NEWS
TECHNICIAN
wednesday january
14 2015
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
IN BRIEF On-campus parking gets upgrades Chancellor issues statement calling university to embrace diversity In a letter addressed to the NC State community, Chancellor Randy Woodson mentioned recent events in the news that have divided the nation in discussions about race relations, noting that the events have sparked discussions and protests on campus as well as across the country. “As members of the university community, we are fortunate to have a campus climate that encourages and supports the expression of differing thoughts and opinions between individuals and groups,” Woodson stated in his statement. “At NC State, we support and encourage these discussions in a respectful and safe environment. As a university dedicated to educating our future leaders, we have a responsibility to foster dialogue and lead change that will help ensure a just and civil society.” SOURCE: CHANCELLOR RANDY WOODSON’S SPRING LETTER
Registration open for 2015 Krispy Kreme challenge The Krispy Kreme Challenge fundraiser for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital will return to Raleigh for its 11th year in a row on Feb 14. Participants can now register on the challenge’s website. There is a $35 registration fee for NC State students and a $42 fee for non-students. A t-shirt is included with registration. Runners in the five-mile long race will begin at the Belltower, run 2.5 miles to the Person Street Krispy Kreme, eat one dozen doughnuts and run 2.5 miles back to the Belltower to complete the challenge. Last year, the challenge hosted more than 8,000 people and raised $200,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. SOURCE: THE KIRSPY KREME CHALLENGE
Facebook aims to help find missing children through Amber Alerts Facebook is currently working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to begin sending users in the U.S. Amber Alerts in an effort to help find missing children who may be located nearby. The website will send alerts to users’ cell phones if their location says they are in the search area for a missing child. Facebook claims that several children have been found as a result of users sharing information on the site, as many people are already using Facebook to share information and encourage friends to help find missing children. The alerts sent by Facebook will include a photo of the missing child along with any other relevant information that could help find the missing child as quickly as possible.
Inez Nicholson Assistant News Editor
Pay-by-Space, the future of parking at NC State, is a new system that is now in three on-campus parking decks and has plans
to expand to several other locations over the next two years. The system, which hopes to eliminate paper stubs and surcharges, will help students who do not have a parking pass on campus, according to Christine Klein, public communication specialist for transporta-
tion. The parking machines are similar to the ones used by the City of Raleigh on Hillsborough Street, according to an NCSU Transportation press release. To use the Pay-by-Space parking, users must enter their space number
into the machine and the amount of time needed. The cost is $2 for the first hour and $1 for each additional 30 minutes. “From my own perspective, I was a transfer student who was only taking a couple credits, and I didn’t want to pay for an entire
PARKING continued page 2
Course evals response rates increase for Fall 2014
PACK PREPARES TO HUNT HEELS, SEE PAGE 8
Harrison Allen Staff Writer
Though the number of completed class evaluations has increased since last semester, students are only filling out about half of the total evaluations. Out of more than 154,000 course evaluation surveys, students filled out about 75,000. The response rate for course evaluations for the fall semester was 49.25 percent, an increase from around 47 percent from the spring 2014 semester, according to the NC State Class Eval Dashboard. While the amount of completed course evaluations increased from last semester, the university saw a large drop in overall response rate for course evaluations when the system switched from paper to electronic six years ago, according to Jeff Joines, chair of the evaluation of teaching committee. Additionally, when NC State went to an online course evaluation system, it created its system rather than outsourcing. In order to try and increase response rates, the evaluation of teaching committee created strategies for teachers who want students to fill more course evaluations. Though the quantity of responses dropped with the new system, the quality seemed to improve, according to Joines. “When students filled out the evaluations in-class with one another, peer pressure caused many evaluations to be filled out incorrectly,” Joines said.
JOHN JOYNER/TECHNICIAN
Sophomore forward T.J. Warren drives to the basket during the game against North Carolina in PNC Arena Feb. 26, 2014. The Wolfpack fell to the Tar Heels in overtime, 85-84.
Talley construction to be completed by this Spring Deirdre An Correspondent
Seniors should get a chance to see a completed Talley Student Union before they graduate this spring, as the university announced that construction is finally nearing completion and is set to fully open near the end of this semester. Tim Hogan, the director of the University Student Centers, said
construction deals and material deliveries could cause delays, so an exact date has not been set for the spring opening just yet. “Most of the interior work still needs to be done,” Hogan said. “The majority of the exterior facility still needs to be completed, so working on the interior finishes like the floors, ceilings and walls. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for the
Talley Student Union are currently being tested. In addition, the fire suppressant system is in the process of installation and testing, Hogan said. In the past month, temporary walls have been put in place in the building to divide the open parts of the building to the active construction sites. The temporary walls have caused students to hear more construction inside of Talley
EVAL continued page 2
TALLEY continued page 3
Winter weather causes first delay of 2015 Staff Report
The university announced late Tuesday afternoon that classes would be canceled before 11 a.m. Wednesday morning due to adverse weather conditions. According to Mick Kulikowski, assistant director for news and national media at NC State, the decision to delay or cancel classes involves administrators from the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, Campus Police, Charles
Leffler, vice chancellor for finance and business, while the final decision is made by either Provost Warwick Arden or Chancellor Randy Woodson. The Wolfline ended its service at 10 p.m. Tuesday and will regular activity at 10 a.m Wednesday. According to Christine Klein, public communication specialist for NCSU Transportation, the Wolfline begins operation one hour prior to the delayed class start time to get students to class on time. According to Klein, if weather conditions de-
teriorate during regular activity and classes are cancelled, the Wolfline will attempt to stay in service for two hours after class is officially canceled, depending on road conditions. Wolfline’s priority routes are Rt. 1 Avent Ferry, Rt. 7 Wolflink Shuttle, Rt. 8 SE Loop, Rt. 11 Village Link and Rt. 11 and Rt. 6 Carter Finley, and Transportation aims to have at least one bus per route as long as the university remains open and classes are in session.
insidetechnician FEATURES
Don’t waste time on making plans
Protecting animals in winter weather
Fighting cancer from Baltimore to San Francisco
See page 4.
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See page 5.
Senior Portraits for the 2015 Yearbook
FEATURES
OPINION
When: Monday – Friday, January 12 - 16 Where: Talley Student Union - Lobby Area (Main), Hunt Library (Centennial)
SPORTS Pack to face Hokies in Blacksburg See page 8.
» Schedule your appointment at www.ouryear.com, or call 1-800-OUR-YEAR™ (687-9327), during normal business hours. Enter school code 279 – Main, or 648 – Centennial.