Technician
wednesday
25 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Obama speaks on UNC’s campus The president made a speech on UNC’s campus about tuition in America Tuesday
Loblolly pines aid sustainability The College of Natural Resources is researching the benefits of North Carolina’s Loblolly pines.
Juliana Deitch Staff Writer
President Barack Obama announced a call to Congress to stop student loan interest rates from doubling during a speech on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus on Tuesday. The interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent for 7.4 million students July 1, unless Congress passes legislation to stop it. A crowd of 8,000 people packed the arena to see the president rally for Congress to keep the low interest rates and to talk about the importance of higher education. With the recent tuition increases passed for the 16 UNC-System schools, including a 9.8 percent tuition increase at N.C. State, college is getting more expensive. In North Carolina, the double interest rate would affect 160,000 students and add $980 to the span of the average student loan, according to the White House. Obama called on states, colleges and universities, and Congress to make higher education more affordable for all Americans. According to the White House, “The strength of the American economy is inextricably linked to the strength of America’s education system.” Senior Dominique Garland introduced the president. “With scholarships and loans I was able to have a holistic education, including internships and other opportunities. If the loan interest rate doubles, this could change,” Garland said. “Higher education is the single most important investment you can make in your future. In today’s economy there’s no greater predictor of success than a good education,” Obama said. According to Obama, the unemployment rate for Americans with a college degree is half of the national average, and incomes of college graduates are twice as high as
april
Lindsey Rosenbaum Staff Writer
higher education spending and we’re challenging states to take a responsibility,” Obama said. Obama also challenged Congress to give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doing things like doubling the number of work-study jobs over the next five years, and stopping the interest rate cuts from expiring July 1. “Stopping this from happening should be a no brainer. It shouldn’t
Since Earth Day came and went, students on campus have seemingly become more interested in environmental practices at the University. These students will be pleased to know the College of Natural Resources is testing to improve a species of pine trees with a higher than usual taste for carbon dioxide. Loblolly pines stand out from others in the pine family for their distinctively un-picky nature. Though the term loblolly means “low, wet place,” these trees can be seen growing all over the southeastern United States from Florida to Texas, New Jersey to Delaware, and particularly in the eastern part of North Carolina. “They’re the most commercially important trees in the southeast,” John King, associate professor in forestry and environmental resources, said. “[Loblolly pines] have good wood properties, which is good for lumber companies, they grow in a ride range of environmental conditions, and they’re the most widely studied tree breed in the U.S.” While most plants only grow in certain types of soil, loblolly pines will grow in sandy soil, acidic soil and soil packed with clay. The pines are incredibly adaptive not only to soils, but to climates as well. Nearly 40 years ago, loblolly pines were planted throughout the Southeast, and today, we’re reaping the benefits. The program of forestry and environmental research at the University has been working to
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thomas obarowski/Technician
President Barack Obama,speaks to students of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about student loan interest rates, during his visit to the UNC Chapel Hill’s Carmichael Arena, and campus on Tuesday.
those without college degrees. However, the average student graduates with $25,000 in student debt, and for the past generation of college students, tuitions and fees at most of America’s colleges have doubled. “Americans now owe more on their student loans than they do on their credit cards,” Obama said. The president said he and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, have had their own experiences with college debt. “Michelle and I, we’ve been in your shoes. When we graduated from college and law school we had
a mountain of debt. When we married we got poor together. We added up our assets and there were no assets,” Obama said. Obama said while his administration have taken action to help with student loans, like capping interest rates and setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it’s not enough. He said colleges, universities and Congress have to do their part as well, and if colleges can’t stop tuition from going up, then funding they get from federal taxpayers will go down. “Last year over 40 states cut their
Art 2 Wear displays thematic fashion by student designers Fashion show brings art of all kinds on stage. Elise Heglar & Madison McLawhorn News Editor & Staff Writer
Creativity was abundant at last night’s annual Art 2 Wear fashion show, held in Reynold’s Coliseum. Art 2 Wear held each spring semester, showcases student designers displaying original collections that follow a common theme. The event, as is customary, began with a pre-show featuring design students. The College of Design First Year Experience students displayed one of the projects they completed, as did the Fashion Product Design and Draping 311 classes. For the last part of the pre-show, students in the Prague Institute’s Fashion and Costume Design Studio featured their work. Students participating in the studio at N.C. State displayed their pieces onstage. Students currently enrolled in the same studio in Prague were represented through photos so the crowd was able to enjoy their work as well. This year, there were a wide variety of themes displayed in the collections. Student designers were inspired by everything from Al-
Katherine hoke/Technician
Sophomore in graphic design, Stephanie Houston, models a dress created by art and design sophomore Lauren Caddick. Caddick used the Alfred Hitchcock film “The Birds” as the inspiration for the design of this dress.
fred Hitchcock’s famous films, to famous works of art, to the human body and even balloons. Larissa Baranski, senior in design, based her collection in the show off her last relationship. Called LOVESICK, her pieces took the audience through the emotional stages of a relationship. “It’s an exorcism of emotion from my last relationship,” Baranski said. Showing emotions through clothing was a challenge, according to
Baranski. She decided to take an alternative approach to the idea. The emotion of obsession consisted of a straight jacket with a seemingly endless train. “The idea is an endless train of thoughts, good and bad,” Baranski said. Nausea, another feeling Baranski wanted to show, was demonstrated through life-size intestines draped
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Leanna Osisek/Technician
Sarah Cummings, junior in economics, wears a garment created by Rachel Bridge, an Anni Albers Scholar sophomore, in Art 2 Wear on Tuesday.
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