• 31Oct

  Faculty/Staff Football Forum Recap

  Events on Campus, General Thoughts 1 Comment

  Last week was the Faculty/Staff football feasibility study forum. In attendance were about 20-25 faculty and staff that discussed the consequences of adding or not adding football to UNC Charlotte’s athletic program. The forum was run in a similar manner to the Alumni Football Forum which was held the previous week.

  During the forum, faculty and staff needed to spend most of their time merely becoming educated on the topic along with all the nuances that are a part of the decision. 1A or 1AA? What is the difference? Gender equity and Title IX requirements?

  My conclusion from the forum is that many faculty and staff are simply unaware of the consequences of football, adding or not adding it. But that is understandable, faculty are specialists in their fields and have many extensive responsibilities outside of the hustle that is  managing classes. Most of the outspoken faculty worked at schools with football or were graduates of schools with big football programs, such as Notre Dame, Louisville and Mizzou. They remembered the sense of community and the campus presence that football provided and cited the 70,000+ alumni of UNC Charlotte that live in the area which are not being engaged by their alma mater.

  The overall sentiment from the forum was that football can provide many valuable assets to UNC Charlotte as we shed our regional persona and begin to create our national level identity. Some people think that we have to change our name right now to achieve this goal, but the faculty and staff realized that a big football program can do that. Many people don’t care that Maryland is actually University of Maryland - College Park. Most people just know the Terps as Maryland, because of the branding provided by the athletic programs.

  For a university that is struggling to even establish itself locally, that would be an invaluable asset… although costly. Do the benefits outweigh the costs?

  How can a university become a national university if it can’t establish itself as the premiere institution in its own region?

  The challenges surrounding the ability to establish football at a significantly under-funded state institution may seem insurmountable, but we can’t even begin the answer of how unless we decide to do it.

• 25Oct

  Transit Tax Debate Comments

  Events on Campus, General Thoughts No Comments

  I was impressed by both sides of the debate because of the amount of
  research and information the debaters compiled to make their point.
  Keith Larson tried to persuade the audience of about 200 guests
  (according to the alumni center) to vote for the repeal of the transit
  tax because the mismanagement of the current CATS system is grounds to
  prevent the system from growing, it would also curb future debt and disaster.
  Jennifer Roberts tried to persuade the audience that by voting against
  the repeal of the transit tax, Charlotte will avoid cutting back bus
  crucial bus service and will be able to bring light-rail access to the
  entire region over the next 20 years which will manage growth by
  providing transportation alternatives and ultimately prevent the urban
  sprawl that Charlotte is becoming.

  It is truly a debate of past vs. future.

  The city has done an inadequate job of presenting the costs of transit
  projects over the years and that is why Larson and those that agree
  with him are so passionate about repealing the half-cent sales tax
  which funds the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). He hammered his
  point with humor and antics which drew laughs… and sounds of insult
  when he quoted the UNC Charlotte transit tax study in, “the good nature
  of transit research at UNC Charlotte”. His argument that money from our
  pockets are funding a mass amount of inefficiency is a visceral and
  effective appeal. However, Roberts stood by her data as she explained
  about the people that would be disenfranchised by the crippling in
  service CATS would undergo with the repeal of the tax and the positive
  effects of light rail for UNC Charlotte and Charlotte in general. A
  move to cut transit now, she argued, would stop the system for the
  future.

  The deciding moment in the debate came when the question was asked of
  Larson by the audience, “What is your alternative to the transit tax?
  How can we support the bus system which you stated is necessary?” He
  said the bus system would have to be supported by tax money and failed
  to hint at an outline for a specific plan which can handle the growth
  that Charlotte will experience, that growth will occur whether we like
  it or not. With no viable alternative the For Repeal argument falls
  through because there is a two year wait before we can place the
  transit tax back on the ballot, which also cripples the argument that
  we can cut the plan now and get a new one in place for next Nov. The
  reason for escalating transit system costs are the fact that
  construction costs grow every day as the dollar shrinks and other
  countries buy more of the construction resources. Two years would
  prevent the commuter rail system from ever becoming reality.

  At the end of the debate it was clear, Larson provides a good argument
  about how to prevent the past while Roberts makes the point about how
  to prepare for the future.

• 24Oct

  The First and Hopefully Not Annual UNC Charlotte Transit Tax Debate

  Events on Campus, Podcasts No Comments

  Tonight was the UNC Charlotte (SGA, Non-Partisan Political Action, College Democrats, College Republicans) Transit-Tax Debate. We had some great debaters in Keith Larson and Jennifer Roberts and a great moderator in Jason Saine. The issue at hand was the transit tax in Mecklenburg County that has deep reaching consequences for either side of the decision. We’ll have video of the debate up soon, but for now we have some photos and a podcast recap. Enjoy.

  [odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/17185583/view]

  

  

  

• 23Oct

  Transit Tax Debate Tonight!

  Events on Campus No Comments

  Tonight at 7pm in the Harris Alumni Center on UNC Charlotte’s Campus we are hosting the UNC Charlotte Transit-Tax Debate. Hopefully I’ll see you all there. The issue has been gaining attention, there are even some great youtube videos on the topic of Voting For Repeal or Voting Against Repeal:

  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYRTbW95_zE]

• 22Oct

  49er Basketball Madness

  Uncategorized No Comments

  Basketball Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year. Tim
  and I were there and a part of the action. The whole lower section of
  Halton filled up in 1:09 which is about 3000 students.

  [odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/17152763/view]

  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9QnacXFGYM]

  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ZPkIkZ-wA]

  The Women’s Basketball Team

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• 19Oct

  SGA Transit Tax Debate Gets Some Local Recognition

  Events on Campus, General Thoughts, Press No Comments

  Keith Larson mentioned it on his show yesterday because he saw it in the Charlotte Observer!
  
