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O’ A Volume 101, Issue 98 A century of editorialfreedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 IN THE NEWS Top stories from the state, nation and world Fires Fueled by Santa Ana Winds Rage in California Wildfires driven by searing desert winds torched thousands of tinder-dry acres in Southern California Wednesday, destroy ing scores of homes and forcing hundreds to flee in terror from wealthy suburbs and rural hamlets. One 3,000-acre fire threatened the Wild Animal Park in northern San Diego County, where zookeepers evacuated 26 endangered California condors and four Andean condors. By midaftemoon Wednesday, 12 large fires fanned by the hot, dry Santa Ana winds gusting up to 70 mph were burning from Ventura County to the Mexican bor der. The fires fed off vegetation baked to a crisp in the rainless summer. A man was arrested Wednesday in con nection with one of the worst blazes, which authorities said was set, perhaps acciden tally, by a transient. In that fire, an esti mated 45 homes were destroyed or dam aged in the northeast suburb of Altadena. Yeltsin Lifts Restrictions On Property Transactions MOSCOW President Boris Yeltsin destroyed one of the remaining corner stones of communist rule Wednesday by lifting virtually all restrictions on buying and selling land. The action gives a huge boost to Russia’s transformation to a market economy and likely will lead to the breakup of thousands of inefficient collective farms. As the president pushed ahead with reforms, however, the fault lines in his government widened. Yeltsin accused his prime minister Tuesday of trying to seize control of the media in the latest infighting in the government. Report: Haitian Official Part of Illegal Drug Trade MIAMI The second most powerful military man in Haiti personally receives and distributes SIOO million or more in drug-trafficking bribes each year, accord ing to a confidential U.S. Senate report. “The drug-trafficking ‘perk’... rightnow is controlled by the Port-au-Prince police chief, Lt. Col. Michel Francois,” said a summary of the report obtained by The Associated Press. Francois also controls the “attaches,” the civilian-military gangs the United Na tions says are hunting down and killing pro-democracy figures in Haiti. The report said little direct evidence ties Haiti’s military ruler, Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, to drug payoffs, but it adds, “Obvi ously there is an arrangement” between Cedras and Francois. Clinton Presents Revised Health Plan to Congress WASHINGTON—Promising a “new era of security for every American,” Presi dent Clinton hand-carried his revised health-care plan to Congress Wednesday and urged passage within a year. House Republican Leader Bob Michel said that there were “substantive and pro found policy differences” over many ele ments in the plan assembled by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton presented the plan in the Capitol’s ornate Statuary Hall to the cheers of more than 70 congressional sup porters —in an effort to regain the momen tum lost in the last month after the original unveiling of the broad proposal. Hispanic Representative Gives Support to NAFTA WASHINGTON The Clinton ad ministration endorsed a proposal to finance community-development projects as part of the free trade agreement with Mexico and promptly won support for the pact Wednesday from a prominent member of the congressional Hispanic caucus. Rep. Esteban E. Torres, D-Calif., and several Hispanic groups, including the National Council of La Raza, endorsed the North American Free Trade Agree ment, intended to lower trade barriers be tween the United States, Mexico and Canada. Torres said his decision was based on the administration’s decision to devote 10 percent of the funds from anew U.S.- Mexico development bank to help eco nomically depressed areas even if they were not along the U.S.-Mexican border. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Weather TODAY: Variably cloudy, breezy; high 60. FRIDAY: Mostly sunny; high mid-60s. The difference between my quotations and those of the next man is that I leave out the inverted commas. George Moore (Hip SaiUj (Ear Ippl Congress Rejects Anti-BCC Bill by 17-3 Vote BYSTEVEROBBLEE ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR One bill condemning the construction of a free-standing Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center and another that would defund minority-recruitment efforts left Student Congress debating the role of minority affairs on the UNC campus. Rep. Joey Stansbury, Dist. 11, spon sored the bill to condemn the BCC. The bill stated in part, “A black cultural center will only further create disrespect for blacks at UNC and further racial separatism.” Rep. AdamMcKible, Rep. 5, called the billracistand “politically narrow-minded.” McKible questioned Stansbury’s voting record on minority affairs, including a vote earlier in the evening against funding DIH/ICVIKLNAVVTrTKAMP Linda Edmondson, a Hillsborough resident, tries on anew Carolina Panthers T-shirt at DSG Sports at Oak Creek Village in Durham. Edmondson was one of many NFL fans across the state who flooded stores Wednesday seeking new Panthers merchandise. See story on page 11. Campus Leaders: Students Uninterested BYDANIEL FELDMAN STAFF WRITER With the municipal election less than a week away, candidates in the five local races are beginning to feel the last-minute crunch to gamer support from Chapel Hill and CaiTboro voters. Although town government decisions affect the University, some campus leaders said Wednesday that most students didn't care enough to pick their local leaders. Chapel Hill Town Council member Mark Chilton said the student body did not seemmotivatedtovoteNov. 