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William Stallworth steers while friends help push Josh Trammell's Blazer off of Cameron
Avenue on Thursday afternoon. The guys were returning from playing Frisbee golf when the
car ran out of gas and had to be pushed into Hares parking lot to prevent blocking traffic.
No Shift in Grading Policy Yet
By John Maberry
Staff Writer
Students concerned that changes in
grading policy would lower the average
grade point average this fall can relax -
at least for now.
Officials say no recommendation to
implement campuswide changes in
grading policies will be proposed until
the Committee on Grading Standards
has completed the information-gather
ing process.
The committee, formed in April by
Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue
Estroff, was authorized by the council to
collect and disseminate information on
grade inflation at UNC.
The issue was raised in a report last
spring suggesting that UNC’s average
GPA has been steadily rising for years,
possibly indicating more lenient grading
standards at the University.
The report was drafted in February
by economics Professor Boone Turchi
and the Education Policy Committee
that he chairs.
No date has been set yet for the
Committee on Grading Standards to
offer a recommendation to the Faculty
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Council on how to
address the report.
“My personal
timetable (for
receiving the rec
ommendation) is
as quickly as possi
ble, hopefully
some time this
fall,” Estroff said.
When the
Faculty Council
met April 28, they
made two resolu
tions.
The first autho
rized the creation
Faculty Council
Chairwoman
Sue Estroff
said she hopes to get
the recommendation
some time in the fall.
of the Committee on Grading Standards,
and the second allowed the new commit
tee to collect and distribute information
on the current status of grades at UNC.
“The Faculty Council’s authorization
allows the publication of such valuable
information as the grade average for
specific courses,” Turchi said.
He said the discussion of this topic
has continued during the summer.
“I’ve gotten some interesting feed
back from faculty this summer who are
in large part pro-reform,” Turchi said.
RHA Focuses on Welcoming
Freshmen to UNC Campus
By Chris Stegall
Staff Writer
As the excitement of move-in day fizzles and
the flurry of activity starts settling down, fresh
men are left in the midst of a huge university to
find their place.
To help these students and other campus res
idents adjust to their new surroundings, the
Residence Hall Association tries to make a
cookie-cutter room feel like home.
Orientation counselors and resident assis
tants have been organizing social events, con
ducting campus tours and holding information
al and instructional sessions.
“The most important thing is just to get
everyone to come out of the room and meet
people,” said Jeremy Buenviaje, RHA governor
for the Olde Campus Lower Quad.
And leaders say that despite its small size and
History Professor Michael Hunt is
one supporter of Turchi’s attempt to
curb grade inflation.
“I think students’ expectations have
changed. My own feeling is that they’re
not getting a rigorous enough educa
tion," Hunt said. “In the long term, the
skills and not the grades are what is truly
important.”
Some students who are opposed to
any action to lower the campus GPA
believe that grades are already declining
as a result of Turchi’s report.
“I think grades are being lowered
already even without the policies in
place," said senior Justin Bynum from
Hickory. “I know Morehead Scholars
that are now having to fight to maintain
a 3.0.”
Students have voiced concerns that
changes to grade policy might reduce
their competitiveness when applying for
jobs or graduate school.
But Estroff is more optimistic about
the results of action taken to halt grade
inflation. “1 anticipate a good outcome
for everybody.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
News
Shark Attacks Increase Off N.C. Coast
Three assaults have been
confirmed this year, while
a fourth strike could be
attributed to a bluefish.
By Worth Civils
Senior Writer
As some students plan end-of-the
summer weekend trips to the beach,
shark attacks might be the last thing on
their minds.
But an unusually high number of the
rare attacks have occurred along North
Carolina beaches this summer, with the
most recent suspected incident occur
ring Monday in Emerald Isle, a popular
destination this time of year.
The latest victim, who remains
unidentified, was swimming away from
a group of porpoises when the attack
occurred. He was taken to Carteret
General Hospital in Morehead City and
then transferred to Duke Hospitals in
Durham. He has since been released
and is recovering well, said Carol Lohr,
executive director of the tourism bureau
for Carteret County, where Emerald Isle
is located.
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its focus on delegating authority, RHA has
many plans for the year, though few have been
finalized.
RHA President Robin Yamakawa said most
RHA programs would be conducted at the area
level, while resident assistants and members of
residence hall government will be allowed to
organize programs of their choice.
The result, Buenviaje and Yamakawa say,
will be a smaller, more streamlined residence
hall government. “I think smaller is just more
efficient,” Yamakawa said.
Yamakawa said RHA is working with the
Carolina Athletic Association to have a tailgate
party during the football game against N.C.
State University.
And Buenviaje said there likely will be an
“end-of-year bash” featuring the local hip-hop
band Sankofa.
Within his own area, Buenviaje said plans
“It was a full recovery,” Lohr said.
The victim’s hand was injured in the
attack, but Frank Schwartz, a professor
at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences
in Morehead City, said the injury prob
ably would have been more severe if the
attack were by a shark.
“He would not have a hand if it were
a shark,” Schwartz said.
Rather, he thinks bluefish were the
likely culprits. “The slashings were more
reminiscent of bluefish,” Schwartz said.
“They go into feeding frenzies.”
Three confirmed shark attacks
occurred earlier in the summer, all with
in a two-week period.
On July 7, a shark attacked 12-year
old Ashley Walker of Chillicothe, Ohio,
while she was vacationing with her fam
ily on the northern Outer Banks. The
attack left her with a 9-inch gash in her
leg that required more than 300 stitches.
Less than two weeks later, on July 16,
a shark attacked a Florida surfer at
Holden Beach. The attack left Tim
Poynter, 14, with gashes in his foot, a
puncture wound in his heel and cut toes.
Just one day later, Patrick Bruff, 16, of
Wilmington, was bitten on the right foot
while surfing in Wrightsville Beach.
Experts are not sure why the high
Friday, August 25, 2000
are being made for a “my tie” social, in which
male residents leave neckties at the area office
and female residents pick ties and meet the guys
who left them. “It’s not a date, just a way to
meet people,” he said.
RHA will also work many educational pro
grams into its activities.
Yamakawa said she is working with student
government to increase the amount of tutoring
available in residence halls, especially on South
Campus.
Yamakawa said RHA will update its Web
site, distribute surveys to better understand res
idents and will work on relaying their concerns
to the Department of University Housing.
She said, “I want to have more dialogue with
residents and between housing and residents.”
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
number of shark attacks have hit N.C.
beaches this summer, but one explana
tion points to a mix of warm ocean
waters and the large number of tourists.
“It’s a combination of the high tem
peratures and too many people,”
Schwartz said. “We’re entering their
domain rather than the sharks entering
our domain.”
He said the sharks implicated in the
attacks so far have all been black tip
sharks that frequent shallow water. But
the sharks are looking for their next fish
dinner, not seeking out humans.
In the cases where surfers were
attacked, Shwartz said the sharks mis
took them for sea turtles.
Potential swimmers and surfers
should be cautious, not frightened, he
said. “All (the attacks) are accidental as
far as I’m concerned,” Schwartz said.
Tourists do not seem to be worried,
since business this summer was strong.
Lohr said revenues from tourism
actually are up from previous years.
“We’re not hearing anything,” Lohr
said of the potential backlash from the
attacks. “It’s been a great summer.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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