Board of Governors vote for statewide fee increase  
John T. Bennett Adminstration Beat 

The University of North Carolina System Board of Governors voted to increase general fees by an average of eight percent statewide at a meeting last Thursday. 

Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Jane P. Helm said Appalachian State University students will see a $100 hike in general fees beginning in the fall 2000 semester. 

This latest increase comes just one month after the board increased tuition by 2.1 percent throughout the system, and approved sizeable tuition increase requests of five other UNC System institutions. 

Unlike the February system-wide 2.1 percent tuition increase, last week’s fee increases were not the same at each institution. 

The increases varied from university to university depending on how much of an increase each school requested. 
“The money generated by the fee increases will go for purposes that were requested by each school’s chancellor,” said Bog member John Sanders. 

At press time, Appalachian State University Chancellor Dr. Francis T. Borkowski was unavailable for comment. 
A breakdown of the general fee increase proposal that was presented by Appalachian State officials shows that each $100 generated by the fees increase will be allocated to four specific areas. 

The largest benefactor will be programs that are funded by student athletic fees. 

That fund will receive an additional $50 from each student’s general athletic fees beginning in the fall 2000 semester. 

Educational and technology fees will increase by $28 next year, while student activity and health services fees will grow by $12 and $10, respectively. 

Students currently pay $714 in general fees, a sum that has climbed each academic year since 1994-95 when ASU students were charged $446.50 for general fees. 

The $100 increase will be the largest at Appalachian State since general fees climbed some $163 between the 1994-95 and 1995-96 academic years. 

Coupled with the 2.1 percent tuition increase, last week’s BOG vote means Appalachian State students will pay 10.1 percent more next year than they do during the current 1999-2000 academic year. 

Sanders said the members of the BOG realize the 2.1 percent tuition increase and the general fees increase will place an added financial burden on both students and parents. 

“The members are generally aware that it is that much more and makes college more unaffordable to some students.  There is a feeling of that sensitivity,” said Sanders. 
 

ASU's National  Society of Pershing Rifles Drill Team succeeds once  again 
Office of Public Affairs 

Imagine holding, twirling, tossing and catching a 10-pound rifle under the watchful eye of the Army’s toughest critics. 

It sounds hard and somewhat intimidating to the average citizen, but it is a task accomplished seemingly with ease for members of the National Society of Pershing Rifles Drill Team from Appalachian State University. 

The student organization was named national champion during competitions held at Clemson University. This is the seventh year the group has retained its championship title. 

The competition included team and individual events and featured representatives from Florida, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.  

Appalachian’s team received two first-place awards, two second-place finishes and two third-place finishes. 

Team commander is Ryan Derrick of High Point, a sophomore criminal justice major. Team members competing were Chad Bailey of Marion; Jeanie Burcham of Independence, Va.; Michelle Hertling of Lucama; Juston Hollar of Statesville; Chelley Landgrebe of Springfield, III.; Johnathan Martin of New Bern; Thomas Meares of Southern Pines; Rachel Sigmon of Newton; Mitchell Rick of Shelby; Ruth Roseberry of Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Heather Robbins of Lawndale; Samantha Schoden of Morehead City; Jennifer Thomas of Morganton and Katie Tolbert of Greensboro. 

Faculty advisors are Major J.C. Williams and Sergeant First Class William Hardman. 

Freshman class increase at Appalachian part of long-range plan 
Office of Public Affairs 

Joe Watts watches North Carolina population growth and high school enrollment trends almost as closely as a daytrader eyes the Dow Jones. 

Watts is associate vice chancellor of enrollment services at Appalachian State University and it is his job to help the university reach its enrollment targets. 

The magic number for fall 2000 is 12,400 students. To meet that goal, Appalachian may enroll as many as 2,500 freshmen this fall— up 291 students from this year’s 2,209-member freshman class. 

The increase in freshman enrollment will help keep the university on line for its planned enrollment growth designed to accommodate the projected surge in new college age students over the next decade. 

