30 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/29/06 5:00am)
Students purchasing meal plans at the beginning of the semester often have bigger eyes than stomachs.
Now that it's November many are realizing that they are saddled with more paid meals than time to eat them. Students Working in the Environment for Active Transformation has a plan to avoid unused meals.
SWEAT began its second annual meal-swap program Tuesday at Lenoir Dining Hall during lunch and dinner and will continue it until Dec. 6 - the last day of classes.
"Instead of just having those meals go to waste, (students) can basically donate them," said senior Doug Weiss, a founding member of SWEAT.
Students without meal plans can meet SWEAT representatives in the Pit, and with a donation of $3 to $5, a student with extra meals will swipe them up to Top of Lenoir.
Meals cost students paying with cash $7.76 for lunch and $8.29 for dinner, and students using their One Cards pay $7.25 for lunch and $7.75 for dinner.
With last year's meal-swap program, Weiss said the group raised $800. Through other fundraisers, SWEAT raised a total of more than $14,000, of which $10,000 went to the Green Belt Movement - an organization in Kenya that works on sustainable agriculture.
Weiss said that this year SWEAT probably will work with Family Alliance for Development and Cooperation, a grassroots organization that promotes sustainable agriculture in Tanzania.
Volunteers were outside Lenoir on Tuesday, matching up students willing to donate meals and money.
Freshman Jenny Scholl, who had 80 meals left after starting with 150, said she found out about the event through Facebook.com.
Tuesday she was paired with junior Kelly Cadilla, who didn't have any meals. "It's cheap, and you can go up," Cadilla said. "(I) haven't been to Lenoir all year."
Weiss said he was thrilled about the two pairing up. "We just made a beautiful partnership here."
Weiss said he encourages all students with extra meals to put them to use for those who have given the small donation to SWEAT.
"(It's) not only serving my hunger but serving others' hunger as well."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(11/21/06 5:00am)
Only 75 percent of students who claimed tickets for the men's basketball home opener Sunday actually used them.
Of the 4,400 tickets that were distributed, about 3,300 students showed up, said Clint Gwaltney, associate athletic director for ticket and Smith Center operations.
Last year about 4,100 student tickets were given out for the first home game of the season. But those tickets weren't scanned, so it is unknown what percentage were used, Gwaltney said.
Gwaltney and Rachel High, president of the Carolina Athletic Association, said they blame low attendance figures on the fact that the game was on Sunday afternoon and was against a low-profile opponent.
"(It) isn't exactly the most telling game for how many students are going to show up," High said.
But junior Ashley Roberts said she thinks the low percentage is a reflection of the new distribution policy that was instituted this year.
"It doesn't give people the opportunity to go who really want to," she said. "When they come, they're not going to be enthusiastic."
Gwaltney said he will wait to see attendance figures from the Kentucky and Ohio State games to assess whether tickets are being allocated effectively.
"This is Gardner-Webb, and this is the opening week of Thanksgiving," he said. "I don't think this is a good measuring stick."
One possibility being considered if a low attendance trend emerges is a penalty system. Students could be penalized for not using claimed tickets.
But other schools with a penalty system have warned that it causes more problems than it solves, High said.
Junior Matt Ilinitch was one of the students who had a ticket for the game but didn't use it.
Ilinitch said he gave the tickets to his friends to use because he had a prior commitment - but they slept through the game.
He said he wouldn't approve of a penalty system because well-meaning fans such as himself would be punished.
"I thought they were going to get used," Ilinitch said. "I think it could suck if I got in trouble for that because my roommate couldn't get up for the game."
Other students said they are concerned that it is possible to register for the online lottery multiple times because it appears as though students' chances improve each time they go through the process.
Gwaltney said that this assumption is false and that the lottery is done using students' Personal Identification Numbers. Each PID is entered into the system only once, regardless of how many times a student registers for tickets.
"They think they can register 15 times . and that's false information," he said. "Every (PID) that is registered will only be registered in the lottery once."
High said there is an online ticket forum where students can give their tickets away if unable to attend a game.
Ultimately, she said, it is up to each ticket holder to make a commitment to attend the games.
