Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 7, 1996, edition 1 / Page 3
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Sfjp Haiti} ®ar Heel POLICE ROUNDUP University Tuesday, Feb. 6 ■ A driver traveling south on Varsity Tennis Court Road lost control of his ve hicle, police reports state. According to police reports, the driver, who said he lost control because of ice on the road, was attempting to turn into a parking lot. Monday, Feb. 5 ■ A Chapel Hill resident fell on the ice and injured her knee in front of the Under graduate Library, police reports state. According to police reports, an ambu lance transported the victim to the UNC Hospitals emergency room. ■ A Troy resident slipped on ice on the third level of the hospital parking deck, police reports state. According to police reports, the victim said he parked on the fifth level of the parking deck, rode an elevator to the third floor and got out. The victim walked a few feet, slipped on the ice and hit his upper back, neck and head, police reports state. The victim also broke the strap to his arti ficial leg. According to police reports, the victim complained of pain to the head, neck and shoulder and numbness in both hands. Police contacted parking deck personnel about the ice problem, police reports state. ■ Banners outside the Ackland Art Mu seum were damaged, police reports state. According to police reports, the com plainant said he saw the banners in good condition on Feb. 3. When he returned to work on Feb. 5, he noticed they were tom, police reports state. ■ Someone in Hanes Art Center re ported that long distance phone calls were made from his office phone, police reports state. According to police reports, the com plainant keeps his office locked and leaves work every day by 5:05 p.m. ■ A basement smoke detector was acti vated in the Environmental Protection Agency building in Research Triangle Park, police reports state. According to police reports, the smoke detector went off when water was released from an upper floor and passed through the walls and ceilings. ■ Someone made a purchase with the credit card of an Ehringhaus resident, po lice reports state. According to police reports,' ffie victim said he made a purchase at Student Stores on Jan. 11. When he got home, he realized he did not have his credit card, police reports state. According to police reports, the victim called the credit card company and they mentioned that someone used his card at Student Stores for $47 after he made his purchase. The victim said that he filled out the affidavit of fraud at the bank and that he did not make this charge. ■ A woman said she discovered her cash and her BB&T card were missing after she had parked in the S-7 parking lot, police reports state. According to police reports, there was no damage to the vehicle, and the victim was not sure if the crime happened on campus. BB&T told the victim that her card had been used, police reports state. ■ A fire alarm was activated in Phillips Hall, police reports state. According to police reports, the police couldn’t find the detector head that had been activated, and the Chapel Hill Fire Department could not determine the cause. ■ A Hillsborough resident was a victim of theft in the Health Sciences Library, police reports state. According to police reports, the victim said she left a bookbag on the third floor of the library. When she returned about five minutes later, her bookbag was gone, po lice reports state. She saw no one suspi cious in the area, police reports state. According to police reports, the stolen items included the bookbag, a day planner, a buck lockblade knife and a Davis Library copy card. City Monday, Feb. 5 ■ According to reports, Latasha Eugena Blacknell, a student at UNC, was arrested on Airport Road and given a citation for shoplifting by concealment. She was re leased with a S3OO unsecured bond, reports state. ■ A Chapel Hill resident was charged with bigamy when reported by one of his two wives, reports state. A further investigation will be con ducted, reports state. ■ John Q. McNeill, an employee at the Duke Law Library, was arrested on Shep herd Lane for abusing a female, reports state. According to reports, the victim had bruises after Lane grabbed her by the wrist and threw her to the floor. Sunday, Feb. 4 ■ According to reports, a house on Sweeton Creek Road was broken into forc ibly through the garage window. Damage was done to the property, including the damage of a CD organizer, floor lamp and stereo system, reports state. Police are in vestigating the breaking and entering. ■ A UNC student had an estimated $450 damage to his car when he lost con trol of his vehicle and skidded into a metal Duke Power light pole, reports state. The accident occurred on die comer of West Franklin Street and Church Street. FROM STAFF REPORTS Town Crime Rate BY KARYN MITCHELL STAFF WRITER Chapel Hill could be considered a safer place to live than in the past, according to a recent report which shows crime rates dropped by two percent last year, despite small increases