“Anytime people hear ‘big freshman class,’ they think the university is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s really just getting us to where we are supposed to be,” said Watts. 

Appalachian officials had planned for a 12,300-member student body last year, but because more students are graduating earlier than expected, this year’s enrollment dropped to 12,150. The larger freshman class lets the university catch up to its enrollment goals. 

The nation’s economic boom is the carrot leading college students to more quickly complete their college careers. “Jobs are plentiful and salaries are good,” said Watts. “It’s more attractive to a student to graduate earlier.” Many students also are on a faster track to graduation, taking heavier class loads and better planning their class schedules. “As a result, we have to have more new students,” said Watts. 

With the help of institutional research director Bobby Sharp, Watts has his targets identified for the next eight years. 

Overall enrollment will increase an average of 200 to 300 students a year beginning in 2003, hitting an on-campus enrollment of 14,000 students by the year 2008. 

“The other pipeline into our student population is transfer students,” said Watts. He anticipates admitting more transfer students this fall to help fill the ranks. Appalachian enrolled 739 transfer students last year and plans to enroll 800 transfer students this year. 

Applications to Appalachian are up about 10 percent from last year. As of early March, the university had received 8,416 applications for the 2000 freshman class. Of that number, 5,732 have been accepted. Watts expects 40 to 41 percent of students who are accepted to actually commit by May 1, the national commitment day for prospective college freshmen across the nation. 

Transfer students can apply as late as July and still be admitted for fall semester. 

Watts said the pool of students interested in attending Appalachian continues to grow in academic measures as well as numbers. The average SAT of applicants for fall admission is up about five points to just above 1100 and the grade point average around 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. 

While the overall student body will not increase significantly this fall, the larger freshman class will bring some challenges. 

“The real challenge is the planning for accommodating these students,” said Watts. “We want to make sure we have residence hall spaces for the freshmen and sufficient sections in the required courses for freshmen.” 

Fewer residence hall rooms will be assigned to transfer students, according to Peter Vandenberg, assistant director of housing operations at Appalachian. “Last year we were able to house close to 200 transfer students on campus,” he said. 

“We will still try to house some transfer students, but first priority will go to the freshmen. It will be a tight ship, but we will be able to house a few transfer students.” 

Appalachian has received housing deposits from 2,600 returning students. A total of 4,976 students can be housed in campus residence halls. 

“While it will be the largest class we have ever had, we have known for some time about the enrollment increase,” said Dr. Wilber Ward, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. “The lead time has given the deans sufficient time and they have been allocated sufficient resources to arrange for the additional introductory courses and sections that will be needed.” 
 

Who's it going to be? 
'Leadership you can count on':  Ryan Bolllick and Preston Powell 
'Balancing Experience with ambition': Phil Cathcart and Ashley Goad 

'Leadership you can count on':  Ryan Bolllick and Preston Powell 
Matt McKenzie Copy Editor 

“Leadership you can count on,” is the main slogan for Student Government Association (SGA) presidential candidate Ryan Bolick and vice presidential candidate Preston Powell, as their campaigning begins throughout the university. 

“We want to get back to basics, which is finding out the student issues and give them solutions,” said Bolick. 
Bolick and Powell have what they call a “core vision,” which entails issues and ideas they feel are important to the people here at Appalachian State University. 

One such idea is “Project Nightlife,” which would be a free and safe ride home from local bars and clubs. 
“We would try and get a contract with a taxi company, and the hours on which it would run would be determined by the student demand,” said Bolick.  

Bolick, a junior from Lenoir, and Powell, a junior from Summerfield, announced their candidacy on Feb. 23. 
Another thing Bolick and Powell would like to see is SGA getting back to the true student body. 

“SGA has been falling out of touch with students. We want to give back to the students and relinquish some of the power of SGA,” said Bolick. 

Also, they would like to better organize the on-campus senators to live in the dorms they represent. “You can’t be a senator in North Carolina and live in Vermont, so why can you be a senator in Lovill and live in White?,” said Bolick. 

Bolick and Powell would also try to restructure SGA to try and include organizations around campus, so everyone has a voice. 

