The Blue Banner I 3.232011
News Briefs
CompUed by Trevor Metcalfe
Fake currency found,
makers face jail time
A group marketing a fake
currency in the Asheville
area was recently convicted
of conspiracy against the
government in federal court.
Bernard von NotHaus is
faced with 25 years in prison
for creating and distributing
a currency called the Liberty
Dollar. NotHaus apparently
presented the money as an
alternative to the official
currency, free from inflation.
Charges are still pending
against William Kevin Innes,
who attempted to convince
local retailers to accept the
currency.
Teenagers sick after
synthetic drug use
Three Madison High stu
dents Were hospitalized
Monday after becoming sick
from synthetic marijuana.
According to principal Tony
Tipton, one student was con
vulsing on the floor, while
the other two were pale and
passive. The three report
edly consumed Mary Joy,
a brand of synthetic mari
juana. Known to cause el
evated heart rates, paranoia
and vomiting, among other
symptoms, many states have
outlawed the substance.
Railway brings 4,000
new jobs to N.C.
North Carolina is getting
more than 4,000 new jobs
from an agreement with
Norfolk Southern Railway
Co., Amtrak and N.C. Rail
road Co., according to Gov.
Bev Perdue. The agreement
will start up the state’s rail
modernization program and
utilize $461 million in feder
al funds from the American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. The project will im
prove tracks between Raleigh
and Charlotte, and create 24
projects in 11 counties.
Management department prepares for cuts
Anne Marie Roberts
amrober1@unca.edu - Staff Writer
Management and accounting
students at UNC Asheville say
they worry budget cuts will de
preciate the educational value
of the department, but accord
ing to faculty, the answer lies
with good planning and man
agement skills on the part of the
students.
“We want students to know
their education is of primary
interest to us, and they need to
understand the value of patience
and good planning, which is
more important now than ever,”
said Linda Nelms, professor of
management and second vice
chair of the faculty senate at
UNCA.
The campus-wide budget
crisis affects the department of
management and accountancy
in two major ways, Nelms said.
“The reduction of hours for
our adjunct professors means
courses can’t be offered flexi
bly,” she said. “Also, our intern
ship coordinator position was
one of the few actual academic
jobs eliminated.”
The chair of the department,
Claudel McKenzie, declined to
comment.
“It is a smaller department,
it’s very intimate,” said Brit
tany Curtis, who is planning
to declare a management ma
jor in the fall. “If there are any
losses, they will certainly be
felt because the department is
so small.”
Nine professors work for the
department. The remainder of
the faculty consists of lecturers
and adjunct professors.
“We have always promised
our students they would be
able to take the core classes
needed to complete the program
at night,” Nelms said. “Many
of our students need to work,
and night is the best option for
classes for them.”
With the reduction of adjunct
hours and positions, that op
tion may become slimmer for
students since the frequency of
classes and times offered reduc
es drastically.
“It’s frustrating for me to see
that some of the best teachers
get paid less because of a lesser
Jess Peete - Staff Photographer
Assistant professor Alycia Fogle lectures in her Principles of Marketing class. Cuts to the management
department could affect the number of classes offered and the flexibility of the class schedule.
degree, so I can’t even imagine
how they feel already getting
paid less and now being cut in
their hours even more,” Curtis
said.
The other major change to the
program comes with the elimi
nation of the director of man
agement internship position.
“Students will now have to
find their required internship
on their own or with the help of
the career center,” Nelms said.
“Internships will be hugely im
pacted by this change.”
The internship coordinator
position, held by David Mitch
ell, afforded students guidance
in locating and securing an in
ternship and establishing a final
project, as well as a collabora
tive link between students and
advisors.
“The internships were really
mentorships from a professor
for our professional develop
ment,” Curtis said. “Will the
professors who take on the extra
work from this eliminated role
now be paid less for all the work
they do while their workload in
creases?”
An indirect effect of budget
cuts does mean a redistribution
of responsibility among the de
partment, faculty senate mem
ber Nelms said.
“Adjuncts don’t get paid for
advising or staying late, and
they can’t serve on department
committees,” Nelms said. “That
work then falls on the faculty
we have left. Everyone wears a
hat. I like wearing hats, but just
one at a time.”
Students said they hope de
partments across campus recog
nize the added pressure placed
on faculty and that the univer
sity will find ways to prevent it
from negatively impacting the
classroom.
“My biggest concern, in re
gards to budget cuts, is that
professors will become so over
whelmed with having to take
on additional classes and hav
ing fewer resources that student
learning and the college experi
ence will suffer,” Anna Bern
hardt, senior management
student, said.
The management and accoun
tancy department stands with
other departments across cam
pus in making sure the core cur
riculum does not change in its
educational standards, Nelms
said.
“In the midst of all these bud
get cuts across campus, the num
ber one priority and concern for
our department has been, and
always will be, the students,”
associate professor of manage
ment Bryan Schaffer said.
Many management and ac
counting students said they are
not aware of the details of how
the budget shortfall may impact
their department.
“As a student who pays thou
sands of dollars a year, you
should know what’s going on
with your money,” Brevard-na
tive Curtis said. “I want to know
what’s going on, especially for
my department.”
Curtis said she believes the
Internet should play a vital part
in alerting students to changes
within their department and as
sisting in understanding how it
impacts them.
“(The changes produced by
the budget cuts) are going to
make it necessary for students
to be proactive with planning
for their education, which is not
a bad thing for a management/
accounting student to learn,”
Nelms said.