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(Thr latlu ®ar Mwl Volume 101, Issue 129 A century of editorialfreedom gQfe Serving the students and die University community since 1893 IN THE NEWS Top stories from the state, nation and world NATO Leaders Threaten Serbians With Air Strikes BRUSSELS, Belgium—After months of empty threats, President Clinton and his NATO allies warned Serb forces Tuesday of anew determination to launch air strikes if needed to relieve embattled Muslim en claves in Bosnia. At the end of a two-day summit, the 16 Western leaders announced their willing ness to order bombing raids if Bosnian Serbs continue to prevent the opening of a major airport for aid supplies or the rota tion of encircled peacekeepers. The reaction from Serb forces was nega tive. Their chief of staff, Manojlo Milovanovic, warned that U.N. troops would suffer in an air campaign because his forces would be close to peacekeepers. Clinton Arrives in Prague To Sell Plan for Peace PRAGUE, Czech Republic Presi dent Clinton came to this city of medieval churches and cobblestone streets Tuesday to promote a plan to tighten Eastern Europe’s ties with the NATO alliance. He quickly won the support of his host, Czech President Vaclav Havel. Though the plan does not grant the immediate full membership that the former Warsaw Pact adversaries want, Havel said his republic was “ready to implement it immediately in concrete terms.” Before diving into what could be diffi cult diplomacy, Clinton was accorded a ceremonial welcome in the courtyard of Prague Castle. Clinton on Wednesday will try to persuade the leaders of Poland, Hun gary and Slovakia that the alliance’s half way measure is the best way to avoid dangerous rifts in Europe. Yeltsin Demands Calm From Parliament Members MOSCOW On the eve of President Clinton’s visit, Boris Yeltsin opened Russia’s new Parliament Tuesday by urg ing lawmakers to cooperate with him and give his economic reforms “a second wind. ” Three months after he sent tanks to crush the old, hardline parliament, the Russian president warned the new law makers they must agree to “a complete and categorical exclusion of violence from the political life of the country.” Clinton arrives for a summit Wednes day to a Russia wracked by political struggle and bitterly divided over Yeltsin’s free market reforms and pro-Western tilt. The American president is expected to strongly endorse Yeltsin and shun his political foes, including extreme nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Winter Weather Pummels Western N.C. Once More Two people died in a car wreck in Davidson County after freezing rain and drizzle coated roads in North Carolina’s northwest Piedmont region and northern mountains. The brief spate of icy weather also caused numerous other accidents in the area Tuesday morning. Scattered areas oflight freezing rain and drizzle developed midmoming across sec tions of the mountains and western Pied mont areas. The ice coated roads, bridges and overpasses. Thomas Phillips ofthe Highway Patrol’s Asheville office said troopers responded to about 180 accidents during the morning. He said most of the accidents involved single vehicles sliding off the road and were not serious. Bobbitt Trial Continues With Husband's Testimony MANASSAS, Va. John Bobbitt re turned to the witness stand Tuesday and denied ever striking his wife before she cut off his penis, saying the worst he ever did was “push her, hold her down, restrain her from hitting me." On the second day of his wife’s mali cious wounding trial, Bobbitt disputed a court record that a defense lawyer said showed Bobbitt pleaded guilty to assault ing his wife, Lorena. The defense opened its case Tuesday by calling Bobbitt to the stand as an “adverse” witness. The jury of seven women and five men looked at photographs of Bobbitt’s injury, but only for a few seconds. The only reac tion was a frown by one woman juror. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Weather TODAY: 90-percent chance of rain; high mid-40s. THURSDAY: Partly cloudy; high near 50. Recall Measure to Face Long Road in Raleigh BY JOHN BLACKWELL STAFF WRPVR Although the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board came one step closer Monday night to resolving the controversy surrounding member LaVonda Burnette, it will be a long road before the issue is resolved. After passing a petition to pursue recall powerforschoolboard members, theboard of education now will work with local representatives to the state legislature to determine the feasibility of passing this bill during the General Assembly’s short ses sion in May. The decision comes after a monthlong debate about whether Burnette should be allowed to remain on the board after misrepresenting her educational back ground. But the recall provision’s path to the N.C. General Assembly isn’t a short one— it requires the school board to draft a formal resolution and meet with local del egates to the legislature. The recall provi sion, like the one used by the Chapel Hill Town Council, would allow a registered voter to draft a petition calling for a special election to remove a school board member. “This is the quickest way to get the board back to the business of education,” said school board Chairman Ken Touw. “Some of the school board members need to sit down with the local delegation and begin to discuss some of the details. “I talked to the local delegation this weekend, and they were all willing in prin ciple, but we need to sit down and discuss things before I have their commitment.” During a short session of the legislature, the assembly typically does not consider Heavy Load iff jHHBH jh f DTH/JUSTIN WILLIAMS Steve Barentzen, a second-year law student, waits in line Tuesday afternoon to purchase textbooks at Student Stores. Barentzen, like many other students, decided to finish off his shopping later in the semester to avoid the lines. Crawford: Leaving UNC to Continue Stone’s Mission BY HOLLY STEPP UNIVERSITY EDITOR Black cultural center Director Margo Crawford told a group of students Tuesday that, although she was leaving the Univer sity, she was not severing the relationships gained during her work with the center. Crawford, who has been the director of the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center