The core vision also includes the elimination of the plus/minus grading system, replacing it with a plus/neutral system. 

“A minus in your grade hurts you, we want to take away that kind of penalization,” said Bolick. 
Under the new system, the grades would be A, B+, B, C+, C, etc. 

“Many universities, such as the University of South Carolina, use this system and it seems to work,” said Bolick. 

Other ideas include a new and improved student discount card with more businesses and discounts, online professor evaluations and increasing the buy back prices on books. 

According to Bolick, there are two things that set he and Powell apart from former SGA candidates: professionalism and preparation. 

“Our organization of our team, the way we dress, it is all very professional. We want to run this campaign like it is a national campaign,” said Bolick. “Also, we are well prepared. The platform should be set well before you run it, and this platform has been in the making for three years.” 

Bolick and Powell have gotten input from students, faculty, alumni and political advisors to try and see what does and does not work. 

“We have put lots of time and effort in this campaign. It takes a lot of work to get there, but everything can be done,” said Bolick. 

For more information on Bolick and Powell’s campaign, visit their website at www.votebp.com. 
 

'Balancing Experience with ambition': Phil Cathcart and Ashley Goad 
Leslie Hitchcock Editor-in-Chief 

When Phil Cathcart and Ashley Goad met three years ago, they shared a common dream. They both had a desire to eventually run in the Student Government Association presidential/vice-presidential election. 

That dream has become a reality. 

On February 21, 2000 Cathcart, a junior from Charlotte, and Goad, a junior from High Point, announced their candidacy and began their endeavor to lead SGA. 

Running under the slogan “Balancing Experience with Ambition,” Cathcart, the presidential candidate, and Goad, vice-presidential hopeful plan to use their combined six years of SGA experience as a starting point for a successful campaign. ***QUOTE*** 

“We know what we want to do differently ...”  

While some of their platform goals will find life within the student senate, others, such as the Diversity Roundtable, will aim their focus to students outside SGA. “We really wanted to put forth an effort to increase diversity (awareness),” said Goad. “We want to get people communicating. We really want it to be student oriented.” 

To further involve students in the Boone community, Cathcart and Goad are proposing “Breakfast with Burnley,” the mayor of Boone, which is similar to the current “Breakfast with Borkowski” program. 
When governor hopeful Dennis Wicker visited Appalachian last semester, he expressed an interest in creating voter sites on campus to allow for better student access. If implemented, ASU would be the first campus in the UNC system to have sites on campus. 

Within the Appalachian State campus, there are safety problems Cathcart and Goad are addressing with their platform, such as cameras and blue lights in parking lots. “We want to focus on the edges of campus,” Cathcart said. 

Some of the video cameras in satellite parking lots, such as South Lot, are not operational, which provides a hazard to students. 

Faulty street lights on Bodenheimer Drive along the Broyhill Inn are also a safety hazard Cathcart and Goad want to improve. “This is something that can be addressed in the (annual SGA) safety walk,” Goad commented. 
At the beginning of each fall semester, students in each residence hall vote on the visitation policy for the year. For the past three years, the open visitation policy (24 hours, seven days a week visitation) has won, Cathcart said. For that reason, they propose a permanent open visitation policy to go into effect. 

In addition to the aforementioned goals, Cathcart and Goad also want to implement an early pay discount for parking fines, initiate improved SGA accessibility and make free legal advice accessible to students. 

Reminiscing about their freshman stints as senators, Goad said at the end of the year, she was awarded “Senator of the Semester” and Cathcart won “Senator of the Year.” After accepting their awards, the gavel was passed to the incoming vice-president for the following year. Goad turned to Cathcart and said “You know, Phil, that could be us some day.” They never talked about it again. 

A few weeks before the registration forms were due for candidacy, Goad asked Cathcart if he remembered the conversation they had their freshman year. “I asked him, ‘So, Phil. Do you want to run?’,” she said. 
The rest is history. 

“We still ask each other that every week,” said Goad. 
And each time the answer is a resounding yes. 
 

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