2, even though 28 candidates are vying for 14 seats in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board ofEducation, Chapel Hill mayor, town council, Carrboro mayor and board of aldermen races. “There was massive registrations with the Gantt-Helms race in 1990, my cam paign for a town council seat and a heated mayoral race in 1991 and a presidential election last year,” Chilton said. “There seems to be a lack of an incentive to vote without a state and national one going on.” Chilton added that even without on campus elections hype, some students were volunteering for local campaigns, includ- N.C. Voters to Decide on Amendment BYWARDCONVILLE STAFF WRITER On Nov. 2, North Carolinians will have a chance to vote on a proposed amend ment to the state constitution that would give counties and cities the option to use economic development bonds without voter approval. A press release from Gov. Jim Hunt’s office said the bonds were intended to fund infrastructure improvements to help at tract new industries, which would increase the tax base to pay off the bonds. “The governor is eager to have this tool in the hands of economic developers around the state and local governments so they can compete with our neighboring states in bringingjobs to North Carolina,” said Tom Rosshirt, deputy press secretary for Hunt. Rosshirt said an amendment to the state constitution similar to the proposed amend ment was passed in the mid-19705. The amendment also allows local governments to issue bonds without voter approval, he said. "In 865 cases in the last 17 years, bonds have been issued (without voter approval), ” Chapel Hill. North Carolina THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28,1993 minority- recruitment efforts. “You’ve voted against every minority appropriations bill,” McKible said. But Stansbury said his bill was not an example of racism. “I’m trying to avoid charges (ofracism), but I really don’t see how it’s racism.” Rep. Philip Charles-Pierre, Dist. 19,said the BCC would have some social aspects but would be mainly for academics unlike the current BCC, located in the Student Union. After approximately 15 minutes of de bate, Rep. Jonathan Jordan, Dist. I,moved that congress vote on the issue. “I think everyone already has a stand on the BCC issue further debate is dilatory and will result in political grandstanding,” he said. Members agreed to vote, and the bill Fans on the Prowl ing those of school board hopeful LaVonda Burnette and council incum bents Joyce Brown and Bar bara Powell. Chilton said he was involved in anew group called Younger Voters of Chapel Local Elections: Why Should Students Care? r ‘"i Part 2 of 3 Hill, which has endorsed candidates with a student’s needs in mind. This year, campus groups did not hold candidates' forums or endorse candidates like they did in 1991 when Chilton, then a UNC junior, ran for a council seat. Ameena Batada, co-chairwoman ofStu dent Environmental Action Coalition, said Campus Y had prohibited SEAC from making endorsements after last year’s stu dent body president race. “The students have the responsibility to keep up with all events in Chapel Hill, whether ornot SEAC and others do it,” Batada said. “All the decisions made at the town council affects the student body since they are issues which he said. “And the Department of Com merce says the bonds have saved or created over 100,000 new jobs, and not a dime of taxpayer money was spent.” The press release said the amendment would attract industry to the state without raising individual or corporate taxes. “(Economic development financing) improves local infrastructure, enhances the local property tax base, attracts new indus try and creates new jobs and makes the area more attractive for investment all without spending existing revenues or rais ing taxes,” the release said. Ellis Hankins, general council to the N.C. League of Municipalities, said he was concerned that because of misinfor mation, somevotersmightthinktheirprop erty taxes would rise if the amendment was passed. “Money to pay back bonds will not come from a tax increase, but from added property tax revenues that result from the new private developments, ” Hankins said. “The increased property taxes from new businesses would pay for public improve ments necessary to support those