TECHNICIAN
technicianonline.com
Raleigh, North Carolina
Weak economy hurts 2009 grads, interns Firms, including engineering company Caterpillar, cutting internships as well as jobs
SI sessions begin for spring term
see hiring issues coming his way. skeptical when he began read- the summer of 2009, he reDue to the constant need for en- ing press releases in December ceived a follow-up e-mail statgineers and reports showing that regarding pay cuts for ing if conditions improved, engineering is still a strong field, executives, managehis job offer would be Domermuth looked forward to a ment a nd suppor t reinstated. job with Caterpillar, the world’s staff as Caterpillar “ T he y d id Preston Boyles N.C Deputy News Editor largest maker of construction introduced a hiring gnation .’s place provide us with f and mining equipment, diesel freeze. Less than a therow ecoor abilitin the a small stipend y n f u t ure omica to In a time of economic trouble and natural gas engines and in- month later, Doto offset any fill y i n and rising unemployment rates, dus trial gas turbines. mermuth received nancial problems students are having difficulty A f ter i nter n i ng a call stating that his and told us we were finding jobs and inwith the company job offer and all 2009 job ofwelcome to reapply if ternships. As stuin the summer fers and internships had been the job reopened,” he t dents begin planof 2008, he said rescinded. said. “The bosses I had durmen ploy of m e ning their career, Caterpillar “Obviously I was disappointed, ing my internship were just as n s u a f a o n R a te h C a r o l i obstacles continue made him a but Caterpillar is trying to take disappointed and said if they or t er. N n i b to arise in different job ofsteps to prevent an do start hiring, we will have m e Nov occupations. Accordfer shortly thereeconomic crisis simi- precedent.” ing to the Wall Street after. He continued to lar to Ford, Chrysler Domermuth said after this Journal, North Caro-l i na is research other jobs and General Motors,” experience he has started to Number of among the states suffering the and received varying states with higher he said. “They are just look into graduate school, most. 1.1% of jobs were lost from job offers, but thought unemployment trying to be proactive which is more appealing as it rates than N.C. Oct. to Nov. 2008, more than any Caterpillar would be in their approach.” provides time for the econoother state. the best fit for his fuAlthough Domer- my to turn around while also Luke Domermuth, a senior in ture. muth could no longer mechanical engineering, didn’t Domermuth said he became begin work with Caterpillar in JOBS continued page 3
24
7.9%
7
SEE PAGE 5 FOR: More information about finding and keeping a job, tips from the Career Center, hot careers and reasons Generation Y can still start successful careers in tough economic times.
TAGGING HIS BELIEFS
Supplemental InstructionProgram designed to teach students about difficult subjects Annie Albright Staff Writer
The Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program, which is designed to assist students with difficult classes, began again on Monday morning. Megan Early, the coordinator of the program, said the goal of SI is to help students succeed. “The Supplemental Instruction Program is a voluntary academic support program,” Early said. “SI sessions are basically group study sessions facilitated by a trained student who has taken and done well in the course before. The SI leader attends class on a regular basis and completes all the assignments that the students do.” Early said the program allows students to work together. “The two biggest components of the SI program are to get students to work together to get the work done and to learn how to study for that class specifically,” Early said. The program has statistically proven to improve the grades of students, Early said. “At the end of the semester, we use a multiple regression analysis which gives us a model that pre-
THE UNDERGRADUATE TUTORIAL CENTER OFFERS FOUR TYPES OF PROGRAMS: r r r r
Physics + Math Tutorial Center Tutoring by appointment Supplemental Instruction Writing & Speaking
To find out more go to: ncsu. edu/tutorial_center
dicts the grade of a student,” Early said. “There has been a definite positive correlation between the number of times attended SI and the students course grade.” David Tyndall, a freshman in Secondary Science education, said he feels the SI program has improved his overall test scores. “I feel that SI benefited my grade because of the extra help that the program provided,” he said. Gary Jurado, a freshman in secondary math education, said he thought the SI program was one more addition to the opportunities the University provides. “I look forward to attending SI sessions this semester because I want to do the best I can in all my classes,” he said. “I want to take advantage of all the opportunities provided by N.C. State to succeed.” According to Early, the differSI continued page 3
Lack of advocacy makes ASG trip ‘disappointing’ Student fee-funded trip fails to meet goals Alison Harman Science & Tech Editor
TIM O’BRIEN/TECHNICIAN
Painting a Palestinian flag, Sameer Abdel-Khalek, a sophomore in zoology and biological sciences, works on a free expression tunnel mural saying “Free Gaza” Tuesday night, Jan. 13, 2008. “This is to get the message out about the history of the conflict,” Abdel-Khalek said. “I want to show the history of the creation of Israel and the atrocities that came from the creation of that state.”
