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VOLUME 95 - NUMBER 27
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2016
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
$500 tuition could apply to ECSU students
By Anna Gronewold
RALEIGH (AP) - North
Carolina lawmakers have
re-included one historically
black university in an experi
mental program to cut tuition
to just $500 a semester for
in-state students at some
University of North Carolina
campuses.
House and Senate lead
ers announced as part of the
two chambers’ budget com
promise that tuition cuts for
in-state students would apply
to students at Elizabeth City
State University in addition
to Western Carolina Univer
sity and University of North
Carolina at Pembroke.
The bill would lower tu
ition to $500 a semester for
in-state students and $2,500
a. semester for out-of-state
students at the three univer
sities with the expressed aim
of increasing access to afford
able education and boosting
enrollment at campuses that
needed it.
The original proposal
by Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-
Henderson, also included
historically black universi
ties Fayetteville State and
Winston-Salem State, but re
ceived such vehement push-
back from students, alumni
and civil rights groups who
argued it would cheapen the
quality and reputation of their
degrees that Apodaca exclud
ed all three historically black
universities from the bill last
month.
Senate leader Phil Berger
said leaders reintroduced
Elizabeth City State Universi
ty to the final budget compro
mise because administrators
and chancellors requested it.
Berger said that, of the three
historically black universities,
lawmakers believed Elizabeth
City State would benefit most
from the enrollment increases
low tuition would prompt.
Apodaca said he believes
the situation at Elizabeth City
State University has reached
“critical.” A March audit
showed sharp drops in en
rollment and administrative
shortfalls. In the 2015 fall se
mester, only 232 of the 1,186
freshmen admitted actually
enrolled.
“They need something to
build them up, and we got to
keep them,” Apodaca said.
“They’re a valuable asset to
the state.”
North Carolina NAACP
President Rev. William Bar
ber, who has been a harsh
critic of the bill, said tuition
decreases signal cuts in pro
grams and services for the
universities that typically
serve African-Americans and
minorities. Barber called the
plan a “shell game” and said
meaningful change would
include expanding Medic
aid and increasing minimum
wage to allow families to bet
ter afford college tuition.
Apodaca has said the Gen
eral Assembly would commit
this year to continue financ
ing programs affected by tu
ition reductions. The budget
includes up to $40 million to
offset tuition reductions.
The budget also would
guarantee no tuition increas
es for in-state UNC students
who finish their degrees with
in a standard four year time
frame, and limit student fee
increases to a maximum of
three percent a year.
A member of the Black Lives Matters movement speaks to members as they
stage a sit-in at the annual Pride Parade in Toronto on Sunday, July 3. (Mark
Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)
North Carolina General
Assembly ends work session
By Gary D. Robertson
RALEIGH (AP) - The North Carolina legislature adjourned for the year late Friday after lawmak
ers gave final approval to the state budget, hammered out or scrapped other compromises and agreed
to make a small change to a new law that limits nondiscrimination rules for LGBT people.
The Senate and House gaveled down this year’s session after nearly 10 weeks of work just before
midnight, following an all-day marathon that went well into the evening.
Their biggest task of the session was completed early when the House gave its second formal
endorsement to the budget adjustments for the new fiscal year starting Friday, again with robust
bipartisan support. With the $22.3 billion spending plan already passed twice by the Senate earlier
in the week, the measure went to Gov. Pat McCrory for his expected signature.
The budget’s completion removed the largest obstacle to ending this year’s work session. Senate
and House Republicans approved several outstanding pieces of legislation that one or both chambers
wanted, but several others were set aside or defeated in the last hours of negotiations and horse-
trading.
Complicated regulatory and environmental proposal appeared were among the casualties, as was
legislation still in the House requiring criminal background checks for prospective teachers and
mandating testing of older public schools and day care centers for lead in drinking water.
“They knew we were going to be finished, and they’re just not here,” Senate leader Phil Berger,
R-Rockingham, shortly after announcing before 11 p.m. that his chamber would take no more votes.
