The Appalachian
TheAppalachianOnline.com
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Vol. 86 No. 46
Community responds to Amendment One Ball pulls resolution from Town Council docket by ANNE BUIE Senior News Reporter
The Boone Town Council almost took a stance on Amendment One at Tuesday’s meeting, with to a resolution Councilman Andy Ball drafted in January. However, Ball decided to pull the resolution from the agenda.
Originally, you had stated you were going to announce a resolution at Tuesday’s Town Council Meeting. Why did you decide against it? Ball: The more I thought about this, the more I thought this is a referendum vote for the voters. No government should be deciding how the voters should vote. I was offended by the ideas that any group would pass a resolution trying to suggest how to vote. This kind of resolution has ill effects.
Communities of faith create ‘Vote Against Because’ ad campaign by ANNE BUIE Senior News Reporter
M
embers of two local congregations have united to campaign against Amendment One through a local advertising campaign. High Country United Church of Christ and Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship oppose the amendment, which would make marriage between one man and one woman the only legal domestic union in North Carolina. Same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state, but the amendment would add that provision to the state
constitution. The two churches designed ads that listed individualized reasons for people to vote against the amendment. Some ads focus on matters of faith, while others focus on what members of both congregations perceive as the amendment’s unconstitutionality, United Church of Christ member Catherine Hopkins said. “The primary, unifying characteristic of these ads is the emphasis on equality, compassion and treating others as we want to be treated,” said Hopkins, who shot and edited photos for each ad. A total of 22 ads were placed in the Watauga Democrat and The Mountain
Times. A few ads were also published in The Ashe Mountain Times and Blowing Rocket. The ads have been running since March 4 and will continue to run weekly until May 6. Hopkins’s decision to be actively involved in the campaign is based on her faith – but that’s not her sole reason for contributing. Hopkins, who is gay, said she understands the implications of discrimination firsthand. “When I was in college, my girlfriend committed suicide,” she said. “I was very lucky because my family and church was accepting, but her famsee Vote Against Because, page 2
Two area churches, High Country United Church of Christ and Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, came together to run these ads, which opposed Amendment One and ran in several High Country papers.
What are your personal views on Amendment One?
Ball: I think it’s discriminatory and it denies the rights of committed partners, in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships. I think it could harm women and children by denying basic health rights in some situations. We don’t know the full implications of what it could deny because private entities will decide what to limit. There’s already a law in North Carolina about gay marriage. What role do you believe the local government has, specifically when it comes to state conflicts such as Amendment One? Ball: The government has zero say, especially when it comes to referendums on ballots for voters to decide.”
Student, professor and community members oppose County Commissioners’ resolution Tuesday by REBECCA GITLEN News Reporter
Seven people, including an Appalachian State University professor and a student, spoke against the Watauga County Commissioners’ resolution to endorse Amendment One during the public comment section of the Commissioners’ Tuesday meeting. All but one speaker - Paula Fink, 82, who wanted to know more about the amendment before voting - opposed what they called the “discriminatory nature” of the legislation.
Kenley Katz, a sophomore art major, didn’t think the amendment should be up for a vote at all. “One thing we should have learned by now – the Greeks even knew it – we can’t have pure democracy because then you can vote away minorities’ rights,” Katz said. Other speakers thought the board’s expression on the issue overstepped its boundaries. Beth Jacquot told the board it was unethical for them to support an “erroneous message that the people are for [Amendment One].” She added that she believes it’s not a local political body’s job to influence vot-
June court date set for alleged perpetrator of Cookout assault
by REBECCA GITLEN
News Reporter
The 19-year-old man charged with assaulting Sarabeth Nordstrom and junior exercise science major Erin Johnston in February has had his court date set for June 5. Ketoine Jamahl Mitchell appeared in court Tuesday and was granted a courtappointed attorney. Mitchell is charged with
two counts of assault on a female, one count of assault inflicting serious injury and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. Mitchell said he turned himself in when he saw reports of the assault on the news. He gave his statement to police, spent one day in jail and posted bail. Mitchell admits to assaulting Johnston and Nordstrom, but said the assault had nothing to do with
Senior News Reporter
For the fifth year in a row, Appalachian State University’s Department of Computer Science has seen an increase in enrollment for entry-level courses. The growth has been a steady rebound for the department - its enrollment “bottomed out” in 2006, said James Wilkes, chairman of the department. “Since that time, they’ve been inching back up,” Wilkes said. “Our levels now are back to what they were around 2001,2002.” Class sizes have increased and sections in lower-level courses have been added, particularly in the fall, Wilkes said. “We’ve been able to absorb the influx fairly well,” Wilkes said. The department is currently hiring new faculty, which will help it accommodate for growth, he said. Additionally, Wilkes is in the process of launching a visual marketing campaign to attract potential students. The increasing number of students has meant more discussion and a more dynamic learning environment, said Jay
entity to decide how people live or love.” Commissioner Vince Gable brought the motion before the board. “I believe in the amendment,” Gable said. “It’s how I personally feel.” Gable said he was fortified in his decision to bring the motion before the board by an April 10 Vote For Marriage rally organized at Watauga High School. “I saw a lot more support there than I saw in opposition tonight,” he said. Each speaker was allowed two minutes, the minimum amount of time the board grants each speaker during public comment, to address the board.