Greek Village construction ongoing Phase I construction to be completed in 2010 James Cox Staff Writer
The first of five phases rebuilding Greek Village will be complete by June 2010, John Mountz the director of Greek Life said. “Later this spring, the four groups that signed on for phase one can begin construction on their new houses,” Mountz said. The four groups are Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Chi Psi and Kappa Sigma. However, Mountz said that all four fraternities are still completing fundraising and aren’t sure the exact date construction will begin on the houses. “Several years ago, we examined if groups could, through their national organization or
local alumni, lease a piece of the art 1960’s architecture and ground to own and operate their they look like office buildings. own house,” he said. Mountz said that the project He then said that the current was started because fraternities houses were built here in the and sororities would rather own 1960s and the groups have been their house than rent it. renting them ever since. “The houses were undersized One of the and not regoa ls of t he ally designed project is to well for what have the organiis needed,” he zations owning said their houses by The new leasing land to project is the groups. modeled afShel ly Do ter Univerbek, the associsity of South ate director of Carolina’s John Mountz, director of Greek Life, said Greek Village, that the leases containing 23 Greek Life are held with houses. the national organizations and “There will be 20 houses when alumni groups. the project is done and the idea According to Mountz, the is to create a neighborhood,” houses there now were state of Mountz said.
“The houses were undersized and not really designed well for what is needed.”
Construction started last summer with phase one, when workers demolished t wo houses which then opened up space for the creation of two new roadways and four building lots. “This project will allow us to completely reorganize the area,” Mountz said. Mountz also said the total cost of the project is about $110 million with about $2530 million coming from the University. He said that the project won’t be hindered by the University’s budget cuts. “The funds for the project come from a different fund source,” Mountz said. He said he is concerned about what happens in the future and how the economy GREEK
Student Government members from various universities signed up for an advocacy and education trip using thousands of dollars from student fee money but neglected to the advocacy part of the trip, Student Senator Courtney Parnell said. Student Government officials organized the trip that took place Jan. 3 to 6 in Washington, D.C., but the trip was open, for the first time, to other student governments in the UNC school system, said Greg Doucette, president of the Association of Student Governments and Student Senate president. North Carolina’s ASG encompasses 16 universities and the School of Science and Math. Thirty-seven students and advisers traveled to Washington, Parnell, a senior in biology who went on this year’s and last year’s trips, said. This group included students from eight other universities in the UNC system, Doucette, a senior in computer science, said. Students across the UNC system, regardless of part- or fulltime status, give $1 in student fee money to ASG annually, Senior Class President Adam Compton
insidetechnician
said. The University allocates an additional $8.85 to Student Government from each student’s fees, Compton said. “The main mission in the past was to talk to congressmen and anybody who would really meet with us regarding issues at N.C. State,” Parnell said, adding that students lobbied with these certain members of Congress about topics, like textbook prices and tuition caps, that directly affect students. “This year’s trip just didn’t really seem very planned or organized,” she said. “Many students made the comment that they didn’t know what to talk about when they met with them. And not everybody met with congressmen this year.” As the largest public university in North Carolina, N.C. State gives $30,000 to ASG annually, according to ASG’s 2009 budget. The association picked up a $6,000 tab that covered the group’s transportation from campus to Washington, the bus driver’s board and a common meeting room, Doucette, a senior in computer science, said. Students who went on the trip paid $215 up front to cover hotel expenses and paid for their own meals and metro cards, Doucette said. “If people paid to go and said, ADVOCACY continued page 3
Pack falls to Seminoles at home See page 8.
viewpoint business & money classifieds sports
continued page 3
Inauguration Special
25% Off Obama/Biden Books
Catalyst Bookshop Jan 14-24
@ NC State Bookstores
4 5 7 8