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The University and Towns
In Brief
Dance Company Plans
To Hold Performances
The Dance Theatre of Harlem will
perforin at 8 p.m. March 6 and March 7
in Memorial Hall.
The ballet company blends types of
dance from neoclassic ballet to modern
jazz.
1 he Carolina Union Box Office will
honor tickets purchased for the Nov. 20
and Nov. 21 performances, which were
rescheduled because of a conllict in the
company’s touring season.
Tickets can be purchased al ihe box
office on weekdays from 10 a m. to 5
p.m. Prices are sl7, sls and sl3 for stu
dents and $32, S2B and s2l for others.
7 For more information, call IK >2 1149.
UNC Music Faculty Set
To Perform in Concert
’•A Sunday concert will celebrate
Appalachian Spring” and two other
Aaron Copeland works in Hill Hall to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
tale composer’s birth.
' Thirteen faculty members from the
UNC School of Music and guest sym
phony musicians, conducted by associ
ate music Professor Tonu Kalam, will
perform in the Centennial Concert al 3
p.m.
, The concert is the sixth in the music
department’s 1999-2000 William S.
Newman Artists Series.
; Tickets are sl2 for adults, $lO for
penior citizens and $5 for students.
Student Government,
RHA Talk Fire Safety
The Residence Hall Association and
the executive branch of student govern
ment will host a discussion on the facts
of Tire safety in residence halls.
The forum will be held at 7 p.m.
Thursday in Hinton James Residence
Hall first-floor study lounge.
The discussion, titled “How Safe Are
You,” will feature presentations by the
Department of Health and Safety, the
Department of University Housing, the
Student Master Plan Advisory
Committee and the Chapel Hill lire
Department.
Police Combat Speed
On Franklin Street
The Chapel Hill police set up a radar
detector that displays a car’s speed to
drivers on Franklin Street on
Wednesday.
Police spokeswoman Jane Cousins
said the display was owned by the
Fraternal Order of Police and used by
several police departments in the region
to cut down on speeding.
She said there were not any major
speeding problems on Franklin Street,
but police just wanted to make people
aware of how fast they were going.
“There’s no special reason," she said.
“We’re just trying to slow traffic down.”
‘The Musical’ to Air
Sunday in Carroll Hall
The Chapel Hill Historical Society is
showing the third movie in the Classic
Film Series on Sunday in the Carroll
Hall auditorium.
The film, which will air at 7 p.m., will
Jpe “Singing in the Rain,” starring Gene
Kelly and Debbie Reynolds.
- Single admission tickets are s(i at the
door and may be purchased at various
locations.
For more information, call the
Historical Society at 929-1793.
Help Guides Available
At Women’s Center
’ The Women’s Center in Chapel Hill
eis offering a guide to help provide infor
mation on separation, divorce, domes
-tic violence, child custody, child sup
port, mediation and property
“Family Law in North Carolina” was
'drafted by area attorneys and is avail
able in Finglish and Spanish.
•; The guide is $lO and can be pur
••'chased at The Women’s Center at 210
•Henderson St.
? For more information, call 908 1010.
Country Dance to Have
-Live Band With Caller
i Triangle Country Dancers are hold
ying a contra dance with live music
aMarch 10 al the Pleasant Green
£ Community Center in Durham.
I Roaring Marv with caller Louie
“Cromartie will be playing. Instruction
; begins at 7:30 p.m. and dancing begins
*at 8 p.m.
; The fee is $5 for members and $7 for
J others.
* For more information, call 220-8411.
From Staff Reports
Parents Angered Over Redistricting
B\ Robert Aibright
Staff Writer
With redistricting looming in the near
future for Orange County elementary
schools, parents took to the podium and
voiced their concerns during a Board of
Kducation public hearing Wednesday
night.
Because of overcrowding in the coun
ty’s five elementary schools, officials are
building anew school, Pathways
Elementary, to accommodate the influx
of students.
Because Pathways is not set to open
until late October, parents said they
Lunch, Loyalty
Sutton's Recipe
Sutton’s Drug Store on
Franklin Street hasn’t changed
much since it was opened in
1923.
A famous lunch stop and
Chapel Hill land
mark, Sutton’s has
only seen two
changes in 23
PHOTOS AND STORY
BY KATE MELLNIK
years, said John Woodard, the
pharmacist and owner of
Sutton’s for the past 23 years
(below, right).
The only changes lie has
made have been new products
-*s western
;/M|gg
on the shelves /
and expanding f
the grill twice, f
he said. JL
And Sutton’s
is seeped in mem
ories. as can be
seen from the
walls lined with
pictures of its cus
A five-part series
of photo essays taking a look
at the people and places that
make our local area unique.
turners.
Some of Sutton’s regulars
have been loyal customers five
or six days a week for 40 years.
These longtime customers
don’t come to Sutton’s just for
the food - they come to talk,
laugh and meet new people.
