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College of Education under pressure Lauren Henderson Correspondent
Changes in the Wake County Public School System have limited the amount of time N.C. State students can spend in the classroom. Michael Maher, director of professional education, said the number of students in the College of Education has made placement difficult. “Around 160 student-teachers and 500 observers are placed into classrooms in Wake County Schools every semester,” Maher said. “Having so many students that have to fulfill these requirements makes it hard to find a place for everyone.” Both the University and WCPSS have made changes to improve both the safety and placement of student, Maher said. “In order for students to take a position as a student-teacher they usually have to get permission from the person in charge of clearing student
teachers, but they now have to get nior in mathematics, these changes permission through central campus,” have made finding a position in high Maher said. “It makes it more difficult performing schools harder since the demand is higher. to be cleared.” “Some schools have placed a block With the benefits of improved classrooms for students, Maher said, comes on observers and student teachers in Wa ke C ou nt y the limitation of Schools, so this the number of makes it more s t udent s t h at difficult to find a can be placed in placement,” Hart classrooms. said. “In order for a The Teaching teacher to host a Fellows program, student-teacher Hart said, has t he y h ave to been an excellent have taught for resource in gaina minimum of ing the experifour years,” Maence she needs her said. Maher before entering a said that this reclassroom. quirement makes Brianna Hart, junior in mathematics “Being in the it more difficult Teaching Fellows to place everyone given the time restraints. He said program makes it a lot easier to find a another factor to take into account is position as a student-teacher because the workload of certain teachers, such you get first priority,” Hart said. “We as those who take on additional po- are held to such a high standard since sitions, such as department head or we represent the state.” Nikki Proctor, a sophomore in hismentor. According to Brianna Hart, a ju- tory education and a Teaching Fellow,
“Being in the Teaching Fellows program makes it a lot easier to find a position as a student-teacher because you get first priority.”
said that as a younger student in the program she has not been as affected as the upperclassmen. “It has not really affected me yet but hopefully by the time I need to fulfill my requirements these problems will be all settled out,” Proctor said. Maher said in order to make the placement process safer for the students of Wake County Schools and to help University students applying for their teaching license, criminal records will now be taken into consideration. “Schools are starting to take criminal background checks among anyone who is working in the school systems,” Maher said. It is beneficial for students, Maher said, to learn this information before their student-teaching requirement must be met than to be taken by surprise at graduation when they are unable to obtain a teaching license because of their background.
Touring in the snow
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Touring old north campus in the dark, Matt Robins, 2009 alumnus in architecture, leads a group of about 30 students through the snow and around Watauga Residence Hall, telling stories about the University’s history on Tuesday. The Watauga Club was founded in 1884 with the intentionally non-descript Native American name Watauga, meaning “the land beyond.” The club was instrumental to the creation of the University in 1887 and included the men Peele, Daniels, Page, Dabney and Primrose Halls were named for.
2010 Census affects tuition, congressional districts Response rates for college students disappoint, officials hope to raise numbers in 2010 Rachel Port Staff Writer
For the majority of college students, the 2010 Census, distributed midMarch to people living off-campus and early April to those living oncampus, will be the first Census they have ever participated in. The Census, which occurs every 10 years, is a constitutionally mandated count of every person, citizens and non-citizens, living in the 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marinara Islands and American Samoa. In 2000, the Census tract containing N.C. State had the lowest response rate in all of Wake County, according to Max Baker, an intern with the Wake County Planning Department and junior in psychology. Out of the five tracts with the lowest response rate in Wake County, four were University tracts. “There is definitely a correlation between students and low response rates,” Baker said.
