alir Daily Oar Hrrl
CORRECTION
Due to a reporting error,
Wednesday's pg. 7 article “Students
try to avoid DPS parking tickets"
incorrectly states the number of
citations issued per month. The
Department of Public Safety
issues thousands of citations each
month, but DPS receives between
700 and 800 appeals each month.
In September and February, DPS
sees the most appeals, at almost
900 per month.
CAMPUS BRIEFS
Donate items to yard sale
that benefits Carson family
Items are being accepted for a
yard sale to raise money in memory
of Eve Carson and Abhijit Mahato
on April 26.
The yard sale will be from 6 a.m.
to 6 p.m. April 26, with a rain date
of May 3, at 5515 Plantation Circle,
off U.S. 401 South and Legend
Road in Raleigh.
Proceeds from the yard sale will
go to the Carson family.
To donate items, contact Thomas
Allen at 610-3285.
CITY BRIEFS
Police investigating armed
robberies against Latinos
The Chapel Hill Police
Department is investigating armed
robberies at three apartment com
plexes Tuesday night.
The robberies were reported at
Kingswood, Pinegate and Kings
Arms apartment complexes
between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
In all three of the cases, Latinos
reported being approached by two
black males between 17 and 19 sears
old. Both suspects are described as
being tall and thin and wearing black
shirts and pants.
At least one suspect produced
a handgun in all three robberies.
None of the victims was injured
during the robberies.
Anyone with information is asked
to contact the police department
at 968-2760 or Crime Stoppers at
942-7515. Calls to Crime Stoppers
are confidential and anonymous,
and the caller may be eligible for a
cash reward up to $1,200 for infor
mation leading to an arrest.
Town, Blue Urban Bikes will
partner to encourage cycling
The partnership between the Blue
Urban Bikes program and the town
of Chapel Hill will launch at noon
today at the Chapel Hill Town Hall.
The bike program will encour
age town employees to use bicycles
instead of cars for short errands
and recreation.
“We hope this will help employ
ees begin thinking differently about
how to leave their vehicles parked,
help our environment and in gen
eral adopt a healthier lifestyle," said
public outreach coordinator Len
Cone, in an e-mail.
Mayor Pro Tern Jim Ward will
speak about positive effects of cycling
for health and for the environment.
Police department gives tips
to help recognize scams
The Chapel Hill Police
Department has received com
plaints of misleading fundraising in
the name of local law enforcement.
The police department issued the
following tips to make sure dona
tions go to those in need:
■ If the charity name sounds
unfamiliar, check with the Better
Business Bureau to make sure it is
a legitimate charity;
■ If you are suspicious, ask
organizations send information
through the mail before donating;
■ Don’t give if you receive unso
licited phone calls or e-mails, even if
they claim to represent well-known
charities. If you want to give, con
tact those charities directly.
Chapel Hill police support the
Special Olympics of North Carolina
through an annual golf tournament
and other fundraisers. The depart
ment also accepts donations for the
K-9 program but does not solicit
donations for that program.
Questions can be directed to the
police department's Community
Services Unit at 932-2929-
STATE BRIEFS
Thomas Wright's seat filled
in wake of prison sentence
Gov. Mike Easley appointed
Sandra Spaulding Hughes on
Wednesday to fill the District
18 seat in the N.C. House of
Representatives that was left
vacant by the expulsion of Thomas
Wright.
Hughes is a retired educator with
the N.C. Cooperative Extension
Services. She also served on the
Wilmington City Council from
1999 to 2003.
Wright was expelled on allega
tions of fraud and misreporting
campaign finance donations. He
was also recently sentenced to
roughly six to eight years in prison
for convictions of fraud stemming
from the same misconduct
From staffand trine reports.
Campus Health seeks input
Students can voice construction ideas
BY CHIARA AUSTIN
STAFF WRITER
If students don’t know that
UNC’s Campus Health Services’
building is named after singer
James Taylor's father, that’s prob
ably not the only thing they don’t
know about Campus Health.
