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| Oct. 26, 2004 | ||||||||
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Other sites of interest: Student Government Association Center for Student Involvement & Leadership Appalachian & the Community Together Multicultural Student Development |
New stadium one of considerations in recent land purchase Sixty acres of land near State Farm might become the location of a new football stadium, Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock said. The university purchased the land over the summer for close to $500,000, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Jane P. Helm said at the September Board of Trustees meeting. Peacock said several options are on the table and input is being sought from the campus community. Other proposals include building more student housing or a new healthcare facility. He added it is far too early to tell if the stadium project is viable. If plans to build a new stadium are finalized, Peacock said the university would reconsider tearing down Owens Field House, but added that the building might have to come down regardless. “I don’t want us to take it down if we decide to focus on the new land,” Peacock said. Helm said the building would be demolished after the football season ends. Peacock said the motivation to move Appalachian football to Division 1-A has not been a factor in deciding for a new stadium. “This is not tied to that,” Peacock said. There is also a possibility the state would foot the bill for the new stadium. The university is looking into making that happen. “I’m exploring every possibility I can,” Peacock said. Peacock said there were advantages to having a new stadium, including an increase in parking spaces and economic development for Watauga County. With a new stadium and more people to accommodate, there would be a greater need for hotels and restaurants, Peacock said. Should a new stadium be built, the future regarding Kidd Brewer Stadium has yet to be discussed, Peacock said. There is a possibility Kidd Brewer could be used as a practice field for intramural sports if the football program relocated to a new facility. Director of Athletics Roachel J. Laney said the athletic department was informed of Peacock’s proposal, but added that it was Peacock who had the suggestion to look into the feasibility of an off-campus stadium. “It’s something the chancellor is pursuing,” Laney said. Laney added that there is a lot of discussion and dialogue about the new project proposal, but it is still a long way from being a concrete plan. “There are so many ‘ifs’ right now,” Laney said. “We are in the philosophical discussion stage.” Peacock said a feasibility study on the land will be conducted in December. The university will have more information to act upon once that happens. He said his focus for now is on hearing the opinions of the university community regarding the matter. Early voting could pose problems An Appalachian State University student was among several voters registered in Watauga County claiming to be turned down from early voting. Pam Williamson, Watauga County Democrat voter registration and canvass chair, said the female student went to vote early and was denied. The student presented a Florida driver’s license when asked for identification. The address on her license did not match the address she registered to vote with, so she was turned down, Williamson said. Williamson said technically it was illegal for the Appalachian State student to be turned down. However, Williamson said students are being told to take their student ID card with them to vote just to be sure they won’t be turned down. Jane Hodges, Director of the Watauga County Board of Elections, said she has heard about the situation and said it has been checked thoroughly. “Any ID would have worked,” Hodges said. Hodges said every precinct has been checked and there is no record of any voter being turned down. She said if there was a situation where there was confusion over the validity of registration, the voter would vote a provisional ballot. “We have not turned anyone away,” Hodges said. Hodges asked for anyone who feels they have been treated wrongly to come forward. “We want everyone to vote,” Hodges said. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, a valid student ID is acceptable to vote. “If the ID has not expired and has a photo of the person, then it meets the provisions established by the Help America Vote Act as a means of identification,” according to the North Carolina Board of Elections. Williamson said the Help America Vote Act was established in order to prevent voting problems such as ones that occurred in Florida during the last Presidential Election. Williamson said she thinks part of the problem is that not everyone understands the new rules that are aimed to prevent these problems. “I think the Board of Elections is trying to do the right thing,” Williamson said. Williamson said the Watauga County Democrats would have people at the polls on Election Day observing to make sure everything goes smoothly. Marjory Holder, Watauga County Democrat volunteer director, said this is not the only situation she has heard about. In one case, Holder said a man she personally registered was told there was no record of him being registered when he went to vote early. Holder said this type of thing is happening all over the country. “I am puzzled and rather frustrated,” Holder said. “I think everyone should be able to vote.” Williamson said she anticipated such problems. She said in 1992, a lot of the same problems occurred. This year students are being urged to vote early, so if a problem does come up it can be taken care of in time for the student to vote. Williamson said if students face a problem on Election Day, they might not get to vote because most students only have a window of time to vote. Holder said although students are being encouraged to vote early and measures are being taken to prevent problems on Election Day, she anticipates problems will happen Nov. 2. “I would be shocked if they don’t,” Holder said.
