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BRIEFS
Stories from the University and Chapel Hill
Roysters Give $500,000
To Graduate Program
The University has received a $500,000
gift for its new flagship program of scholar
ships for doctoral students, the Carolina
Society of Fellows.
The society is intended to be the gradu
ate-level equivalent in prestige and quality
of the Morehead Awards for undergradu
ates.
The donors, Thomas S. Royster Jr. and
Caroline H. Royster, also created the
society’s origmal endowment in 1994 with
a $ 1 million gift. Thomas Royster, a Vance
County native, received his bachelor’s de
gree from UNC in 1940.
Fellows will receive a $15,000 annual
stipend allowing them to focus full time on
research and presenting results at a na
tional or international academic meeting.
Graduate students in the humanities and
social sciences require an average of eight
years to earn doctoral degrees.
“We thought if they could finish their
work in a shorter time really concen
trate on it it would help the the Univer
sity and help the state of North Carolina,”
Thomas Royster said.
The inaugural fellows are: Arthur S.
Alderson, Jo Elisabeth “Lisa" Aldred, Eric
J. Engstrom, Anne M. Fry, Tori M.
Hoehler, Marla R. Miller, David J.
Nordlander, Beverly Rockhill and
Katherine W. Stovel.
Engstrom, Fry, Hoehler, Rockhill and
Stovel were designated as Caroline H. and
Thomas S. Royster Jr. Fellows.
UNC Dentistry Professor
Receives Teaching Award
Gene A. Holland, professor of prosth
odontics in the School of Dentistry, has
won the Richard F. Hunt Award for Excel
lence in Undergraduate Teaching.
The annual award, the most prestigious
given by the school, recognizes a faculty
member’s command of his or her subject
matter, interest in students as individuals
and ability to demonstrate a broad per
spective about other aspects of dentistry
and related knowledge.
A committee of students and adminis
trators select the recipient based on nomi
nations from all four doctor of dental sur
gery classes.
Holland is a 1968 graduate of the School.
Morehead Planetarium
To Offer f Prestar Special'
The Morehead Planetarium is offering
its “PreStar Special” for young stargazers.
Four- and five-year olds who are home
based are welcome to attend the series of
entertaining activity, organizers said.
The program begins with a brief session
in the Star Theater and moves to the plan
etarium classroom for a series of hands-on
activities in different centers. Parents are
encouraged to participate.
Registration for each session is $5 per
child. Parents are admitted free. The fee for
planetarium members is $4. Enrollment is
limited to 12 children. Advance registra
tion is required.
Chapel Hill High School
Gets New Football Coach
Ronald W. Pendergraft, Jr. was hired
by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board ofEdu
cation to serve as the head football coach
for Chapel Hill High School.
Pendergraft was the head football coach
at E.A. Laney High School in Wilmington
before assuming the position at CHHS. He
was the 1995 Coach of the Year for the
Mideastem Conference. His football team
was also in the state playoffs that year.
Pendergraft received his bachelor of sci
ence degree in Industrial Technology from
East Carolina University, where he played
football, and is currently pursuing his
master’s degree in counseling at ECU.
Carrboro Recreation and
Parks to Sponsor Camp
The Carrboro Recreation and Parks
Department will hold Kinderventures this
summer for children aged 3 to 5. The
programs integrate crafts, games and ad
venture.
Children will participate in activities
designed to enhance fine motor skills, com
munication skills and cooperation. All ac
tivities will be held outdoors.
Camp is held Monday through Friday
from 8:30 a.m.-noon at Wilson Park Shel
ter in Carrboro. The cost is S6O. There are
four sessions to choose from: June 17-21,
June 24-28, July 29-Aug. 2 and Aug. 5-9.
For more information, call 968-7703.
Wildlife Resource Award
To Go to Game Hunters
Nominations are currently be accepted
for the N.C. Wildlife Resource
Commission’s Dr. William H. McCall
Small Game Award. Nominations ofindi
viduals, clubs or organizations are accept
able.
