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Meeting called to appoint Interim UNC System president
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PAGE 3 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Meeting called to appoint interim UNC System president
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Mary Dare Martin
News Editor
The UNC System Board of Governors has called a second emergency session this week to consider who will take over as the interim president of the 17-campus system.
News outlets including WRAL and the Carolina Journal have reported that the appointment will go to Dr. William Roper, the chief executive of UNC Health Care. Jason Tyson, director of Media Relations and spokesperson for the UNC System, said that it cannot be confirmed who the board is planning to consider at this time.
On Friday, Board of Governors Chair Harry Smith Jr. announced that effective March 1, the Board of Governors will move into an interim process so that finding a new president will not be rushed.
Tyson said that interim appointments for the UNC System president are not common.
“An interim appointment is rare, and I think we’ve only had a few in our history,” Tyson said. “We did have one briefly from Jan. 1 to March 1 of 2016. That was the time between the last president and the time the President Spellings could start.”
In the past, the appointment of an interim president is determined by discussion and vote of the board.
Roper announced his plans to retire from his position at UNC Health Care next May. He has also served as the dean of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs since 2004.
Regarding the search for a permanent president following Spellings, Tyson said that the Board of Governors has not announced when it will begin looking for applicants. Spelling’s term will end on March 1.
In past decisions, the Board of Governors used a committee system to find an applicant for the position. This method was used in both the 2010 and 2015 president search.
“The board formed three committees of the board,” Tyson said. “The first one was a leadership statement committee, the second one was a selection and screening committee and the third was a search committee. Those committees were made up of members of the board of governors and each of them had a purpose in the search selection.” According to Tyson, the duties of the committees are as follows:
Leadership Statement Committee:
• Solicit public input • Develop a leadership statement that sets leadership characteristics used in selecting the next president
Screening Committee:
• Review pool of applicants on relation to the leadership statement approved by the board • Recommend a list of applicants to the search committee
Search Committee:
• Establish guidelines for compensation and benefits for the president • Develop a search plan and budget (approved by the board) • Determine one or more finalists to be presented to the board for consideration and election
Tyson said that while this process has been used in the past, the Board of Governors can choose to change the search methods.
During the press meeting last Friday, Spellings, who was expected to remain in the position for five years, announced that her leaving was by choice, due to personal reasons.
The Board of Governors will meet Thursday, Nov. 1 at 11:30 a.m.
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PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Talley voting site has second lowest votes cast
Early voters cast their ballots on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Talley Student Union. Early voting is in Talley room 3285 until Nov. 3.
CONNOR SMITH/TECHNICIAN
Boz Kaloyanov
Correspondent
The Talley Student Union voting center has only seen a little over 10,600 ballots cast as of October 31, which is the second lowest number of the ten early voting sites in Wake County.
According to the Wake County Early Voting website, only 10,652 votes have been cast in Talley. Jess Errico, student body president and fifth-year studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, said she thought the site could have been used more by students and the Raleigh community.
“[For] the students who utilize the site, it’s been well-received as being quick, inand-out, convenient, easy to use,” Errico said. “However, it is a very underutilized site.”
Errico mentioned some factors that may deter students from voting.
“The ones that I’m hearing more often are not that students don’t want to vote or are not going to vote, but that they just aren’t ready to vote, they just haven’t done their research yet,” Errico said.
This new location has been the subject of heavy debate. Talley was an early voting location in the 2012 election that saw over 16,000 early voting ballots cast.
Brian Mathis, the associate director at Leadership and Civic Engagement, said that he hoped this election would prove the site’s viability.
“The Talley Student Union site was a pretty contentious decision,” Mathis said. “It required the state Board of Elections to weigh in. I’m hopeful that the efforts we’re making now really demonstrate that this is a viable site and a service to the community.”
Mathis mentioned that having early voting at Talley is a lot better than the Creative Services Building, which offered early voting during the 2016 election.
“In 2016, we had an early voting site for the presidential election by the McKimmon Center; it’s called the Creative Services Building,” Mathis said. “We had to spend a lot of effort to inform students, faculty and staff what that building actually was, and where to go. I think the centralized location of being here in Talley is just much more accessible and convenient.”
Errico said she believes that the early voting center provides a valuable service.
“It allows for students who have that fluctuating schedule to make sure that they’re able to get in, and for faculty and staff who maybe only teach Mondays and Wednesdays or students who only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Errico said.
The Talley voting center is important not only because of the service it provides, but also because it demonstrates that the site will be used, according to Errico.
“In the future, if you’re looking at things maybe like a presidential election, where those decisions become more high-stakes and politically fueled, we were hoping to be able to have numbers to back it up and say we’ve demonstrated that we will use this site; let’s make it a routine location,” Errico said.
Errico also pushed the fact that the center offers one-stop voting.
“Another misconception about the site is that if you’re not registered, you can’t vote,” Errico said. “But the really great thing about this site is that you can register on the spot, and you can cast your ballot immediately after.”
