TECHNICIAN
monday september
22 2014
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
White House announces ‘It’s On Us’ campaign Katherine Kehoe News Editor
DIPANKAR MAZUMDER/TECHNICIAN
James Hatfield, a senior in textile engineering, and Braeden Earp, a sophomore in textile engineering, work on the College of Textiles shack during Shack-a-Thon on Sunday. Shack-a-Thon helps to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity and is held annually in the Brickyard.
Shack-a-Thon raises money, roofs for Habitat for Humanity Harrison Allen Correspondent
Groups participating in NC State’s annual Shack-a-Thon fundraiser, which raises money for Habitat for Humanity, prepared themselves Sunday to spend a week outside as they built their shacks on the Brickyard. This year, 16 shacks will remain on the Brickyard all week in hopes to donate all proceeds to Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for people in need. “We are out here fundraising
so that Habitat for Humanity can provide more houses for these low income families,” said Samantha Cromer, a sophomore in extension education participating with the Interfaith shack. At least two people will have to man each shack for 24 hours a day from 8 a.m. Monday until 5 p.m. Friday. Last year Shack-a-Thon raised more than $37,000 for Habitat for Humanity. This year it hopes to raise just as much, if not more. Each separate shack raises money through various methods to con-
tribute to the cause. “[The Interfaith shack] will have sweet tea and we will be selling para-cord bracelets, hair bows, and I think we’ll also have henna tattoos,” Cromer said. Other groups, such as the Engineering Village, have taken a less conventional route to raise money, selling activities such as games as opposed to physical goods at their shacks. “[The Engineering Village shack] is going to have carnival type games,” said Caroline Law, a sophomore in computer science.
Many of the shacks have separate goals of how much money they would like to raise. “I would like us to have $1,500 by the end of the week,” said Growing Cartagena, a junior in civil engineering who is participating with the multicultural shack. Alex Kim, a sophomore in chemical engineering, said the Park scholars shack had a goal to raise $1,500 as well. Others, however, do not have concrete fundraising goals set.
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NCPIRG, SG seek to increase registered student voters before upcoming deadline Ian Grice Correspondent
In what is predicted to be one of the most expensive national elections in the country, the college student vote will play a significant role in who emerges the victor between Republican candidate and Speaker of the NC House Thom Tillis and incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan. Early voting will now take place ten days before the official voting day, beginning October 24. This is a change from last year’s voting period which began 17 days earlier. Last year’s Republican-led legislature changed the law in North Carolina to shorten the period, which received backlash from students and underrepresented groups alike. Unlike in 2012, when students could vote on campus at the Talley Student Center, the closest early voting site will be the Chavis Community Center, which is 3.4 miles from campus. In July, the Republican-controlled Wake County Board of Elections decided not to name NC State as an early voting site, despite the fact that more than 13,000 people voted on campus in 2012. The race between Tillis, the Speaker of the NC House which
overhauled voting laws in the state, and Hagan, the Democratic candidate who has nationally been cited as one of the senators most likely to lose her seat, has already become one of the most expensive races in the country, according to The New York Times. Hagan currently leads Tillis 42 to 38 percentage points, according to Public Policy Polling. According to Politico, Wake County is the most important county in the senatorial race. North Carolina is a swing state and could determine the Senate majority. Other positions being contested are the seats for the U.S. House Representative districts 2, 4 and 13 as well as seats in the NC Senate and House of Representatives, the Wake County sheriff and several court positions. NCPIRG, a non-profit dedicated to protecting student interests, said its goal is to register 1,500 students and make 30,000 get out the vote contacts. So far, NCPIRG has registered more than 250 students, according to Julie Persinger, campus organizer with NCPIRG. Persinger said the organization is nonpartisan and dedicated to
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On Friday, President Barack Obama announced the White House’s new campaign to stop sexual assault on college campuses, which hopes to raise awareness by enlisting the support of student leaders, college sports leagues and celebrities from across the country. The initiative, titled “It’s On Us,” is a national attempt to spread the message that fighting sexual assault on college campuses is the responsibility of more than just the victim: Every person attending
“An estimated one in five women has been sexually assaulted during her college years.” President Barack Obama
a university should understand that sexual assault means and should speak up when necessary. “This is on all of us, every one of us, to fight campus sexual assault,” President Obama said at the announcement Friday. “We are going to organize campus by campus, city by city, state by state. This entire country is going to make sure that we understand what this is about and that we’re going to put a stop to it.” The campaign emphasizes the danger of the bystander effect by encouraging people to speak up when they see potential red flags regarding sexual assault and violence. One of the tips “It’s On Us” gave to people who made a commitment to the campaign was to “trust your gut” and to speak up when a situation seems potentially harmful. “An estimated one in five wom-
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Jessica Yin, a sophomore in statistics, and Tom Jorden from Sweet Cakes bakery distribute chocolate at their booth during the Chocolate Festival on Friday. The Chocolate Festival aimed to raise breast cancer awareness.
Guests remember breast cancer victims at 11th annual Chocolate Festival Talia Rodriguez Correspondent
Guests sampled chocolates and remembered victims of breast cancer on Friday at this year’s annual Chocolate Festival, an event sponsored by the Women’s Center to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The festival, now in its 11th year, was held in the Carmichael Gymnasium. While many elements of the annual event remained the same, the festival also sported some new additions this year. “We will have an opportunity for people who identify them-
selves as survivors to be honored over the DJ system,” said Otis McGresham, assistant director of the Women’s Center. “And then we have a small gift from the Chocolate Festival to them, so that’s new this year.” McGresham said there were both repeat and new vendors featured at the festival this year, with a remaining emphasis supporting businesses based in the area. The vendors included Godiva, Lindt and Dove as well as smaller companies from the area such as Insomnia Cookies and Vagasky Truffles. The chocolate samples
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FESTIVAL continued page 3