Partly cloudy, windy
It will be partly cloudy and
windy today with the high in
the low 40s and the low
tonight in the mid-20s.
Thursday will be cloudy with
the temperature in the low
40s.
Volume 85, Issue No.
cWmtinm in line
Often more culturally
By LESLIE SC1SM
Features Editor
In Chapel Hill, you wait in line to get
seats in a restaurant, to get into crowded
parking lots, to pay parking fines, to make
telephone calls, to check out library books.
Armed with thermos jugs and sleeping
bags, you queue in snow, slush and bone
chilling weather to get basketball tickets to
the Duke-UNC game.
In New York, the unofficial queuing
capital of the U nited States, you line up on
Broadway, outside the Metropolitan
Opera, at Madison Square Garden and
outside Yankee Stadium. In Havana, you
stand in line for two hours for a dish of
chocolate ice cream, while in Mexico City
you wait patiently to catch a shared-ride
taxi. In Melbourne, you come a week in
advance to wait in line for tickets to the
"World Series" of Australian rules football
here your mail is forwarded to you.
Lines you moan unimportant and
inconvenient preludes to more important
events.
Not so, says John Forrest of the
department of anthropology. He grins,
leans back in his chair and then explains
that, for anthropologists, lines are more
than mere short-lived phenomena.
"There are many big lines that are as
significant as the event itself," says Forrest,
who has studied such things. He cites
information from anthropological studies.
"It's a cultural experience. Standing in
lines is a common feature of modern urban
culture. We do it all the time."
Wherever and whenever modern man
$400 million grant
proposed by Carter
to improve education
By JJniied Prs Jnierntjonl
WASHINGTON President Carter asked Congress Tuesday to
get back to basics in educating the nation's Children and to start by
providing more money for schools with high concentrations of needy
children.
Reading, writing and arithmetic "remain critical to their ability to
function in a complex society," the president said in his message to
the House and Senate outlining his school policy.
"We must do a better job of teaching these basic skills to all our
children. This should be the fundamental goal for our entire
education system." The president called for a $400-million grant
program to help elementary and high school systems with especially
high concentrations of children from low-income families.
About two-thirds of the money would go to city schools, 25
percent to rural schools and 6-to-7 percent to those in the suburbs.
Carter also called for a new program carrying incentives for states
to set up their own so-called compensatory education systems. States
would get one federal dollar for each two dollars ofstate money spent
on bringing up to par the basic skills of children from poor families.
HEW Secretary Joseph Califano said the proposal would help
. states set up experimental projects, involve parents in teaching their
children the "three R's" and use television and computers in math
and reading instruction.
A national survey showed that 12 percent of the 17-year-olds in
1975 were functionally illiterate unable to complete routine forms
and 34 percent could not determine the most economical size of a
simple consumer product.
ACC ticket scalping can be
profitable, illegal business
By AMY McRARY
Staff Writer
It's illegal and it's expensive. But anyone
with connections at an ACC school can
make a fantastic profit.
That's the word from self-described ticket
scalpers who thrive on an illegal market
many police departments say is non-existent.
One UNC sophomore says he is planning
to sell between 12and 1 6 tickets, dividing the
$450 profit with a friend. "We're going to the
Bahamas over spring break," he said.
The industrious student has been
advertising in classified sections of local
newspapers to sell his extra tickets. His ad is
one of several that dot the pages of North
Carolina dailies.
He says one of his ticket books is reserved
Board asks Ma Bell to pay property taxes
By MIKE COYNE
Staff Writer
The Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen
decided unanimously Monday night to write
Southern Bell requesting payment of taxes
on almost $24 million in previously untaxed
property.
Because of a loophole in tax laws,
Southern Bell only had to pay taxes on a
small portion of their Chapel Hill branch
property in 1977. After buying the telephone
system from UNC last March for $25
million. Southern Bell payed taxes on only
$1,873,027 of the property.
State law requires companies to pay taxes
on real property when there is a transfer of
property from a non-taxable institution, the
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As these and
queues, Forrest says, egalitarian, first
come, first-served principles govern his
actions.
"It's like education. Everyone starts out
the same, but the ones who put in the most
time get ahead.
"In America, time is very important.
Time and money are equivalent. Time is
related to rewards. You get a good seat at
the football game if you wait long enough.
for himself. "1 plan to be on the front row of
the Tar Heel se,ction," he said.
Many black market tickets come from
other ACC schools, "like those whose teams
haven't done so well," the student profiteer
said.
