Technician
february
20 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Student Government conflicts with ASG Student Government discusses possible withdrawal from ASG.
Biker hit by drunk driver Student hit by drunk driver on Dan Allen Drive in critical condition at Wake Med.
Lindsey Rosenbaum Staff Writer
The Association of Student Governments voted on an act of legislation known as “Resolution 48” last week, which deals with student fees paid to the Association of Student Governments. “The Association of Student Governments is like the student government of student governments,” Patrick Devore, senior in meteorology and member of the University student council, said. The ASG exists to connect student councils across the UNC System. It was founded in 1972, specifically for the students of North Carolina universities. “It’s a good idea,” Chandler Thompson, senior in economics and the student body president, said, “It’s good to share ideas across the UNC System.” However, Devore said the ASG has been more or less inconsistent in terms of effectiveness. Thompson said she could only recognize a handful of successes via ASG. “One [success] was an organized movement against the general assembly two years ago against a $200 tuition increase to stay downtown, which was successfully defeated,” Thompson said, “and the Cuts Hurt Initiative, which has very slowly been moving, but has been hampered by its own bureaucratic-ness [sic] up at the ASG level,” Thompson said. The Cuts Hurt Initiative was an ASG project in the school year of 2011, and it had students addressing the impact budget cuts had on students’ education. Since the early 2000s, students at the University have been paying a $1 fee to the ASG every year, to cover stipends and transportation costs. The bill presented at the student council meeting was designed to kill this fee. “The ASG really hasn’t done any-
monday
Will Brooks Deputy News Editor
from the subject of the bill and turned to the constitutionality of it. Harrelson stated he would prefer the bill to be a nudge to the ASG. He suggested the Student Government write legislation stating what they expect to be accomplished by ASG, and a timeline in which to do it. If ASG still meets the standards set by the Student Government, they will then talk about a bill to amend the constitution. By removing the fee, Student Government would be removed from the ASG. However, the Student Government could not get their hands on the ASG constitution to prove they would have to pay to remain members; this
A bicyclist was hit by a drunk d r iver Su nday morning, and is now said to be in critical condition, according to a press release by the University Police Department. Ross Everett The incident Chapman occurred at 2:49 a.m. Sunday, and police arrived soon after. Steven Kendal Otto, senior in chemistry, was biking around campus when he was struck by Ross Everett Chapman, junior in engineering, in a motor vehicle at the intersection of Dan Allen Drive and Yarborough Drive. “As they both entered the intersection of Dan Allen Drive and Yarbrough Drive, Chapman turned left onto the service road into Dan Allen Deck, striking Otto,” Lieutenant David Kelly said in the press release. Otto was labeled as being in “critical condition” at the hospital Sunday morning, most likely from the force of the head-on impact. “The driver of the vehicle, Ross Everett Chapman was traveling northbound on Dan Allen Drive and the bicyclist Steven Kendal Otto was traveling southbound on Dan Allen Drive,” Kelly said in the release, “Otto was struck with enough impact to shatter and break the windshield of Chapman’s vehicle.” Chapman was arrested for sus-
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amanda wilkins/Technician
Christine Hajdin, a UNC-Chapel Hill student and a vice president of the Association of Student Governments, gives a presentation about ASG’s “Cuts Hurt” program to Student Government Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. There is currently dissent among Student Government representatives about the usefulness of the $1 ASG fee all students pay each year.
thing with the fees,” Devore said. Thompson also insists there could be better uses for the $1 fees. “It should be going back to the students, specifically student-run organizations,” Thompson said. The travel costs for ASG is the biggest budget covered by the $1 fees. There is an ASG meeting almost once every month, and the budget covers travel and hotel fees. The bill is worded so it would not be active until the planning of the 20132014 school year. It would start on the necessary steps to take care of the fee. The proposition must be sent to the Fee Review Advisory Committee, which is currently chaired by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Thomas Stafford, to discuss further action.
