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Volume 103, Issue 62
102 years of editorial freedom
Serving the students and the University community since 1193
Evidence Won’t Be Admitted
BY WENDY GOODMAN
CITY EDITOR
HILLSBOROUGH ln a series of pretrial motions heard
Wednesday in the case of double-murder suspect Wendell Justin
Williamson, a judge ruled that evidence seized from the suspect’s
home on the day of the shootings cannot be admitted into court.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Gordon Battle ruled that
police officers illegally seized items from the suspect’s home.
“The affidavit [the reasons used to obtain the search warrant] did
not establish probable cause that a warrant would uncover items
related to the crime,” Battle said.
Orange-Chatham District Attorney Carl Fox said that several
items he had hoped would be admitted were also eliminated from
evidence due to the judge’s ruling.
“When I saw the search warrant, I thought we’d have prob
lems, and frankly, I thought we would lose," Fox said.
The defense filed a motion that evidence taken from
Williamson’s Rock Creek apartment not be admitted during the
trial because it was illegally seized.
The defense contended the warrant, which was served and
executed by members of the Chapel Hill Police Department and
Canboro Police Department, was too vague. It also neglected to
include that the reason for the search was two homicides and one
assault with a deadly weapon.
“The search was unconstitutional, ” said public defender James
Williams. “It shouldn’t matter what it was that was found, quite
frankly.’’
Williams said the search warrant neglected the particularity
requirement under the Constitution when it simply said “seize
documents.”
“There are certain statutes that restrict and specify what a
search warrant must contain,” Williams said. “This warrant
essentially gave the officers a blank check to roam through that
apartment and take whatever struck their fancy.”
Fox argued although the warrant was general, he believed the
officers were entitled to seize what they did.
The suppression motion was just one of a series of decisions
made Wednesday. Calmly taking in his surroundings, Williamson
walked slowly into the courtroom without handcuffs. He sat next
to his lawyer, Kirk Osborn, and the public defender.
Proceedings began with Battle deciding the media would be
allowed in the pretrial hearings, because “it would cause more
publicity to exclude the press," he said. Battle also ruled that the
trial would remain in Orange county. The defense made a motion
last week to exclude the media.
“We’re not contesting the right of the media to be in the trial,”
Williams said. “We want to protect our client’s right to a fair trial
and the constitutional right that the trial be held in the county of
the alleged offense.”
Williams said excluding the media would be the best alterna
tive to transfer of venue, or moving the trial to another county.
However, Fox said moving the trial from Orange County may
have to be done at a later date.
“I didn’t make a motion on transfer of venue, but I think it may
be necessary to move the trial depending on what we find out
through jury selection,” Fox said.
The defense also won the motion to divide the trial into two
phases, but Battle did not grant their request to bar the death
penalty as a possible sentence. Under bifurcation, only one juty
would be needed if Williamson is found not guilty by reason of
insanity. The second jury would be needed to determine the
See WILLIAMSON, Page 2
Ripken Surpasses Gehrig,
Homers in 2,1315 t Game
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BALTIMORE —Cal Ripken broke Lou
Gehrig’s unbreakable record Wednesday
night when he played his 2,1315 t consecu
tive game, becoming the most dependable,
most durable athlete in the history of
America’s oldest sport.
Ripken started his big night by catching
the ceremonial first pitches from his chil
dren, then highlighted it by hitting a home
run in the fourth inning Moments later,
the game between his Baltimore Orioles
and California became official, and he was
in the record book for now and probably
forever.
More than a half-century after Gehrig
was forced out of the lineup by a deadly
disease, Ripken streaked past him as
baseball’s new Iron Man, likely the last of
his kind.
Ripken’s string of starting every game
for more than 13 years seems even more
unbreakable than when Gehrig set the mark
in 1939. Major leaguers rarely play every
game even in a single month—in fact, the
second-longest active streak belongs to
Frank Thomas at just 235.
Once resentful that he might be known
only for his streak he’s won two AL
MVP awards, been a 13-time All-Star, hit
more home runs than any shortstop ever,
and set nearly a dozen fielding records
the Orioles’ star gracefully slipped into
immortality when the game became offi
cial in the middle of the fifth inning.
