ZDD 1
K/M ARCH
VOLUME L.II, Number 35
Inside
This
Issue.
Take a look at the
latest UNCW
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at’
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Serving UNC-Wilmington Since 1948
m^sS^jomWSatwn Fledge Alliance
'' .nH so far it is the onlv school involved with poUtical issues.” senior John
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STAFF WRITER
A national movement urging graduat
ing seniors to think proactively about their
personal, social and environmental values
relating to future employment has arrived
at UNCW.
The Graduation Pledge Alliance
(GPA) is committed to bringing so
cial and environmental issues to the
forefront of those making the tran
sition from school to work force,
according to UNCW Leadership
Center literature.
The alliance asks seniors near
ing graduation to voluntarily partici
pate by taking a pledge that reads; “I
pledge to explore and take into account
the social and environmental conse
quences of any job I consider and will try
to improve these aspects of any organiza
tions for which I work.”
GPA was founded at Humbolt State
University in California. Notable schools
among the 27 that participate include
Harvard University, Massachusetts Insti
tute of Technology, and the University of
Kansas. This is the fust year UNCW has
participated, and so far it is the only school
in North Carolina to participate.
Ehzabeth Ervin, an English professor
who also volunteers her time in the Lead
ership Center, came up with the idea of
bringing GPA to UNCW. Ervin said she
involved with poUtical issues,” senior John
Kaiser said. “How far do you take it? I
think it’s an abuse of a part of the
univeristy that is pubUcly funded to pro
mote a poUtical issue.”
Ervin said that last year, former UNCW
sturentjImesCooper^andtheLeadership
sawas^oryhi^ghtmgGPAmAe^^^^^ Center conducted a survey to see what
mg Star a ago seniors thought of the idea and if they
would participate. According to the sur
vey, seniors said they would support a
graduation pledge. Cooper has since
“/ pledge to explore (llld take int> OC- graduated and Jessica Maher, a
count the social and environmental con
sequences of any job I consider aiul will
try to improve these aspects of any orga
nizations for which I work. "Senior Pledge
and thought it would be a
good thing for the university to be affili
ated with. She said she thinks it is impor
tant for students to recognize that social
and environmental issues are always go
ing to be a part of their personal as weU as
their professional Uves.
“1 think that it sets a very dangerous
precedent for the Leadership Center to get
UNCW senior and lead feUow of
the Activities and Leadership Cen
ter, continued promoting the idea
of GPA.
“I think this is a logical step for
the leadership center in terms of the
social change model we foUow - the so
cial change model of leadership,” Maher
said.
According to Maher, an important
component of the graduation pledge is for
seniors to put into practice what they have
learned about themselves and about deal
ing with groups. She said the seniors
should put all that together and then into
practice and “actually go out there and
SEE PLEDGE, PAGE 2
Decline in economy results in fewer jobs
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STAFF WRITER
An overwhelming number of reports
have surfaced in the past several months
concerning a rapidly decUning economy.
Although the reports have been ambigu
ous at times, a definite slowdown has
been felt in the job market, especially
for recent graduates. Students are find
ing it increasingly difficult to attract em
ployers as a once plentiful market be
gins to dry up.
In a survey published recently by
Collegegrad.com, which compiled sta
tistics from over 2,100 coUeges and uni
versities, it was found that only 21 per-
cent.of seniors have accepted job offers
as of March 2001.
“There has definitely been a slow
down in the economy, and that has re
sulted in a dramatic slowdown in the job
market,” said Thom Rakes, director of
career services.
Rakes says that potential employers
are carefully watching everything that is
happening right now in the economy.
from Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan
Greenspan’s interest
rate cuts to overseas
activity, such as re
cent troubles in Ja
pan.
“Everyone is a
little nervous,” Rakes
said. “It’s all had a
chilling effect on the
job market.”
While positions in
computer science, education, and nurs
ing are feeling no immediate threats and
probably will not be affected, some other
industries are taking a harder hit, such
as manufacturing and retail.
“The manufacturing sector of the na
tion is in recession,” said William Hall,
a UNCW business professor who helps
track economic activity in eastern North
Carolina.
This might help to better explain why
North CaroUna has felt the burden of an
injured economy.
“Of the 50 states. North Carolina has
i^a» IT, Mmtt,
the highest per
centage of its labor
force employed in
manufacturing.,”
Hall said. “The
state is heavily de
pendent on manu
facturing as both a
source of employ
ment and a source
of income.”
As employers
witness the current
downturn, there has been an increase in
lay-offs and some companies have in
troduced hiring freezes. Employers are
becoming much more cautious.
Rakes refers to the new approach as
“wait and see.. .they’re not hiring early
in the season,” as oppose to a year ago
when “they were hiring lots of people
even if they weren’t sure exactly what
they’re going to do with them.
This fading confidence among com
panies has really been felt at college
campuses. With a decreasing demand
SEE JOBS, PAGE 3