Chancellor Thorp to give speech on innovation
Chancellor Holden Thorp said he hopes that a speech today will spark interest in the long-awaited Innovate@Carolina plan.
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Chancellor Holden Thorp said he hopes that a speech today will spark interest in the long-awaited Innovate@Carolina plan.
Granville Towers has been known for years as a prime spot for members of the Greek community to live, and UNC is now making it official.But at least for next year, no chapters have accepted the proposal.Under the new option, Greek students could be grouped with others in their organization, with the option of sharing a floor with other fraternities or sororities if one couldn’t fill a floor.“A mix between Granville people, housing people and Greek people came up with the idea,” said Rick Bradley, assistant director of the Department of Housing and Residential Education.The organizations will also have the opportunity to rent a room at a discounted rate to use as a meeting space. The beds would be taken out of the room and replaced with tables and chairs.Resident advisers assigned to the floors would be individuals who express an interest in the Greek community.Each floor would also have a Greek connections guide, or a member of a different Greek organization who has an understanding of the importance of traditions, secrets and policies within the Greek community, said Allison Kenney, assistant general manager of Granville.The new system would help UNC’s Greek community meet its need for additional housing, she said.Although that need has been voiced by the Greek community, no one has yet taken advantage of the plan for next year.A meeting was held in Granville on Feb. 18 to present the idea to residents, but no one attended the meeting.Kenney said she thought there was not enough time to publicize the meeting, also speculating that no one attended because they had already arranged housing for next year.But when members of the Granville administration attended a meeting of Greek organization presidents on Feb. 22 to pitch their idea, it was well-received by the organizations’ leaders.Tucker Piner, president of the Interfraternity Council, said he is in full support of the plan Granville is offering. He intends to promote the option to members of the Greek community partially because of Granville’s proximity to UNC fraternity and sorority houses.“The location of Granville will help people connect with the Greek houses in the area,” Piner said.Rhea Keller, president of the Panhellenic Council, said she supported the idea because it could help organizations that don’t yet have a place for members to reside together.The Granville option is similar to how Duke University has functioned since the 1970s.About 15 percent of Duke’s West Campus dorms are occupied by Greek organizations, said Jennifer Frank, assistant director of accommodations at Duke.In addition to potentially offering Greek blocs, Granville will renovate five halls by next year.The renovations, which will not change the student rental price, are part of UNC’s ongoing plan for Granville Towers.The towers, along with University Square, were purchased by the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation in 2008. While the entire area will be redeveloped, it is expected that the towers will stick around for at least another 10 years.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Three members of the Board of Trustees met with students Thursday afternoon to discuss issues concerning public service, safety, academics and leadership.The meetings were part of a series arranged between the board and UNC students to foster communication.Trustee John Townsend discussed public service with students, a field in which he has much experience.While enrolled in the Kenan-Flagler Business School, Townsend said he helped develop the school’s Archie K. Davis lecture series.Katherine Novinski, a religious studies major and the newly selected director of the Eve Marie Carson Memorial Scholarship, said public service was one of the things that attracted her to the University. “UNC helps you find your talent and use it to give back,” Novinski said. “It’s one of the really cool things about Carolina.”Students pointed out the benefits of the APPLES service learning classes and the Public Service Scholar program in making service a regular component of students’ college experiences.Student Body Vice President David Bevevino said it is important to apply the systemic knowledge gained in the classroom to attack serious problems from multiple angles.Following the public service portion of the meeting, trustee Barbara Hyde met with students to discuss academics and leadership, focusing on the interaction and balance between academics and extracurricular activities.Student Body Secretary Jonathan Tugman vouched for including non-academic experiences into students’ college life. “Carolina does a good job of connecting students with opportunities so they are aware and can take advantage of them if they choose,” he said.Afterward, trustee Wade Hargrove led a discussion on safety. Tugman said the participants discussed the Safe Walk program — which he said students have used about 15 times each night — along with the need for increased off-campus lighting. “We talk about this every year and there is no good solution because lighting is expensive,” Tugman said.Students also discussed HAVEN Part II, a campaign promise of Student Body President Jasmin Jones, which aims to prevent sexual assault by pairing women with male allies and encouraging bystander intervention.Lastly, students and Hargrove discussed combatting the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse on campus.They talked about fostering a culture among students that doesn’t accept drug use. They said the Honor Court could possibly take the lead in organizing an initiative to lay the groundwork.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
UNC faces a “three-legged stool problem,” a Board of Trustees member said Wednesday.The issue: allocating money from upcoming tuition increases to improve students, faculty and academic offerings simultaneously.John Ellison, a seventh-year trustee on the tuition task force, met with current and future student leaders Wednesday morning to discuss the problem. Trustees rarely schedule time to meet with students specifically. The event provided an opportunity for students to voice their concerns and educate themselves about tuition issues.Ellison met with Student Body President Jasmin Jones, Student Body President-elect Hogan Medlin, their respective vice presidents, Josh Ford of the student advisory committee to the chancellor and two other students. Both Ellison and Jones agreed that educating students about tuition increases and the reasons for them should be a top priority.“Most out-of-state students expect increases, so it is the in-staters we need to convince,” Jones said.Ellison voiced his concerns about the preservation of the value of a UNC diploma, competitive faculty salaries, attracting great students to enroll at the University and continuing need-based aid. Ellison said UNC isn’t paying its faculty enough. In order to lure top professors, it is necessary to keep their pay competitive with other top schools like University of California Los Angeles and University of California Berkeley, he said. Ellison also said he worries about students who barely miss qualifying for financial aid. An increase in tuition could hurt them the most because they would need to take out more loans and make more accommodations to afford to attend UNC.“This is an impossible conundrum,” Ellison said. “There is no answer here. If we don’t do something, we could hurt the academic quality of the University.”Ford said he and his committee want to establish tuition predictability. He suggested a flat tuition rate for each incoming class that would stay constant throughout their four years. That rate could increase for each incoming class.He also recommended charging students slightly more than is needed. For example, the University could charge every student the current junior year tuition rate for their four years. This means students would be paying extra their first two years, a normal rate their third year, and a discounted rate their fourth year. The meeting ended with Jones suggesting a student-led contest for tuition ideas. Suggestions could especially be drawn from the economics department and business school students, she said. Ellison said he would be happy to hear student suggestions in this format, but communication needs to remain strong between students and the board.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.