Eye on the Triangle

This week’s EOT covered many topics popping up in the news lately from history education reform to the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti to Ignite Raleigh, and more. Be sure to check out the links for more info.

NEWS
On this week’s newscast, guest newscaster William Lampe and Correspondent Evan Garris gave us the top headlines for the week:
Earthquake/Tsunami
Bosnian wars
Guantanamo detainee case
Apple’s use of child labor
Canada beats U.S.
I-40 wreckage
ABC system in N.C.

SPORTS
This week in sports, Correspondents Tommy Anderson and Tyler Everett gave listeners the weekly update.

VIEWPOINT
This week, Evan spoke on his views about tolerance toward homosexuality. Here is an excerpt: This stigma we’ve created is what’s unacceptable – and oh, did we create it. No god would be so bold as to say one man is worth more than another because of who he happens to love. Homosexuality is about as much of a choice as heterosexuality, but for some reason, we can’t see the writing on the wall; for some reason, two men cannot share a loving relationship equal to that of a man and a woman. I guess it’s just become easier to fear what we don’t know and hate what we refuse to understand.“

VIP
Members of North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction drafted of a plan that calls for teaching history before 1877 to not be taught in North Carolina high schools in the traditional way but instead for it to be taught in elementary and middle schools. Since this first draft was published, the amount of debate over it has been intense. Some believe students won’t be able to get the history education necessary to excel in college, while others argue that students are given a more specialized look into particular areas of U.S. history. Michael Jones, a history major and EOT correspondent, thought he would set the record straight. He sat down N.C. State Professor Holly Brewer and Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction June Atkinson, to get a more comprehensive understanding of what’s in the first draft and what the implications of the first draft have on history education reform in North Carolina. And EOT host Saja Hindi did a live phone interview with social studies teacher from Broughton High School Lee Quinn to talk about the plan and teachers’ sentiments. The initial plan was rejected after feedback and a new plan is set to be posted in April.

COMMUNITY CANVAS

This week on Community Canvas, Jacob Downey talked with Ryan Boyles an event coordinator for Ignite Raleigh. The second Ignite Raleigh event will take place March 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre. Fifteen participants will be sharing their ideas about topics ranging from 20 Little-Known Facts about Sex & Pleasure to Mayberry Modernism or Why the Triangle is America’s Hotspot for Way Cool Houses. Boyles tells us how the presenters were chosen, the constraints of the five minute presentations and how audience members can give back to their community at through Donors Choose. We also talked one of the founders of the Ignite series Brady Forrest about the events origin.

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
For this week’s online-exclusive Wolfpacker of the Week, I sat down with Jennifer Halweil, a senior in electrical engineering, to talk about her project with a team of two other students to participate in a world-wide competition hosted by Société Générale, an international bank headquartered in Paris. "We are the only U.S. team that has advanced to the second round of the competition,” Halweil said. To make it to the final round of the competition and potentially win 12,000 euros and the opportunity to implement their idea, the group had 12 days (since the interview) to promote a wikiblog about the project and garner as much feedback and support through the site.  Her team’s idea is “to create a banking network to support women entrepreneurs, with the goal of increasing women’s access to financial capital, as well as creating opportunities for women in poor and rural areas.”

SOUNDBYTES
This week on Soundbytes, Correspondent Chris Cioffi talked to students about how they were helping or hope the University will help to benefit those who suffered from the earthquakes in Haiti and

Whether you’re a graduate looking into service corps organizations or someone who wants to know how local music can benefit charity, you’ll want to check out what this past week’s EOT had to offer.

VIP
Joining us live in studio were Teach for America on campus student coordinator Joe Wright, N.C. State Peace Corps Recruiter Marques Anderson, and senior in graphic design Ana Andruzzi. Wright and Anderson discussed the organizations they represent and the benefits students can take from joining these service corps. Andruzzi talked about her decision to teach in Prague after graduation through Teaching English as a Foreign Language and what she hoped to get out of it. *Make sure to also check the EOT blog this week for interviews with a graduate who went into the Peace Corps in Armenia and one who went into Teach for America.*

NEWS
This week’s top headlines:
Mayor proposes new financing plan
Erskine Bowles to step down as BOG president, take on role with Obama deficit panel
Western cities fare best in well-being index
Democrat Evan Bayh of Ind. to retire from Senate
Clinton warns of Mideast nuclear arms race
Toyota may lengthen warranties to keep customers

SPORTS
Check out Correspondent Tyler Everett’s weekly sports analysis.

