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University
Sunday, Feb. 19
■ An attempted robbery occurred at 6
a.m. in the dental school parking lot, ac
cording to police reports. A black male
approached a woman as she was nearing
the dental school and asked herto give him
her wallet, University police reports state.
The woman threw a can of Sprite on him,
and he ran away laughing, according to
reports. The suspect is unknown, reports
state.
■ Two windowpanes in the office of
101 Smith Hall were smashed by a brick,
University police reports state. There was
no appearance of a break-in, and nothing
was missing from the office, according to
police reports.
Friday, Feb. 17
■ Both side mirrors were broken off a
WUNC van in the parking lot behind Swain
Hall, according to police reports. The inci
dent was reported at 4:38 p.m., University
police reports state.
■ Ronald Lee Glenn of 100 Rosemary
St. was arrested for trying to cash stolen
checks from a purse stolen from the ground
floor ofDavis Library at 1:30p.m., Univer
sity police reports state. His first court
appearance is today in Hillsborough, ac
cording to police reports.
■ A tool pouch belonging to a UNC
employee was stolen from the second-floor
break room of Lenoir Dining Hall at 12:42
p.m., according to University police re
ports. The employee was eating lunch and
was told by the staff that it would be safe to
leave the pouch there, police reports state.
There is no known suspect, according to
police reports.
■ Sunglasses were stolen from room 1
in Carrington Hall at noon, according to
University police reports.
City
Sunday, Feb. 19
■ N.C. State University student John
Andrew Cookman, 22, of 608 Friar Tuck
Road was arrested at 3:17 a.m. at the 300
block of Airport Road for driving while
impaired, according to police reports.
■ Police received a report of gunshots at
204 Saint Thomas Lane at 2:49 a.m., po
lice reports state.
Saturday, Feb. 18
■ A Chapel Hill woman was sexually
assaulted at gunpoint in her neighborhood
by two men, reports state. The attack oc
curred at 1:37 a.m. on Caldwell Street,
reports state.
According to reports, police are still
investigating the incident and no arrests
have been made. The victim might be able
to identify her assailants, according to re
ports.
■ A Chapel Hill man was assaulted by
one of his family members at 454 W.
Franklin St. at 2:40 p.m., reports state. No
charges will be filed, according to reports.
■ Police responded at 11:22 a.m. to a
report of shots being fired from a shotgun
in the Brookstone apartment complex on
Homestead Road, reports state. No one
was injured, and no damage was done to
property, according to reports.
■ Burton Thomas Moore Jr., 37, of Box
"1183 Pittsboro Road was arrested at 15-
501 Bypass and Manning Drive at 12:45
a.m. and charged with driving while im
paired, reports state. Moore was driving 68
mph in a 45 mph zone and had a blood
alcohol level of. 14, according to reports.
■ A 17-year-old Chapel Hill High
School student was arrested on 15-501 at
11:55 p.m. after leading officers on a high
speed chase, according to reports. The sus
pect reached 75 mph in a 45 mph zone and
was charged with drinking and driving
with a provisional license, reports state.
■ University student Alexander Spruill
Hammond, 26, of 377A Tenney Circle
was arrested and charged with passing a
worthless check at 11:44 a.m., according
to reports. The check, made out to Winn
Dixie, was dated Sept. 29,1994, and was
written for $138.21, reports state.
Friday, Feb. 17
■ Police received a report of a broken
passenger window of a car parked on
Femwood Lane at 10:55 a.m. A CDplayer
valued at $550 and an amplifier worth
$l5O were stolen, according to reports.
■ Police received a report at 12:13 a.m.
that an unknown suspect had broken into
the right-side window of a car parked at
2701 Homestead Road and stolen a speaker
valued at S2OO.
■ Police received a report that a person
was acting suspiciously on top of the park
ing deck at 150 E. Rosemary St. at 2:56
p.m., according to reports.
■ An alto saxophone was reported sto
len from a locker at Chapel Hill High
School at 12:48 p.m., according to reports.
The instrument was valued at SI,OOO, re
ports state.
■ Police received a report of a sick rac
coon at 804 Old Mill Road at 4:05 p.m.,
according to police reports.
■ Thomas Antonio Smith, 21, of 1318
Johnson Lane was arrested and charged
with defrauding an innkeeper, according
to police reports. Smith made several long
distance calls from Carolina Inn without
paying for them, reports state. Smith was
released on SSOO bond.
■ A suspect forged checks from a check
book he found at the 100 block of East
Franklin Street at 5:51 p.m., according to
reports. There were 23 stolen checks in all,
reports state.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
NAACP Picks Brandenburg for SBP
BY JULIE CORBIN
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Stacey Brandenburg received the exclu
sive endorsement for student body presi
dent from the campus chapter of the
NAACP.
