Eye on the Triangle

Brian Jurado 0:01
The views and opinions expressed on Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC or NC State student media. You are currently tuned into Eye on the Triangle here on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. Thank you for listening. Hello everyone I am Brian Jurado rather the Public Affairs Director here at WKNC. For today's episode of Eye on the Triangle, I am joined by Technician news editors, Abigail, Emily and Heidi. They'll be sharing some news from around the Triangle. So stay tuned to learn about cool events and stuff going on in the area. Following the weekly news, Eye on the Triangle has an interview with the great Tim Mensa. He's a University Library Specialist here at NC State. Tim will be sharing some resources found at the library as well as some lovely study spots, so stay tuned to know where to go whenever you're visiting Hill or Hunt. Also want to give a warm welcome to the new class of 2026 and I hope everyone's had a great start to their fall semester.

Abigail Ali 1:04
Hello guys, welcome back to Eye on the Triangle. This is Abigail Ali, the news editor for Technician and today I'm here with-

Heidi Reid 1:24
Hey, I'm Heidi. I'm the assistant news editor.

Emily Vespa 1:27
And I'm Emily, I'm the other assistant news editor at technician.

Abigail Ali 1:31
And today we are bringing you some news tidbits from around the Triangle area to keep you updated. We're going to get started. For our first news tidbit I'm going to be talking about Packapalooza. NC State's Packapalooza will be held on Saturday, August 27 from 2 to 10pm on Hillsborough Street. For those who don't know, Packapalooza is an annual street festival that features booths, performances and food at the end of the first week of classes for NC State. Packapalooza is one of the school's largest events. Previous years have brought in over 85,000 people, 300+ vendors, and over 40 sponsored organizations. The festival includes a concert by American Aquarium and feature Abby Lampe. There will be nine designated zones with different focuses and activities. Some examples of this include arts, Pack Pride, and KidZone. I haven't been to Packapalooza since freshman year and I am so stoked to get back to it this year. I remember being amazed by how many student organizations NC State has and being so excited to be a part of such an epic tradition. I'm so excited to attend again this year for my senior year.

Abigail Ali 1:32
Yeah, I'm really excited about Packapalooza, because I've never been and I didn't even know it was a thing until like I got an email about it or something. But I'm excited and I didn't know there were going to be so many people there and everything like that. But is Abby Lampe gonna like do some cheese rolling or something. How does that work?

Abigail Ali 3:06
She's like bringing the cheese roll that she won. It finally shipped over here. So she's going to like cut the cheese.

Heidi Reid 3:13
I wanna meet her so bad. That's so exciting.

Emily Vespa 3:16
that's really cool. Yeah,

Heidi Reid 3:17
I've never been either. So COVID Babies

Abigail Ali 3:20
COVID babies. We got to make up for lost time.

Heidi Reid 3:23
It sounds fun. So we will.

Emily Vespa 3:24
I'm really excited.

Heidi Reid 3:25
Okay, so, for our next tidbit, we're going a little bit out of the Triangle. We are going to High Point University, because they just announced that Rob Lowe is going to be giving their 2023 spring commencement speech. And Rob Lowe, we know him better as parks, Chris from Parks and Rec, I feel like in this generation. He's also like 80s, heartthrob, who's in rise, St. Elmo's, St. Elmo's Fire? Something like that. And bottom line, I'm so excited. So Rob Lowe knows the university's current president through the Horatio Alger Association, which I had never heard of before, but it inducts members on grounds of honor, integrity and perseverance, and both men are members. So yeah, and although Rob Lowe may just seem to be pretty and nothing else he will likely give graduates super inspiring insight as he is a super active philanthropist, which I did not know either. I just knew him from Parks and Rec. So that was really interesting. But he was the first male spokesperson for the breast cancer awareness day after he lost his mother to disease. And he also co-founded the Dream Foundation from I think it's like make a wish but for adults, they grant terminally ill adults their last wishes. Just super sad, but also pretty cool. Unfortunately, the commencement is private to the public. So we either have to transfer now and we have enough credits to participate and graduate, or we can wait outside the final security checkpoint and just hope he crosses paths with us.

Abigail Ali 4:43
Oh my god. That is so crazy. I didn't know he had- like I figured he was a philanthropist, but I didn't realize he had like some major foundations out here. That's so cool.

