TECHNICIAN
thursday april
3
2014
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Abortion display provokes protest Gabe DeCaro Correspondent
SOURCE:WIKIMEDIA
Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter signs books Wednesday at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Carter visited Raleigh as a part of a book signing tour to promote his new book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power.
Jimmy Carter visits Raleigh Nicky Vaught Staff Writer
President Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States, stopped in Raleigh on a book tour Wednesday. Promoting his most recent book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, Carter sat down from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Quail Ridge Books & Music to sign copies and greet supporters. Those who did not come to the store with a pre-purchased copy of A Call to Action waited in a line outside to buy one before going in. “No taking selfies with the president,” one bookstore employee said only half-jokingly, as she ushered patrons along. The book became available March 25 and recounts
some of his experiences growing up with religion and women. It explores how societies worldwide abuse various religions to oppress women. In A Call to Action, Carter wrote about conversations he and his wife, former first lady of the United States Rosalynn Carter, held with religious leaders of the world about their view regarding numerous topics such as religion, the oppression of women and violence. As the title suggests, the book is a call to action, as Carter urges readers to make a concerted effort toward reducing the glorification of violence and toward improving women’s quality of life both nation- and worldwide. Since stepping down as President, Carter has written 30 books, starting with the publication of Why Not the Best? in 1975. Carter and his wife co-wrote Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life in 1995.
Federal agencies probe Hofmann Forest managers about wetlands Staff Report
Federal agencies are investigating the managers of the Universityowned Hofmann Forest to see if the wetlands were illegally drained. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are leading an investigation to see if Hofmann’s drainage ditches violated the Clean Water Act. Representatives of the ACE examined the ditches in January, and, according to Mickey Sugg, a regulator with the Corps’ Wilmington office, at least some of the drainage work
appeared to be illegal, The News & Observer reported. However, the Clean Water Act does allow some ditch draining, according to Sugg. A spokesperson for the EPA didn’t discuss possible penalties for violating the act, but its website indicates that the improper draining of wetlands could culminate in a six-figure fine. According to Brad Bohlander, a University spokesperson, N.C. State and its Natural Resources Foundation are cooperating with the investigation.
“The Foundation has always strived to conduct its forest management operations in accordance with the Clean Water Act and has carefully adhered to the North Carolina Forestry Best Management Practices as originally drafted and adopted in collaboration with the Corps of Engineers,” Bohlander said in a statement. Bohlander said Hofmann Forest LLC and the University are still planning to close the deal despite the ongoing investigations, The N&O reported.
The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a secular institution against abortion, set up a large display with many graphic images of aborted fetuses juxtaposed with pictures of lynchings and genocides in the Brickyard Wednesday and will continue today. The display, however, was met by a counter prostest of about 25 students. The CBR travels to college campuses across the country and recently paid a visit to UNC-Chapel Hill. The Students for Life, a prolife group on campus, sponsored the CBR’s presentation. Bobby O’Brien, a senior in mathematics
and member of Students for Life, said, “We wanted to make sure our voice would be heard in a way that couldn’t be ignored.” Students in opposition brought signs and posters and formed a wall in front of the display facing the atrium. “I disagree with their political views, but that’s secondary to my offense at these images being displayed on our campus,” said Jacquelyn Fitzgerald, a sophomore in biological sciences. “I don’t think that they’re appropriate, they create an unsafe campus environment and it is bad publicity for our
ABORTION continued page 2
Elections end ... kind of Katherine Kehoe Assistant News Editor
Results may have been announced today, but Student Government elections are still not over. Due to a problem with ballot-filter settings, elections for the senior class president and College of Agriculture and Life Science senate seats have to be re-run, according to Brian Parks, a senior in accounting and vice chair of the Student Government Board of Elections. Before polling begins, Student Government advisors apply filters to the online voting system, which allow certain groups of students to vote for their specific class and college representatives. Students then