EDITORIAL
In honor of chancellor-elect Randy Woodson’s ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum Feb. 10, Evan Garris gave listeners his opinion on what the new chancellor should be prepared to do for his constituents. Woodson will take on his new role as chancellor April 5. Agree or disagree with Evan? Let us know at [email protected].

COMMUNITY CANVAS
This week on Community Canvas, Arts Correspondent Kieran Moreira spoke to Jason Cooper, a sophomore in communication, and Laura-Nelle Parnell, a senior in political science, about their parts in the musical Into The Woods, an Arts N.C. State performance.  Kieran tackled questions specifically dealing with the intricate storyline, which mixes popular bedtime stories into a cohesive musical plot. Both Cooper and Parnell gave Eye on the Triangle a showcase of their performances. Parnell got into character as the Witch giving a haunting monologue, while Cooper delved into a more lighthearted musical number from his character Jack who sings about the loss of his beloved cow, Milky White.

HEAR THIS
Last week, Schooner celebrated the release of its latest EP entitled Duck Kee Sessions. Aside from the new songs and new sounds, Duck Kee Sessions had something else new. It was released exclusively on CyTunes, a music downloading service where all of the proceeds are dedicated to the Tisch Brain Cancer Center in Durham. CyTunes was originally created in 2008 in memory of WXYC DJ and local music maven, Cy Rawls. Cy gained a following among many people in the local music scene whom he loved to listen to and he became the close friend they would love to see at shows, according to his colleagues. After his passing, a small group of his friends came together to create a music downloading service in order to raise money for the Tisch Brain Cancer Center, where he was treated. Correspondents Alyssa D'Avanzo and Michael Jones interviewed Chris Rossi and Janet Park from CyTunes about how they came to know Cy and how they plan on expanding the service to include more local acts, as well as the frontman of Schooner, Reid Johnson, on how he came to know Cy and on Schooner’s decision to donate its latest release on CyTunes.

Comments, questions or suggestions? E-mail us at [email protected].

Glenwood South vs. Downtown Raleigh, a proposed tuition hike, a look at the N&O’s annual Great Eight Showcase and a live interview with actors from the Burning Coal Theatre are all part of this week’s segments on EOT.

NEWS
News anchor Evan Garris gave listeners the top headlines for the week. For more on some of these stories, check out the links below.
Red, Hot & Blue on Hillsborough Street closes, again
Congressman Murtha dies
Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest tower, closes a month after opening
Iran’s nuclear plans start new calls for sanctions
Super Bowl 2010 Ratings: 106 million watch, top-rated telecast ever

SPORTS
Correspondents Tyler Everett and Derek Medlin gave us an analysis about the past week and week ahead:

EDITORIAL
This week’s topic was the North Carolina General Assembly’s proposed $200 tuition hike per student. The UNC Board of Governors will meet about it this Friday, Feb. 12. While some students have banded together against this hike, Evan’s view was different. Here is an excerpt from his editorial:

“Still reeling from the credit crisis, statewide unemployment is around 11 percent; local school boards are attempting to accommodate more students with fewer resources; and our infrastructure is in desperate need of an overhaul. No one likes paying the government – no one – but it’s a necessary evil …$200 may sound like a lot, but when factored into the thousands each of us doles out to our respective universities annually, it’s a small amount to pay. Here’s a situation that presents us with a rare opportunity – unlike humanitarian crises and social inequalities, sitting back and throwing money at this problem will make it go away.”

[DISCLAIMER: Evan’s opinions do not reflect those of WKNC 88.1, Student Media or NCSU.]