Casually, almost as matter of factly as
he has shown up for work day after day,
Ripken accepted the adoration of the cheer
ing hometown fans. Patting his heart sev
eral times, he stood on the field outside the
Orioles’ dugout as players from both teams
and all four umpires joined in the 22-
Weather
TODAY : Chance of rain; high mid
80s.
FRIDAY : Chance of rain; high mid
80s.
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Double-murder suspect Wendell Williamson enters Orange County Superior Court Wednesday for 1
his pretrial hearing. Williamson’s attorneys failed to have the media barred from the hearing.
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Baltimore shortstop CAL RIPKEN
received a 22-minute, 15-second
standing ovation in the fifth inning.
minute, 15-second standing ovation.
Pushed out of the dugout, Ripken trot
ted a thank-you lap the entire way around
the stadium, shaking hands with fans, seek
ing out those of the children in particular.
The usually low-key Ripken even jumped
above the center field wall to slap high
fives.
When he came to the Angels’ dugout,
he went down the line shaking every hand
while Bobby Bonilla and other Orioles
captured the event on video cameras.
The tribute began when the 10-foot num
bers on the B&O warehouse across the
street from the stadium dropped to reveal
2-1-3-1. Fireworks explodedoverhead, near
where a blimp displayed the sign, “CAL IS
During the ceremony, Ripken took off
his No. 8 jersey and handed it to his wife
and two children, revealing a black T-shirt
that said on the back: “2,131+ HUGS
See RIPKEN, Page 13
Ifyou can’t laugh at yourself, make fun of other people.
Bobby Slayton
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BOT Meets Today To Address Hike
BY SUZANNE JACOVEC
STAFF WRITER
In the heat of debate over a potential S4OO tuition hike, the
Board of Trustees will conduct a hearing today from 3 to 5 p.m.
at the Morehead Planetarium Faculty Lounge to discuss the issue
with students.
“It’s just an information session,” said Brenda Kirby, secretary
to the board. “The board wants to hear from the students selected
to attend by Student Body President Calvin Cunningham. We
want to hear all sides of the issue.”
John Dervin, Kim Miller, Aaron Nelson and Giselle Lancaster
will represent student concerns at the hearing. The students are
evenly split in opinion, two in favor of the tuition increase and two
against, said Cunningham, who serves as an ex officio member of
the BOT.
“These students are designated to represent various positions
on the plan, and I don’t imagine it being fruitful for a lot of
students to come, ” Cunningham said. “I don’t think the Board of
Trustees will be as responsive to that form of student interest.”
Thirty-five percent of the tuition increase would help fund
student aid, as mandated by the original proposal. The balance of
the increase would go toward the UNC library system and raising
faculty salaries.
No action will be taken toward a decision at today’s meeting,
Chancellor Michael Hooker said. Its purpose, he said, is to hear
from students and faculty. “I’m very pleased we’re having this
meeting,” Hooker said. “It’s a forum where students and faculty
will offer various perspectives and an important opportunity for
the Board of Trustees to ask questions.”
Because the trustees will be discussing the issue for the first
time today, each member will attend with a different level of
understanding, Hooker said. A primary goal of the hearing is to
get everyone on the same wavelength, he said.
The board will listen to the various concerns and perspectives
represented at the hearing, Trustee Angela Bryant said. The
meeting is an opportunity for the BOT to gain valuable insight
into the effect of a tuition increase on all sectors of University life,
she said.
“I expect we’ll hear different pros and cons about using our
authority to increase tuition to supplement libraries, faculty
salaries and financial aid,” Bryant said. “My priority is to listen to
opinions.”
While faculty and students would be directly affected by a
tuition hike, staff members would be left in the cold, Bryant said.
“My main concern is that we’re setting up students and faculty
as more important than the staff, who get relegated to their 2
percent,” she said. “I feel the need to give them a voice.”
However, Cunningham described the meeting as a chance for
all views to be represented. “What we can accomplish will be to
bring all the members of the board up to par on all the questions
the campus is debating," he said. “We’ll do that by hearing from
all constituencies.”
In Marathon Meeting,
Congress Changes
Code, Funds Review
BYJAYMOYE
STAFF WRITER
Student groups with a religious or po
litical orientation can finally breathe a sigh
of relief; their days of funding woes may be
coming to a close.
