TECHNICIAN
thursday october
31 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
NCSU Libraries faces budget cuts, difficult choices STUDENTS MAY HAVE TO CHOOSE WHICH LIBRARY STAYS OPEN 24 HOURS Brittany Bynum Staff Writer
Though students frequently discuss which library they prefer—D.H. Hill or Hunt— they may soon be asked the same question by administrators, however, their answers will carry a far greater weight than usual if this happens. Due to the General Assembly’s $66 million budget cut to the UNC-System, passed in July, NCSU Librar-
ies might have to cut back hours of operation for one of the two main libraries. Both D.H. Hill and the James B. Hunt libraries are currently open 24 hours during the week, but Vice Provost of Libraries Susan Nutter said that depending on how the cuts affect NCSU Libraries, students may be asked to choose which library’s hours will be reduced. “We will get feedback from students to help make the
best decision in the worst hours get cut. situation,” Nutter said. Nutter said that, although NCSU Listudents will braries will be able to br i ng t he decide if the issue belibrary that fore Student will remain Governopen for 24 ment if that hours, there choice has could be a to be made, s pl it vot e Anisa Traish, sophomore and it will because of in zoology orga nize a the location student-body of the librarvote, deciding which library’s ies and the location in which
“It’s really sad that budget cuts have to come to this.”
different students live. In addition to the possible reduction of hours for one of the two main libraries, Nutter said that some libraries might be closed altogether. Branch libraries for the College of Natural Resources, the College of Design and the College of Veterinary Medicine will be affected before D.H. Hill and Hunt and could experience reduced hours or might shut down completely if they can no longer afford
to stay open. Once these cuts go into effect, the number of services offered and the size of collections and materials, such as journals, library collections and book subscriptions, will be in jeopardy as well, according to Nutter. All services are currently free at the library with the exception of printing, but a
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Need-based scholarships on the decline; replaced by merit-based grants Estefania Vazquez-Castro Correspondent
It appears that N.C. State is contributing to a national trend in which universities are choosing merit-based scholarships rather than those based on financial need. According to the International Committee of the Fourth International, needbased scholarships are decreasing nationwide. The decrease in need-based scholarships is due to a decrease in state funding for scholarships as well as the fear that excelling students will choose to leave the state if offered a better option out of state. As a result, fewer students who have been affected by the financial crisis choose or are able to attend college. Krista Domnick, director of the Office of Scholarships and Finical Aid, said that 68 percent of enrolled N.C. State students applied for financial aid for the 2012-13 school year and that of those, 52 percent received financial aid through FAFSA. It is unclear which type of scholarship is more popular at N.C. State, however, a survey done by Foundations Accounting and Investments in December 2012 found that about 60 percent of N.C. State’s scholarship endowments were based on merit, according to Domnick. The ICFI study found that 29 percent of state-funded scholarships are now based on merit, the highest percentage ever recorded, and that the percentage of scholarships based on need decreased to 70.8 percent compared to the previous academic year. Both are important to having a diverse student body, ac-
cording to Domnick. “Both types of scholarship funding are important and play a role in shaping the class at N.C. State,” Domnick said. “N.C. State is fortunate to have committed donors that recognize the need to support students in a variety of ways.” Among the merit-based scholarships are the prestigious Parks Scholarships and the Caldwell Fellowship program. The Goodnight Scholarship is a blend of merit and need-based aid. Out of all the admission applications received by the University, 500 are chosen based on merit. Those 500 college applicants are then invited to apply for the scholarship and 50 will receive it as long as they demonstrate financial need, according to Jen Foster, the director for the Goodnight Scholars Program. The Goodnight Scholars Program is not only targeted toward education or STEM majors, but also students coming from middle class homes, Foster said. Donors to the program said they believe that students coming from low income families tend to receive federal aid and that students coming from high income families could afford to pay for college, but that middle class applicants were often limited in their options, Foster said. “I feel that both meritbased scholarships and needbased scholarships have an important role to play,” Foster said. “Merit-based awards help to recruit outstanding students who otherwise might not consider N.C. State. Need-based awards
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insidetechnician FEATURES Mission Valley hosts Halloween See page 5.
