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Volume 103, Issue 107
102 years of editorial freedom
Servmg the students and the University community since 1593
Sex Commission Finds
Few Problems at NCSA
■ An independent committee
found no current sex abuse
problems at the arts school.
BY ROBYN TOMLIN HACKLEY
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
Sexual misconduct at the N.C. School
of the Arts is no longer the problem it was
made out to be, according to the commis
sion set up to investigate allegations made
about the school.
Valeria Lee, chairwoman of the Com
mission to Investigate Improper Student-
Faculty Relations at NCSA, gave her re
port to UNC’s Board of Governors Friday.
Commission members reported that there
was “no factual basis” for the charges of a
pervasive pattern of sexual misconduct at
the school.
The commission was established in Sep
temberby BOG Chairman Sam Neill as an
independent committee charged with ei
ther dispelling or substantiating rumors
about the school that were appearing in the
media.
“There is evidence that a few employees
at various times, especially during the de
cade of 1980, did engage in conduct which
is not tolerable and which must not be
allowed to occur in the future,” the report
stated.
The report also indicated that the ma
jority of the allegations received involved
members ofN CS A’s School ofDance, and
that most of those complaints specifically
concerned two homosexual dance instruc
tors who resigned last summer after a former
student filed a lawsuit against them alleg
ing that they had lured him to a secluded
cabin and coerced him to have sex.
Two thousand former students of the
school were sent letters and asked to call a
toll-free phone number to report any knowl
edge of impropriety that they may have
had. In addition, the commission met with
Faculty Council Adopts
New Salary Guidelines
BYMARISA FERGUSON
STAFF WRITER
In an effort to make faculty salary deci
sions more open and equitable, the Faculty
Council on Friday approved a set of prin
ciples calling for public guidelines stating
the criteria for determining salaries.
The principles focus on direct faculty
input into these policies, and the guide
lines permit administrators to use teaching
and research as criteria for creating merit
based salaries.
The plan attempts to solve salary ineq
uities resulting from a changing market,
inadequate funding and the impact of com
peting offers. The council is reviewing the
way UNC will implement the principles.
However, some law school professors
said they disagreed with the idea of having
a single set of principles govern salary
determination for UNC. They said they
felt the present system of allowing the dean
to set salaries was effective in the past, and
they questioned the need for a change.
“Why should we implement a univer
sal, one-fits-all solution if there is not a
universal problem?" said Professor Jack
Boger.
r. 4 ‘ ■:
Lego
Mania
Master Model
Designers Allen
Demers, left
and David Gold
add the
finishing
touches to a
10-foot-tall
robot made
entirely of Lego
bricks Sunday
at the Museum
of Life and
Science in
Durham. The
robot was one
of several
exhibits
presented by
the Lego toy
company. See
story, page 4.
DTH/MURRAY DAMERON
the entire student body and asked students
to come forward as well.
Lee said that no current students came
forward, but the commission reported that
20 former NCSA students called the hotline
in addition to the many third-party reports
received.
The commission report said the mem
bers of the administration were “not suffi
ciently vigilant, resourceful and aggressive
in meeting their responsibilities to detect
and respond to evidence of possible impro
priety” in the past.
Lee admitted several of the reports that
came in were about current faculty mem
bers and said the commission would pass
along those names to NCSA Chancellor
Alex Ewing.
Ewing said he did not know what ac
tions he would take but would begin an
investigation into the matter as soon as
possible.
The commission made several recom
mendations to school administrators to
help them deal with the situation.
They suggested the school clarify exist
ing policies about sex-related conduct,
outline punishments for those who violate
the policy and inform faculty, staff and
students about the school’s policy. They
recommended that the school establish a
position for vice chancellor for student
affairs, who would investigate allegations
of misconduct.
The commission also recommended the
school create an environment that makes
students feel safe and comfortable commu
nicating policy violations to administra
tors.
And finally, the commission suggested
NCSA conduct a review of the support and
safety available to students living on cam
pus, paying special attention to students at
the high school level.
Lee said, “We are confident that the
school is a good place for the training of
artists and for the training of professionals
and that it is a safe place.”
Law Professor Lissa Broome said she
agreed with Boger. “I think what we do in
the law school is very effective. Salaries are
published internally, so everyone is aware
of what everyone else is making. I think
this problem would be better addressed
department by department,” Broome said.
The principles recognize that salaries
vary among departments depending on the
market demand in various academic fields.
In the past, deans of individual academic
departments have made decisions regard
ing faculty salary allocation.
The principles allow for more faculty
consultation when determining salaries.
“It is of crucial importance to have a
faculty salary policy in which every one has
confidence,” Chancellor Michael Hooker
said. Hooker said he would work with
members of the executive committee of the
council until they resolved the issue.
Dean of the Graduate School Craig
Calhoun said that he thought a University
wide policy was needed and that the old
system had not been productive.
“I feel it is important for the University
to function as a unit, as opposed to several
smaller units which are not, in fact, self
autonomous,” Calhoun said.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
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Fraternity’s Charter Suspended
■ The director of Greek
Affairs said the pledge letter
incident could be a chance to
raise campus awareness.
BYBRONWEN CLARK
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
In the wake of the discovery of an ob
scene memo distributed to fraternity
pledges, officials at Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity’s international chapter said Sun
day they had suspended the UNC chapter’s
charter until the completion of an investi
gation into its activities.
“Their charter has been suspended,”
said Nick Altwies, assistant executive di
rector of the fraternity’s national chapter.
