| Sprinkler flaw damages apts. again Appalachian Heights residents evacuated |
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Sprinkler flaw damages apts. again
Appalachian
Heights residents evacuated
Vanessa Urruela
Editor-in-Chief
A break in a dry sprinkler system pipe in the Appalachian Heights attic sent over 700 hundred gallons of water into studentsÕ apartments just after 5 p.m. Sunday.
According to Dr. Clyde Robbins, director of design and construction, the fire alarm system was triggered by the break causing students to evacuate the building before the water spread downward from the attic. The building was closed for more than three hours while clean-up crews worked to remove water and minimize damage.
Appalachian Heights residents experienced a very similar event in January of 1995 when a break in the dry sprinkler system line destroyed about the same number of apartments and caused some residents to move.
"Last nightÕs events were so identical to those of two JanuaryÕs ago that itÕs not even funny,Ó said Reid. ÒIt was almost a mirror image of what happened,Ó he said.
Monday night many students waited outside the building in cars during the clean-up process, wondering what was happening.
ÒWhen residents were leaving the building they were saying water was leaking out of certain apartments and it was hard to have to tell residents of those apartments that they couldnÕt go back in the building,Ó said Eddie Smith, a resident assistant on the first floor.
ÒFive apartments were not livable last night and about 20 students were affected,Ó said Brad Reid, director of housing.
Reid said the water hit apartment 308 first and spread mainly into apartments 307, 309, 207 and 108.
ÒThe left-side bedroom of 308 got hit the hardest and 208 got a major avalanche of water. Those two and 108 had tremendous water damage,Ó said Reid.
ÒWe created a drain in the bathroom of 308 by pulling out the toilet and kept water from migrating to other rooms as much as possible by pushing water back in from the hallway,Ó said Jimmy Isaacs, captain of the Boone Fire Department.
ÒWe have to thank the Fire Department because they helped promptly and prevented lots of damage from happening by rerouting that water,Ó said Reid. ÒThis was a bad situation that could have been much worse.Ó
Students who tired of waiting outside in the cold walked up to the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center which is located on Bodenheimer Dr. about a half mile from Appalachian Heights.
Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski said he was out for a walk with his wife on Bodenheimer Dr. when the fire trucks responded to the alarm. ÒWe stopped in because we were concerned and were told by the staff what had happened. I asked them to tell students to go to the Broyhill Inn and that the university would provide them with dinner,Ó he said. ÒI thought that since they were going to have to be out of their apartments, that was the least we could do,Ó he said.
Residence Life officials met with students at the Broyhill Inn and explained what had happened and what would be done to compensate students for damaged property.
ÒThey told us that compensation would be given in a pro-rated way,Ó said Ginger Culyer, a senior who lives on the second floor.
Students whose apartments were hit hard were given free rooms at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center. Residence Life officials said the clean-up process is expected to be completed around Wednesday and students will then be allowed to return to their apartments. Reid said that the apartments will be cleaned with antimicrobial agents and other cleansers so that all bacteria and odor will be removed.
ÒThe three women living in 308 are going to have to be relocated,Ó said Reid. ÒRight now weÕre looking at a possible move to Mountaineer Apartments so that they will be accommodated in a way that doesnÕt penalize them in any way,Ó he said.
Appalachian Heights has four floors with two bedroom, two bathroom fully-furnished apartments. It is maintained by Residence Life and there is an upperclassmen requirement to live there. The building was completed in the winter of 1994.
According to Reid, an independent contractor will soon visit Appalachian Heights to inspect the sprinkler system and see what should be done to correct the problem.
ÒWeÕre clearly going to have to take a look at the situation. This is the second time this has happened and itÕs just not acceptable,Ó said Borkowski.
ÒThe best part of this whole situation was that residents pulled together to help each other out. On my floor residents helped the women in 108 move their possessions out and offered them clothing,Ó said Smith.
"It was really great to see the residents and my staff helping everyone out. I was so impressed by the way people from the building pulled together," said Jared Rorrer, resident director at Appalachian Heights.
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Borkowski addresses faculty
Renee Cagle
Managing Editor
ÒWe are in the midst of a very creative period at Appalachian,Ó said Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski in his address to Appalachian faculty and staff. He discussed the attitudes toward the university , increased faculty salaries, and campus safety January 6.
Last fall Borkowski told the faculty that a four and a half percent increase was legislated and with outstanding performance an additional half percent would be added. ÒThrough a variety of internal reallocations, we were able to increase that salary level to seven percent,Ó said Borkowski. Appalachian faculty received the largest pay increase in the 16 campus UNC system.
The Chancellor also addressed the recent alleged rapes which occurred off campus last year. He said the two incidents are being investigated by local police and the sheriffÕs department since the alleged crimes happened off-campus.