SPORTS Wolfpack takes down Braves in Reynolds See page 8.
JOSEPH PJILLIPS/TECHNICIAN
After being announced the craziest fan in a dance off for NC State CRU, sophomore aerospace engineering, Graham Freels, is lifted up by fellow members in celebration on Wednesday. The Ram Roast was a pep rally held at the freedom expression tunnel as a led up to the football game against UNC-Chapel Hill.
More than 1,000 attend Ram Roast pep rally Rachel Coffman Correspondent
This year’s Ram Roast wasn’t like the traditional pep rally that occurs on N.C. State’s campus each year prior to the UNC-Chapel Hill football game. Ram Roast is usually the Thursday before the Carolina game and starts with a pep rally where the band, cheerleaders and dance team perform for students. Typically, the football team’s senior captains and head coach then energize the crowd for the upcoming game, according to Sutton Porter, student ambassador and traditions director for the Alumni Association. This year, due to a prescheduled pep rally on Friday night prior to the Homecoming concert, Ram Roast had a variety of different activities including a disc jockey, a N.C. State Craziest Fan
competition, free pizza from Marco’s and a spirit competition. The event was held at Wolf Plaza Wednesday evening prior to the men’s preseason basketball game in Reynolds Coliseum, and more than 1,000 students attended the rally. “Ram Roast was very different because the Carolina game is also Homecoming this year,” Porter said. “With the PackHowl concert on Friday and Halloween Thursday, we were forced move Ram Roast to Wednesday.” In addition to the new activities, students participated in the Ram Roast tradition of painting the free expression tunnel red and white. According to Porter, Ram Roast became an N.C. State tradition after Carolina fans painted the free expression tunnel blue several years ago. “We started Ram Roast to protect the
tunnel so it would never get painted blue again,” Porter said. As a part of the homecoming spirit competition, competing organizations painted murals on the tunnel to be judged by Student Government. “I couldn’t wait to express my love for the Pack,” said Mary Tedder, a sophomore in communication. Tedder, along with her sorority sisters from Alpha Delta Pi, painted a wolf mural on the tunnel. While students painted the tunnel, organizations competed in a Craziest Fan dance-off, judged by the volume of applause from watching students. Graham Freels, a sophomore in aerospace engineering who represented N.C. State CRU, danced to the cheering of fans and
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Cupcake makers compete to raise money for Kay Yow Cancer Fund Sasha Afanasieva Staff Writer
Student organizations stormed the Brickyard Wednesday for the Homecoming Cupcake War and sold thousands of homemade cupcakes to raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer fund. The first part of the competition included selling the most cupcakes, and during the next part of the Cupcake War, judges tasted the cupcakes and looked at how well participants applied the “Red, White and Wolfpack” Homecoming theme. Hannah Grace Barnard, a sophomore in education and member of the Delta
Zeta sorority was in charge of selling cupcakes. “We are really excited that we are participating in Homecoming, and we like that this cupcake war is going to a good cause,” Bernard said. Jonah Richardson, a sophomore in human biology and a member of the Sigma Nu and Zeta Tau Alpha fraternities, participated in the event. “We are helping and benefitting the community, but I hope we will outsell our competition and win at Homecoming this year. It’s basically a competition as to who can sell the most cupcakes, but more importantly who can raise the most money,” Richardson said.
The proceeds from the cupcake war will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which was founded in 2007 by Coach Kay Yow, former N.C. State head coach for women’s basketball. Yow died in 2009 after losing her fight with breast cancer. Richardson said the event was as popular as last year’s. “The sales are on par with past sales,” Richardson said. “We sold about 65 cupcakes about an hour into the event. During lunchtime is probably the busiest time since everyone is out here and at the Atrium.” Others were not so lucky, such as An-
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