Heidi Reid 4:54
Yeah, I just knew him as like pretty, that's all I like, I feel bad about now. Because that's really cool that he's doing those things and that he's giving the speech but yeah.

Emily Vespa 5:02
Yeah, I hope his speech is like uploaded to YouTube or something, cuz I kind of want to know what he talks about. I've only like ever seen him play a role, so I don't know him like, what he's like in person as Rob Lowe.

Heidi Reid 5:13
That's a great point. NC State better step up their commencement speakers after this. I want a celebrity talking to us.

Emily Vespa 5:18
Facts. Okay, so the next tidbit is about the Durham food truck rodeo. So this is only four Sundays a year in the Durham Central Park. So you don't want to miss this upcoming date. It's on September 2nd from 2 to 4pm. And I love the name, calling it a food truck rodeo is so fun. I don't think it's actually a rodeo. But the website never explicitly said no rodeo. So I don't want to get your hopes up. But I think it's just a lot of food trucks. And it's just a great way to spend time outside and enjoy food from all the food trucks, and the event helps support the maintenance of Durham Central Park. So that's a plus and it happens rain or shine. And if you need to find out more details, they're on the Durham Central Park website. So.

Abigail Ali 6:02
Nice. I've heard of have, some places having them here in Raleigh. But I've never been to the Durham one, but I bet it's so much fun.

Emily Vespa 6:11
Yeah, it looks really pretty. Like it looks like the park is a really nice area. And I know people can bring dogs and stuff. So it looks like a nice way to you know, go try some new foods and whatever.

Heidi Reid 6:21
I really like that park, like the park is really pretty itself. I used to go there a lot. So I'm glad like the money's going to supporting that.

Emily Vespa 6:26
Yeah, I thought that was a really cool aspect of it.

Abigail Ali 6:30
Maybe we should plan to go!

Heidi Reid 6:32
Road trip to Durham.

Abigail Ali 6:33
Road trip. For my second tidbit, I'm going to be talking about how Wake County schools are looking for, looking to fill the positions of 401 teachers and even more support staff across the board kind of. According to News and absorb - observer, observer. Sorry. News and Observer, it isn't out of the norm for the school system to be out this many this time of year. And substitute teachers and temporary employees will be put in place until permanent job positions are filled. Well, I thought it would be worthwhile to also mention that Wake County's bus driver shortage is really intense right now, and is one of the highest in the state. If you're interested in becoming a teacher or working for one of the schools, I would definitely suggest looking into it and seeing where you can help out, because I'm sure it is not fun wrangling in a bunch of excited kiddos right now with not all the staff that you need. So, yeah.

Emily Vespa 7:39
Yeah, I hope they fill those. I feel like they're, even just the support staff like bus drivers, like they're so essential to the school and it's really unfortunate they don't have them. But, I guess if that's normal for this time of year, maybe they'll get them filled.

Heidi Reid 7:51
It's also kind of sad because they're like little kids, I feel like little kids like need stability if they're attending school for the first time. They don't wanna like, walk in every day and see a complete stranger or substitute teacher or whatever.

Emily Vespa 8:01
Exactly. I kind of like, was looking into being a substitute teacher, like I interviewed someone once for a article who was a sub at Wake County Schools. And he said he like, subbed in high schools and got to talk to the kids, and it was really fun. And I was like really thinking about it, because I think you only need a high school diploma and you get paid and stuff. But I don't know if I would, like I don't know if I could be like a long term sub for a class or something. But it'd be fun just like on an off day.

Heidi Reid 8:24
Now is your time apparently, to do it.

Abigail Ali 8:27
Step up Emily.

Emily Vespa 8:28
Exactly, I'm gonna go help Wake County Schools.

Heidi Reid 8:32
I could not drive a bus so if you are a bus driver, like good, like I'm so impressed.

Emily Vespa 8:35
Yeah, maybe I'll be like a lunch lady now.