Is Evan’s opinion right on, completely ridiculous or just needs some tweaks? Let us know.

VIP
Raleigh’s planning department expects that the results of this year’s national census will push the city’s population past the 400,000 mark, more than doubling the city’s population in 1980. As the city grows, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization projects some of its neighborhoods, particularly downtown Raleigh, will experience huge growth. The organization expects the downtown area, which now has a population of about 22,000, to reach 40,000 residents by 2035. Additionally, the development of Glenwood South brought mixed-use condominiums to the area, boosting its population. But what do the “new images” of these areas do to independently drive in enough traffic to each area, despite being only blocks apart? Local business owners discuss their ideas.

At the same time, these two neighborhoods have been working on re-inventing their images. Sara Coleman, owner of Glenwood South’s The Cupcake Shoppe, says when she moved in to her location in 2006, Glenwood South was only Glenwood Avenue, a strip of road composed mainly of office space, warehouses and a few staples like 518 West. In the three years since she’s opened her shop, she says the area has come in to its own identity – a kind of “neighborhood-y” feel that brings people from all parts of Raleigh out on Fridays and Saturdays.

The owners of the Busy Bee Cafe, Chris Powers and David “Woody” Lockwood, worked on Glenwood Avenue before opening up their downtown location this past spring. They said they chose their 105-year old Wilmington Street building to help revitalize downtown Raleigh to its roaring 20’s heyday. Since much of the area has been developed by restaurant group Empire Eats (Raleigh Times, Sitti, Gravy, etc), Chris and Woody said the area has the same beer-loving, laid-back energy they hope to obtain with their restaurant/bar.

As someone who was one of the first to open bars on Glenwood South and in Downtown Raleigh, Van Alston (of Havana Deluxe,

There are a lot of events going on this week and throughout the weekend, so make sure to check the segments out for more info, and choose which (or all!) of these great events to attend.

NEWS
News anchor Evan Garris gave listeners the top headlines for the week, with a guest appearance from Tom Anderson about an incident an N.C. State student faced during the big snowball fight at UNC. For more on these stories:
Hazardous weather outlook
Student dies in off-campus incident Friday morning
N.C. Sen. Burr has $4.3M for re-election bid
High Speed Rail to connect Charlotte, Raleigh, RTP and Washington DC
Obama proposes $3.8 trillion budget focused on jobs
82nd academy awards to feature 10 Best Picture nominees

For the video of the incident Tom was describing: Snowball fight

SPORTS
Correspondents Tyler Everett and Taylor Barbour gave us an analysis about the past week and week ahead.

EDITORIAL
We debuted our new segment, Evan Garris’ editorial. This week’s topic was the Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission. Here is an excerpt from Evan’s editorial:

“Until now, corporations did not have the ability to give unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns. Such conduct was seen, and rightfully so, as a danger to democracy. This case was originally centered on broadcasting rights to a politically-charged documentary that vociferously criticized the 2008 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. However, for reasons unknown, one or more of our all-seeing, all-knowing justices decided to take a more fundamental approach and focus on the "personhood” or corporate entities and whether or not their ability to finance political campaigns and advertisements is a form of free speech.“

[DISCLAIMER: Once again, Evan’s opinions do not reflect those of WKNC 88.1, Student Media or NCSU.]

This is YOUR chance to tell us how you feel! Do you agree with Evan, disagree or have a completely different view? Let us know at [email protected], and if you want, we’ll read your response on air during our next show!

VIP
I talked to organizers of the fourth annual Krispy Kreme Challenge in the studio live about preparations for the 6,000 runners this Saturday that have one goal: run from the Bell Tower to the Krispy Kreme in downtown Raleigh, eat a dozen doughnuts – and run back, all in under an hour. The challenge, which started out as a friendly competition between friends, has become a tradition that has attracted national attention to N.C. State, earning spot number 85 in Sports Illustrated’s ”102 more things you gotta do before you graduate.“ Proceeds from registration go to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.

