the davidsonian
April 12, 2017 Vol. 112 issue 19
The Independent Student Newspaper of Davidson College since 1914
Inside NEWS Students express concern about a possible pyramid scheme recruiting on campus 2 Artist-activist Favianna Rodriguez offers inspiring workshop and presentation 3 LIVING DAVIDSON Visiting Professor Katie St. Clair discusses her artwork 4 PERSPECTIVES Student activists rally for more transparency between the Board of Trustees and the Davidson community during a protest in the Alvarez College Union amphitheater. Photo by Abby Miller
Students Voice Concern with Board of Trustees' Alleged Lack of Diversity, Transparency
T
ETHAN EHRENHAFT Staff Writer
he Davidson College Board of Trustees (BoT) is one of the most powerful bodies in the college’s administration. According to Article I of its bylaws, the “ownership, management, and control of Davidson College” falls under the responsibility of the Board. While undoubtedly important, these duties can often be interpreted as vague. The rest of the Board’s bylaws generally detail procedural operations and election of new members. This year, the Board is comprised of forty-four members, including President Carol Quillen. The Board’s chair is currently John W. Chidsey III '83. Despite being a powerful group of individuals that controls so much of life at Davidson, the BoT remains unfamiliar to the student body. Due to a general campus-wide lack of awareness about how the group functions or what it achieves, a group of students, known as Ortacul-
ture, has started a petition to increase the Board’s transparency. On Tuesday, April 4th, this student group staged a rally outside the Alvarez Student Union while the BoT met inside. Speaking at the rally in the midst of the Union amphitheater, Ortaculture member Tony Solís ‘19 stated, “We want to add the student voice back into the BoT so that we are able to be a part of these decisions because we know what it’s like to be here and we know what it’s like to have a voice here.” Other than pushing for a forum for public discussion, two of the major issues that Ortaculture addresses include: (1) the Board’s lack of diversity, both ethnically and religiously, and (2) the relatively old age of its members, some of whom graduated mere years after Davidson began admitting African-American and women students. The average age of a 2017 trustee is fiftynine years old, with an average graduating class of 1981. Reflecting this statistic, one sign at the rally read: “Davidson has changed but only 2 out of 44 Board members graduated after 2000. Where
does that leave my voice?” With Davidson having undergone such radical changes in the past forty years, the Trustees’ average age worries many community members. Ortaculture is concerned that the Board fails to adequately represent the concerns of current Davidson students, especially given the contentious political climate. Solís says that the group wanted to start the petition and raise awareness due to “conversations on the current political climate and the ways in which many communities on campus may feel attacked in some ways and not necessarily have a venue to feel safe or to have their voices heard.” Solís added, “I love Davidson and want to help make it a better place for everyone.” The rally itself drew a sizeable crowd, and several speakers voiced their discontent with the Board’s current structure and mentioned specific
See ORTACULTURE Page 2
AJ Naddaff '19 reflects on the strength of the Arab Studies Department 5 Katy Lawlor '19 and Rob Maxfield '19 share differing opinions on Carolina Cup 5 YOWL Fraternities organize philanthropic Keystone hunt 6 Bonaroo Scholars compete to log the most Spotify service hours 6 SPORTS DUFF bonds on and off the field 7 Lacrosse forges ahead to A-10 tournament 7
Asbestos Found to be Contaminating Areas in Town of Davidson EMMA TAYLOE Staff Writer
O
n Thursday, April 4th, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hosted a community meeting to address plans for the remediation of asbestos contamination in the town of Davidson. In addition to representatives from the EPA and the DEQ, Mayor John Woods and other town officials, a handful of Davidson students, professors, and staff, and dozens of community members attended the discussion in the Gethsemane Baptist Church, which sits on the I-77 side of the Griffith Street Harris Teeter. The source site building, originally the Linden cotton mill, was built around 1890 and was occupied by Carolina Asbestos from 1930 to 1960 (1). In February 1984, the Mecklenburg County Department of Environmental Health was notified of potential asbestos contamination in the mill’s immediate vicinity and, upon testing the soil, determined that asbestos had been exposed since an earlier attempt to cover it (2). By July of that year, the contaminated soil was covered again (2).
The former mill is currently owned by Metrolina Warehouse LLC., a Seattle-based property management firm (3). The Miller Valentine Group, a residential development firm out of Cincinnati, has plans to develop the property into a four-story apartment complex (3). The developer has been communicating with the DEQ to determine the extent of the asbestos contamination and the work required to address it. Angela Miller, a community involvement coordinator for the EPA, said that the DEQ contacted the EPA to request sampling of residential properties near the Metrolina property in connection with its potential development. According to a map dated March 22, 2017, which was made available by the EPA at the Thursday community meeting, asbestos was detected at properties along Eden Street, Depot Street, and behind Sadler Square. Miller stated that of the seventyeight properties sampled by the EPA, twenty required “further action” to remediate asbestos contamination. Asbestos poses a health risk when it is inhaled, thus keeping asbestos buried would theoretically
See METROLINA Page 2
In the above map of Davidson, green denotes asbestos not detected; blue and yellow indicate trace amounts; red signifies above .25% asbestos material. Photo courtesy of the EPA