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THURSDAY, MAY 30,1996
$6 Million Slashed From UNC System
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DTH/ KATHLENE OEHLER
Student Body President Aaron Nelson and staff members Mo Nathan and Carrie Heise prepare to meet with state legislators in Raleigh on
Wednesday. They led a delegation of concerned graduate and undergraduate students worried about higher education funding cuts.
N.C. House Budget Shocks University
BY MARVA HINTON
UNIVERSUY EDITOR
The N.C. House’s decision to ignore Governor James
Hunt’s SIOO million proposed budget for UNC-System
schools and to cut existing funds while $396 million re
mained in a savings account left many in the University
community wondering about legislators’ priorities.
“What’s really disturbing is that they have a really good
amount of revenue, but it’s (the University) not a priority
for the House,” Nelson said.
Graduate and Professional Student Federation Presi
dent Katherine Kraft said, “Thatissosadthatwehavesuch
a difficult time getting one percent of that ($396 million)
excess.”
Nelson said, “In a time in which our funding should be
increasing, they’re making us fight over scraps.”
The Board of Governors composed an expensive wish
list for the UNC System, including higher faculty and staff
salaries, health insurance for graduate students and a smaller
kickback of grant money to the state.
Hunt’s budget focused the optimistic BOG budget to
what some thought was a more palatable pill for the
legislature to swallow, requesting close to SIOO million
The House’s proposed budget rejected Hunt’s alloca
tions for the UNC system, despite a 3 percent salary
Mason Farm, Horace Williams Set for Development
■Jh II I Hi
The 1356-acre Mason Farm Tract is located next to the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center. The land
will contain buildings similar to those on the University's main campus and will also house an 1100-car parking deck.
increase for state employees. They not only refused
UNC-system schools their requested money, they also
started cutting existing funds.
Association of Student Governments President John
Dervin said, “Nothing got funded.”
But major items got defunded. Dervin said the House
wants to cut S2O million from UNC Hospitals and close
to $2 million from academic affairs across the 16 cam
puses. “That’s not huge in the grand scheme of things,”
Dervin said. “It’s just a slap in the face when there is so
much excess."
Nelson said the campus was especially shocked after
counting on Hunt’s University-friendly budget. “The
governor made his proposals, and we were all elated,”
Nelson said. “There was so much hope for this institu
tion. Then in a matter of three days the House cut it all to
zero.”
Nelson said the cuts were even more disturbing be
cause North Carolina was in a state of economic growth.
“This is a time of success,” Nelson said. “At a time when
you have the money, it shows a lack of respect and
interest in higher education.”
Mohan Nathan, a member of the legislative strategy
team, said, “What’s really disturbing is that this isn’t the
See REACTION Page 5
Show me a woman who doesn’t feel guilty, and I’ll show you a man.
Erica Jong
Impact on Schools
Orange County is debating
a SISOO increase in
impact fees for Chapel Hill
and Carrboro. Page 2
Getting Parking
Fines in Gear
Illegal parkers could face
fines of S3O to S2OO for
infractions. Page 3
A
N.C. House Squashes UNC Budget
$ 100 million in UNC-system budget requests by Governor Jim
Hunt, though almost S4OO million in state surplus sits in the bank.
The rejected budget requests include:
$64 million for salary raises for UNC System employees
sl6 million for equipment purchases and salary increases
$8.5 million to provide health insurance for graduate students
$341 million to free up money for research contracts and grants
$1.7 million for financial aid to teaching assistants
$1.5 million for Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust
Pk*® s6*3 million cut from the existing UNC-system budget
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
■ University, Chapel Hill and Carrboro
leaders were satisfied with development plans
for the University’s future satellite campuses.
BY AMY CAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
After 18 months of meeting, planning and compromising,
leaders from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the University decided the
fate of the Horace Williams and Mason Farm tracts.
The lands, which lie to the southeast and north of main campus
respectively, willbeusedforsatellitecampuses. Chapel Hill Town
Council members, Carrboro aldermen, University leaden and
area residents have worked together to plot the course the devel
opment will take.
Canboro Mayor Mike Nelson said the municipal government
involvement would ease the development process.
“They are in our planning district so we have to approve their
plans like any other development, ” Nelson said. “They wanted to
include us early so they would know what we were looking for so
they weren’t creating theirplaninavacuum. Plus, it’sahugepiece
of property, and however it is developed, it will have a significant
effect on the county as a whole.”
Johnson, Johnson and Roy, Inc., the Michigan-based consult
ant firm selected by the University to construct development plans
for the two pieces of land, worked to incorporate the multitude of
ideas into one set of workable plans per land tract. JJR presented
area residents with the plans last Wednesday night.
“I think and I hope that you will be pleased by what you see,”
said Associate Vice Chancellor of Facility Management Bruce
Runberg. “When you look at the plans, I think you’re going to see
that we listened and put in a lot of the suggestions from the various
committees and individuals.’’
JJR representative Jim Christman presented the Mason Farm
proposal. Christman said buildings in the Mason Farm tract will
resemble those of “Old Campus,” which extends from South
Road to Franklin Street, and will be about one to three stories tall.
