By Heather Seely
News Editor
At a university this small, it is impossible to deny the impact of a student's death on the campus. This tragedy is magnified when it happens three times. Because of the impact their lives and deaths had on the university, the deaths of two students and one recent graduate comprise our top news story for 1997-98.
1. The loss of two students and one graduate. The university community was reminded of mortality three times this year.
Recent graduate Amanda Edwards died of leukemia Sept. 29 at age 22. The university awarded Edwards, who left the school a few weeks before graduation last spring, a degree in psychology hours before her death.
Tragedy struck the university again Nov. 13 when freshman Alexander Philip Gedicks died of meningococcomia, a bacterial infection.
The final tragedy came Jan. 6 during winter break with the death of sophomore Gregory Wilson at his home in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
2. Judicial reform. After years of investigating the problem, Student Government passed a referendum on judicial reform, followed by the approval of new judicial statutes.
The new system, which was voted on March 24, combines the Honor Council and Judicial Board into the Honor and Ethics Council and will also include a Board of Investigators and Advisers.
3. Kappa Sigma fraternity's hazing. After a month-long investigation, the university suspended Kappa Sig in November until the 2000-2001 school year. Harold Holmes, an associate vice president and the dean of student services, found the fraternity guilty of group responsibility violations and hazing.
In December, the Kappa Sigs appealed to the Student Life Committee, which agreed with the decision but lightened the suspension to January 2000.
The national fraternity later revoked the Delta Omega charter and just recently expelled all its members.
4. Playboy comes to campus. Playboy, one of the nation's most famous soft-core pornography magazines, held off-campus interviews earlier this week to find the perfect university co-ed for its October "Women of the ACC" issue.
The idea first caused controversy when it was announced in March, but the administration helped quiet the issue by refusing to allow Playboy to advertise around campus.
5. Polo Residence Hall constructed for independents. Room assignments have already been made, though construction remains to be finished on Polo, the new haven for independents.
In January, a committee released preliminary reports on how it planned to facilitate a mainly independent residence hall as desired by the board of trustees.
The plan succeeded when Polo housing assignments were made earlier this month with a final tally of 189 independents and five Greeks winning spots.
6. Brown leaves Provost position for ICCEL. The university announced Nov. 21 that Provost David Brown would leave his position as provost to become the head of the International Center for Computer Enhanced Learning, a new consulting firm run by the university and IBM.
ICCEL is designed to help other universities incorporate computer-aided instruction and other technology into their programs.
7. Alcohol policy. The coming of a new year initiated a revised alcohol policy, which was designed to be a stricter version of the old one.
The policy included four goals of enforcing bring-your-own-beer policies, helping party clean-up and having stricter monitoring of guest logs, registering parties with compliance advisers and helping the groups run effective party risk management.
The effectiveness of the policy is still uncertain.
8. Sorority switch. The university lost one sorority but gained two.
Delta Gamma sorority officially announced in October that it would close after battling low numbers since its founding four years ago.
Pledge classes, however, climbed to 51, prompting the Panhellenic Council to announce that Phi Mu sorority will colonize next semester.
Another new sorority with a Christian heritage, Phi Beta Chi sorority, has inducted members.
9. Student sues the law school. Edward Shlikas, 28, is suing the law school for $125 million in punitive and compensatory damages to improve the treatment and education of its students. Shlikas compared the treatment of law students to that of a boot camp.
Shlikas staged a hunger strike for almost three weeks before being issued a trespassing warning by University Police.
10. Baptists curse beer at Shorty's. In what could cause a further schism between the Baptists and the university, the North Carolina Baptist State Convention decided to re-evaluate its ties to the university in November because of the sale of beer at Shorty's.
The Baptist convention broke official financial ties to the university in 1986 but could withdraw the $28,000 in William Louis Poteat scholarships if it decides serving beer is unfit for the university. |