TECHNICIAN
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xcvi cxx issue
technicianonline.com
Technician paper stolen from stands
2016 commencement speaker announced
The university announced its choice for the 2016 spring commencement speaker Wednesday. Admiral Michelle Howard, vice chief of naval operations, will deliver the address at 9 a.m. in PNC Arena May 7. Howard, the second most senior officer in the U.S. Navy and the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship, has been deployed to Desert Storm, Desert Shield and tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia, among others. In 1999, she rose to command the naval ship USS Rushmore. Howard is also the first woman in the U.S. Navy — and any branch of service — to be awarded a four-star rank when she earned the title of 38th vice chief of naval operations. Some of her other awards and achievements include being named 2011 USO Military Woman of the year and receiving the 2013 NAACP Chairman’s Image Award and the 2014 Thurgood Marshall College Fund National Hero Award. SOURCE: NC State News
Ringo Starr cancels Cary show over HB2
Ringo Starr joined the list of performers who have called off performances in North Carolina in response to House Bill 2 Wednesday when he announced his plan to cancel his June 18 concert at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. “I’m sorry to disappoint my fans in the area, but we need to take a stand against this hatred,” Starr said in a statement. “Spread peace and love.” Other performers who have canceled shows in the state since HB2 include Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and an off-Broadway production of “Wicked,” among others. SOURCE: The News & Observer
insidetechnician
SPORTS Zaytoun looks to make a lasting mark See page 8.
14 2016
Raleigh, North Carolina
Researchers find proof of beavers, foxes on campus
IN BRIEF Wednesday morning, stacks of Technician newspapers were discovered missing from multiple stands in and around Talley Student Union, as well as several campus buildings including Poe Hall, Daniels Hall, Hunt Library and Carmichael Gymnasium. Student Media staff replenished papers at these stands, which do not typically run out of copies early in the day. The Technician filed a report of the thefts with University Police. All students, faculty, staff and visitors at NC State’s campus are welcome to pick up a free copy of the Technician, and all subsequent copies cost 25 cents. Removing copies from stands is theft, and if committed by staff members or faculty would constitute censorship. The Technician estimates that roughly 550 papers disappeared. If anyone has any information about where the papers may have gone please contact University Police or the Technician at technician-editor@ ncsu.edu.
thursday april
Adam Davis Assistant News Editor
MARY GOUGHNOUR/TECHNICIAN
Students gather at the Earth Fair on Wednesday in the Brickyard. The Earth-focused fair featured dozens of exhibits, demonstrations and ideas as to how people can help make a difference in the environment.
Earth Fair celebrates NC State sustainability Randy Jaouhari Staff Writer
Hundreds of people visited the Brickyard Wednesday for this year’s Earth Fair, part of NC State’s celebration of Earth Day, which featured about 70 different vendors who all provided different perspectives on sustainability within their fields. The event began in the Brickyard at 10 a.m. Vendors included the Climate Reality Project, NCSU Libraries and the NC State Stewards, a student activist group advocating for sustainability. The event hoped to reinforce NC State’s commitment to sustainability and teach
students about how they can make better environmental choices. One of the central themes was combating climate change through more efficient energy use. “NC State has committed to be climate neutral by 2050,” said Tracy Dixon, the director of the University Sustainability Office. “What we’ve done is looked at where all of our greenhouse gas emissions are coming from, and we look at that every two years to see where we’re going, and since 2008 we’ve seen a 13.5 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions.” The Climate Action Pack, a group committed to combating climate change, had a table set
NC State’s campus is home to more than just students and grey squirrels, according to NC State biodiversity researchers. Bioblitz, a project funded by NC State’s sustainability fund, found evidence of grey foxes, coyotes and beavers inhabiting the areas on and around campus. “When people come to NC State’s campus, they see so many of these bricks, and they don’t expect to see wildlife,” said Terry Gates, a biological sciences professor who assisted in the project. “But the wildlife is there. Most of it comes out at night or lives along the streams.” Michael Drake, a graduate student studying fisheries and wildlife sciences, began Bioblitz last fall to encourage people to think more about the wildlife around them. “The vast majority of people on NC State’s campus aren’t thinking about animals every day like [wildlife scientists] are,” Drake said. “We just wanted to find a way that we can get people to realize that you don’t have to go all the way out to a national forest you can just poke around here on campus and find some pretty cool stuff.” The project is not scientific in nature, but rather seeks to tell a narrative of NC State’s biodiversity, Drake said. Drake compiles information on what species people find, as well as where those species are found. To collect the data, Drake explores campus and records what he finds. He also uses camera traps, which detect motion and take pictures of animals walking by. In addition, Drake received help from groups on campus, such as the Student Fishery Society, the Zoology Club, the International Society for Tropical Foresters and the International Association of Natural Resources. Various professors have contributed to the findings as well.
