation page s|