Heidi Reid 8:39
All right, so you guys probably saw the Wolf Alert about this last night. But on Sunday night, a student was targeted by two armed robbers outside the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house at NC State. So these two men pulled a weapon on the victim, forcing him to get out of the car. And they attempted to steal the car but they weren't able to get away because they couldn't drive stick, they could not drive a manual transmission. And so they left the car and they took the victim's cell phone instead, stole a different car on Gorman Street, which is not far away from the fraternity house, and not only did all this happen the night before our first day of class, but it also occurred while like a lot of new students are on campus. Like I was like, on campus right before I got the notification, people were out and about. So, the Wolf Alert was sent out promptly, but the two suspects still have not been caught. So this isn't exactly big news because like, this thing kind of happens a lot around campus unfortunately, but I thought it was kind of funny. I hope the victim's okay and I hope he's okay, but I thought like, that's so funny that they couldn't get away cuz it was a stick, cuz it was manual. Like that's hysterical. Imagine being a robber, putting all that effort, doing like such a terrible thing like that, and not even be able to take the car because you can't drive stick.

Abigail Ali 9:38
Literally. Oh my god. We were in the newsroom still last night at Technician when we got the alert, and we were laughing so hard over the fact that they literally had to walk away from that situation. Like, an armed robbery. You're scaring the daylights out of all these people. And then you stall out this car and you literally have to, right after that you have to get out of the car and sit with the fact that you just embarrassed yourself that badly.

Heidi Reid 10:07
Yeah, I wouldn't want to be caught because I would be humiliated. Like, jail time aside. That's so embarrassing.

Emily Vespa 10:14
I'm just like picturing them like, usually when you picture an armed robbery like that, you picture them like speeding away, this like high speed car chase, like, just picturing them, like literally stalling out the car is so funny to me and then just being like. Oh, okay.

Heidi Reid 10:26
That poor victim who had to watch him stall out his car, like I just went through that for what.

Emily Vespa 10:29
Exactly. So the next tidbit I have is the Raleigh market. I'm planning to go there this weekend, which I'm really excited about. But it's actually every Saturday and Sunday on the State Fairgrounds from 9 to 5. And the best part is that there's free parking, because I feel like so many events in the area have very limited parking or pay parking. So it's a great free option to do on the weekend. And they have a ton of local vendors and a variety of items from vintage to handmade to like homemade or homegrown produce. And I'm really excited to check it out. But if you can't go this weekend, since it's every weekend, you can go any other weekend. But I'm really glad it's like a recurring event, because I hate missing out on fun events. And also, if I really like it, I can keep going. But yeah.

Abigail Ali 11:13
Yeah, I love the Raleigh market. I've been there a couple of times. I haven't been recently, but like, I'm glad you just reminded me because it is really cute. And it's such a fun thing to do with friends and family that are visiting, just to show them a cute little piece of Raleigh. So yeah.

Emily Vespa 11:28
Yeah, I feel like it's just a good wholesome, like, Saturday event. I'm really looking for some new plants right now. So I'm hoping I can find some plants or something there, or just something to decorate my apartment. So, I feel like they should have some good stuff.

Heidi Reid 11:40
Also, free parking is so smart. I don't know why more people don't monopolize on that. Because like, if I have to pay for parking, like, that cuts the chances that I'm gonna go in half because I hate paying for parking. So honestly, that's so smart.

Emily Vespa 11:52
Yeah, free parking is really the selling point. It's really cool.

Abigail Ali 11:54
Yeah, I like that. Well, guys, that is all we have for you this week. Thank you for joining us. And we will see you next time. Bye.

Brian Jurado 12:14
Hello, this is Brian Rallo. I'm here with Eye on the Triangle. And today I'm joined with Tim. Tim, if you want to introduce yourself.

Tim Mensa 12:21
Sure. So my name is Tim Mensa. I went to NC State between the years of 2016 and 2020. After graduating, I got a full time position here at NC State libraries. I'd actually worked part time throughout my undergrad and transitioned into a full time role once I graduated. So, I've been here for about two years now full time. Yeah.

Brian Jurado 12:43
So basically, we just kind of want to bring in to like, talk about the library services, with the new wave of students. And I feel like students that are currently enrolled, we all don't really know too much about like, what the library has to offer, other than like, your typical library like, functions, because as of like last year, which was my junior year, I was completely lost about the library, I would go in there to study but I didn't really know too much about like, what was made available until some of my friends basically like listed off that you can get iPads and like calculators and basically any resource you need. And then, after that I was basically there every day.

