Volume 1, Number 2 WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA DECEMBER 1997
T\iition Will Rise Again
BY SHARONDA WILCOX
Entertainment Editor
The Board of Governors of the
University of North Carolina and the
North Carolina General Assembly have
once again decided to raise the tuition at
all the 16 schools in the UNC System.
Winston-Salem State University
students will also be affected by this
increase. Although the increase in tuition
will only affect in-state students and will
raise tuition by 3 per cent or $11 a
semester, some students are not in favor
of the change.
“I don’t feel tuition needs to go up
another dollar, because the services
provided for WSSU students are not
worth what we are paying,” stated
Tavares Gould, a sophomore, computer
science major.
Vonda Little, a junior, computer
science major, was in agreement with
Gould’s statement. She did not approve
of a tuition increase because the services
are not up to par for the money currently
being paid to the institution. Since the
tuition increase has already been applied
to the spring semester bill she says that
she expects to have a higher quality of
service.
As far as the fees that students are
paying now for tuition, in-state students
who are full-time (12 semester hours or
more) pay $776 and will pay $787 with
the 3 percent increase. Full-time fees for
out-of-state students, $3,934, will not be
affected by the increase.
“Out-of-state students pay an awful
lot a semester which is a significant cost
considering they have to take care of
living expenses which is another $1,600
per semester added to the cost, so that
might be the rationale for the increase,”
explained Vice Chancellor of Finance and
Administration Clementine Cone.
Cone stated that the reason students
haven’t been billed for the increase until
the spring semester is because the General
Assembly did not finalize the increase
until late August. The charge will be
accessed at the end of the semester.
Parents and students were notified at
home by mail of the increase in early
November.
Although the increase has a small
monetary value, a percentage of it will go
to support the general operation expenses
of the University, faculty salaries and
supplies in addition to the support
received from the state.
Several students wonder where this
particular tuition increase or any increase
will be applied in the fee schedule.
“I don’t mind paying extra money as
long as it goes towards making it easier
for us to go to school and receive a better
education. If the teachers get a little bit
more money they’ll feel better and they
might teach better,” said Casey Forrest, a
freshmen computer science major.
Along with concerns of receiving a
better education, students feel that the
increase should go towards purchasing
more computers, increasing the capability
of the computers already on campus and
providing more campus Internet services.
Cone also stated that increases for
technology as well as health services on
campus were brought to the attention of
the Board of Governors but they were not
approved.
“The Board of Governors did not
want to raise tuition that much. They
want us to keep fees as low as possible,”
explained Cone.
Cone slated that although the tuition
increase, which will go into effect Spring
Semester 1998, will be applied mainly to
general operational expenses on campus,
there are plans in the making to improve
technology and health services here at
WSSU.
Nation Celebrates World AIDS Day
SPECIAL REPORT
December 1, 1997, was a special day
around the world. People from all walks
of life, ethnic backgrounds, sizes and
colors celebrated World AIDS Day.
This day was meant to educate the
public about ways to fight and deal with
HIV, which has infected more than 27.9
million adults and children world wide.
The theme of this year’s World AIDS
Day was “Give Children Hope in a
World with AIDS.”
The day’s purpose was to challenge
people around the world to contemplate
the long-term repercussions of the AIDS
pandemic, without losing sight that AIDS
affects everyone. This celebration was
organized by the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a
partnership of six United Nations (UN)
agencies that were created in 1996.
Here in Winston-Salem, the HOPE
program helps children and parents
infected or affected by HIV. At Winston-
Salem State University pamphlets,
stickers and balloons were distributed to
students, faculty, administrators and staff
to remind them about the World’s HIV
Crisis.
In person-on-the-street interviews,
several members of the Ram Family were
asked, “if they knew the significance of
December 1?” Below are some of their
comments.
Robin Propst, WSSU Office of
Billings and Receivables - “It is a day to
raise our awareness about AIDS. It will
help to educate our young people. I have
a cousin that is infected by the virus and it
is hard on the family.”
Tammi Johnson, WSSU Registrar
Office - “We should all reflect that AIDS
is real and does kill and doesn’t specify
age or ethnic background. We should all
be doing more to help find a cure.”
Thomas Leach, Manager of WSSU
Student Union - ‘This day is for making
people aware that AIDS is rapidly
spreading through the world. Also it will
alert people to do certain things so that
they will not contract the disease.”
William Davis, a senior Sports
Management major - “This day will help
make you more aware about the
disease.”'
Dr. Abhijit Sen, Mass
Communications professor - “This day
will bring global awareness to AIDS. It
will create awareness not just in the
United States but around the world.”
Ruth Roberts, Student Affairs Office
Assistant - “It is a day of recognition for
all people who have died and a day to
inform and make people aware of AIDS.
It will help people learn how to prevent
the Sfweading of AIDS in the
community.”
Terri Erickson, a education major - “I
didn’t know it was AIDS Awareness Day;
but to me this means that the world is
ready to recognize the disease as a world
wide problem.”
Terrail Hargrove, a freshman
political science major - ‘Today is World
AIDS Day. The day does serve a special
purpose for people coping with AIDS.”
Jonathan Smith, a sophomore
sociology major - “Today is a time when
everyone needs to stop to learn about
AIDS and AIDS prevention. It should be
more than a day. Many people think the
disease will not effect them.”
♦Editor’s note: Amy Phipps,
Luciana Jackson, Shawn Colvin, Latrium
Blanton, Vince Woody, Danielle
Prophete, Kim Coffey and Eryca Burch
contributed to this story. . • •