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Volume39,Number34 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.? THURSDAY, April 18,2013
Tuition disparity an obstacle
lor Hispanic students
Forsyth Tech students (from left): Salomon Pinargote, Estela Torres, Dulce I
Moreno, Abigail Cruz and Juan Ortega.
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem resident Juan Ortega
has called North Carolina home since he
was a kindergartner, but in the eyes of the
state, he's no North Carolinian.
Ortega, who is pursuing his associate's
degree in science, is struggling to keep up
with his ever-mounting tuition bills.
Because he is undocumented, Ortega, a
native of Mexico, is forced to pay out of
state tuition rates, which at Forsyth
Technical Cotnm unity College are nearly
four times higher than the cost North
Carolina residents pay. Despite having
done well in school and obtaining the
requirements needed for him to achieve his
dream of becoming a physical therapist,
Ortega says he is in an uphill battle.
"I'm not even sure if I can pay all of
that," he said of his tuition, which costs
$261 per credit hour. "I might have to get a
big loan, as if I were going to be a doctor,
just to get my associate's degree."
Though he qualifies for deferred status
under President Obama's DACA(Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals) executive
order, Ortega says he is still denied many
of the privileges citizens enjoy.
"Deferred action is only good for two
years," he said. "...It could be taken away
at any moment, and I could be sent back to
my country."
See Students on A2
Sign-erector Heather Joyce shows a group of students the ropes.
Photo* by Lay la (ianrn
Council Chair Michael Sears
Students learn about
another post
high school option
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE *
As a boy, Mike Soars dreamed of being
a construction worker.
"I knew I wanted to be in the construc
tion business when I was 10 years old,"
related the Reynolds High School alumnus.
"I loved putting things together and taking
things apart. I couldn't wait to get into
wood shop in the seventh grade."
Though Sears, the construction manag
er for Windsor Commercial, says he was
passionate about his path and the direction
he wanted his career to take, he says not
everyone was supportive of his dream.
"In the 10th grade, I wanted to go into
carpentry," he related. "My guidance coun
selor told me 1 was too smart."
He disagreed, entering the construction
industry in 1978. It is a choice the father of
one says he has never regretted.
"I am a blessed man," declared Sears,
who helped to construct his church, Hope
Presbyterian, last year. "I get to do what I
love to do."
Today's students face many of the same
prejudices that skilled workers grappled
with more than three decades ago. said
Sears, chair of the Winston-Salem
Chamber's Construction Council. Through
efforts like the Construction Career Days
that were held April 9 and 10 at the
Winston-Salem Entertainment Sports
Complex. Sears and his partners are work
ing to ensure that high school students in
Forsyth County and the surrounding area
have the support that they need if they
desire to enter the construction business.
"We're trying to get the message out
that skilled labor is not a second class
career." he said. "...The opportunities are
going to be here. Anybody that's got skilled
labor training, they're going to have a job
and they're going to be able to make good
money as well."
The Council collaborates with
See CoastractkMi on Alt
Name
Game
Some worry that
venues would lose
legacies if sold
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Emery
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City residents are voicing questions
and concerns about the potential sale of
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial
Coliseum to Wake Forest University and
Bowman Gray Stadium to Winston-Salem
State University.
Both of the venues are owned by the
City, but are closely affiliated with the
universjties. The
coliseum is home
to WFU basketball,
and the stadium is
the WSSU football
hub.
A series of pub
lic drop-in meet
ings are being held
at both venues,
where members of
the City's Public
a s s c m d i y
Facilities
Commission are
recording the com
ments of residents
and city officials
are answering
questions about the
proposed deals.
"It's the City
Council that will
ultimately make the
decision, but we
wanted to give the
community a
chance to be heard," Commission
Member Cynthia Jeffries said at a meeting
last Thursday at the coliseum.
City officials say that unloading the
venues would save money. Both facilities
are operated at a loss. The coliseum costs
taxpayers 1400,000 annually, while the
stadium costs $6,000. A bigger concern,
officials said, is the millions in extensive
renovations needed at both venues.
City Manager Lee Garrity explained
to residents how very few coliseums
around the country make money. He said
event venues aren't about profit, but
attracting visitors who will spend money
at local businesses.
"You don't go into the business to
make money," said Garrity. "It's to gener
ate tourism; it's for the community; it's
community pride."
City officials said that selling the
properties would free up millions of dol
lars in debt capacity that could be used for
much needed capital improvements in
Winston-Salem. Tbcy are using the long
term leasing of the Benton Convention
Ser Sale on A9
Students take a stand with their bare feet
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BY LAYLA OARMS
JHE CHRONICLE |
Students at Wake Forest University kicked off their
shoes for a good cause on Tuesday
One Day Without Shoes Co-organizers Molly King
and Sarah Kroyer encouraged fellow members of the
WFU student body to take a lap around the university's
Hearn Plaza as part of the childhood poverty awareness
campaign.
After completing their trek, students signed their
See Shoef on A10
PtofcM by Lay la Ganm
(Far left) Rachel
Severance stands
on the "foot"
path.
Event Co
Organizer Molly
King (right) with
sophomore
Leann Westin.
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