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®lip imlu ®ar HM 9 News/ p ESBH 106 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Police Round Up 5 More in Weekend Drug Busts By Bart Wojdynski Staff Writer Chapel Hill police arrested five more individuals this weekend in connection with a major drug roundup that is tar geting a total of 23 suspects. The busts, which are part of a three month undercover investigation, have already yielded 15 arrests, and police are Up From the Ashes Three years after a fire gutted the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house and killed five students, the house reopens its doors and starts anew. By Ashley Stephenson Senior Writer A rusted fence and “Keep Out” signs have been exchanged for a manicured lawn and freshly laid bricks. Empty, charred holes have been replaced with clean windows and shutters. “We were all watching this interview on TV and there was some guy talking about the house and he said, ‘Phi Gam is back,’” said John Sutherland, a senior Phi Gamma Delta frater nity member from Kinston. “But what this house really symbolizes is that we were never gone,” he said. “We’re stronger now.” In the early morning hours of UNO’s graduation day in May 1996, a fire ripped through Vance Hall, Phi Gamma Delta’s fra ternity house. The blaze destroyed the building and claimed the fives of five students. Members moved back into the renovated house last week. The bookshelves fining the wall of the TV room are empty, and the navy blue couches are stain-free, showing none of the commonplace wear and tear typical of college furniture. An elegant Oriental rug, stuffed armchairs and paintings hang ing on the walls and above the mantel deck the lounge. The kitchen is unfinished, and construction supplies are pushed into comers of the basement floor. The dining room has no furniture, except a Foosball table set up toward the back. The chairs are stacked next to a wall, unused. The house smells of fresh paint and newness. There is perhaps only one detail in the rebuilt Phi Gamma See PHI GAMMA DELTA, Page 9 Members Confront Memories, Look Toward Future By Asheey Stephenson Senior Writer John Sutherland had recently pledged Phi Gamma Delta fraternity his freshman year when flames from a graduation night party engulfed the fraternity house in May 1996. Just days ago, he returned to the house that —,, jifr' DTH/MILLER PEARSALL Sankofa's lead sinqer, Cream MC, raps for a full house at the Chi Psi fraternity house Thursday night. still looking for eight more individuals. Chapel Hill Police Chief Ralph Pendergraph said there would be no more large sweeps like those that offi cers made Wednesday and Thursday in the Pine Knolls and Northside commu nities. “We had about a dozen extra people with us on Thursday, just trying to do more undercover arrests,” Pendergraph has sat on Cameron Avenue for the past three years a charred, skeletal reminder of a tragedy that claimed the fives of five students. Sutherland is reluctant to talk about the past, instead focusing on the future. For him, moving back into the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house does not mean revisiting haunting memories. “It’s not creepy at all,” he said. “I think the You can never plan the future by the past Edmund Burke said. “We gave the remainder of the war rants to uniformed police officers, and we’ll serve them like we usually do.” Undercover officers from police departments across the state have been actively purchasing crack cocaine in Chapel Hill since June, according to police records. Chapel Hill police spokeswoman ammbi mm . ' i4M| . *mm MRua *lll Is * Lil B' bm kI * Tlt ” ''' ' ' ' , ' I •„ ' lYf ■* i i*.,;:. •: .... DTH/MILLER PEARSALL The renovated Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house was completed in time for incoming members. It stands where the former house burned down in May 1996. excitement felt by everybody when we walked back into this house meant a lot. The last four years have been full of anticipation.” On Sunday, May 12,1996, a fit cigarette butt tossed into a basement trash can turned into a massive fire that gutted the house, leaving behind the burnt frame of a building. The fire killed Benjamin Woodruff, a junior MTV Voters to Decide Sankofa ; s Fate Online voters have until Wednesday to cast votes for UNC's Sankofa as part of MTV's hip-hop talent search. By Verna Kale Senior Writer A local group of UNC students and recent graduates finds itself poised on the edge of widespread success this week as one of eight finalists in MTV online’s hip-hop talent search. Online voters have narrowed the search field to eight finalists, which are divided into pairs. Therefore, in the vot ing, each band competes against only Monday, August 23, 1999 Volume 107, Issue 58 Jane Cousins said the early arrests scared many of the dealers. “The streets dried up around 7 p.m. (Thursday) night,” Cousins said. Late Thursday evening, the police