The Student Newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Newspaper staff says once is not enough
“It’s not just fulfilling a campaign
promise, it’s fulfilling a need for the
students,” Nancy Davis, editor of the
Carolina Journal said. She is talking
about the newspaper's plans to
publish twice a week next semester.
The decision involved the approval of
the Editorial Board and the
newspaper staff and, according to all,
a lot of consideration.
“The Carolina Journal is publishing
16 or 20 pages regularly and pro
viding a lot of information to the
students,” Davis said, explaining the
decision. “However, publishing only
on Tuesday was hurting the Universi
ty in that students were getting infor
mation too late and some too much in
advance to remember.”
Plans for publishing bi-weekly have
been in the making all semester, but
it was kept quiet until the Editorial
Board, which serves as an advisory
committee and decision making body
for the Carolina Journal made a com
mitment to go through with the ex
pansion. “It couldn’t be done unless
we (the board) were all for it,” Joyce
Wright, arts/features editor, said.
“It’s going to involve more work,
more time and more workers; all of
which we had to make sure we were
going to have before we decided.”
In a recent board meeting, the
members unanimously decided to go
Debate for energy minded
Nuclear power. Even on the UNCC
campus, it stirs up the blood of many
research papers, the basis for many
architecture projects and the concern
of many engineers.
In an attempt to give the UNCC
community an opportunity to discuss
the topic openly and professionally,
the Dean of Students office is spon
soring a Nuclear Energy Debate on
Thursday, Nov. 30, at 12:30 p.m. in
the Lucas Room of the Cone Universi
ty Center.
Two nuclear engineers from
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
will argue for nuclear power. Dr.
Carlos Bell, a UNCC professor in the
College of Engineering, and Jess
Riley, senior research associate of the
Celanese Fibers Company, will argue
against nuclear power.
The representatives from
Westinghouse are part of a program
sponsored by the nuclear giant cor
poration Campus America. Concern
ed with the ineffectiveness pro-
nuclear speakers were having in
presenting the positive points of
nuclear power, Westinghouse began
sending some of their nuclear
engineers to various college cam
puses. The participants in the pro
bi-weekly, but not to announce it until
a staff meeting could be called. “We
had to see what the response was go
ing to be from the staff, too,” Davis
said. “If we didn’t have their support,
there would never be a chance for this
to work out." The staff met on Tues
day, Nov. 14, and agreed with the
board the paper should go ahead with
the plans.
“It’s going to involve a lot of
changes in the long run,” Davis add
ed. “It’ll be something new, but
something helpful. Of course, we're
going to run into some problems, but
we all agree the main concern is iron
ing out all the problems, so next
year’s staff can jump right into the
process.”
Some of the changes include selec
ting two production editors, splitting
the job of news editor, dividing the
arts/features editor into two separate
editors, adding another graphics
editor and going Other minor person
nel changes. “Right now, it looks like
Kathy Espin will be the Thursday edi
tion production editor and Rick
Monroe is a possibility for the Mon
day edition production editorship,"
Davis revealed.
Tentatively, the schedule for
distribution should be on Monday
evenings, “about the same time they
come out on Tuesday evenings now."
gram are all young — the oldest is 34,
the youngest is 23 — recent
graduates of the universities
themselves. Besides being able to
easily relate with students,
Westinghouse made sure they had
the technical competence to handle
the questions on nuclear power.
The hour and a half hour program
will follow a tight schedule. The first
30 minutes will be a formal debate
with 10-minute openings and five
minute rebuttals for both sides. The
Campus America engineer will give
the first opening. The next hour will
be question-and-answer session with
questions from the audience and
allowing both sides to respond if
necessary. Nancy Davis, editor of the
Carolina Journal will be the
moderator.
A unique program in that it directs
itself directly to where the mass of
the nuclear critics are: the class cam
puses. To Westinghouse, however,
this wasn’t just a clever attempt at
establishing public relations people
on campuses to quiet campus
radicals. Many of their young
engineers were frustrated at the
media’s attack on nuclear power
without equal representation from in
dustry.
(photo by Robin Colby)
The Carolina Journal Board met recently to approve a recommendation to
publish bi-weekly second semester.
A Xicii SUCXJ Guidon
should come out around noon. “That
way, students who don’t make it to
class on Friday can get hold of the
paper before the weekend.” Instead of
the traditional drop delivery, there
should be wire racks located in “key
places” on campus. “Hopefully, this
will cut out all the mess we’re having
with papers just lying around. Also, a
student knows they can walk into the
dorm cafeteria or cross the commuter
lounge and there will definitely be a
paper."
“I think it’s easy to see why we
decided to do this,” Espin added.
“The paper will be more timely ...
more relevant. It will be two smaller
editions, with special sections
featured in each issue. Events that
happen on Tuesday or Wednesday
will no longer have to be classified as
‘old news' . . . just about all news will
become important.”
Many of the editors can’t believe
they’ve^ really committed themselves
UNCC Basketball
A special edition of the Carolina Journal
coming up at UNCC’s first home game
Wednesday, November 29, in the Coliseum
Be There.
Women vs. Methodist 5:45 p.m.
Men vs. University of Mississippi 7:35 p.m.
Reminder
Friday, December 1, is the last day to file for a May degree.
Also, it is the last day to drop a course.
to such a task, i t s going to take the
rest of the semester and much time
.over Christmas to make the final ar
rangements. We'll be facing a tight
money situation and more work for
less pay, but it’s about time we began
a new tradition,” Kim Burns, who is
planning to split her news editor posi
tion into two positions, said. “I think
that’s why we’re getting such a good
response from the staff. They're real
ly excited about being a part of
something new, something pro
gressive.”
The Carolina Journal staff knows
it’s not going to be easy. “Sometimes
I think about it and I say, ‘no way.'
Then sometimes I think about it and I
can’t wait. We've got to have more
writers and more photographers.
Mainly though,” Davis ended, “we've
got to have student input. This is
something the students can call their
own. We're just doubling their access
to information, news and views."