Now open till 1 a.m.: Belk Library. Appalachian State University’s Belk Library has extended its hours to 1 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday, effective yesterday. During exams, the library will be open until 2 a.m. Student Government Association (SGA) President Miriam N. Makhyoun and SGA Director of Academic Affairs Thomas L. Shook worked closely with library administrators to keep doors open an extra hour. Extending library hours was a platform goal of Makhyoun and SGA Vice President Nick V. Albu. “Most employed students work nights and in many cases do not leave work until 11 p.m.,” Makhyoun said. “The extension of Belk Library’s hours benefit not only those employed students … but also those involved in organizations and other endeavors which take up a great part of one’s evening.” Makhyoun, Shook and library administrators looked at past attempts at extending library hours and decided that making the change after midterms would be most feasible, Makhyoun said. “Students living in the dorms know how difficult it is to focus in such a surrounding and Nick and I wanted to encourage library use by extending these hours,” Makhyoun said. University Librarian Dr. Mary Reichel said she hopes students will take advantage of the extra hour. “This really reinforces Chancellor Peacock’s [focus on] students,” Reichel said. The library extended its hours during a pilot program three years ago, but there was not expanded use, Reichel said. Reichel said extending Belk Library’s hours also allows the library to model different ways of closing the building before moving into the new library, which will have a 24-hour study area. In the spring, Belk Library hours will again be extended to 2 a.m. around midterms, Reichel said. The extra hour costs the library approximately $4,000 a semester, Reichel said. Belk Library has hired two graduate assistants to close the library as a pair, University Library Access Coordinator Catherine L. Wilkinson said. In addition, undergraduate library employees will receive premium pay to work the extended hour. “It is not easy to find someone to work a 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift,” Wilkinson said. Student safety was also a concern, Reichel said. “We have to be concerned with student safety as well as the collection,” Wilkinson said. “In a public building, anyone can come in, and the students have to be prepared.” In the new library, the 24-hour study area will only be available by AppCard access after the library closes, Reichel said. Construction of the new library is still on target for a May move-in, Reichel said. Honors program honors donor with name The Appalachian State University Honors Program has taken on a new name after receiving a multi-million dollar estate donation. Over the summer the Board of Trustees approved the program’s re-naming to the Harry and Jerri Heltzer Honors Program. Harry and Jerri Heltzer have been involved with the university for over 20 years.
“They have made a major financial commitment to the honors program that will really propel it forward and allow it to get the attention and resources that it deserves,” Executive Assistant to the Chancellor Beth A. Alexander said. “Support like this is just incredible for the university and not only strengthens the fine programs we already have but also gives our students more opportunities to prepare them for their future careers,” Alexander said. “Their commitment makes the programs even stronger and carries them further then where they already are.” In a ceremony Sept. 30, friends and family of the Heltzers joined honors students and staff to celebrate its new name. At the ceremony Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock addressed the Heltzers, thanking them for the generous present. “To you wonderful people, I thank you on behalf of your new children. Your family just got a whole lot bigger,” Peacock said. The program, established over 25 years ago, provides opportunities for almost 1,000 students by offering honors classes in a variety of subjects. “They really care about young people and helping them,” Alexander said. “If I were a student that they had chosen to help, they would expect me to do my part too, but they would also support me in ways so that I could realize my educational goals.” A framed picture of the Heltzers has been hung in the lobby of Coffey Residence Hall with a brief description of the couple and their contributions. “When we had the formal naming of the program I think the students that were there really enjoyed the opportunity to meet with both of them,” Alexander said. After the naming ceremony a reception was held in Plemmons Student Union to give the students a chance to meet and speak with the Heltzers one on one. “The Heltzers did more than just provide money,” Business professor and former Chancellor Dr. John E. Thomas said. “They provided the absent parental guidance to students to encourage them and to give them support.” Harry Heltzer is a retired CEO of the 3-M company where he helped develop the reflective material now used in traffic signs, license plates and reflective clothing. He also had great involvement in Appalachian getting a coaxial cable system in the 1980s allowing computers to be used across the campus. “They have helped scores of students,” Thomas said. “There are an untold number of souls touched by the success of those students that have graduated and gone on to successful careers and the Heltzers continue to do that to this day.”