COMMUNITY CANVAS
In Arts Correspondent Kieran Moreira’s interview with Leandra Ashton and Owen Young of Aquila Theatre, the actors discussed their upcoming shows scheduled for Feb. 2 and 3 at Stewart Theatre: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, preparation for the two  plays and their excitement about coming to Raleigh.  “The Aquila performance approach is a technique developed by Peter Meineck that combines text and physical action based in a theory of theatrical unity. The technique is aimed to create an aesthetic environment where the performer can create and recreate a role in a consistently changing theatrical atmosphere,” according to the Web site’s history. The theater tours to about 70 cities and towns a year.

Due to the weekend’s snow storm, a buy-one-get-one-free discount is available for the shows from Arts N.C. State’s Center Stage.

HEAR THIS
Because of all the events going on this weekend, we had an extended, two-part Hear This segment this week in place of Wolfpacker of the Week, which will return next w...

New projects seemed to be a common theme in this week’s topics of EOT, from I Was Totally Destroying It’s latest video blogs to new Hillsborough Street businesses to a business initiative a student took on, on her own. Subscribe to the full show podcast if you missed out and/or read below for a synopsis.

NEWS
Our fabulous newscasters were in the capitol city this week but did a live broadcast by phone for D.C. The stories they covered included the Haiti humanitarian crisis, Ted Kennedy’s seat in Senate, the “Tuition Petition,” the Cary and Morrisville merger and the Golden Globes.

SPORTS
As per usual, Correspondents Derek Medlin and Tyler Everett gave us the sports update. The men’s basketball team picked up a huge win over Duke Wednesday night in the RBC Center, up ending the No. 6 Blue Devils 88-74 in front of the loudest crowd of the season. A good majority over that crowd, mainly comprised of students, celebrated the upset victory with a court-storming session worth watching. 

However, that was not the only point of discussion Monday night – the two gave us a little commentary on Athletics Director Lee Fowler’s future with N.C. State. The discussion Tyler and Derek had Monday night, Derek said barely scratched the surface of the issue of Lee Fowler’s tenure at NCSU. There are specifics of this situation, which no one can know for sure, but one thing that does seem to be fairly certain is that rumors about the potential for Fowler’s job as Athletics director to be terminated do exist. They have been circulating for some time now and don’t seem to be going away. More often than not rumors are just that – rumors. But when you hear something like this from as many people as we’ve heard it from, you start to believe that there has to be some basis for them. Tack on the fact that N.C. State named a new chancellor last week, and the writing seems to be on the wall: Fowler might not be the AD much longer. This story will certainly continue to develop during the spring semester and is definitely something that will be touched on again during the sports segment in the future, so make sure to keep checking back. For the episode’s full sports segment.

VIP
Hillsborough Street’s construction seems to be a never-ending project for many students and businesses. The construction, which is supposed to change Hillsborough Street from a “place people go through to a place people go to,” as former Hillsborough Street Partnership Chair George Chapman said, had hurt many businesses and created difficult traffic patterns for vehicles and pedestrians. Chapman talked about how the project is an effort to change the street’s image, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011. Listen to what Chapman, students and business owners  (including some new ones!) told Correspondents Matt Moore and Chris Cioffi about the project.

Moore and Luis Zapata also took 950 panoramic photos, turned into video, from a truck, driving from the intersection with Dan Allen Drive on Hillsborough Street to the Bell Tower during the renovations. Check it out! Hillsborough Street

HEAR THIS
Assistant Daytime Music Director Michael Jones and I sat down with John Booker and Rachel Hirsch from I Was Totally Destroying It to talk about their project of recording video of all their work and sessions leading up to the band’s next album and putting up vlogs.

COMMUNITY CANVAS
Correspondent Meredith Faggart talked to the assistant manager and an employee of a newly opened store on Hillsborough Street, Sugar Magnolia. The store, which originated in Ann Arbor Michigan (called Orchid Lane there), sells free-trade, eco-friendly clothing and accessories. The owners and managers go to their cooperatives around the world – from South America to India – and buy the materials themselves from the artisans.