The James A. Taylor building
has housed student health services
for 28 years, and at a focus group
Wednesday, some students realized
it has been in need of a makeover.
Mary Covington, assistant vice
chancellor for campus health, said
that almost immediately after the
building was completed in 1980,
it became clear that the structure
couldn't accommodate all that
Campus Health wanted to provide.
“There were certain areas of the
design process that wore already out
growing their space," she said.
7 think the theme for tonight was 'progressive!" vicki boyer , PRESIDENT Of THE LEAGUE Of WOMEN VOTERS
. rfoJP* v JHt. ST m
g/m JBBm
DTH/ULUE ELLIOT
N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, and Orange County Board of Commissioners Chairman Moses Carey debate at the Chapel Hill Town
Council Chambers in Town Hall on Wednesday. The pair will be running against each other in the Democratic primary May 6.
SENATE HOPEFULS DEBATE
BY OLIVIA BOWLER
STAFF WRITER
A debate Wednesday night between two
candidates for N.C. Senate District 23 failed to
shed much light on the differences in the can
didates' platforms and left attendees puzzled
at where the two actually split on policy.
Incumbent Sen. Ellie Kinnaird. D-
Orange, and challenger Moses Carey,
chairman of the Orange County Board of
Commissioners, both touted experience as
their main asset.
The two debated in front of a crowd of
about 60 people in Chapel Hill Town Hall,
where questions were posed by a panel of
five journalists, with representatives from
the Carrboro Citizen. WCHL, The Chapel
Hill Herald, The Chapel Hill News and The
Daily Tar Heel.
Both candidates said mental health is
at the top of their priority list, as well as
improving access to affordable health care
and health insurance.
If re-elected, Kinnaird would enter her
seventh term in the N.C. Senate.
She cited those previous six terms as her
“respected record of achievements."
ASU students stage sit-in
Protest of worker
rights policies
BY JACKI HUNTINGTON
STAFF WRITER
The Appalachian State
University chapter of United
Students Against Sweatshops
occupied the office of Chancellor
Kenneth Peacock on Wednesday
to protest the university’s policies
regarding workers' rights.
The Designated Suppliers
Program, created in 2005 by the
Worker’s Rights Consortium,
requires university apparel manu
facturers to abide by the university's
own established code of conduct but
also to pay their employees a living
wage and allow them to unionize.
USAS is pushing the ASU
administration to join the 41 uni
versities that have already signed
on to the program. The UNC chap
ter, along with many across the
country, is doing the same.
“We’re understanding that
our administration isn't going to
respond to students, but they could
respond to negative PR," said Billy
Top News
And with UNC’s enrollment
increasing, officials are discussing
the building's pros and cons.
They are asking for input from
students as they make plans for the
building. That process will contin
ue for the next eight to 10 months.
“The students are the ones that
pay our salaries. We work for no
one else," Covington said. “We want
to design a facility that will best
meet student needs to minimize
the time away from classes."
Christopher Payne, associate
vice chancellor for student affairs,
said officials chose project designer
Perkins Eastman because the group
has a participatory planning process
that ensures student involvement.
About 50 percent of the build
ing’s available gross square footage
now goes unused. Until 1999. the
top floor of the building was used
“I have been called the conscience of
the Senate." Kinnaird said of her ability to
tackle tough issues. “I have persevered with
important principles that are morally right
and help the whole state."
Carey echoed the importance of building
alliances, assuring the crow and that he already
had working relationships with many key
figures because of his extensive experience
in public health care and his ties to other
county commissioners.
“I am the only candidate in this race with
24 years of public service." Carey said, add
ing that he also has been a leader in the busi
ness community.
Both candidates came down on the same
side of local immigration policy, agreeing
that the presence of undocumented immi
grants in the community is crucial to the
economy.
“It’s something we can’t live without,
frankly," Kinnaird said, adding that she
found it reprehensible that other counties
are throwing illegal immigrants in jail.
