Thursday, April 25

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THE APPALACHIAN TheAppalachianOnline.com

Thursday, April 25, 2013

ASU student found dead by CHELSEY FISHER Managing Editor

Editor’s Note: The following information was confirmed as of press time. For updates on the story, please visit our social media sites and theappalachianonline.com.

News Editor

A

Paul Heckert | The Appalachian

Student was found dead in White Residence Hall Wednesday afternoon. No foul play is suspected.

Students and faculty rally behind Eustace Conway, Turtle Island

Olivia Wilkes | The Appalachian

Owner of Turtle Island Preserve, Eustace Conway, speaks in front of the Watauga County Health Department surrounded by a group of supporters. A group of community members and students organized the march, which began at Sanford Mall.

by NOLEN NYCHAY

Department on Tuesday in protest of Eustace Conway’s primitive-living educational camp being closed by county commissioners. Participants of the protest picketed with signs

Intern News Reporter

More than 40 students and Boone residents protested and marched to the Watauga County Health

that said “Private Property, Private Discretion,” and “I support Turtle Island,” among others. Conway carried a sign with a single red question mark. Conway, an Appalachian

Cookies for Kidneys raises money for transplant by STEPHANIE SANSOUCY Senior News Reporter

Club Council has set up the Cookies for Kidneys bake sale to raise money for the expense of a kidney transplant for Club Council Chair Ish Gomez, who has kidney failure. The bake sale will be in Plemmons Student Union from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. every day this week. Sophomore communications major Katlyn Kohler said that Club Council wanted to help raise money for the cost of the kidney transplant. “Obviously with the end of the semester coming up we didn’t have a ton of time so we put this together pretty quickly, but it’s been really successful so it’s been great,” Kohler said. Kohler said that Gomez has been very positive about the whole situation. “You don’t think that someone who is getting a new organ can walk around casually throughout

SGA votes to ban date auction fundraisers by JOSHUA FARMER

student was found dead in White Residence Hall Wednesday afternoon. No foul play is suspected, and no name has been released as of press time. “[Chancellor Peacock] is of course grieving with all of us,” Vice Chancellor of Student Development Cindy Wallace said. “Our first job will be to try to support this family and the people that were directly involved.” In response, administration has increased counseling services for students.

see Student on page 2

Vol. 87, No. 45

the day,” Kohler said. Kohler said that through his involvement in Club Council and around campus, a lot of people know who Gomez is. “They will walk by and see this is for him and they will stop and donate money,” Kohler said. Donations of baked goods are being accepted from anyone, not just members of Club Council. The amount of money raised will be counted Friday. Ish Gomez said he was really happy and excited when he found out about Cookies for Kidneys. Gomez said he appreciates the Club Council members who put the fundraiser together, as well as everyone on campus who has stopped by the table. “I really am happy, pleased and I do appreciate all the help everyone has given me,” Gomez said.

see Kidneys on page 3

State University alumnus, recently had to close his camp, Turtle Island Preserve, to the public after an inspection by the Watauga County Health Department and county commissioners. The primary concern of the county is that visitors are in and out of these buildings, which were neither permitted nor inspected for compliance with N.C. building codes, according to the official statement from the Watauga Planning and Inspections and Economic Development. Conway also spoke to university students and faculty Monday about how Watauga County officials recently came to Turtle Island for an inspection of the property. An anonymous tip was reported, detailing building code, health code and safety violations. “The values of the natural world I teach at Turtle Island are important enough to me that I have

gladly volunteered my entire adult life to running and maintaining it,” Conway said. “Since founding Turtle Island, I have yet to have a single person outright oppose what I do, until now.” Adjunct instructor Harvard Ayers attended the protest. Ayers brought a group of students to Turtle Island in 1987. “Eustace is an old friend of mine, and the way he is being treated today simply isn’t right,” Ayers said. Watauga County sheriffs and Boone police officers stood outside their vehicles in front of the Health Department parking lot to observe the march in order to maintain the peace, said Captain Allen Reed of the Watauga Sheriff ’s Department. “I feel that a degradation of liberty has occurred in Boone’s backyard, and I frown on the idea of needing permits to continue living in the traditional ways of my ancestors,” Conway said.

Mechanical shop supervisor maintains Appalachian State underground systems by MICHELLE PIERCE Inter News Reporter

Editor’s Note: The following is the final part of a four-part series about the behind-the-scene employees at Appalachian State University. The workers in charge of keeping approximately 20 miles of underground sewer, water and steam lines properly maintained and running efficiently are Eric Greer, Appalachian State University’s mechanical shop supervisor, and his team of 10 workers. Greer has worked for Appalachian for 10 years and has been the team’s supervisor for two years. He prioritizes the work orders received from the university and tells his workers where to go on campus to complete a job. There are currently 100 open work orders for the mechanical shop, and these jobs can take anywhere from 30 minutes to mul-

tiple days to complete, depending on the severity of the situation. “I keep everything organized while the guys are the ones doing all the work,” Greer said. “They’re the ones who make me look good.” The workers maintain a variety of things on campus, from checking small steam leaks to welding hand railings. “The one thing about my job is that there’s always something new,” Greer said. “It’s not the same from day to day.” His team spends much of their time in the underground tunnels of the university’s steam and sewer systems. The danger of this job is primarily due the workers having to work in the boiling hot temperatures of the steam manholes. Steam ranges from 180-200 degrees Fahrenheit.

see Greer on page 2

The Student Government Association voted Tuesday night to ban the use of date auctions, legislation that was proposed by request of Kimberly Mitchell, the assistant director for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership. “Nationally many organizations have banned date auctions for two reasons,” Mitchell said. “There is no way to guarantee the safety of participants, and the sale of people is not a good idea because of the implications historically and currently in our world. I am 100 percent for the ban.” Date auctions typically call for volunteers to “sell” themselves to others for dates, with proceeds going to fundraising for an organization or philanthropy. Representative Tami Gorodetzer presented the bill to the SGA senate and called it a “preventative measure.” “I think that it speaks a lot to how much we care about safety,” Gorodetzer said. “Us saying as a student body that this could be unsafe and we don’t want to take that risk, I think that’s a really big deal for us to say.” SGA President Jake Cox, who has been auctioned for a date auction, said it is something that he would not participate in again. “I think this is just another opportunity for students to limit the ways in which we could be harmed or we could be injured,” Cox said. “I understand that not all students may see it in the same light, but I think at the end of the day it does provide one less opportunity for an attacker or some violent individual to take advantage of this system and to harm an individual.” The bill endured several rounds of debate, during which concerns were voiced about the fact that the organizations on campus that can use date auctions as fundraisers were not directly contacted during the research for the bill. But Gorodetzer said that there were only five to 10 of these organizations on campus, and that a survey was sent out to all organizations at the university to gauge reaction to the measure. Cox said that he did not think that this restriction would have serious repercussions as far as hindering organizations from raising money. “I think all students are so creative and inherently excited about going out there and finding a new experience and a new fundraising method or philanthropic method that I don’t think by taking away this one opportunity that they are going to be limited,” Cox said. “I think overall this is a great for the university and I can’t wait to sign it.”

ON THE WEB Follow our blogs at TheAppalachianOnline.com/blogs. Study Abroad Follow three Appalachian students studying abroad as they document their experiences in Poland, Chile and Spain.

Photo Gallery Check out theappalachianonline.com for a photo gallery of the Gramatik concert at legends.

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