Awards are made annually to citizens
with outstanding achievements in small
game catches across the state. Nomina
tions will be accepted from July 1 through
Sept.l. Winners will be honored at the
January 1997 Commission meeting in
Raleigh. The awards are in honor of Dr.
William H. McCall of Asheville, a former
member of the Commission who is a life
time small game advocate and a member
of the National Field Trial Hall of Fame.
STAFF REPORTS
Former Personnel Director Dies,
Leaving Legacy of Helping Others
■ Jack H. Gunnells served
in the University’s personnel
department for two decades.
BY JEANNE FUGATE
EDITOR
Jack H. Gunnells, 68, died Saturday
after leaving quite a mark on University
policy. “The essence of his contribution to
the University was to provide that kind of
a compass in the way that people should be
treated," said local attorney A1 McSurely,
a longtime associate of Gunnells.
Gunnells, a native of Kings Mountain,
served as personnel director at the Univer
Internal Investigation Reveals University
Police Used ‘Proper Conduct’ at Party
■ Duke students filed an
official complaint after a
March 30 Great Hall party.
BY MARVA HINTON
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
An internal investigation by University
Police revealed that officers used “proper
conduct” in handling the crowd outside a
March 30 Great Hall party.
DTHFHE PHOTO
Several Duke students drove to Chapel Hill to meet with University Police Chief Don Gold in April to request an
investigation into the way a crowd of students, unable to get into a March 30 Great Hall party, was treated by police.
Aldermen Park Meineke
Mufflers on Main Street
BY ANDREW HOLTON
STAFF WRITER
Despite citizen concern about town in
tegration and parking alternatives, the
Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved
Tuesday night a Conditional Use Permit
allowing the nationwide automobile ser
vice chain Meineke Mufflers to open on
407 Main Street in Carrboro.
Randy Silver, the prospective Meineke
owner, appeared before the Board and said
he was prepared to do anything the Board
asked.
“I have fallen in love with the Carrboro
community,” Silver said. “I will go out of
my way to meet everyone’s needs.”
Despite Silver’s willingness to cooper
ate with officials, questions lingered about
parking around the proposed sight.
Carrboro Zoning Administrator Keith
Lankford reported the findings of the staff
application review. He said the proposed
five-bay repair shop would have 12 park
Abstinence Not Necessarily the
Only Policy in Area School System
BY EMILY ADCOCK
STAFF WRITER
Residents showed up June 6 at the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Board of Edu
cation meeting to express their views about
sexual education in the classroom.
The School Board sponsored the hear
ing due to a state law that allows school
systems to teach about contraceptives only
ifthey complete a three part process, one of
which mvolves a public meeting about the
materials to be used.
At the hearing, residents could speak
about the revised Family Curriculum
Policy, including lessons on abstinence
and on contraception.
Many supported the policy at the meet
UNIVERSITY & CITY
sity from 1970 to 1990, when he retired.
Gunnells originally came to Chapel Hill
after the Cafeteria Workers Strike in 1970.
Gunnells set up the University’s first griev
ance procedure and put together what some
saw as “one of the best personnel depart
ments in the state.” UnderGunnells’ direc
tion, the department improved employee
relations and started training policies.
Gunnells was particularly interested in
helping Chapel Hill’s black community by
implementing training programs.
“During that period in the ’7os, Mr.
Gunnells not only established some very
important personnel programs that stan
dardized and helped people know what to
expect, but he also made diligent efforts to
help black people better themselves,”
A group of eight Duke students met
with University Police Chief Don Gold
April 9 to protest what they perceived as
theofficers’ refusal to calm an unruly crowd
that was not permitted to enter the Kappa
Alpha Psi fraternity, Inc. party.
The Duke students said when one of
them asked an officer at a Student Union
Door for help, she was threatened with
mace and turned away.
Department policy permits the implied
use of pepper spray in such situations.
However, officers failed to cite the threat
ing spaces and 4,050 square feet of vehicle
storage space.
Town activists disagreed on the parking
need that the proposed business would
create.
In their recommendation to the Board,
the Staff recommended “that the applicant
make every effort to seek additional satel
lite parking and obtain this parking if and
when it becomes available.”
