TECHNICIAN
NCSU program aims to help students Josué Molina
News Editor
Starting Monday, students on Main Campus may see six-seated vehicles transporting students to and from their classes. The vehicles, which look like the offspring of a limousine and a golf cart, will be part of an electric-vehicle f leet for N.C. State’s newest transportation program, Wolfpack Pick Up. Wolfpack Pick Up will help students with mobility disabilities get around Main Campus. The pilot program will open at 7:45 a.m. Monday. Paige Maxon, the Disability
adequate service to transport students with disabilities...” Paige Maxon, Disability Commission chair
Commission chair for Student Government and a senior in biomedical engineering, has long lobbied for the program, according to Brian O’ Sullivan, the assistant director for planning operation of University Transportation.
24 2014
Woodson, Obama announce new initiative
Jake Moser
Managing Editor
to provide a more
january
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
“N.C. State needs
friday
PHOTO COURTSEY OF PAIGE MAXON
New vehicles, which are owned by Gotcha Ride, will be available for students with disabilities starting Monday. The pilot program, called Wolfpack Pick Up, will pick students up and transport them around campus.
Company provides taxi service Staff Report
Though the Wolfpack Pick Up service is only available to students who have mobility disabilities, Gotcha Ride started an evening transportation service Thursday, which is open to both students and faculty members. Gotcha Ride provides transportation by request both on-and off-campus between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m, seven days a week. Rides may be requested by flagging down
a driver or by calling (844) NC-STATE. Gotcha Ride is a transportation service designed for the college-student demographic. “College students we talked to were tired of getting stranded at a bar without a ride and always worried about needing their cars to get them around town,” Gotcha Ride’s website states. “They were fed up with parking tickets and had seen too many friends fall victim to DUIs, but weren’t comfortable taking taxis.”
RIDE continued page 2
Chancellor Randy Woodson and other university officials met with President Barack Obama at the White House last week to discuss a new proposal to help students, who don’t have a family history of higher education, go to college. I n Wa sh i ng ton D.C ., Woodson announced the College Pipeline Initiative, which is a joint effort between N.C. State, UNCChapel Hill and Davidson College. It will place 60-70 recent college graduates in high schools around the state to improve graduation rates and encourage students to apply to college. According to Woodson a national college “access issue” exists in which a large percentage of young people in the upper income quartile attend and graduate college, compared to a very small percentage of students born into families in the lower quartile. “The President and First Lady have challenged university chancellors around the country to solve the problem of getting people who don’t have a family history of higher education to attend college,” Woodson said. “Most colleges, like
N.C. State, have outstanding financial aid programs, but those only work if students apply and get admitted. The pipeline is all about encouraging young people to work hard in high school so college is more than a dream, it can be a reality.” Woodson said the initiative started with a call from the White House in early December and a proposal from the John M. Belk Endowment to work with UNC-CH and Davidson. “[Starting the College Pipeline Initiative] was a collaborative effort, but the Belk endowment really stimulated the conversation by encouraging us to work together,” Woodson said. “It was a combination of the three universities wanting to work together and the Belk endowment wanting to support.” The Belk endowment will provide a three-year, $10 million grant to start the initiative, and will continue to fund the initiative if it’s successful, according to Woodson. “Essentially, it’s a threeyear grant to test this hypothesis to see if it has an impact on helping low income students get into college,”
VISIT continued page 2
African art exhibit opens on campus Brittany Bynum Staff Writer
African portraits of religious traditions and the African Diaspora were brought to life by the fine-art portrait photographer Phyllis Galembo in the gallery opening of the “Theater of Belief.” The N.C. State African American Cultural Center partnered with Meredith College and Gregg Museum of Art on Thursday to display two different exhibits at both universities. According to Roger Manley, director of the Gregg Museum of Art, Meredith’s exhibit displayed portraits of projection by concentrating on the crowns, rings, power and regalia of African kings and queens. Manley said that, in com-
parison with Meredith’s exhibit, N.C. State’s gallery portrayed the art of transformation through dressing Africans in ritual costumes and masks from regions in Africa, such as Benin, Nigeria and Burkina-Faso. Manley said that contemporary Africans who were photographed became new people as they were dressed in the costumes. “They were transforming into ancestors, or spiritual beings, in these costumes,” Manley said. The AACC has been presenting art exhibits since 1991. Sheila Smith-McKoy, director of the AACC, said the exhibit was unique because it centered on African tradition. Smith-McKoy said that all students and faculty members, as well as any students
insidetechnician NEWS New science center opens on campus See page 3.
FEATURES College cookbook See page 5.
SPORTS Pack matches last year’s win total See page 8.
in classes concentrating on Africana Studies, African descent or religion, are welcome to come view the exhibit. Accord i ng to McKoy, Galembo will be visiting Raleigh in February and will be a part of a panel discussion about the importance of African religious traditions, and how they have manifested in the new world. Galembo will attend Meredith College on Feb. 12 and N.C. State on Feb. 13. “The exhibit is particularly important because it gives gallery visitors an opportunity to understand how significant the presence of the divine was, and continues to be, in traditional African spirituality,” Smith-McKoy said. According to Darryl Lester, assistant director of the African American Cultural
Center, Galembo brought her experiences with different cultures and expressed it in her photographs. She was able to show religious experiences in a visual form. “The portraits are an understanding of the divine,” Lester said. “They bring ancestral beings to life.” Some students from the arts village in Turlington Residence Hall attended the gallery opening. Erin Roberts, a sophomore in medical textiles, said she admired the energy from the costumes of the African rituals. “I noticed the people in the photographs were less concerned about themselves,” Roberts said. “It was more about capturing the image.” The exhibits are currently on display and will be open until May 11.
JOSEPH PHILLIPS/TECHNICIAN
While looking at a photo, Betty Saini slowly sways to the music in Phyllis Galembo’s “Theatre of Belief” Gallery. Roger shared that the photographs were taken on film and were developed by hand.
Latin American doctor talks global health problems Jacqueline Lee Staff Writer
Dr. Silvia Cu, a medical doctor from Guatemala, gave a presentation on Thursday at the Global Health Initiative. Cu has been practicing medicine in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala since 1994, and is working at a health clinic in San Andrés. Because Cu does not speak English, she gave her presentation in Spanish while Cheryl Block, a Spanish professor at N.C. State, translated what Cu said as she spoke. However, several professors and other attendants
interjected with their input on what Cu said during the translation, as some confusion concerning the translation of Cu’s speech existed. “Translating can be challenging, especially if it’s the first time you’ve heard something yourself,” Block said. “But it is a really good experience.” Cu has been practicing medicine in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala since 1994 and is the primary doctor at the health clinic. Charlie Harless, a senior in social work and human biology, interned with Cu through study abroad pro-
gram for seven weeks. “Though I’m a social work student, I’m very interested in global public health,” Har-
“I feel depressed every time I walk into the pharmacy because of the lack of resources.” Silvia Cu, a medical doctor from Guatemala
less said. “I wanted to do an internship in a health clinic or with a doctor. I studied abroad in Spain for a full semester, so I felt competent in working with Dr. Cu.” Alex Lombardi, program manager of the Global Health Care Initiative, said the program matches students with a program in a regional or international organization that meets their interest, needs and skill set. She said it gives them hands on experience in the health field. “The Global Health Initiative is an organization
HEALTH continued page 3