“At this time, Stlldßilfer
Stacey shines as the _ _ MM
appropriate choice BOflVv
forSBP,” said Ellis ■ Wf .
Carson, president
of the chapter. * 1
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National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People chose to endorse
Brandenburg in appreciation of her
platform’s attention to issues such as mi
nority recruitment, the Keith Edwards case
Varsity Reels in Fans of Noncommercial Films
The Theater, Which Has Been Located on
Franklin Street Since 1927, Specializes in
Independent Films and Offbeat Snacks
BY JENNIFER FULLER
STAFF WRITER
The lights go out and the picture begins. Film credits roll as the
audience begins to quiet down to watch the movie.
Moviegoers sit in the dark theater waiting to see a film that
could make them laugh or cry. Whether the film is a documentary
or a comedy, for the next couple of hours, the audience will be
transported from their everyday lives into the world of the movie.
“Movies, unlike television, invite the audience to share an
experience," said Jim Steele, manager and part-owner of the
Varsity Theatre, located at 123 E. Franklin St.
For Steele, the Varsity Theatre has been a 12-year experience
that began in 1982 when he and part-owners Hammond Bennett
of Greensboro and Steve Smith of Charlotte took over the theater’s
lease.
The theater was originally built in 1927 by the Sorrell family as
a way to put their children through college, Steele said. Six
apartments used to be on what is now the theater’s second-floor
lounge, before a fire in the 1960s destroyed the building. The
theater was later rebuilt without the apartments.
Steele said he liked the historic Franklin Street location,
although he realized it could present parking problems for mov
iegoers.
“Franklin Street is still a very friendly environment, and there
is a certain vitality here you don’t find in malls or in strip shopping
centers,” he said.
When Steele and the other part-owners took over the theater,
they gutted the inside and converted the one-screen theater into
two screens. The screening rooms, positioned one in front of the
other, each have a screen larger than the original. The famous
lighted tunnel leads through the first screening room into the
second one.
As an independent theater, the Varsity has more autonomy in
booking films and often shows independent and foreign films in
addition to more commercial movies. With a varied audience of
students, professionals, and Research Triangle Park and Univer
sity employees, Steele said the owners chose films that coincided
with the public’s tastes.
“I’ve always wanted a theater to make a difference, and I like
that the theater can reach as many people and entertain as many
people as we do and that we can do that with very little compro
mise,” Steele said.
Because the Varsity often offers less commercial films that
See VARSITY, Page 5
Structure Fire in Granville Towers South Causes Minimal Damage
BY STEVE MAGGI
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
A small structure fire that occurred in
Granville Towers South on Friday morn
ing is causing management to reconsider a
policy that keeps trash chutes open 24
hours.
The fire occurred when the rubbish chute
caught fire. “Someone probably threw
something down the trash chute which
was burning,” said Melvyn Rinfret, gen
eral manager of Granville Towers.
“We don’t know what it was, and we
probably won’t know.”
The fire was put out by sprinklers in the
Roberts Calls for More Faith in Congress
Nelson Benton Lecturer
Says Press is to Blame for
Mistrust of Government
BY JENNY HEINZEN
STATE AND NATIONAL EDITOR
Calling on the media to help restore
American confidence in the government,
Cokie Roberts, ABC news correspondent,
spoke Friday for the fourth annual Nelson
Benton Lecture sponsored by the School of
Journalism and Mass Communication.
John Bittner, professor of journalism at
UNC, introduced Roberts to the crowd of
about 400 people at the Friday-morning
lecture in Memorial Hall.
Roberts, the daughter of former House
of Representatives Majority Leader Hale
Boggs, has covered politics, Congress and
public policy for ABC as well as serving as
a news analyst for National Public Radio.
The lecture series, which honors the
memory of former CBS news correspon
dent Nelson Benton, who died in 1988,
was established by Benton's family and
friends, many of whom were in attendance
for Friday’s speech.
Roberts praised her Benton lecture pre
decessors Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite
and Charles Kuralt in the speech but said
she was glad this year’s speech was by a
woman.
“It was time for a skirt, and I’m glad you
picked mine,” she said.
Roberts said she thought the media had
UNIVERSITY & CITY
and the housekeepers’ movement.
“We feel that Stacey is as concerned
with these issues as we are,” Carson said
Friday.
He explained that the NAACPhad origi
nally endorsed both Brandenburg and
Calvin Cunningham because of their re
sponses at the SBP candidates forum spon
sored by the campus chapter.
“We previously issued a joint endorse
ment for both candidates because of the
way in which their answers to the forum
questions indicated they devoted adequate
time (to these issues),” Carson said.
“We wanted to recognize both candi
dates for devoting time,” he said.
Brandenburg said she was honored to
have received the NAACP’s endorsement.
“Most of all, I’m just honored that they
considered me the most qualified candi
date,” she said Sunday.