in the number of rapes, robberies and burglaries. The overall de cline reflects national trends for decreasing crime rates. The 2,699 crimes reported to Chapel Hill police show the number of reported crime incidents was down by 60 cases in 1994, said Chapel Hill Police spokeswoman Jane Cousins. This decrease in Chapel Hill’s crime rates followed a two percent rise in the reported offenses in 1994. Joint Forum Yields No SBP Endorsement ■ Low attendance at its forum forced the NAACP to delay endorsing a candidate. BY MARC MCCOLLUM MANAGING EDITOR Topics such as funding for a free-stand ing Black Cultural Center and recruiting senior marshals attracted the most discus sion at the Campus Y and NAACP forum Tuesday. The forum, which was held for candidates for the presidencies of the stu dent body, the Senior Class, the Carolina Athletic Association and the Residence Hall Association, did not generate any endorsements from either organization. Student body president candidate Michael Farmer said student government should be instrumental in pushing for a free-standing BCC. “It is absolutely neces sary that the student body president go through with the plans at the beginning of his administration, not the end, but the beginning.” Aaron Nelson agreed the student body president should play a large role. “We have forgotten what building the BCC is Candidates Keep Commitments ■ Although candidates for student body president are involved in many groups, they have attended most of their meetings. BY JOHN SWEENEY STAFF WRITER Despite having the kind of load most students would not even dream of, all four student body president candidates have man aged to keep up with their extracurricular meeting obligations. Attendance records show that candidates Aaron Nelson, Michael Farmer, Lee Conner and Sean Behr have been faithful members of their groups. Asa member of Student Congress representing District 14, Nelson has missed only one meeting during the past two semes ters. That meeting was held on a Tuesday night rather than the usual Wednesday. Nelson said the time change conflicted with his schedule. “It was very important for me to be at every congress meeting to properly represent my constituency,” Nelson said. Nelson also said he believed he had not missed any committee meetings for congress. Nelson has served on the Finance, Ethics and Student Affairs committees of Student Congress. While attendance records for the executive branch were not available Tuesday night, Lindsay Mclntyre, chief of staff for Half-Hearted Effort: Recyclables Don’t Make It Into Bins BY MELANIE FELICIANO STAFF WRITER Plastic bottles are piled atop brick trash cans. Aluminum cans accentthe recyclable sculptures on the ground nearby. Recy cling bins sit unused a few steps away. This accumulation of recyclables isn’t a new eco-conscious art exhibit in the Union Gallery. It’s part of the daily garbage deco ration that forms outside Davis Library when students don’t walk an extra few feet to recycling bins, instead choosing to add to the piles of plastic and aluminum on top of .trash cans. “They’ll make a nice little pyramid of aluminum cans," said Charles Button, UNC’s environmental programs manager, about the garbage art that many people create at trash sites. There are four separate bins located just above the stairs leading to the automatic teller machines near the Pit that students can easily utilize. There are also separate colored-glass bins and a plastic bottle recy cling machine just adjacent to Union Sta tion, inside the Union. “We try to address (recycling aware ness) with and signs, but a lot of times a person won’t read it. “I’ve watched people look at the ‘recy cling to the right’ sign, like behind the Campus Y, but they will still dump a stack of newspapers into the regular trash,” But ton said. Recycling sites are usually ac companied by regular trash dumpsters. Button proposed that the trash cans be removed to encourage recycling. “There’s so much psychology in (pur posely misplacing recyclables), but the physical aspect can be helped,” he said. Button said groundskeepers were not responsible for recycling and threw mis placed recyclables into the regular trash. He suggested that trash lids be made slanted so that people would be less likely to set their recyclables on the trash bins. He also listed a few reasons why recy UNIVERSITY & CITY “What trend we noticed was the de crease of crime rates particularly in the Southeast,” she said. “These statistics also reflect the national decrease in crime rates. ” The crime categories counted in the annual report were homicide, rape, rob bery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. Although the report showed that over all crime rates decreased last year, rape, robbery and burglary rates are still rising. “These robbery rates concern us be cause they are a very face-to-face crime, with the potential for danger because it usually involves a weapon,” Cousins said. The 85 cases of robbery reported in Chapel Hill last year showed an increase of eight more cases than in 1994. For