test the voting system in weeks leading up to the election. Both groups missed mistakes on the ballot that caused voter groups ineligible to vote in those races to accidentally be marked as eligible to vote, according to Parks. Polls will be open Monday and Tuesday for a re-vote on these positions, Parks said. The N.C. State Elections Commission announced the winners of the remaining positions that were correctly polled the Talley Governance Chambers Wednesday. Candidates Rusty Mau, a senior in economics, and Devan Riley, a junior in accounting, received 53
ELECTION continued page 3
Pan-Afrikan Week concert canceled, students to rally Staff Report
A concert scheduled for Friday as a part of Pan-Afrikan Week in Talley Ballroom has been canceled due to concern following an incident involving the headlining act, Migos. Migos, an Atlanta-based hip-hop group, was reportedly involved in
a highway shooting in Miami last Friday, according to a University press release. “We are disappointed that the hard work our students put into planning this event has ended in this way. However, safety is our main
CONCERT continued page 2
UHP receives record number of applicants Gabe DeCaro Correspondent
A record number of incoming freshmen applied to join the University Honors Program this fall. Of the 4,250 students who were accepted into N.C. State this spring, 946 students submitted applications to the University Honors Program—an “unprecedented number” in the program’s history, according to Carolyn Veale, assistant director of the UHP. “The UHP is not just a program for the academically gifted students,” Veale said. “Our mission lies in research, scholarship and multidisciplinary appreciation.” On Tuesday, 350 of the 946 applicants were offered a spot in the UHP. Of all of those accepted, Veale said she expects 185 students to join the program. The majority of the students who decline to enroll in the program elect to attend another institution, according to Veale. Others decide to enroll in other programs such as the University Scholars Program. “We would like to grow in terms of the caliber of students who are applying to N.C. State and getting accepted, but we are just in a position right now where we can’t really increase the number of students that we accept based on what we give them, namely the Honors seminars,” Veale said. Veale said this year was the first time the program added a third question to its application. The three questions dealt with past and present Honors seminars, the students’ preparation to be model UHP students, and the students’ selection of a major and what they hope to gain from their course of study. “We’re really excited in terms of what we’re getting
back from the question regarding Honors seminars,” Veale said. According to Veale, students must have an appreciation for reading and writing in order to be successful in the program. “If a math major comes in and says that they only want to do math, then we tend to see those types of students struggle most,” Veale said. Students in the Honors program are required to take 12 credit hours worth of Honors seminars during their undergraduate careers. “Honors seminars are the heart and core of our program,” Veale said. These specialized classes are intended to keep the class sizes small (about 20 students in each) and reflect the program’s mission of embracing an interdisciplinary perspective. Seminars range from “A Global History of American Food” and “South African Literature Before, During and After Apartheid” to “Self, Schooling and the Social Order” which is taught by Aaron Stoller, associate director of the UHP. According to Veale, the limitations in the class size of the UHP stems from the inherently small size of the Honors seminars. Most of the courses, especially for the eight sections of the introductory Honors 202 courses which most freshmen take, are contracted out, which means faculty members are paid by the program to teach a seminar in order to compensate for their lost teaching time in their own department. The UHP Academy is a program that allows students, under the guidance of a faculty mentor and the advising of a UHP professional staff member, to conduct
HONORS continued page 2
SAM FELDSTEIN/TECHNICIAN
Tomer Shvueli, a senior in computer science and Arjun Aravindan, a junior also in computer science stand in front of Arjun’s car parked at the back of the Atrium Tuesday. They started a sober-rides service, known as Cruizer, “for students by students.”
Students create service to combat drunk driving Jess Thomas Staff Writer
Two N.C. State students have created a new service intended to allow students to travel around campus safely. Tomer Shvueli, a senior in computer science, and Arjun Aravindan, a junior in computer science, started NCSU CampusCruizer to help students stay safe while traveling campus late at night.
“We mainly created this service to help students get across campus late at night and avoid major safety issues, such as drinking and driving or muggings,” Aravindan said. Shvueli said CampusCruizer generally runs from Wednesday to Sunday night and is the busiest during the weekends. According to Aravindan, CampusCruizer works by having driv-
CRUIZER continued page 2