for 14 years, said the job she had taken with an Illinois consulting firm was a continuation of the work to which she and Stone had pledged themselves to educate children without discrimination and promote a greater understanding of all cultures. “Sonja (Stone)and I decided at a young age to better education for children,” she said. She said that in addition to her job with the cultural diversity consulting group based in Glencoe, 111., she also would work with a team of educators at DePaul Uni versity on a model school project in Chi cago. Thursday, Chancellor Paul Hardin ac cepted Crawford’s resignation from the position she has held since July 1981. Crawford will begin her new job Jan. 31 with Bea Young Associates, which assists companies, universities and school sys- Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes. CluDtl Hill. North Caroliaa WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12,1994 Board member LaVONDA BURNETTE offered to resign after serving half her term. “controversial” matters, so legislators must de cide how to characterize the bill. But N.C. Sen. Howard Lee, D- Orange, said he thought the General Assembly probably would have time to decide on the peti tion. “I certainly think it would be a proper introduction of legislation," Lee said. “If the local delegation considers it proper, there shouldn’t be any problem getting it in for consideration.” To be considered by the assembly: ■ The school board must make an official request to consider the provision; ■ The provision must be permissible under the election laws and other constitutional provisions that specify local school board authority; and ■ The provision must fit the restrictions contained in the assembly’s adjournment resolution, which prohibits the General Assembly from considering local legislation that is controversial during its short ses sion. Local legislators will be looking to pub lic opinion to make their decision. “We have to determine whether it is a controversial issue or not, according to community opinion, ’’saidN.C. Rep. Anne Barnes, D-Orange. “Whether or not it passes depends on ho w the bill would affect other school districts in the state.” flHpf % MARGO CRAWFORD explained to students her reasons for leaving, terns in developing better cross-cultural communication. Hardin said he would announce an interim director for thecenter this week. will begin a nation- P Crawford said she held the meet- ing to explain her decision to students and answer their questions about why she chose to leave at this stage in the BCC movement and in her job. About 20 students attended the special meeting. “I am really honored to say that both of the jobs are from graduate school former professors of mine,” she said. Dr. Barbara Sizemore, dean of the School of Education at DePaul, invited Crawford to take part in a special project designed to better the Chicago School sys tem. Bea Young and Sizemore were Crawford’sprofessors at Northeast Illinois University. Please See CRAWFORD, Page 5 Norman Douglas School board Chairman KENTOUW presented the resolution to seek a recall provision. Lee said he thought the controversy in this case was whether the school board was usingthe appro priate procedure in attempting to remove one of its own members. “The recall is not as much of a controversy as the process that has been used in this case,” Lee said. “But if (the provi- sion) is noncontroversial and the local del egation is in favor of it, I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t pass. Lee said the legislature received a similar request for a recall provision from the Chapel Hill Town Council regarding former member Joe Herzenberg, but Lee could not recall any precedent among local school boards in North Carolina. “To my knowledge, there is no local elected school board in the state that has used this power," Lee said. “But some school boards are appointed, and in those cases, the governing body that makes the appointments has the power to remove a member.” Asa safekeeping measure—in case the recall provision cannot go through the assembly this year—the school board also passed a resolution asking school board attorney John McCormick to investigate Burnette’s statements in the Dec. 9 edition Pase See BURNETTE, Page 2 Committees to Consider Funding Bills BY HOLLY RAMER STAFF WRITER Student Congress will kick off anew year of legislation when all of its standing committees hold their first meetings to night. Student Body President Jim Copland said he would begin the semester by intro ducing a bill to the finance committee to reduce student fees. “I think this will be a good year for legislation,” he said. “The decrease in fees is something people have been pushing for a long time,” he said. Copland said other changes in funding would al low the decrease in fees. “We have ex tra money this se mester because (The DailyTarHeel) isn’t funded by student government any- SBP JIM COf LAND will present a bill tonight to decrease student fees. more, and Student Legal Services got an increase in their fees.” This year is the first year for complete financial independence for the DTH. The student paper runs completely on its adver tising revenue. Student Legal Services, which provides free legal consultation for students, got an increase in its portion of Community, School Board Justify Opinions About Burnette Case BY JOHN BLACKWELL STAFF WRITER One day after the school board’s deci sion to petition the N.C. General Assembly for a recall provision and to discipline embattled member LaVonda Burnette, residents and elected officials continued to justify their opinions. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education removed Burnette from the professional personnel policy committee, which oversees issues related to the evaluation'of teachers, and prohibited her from attending a spring National School Board Association conference. Members said Burnette’s credibility had been damaged when she misrepresented her educational background. School board Chairman Ken Touw said Tuesday that the board’s actions were justifiable because the personnel committee required a great amount of public trust in its members. During the meeting, Touw said the board had made a mistake in appointing two members to the committee and later voted that Mark Royster should fill the post. “To include aboardmemberonthat committee whose integrity has been challenged just did not seem like the right thing to do. “Also, I don’t think we should send a board member who is clouded in public controversy to a national conference.” Hospitals Must Insure Phony Psychiatrist BY DAWN BRYANT STAFF WRITER UNC must take financial responsibility for a patient misdiagnosed by a UNC Hos pitals employee who lied about his creden tials on his job application, an appeals court ruled earlier this month. UNC Hospitals hired a Texas man, Lee Hemsley Shoemate, in February 1989 as a psychiatric resident doctor after he told doctors at the hospital that he had gradu ated from Harvard Medical School and would be completing a doctoral degree there that fall. Shoemate treated several patients at the hospital and later applied for a state medi cal license. Seventeen-year-old Ruby Staton of Ra leigh sued the University and UNC Hospi tals in early 1991 for an amount in excess of SIO,OOO after she was misdiagnosed by Shoemate. Shoemate diagnosed Staton’s symptoms of vomiting, bloody diarrhea and anemia as anorexia and depression, and she was involuntarily placed in a psychiatric wing for 30 days. Another doctor later correctly diagnosed her symptoms as Crohn’s dis ease, which causes pain in the lower intes tines. Following the initial suit against UNC, the University filed a case in June 1991 funds. Finance Committee Chairman Wayne Rash said the committee probably would ease into the new year before facing the process of determining the new budgets for dozens of campus organizations in Febru ary. “We don’t have much to consider now,” he said. The only request on the agenda is from Students for the Advancement of Race Relations. “A request was made from SARR for $10,700, but other than that there’s not much.” The real work will come with the budget hearing pro cess, Rash said. “We usually get about 70 requests from student orga nizations," he said. Speaker Wendy Sarratt agreed that the budget hearings would make up the Rep. PHILIP CHARLESMERRE will receive a BCC bill. bulk of this semester’s proceedings. “By the end of this week, we will send out letters to all organizatioas who are eligible for funding,” she said. “Then there will be a series of deadlines, and then the finance committee and full congress will hold the budget hearings.” Philip Charles-Pierre, chairman of the Student Affairs Committee, said his com- News/Features/Am/Sports 9624)245 Business/Advemsing 962-1163 C 1994 DTH Publishing Coip. All rights reserved. But resident Mark Dorosin, who spoke in support of Burnette at Monday’s meeting, did not agree. “The board’s action in removing her from the committee was unnecessary,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Asa continuing member of the board, she deserves the same respect as the other members.” Dorosin said he was disappointed that the board did not accept Burnette’s pro posal to resign from the board July 1, 1995. Burnette proposed the option so that she could prove herself by serving one-half of her term and then run a re election campaign. “I favored her option,” he said. “It would have done what the board is trying to do now, and it would have cost less and required less extra legislation. It wouldalso have given LaVonda a chance to prove herself to the voters.” Dorosin did praise the board’s deci sion to pursue a recall procedure, saying that it was a better alternative than a full fledged investigation that could result in a trial-like hearing. “I think the board correctly recognized that they don’t have the authority to subvert die will 0f4,000 voters,” he said. Board member Mary Bushnell said she thought theboard’s decision to request a recall provision was due to concern for Please See REACTION, Page 2 against Shoemate and Staton claiming that UNC should not be held financially re sponsible for Shoemate’s actions because he lied on his employment contract. On Jan. 4, a Wake County Superior Courtjudge decided that because Shoemate acted as an agent of UNC Hospitals, he wascovered under UNC’strustfund, which is set up to insure the hospital and doctors who might be held liable for negligence. Judge Clifford Johnson of Wake Supe rior Court ruled that although Shoemate wasnottechnically an employee, he should be covered under the school’s trust fund insurance because he misdiagnosed a pa tient under the hospital’s capacity. Charles Becton and Steve Epstein of the law firm Fuller, Becton, Billings and Sliskin in Raleigh are representing Staton in the case. In addition to the suit against Shoemate, Staton also has sued two other doctors at UNC Hospitals, Epstein said. Staton has filed suit against Preston Walker, a member of the credentials com mittee responsible for checking an applicant’s credentials, and Cort Pedersen, attending physician and supervisor over Shoemate. Epstein said the earliest the case could be tried in court would be this fall, but he Please See HOSPITALS, Page 5 mittee would be considering a resolution introduced by Rep. Joey Stansbury, Dist. 11, that proposed a survey of University students to determine how many were in favor of the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center. “I think (Stansbury) wants to figure out what percentage ofpeople are for or against a BCC, and what the effects of it would be,” Charles-Pierre said. Stansbury could not be reached for com ment Tuesday. Please See CONGRESS, Page 5 Editor's Note Anew year, anew semester, anew beginning. The Daily Tar Heel is looking for new staff members for the spring semester. If you are interesled in writing, copy editing, photography, graphics, layout illus trating or drawing editorial cartoons, come by the DTH office (Union Suite 104) and pick up an application. No experience is necessary, except for the photography and graphics desks. There is an additional application if you are inter ested in photography. All applications are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Call 962-0245 if you have any questions. It's going to be a fun and exciting semes ter at the DTH. Don't miss out.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 12, 1994, edition 1
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