Technician

         

wednesday
march

11
9

technicianonline.com Raleigh, North Carolina

david mabe/Technician
Technician news editor Ty Johnson speaks during the selection pro-
cess for next year’s Student Media leaders Tuesday night.

Board announces
future leaders
Media Board chooses future crease campus involvement with
leaders the radio station through an on-
campus concert. Tim O’Brien/Technician
[Editor’s Note: The students quot- “We are a very fragmented Chancellor James Oblinger talks to media at the State of N.C. State address in Stewart Theatre Tuesday. Oblinger spent
ed in this story work for Student campus,” he said. “[A concert] most of the speech talking about the achievements the University has made in the past year, such as the successful map-
Media.] could bring students and orga- ping of a plant parasite’s genome by Associate Professor Rick Davis.

Oblinger discusses year

Taylor McCune
Features Editor
The Student Media Board
passed down decisions on 2009-
10 leaders for Student Media
organizations Tuesday evening.
The board approved Ty John-
son, a junior in history, for the
position of editor-in-chief of the
nizations together.”
Alston said the concert is a
tough goal to attain, but he hopes
the concert would become a “tra-
dition” on campus.
Johnson’s main goal for next
year is the newspaper’s online James Oblinger chronicles University’s Accomplishments
presence.
“Let’s not kid ourselves — on- Story By taylor mccune & james cox
line is the way of the future,”

Technician and the position of
general manager of WKNC 88.1
FM to Mike Alston, a senior in
civil engineering.
The other position in conten-
tion was that of business office
manger, and the two candidates
and the board came to an agree-
ment that split the position into
two new ones. Laura Frey, a
junior in parks, recreation in
tourism management, will fill
the position of business manager
and Charlie Weinfeld, a junior in
business administration, will be
the the sales manager.
Several of the new hires ran
for their positions unopposed.
Helen Dear, a junior in graphic
design will be the editor-in-chief
of the Windhover and Bryant
Robbins, sophomore in busi-
ness management, will be editor-
in-chief of the Agromeck. The
editor-in-chief position for the
Nubian Message has reopened for
applications.
The candidates for the posi-
tions took part in a public fo-
rum Monday night where they
answered questions about lead-
ership, expansion and budgets.
The candidates for the Techni-
cian and WKNC made their fi-
nal statements and responded to
questions from the board.
Alston presented a plan to in-
Johnson said. “The Technician
should be a 24 hour news ser-
vice.”
The editor-elect said he will
implement a Web team to over-
see online content and would like
to work with the other media
outlets on campus.
The board made the decision to
split the business manager posi-
tion, which came as a surprise to
the two candidates.
“I was surprised ... they told
us they couldn’t set their mind
on one person,” Weinfeld said.
“They decided it would be best
to have a business manager and
a sales manager.”
The new sales manager posi-
tion will oversee the sales reps
and training and the business
manager will work mainly with
the design and classifieds teams.
“I’m really glad that they made
that decision... I’m really glad
that we both get to have a part,”
Frey said.
Weinfeld said his major goal
for next year is to keep the ad
staff on track and to maintain
current advertisers through the
economic crisis. Frey said she
would focus on developing “new
marketing techniques.” The new
editors and managers will take
their positions at the conclusion
of the spring semester.
I
n front of an overwhelmingly non-
student crowd Tuesday, Chancellor
James Oblinger made his yearly
State of N.C. State speech.
Oblinger spoke mostly about the achievements of the
previous year, touching on research breakthroughs,
awards and recognitions before spending time recog-
nizing alumni and faculty who have made achievements
in the past year. He also gave a shout-out to President
Barack Obama but spoke little of the University’s pres-
ent economic state or how the administration plans
to proceed.
Instead, Oblinger asked — but didn’t answer — eight
questions about whether the University would be able
to maintain it’s history of innovation and leadership.
Michael Nguyen,a freshman in political science, did
not attend the event, but said he read the chancellor’s
speech afterward.
He said the questions Oblinger raised are questions
people wanted answers to.
“That’s why you would go see him talk, is to get an-
swers to those questions,” Nguyen said.
Aaron Vander Bee, a sophomore in German, was
another of the students who didn’t go but read the
speech later. He disagreed with Nguyen and said the
chancellor was trying to open people’s eyes with his
list of questions.
“He’s trying to raise concerns about the budget,” Bee
said.
Oblinger did mention the loss that the University
ADDRRESS continued page 3 Tim O’Brien/Technician
Chancellor James Oblinger recognizes Mathews Medal recipients at Tues-
day’s address.