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Expert discusses using worms for at-home compost Hessa Al Maghlouth Correspondent
Rhonda Sherman, renowned expert on vermicomposting, discussed the process and benefits of composting at home, Wednesday, as part of Earth Month at NC State. The presentation included two parts. The first focused on composting, which is the controlled process of converting organic materials into valuable soil amendments. The second part dealt with vermicomposting, which is a type of composing that uses special worms to compost the waste — and it is also Sherman’s specialty. According to Sherman, an endless number of things people encounter in their daily lives can be composted, including everything from grass clippings to pencil shavings. Composting can happen on a small scale in the backyards of houses or on a larger scale in farms. Some of the tools a composter will need include containers or buckets, a flat shovel, a watering can and a pound of live earthworms. People interested in composting can find plans for bins and ideas for ways to compost on home online. Sherman said it is important to keep your compost bins in a flat and open space, preferably somewhere shady so the compost doesn’t dry out. When food scraps go to landfill, large amounts of methane are released into the air, Sherman said. Methane is one of the biggest causes of climate change. Food waste from One Earth in Talley Student Union and dining halls around campus get composted as part of the university’s effort towards a greener campus. Garnett Bullock, a junior studying sustainable energy and technologies and an intern for Sherman, said this event bridges the gap between the efforts that go into composting on campus and the students. “I am trying to teach people on this campus how easy it is to make this happen,” Bullock said. “If people are aware of that effort than it’s not going to be that hard of a change to think about our waste and … where to put it compared to where we put it right now.” For students interested in vermicomposting, they can find information on the vermicomposting page, bae.ncsu.edu/ topic/vermicomposting, about how to vermicompost at home.
CONTRIBUTED BY ROBERT DAVEZAC
The Raleigh Civic Symphony will perform five pieces composed by renowned British composer Richard Blackford along with a special piece, “The Green Earth New,” composed by Peter Askim, Raleigh Civic Symphony conductor and music director for NC State’s Music Department during the performance of the “Great Animal Orchestra” Sunday.
The Raleigh Civic Symphony to perform animal orchestra Sooyoung Sohn Correspondent
The Raleigh Civic Symphony will perform The “Great Animal Orchestra” Sunday, with each piece showcasing animal recordings. The performance will feature five pieces composed by renowned British composer Richard Blackford, and a special piece, “The Green Earth New,” composed by Peter Askim, a Raleigh Civic Symphony conductor and the music director for the NC State’s Music Department. Blackford composed the pieces based on animal recordings gathered by American ecologist and musician Bernie Krause. Krause spent 40 years traveling the world to collect 5,000 hours of recordings of wild animals. “Although the ‘Great Animal Orchestra’ premiered in 2014, and has been performed
elsewhere before, the performance at the Talley will be the East Coast premiere,” Askim said. Blackford composed the “Great Animal Orchestra” to raise awareness of the wild animal and the environmental conservation efforts, according to its website. Blackford wanted to show the audience how humans are interrelated to the environment and animals. To do so, he collaborated with Krause. “The music has ability to touch us on a level that is beyond thought and transcends language and pure information,” Askim said. “I think that will open up the audience to the conservation efforts.” In addition to raising awareness on wild animal and environmental conservation, the event will combine music and science
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