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
Jacob also sat down with art and design major Charlotte Guice, who started her own university clothing apparel business called Olly Oxen.

SOUNDBYTES
Due to some technical difficulties, we were not able to get up the MLK Soundbytes. Apologies! Be sure to check back again next episode for their return – it’s one of my favorite segments!

No show scheduled for 1/25 because of a women’s basketball game broadcast, but we’ll be back in action Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.!

This week’s show was our first show back of the semester! We talked about everything, from what happened during break like the election of a new chancellor and the new smoking ban, to what lies ahead like a new football lineup and upcoming arts exhibitions.

NEWS
News anchor Evan Garris are back in action, with the latest headline news. He gave listeners a run-down of news on the newly-elected chancellor of N.C. State, as well as stories listeners may have missed over break such as the Senate version of the Health Care bill, the attempted bombing of a flight on Christmas Day to Detroit, rise in unemployment in the month of December, and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin joining the Fox News team, among others.

SPORTS
Correspondent Tyler Everett gave listeners a review and analysis of how the basketball team performed during winter break, the changes the football team will inevitably see next season, such as dealing with the loss of Toney Baker who made a decision to try out for NFL draft and not use his sixth year of eligibility, and more. Make sure to check it out if you missed it.

VIP
A couple of days after the Board of Governors announced Randy Woodson, former provost at Purdue University, as the 14th chancellor of N.C State, Correspondent Caitlin Cauley (who graciously took over the interview for me when I got sick…sorry you had to bear with my cold-ridden voice throughout the rest of the show), interviewed James Woodward, N.C. State chancellor on an interim basis, who served after the resignation of former chancellor James Oblinger. Woodward discussed what it was like taking over in the midst of the scandal surrounding the University, the work he has done while chancellor and the work that lays ahead for the new chancellor, who is scheduled to begin his new post no later than May 1.

HEAR THIS
I talked to DJ Emcee Luck about the Jan. 8 concert at the Pour House, featuring Megafaun, Lonnie Walker and The Rosebuds. She gave us a review of the band’s performances and collaboration at the event. If you missed the sold out show or just want to hear clips from these bands, check out the podcast.

COMMUNITY CANVAS
Correspondent Jacob Downey (who also saved me this week!) talked to Zoe Starling, curator of education for the Gregg Museum, about the museum’s upcoming spring exhibitions with wood artist Dale Nish and weaver Lia Cook, student involvement in the museum and more. The museum will have an opening reception for both its shows Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. To hear more about the museum, check out this week’s Community Canvas.

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
Jacob also sat down with Jack Zapple and Addison Hardy, two students who along with another two students, form Harmonist, Inc., a company that “incorporates technology into everyday life.” Zapple and Hardy talked to EOT about their apps and what they hope to develop.

SOUNDBYTES
To wrap up the episode, Correspondent Matt Moore spoke to customers and owners/managers at Cup A Joe on Hillsborough Street and Sammy’s Tap and Grill on Avent Ferry Road about the new smoking ban that took affect this week and how it has impacted business.

We have a lot of great things coming up for the second half of the year, so make sure to check back to the blog often, as well as of course wknc.org/eot, which will be receiving a pretty massive overhaul in the next couple of weeks. Make sure to keep nominating for Wolfpacker of the Week, and send us your thoughts and suggestions for the show to [email protected].

Last semester was quite the semester for N.C. State University and its image. The University was in national news – and it wasn’t pretty, whether it dealt with decisions administrators made, budget cuts because of the economy or corruption within the higher-ups. This image problem affected faculty, staff, students, donors and alumni alike. However, last year was also a  great one for local music, with many memorable events bands have taken part in. So, for the last episode of the semester, EOT brought you an N.C. State semester-in-review of news and sports, and a review of some of the things the local music offered you and the surrounding the community.

NEWS
Tom Anderson and Mike Alston filled in for Evan Garris to bring you this week’s local, national and international news. Listen to the podcast if you missed it for updates on the Obama exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan, bipartisan opposition to the Honors Services Law, the most recent bombings in Pakistan, the creation of the new aircraft: Spaceship 2, Raleigh’s rating as the 21st city in the nation with the “best bang for the buck,” former State Senate Democrat Cal Cunningham running for U.S. Senate, a Gastonia murder trial and more.

