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(04/16/08 4:00am)
The bullhorn was broken, but senior Salma Mirza didn't need it.
Instead she addressed the 30 students gathered Tuesday in the Pit with her fervent voice. "We are here today because Carolina apparel is produced in sweatshops."
Students gathered to protest the arrival of a former North American Free Trade Agreement negotiator who came to UNC to advise Chancellor James Moeser on the licensing of UNC apparel created by workers in sweatshops.
(03/27/08 4:00am)
The overhaul to academic advising is under way and the advising implementation committee is working to polish a final report on its proposed changes.
Steve Weiss, professor of computer science and chairman of the academic advising implementation committee, gave a brief progress report Wednesday on the committee's draft to the University affairs committee of the Board of Trustees.
"We're dealing with a system that's pretty good, and we're trying to make it better," Weiss said.
Weiss heads the committee, which is in the process of designing recommendations to improve advising. The final draft of the report is due to the Board of Trustees in May.
The goal of the advising reform is to develop a comprehensive model for juniors and seniors that involves the departments.
These changes to advising were a top priority of Student Body President Eve Carson, who was a member of both the University affairs committee and the advising committee.
"Eve was always pushing the idea that we want to create a small neighborhood on campus," said Bobbi Owen, a member of the advising committee and senior associate dean for undergraduate education. "She pressed the idea of students carrying one adviser with them throughout their four years."
Following Carson's vision, advising teams are being phased out and replaced with individual advisers from specific departments. This change, to be implemented next fall, is intended to give juniors and seniors more specialized attention from faculty within their majors or schools.
"The nature of advising changes when you declare your major," said Todd Dalrymple, student representative on the committee. "Students are directed to their department and can get more of a mentoring role, as opposed to the clerical role that they needed the first two years."
The trustees seemed concerned, however, with the plight of freshmen and sophomores.
Trustee Rusty Carter, chairman of the committee, said he wondered how this change to advising would affect the students who had not yet found their career direction.
"We need to think more about the students who are second-semester sophomores who are trying to find what their passion is," Carter said. "I'm concerned about those who might feel lost."
Owen said that undecided students will be better served by shifting advisers from paper and pen to computers.
"For a 15-minute appointment, it takes all that time to fill in those boxes by hand," she said. "This is something that the computer should be doing, and that time should be spent in better ways."
Weiss also said students can be given better tools in the advising process, such as deleting obsolete information on Web sites and improving the course catalogue.
"We need to get students to realize that they are their own ultimate advisers," he said.
Weiss said he felt good about how the trustees received Wednesday's presentation.
"I thought they asked good questions," he said. "I think we're all on the same track."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(02/29/08 5:00am)
It's 6 p.m. Sunday, and Austin Spencer is in class.
It's not a UNC class, and he won't be graded. The junior chemistry major is in an MCAT prep course at the Chapel Hill Kaplan Center.
"It's more independent work than I initially expected," Spencer said. "You put in maybe 20 hours a week. It's pretty rigorous."
The five-month class costs $1,849 and meets for three hours on Sundays.
Spencer, who is planning to take the MCAT this spring, sits in a room with about 25 other students, bent over their thick textbooks as they listen closely to instructor Dan Verges.
A first-year medical student at UNC School of Medicine, Verges said he took this class two years ago. He credits Kaplan with helping him achieve his high MCAT score.
He said he has seen the interest in prep courses grow during the years. "When I took the MCAT, I think there were only two people in the room who hadn't taken a Kaplan or Princeton Review prep course."
Last year 300,000 students nationwide took Kaplan courses to prepare for tests including the SAT, ACT, MCAT, GMAT, LSAT and GRE, said Russell Schaffer, senior communications manager for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.
"As the admissions process becomes more competitive, students and their families are recognizing the importance of scoring well on these exams," he said.
About 30 percent of UNC graduates go directly to graduate or professional school, and the increased interest in prep courses has improved the variety of options for students striving for the perfect score.
For example, the Learning Center at UNC has increased its offering of prep courses for the MCAT, GRE, LSAT and GMAT to meet demand.
Mimi Keever, director of the Learning Center, said she expects enrollment to top 400 this year. "Twenty years ago, when we first started working with these tests, I don't think many people thought much about taking them."
Keever said she thinks commercial prep courses are fine programs but very costly. "I have no objection to the commercial courses. It's just they're so expensive. They charge an arm and a leg."
The Learning Center classes for the four exams each cost $150, a bargain compared to Kaplan's courses, which range from $1,199 to $1,849.
Despite the price differences, many students still choose Kaplan.
Junior Zachary Long said he chose Kaplan's MCAT course because he thought it would be better than what the Learning Center had to offer.
"Kaplan has a good reputation," he said. "It's more intense."
Yet Keever said the Learning Center can offer better preparation than Kaplan because of its access to real exams. "It's not as hard for us . to get ahold of actual tests from (Educational Testing Service)."
Senior Biff Mann, though, bought two GRE prep books to study for the exam, opting for independent preparation rather than a course.
"The more practice tests you take, the better you'll do," said Mann, who has been accepted by five of the nine graduate programs to which he applied.
Whether studying alone or taking a course, Keever said, it helps to have a regimen. "If you have the discipline, you can sit down and prepare for any of these by yourself," she said. "But I don't know many who have that kind of discipline. A class helps give you some structure."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/17/08 5:00am)
A new proposal might help tailor state employee policies more specific to the UNC system.
The proposal, which seeks more flexibility for the way UNC schools manage employees, arrived on UNC-system President Erskine Bowles' desk Tuesday.
A 21-member human resources task force, assembled by Bowles and composed of representatives from all UNC-system schools, drafted the proposal. The draft addresses the perceived limitations of the State Personnel Act, which governs all state agencies and universities in North Carolina.
This means that the same act governs state groups ranging from UNC to the Department of Transportation.
Some employees said they see the act's provisions as hindering employee recruitment and retention at UNC-system schools.
"If you look at the State Personnel Act, it's one-size-fits-all," said Chuck Brink, a UNC electrician and a representative on the task force. "There is no room in there right now for the (UNC) system to recruit and retain the quality people that they want."
Some of the problems with the act that were discussed within the Employee Forum included antiquated job classifications and paperwork inefficiency, said Brenda Denzler, UNC information and communications specialist.
"It can be a real bureaucratic headache," she said.
If passed, the proposal will extend a university's ability to manage and maintain its employees, including changes such as longer vacations for more experienced hires and a bonus recognition program, said Ann Lemmon, vice president of human resources within the UNC system.
The ability to adjust market rates, which are set by the Office of State Personnel, is another freedom sought by the proposal.
"If the University has the authority to set its own compensation levels for administrators right on down to housekeepers, then they will be able to offer market rates that will keep people here," Brink said.
If Bowles approves the draft, the proposal will go before the Board of Governors in February. If approved, it is required to reach the N.C. General Assembly by March 24.
"Nothing is set in stone," Brink said. "If and when the legislation is approved, that's when the real work starts."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(11/14/07 5:00am)
Tearing down a chemistry building - particularly one that is 82 years old - requires more specific precautions than an ordinary demolition project.
Although all hazardous material has been removed from Venable Hall, asbestos, lead and mercury still could escape into the air, said Ed Short, UNC's associate director for construction management.
The demolition project, which began in October, has caused some concern about the hazards it might pose.
Nearby Carroll Hall's main air vents point toward Venable, and some are worried that dust from demolition could be trapped inside Carroll's heating and air conditioning systems.
"I've been concerned about limiting the amount of dust and microscopic particles that would come into Carroll Hall from the demolition of Venable," said Thomas Linden, director of the medical journalism program for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Linden's office in Carroll overlooks the Venable demolition.
"I realized how close I was and how close our building was," he said. "Having the background of being both a physician and an environmental reporter, I thought there were some simple steps that could be taken that would minimize our exposure."
On Oct. 9, Linden met with Peter Krawchyk, assistant director of facilities planning, and contractors in charge of Venable's demolition to discuss his concerns.
Ducts that draw air away from the Venable project were attached to Carroll's vents in October.
Linden met again with developers Oct. 18, when he was assured the ducts would be extended.
Carroll has three primary vents to supply air flow, Krawchyk said. The most recent duct was extended last weekend.
Safety precautions have been taken to ensure that the chemicals will not pose any threat when the building is demolished in December.
Short said one of the abatement contractors, Froehling and Robertson Inc., an environmental engineering firm, was hired specifically to ensure that the demolition of Venable is environmentally safe.
"We have confidence that there will be no hazmat getting away from that building in any quantity damaging to anyone," he said. "When the building comes down, the dust that comes from that demolition should be clean."
To prevent dust from stirring up, materials removed from the building are wetted, Krawchyk said.
The filtration system in Carroll is being more closely monitored.
"Facilities maintenance has been given a heads-up to check the filters more often, as they may fill up faster," Short said.
Overall, Linden said officials have been helpful in setting his mind at ease about the demolition.
"I'm very pleased that Peter Krawchyk and facilities have responded so quickly to my concerns and that the air being sucked into Carroll will be coming quite a distance away from Venable demolition."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/29/07 4:00am)
Recent campus construction projects are progressing at different rates and different levels of inconvenience.
(10/17/07 4:00am)
Sophomore Elizabeth Christenson was walking through Polk Place on Monday night when she noticed something missing - the lights.
"I didn't quite notice at first," Christenson said. "But then I realized, 'Wait a minute, it's a lot darker here than normal.'"
Between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., all of the lights in that area went out due to a defective photocell, a switch that turns on or off campus lights depending on the level of natural light, said John Laetz, manager of electrical distribution systems.
"The photocell was for some reason defective, and that's what turned the lights out," he said.
Electrical service technicians were called at 7:40 p.m., and the lights were back on about two hours later, Laetz said.
All of the lights in Polk Place were affected because they are controlled collectively, rather than individually, like the lights for parking lots. Replacing the photocell swiftly restored power to the entire system.
"We usually do not have these kinds of things happen; it's not every night or once a week," Laetz said. "But if we have a series of lights going out, we can typically trace it to a photocell."
The defective photocell was located in a transformer in Dey Hall. Technicians replaced the photocell, a technique that Laetz said is as simple as changing a light bulb.
Although the lack of lighting raised safety concerns, no incidents related to a darkened Polk Place were reported Monday night, said Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
Emergency blue lights in the area were not affected by the power outage, as those lights are fed from a separate power source for such security reasons, Laetz said.
If there were any safety concerns raised by the blackout, the issues would be addressed on a case-by-case basis, Young said.
"Our first consideration is the safety of individuals," he said.
With no safety concerns, the brief blackout provided a clearer view of the night sky. "I was a little wary, I guess," Christenson said. "But overall I was looking at the stars and not too scared."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/21/07 4:00am)
Watch a video clip of the protests
Hundreds of UNC students joined protesters across the nation Thursday, decrying perceived racism and supporting the Jena Six.
Students waved posters depicting trees and nooses, chanted fervently and signed a petition in support of the six black high school students who were charged with attempted murder in Jena, La.
Many believe the charges against the black students were unjust and racially motivated.
(09/19/07 4:00am)
Bruce Egan doesn't have to pedal to use his bike.
That's because Egan, director of the Information Technology Services Response Center, uses an electric bicycle.
Not quite a mo-ped but more than a scooter, the electric bicycle is a battery-powered vehicle that can travel up to 25 mph. Egan and ITS employees have been using them to jet around campus for four years now.
ITS bought its first electric bicycle, a turquoise demo unit, from Massachusetts-based eGo Vehicles, Egan said. It cost $900.
"It's held up extremely well," Egan said. "We've only had to replace a couple of tires."
ITS now owns three electric bicycles, which staff members use to travel to and from office locations. The department also is considering purchasing a fourth bike.
Electric bicycles replace pedaling by providing a battery pack. Users accelerate by pulling the handlebars, like on a motorcycle, and coasting on battery power, Egan said.
The bikes can provide energy for about eight hours without recharging, which only requires plugging into a wall. To recharge, it can be plugged into the wall for a few hours.
Charlie Green, associate vice chancellor for ITS Teaching and Learning, said the bikes have been a valuable resource to the ITS staff.
"A regular bike probably wouldn't work for us," he said. "Our offices are spread out across campus at ITS Manning and West Franklin Street, which is almost in Carrboro."
ITS officials said there are a number of additional benefits to the 21st-century vehicles.
They rely on electrical bikes in part for their environmental efficiency. Green said it is important for ITS to "pursue greener transportation technologies."
The bikes also eliminate the problems of driving and parking on campus, Egan said.
They also move faster than ordinary bicycles, allowing quicker responses to classroom problems.
"Our goal is to eliminate classroom disruption, time away from instruction," Green said. "If an instructor calls, there's a way to resolve the problem quickly."
Green also said that electric bikes manage additional weight with more adeptly than a typical Schwinn.
It also allows staff to wear professional attire without arriving sweaty, Egan said.
Some ITS staff have health issues which make the electric bike a viable and necessary option to travel around campus, Egan said.
ITS initially considered using Segways.
Officials were loaned a Segway but decided against it because of the $4,000 price tag, Egan said. They compromised with the bike.
John Oberlin, associate vice chancellor and interim chief information officer for ITS, says staff are considering using electric mini-cars for service trips.
The bikes also help ITS technicians take on the slopes of Franklin Street.
"If we were riding a regular bike, we'd be pushing it up the hill," Egan said. "And you'd all be laughing at us."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.