Technician - Exam Issue Spring 2013

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exam issue 2013

Raleigh, North Carolina

technicianonline.com

Cuts uncertain, NCSU prepares for worst Ravi Chittilla & Mark Herring

faculty salaries. Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis said if he was chancellor of a UNC System school, he would find When Gov. Pat McCrory proposed other sources of revenue to gain inhis 2013-15� budget in March, his dependence from state government. recommended $140 million cut to Democrats in the N.C. House the UNC System sparked a debate said the cuts are a threat to the about the role of government in state’s economy and warn the state public education. is falling short of Though Chancellor its constitutional Randy Woodson obligation to keep said he won’t make education “as free a final judgment of as practicable.” the budget until it The N.C. Senate passes the House, budget will cross N.C. State is alover to the House ready preparing to of Representatives cut library services. May 16, and DemAt t he heig ht ocratic representaof the recession, tives said they fear Sarah Timberlake, graduate Nor t h Ca rolina UNC System cuts student in communication law ma kers cut could be deeper more than $400 than those promillion from the UNC System due posed by McCrory. to reduced government revenue. In “[The cuts are] really even more 2011, the state legislature demand- than what they seem to be,” said ed that N.C. State cut its budget by Rep. Rick Glazier (D-Cumberland), 15 percent. Since then, University who serves on the Appropriations administrators have scaled back programs, cut faculty positions, inCUTS continued page 2 creased class sizes and nearly frozen

spring

Staff Writer & Correspondent

Student group uses the power of protest Jake Moser News Editor

“Our administration is at the mercy of the legislature ... it is up to us to make a move ”

CHRIS RUPERT/TECHNICIAN

Tom Ross, president of the UNC System, which manages the public universities in North Carolina, speaks in the Walnut Room of the Talley Student Center April 2, 2013. Ross spoke about Gov. Pat McCrory’s then recently proposed budget cuts.

A single person doesn’t have the ability change his or her government, but as history shows, there is power in numbers. In 2011, Egyptian citizens overthrew their corrupt dictator after 30 years in office through the power of protest, starting a wave of demonstrations, civil wars and revolutions that flooded the Arab world. In 1963, more than 200,000 protesters marched on Washington D.C. demanding civil and economic rights for African-Americans, leading to the signing of the Civil Rights Act. While the words of Martin

UNION continued page 4

Tuition increases hurt students throughout U.S.

TUITION continued page 2

Race to the Top sparks more debate Sara Awad Staff Writer

A grand jury indicted 35 staff members from Atlanta Public Schools March 29, including former national superintendent of the year Beverly Hall, according to �CNN. The staff members are charged with racketeering, theft by taking and making false statements.

The scandal occurred after the state examined mysterious increases in test scores, which were allegedly due to cheating. James Martin, chemistry professor and Board of Education member, said he thinks scandals like these are due to programs like Race to the Top. Funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Race to the Top asks states to

compete for funding by improving scholastic achievement and creating plans for reform. President Barack Obama approved the program. Making education a race increases the chance schools will try to use shortcuts to show improvement, Martin said. “Anything in education if you tell

RACE continued page 4

insidetechnician viewpoint features classifieds sports Service with a smile: The Charles Lark story See page 5.

Mediocrity kills the Pack See page 12.

8 5 11 12

$16,000 $14,000 $12,000

GRAPH BY EMILY PRINS

Out of state

$18,000

$10,000 $8,000

In state

$6,000 $4,000 $2,000

2010-11 2012-13

2007-08

2004-05

2001-02

1998-99

1995-96

1992-93

1989-90

$0

1986-87

hang out with my friends.” Tsekai English, a senior in mathematics from Cambridge, Mass. is also being pressured by tuition hikes to graduate quickly. “Graduating on time is always in the back of my mind because out-ofstate tuition is so much more money and because it’s increasing more,” English said. “It really motivates me to finish my degree as fast as I can. I definitely still enjoy N.C. State, but I’m always thinking, ‘Is my financial aid going to be enough? How many loans am I going to have to take out?’” The University blames a decrease in state aid over the past few years for its rising tuition, and with Gov. McCrory in office, many speculate the situation won’t get any better. Only two states in the U.S. have granted more funding to higher education in the past five years —

1983-84

The cost of going to college has more than doubled over the past 30 years nationwide, but has the quality of higher education followed suit? A major reason for this price increase is soaring national tuition rates which, on average, rose 4.8 percent this school year and 8.4 percent the year before, according to the College Board. This is not just a national problem. College students around the world have protested rising college fees from Montreal, to Chile, to England. While N.C. State ranked sixth in USA Today and the Princeton Review’s list of best value public colleges in 2013, the University is no exception when it comes to tuition hikes. In 2012, the UNC Board of Governors approved a 9.8 percent tuition

increase for in-state students at N.C. State, and Gov. Pat McCrory suggested a 12.3 percent increase for out-of-state students this past March, which was largely shot down by lawmakers on both aisles. Rising tuition is especially a concern for out-of-state students like Sara Kerr, a senior in science education from Bedford, Va. Kerr, who plans to remain in the state as a teacher after graduation, was born in North Carolina but is not a resident of the state. She said N.C. State makes her feel at home. Despite Kerr’s connection to the state, rising tuition has added stress to her college experience. “[Increasing tuition costs] made me rush through college so I can get out in a shorter time,” Kerr said. “I haven’t made as good of grades as I had hoped because I was trying to take 19 credit hours, and working to make sure I can pay for everything has also affected how much I can

1980-81

News Editor

1977-78

Jake Moser

Change in tuition 1977-2013 (does dot adjust for inflation)

Representatives and Senators of North Carolina, Enough is enough. Our University is dying. No, it is being killed — by budget cuts taking place within a systemic attack on public services. But we, the students, faculty and staff of the UNC System, will not put up with this any longer. Sen. Tom Apodaca, if you had graduated from N.C. State when you got your bachelor’s degree, your tuition would have been six percent of what we pay today, and even adjusting for inflation, 18 percent of that. Cuts have kept faculty and staff pay nearly stagnant for years, as class sizes and contingent faculty have swelled in number. You recently decided to eliminate North Carolina’s estate tax, which will help only 140 families in the state, while costing it more than $60 million every year. Point being, there is enough money — it’s just a matter of how you choose to use it. Right now, you’re using it to the harm of the many; the many being us, whose futures depend on the UNC System. We demand you stop your assault on education. If you defund our universities, we will defend them. Sincerely, ____________________ SIGN AND DELIVER THIS LETTER TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON YOUR OWN, OR DROP IT BY STUDENT MEDIA’S OFFICE AT 307 A WITHERSPOON STUDENT CENTER, AND THE TECHNICIAN WILL DELIVER IT ON YOUR BEHALF.

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