tThr latiu ®ar UM
' .r
TJ 7 u a L I *.
ii™ vvK i y
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3,1996
Saturday Blaze Guts Fight Units in Foxcroft Apartments
■ No one was injured in the
fire that caused an estimated
$600,000 in damages.
BY TANYA K.MERRITTE
STAFF WRITER
Fire investigators say a malfunctioning
light fixture sparked a fire that destroyed
an eight-unit building in Foxcroft Apart
ments on Saturday night. No one was
injured in the blaze that gutted apartments
533 through 540 at 515 Ashley Ct.
According to reports, the Chapel Hill
Fire Department received a call at approxi
mately 8:25 p.m.
Firefighters arrived on the scene three
minutes later and witnessed flames shoot
ing through the roof of the structure. The
fire was under control in roughly one hour
with assistance from the Carrboro,
Parkwood and New Hope fire departments.
Reports state that the fire began in the
bathroom of apartment 537.
Chapel Hill Fire Marshal Joe Robertson
said the fire possibly smoldered for several
hours before it was detected.
It then traveled up a utilities chase and
into an attic that spanned the entire length
of the building, reports stated.
A Concerted Effort
I ■% v“
RHpp' j* jf
DTH/KATHLEEN OEHLER
National Guard members from Raleigh play to a large crowd in front of
South Building on Sunday. The band is on a two-week tour of the state.
Summer School Students Pay SII,OOO More in Fees Than They See
■ Student government is
working to let students get
their money’s worth.
BY JON WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
Summer school students may not be
getting their money’s worth this summer
at least that is the concern of Student
Body President Aaron Nelson and student
government.
“Summer school students are paying
fees that are not directly benefiting them,”
Nelson said.
Student government is allocated roughly
$13,500 from the total amount of student
activity fees collected in the summer. But
Title n, Part 5, Article VII of the student
code states summer Student Congress is
only allowed to spend $2,500. This restric
tion leaves SII,OOO of student fee money
unspent.
“The rest of the money is carried over to
the fall and put into a general spending
fund,” Student Body Treasurer Julie
Gasperini said.
That leaves summer school students
paying for services they are not receiving.
“We need to do a better job of auditing
Truth tellers are not always palatable. There is a preference for candy bars.
Gwendolyn Brooks
N&O More Money
For Local Children
About 250 area kids lost
paper route jobs when a
local paper closed. Page 2
Damage to the building and its contents
was estimated to be $600,000.
Adam Bianchi, who lived in apartment
539, said he and his roommate Jason
Richardson were going out to dinner when
somebody across the parking lot yelled,
“Hey, the building’s on fire!”
Bianchi said he and Richardson turned
around to look at the building. “The fire
was in a line on top of the roof,” he said.
Bianchi and Richardson then ran back
into the building to knock on doors and get
people out.
Bianchi said it was roughly three min
utes from the time he first noticed the fire
on the roof to when the building became
very smoky.
Bianchi said he had first smelled some
thing strange at 3:00 p.m. when he was
going to lunch. “It smelled like a very
sweet cigar or food burning.”
Bianchi said the same smell was stron
ger as he and Richardson were heading out
for dinner that evening.
“The building was smoking and prob
ably burning and we didn’t realize it,” he
said.
The roommates were unable to save
most of their belongings. “We grabbed
(Richardson’s) computer and a couple of
other small things,” Bianchi said.
“There’s not a whole lot left to salvage.
fees,” Nelson said. “Students should not
have to pay for services they are not going
to receive."
Nelson has called for the Student Fee
Audit Committee to investigate and come
up with a solution to this overbilling.
“We are going to recommend to the
audit committee that the student
government’s activity fee be reduced and
the money given back to the summer school
students," Nelson said.
“We are also open to spending the
money for activities and programs such as
picnics or programming for the students,”
he said.
Student government already allocates
SI,OOO per summer out of their $2,500
summer activity fund to have the N.C.
Symphony give a free performance.
