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ANNE FAWCETT
Grade Reform
Will Require
Team Effort
Last semester when the Faculty
Council and economics
Professor Boone Turchi exam
ined whether grade inflation is a prob
lem at UNC, they seemed to approach
it from a micro-perspective (one uni
versity in isolation) instead of a macro
perspective (our university as it inter
acts with others).
Grade inflation is the idea that pro
fessors assign the same grades for lower
quality work, so an A means less than it
did when our parents were in school.
I don’t think the committee can
reach a good solution without address
ing the way our policies might give a
competitive advantage to graduates of
other top public universities with
unadjusted grade inflation.
U.S. News & World Report made it
easy to pinpoint our competition,
known in the academic community as
UNC’s “peer institutions.”
Rankings released last week showed
UNC tied with the University of
Michigan and the University of
Califomia-Los Angeles for third
among the best public universities in
, the nation. Ahead were only the
University of Virginia and the
University of Califomia-Berkeley.
UNC students have the lowest aver
age grade point average of any of
these schools, a 3.0 as of the 1999
spring semester. UNC’s peers range
from a low of 3.093 at UCLA to a
, high of 3.14 at UC-Berkeley. Thus stu
dents at these schools have at least a
10th of a point advantage over the
average UNC graduate, even with
alleged grade inflation here.
But don’t be too quick to assume that
our peeTs have bigger problems with
grade inflation than we do. Of the four,
only UVa. admits that its average GPA
of 3.13 should be addressed. UVa. clas
( sics Professor Jon Mikalson said the uni
. versity’s dean of faculty placed halting
gr ade inflation high on his priority list.
In contrast, faculty and staff at UC-
Berkeley and UCLA said individual
• professors might acknowledge grade
• inflation, but it’s not a pressing institu
•tional issue. “Professors are pretty
-good about giving grades and the
Hike,” said UC-Berkeley registrar
"Suzanne Castillo-Robson. “It’s always
“a concern because grades are the coin
(of the realm, so to speak; the faculty
'feel an A really should be an A.”
( And then there’s the philosophy
;that talking about grade inflation
;might make it real, as at Michigan. A
(press officer there warned me that
•grade inflation was a non-issue and
•that most likely, no one would talk
•4bout it. He was right.
►( Because most of UNC’s peers seem
■content to leave their grades alone, a
of average GPAs can easily
(be gut-wrenching for pre-med and pre
law students. If UNC lowers the aver
age GPA to a 2.7 as Turchi proposes,
(students from these other universities
(could be significandy ahead of UNC
'graduates. “There’s a difficulty in
(attacking grade inflation at one institu
•tfon because it puts our students at a
when they’re applying to
(graduate schools),” Mikalson said,
i. Likewise, Turchi considers this the
(one valid argument against his efforts.
Why go it alone? Although UNC’s
(and UVa. are rivals, the schools do
have a bond; they want to institute
(grade reform but are concerned at the
policy’s potential side effects.
Grade reform is inevitable. UNC
should team up with like-minded uni
versities to enact new policies together.
This would force other universities to
examine their grades. Some of them
really might not have a problem, but
others could just be in denial.
Such a plan thrills Turchi.
“It would give us the competitive
advantage if we got together with the
good, big state universities and formed
an association for accuracy in grad
ing,” he gushed. “It would have a
tnajor impact... and make other
(Schools want to join this movement.”
The Faculty Council has embarked
on a mission that’s unpopular with stu
dents here and the powers that be at
schools across the country. Nevertheless,
UNC should embrace its status as one
of the nation’s premier public universi
ties and work with UVa. to show its
peers how to do the right thing.
Columnist Anne Fawcett can be
reached at fawcetta@hotmail.com.
Voting Stations Open 3 Weeks Early
By Mark Thomas
Assistant University Editor
Students who say they are too busy to
cast a ballot on Election Day are run
ning out of excuses.
Following a four-year cooperative
effort, UNC’s External Relations
Committee, which acts as a liaison
between the University and its sur
rounding community, has found anew
way students can vote.
With the implementation of one-stop,
or “satellite,” voting, registered Orange
County voters will be able to cast their
ballot up to three weeks in advance.
“It’s the same as absentee voting but
more convenient for voters,” said Jessica
Triche, External Relations Committee
chairwoman.
Town Offers Affordable Housing
$1.6 Billion Project
Has April Finish Date
By Matt Mansfield
Staff Writer
Dawn Stephens, an employee at a
local law firm, finally has the chance
to live in the town limits despite earn
ing an income that falls below the
local average.
“I’m actu
ally excited
about own
ing some
thing instead
of throwing
Aldermen Debate
Area Affordable
Residences
See Page 4
out (rent) money every month," she
said.
