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CHAPEL HILL
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NC £7514
Volume 93 - number 45
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30
Obama says Lynch will carry on equal justice
By Nedra Pickier
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama introduced his
mice for attorney general Saturday as an accomplished prosecu-
r from New York City who will carry on a “fierce commitment to
iual justice.”
Obama argued at a White House ceremony that it’s “pretty hard
, be more qualified” for the job of attorney general than Brooklyn
deral prosecutor Loretta Lynch.
“Loretta might be the only lawyer in America who battles mob-
ers and drug lords and terrorists, and still has the reputation for be-
ig a charming people person,” Obama said to laughter from those
ho packed the Roosevelt Room for the announcement.
The 55-year-old Lynch would be the first African-American
oman to serve as attorney general. She would replace outgoing At-
imey General Eric Holder, who also was at Saturday’s announce-
ient and was the first black head of the Justice Department.
Lynch said she was humbled and thrilled at the prospect of lead-
ig“the only Cabinet department named for an ideal.”
“If 1 have the honor of being confirmed by the Senate, I will
ake up every morning with the protection of the American people
ly first thought,” she said. “And I will work every day to safeguard
ar citizens, our liberties, our rights, and this great nation which has
iven so much to me and my family.”
Republicans have promised tough scrutiny of Obama’s pick after
ears of battles with Holder, who is close to Lynch and appointed her
; chair of a committee that advises him on policy. Holder has been
a unflinching champion of civil rights in enforcing the nation’s laws
id his successor will be left to grapple with several prominent civil
ghts issues that have been elevated on his watch.
White House officials said they are leaving it up to Senate leaders
iwork out the timeline for her confirmation, with Obama calling for
pproval “without delay.” But with Democrats facing a long list of
riorities before year’s end brings a shift to Republican control, it’s
kely she won’t get a vote until next year.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat and the outgoing chair-
un of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he will consult about
:heduling confirmation hearings with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley,
it Republican who will take over in January. “She will appear be-
>re the Senate Judiciary Committee in a public hearing after we
ave had time to review her record,” he said in a statement.
Lynch was chosen in large part because the White House sees
er as likely to win approval from the Senate after Republicans won
le majority in Tuesday’s midterm election. Grassley’s office said
Ibama called him Friday night to tell him Lynch would be the nomi-
ee and the White House followed up to schedule a time for Grassley
> speak with Lynch.
Lynch is the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York,
,hich covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island, a
osition she also held under President Bill Clinton.
“Loretta doesn’t look to make headlines, she looks to make a dif-
srence,” Obama said, offering an explanation why she’s largely un-
nown in Washington outside legal circles. “She’s not about splash,
he is about substance.”
President Barack Obama announces his nominee for Attorney General, Loretta
E. Lynch, to succeed Eric Holder, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Sat
urday, Nov. 8, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
UNC to face more scrutiny from accrediting agency
RALEIGH (AP) - The University of North Carolina faces more scrutiny by an
accrediting agency after details emerged on an academic scandal.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that the president of the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges said the school is
being sent a letter about a new investigation.
Belle Wheelan said the new investigation will focus on the findings of an Oct.
22 independent review that found nearly two decades of academic fraud.
That investigation found hundreds of fake independent studies and no-show
classes in African and African-American Studies taken by more than 3,100 stu
dents, about half ofthem athletes.
The review by the accrediting agency is expected to last for months. No deci
sion by the agency’s board is expected until June.
President Barack Obama welcomes the Jackie Robinson West All Stars to the Oval Office, Nov, 6, 2014. (Official White House
Photo by Pete Souza) - Earlier this afternoon, the Jackie Robinson West All Stars - the U.S. champions in this year’s Little League
World Series - stopped by the White House for a visit with the President and the First Lady. Hailing mainly from the South Side of
Chicago, Jackie Robinson West captured the world’s attention this summer on their extraordinary run through the Little League
World Series. Along with being the first Chicago-area team to make it to the Little League World Series in 31 years, Jackie Robinson
West also made history as the first all-black team to win the U.S. title.
Jeff Thelusme visits a
friend’s grave on Veterans
Day at the South Florida
National cemetery in Lake
Worth, Fla., Tues. Nov. 11.
The served in afghanistan
together. His friend, suf
fering from PTSD died in
a drowning after coming
home. (AP Photo/ J. Pat
arter)
Former UNC football player files lawsuit
By Tom Foreman Jr.
CHARLOTTE (AP) - Former University of North Carolina football player Michael McAdoo
has filed a lawsuit against the school, saying it failed to provide him and other athletes a quality
education by guiding them toward sham classes.
Online court records say a lawsuit seeking class action status was filed this week in U.S.
District Court in Charlotte.
McAdoo’s lawsuit says that he was guaranteed a good education while being recruited by
football coaches, but was ultimately guided to consider three options, one of which was African-
American Studies - the curriculum that formed the basis for the long-running academic scandal.
“We’re not out to vilify UNC. We’re trying to restore the student-athlete principle that UNC’s
really been for so long in the forefront of,” said Jeremi Duru, a Washington, D.C., attorney rep
resenting McAdoo who also teaches law at American University.
Rick White, UNC Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Public Affairs, said
the school became aware of the lawsuit on Nov. 7 and will reserve comment until it has re
viewed the claims.
McAdoo, who played football at UNC from 2008 through 2010, was ruled permanently in
eligible in 2010 for academic violations connected to a tutor providing improper assistance on
a research paper for a class in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies depart
ment.
The lawsuit comes weeks after a report detailing the academic and athletic scandal at UNC re
vealed that more than 3,100 athletes and everyday students took no-show classes in the formerly
named African and Afro-American Studies department for nearly two decades ending in 2011.
The report by former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein said those classes re
sulted in artificially high grades while faculty and university administrators either missed red flags or
looked the other way. The report also said almost half the students enrolled in the bogus classes were
athletes, more than 10 times their proportion in the overall student population. Athletics staffers
steered players to the classes when they struggled to meet the grades required to continue competing.
In the lawsuit, McAdoo said UNC coaches and other representatives “enticed these football stu
dent-athletes to sign the agreements with promises of a legitimate UNC education . .. “
“Instead, UNC systematically Tunneled its football student-athletes into a 'shadow curriculum’ of
bogus courses which never met and which were designed for the sole purpose of providing enrollees
high grades,” the lawsuit said. It also said the curriculum featured hundreds of courses which never
met and never involved a professor and that hundreds of football student-athletes were steered to
the courses.
Also, the lawsuit says UNC has reaped “substantial profits” from football players, but has not pro
vided them with an education in return, thus breaching its contract with McAdoo and other student-
athletes in violation of North Carolina law. The lawsuit also accuses the school of fraud by promis
ing “a legitimate education” if McAdoo and others enrolled at UNC as football student-athletes.
Sports Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this report from Raleigh.