Olivia Bowler

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UNC to balance access, quality

By Olivia Bowler | October 12

While UNC-system leaders urge universities to raise their academic quality, some small schools worry this will conflict with the needs of the populations they serve.The mandate is less problematic for large universities such as UNC-Chapel Hill, but for smaller regionally based schools, raising admission standards could have the unintended result of excluding the students they are meant to serve.“We’re all about access,” said Alan Mabe, UNC-system vice president for academic affairs.“But unless access is translated into student success, it’s limited.”

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Majority of ASG budget goes to salaries, travel

By Olivia Bowler | September 3

Editor's note: The original headline on this story mistakenly said that the majority of ASG's budget went to salaries. It is the largest portion, not the majority. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.Only a small portion of a statewide student leader organization’s $260,000 budget ends up paying for projects that directly benefit students.The majority of the $1 fee every UNC-system student pays to fund the budget goes to travel expenses and salaries.

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ASG handles bills, approves budget

By Olivia Bowler | August 31

Correction: This article has been revised to correct an error that incorrectly stated what action the Association of Student Governments took regarding their budget. The ASG approved only its non-recurring budget, not the whole budget. The recurring portion of the budget, which is funded by student fees, was approved unanimously at the April meeting.WILMINGTON — Student leaders from across North Carolina convened this weekend to get acquainted with one another, learn the operations of a statewide student government organization and approve part of its $260,000 budget.The UNC-system Association of Student Governments, charged with representing all the students in the system, held its first meeting of the academic year at UNC-Wilmington.The meeting had few pieces of legislation on the table and little or no debate on those straightforward bills.

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ASG leader pledges reform

By Olivia Bowler | August 29

The UNC-system Association of Student Governments has a packed agenda and a weighty responsibility to turn itself around at its first meeting of the year this weekend. Last year proved to be a messy and controversial one for ASG. The year saw the resignation of President Cole Jones after he was convicted of assault in August 2007. The association never quite regrouped before the year ended.

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Drought causes schools to up water conservation

By Olivia Bowler | August 25

Universities in western North Carolina are stepping up efforts to help their counties weather the drought - an increasingly imperative collaboration as dry conditions worsen.Large operations like those at Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University require a conscious effort to avoid draining town resources.

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Immigrants suffer TB surge

By Olivia Bowler | August 19

Tuberculosis cases are growing in prevalence in North Carolina and the disease is showing up disproportionately often among the state's immigrant population. "We had 54 cases of TB in 2007. Sixty-five percent of those were foreign-born," said Gibbie Harris, Wake County community health director. There were 52 cases in Wake County in 2006 and 34 in 2005. TB cases are decreasing overall, said Maureen O'Rourke, TB program manager at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

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A state out of water

By Olivia Bowler | August 19

All the tables, percentages and jumpy red lines presented at a meeting last week on the state drought led to one conclusion: The drought is far from over, and it is worsening in several parts of the state. The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council convened in Raleigh to discuss the increasingly arid region of Western North Carolina. An overview of drought severity across the state classified broad swaths of the western counties as severely, extremely or exceptionally dry, the worst of five categories.

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Tumultuous year ends in close election

By Olivia Bowler | April 25

The UNC-system Association of Student Governments wrapped up the already controversial 2007-08 school year with yet another bang. By a margin of one vote, Greg Doucette and Ashley Yopp claimed victory last Saturday as the newest ASG president and vice president. The vote, which was originally 22-21 in favor of the Doucette-Yopp ticket, was brought to a tie when East Carolina University Student Body President Keri Brockett successfully challenged the legality of one of ECU's own delegates.

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Actor talks at UNC about his Clinton endorsement

By Olivia Bowler | April 23

Sean Astin does not in fact have large, hairy feet. Or if he does, his sneakers hide them well. Wearing blue jeans and a blazer, Astin couldn't have looked less like a hobbit when he appeared in the Student Union Tuesday evening. The actor, who is most known as the character Samwise Gamgee in the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, stopped by UNC as part of his N.C. tour this week, endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton.

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ASG election poses conflict questions

By Olivia Bowler | April 22

Greg Doucette's election as president of the UNC-system Association of Student Governments has caused concern as to whether he will be able to handle that job and his role as president of the N.C. State University Student Senate. "It is kind of a hairy pickle," departing ASG president Cody Grasty said of the situation. ASG, a student-run advocacy group that seeks to serve the needs of students at the 16 UNC-system universities, received about $190,000 in student fees last year.