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(07/23/09 4:00am)
UNC has implemented a new campuswide energy policy but it could be months before the energy plan affects the campus community.The general goal for the plan is to reduce energy use by lowering energy output in buildings on campus especially during off-hours.The plan is being executed carefully by taking specific measures like reducing air conditioning overnight in a few buildings at a time.UNC Director of Energy Management Chris Martin said special leniency is being given to laboratories" museums and libraries.""We don't want to relax temperature constraints in the library where historical documents could be damaged by increased humidity"" he said.Martin said his department has been careful to coordinate with Ackland Art Museum, where artwork could be altered by climate change, and Berryhill Hall, where animals are kept.He said the energy plan is comprehensive and relies heavily on University employees and the campus community to contribute to lower energy use.Turning the lights out may be an inconvenience" but there's a balance to be struck" said Martin. We're trying very hard to find that balance between inconvenience and energy conservation.""Martin confirmed that the energy policy was initiated exclusively within the University and said the new cost-cutting directives assigned by financial consulting firm Bain & Company did not influence or suggest any specific techniques related to the new policy.Martin said there is no way to calculate the savings the plan will provide to the University.UNC Sustainability Office Director Cindy Shea said the new energy plan was actually drafted in the fall"" but budget cutbacks may have contributed to the current initiative.""The need to save money is more compelling today than it was in the fall"" she said.Shea added that the Sustainability Office is working to inspire the full support of the campus, including administrative offices, faculty and students to make small changes that would add up to big energy savings.We want lights off in offices"" we want people to dress appropriately and we want everyone to chip in in this effort.""Shea said the new energy policy will help the University keep its national pledge to climate neutrality by 2050.""Reducing energy consumption is desirable from many aspects.""Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(11/20/08 5:00am)
A newly elected president senator and governor preparing to take office could bring with them the possibility of a better understanding of immigration issues.However few involved with the immigrant community said they expect much action on those issues" at least in the beginning.""It's not something that I see is going to happen in (Obama's) first term"" said Ronald Batres, president of Carolina Hispanic Association. His main concerns will be the economy and health care.""If Obama does work in the bipartisan manner that he promised" he will be unlikely to tackle such a divisive issue early in his presidency Batres said.During the campaigns Gov.-elect Bev Perdue and Sen.-elect Kay Hagan took strong stances against illegal immigration said William Gheen president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC" an N.C.-based national organization that advocates for reducing illegal immigration.""If Sen. Hagan and Gov. Perdue keep their promises" then we'd be looking to see illegal immigrants on the run out of North Carolina very soon" Gheen said.However, they are unlikely to continue those policies now that they are elected, he said.Batres said Perdue's track record as lieutenant governor does not give a clear idea of what her immigration policy will yield for the state.A key issue now is whether undocumented immigrants should be able to attend public higher education institutions, especially community colleges, he said.Batres says there are concerns that Perdue, despite her campaign focus on education, will not allow undocumented high school students the opportunity to attend college.Ron Woodward, director of the Cary-based organization for immigration reform N.C. Listen, said Perdue's presence on the N.C. Community College Board for eight years reflects an evasive stance on the issue.Perdue approved of the board's decision to hire a consulting firm to weigh in on whether to admit undocumented immigrants to N.C. community colleges.She kicked the can down the street"" Woodward said. Why are they on the board if they can't make up their mind?""The Democratic leadership at the state and federal levels hasn't done much to address undocumented immigration" Woodward said.As a result he is unsure of where leaders want to take the state and nation and whether the new leaders will be able to solve the problems.Mauricio Castro an organizer for N.C. Latino Coalition" said his organization hopes that the new leadership overcomes the misunderstandings that have prevented reform in the past.""We want to deal in realities not assumptions. We need to correct and clarify misconceptions"" he said.Elected officials don't always understand the basics of the immigration issue, Castro said. However, he hopes that because Obama comes from an immigrant family, he will have a more in-depth understanding of the issue.Political leaders, even those who are the most outspoken, generally don't have a strong enough grasp on immigration issues, he said.My experience tells me we need to start with the very basics before we approach the big issues.""Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(11/12/08 5:00am)