Many of them started coming
Drug Question Stalls
Financial Aid Process
By Rachel Leonard
Staff Writer
Anew question on this year’s feder
al financial aid application asking stu
dents about illegal drug convictions has
delay ed aid allocation and sparked crit
icism that the policy is unfair.
So far, more than 100,000 students
have left the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid question blank,
delaying the allocation of funds.
The 2000-01 school year is the first in
which drug violations are considered as
an eligibility factor for government aid,
including loans.
All students with past drug convic
tions receiving federal aid face losing
their funds, according to the policy.
The policy has taken heat from stu
dents who claim it unfairly discriminates
against the poor and singles out drug use
over other offenses.
Students are not asked about past
convictions for offenses such as robbery,
rape or drunken driving.
But Lisa Cain, spokeswoman for the
U.S. Department of Education, said the
number of students leaving the question
unanswered was already beginning to
drop.
This is due to that fact that FAFSA
applications, which all students request
ing aid must complete, will soon be
available only online, as opposed to the
mail-in form.
On the online form, students must
answer the question in order to elec
tronically submit the application.
Cain explained that most students
said they had misunderstood or forgot
ten to answer the question.
The new policy is part of a provision
worried the redrawing of district lines
would leave children changing schools
midway through the year and taking
extended bus trips to class.
Kurt Moar, whose family will likely
move from the Efland-Cheeks
Elementary district to the Central
Elementary district, was one of about 15
parents who complained about the
redistricting proposal.
“ The problem 1 have is that my chil
dren will have to ride another 15 to 20
minutes to school,” he said. “We need to
consider the impact on the children.”
School officials have deliberated the
redistricting fate of area students for
to Sutton’s as UNC students,
including Jim Crisp, class of’ss,
and Michael Walker, class of’74
(below, left).
Lenny Foushee, who works
the grill, jokes and
teases his regular
customers while he
serves coffee and
cooks up breakfast for everyone
(below, left).
Out-of-towners stop in
Sutton’s because it is a famous
Chapel Hill and UNC spot.
“It’s like home in a small mid-
western town,” said
'■®l3£r£l
f n)rn Henderson.
The UNC
women’s basket
ball coach Sylvia
Hatchell has a tra
dition of bringing
her potential recruits to Sutton’s.
The store has a strong history' of
supporting UNC athletics.
Two current recruits, Tabitha
Ruth, from Myrtle Beach, S.C.
and Latonya “Buffy” Graves
from Mullins, S.C., admire pho
tos of other Sutton’s customers
(above right).
in the reauthorized Higher Education
Act of 1998 pushed by Rep. Mark
Souder, R Ind.
The new law slates that those con
victed on drug possession charges lose
their aid for one year on the first con
viction, two years on the second and
indefinitely on the third.
For students convicted of selling
drugs, aid is withheld for two years on
the first conviction and indefinitely on
the second.
The only way a student with a prior
drug conviction might receive aid is if
he or she has successfully completed a
government-approved rehabilitation
program.
Souder could not be reached for
comment Wednesday but told
Georgetown University’s student news
paper he justified his provision by say
ing he hoped the new law would
encourage young people not to use
drugs and to get help if they were
already using them.
Students are free to chose whether or
not to record a past violation, as there is
no background check system to ensure
honesty.
But lying on the FAFSA form is a fed
eral offense.
One organization that has criticized
the new law is the National
Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana laws.
“(The new law) is definitely a bad
thing for students,” said UNC Chapel
1 fill NORML member Heather Parlier.
“It’s the only kind of crime you can
lose your financial aid for.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached atstntdesk@unc.edu.
News
more than a year now, with the most
recent proposal presented in mid-
January. If the board approves the redis
tricting proposal, 800 of the school sys
tem's 6,200 students will change schools
to comply with the plan.
Sean Smith, who has a first-grader
and a pre-kindergartner at New Hope
Elementary, said he was concerned with
the possibility of moving his children
after they got settled at one school.
“I won’t complain if we get redistricl
ed, but 1 will complain if mv kinder
gartner has to move halfway through the
year,” he said. “I hope he can be spared
that.”
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Colleges Seek to Stop Suicides
Student suicide rates are
lower than for the general
population, but officials say
it is still a pressing concern.
By Lani Harac
Staff Writer
College life is an often stressful
proposition - moving away from home,
dealing with heavy course loads and jug
gling multiple activities all take their toll.
And according to national statistics,
suicide was the third leading cause of
death in 1997
among those
aged 15 to 24,
with 11.5 suicides
out of every
100,000 people.
That number
rose slightly - to
13.(i out of everv
I Campus I
I
I Connection |
100,000 - for adults aged 20 to 24,
according to the National Institute of
Mental Health’s Web site.
Several recent incidents of college
students committing suicide, including
one student in February from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
have sparked a national debate on the
topic.
Ihe issue has also prompted some
university administrators to increase
their role in the identification and pre
vention process.
l)r. Michael Mond, director of the
Johns Hopkins University Counseling
Center, said | HU instituted a “suicide
tracking system” three or four years ago
to provide extra attention to students
seen as possibly suicidal.