Tim Mensa 13:20
That's great to hear. That's kind of what we want. And you're not alone in that feeling. There are plenty of people that have pretty much gone through their entire undergrad and only up until the tail end of it that they realize the amount of resources that our library services have, outside of just, you know, checking out books and what you would come to expect. You touched on our technology lending program. So that's a really huge resource that we try to promote as much as we can. And that is a huge expansive program, where essentially students or really anyone affiliated with the university can check out, you know, a variety of technology equipment. This can range from like yeah, like you mentioned, iPads, computers, phone chargers, calculators, it can be more like hobbyist equipment, so like digital cameras, virtual reality equipment, audio production equipment, microphones, synthesizers, like a whole bunch of different type of stuff. So it's a really cool expansive range that you basically just have like, free rein to mess around with, play with. Depending on like, the frequency of which some of those items are checked out. You just may have to go through like, a special request process, which is pretty simple to do. It's listed out on our library's website, lib.ncsu.edu. But yeah, pretty much even, even with that process, it's still pretty accessible. So there's a lot of really cool like, pieces of technology that people can just kind of look at and mess around with for themselves.

Brian Jurado 14:56
Cool. I mean, I love like the tech lending program. I feel like that's such a huge component of the library that a lot of people don't know about. But also if you want to like, talk about any more of the stuff, such as the tutoring and study groups and textbook lending.

Tim Mensa 15:09
Yeah absolutely. So, kind of towards the tail end of my undergraduate experience at NC State, they were revamping a lot of the spaces in the library. So like, the Academic Success Center is like an entirely new space that does offer like, drop-in tutoring sessions, where you can basically just come in and, and have assistance at the ready, or you can schedule time to like, work with someone one on one. Kind of separate from that, but still a resource that the library offers, is one-on-one consultations. So this could range from like, research consultations, if you're working on like, you know, a huge paper or something where you need to like, curate a lot of sources, like, you can work with a librarian to kind of figure those things out. We also have what are called technology consultations. So that kind of lends itself to like, if you need help editing a video, or if you've never recorded an interview before, like, what are the pieces of equipment that we'd have that we'd be able to help you get set up with. So there's cool like, there's a lot of variety for like, the type of help that you can get there. And then obviously, we have our Ask Us desks at both Hill and Hunt Library. So there's kind of a service point on main campus and Centennial as well, which is really helpful. And our technology and consultation programs extend across both of those libraries.

Brian Jurado 16:32
I did a little bit of exploring on the library web stuff myself, and I saw that y'all do offer a lot of like, workshops, is there any workshops coming up that you kind of want to promote a little bit?

Tim Mensa 16:42
Workshops are still kind of coming back into fruition, I think, with the pandemic kind of shifting a lot of that stuff to online modes, like our Twitch channel, for example, a lot of those things got put, digitally archived that way. But I know we have what's called Making Space calendar. So these are kind of like different events that happen throughout the semester, where we'll get like, speakers and presenters come in and talk about either an artistic endeavor that they've gone through, or like their career and stuff like that. And it's kind of like, kind of like TED Talk, like, they get the chance to share, you know, their unique experiences, excuse me, their unique experiences within their career, and then, you know, the floor is opened up where people can ask questions, network, get to learn a little bit more about, you know, whatever it is that they're doing. We actually had one two days ago, it was based around Cypher University, which are the founders of the cypher groups at the free expression tunnel. So they were kind of talking about the history of hip hop and how that you know, was kind of a grassroots movement and, you know, instilling it here at this university and then at other universities across the nation, really, how that, how that kind of started. So there's a lot of cool like, events and programming coming up and we have a calendar on our website where people can check that stuff out.

Brian Jurado 18:09
you know, I was scrolling through the calendar, I mean, I feel like of like this past year, I was seeing a lot of like the TED talks or like, that kind of guest speakers kind of coming back, so that was pretty exciting to see. I'm hoping that with like, this upcoming year, we get to see a couple more.

Tim Mensa 18:23
Yeah.

Brian Jurado 18:23
Is there any past guest speakers that you really enjoyed?