With the median price of housing
in Chapel Hill reaching $250,000,
two local nonprofit organizations col
laborated to provide more affordable
housing. The Community Land Trust
in Orange County and the Orange
Community Housing Corp. obtained
land from the Town Council in 1998
to begin building Legion Road
Townhomes for people with lower
incomes.
Fate of Presidential Debates at WFU in Limbo
By Jennifer Hagin
Staff Writer
After investing $550,000 and prepar
ing for nearly a year, Wake Forest
University’s
opportunity to
host a presiden
tial debate on
Oct. 11 could
be in jeopardy.
Republican
Networks Dispute
Broadcast Rights
For Debates
See Page 4
presidential candidate George W. Bush
is hesitant to participate in debates at
Seminar Speaker Sparkles
With Words on Writing
By Robert Albright
Staff Writer
Joking that she learned to read out of “comic
pages and the Bible,” novelist and Professor Doris
Betts traded laughs Tuesday with students and old
friend Bill Friday.
Betts kicked off this year’s “Tuesdays with
Friday” seminar series, fielding questions and
describing her love for teaching and writing.
The monthly seminar series, started last year by
UNC-system President Emeritus Bill Friday and
held at the James M. Johnston Center for
Undergraduate Excellence, brings interested stu
dents and faculty into contact with “individuals
dedicated to promoting the public good.”
Betts, who has taught at UNC since 1966,
offered humorous accounts of Southern literature
Beginning Oct.
16, voters can visit
new polling sta
tions in UNC’s
Morehead
Planetarium from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The doors will
stay open until
Nov. 3.
Triche said this
allows even stu
dents with hectic
schedules ample
time to vote.
“A lot of stu
dents are busy,”
she said.
Student Body
President
Brad Matthews
says satellite voting
stations are ideal
for busy students.
“But now there is a place close to
everyone and it’s open for nearly three
Rep. David Price, D-N.C., and
Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary
Waldorf participated in a ground
breaking ceremony Tuesday for the
dwellings, initiating a project provid
ing affordable housing for area resi
dents. The new homes are located on
the comer of Scarlett Drive and
Legion Road. “(Price) supports the
land trust and, in general, wants to
provide affordable housing for peo
ple in Orange County,” said Thomas
Bates, Price’s press secretary.
“They’re getting priced out of the
market, and he wants to fix that.”
The housing corporation and the
land.trust have already sold seven of
the townhomes to people who meet
its requirements. That criteria
includes working in the town of
Chapel Hill and earning an income
below the town median of $59,000.
Buyers include a schoolteacher and
three UNC Hospitals employees.
Price, a member of the House
Appropriations Committee that
decides how federal funds are allocat-
two of the three sites chosen by the
Presidential Debate Commission, a
bipartisan group that has selected presi
dential debate sites since 1988.
A spokesman from the Presidential
Debate Commission said the commis
sion is trying to meet with both parties in
the next week to resolve the situation.
The commission announced in
January that WFU would host one of the
three presidential debates. The school
hosted a debate between George Bush
and Michael Dukakis in 1988.
UNC political science Professor
and stressed the value of reading and writing.
“Nothing could be better than to spend your life
with words,” Betts said. “(“Peanuts” character)
Linus has his security blanket, and I have my pen.”
Betts has written nine novels and short story col
lections. Several of Betts’ works have also been
adapted for stage performances by acting troupes,
including Play Makers Repertory Company.
Although she has been at UNC for more than 30
years, Betts said she will stop teaching at the end of
this school year to focus on family and her writing.
Friday, who earned his law degree from UNC
and served as the UNC-system president for 30
years, said Betts was an excellent choice to open
this year’s seminar season.
“When I read (Betts’) books, I get the feeling
See TUESDAYS, Page 6
News
weeks.”
Triche said the N.C. General
Assembly approved satellite voting in
passing the One-Stop Voting bill in
March, which the External Relations
Committee had been pushing for four
years.
Student Body President Brad
Matthews said Triche was instrumental
in bringing satellite voting to UNC.
“She deserves the bulk of the credit
for seeing this thing through,” he said.
“The size of the bureaucratic mountains
she had to move is amazing.”
Triche, who began working on the
issue over three years ago, said incon
venient polling locations and practices
motivated her to push for satellite vot
ing.
There are six different places for stu
DTH/KATE MELLNIK
Key players in the fight for affordable housing join
future nomeowners at a groundbreaking Tuesday
for 14 subsidized townnouses in Chapel Hill.
ed, helped the cause by securing
$230,000 for the project.
The housing corporation and the
land trust acquired $400,000 total in
subsidies, receiving some money from
both the town and Orange County.
The organizations obtained addition
al private contributions. “The whole
project is going to cost $1.6 million,”
said Robert Dowling, executive direc
tor of the housing corporation.
