TECHNICIAN
wednesday november
13 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Hofmann Forest lawsuit continues after court hearing Jake Moser News Editor
A Wake County judge declined to stop the sale of N.C. State’s Hofmann Forest in response to a September lawsuit Tuesday. Special Superior Court Judge Shannon R. Joseph said the N.C. State professors, foresters and conservationists who filed the lawsuit failed to prove that the forest would be irrevocably damaged if the sale went through. However, the plaintiffs still have a chance to stop the $150 million sale because Joseph didn’t dismiss the case altogether. Instead, she refused to grant an injunction, or a court order prohibiting a party from a specific course of action. Joseph will decide later whether to dismiss the case, according to Fred Cubbage, a professor of forestry and natural resources and forest economics at N.C. State. If Joseph ends up dismissing the lawsuit, the plaintiffs
will appeal the case in a higher court, Cubbage said. Cubbage, who has led several protests against the sale since its announcement, attended the hearing along with other professors and conservationists and said the lawsuit emphasized potential environmental damage as a result of the sale. Opponents of the sale also said the contract between N.C. State and the forest’s buyer, Hofmann Forest LLC, doesn’t guarantee the company won’t convert existing pine forests into farmland or residential and commercial properties. Though Hofman Forest LLC, which signed a contract to purchase the forest in October, said it plans to leave the forest “as it is” according to a company spokesperson, Cubbage said he is skeptical about its plans to generate income. According to Cubbage, Hofmann Forest LLC will have to pay property and income taxes from the sale and generate millions of dollars
per year to pay off its debt. “The only way [Hofmann Forest LLC] is going to earn that much money is to have significant agricultural, commercial or residential development,” Cubbage said. “Either that, or they’ll have to convert the pine forests to corn or soy bean fields. They will have to use the forest more intensively.” Developing the land for commercial or residential propert y would require building sewer systems and roads that could harm animal habitats, plant life and possibly water quality, Cubbage said. Agricultural development could also adversely affect the environment. “[Developing the Hofmann Forest] would certainly be tough for bears, rattle snakes and other animals in the forest in general,” Cubbage said. “Another thing is agriculture. Crops have erosion rates that are at ten times higher than a forest without these crops.”
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RAVI CHITTILLA/TECHNICIAN
Jane Shaw, president of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, speaks at Nelson Hall Tuesday about the potential rise of for-profit universities.
For-profit schools could overtake public universities, Pope Center president says Ravi Chittilla Staff Writer
If universities are unable to adapt to new technologies, they will eventually have to face the reality of the free market, which could favor a for-profit system, according to Jane Shaw, president of the Pope Center for Higher Educational Policy. Speaking in Nelson Hall on Tuesday evening, Shaw said the center had found through its studies that “educational quality had gone down,” and that universities are currently facing “turmoil.”
The Society for Politics, Economics and the Law hosted the event as the final part of its semester-long lecture series. Shaw addressed what she called “disruptive technologies,” comparing the evolution of higher education to the evolution of appliances, where appliance stores such as Sears and other mainstream brands were forsaken in favor of options that were economically viable. Shaw said the Pope Center is primarily concerned with a lack of value payoff from
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Professor promotes dumpster diving to save money Jason Katz Deputy News Editor
Dumpster diving is an illegal and stigmatized practice in North Carolina, but Bridget Lassiter, a crop science research assistant at N.C. State, sifts through trash to save money. Wednesday, Lassiter lectured a group of about 30 people about the importance of dumpster diving. She said people, and especially retailers, throw out a lot of things that could either be recycled or given to those who could really use it. Many of the students attending were N.C. State Stewards, a group that advocates for a more sustainable future. Lassiter said that while dumpster
diving, she has found large amounts of food, clothing, hair gel, holiday greeting cards and various other items that were still in good condition. “[Throwing away useful items] is just irresponsible,” Lassiter said. “When one in three children in Wake County are going hungry… that makes me mad.” Lassiter said that some stores are really “bad offenders” when it comes to throwing out clothing and products that could be given to those in need. She said that among the worst stores are Old Navy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Food Lion and Home Depot. “Some of our retail stores are ir-
responsible,” Lassiter said. According to Lassiter, many retail stores actually ruin clothing before throwing it away, so that it cannot be used by those who did not purchase it. For example, she said she found North Face jackets slashed in the garbage of Dick’s Sporting Goods. “This is a problem that’s bigger than me, but it’s a problem that’s local,” Lassiter said. Jason Endries, a junior in meteorology, said he was surprised that retailers slashed clothes. “I might actually email her and go [dumpster diving] with her sometime,” Endries said. During her presentation, Lassiter showed pictures of items that
she found in the trash. One picture showed items trashed with a note, stating that they were thrown out because they had dirt on them. “It’s really interesting, I knew it was happening with food, but I didn’t know about other retailers,” said Ben Phillips, a senior in fashion and textile management. Lassiter said she places part of the blame on the consumers and the high value that they place on new, expensive products. “Think about the responsibility of being a consumer in a country where we have choices,” Lassiter said. But Lassiter said she was inspired by others who were dumpster diving
and promoting the process, such as Jeremy Seifert, who made a movie called Dive! about the subject. “These companies are not going to change unless they get publically shamed,” Lassiter said. Lassiter said Trader Joe’s completely changed the way that the company disposes of waste. Additionally, Harris Teeter donates its leftover food to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. “Luckily, Harris Teeter is being responsible about the food they sell,” Lassiter said. However, she said other grocery stores, such as Food Lion, throw out
insidetechnician
Speaker discusses link between religion and anime
BIENVENIDOS
Chris Hart-Williams Staff Writer
Comida Mexicana: la realidad suroeste
A Princeton University scholar of Japanese religion visited N.C. State Tuesday to discuss the role of religion in anime and manga. “There are some things I wrote in my book I now disagree with,” said Jolyon B. Thomas, a doctoral candidate at Princeton University and author of Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan. Thomas said he would change part of the second chapter of his book because he overgeneralized Japanese culture and tradition when discussing typology. “I feel I could have supported the typology all together,” Thomas said. “[You can] only make assumptions, not that I
See page 5.
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ll o R k & ay c o R sd e n Wed
FEATURES Confederate cemetery memorializes a hazy past See page 6.
SPORTS VICTORIA CROCKER/TECHNICIAN
Jolyon Thomas, a doctoral candidate from Princeton University and a published author, talks about manga, anime and religion in contemporary Japan culture in Riddick Hall, Tuesday. He explained the differences between manga and anime and also the portrayals and perceptions of deities, doctrines and saints in both.
Pack falls to Bearcats on road See page 8.
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