rape Today's Candidate Forums about,” he said. “It has become a debate over square footage. It should be some thing we stand up loud and clear and say: ‘This is some thing we demand. BSM: Upernto Lounge, 5:30 p.m. Sangam: Union 208, 7:30 p.m. The student body president himself should not take charge of the building of the BCC, but urge administrators to do so, said candidate Lee Conner. “Don’t come in and pretend you are the know-all and end-all. You need to kick open the doors of South Building and make those people pay some heed.” Candidate Sean Behr said the student body president should not hold a leader ship role in building the BCC. “I have absolutely no idea what it is like to be a minorityonthiscampus,”hesaid. “Ihardly know what it means to be white at UNC. ” Behr said the student body president should serve as a source for student groups searching for funding. Although he said he had had never thought about it before, he said that groups should not be excluded from the funding process if they had reli gious or political affiliation. Farmer, who said minority recruitment student affairs in the executive branch, said she remembered Farmer missing very few meetings. Farmer served as facilities use coordinator on Student Body President Calvin Cunningham’s cabinet. Farmer said he “might have missed 10 percent" of the'' meetings of the organizations he had been involved in. Conner has served on the Traffic and Parking Advisory Com mittee since spring 1995. Of the six meetings that have been held since the committee’s inception, Conner has missed three. Michael Klein, chairman of the committee and the director of the Department of Transportation and Parking, said on Tuesday Conner’s absences were because he had a class at the same time as the monthly meetings. “I can tell you Lee Conner’s attendance record is certainly better than those of some members of the committee," Klein said. Klein also said Conner had communicated with him via e-mail and telephone about the events of the meetings he did not attend. Conner could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. Behr, who served as a member of Cunningham’s executive board and cabinet, also had a consistent attendance record, Mclntyre said. Behr said executive branch meetings usually took four to five hours a week. Behr also said he thought that although attendance was an important part of any student government member’s job, a good attendance record could be misleading. “It’s not just the atten dance, but the quality of the contributions made at those meet ings,” Behr said. DTH/SIMONELUECX A trash can outside Davis Library is piled high with aluminum cans and glass bottles. With environmental concerns on the minds of students, many wonder if there are enough recycling sites to accomodate needs. cling bins were not practical in front of the Student Union. One reason general purpose bins can’t be installed is the University’s recycling system works by having people sort their own recyclables, and there is no separating facility nearby. Also, it would not look good to have recycling bins out in the open near the Union because the 90-gallon size of the bins would take up too much space. Trash would ultimately end up in recy cling bins, Button said. Follows National Decrease there were 14 cases reported for 1995, which was three more than in 1994. Bur glary showed the greatest increase of 77 more cases reported since 1994, with a total of 533, Cousins said. Tasha Heeler, a senior from Canada, said she does not feel safe in Chapel Hill. “Before I came here, I used to jog at night and feel very safe, but here I don’t, ” Heeler said. “I’ve known a bunch of people that have been beaten up and had their wallets stolen on Franklin Street.” Carrie Poston, a junior from High Point, disagreed. “Yes, I feel safe in Chapel Hill because I see campus patrol, SAFE Escort, the bus system and telephones around.” Freshman Jennifer Bushman of Apex said that the Henderson Street shooting ■HKi — x v ~ xm < ■ i -*l9l , v ** -fr Jill " DTH/KATHLEEN OEHLER Student Body President candidate Lee Conner discusses his campaign platform and answers questions at the Campus Y and NAACP Forum on Tuesday in the Union. brought him to UNC, maintained that minorities are not well represented at the University. “There’s a bloc of people who don’t think UNC can help them.” Nelson said he advocated furthering minority issues. “If people are to be criti cized for supporting minority issues, then On-campus students said that while re cycling at residence halls was convenient for them, it was not so easy on main cam pus. When asked what they usually do after drinking from a plastic bottle on main campus, some said they dumped their recyclables into regular trash bins. “If there isn’t a recycling bin, I usually use the regular trash,” said Brian Thornburg, a freshman from Hickory. Some students said they thought people who placed their recyclables on top of last year did not affect how safe she felt. “I know it’s not just Chapel Hill, specifi cally, where this type of firing happens. It