For example,' he got one set of tickets by
paying $80 (the regular price of two ticket
books) plus an additional undisclosed
amount. Included in the deal was a bottle of
wine left over from former President
Richard Nixon's inaugural ball. "That way it
would look like 1 paid this guy from V irginia
for the wine to make the transaction legal."
the student said.
The UNC student sold the tickets he
bought from the Virginia student for a tidy
profit
See SCALPING on page 2.
University, to a commercial institution.
Southern Bell.
The company listed most of its property as
personal.
Had the transaction been between two
commercial institutions, many argue that
Southern Bell would have been liable for all
the property.
Chapel Hill Mayor James Wallace will
meet with Carrboro Mayor Robert
Drakeford and Orange and Chatham county
commissioners to write the letter.
Alderman Robert Epting. who proposed
the letter, said the board should be ready to
petition the N.C. Utilities Commission if
Southern Bell does not reply promptly.
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Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Wednesday, March 1, 1978,
significant than actual event, anthropologist says
other UNC students know, queuing up is a major part of life
If you don't, you get a bad seat or not one at
all.
"Fairness is involved. That's why there is
so much objection to breaking in line."
Rules regulating order and controlling
time-outs and place-keeping are used with
all lines, he says. In most marathon lines,
rules are more sophisticated than simple
first-come, first-served. Distribution of
basketball tickets at UNC is a notable
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Jimmy Carter
Carter also proposed trimming $76 million next year and $336
million the following year from $800 million worth of subsidies for
school systems with large numbers of children of federal workers.
One of several lawmakers attending the briefing, Carl Perkins, D
Ky., chairperson of the House Education and Labor Committee, said
Congress could enact the legislation Carter requested by May I.
Financial aid
applications
are due today
Today is the deadline for all
students (graduate and
undergraduate) to submit their
applications for financial aid in 1 978
79, according to Tom Langston,
assistant director of the Student Aid
Office.
But Langston said that financial aid
applications will be accepted on an
"on-time basis," which means that
applications will not be considered
late until after Friday. '
The Financial Aid Form, which
must be submitted to Princeton, N.J.,
by all applicants, should be filed as
soon as possible, Langston said.
The board's action is part of a continuing
battle to force Southern Bell to pay the
property tax. Earlier this year, the board
petitioned the Utilities Commission to force
Southern Bell to rebate money collected
from subscribers for taxes that was never
used for that purpose. The Utilities
Commission rejected the proposal and
Southern Bell was allowed to keep the funds.
At the time of the first Utilities
Commission ' petition, area tax officials
estimated the loss in tax revenue to the
Chapel Hill. Carrboro and Orange county
governments to be S400.000.
Mike Carson. Chapel Hill district
manager lor Southern Bell, said that his
company probably w ill disregard the letter.
mx
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
example. Ushers assign numbers to
queuers who are then required to report for
"roll call" every half hour throughout the
day. Otherwise, queuers are free to wander
about or go home. Anyone who misses roll
call has his name taken off the list.
Behavior is related to what kind of line it
is.
"An opera queue is different from a
boxing queue. Prcregistration lines are
Aldermen offer support
Town attorney to aid in defending
legality of student-voter registration
By MIKE COYNE '
Staff Writer
The Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen
voted Monday night to have its town
attorney join with the Orange County
Board of Elections attorney in
defending the legality of student-voter
registration.
The move comes after an attempt by
the Orange Committee, a group of
conservative Orange County
Democrats led by Hillsborough
attorney Lucius Cheshire, to stop
students from registering to vote in
Orange County.
Superior Court Judge James H. Pou
Bailey heard testimony in the case
Monday. He promised to rule on the
matter March 6 if those involved do not
reach an agreement.
Phillips' plan to shift budget talks
gets disapproval of carhpus leaders
By ROBERT THOMASON
Staff Writer
Leaders of campus organizations have
expressed disapproval of President-elect Jim
Phillips' plan to move consideration of the
budget from the spring to the fall, but have
received recommendations by the Budget
Review Committee more warmly.
BRC recommended that budget
deliberations continue to be held in the
spring but that organizations requesting
funds be required to itemize their requests.
"I'm against changing the time of the
budget process," said Bill Parmelee,
president of the Student Consumer Action
Union and a BRC member.
"It's not a good idea to have the process at
the beginning of the academic year," he said.
"There is a rule that says an organization
must spend its money by the end of the
academic year, and if the budget process is
completed in the middle of the academic
year, there will be a rush to spend the
money."
But Phillips has said that the new Campus
Governing Council and administration
needs time to settle into their respective jobs
before starting the budget process.