  Secretary of Press and Public Relations, James Burrows, did a good job getting our press release together.

• 16Oct

  Alumni Football Forum

  General Thoughts, Podcasts 3 Comments

  Last night was the first of three forums to discuss the topic of adding football at UNC Charlotte. Small groups of alumni broke down consequences of adding or not adding a team. Some of the consequences I saw as I walked around the room included a continued deterioration of a conference affiliation and the inability for UNC Charlotte to grow into a national university by deciding not to add football.

  Jim Utter has some comments from Alumni on his Charlotte 49ers Blog check ‘em out! From the blog:

  
  

  Kevin Harward of Cornelius: “I
  thought it was a very positive experience. I thought the attendance was
  good. They even had to bring in more tables once the meeting started.
  It was great to be on campus talking about Charlotte 49er Football with some of the leaders of the sports community in Charlotte.
  They broke us up into groups and we had discussions on Level of
  Competition, Funding Sources, Facilities, and Other Considerations. All
  of our thoughts were recorded and will be compiled and presented to the
  Feasibility Committee. I walked away feeling very positive about adding
  football at Charlotte and glad that our thoughts were heard. This is honestly the most excited I have been about my alma mater since I graduated.”

  [odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/17126203/view]

• 16Oct

  College of Engineering Picnic!

  Events on Campus, Podcasts No Comments

  One of the best times of the year for College of Engineering majors, this past Friday was the College of Engineering Picnic where thousands of students, faculty administrators and about 70 employers came out to do what college affiliated groups do best… eat and socialize. This was my fourth COE picnic and it has grown significantly every year that we’ve done it. I can’t wait to see how big it is next year!

  [odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/17126163/view]

  

  Paul Haifley is a great roommate and Civil Engineer

  

  Matt DeCourcelle built a trebuchet with IEEE

  

  Tim Ernst enjoys the view from the picnic

• 15Oct

  Students Can Form Their Own Opinion

  General Thoughts, Open Letter, Press 1 Comment

  The UNC Charlotte Student Government Association has recently been accused of “violating state laws” because of the fact that the SGA Senate formulated and published an opinion on the transit tax issue in Mecklenburg County.

  County Commissioner Bill James is highly deluded in believing that the UNC Charlotte administration or county officials had anything to do with our opinion. In a News 14 story (which also featured the SGA side of the story) Bill James said:

  
  

  “Why UNCC would do this through the SGA is unknown,but you should inform them that as an organization [that] is financed by NC state dollars, their actions are breaking the law,” said James in an email received by News 14 Carolina. “Further, UNCC … is breaking the law by allowing their government-run web site and e-mail system to be used for these purposes.”

  Another individual that was opposed to the transit tax even stated that our “heads were full of mush”.

  We are fully entitled to our first amendment rights in student government because we receive our funding from student fees instead of tax money, so I sent this response to the detractors:

  Mr. James and Mr. Bishop,

  The Student Government Association at UNC Charlotte is fully supported by student fees, including the web
  server which hosts our website. Because we are funded by student fees, we have full first amendment protection and have the ability to weigh in on any issue in any manner. If this is not the case, then we will
  need to cease the operations of our College Republicans and College Democrats which are supported by the same student fees that allow SGA to operate.

  If there are any laws that our opinion is violating, please point them out to us so that we can adhere to them.We
  are completely separate from the university in funding and in opinion.

  No members of the UNC Charlotte administration or the county government made an attempt, intentional or unintentional to sway our opinion on the transit tax issue. Our senators researched the issue independently
  and formulated the conclusion posted on our website. Even though SGA has reached this opinion, we still welcome
  open debate and discussion. We have invited all of our 240+ student organizations representing over 22,000 students and the local community to the Transit-Tax debate on Oct. 23rd at 7pm in the UNC Charlotte Harris Alumni Center between Keith Larson and Jennifer Roberts moderated by Charlotte 49er alumnus Jason Saine.

  I’ll hope to see you both there.

  The outcry against our decision clearly stems from the love that the transit tax opponents have in blaming UNC Charlotte for all of their problems.

  The real story here is that some of our elected county officials don’t think that students can form their own opinions on local issues. I hope that now they have learned differently.

• 12Oct

  SGA Campus Safety Study Released

  General Thoughts, Press No Comments

  After a summer of putting it together and a few months of working out the final kinks, we released our Campus Safety report today which will be the baseline of any recommendations that SGA will be making for campus safety over the next few years. As more data is released every year, it is my intention that future SGA administrations will update the document with the relevant information.

  One of the interesting things that Tim and I learned as we put the report together surround the incredible inaccuracies and problems that fail to define campus crime reporting standards. The Clery Act which establishes a baseline for where and when campuses report their crime is very unclear about more of the specifics. Campuses that report their crime may appear to be “punished” by having high crime numbers, but the students at schools where crime goes unreported are the ones that really suffer.

  Combine that with the unique and interesting surroundings of every campus and it becomes almost impossible to determine what any crime “ranking” derived from studying the Clery Act numbers might actually mean. By putting this report together we can see where some of the problems lie and I know that we can take some major steps to raise student awareness on campus. If students will realize that crime can be a reality, they don’t have to be scared. As the News 14 article quoted me saying,“Students need to realize that there is a problem with crime in some areas in our campus and around campus,” and I was specifically referring to the outer lots and areas around campus where most of the crime associated with UNC Charlotte is happening.

  SGA will continue to build a strong relationship with the Department of Police and Public Safety on Campus and we’ll move forward with formulating recommendations and carrying out a successful Campus Safety Walk in the Spring.

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