“This means they are not allowed to ini
tiate or pledge anyone until an investiga
tion is complete.”
UNC Director of Greek Affairs Ron
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DTH/JOHN WHITE
Rock group R.E.M. came to town Friday to perform at the Dean E. Smith Center. Lead singer Michael Stipe
entertained the crowd in between songs with stories from the group’s past. See review, page 2.
Polk Place Ceremony Commemorates Veterans’ Sacrifices
BY JOE MILLER
STAFF WRITER
UNC observed Veterans Day Friday as the Army, Air
Force and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps held a
ceremony in Polk Place. The program featured speakers,
a rifle salute, the presentation of the first Veterans Aca
demic Achievement Award and the lowering of the flag.
U.S. Rep. Fred Heineman, R-N.C., who could not
attend because of government matters, prepared a state
ment which was read by Heineman’s district director.
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to those heroic men
and women who returned victorious, and we owe a deep,
heartfelt thanks to those who did not return, ” Heineman’s
letter stated.
Professor Russel Van Wyk, acting chairman of the
curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, said people
should appreciate the discussions among the military
and civilians.
“Americans are often accused of selfish individual
ism, but those in the military have suffered for us all,”
See VETERANS, Page 4
Weather
TODAY: Sunny; high near 50.
TUESDAY: Cloudy; high upper 40s.
Binder said the University would be heavily
involved in the investigation and would
work with the international fraternity chap
ter to bring UNC’s chapter back into good
standing.
Altwies said regional volunteers would
conduct the investigation with the possibil
ity of a staff member from the international
chapter, which is based in Lexington, Ky.,
conducting an on-site visit.
Binder said the investigations of this
sort generally involved the establishment
of an alumni commission to act as an
oversight board during the inquiry.
“We will work very closely with these
boards,” Binder said.
“It is essential that the University and
the boards work hand in hand and share
resources.”
Chancellor Michael Hooker said Sun
day that he was outraged by the fraternity’s
actions. But he said he thought that the
memo was a manifestation of a larger prob
lem at UNC.
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DTH/ERIK PEREL
Junior David Hood (right) and sophomore Brent Lee, Air Force ROTC members, guard the flag pole
in Polk Place Friday as part of a 14-hour vigil in honor of Veteran's Day Saturday.
“I share the outrage of the community
at the content of the letter and the fact that
they were printed and distributed at all,”
Hooker said.
“But I don’t want people to focus solely
on the fraternity. We need to focus on the
broader issue that we have allowed to de
velop an atmosphere, a culture in which
students fail to recognize this is something
profoundly wrong,” he said.
Binder also said he did not think the
attitudes expressed in the memo were con
fined to the Greek community and said he
thought the incident would provide the
campus with an opportunity to re-evaluate
certain attitudes and ideals which existed
on campus.
“In a larger sense I think this will have
a positive effect on not only the Greeks, but
on the campus as a whole,” he said. “I
think there is always a need to explore
these issues. Certainly I don’t think the
attitude ... is solely confined to the Greek
community.”
News/Features/Aits/Sports 962-0245
Business/ Advertising 962-1163
C 1995 DTH Publishing Corp. AD rights reserved.
The incident should provide the Uni
versity with the opportunity to examine
the intellectual climate on campus, Hooker
said.
“We must see this in the context of
building a better intellectual climate on
campus,” he said.
Altwies said he did not know how long
the investigation would last, nor could he
speculate on possible action against the
UNC chapter.
“At this point all I can say is we’ve
suspended them, them being the chapter,”
Altwies said.
“Outside of that it would be difficult to
say at this time,” he said.
Binder said the fraternity could encoun
ter a number of disciplinary actions as a
result of the international chapter’s inves
tigation.
“In all likelihood, the international chap
ter will set up criteria which will have to be
met in order for the chapter to regain sta
tus.”
Zaffron
Sorry for
Remark
■ The Alderman-elect drew
strong critcism because of a
comment he made Tuesday.
BYSUZANEWOOD
ASSISTANT CITY EDUOR
Supporters for Alex Zaffron, a recently
elected member to the Carrboro Board of
Aldermen, say a reporter tried to create
controversy by reporting an off-handed
comment Zaffron made election day.
A reporter for The Chapel Hill Herald
quoted Zaffron as saying: “You haven’t
seen this many Mercedes in one place since
the Nazis rolled over Poland.”
“It was just an off-the-cuff remark,”
Zaffron said. “All the candidates were
standing out there together in the cold. We
were making jokes about it (the cars parked
at the Homestead precinct), and a reporter
heard me.”
The remark was not meant to be offen
sive, Zaffron said. “I didn’t mean to upset
anyone about it.”
The reporter who recorded the com
ment was looking for an interesting story,
Carrboro Mayor Eleanor Kinnaird said.
“I think the reporter was making news, ”
she said. “Eight hours after doing the same
thing (covering the elections) all over to wn,
he was just making news. It was so trivial
compared to the other news of the day.”
Zaffron made the comment while stand
ing outside the Homestead precinct. This
precinct consists of neighborhoods whose
residents opposed the connector road that
will bring more traffic from Hillsborough
Road to Homestead Road, said Hilliard
Caldwell, a recently elected member of the
Board of Aldermen.
Because Zaffron is the chairman of the
Transportation Advisory Board and helped
design the plan for the new road, he was
not supported by many of the people living
See ZAFFRON, Page 4