Kinnaird and Carey also both promised to
reform the justice system, with an emphasis
on prevention.
Schweig, a member of USAS, of the
group’s decision to act.
Schweig said he hoped the sit-in
would lead to the beginning of dia
logue between labor rights advo
cates and the ASU administration.
“I’m confident we’re going to pass
action sooner or later," he said.
With the students’ shouts audible
over speakerphone. Vice Chancellor
of Student Development Cindy
Wallace said that the administra
tion values student input but that
questions about the legality of the
program remain.
A Columbia University study
examining the university’s relation
ship with the Designated Suppliers
Program found that it violates anti
trust laws by mandating wages and
thus setting a de facto price for
goods produced.
The WRC unsuccessfully
requested that the antitrust divi
sion of the U.S. Department of
Justice write a letter rejecting those
allegations. It has opted to put the
effort on hold until the next presi
dential administration is in place.
Wallace said that if all illegalities
were dissociated with the Designated
Suppliers Program, the school would
ATTEND THE FOCUS GROUPS
rone: Noon to 2 p.m. today and 4
p.m. to 6 p.m. today
Location: 2nd floor of the Campus
Health Sendees Building
Info: campushealth.unc.edu
as a hospital, but it was closed
because of low use and high cost.
Since then, rooms that used to
house patients have been trans
formed into exam rooms and offic
es. But the rooms still have bath
rooms that were never taken out
because of high remodeling costs.
“It seems very drab and outdat
ed," junior Chris Williams said at
Wednesday’s forum.
Because the building was
built before the Americans with
Disabilities Act the clinic bathrooms
are too small to accommodate dis
abled patients. Some closets even
were transformed into office space
when more staff was hired to accom-
"We need to put the juvenile' back in the
juvenile justice system." Carey said of the
prevention plan he hopes to instigate, which
would focus on aiunsiiing services and early
childhood education.
When asked if she was concerned about
appearing soft on crime because of her simi
lar focus on rehabilitating juvenile offend
ers, Kinnaird responded confidently:
“Not in Orange County."
Throughout the evening, it was clear that
both candidates were generally reflecting
the forward-looking stances of their mostly
unified constituency.
“I think the theme for tonight was progres
sive.- said Vicki Boyer, president of the League
of Women Voters, which sponsored the event
along with Empowerment and the Chapel
Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce.
Boyer said Orange County has a history
of economic stability, partly because of its
ties to the University, which meant that the
candidates could largely avoid the issue of
economic woes.
Contact the State is National Editor
at stntdeskfa unc.edu.
reconsider its position.
‘Students will always be wel
come to express their opinions in
this building," she said.
USAS has criticized the university
labor codes as insufficient in prevent
ing sweatshop conditions in factories
producing university apparel.
Nancy Steffan, WRC assistant
director for policy and communi
cations, said loose university codes
don’t give factories producing
licensed apparel an incentive to
comply with the policies.
UNC has a code in place for fac
tories to follow but has not joined
the Designated Suppliers Program
because of similar concerns about
possible illegalities.
The UNC chapter of USAS,
Student Action with Workers, has
planned several events throughout
April, with a dramatization of a
sweatshop to appear at 11:30 a.m.
today on Polk Place.
SAW has delivered letters to the
chancellor throughout the week,
advocating for the University’s
adoption of the program.
Contact the State E? National
Editor at stntdesk(a u nc.edu.
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2008
modate the increase in enrollment
Patricia Huff, director of admin
istration for campus health, said
student enrollment has increased
about 30 percent since 1980. Since
then. Campus Health has made
renovations, including updating
the pharmacy to work with 400
prescriptions daily.
Payne said officials haven't ruled
out the possibility of an addition to
the building, a renovation or even a
completely new facility .
But the location is convenient
because it is dose to UNC Hospitals
and the School of Medidne.
“UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the
top universities, and to have a cam
pus health building looking the way
it does is pitiful." forum attendee
Sharon Chen said.
