VOL. 61, ISSUE 10 I WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5, 2014 I THEBLUEBANNER.NET
Police
Chief
gains
new title
VALERIE McMURRAY
vrmcmurr@unca.edu -
Asst. News Editor
One person oversees all
university police, emergen
cy management, transpor
tation and parking at UNC
Asheville - Police Chief
Eric Boyce, who became
assistant vice chancellor
for public safety before the
start of the fall term.
Bill Haggard, vice
chancellor for student af
fairs, created the new po
sition based on the amount
of responsibility Boyce
carried as chief,
“I did a comparison of
Chief Boyce’s areas of
responsibility with other
police chiefs in the UNC
system and I found that his
areas of responsibility are
the largest,” Haggard said.
Boyce joined UNCA
as police chief in August
2Q10 following 12 years
at North Carolina School
of the Arts Police Depart
ment. He supervises more
than 20 staff members re
sponsible for public safety,
property security, environ
mental safety, transporta
tion services and parking.
. Salary for the new posi
tion totals $98,700, which
is on par with the median
annual salary for a police
chief in the United States.
Boyce has increased
training for police officers
and dispatchers, including
preparedness for disasters
and active shooters. Hag
gard said this was one of
Boyce’s greatest accom
plishments as police chief.
“We have run real life,
full scale exercises. We
SEE CHIEF ON PAGE 2
Tibetan monks visit campns
Photo by James Neal - Contributor
Tibetan monks work to create their sand mandala in Highsmith Student Union.
Monks ojfer students new philosophies
JAMES NEAL
jneal@unca.edu -
Contributor
Two monks wrapped in
maroon robes took seats in
Highsmith Student Union’s
third floor lounge, smiling
despite the chaos around
them.
Their clothing was
identical down to their
eyeglasses, save for the
gold-colored tunic beneath
their robe.
The smaller of the pair,
Thubten Loden, a geshe,
sat prepared to translate
for his companion, Lob-
sang Gyatso, chantmaster
for the group of Tibetan
monks constructing a sand
mandala two floors below.
A day prior, Loden deliv
ered a speech on death and
dying, comparing Western
culture’s avoidance of the
topic against the open dis
cussion of death in Tibet.
He spoke slowly, often
repeating himself, on how
death should be something
you prepare for daily and
treat as an inevitable fact
of life.
Tibetan Buddhists view
dying as a beginning, not
an end. Death is part of a
cycle where what matters
is how you treat other peo
ple. Compassion was fre
quently mentioned in the
geshe’s speeches during
the Drepung Loseling
monastery’s residency at
UNC Asheville.
Despite extensive dam
age to important monas
teries during the Chinese
occupation of Tibet and re
strictions on the few monks
still within their homeland,
Drepung monastery con
tinues to operate in exile.
“During the cultural
revolutions, more than
6,000 monasteries were
destroyed,” Loden said.
before expanding on the
objectives of the Mystical
Arts of Tibet tour. “The
first is to promote peace
and harmony in this world,
with the unique Tibetan
tradition of nonviolence
and compassion. The sec
ond is to make awareness
of the situation facing Ti
betans and their culture.
Its existence is threatened,
and we think it is a loss for
the whole of humanity. The
third one is, we are trying
to preserve our ancient cul
ture in India, in exile. For
that, whatever proceeds
we gain from the tour, we
use for the education and
healthcare of the monks in
training in exile.”
Even while discussing
the near-complete eradi
cation of Tibetan culture
within Tibet, Loden re
mained visibly composed,
laughing when asked
how the tour had affected
the monks’ daily activi
ties. Within India, during
non-holidays, the monks
spend the majority of their
day in prayer, studying or
debating Buddhist philos
ophy. These activities are
affected by the time re
straints of traveling.
The traveling monks
only debate during demon
strations, and limit prayers
and meditations to short
sessions when the group
drives or spends time to
gether.
Still, Loden said the
monks find time to offer
libations to what he re
ferred to as dharma protec
tors, ensuring the success
of their activites, and to
perform the nyensen invo
cation, calling on positive
forces prior to their shows.