"People talk about how much demand there is for these tickets," she said. "We're really hoping that students are responsible with (them)."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(11/16/06 5:00am)
As scary as having a disease might sound to most college students, junior Clara Montas manages her diabetes so well that sometimes she forgets she has it.
"It's one of those things in which you just stop thinking about it," she said. "Half of the time, you forget you're diabetic, and then you find yourself with your insulin in your hand . and then you realize it."
Diagnosed when she was 10 years old, Montas said that when she found out she had type 1 diabetes, she resolved to accept the disease and to work not to let it drastically change her life.
Montas is one of more than 200,000 people less than 20 years old diagnosed with diabetes nationally.
Mary Covington, associate vice chancellor for campus health services, said about 90 students at UNC have diabetes.
November is American Diabetes Month, and this year, the American Diabetes Association has a new campaign - called "I Decide to Fight Diabetes" - to raise awareness about the disease.
Diabetes afflicts nearly 21 million Americans, 6.2 million of whom are undiagnosed.
Larry Deeb, president of medicine and science for the association, said the campaign aims to get people to make a commitment to fight diabetes in any way possible.
"It recognizes at every level people have to decide to do something about diabetes," he said. "If you're a parent and your kid has diabetes, well, you want a cure.
"If I have a family history with type 2 diabetes, you can decide, 'I'm not going to get it.'"
With obesity increasing nationwide, cases of type 2 diabetes are steadily on the rise, Deeb said.
"Virtually all people are doing less and eating things that are more processed and less healthy," he said. "(This) generation really needs to worry about the cost of all that."
If the trend is not stopped, Deeb said, it's estimated that one in three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes sometime in their life.
Although type 2 diabetes makes up about 90 percent of all diabetes cases in the United States, the disease is much more prevalent as a person ages. Type 1 constitutes the majority of cases on college campuses, and Deeb said he estimates nearly one in 350 college students nationwide has diabetes.
The University has many resources available through Campus Health Services for students with the disease, Covington said. These include a clinical nutrition specialist who helps students learn how to manage blood sugar levels and their diets and a clinical physician with a special focus in treating diabetes.
Margaret Vimmerstedt, the clinical physician, said she works to treat patients with type 1 diabetes, which includes regular checkups to help with insulin management, controlling blood sugar and preventing complications from the disease.
With type 2 diabetes, she said her primary focus is prevention, with an emphasis on good exercise and dietary habits.
"It's very preventable," she said. "(But) there are a huge number of people who are going to get it in their lifetime, especially if they keep gaining weight, overeating and underexercising."
The college lifestyle can be an added hurdle for people living with diabetes because of the increased stress and erratic eating habits.
Montas said she is thankful for the services UNC provides - including a pharmacy, hospital and Vimmerstedt's specialized care - which made her transition to college easier.
"If I ever feel sick or anything like that, if I can't go to my doctor in Raleigh, I can go to Dr. Vimmerstedt," she said. "And she's an excellent doctor."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/25/06 4:00am)
UNC and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority have joined forces in a project that will supply the University with nondrinkable water to four of five campus chiller plants, which could help in water conservation efforts.
The chiller plants power air conditioning units, and the first phase of the project is set to be complete in two to three years.
The University has secured $15 million from the state legislature for the project. Hooking up the four chiller plants is estimated to cost between $10 and $12 million.
Water goes through several stages of filtration at a treatment plant before it is again potable. All of the water OWASA supplies to the town is fully treated regardless of its eventual use.
One of the first of its kind in the eastern United States, the project will supply the University with reclaimed water or highly treated but nonpotable water for nondrinking purposes, said Ed Holland, OWASA's director of planning.
The University is the major user of water in Chapel Hill, representing 30 percent of total water demand from OWASA,
In two years, if the reclamation project runs smoothly, UNC will be using 530,000 gallons of reclaimed water, which is 6 percent of OWASA's total demand, said Meg Holton, manager of UNC's water, sewer and stormwater division of energy services.
The project will reduce treatment costs and increase water conservation. Officials at UNC Hospitals also are considering using reclaimed water for the hospitals' chiller plant.
