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Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Thursday, September 18, 1975
Vol. 83, No. 14
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Buddy Ray (L), chairperson of the
CGC replaces old Media Board with new
by Chris Fuller
Staff Writer
A new set of Media Board bylaws, which
. in effect dissolved the old Media Board, was
approved Tuesday night by the Campus
Governing Council (CGC).
The CGC approved the new laws,
proposed by the old Media Board
Chairperson Dick Pope, because no
complete and verified copy of Media Board
bylaws could be located.
The laws were lost when Media Board files
were moved last spring from the board's
Suite A office to the lobby of Suite C, Mark
Dearmon, former chairperson of the Media
Board, said.
The council set up an interim committee to
Executive
Billy Richardson, executive assistant
to Student Body President Bill Bates,
resigned his position Wednesday, Bates
said.
Exact details of why Richardson
resigned were not clear Wednesday
afternoon, but there have been recent
staff conflicts in the Bates administration
pertaining to the Black Student
Movement fund freeze.
Richardson said he would issue a
statement to the Daily Tar Heel at 1 p.m.
today concerning his status and
resignation.
"All I will say now is that I've done my
job today," Richardson said Wednesday.
Richardson, a junior political science
by Richard Whittle
Staff Writer
William H. (Bjll) Thorpe, a 34-year-old
North Carolina Department of Labor
employee, Wednesday became the fourth
formally announced candidate for the
Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen.
"In observing our town's governmental
scene over the past few years, I am struck by
several needs," Thorpe said in a Wednesday
press release.
Thorpe is finance chairperson for the
Chapel Hill Bicentennial Commission and a
former vice-chairperson of the Chapel Hill
Charter Review Commission.
He listed as the town's needs: the
preservation of Chapel Hill as "a nice place
to live," more direct communication
between citizens and their government and
more efficient, economical government.
Thorpe said the efforts of previous town
officials should be continued.
"Our town's population is expanding,"
Thorpe said. "An expanding population
requires careful planning and quality
government to meet its needs."
Thorpe is a natives of Oxford, but has
lived in Chapel Hill since 1970. This year's
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Committee on Minority Rights, talks
handle Media Board affairs until the new
board is established. The committee is
composed of the previous board
chairperson, Dick Pope, and previous board
treasurer, George Bacso.
.,, .Allaction.taken by the interim committee
will be reviewed by the CGC.
The new bylaws also provide for nine
voting and 10 nonvoting members of the
Media Board. Voting members include the
previous Media Board's chairperson and
treasurer, a CGC Finance Committee
member, a CGC member, the student body
treasurer, a Graduate and Professional
Students Federation member and two
presidential appointees.
The nonvoting members are the Media
Board secretary, the Student Activities Fund
Office director, a faculty member from the
aide resigns
major from Fayetteville, has been
considered the number two official in
Student Government this year, ranking
behind only Bates in Suite C affairs. He
has counselled Bates closely during the
recent DTH and BSM funding
controversies.
Bates told the DTH Wednesday
afternoon there is still a possibility
Richardson could remain in his post, but
hinted there would be some changes
made in his staff.
"There will be a story concerning
personnel matters that will probably
interest you," Bates said.
Richardson would not respond
Wednesday to Bates' comment.
Nov. 4, nonpartisan municipal race will be
his first attempt at elected office.
He had originally planned to make his
announcement in a Sept. 2 press conference
but cancelled the conference.
Besides his work on the Bicentennial and
Charter commissions, Thorpe has served as
vice chairperson of the Chapel Hill
Community Development Task Force and
was appointed to the N.C. Personnel Review
Committee within the Department of Public
Instruction in 1972. He was recently
reappointed to the personnel committee.
Thorpe said he sees a need to combat
urban blight, which he said "can spread
throughout a town and strangle it." He said
that if Chapel Hill is to remain an attractive
place to live, "we cannot be a town with open
sores."
Thorpe fully supports the bus system,
calling it a necessity for the students, the
"life-blood" of the town.
In addition, he promised to advocate more
extensive use of the committee system within
the Board of Aldermen.
A 1964 graduate of Fayetteville State
University, Thorpe taught history and
physical education in the Duplin County
school system from 1966 to 1969. He is
married and has two children.
bylaws
5 .
SUN photo by Howard Shepherd
with BSM chairperson Lester Diggs.
School of Business, a faculty member from
the School of Journalism, and
representatives from the Daily Tar Heel, the
Yackety Yack, the Carolina Quarterly, the
Cellar Coor, WCAR radio and Student
Graphics.,. . .-, . . r
According to the 'old bylaws, all
representatives from these organizations
could vote, except Student Graphics. The
old board also had two voting CGC
members rather than the new board's one,
and contained three voting Media Board
appointees, which the new board omits.
The new Media Board bylaws also state
that no paid member of any organization
under the auspices of the Media Board can
serve as a voting member.
Also the Media Board will now serve as a
board of directors for both the DTH and
Student Graphics.
The CGC may override any Media Board
decision with a majority vote, according to
the new bylaws.
The CGC decision, which abolished the
old Media Board, brought unfavorable
response from the members of the old board.