Relay for Life 2012
perceived sexual orientation. “It had nothing to do with her being gay – my sister’s gay,” Mitchell said. “ It was because she hit me first.” He added that he has a problem with the assault on a female charge. “They should give up assault on a female if they’re going to act like men,” Mitchell said. “She’s bigger than me.”
Enrollment continues to rebound for Department of Computer Science
by KELLI STRAKA
ers. Craig Fischer, an associate professor of English at Appalachian, said he was disappointed that there was no opportunity for public input before the resolution. The motion to endorse the amendment was not on the board’s agenda and there was no written document produced before the vote, Commissioner Tim Futrelle said. Futrelle was absent from the April 3 meeting when the resolution was approved and does not support it. “We shouldn’t have this personal agenda in the public sphere,” Futrelle said. “I don’t believe it’s the prerogative of a government
Fenwick, program director for the department. “In some sense, we’re just getting back to where we’re filled up as opposed to being low,” he said. During the decline in 2006, the department tried to address declining enrollment with self-promotion. In 2008, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion (STEP) Program was created to help maintain retention rates, said Rahman Tashakkori, the director of STEP and a professor in the department. Fewer students are inclined to apply to Appalachian’s graduate program for computer science because they are able to get jobs after graduation, Fenwick said. Furthermore, in the past three to four years, students who have applied to the computer science graduate school did not major in computer science as undergraduates. Because of this trend, there has been discussion of creating a remedial summer program that will require incoming graduate students to take entry-level courses in computer science.
Maggie Cozens | The Appalachian
Senior communication disorders major and Relay for Life committee member Anna Wells paints the tunnel in preparation for the Relay for Life. The event will be held place Friday at Duck Pond starting at 6 p.m.
Colleges Against Cancer hosts annual event by KEVIN ATKINSON Intern News Reporter
Appalachian State University’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer will host Relay for Life, a walkathon to raise money for the American Cancer Society, Friday at 6 p.m. on Duck Pond Field. The field will be made into a track lined with luminaries where teams of participants will take turns walking for a 12-hour period. Teams will camp out in tents around the field, and food and activities will be provided for entertainment and further fundraising. The event will last from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Colleges Against Can-
cer President Angie Trickel has been deeply involved in fundraising and planning for the event, and has raised $1,875 - the most money out of all 974 individual participants. “The money we raise really is a big deal,” Trickel said. “In just the past 20 years, the American Cancer Society has made such insane, significant growth in the amount of lives that are saved. It shows that what we are doing makes a big difference.” Allison Shaw, a senior theatre education major, has been participating in Relay for Life since she was 6. She captains Alpha Omicron Pi’s team, which has raised
$3,380 - the most of all 76 teams participating. “The majority of us have been affected by cancer,” Shaw said. “We want to do everything we can to contribute to research and finding a cure.” Trickel said the event is meant to reflect the nature of the problem. “Cancer doesn’t sleep, so neither do we,” she said. “That’s the idea behind it.” As of press time, the event had raised over $38,000 well on the way to its goal of $50,000. Participation for 2012 is up by at least 400 participants. For more information on the event or to sign up, visit relayforlife.org/asu.