Both Thompson and Devore agree that it would be more cost effective for ASG to have less travel time. Devore states it would make more sense to hold more of the meetings via web camera in this technological age. Not everyone supported the bill. Ethan Harrelson, graduate student in international studies and the student senate president, was one who opposed the bill. “It’s unconstitutional,” said Harrelson during the meeting, “if we don’t pay the fee, we can’t be a member [of ASG], and that goes against the [student government’s] constitution.” During the meeting, Devore and Thompson appealed his decision of the chair, in opposition to Harrelson. The discussion during the Student Government meeting turned away
Harvard professor discusses blogging history the eighteenth century. While Paris’ media was censored due to revolution, England had a booming journalistic culture. The lecture entertained a wide variety of history students and staff. Even some bloggers were there. Lindsey Rosenbaum Joyska Nunez, freshman in history, Staff Writer is an avid blogger who attended the According to Doctor Robert Darn- event. “I wanted to see the parallels beton, students are living in the age of the tweet, in which information is tween blogging now and then,” Nunez presented in a limited, fragmented said. Nunez said her blog doesn’t really manner CHASS’s history department in- focus on gossip mongering, but rather vited Darnton to give a lecture titled follows her own life. She concedes it is “Blogging Now and Then (250 Years a great way to reflect on the time we live in and gauge how we live our lives. Ago)” as part of History Weekend. “Historians looking at our time now Robert Darnton is the Carl H. Pforzheimer University professor will look through articles, and things and director of the Harvard Univer- from blogs and see what’s interesting sity Library. In 1984, he wrote The to us,” Nunez said. “That makes up a lot of history too, Great Cat Massacre the small people, not and Other Episodes just the people who in French Cultural made a difference.” History, which has While tracing the been translated into evolution of blog16 languages. ging, Darnton was “One must discuss firm in his belief that history and try to there exist more difmake connections Joyska Nunez, freshman in ferences than simiwith the present,” history larities between the Darnton said at his anecdotes and paralecture Saturday. His lecture followed the development of graphs of the past to the blogs today. And yet, it is the deep interest in scanhow information travels. Darnton said, contrary to many dal and gossip that link the three. Megan Brown, sophomore in hisscholars’ opinions, every age has been tory, stated that, when viewed critian information age. According to Darnton, the best way cally, one could see modern gossip as to follow this train of information is a viable form of information. Eighteenth century anecdotes and to pay strict attention to online gossip paragraphs were often understood to and scandal mongering. Some of the specific forms of scan- be half-truths. Darnton presented exdal mongering explored during the amples of such articles, many of them lecture were “paragraphs” and anec- teasing the reader with the quote “Half dotes of London and France during of this article is true.”
“Blogging Now and Then,” lecture discusses historic roots of modern blogging.
“I wanted to see the parallels between blogging now and then.”
NC State Class Ring
Gossip was condensed into brief sentences, a small paragraph in length, and squeezed in between legitimate news stories. Paragraphs were piled on top of each other in autonomous units, with no headlines, and information came in “tidbits” in a succession of unrelated paragraphs. Nuggets of information were so popular that people collected them, copied them and pasted them into scrapbooks. Most of the information was picked from different sources and condensed together. Darnton said that this was standard practice, even in legitimate news sources. “These are objects worthy of serious study,” Darnton said. “We can see how communication passed orally to circulation, [and then] to print.” While these scrapbooks are of great value to historians looking back on the time, their creators are generally anonymous. Conversely, by today’s standard, most everything posted on the Internet carries the footprint of its original author. Brown thinks this permanence of material on the Internet will affect how future historians search, and view information from our age, specifically when it comes to detailed research. “When you are researching history further back, you have to find the details, where, as the future looking back at us, it’ll be finding which details,” Brown said.
Students provide their opinions on study abroad Students provide opinions on studying abroad.
technology, manufacturing, and engineering could have a preference for overseas experience when evaluating applicants. Studying abroad is also Shawn Thompson recommended for international fields’ Staff Writer foreign languages, non-profit work, Studying abroad has become a and international business “I would think some majors would popular and often recommended benefit from an international learnactivity among students. Different fairs and information ing experience more than others. I sessions are held each year to in- think students should decide based form students about the various on that as well, and not focus mainly on just the great loprograms that are cations they’re getoffered, but some ting a chance to see,” students are in Heather Thomason, doubt of the benan undeclared sophefits of studying omore, said. abroad. Many companies “It seems like it conduct business could be helpful abroad, so having to study abroad, global experience is but I think exbecoming a necesperience in your sity for many areas field that you’ve Emma Hart, First Year College of employment. Colgained from inlege graduates who ternships or employment could carry more value. do study abroad have the opportunity [Studying abroad] might not be as of gaining experiences that some emimportant, because you may not ployers value. Along with studying abroad, internbe learning other skills,” Emma Hart, freshman in First Year Col- ships abroad are often considered to be helpful. Internships abroad can lege, said. Potential employers could have provide job experience, as well as opa different perspective. Students portunities to earn college credits. “I think it’s great for students to who study abroad are sometimes said to be more marketable upon experience,” Michelle Miller, senior graduation. Depending on the area in psychology said, “students being of study, a trip to another country exposed to another country and culcould potentially be very benefi- ture will gain more insight and knowledge that isn’t necessarily taught in a cial. “I think it depends on your area classroom. It’s great preparation for of study. Some careers could value a future, since some fields require an international experience more than others,” Hart said. abroad continued page 3 Employers in industries such as
“Some careers could value an international experience more than others.”
Mon-Fri, Feb 20-24 10am to 3pm at NC State Bookstore