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2 Thursday, January 21, 1999 High Court Hears Redistricting Case By Holly Neal Staff Writer The U.S. Supreme Court heard argu ments Wednesday concerning the con stitutionality of the second version of North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District, first approved in March 1997. The second version, which was drawn after the original district lines were declared unconstitutional on the basis of race in 1996, was intended to become effective with the 1998 con gressional elections. But that version was also declared unconstitutional in April 1997, and state legislators scrambled to draw a third version, which was used in last year’s elections. The dispute began after the 1990 cen sus when the N.C. General Assembly redrew the 12 congressional districts, creating two black-majority districts in 1992 - the Ist and the 12th. Opponents of the plans have claimed the redistricting gives preference to minority candidates. Walter Dellinger, the state’s attorney and a professor in Duke University’s PRECINCT From Page 1 body to express more interest before it made any moves. Thomas said students had difficulty finding transportation to off-campus polling sites, which are spread through out Chapel Hill. Campus residence halls TRIAL From Page 1 breaks in the trial to go before micro phones outside the room and make their points in person. Get Your Foot in the Door with Internships! MM I Wed., Jan. 27,1999 • Great Hall • lIAM - 3pm li MmbL bring multiple copies of your resume NEED HELP WITH A RESUME? Come to UCS, 211 Hanes from 10am - 3pm for help. BjNHKfe, NEED ASSISTANCE DUE TO A DISABILITY? Call 962-6507 for more information. Sponsored by UNIVERSITY CAREER SERVICES Division of Student Affairs I BL A* , ~ jL’* ■ , a- <* * M B. B. I b 5 Ab’ 1 ' A Jr * M Wm W&ffk \ /! \ W a Jr UJJ JSSt jmH < \ \ 4p| ggfm M School of Law, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reverse the lower court’s decision calling the second version of the district unconstitutional. Robinson Everett, also a professor in Duke’s law school, argued that the court should uphold that decision. Dellinger said the state was appealing to use the second version of the district in the 2000 elections because the plan was drawn fairly. He said that while the legislature was aware of the racial implications, the pri mary basis of the second drawing was election results. “The state’s argument was that race was not the predominate criterion used in drawing the plan,” Dellinger said. “I think this is a district in which an African-American has a good chance of being elected, but that doesn’t make it unconstitutional.” Democratic Rep. Melvin Watfiwho represents North Carolina’s 12th District, said he was open to using the second drawing of his district. “I thought the drawing argued about today made sense, was legal and was not unconstitu tional,” Watt said. “And if that was the alone are divided into four different precincts, she said. But Thomas said current state law prohibited the creation of satellite polling sites, except in cases where it makes voting easier for the elderly or disabled. A bill adding an exception for resi dents of college dormitories was reject ed by the state House in 1998, but the Hovering over the proceedings was an unresolved issue of whether to call witnesses, as the House prosecutors and many Republican senators want. Republican officials said that if it were possible they would invite Clinton to testify, although no decision has been CALL TOLL FREE 1-877-NO-FEE-4U TO APPLY, OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.AMERICANEXPRESS.COM/STUDENT National case, it should have been upheld.” Watt said both former and new con stituents in his district felt they had been adversely affected by the frequent redrawing of the 12th District. The latest redrawing of the district forced shifts in other districts, creating new constituencies for most N.C. con gressmen. The district lines for Rep. David Price, D-N.C., changed after the redraw ing, said Thomas Bates, Price’s press secretary. “It was a challenge in this last election because a whole third of the dis trict was new voters, and that required a lot of effort to get to know people,” Bates said. Dellinger said the Supreme Court would tentatively vote on the case Friday, but that a decision would not be announced until May or June. He said the state wanted specific stan dards for unconstitutionally-drawn dis trict lines because of racial considera tions. “The state would like a clear set of rules from the court.” The State & National Editors can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. OCC are considering working on new legislation, she said. “What students could do to help is see that the student government is interested in satellite precincts,” Commissioner Barry Jacobs said. “Then they could come to our meetings and share their interest.” