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VOL. 62, ISSUE 8 I WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 201 5 I THEBLUEBANNER.NET
SGA candidates
discuss their
positions
DANIEL HALL
dhall@unca.edu -
News Staff Writer
UNC Asheville’s
Student Govern
ment Association
has a new incom
ing administration.
Over the course of
a hectic week of cam
paigning and debates,
candidates contended
for positions including
president, vice presi
dent and a number of
senatorial seats. Stu
dents cast their votes
through a website
on March 4-5, and
so decided on their
new student govern
ment representatives.
Student participa
tion in the elections
was relatively low.
Last year’s elections
attracted about 800
voters, while barely a
quarter of that num
ber participated this
time. Leigh Whittak
er, senior vice pres
ident at the UNC
Association of Stu
dent Governments,
expressed disappoint
ment with the turnout.
Whittaker said a
common opinion
among students is
the association is not
particularly import
ant. But she pointed
out one of the student
government’s greatest
areas of influence, by
occupying a seat on the
Board of Trustees, is
in decisions regarding
tuition and fees, which
students would do well
to take an interest in.
She said she can
understand the per
ception, and that it is
not unique to UNC A.
Elections tend to at
tract less voter partici
pation as they become
more localized, with
presidential elections
achieving a far greater
turnout than municipal
elections, and student
governments sitting
even lower on that to-
Photo by Daniel Hall -
News Staff Writer
Maya Newlin, the SGA
president-elect, smiling
pretty for the camera.
tern pole. Though she
noted this pattern does
not make a lot of sense
under scrutiny, as
the more local a gov
ernment is, the more
likely it is to have an
•appreciable effect
on the voter’s life.
A private inaugura
tion will take place at
the end of the month,
at which point the
member-elects will
effectively transition
to their new. roles.
A public event will
be held on April 15,
open to anyone who
wishes to attend.
The new presi
dent-elect is Maya
Newlin, a junior
from Winston-Sa
lem, North Carolina,
studying political sci
ence and sociology,
who plans to pursue
hospital administra
tion upon graduating.
She is a student am
bassador, founder and
president of Shades
of Color, an online
multicultural news
letter, and is involved
with the Black Stu
dent Association. As
president, her powers
include appointing
executives devoted to
a number of distinct
areas, and serving as
a voting member on
the Board of Trustees.
One of her top prior-
SEE SGA ON PAGE 4
Pillar of UNCA community retiring
MICHAEL O’HEARN
michael. ohearn 19 @gmait.
com - Sports Staff Writer
After 28 years of
service for the ath
letics department at
UNC Asheville, Mike
Gore has announced
his retirement.
Gore, who acts as
associate director of
athletics for external
affairs as well as an
assistant for sports
management for the
department, will re
tire effective April 1.
According to Gore,
a friend presented to
him the position at
UNCA a few years af
ter he graduated from
Appalachian State
University in 1984.
“Way back in 1986,
a friend of mine had
this job opportu
nity as a sports ad
ministrator here and I
thought it would be a
great opportunity since
UNCA was going to
be going to the Divi
sion I and all,” Gore
said. “I was working
at the Henderson
ville Times-News at
the time. It was just a
chance I took and I’ve
been here ever since.”
Janet Cone, who
has worked alongside
Gore as athletics di
rector for 12 years, has
known him since her
coaching days at Mars
Hill in the early 1980s.
Cone said Gore is a
leader for the univer
sity and she has en
joyed seeing him at
work every day during
her tenur^ at UNCA.
“Working with a per
son who always has a
smile on their face
when you come in
and always asks, one,
‘How are you?’ and,
two, ‘What can I do to
help you?’ makes him
a champion and lead
er to this university,
the students, coach
es and community,”
Cone said. “It’s been
a joy to work with
him. Mike’s a problem
solver, a friend and he
loves the university.
You don’t see the kind
of unselfish and loyal
person Mike is very
Photo by - Michael O’ Hearn
Mike Gore warms up for a baseball game.
“I wish Gore the best and I hope that he and his
wife eet to travel as much as they can stand. Thank
you for being a mentor and a friend to bodi Adrian
and I in our young lives. As we transitiori into our
new lives as a married couple, I can only hope we are
as pleasant, friendly and caring as you ^d your wife
lisa have been to us. You may not realize it, but you
have a major impact on our lives.”
- Jeremy Gower
often these days, much
less someone who
has sustained a job
for almost 30 years.”
Because he felt 30
years as a director is a
long time for a career.
Gore said that he be
lieved that now would
be the right time
to retire, at age 52.
“That had always
been the thought in the
back of my mind, to
retire after 30 years,”
Gore said. “This job
has been seven days
a week doing things
like updating the web
site and taking care
of games and it has
been intense, even
during the summer
time. Beyond that, I
really want to spend
time with my wife
Lisa, who is a pros
ecutor, and just slow
down for a little bit.”
Jeremy Gower, ju
nior, commented on
what he hopes Gore
will take away from
being at UNCA, say
ing that he has been
an inspiration to him
and his fiance, Adri
an Etheridge, senior.
“I wish Gore the best
and I hope that he and
his wife get to travel
as much as they can
stand,” Gower said.
“Thank you for being
a mentor and a friend
to both Adrian and I in
our young lives. As we
transition into our new
lives as a married cou
ple, I can only hope
we are as pleasant,
friendly and earing
SEE RETIREMENT ON PAGES
Students progress with
PRO(TECH)T
EMMA ALEXANDER
nalexand@unca.edu -
News Staff Writer
After
winning the Social
Entrepreneurship
Conference, Madi
son Eddings, junior,
and Ben Eisdorf-
er, sophomore, used
their prize money
to move forward
with PRO(TECH)T.
“We have opened an
offieial PRO(TECH)
T bank account with
the prize money and
personal funds,” Ed
dings said. “I think it’s
going toward mostly
prototyping costs.”
The invention could
have been a complete
ly conceptual idea,
but the pair decided
to move forward us-
SEE PRO(TECH)T ON PAGE 7
UNCA student dies in dorm
MADDIE STAGNARO
mstagnar@unca.edu -
Multimedia Editor
The Blue Banner
staff regrets to an
nounce the death of a
student and member
of our community.
Sam Spom, senior
and Durham native,
was found in his West
Ridge Hall room
Sunday morning.
UNC Asheville Po
lice and Asheville
Police Department
have ruled out foul
play but the details
of his death have not
been released. Our
thoughts and prayers
go out to Spom’s
friends and family.
If you or someone
you know is in need
of counseling, ser
vices are available
at 828-251-6520.
UNCA campus police
will provide an on-
call counselor if ser
vices are needed out
side of normal hours.