Some of the ousted members are discussing
the possibility of filing suit in student
Supreme Court to protest the action.
Old Media Board member Bill Moss said
Wednesday the new bylaws are illegal,
because copies of the old bylaws did and do
exist.
Moss also said the old bylaws say a two
thirds vote of the Media Board and the
approval of CGC are required to amend the
bylaws. The Media Board did not vote on or
even discuss amending the bylaws, he said.
Another critic of the CGC action was the
old Media Board treasurer Bacso. "As far as
what happened last night (in the CGC
meeting)," he said, "I think that the bylaws
approved are asinine in that they do not
provide the various member organizations,
such as the DTH, Yackety Yack and
Carolina Quarterly, voting power."
Bacso further said the Media Board is
already a political organization and the new
bylaws could allow it to become totally
political and making it unresponsive to the
organizations it is supposed to serve.
"I'm very upset about the way that Dick
Pope handled this matter, acting solely on
his own without contacting me, the treasurer
of the organization, or receiving the consent
of the Media Board," Bacso added.
"1 think the bylaws as he (Pope) presented
them, were very hastily prepared. He took
the responsibility on himself, again without
contacting me or receiving the consent of the
board, to totally alter the structure of the
board and its bylaws." -
Sports star offers philosophies
by George Bacso
Assistant Managing Editor
Bill Russell is probably best known for his
basketball brilliance, but in his Memorial
Hall speech Tuesday night, Russell preferred
to downplay his sports experiences in order
to express his personal philosophies.
The former Boston Celtics superstar and
current coach of the Seatle Supersonics,
Russell was voted Athlete of the Decade in
1970.
"I would rather be known, not as a
basketball player, but rather as a man who
happened to play basketball," Russell said.
"Athletes are like pretty girls in the way
by Vernon Loeb
Staff Writer
After demonstrations by more than 200
black students, Student Body President Bill
Bates released Wednesday the Black Student
Movement's (BSM) Student Government
appropriation, which remained frozen after
Tuesday's Campus Governing Council
(CGC) meeting.
The funds were frozen this summer when
the CGC charged the BSM Gospel Choir
with maintaining an illegal checking account
at a local bank.
Bates move was upheld later that
afternoon by an emergency meeting of the
CGC Finance Committee after Student
Body Treasurer Mike O'Neal and other
Student Government officials said Bates did
not have the power to release the funds.
After marching from the Pit, the
demonstrators gathered on the steps of
South Building Wednesday morning while
BSM Chairperson Lester Diggs met with
Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor to demand
$12,000 from the Chancellor's discretionary
fund. , "
Taylor refuses demands
Taylor refused to meet the demands,
saying the BSM funds could only be,
obtained through appropriate Student
Government channels. He suggested that
Diggs meet with Bates.
The demonstration then moved back to
the Pit while Diggs met with Bates and Dean
of Student Affairs Donald A. Boulton in
Student Government offices.
Following the meeting with Boulton and
Diggs, Bates went to the Pit and told the
demonstrators that the freeze had been lifted
and that only the funds of the Gospel Choir
would remain frozen pending a CGC
Finance Committee investigation.
Following Bates' statement, controversy
again arose when O'Neal said he would not
release BSM funds. O'Neal said Bates could
not legally rescind the freeze.
Under the Student Government
Constitution, only CGC can repeal an act of
CGC, Thus, only at the next CGC meeting
coufd BSM funds be released by a vote of the
entire council, O'Neal said.
However, the Finance Committee ruled
that the bill freezing the BSM funds was
void, because the CGC did not take final
action on the matter Tuesday as stipulated
by the bill.
O'Neal refused to abide by the Finance
Committee's interpretation and said the
BSM's funds were still frozen. A letter to that
effect was delivered to the BSM office after
the Finance Committee meeting, O'Neal
said.
"I am not abiding by the Finance
Committee's interpretation because one, the
CGC voted last night not to unfreeze the
BSM's funds; and two, no committee has
authority to do anything until action is taken
by CGC," O'Neal said.
While the CGC Tuesday night did defeat
an amendment made by Rep. Humphrey
Cummings to release BSM funds, the
council also defeated a proposal by Dave
Rittenhouse to continue the fund freeze.
Illegal checking account?
The funding controversy centers on a
checking account allegedly maintained by.
the Gospel Choir at North Carolina
National Bank.
Student treasury laws prohibit any
organization receiving student funds from
maintaining a private checking account. Any
by Art Eisenstadt
Staff Writer
The chairperson of the UNC faculty,
George V. Taylor, said Wednesday he will
oppose a recommendation of a Faculty
Council committee to tighten the campus
grading system.
Taylor said he would instead support an
alternative grading reform recommendation
originally proposed by history professor
James R. Leutze.
The committee plan would raise the value
of each letter grade to help fight alleged
grade inflation. Leutze has recommended
allowing professors to add a plus or a minus
they are treated. From the time they are
young and people find out they can play
sports, people talk to them differently and do
everything for them. No one wants you to
think do or say anything-they just want
"you to look good," Russell said.
