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  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2011-08-19_Vol77_No10_03

Page 3 WESTERN CAROLINIAN _ August 19th, 2011 NEWS Student Government Association ready for new school year Lauren Gray, Staff Writer The Student Government Association at WCU is ready for change this year. With new leadership in Student Body President TJ Eaves, Vice President Alecia Page and a new Senate of 13 mem- ' bers, things around the of- fice and around campus will quickly change. SGA has quite a few goals this year. Eaves top three goals are narrowing the gap between students and upper administration, working to make SGA more visible to students and making sure stu- dents know what SGA is do- ing and supporting and col- laborating with departments and organizations. Pages top goal is to get to know students better and to have a closer bond with students. Eaves plans to narrow the gap between students and the upper administration by hav- ing a closer relationship with administrators so SGA can take students concerns to the top of the ladder. New Chancellor Belcher is very interested in student input, and I am extremely excited to see what all-he has planned for this University. I have had the opportunity to spend some time with him. this summer and it is clearly apparent that he is a great leader'who is wanting to have student involvement in the decision making process, said Eaves. Since a lot of students do not know what SGA is or what SGA does, Eaves and Page plan to change that this. year by being at more events on campus, by hosting and sponsoring more: events, by listening to student concerns more and by regularly hand- ing out information to stu- dents about SGA. Another new thing SGA will have is a comment box on campus so students can leave their com- ments, concerns and ques- tions for SGA in the box. The questions and concerns will be checked and addressed ev- ery week. In years past, SGA has done some great things, but the visibility of SGA has been so low in the past that no one noticed the work they were putting in, Eaves said. As President, I plan on being easily accessible to students. If anyone has something they would like SGA to address they can approach me at any- time or contact me: on Face- book. My agenda is created by knowing what the student bodys concerns are, and in order'to know their concerns, Tll need them to tell me, said Eaves. Eaves last major goal is supporting and collaborating with other departments and organizations on campus. - In a time of budget cuts, it is important to make sure that the student experience is not what is being sacrificed. A portion of student fees is . what makes up SGAs budget. So we will be looking at ways to use that money to increase the quality of student life. We vt will be collaborating with lots of departments such as Athletics and Development, as well as many organiza- tions such as LMP and Greek Life, explained Eaves. For Page, she also wants SGA to also be more visible amongst students and for SGA to have a closer bond with the student body. With only ten percent of the stu- - dent body voting in the last election, Page says it is time for SGA to prove its worth to the students it represents. SGA has a responsibil- ity to help students of WCU voice their opinions in re- gards to recent budget cuts. When students understand the power of their vote and their voice, they will act; they will succeed and they will change their university and their state, said Page. Page is starting a new SGA project this year called Cuts Hurt. This new proj- ect will educate students about the budget cuts and will give students the opportunity to film a video of themselves explaining to NC representa- tives how budget cuts have affected them and our cam- pus. - Students can openly and honestly express how these budget cuts are affecting their day-to-day lives and how they believe the cuts will af- fect their educatign and qual- ifications as a worker in the long run, Page said. Stu- dents can also write a letter if a less personal method is preferred. PH 1OTO. BY LAUREN GRAY It is going to be a busy, but productive year for SGA. If you want to get involved with SGA, visit the SGA Website at sga-weu.edu for contact: information and ways to a involved. Not ay do I want to leave SGA better than it was when I took office in April, I want to people to look back and say in the 2011-2012 school year, SGA left this university better than we found it, Eaves said. I love everything about Western Carolina University and plan on devoting my term as pres- ident to better the University: as a whole, as well as its stu- dents. ' ia coudel, Editor n-Che ae m Though only five tropical storms have : formed since the start of this years At- lantic hurricane season on June 1, forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Association (NOAA) are calling for an increase in _ tropical activity the next few months. - In an update released this month, NOAA. forecasters raised the number of expect- ed named storms from its pre-season. tropical outlook issued in May. They also in- creased their confidence that 2011 will be an active Atlan: tic hurricane season. The atmosphere and At- lantic Ocean are primed for high hurricane activity dur- ing August through Octo- ber, said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., : lead seasonal hurricane fore- caster at NOAAs Climate Prediction Center located in Asheville. Storms through October will form more fre- quently and become more in- tense than We ve seen so far this season. Key climate factors. pre- dicted in May continue to support an active season. These include: the tropical multi-decadal signal, which since 1995 has brought favor- able ocean and pei conditions, to more. active seasons; exceptionally warm Atlantic Ocean tem- peratures (the third warmest on record); and the possible redevelopment of La Nifia a cooling of the waters in the Pacific Ocean. Reduced ver- tical wind shear and lower air pressure across the tropical Atlantic also favor. an active : season. Based on these condi- tions, the confidence for an above-normal season has in- creased from 65 percent in May to 85 percent. Also, the of ental 3 to5 ebule: be major hurricanes (Gatego- ty 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph). These ranges are indica- tive of an active season, and extend well above the long- _ term seasonal averages of 11 expected number of named storms has increased from 12-18 in May to 14-19, and the expected number of hur- ricanes has increased from 6-10 in May to 7-10. Th addition to multiple climate factors, seasonal cli- mate models also indicate an above-normal season is likely, and even suggest we could see activity compara- ble to some of the active sea- sons since 1995, Bell said. Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the whole season - June 1 to November 30 NOAAs updated seasonal outlook projects, with a 70 percent probability, a total of 14 to 19 named storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including 7 to 10 hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or Lubchenco, named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The Atlantic basin has pro- duced five tropical storms so far this season: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don and Emily. The last hurricane to make landfall in the United States was Ike in 2008. 21 storms, of which 12 became hurricanes and five reaching major status, formed last year in the Atlanticthe highest number of formed storms since the 2005 season, which included Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that devastated the Gulf Coastbut none truly battered the United States. Thats because, though storms were strong, the jet stream and low wind shear caused most of the storms to remain in the open ocean in the Atlantic basin, said Jane Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. The United States was fortunate last year. Winds. steered most of the sea- sons opie! storms and all PHOTO COURTESY OF NOAA hurricanes away from our coastlines, Lubchetico said. However we cant count on luck to get us through this season. We need to be pre- pared, especially with this above-normal outlook. August through October are peak months of the Atlan- tic hurricane season, and the Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency (FEMA) urges people not to be lured into a false sense of security by the lack of hurricanes so far this year. Tt is still early in this hur- ricane season and we know it canetake only one storm to devastate communities and families, said FEMA deputy administrator Rich Serino. Many disasters come without warning, but thats not the case with hur- ricanes. This is hurricane sea- son, if you havent already, now is the time to take a few simple steps to get you and . your family prepared. Any- one can visit www.ready. gov. to learn more. Bell also reminded. that tropical storms can affect any plateau, including the mountains. He mentioned Hurrieanes Ivan and Francis, which slammed the Cullo- whee area and Western North Carolina in 2004, as exam- ples. Hurricane impacts are not limited to the coastline; strong winds and flooding rainfall often pose a threat across inland areas along with the risk for tornadoes, Bell said. New MedWest Health System Urgent Care Center open i in n Sylva From Staff Reports MedWest Health System ~. opened its newest Urgent Care Center on Aug. 15 in Sylva. -: Located at Walmart Pla- za, MedWest Urgent Care Center-Sylva_ will provide walk-in examinations six days a week to patients with non-emergency illnesses or injuries. The new Center in- cludes space for eight patient examination rooms, X-ray and full lab services in 3,770 square feet. ' The public was able to get a preview of the new facility during an open house from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. last Thurs- day, Aug. 11. The Urgent Care Center- Sylva staff will include two physicians, two physician assistants or nurse practitio- ners, two medical assistants,, two registered nurses, and four radiology and lab tech- nicians. Hours of oplsktion will be 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday- Saturday, with more infor- mation available by calling 631-9462. Previous information from MedWest indicated the new facility would open Aug. 1, but that date was changed to resolve some final details, according to MedWest publicist Lucretia Stargell. We are excited to pro- vide this service to the resi- dents of Jackson County and surrounding counties, said Jeff Lee, director of Med-- Wests Urgent Care Centers. There is no other Urgent Care Center west of Waynes- ville and this center will of- fer walk-in examinations for non-emergency illnesses or injuries. The waiting time and cost is less than that of an emer- gency department visit, Lee said. Urgent care centers are primarily used to treat patients who, have an injury or illness that requires imme- diate care, but is not serious enough to warrant a visit to an emergency department. The MedWest Urgent Care Center-Sylva will be, located in a high-traffic area Waynesville and is a central point between . Western Carolina University in Cullowhee and Med West- Harris hospital, Lee said. The new center is the only Urgent Care in Jackson County and is one of three in the MedWest Health Sys- ~ tem: Other MedWest Urgent Care locations are in West and Clyde, which is scheduled to move to a new facility at the I-40 Canton exit (Exit 31) in De- cember. ' MedWest Health System, which was formed about 18 months ago, with the merger of WestCare Health Sys- tem and Haywood Regional Mdical .Center, provides health care for the people of Western North Carolina at Med West-Harris, Med West- Haywood and MedWest- Swain hospitals, and the outpatient facility MedWest- Franklin. MedWest employs | 2,100 people and is governed by a 14-member local board. MedWest is affiliated swith Carolinas HealthCare System.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2011-08-19
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 24
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2011-08-19_Vol77_No10
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library