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Patrons outside the Varsity Theatre, 123 E. Franklin St., purchase tickets for Sunday afternoon's
showings. The landmark theater caters to eclectic tastes.
rubbish chute, which were activated
immediately .There were no injuries, and
minimal water damage was done to the
ceiling and floor carpets on floors one
through three, Chapel Hill Fire Depart
ment records indicate.
According to Fire Department records,
a call was placed at 3:13 a.m. and the fire
alarm was pulled by the Fire Department
when it arrived at 3:18 a.m. “Why the
alarm wasn’t activated (before the Fire
Department arrived), I don’t know,”
Rinfret said.
Travis Babb, a senior from Wilson who
lives on the second floor, had another ver
sion. “Those reports are wrong,” he said,
ABC News Correspondent COKIE
ROBERTS spoke Friday.
played a large part in creating the distrust
Americans have traditionally had of gov
ernment.
“Obviously hating Congress is as Ameri
can as apple pie,” she said, blaming the
press for helping citizens to only see the
bad aspects of government.
“If we have engaged in tearing down
institutions to the point that no one trusts
them anymore, I don’t see. what good that
does,” she said. “I think the political sys
tem does not have the trust of the people.”
She said American belief in Congress
“I think that any time you’re endorsed
by such a well-respected organization it
can only help.”
Brandenburg said the endorsement
would not have any effect on her policies if
she was elected student body president.
She said she intended to focus on human
relations regardless of campaign endorse
ments by human relations groups.
Cunningham said Sunday that he was
disappointed by the NAACP’s decision.
“I really expected that my record of
fighting against discrimination and lobby
ing for housekeepers’ salary increases and
fighting for recruitment binding would
speak for itself,” he said.
He said he thought the loss of the en
dorsement would not seriously hurt his
chances of winning the election.
“I don’t think it will affect my campaign
adversely, ” Cunningham said. “I have spo
“Someone probably threw
something down the trash
chute which was burning. We
don’t know what it was, and
we probably won’t know. ”
MELVYN RINFRET
Granville Towers general manager
when told that the Fire Department report
edly had pulled the alarm.
Babb said he was awake at the time of
had faltered to the point where govern
ment was becoming more and more inef
fective and people had little faith in its
ability to help improve the country.
“There are times when government must
try to solve problems,” she said. “It must
have some sense that the leaders of the
country have the best interests of the coun
try at heart when they make these deci
sions.”
Roberts said the new Republican-led
Congress might be more responsive to the
people because of the desire for change
that had swept the country after the No
vember elections.
“I am very hopeful that the Republican
takeover of Congress... might be able to
do things to make it appear less craven.”
Describing most of Congress’ actions as
childish, she said it was time for someone
to step in and call a halt to babyish bicker
ing and political grandstanding.
“There is a need for someone to say, ‘I
don’t care who started it, I’m stopping it.’”
Roberts called on the media to help
alleviate the public distrust of the political
system, saying that the media carried “a
very heavy blame for the lack of trust in the
system.”
“We distort when we talk about the
institution I think we don’t even try to
tell you much of the story, and we take a lot
out of context.”
Congress was designed to serve the
people and work out compromises to best
represent the views of the constituents,
See ROBERTS, Page 5
ken with a lot of African Americans on
campus who have a lot of faith in my
commitment and who understand that just
because I’m not a member (of the NAACP)
and haven’t paid the membership fee, as
Stacey has, doesn’t mean I won’t continue
to fight for African Americans.”
John Dervin, Brandenburg’s campaign
manager, said he was pleased that
Brandenburg had received the endorse
ment.
“I think it’s very good,” Dervin said
Sunday. “I think it clearly shows her com
mitment to human rights and that she is
someone who as SBP will work with all
groups on campus.”
He said he thought the NAACP’s en
dorsement would have a strong impact on
the success of Brandenburg’s campaign in
the runoff election.
Dervin said, “I think it will help a lot.”
the fire. “Two people in my hall woke up
the RA, and we went downstairs.
“The tower manager (Brian Decker)
was already there. Then they called the
Fire Department and pulled die alarm.”
Babb said people had seen water on the
floor and heard noises coming from the
rubbish chute area.
The building was evacuated after the
Fire Department arrived. All floors were
checked for visible smoke, and the prop
erty was deemed safe to re-enter after an
inspection ofl 1/2 hours, records indicate.
The incident has caused Rinfret to re
think trash chute hours. “Right now, our
trash chutes are open 24 hours,” he said.
Workshop on Race Relations
Teaches Students to Cooperate
BY WILL SAFER
STAFF WRITER
Eleven university students gathered in
Carmichael Residence Hall’s ballroom
Sunday for a workshop on diversity and
race relations.
The workshop, sponsored by Students
for the Advancement of Race Relations,
was led by Pat Fischer, director of the
Campus Diversity Training Workshop.