new busi nesses.” failed by a 17-3 vote with seven absten tions. Stansbury and Reps. Tom Lyon, Dist. 21, and John Phillippe, Dist. 18, voted for the bill. Before the BCC bill, Brent Tollison, assistant program coordinator for minority recruitment in the Office of University Affairs and a UNC junior, appeared before congress asking for a reinstatement of funds for annual minority recruitment. The $4,735 that had been requested by student government had been pared to nothing in finance committee. During debate, McKible proposed that congress reinstate $7,201 for the recruitment programs—s 1 more than last year’s minority-recruitment budget. “I suggest that we amend this bill to $7,201 to show that we want to go a little pertain to them off campus. It is not our responsibility to the students.” Dacia Toll, student body vice president, said student government provided a shuttle to and from the public library two weeks ago so students could register to vote. “We’ve made a push for voter registra tion so students can exercise their right to vote,” she said. “We have also been using education to get the registered voters into the polls.” Toll said the lack of a national election kept students from being interested in to wn races. “Generally (the student body) doesn’t care on the whole.” Laney Edmisten, Young Democrats vice president, said her organization did not concern itself with local elections. “People are not concerned, so I’m not sure how many members (of Young Democrats) are even registered Orange County voters.” Chilton said many students were regis tered in Orange County from previous elections but that a big chunk still were not. “There’s a lot (of students) not regis tered, which is a legitimate point, ” Chilton said. “Several thousand students are cur rently registered in either Chapel Hill or Carrboro. Maybe a couple hundred will end up voting.” The committee’s -release also said the amendment was being supported by Hunt as a way to attract more jobs to North Carolina. “The proposed constitutional amend ment was ratified by the General Assembly on July 23, 1993, the day prior to the legislature’s adjournment,” the release said. “Proponents of the amendment say the amendment will help producejobs in North Carolina. Opponents of the amendment say that it is a method of giving away taxpayer’s money without the taxpayers having a voice in the gift.” Rosshirt said North Carolinians would get a chance to express their opinions on the issue by their votes. The amendment, he said, would not so much take away the voters’ voice, but give elected officials a needed advantage to allow them to help the state’s citizens. “It will be giving elected officials greater leverage to act quickly to bringjobs to their communities when speed is of the essence, ” Rosshirt said. Tom Gilmore, chairman of the Com- Please See AMENDMENT, Page 4 farther than last year,’’McKible said. “The $1 is symbolic.” The amendment passed by a vote of 17- 12, but two-thirds of congress did not vote in favor of funding the group —as is required for Student Congress donations —and the bill failed by the same vote. During debate, Tollison asked congress to approve the same level of funding it had in the past for minority recruitment. Recruitment and preorientation pro grams such as High School Honors Day and Tar Heel Target have been funded by Student Congress since 1973, he said. More than 80 percent of those high school seniors who participated in High School Honors Day enrolled at the University, but the program also was suc cessful based on the number of UNC stu Historian, Novelist Seek Same Truth, Foote Says BY JENNIFER AYRES STAFF WRITER “Too many novelists won’t read his tory, and too many historians can’t read novels,” writer Shelby Foote told an audi ence of about 900 in Memorial Hall on Wednesday night. In his speech, “The Novelist as Histo rian,” Foote described the similarities and differences between novelists and histori ans. Historians communicate facts while novelists prefer to communicate sensations, he said. “Both are seeking the truth, ” Foote said. “Not different truths, but the same truth. “They only try to reach it by separate methods,” he said. Foote, a 1939 UNC graduate, has writ ten six novels, a collection of short stories and a narrative history of the Civil War. He was narrator and consultant for “The Civil War,” the highest-rated PBS show ever. In the treatment of characters, histori ans tend to try too hard to remain unbi ased, Foote said. “It is here that I think (historical writ ing) is most sorely departed from the truth, ” he said. “In truth, all is clear,” Foote said. “The only thing that could muddy its waters is muddy writing.” Historical writing could benefit from writers who do not concentrate so much on facts, but the way in which facts are ex pressed, he said. “Facts can be done with out, as certainly as any other components in communicating events,” Foote said. A historian’s tendency to neglect the emotional and personal aspects of history for the sake of neutrality actually removes