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. made. Votes are expected early next week on competing motions. One motion expected to be offered by a Democrat is to adjourn the trial, and the other by a Republican to call witnesses for deposi tions. TRACT From Page 1 tainly will look at having additional rep resentation.” While Hooker supported a cam paign urging students and faculty to submit other ideas for the land, the committee currently has no student rep resentatives, Ehringhaus said. As for the number of members with scientific backgrounds, Howes said there was no way to combine liberal arts schools with commercial groups in the same way the research park would team science programs and industries. Most undergraduate programs could not be moved to the tract because they are not very independent from the rest of the University, Howes said. He said nothing was certain about the tract except for plans to accept new ideas through Jan. 30 and review them during a February meeting. Physics Professor Thomas Clegg said UNC should study the effects of a research park on the University before deciding how to use the land. Clegg, who served on a separate committee evaluating the tract’s devel opment potential from 1994 to 1996, said he studied possible risks of spend ing too much money for anew research facility. “That could sap money away from the central campus.” But, UNC might have enough resources to pro vide for such a facility, he said. “The University’s going to have to assess what its resources are.” Jessica Khosla contributed to this article. The University Editors can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. Campus Calendar Thursday 5:30 p.m. - There will be a general interest meeting for GROWISE’s Hispanic Women’s Education Project in Union 220. 8 p.m. - Pianist Valerie Bronner Zamora will perform a composition by Chapel Hill composer Pamela St. John, along with works by Mozart, Liszt, Chopin and Brahms, at a free concert in Hill Hall Auditorium. For more infor mation, call 962-1039. Spring Break <g> SmOOthieVille SIcKfTS 8T Where the good stuff lives. EDUCATION From Page 1 Linda Fuller, information specialist for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, said test scores were raised through the 1995 ABC Accountability F*rogram. “Each year, the Department of Education sets gross standards for schools,” Fuller said. “There are end-of grade tests based on what students should know in reading and mathemat ics (for elementary grades).” The Excellent School Act also con tributed to high public school perfor mance, Fuller said. According to an Oct. 16, 1998, press release from Hunt’s office, the 1997 Excellent Schools Act would “raise stan dards for students and teachers and raise teacher pay to the national average by the year 2000.” Fuller said the act provided 12 per cent bonuses for teachers who strived for national board certification. The act also encouraged mentoring for new teachers by pairing them with experi enced faculty who could prepare them for the anticipated culture shock of fac ing new students and the related class room tasks, Fuller said. The release also outlined tougher evaluations of teachers, higher standards for continuing a teaching license and tenure and the increased license to fire ineffective teachers. It stated that the act also included an increase of starting salaries from the pre sent $21,330 to $25,000 by 2000. “With our continued focus on higher standards, safer schools and keeping good teachers in the classroom, our stu dents are showing they can compete in the global economy,” Hunt stated in the Friday 5 p.m. - Concerned about recycling on campus? Then join the “Greening of Carolina” - Green Games! Come find out how you can participate in run ning UNC’s campuswide annual recy cling competition at this semester’s first meeting in the Union near the Cabaret. Items of Interest Applications for Freshman Camp Counselor will be available in the Campus Y office Friday. Applications TAKE RISKS IN LIFE. (not in credit cards) Introducing the American | Express Credit Card for Students. Live for today. Build for tomorrow. The American Express Credit Card I for Students is a resource you can depend on. With benefits like big air fare savings, free credit information, and no annual fee, it'll help you get the most from your student years —and help you build a solid financial I foundation for the future. utye Saily sar HM press release. In addition to Hunt’s programs, leg islators said they also planned to focus on issues that were oudined in Clinton’s speech. Thomas Bates, press secretary for Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said Price was concentrating on improving school construction in the state. He said Price, along with Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., proposed the School Construction Act last year. The act gives tax breaks to local school dis tricts to fund school improvements. Bates said Price was also focusing on Clinton’s goal of hiring 100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes. Policy pundits said they approved of the state’s educational plans. Howard Maniloff, UNC clinical associate pro fessor of educational leadership, com mended the Smart Start program for providing the basics to young children. Maniloff said the program included having teachers and assistants interact with children while teaching the con cepts of language. “If adults talk to them, thfe children learn vocabulary and sen tence structure,” Maniloff said. Clinton also mentioned Tuesday shutting down schools that did not improve their test scores. In North Carolina, the state currently restructures schools that fail to meet requirements. Fuller said the state would not close a school but would change its administra tion in hopes of improving the school. N.C. policy makers and educators said they expected continued improve ment. Maniloff said, “I think it is heart ening we are putting the spotlight on places where children aren’t learning and haven’t been learning for years.” The State & National Editors can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 29. Blood must run Carolina Blue in order to apply. Company Carolina is holding audi tions for its spring musical, She Loves Me!, on Thursday in 202 Hill Hall. Sign up at the Student Union Front Desk. For the Record The quote on Wednesday’s front page,“A politician ... one that would circumvent God,” should have been credited to Act V, scene I of “Hamlet.” The Daily Tar Heel regrets the error. Cards
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