“We have set up a sy stem where we
continue to monitor the person over a
While many parents urged school
leaders to rethink the plan, teacher and
parent Wandra Whitford said the board
should adopt a plan that would benefit
the county as a w hole rather than appeal
to the needs of specific students.
“I want Orange County to have a
reputation of fairness and concern for all
students,” she said. “We need to look at
what is going to be good for this system
right now and in the future.”
Whitford, who has had children in
the county’s schools for 20 years, said
she admired the board for tackling such
See REDISTRICTING, Page 11
reasonable amount of time, until we feel
they are out of harm’s way,” Mond said.
The program was developed with Dr.
David Jobes, associate professor of psv
chology at Catholic University in
Washington, D.C., and includes a bat
tery of questions on several psychologi
cal issues, including feelings or thoughts
about suicide.
“If they w rite anything at all on the
suicide item, they are then given more
intense screening by the counselor that
works with them,” Mond said.
He said counselors made a point to
check students' progress at every ses
sion, which range from once per week to
as often as every day.
MIT also has increased its role in
identifying at-risk students, said Senior
Associate Dean Robert M. Randolph.
“We’ve become more aggressively
intrusive. We’re encouraging people to
be more up front
and outspoken to
people they’re
worried about,”
Randolph said.
“We just con
stantly keep trying
to recreate a com
munity where stu
dents realize that
caring about one
another is a virtue.
“We just constantly keep trying
to recreate a community where
students realize that caring about
one another is a virtue ...”
Robert M. Randolph
Senior Associate Dean, MIT
not a vice.”
Although support networks are in
place for those students who seek it out,
identifying students w ho don't is what
many school administrators find dis
heartening.
“We have developed a system that
has trained people in residence halls at
a number of levels - RAs, our house
masters. We do a good bit of training
about the signs of suicidality.” Randolph
said.
Thursday, March 2, 2000
Residents
Say Needs
Not Heard
Pine Knolls residents say
they question the Town
Council's ability to diversify
resident involvement.
By Enyonam Kpeglo
Staff Writer
Representatives from a Chapel Hill
minority community say the town’s new
efforts to involve special interest groups
in housing decisions might be in vain.
The Town Council approved a revi
sion Monday night that would modify
the Citizen Participation Plan to meet
standards set by the federal Department
of Housing and Urban Development
HUD issued a report in September
calling for Chapel Hill to encourage a
more diverse group of people to get
involved in town decisions.
The report stated that the town need
ed to have more input about local hous
ing, specifically minorities, the elderly
and working-class residents.
Town Manager Cal Horton said the
changes were minimal and that the
focus was on increasing the turnout of
this target group at public hearings.
“We already strive to invite citizens
to speak in front of the council,” he said.
“This measure will include more docu
mentation of the things that have
already been done.”
Changes include a proposed neigh
borhood advisory committee and a
heightened effort to involve the com
munity. But Pine Knolls representatives
said the efforts were weak at best.
Ted Parrish, a representative of the
Pine Knolls community, questioned the
sincerity' of the council’s proposal.
He said there were several reasons
why many minorities did not attend
public hearings. “I think there is suffi
cient mutual distrust between the Town
Council and residents in my neighbor
hood,” Parrish said. “It just seems as
though some town officials have their
own agenda and they do not see Pine
Knolls’ needs as a priority.”
But council member Lee Pavao said
Parrish’s views might not be shared by
all the Pine Knolls residents. “I think it
is urifortunate when you consider the
history ofjcouncil’s) involvement with
that particular community,” he said.
Parrish said he received invitations to
attend Tow n Council hearings but chose
not to participate because his views
would not be considered in the coun
cil’s final decision. “In February, we
sent in a proposal for $17,000 in grant
money to repair the community center
roof, but the council quickly gave the
money to another group,” Parrish said.
But Pavao said the town had always
been generous when dispersing funds.
George Sanford, president of the
Pines Community Center Inc., said
Sec PARTICIPATION, Page 11
“Unfortunately, w hat we find is that
over the course of, let’s say the last
decade, maybe only one of the last eight
or nine suicides that we had intersected
the system in this fashion.
“People who wish to commit suicide
very often bring their issues that have
put them into this category' to campus
with them, and they are unknown to us.
It is a very difficult problem to get a
hold of,” he said.
Mond said administrators counted on
different departments to work together
in identifying at-risk students.
“Every year, I send out a letter to fac
ulty and staff that identifies for them
things they should be on the lookout for
in terms of depression or suicidal behav
ior," Mond said. “It also explains to
them how they can get the students to
the counseling center for a more accu
rate assessment.
“At the same
time, we also train
the RAs every
year, (and) we
train a number of
different depart
ments on how to
refer (students),”
Mond said, includ
ing student health,
sports organiza
tions, the dean of
students' office and campus security.
Randolph said despite efforts to elim
inate suicide on campus, it would always
be a prominent issue.
“I think we always can do more,” he
said. “You can work to create a commu
nity where, when people are fragile,
people notice. Does it always work? No.
It’s a very fine line that we tread.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
3