2 THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2004 Study decries inequities in graduations ECSU, ECU cited as positive models BY WHITNEY ISENHOWER STAFF WRITER The graduation rate gap between whites and other students at U.S. public universities is at an alarming high, according to a report issued last week. “A Matter of Degrees: Improving Graduation Rates in Four-Year Colleges and Universities,” a report issued by think tank The Education Trust, states that the graduation rates of low-income and minority students are consistently lower than those of their peers. Nationwide, the report states, only 7 percent of lower-income students earn a bachelor’s degree by age 26, as opposed to 60 per cent of higher-income students. At UNC-Chapel Hill, 82 percent of white students graduate in six years, compared with 70 percent of black students. Kevin Carey, the report’s author, said researchers found an average gap of 10 percent to 11 percent between white students and black students at most institutions, put ting the University right along the trend line. ' Still, he added, some universi ties are doing well. “Among the schools that suc ceeded their peers, the common thread is that they are not leaving the issue of student progression through college to chance,” Carey said. His report states that two schools in the UNC system Elizabeth City State University and East Carolina University are performing exceptionally well in lessening the gap. Of the 2,000 students at ECSU, a historically black college, about Here’s your chance to introduce yourself to the class of 2008... The DTH Mail Home Issue Published and mailed June 25; Deadline June 15 The issue is mailed to all incoming freshmen, transfers and new graduate students and their families. Approximate circulation 9,000. Call Megan or Andy today about this great marketing opportunity. 919-962 1 16T Downtown Chapel Hill 106 W. Franklin St (Next to NY Pizza) • 942-PUMP www.yogurtpump.com r~ow a¥yyogurt”item] Expires Jam 10, HUM J Toppings extra. Excludes child cup. Please present coupon j before ordering. One coupon per customer per visit. j !!f————LiTii Mon-Wed ll:30am-llpm • Thurs-Sal ll:30am-ll:30pm Sun 12ptn-llptn We can’t give you less stuff to do. Just another day to do it. Bank of America announces Saturday hours. It’s not easy to squeeze your whole life between Monday and Friday. Which is why Bank of America banking centers all over town are now open on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. giving you four precious, extra hours to open anew account, refinance your home, talk to a personal banker or just make a deposit. If life is a little hectic during the week, slow down and see us on Saturday at the banking center listed below. Bank of America the official bank of Saturday. Chapel Hill Main Office 137 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2004 Bank of America Corporation. ■ . . Sat-26-ad Bank of America Higher Standards three-fourths are black. Two-thirds have household incomes that could qualify them for federal Pell Grants. Still, in 2002, ECSU had a grad uation rate of 60 percent for its black students and 53 percent for all students. Its peer institutions average 37 percent for blacks and 39 percent for all students. Carey said that in his talks with Carolyn Mahoney, ECSU’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, Mahoney said the school’s success comes from a focus on eas ing students’ transition from high school to college, promoting a con nection between students and campus and having a mandatory attendance policy for all classes. And ECU, die third-largest school in the UNC system, boasts a 54 percent graduation rate for all students and a 60 percent rate for black students. Like ECSU, it per forms well when stacked up against its peers: ECU’s sister schools have a 41 percent gradua tion rate for all students and a 32 percent rate for blacks. Carey said a variety of factors help close the graduation gap. Making college more affordable, improving secondary education preparation for college, focusing on the first year of college and strengthening academics and advis ing all contribute to better rates. At UNC-Chapel Hill, Provost Robert Shelton said the University Works hard to decrease its gap. “It’s just making sure we don’t leave people hanging out there, waking up in four years and realiz ing they don’t have the credits to graduate.” Contact the State £2 National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. Tour aims to reach out to citizens Database initiated to inform state BY FRED LAMECK STAFF WRITER Chancellor James Moeser announced his plans last week to tour the state in order to strength en the connection between the University and N.C. residents. During their May 27 meeting, Moeser told members of the UNC Board of Trustees that he plans to visit all regions of the state and commit a significant amount of time to his public service initiative, “Carolina Connects.” During the tour he will be high lighting the ways the University serves the communities and the people of North Carolina. “Our message is that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill serves North Carolina every day in meaningful, relevant ways,” Moeser said in a press release. “In short, ‘Carolina Connects.’” As he travels across the state Moeser will be discussing the University’s work in economic development, healthcare and pub lic education. He will be spealdng with community leaders, elected officials, alumni and parents. A number of UNC administra tors will join Moeser in his trips across the state, including Mike Smith, dean of the School of UNC to launch cell phone initiative BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ SENIOR WRITER UNC is forging ahead into the information age, adding cell phones to its already expansive technological offerings. Campus officials hope to roll out the new Carolina Wireless Initiative by the time C-TOPS begins next week. The program will offer students cell phones with Cingular service at a low cost and eventually will provide link up opportunities to laptops. Three models are being offered HOUSING GUIDE! Select from houses or condos from \ hll I louse Properties. HOUSES: 1111 Valley Park Drive Htß' riiiiiH house".iCO-nrinuh: to ( uni/ms ; ■ $925/mo. 700 North Greensboro Street •: Rt'irih,ilvil >/>/\ ill.ilh lioiho nr.n ( .in Mill Mill $2250/mo. 90 > Columbia Street • Sl.uh lm\ nhouse\ ,i ‘.hurl w.itk nom town SI6OO/nto. CONDOS: University Commons -flil\hi-!;ilh:i,ittl<‘nrhlo‘uni!