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By JIM GENARO
In remembering their alma mater, UNC Asheville graduates should consider the meaning of the term, which is ?®nurturing mother,?∆ Chancellor Anne Ponder told the graduating class of 2006 last Saturday morning.
Ponder addressed a crowd of about 2,000 people who had come to the school??s quadrangle to see the 580 students who received their bachelor??s or master??s of liberal arts degrees.
In addition to addressing the graduates and giving them their degrees, Ponder also presented Southern writer Doris Betts and prominent civil rights attorney James E Ferguson II with honorary doctorate degrees.
?®This day, you join the ranks of our distinguished alumni,?∆ Ponder told the graduates.
Noting that the ceremony was the day before Mother??s Day, she said, ?®As it turns out, both Mothers Day, as we call it, and the Latin term ?¥alma mater?? are primarily American terms.?∆
The phrase has historical roots going back to antiquity, Ponder noted. ?®The Romans used the term ?¥alma mater?? to refer to goddesses who bestowed nature??s bounty upon us.?∆
Now the phrase refers to the school from which one graduates. ?®Of course, UNCA has been your alma mater the entire time you??ve been with us,?∆ she added.
It can also refer to a song ?®designed to proclaim the continuity between our alumni and this university in song.?∆
Beginning from this point, Ponder analyzed excerpts of UNCA??s alma mater as the basis for her address.
?®Hail our alma mater, hail UNCA. Learning be your watchword, greatness be your way,?∆ Ponder recited.
?®Your liberal arts education here has prepared you to take your place in the world ?? to leave and embody greatness.?∆
She then read the second verse of the school??s Alma Mater. ?®High upon the mountains, in the land of sky, stands our alma mater ?? lift your voices high.?∆
In reference to Ferguson, she told the graduates, ?®The peaceful desegregation of the city of Asheville was led by the man who just received his honorary degree from UNCA.?∆
The spirit of courage and commitment to freedom that Ferguson had shown through his activism should stand as a model to the new graduates, Ponder said.
Concluding the song, she recited, ?®Noble alma mater, hear our words of praise. May we love and honor you, until the end of days.?∆
?®As you go forward from this day, I hope that you will treasure all that UNCA has taught you ... the experiences that have changed you for the good.?∆
Ponder concluded her talk by urging the graduates to ?®hear our words of praise: The love and honor you have earned here are entirely yours.?∆
Other highlights of the ceremony included:
?ÿ The presentation of the university??s Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award to Dr. Bert Holmes, the Philip G. Carson Distinguished Chair of Science and professor of chemistry. Holmes was recognized particularly for his mentoring of students and his commitment to undergraduate research.
During the presentation, an excerpt was read from one of his student??s teacher evaluations which said, ?®He will often break away from vigorous notes to explain something metaphorically to make sure that everyone understands.?∆
?ÿ The honoring of Michael A. Honeycutt, an employee at Ramsey Library, as the school??s Distinguished Staff Member of the Year.
Honeycutt??s ?®computer expertise?∆ has been a great service to students and faculty alike, Ponder said.
?ÿ The naming of Sara Mine, a political science major from Chapel Hill, as the recipient of the Manly E. Wright Award, which is presented to the student who is first in scholarship.
?ÿ The presentation of the William and Ida Friday Award for Community Service to graduate Sarah Elizabeth Hancock, a psychology major from Greensboro.
?ÿ The presentation of the A.C. Reynolds Award and the Thomas D. Reynolds Prize for Leadership and Campus Service to Brian Patrick Davis, a mass communication major from Gastonia.
Moreover, attorney Bob Sneed, representing
Mindspring, noted that the plot had been used for a landscaping and
nursery business that the previous owners had operated out of their
home.
City staff recommended approval of the project as long as
certain conditions, such as limited parking and plans that keep a
residential feel to the property, are met.
?®This could only be
used for office use, before this the property had been abandoned after
it had been used for a landscaping business,?∆ Sneed said. ?®This is not
going to change things that much.?∆
Sneed acknowledged that while the planning board voted against the proposal, their reasons were mixed.