Governor Bev Perdue: N.C. State is leading the nation
State of the State speech
focuses on economy,
education
James Cox
Staff Writer
In her first State of the State
address Monday, Gov. Bev Per-
due said research conducted at
the University has led to the cre-
ation of 1,000 jobs at SpiritAero
Systems.
“N.C. State is leading the na-
tion in developing lightweight
textiles that are used in the aero-
space industry,” she said.
House Majority Leader Tony
Rand said Perdue’s speech recog-
nized the great job North Caro-
lina universities do with research
and education.
“It’s fitting she choose N.C.
State,” he said.
The rest of the Perdue’s speech
focused on the economy.
“We must go after every federal
recovery dollar that is available.
We need to get that money into
North Carolina,” she said.
In the Republican response,
Senate Republican Leader Phil
Berger placed the blame entirely
on the shoulders of the Democrat
majority.
“Over the past half dozen
years, Democratic leaders in
North Carolina have adopted
state budgets that have seen
general fund spending grow by
almost 50 percent,” he said.
Berger said during the same
time, the Democrats more than
doubled the State debt.
“These rates of spending and
borrowing can not be sustained.
The current economic situation
is an opportunity to get North
Carolina’s financial house in or-
der,” he said.
In her speech, Perdue did not
give details about her budget that
will be submitted next week. She
did, however, say her budget will
cut state government programs
and services that have proven ef-
fective but ones the state “simply
cannot afford.”
She followed her statement
about cutting effective pro-
grams by saying she will increase
spending.
“Even in these tough times we
will increase per-pupil spending
in our public schools,” she said.
Berger, in response, said
throwing more money at edu-
cation won’t make the quality
better.
In addition, Perdue promised
new jobs in her address.
“We will put our people back to
work by building bridges, paving
roads and expanding and reno-
vating our infrastructure,” she
said.
To do this she called on careers
that majors at the University pre-
pare students for.
“It will take engineers, archi-
tects, contractors, technology ex-
perts and laborers of all types,”
Perdue said.
The Governor said the gov-
ernment cannot let the citizens’
dream of a better future dimin-
ish.
“We must do whatever it takes,
our own, here in North Caroli-
na, to create jobs, help displaced
workers get new jobs, and keep
families in their homes,” she
said.
Perdue also said North Caro-
lina has become a “Mecca for
biotech, pharmaceuticals, and
insidetechnician
life sciences.”
According to the Purdue,
the interaction between
government, higher educa-
tion and private business in
North Carolina allows ideas
to “springboard from the lab
into the marketplace.”
“Just look around. There’s Pack drops ball against
Quintiles, Merck, Bayer, Bio- Patriots
gen, PPD and more,” she said. wolfpack falls to george mason 4-11.
See page 8.
Perdue said she was seri-
ous when she said she would Pack sweeps doubleheader
take South Carolina’s federal See page 8.
recovery funds. “I’d drive
a truck down to pick up his Entrepreneurship Initiative
share,” she said. See page 5.
Tim Lipka, a senior in po-
litical science, said the speech
was more of a rally-the-troops
speech. viewpoint 4
“The get-down-to-work business & money 5
speech will come with the classifieds 7
budget,” he said. sports 8

Meet the
Author! Sylvia Nasar
Author of the biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind.
Stewart Theater
7:00 pm to 8:30pm
Book signing immediately following the lecture.