Some citizen activists felt the business
would have a parking overflow problem
and add to the current Main Street parking
shortage.
Bany Blanchette, manager ofNice Price
Books, said he was worried about the pro
posed business’s parking impact.
“We are systematizing a kind of traffic
hazard,” Blanchette said. “It seems to me
thatwearegoingtohaveaproblem. Some
thing more needs to be done. The problem
is going to get no better barring a drastic
See ALDERMEN, Page 7
ing, but they expressed a need for a more
complete program that did not place too
much emphasis on abstinence.
Some parents said the policy virtually
excludes other options.
“(The program) has a certain moral
lean,” said parent Solomon Gibson HL
According to the proposed revised
policy, “Family Living Education offered
in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
shall emphasize the benefits of abstinence
from sexual activity until marriage. Fam
ily Living Education shall (also) include
information on contraceptives, abortion
and adoption, including where to obtain
such services.”
See SEX EDUCATION, Page 7
McSurely said. Gunnells also strongly ad
vocated affirmative action policies.
Gunnells received his master’s degree
in business administration from the Uni
versity. He served as a master sergeant in
the U. S. Air Force in Europe for four years.
Heavily involved in the community,
Gunnells was a lifetime member of the
General Alumni Association, board mem
ber of the Rotary Club, retiree chairman of
District 25 State Employees Association of
N.C. and was a life member of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans. Gunnells funeral
was held Wednesday at Chapel Hill Me
morial Cemetery. He is survived by his
wife, Dot Gunnells, former coach of the
Women’s Golf Team. Memorials may be
made to the UNC Golf Team.
to use pepper spray in a follow-up report, a
violation of department policy.
University Police Chief Don Gold said
the violation was a mistake.
“Appropriate action will be taken for
this mistake,” Gold said in a press release.
However, Gold said police used pepper
spray to control rowdy crowds.
Gold said the investigation of this inci
dent did not differ from other investiga
tions, except that it was more highly pub-
See INVESTIGATION, Page 4
Vandal Destroys Legendary Davie Poplar HI
■ The tree will be replaced
in the fall when the weather
is better for planting.
BY MARVA HINTON
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
An Office of Information and Technol
ogy employee discovered Davie Poplar HI
stripped of its bark Friday morning.
Todd Lewis, a computer programmer,
called the University Police when he dis
covered the damage on his way to work in
Wilson Library. “At first I thought that it
had been trimmed, and then I saw the
branches were left on the ground,” Lewis
said. “I thought that was suspicious, and
then I noticed the bark missing.”
Davie Poplar HI was planted October
12, 1993 in commemoration of the
University’s bicentennial celebration. The
tree is planted near its predecessors, the
Davie Poplar and Davie Poplar Jr., in
McCorkle Place of the Upper Quad.
Beverly McJunkin, an administration
representative for the University Grounds
Division, confirmed that the tree had been
vandalized. “Someone literally stripped
all the bark and the limbs off,” McJunkin
said. “We had to remove it.”
McJunkin said anew tree will be planted
in the fall when the conditions are more
favorable to planting.
A representative from the University
Police said the department was not work
ing on the case. “A report wasn’t done, ” he
said. “There’s been no investigation.”
Lewis said he did not think the police
could do more. “I don’t see anything that
practical that can be done," Lewis said.
“It’s kind of disappointing though. ’’
Davie Poplar HI had become a land
mark with his brethren. Davie Poplar Jr.
was planted March 16,1918 by the Class of
1918. Davie Poplar has stood since the
early years of the University. Legend has it
that the U niversity will stand as long as the
Davie Poplar stands. The University has
helped the legendary tree to stand by plac
ing cable inside the tree to support it.
Kirk Polland, the forester who cares for
the trees, could not be reached for com
ment.
New Subcommittees
To Study Fire Safety in
Greek Chapter Houses
BY MARVA HINTON
UNIVERSE EDITOR
The Office of Greek Affairs and the
Chancellor’s Committee on Greek Affairs
are working together to form advisory sub-
committees on top
ics related to fire
safety in fraternity
and sorority houses.