?®Many
of them seemed to feel that in time this would happen, but this was not
the time,?∆ Sneed said. ?®I maintain that, in fact, the time is now. One
gentleman who voted for it said he did so with a heavy heart. Another
said he was worried about the intrusion of commercial zoning. There was
no clear, solid, compelling reason presented against this.?∆
He
added that the city??s 2025 plan for growth and economic development
allows for conditional zoning options such as this one, which can allow
some low-impact businesses in residential areas under certain
circumstances.
However, Barbara Melton, vice president of the
Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods and one of the authors of the 2025
plan that Sneed alluded to, said that it wasn??t the front end of the
property bordering Tunnel Road that concerns her, but rather how the
neighborhood behind it would be effected.
?®These homes are homes
that were built in the 1940s,?∆ Melton said. ?®Many of them are very
small, affordable homes and folks have been there since the house was
built. This presents the fact to us that this is what we most fear ??
intrusion into the back of the neighborhood.?∆
Furthermore, Melton said, when people buy a home in Asheville, they ?®expect to keep that zoning.?∆
While she was one of the authors of the 2025 plan, Melton asserted that this is inappropriate with its ultimate goals.
?®Yes,
there are places for certain conditions,?∆ Melton noted. ?®Yes, there are
places for businesses to be established along the borders of a
neighborhood ?? but this is not one of them.?∆
Diane Hankins, who
claimed that she has ?®mobilized?∆ the residents of the area in
opposition to the project, also asserted that the project will damage
the neighborhood. ?®It all comes down to what is good for the
neighborhood as a whole versus what is financially profitable for a
few,?∆ Hankins said. ?®This is the third time the neighborhood has come
to a community meeting to oppose this.?∆
She noted that since council
appoints members of the planning board, they should remember ?®that two
times the board has denied this request. If you appoint people with
knowledge in this field, you should listen to what they have to say.?∆
Hankins also urged council to ?®think about your neighborhoods and what we have to negotiate day after day.?∆
While
residents of the area had filed a valid protest petition, meaning at
least six members of council would have to vote for the project for it
to pass, reaction among the residents was far from unanimous, as
several of them spoke in favor of the building.
?®I??m certainly
not against this project,?∆ resident Charlie Campbell said. ?®My son
lives in this area too with his wife and family, and they??re not
against it either. We would welcome that.?∆
Carol Marnes, another resident, said the opposition to the project confused her.
?®I
drive by the current location of Mindspring and I barely notice any
people at that building,?∆ Marnes said. ?®Periodically, they will have a
group come in, but they??ll come in the morning and leave in the
evening. They won??t go out. For the most part, all you see are two
cars. They??re proposing a light-office use. I can??t imagine a use for
that area that would have less impact on the neighborhood behind.?∆
Following
the public hearing, Councilman Brownie Newman made the motion to accept
to the project, noting that he saw little negative impact from the
building.
?®I can??t see how this business will really change the
neighborhood??s character,?∆ Newman said. ?®It seems like a good project,
and with the conditions we??ve set out, I don??t see it having much
negative impact.?∆
But council did add two more conditions to the
project: An increased buffer proposed by Councilwoman Robin Cape and a
condition stating that no activity can take place there that would
require off-site parking.
?®I??d like to see us require a buffer along
there to keep this out of sight a little more from the people who are
adjacent to it,?∆ Cape said. ?®That would help retain the residential
feel there along the backside.?∆
Meanwhile, Councilman Carl
Mumpower questioned City Attorney Bob Oast if the conditional zoning
could be considered ?®spot zoning,?∆ which is illegal and involves one
particular property being zoned differently to benefit a party.
Oast
replied that since there was commercial development nearby and the
development is low impact, it is not illegal spot zoning.
Planner Julia Cogburn also answered Mumpower, noting that with conditional zoning, ?®you have to look at a broader context.
?®What
we looked at was the broader nature of the general area,?∆ Cogburn said.
?®This particular property being treated as an office with residential
design, it??s not that far from other properties of the same type. In
terms of our assessment, we felt like this was a good opportunity for
the property to be used in a way that would not be damaging to the
residential area around it.?∆
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