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+2B Sunday, April 27, 2014 A The News & Observer

aonlineexcerptHistory profs sendletter calling formore accountabilityA second group of UNC-

Chapel Hill professors hassigned a letterto ChancellorCarol Folt call-ing for moreanswers andaccountabilityin the wake ofthe long-run-ning academicfraud scandal.Twenty-two

professors –nearly half of

UNC’s History Department –have signed the letter sent toFolt on Thursday. A 23rdsignee is an adjunct professorfrom another department.The letter comes three

weeks after a group of 32retired faculty members senta similar letter.The history professors said

they are “grateful for the stepsyou have taken for reform andgreater transparency” and forbringing in Kenneth Wainstein,a former high-ranking U.S.Justice Department official, toconduct a new investigation.But they said they agreed withconcerns raised by the retiredfaculty about the need for moreinformation about the originsof the scandal, the athleticconnections to it, and why itstayed secret for so long.They also called for “an end

to the systemic temptation tomaintain the athletic eligi-bility of underprepared stu-dents by academic fraud.”They cited an Athletic De-partment strategic plan thatlists goals of finishing top 3 inthe conference and top 10nationally in each sport, bothin athletics and academics.“Are these goals truly compat-ible? Which are the mostimportant and which willbring the most rewards tocoaches? What will be therole of the athletes’ specialadmissions program inachieving them?” they wrote.They said whistle-blower

Mary Willingham’s resigna-tion last week creates a per-ception of retaliation amongsome “conscientious obser-vers,” and they recommendedthe university respond withan “aggressive effort to answ-er questions” and by prompt-ly complying with requestsfrom the media and others forpublic information.Folt said in a statement

released late Thursday thatshe “value(s) the perspectivesof our faculty and welcome(s)their input.”“Their recognition of the

real progress we continue tomake on reforms is credit tothe efforts of many faculty,staff and students and is trulyappreciated,” she said. “I alsoknow that many questionsremain, which is why we haveasked former U.S. attorneyKenneth L. Wainstein tofollow the facts and take thesteps necessary to addressthe questions left unansweredduring previous reviews. Wewill make the findings of hisinquiry public.”The History Department

includes one of the moreprominent critics of the uni-versity’s handling of the scan-dal – Jay Smith, who is co-authoring a book about itwith Willingham. Smithsigned the letter.Smith’s efforts to improve

academic integrity at UNCpredate the scandal. Shortlyafter the scandal becamepublic, he started a reformgroup to press the universityto provide more information.On Thursday, Smith became

UNC’s second consecutiverecipient of the Drake Group’sannual award for speaking outagainst academic corruptionlinked to college sports. Hereceived the Robert MaynardHutchings Award during aluncheon in Columbia, S.C., atthe College Sport ResearchInstitute’s annual conference.“It is the mission of the

Drake Group to defend peoplelike Jay Smith who are merelydoing what they are supposedto do – defending academicintegrity in the nation’s uni-versities,” said Ohio Universityprofessor and Drake Grouppresident-elect David Ridpathin a news release.Willingham received the

award last year.

Read more like this:www.newsobserver.com/

investigations.

Dan Kanewrites forthe N&O’sInvestiga-tions Blog.

Crash linked toFacebook postHIGH POINT Police believe a

Clemmons woman who was killedwhen she crashed her car into atruck Thursday was postingpictures and text to her Facebookpage while driving.High Point police say Courtney

Ann Sanford, 32, was killed whenher car crossed the median onBusiness Interstate 85 andcollided with a truck hauling arecycling bin.Lt. Lee Lanier said Sanford’s

cellphone indicated her last postwas at 8:33 a.m. Thursday, oneminute before the wreck wasreported.Lanier said a look at her

Facebook account showed Sanfordhad taken pictures of herself andposted them while driving.Investigators also said Sanfordwrote, “The happy song makes meHAPPY,” but Lanier said it wasn’tclear whether she was referring tothe hit song by Pharrell Williams.ASSOCIATED PRESS

Couple head to N.Y.for same-sex weddingSALISBURY A North Carolina

lesbian couple is headed to NewYork for their wedding day.Tamara Sheffield and Maryja Mee

of Salisbury boarded a train Sat-urday for New York City, where theyplan to be married on Sunday.Their plans are being helped

along with $5,000 from theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,which held a contest that drew400 entries. The ACLU is givingmoney to five couples living instates where marriage for same-sex couples is banned.Sheffield and Mee have been a

couple since meeting in college24 years ago and have becomeactivists in the quest to legalizesame-sex marriage in NorthCarolina. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Grandfather chargedin child’s death

