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U.S. Education
Secretary set
to speak today
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard
Riley will speak at 2 p.m. today in the
Union auditorium.
Riley, a former South Carolina gov
ernor, will discuss the effect of Presi
dent Bill Clinton’s economic package
on education. He and other Cabinet
secretaries are travelling to their home
regions to explain Clinton’s economic
package, which was released at a joint
session of Congress Wednesday night.
Cablevision will air the speech at 7
p.m. Monday in Chapel Hill.
The speech is free and open to the
public.
Beating victim, gay
Marine coming to UNC
Openly gay Marine Sgt. Justin Elzie
and Crae Pridgen, the gay man beaten
by three Marines in Wilmington earlier
this month, will speak at UNC as part of
the University’s Lesbian and Gay
Awareness Week.
Elzie, a Camp Lejeune Marine, came
out on ABC’s “World News Tonight”
in January and since then has appeared
on MTV and in numerous newspaper
articles. Elzie will speak at 7 p.m. March
30 in the Hanes Art Center auditorium.
Pridgen, who was beaten outside a
Wilmington bar the morning of Jan. 30,
will speak at 7 p.m. March 31 in the
Hanes Art Center auditorium.
Lesbian and Gay Awareness Week,
sponsored by Bisexuals, Gay Men, Les
bians and Allies for Diversity, is sched
uled from March 29 through April 2. In
addition to speakers, there will be a
rally, marches and several panel discus
sions.
North Carolina second
in cases of gonorrhea
North Carolina ranks second in the
nation in the reported number of gonor
rhea cases, according to a UNC nursing
expert who specializes in venereal dis
eases.
The state’s number of cases of gon
orrhea has more than doubled during
the first five weeks of 1993 compared to
the same period in 1992, said Inge
Corless, assistant professor of nursing.
As of Feb. 6, there were 2,531
reportedcases compared to last year’s
figure of 1,120.
Only Texas reported a higher num
ber of cases. North Carolina ranks ahead
of California, New York and Florida,
all states with much larger populations.
Corless said she didn’t know why the
number of cases was so high. North
Carolina ranked much higher than bor
der states Virginia and South Carolina.
Lecture part of Jewish
diversity celebration
Barbara Johnson, a professor of an
thropology from Ithaca College in New
York, will give a free lecture on Jewish
communities in India and Israel tonight
at 8:15 p.m. at the Hillel Foundation.
Johnson’s lecture, titled “Our Com
munity in Two Worlds: The Cochin
Paradesi Jews in India and Israel,” is
part of N.C. Hillel’s spring series, “Cel
ebrating Jewish Diversity.”
The Hillel Foundation is located at
210 West Cameron Ave.
Experts to discuss
prenatal care today
An obstetrics and gynecology expert
will discuss “Why is Prenatal Care an
Issue in African American Communi
ties?: Demonstrations of Successful
Programs that might be Expanded Glo
bally” today in Berryhill Hall.
Dr. Ezra Davidson, professor and
chairman of the department of obstet
rics and gynecology at the Charles R.
Drew University of Medicine and Sci
ence in Los Angeles, will speak during
the annual Zallicoffer lecture at the
School of Medicine.
Davidson’s lecture will focus on the
importance of prenatal care for blacks.
The free speech is open to the public.
UNC-system official
given Hollins Medal
UNC-system Vice President for
Communications Wyndham Robertson
recently received the Hollins Medal
from Hollins College, the 150-year-old
college’s most prestigious award.
Robertson was recognized for her dis
tinguished career as an economist, jour
nalist and educator.
Robertson, a 1958 Hollins graduate,
worked at Standard Oil Cos. and Fortune
Magazine before joining the UNC ad
ministration in 1986.
She is the only female vice president
in the 16-campus system.
The Hollins medal awards women
who excel in service and contributions
to Hollins College and the field of edu
cation.
Military’s policy on gays debated
By Malle Carpenter
Staff Writer
President Clinton’s proposal to lift
the military’s ban on gays and lesbians
would not necessarily protect homo
sexuals from prosecution for sexual
behavior “unbecoming of a military
officer,” a West Point graduate and
former army officer said Thursday night.
The former soldier was one of about
20 people who attended a discussion on
gays in the military Thursday night at
Internationalist Books.
Maureen Linehan, a lesbian and
former military officer, said that Clinton
could change the military ’ s administra
tive code to formally allow homosexu
als in the military but that gays and
lesbians could still be prosecuted for
Toy swords take whack out of sport
By Jennl Spitz
Staff Writer
Look out, Nerf.
