May 1, 2012

Page 1

The Appalachian

TheAppalachianOnline.com

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Vol. 86 No. 49

Professor: ‘I have not accepted these terms’ Conditions for Price’s return would span 2 years

by ANNE BUIE

Senior News Reporter

L

ess than a week after her Wednesday march to the Office of the Provost, tenured Appalachian State University sociology professor Jammie Price found herself in the same building discussing her future at Appalachian. Price met with Provost Lori Gonzalez, Associate Provost Tony Carey and Neva Specht, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Monday at 10 a.m. Around 40 people showed up to support Price, who was placed on administrative leave March 16, according to a letter sent by Carey. The letter lists seven allegations made by students. Among the allegations are claims that Price failed to follow her syllabus and instead dedicated class time to unrelated political discussion, and that she “repeatedly criticized the university administration and stated that the university is racist.” The letter also references “The Price of Pleasure,” a documentary on pornography

that Price showed her class March 7. The documentary has dominated much of the discussion of Price’s administrative leave. On Monday, Price emerged after an hour and announced to the crowd that she would be allowed to return in the fall of 2012 only under certain conditions, which she did not accept. “The university finds that I create a hostile teaching environment in my classroom and that, subsequently, I need to go through lessons and how to teach better,” Price said. “I will be provided a teaching mentor and I will be watched closely from here on out - basically put on teaching probation. I have not accepted these terms.” The university outlined conditions of Price’s continuing employment in a letter she posted on the Facebook group “Academic Freedom and Due Process at App State” Monday. Those conditions would span a two-year period and require Price to accept a teaching advisor, work with Specht to draft a profes-

sional development plan, participate in professional development and education activities, create a fully-developed syllabus including disclaimers for controversy, produce planning documents for sensitive content and submit to random peer reviews, according to the letter. Most individuals at the event voiced displeasure with the administration’s decision. History professor Shelia Phipps held a sign that read “I teach history without warning.” “I started to list all of the things about history that I teach that are disturbing,” Phipps said. “History is about human behavior and a lot of it has to do with bad things humans do to each other. I don’t warn students about difficult topics, which is one of the things the faculty member was accused of.” Other faculty and staff members held signs that read “Forgive me, I have consistently strayed from the

Photos by Olivia Wilkes | The Appalachian

(Above) Tenured ASU professor Jammie Price addresses her supporters after meeting with administrators about her future at the university. (Bottom Left) Faculty members hold posters in protest of Price’s administrative leave. (Bottom Right) Price opens the door to B.B. Doughtery as she prepares to meet with Provost Lori Gonzalez.

see Price, page 2

MerleFest 2012

ASU athletic trainer arrested on marijuana trafficking charge

Photo courtesy of Boone Police Department

ASU athletic trainer Kristin Holm, of Banner Elk, and Travis Drake, of Charlotte, were arrested April 13 for trafficking marijuana.

Police seize 20 pounds in counter-drug operation by MEGHAN FRICK Associate Editor, Editorial Content

by ANNE BUIE

Senior News Reporter

Paul Heckert | The Appalachian

Grammy Award-winning performer Sam Bush plays Friday night at MerleFest. The festival, located on the campus of Wilkesboro Community College, celebrated its 25th year with 70,000 visitors over the weekend.

Photo Gallery: Check out photos of the 2012 performances at TheAppalachianOnline.com/interactive/photos

Narcotics officers with the Boone Police Department and the Watauga County Sheriff ’s Office recently conducted a counter-drug operation that yielded two suspects and 20 pounds of marijuana, Boone Police said. Travis Sentel Drake, of Charlotte, and Kristin Ashley Holm, of Banner Elk, were arrested April 13 and charged with trafficking in marijuana. Holm is employed as a member of Appalachian State University’s athletic training staff. Until recently, her name, photo and biography appeared in the “Athletic Training Staff Bios” section of goasu.com. As of press time, Holm’s bio no longer appears in searches on the website. Her

Class of 2012 graduates will face tough economy by KELLI STRAKA Senior News Reporter

Appalachian State University will grant 2,550 undergraduate degrees May 12 and 13, but many of those new graduates will face a tough job market and an uncertain future. Approximately one in two recent graduates are jobless or underemployed, according to an Associated Press article published on npr.com last week. Chancellor Kenneth Peacock said financial concerns have affected this graduating class as well. “They have survived some tough budget cuts, more so than any other,” Peacock said. “But they have seen Appalachian’s commitment and faculty’s commitment to provide them with a

quality education.” Employees at Appalachian’s Career Development Center are seeing the effects of those issues in students who visit. “I think what we see now, more than ever, is that sense of hopelessness,” Associate Director Sharon Jensen said. Some students have also internalized a more negative view of their job prospects, Jensen said. “This is a recession, so clearly the media isn’t talking favorably about the job search process or job opportunities,” Jensen said. “I think students can’t help but internalize that and we’ve really battled that these past several years.” One graduating senior, public relations major Emily Helm, has been search-

Number of graduates from each college in May 2012

College of Arts and Sciences: 932 Walker College of Business: 394 Reich College of Education: 275 College of Fine Applied Arts: 460 College of Health and Sciences: 344 Hayes School of Music: 73 University College: 72 Source: Office of the Registrar

ing for a job since January and hasn’t yet found employment. “Finding a job has been a full-time job and, honestly, a little overwhelming,” Helm said. “Between schoolwork, extracurricular activities and everything in between, it is hard to find the extra time to write cover letters and search.” Helm said she was affect-

ed by budget reductions as class availability dwindled. “I was always stressed leading up to registering, but these past few times, I was overly stressed...I knew if I didn’t get these classes, then I wouldn’t graduate on time,” she said. Another soon-to-be graduate, senior chemistry see Grads, page 2

Holm

Drake

name, photo and biography still appear in the cached version of the website, which was last saved April 18. The Appalachian contacted Sports Information about the status of Holm’s employment and potential changes in the website, but representatives had not responded to requests for comment by press time. The street value of the marijuana seized from Drake and Holm is $100,000, Boone Police said. The case is currently under investigation by the Boone Police Department.

One athlete found responsible for charges by ANNE BUIE

Senior News Reporter

An Appalachian State University student was found responsible for sex offenses, sexual misconduct, harassment, hostile communication and being an accessory to a code violation following a student conduct board hearing held from April 19 to 20, former Appalachian student Alex Miller said. The student had already been suspended for eight semesters after being found responsible for charges brought by junior history secondary education major Meagan Creed. As a result of Miller’s hearing, the student will now be suspended indefinitely and cannot request reentry

any earlier than fall 2017. Reentry could be subject to the chancellor’s final approval, Miller said. Miller brought the same charges against a second student, but that student was not found responsible for any charges, Miller said. “I find it interesting that the same board found [the second student] not responsible and then later found [the first student] fully responsible,” Miller said. “I believe that would be impossible to have two men say that they were with me in that room that night and both say that they had sex with me. How is it possible that I was only raped by one man?” see Assault, page 3


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May 1, 2012 by The Appalachian - Issuu