See JJR, Page 2
Student Leaders Seek
Support to Fight Cuts
BY AMY CAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
With heavy-handed budget cuts looming over the
UNC system, University leaders are gathering student
support to convince state legislators of the need for
funding.
Student Body President Aaron Nelson and Gradu
ate and Professional Student Federation President
Katherine Kraft led a delegation of undergraduate and
graduate students through the halls of the General
Assembly earlier this week to relay concerns about
University funding cuts.
“We went and spoke with members of the Senate to
introduce ourselves and convey the University’s pri
orities to the senators,” Nelson said.
Those priorities included funding of graduate stu
dent health care, money for faculty raises and an
elimination of reversion rates for research grants.
Nelson said graduate student health care was most
important to him.“lt is the obligation of the state to
provide health care for graduate students in order to
remain a successful institution," Nelson said. “Not to
do that is extremely short-sighted.”
Nelson said the delegation met with many senators
and tried to arrange meetings for later on in the week.
“Some members of the Senate have shown unwa
vering support for the University and ought to be
commended,’’Nelson said. “Althoughitdoesn’tseem
too popular, they continue to support the University
and I hold them in the utmost respect.”
See BUDGET Page 2
Interview with
Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien talks about
a talk show host's life with
a DTH reporter. Page 7
Hooker Creates
New Task Force
To Study Alcohol
BY KELLY O’BRIEN
STAFF WRITER
In the quest for solutions to the student sub
stance abuse problem, Chancellor Michael
Hooker said he would create a task force to study
the problem at the Board of Trustees meeting
Friday.
The announcement was made in the wake of
the May 12 fire at the Phi Gamma Delta frater
nity house in which five students were killed and
three others were hospitalized. Although fire
officials said that smoke inhalation was to blame,
the presence of alcohol was evident at the gradu
ation party the night before the fire. The medical
examiner’s reports showed four of the five stu
dents killed had high blood alcohol contents, well
above the legal limit of .08.
“We know that alcohol did not cause the fire
and the deaths, but the occasion has highlighted
for us what we have been wrestling with for a year
now, and that is the recognition that this campus,
as well as virtually every campus in the country,
has a significant substance abuse problem,”
Hooker said. “As I have said, it is my intention to
do everything that is within
my power to make a sig
nificant difference in ad
dressing the problem.”
Hooker said he feels the
entire community, espe
cially the students, must
provide support for any
policy in order for it to be
effective.
“Mindful of that feet, I
am going to appoint a sub
stance abuse task force
which willhave strong stu
dent and faculty represen-
tation on it, as well as representations from par
ents, our alumni, the Board (of Trustees) and the
staff of the University,” he said.
The members of the task force have not been
appointed, although they are expected to begin
meeting within a week and a half.
Hooker said the task force will focus on what
can be done to change the culture about drug and
alcohol abuse at UNC.
The majority of students said they feel the task
force will not help and are against its develop
ment.
See ALCOHOL, Page 2
Wanted: Summer Staff
The Daily Tar Heel Is accepting applications for all
desk positions. Investigate and write about Univer
sity and local issues. Cover one of UNC's athletic
teams. Design a page or create an interesting
graphic.
Stop by the DTH office in Suite 104 of the
Student Union and pick up an application. Contact
DTH Editor Jeanne Fugate at 9624086 if you have
any questions.
Summer is a great time to learn without the
pressure of a daily deadline, so don't miss out
DTH/JIMWEBB
Chapel Hill Workers
To Receive Salary
Raise With New Budget
■ All Chapel Hill employees will bring home
a paycheck of no less than $17,262 a year
after Oct. 1, after town authorizes pay raises.
BY AMY CAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
Chapel Hill town employees will soon be seeing a little more
green in their paychecks. The Chapel Hill Town Council autho-
rized pay raises for all employees and set a
higher pay floor at its budget work session
last Wednesday night.
The salary adjustments, as outlined by
Personnel Director Pat Thomas, would
ensure a starting pay of at least $17,262,
provide a market/merit pay increase sys
tem and establish a bonus fond for special
recognition.
While all new workers hired after Oct. 1
will start at that base salary, Thomas said
current workers would still have a leg up on
the new blood.
“People hired within the most recent six
months will be hired at or above $ 17,262,”
Thomas said. “Those already on the pay
roll will go to $17,262 plus 5 percent."
Council member Mark Chilton said he
was concerned that by eliminating all starting salaries below the
base salaty, compression of the workers at the lower levels would
be increased.
Town Manager Cal Horton said compression would be bad,
See SALARIES, Page 8
103 years of editorial freedom
Serving the studoxs and the Unnasity
commuoitysince 1893
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Volume 104, Issue 42
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
C 1996IXtHPubhshing Cop.
ABriyfao reserved.
Chancellor MICHAEL
HOOKER said alcohol
was a problem at UNC.
Council member
JOE CAPOWSKI said
Black Public Works
Association proposals
influenced the council's
decision.