OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E
F O R E S T
U N I V E R S I T Y
T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 1 1 , 2 0 1 0
VOL. 93, NO. 20
“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
Green is the new Red White & Blue
Outside the Bubble...
Pulitzer Prize winner comes as part of Voices of Our Time series
Obama, Republicans find common ground on jobs
By Reene Salwsky | Asst. news editor
President Barack Obama found common ground with Republicans on Feb. 9 over his top priorities of job creation and deficit reduction but drew a rebuke on healthcare reform. After a White House meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, Obama indicated he would accept small steps rather than the more sweeping measures he had hoped for to create jobs, his top domestic priority.
On the abnormally windy and chilly night of Feb. 10, many university students and people from the surrounding area found warmth in the confines of Wait Chapel. Other than to escape the cold, the reason why the auditorium was filled to the brim because of the long-anticipated lecture was delivered by author Thomas Friedman. The lecture highlighted Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution- and How It Can Renew America, as well as focused issues of the environment and America’s current role (and future role) in them.
N.C. candidate hopefuls begin official signup
Friedman is a renowned expert in many areas including foreign policy as well as energy policy. He spent many years living in such places as Beirut, Jerusalem and New York City, where he worked at the New York Times as the Israel bureau chief, among many other positions. Friedman has received three Pulitzer Prizes as well as several other international awards. Currently, Friedman works as a columnist for the New York Times and also is author of many books including The World is Flat, From Beirut to Jerusalem, The Lexus and the Olive Branch, and Latitudes and Attitudes. One of Friedman’s first and most dramatic statements was about the motivation of his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded “This is not a book about being green; it wasn’t being green that motivated this book. It was America that motivated this book,” he said. Friedman also noted that “Washington has lost its
Ruiningthe
North Carolina’s campaign season is officially open, as election boards have started taking names to put on the ballot this year. The State Board of Elections and boards in all 100 counties opened the candidate-filling season on Feb. 8. Democratic U.S. Reps. Larry Kissell and Bob Etheridge and the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Beitler were among the candidates to sign their paperwork within the first hour at the state board.
Par y By Caroline Edgeton | Managing Editor
Have you or has someone you know been addressed by an Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) officer at a tailgate before a football game? More than likely, the answer is yes. Have you or has someone you know been upset that the ALE was even there? That is probably a yes, too. The real question is: Do you even know how ALE officers got to the game in the first place? Why they are there at all? Well, the response to these questions gets a bit convoluted. What has appeared to be a campus conundrum are the feelings toward the law enforcement of drinking at public events, most notably the enforcement of underage drinking. The tension between students and ALE officers has seemingly reached an all-time high through reports of students drinking excessive amounts before events, the increase of students partying at houses off-campus, students “mouthing off ” to ALE officers at tailgates and ALE officers being “overzealous” with their enforcement and in some cases being too aggressive with students. What seems to be a considerably large misconception is who and what the ALE exactly is. ALE is a law enforcement agency that has been a part of the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety since 1977. Officers are responsible for enforcing the tobacco, controlled substance (including alcohol) and gambling laws of the state. In North
Food bank reports increase in requests for assistance A study released by local hunger-relief agency shows a marked increase in requests for food since the recession began. The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina served 256,000 people during 2009, compared in 150,000 in 2007.
Toyota recalls Prius to fix braking and steering issues The spiraling crisis at Toyota Motor Corp. deepened on Feb. 7 as the automaker said it would recall thousands of Camry sedans, as well as nearly half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars to fix steering and braking problems.
See ALE, Page A5
Energizing the Future, a conference hosted by the university, began at 9 a.m. on Feb. 10 in Brendle Recital Hall. The conference, which focused the first day on challenges and opportunities presented by contemporary
energy issues, will continue Feb. 11, exploring ideas on policy and entrepreneurship. The purpose of the conference is to generate dialogue on the furthering of public education concerning energy, in addition to finding sustainable energy solutions. To accomplish this, the university has
Convocation geared for students By Meenu Krishnan | Staff Writer
“Our hope is that by bringing together a knowledgeable and diverse group of energy players we will spur our collective imaginations and leave this conference more educated and with ideas for real solutions for the future,” Tiefenthaler said.