FAYETTEVILLE Police inFayetteville have charged thegrandfather of a 7-year-old boywith involuntary manslaughterafter an accidental shooting at the

man’s home.Authorities also charged David

Nathaniel Richardson, 52, withmisdemeanor failure to secure afirearm. He was released from jailFriday on a $6,000 secured bond.It was unclear whether Rich-ardson has an attorney.According to police, Jaylean

Richardson was in a bedroomwith other children on Fridaywhen he found the .22-caliberrifle. Police won’t say whether theboy was playing with the rifle orhe dropped it and it fired. Authori-ties said Richardson was at homeat the time.Jaylean was taken to Cape Fear

Valley Medical Center, where hedied. ASSOCIATED PRESS

3 killed in 3-car crashon U.S. 701

WHITEVILLE The N.C. High-way Patrol says three people are

dead after a multi-car wreck southof Whiteville.Troopers say a driver couldn’t

complete a pass in a no-passingzone on U.S. 701 Friday night andtried to get back into the lane.That car hit the fender of thevehicle in front of it, causingFurley James Brown, 78, to losecontrol and collided with anoncoming car.Brown died in the collision.Two children in the other car,

Brenda Inez Acosta, 13, andBrittany Marie Long, 8, also werekilled.Three teenagers in the car try-

ing to make the pass sufferedminor injuries. ASSOCIATED PRESS

6th District candidateto sue rival’s PAC

GREENSBORO A Republicancontender for the 6th Congres-sional District seat says he intends

to sue the super PAC backing oneof his rivals.The News & Record of Greens-

boro reports Bruce VonCannonhas filed notice that he intends tosue Keep Conservatives United,which is supporting RepublicanPhil Berger Jr. The application tofile a complaint of libel was filedFriday in Wake County SuperiorCourt.VonCannon campaign strategist

Carter Wrenn says the PAC makesfalse claims in a recent ad, whichcalls VonCannon an “internationalbanker for the Chinese.”The PAC continued to run the

ad after being told of VonCannon’scomplaints.Bob Harris, treasurer of Keep

Conservatives United, told Von-Cannon’s attorneys in an emailthat the ad is accurate.Harris had no additional com-

ment in responding to an email.ASSOCIATED PRESS

aManteotoMurphy

JEFF SINER - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

GageWilliams, 4, reaches out to get the autograph ofCharlotteKnights left fielder JaredMitchell before theteam’s game with the Durham Bulls onWednesday at the newly built BB&TBallPark in uptown Charlotte.The Knights defeated the Bulls 9-1.

A KNIGHT OUT AT THE BALLGAME

RALEIGH The N.C. Symphony’sprogram Friday in Meymandi Con-cert Hall was a lesson in the rangeof responses music can evoke. Thatthe conductor, orchestra and solo-

ist were all in peakform made thatlesson enjoyableand educational.After a tightly

sprung Overtureto “Coriolan,” Beethoven’s 1807piece for a play about a Roman gen-eral, conductor Grant Llewellynwas joined by the eminent, award-

winning pianist, Yefim Bronfman,for Beethoven’s Piano ConcertoNo. 2. This 1795 work, composedseveral years before ConcertoNo. 2but published later, shows its Clas-

sical period roots.Mozart’s influence isevident, and thereare only a few indica-tions of Beethoven’slater, d i s t inct ivestyle.Conduc to r and

pianist resisted anyurge to make the piece into laterBeethoven. Llewellyn set the moodwith the first movement’s gentlylilting introduction, followed byBronfman’s clear, precise fingeringthat avoided showy display whilekeeping the tone light and teasing.For the lovely second movement,