"If we can find other sources of water for the University to use . it leaves that much water for other people to drink, which has the same effect of extending the life expectancy of the whole community's water," Holland said.
Ray DuBose, director of UNC energy services, said that if the initial stages go well, the project can be expanded so that reclaimed water is used for irrigation and UNC's fifth chiller plant. The plant is located farther away from campus and would require more extensive piping.
"We're talking about a system that has huge benefits for the community because of the water conservation," DuBose said. "We're extremely excited about it."
During the summer drought of 2002, DuBose said he began to look at ways to increase water conservation on campus and cut water costs. But only recently has the water reclamation project been a financial possibility.
His office contacted OWASA about a possible partnership in the fall of 2002. Officials completed a feasibility and cost analysis of implementing the water reclamation project, which showed promising signs, he said.
A contract was finalized in April, but some additional facilities at OWASA still must be built.
Another pumping station, more storage space for water and a two-foot-wide transmission pipeline from the Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant to the chiller facilities on campus have to be constructed, Holland said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/18/06 4:00am)
A new national survey contradicts a popular perception of college students - that they're lazy and don't give back to their communities.
But the survey results came as no surprise to officials involved in community service efforts at UNC.
The survey, released Monday by the Corporation for National and Community Service, found that the number of students ages 16 to 24 across the nation who volunteer rose more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2005.
Amy Gorely, associate director of the Carolina Center for Public Service, said UNC already has a strong commitment to public service.
"I think there's a steady increase in students volunteering, but Carolina has such a long-standing tradition," she said. "We're just building on what's been happening here for a long time."
The center is a major source of volunteer coordination on campus, funding service projects through fellowships and grants and providing a framework for students to collaborate with other organizations, Gorely said.
The center also rolled out the Public Service Scholars program in 2003 to add incentive for students to get involved.
The program offers a certificate and distinction on transcripts to students who complete 300 service hours in college. There are 940 students involved in the program.
Gorely cited the overwhelming response from students in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as proof of UNC's strong volunteering tradition. Her office estimates that 724 students contributed to relief efforts, logging almost 22,000 service hours.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that analyzes who is performing community service across the country and how to increase those numbers, said Kevin Cramer, one of the two lead researchers for the survey.
A partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau allowed the agency to include a survey on volunteer habits in the bureau's monthly employment survey, said Norris West, the service corporation's press secretary.
Labor statistics officials compile employment data of 60,000 households every month, and the corporation includes the volunteer supplement only in September.
The volunteering survey asks respondents how often they volunteer and through which organizations. The corporation sifted through the results for 16- to 24-year-olds to get a better understanding of the volunteering habits of college-age students.
According to the study, the growth rate of volunteering for college-age students is more than double the growth rate of all other volunteers.
"It really gives us a good feeling about the young people today - that it's not just party and destructive behavior," West said.
Sagar Rathie, co-chairman of the APPLES Alternative Spring Break Program, said in his three years on campus he has seen a major increase in the number of students interested in volunteering.
Like Gorely, Rathie said Hurricane Katrina was a major factor in increasing the number of students who volunteered. He said he expects the number of applications for an alternative Spring Break trip to the Gulf Coast to increase dramatically this year.
"There was a huge cry for help in that area," he said. "And I think that sparked a lot of interest."
Rathie and Gorely said the study echoes what they see as a strong tradition of community service at UNC. It is a commitment, Gorely said, that is only growing stronger with incoming students.
"We're just building on a really strong culture already."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/17/06 4:00am)
Despite some seniors' anxiety, University officials say there will be plenty of seats available in physical education classes.
Bobbi Owen, senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said many of the filled seats are taken by students who already have fulfilled their required two classes.
"It's not just a handful," she said. "There's lots and lots of students who are registered for more."
Some seniors complained after registering Oct. 7 that they were unable to get into classes that are required for their graduation.
A report from the University registrar's office confirmed that as of Monday morning 344 seniors still lack the two required physical activity courses, while an additional 250 need one more to graduate.
Owen said about 900 total registration spaces are needed for all seniors to cover their physical activity requirements. Her office staff will begin calling seniors who already have fulfilled their physical activity requirements to ask them to give their spots to seniors in need.