Students looking to register should bring an ID and proof of residence. More information can be found on NC State’s Pack the Polls website. The Talley site closes after Nov. 3, and will not be open on Election Day.
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PAGE 5 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Hillel offers student resources after Pittsburg shooting
Alicia Thomas
Assistant News Editor
Hillel at NC State, along with other campus partners, is working this week to provide support for students who are impacted by the mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue as well as other hate crimes in the U.S.
On Oct. 27, 11 people were killed in a mass shooting at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to The Washington Post, the suspect made statements regarding his desire to “kill Jews” and has been charged with 44 indictments, including federal hate crimes. The events caused national uproar because of the act of violence.
North Carolina Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life for colleges and universities, released a statement on Tuesday condemning the acts on Saturday and expressing their grief on the violence at the Pittsburgh synagogue.
“On campuses across North Carolina, we have opened our doors and our hearts to support students who need a place to grieve, to process what they have experienced, and to gather with friends and community,” the statement reads.
In the statement, North Carolina Hillel also says they are a place where students can find assistance with whatever they may need.
“We believe the best way to combat antiSemitism on campus is to build strong, engaging Jewish communities,” the statement reads. “We work closely with university administrators, student life officials and our religious campus partners to ensure the Jewish community is actively engaged and welcome on campus.”
Sarah Cohn, the campus director for Hillel at NC State, said that since the events on Saturday, the organization has been getting support from other groups on campus. “[I] immediately had some of our interfaith clergy reach out to me on that day to express their support and community,” Cohn said. “When I returned to work on Monday, I had emails from Better Together, and from the Global Village and from other partners on campus.” Cohn described the partnership the Counseling Center has with the organization for students who need may need support or someone to talk to. “The impact of it is farther felt than just Jewish students,” Cohn said. “I think as for people of color, for people of the LGBTQ community, this is not the only instance of hate and violence that our communities are feeling.
“We work closely I would encourage anyone who is interwith university ested, Jewish or nonJewish, that feels imadministrators, pacted or struggling student life officials with anything that’s happening, that the and our religious Counseling Center is a good resource.” campus partners to Mike Mullen, the vice chancellor and ensure the Jewish Dean for the Divicommunity is actively sion of Academic and Student Affairs, engaged and welcome released a statement over email that gave on campus.” resources to students affected by the events -in a statement from North Carolina Hillel and expressed the importance of upholding NC State values during this time. “Challenging times like this remind us of the importance of not becoming complacent,” the statement reads. “As Chancellor Woodson has stated, it is critical that our campus community always be vigilant in upholding, defending and promoting our shared NC State values – and continually rejecting violence, bigotry, intolerance, and hatred. It is all our responsibility to ensure and embrace a diverse, inclusive campus culture.” Students who are interested in learning more about Hillel at NC State can visit their website. Students who are looking for support or access to resources can visit the Counseling Center.
Opinion
Public university funding is floundering
Alongside our deep culture, beautiful environment and ever-growing business and technology scene, North Carolina public universities are the pride of the Tar Heel State. The UNC public college system has 17 prestigious institutions under its belt, with NC State being the obvious crown jewel. SmartAsset even ranked our state high on the list of states with the best overall higher education.
But recently, our distinguished higher education system has been struggling due to the state’s allocation of funds away from public colleges and universities in recent years. NC Policy Watch found current North Carolina higher education funding to be more than $7 billion lower than it was ten years ago. Before I researched this topic, I knew the situation wasn’t great, but I had no idea North Carolina public colleges and universities had been pushed this far to the wayside.
There are a variety of culprits that the education cuts can be pinned to. For starters, the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center (BTC) cites tax cuts scheduled for the new year to land a nearly billion-dollar blow to public education, health and environmental policy. BTC Director Alexandra F. Sirota cited the planned corporate tax cut as barely beneficial to anyone but distant shareholders, and she calls for a “return to an approach that prioritizes investments in people and places.”