ÒThe university responded vigorously and responsibly, providing immediate assistance to the victims and placed the fraternity (where the first incident allegedly occurred) on strict probation for failure to comply with regulations for a social event,Ó said Borkowski.
Due to these incidents, Borkowski said he would be appointing a campus security committee, which will be reviewing safety issues and recommending improvements. He said that locations of blue light phones will be reviewed and phones will be placed at State Farm and Horn in the West parking lots.
Borkowski also said rape awareness sessions will be strengthened in freshman seminar classes and in freshman orientation sessions. He also approved the recommendation by SGA that university police assume the job of running Mountaineer Escort.
Ò I want the Campus Security Committee to examine such things as campus lighting, the location of emergency call boxes, and access to buildings Ð especially residence halls, and any other areas it feels need our attention. I want the committee to be particularly alert to conditions that could create opportunities for unlawful activity or cause students, faculty, or staff to be concerned for their personal well-being,Ó said Borkowski later that week.
Borkowski also discussed a feasibility study, which looked at perceptions of and attitudes toward the university as well as other issues. The findings were that many praised the Òfamily styleÓ of the university and called the atmosphere of Appalachian its Ògreatest asset.Ó
ÒASUÕs human touch was mentioned frequently by respondents as an institutional characteristic that distinguished the university from its competition,Ó said Borkowski.
Borkowski ended by saying,Ó When this decade concludes Appalachian will most certainly be recognized as among the very best comprehensive universities in the new century.Ó
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College of Education gets 5 year
accreditation
ASU News Bureau
ItÕs one of the best report cards a college of education can receive: continuing accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
Appalachian State UniversityÕs Reich College of Education has earned the five-year continuing accreditation. The college is one of 500 teacher education programs in the nation to have the NCATE accreditation.
ÒItÕs reassuring that our program meets national standards,Ó said Charles Duke, dean of the education college. ÒItÕs a good yardstick in terms of measuring progress.Ó
NCATE is the only agency in the United States that accredits teacher education programs, Duke said. The continuing accreditation designation followed an on-site review by a visiting team of faculty from other NCATE accredited institutions.
The accrediting team makes its recommendations to the national council based on faculty interviews and a review of the collegeÕs program.
ÒThe review process forces you to take a good hard look at your program,Ó Duke said. ÒIt also encourages a lot of discussion among faculty, which is healthy.Ó
NCATE has asked the college to continue to work on increasing student and faculty diversity but cited no major weaknesses in the education program.
ÒThe report is a good one,Ó Duke said. ÒIt gives us a good basis for making decisions regarding future changes in the curriculum, field experiences and technology.Ó
The accreditation benefits education graduates as well. ÒThe accreditation means our graduates can go almost anywhere in the country without any question to their preparation,Ó Duke said.
The Reich College of Education has undergraduate teacher preparation programs in elementary, middle grades, health, business, marketing and special education. It also offers degrees in secondary education and special areas with departments in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Music.
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Appalachian State University faculty, staff and students are eligible to win cash prizes in the annual Irene Leache Literary Contest.
Prizes will be awarded in fiction and non-fiction prose and in traditional, free and light verse poetry. Based in Norfolk, Va., the contest is open to residents of North Carolina and Virginia.
All entries must be received by Jan. 31. Rules are available in the administrative office of Belk Library. For more information, contact Patty Wheeler at 262-4973.
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A professorship honoring a Watauga County Native and former governor has been established at Appalachian State University.
The Governor James E. Holshouser Jr. Distinguished Professorship in Ethics is being funded by donations by C.D. Spangler Jr., president of the University of North Carolina and the C.D. Spangler Foundation.
Excellence in undergraduate teaching, along with accomplishment and scholarship in the area of ethics will be the primary criteria in filling the position. The selection will be made by the academic affairs office and the professorship will be housed within a specific college or school based on the area of the professorÕs expertise.
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Petro Kulynych of Wilkesboro, one of the founders of LoweÕs Hardware, has made a gift of approximately $38,000 to Appalachian State University.
The funds will go into the College of Arts and SciencesÕ endowment to be used for various needs of the college. An additional $5,000 contribution from the LoweÕs Charitable and Educational Foundation will also support arts and sciences.
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A program for providing short-term child care for Appalachian State University employees has been included in a guide of innovative college and university programs supporting families and the workplace.
The ÒCollege and University Reference Guide to Work-Family ProgramsÓ lists AppalachianÕs Holiday/Snowday Child Care Program among 30 programs nationwide demonstrating a campusÕ commitment to work and family issues.
The program benefits the children of university and Watauga County Public School System employees. In addition to child care, the program offers activities such as arts, crafts and computer instruction on days public schools are closed because of teacher workdays, snow or holidays.
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