TECHNICIAN
wednesday april
3
2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Chancellor lobbies against budget cuts
BIENVENIDOS:
READ IN SPANISH, PG 5
Uncertain future looms for Venezuela Kenneth Smith Bienvenidos Correspondent
CHRIS RUPERT/TECHNICIAN
Randy Woodson, chancellor of N.C. State, speaks in the Walnut Room in Talley Student Center April 2. Woodson spoke on the recent proposed budget cuts from the Governor’s Office.
LEADERS TALK ABOUT BUDGET CUTS, IMPLEMENTATION OF 5-YEAR PLAN Nicky Vaught Deputy News Editor
Chancellor Randy Woodson, in the company of many highereducation leaders, outlined the ramifications of Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposed budget during a Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday. The proposed cuts on education present many challenges, Woodson said. McCrory’s budget may cut up to $139 million from the UNC System. The Chancellor reaffirmed at the meeting that he is lobbying to fight the proposed cuts, which have yet to be approved by the General Assembly. The chancellor said he’s been lobbying for the UNC System a week before the budget was announced, and today Woodson will be at the General Assembly to ad-
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vocate further. UNC System President Tom Ross said the five-year plan for the system the Board of Governors put forth includes the possibility of doing away with general education courses as well as paying more attention to retention versus graduation rates. Following Woodson and Provost Warwick Arden, who discussed strategic plans, Ross briefly explained a five-year plan for the school system at a faculty senate meeting Tuesday afternoon. “There are people — I’m not one of them — who think there should be a prescribed set of courses [to get] a degree,” Ross said. Ross said he would rather focus on training students toward competencies relevant to their prospective vocation than have students take courses that have no bearing
on their employment. The president also said the Board of Governors wants to fund more job-earning degrees than not. Of all North Carolina adults, only 26 percent have a Bachelor’s degree or higher, according to Ross. The president maintained that by the end of the five-year plan, 32 percent of adults in the state should have at least a Bachelor’s degree. Staying on that trajectory, North Carolina could be in the top 10 educated states by 2025, Ross said. The plan includes making transfers easier so as to reduce the factors in students’ retaking courses, according to Ross. He also said he hopes to target North Carolina adults who have some type of college credit but no degree. Ross did not say anything that showed support or opposition to
Gov. McCrory’s established stance on liberal arts degrees. He did say, when presenting the plan to prospective Chapel Hill chancellors, the potential chancellors supported the plan. “There are parts of the plan people agree with and parts they don’t,” Ross said. “I’m happy to talk about that, but I think it’s very helpful that we have a plan.” According to Chancellor Woodson, the budget the General Assembly will put forth may not be the same as Gov. McCrory’s. The legislature holds a supermajority in Republicans, and the McCrory administration has yet to face much opposition in the General Assembly. On one hand, McCrory’s pro-
After everything that has occurred in Venezuela lately, Technician talked with Yon Goicoechea, member of the Venezuela’s opposition and one of the students who created the Student Movement, which led Chavez’s first defeat in an election in 2007 when he lost a referendum to change the constitution. Goicoechea was also the winner of the Milton Friedman Award for the Liberty, he is in charge of the Institute for the Young in Caracas and he is the member of the opposition party “First Justice.” Venezuela will hold new elections on April 14 after the death of the former President Hugo Chávez, and officially the campaign has started between Nicolás Maduro, the successor of Chávez, and Henrique Capriles, the governor of the state of Miranda. “I expect that the government will show its irregularities,” said Goicoechea, referring to what he expects in this campaign. “If the opposition losses, we can’t take a lot of value in this election. The Center of National Elections is not impartial; there is even 1 or 2 million of people who vote against the law.” The Venezuelan army, with Minister of Defense Diego Alfredo Molero Bellavia leading, announced that they would go out to the streets to protect the “revolution” from Chávez. “The minister put himself in a
VENEZUELA continued page 2
BUDGET continued page 3
Norovirus affects Raleigh and surrounding towns Brittany Bynum Staff Writer
There is currently an outbreak of the norovirus, a virus that occurs mostly during the winter season, spreading through Raleigh. “Outbreaks are only the tip of the iceberg,” Otto Simmons, biological and agricultural research assistant professor, said. Symptoms include fever, headaches, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Not many people make an appointment with their doctors or local health centers because their symptoms pass. This leaves a large number of unknown outbreaks unrecorded. The case of the norovirus is mild, and it is also hard to assess where it comes from because there are so many different pathways the virus can travel through, according to Simmons. The virus can easily infect others through exposure, so it is crucial to adequately wash hands after using the bathroom and clean up after. The virus can also spread through water and food. If a restaurantworker or food-handler hasthe
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GREG WILSON & TREY FERGUSON
norovirus and does not wash their hands, the virus can easily seep into foods they are preparing or packaging. Humans tend to catch the virus from being in environments with
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close proximities such as cruise ships, daycare centers, and nursing homes. People who have been affected and cured from the virus can still shed it for three weeks in the bathroom stool. The norovirus
is an equal opportunity infector that affects a wide range of people. If a person has the symptoms, it is encouraged that he or she stays
VIRUS continued page 3
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