Additionally, the behavior of certain NC General Assembly members shows that the funding needed by public education institutions, along with other public ones, is being held hostage for the sake of political power moves. While some aspects of the budget, which passed last June, increased education spending, no arguments were allowed to be presented for how the millions in cuts to supplies or these tax cuts could hurt schools. Rep. Darren Jackson found the move by lawmakers to be an unprecedented attempt to control the budget, telling the News & Observer it “will prevent
input and consideration.” It’s a problem being seen on all levels of North Carolina’s public education system. This is demonstrated by a study in Education Week which rated our public schools 38th in the nation, attributing a good porColin McKnight Staff Columnist tion of that score to our schools’ abysmal financing, which it rated 45th. On all levels, North Carolina is seeing a troubling fiscal drought which affects all students, regardless of age. Unfortunately, it’s a trend that shows no sign of stopping or slowing down any time soon. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) determined that potentially all states now spend around $1,400 less per student than they did a decade ago, and have inflated tuition by an average of over $2,400 more. At NC State and far beyond, all these tuition hikes and budget cuts are felt equally by students as they are by faculty and facilities. A higher price on higher education means that everyone takes a harder economical hit, and that up-and-coming high schoolers who deserve an NC State education might just be unable to afford it. Additionally, the CBPP also confirmed that budget cuts still “For starters, the North Carolina impact the quality of education, Budget and Tax Center (BTC) no matter the cites tax cuts scheduled spike in tuition. The mindset it for the new year to land a takes to view these impacts nearly billion-dollar blow to as “acceptable losses” is incompublic education, health and prehensible. environmental policy.” It’s time to halt this spiraling disaster and relieve the financial pressure being felt by schools. Budgets need to better prioritize public education on all levels, and NC lawmakers need to stop silencing the opposition to their legislation on the matter; just because your proposed funding increases education spending in some aspects doesn’t mean it’s right to block amendments in others. It’s a widespread problem that is not only incredibly frustrating, but completely baffling. As mentioned, our colleges are one of North Carolina’s strongest aspects. People from all over the nation, and far beyond, flood in so that they can choose from a wide array of public institutions from which to receive a fantastic education. Undercutting that attacks our state’s identity, culture, success and pride.
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PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Thoughts from our readers:
A selection of comments sent to us from readers in short form over the past week, with their sources listed below. In response to: “Spellings announces official resignation as UNC System president”
-Cindy Peed Mills, via Facebook
In response to: “Minorities are suppressed at the polls”
“Why bother having to register? Why do you have to present an ID to get government aid? Why do you have to produce an ID to do anything? EVERY THING you do in life requires an ID except to Vote. Anybody that thinks having an ID is discriminatory is crazy. Every body has to have an ID whether black, white, or other! That is fair to ALL!”
-Craig Baird, via Facebook
In response to: “No, both parties are not the same”
-Charlie Sanders, via Facebook
In response to: “Earth loves veggies”
-Krista Wooten, via Facebook
Opinion
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PAGE 7 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
We need a day off after Halloween
Halloween has something for everyone. Extroverts who love to party get an excuse to dress up in costumes, dance, drink and stay out. Meanwhile, introverts can turn out the lights to watch a scary movie with some candy and maybe a few close friends. Everyone in between can go to latenight haunted houses, participate in trick or treating (either giving or receiving) and generally enjoy copious amounts of candy.
However, all of these things have one negative thing in common: they are bound to keep you up late. It’s simply in the nature of Halloween to celebrate in the night, and that has obvious consequences for the next day. This is especially true this year, when the holiday falls in the middle of the week.
NC State students will have to make a choice: enjoy one of the greatest holidays to its full extent, or look out for their classes. Make the choice you want, students, but the trade-off may haunt you. This decision, however, doesn’t need to exist; if the NC State academic calendar included a day off on the day after Halloween, students of many backgrounds could spend the holiday in any way they see fit without fear of unnecessary consequences.
Specifically, I’m referring to the large population of students who celebrate Halloween, in addition to those celebrating Día de los Muertos, the Latin-American holiday known in English as the Day of the Dead. Día de los Muertos starts on October 31st and lasts until November 2nd, consistently falling right into the range that students will be celebrating Halloween.
With two holidays from two cultures falling into the same time range, the efficiency of using this academic day off for students would be twice as much as an American break like Thanksgiving, for which students receive multiple days off each fall semester.
Halloween and Día de los Muertos both have historically religious origins, but today are celebrated much more secularly and widely as international holidays. Simply put, these are two cultural holidays, and students should get an opportunity to observe them.
Compare this to the 2019 spring holiday for students, which cancels classes on Friday, April 19th. Spring holiday does the same thing as a potential Halloween break would do, except in a way that clearly creates time for Easter, as it is celebrated on the 21st this coming year. Easter, while celebrated by a large number of Christian students, is inherently a religious holiday and NC State creating a break for it shows religious bias in the calendar, especially when the opportunity for a multicultural break is an option. The potential break, while being culturally beneficial, would also be logistically and practically phenomenal. Most students are also coming to the end of midterms, the start of mid-semester burnout, and the start of final projects. A short break right now
Joseph Rivenbark,
Assistant Opinion Editor would allow many students a needed chance to decompress.
The previous points about partying are especially applicable when viewing the break in this context. It would be harmful to the academics of students and the dignity of NC State alike if those in the class were nursing a hangover or falling asleep. NC State administration should recognize that students should be allowed a recovery day after such a well-known night of partying. To use days off in other manners is simply not as effective for learning.
In cases like this year, a day off after Halloween would admittedly be awkward with classes the following day, but the benefits of its timing are undeniable. Students of all sorts and many cultures would be able to use this time in whatever way they see fit, whether that is celebrating a personally important holiday or simply preparing for more academics. Our university needs to recognize the benefits a break the day after Halloween would provide to many students, and make sure that in the years to come the academic calendar recognizes the wants and needs of the student body.
GRAPHIC BY KYLE HOWE/TECHNICIAN
