Technician
tuesday march
27 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
House Speaker visits campus Thom Tillis, N.C. Speaker of the House, spoke to students about various issues last night.
PAMS magazine educates students and alumni Scope magazine gives PAMS chance to show off new research, progress.
Will Brooks
Elise Heglar
Deputy News Editor
News Editor
North Carolina Speaker of the House Thom Tillis spoke to a small crowd in Daniels Hall Monday night about energy, Amendment One and his experiences as a politician. When a crowd member asked whether low salaries promote the already wealthy to become representatives, Tillis was quick to respond. “I’ve been blessed with a job and an opportunity and some level of independence; I’m by no means rich,” Tillis said. Tillis said a proposed salary for legislators based on net worth would in turn discriminate against those who had earned money previously. “At what point does North Carolina no longer want to be a citizen legislature?,” Tillis said. A question and answer session prompted questions on students’ minds, among those issues the proposed Amendment One that would constitutionally ban homosexual marriage. “It’s a generational issue,” Tillis said. “The data shows right now that you are a generation away from that issue.” According to Tillis, researchers have predicted Amendment One will pass with approximately 54 percent, but Tillis, who voted to pass the amendment, believes it won’t remain long. “If it passes, I think it will be repealed within 20 years,” Tillis said. Ryan Thomson, graduate student of anthropology and active member of the Occupy movement, prompted Tillis about the Progress Energy/
insidetechnician
Ryan Parry/Technician
Listening to Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, N.C. State students attend a town hall meeting in Daniels Hall Monday. When asked what needs to be done about K-12 education, Tillis said, “K-12 education needs to go through reform, significant reform.”
Duke merger that is still in progress. Thomson said a program called CWIP could raise energy rates by 17 percent, but Tillis was not quick to agree. “If you’re going to build a nuclear facility built in your state, you’re going to need CWIP; if you don’t want it, you won’t want CWIP,” Tillis said. Tillis insisted increased pricing from CWIP was a “fallacy.” Thomson was not pleased with Tillis’ answer. Tillis’ words on the University budget cited a relationship be-
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Student dance group about more than dance More Than Dance teaches dance workshops, raises money for various charities. Young Lee
Ophthalmologist ‘sees the light’ through intraocular lenses
Ophthalmologists make significant improvements in lenses used for cataract surgery in dogs. See page 5.
Injured wild turtles attract allies
Turtle rescue team works to advance reptile medicine. See page 6.
Women’s tennis drops doubleheader at home
Wolfpack gain valuable experience in weekend double-header against top ACC opponents. See page 8.
viewpoint features classifieds sports
Ryan Parry/Technician
Speaking during a town hall meeting in Daniels Hall, N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis talks about how he supports Amendment One Monday. “I support Amendment One, but I believe that right now we are one generation away from being able to contest this,” Tillis said.
Scientific-minded alumni and students alike will find some interesting things to read about in PAMS’ magazine. Published by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Scope magazine gives the college an opportunity to connect with potential donors. While alumni are the main focus of the publication, according to Steve Townsend, director of the dean’s office in PAMS, students can benefit from reading it as well. “Students interested in science might be very much interested in some of the articles we publish,” Townsend said. The magazine, released once every season, discusses various research projects students, alumni and faculty are working on. Each edition typically focuses on one main type of research project. “Anything good we find out about students, faculty, or alumni are doing, we make sure to cover it,” Townsend said. Printed issues of each edition of the magazine are distributed to various places on campus, including the office of the dean of PAMS. In addition to the print version, PDF versions of every issue ever released are available on the PAMS webpage. Townsend said a more in-
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Deputy Features Editor
Two years ago, Michael Cherry was studying textile engineering at N.C. State when he returned from an alternative spring break trip to the Dominican Republic. However, he did not come back tired from all the work he and his classmates had accomplished. Instead, he returned to the United States with a renewed passion and the plans to turn that passion into a system to help others confront the injustices of the world. The organization Cherr y founded about a year ago, called More Than Dance, is still going strong and is inspiring students in the N.C. State community. According to Cindy Lam, freshman in arts application and marketing director of More Than Dance, the organization has not lost sight of the inspiration that started it all. This spark ignited in Cherry’s mind while he was doing manual labor as part of his alternative spring break trip, organized to help out an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. “While we were doing manual labor, we got to know the kids really well,” Cherry said. “The
very first night we got down there, show off or dance to be better than the kids come up to me, and I looked anybody else,“ Kaikai said. During these workshops, Cherry at one of them and was like, ‘What’s up? I’m Mikey.’ He looked at me like and his team of staff members teach I was crazy and I thought, ‘Oh crap. dance choreography and raise monHe doesn’t speak English, and he has ey for various charities, such as the Charlotte rescue mission, raising no idea what I just said.’” While thinking of how to respond, funds for a friend’s cancer treatCherry, who came from a danc- ment and the Red Cross in Haiti. ing background, started dancing However, Cherry and his staff never around the orphanage. This small want to stop there. “Outside of raising money for action helped break through the causes, we strive to help people find language barrier. “Kids started mimicking me and what their specific passion is, and showing off their own dance moves, hopefully inspire them to develop and by the end of the week, wher- and grow their craft so that they c a n u lt i mately ever I went, I had take that turn that a line of 10 kids into a way to serve following me and people,” Cherry dancing. Dance said. broke down that These measures barrier of lanare particularly guage to where it significant when wasn’t even about presented to high dance anymore--it school kids who was about connechave yet to find all tion,” Cherry said. of their passions. Within a year Michael Cherry, More Than Last year, More of returning from Dance founder Than Dance took t he Dominican Republic, More Than Dance was their workshops to R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem. running dance workshops. “If someone gives you $10, that’s Cicely Kaikai, junior in nutrition science, was one friend whom Cher- dope … but there is so much more ry turned to for help in running the with that face-to-face, personal inworkshops. She is now a member of teraction, knowing that someone cares about you,” Cherry said. More Than Dance’s street team. Lam was one of the staff members “I felt like this was a great way to combine my passion for dance, who got to experience that day of while still being able to do it for the workshops at R.J. Reynolds High right reasons. I don’t ever dance to School. Despite the toilet paper
“Dance broke down that barrier of language to where it wasn’t even about dance anymore....”
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rolls strewn all over the outside of the school due to a prank coordinated by the senior class, and despite a fire drill, More Than Dance staff members were able to reach out and run workshops during every period of the day. “One of the greatest feelings was at the end of the day, although kids are usually in a rush to go home, they lingered in the dance room,” Lam said. “It was so amazing. I never imagined that they would want to keep dancing as if they weren’t tired.” More Than Dance’s effort has not gone unnoticed. This year, More Than Dance attracted they eyes of Tony Calub and Prelude Dance Competition. Prelude is a nationally recognized hip hop dance competition organized by Tony. On March 31, More Than Dance will be hosting the competition at Knightdale High School. “Somehow [Tony] had heard about More Than Dance, and he thought we were a really good organization and he emailed us to see if we would be interested in hosting the very first Prelude Carolinas … for us, the winners get to pick a certain charity to give the money to,” Lam said. Prelude Carolinas will feature 14 hip hop dance crews from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Fla. Calub is not the only person who has seen the potential in More Than
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