arrested Wanda Lee Cotton, 44, who has no known residence, for selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer. Cotton was charged with three counts relating to the sale and distribution of one other band. After voters narrow the field to four finalists, MTV will choose a winner from the group. If Sankofa wins the contest, the group will receive a record contract with Loud Records, the label that produces Wu- Tang Clan. “I think the main thing is it’ll open the doors nationally if we get MTV involved,” said Pez, Sankofa’s DJ and a UNC student whose real name is Lem Butler. “Right now we’re local, borderline regional.” Sankofa, a five-member group that formed two years ago, earned its region al recognition opening for The Roots in Raleigh and Busta Rhymes in cocaine. The suspects arrested Friday were Katanya Yarrell Warren, 21, of 500 S. Greensboro St Lot No. 13 in Carrboro; Kevin Anthony Edwards, 21, of 1500 Willie Boldin Road in Chapel Hill; and Kenneth Farrington, 35, who has no known residence. All three were charged with the sale and delivery of cocaine, among other charges. from Raleigh; Joanna Howell, a Cary senior; Robert Joshua Weaver, Mark Strickland and Anne Mcßride Smith, Rocky Mount seniors. Sutherland said the interior layout of the house had changed so much since the recon struction, it barely resembled the old house. See MEMBERS, Page 9 Greensboro. The contest - conducted solely on MTV’s Web site (www.mtv.com) but also accessible through www.sankofa music.com - started earlier this summer and concludes Wednesday. Anyone who visits the Web site can cast a vote. Visitors to the Web site can listen to Sankofa’s single, “Suspended Animation,” as well as the singles of the other contestants. After selling out shows at Cat’s Cradle, playing fraternities and putting out an independent CD, Sankofa stands poised to take the next step to national distribution, Pez said. See SANKOFA, Page 9 Early Saturday morning, the police arrested Dennis Crosland, 26, of 619 Dupree St. in Durham. Crosland was arrested on four charges stemming from the sale of cocaine. All of the suspects are being held at the Orange Countyjail in Hillsborough. Cotton and Edwards are each being See BUSTS, Page 9 UNC Slides In College Rankings Faculty members agree UNC has dropped in the national placings partially as a result of salaries and benefits. By Kathleen Hunter Assistant State & National Editor Faculty salaries at UNC fell short of other top universities, according to U.S. News & World Report, pushing it down three notches in the magazine’s most recent ranking of America’s best col leges. UNC finished 27th among national universities, down from 24th in last year’s report. U.S. News surveys 2,000 colleges to determine its rankings. The report, released Friday, ranked UNC fifth among public universities nationwide. U.S. News cited faculty resources as the category that placed UNC behind its competitors. UNC Provost Dick Richardson said compensation slightly below par left the University constantly struggling to retain quality faculty. “As long as we are not in the top level with our salaries, we are always vulner able to being raided,” he said. Richardson said UNC had lost dis tinguished faculty in recent years to schools boasting more money and ben efits. History Professor Leon Fink said that although the results of U.S. News’ poll must be taken with a grain of salt, he thought UNC was stalled behind schools that provided better faculty resources. “I do think that compared to the most competitive research universities, we lag behind in both faculty salaries and compensation,” he said. “This has been a problem that we had identified for some years.” Geography professor Altha Cravey said inadequate salaries caused UNC to lose faculty. “Not just the wages, but the benefit package, just does not compare See RANKINGS, Page 9 i 1 * Monday Volunteers of America Several members of UNCs class of 1999 signed on to a 27-month stint as volunteers in the Peace Corps. The University ranked 15th in the nation for its recruitment and first in the Mid- Atlantic region. See Page 7. Out and About The Daily Tar Heel will be in the Pit from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Wednesday, handing out staff and stu dent feedback board applications. We will also be ready to answer any of your questions or concerns. Interest meet ings will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Union 226 and Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Union 209. Applications for staff and the student feedback board can be picked up at the office in Suite 104 of the Student Union and must be returned by S p.m. Friday. Come chat! Today’s Weather Mostly sunny; High 80s. Tuesday: Chance of rain; High 80s. DTH FILE PHOTO News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1999 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 23, 1999, edition 1
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