“There comes a time where you just have to say, 'we’re finished’... and we’re finished.”
Unless McCrory vetoes a bill and the legislature attempts an override, the General Assembly
won’t return after adjournment until early January, after the November elections for all 170 seats.
“We ran out of time at the end of session,” said House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, after
adjournment. “It appeared those bills just weren’t going to be dealt with. We’ll come back and deal
with them in January.”
In keeping with previous end-of-session behavior, House and Senate members moved in and out
of floor sessions, committees and private partisan caucus meetings. They did send to the governor
the annual farm bill, adjustments to last year’s Medicaid overhaul and an economic incentives tool
involving natural gas promoted as a way to lure a major automotive plan to the state.
The two chambers also late Friday agreed to make a change to the law known as House Bill 2
as requested by McCrory, who wanted to have restored the right of workers to sue for employment
discrimination using a state law. It cleared the House by a vote of 85-15 and 27-14 in the Senate and
now goes to McCrory. His office didn’t immediately respond the action.
But the change to House Bill 2, approved in March and the subject of criticism nationally, didn’t
repeal provisions that limited non-discrimination rules for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender
people and directed which restroom transgender people can use.
The atmosphere became testy in the expected final hours of this year’s session as House members
defeated two bills sent over by the Senate.
One sought by powerful Senate Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, would have di
rected that Asheville City Council members be elected by districts, rather than by the current at-large
method. Some House Republicans who said they were feeling bullied by their Senate counterparts
joined Asheville-area members in defeating the measure.
The House’s final vote was 91-22 on the budget. Republicans have boasted that it gives an aver
age 4.7 percent permanent pay raises to teachers and 1.5 percent raises and a bonus to rank-and-file
state employees. Retirees also would get bonuses of 1.6 percent.
“Although any budget you look at is never going to be perfect... on the whole this budget does
a wonderful job of rewarding teachers (and) state employees within the limited resources that we
have,” said Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, the House’s top budget-writer.
The bill also contains an income tax break weighted toward low- and middle-income earners, and
money to raise the state’s reserves to nearly $1.6 billion.
Democrats again criticized the increased use of earmarks for local projects, which they call pork,
even as waiting lists remain for services like child care subsidies and pre-kindergarten.
“We have serious needs that are still unmet in this budget,” House Minority Leader Larry Hall,
D-Durham. But instead, “we got stuck in the cash machine line for those that have special interests.”
The Senate and House honored veteran members who aren’t seeking re-election this fall, includ
ing Senate Finance Committee Co-Chairman Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, and Apodaca. On the
House side, there’s Speaker Pro Tempore Paul Stam, R-Wake, and Rep. Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston,
a former majority and minority leader and 2000 candidate for governor.
In a farewell speech, Daughtry jokingly likened the General Assembly to an addiction but had serious
words for his colleagues: “When I leave here, a part of my soul will be left in this place.”
House members also celebrated late Friday the career of House Principal Clerk Denise Weeks, retiring
after 23 years at the post.
Associated Press writer Anna Gronewold contributed to this report.
Trump’s star tweet
appeared on a white
supremacist site
By Jill Colvin
WASHINGTON (AP) - Donald Trump’s tweet that featured Hill
ary Clinton and a six-pointed star atop a pile of money has also ap
peared on a white supremacist website.
Trump’s account on Saturday tweeted the so-called “meme” - then
deleted it and replaced it substituting a circle for the star symbol that
resembles the Jewish Star of David. The change came after a social
media uproar about the star tweet’s potentially anti-Semitic implica
tions.
The meme first appears to have hit the Internet on June 15, when
it was posted by the Twitter user (at)FishBoneHeadl. The account,
which described itself as belonging to a comedian, regularly tweeted
out anti-Clinton and right-leaning messages and images.
The image also appeared on June 22, on /pol/, an active neo-Nazi
Internet message board that features many anti-Semitic posts.