Bronfman’s crystalline playing wasachieved with almost impercepti-ble gestures, the quiet, simple mel-ody mesmerizing. In the perkythird movement, Bronfman al-lowed himself little head tilts butotherwise economically spun outthe jaunty runs and trills. Llewel-lyn’s sensitive accompanimentmade the whole work a small butbrilliantly faceted gem.As if to prove that he could play in

an entirely different way, Bronfmanoffered an encore, the finale of Pro-kofiev’s Sonata No. 7. It was brash,percussive and dissonant but im-pressively controlled, bringing theaudience to its feet again to ac-knowledge Bronfman’s extraordin-ary talents.The encore signaled the com-

plete change of atmosphere with

Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6. Pre-miered in 1947, it easily suggeststhe composer’s reaction to SecondWorld War and the coming Sovietregime. The first movement’s win-tery landscape is blasted open by acacophonous battle; the second’snostalgic melody is suddenly dom-inated by clockwork rigidity; thethird is a continuing battle betweena defiantly happy tune and ominousdark rumblings.Llewellyn’s championing of this

rarely programed work was evidentin his firm grasp of every shifting sec-tion, urging the brass to their fiercestand the strings to their most heart-felt. His conviction paved the way toan appreciation of Prokofiev’s harsh,weary worldview.

Dicks: music_theater@lycos.com

Pianist, symphony honor Classical BeethovenBronfman playsConcerto No. 2

with simple verve

By Roy C. DicksCorrespondent

Bronfman

Concertreview

Not unlike the scene inside thetents at the Lincoln Center duringNew York Fashion Week, the vibeoutside N.C. State’s Art2Wear fash-ion show on Friday night was fre-netic.Evening thunderstorms moved

the annual student show from itsoriginal outdoor setting on StaffordCommons inside to a ballroom inthe sleek new Talley Student Un-ion. In the corridors outside theballroom, student models stood be-decked in fanciful paper sculpturescreated by first-year design stu-dentswhile the crowdpressed up tothe doors, thosewithout tickets try-ing to slip into the sold-out show.Once seated, the audience was

treated to an opening act of thefashion collections created for theCharleston Fashion Week Emerg-ing Designer Competition alongwith a video presentation of plant-inspired designs by students in theschool’s Prague Institute studyabroad program. The show was or-ganized by N.C. State professor,Art2Wear co-adviser and “ProjectRunway” alum Justin LeBlanc andstudent Rebecca Walker.The main show, a collaboration

between the university’s colleges of

design and textiles, featured 10 col-lections of six to eight looks by adozen student designers, with ani-mated shorts by design studentspeppered between. Though facultyadvisers consult, the show – fromthe designs to the direction – iscompletely student-run.Katie Scheuerle, a junior, was di-

rector of this year’s show.“Having the opportunity to col-

laborate with so many incrediblestudent designers and profession-als – graphic designers, photogra-phers, fashion designers, videogra-phers and marketers – was amaz-

ing,” Scheuerle said.The collections, all created to fit

the show’s theme of AcceleratedEvolution: Speed, ran the gamutfrom gauzy, feminine dresses by de-signer Sara Clark to futuristic,spacey pieces in white and metal-lics from designers Sara Moon andAllison Comer.Several designers utilized uncon-

ventional materials to create dra-matic looks. Kara Walker used bro-ken CDs to create a metallic, holo-graphic effect on vividly-coloreddresses, and Kaitlyn Sulser andLauren Vance draped a slinky eve-

ning gownwithmetal chain to stun-ning effect.Perhaps most dazzling, though,

was the final collection – Sklo, bysenior Sydney Smith. The sculptur-al designs were made with fabricand stained glass. The final look, anintricate two-piece ensemble withan angular, geometric glass top anda surprisingly fluid glass chainmailskirt, ended the show on a highnote. Smith, who aspires to be acostume designer, said the finalshow was the culmination of ayears - l ong assoc i at i on wi thArt2Wear.“ I have been attending the

Art2Wear shows since I was just afreshman in high school,” she said.“This event, andwhat it represents,has been amajor impact in my life.”By the end, most in attendance

forgot Art2Wear was a studentshow. The event was on par withthe shows one would experienceduring fashion week.“My goal was to create an event

that entertains, inspires and inter-ests the audience, while at the sametime showcasing the incrediblework of our student designers,”Scheuerle said. “My favorite part ofArt2Wear, other than collaboratingwith my peers, is the impact it cre-ates on the community.”

Art and fashion blend seamlessly at NCSU showStudents put on

stunning show despitestormy weather

By Jennifer BringleCorrespondent

ROBERT WILLETT - rwillett@newsobserver.com

Sarah Hardison, left, models a design by Elizabeth Macias, andShannon Ryan, right, models a design by Monique Kowalik atArt2Wear Fashion Show on Friday at N.C. State University in Raleigh.

OnlineGallery: See more photos and videofrom the show with this story atnando.com/fashion.