"The way it is, I've just been elected
president, and bang. I have to work with the
budget. The CCC members are busy setting
up the'various committees." Phillips said.
Phillips said delaying the process would
give officials more time to consider the
budget.
"I can see that making the budget in the
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Pholo by L C Barbour
at Carolina.
totally dissimilar from pop concert lines.
They're much more impersonal, concerned
mainly with complaints about
bureaucracy. Pop concert lines you're
out for fun. The queue is a fun event. Most
queues for entertainment are
ent e rt a i n in e nt t he m se I ves .
"You'll hear people in line saying, This
reminds me of the queue last December for
the Beatles concert.' "
Chapel Hill town attorney Finery B.
Denny will relay the aldermen's
opinions to the Orange County elections
board. He will also work with the
elections attorney in defending the
county's registration policies.
Denny said as town attorney he could
only function in an advisory role
because the town has no legal stake in
the proceedings.
The aldermen considered several
alternative actions. Alderman Fd
Vickery suggested the board vote town
funds to support one student in a test
case. This idea was dropped when
Denny explained the town could not
legally take such action.
Alderman Gerry Cohen suggested the
board inform the court about tax levels
fall would give them (CCiC) more time to see
where the money should go. hut to do that
would create a lot of problems for the
Student Activities f und Office," said Betty
Ausherman, chairperson of the Association
for Women.
"Itemizing expenses for the next year
would resolve the problem of experience,"
she said.
Chip Cox. CGC speaker, said pushign the
budget process into the fall was a good idea
but posed too many practical problems. He
said SAFO would have problems in setting
up the accounts. ,
Leaders of campus organizations were in
favor of the Provision in BRC's proposed
budget process reform bill which requires
organizations requesting funds to itemize
planned programs, services and events.
"That's what we have been doing," said
Byron Horton, president of the Black
Student Movement. "We have been staling
what we needed for Black Ink, or the choir.
It's good that they would require others to do
the same."
Ausherman said that her organization,
AWS, also has itemized its budget requests.
"It's good that they should sit dow n and plan
what they are going to do next year."
"I'm satisfied with what the review
committee recommended," Parmelee said. "I
was a little worried at one stage when some
radical things were proposed. It was
suggested that we fund certain organizations
and not fund otheiv that idea was
abandoned. It wasn't oui job to make that
kind of deCMon "
Ice hockey in the South?
The UNC Club Hockey team
will face the team from Wake
Forest Friday night in
Greensboro in the finals of
the ACC Club Hockey tour
nament. For details see story
on page 5.
Please call us: 933-0245
Often an interminable wait affects the
person's view of the event. "Thewait shows
the extreme significance of an event,"
Forrest says. "The amount of time is seen
as an investment. Once you've queued for
three days you damn well better enjoy the
event. You can make an event important by
having a queue."
Movie viewers who have suffered
through marathon waits, he says,
sometimes rationalize that stunning visual
effects make an otherwise lackluster movie
good. Broadway goers, wearied by a three
hour queue in drizzling rain, may try to
find hidden meaning in a disappointing
play.
Why people stand in line when their
chances of seeing a hit movie or play
appears hopeless is a question that is
baffling to anthropologists like Forrest.
"People generally are not very good at
estimating how many people are in line.
When 1 went tosee All the President's Men,
1 was three blocks from the theater. 1
thought there was no chance to get in. But
we did.
"People tend to overestimate when
they're nearby and underestimate when
they're far away."
A long line of customers can be good for
business, he says,
"One of the funniest kinds of queuing
occurred during World War II in England.
Almost everything was rationed food
and clothing. Some things weren't, so when
butchers had some meat to sell it was on a
first-come, first-served basis.
"If you saw a line you got in it. It was
something you wanted or could sell. Lines
are for something you want."
and federal, funding received by both the
town and county based on census
figures that include students.
Cohen said if the town and county are
to receive f unding for the students living
here, the students should be allowed to
vote here.
He said Orange County receives
approximately $650,000 in federal funds
based on a student population of 19,000.
Cohen said an additional $2 million in
property taxes, $400,000 in sales tax and
$50,000 in utility taxes are collected by
the town and county because of
students.
"I think we should be prepared to
rebate the federal funds we receive on
behalf of the students back to the
students if they are not allowed to vote,"
Cohen said.
"The new process would promote long
range planning," said Bain Jones, president
of the Residence Hall Association. "It would
look critically at what has been done in the
past and what will be done in the next year.
"1 think that in the transition, the CGC
should hold some sort of forum with the
organizations so that the organizations will
know w hat is expected of them in filling out
the forms."
v
Jimmy Phillips