The following
subcommittees will
be open to faculty,
staff and students:
education, com
partmentalization,
detectionand warn
ing, protection and
fund raising, en
forcement and inte
rior finish.
Since their incep
tion June 5, the
Director of Greek
Affairs RON BINDER
will hear the
subcommittees’
findings in the fall.
committees have been working at different
paces.
Herbert Cooper, chairman of the educa
tion subcommittee, said he hoped his com
mittee would be completely formed by the
end of the week.
Cooper said he thought his committee
Fire Safety, Sprinkler Talk
Heats Up Greek Community
BYAMYCAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
University officials and Chapel Hill Fire
Chief Dan Jones joined with leaders from
fraternities and sororities June 5 to discuss
ways to prevent future tragedies like the
Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house fire.
The incoming Chairman of the
Chancellor’s Committee on Greek Affairs
Randy Cox said the meeting was not de
signed to be a lecture about alcohol or a
place to tell stories.
“We are working on fire safety and life
safety solutions,” he said. “We want to
focus on the solutions, what they are.”
Cox said while the group could discuss
options and methods all night, none of the
proposals would be viable without student
support.
“If the students aren’t on board with us,
we’re wasting our time,” Coxsaid. “I think,
however, that they will be very coopera
tive.”
Jones said he thought evetyone would
cooperate, but he especially wished to see
changes occur after what he saw May 12.
“Until you’ve had to tell a family that
their only youngster has died, or go into a
fire scene to assess the damage or place a
youngster in a body bag, you are not in a
position to talk about life loss,” Jones said.
Jones said the factors that combined to
create the Phi Gamm fire were common to
many fraternities and should be taken into
consideration to prevent a reoccurrence of
the tragedy so many had recently endured.
“The fire started in the basement in the
DTH J KATHLEEN OEHLER
The original Davie Poplar still stands in McCorkle Place next to Davie Poplar
Jr. Davie Poplar 111 will no longer be able to stand next to his predecessors.
Thursday, June 13,1996
should be proactive.
“Our basic role is going to be to try to set
up educational programs,” Cooper said.
“We’re going to have to get videos and
educational pamphlets. We need to put
information together that people will read
and learn from.”
Bettie Arm Everett, chairwoman of the
enforcement subcommittee, said she she
thought the fraternities and sororities
should be more accountable to the Univer
sity. “We need more University involve
ment even though those houses are on
private property,” Everett said. “Living in
a fraternity house is like being on free
parking in Monopoly.”
Ron Hyatt, chairman of the detection
and warning committee, said his commit
tee was in the information gathering stage.
“We’re obtaining correct and current
information that we can provide to the fire
marshal,” Hyatt said. “We’re in the pro
cess of setting up a meeting with the fire
marshal.”
The other committees are working to
involve the University community and to
gather information.
Each committee will make final recom
mendations to the overall committee Au
gust 11.
Southeast comer, under a bar built of pine
wood and in a pile of Class A combus
tibles,” he said. “The area around there
was pine-paneled, which fed the fire rap
idly. The one common staircase acted like
a chimney to carry smoke and the flames
straight up to the top floors.”
Cox said discussing issues such as re
moving interior finishings that fuel fires,
compartmentalizing fires with automatic
fire doors and separation of floors could
help prevent another tragedy.
Jones said sprinkler installation in all
fraternities and sororities could prevent a
repeat of the tragedy.
“From a life safety standpoint, frater
nity and sorority houses represent the great
est potential for life hazard,” Jones said.
“F or long term protection of life and prop
erty, sprinkler systems are the only an
swer.”
Jones said out of two sprinkler system
types available to the Greek houses, a 13R
was most common for residences.
“It’s smaller and not quite as intense as
the(commercial)system,”hesaid. “Itmay
also be possible to run the pipes off the
domestic water supply and save money.”
For maximum fire safety, Jones recom
mended that fraternities and sororities in
stall automatic fire sprinkler systems and
alarm systems, enclose all staircases to
prevent a “chimney effect” and place a
lockbox on the outside wall of the house
with keys to the house and a list of all the
current residents.
Participants plan on meeting next month
to try to enact the proposals outlined.
3