Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Sept. 20, 2007, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE Blue Banner Cross Country Travelogue Team hosts Big South Student travels to the land home meet in down under, learns lessons Hendersonville, of survival, see page 10 see page 4. THUR. 80 51 naa FRI. 80 56 SAT. 84 58 SUN. 85 5(i lliursday, September 20, 2007 w w'wainca.edu/banner Vol. 47, Issue 4 THE NEWS IN BRIEF Protesters flock to Washington, DX7. By Caroline P'ry Stafk Writer Merrimon makeover angers business owners Merrimon Ave. Business owners disagree with the city of Asheville’s plans to make the street more pedestrian-friendly. The proposed rules require new construction and renovation proj ects to be two-story and offer safer sidewalks. Business owners argue the con struction causes a financial burden, while residents call for a safer Merrimon Ave. O J. Simpson in famiKar territory, faces life in prison O.J. Simpson and three other men face charges including kid napping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon regarding a rob bery of sports memorabilia in a casino hotel room. If convicted, Simpson, 60, faces life in prison. Student Tasered after trying to question, heckle John Kerry Police Tasered a University of Florida student Monday who refused to surrender the micro phone at a lecture given by Sen. John Kerry. Andrew Meyer, 21, questioned Kerry about involvement in Skull and Bones and impeaching President Bush before officers attempted to remove Meyer. Videos of Meyer resisting offi cers are available online. Kerry can be heard telling the audience he 1 will answer the question. ■' University officials called the event regretful, but attribute the incident to efforts to keep a safe environment for faculty and stu dents. - compiled by Aaron Dahlstrom A historic protest calling for an end to U.S. involvement in Iraq took place in Washington. D.C. on Saturday. The protest began with a rally near the White House followed by a march along Pennsylvania Ave., and concluded with a “die-in” in front of the U.S. Capitol, where people laid down in an act of civil di.sobedience to protest the war. “Today is a historic day,” said Emelia McDonald, an activist who helped organize the protest. “People came from across the country to lay down in an act of civil disobedience, which resulted in hundreds of people being arrested, including war veterans. It shifts the movement from protest to resistance, which is the only thing that’s going to stop this war.” Of the reported 100,000 Protesters in attendance, nearly 1,000 Protesters participated in the “die-in,” according to the Associated Press. Participants were subject to arrest by the police officers that barricaded the front of the U.S. Capitol . The act sym bolized the U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians who have died during the Iraq war. Police arrested almost 200 peo ple, and officers pepper sprayed some who protested near them, according to AP. The Coalition to Act Now to Stop War and Eradicate Racism, a national coalition, organized the protest. Many different organiza tions, including the Muslim American Society, Freedom Foundation, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Pastors for Peace, comprise ANSWER. “ANSWER is an anti-imperial istic organization that asks mem bers of Congress to step up to the Bush administration and have a backbone,” McDonald said. “We organize these protests to get our message out there to the rest of the country.” The only way to end the Iraq war is for citizens to keep resisting the government and protest as much as possible, according to McDonald. “If you look back in history, it has never been the politicians on the Hill who have stopped the war,” she said. “In Vietnam, it was the Vietnamese resistance, the military resistance and the American resistance. This is the only way to make the politicians pay attention.” Many groups joined the protest. Freshmen volunteers call ACT Day a waste By Courtney Metz Staff Writer Although some viewed this year’s Active Citizenship Together in Asheville, held Sept. 11, as a success, some freshman student said the event was too unorgan ized. “They had, like, teams of 14 screwing in a light bulb,” said Christina Bradley, freshman stu dent. “We’re college students. How many college students does it take to screw in a light bulb? Not that many, I hope.” Participants spent much of the day sitting around, according to Michelle Peck, freshman student. “I feel like we could have done more because there was a lot of down time,” Peck said. “We could have accomplished a lot more if it would have been a little more organized. There was just too much free time for us.” Students installed light bulbs for the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, the university’s part ner for the event. However, they did much more than replace light bulbs, according to event coordi nator Merritt Moseley, Key Club advisor and literature professor. “They also washed windows. They passed out safety brochures and handouts to elderly people,” Moseley said. “The team that I went with didn’t do anything with light bulbs. Some of us painted and primed some boards on which children paint pictures. And the rest of us cleaned up.” Students installed more than 5,000 energy-efficient, compact fluorescent light bulbs. Appalachian Offsets, a program of the Western North Carolina Green Building Council, donated the bulbs. “The ACT project on Sept. 11 was the largest one-day light bulb change out I know of, said Matt SEE ACT PAGE 21 •C Au, Photos by Caroline Fry Protesters gather outside the UJS. Capital for a “die-in” on Saturday. About 100,000 people gathered, including war veterans, students and other civilians, calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Dozens of police officers in full riot gear barricade the front of the Capital Building while protesters