George Rabinowitz predicted a 40 to 50
percent chance the debate will occur at
Wake Forest. “It depends on how the
polling goes or how the media covers
this,” Rabinowitz said. “If they pick up
on the idea of (Bush) avoiding a serious
debate, it’ll force a debate.”
WDU spokesman Kevin Cox said
delegates from the commission and
national television networks will tour the
WFU campus today to iron out logistical
details for the debate, despite Bush’s
alternative plans. “Everybody is still
preparing (for the debate) - us, the com-
| ifci Mg?* tfe
dents to vote, and many students aren’t
aware of where they are supposed to go,
she said.
“A lot of students don’t know that
moving from Hinton James (Residence
Hall) to Ehringhaus means you have a
different polling spot,” she said.
“I was mad I had to go to all these dif
ferent places to vote.”
Matthews said the arrival of satellite
voting came at a critical time, as the fate
of a $3.1 billion bond package rests in
the hands of N.C. voters this November.
The package will be used to fund cap
ital improvements at all 16 UNC schools
and N.C. community colleges if
approved.
“We need this bond to pass,” he said.
See VOTING, Page 6
DIAGRAM COURTESY OF ORANGE COMMUNITY HOUSING CORP.
“Building should be done by April.”
Dowling said the housing corpora
tion and the land trust overcame
numerous obstacles, such as financial
constraints, a long approval process
and criticism by residents near die pro
ject who thought the term “affordable
housing” carried negative connotations.
“At first, neighbors were skeptical
See PRICE, Page 6
mission and the networks,” he said.
But Bush announced this week he
would only debate Democratic presi
dential candidate A1 Gore on NBC’s
Meet the Press, CNN’s Larry King Live
and at Washington University in St.
Louis -one of the sites selected by the
commission.
Rabinowitz said Bush is challenging
the other two commission sites because
he is not comfortable with the rigid
debate format and would rather have
one that allows him to talk openly with
the audience. “He wants a format that
DTH/SEFTON [POCK
UNC English Professor Doris Betts answers questions about her experience as a novelist
during this year's first installment of the "Tuesdays with Friday" series.
Wednesday, September 6, 2000
More Rain
Predicted
On the Hill
The near-record number of
rainy days in Chapel Hill has
stalled construction and
could lead to more flooding.
By Courtney Mabeus
Assistant City Editor
As meteorologists predict three more
days of rain, Chapel Hill could match
the state record set in 1982 for 11 con
secutive days of precipitation.
And the town could face more flood
ing problems in coming months, with an
active hurricane season in the forecast
Bruce Heflin, director of Chapel
Hill’s Department of Public Works said
the rain has caused town officials to
divert their attention from day-to-day
tasks and forced them to focus on
weather-related problems.
Heflin said the rain has stalled con
struction on Franklin Street sidewalks, a
job he said officials hoped to complete
before the beginning of the school year.
“(The town has) lost a few weeks,” he
said.
Officials with the National Weather
Service said local rain measurements
are already 3.67 inches above average
for this time of year. So far, 33.31 inch
es of rain have fallen at Raleigh-
Durham International Airport this year,
weather service officials said.
Chapel Hill’s average rainfall stands
at 45.1 inches per year, according to
reports found on the Web site
http://www.WorldClimate.com.
Fred Royal, Chapel Hill’s stormwater
engineer, said it has been difficult for
local officials to repair roadways dam
aged by heavy rainfall this summer.
“We’ve had continued nuisance
flooding problems,” Royal said. “These
rains don’t allow us to solve those prob
lems as soon as possible.”
He said with ground saturation and
the state’s history of hurricanes, the area
could be looking at future flooding
problems. “It’s the same potential set up
as last year,” Royal said. “We had a lot
of rain, then we had (Hurricane)
Dennis. Then we had (Hurricane)
Floyd. Luckily, the rains we’ve been
having are not as severe. As long as we
don’t get any significance storm dam
age, it won’t make much difference.”
Gordon Edwards, a manager at Play
It Again Sports in Eastgate Shopping
Center, said he is relieved the rain has
not been torrential.
“We still get the usual puddles out
there in the parking lot,” he said.
Eastgate was ravaged in July by
storms, which flooded some stores with
up to 4 feet of water and left an estimat
ed $6 million to $8 million in damage.
Edwards added that the store’s new
flood insurance policy kicked in Sept. 1.
The plan protects the store in the event
that future flooding should occur.
“It was just too expensive (before).”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
gives him an opportunity to show off his
personality,” Rabinowitz said.
But Rabinowitz added that the debate
scheduled for the University of
Massachusetts is on even shakier ground
than Wake Forest’s because Bush would
likely shun an appearance in liberal
Massachusetts. “North Carolina is tradi
tionally a Republican presidential state
and (Wake Forest University) is conser
vative,” he said.
Cox said he does not know how
See DEBATE, Page 6
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