<‘.i)n'hu‘‘liiic.. ■ SISOO/mo. II Mill House iflfil proper t i e s For more information call 968-7226 or go to www.millhouseproperties.com News Government, and William Roper, dean of the UNC School of Medicine. Moeser will not only be inform ing citizens of the University’s work in their communities but is also planning to find out more opportunities for UNC to connect with the state and its issues. Moeser also announced at the BOT meeting the debut of the new Public Service Database. He said the database is intended to be a source of help for the state. The database, produced by the Carolina Center for Public Service, catalogues more than 700 projects across all 100 of North Carolina’s counties. The purpose of the of the Internet database is to give an account of the ways the University is serving the different areas of the state. It also allows users to find out how to get involved in many of the University’s projects, said Lynn Blanchard, director of the Carolina Center for Public Service. “We hope the database will help interested parties learn about pub lic service the University is engaged in, where it is happening, who the community partners are, and how to contact someone at the University to learn more,” Blanchard said in a press release. ranging in cost from free to $99-99. Calling plans begin at $39-99 a month. Phones will be serviced through the Academic Technology and Networks, which also fixes laptops. Although CWI is a completely voluntary program, Associate Vice Chancellor John Oberlin said that eventually it will act as a supple ment to the Carolina Computer Initiative. “What we’re trying to do is pro vide a lower cost solution with bet ter functionality to the students,” he said. “But in time... we’ll start ~• mr F JEHU ~ •,. \ jH py t~. --■ 47 A * MW — UNC NEWS SERVICES/DAN SEARS Farmer Steve Mitchell shows seedlings to UNC faculty and administrators during a trip to his farm in Bunn during the 2004 Tar Heel Bus Tour. The database allows users to search for projects by location and access links on a state map. Users can also look up specific UNC organizations such as the Campus Y or UNC collaborators like A Helping Hand. Each of the projects contain links and contact information that allow users to get more informa tion, Blanchard said. Blanchard said that as Moeser travels around the state she hopes to add more projects to the data bringing more and more truly aca demic applications.” He said CCI has spawned an e mail revolution on campus with students packing computer labs to check their inboxes. Students who choose to buy one of the high tech cell phones would be able to avoid the lines and check e-mail on their phones. Oberlin said a lot more innova tive applications could be added further down the road. Students could use the CWI phones to check Blackboard and the campus calendar for assign ments and class cancellations. Cingular was selected to pro vide the service because they have the most cutting edge technology at the most affordable price, Oberlin said. Officials hope that eventually the phone will utilize five-digit dialing for campus calls and Cingular offers the greatest proba bility of achieving this goal, Oberlin said. All of the exciting innovations aside, Oberlin said at the very lA/fuct c)o / Ic/lOUs at out ... / k/iou one, c)axj / (t u/a/i t to t a tu t not [jet. • Pregnancy Testing fwWgMt • Abortion E>y Pill • Surgical Abortion Conscious Sedation ;{ (optional) > STD/HIV TeetJng www.plannedparenthood.org/ppcnc (Eljr laih| (Ear Hrri base. “UNC-Chapel Hill is a public university and has a real legacy of serving the community,” Blanchard said Tuesday. “The chancellor’s tour of the state reminds us this important mission.” The database can be accessed through the “Search the Public Service Database” link at http://www.unc.edu/cps. Contact University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. least the service will be cheaper than going through an outside retailer. “One of ways we intend to get lower prices is to buy a couple thousand phones at one time,” he said. “(Currently) Any one Stu dent is kind of at the whim of the market.” Oberlin said that students shouldn’t expect the phones to offer all of the new technology immediately but the program is young and will progress quickly. “It’s going to do some really neat things over time,” he said. “You have to start somewhere and this is the pilot.” The phones can be ordered through the CWI Web site: www.unc.edu/cwi. i Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. CORRECTIONS •The cutline for a page 2 photo misspelled the name of lickity Split, the business depicted. To report corrections, contact Managing Editor Laura Youngs at layou@email.unc.edu. Sty? lathj (Ear Brri P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Philip McFee, Editor, 962-4086 Advertising & Business, 962-1163 News, Features, Sports, 962-0245 One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased at the Daily Tar Heel for $.25 each. © 2004 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved WOOD FIRED PIZXA CHAPEL HILLS BEST BRICK OVEN . PI ZZA, PASTA, SALADS & SANDWICHES VISIT CHAPEL HILL'S #1 PATIO LIVE MUSIC WEDNESDAYS 8-IOPM 24 BEERS ON TAP 9 14 WINES BY THE CLASS 9 CHAPEL HILL'S BEST PATIO MONDAYS $1.50 DOMESTIC MICROBREWS ON TAP TUESDAYS & WEDNESDAYS LATE NICHT HAPPY HOUR BUY ONE PIZZA OR APPETIZER GET ONE FREE FROM 10 PM TIL 1:00 AM -7 THURSDAYS $230 IMPORTS ON TAP SUNDAYS ! , ALL BOTTLES OF WINE Vi PRICE MON-SAT 11 AAS to 1 AM SUNDAYS 11 AM to 11 PM 919.929.1942 WWW.BRIXXPIZZA.COM

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