Their effort will start with those who are enrolled in three physical activity courses for the spring semester.
"I will appeal to these people who don't need these spaces," she said. "I think that personal contacts will be really important."
The initial complaints last week led officials to open up an additional 140 seats in existing classes. Officials tried to vary the times and activities available to meet student demand.
All 200-level physical activity classes also will be restricted to seniors to accommodate some of the demand, said Meg Pomerantz, director of the physical education activities program.
Owen encouraged seniors still in need of physical activity courses to check Student Central and sign up for any available class now that more seats are open.
Senior anthropology major Supriya Khazanie signed up Monday morning for one of the additional 140 seats. She said she checked Student Central off and on for openings.
"I just checked randomly and there happened to be one," she said. "In my (AOL Instant Messenger) away message, I was like, 'Thank God.'"
This is the first year that there have been major problems concerning the availability of physical activity classes, Pomerantz said. The problem left officials baffled until the registrar's office was able to gather statistics.
The number of physical activity classes remained constant from last year, and the number of seats in each class increased slightly this year.
For the spring semester, there are 1,700 total seats available in physical activity classes, almost twice as many as needed to cover all seniors' needs, Owen said.
"It's just a question of getting students who need (the courses) into them."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/10/06 4:00am)
The new course registration system faced its first major test Saturday when seniors logged in to select classes.
Though the system's server experienced no problems this time around, some seniors said they were unable to sign up for courses required for graduation - physical education classes were particularly problematic.
Senior Zach Ludington, a journalism and Spanish double major, said he tried to select a bowling class, but when that failed, he found he had no other options.
"Other than that, I'll just go to a class and say, 'Hey, I'm a senior; let me in,'" Ludington said.
As of Monday evening, most physical education courses were filled - with the exception of beginning bowling, scuba diving and some intermediate and advanced classes.
For registration purposes, students with at least 78 credit hours were classified as seniors - potentially allowing third-year students to nab spots before fourth-year students.
With the new method, students within each class are divided into four groups alphabetically that rotate each semester - A-E, F-K, L-Q and R-Z. Students are further broken into 200-student subgroups and given a time to register.
The change was introduced this semester in hopes of decreasing pressure on the server.
Student Body President James Allred said the system worked fine, but course availability still presented problems.
"There's no system that will create more seats in classes with high demand," Allred said. "It's entirely a function of the course offerings the University is able to offer."
He said he was aware of seniors' concerns about a lack of physical education classes and planned to look into the shortage to find solutions.
But he stood by the new system, which he says emphasizes fairness instead of computer speed.
"The fairest way we know to have students compete for classes is a randomized system," Allred said.
Officials said seniors should approach their departments and individual professors if they were unable to register for a course required for graduation.
Almost 3,600 seniors accessed the online course registration system before 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and not a single "apology page" was sent, University Registrar Alice Poehls said.
During the busiest 15-minute interval - 1:45 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday - 266 students accessed the system with no overload problems, Poehls said.
"We had absolutely no glitches to our registration Web site," she said.
Poehls said she hadn't received any complaints stemming from overloaded servers on the Web site - a problem that has plagued the system in years past - adding that student reaction generally was positive because of the speed.
"It took like 60 seconds to register for all my classes," said senior English major Kate Hagborg.
"It was really fast. I think it's a good system."
Graduate students were the first to use the updated registration system Sept. 30. Juniors will get the next shot at registering Saturday.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/27/06 4:00am)
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, this story misspelled the name of Marty Pomerantz. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
The UNC Energy Services billing system is getting a much-needed face-lift.
The organization, which provides utilities to campus buildings, previously billed campus clients using an outdated paper-based system.
The system will be replaced by a Web-based method that will make every step of the billing process more efficient and more accessible, said Kevin Quinlan, an accountant with UNC Energy Services.
(09/20/06 4:00am)
A sluggish and outdated accounting system has been the source of confusion for campus recreation officials closing payment on last year's utility bills.