Tim Mensa 18:26
Um, yeah, we've had some really cool personalities come in. So I studied communication media production when I was a student and like music production was like my huge interest and still kind of is, and we got ninth wonder who is of like, like, international acclaim, like, he's worked with like Kendrick Lamar and like Kanye West and all these people, producing beats for them, but he's local to North Carolina, like he went to school at State for like a year and then I think transferred to A&T. So like, he's very familiar with like, the Raleigh area. And just like seeing someone you know, who executes music production at that level, kind of like, be around and local still was really cool. So that's, that's definitely been one of my favorite speakers to come in.

Brian Jurado 19:16
Very cool. Um, I'm noticed especially like scrolling through the website, how many study spaces are available to students? I kind of like, knew the ones inside Hill, because that's typically where like, frequently visit, but there's a lot of like, study spaces all with like, unique chairs and designs. Is there any like, that you have a personal favorite for, that you recommend?

Tim Mensa 19:36
Let's see, when I was a student, I used to study at Hill Library. When you walk in from the Hillsborough entrance, you'll make an immediate right, and go up the stairs. And that's where the auditorium is, where a lot of people will have classes in the library. But right outside the auditorium, there's like workspaces, and I'd have to double check. I don't know if they've changed those spaces since renovating, but to my knowledge you could just study there and it like overlooked Hillsborough Street. It was, it was a really nice space. And at Hunt Library I really love the fifth floor. It's just like, all natural light. The balcony is right there. It's great for sunsets. Yeah, really nice.

Brian Jurado 20:14
Yeah, typically I've been inside like, I think it's called the bubble.

Tim Mensa 20:17
Okay, yeah.

Brian Jurado 20:18
Like right next to the coffee shop. That's typically where I went like last year, it's probably where I'll be at a lot this year. Cuz it's just kind of a nice, open space. And apparently, like you can talk to people around you. And it's a pretty nice vibe in there. But right across from it. There's also like the quiet sections.

Tim Mensa 20:32
Exactly.

Brian Jurado 20:33
It is pretty nice that the libraries kind of have like, that diversity in what communication level you want to be like, around.

Tim Mensa 20:39
Definitely.

Brian Jurado 20:39
CuzI think, for like light studying, I typically want to be like, towards like, more of an open social environment. But definitely, if I'm like 1am, trying to grind it down, I need to be fully just locked in and quiet.

Tim Mensa 20:50
Yeah, I get that. And funny you mentioned that space. It's name also doubles as the Fishbowl Forum, which is where we'll have a lot of those like, events, the event that we had with the hip hop community in the Cypher University was, was also in the Fishbowl Forum. So it's a good space to study and also just catch any cool things that are happening at the libraries.

Brian Jurado 21:11
I know this is primarily with like, the Academic Success Center, but is there like, anything you want to say about maybe assignment help that is available down in the libraries?

Tim Mensa 21:20
Yeah, so obviously, that space. And if, if people aren't aware of how to get to it, from either entrance of the library, you'll go up towards the Ask Us desk, and then you'll see flights of stairs, I believe it's one flight up. And then, behind you should be where the Academic Success Center is located. So yeah, that's obviously a great resource, our Ask Us desk too like, you know, we obviously specialize in like quick transactions and stuff like that. But if you need help with something like, there's full time, full time members like myself that are, you know, here to help figure out, you know, what you're trying to get access to, or resources to, whether that be a textbook, whether that be a different location on campus, like, whether that be, you know, printing guides and stuff like that, like we have a bunch of cool, like handouts and quick tips to get access to resources. I'll also mention more specialized spaces in the library. So like, I work in our digital media lab, which focuses on like, media production. So that can range from, you know, photography, videography, audio production, all that kind of stuff, graphic design. And then we also have our MakerSpace, which specializes in like, 3d printing and laser cutting, and like, you know, using like these analog circuit boards and stuff like that. And then we also have a virtual reality studio, which obviously focuses in VR, and augmented reality, and all these other things. So like, there's a lot of cool specialized spaces that can help you further your learning, whether it's coursework related, or just like for fun.