It remains unclear where Trump’s campaign obtained the image. A
spokeswoman for the campaign did not immediately respond to ques
tions about the original tweet or who was responsible for sending it
out. Trump’s twitter account remained silent on the issue Sunday.
The (at)FishBoneHeadl account was deleted amid the uproar on
Sunday afternoon. The person who operated the feed did not respond
to a request for comment before it was deleted. The post itself was
deleted from the /pol/ message board, but its existence was confirmed
by The Associated Press through an internet search engine that combs
internet archives.
The image’s appearance on /pol/ and (at)FishBoneHeadl’s twitter
feed was first reported by the website mic.com.
Trump, who is running for president as a Republican, has repeat
edly said that he would remain a staunch defender of Israel and last
week shot down a question from a town hall attendee who questioned
the U.S.’s defense of the Jewish state. Flis daughter, Ivanka, con
verted to Judaism and is raising her children Jewish.
Trump has been criticized in the past for repeatedly re-tweeting
posts from white supremacists’ accounts and failing to immediately
denounce the support of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David
Duke. Trump has a loyal following on white supremacist message
boards and has been endorsed by several prominent white nationalist
leaders who have credited him for invigorating their cause. Among
them are William Johnson, chair of the American Freedom Party,
which ran pro-Trump robo-calls during the GOP primary.
Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, dis
missed the controversy in an interview with CNN Sunday, accusing
the media of trying to create something out of nothing.
Century-old rule book describes
KKK beliefs, practices
By The Associated Press
For all the hatred, terror and mayhem blamed on the Ku Klux Klan
through 150 years, the group actually has a rule book.
First published in 1916, the Kloran lays out a series of beliefs,
titles and rituals that formed the core of Klan practices, sometimes
dubbed “KlanKraft,” during much of the last century. The Kloran
was supposedly secret for generations, but today copies are posted
on the internet.
Some groups within the modern, splintered Klan say they don’t
follow the Kloran, while others do. Regardless, an online version of
the Kloran published by the University of Wisconsin library offers a
glimpse into the world of the nation’s most notorious organizations.
WHITE SUPREMACY
Some Klan groups try to present themselves in a soft light to
day, but white supremacy combined with religion is at the core of
the group, which considers itself a Christian organization. From the
“Ku Klux Klan Kreed” at the opening of the Kloran: “We avow the
distinction between the races of mankind as same has been decreed
by the Creator, and we shall ever be true in the faithful maintenance
of White Supremacy and will strenuously oppose any compromise
thereof in any and all things.” Aspiring members must swear that
they are a “native-born white, Gentile American citizen.”
ROBES AND HOODS
The title page of the Kloran includes a drawing of the garb most
commonly associated with the Ku Klux Klan. In it, a Klansman wear
ing a white robe and hood sits astride a rearing horse, which also is
wearing a white robe bearing a cross.
BURNING CROSSES
The practice of setting crosses aflame dates back to the organiza
tion’s earliest days of the KKK. The script of a ritual proscribed by
the Kloran describes flaming crosses as “the emblem of that sincere,
unselfish devotedness of all Klansmen to the sacred purpose and
principles we espoused.”
A SOUTHERN THING
KKK groups exist from coast to coast in the U.S. and in a hand
ful of other countries. But the organization is rooted in the perceived
atrocities committed upon white Southerners by the federal govern
ment during Reconstruction, the period after the Civil War. A lecture
published in the Kloran describes the Klan as the protector of whites
who “stood aghast and pale, wondering at the meaning and purpose
of the gathering gloom” after the South’s defeat by the Union in 1865.
TITLES
The Kloran lays out titles for multiple positions within the Klan.
The “imperial wizard” is the “emperor of the invisible empire.” A
“grand dragon” oversees a geographic area within the Klan, and
an “exalted cyclops” is the chief officer of a single Klan unit, also
known as a “klavern.” Group chaplains go by “kludd,” a term taken
from the ancient Druids.