Here comes Safer Swords Inc., a
local company marketing a soft foam
toy called the “Wacky Whacker,” de
signed to “shield swashbucklers from
stings (and) stabs.”
Ron Miller, coach of the UNC fenc
ing team, invented and patented the
new foam saber. Made to be used like
real fencing weapons, Wacky Whackers
come in 18 colors and two models, one
as toy and a longer, 28-inch sword, for
competition use.
Miller stumbled across the invention
by accident. He was searching for a
sword to use for warm-weather fencing
practice because heat makes it difficult
to wear protective equipment.
One day when he was stuffing gym
nastic mats, it dawned on him that the
foam used in the mats would be an ideal
material for making sabers.
“It’s a superior foam to anything
Nerf uses,” he said. Wacky Whackers
are made of mini-cell foam, which has
100-percent elasticity.
Miller said the Whackers never were
intended to be a toy. But when he took
the foam sabers home, his children fell
in love with them. Thus, the nonfunc
tional use for the Wacky Whacker came
into play.
The sword is sold with an instruction
manual, which includes rules of play
adopted from general fencing rules. The
manual also suggests the Wacky
Whacker be used for “tension relief
around the home or office” or “duels to
settle family disputes.”
Miller said his toys were safe for all
ages and levels of skill, but each is sold
with eye guards that resemble swim
ming goggles, for liability reasons.
James Williams, a member of the
fencing team, said that in a sport in
which injury was always a threat, equip
ment like the Wacky Whacker was ideal.
“You can practice with it without being
worried about getting hurt.”
Sophomore Ginny Moore, who took
one ofMiller’s fencing classes last year,
said the Wacky Whacker helped get her
aggressions out. “Married couples
should buy these,” she said. “It would
solve all their problems.”
Safer Swords Inc. has marketed its
product in three categories: on a promo
tional level at events such as the Na
tional Junior Olympics in Fencing, on
an athletic level for team and class prac-
New Union president promises
to offer something for everyone
By Candace Watson
Staff Writer
More diverse programming is high
on the new Carolina Union Activities
Board president’s list of things to do.
The Carolina Union Board of Direc
tors recently appointed Maleikka Hardy
as the new CUAB president. Hardy was
selected through an application and in
terview process.
Hardy, a junior from Charlotte, said
she wanted to continue to provide di
verse programs as well as programs that
would attract large groups of students.
“I want to provide a program a month
that a majority of the students will be
interested in,” she said.
As CUAB president, Hardy will be a
representative of the Union, will pre
side over the selections of the Union
Activity Board Committee heads and
serve as the chairwoman of the Carolina
Union Board of Directors. The board of
directors consists of four faculty mem
bers and representatives from various
University librarian inherits longer title, expanded responsibilities
By Tim Perkins
Staff Writer
Joseph Hewitt, the newly named head
of the Academic Affairs Libraries, said
he would try to give new direction to the
financially plagued UNC library sys
tem.
The Board of Trustees appointed
Hewitt director of the Academic Af
fairs Libraries and associate provost for
University Libraries, effective July 1.
Hewitt has been serving as interim head
librarian since January.
His new title is considerably longer
than his predecessor’s, and his duties
also have been expanded.
CAMPUS AND CITY
sodomy.
“Just changing the administrative
code doesn’t change (justice codes),”
Linehan said. “There’s a lot of miscon
ception about how the military func
tions.”
Although Clinton could change the
administrative code through executive
orders, the president cannot change the
military’s justice codes without first
obtaining congressional approval,
Linehan said.
“The issue is not as simple as it is
being portrayed in the military,” she
said.
Linehan said military life was diffi
cult for homosexuals because hetero
sexuality always was assumed.
“Both my partner and I chose to
resign,” she said. “We left because we
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Ron Miller, UNC fencing coach, invented Wacky Whackers for team practice
tice, and on an entertainment level, as a
toy.
Wacky Whackers are available at the
Toy Comer in University Mall, Sam’s
Sports at Timberlyne Shopping Center,
and Lisa’s Cards and Gifts at Cole Park
Plaza for about $lO each.
Safer Swords Inc. plans eventually to
distribute Wacky Whackers nationally
and internationally, Miller said. The
company also might produce some spin
off products using mini-cell foam, such
as a mask insert to enhance safety and
comfort and other such protective
paddings.
“This foam is so great,” Miller said.
“Everybody who’s used it has wanted
student organizations.
Hardy said another of her goals was
to involve faculty and members of the
University community in events going
on in the Union. “I would like every
month full of programs for faculty, stu
dents and Chapel Hill residents,” she
said.