Through new funding UNC-Charlotte will now be able to provide financial assistance to nontraditional students — students older than 25 who have not attended college in five years.The scholarship was funded with $50000 from the Bernard Osher Foundation" which chose UNC-C because of its already existing program serving nontraditional students.""We looked for schools that have a large constituency of these students"" said Andy Lynch, program manager for the foundation. Lynch said that there are 6 million undergraduates older than 25 in the U.S. and that they typically have less access to financial aid. With more challenges and less aid we thought this was a population worth supporting"" Lynch said.Students who meet the scholarship requirements will be eligible for up to $2,000 per year, Lynch said. For undergraduate residents taking 12 or more hours, UNC-C tuition is $1,258 a semester. UNC-C was selected because the school already offers academic advising and mentoring for adult students and will now be able to give improved scholarship opportunities as well, said Janet Daniel, director of UNC-C's Office of Adult Students and Evening Services. We were a basic academic services advising program. To expand"" increasing scholarships and the mentoring program was what had to happen."" Adult students' needs differ markedly from those of traditional undergraduates" said Jinny Bradley" office manager at the Office of Adult Students and Evening Services. ""Adult students are usually footing their own bill"" Bradley said. They don't have mom and dad paying their tuition.""Bradley said it was hard enough to go to work and school.""This is really encouraging and ... takes a little pressure off of them"" she said.In addition to financial help, adult students are often pressed for time. I hear from students ... that they will not be able to complete their degrees because they are full-time employers or employees"" said Cricket Bonnetaud, an advisor for the Non-Traditional Student Organization at UNC-C. They quickly realize it's going to be difficult to complete their degree on nights or weekends alone."" UNC-C is the second school in the UNC system to receive funds from the Bernard Osher Foundation. UNC-Wilmington also received $50"000 in grant money in March 2007" Lynch said. Lu Ann Crompton was a single mother of three when she enrolled in UNC-C in 2003.She received a scholarship for nontraditional students and said getting the money made a huge difference for her and her kids.""By helping a nontraditional student" you're not just helping a student you're helping a family" Crompton said.Crompton felt so strongly obligated to create more opportunities for students like her that she started her own scholarship at UNC-C for $1,000 a year.It's sort of like pay it forward but" it's really not" said Crompton. It's like paying it back."" Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/16/08 4:00am)
Organizations across the nation are mobilizing volunteers and equipment to curb the worst of the damage caused by Hurricane Ike in Haiti and Texas and groups across the Triangle are responding in kind.The disparate situations in Texas and Haiti require two very different types of relief efforts.In Texas relief efforts mainly focus on providing meals for people staying in shelters and repairing local infrastructure.N.C. Baptist Men in Cary has dispatched more than 100 volunteers to Texas and is preparing 80000 meals a day to serve there beginning Tuesday said Richard Brunson" executive director of the organization.""We sent out our three biggest feeding units and 100 trained volunteers"" he said.The Triangle Area chapter of the American Red Cross sent 26 trained volunteers, said Lu Esposito, associate director of emergency services.Whatever the government doesn't provide" we'll supply" she said. Red Cross volunteers work in shelters, but some are specifically trained to work in technological and communication fields, Esposito said, and are therefore able to help in more skilled ways.Tom Layton, spokesman of the Boone-based relief organization Samaritan's Purse, said his organization is setting up disaster relief units in churches in affected areas of Texas.The group sent four tractor-trailers with tools, generators and other critical resources to supplement relief already being provided by the Red Cross and other relief groups.In Haiti, an impoverished country with many deaths caused by the storm, medical relief is needed most.Kathy Walmer, director of the Durham-based nonprofit Family Health Ministries, said that the situation in Haiti is so dire that her organization opted to concentrate its resources on Haiti.There, the extreme poverty amplifies problems delivering aid.This country is difficult in the best of circumstances"" she said.Even before the storm, there were food riots, she said. The average income is $1 a day.Part of the issue is just getting aid into the country"" Walmer said, explaining that the political system is in disarray.U.S. volunteers are sometimes forced to carry their medical supplies on their person to avoid potentially corrupt port officials, who might lose or confiscate the aid equipment.That lack of mobility can hinder their potential to provide aid.The American organization Partners in Health employs Haitians in its relief efforts. Natives provide much-needed additional manpower and also have a strong desire to do whatever they can to help, said Andrew Marx, director of media inquiries.Often they must brave dangerous conditions to deliver their care, he said. Partners in Health pays the Haitian workers who supplement their relief efforts.The group focuses on basic relief, such as medical care and water supply.We have an air shipment of 5-gallon collapsible water containers and water purification kits"" Marx said. The thing these people need most urgently is clean water."" Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.