Members of Student Congress voted
19-3 to eliminate the “politically partisan”
section of the student code that barred
religious or political groups from receiving
student fees.
And in an unprecedented move, Stu
dent Body President Calvin Cunningham
signed the revised code into law at the
meeting, enabling three campus organiza
tions to receive the funding they were origi
nally denied.
“What the (Rules and Judiciary) com
mittee and the University attorney have
decided to do with this legislation is to take
care of the concerns that we are discrimi
nating against student groups based on
their viewpoints, which is now prohibited
by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Student Con
gress Rules and Judiciary Committee chair
man Terry Milner said.
The Catalyst and The Carolina Review,
two campus opinion magazines, and the
New Generation Campus Ministries were
denied funding in the past based on the
“politically partisan” clause. Atpresstime,
The Catalyst had been allotted $1,650 by a
16-2-4 vote. The Carolina Review, the ul
tra-conservative campus publication, was
also granted funding on its second try.
Speaker Roy Granato cast the deciding
vote to appropriate $4,289 after members
of Congress were deadlocked 10-10.
“It is frustrating, but it’s always good
when you see justice done,” Carolina Re
view publisher Charlton Allen said. “I’m
just glad it’s over.”
Sections of the revised code that address
electioneering and lobbying on the part of
groups that receive student fees will be
reconsidered by the rules and judiciary
committee next Wednesday, Milner said.
University attorney Mary Sechriest will
be asked to attend the meeting in hopes of
ironing out the legal technicalities once
and for all. Although student fees still can
not be directly used to support a political
campaign, the revised code will enable
organizations to endorse candidates in any
campus, local, state or national election.
Bit ? '
DIH/CELESTE JOYE
Student leaders hold a campuswide speakout Wednesday in Hamilton Hall to discuss the
possibility of a S4OO tuition increase. Many students said they could not afford a tuition hike.
Majority of Students at Speakout
Oppose S4OO Tuition Surcharge
BYBRONWEN CLARK
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
A forum designed to assess student opinion on
the proposed S4OO tuition increase ended without
consensus Wednesday night, with many students
expressing concern about the manner in which the
University’s accessibility would be affected and the
precedent set by such a hike.
Lara Sue Watson, a junior from Mooresville,
said the proposed hike would place UNC out of her
reach.
Newi/Featurei/Artj/Spom 962-0245
Buimess/Advemjm* 962-1163
C 1995 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
Court Ruling
Forces UVa.
To Regroup
STAFF REPORT
The Carolina Review wasn’t the
first student publication to stir up
controversy over funding for student
activities on a university campus.
In a decision this summer, the
U.S. Supreme Court ordered the
University of Virginia to amend its
policy of denying funding to organi
zations that are religious or politi
cally partisan in nature.
The revised guidelines for fund
ing at UVa. make it possible for reli
gious publications to receive fund
ing, but do not open the door to
publications or groups that are politi
cally partisan in nature. “The board
adopted a resolution to allow for
funding of religious organizations but
nothing else at this point," said Carlos
Brown, student body president at
UVa.
UVa. ’s BOVhas put off a decision
about funding politically partisan
groups.
“For UVa. to maintain its tax
exempt status, it cannot give funding
to groups that lobby for or support a
political candidate, or lobby for a
political party,” said Brown.
The Supreme Court’s decision in
the case has forced universities across
the nation to revaluate their own
funding requirements. Brown said
that for this reason the school has
taken a conservative approach to the
situation.
“If we open Pandora’s Box and
give student activities funds to every
organization, we won’t survive the
onslaught,” said Brown. “We know
other schools are watching us, and
we are being especially carefiil for
that reason.”
“S4OO per year—even S2OO per year—is more
than I can pay," she said. “A lot of people say,
‘Yeah, you can tighten your belt.’ But I can’t. lam
a full-time student, and I work full time.”
However, Student Body Treasurer Nathan Dar
ling said he thought the proposal offered the Uni
versity a unique opportunity to increase faculty
salaries and boost national rankings.
“From the outset of this idea in the legislature, I
saw its inherent merit to the University,” he said.
See SPEAK OUT, Page 4