Mixing his comments with grins, gestures
and loud outbursts of laughter, Russell
quickly established a casual rapport with his
audience. But despite his joviality, Russell
often became thoughtful and articulate as he
turned to more serious subjects, including
drugs, race relations and education.
"I personally do not use any drugs, and
that includes whiskey, beer, pills, marijuana
or hard drugs. 1 don't mean to lump
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Staff photo by Margaret Kirk
Dean of Student Affairs Donald A.
Boulton (C) confers with other
adminstrators during Wednesday's BSM
sit-in.
organization in violation of the laws will
have their funds frozen.
The Finance Committee contended that
because the. Gospel Choir is a financial
dependent of the BSM, the checking account
it allegedly maintained was illegal.
The BSM, however, maintained that the
Gospel Choir was financially independent
until it was officially allocated $600 in the
1975-76 Student Government budget.
Because of its financial independence, the
Gospel Choir was not subject to the treasury
laws, the BSM contended.
Rittenhouse said 1973-74 budget requests
for the Gospel Choir prove that the choir was
not a financially autonomous organization.
Although" no " money W'as specifically
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Ray addresses demonstrating BSM members on South Building porch
Wednesday morning. The group was protesting the Campus Governing
Council's refusal to unfreeze the BSM budget.
to a student's final letter grade.
Speaking as an individual faculty member
rather than chairperson, Taylor said, "I'm
behind Leutze all the way. 1 believe faculty
members should be able to grade as
accurately as possible."
Taylor, who is also history department
chairperson, said he would oppose the
committee plan at Friday's Faculty Council
meeting, when the proposal might come up
for a vote.
Under the plan, descriptions of the various
grades would be shifted down one letter.
Thus, w hile "good" work is now described by
a "B," and "fair" work is currently graded
"C," such work would in the future be graded
marijuana in with hard drugs. At least that's
what my 17-year-old son tells me, and he's
the resident expert on the subject.
"Our high school was 95 per cent black, 3
per cent Chicano, 1 per cent Oriental...and
every Tuesday a white boy would come
through and we'd pass him around.
"But at the University of San Francisco, it
was completely different, because there were
only 70 blacks on campus.
Russell continually urged the audience to
take their college education seriously and
learn as much as possible.
"An education is the most important thing
Please turn to page 2
allocated for the choir, he said, it was given
money under the lump sum categories of
travel and the cultural committee.
But Diggs said budget requests were never
granted and reiterated that the choir never
received money from the BSM.
Diggs also said the money in the choir
checking account did not come from Student
Government but from outside donations and
awards.
Fund requisitions bearing the name
"Gospel Choir" were exhibited at the CGC
meeting. Diggs, however, said these .
expenditures were made on behalf of the
choir by the BSM Cultural Committee. Such
expenditures were legal, he said, and do not
prove that the choir was receiving money
from the BSM.
Debate brings confusion
Debate on the BSM funds issue lasted for
more than two hours at Tuesday's CGC
meeting as an overflowing gallery of
predominantly black students heard
opponents battle to a stalemate.
Rittenhouse accused the BSM of not
complying with the investigation. "The only
reason for withholding information is to
hide guilt," he said.
The BSM responded saying they had
: supplied all pertinent information. In fact,
Diggs said, the BSM gave money it did not
rightfully own back to the CGC. All
information withheld by the BSM, he added,
was done so at the advice of legal counsel
pending the outcome of a law suit filed
against the BSM.
An amendment proposed by Cummings
would have released the BSM funds with the
stipulation that the choir would receive no
money until a full investigation was held.
The amendment failed three times.
At one point Finance Committee
Chairperson Bill Strickland called for the
BSM to be suspended from the budget. The
motion was not seconded.
The CGC meeting ended with the defeat of
a bill calling for a freeze of all BSM funds
until all financial records of the choir since
"1973 bcrereased-. "
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"C" and"D," respectively. An "A" would be
defined as "outstanding" and "B" defined as
"superior."
Grade point values for each letter would
remain the same, however. Thus, a student
who has done consistently "good" work
would have a "B" (3.0) average under the
present system, but a "C" (2.0) average if the
new system goes into effect. Provost J.
Charles Morrow, chairperson of the faculty
Committee on Instructional Personnel, said
Tuesday the new system would probably
reduce the number of "A's" being given and
make "C the most common grade, in most
departments, "B" is now the most common
grade.
In Leutze's proposal, a "C-plus.""C." and
"C-minus" would all be permissible final
grades and would have vary ing grade point
values. Meanwhile, the Campus Governing
Council (CGC) unanimously approved a
resolution condemning Morrow's proposed
grading system Tuesday.
The resolution, jointly introduced by six
CGC members, states that the new proposal
would put UNC students "at a competitive
disadvantage with students attending other
universities in the pursuit of their academic
and career interests."
The resolution goes on to urge the Faculty
Council to defeat the plan.
The Faculty Council is scheduled to
debate and possibly vote on the Morrow
committee proposal at 4 p.m., Friday in
Hamilton Hall auditorium. Taylor said the
proposal could be amended or rejected
altogether.
plan