Fischer trains students to lead their own
workshops on diversity and race relations.
This enables them to work on their
college campuses to foster better under
standing and cooperation among various
groups of people. “We bring two groups
together, two groups of different constitu
encies, and have a dialogue about similari
ties and differences,” Fischer said.
Mike McWilliams and Nakia Elliott,
the co-chairmen of SARR, who organized
Sunday’s workshop, said they hoped this
effort to bridge the gaps between different
ethnic and racial groups would be success
ful on campus.
McWilliams said that 17 students had
already been trained to lead workshops
and that he thought Sunday’s turnout was
very encouraging.
Although encouraged by the workshop,
not everyone who attended said they were
so optimistic about the future of race rela
tions on campus. “I don’t think this cam
pus is actively fighting racism,” said Nikki
Stringer, one of three black women to at
Monday, February 20,1995
Habitat
House
Opens
BY GRETCHEN HOFFMAN
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Although construction has not yet been
completed, a dedication ceremony was
held Sunday for Chapel Hill’s first house
built by the Women’s Partnership ofHabi
tat for Humanity.
The home, located in the Culbreth Park
neighborhood, should be finished in about
a month, said Catherine Elkins, a Habitat
volunteer who coordinated the construc
tion.
When the construction is complete, it
will be the new home of UNC clerk-typist
Frances French and her seven children.
Members ofHabitat for Humanity have
worked in groups of eight to 10 women of
varying homebuilding skills and experi
ence every Saturday since June to build the
house.
“All together, I’d say we had maybe 300
different women working on the building
at different times, and a lot of people who
hadn’t built anything before, ” Elkins said.
“It’s not too hard.”
She said French helped with the build
ing of the house. “If she has a problem with
the home, she’ll know how to fix it, ” Elkins
said.
Chapel Hill Mayor Ken Broun said the
town had donated the land to the organiza
tion. “There were some lots there that they
were having trouble selling,” he said. “It’s
an affordable housing area anyway."
The town also donated funds to help
defray the building costs and will provide a
SSOOO second mortgage for French, Broun
said. The mortgage will help her make a
down payment on the house, easing her
financial burden, he said.
French will use a 20-year no-interest
loan to pay $42,500 for the four-bedroom
house, Elkins said. The houses built by
Habitat volunteers usually cost between
$40,000 and $45,000, she said.
“Mrs. French has a very large family,"
Elkinssaid. “Shehasafour-bedroomhome,
and that costs an extra $1000.”
Buyers of a Habitat house are only
charged for the construction materials.
“The money does not include the land; it is
just the price of the materials used,” she
said.
A family selection committee made up
ofHabitat volunteers chooses the families
who will live in the houses, Elkins said. It
reviews applications from people through
out Orange County and evaluates the ap
plicants’ needs.
She said an applicant had to meet cer
tain criteria in order to be selected. They
must have a good job, good references
from their employer, have the right need
for the house and the ability to pay off the
loan.
“She (French) is goingto be a wonderful
See HABITAT, Page 4
“Our staff takes out the trash during the
day, and the trash chutes remain open for
convenience the rest of the time.”
Efforts to educate residents and an em
phasis on preventive precautions might
not be sufficient in assuring safety, Rinfret
said. “I keep reminding people that every
thing be extinguished before it is thrown in
the chute, like cigarettes,” he said.
A heavy emphasis is placed on fire safety
at Granville Towers, he said. “We take
tours of buildings every day. We have a
health and safety commission. “It is ex
tremely important to us,” he said. “This is
something we’ll be discussing in detail.”
The incident is still under investigation.
tend the workshop. “The attitude ofpeople
on this campus is fostering dissension.”
Stringer said she thought that no matter
how much effort students put into fighting
racism it might not be enough. Ivy
Farguheson, anotherstudent whoattended
the workshop, said she agreed with Stringer.
“This schoolisfilledwithso much igno
rance, ” Farguheson said. “Everyone should
come to one of these workshops. This will
help to break the ignorance down.”
During the training session, Paul
Saunders, a white senior, discussed stereo
types about white Southerners. “We’renot
all racist or stupid,” he said.
Saunders said he recognized that black
and white Southerners had had a love-hate
relationship and that both groups had much
to overcome and to gain from each other.
Joanne Kalas, a junior from Burke, Va.,
said she had learned a lot from Sunday's
workshop about how to bridge the gaps
between different groups of people. “If you
want people to understand and respect
you, then you’re going to have to want to
leam about other people and other groups.”
Stringer said she liked the opportunity
the workshop had provided because it gave
her the opportunity to talk about differ
ences with people from racial and ethnic
groups other than her own. “Conversa
tions like this don’t happen enough.”
Elliott said the next workshop wouldbe
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday in Gra
ham Residence Hall. SARR meets at 7
p.m. every Tuesday in the Campus Y.'
3