Marty Pomerantz, director of UNC campus recreation, said he was puzzled why the utility bills he received for the Rams Head Recreation Center for the 2005-06 fiscal year were only $37,000 when the 2006-07 estimate is closer to $250,000.
Ben Poulson, acting associate director of UNC Energy Services, said he blames the discrepancy on an outdated accounting system.
"My assumption was that just we weren't being charged," Pomerantz said.
"Then my next assumption was, 'I know somebody is paying.'"
But both of those assumptions proved to be wrong.
The bills showed that about $37,000 was owed to UNC Energy Services for steam, chilled water and electricity.
At the beginning of the 2005-06 fiscal year, the estimated cost for these utility bills - upon which student activity fees are based - was closer to $100,000.
For the current fiscal year, the cost is estimated to be $250,000, Pomerantz said. The increase can be accounted for because the utilities will cover the entire fiscal year. Rams Head Center opened midway through the 2005-06 fiscal year.
At a student fee advisory subcommittee meeting Friday, Pomerantz asked for a $2 increase in the Rams Head Recreation Center fee. Students questioned why the increase was needed given the low cost of the utility bill.
"You have to explain to the students why there's such a large discrepancy in the cost of utilities when a lot of (the costs) were not showing up in our end of the year report," Pomerantz said. "It just looked a little weird."
The significant difference between the cost and the estimate led Pomerantz to contact UNC Energy Services.
After looking through billing records, Poulson said his office discovered that campus recreation had been billed another $49,000. But this money had yet to be collected.
In all, Poulson said, this meant that the utilities bill came to about $86,000 for the 2005-06 fiscal year, which was much closer to the estimated amount of $100,000.
The confusion, which Poulson blamed on the old accounting system, stemmed from the fact that Pomerantz only received bills adding up to $37,000 - not the full amount.
UNC Energy Services bills campus recreation services for utilities based on an estimate performed at the start of every fiscal year.
These costs are derived based on estimates for other buildings on campus with similar square footage and function.
Poulson said his office has updated the accounting system to avoid such miscommunication in the future.
"We've actually implemented a new billing system that allows us to better track our accounts receivable," he said.
After the UNC Energy Services audit, Pomerantz said he was confident that all costs were accounted for and that students would not be overcharged.
He said the estimates matched closely with actual costs.
"There was a lot of concern," he said. "But I think everything is fine."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(06/22/06 4:00am)
An apartment complex that houses hundreds of University students could have demolition in its distant future.
Town House Apartments on Hillsborough Street, which is located less than a half-mile from campus and has been mostly student housing for four decades, is on the radar screen of a Florida-based development company that also is redeveloping downtown property.
Ram Development Company plans to present to the Community Design Commission a plan to raze the apartment complex and three other houses off Hillsborough Street to make way for a 15.6-acre condominium complex.
A vast majority of the residents of the current complex are students.
Clodagh Mullen, a rising senior who lived in Town House from Aug. 1 until June 1, said she thinks the apartment complex is desirable because it is a cheap place to live.
"They're not very good apartments," she opined. "They're really old, so they don't get kept very well."
Mullen said that many of her friends enjoy the complex's affordability and proximity to campus and that tearing it down would be inconvenient for those who live there.
"A lot of (my friends) would be forced to move farther away from campus," she said.
"I think they could still find places to live; it would just be frustrating."
John Florian, Ram Development's vice president of development in Raleigh, said that the company wants to build 12 homes with 350 dwelling units to replace the current 111 units and 13 interconnected houses at the current apartment complex. Booming demand for housing warrants a new development, he said.
"The increase in housing within the proximity to the downtown business district is vital," Florian said.
Florian also explained that the company has a contract with the owner of Town House to purchase the land if the proposal goes through.
He said the Triangle area is an enticing place for continued development from his company.
"The growth of the Triangle in general is very positive," he said. "It's got some excellent long-term growth potential."
Ram Development has also been involved in several other projects in the Chapel Hill area - including a proposed redevelopment of downtown parking lot 5 off Rosemary Street and the nearby Wallace parking deck.
The condominium project is still in its earliest stages, and the company must wait for CDC approval of the concept plan before it can officially submit a proposal to build on the land.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.