See Energy, Page A3
See Convocation, Page A3
Graphic by Bobby O’Connor/Old Gold & Black
brought together a range of speakers, including academic specialists, policy makers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs, to discuss energy use and policy. Jill Tiefenthaler, provost and professor of Economics at the university, opened the conference with remarks on the nature of the conference.
See Voice, Page A4
The annual Founders’ Day Convocation has been a campus tradition for years, serving to recognize and celebrate the university community. Past speakers have included Paul Rusesabagina, Hotel Rwanda hero and author of An Ordinary Man, and James Carville, political commentator and Democratic strategist. “The event has always been about celebrating commonalities among the faculty, students and alumni,” Matt Triplett, fellow in the Office of the Provost, said. “It honors the pursuit of knowledge through the motto of pro humanitate.” This year, however, there will be a slight shift in the event’s focus. In an attempt to make the occasion more student-centered, the Office of the Provost has expanded Founders’ Day Convocation to feature three senior presentations about their experiences at the university. Senior orations have been a time-honored custom at the university. In the campus’ early history, each senior would deliver a speech when they graduated, as a way of both celebrating their undergraduate years and looking towards the future. In the more recent past, however, only three seniors have presented orations each year, during the senior honors and awards ceremony, which occurs during Commencement week. This year, for the first time, the entire campus community will be able to listen to the three senior orations. “We wanted to open the orations up to the greater campus community, in an effort to make the event more student-oriented,” Triplett said. “Founders’ Day Convocation typically looks towards the past, present and future of our university,” he said.
Conference looks into environmental crisis By Sara Olsen | Staff Writer
groove. It doesn’t work anymore.” He then explains just what makes Washington dysfunctional; his list included such things as money and politics, which to him have “gotten out of control,” cable television which “turns politics into sports,” corporations and their “hovering” over the American economy, the end of the Cold War when America started “to fall into the mode of dumb as we want to be” and Sept. 11. All of these problems, according to Friedman, have culminated into a perpetual gridlock in the capital. “We need to get our groove back by taking on the world’s biggest problems,” Friedman said. He then goes on to suggest some ways for the country to do just that. Friedman suggests that we, and the rest of the world, do not lose faith in American innovation just
Roosevelt Institute president discusses Obama legislation By Katie Phillips | Staff writer
In light of all of the progressive change in politics over the past two years, the university brought Andrew Rich to the university as part of the Obama Administration Speaker Series. Rich became the President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute in 2009. He received his doctorate from Yale while studying the proliferation of think tanks. In 2003, Rich became a professor of political science at the City College in New York City. He would became the deputy director and director of programs at the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies as well as the chair of the political science department. In 2008, Rich changed careers to focus his energy full-time on the Roosevelt Institute. Entitled “Think Tanks and Policy Chance in the Obama Era,” Rich focused his lecture on the difference between the respective tactics that progressives and conservatives use to influence policy change in America.
He claims that in the past conservatives have been far more successful in influential policy than liberals have. He outlined the ways in which they succeeded and how progressives can use similar schematics to pass legislation and influence policy during the Obama administration. He said that in the gap lies the difference on this issue between progressives and conservatives: focusing on the tactics of influential policy change and focusing on the development of ideas of policy change. The latter is what is necessary for progressives to truly be successful during this administration. Rich explained that conservatives have hugely influential foundations and institutions that support the moderately to very conservative Think Tanks such as the Cato Institute, AEI and the Heritage Foundation. He clarified to the students and professors of Political Science in attendance
See Obama, Page A3
Life | B5
INSIDE: Brieflies
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Police Beat
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Spotlight
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The Hot List
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Sudoku
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Valentine’s Day Playbook A guide to local places and activities that you can take your special someone on Valentine’s Day
In Other News
• Talk addresses struggles over the meaning of family | A3 • ‘American Expatriates’ exhibit opens | A9
Meenu Krishnan/Old Gold & Black
Andrew Rich spoke Feb. 8 about the difference in tactics between conservatives and progressives in influencing policy and legislation.
Sports | B1 Earning His Stripes Senior Quinn Morris officiates on a national level at the National Intermural Flag Football tournament in New Orleans.
Opinion | A8 Super Bowl This year’s Super Bowl commercials were sadly and surprisingly disappointing.