Brian Jurado 22:56
I feel like last year, whenever I like, went through a little bit of a laptop crisis, my laptop broke, and I kind of went into full panic mode on how I was going to complete assignments because my laptop broke during like, exam season. So I was fully in like, a crunch to like, either get a new laptop or borrow someone's laptop, and somebody did recommend the library to me. And I was like, skeptical of it at first, because I thought it was going to be a whole process with like paperwork and stuff. So I don't know, if you maybe want to like explain the borrowing process at the library for anybody that doesn't really know the process.

Tim Mensa 23:27
Yeah, for sure. So there, you know, there are things that you can do prior to coming into the library. Like if you just check our website, you can kind of see the full range of stuff that we have available. And like I said earlier, like I don't, you're definitely not the only person you know, to have that skepticism, a lot of people will like be surprised that we even have phone chargers to check out so that, that skepticism definitely ranges. But yeah, it's a really simple process, you basically just ask for something. And if we have it, we'll let you know. And if we don't have it, we'll try to give you the best steps toward getting access to that thing. Within the case of your laptop, our like, laptops we'll check out on an eight hour basis. So if you just need a laptop for the day, if you forgot it at home, if it's dead, like, you can check out one essentially for the whole day. And return it. We do have special case scenarios. And this would fall under like, submitting a special request. But if you need a laptop for like, you know, an extended period of time because of, you know, an emergency or you know, yours broke or something like that, like that process is a little more tiered. But there are still resources on campus available. And we try to point people in those directions when it's, you know, significant cases like that.

Brian Jurado 24:42
I personally recommend for everyone to maybe check out the website lib.ncsu.edu. I feel like that's where I got a lot of my information whenever I've wanted to learn more about the library, and especially to like, freshmen and to anybody in the current NC State class. I think that is a really great tool to kind of learn more about the library because I, there's honestly so many resources just made available that you didn't even know about, like it goes beyond your typical like, function of just borrowing stuff. So I'm really glad that you came in and were able to kind of explain everything a lot better than what the library or what the website would be able to do. So it's very nice to put like, a voice behind like, the program a little bit. Is there any like, in person sites that you would recommend in terms of like, if somebody was to stumble in and wanted to learn more? Where could they go?

Tim Mensa 25:35
About libraries in general or?

Brian Jurado 25:39
Just learning more about it if they're interested in doing that?

Tim Mensa 25:42
Yeah. So, our Ask Us desks are like, you know, the perfect catch all service point for that kind of stuff, general information. And if they're specified, you know, questions and stuff like that, we'll always try to point you in the direction that makes the most sense to get those answered. We also do have a chat service as well. So if you're not physically able to make it to the libraries, you can also chat in, and then we'll be happy to help you kind of, yeah, online, basically. So that's also a cool, like, added feature. And we have a phone line as well. So you know, people can always call even if it's just asking, like, what the hours are for the day, although they are like, posted on the website. But yeah, there's a bunch of different ways to kind of get in contact with library staff members, which is, which is really nice. And to kind of touch on your point about, you know, like, people like getting into the space and learning more about, you know, the different resources we have. I would also say even for me, like, especially like my freshman year, like it was really a sense of like, community there like, using shared spaces, like the digital media lab, where everyone's kind of playing and experimenting and learning outside of, you know, a classroom setting, it's much more self facilitated, kind of allows for a lot more freedom and sharing of resources. And like, that whole added layer of what libraries inherently do, but you don't really know about it, or you, you're not really aware of it until you're in it, until you're like, you know, engaging with other people in that space. So having a physical building where you know, the whole point of it is to share and talk and play is, is always, you know, really cool.

Brian Jurado 27:18
Yeah. Well, thank you for coming on today's show. I really appreciate you coming out and speaking on the libraries. This has been Brian with WKNC.

Tim Mensa 27:26
Yeah, and this is Tim signing off.

Brian Jurado 27:37
That is all for today's episode of Eye on the Triangle. I am Brian Jurado. And I once again want to thank everyone that helped create today's episode. So Abigail, Emily and Heidi, thank you for sharing your weekly tidbits and thank you to Tim as well for sitting down with us and talking about the libraries. Hope everyone has a great rest of their week. Thank you.

Brian Jurado 28:00
Music for today's episode has been Smoke Jacket Blues by Track Tribe, licensed under the YouTube Audio Library. This has been Brian Jurado from WKNC, you can listen to more Eye on the Triangle episodes on wknc.org/podcast. Thank you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai