North Carolina Newspapers

®Jjp Saily (Ear llppl BRIEFS Stories from the University and Chapel Hill Broun Discusses Growth, Crime at Tax Watch Forum Chapel Hill Mayor Ken Broun, who is running unopposed fora second term, told residents Thursday night what he hoped to accomplish in the next two years. Tax Watch, a local fiscal watchdog group, held a candidates forum in Chapel Hill Town Hall at 7 p.m. Even though Broun is running uncontested, he took the opportunity to speak for five minutes on crime control, economic growth and tran sit issues. Broun said he has enjoyed serving the people of Chapel Hill. He said he hoped to curb crime through a larger police force, drug-abuse programs and increased light ing. “(Crime) is the single thing that keeps me up at night,” he said. Economic growth is key to improving the downtown area, he said. “To improve the downtown, we’ve got to attract busi ness - ones that are consistent with what Chapel Hill looks like.” Broun said he hoped the council could in the future have more control over trans portation issues. “1 want to serve as best as I can.” BSM Selects Candidate For Homecoming Queen Senior Maleikka Hardy was named “Ms. Black Student Movement” Friday at the BSM Coronation Ball in Great Hall. Hardy will go on to compete for the title of Homecoming Queen, which will be an nounced at halftime of the UNC-Wake Forest football game Oct. 9. Hardy and other contestants went through an application and interview pro cess before members of the BSM voted to elect Hardy. Forthepastthree years, theBSM candi date has gone on to become the Homecom ing Queen. Candidates Needed in Two Congress Districts Applications for Student Congress rep resentatives are due Monday, Sept. 27, but at this point no applications have been turned in for District 22 or District 4. The undergraduate off-campus area that makes up District 22 includes the area north and west of the intersection between Columbia and Franklin streets. Estes Park and Highland Hills are two apartment com- I pTexesTocafedin tfus district. If no students apply before the deadline, there will be a write-in ballot, said Melinda Manning, elections board chair. District 4, a graduate district that in cludes the School of Journalism and School of Business, also has received no student applications. “There is often a low response for gradu ate districts compared with undergraduate districts,” said Manning. Students in these districts are encour aged to apply. Applications, which are available in Suite C of the Student Union, are due by 5 p.m. Monday. Art Museum Presents Children's Story Hour UNC’s Ackland Art Museum will present a special story-hour extravaganza Oct. 3 as part of the annual Festifall cel ebration, sponsored by the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department. Area artists, writers and other local per sonalities will read stories they have cho sen relating to the artwork commemorat ing the Bicentennial Observance. “We feel that the stories will prove in teresting to both children and adults,” said Beth Shaw, Ackland educatorfor outreach. The stories tell of the historic commu nity of Chapel Hill and the University in relation to the displayed artwork. Wallace Kuralt, owner of the Intimate Bookshop, for example, will read a piece on former UNC Chancellor Frank Porter Graham. The readings, which last about 30 min utes, will be held between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., beginning on the hour. Call the mu seum for a schedule. The free public program will be held in the museum. Seating is limited; tickets will be distributed 20 minutes before each read ing. Ackland is on South Columbia Street near the Franklin Street intersection. For information, call (919) 962-3343 (voice) or (919) 962-0837 (TDD/Teletypewriter). Continuing Education Gets New Staff Members The University’s Division of Continu ing Education announced the addition of two new staff members to its personnel. Cheryl Kemp will serve as assistant di rector for student services and academic adviser to students in the continuing stud ies program, specializing in the division’s academic credit programs. Kemp’s task is to provide support to all enrolled students through continuing stud ies and correctional education. Annette Parker enters the division as a continuing education specialist. Parker is involved in the Community Courses Pro gram, which includes numerous general interest courses offers to the community, such as literature, philosophy, computers and careers. In addition to community programs, Parker will administer several scheduled conferences and develop programs show casing the University’s academic strengths in science and technology. Discrimination Policy May Include Sexual Orientation BY JENNIFER AYRES STAFF WRITER The UNC system’s nondiscrimination statement soon might include protection on the basis of sexual orientation. A resolution passed by the UNC Asso ciation of Student Governments will go before the Board of Governors next month, and a decision could be announced as early as December. Derrick Griffith, president of the ASG and former UNC-Charlotte student body president, said discrimination based on sexual orientation was an issue the BOG should address. “I think the board needs to understand issues of diversity. If it’s important to students, it needs to be addressed,” he said. In March, the Political Action Commit tee for Equal Rights submitted a resolution to the UNC-CH Student Congress sup porting a change to the UNC-CH nondis v SfeJßfet iIMF >^/^ H | DTH/KATRINA WTTTKAMP Jeff Arndt of Maynor and Hennessey Construction patches the Playmakers Theatre columns Thursday afternoon as part of Bicentennial restorations. Chase Hall to Improve Service After Hearing Food Complaints From South Campus Residents BY JIFFER BOURGUIGNON STAFF WRITER Carolina Dining Service officials have made several changes in Chase Dining Hall after a recent meeting with several South Campus residents. South Campus area governors told CDS about complaints that had been voiced during an earlier meeting, said Hinton James Area Governor Matt Mecham. “We had initially gotten together to discuss a South Campus semiformal. But the dining hall issue kept coming up,” Mecham said. Asa result of the discussion, a letter was drafted, telling the Chase management that students resented the longlines, inadequate staffing, high prices and poor food quality, Mecham said. The students received an almost imme diate response. "We were contacted a few days after the letter was sent. The manag ers had already had a meeting and had notes on ways to eliminate the problems before meeting with us,” Mecham said. Chris Derby, CDS manager, said, “We are disappointed when our service is at the point where customers must write letters. It does, however, help us focus on how we can improve.” The meetingbetween the student gover nors and dining hall staff prompted several improvements, including having three cash registers open at all times to shorten lines and closing at 2:30 p.m., rather than 2, to allow those returning from mid-afternoon classes extra time for lunch. “Our main problem focuses on our lim ited number of staff members, ’’ Derby said. “For the next few weeks, we will be going on a hiring blitz, advertising in Chase and also in residence halls,” he said. Generally, two-thirds of the staff con sists of students, Derby said. “Thisyearwe have more positions available than we have interested students. Hopefully our recruit- UNIVERSITY & CITY crimination statement. PACER is a spe cial-interest organization at the University that focuses on eliminating discrimination. Philip Charles-Pierre, chairman of the Stu dent Congress Student Affairs Committee, presented the resolution. Congress passed the resolution 11-10 after former Speaker Jennifer Lloyd cast a tie-breaking vote. The ASG plans to present the resolution to the BOG next month, PACER Presi dent Caroline Heller said Thursday. Once presented, the issue will be discussed in committee for 30 days. If the committee decides to bring the resolution before the full board, it will do so at the November meeting, and voting will take place at the December meeting. Speculation varied on whetherthe BOG would pass the resolution. The BOG is relatively easy to work with, Griffith said. “I see no reason why the board would not pass this resolution,” he said. However, Charles-Pierre said he was Touch-Up “Chase is so crowded. Lines are often 30 minutes long and that doesn ’t include the line at the cashier. By the time you sit down to eat, your food is cold. ” MAGGIE MILLHOLLAND Hinton James resident ing efforts will help solve our staff defi ciency.” A larger staff would allow for a greater number of personnel on duty just before the dinner rush, food to be served faster, and the cashiers at the registers at all times. The larger staff in itself would improve efficiency 100 percent, Derby said. CDS also has set up a liaison group made up of a few students from each resi dence hall on South and Mid Campus to work with Marriott to improve the Chase dining service. The group will work to keep the staff aware of student views. “The managers and staff have been very receptive to our needs and have shown interest in serving the students and concern about their views and complaints,” Mecham said. Students say Chase definitely needs the improvements. “I was ready to write to the managers myself,” said Maggie Millholland, a freshman who lives in Hinton James. “Chase is so crowded. Lines are often 30 minutes long and that doesn’t include the line at the cashier. By the time you sit down to eat, your food is cold.” Freshman Robert Yount has opted to eat at Lenoir, despite the distance from his Hinton James suite on South Campus. “The distance is an inconvenience,” Yount said, “but the service and the food are much better at Lenoir.” not as optimistic. “I think they’re going to have a tough fight with it. It’ll really test the waters with the BOG,” he said. Heller said she thought the resolution would meet little opposition. “I don’t think there will be serious problems with it,” she said. “People realize (sexual orien tation) is not relevant to academic ability or job performance.” UNC-CH already has a policy against discrimination based on sexual orienta tion in a chancellor’s statement issued by Chancellor Paul Hardin. However, a state ment is in effect only as long as the chancel lor is in office, Heller said. If a systemwide resolution were passed protecting sexual orientation, the problem of expiring chancellors' statements could be alleviated, Heller said. “It’s something important that needs to be protected,” she said. “We need to make it uniform, to put in front of all 16 schools. Only eight schools cover it now.” Some Local Parents Say School Board Has Not Responded to Their Needs BY KRISTEN IANEY STAFF WRITER After a heated Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board ofEducation meeting Monday night, some local parents said this week they were enraged that the school board was not responsive to their needs. Judy Williams, a parent in the district, said that when she moved to the area several years ago, she had decided to live in Chapel Hill because of the area schools’ good reputation. Williams said she hoped this year’s school board elections would help. Three seats on the seven-member board are open. “I imagine I’ll be home-schooling next year, unless three new people, who are good, are elected,” she said. “Even if 90 percent of the parents didn’t want a policy, (the school board) would still implement it. “The school board doesn’t really care about the individual student.” Local parent Robert Alexander is presi dent of Putting Children First, a nonprofit organization of about 100 area parents that formed to advance the education and well being of students. “They have totally shut the communi cation lines between the community and the board,” he said. Unresponsiveness, especially on the is sue of the sexual-orientation clause in the district’s multicultural plan, is one of the board’s major problems, he said. The multicultural plan would teach stu dents about tolerating people of different cultures. Many parents have spoken against the sexual-orientation clause, arguing that teaching students about homosexuality should take place in the home. Louise Cole, who also is a member of Putting Children First, said she hoped three more responsible residents would be elected to the board in November. “The board needs to become responsive and become responsible to the people who elected them to school board,” she said. Board member Ken Touw said that during board meetings, time was allotted for public comment. He added that parents should remem ber the school board also had to accom plish all of the business on its meeting Please See RESPONSE, Page 7 Eight Residents Focus on Children At Tax Watch Candidates’ Forum BY BILL BLOCKER STAFF WRITER Concern for the community’s children and the need for cooperation between par ents and the local schools was the focus of candidates for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board ofEducation. Tax Watch, a local fiscal watchdog group, sponsored the fomm, which was held Thursday night in Chapel Hill Town Hall. Phyllis Lotchin, a North Carolina Central University English professor, mod erated the fomm, which lasted about an hour. Candidates were given an opportu nity to make personal statements and an swer questions prepared by Tax Watch. Eight candidates are running for three open seats on the seven-member board. Each of the candidates attended the fomm. Local attorney Grainger Barrett said he had a personal stake in the system because he had four children enrolled in the schools. Barrett said that although the system had a dedicated core of teachers and parents, its weakness was the leadership of the school board. “It is reacting to crises and controversy,” he said. “It needs to get outside the board room and in the community. I believe that a good education can make kids lifelong learners.” UNC student and community activist LaVonda Burnette said the school system needed to be more inclusive. “I believe that all children were created equal,” she said. “We have a town of incredible resources. Housekeepers’ Case To Be Class-Action Suit STAFF REPORT An administrative law judge mled Wednesday that the UNC Housekeepers could sue die University as a group. Judge Brenda Becton of the state Office of Administrative Hearings officially certi fied the suit as class-action in Raleigh. Mark Dorosin, legal assistant to house keepers’ lawyer Alan McSurely, said the decision was almost unprecedented in the University’s grievance process. “The decision is really groundbreaking in this context,” he said. "It’s very uncom mon at this level.” The University had refused to hear the case as a class-action suit in the previous three steps of the grievance procedure, Dorosin said. “The University prefers to deal with these issues with one person at a time so they don’t have to confront the broader policy issues,” he said. The seven-member Housekeepers’ Steering Committee will represent more than 400 University employees in the case, Dorosin said. In her decision, Becton writes, “There Most Candidates Agree Board Should Listen to Concerns BYKRISTENLANEY STAFF WRITER Most of the eight candidates running for a seat on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education echoed local par ents’ complaints that one of the board’s most pressing problems was its unre sponsiveness. Write-in candidate Richard Kryder said there was no question that the board was unresponsive to parents’ thoughts, especially when talking about the sexual orientation clause in the school’s multicultural education plan. The clause, if implemented, would mean that students throughout the sys tem would learn to tolerate people of different sexual orientations. The clause has sparked debate among local parents who do not think children should learn about homosexuality in school. “A lot of people stood up to speak (at the Monday night board meeting), and the board continues to stonewall. They sit and listen politely, but nothing gets done,” Kryder said. If elected, Kryder said he would try to revise the multicultural plan and try to have some dialogue between the board and the plan’s opponents. Candidate David Miles said he thought the board could set up another meeting time specifically to address par ents’ concerns or start a community hotline for parents to call in their com plaints. “The board won't talk to the public, ” he said. “There has to be some method to allow for communication.” Billy Bevill, school board candidate, also said the board was not listening. “The multicultural plan was a wake up call for parents,” he said. Bevill said he removed his children from the system and had turned to home schooling because he thought the board was trying to teach children about mor als instead of academics. To improve the situation, the board We need to mobi lize those re sources. If elected to the school board, I will bring a fresh new per spective that has never been felt on the school board.” Carrboro resi dent Billy Bevill said he was con cerned about the school board’s ac- ELECTION'93 Chapel Hill- Cantoro School Board countability and that the board was trying to teach students values through its multicultural curriculum. The multicultural education program, which includes a sexual-orientation clause, would teach stu dents throughout the system about tolerat ing cultural differences. “Recent events have shown we have a school board that’s not in touch with a certain sector,” he said. “I have been very open on who should teach values to our children and that is the parents. “I want to see the board accountable for every decision it makes.” School board Chairwoman Mary Bushnell, who is seeking re-election and has served on the board for six years, said the school system’s main weakness was that all of the children were not reached. “I’ve always believed that public school education is our children’s best chance,” she said. “I have every reason to want the school board to be the very best it can be. I Friday, September 24,1993 are over 400 members of the class. This large number, and the possibility and fear of employer reprisal make joinder of all members impracticable.” The seven housekeepers will represent “all African-American UNC-CH house keepers in pay grades 50 and 52 and Afri can-American UNC-CH employees in pay grades 50,51 ands2,”accordingtoßecton’s decision. The housekeepers have taken their griev ance through the first three steps of the University’sgrievancepolicy. The hearing with Becton, set to begin Nov. 29, marks the fourth and final step. Marsha Tinnen, a member of the steer ing committee, said most housekeepers she had talked to supported the suit. “They’re glad that it’s happening, espe cially the people that have been here a long time,” she said. “It means that we all can be there to gether and voice our opinion about what we went through,” she said. “The things that are happening to black people on this campus need to stop.” should hold quarterly forums with pub lic input to better hold the administra tion accountable for its actions, Bevill said. University student and board candi date LaVonda Burnette said she thought electing three decisive leaders would improve the board’s reputation. “Their job is to serve the parents’ and students’ concerns. They owe that to the public, to not only listen but to hear what the people are saying,” she said. “The board acts as if these policies are carved in stone, and they are not.” Candidate Mark Royster said that sometimes the board listened more care fully than it did at other times. Board meetings should be televised to help parents be more informed, and board members need to listen actively to the parents, he said. “We need to be able to work in peace and harmony,” Royster said. Bea Hughes-Wemer, candidate for the board, said she also thought the board meetings should be televised. “I’m not sure whether or not that (the board’s unresponsiveness) is true, but that’s certainly the appearance,” Hughes-Wemer said. “It should be a good school system forthe vast majority of children.” Candidate Grainger Barrett said he wouldn’t consider the board unrespon sive but added that the board could do a much better job in respecting different viewpoints. He added that the board’s formalized meeting structure was not a good chan nel for open communication. “We can’t solve frustrations in a day or a month, but we must start having dialogue.” School board Chairwoman Mary Bushnell, whoisseekingre-election, said she thought board members listened to parents’ complaints. “We do listen to what people say, and we try when possible to incorporate their ideas.” will work very hard for a challenging cur riculum for every child.” Chapel Hill resident Bea Hughes- Wemer said she was running because she loved children and was concerned about their safety in the school system. “I want to talk about student safety, not student civility,” shesaid. “Ithinkwemust make the school board more accessible to the public. I will work to ensure that our teachers will be treated as the professionals they are.” Write-in candidate Richard Kryder, a former elementary school teacher, said the school board needed to redirect the com munity toward academic excellence. “Our largest and best resource are people working in the schools and parents. I really believe our schools in Chapel Hill can be the best in the nation.” Candidate David Miles said the school board should stick to basic academics. “In order to compete in the 21st cen tury, the things our schools have to do is to create the foundation (for learning), ” Miles said. “I’mnot in favor ofjumping into new programs that have not been proven.” Mark Royster, former chairman of the school’s Blue-Ribbon Task Force that stud ied ways to provide all students with a well rounded education, said the board should try to cooperate better with teachers and parents. “I have been strengthened in my belief that all children can learn,” he said. “Our job is to help children believe in them selves.” 3