VIP
I interviewed former student body president and current senior class president, Jay Dawkins, and Student Body President Jim Ceresnak about N.C. State’s image, the good, the bad and the grades they give its issues – ranging from the former N.C. first lady Mary Easley’s scandal, which caused the resignations of the University’s three top leaders, to the Rally 4 Talley campaign, to research developments at the University. Although Jay and Jim seemed to remain optimistic, it’s clear the University has its work cut out for it. 

SPORTS
John Cooper Elias, Tyler Everett and Derek Medlin gave us a wrap-up of the semester in sports, a football rundown and expectations for the next semester as well as next year for several sports, including men’s soccer and men’s and women’s cross country. We also discussed the firing that week of Volleyball Coach Charita Stubbs due to what can be considered a terrible tenure for her with the team, as well as the incident surrounding what she perceived to be a racist cartoon, which was actually intended to show that the volleyball team was finally winning some games last season. Be sure to check it out the whole podcast if you missed it:

HEAR THIS
Kelly Reid gave us a list of best local moments of 2009 including Bombadil shows, the Raleigh Undercover event, the journey to the Love Language’s Debut album and more. Be sure to check it out if you haven’t:

COMMUNITY CANVAS
Mike Alston sat down and spoke to Eric Hirsch and Pierce Freelon from The Beast to talk about some of the programs and “hip hop” curriculum the members take to N.C. schools. Hirsch discusses the importance of music and scholarship, and how the band was able to put the two together for schools around the nation:

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
Damian Maddalena sat down with Logan Scarborough, Forestry Club president and senior in forest management. Scarborough talked to us about the club and its activities, including its forestry competition, Rolleo. 

As always, be sure to let us know what you think/want to hear more or less of at [email protected]. We’ll be back in action for the spring semester – same time, same place!

A lot has happened since our last Eye on the Triangle episode, and as promised, we have some updates!

The Board of Trustees – yup, you guessed it – approved the recommendations of the University’s Tuition and Fees Conference Committee, also approving the new student centers fee, not to exceed $290 of that lone fee for the next 25 to 30 years (read about the fee here, and you can also check out Technician and the campaign for more info). The Rally Against Talley protesters didn’t show, but instead sent a statement, which was probably a little less effective. I interviewed Student Body President and Board of Trustees member Jim Ceresnak after the Thursday meeting, and we updated WKNC listeners at 7 p.m. that night about the results. The only change from the initial recommendations was the Athletics fee increase changed from $9 to $8.50, with the education and technology fee going from an $8 increase to an $8.50 increase, a decision members voted for at the prodding of Ceresnak and Student Senate President Kelli Rogers. Next up: Board of Governors in January.

The final Fridays on the Lawn – on-campus concert series – of the semester, featuring Kooley High and the Beast, was a success, despite the sudden change of location due to some leaks in the Talley Student Center, which caused the Wolves’ Den, the original location of the event, to be closed off from use unexpectedly.

And if you followed the live Twitter updates @WKNC881, you know the Technician- Daily Tarheel football game definitely stayed in line with N.C. State and UNC’s football history, at least for the past three years. Technician beat the DTH in flag football 40-0, followed by the – albeit less of a margin – Wolfpack victory of 28-27 versus the Tarheels.

NEWS

Our fabulous newscasters have once again brought you the news of the week. Below are the articles used in this week’s newscast:
World
UN rebuke ‘forced’ new Iran plans
Swiss voters back ban on minarets
UAE stocks plunge as government refuses to back Dubai World’s debt
National
Obama issues order for more troops in Afghanistan
Senate debate on health care bill opens with heated rhetoric
Stocks close higher, extend month’s big gains
Local
Raleigh mayor has grand plans
Ex-N.C. State chancellor not headed to New Mexico
Reptile rules, texting ban in 50-plus new N.C. laws