some ofthe story’s truthfulness, Foote said. “Facts are not enough,” he said. “It is a great sin to distort them. “If any historian produced one page as dear as Hemingway, that page would five forever,” he said. Foote said he agreed with Aristotle’s belief that the management of plot was the most important element of composition. “Plotting includes a good deal more than narration and the arrangement of Biology Professor Named Associate Vice Chancellor BYKARA SIMMONS STAFF WRITER Lawrence Gilbert, a William R. Kenan Jr. professor of biology, was appointed to the position of assodate vice chancellor for academic affairs effective Jan. 1, provost Richard McCormick said Wednesday. Gilbert was chosen for the position be cause he had outstanding credentials and was well respected within both the Univer sity and the scientific community, said McCormick, who is also executive vice chancellor. “I wanted to appoint someone who was a distinguished, well-regarded member of the faculty. That was my num ber-one qualification. “I was looking for someone who clearly commanded respect from his or her fellow faculty members as well as someone who had long-time experience with the Univer sity and had administrative faculty leader ship,” McCormick said. “I was also looking for someone in a field that complimented, ratherthan dupli cated, my own field, which is history,” he said. Gilbert said that as associate vice chan cellor, he would have many responsibili ties within the framework of the Univer sity. “I will be the person that will be interfac ing with department deans. “I will also serve as a liaison between the director of academic affairs and the administration and will have a significant role in the development ofthe interdiscipli News/Features/Am/Sports Busmess/AdvCTtismg 01993 DTH Publishing Coip. All rights reserved. dents who participated in minority recruitment, he said. “Over 20 percent of African Americans and Native Americans on this campus are involved in these programs,” he said. Stansbury said he objected to funding the bill because it went to benefit high school students and not those University students who now pay student fees. “I think a large portion of this (recruitment) should be done by high school guidance counselors,” Stansbury said. Rep. Monica Cloud, Dist. 16, said minority recruitment efforts helped UNC get" the cream of the crop as far as minority high-school students in this state.” Kelly Newton contributed to this article. ‘fj* ißy' OH • ~'-t WM ' $ Hgßif Writer SHELBY FOOTE said historians try too hard to be impartial. events,” he said. Deciding what is historically significant enough to record is the way in which histo rians engage in the developing of plots, Foote said. “Plot determines what will be left out as well as what is included,” he said. Foote compared the development of a plot to the creation of a painting. “Drama comes from where the picture starts and stops,” he said. “Dryness can become richness if the brush, or the ink pen, is held by a steady hand with a caring eye,” Foote said. “There is no reason historians cannot be artists, too.” Foote said he enjoyed historical writing because of its intricate nature. “Technically, what interested me was the multiple plot,” he said. When approached to write a short his tory of the Civil War, Foote said he readily agreed. “It seemed to be a pleasant way to spend a year and a half," he said. Foote ultimately wrote a three-volume, detailed account of the Civil War. “I spent the next 20 years doing that.” nary program,” Gilbert said. “I look at this position mainly as being the faculty representative in South build ing —sort of a sounding board for Richard McCormick in dealing with the challenges facing the University, particularly in sci ence,” he said. Gilbert, an internationally known sci entist and recipient of the Gregor Mendel Gold Medal for research in insect bio chemistry and endocrinology, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Scientists. He also has written more than 250 research papers and reviews. He has had an active role within the University as well. Gilbert served as chair man of the Division of Natural Science, chairman ofthe now-defunct radio, televi sion and motion pictures department and chairman of the biology departments at UNC and Northwestern University. He also has served on the Chancellor’s Advisory Board, the Joint Administration- Faculty Budget Committee, the Faculty Research Committee and the Institutional Plan Design Committee. Gilbert said he was excited about his appointment and looked forward to meet ing the challenges that the new position would present, particularly as the Univer sity celebrated its Bicentennial. “I want to make sure we uphold the strong standards ofthe University and ba sically help it in its third century to gain even more stature,” Gilbert said. “I want to help the faculty and students attain these goals.” 962-0245 962-1163
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 28, 1993, edition 1
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