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(11/20/09 4:59am)
While administrators at most universities are making deep budget cuts, the Board of Trustees at UNC-Charlotte approved a plan last week to fund a football program.Administrators were worried that the economic downturn would delay their plans, but support from students, alumni and the community helped in gaining the trustees’ approval, said Darin Spease, senior associate athletic director at UNC-C.The program, which has been in the works for many years, now has a timeline to start recruiting athletes in 2012 and kick off competitively in 2013. “The chancellor is still working to refine the plan, but we are still shooting for 2013,” said Eugene Johnson, secretary of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the committee responsible for football fundraising.The Board of Trustees approved more than $1 million from private funds, not institutional or public ones, Spease said.Sixty percent of the program will be funded through student fees. The rest will be funded by ticket sales, donor support and other sources.The Student Government Association at UNC-C conducted a survey and found that 78 percent of students were in favor of a fee increase to support the football program, said Joey Lemons, student body president at UNC-C.“Football will make a tremendous contribution to the university. It will bring people together, tie the university within the community, and the amount of student spirit will be exponentially increased,” Lemons said.For the 2010-11 school year, the student fee will be $50, but it will double for the 2011-12 school year, Spease said.The university has also received money from the community, corporations and private donors for the program through its fundraising projects.It has raised nearly $4 million through the sale of seat licenses, which allow people to own a set of seats for games and the right to own or sell tickets for those seats.UNC-C’s plan also encompasses the construction of a building facility for athletes and a stadium capable of seating 40,000 people.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/29/09 4:06am)
Duke University could be climate neutral — net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases — by 2024 if it follows the plan it announced earlier this week.Universities nationwide have similar plans for reducing emissions, but most have set less ambitious goals. A key reason is a lack of funding for implementing infrastructure changes — something UNC-Chapel Hill officials said has been an obstacle.The high costs of achieving that goal could delay plans at Duke, said Tavey McDaniel, director of the Duke sustainability office, in an e-mail.Impending climate legislation, the struggling economy and the local transportation infrastructure could also impede progress, McDaniel said.The idea is that saving energy will save money in the long run. But the money needed right now will exceed cost savings for several years, said Cindy Shea, director of the Sustainability Office at UNC.Duke has already invested $20 million to switch some campus operations over to natural gas, which could cut coal consumption by 70 percent.The estimated cost for the overall plan is $100 million over the course of 40 years. Duke will use external funding to help financing the project, McDaniel said.Many schools focus on carbon neutrality instead, which only entails net zero emission of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, released when coal is burned, is the most widespread greenhouse gas.The recently approved UNC-system sustainability policy, which all campuses are supposed to eventually comply with, calls for carbon neutrality by 2050 and sets no definite goal for climate neutrality.Under former Chancellor James Moseser, UNC-Chapel Hill committed to climate neutrality by 2050.A major step toward achieving that goal, and one that has received significant attention recently, is changing the functioning of UNC’s Cogeneration Facility, which produces much of the campus’s energy and runs partially on natural gas and partially on coal.Duke plans to reduce its emissions by making buildings more energy efficient, ending its coal consumption entirely and exploring renewable energy options such as biomass and solar energy.It also will reopen an old energy plant that has been converted to run entirely on natural gas, McDaniel said, and the school will pay farmers in North Carolina to capture methane released from hog farming.Part of Duke’s plan is to reduce the private use of cars on campus.That will be a major challenge because it entails changing lifestyle habits, said Niles Barns, projects coordinator of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.But Barns said the plan is feasible.“Duke’s plan is certainly an ambitious goal that challenges energy uses and has an aggressive timeline. However, their goal is achievable,” Barns said.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/07/09 4:44am)
N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University has withdrawn its support for an anxiously anticipated Homecoming performance featuring Gucci Mane because of the rapper’s ties to gang violence.But the show will go on. The show’s co-sponsor has stepped up to keep the Halloween performance at the Greensboro Coliseum on schedule. Eight thousand advance tickets have been sold.N.C. A&T is well-known for bringing in top rap and hip-hop artists for its Homecoming celebrations. The university is also especially mindful of connections to violence, since two students have died in shootings since 2008.Gucci Mane’s latest album, Murder Was the Case, includes songs such as “Murder for Fun” and “Cuttin’ off Fingaz.”“It was in the best interest of the university to pull back,” said Sullivan Welborne, vice chancellor for student affairs. “There was information from certain allegations that associated the performers with the Bloods and the Crips.”The incident has called into question the university’s role in choosing Homecoming acts. The students and co-sponsor Diamond Life Entertainment chose the performers. The university had no say but needed more oversight, Welborne said.The lateness of the university’s decision has caused a stir on campus because the planning began months ago and administrators only recently changed their minds.“I just want to give my students the best Homecoming ever,” said Student Body President Syene Jasmin. He and other student government officials refused to comment any further. This is not the first time that A&T has disapproved of the student’s choice of performers. Rapper 50 Cent was rejected a few years ago, Welborne said.Malcolm Eustache, a senior journalism major, said he supports the refusal to sponsor the rappers.“This is the first step in the process of N.C. A&T leading by example. It is not about this particular artist. It’s about the message behind his music,” Eustache said.But Kenneth Hawkins, a sophomore journalism major, said he thought the administration might now try to interfere in future events, which he said is inappropriate.“We have always had artists that were gang-related,” he said.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/23/09 3:10am)
A Winston Salem State University student defeated a 16-year incumbent in the Democratic primary for a seat in the city council last week.Derwin Montgomery, a senior at the university, promoted an agenda that appealed to the student-heavy population in the East Ward district of Winston-Salem.He defeated incumbent Joycelyn Johnson 530-228, as well as two other candidates, for the Democratic ticket. The district is largely Democratic, so Montgomery is expected to win the council seat.Montgomery’s win brings to mind Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton’s service on the Chapel Hill Town Council as a student in 1991. When asked about his specific motivations for running for the council, Montgomery simply stated, “I believe I had a chance to win.”Montgomery said he also wanted to take himself to the next level by playing a decisive role in the issues concerning the community. Montgomery’s campaign focused on one main objective — promoting safety for students living in the area.He said his efforts would try to eliminate crime rather than just contain crime, which has been the method used by previous administrations.Although Montgomery’s victory came from his focus on student issues, students holding office should work for the community and not just for the students, Chilton said.Students holding office is not necessarily good or bad for the town, but it does motivate others to become more involved in the political process, Chilton said.“That is democracy for you,” he said, adding that participation of students in government affairs, either at a local, state or national level is vital for the democracy in the country. This concept was reinforced by Montgomery’s campaign and the election results, which were the product of high voter turnout by students, Chilton said.Montgomery said the increasing involvement of students in political issues is a step in the right direction.“We need to make some adjustments in a new direction with a new perspective,” he said.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.