Angela Crisp, the current CUAB
president, said that in the past year she
had tried to maintain a high level of
programming. “We have tried to con
tinue giving students quality program
ming,” she said. “The chairs and the
committees make up the goals by work
ing together.”
CU AB committees are chosen by the
CUAB president, and students can ap
ply to be members.
“I encourage everyone to apply for
committee chairs,” Hardy said. “This
will provide diversity next year.”
Crisp said she was confident Hardy
was a good choice for the presidency.
“Because of her experience in die
past and her plans for the future, I feel
Hewitt also tyill have general coordi
nation responsibilities for the health
sciences and law libraries.
Hewitt will take the place of Jim
Govan, who retired last fall after serv
ing as UNC’s head librarian for 19
years.
Govan said the role of the libraries
was to act as a mirror image of the
University. The libraries must relate to
every academic unit of the University
and respond to each area’s needs, he
said.
Hewitt will not have authority over
the health sciences and law libraries. He
said his additional duties would include
serving on some deans’ councils.
felt that our relationship couldn’t re
main intact in the military.”
Chapel Hill Town Council member
Joe Herzenberg, who called himself the
“only openly gay elected official be
tween Jacksonville and New York,”
said the debate about homosexuals in
the military was a milestone for gay
rights activists.
“(Clinton) has transformed this dung
into a national debate over gay and
lesbian civil rights,” Herzenberg slid.
He added that it was ironic that the gay
community had not started the debate.
“Gay people, in a sense, did not
choose this issue,” Herzenberg said. “It
was thrust upon us.”
Linehan said many gays and lesbians
remained in the military because they
encountered commanders who were
more.”
Miller said that after 26 years of
coaching fencing, being a toy inventor
had forced him to learn a lot about
business and bureaucracy.
“The hardest part was getting a
patent,” he said. He invested $6,000
and nearly two years to secure the toy
for Safer Swords. The patent office kept
putting his foam toy in the same cat
egory as a butcher knife.
Miller said he might market the
Wacky Whacker directly on campus
during final exams.
“Students need these,” he said. “What
better way to relieve stress?”
Might one suggest a butcher knife?
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Maleikka Hardy
confident in handing my keys over in
May.”
V_Jetting a better budget
(for the library system)
is one of my priorities.”
JOSEPH HEWITT
Associate provost
Hewitt’s enhanced role will make
him more of a general advocate for the
library system than a strict librarian, he
said. He said he would be “more into the
The Daily Tar Heel/Friday, February 19, 1993
sympathetic.
“A lot of the decisions in the military
are made arbitrarily by the commander,”
she said.
Michael Steele, a gay man and former
member of the U.S. Air Force, said the
military could be a positive experience
for gays and lesbians, despite the cur
rent ban.
“(The Air Force) was the best expe
rience of my adult life,” Steele said.
“It’s like a prototype for the rest of this
experience called democracy.”
Steele said there were ways to get
around the problem of the military’s
ban on homosexuals.
“I’ve experienced more stress (work
ing) in Durham than I ever encountered
.in the military,” Steel said.
Dan Watts, a University housing of
Commissioners’
election process
focus of forum
By Leah A. Campbell
Assistant City Editor
A panel of local experts debated
Thursday at a public forum whether
Orange County Commissioners were
fairly representing their constituents
in northern Orange County under the
current electoral system.
Citizens from the rural part of the
county have complained that the board
has not fairly represented them be
cause of the large voting block in
Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
The local chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union sponsored the
forum. A five-member panel exam
ined both proportional representation
and district representation as alterna
tives to the at-large voting system.
Under the current system, voters
choose between two partisan candi
dates for each of the five seats.
Rich Hammer, a northern Orange
County activist and panelist, said he
thought the problem had ideological
roots.
“Residents from Chapel Hill and
Carrboro are generally liberal-minded
and thus do not represent the more
rural conservative-minded residents,”
he said. “One only has to look at Jesse
Helms to realize that there is a large
conservative element in this state.”
Proportional representation in
volves a ranking system in which each
voter can choose a particular candi
date. When the candidate with the
least votes is declared defeated, the
School officials say passage
of second bond improbable
By Leah Graham
Staff Writer
Local and county school officials
said Thursday that they doubted county
residents would support a recently pro
posed S2O million school bond to fiind
new elementary schools only three
months after having approved a $52
million school bond.
County Manager John Link Jr. sent a
letter earlier this week to county com
missioners asking them to support a S2O
million bond, with $lO million desig
nated for elementary schools in the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro district.
