Serving UNC Wilmington Since l 948
Inside
This
issue...
Parking decal fees will
incfeasenextfeill/3
Profile: Miss UNCW,
Ebony Ebron/ 5
Wainwiight announces
move to Richmond/9
News
OP/ED
.3
4
UNCW Life
The Scene
..8
Sports
Mason InM rdocation project completed
Sarah Bhdders
Hundreds of spectator gathered out
side Shell Island Resort for the comple
tion of the Mason Inlet relocation project
a few weeks ago. The project focused
on moving the inlet 3,000 feet North in
hopes of saving Shell Island and other
beachfront homes.
Mason Inlet has migrated 2,200 feet
southwanl at rates as fast as one foot
per day, over the past lOyears.In 1998,
property owners formed the Mason In
let Preservation Group (MIPG), in an
effort to find a solution to the shifting
inlet.
The Aimy Corps of Engineet^, lo
cal environmental agencies and county
commissicmers agreed on a contract, on
Jan. 10. Coastruction began soon after,
and the new inlet was finished ahead of
schedule.
The most time-consuming obstacle
to overcome was dealing with the envi
ronmental concern. Mason Inlet and the
surrounding Estuarine lands are nest
ing grounds for the piping plover, an
endangered shorebird. The beach is also
nesting grounds for sea turtles. There
was much concern that the c(»i.struction
would disturt) these endangered ani
mals.
DANGER
KEEP OUT
COHSTRUCTKW AREA
Bulldozers near Johnny Mercer’s Pier work to renourish Wrightsville
Beach before tourist season hits full swing. TTie Mason Inlet project
has already added 750,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach.
Deadlines restricted constniction to to easure that they were not being dis-
proceed during the months of Novem- tmbed. Additional land was also pur-
ber to March, to ease the environmen- chased and put aside fof nesting habi-
talists’ concerns. This avoided both Pip
ing plover and sea turtle nesting seasons.
Erica Carr, the coastal engines on site,
said that the plovers were also moni
tored and tracked throughout the project
SEE INLET, Page 2
Looldngback
on UNCW
A senior says goodbye
to school, hello to
working world
Stephaine Anderson
Students, faculty hold “kid-m''protest today
to school for “Take Our Daugh- bringing their children to
Sarah van Schaben ters to Work Day.” school.
^ ~ “It’s making a problem vis- “UNCW does have a num-
ible that’s often invisible,” said ber of family-friendly policies
Elizabeth Ervin, and strives to cre-
Today classrooms across
campus will be filled with more
than the murmur of exam re
view—they will be filled with
children of all ages. These chil
dren belong to the students and
staff members at UNCW who
believe the university should
offer on-site daycare.
The “kid-in” protest—a play
on “sit-in”—was organized by
a group of seven students as
part of a collaborative project.
The group said they hope to
raise awareness about the need
for on-site daycare at UNCW by
encouraging students, faculty
and staff to bring their children
English pro-
f e
“It’s making a problem vis- where fac-
the class
these stu
dents are par
ticipating in, and she
has a young daughter herself.
A mass e-mail from Sam
Connally, director human re
sources, to university employ
ees was sent in response to fly
ers and e-mails posted to spread
awareness about the protest.
The e-mail strongly discour
aged faculty and staff from
staff have
Professor Elizabeth En/m reasonable
latitude to bal
ance work and fam
ily issues,” according to the e-
mail. “However, UNCW does
not, nor does any university in
the UNCW system, permit em
ployees to be accompanied to
work by children.”
The e-mail also tells staff
All students will soon sigh with re
lief as they leave their last exams to en
joy their summers of late nights, sleep
ing in and traveling to visit family.
However, the most fulfilling liberation
will be for those students who aren’t talk
ing about what professors they have next
semester. Tlie greatest pleasure will be
fc»-those of us who are finally done... the
seniors.
Or will it? We arc supposed to be feel
ing “done,” right? Here we are. We have
completed school. They aU told us'that
if we went to college and got our Bach
elors degree, we would be able to get a
job. That was the whole point of it But
what so I do now? That proverbial “step”
from college world into real world is
more like a complex leap into a dark and
rather frightening abyss.
I often feel a certain pull towards re
maining a ‘Tdd” as I prepare to become
an adult in the next few months. It is in
timidating. Obviously adults are differ
ent from us, but how?"What do I need to
change? Do 1 stop wearing flip-flops or
just refrain from PB&J’s for breakfast,
lunch and dinner? There is something 9-
5 folks have I simply lack. More impor
tantly, however, I feel as though there is
something I have that 9 to 5-eis don't
Freedom. Am I ready to give that up?
As freshman.and sophomores we
romanticized the job search. In fact we
might still have been able to say, “What
do you want to be when you grow up7’
Now, we enter into our own job searches
as the economy slowly passes fixMn re
cession, and we all grimace at the possi
bilities.
Where do we want to live? What
should a resume look like? Cover letter?
How much money will we need? How
many jobs are there in my field? Where
SEE PROTEST, PAGE 2
SEE SENIOR, Page 2