con tinue to gather. Right: Counter-protesters shout from the streets, waving flags in support of the troops. including students from all over the world. A group of students from the Helmholtz-Gymnasium in Bonn, Germany, came to the United States specifically to take place in the protest. “It is very important that unnec essary wars stop,” said a German student, “There is no need for the Iraq war. I’ve looked at so many memorials in Washington today, and there is no need for another one. A few students from UNC Asheville attended the rally, including Zach Shitama, senior student. He said the two protests he participated in earlier in the Iraq war were much larger. “It disappoints me that there aren’t as many people protesting today as when the war began,” Shitama said. “1 also think that the organization of the protest could have been much better. The arrests were definitely the best part.” According to a Sept. 10 AP poll, 65 percent of Americans disap prove of the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. CBS and the New York Times conducted a poll showing 30 per cent of Americans supported removing all U.S. troops from Iraq, and 35 percent supported reducing troop presence there. “This has turned into a very unpopular war,” said Michael O’Donald, an activist for the 9/11 Truth Movement. “This administration has told us countless lies to get us involved in Iraq, including lies about weapons of mass destruction, Osama bin Laden and the hijackers who apparently attacked us. People arc now starting to realize what has hap pened and arc taking to the streets.” Although O’Donald said he did not know if protesting the war would ultimately help end U.S. involvement in Iraq, he said it is the only way he can think of to spread the truth about the war to the general public. “All 1 can do is try my best to push forward and spread our mes sage as much as I can,” O’Donald said. “We can march on Washington as much as possible, but we’re still not hitting the peo ple we need to. Everyone needs to know the truth, especially the peo ple who arc still supporting the war.” The message the Iraq veterans who were protesting were sending was the best way to get public attention, according to Brian Smith, a Gulf War veteran and member of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. “Seeing our troops hauled away in handcuffs because they’re expressing their First Amendment right to protest is a great image,” Smith said. “For the soldiers to show the dignity and reserve they have shown today by making their voices heard is a wonderful thing. I definitely support what they are doing.” Smith also said protesting the Iraq war helped him deal with his own experiences fighting in the Gulf War. “Protesting has personally helped me as a veteran to deal with my issues about war in gen eral, and I find it very empower- SEE Protest page 21 New environmental center blossoms By Clary Tedford Staff Writer UNC Asheville’s new Student Environmental Center, which opened Sept. 10 in the Highsmith University Union, plans to create a model of environmental sustainability for universities. “I thought the opening was a huge success. We had a large number of students in atten dance, as well as a few staff, faculty, adminis trators, public officials and a few media out lets,” said John Bucher, advisor of SEC and director of campus recreation. Chancellor Anne Ponder and Asheville City Council members Robin Cape and Brownie Newman attended the opening ceremonies. Senior environmental science students Jonathan Barnes and Anna Lange, co-direc tors, will take charge of the center during its first year. “It was readily apparent that the Southeast region is lagging behind in the areas of envi ronmental stewardship and sustainability,” Barnes said. An environmental conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder inspired the four participating UNC Asheville students to create the SEC, which they established under the Student Affairs division. The conference It was readily apparent that the Southeast region is lag ging behind in the areas of environmental stewardship and sustainability. Jonat han Earners C(F Director Student Environmental Center resulted in the UNC Asheville Green Campus Initiative, according to Barnes. “I was one of the four students who went to Colorado to CU Boulder, where we found a much more progressive climate for environ mental action and awareness at the Boulder campus,” Barnes said. “What we saw in Colorado was ultimately what inspired us to pursue the creation of the Student Environmental Center at UNC A.” Seeing another campus make environmental sustainability a priority is extremely valuable. according to Joan Walker, SEC intern and sen ior environmental science student. “Looking at successes from other campus communities really has given us an edge to better achieve our goals at UNC Asheville,” Walker said. “We found that we are lucky to have a strong environmental ethic at UNCA. Our students, faculty and staff are concerned about environmental issues, and that’s the first step.” In fall 2006, a group of students proposed objectives to reduce the campus’ environmen tal impact. “Our main objective was to lobby the stu dent fee committee to obtain a portion of stu dent fees that would be used to purchase renewable energy credits to offset UNCA’s carbon footprint,” Walker said. Lange said she encourages students to get involved in the student fee decision process to understand how their money is being spent. “Being a part of these conversations is very important,” Lange said. This could be an important foundation for the future of sustainability at UNC Asheville, according to Bucher, who said his only appre hension is that the university will not be able SEE ENyiRONMENT PAGE 2 | I i4 ' I I'l I 41 li k
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 20, 2007, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75