just happened to be where he (former UNC Law student Wendell Williamson) was," Bushman said. Cousins said it is hard to determine the cause for the decrease in recent crime rates because this report only analyzed one year. “The sexual assault number reported to the Chapel Hill Police Department is a small percentage of what we know is hap pening,” she said. “We realize that the rates may not be representative of what’s really happening." Criminologists studying the nation’s decreasing rate have attributed the lower rates to effective policing, longer prison I am to be criticized, ” he said. “I’m embar rassed to say I’m not a feminist. That’s not a swear word. It’s an important word.” Conner said he did not support tuition and fee increases and that the S4OO in crease that passed through the legislature last fall set a bad precedent. “Last time we' Administrator Defends Hanton Memo in Court M " n, n mmximmib ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR HILLSBOROUGH Associate Vice Chancellorfor Academic Affairs Lawrence Gilbert on Tuesday defended his decision to circulate a memo explaining the dis missal of a former Department of Biology employee who is now suing him for defa mation. “I didn’t want the faculty to think that I had terminated the employment of (former biology department research analyst) Wilma Hanton for no reason and that they were next, ” Gilbert said in Orange County Superior Court. “I just wanted to be honest with my colleagues in the department.” Hanton’s defamation suit alleges that Gilbert, William Rand Kenan Jr. Profes sor of Biology and former biology depart ment chairman, ruined her professional reputation in the May 1991 memo .Gilbert sent the memo, which stated that Hanton gaibage bins probably want to recycle but don’t have access to convenient bins. “It’s probably because they don’t want to throw it out but they don’t know where to recycle it,” said Lauren Argento, a sophomore from Charlotte. One student, however, was a bit differ ent from others in her recycling habits. “I bring it (the bottle) back with me to my room and put it in my bin,” said fresh man Diane Harrison from Roanoke Rap ids. Wednesday, February 7,1996 Crime in Chapel Hill The number of reported crimes fell 2 percent overall from 1994 to 1995, but some violent crimes increased. 1994 1995 Robbery 77 85 Rape 11 14 Burglary 456 533 Other Crime 2,215 2,067 Total Crime 2,759 2,699 DTK/ANNE RILEY sentences, and the decrease in the crack cocaine epidemic, according to a January New York Times article. did not come out united. Wecameout very fractured, and we lost S4OO apiece.” All fivecandidates for senior class presi dent agreed that attracting a diverse group of marshals was key to a successful admin- See FORUM, Page 4 ''■did notfulflH het’job responsibilities and was given several ‘unsatisfactories’ on her performance evaluation," to about 100 bi ology department faculty members and graduate students. Hanton was the primary technician as signed to the biology department’s elec tron microscope (EM) laboratory until her dismissal on May 24,1991. In addition to his defense of the alleg edly defamatory memo, Gilbert backed up his decision to attach a letter from the EM committee to his memo. EM committee members Edward Salmon, Donald Misch and Max Hommersand sent the letter to Gilbert on May 10,1991, asking him to fire Hanton because she refused to document her activity in the EM lab. Gilbert said he had attached the letter because he wanted faculty to know that the committee had unanimously recom- See COURT, Page 4 Schools Face Problems Due To Snow Days ■ Students have missed an uncharacteristically high number of days this year. BYLESLIE KENDRICK STAFF WRITER Chapel Hill-Cartboro City Schools ’ staff and students face further complications to their school year today as students miss their 10th school day since winter break. Schools remained closed for students for six days after the snowstorm in early January, and Chapel Hill’s most recent snowfall has kept students at home since Friday. Board of Education officials desig nated the latest string of snow days as optional workdays for teacheis. School board officials must now weigh various options in dealing .with the last four closings, said school system spqkes woman Kim Hoke. After rescheduling five missed days, the school board could choose to forgive the next three canceled days, Hoke said! Be yond eight days, the school board piust petition the state Board ofEducation not to make up missed days. At its meeting Jan. 18, the school board rescheduled five days and decided ttj for give Jan. 16, the sixth missed day. With the recent snow cancelations, the school board must now decide whether to excuse Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, Hoke saidJ! “There’s no way to predict if the Hoard will decide to forgive the seventh and eighth snow days or to reschedule them,” Hoke said. “They did decide to forgive the sixth in January, but it was a very close vote.” See SCHOOLS, Page 4 : 3
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