Bob Bateman, a member of the Or
ange County School Board, said county
residents would resent another bond.
“It’s got to stop somewhere,” he said.
“I don’t think Orange County is ready
for another referendum right now.”
Bateman said Link’s proposal had
come too soon after November’s $52
million bond to build two new schools
in the county system and upgrade tech
nology in the schools.
“I feel bad about burdening people
who can’t afford another tax increase,”
he said.
Bateman acknowledged that Orange
County needed new elementary schools,
but he said he thought it would be better
to search for other solutions.
Mickey Ewell, a member of
Tax Watch, a fiscally conservative
watchdog group, said he wasn’t sur
prised by the call for another bond.
“Tax Watch predicted this would hap
pen,” he said. “They really needed an
academic administration in general and
not just the library side so that the pro
gram can be better coordinated.”
Provost Richard McCormick said the
new part of Hewitt’s title was a reflec
tion on the librarian’s new role. “The
title signifies University-wide status as
spokesman for libraries,” he said.
Govan said the major problems fac
ing Hewitt in his new position were the
budget crisis and the need for techno
logical improvement. Anew on-line
catalog system should be installed by
next fall, he said.
Hewitt said installing new technol
ogy would not be his only focus. “Get
ting a better budget is one of my priori-
ficial, said homosexuals would still face
difficulty in the service if the ban were
lifted.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an easy
readjust because of the stroke of a pen,”
Watts said.
Thursday’s discussion also alluded
to the feminist movement when one
woman suggested that allowing gay men
in the military would finally force
straight men to experience the discom
fort of being “hit on” or “sized-up” by
co-workers.
Herzenberg said he thought that lift
ing the ban would help straight men
sympathize with the plight of sexually
harassed women.
“For the first time, straight men are
being forced to think like women think,”
he said.
voter’s support is counted in favor of
his second-place choice.
Moses Carey, chairman of the Or
ange County Board of Commission
ers, said he thought commissioners
should examine the representation
problem more closely before recom
mending anew system.
“I think we should get clear on what
objectivesanew system would achieve
and who it would be most fair to,” he
said. “Under proportional representa
tion, it really is not clear Who the
system will end up being more fair
to.”
ButpanelistLee Mortimer, afound
ing member of Citizen’s for Propor
tional Representation, said his elec
toral system would solve the rural and
urban representation problem in Or
ange County.
"In this system, people don’t com
pete with one another for votes,” he
said. “It assures that a minority repre
sentation would be there, while also
ending straight-party ticket voting.”
Last year’s independent candidate
for county commissioner, Mark
Marcopolos, who also was a panelist,
said he wanted a system that would
end straight-party ticket voting.
“I just want to eliminate the straight
party brick wall of unconscious vot
ing,” he said. “People use (straight
party voting) because they are gener
ally uninformed about the candidates
and where they stand.”
See FORUM, page 7
elementary school last year, but they
only asked for (enough) money for the
high schools Oast year).”
Mary Babbitt-Cook, a member of the
Orange County School Board, said in
stead of resorting to a bond, county
officials should consider other options.
“The community deserves to have
the county look at alternatives before
going into another bond,” she said.
Babbitt-Cook said year-round
schools could solve some of the county ’ s
financial problems.
“Year-round schools work because
they allow for 30 percent more use out
of your school buildings,” Cook said.
Babbitt-Cook said year-round
schools helped students by giving them
the option of having tutors when school
was not in session.
“This allows for children not to fall
behind,” she said.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board
Chairwoman Mary Bushnell said year
round schools would solve some of the
county’s financial problems.
“At any given time up to a third or a
fourth of your student body is on a break
of some sort so it increases the capacity
for your school,” she said.
“The children benefit because after
nine weeks (of classes) they have a
three-week period off,” she said.
But Bushnell said year-round schools
would not eliminate the need for new
elementary schools.
“I don’t think (year-round schools)
would make us not need anew elemen
tary school,” she said. “We need el
ementary schools badly in our district.”
ties,” he said.
At a time when the libraries are suf
fering because of budget cuts,
McCormick said the head of the library
system needed to have authority to rep
resent the fragmented library system.
“We think (the title) will give him the
status to speak out for all the libraries,”
McCormick said.
Hewitt has worked at the University
since 1975 as the associate librarian for
technical services.
Chancellor Paul Hardin said he was
pleased with the appointment. “I think
Joe Hewitt is extremely well-qualified,
and I’m pleased that we made a promo
tion from within.”
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