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The Appalachian 04.17.14 BOG increases tuition and fee transparency by Laney Ruckstuhl Assistant News Editor
T
he UNC Board of Governors ruled April 10 to include a more detailed description of the uses of student tuition and fees within each institution starting fall 2014. The written statement will also include a visual display in the form of a pie chart, as well as the dollar amount of funds appropriated to each individual student by the General Administration for their annual education. Louis Bissette, chair of the BOG’s Budget and Finance Committee, said this has been in the works for about a year now. “It’s not down to the penny, but it’s more detailed than we’ve ever had,” Bissette said. The statements display the total percentage and dollar amounts of resident and non-resident undergraduate tuitions, broken down into categories. They also show a breakdown of general fees. “I think it really gives students and parents a better picture of what their tuition and fees are and what they’re used for,” Bissette said. The 2014-15 projected tuition uses for Appalachian State University undergraduate students are broken down into five categories. The largest percentage of student tuition, 47.8 percent, goes into instruction, including faculty salaries and benefits. Academic and institutional support makes up 21.6 percent of tuition spending, providing funds for academic and operational functions including legal services and human resources. Need-based financial aid for other students is 15.2 percent of a student’s tuition, used to help fund attendance for students who demonstrate financial need. The operation and maintenance of on-campus services such as the physical plant and utilities makes up 12.4 percent. The remaining 3 percent pays for various student services such as admissions, registrar, career counseling and others. Bissette said the same is not being done for graduate students because it would be a much more complicated explanation. “The graduate departments are really set on market forces,” Bissette said. “It’s just totally different than the way undergraduate tuition is set.” Bissette said he feels transparency is especially important as tuition continues to increase within the system. The General Assembly voted not to increase Appalachian’s tuition for instate students for the 2014-15 school year, though out-of-state tuition will increase 6 percent. Appalachian’s Board of Trustees also ruled that student fees will increase $531 next year for all undergraduate students. “When you’re paying for something, you really kinda want to know what you’re paying for,” Bissette said. “I think the system owes that to its students and their parents.”
Appalachian State University’s student news source since 1934
Vol. 88, No. 46
Hillel Passover dinner promotes peace for students by Casey Suglia Intern A&E Reporter
Hillel hosted the Mountaineer Passover Seder in the Blue Ridge Ballroom in Plemmons Student Union on Tuesday night, where all students and community members, whether Jewish or not, were encouraged to celebrate the religious holiday. “It’s very important to give the multicultural groups a voice and show that there [are] so many things to be learned, all over the world,” said Judith Bernholc, junior advertising major and head of advertising for Hillel. Passover is a Jewish holiday celebrated over the course of eight days. It tells the story of how God saved the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, and celebrates the freedom of those people. Seder is a dinner that takes place during Passover, which involves rituals and prayer throughout the night. “My favorite part about the dinner was the community togetherness that we have,” Benjamin Goldberg, president of Hillel, said. “That everyone is willing to share this and learn about a culture different than theirs.” This is the first time the dinner was free after the event received grants from N.C. Hillel, Center for Student Involvement and Leadership and the office of Multicultural Student Development, allowing more people to attend. The dinner was provided by Appalachian Food Services and was comprised of a traditional Jewish meal, which included chicken matzo ball soup, kugel and matzo. Seating was open, allowing for strangers to meet and have conversation. “Sitting with random people at tables was different because usually I’m with my entire family so sitting with friends and strangers was cool,” Casey Maslow, freshman cellular molecular biology
Rachel Krauza | The Appalachian
Sophomore biology majors Emily Boaz (right) and Rachel Gordon (left) create a matzah sandwich with horseradish, called maror, and apple and walnut salad, called charoset. This sandwich is called the korech and symbolizes affliction and bitterness.
major, said. Goldberg said he believes it is important to have Passover Seder on campus every year. “It is important to educate the community about cultures other than
theirs, and to allow people to become more knowledgeable and tolerant of people different from them,” he said. “I think it’s a good form for people to come experience Judaism and to enjoy it like we do.”
CNN Hero of the Year speaks at Harvest House by Carl Blankenship Intern News Reporter
Josh Kincaid | The Appalachian
The 2013 CNN Hero of the Year Chad Pregracke spoke at the Harvest House Monday night. Pregracke started an organization that has pulled 7 million pounds of trash out of U.S. rivers.
Environmentalist and CNN Hero of the Year Award winner Chad Pregracke gave a talk at the Harvest House Performing Arts Venue on Monday night. Approximately 100 people attended the talk, during which Pregracke recounted how he managed to build his river cleaning organization Living Lands and Waters from the ground up. Pregracke started out as a one-man show pulling garbage out of the Mississippi River on a small boat, but now his organization has pulled more than 7 million pounds of garbage out of U.S. rivers. He runs community clean-up programs as well as classes onboard the organization’s current barge “Teamwork.” Pregracke’s talk emphasized individuals stepping up to solve community issues. Organizer of the event Tim Hobert is a long-time acquaintance of Pregracke. “We’re both from the Quad Cities and I gave him a phone call to see if this talk was
something he would be interested in doing,” Hobert said. “Being the good friend Chad is, he stepped it up and came out to Boone.” Hobert said that Pregracke’s relatability is one of his greatest strengths. “The beauty of Chad Pregracke is that he can relate to anybody,” Hobert said. “He didn’t set out to set the world on fire and now he’s won so many awards, but he just wanted to make a difference.” Pregracke said while the pollution of waterways has improved, there is still a lot of trash to be cleaned up. “Most of these places we go to, we don’t go back to because we don’t leave anything left to clean up,” Pregracke said. “We move to other areas that need help and keep going.” Pregracke said the press has been a major factor in his organization’s success. “The media has helped changed the mentality of the people,” Pregracke said. “People are no longer just throwing things into the rivers and they’re now seeing them as a treasured resource.”