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Changes in Wake County School policies create stress on teacher placements
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According to Baker, students and Bureau has to send Census takers to non-English speaking individuals are addresses where the forms have not been returned, Baker said. Census takthe hardest people to count. “I want students to know how im- ers are temporary employees and their wages are paid for with tax dollars. portant the Census is,” Baker said. Grant said University Housing is doAccording to Baker, the state and federal government use Census data to ing its part to ensure a 100-percent response rate among give out more than students living on $478 billion every campus. year. That’s more “Every student than $1,000 per needs to be countperson per year ed,” Grant said. allocated by local Accord i ng to governments for Grant, the Census roads, hospitals, Bureau has a Unischools, universiversity provided ties, emergency Max Baker, list of the names and other services. junior in applied psychology and location of “It even affects students liv i ng college tuition,” in University Housing that will be Baker said. For the next decade, 2010 Census used to make sure Census forms are data will be used by businesses and received by all on-campus residents. Representatives from the local Cenorganizations to tailor products and services to the population, said Susan sus Bureau will be on campus April 9 Grant, director of University Housing. to collect forms from students living Another reason the Census is im- in Wolf and King Villages, and April portant is because the number of 16 to collect forms from students livcongressional districts a state has is ing in residence halls. “University Housing is committed determined by Census data. When people don’t fill out the form, to working with the local Census Buor fill it out incorrectly without pro- reau to ensure the count of campus viding a phone number, the Census residents is accurate and complete,”
“There is definitely a correlation between students and low response rates.”
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Grant said. Baker said many people have questions about the confidentiality of the Census. The Census does not ask for a signature or social security number and private information such as names and phone numbers cannot be shared with any other federal or law enforcement agency. Violating the confidentiality of the Census is punishable by up to a $250,000 fine or five years in jail, he said. When asked what he thought, hypothetically, about people planning to protest the Census, Chris Geatz, a senior in communication, said that civil disobedience has always been an engine of change and that if people want to protest the Census, that’s their right. However, students should fill it out because it requires a nominal amount of effort to reap the benefits of Census data, he said. The Census cannot be filled out online, but more information and sample forms can be found at http://2010.census. gov/2010census/. Census data affects the whole community for the next ten years, Baker said.
Students to wear red graduation gowns Seniors will have the chance to graduate in school colors for the first time in University history Rachel Port Staff Writer
It has taken a few years, but N.C. State undergraduates will finally be wearing red at graduation this year. Adam Compton, senior class president emeritus; Jim Ceresnak, student body president; Jay Dawkins, senior class president; and Kelli Rogers, student senate president, sent a letter to Chancellor Jim Woodward in the fall requesting red caps and gowns for undergraduate graduation ceremonies. “We’ve had black a long time,” Dawkins said. According to Dawkins, the push for graduation red began almost three years ago at an Agri-life Council meeting where an attendee wondered aloud why N.C. State students graduate in black. Compton looked into it and found a set of example gowns to showcase at a president’s roundtable in 2008, Dawkins said. There was positive feedback from students and excitement about the idea. According to Ceresnak, students were polled online and there were campus surveys, all of which indicated students wanted to graduate in red. Other colleges wear their colors at graduation, Ceresnak said. There was not a whole lot of negative feedback, Dawkins said. Some students complained that the red would clash with their skin color. “I was skeptical at first. I wasn’t sure what it would look like en masse,” Vice Provost Louis Hunt said. Prototypes were put on display in Talley Student Center and in the bookstore for viewing by students. However, despite the progress, students didn’t graduate in the new gowns last spring. “The project was moved to the back burner because of changes in leadership,” Hunt said. Ceresnak said he felt comfortable with presenting the idea of red caps and gowns to Woodward because of all the positive feedback the project had gotten previously. “I got the project in its final stage,” Ceresnak said. According to Hunt, the new caps and gowns will cost $3 more than the old black caps and gowns. The new honor sashes will be $2 more. “It’s the beginning of a great tradition,” Ceresnak said. The new gowns look like typical graduation gowns — lightweight, inexpensive fabric, big sleeves, zipperedfront. On the left, over the heart, a University seal is embroidered in white. Though none of the students interviewed ever saw the gowns on display for one reason or another, based on the description above, they seemed to be split down the middle.
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