Tourism fears flood repercussions It’s mid-October and leaf season in the High Country is in full swing. Tourists are rolling in by the carload to cruise down the Blue Ridge Parkway and view the colors in all their splendor. Recently however, there was great concern on the part of local merchants and hoteliers as to whether this season would be up to par due to the storm damage in the area from two September hurricanes. At the request of the Boone Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Boone Town Council allotted $10,000 for additional advertising expenses to boost fall tourism in the High Country. The Bureau typically has an annual advertising budget of $20,000. The town of Boone is home to many different restaurants, hotels and retail outlets that count on steady tourist traffic. The total tourist revenue spent in Watauga County during 2003 was $151,640,000, according to the state department of commerce. “My real concern was that because of all the horrible pictures in the media of washed out roads and mudslides, October was going to be a disaster,” Forehand said. “We just needed to get the word out that yes, we are open and the leaves are going to change.” Adding to concerns about fall tourist traffic is the extensive damage to sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Although the vast majority of the Parkway is open, Forehand expressed concern about the effect it might have. “These are not quick fixes,” Forehand said. Although strong through June and July, Forehand said he speculates that a 7 percent drop in August tourism statistics were due to hurricanes moving across the eastern part of the state. Numbers for September were stable despite the weather, only down half of a percentage point from 2003. A third of the $10,000 that was allotted by the Boone Town Council concentrated on print advertisements running in the Raleigh-Durham area. The Boone Convention and Visitors Bureau also took part in a joint effort with the city of Asheville in a radio advertising campaign targeted at such major cities as Atlanta, Columbia, S.C. and Charlotte. Business has been good in recent weekends, Mike Boone, manager of Footsloggers, said. “The leaf season has been very average, but last weekend was pretty good,” Boone said. “It’s all about the weather, particularly in the clothing and accessories business.” With hotels in Boone raking in $15 million last year alone, the Oct. 15-17 boom was a welcome sight. Lisa Fore of Graystone Lodge was happy with the steady business so far this month. “September was down, but we’ve done really well, especially this month,” Fore said. Gwen Dhing, General Manager of Makoto’s Japanese Seafood and Steakhouse, echoed Fore’s comments. “September was lower than expected due to the storms, but better than last year due to our new building,” Dhing said. “October has been fantastic." Learn to bust a move tonight in Plemmons Student Union’s Blue Ridge Ballroom with the transformational belly dancing of “Origins of Ecstasy” at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. “‘Origins of Ecstasy’ is an entrancing concert and dance performance which provokes the spirit of mystical Sufi traditions, while portraying music and movement from a panoply of cultures, demonstrating their common roots,” Creative Director and dancer of “Origins of Ecstasy” Brandi G. Hubiak said. Assistant Director for Multicultural Education Dejon J. Banks said the program would be educational and interactive. Audience members will have the chance to watch, as well as an opportunity to participate in the dancing. “There will be a dancer and she will have about four musicians with her. They are really an eclectic group. They have taken the art forms and studied them not just how to move with them and play them, but also their history,” Banks said. Hubiak said traditional songs from the Middle East, Turkey and Europe will be played on rare and authentic instruments, while interpreted through a hypnotically sinuous and heartfelt dance performance. “You will have the opportunity to approach these arts with an openness to experiencing how they remind one and all back to the emotional complexity, inspiration and humility which life offers us. [It gives us] the ability to embrace life with a deeper understanding and love for all that is,” Hubiak said. Hubiak said the purpose of this program is multi-fold. “First, it is to educate the public on the wealth, beauty and intricacy of musical art that exists in other parts of the world. Middle Eastern music is much more sophisticated than typical Western music as far as rhythms and modalities. Another impetus behind the program is to remind people back to the divine, whatever they choose to call it by. The soul is soothed by beauty. Every religion’s god asks for beautiful music and dance as praise,” Hubiak said. Banks said learning and sharing of different cultures brings people together, but also allows people to see their differences and grow together. “I think that many times when we think about the Asian culture we think about Chinese, Japanese, etc. and forget about the Middle East Asians. The persons in the group are not necessarily all of that descent, but they have a true respect for that culture,” Banks said. Junior elementary education major Russ R. Marino believes this event is good for Appalachian State because it brings different types of cultures onto campus. “This event will bring diversity to our campus just because it brings something outside the norm of Appalachian. The majority of the students at ASU are caucasian and bringing a program about diversity to campus will engage more students into celebrating each others’ differences,” Marino said.
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© 2004 ASU Student Publications
