Employers on campus advertise a number of benefits to prospective student employees. Flexible hours, discounts, sense of community, opportunities for work-study and convenient location are all touted as reasons why students should choose on-campus employment. However, according to many student employees, paying a fair wage is exceedingly more important to the well-being of student employees in a time of rapid inflation and economic instability.
Accessibility should be a priority on UNCW's campus because of its status as a public institution. However, the more I move around the campus, the more apparent it becomes that the University is more concerned with aesthetics and saving money than accessibility. Before getting into the logistics of what I’ve been seeing recently, I want to address a meeting I had in lieu of the article I published last fall on accessibility design flaws on campus.
Lights, camera – award time! The North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) recently awarded the UNCW Theatre Department with the esteemed NCTC College/University Award, recognizing the program for excellence in theatre and education.
On Sept. 27, 2022, UNCW’s Student Government Association unanimously passed a resolution vocalizing support for increased accessibility to childcare for UNCW’s students, faculty and staff. This resolution, coauthored by Student Body President Hannah-Valentina Horowitz and Student Services Chair Halie Walker, offers a first step toward on-campus childcare, a long-standing issue for UNCW.
In 2015, UNCW launched the "Like No Other" campaign intending to expand key elements that make the university unique for its students. With over 32,000 donors since the launch of the campaign, the school has reached its goal of $100 million, resulting in the most successful campaign in UNCW history. The promise to expand and enrich the programs does not stop there; UNCW will now be stretching the amount of the original campaign, with a new goal of $125 million.
UNCW’s Centro Hispano is a rapidly growing organization that formed in 2005 to support the Hispanic and Latinx community on campus. Located on the first floor of Fisher University Union (FUU), Centro Hispano offers students a variety of resources, including cultural events, scholarship and FAFSA assistance and volunteer opportunities, among many others.
As students settle back into life on campus, so does UNCW’s new Chancellor, Dr. Aswani Volety. On July 1, 2022, Dr. Volety returned to UNCW to serve as the university’s seventh Chancellor. Volety, who previously served in the role of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Executive Director of the Center for Marine Science, brings with him decades worth of education and research experience, particularly in the field of marine science.
On Friday, April 22, Chancellor Sartarelli delivered his final address and 28th report to the UNCW Board of Trustees at their quarterly meeting. The chancellor’s retirement in June will end his nearly seven years of employment at the university, during which UNCW experienced the highest rate of growth in the UNC system. Sartarelli’s time as chancellor has been marked by both academic and economic successes as well as social backlash and controversy.
Caroline Straubel, Culture Editor
• February 11, 2022
UNCW’s Homecoming week of Feb. 7 to 13, 2022 is the most sustainable in the university’s history. This year’s homecoming features green initiatives with solar panel phone charging stations, solar umbrellas, composting bins at events and rain gardens to promote a more environmentally conscious campus.
Giancarlo Franzese, Contributing Writer
• February 3, 2022
When it comes down to talent here at UNCW, The Schoolboys is one to consider, as this band continues to amaze both on and off campus. Members of the band including UNCW professors James Hunt, Rick Olsen and Bill Bolduc share their experiences, each having an important role as a member of the Schoolboys. Olsen, chair of the communication studies department, is in charge of vocals, harmonica and the keyboard. Olsen’s main responsibility involves singing lots of lead vocals for the band’s catalog while Bolduc covers guitar and back-up vocals. Hunt’s role is to provide the beat and vocals for The Schoolboys.
On Tuesday, the Colonial Athletic Association announced the addition of three new schools to the conference. Hampton University, Monmouth University and Stony Brook University will put the CAA at 12 members starting July 1, 2022 following the departure of James Madison University.
Over the past several weeks, Davis, the vice chancellor for student affairs and censor in the making, has called for the repainting of the rocks whenever students voice beliefs that run afoul to his definition of the First Amendment. In a meeting with me and three other students, Davis shared that he has overseen the removal of such statements as “Be Gay, Do Crime” and “No More Masks” from the university spirit rocks because he does not think they deserve the protection of the First Amendment.