“The first type of chant
is a way to prepare the
space through sound,”
SEE MONKSON PAGE 2
Working students face minimum wage struggle
KEKE MAIER
kmaier@unca.edu -
Contributor
Working students strug
gle to stay ahead with a
shrinking minimum wage.
The real value of mini
mum wage decreased by
one-third since its peak in
1968.
According to the Nation
al Employment Law Proj
ect’s website, if the federal
minimum wage kept up
with inflation rates during
the past 40 years, it would
cun-ently be $10.90 per
hour.
“It obviously needs to
K ...1—
be raised, it’s just been too
long,” said Michael Moss,
a health and wellness
student from Greens
boro. “As a student getting
helped out and working
minimum wage. I’m do
ing OK, but there’s a lot of
people supporting families
on those wages and have to
work two jobs. I think it’s
unreasonable for someone
to have to work more than
40 hours a week to support
themselves on a basic lev
el.”
North Carolina’s min
imum wage remains the
same as the federal mini
mum wage of $7.25. Just
Economics of Western
North Carolina reported
the living wage, or the
minimum amount an em
ployee must earn to afford
basic necessities without
assistance, for Buncombe
County is $11.85.
The difference between
the living wage and the
actual minimum wage re
cently sparked protests and
strikes across the country.
On Sept. 4, fast food
workers in 150 cities par
ticipated in a nationwide
strike, demanding a pay
increase of more than 100
percent, from $7.25 to $ 15,
according to the move
ment’s website.
Sarah Westendorf, a
senior art history student
from Chapel Hill, said the
increase should depend on
where a worker lives.
“I think studies should
be done to see what the liv
ing wage is and to see if it
can be met in each part of
the country,” Westendorf
said.
Will Peterson, a junior
from Wilmington, said he
thinks raising the wage to '
$15 is too much. He said
the amount of work a fast
food employee is respon
sible for is not worth that
amount.
Those opposed to raising
the minimum wage cite
rising unemployment as
a negative outcome. Ac
cording to a study by the
Economic Policy Institute,
raising the federal mini
mum wage from $7.25 to
$10.10 during the next two
years would increase the
gross domestic product by
about $22 billion and cre
ate approximately 85,000
new jobs.
The Obama administra
tion recently attempted to
SEE WAGE ON PAGE 2
Student
death
sparks
dialogue
CALLIE JENNINGS
cjenning@unca.edu -
Staff Writer
Nick Igou, junior and
mass communications stu
dent at UNC Asheville,
died the weekend of Oct.
24 in his off campus apart
ment.
“I met Nick at the be
ginning of my newswrit
ing class, so only a few
months, but in that time
he proved himself to be
insightful, analytical and
just a sweet kid,” said
Brandon Bouchillon, vis
iting assistant professor
from lyier, Texas.
Those who had the plea
sure to know Igou, like
Bouchillon, knew him as
respectful, prompt and al
ways ready to learn.
“We wore the same
glasses. We built on that.
We had shared experienc
es. He was a great student
and I know I only knew
him for a few months,
but it’s a big shame to the
whole world,” Bouchillon
said.
Bouchillon gave an as
signment to his class: pick
a broad national trend and
localize it to UNCA, then
humanize it using local
sources.
Igou made the choice to
write his paper on depres
sion on college campuses
and how it can go unde
tected, according to his
peers.
The story focused on
emotional disorders and
depression in the United
States. Igou spoke to peo
ple on campus who dealt
with these problems and
how to find ways to fix
these Issues.
Depression on college
campuses is very com
mon, according to univer
sity officials.
“Depression is a result
of stress. The college en
vironment is stressful in
a variety of ways. If you
look at the factors that im
pact the performance of
college students, stress is
the number one thing and
it has been for years. De
pression is pretty prevalent
on college campuses and
the ages 18 to 24 are when
a lot of mental health is
sues come out,” said Jay
Cutspec, director of
health and counseling.
Cutspec said he did not
know Igou, although he
did meet him when Igou
came to interview Cutspec
SEE DEATH ON PAGE 2