TECHNICIAN
thursday june
20 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
RTP boosts
Bill offers second chance to college hopefuls
economy with research Ravi Chittilla Staff Writer
According to the Office of Technology Transfer, of the 274 intellectual properties submitted last year by university researchers, 141 patents were filed with the United States Patent Office, and of those 120 patents were issued. Between patents, startups, commercial and other agreements, N.C. State received a license revenue of $6.4 million in the last fiscal year. But the benefits of research go far beyond revenue, said Kelly Sexton, interim director of the Office of Technology Transfer. Sexton said there is a direct correlation between research expenditure and job creation. “We have over 100 startup companies that have launched based on university research,” Sexton said. “These companies have gone on to create 6,500 jobs with 3,100 jobs within the state of North Carolina. These startup companies have gone on to garner more than $1 billion in investments. So we think there is a direct link between the research going on here and the economic growth in the region.” Although there is certainly a strong industry presence on Centennial Campus, Sexton said there was little reason to
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Jason Katz Correspondent
the best of my ability, that wouldn’t happen.” Williams, who is currently enrolled in classes during both summer sessions to stay on a four-year graduation track, said that the amount of work associated with the student body presidency would have required him to lighten his course load in the fall— a decision Williams claimed could add as much as a year to his expected graduation date.
The North Carolina House proposed a bill this month that may increase the number of students spending their first college years at community colleges rather than universities like N.C. State. The House plan outlines a strategy that would have universities turn down some of the “less competitive” undergraduate applicants who are currently being admitted. Instead, these students would attend a community college for two years and subsequently be guaranteed admission into the original university they applied to. Backers of the House plan say it would raise graduation rates, lower tuition costs for students and lower government spending. “The idea here is to save money by diverting some number of students from the high-cost UNC System to the lower cost Community College system,” Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, said on his website, nchouse117.com. According to McGrady’s site, the state government will cut $12.6 million from UNC system’s budget and add $4.5 million to the community college
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ARCHIVE/TECHNICIAN
Former Student Body President Matthew Williams participates in a debate during the Student Government elections in March.
Williams quits
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT STEPS DOWN FROM POSITION Sam DeGrave Editor-in-Chief
A little less than two months after moving into the student body president’s office, Matthew Williams is preparing to pack his things and make way for a successor who, as of this morning, has not been chosen. Williams sent an email to the Student Government list serve Thursday morning, announcing his resignation, effective immediately. In the email, Williams cited
his concern about the time stated in the email. commitment associated with Williams said that though the job as the main reason he his decision to resign seemed will not fulsudden, it fill his role w a s a c t uas student ally two body presiweeks in the dent this fall. making and “I will not stemmed be able to from a focus on my promise he academics made to his Matthew Williams, former student body president and devote mother. the amount “I promof time the position warrants ised my mom I would graduto be an effective voice for ate in five years, and if I had the student body,” Williams taken this job and done it to
“I’ll openly admit I didn’t do my due diligence ... ”
Camps offer college experience
Republican-led tax reform remains alive
Liz Moomey
Tax Reform Comparison
Staff Writer
While it is a common conclusion that most students go home for the summer, and therefore the University is dull and uneventful, campus is full of life from May to August. Summer gives non-college students a chance to familiarize themselves with N.C. State’s campus while learning about colleges like the College of Design, the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Science. They can also practice sports. They can do all this through camps run by University faculty, staff and students. The engineering camps, organized by Susan D’Amico, the coordinator of engineering K-12 outreach extension, began Thursday, June 13. Various engineering majors are the camp counselors. Kevin Chapman, a sophomore in biological engineering, decided to become a counselor because, when he was in high school, he attended a civil and biological engineering camp, and it helped him decide his major. “I met with one of the professors after the camp, and he took me out to a wetland restoration,” Chapman said. “He
Bill 998 Personal income tax
5.4%
Corporate income tax Sales tax
Current law 7.75%
2.0% 4.75%
6.9% 4.75% GRAPHIC BY EMILY PRINS
Sasha Afanasieva Correspondent Students studying in D.H. Hill library on Wednesday, June 18.
taught me all about that, and it was very interesting. That helped me choose my major.” Chapman attended the residential camp, which is was for rising 11th and 12th graders. They spent their day learning about a specific type of engineering they were interested in. After the day camp part, campers enjoyed college life by playing ultimate Frisbee and making K-mart runs. The campers also stayed in a residence hall. Today Chapman and his fellow counselors organize activities for the campers to do once they are out of the engineering activities. There are also engineering camps offered for elementary and middle school students. According to D’Amico, the engineering camps have been
in high demand. About 120 kids who signed up couldn’t come because they filled up so quickly. The camps are also offered in Hickory, Rocky Mount, Havelock and Wilmington. D’Amico said the rise in interest for engineering is great for the field because there are misconceptions about what a engineer really does. “The focus of the camp is to show a wide, broad view of engineering,” D’Amico said. “A lot of people have mistaken stereotypes about what engineering is, that it is only bridge building or robotics, but those are tiny slivers of what engineering really truly is.” The University’s College of Design partners with the Contemporary Art Museum
ALEX CAO/TECHNICIAN
in downtown Raleigh for a creative summer experience. It is a pre-college program that gives high school students a chance to understand what design is and to explain why art and design is so important. According to the CAM website, campers can choose to stay on campus overnight or attend just a day camp. There are plenty of camps offered by CALS ranging from veterinary medicine to poultry science. The camps are either typical camp settings like a 4-H camp or an idea that a faculty member
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The North Carolina Senate and House ramped up their battle last week over the future of House Bill 998, also known as the Tax Simplification and Reduction Act. The N.C. Senate spent almost 10 hours in session last week trying to make a decision on where to go next with the latest tax bill. House Bill 998 has been revised several times since it was first introduced on Monday April 17, including changes in tax deductions, personal and corporate income tax rates, and various goods affected by the sales tax. On Wednesday, June 12, the House adopted further changes to the bill proposed by the Senate that would affect everyone in the state of North Carolina. Some of the changes include major revisions to personal and corpo-
rate income taxes. Under the latest revision, North Carolina’s personal income tax rate would be capped at 5.4 percent as opposed to the current 7.75 percent rate. Additionally, married individuals earning less than $15,000 and single individuals earning less than $7,500 would be exempt from paying income tax. Additional changes to the bill include reducing corporate income tax to 2 percent by 2016 to promote business and job growth in North Carolina Other changes would expand sales taxes to include entertainment goods such as movie tickets and restaurant meals while also increasing taxes on electricity. According to the Tax Foundation, North Carolina currently has the highest tax rate in the Southeast. Additional-
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