TECHNICIAN
23 2014
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Department discontinues environmental geology B.A.
tuesday september
Engineers discuss the design of One World Trade Center
Mary Anna Rice Correspondent
Ian Grice NC State has discontinued the environmental geology Bachelor of Arts degree. However, lack of funding or interest did not fuel the degree’s discontinuation. The degree is not completely being thrown away. The geology Bachelor of Science degree is being updated to make the program more efficient and compensate for the loss of the environmental geology B.A. degree. “The requirements for the geology B.S. were recently modified so that students wanting to take the courses under the B.A. in environmental geology can now take the same courses and receive a B.S. degree in geology,” said Walt Robinson, head of the NC State Department of Marine, Earth, & Atmospheric Sciences. “In short, the environmental geology B.A. has been discontinued because it duplicates opportunities available to students in the B.S. program.” The primary difference between the geology B.S. major and the environmental geology B.A. major lied in the math requirements, according to Robinson. An old version of the geology B.S. major dictated that students take calculus-based physics and calculus for science majors and engineers. Back when these classes were required, the two programs were actually quite distinct. Although more rigorous math and physics courses may have been essential to students succeeding as geologists outside of college in the past, they aren’t as crucial anymore, according to Robinson. “So they changed those requirements,” Robinson said. “It was then realized that at that point,
GEOLOGY continued page 2
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David Fiala, Ph.D. candidate at NC State is the president for the University Graduate Student Association. David has been an active member in the USGA for several years and will serve as its president until April.
UGSA strives to connect more graduate students Emily Duckett Correspondent
The University Graduate Student Association at NC State hopes to increase its presence at the university this year, using techniques such as revamping its social networking presence, in an
effort to tell more people about the association’s current projects and goals. The UGSA represents the approximately 10,000 graduate students who attend NC State. Its goal is to improve life for graduate students by understanding and providing for their interests and needs, accord-
ing to David Fiala, the president of UGSA and a Ph.D. candidate in computer science. Barry Peddycord III, vice president of communication for the UGSA and a Ph.D. candidate in computer science, said in order
About 600 students, faculty members and public attendees gathered in the McKimmon Center Monday to hear a lecture discussing the cultural heritage and importance surrounding the site of the One World Trade Center in New York City. The structure, now the tallest building in the United States, was built on ground that used to hold the Twin Towers, which fell during the terrorist attacks on 9/11. One World Trade Center’s importance stems from the cultural significance surrounding the site on which it was built. Four speakers from the construction and engineering firm building the One World Trade Centers presented the lecture,
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UGSA continued page 3
BIENVENIDOS CONTINUA EN PÁGINA 6
Casilla multicultural promueve diversidad Paula Gordon Editora de Bienvenidos
Natalie Bohorquez Traductora, Escritora Personal
La casilla Multicultural tuvo la oferta más alta de cualquier organización por Shack-a-Thon, lo cual significa que tuvo el privilegio de escoger uno de los mejores lugares en el Brickyard. Este será el cuarto año que Growing Cartagena, en su último año de ingeniería civil, ha participado en el Shack-a-Thon, y el tercer año que personalmente ha organizado una casilla. Cartagena se involucró como voluntario con una casilla acogida en parte por Mi Familia, la prominente organización latina de NC State. Tras participar con Mi Familia su primer año, le encantó la experiencia social de la choza y la oportunidad de conocer gente. Aunque la población étnica en NC State es relativamente pequeña, es importante que muchas de las organizaciones incrementen su representación y obtengan una voz en el campus. Ser representados en el Shack-a-Thon es una de las mejores maneras de obtener una
presencia entre los otros grupos prominentes. “Esta es una buena manera de compartir nuestros valores con el resto de la universidad y dejar que ellos sepan que estamos aquí,” añadió Cartagena. “Tienes la oportunidad de formar un vínculo y construir una comunidad y posiblemente trabajar con estas personas en el futuro.” Para los otros estudiantes uniéndose a la casilla, el evento que transcurrirá durante una semana es una gran manera de relacionarse con su propia organización y a la vez conocer gente fuera de su círculo social. “Es divertido, yo no lo hice mis primeros dos años, pero me involucré el año pasado porque hay muchas personas diversas,” dijo Corinne Canavarro, estudiante de química y tecnología ambiental, quien representa Just Cuz Crew en la casilla multicultural. “También participé en la Dance Shack y bailábamos todo el tiempo, es un ambiente divertido. ¡Y recauda fondos! “ añadió Canavarro. La cabaña cuenta con cuatro PAULA GORDON/TECHNICIAN
CASILLA continua en página 6
Estudiante de último año, Growing Cartagena posa al frente de la casilla multicultural el lunes por la mañana.
University reviewers rank NC State Harrison Allen Correspondent
NC State has moved into the top 100 public and private institutions in the United States according to the U.S. News & World Report. However, results of annual rankings aren’t of great importance as far as the Office of Undergraduate Admissions is concerned. U.S. News & World Report recently published its annual “Best
Colleges” list for the 2015 year, ranking NC State 95th out of 1,800 public and private institutions. “[The office of undergraduate admissions] doesn’t really put a lot of stock into rankings because it’s not just about your rank or the different measures that they use in the various different rankings,” said Thomas Griffin, the director of undergraduate admissions at NC State. But just because the office of undergraduate admissions doesn’t put
95
th
university in the nation Souce: U.S. News & World Report
a high level of importance on rankings from sources such as U.S. News & World Report or The Princeton Review doesn’t mean they completely disregard them. Griffin said it’s a sign of consistency if NC State is ranked highly in different rankings encompassing many different criteria, rather than a select few. “Being highly ranked in several different measures shows overall
RANKING continued page 2
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