“It amid be infinitely better with
a completely redesigned building."
Contact the University Editor
at udexk(a unc.edu.
Bottle chemicals may
present health risks
BY ALLISON MILLER
SENIOR WRITER
Freshman Bill Bobbitt, an envi
ronmental studies major, traded
his Nalgene water bottle in for a
stainless steel bottle three months
ago because he worries about the
safety of plastic bottles.
But senior Erin McKennev, a
biology major, said even though
she heard plastic water bottles
could leach chemicals after two
years, she is not concerned.
"The issue is whether it’s enough
to be toxic," said Gerald Leßlanc.
chairman of the Department of
Environmental and Molecular
Toxicology at N.C. State
University.
Many plastic bottles are com
posed of polycarbonate plastic
the hard plastic that is used in many
baby bottles and drinking bottles,
such as the übiquitous hard-plastic
bottles made by Nalgene.
Polycarbonate plastic contains
a chemical called bisphenol A, or
BPA. which could have adverse
effects on human health and
Schools
sponsor
UNC-W
speaker
Lawsuit claims
discrimination
BY CAROLINE DYE
STAFF WRITER
A UNC-Wilmington professor
who claims to be a victim of discrim
ination for his conservative beliefs
will speak at UNC-Chapel Hill
today about promoting a diversity
of ideas on university campuses.
Criminal justice professor Mike
Adams has been battling UNC-W
since last year, w'hen he filed suit
against the university for harass
ment and discrimination after a
promotion refusal.
Adams says the refusal stems
from prejudice toward his religious
and political beliefs.
UNC-W’s motion to dismiss
the suit was denied earlier this
month.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a
legal organization that handles
issues of religious freedom, filed
suit on behalf of
Adams.
“Christian
professors
should not be
discriminated
against because
of their beliefs,"
stated ADF
Senior Legal
Counsel Steven
Aden in a press
release.
“No universi
ty should refuse
3
UNC-W faculty
member Mike
Adams says he
is a victim of
discrimination.
promotion to a gifted and accom
plished professor simply because
it disagrees with his religious and
political views."
UNC-W officials declined to
comment on the case because the
lawsuit has not been resolved.
The ADF said it is defending
Adams in an effort to protect the
rights of professors who fall outside
the perception of the typical liberal
professor.
“The university is supposed to be
the marketplace of ideas, and univer
sity officials should not treat religious
or conservative professors as second
class citizeas on campus." stated ADF
Senior Legal Counsel David French,
director of the organization's Center
for Academic Freedom, in an earlier
press release.
Adams’ appearance at UNC-CH
is sponsored by College Republicans
at UNC-CH, N.C. State University
and Duke University.
The John William Pope Center,
a conservative higher education
policy organization, organized the
speaking engagement.
Jenna Robinson. Pope Center’s
campus outreach coordinator, said
Adams will mainly discuss how col
lege students can ensure a diversity
of ideas on campus.
“He’s obviously very conservative,"
said UNC-CH College Republicans
Chairman Derek Belcher.
“He’s creating controversy. We
like that."
Contact the State t? National
Editor at stntdrskfa unc.edu.
IF YOU GO
Time: 7 pm. today
Location: Manning 209
Info: www.dradams.org
has been shown to leach small
amounts of the chemical into
water or food.
The chemical has been linked
to prostate cancer, breast cancer
and reproductive problems, said
Leßlanc, who was part of a panel
of 38 scientists who met in 2006
in Chapel Hill to examine evidence
about BPA.
The group published an article
stating that BPA exposure is a cause
for concern because of its potential
to harm human health.
“High levels of bisphenol A could
be like you have a lot of estrogen in
vour body," said Linda Bimbaum,
a member of the Chapel Hill panel
and director of experimental
toxicology at the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Leßlanc said pregnant women
should think twice about expos
ing themselves to BPA because it
could harm the developing embryo.
Parents also should be wary of let
ting their small children drink from
SEE BOTTLES. PAGE 11
3