TECHNICIAN
GLBT community allies plan to gather on the Brickyard Chelsey Francis Deputy News Editor
Within the last six weeks, there have been 11 teens who identify with the GLBT community who have committed suicide. In commemoration of the suicides, Michael Giancola, director of CSLEPS and Deb Luckadoo, director of Campus Activities, partnered to plan this rally to show the GLBT community they have allies here at the University. According to Justine Hollingshead, director of the GLBT center, the event is organized by allies in Student Affairs. “Mike Giancola and Deb Luckadoo worked in consultation with us to plan this rally,” Hollingshead said. According to Giancola, the GLBT rally has two purposes. “First, we want the rally to show support for the GLBT community on campus,” Giancola said. “There are many people on campus that consider themselves allies and support them.” The GLBT community allies want to show they care about all members of the GLBT community, according to Giancola. “We also want to, in the face of things going on with the GLBT community, …show our support,” Giancola said.
According to Hollingshead, the rally is going to be a visible sign of support to the GLBT community. “It’s a rally of sorts, with people being there to say ‘we visibly support the GLBT community,’” Hollingshead said. “It’s a time to show the GLBT community that they have allies at this University who will stand with them.” Last week was National Coming Out Week. Originally, the rally had been planned as part of Coming Out Week, according to Luckadoo. “The students that Justine Hollingshead works with couldn’t get the energy up to do the rally because of all the teen suicides,” Luckadoo said. “They were feeling oppressed because… people with whom they identify felt so lost that they committed suicide.” According to Luckadoo, she and Giancola felt the event was important and worked together to plan it. “We believe this is still an important event. We decided to make it about the support allies have for the GLBT community,” Luckadoo said. “I believe there are thousands more people that support and care for members of the GLBT community, than there are people that are disrespectful.” Luckadoo said they want to bring out as many people as possible. “I hope we can lift their spirits,” Luckadoo said. “I believe they felt good last week because of Coming Out Week activities and the injunction of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We want to reinforce that and tell
october
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Raleigh, North Carolina
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In light of recent gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender suicides, CSLEPS and GLBT have planned a rally to show support.
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them that there are people who support them.” According to Giancola, this event is similar to other rallies and memorials that have been held on the Brickyard. “We’re having this between classes so everyone can come out and not miss classes,” Giancola said. Several members of the campus community will speak at the rally. “Student Body President Kelly Hook, Student Chief Justice Monica Noble, Thomas Stafford, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, and Jo-Ann Robinson, assistant vice provost for Student Diversity, will all speak at the rally,” Giancola said. Giancola said Robinson will be speaking about the importance of being inclusive. “At the end, we’re going to be distributing purple bandanas with the N.C. State emblem on in that say ally,” Giancola said. Giancola encourages all members to come out and show support to the GLBT community. “At the end of the day, we’re all part of the same N.C. State,” Giancola said. Hollingshead said the allies want all students to know that people are here to help them. “We want students to know there are options besides suicide when dealing with mental health issues,” Hollingshead said.
CELEBRATE WHAT’S GREAT
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Josh Bowman, a second-year student in the Agricultural Institute, sells fried candy bars at the State Fair on Saturday. “They needed the help and I needed the money,” Bowman said. “It’s a blast.”
QUESTIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS TASK FORCE The chancellor has begun work on the University’s Strategic Plan. The plan is divided up among nine task forces, one of which is Undergraduate Student Success. The Technician will be asking students their opinion about undergraduate student success each day leading up to the Strategic Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26.
DOES THE UNIVERSITY OFFER ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ALL STUDENTS (E.G., ONLINE, OUT-OF-STATE STUDENTS)?
HOW DOES THE UNIVERSITY IMPROVE STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO ACHIEVE THEIR EDUCATIONAL GOALS EFFICIENTLY? HOW CAN THE UNIVERSITY FACILITATE INTERNAL TRANSFERS AND IMPROVE GRADUATION RATES? To submit your responses to the Technician, email: letters@ technicianonline.com. To submit your input to the Undergraduate Success Task Force, visit: http://info.ncsu.edu/strategicplanning/task-forces/undergraduatestudent-success/. To voice your opinion in front of the University, attend the Chancellor’s Forum on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Stewart Theater.
Installing: Chancellor Randy Woodson Overall progress: 31%
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Sophomore in creative writing Rob Nunley and freshman in computer engineering Jameelia Cook pl ay Just Dance 2 at a dance party in the Wolves Den Thursday. The game, released Oct. 12, features new game modes and 44 new tracks. “I actually dance,” Nunley said, “and the game is still pretty fun.”
Students break out moves in ‘Just Dance 2’ Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2 launch party in the Wolves’ Den brought dancers and the rhythmically challenged together for a night of fun. Jordan Alsaqa Senior Staff Writer
Last Thursday night, the Wolves’ Den at Talley Student Center was host to a launch party for one of Ubisoft’s latest Wii titles, Just Dance 2. Students had the chance to come out and try the game for over a three-hour period, along with the opportunity to win numerous prizes related to the game. A follow-up to last year’s Just Dance, the sequel seeks to rectify issues critics previously had with the original,
while also retaining the fun elements that make the game great for parties. Rachel Owen, a senior in English, said she enjoyed her time playing the game. “This is a great party game,” Owen said, “and would be fun for a group to play. It’s quite infectious.” Thursday’s event saw two televisions set up to run the game with players rotating in and out consistently during the night. Participants were also provided with free drinks and pizza, adding to the light-hearted atmosphere of the event. Those who took a moment to join the “Ubisoft at N.C. State” Facebook group were given either a pair of sunglasses or a sweatband embroidered with the Just Dance 2 logo. They were also allowed to enter a raffle, the grand
prize of which was a copy of the game. Tim MacNeil, who helped set up the event, felt they had a solid turn out. “We saw about 80 students over the course of three hours,” MacNeil said, “which is close to what was expected. Of the stuff we had to give away, we only had about four items left by the night’s end.” The sense of camaraderie the game seeks to provide was evident at the launch party and helped keep the crowd up throughout the night. As students started to take part in the game, they began to loosen up and just have fun with their peers.
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Estimated time remaining: 6 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes Destination location: S:/buildings/HolladayHall/offices/chancellor/Woodson
CHANCELLOR’S INSTALLATION WEEK EVENTS: MONDAY Entrepreneurs Lecture Series & NCSU Start-up Companies Showcase When: 3 -5 p.m. Where: McKimmon Center What: The Entrepreneurs Lecture Series features NCSU alumnus Peter Lehrer, a cofounder of Lehrer McGovern Bovis, Inc. The program will feature a documentary, “Dream Builders,” which details Lehrer’s entrepreneurial career. SOURCE: CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE
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Johnson transitioning smoothly True freshman embraces opportunity at early playing time and thrives. See page 8.
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