UNC-system happenings, Jan. 27-31

N.C. A&T will celebrate 54th anniversary of sit-ins today

N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University is planning to hold a 54th anniversary celebration for the Greensboro sit-ins today.

The sit-ins took place in 1960, when N.C. A&T freshmen Franklin McCain, David Richmond, Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) and Joseph McNeil refused to move from the white-only lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth department store.

The two surviving members of the ‘A&T Four’, McNeil and Kazan, will be in attendance. The event is dedicated to Franklin McCain’s honor, who passed away Jan. 9.

Former U.S. Rep. Eva M. Clayton, the first African-American woman to represent North Carolina, will be presented with this year’s Human Rights Medal at the event. She will also be the guest speaker.

“The decision to honor Clayton was made by a committee from the public,” said Samantha Hargrove, a spokeswoman for the university.

“Our aim was to honor someone who has fought for social justice. Clayton has continued to do this both in her political and civic life.”

UNC School of the Arts will add sales tax to performances

The UNC School of the Arts will be required to add sales tax to the price of performances, due to legislation passed by the N.C. General Assembly this summer.

The combined sales tax and local sales tax on food plans will raise student tickets by 6.75 percent.

The tickets to theatrical performances, films and exhibits have increased from $13 to $13.88 for students and $15 to $16 for people without a student ID.

The change in policy took effect Jan. 1.

Specifics of the law are still being clarified to see if special events, like festivals, will be exempted.

The new legislation also puts a sales tax on meal plans. The UNC-system Association of Student Governments had passed a resolution calling for the reinstatement of meal plans’ tax-exempt status.

UNC School of the Arts is a performing arts school for dance, music, filmmaking, drama and design and production.

UNC-C student body president placed on probation

The Student Government Association of UNC-Charlotte voted almost unanimously to put Student Body President Brady Nails on probation as he started his second semester in office.

The decision came after allegations that Nails has been uninterested in his position, with the association commenting that his performance thus far has been poor.

Nails vetoed the probation act on Thursday, but student government overturned his veto.

Now, executive meetings will be recorded and made available to anyone who requests them, and many of Nails’ privileges will be revoked, including his use of the Presidential Parking Pass and the student government iPad.

Nails said student government should be able to review his performance, but he was not consulted prior to the decision to pass the probation act.

“They should have talked to us rather than rushing through this legislation, which is impossible to thoroughly enforce,” he said.

Student Body Vice President James Shaw said he supports Nails’ decision to veto the probation because it is too broad.

ECU professor “Dr. Venom” featured on UNC-TV

Dr. Sean Bush was highlighted on UNC TV’s “N.C. Now” segment last week.

Bush, known as Dr. Venom, joined the ECU Brody School of Medicine in July 2013 as an emergency doctor and a professor.

“Everything was good in California but I was looking for a new challenge and the snakes here presented that,” Bush said in the segment.

Bush is an expert on the treatment of bites and stings. He has been featured in televised documentaries on numerous networks, including National Geographic, PBS and Animal Planet.

He moved to the state from California because North Carolina leads the nation in copperhead snake bites.

Bush is best known on television as a featured guest on Animal Planet’s former show, “Venom ER.”

Bush was also an expert advisor on snakebite medicine to the White House Medical Unit from 2001-09.

“Snakes can be dangerous, even deadly, but I don’t think snakes are innately evil, they’re just a snake,” he said on the UNC-TV segment.