The Compass/April 2005 Page 2 2005 1 2 3 VikingFest 2005: Movie Night 4 VikingFest 2005: Poetry Night 5 SGA/Class President Debates 6 ■ VikingFest 2005: Miss Black & Gold Pageant 7 • VikingFest 2005: Vike Nu Fashion Show 8 VikingFest 2005: Variety Show • VikingFest 2005: After Party Dance VikingFest Week Ends Pre-Registration: Weekend/Evening/ Graduate Programs 10 Student Activities Council (SAC) Interest Meeting 11 12 High School Choral Festival 13 Miss & Mr. ECSU Showcase 14 Student Body Elections 15 Academic Advisement/Pre- Registialiai;Summei/ Fall 16 17 18 19 University Choir Spring Concert 2()Staff Senate Meeting ClAA Baseball Championships Begin 21 22 23 Final Exams: All Graduating Seniors Begins 24 25 26 27 Final Exams: All Graduating Seniors Ends 28 29 30 Final Exams: Weekend/ Evening Graduate Programs Policy Continued from page 1 reached for comment about the March 8 meeting. ECSU is not the only university in the UNC system having debates over whether to purchase or rent books. There has been a controversy at Appalachian State University in Boone, where student and faculty senates have had opposing votes, with faculty voting to change the current rental policy, and students voting to keep it. Student Government Association Vice-President Nick Albu said there will be speak- outs and debates, though nothing like the marches at ECSU. “We’re organizing a full-fledged campaign on campus,” Albu said. Bill Ward, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at ASU, feels that students should want to keep their books. “Of course, I could understand it if it’s some intro to sociology book or something that 40 yeaj s from now they might want to use as a doorstop,” Ward said. Books cost on average about $900 a yeai' nationally, according to a survey by N.C. Public Interest Research Groups. Currently, students at ASU pay $76 per semester. “It has been argued by the Faculty Senate that the system % ECSU students display protest signs diiing last November’s rally. Photo by Toby Tate stands in the way of academic freedom, forcing professors to collaborate on a series of textbooks over a three-year time frame,” said Miriam N. Makhyoun, SGA President at ASU, in an e-mail. “A committee has been formed in order to study the cost-benefit analysis of maintaining or ditching the program.” Unlike the committee charged with the analysis of the program at Elizabeth City, which has five students and five professors, this committee has only three students and five professors, Makhyoun said in the e-mail. “Our student administration is in full support of keeping the program, but perhaps willing to look into ways in which it can be made more efficient,” she said. “We feel that the initial proposals set forth by the Faculty Senate looked to ‘throw the baby out with the bath water,’ so to speak. At the end of the semester our Provost, Dr. Aeschleman, should be forming a decision.” Recently, Fayetteville State University faculty voted unanimously to end its long standing book rental policy in favor of buying textbooks. According to Jeffery Womble, Director of Public Relations for FSU, a student survey was done prior to the vote in which Womble said some students supported the change while some were in disagreement, though he did not know the exact number of supporters and dissenters. The policy is due to take effect in Fall of 2005. Most colleges and universities have never had a rental policy, but the College of the Albemarle does have a program to help students pay for books. According to Ray Scaffa, Dean of Students at COA, that’s a good thing. “I don’t think I could afford it nowadays,” Scaffa said. “The prices are very high.” Roanoke Bible College helps keep the prices of books low, about $250 per semester, by buying them from an on-line bookseller. The e-service has a list of books from the school, and guarantees them to be in stock. Exie Anderson, Secretary of Finance for RBC, said there has never been a problem with students buying books. “The majority of students keep their books for their personal library,” Anderson said. “So they usually don’t sell their books back (to the bookstore).” The controversy at ASU is due to be discussed again during student government elections in mid-March. “The student/faculty committee will have to battle it out,” said Ward. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” As for Ward’s personal feelings on textbook prices, he said, “Frankly, textbooks are a racket.” diiDass ECS Editor-in-Chief, layout and design Toby Tate Advertising Chris Chinaka Sports Editor Bruce Midgette Faculty Adviser Dr. John Luton Financial Adviser Mr. Stephen March Special thanks to Mr. Kip Branch and his students. The Compass is published monthly by Elizabeth City State University students under the direc tion of the Department of Language, Literature and Communication, Dr. Emmanuel Ngwainmbi, Chairperson. The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the Compass or the ECSU administration. All photos are copyright of their respective photographers. For questions or comments or to request advertising rates, direct all correspondence to; Toby Tate, Editor ECSU Compass ecsucompass @ yahoo.com (252)335-3711 Members of ECSU faculty look on as Burnim and Tippett sign research agreement. Photo by Toby Tate Grant Continued from page 1 contact information for each municipality, and the final report will summarize the results of the surveys. The report also will recommend ways to improve the working relationship between the municipalities and NCDOT. Researchers at ECSU will be conducting the study, which NCDOT is funding through state and federal research dollars. According to Tippett, grant money is not easy to come by. “Like your funds, our funds are tight,” Tippett joked with Bumim at the meeting. “If we had lots of money, we could spend a lot.” Tippett also felt that improving roads would have an effect on the quality of education. “Good roads lead to better schools, which leads to higher SAT scores,” he said. The results of the study will be used to develop a training curriculum for small municipality community leaders through the University of North Carolina Institute of Government. The information gathered also will encourage collaboration between small rural municipalities and the department in order to aid in the development of a more efficient, environmentally sensitive and modem transportation system in North Carolina. ECSU representatives present at the meeting were Dr. Claudie Mackey, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs/ external relations. Dr. Eileen Oliver, dean of the School of Education and Psychology, Dr. Scott Bradshaw, director of institutional assessment and Mr. William Barker, head of the aviation science program. Mayor Fred Yates of Winfall and Everett Ward, NCDOT special assistant to the deputy secretary and director of historically black college and university programs, accompanied Tippett to help present the grant. Dr. Gloria Ktiight, Music Dept, chair and Dr. Glenda Griffin attend Art Dept. Silent Auction to benefit the ECSU choir’s trip to Nigeria. Photo by Rich Harvey i W. Boycott Continued from page 1 The group also wanted to move this fall’s homecoming game but Mickey L. Burnim, ECSU chancellor, has denied the request. “I am sensitive to the desire and the needs of the alumni, but the university is part of this community,” Burnim said. Burnim formed a committee called the Chancellor’s Blue Ribbon Committee for Coimnunity Relations to see if some compromise could be reached between the hotels and alumni so the boycott could be avoided. In early January the alumni group said it would give the ECSU committee until Feb. 5 to have an agreement with city hotels in place, pledging them to maintain reasonable rates during homecoming. Norman said the rates were unsatisfactory. He also said, “Unless they come to us in writing with reasonable rates, the boycott is on.” Many business leaders in Elizabeth City have expressed concern about the potential economic loss to the area should the boycott go forward. The negotiations with alumni and the hotel owners remain unresolved at press time. Construction Continued from page 1 center, which was due to be finished by spring of 2005. The renovation of Johnson Hall, originally scheduled for fall of 2004, was pushed back to the summer of 2005, Lane hall is set to begin renovation in the summer of 2005, and the interior renovation to Trigg Hall in 2006. Check out the ESCU office of design and construction website for a chronology of events for renovation and construction of academic facilities.

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