The Student Newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Volume XVI, Number 45
Charlotte, North Carolina
Thursday, February 26, 1981
Students Oppose
Phone Rate Hike
By David E. Griffith
Carolina Journal Campus Affairs Editor
The North Carolina Association of
Student Governments intends to
fight a proposed rate increase by
Southern Bell that would tack a 12 to
25 percent rate increase on campus
phone services.
Student Body President Ron Olsen
who is also president of NCASG pre
sented their case before the North
Carolina Utilities Commission on
February 12. Olsen said he told the
commission that students could not
stand a 25 percent increase, and he
asked for an exclusion of on campus
students from the proposed rate in
crease.
At the February 12 meeting Olsen
presented 25 petitions bearing over
1,000 names of UNCC students oppos
ed to the rate hike.
Olsen said “NCASG feels certain
that the 25 percent rate increase will
not affect us on campus. We’ve asked
them to exclude both dormitory and
apartment students, and we were re
ceived very well by the commission.
Don McKay director of Auxilary
Services said, “there is no way of tell
ing how this will affect the campus.
On the last rate increase the dorm
phones only went up a few pennies.”
Kirk Peters a spokesman for
Southern Bell said, “All of our
subscribers would be affected by this
rate hike. I do know that the issue
was raised concerning dormitories
and students, but it is up to the com
mission to decide.”
Legislature Finalizes
Budgets; Includes
Plans For Stipends
By Chip Wilson
Carolina Journal Staff Writer
The Student Legis
lature finished budget
approvals Tuesday by
approving its own
budget, amended to pro
vide stipends for its own
members.
Last week Student
Body President Ron
Olsen vetoed an earlier
action in which the
legislators did not pro
vide for stipends in the
upcoming school year.
The whole process
stretched over three of
the legislature meetings.
At the first, held Tues
day of last week, mem
bers pulled the budgets
of the North Carolina
Student Legislature, the
College of Architecture
Student Council, Sports
Club Council, and the
Judicial section of stu
dent government.
The sports club
budget was approved,
but debate over the
Judicial budget, spawn
ed by an amendment to
pay the chief justice and
legal defense counsel
over the summer ses
sions forced the meeting
into overtime.
Legislature chair Barry
Brown called another
special meeting, held the
following Thursday.
At the special session,
the COA, NCSL and re
quests from most other
clubs were approved.
The legislature haggled
over the judicial and stu
dent legislature re
quests.
Symmes Culbertson
proposed salaries cuts
amounting to less than
half the requested
amount for court jus
tices and legal defense
counsels. Phil Fleming
and Laurah Van Poole
proposed an amendment
offering moderate sti
pend decreases.
The Culbertson mo
tion failed, but the Van
Poole/Fleming motion
passed 22-0.
Because of the presi
dential veto, the amount
of money needed to add
to the proposal was
unclear. Action was tabl
ed to the next legislature
meeting, held last Tues
day.
After Student Body
Treasurer Joel Kepley
presented a detailed
breakdown of the re
quests to all members at
the next regular meet
ing, the legislature pass
ed the proposal over
whelmingly.
The legislative ses
sions capped two full
days of work by the
Ways and Means Com
mittee over a recent
weekend.
Renee High, chair of
the committee, said she
was surprised at the
quick approval of most
budgets.
“I was expecting them
to pull more of the bud
gets then they did,” she
said. “The work the
Ways and Means com
mittee did over the
weekend probably help
ed this — though the
legislature changed a
few items, I’m not disap
pointed.
By Rick Monroe
WFAE started construction on their tower yesterday, and hopes to be on the air in early May.
Parking Rate Increase
To Open Visitor Spaces
By Teresa Skipper
Carolina Journal News Ecutor
On March 16 there will
be a rate increase for
parking in the deck
when the ticket spitting
operation will go into ef
fect.
The new rates are 50
cents for the first hour
and a half, and 50 cents
for each additional half
hour, with a maximum of
$2.
The increase was put
into affect to keep com
muting students with
out parking stickers
from parking under the
deck. This should pro
vide more visitor park
ing.
Another reason for the
ticket spitting operation
is to prevent tail-gating,
which occurs when one
car leaves the parking
deck and a second fol
lows so closely it gets
out without paying.
To remedy this pro
blem a toll booth was in
stalled. A machine that
gives change is also
available at night when
no attendant is on duty.
Most students are out
raged by the increase.
However, much of the
displeasure is caused by
confusion over the in
crease. Many students
thought the price was $2
no matter how long a car
parked there.