“The rest of the summer activity fund is
used mostly for emergencies and is not
normally needed to fund student clubs and
organizations," Gasperini said.
Most University clubs and organiza
tions receive their allotted funds for the
fiscal year during spring budget hearings.
These funds carry them through the sum
mer without needing extra money,
Gasperini said.
Although there are other areas that fall
outside the range of the activity fund that
could use the extra money, student govem-
1
Almost everything I own was in the apart
ment,” he said.
Bianchi said everybody was upset Sat
urday night. “I was in a daze,” he said.
Firefighters were able to rescue several
pets trapped in the blaze.
They found two cats and a dalmatian
nearly unscathed after they put out the
blaze.
Unfortunately, a snake owned by one of
the residents did not have the same luck
and died in the fire.
Charles Douthit, a managing member
ofFoxcroft Associates which runs the apart
ment complex, said only seven units in the
building were occupied.
Residents of one of those seven occu
pied units had planned to move out Mon
day.
Douthit said volunteers and neighbors
offered their support and helped those dis
placed by the fire clean out what was left of
their belongings.
Occupants who lived in five of the units
will be moving to other apartments in the
Foxcroft complex.
“We’re trying to work with the resi
dents the best that we can,” he said.
Douthit said Foxcroft Associates, which
has owned theapartmentbuildingfornearly
three years, plans to rebuild the units “as
soon as it is practical.”
Vice Chancellor Candidates to Visit in July
BY JOHN SWEENEY
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
The search for anew vice chancellor for
Student Affairs might be nearing an end, as
University officials this week said they had
invited three candidates for the position to
Chapel Hill for interviews.
lire visits could mark the end of a 26-
month search for someone to replace former
Vice Chancellor Don Boulton. Edith
Wiggins has been filling the post in the
interim.
Chancellor Michael Hooker said he
hoped the new candidates would be suit
able for the position.
“I had hoped to have someone by July
1, but things don’t always work out quite
how you’d like them to,” Hooker said.
Citizens at Forum Talk Cold Hard Facts About Budget
BYJOHN SWEENEY
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
In an effort to facilitate communication
between the North Carolina General As
sembly and the people of the state, Gov.
Jim Hunt last week announced plans for
four “Citizens’ Forums” across the state.
The move came after Hunt announced
he would ask legislators to return to Ra
leigh on July 8 to try and work out a
compromise on anew budget for the 1996-
97 fiscal year.
Hunt was forced to call the special ses
sion after legislators went home June 21,
unable to break a stalemate between the
N.C. House ofßepresentatives and Senate
over how much should be added to the
state’s biannual budget, which was origi-
Summer Students' Fees Evaporate
Because of a clause in the UNC Student Code, summer school students are
paying a total of SII,OOO in student fees they may never see or enjoy.
THE PROBLEM |
Each summer Student Government receives $13,500 in student
fees to be distributed to student organizations. However, thanks to
a clause in the Student Code, Student Congress is only allowed to
spend $2,500 the entire summer, leaving SII,OOO in the bank to
be used in the fall.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS |
Student Body President Aaron Nelson and Student Body Secretary
Julie Gasperini are looking at possibly:
1 Reducing student fees for summer sessions, or
■ Asking Student Congress to revise the Student Code, allowing the
extra SII,OOO to be spent during the summer.
STAFF
ment is not allowed to transfer the excess
funds, Gasperini said.
“The activities fund is for recognized
University services and organizations, ” she
said. “Student government is not allowed
to take this money and, for example, build
Poll Position
Student government is
trying to get more polishes
on campus. Page 3
DTH/KATHLEEN OEHLER
A malfunctioning light fixture caused the fire that destroyed this unit of the Foxcroft Apartments on Ashley Court late
Saturday. Residents of the building escaped without injury, but damage is estimated to cost about $600,000.
Interim Vice Chancellor
for Student Affairs
EDITH WIGGINS has
served since Don
Boulton left the post.
Stephen Birdsall,
dean of the College
of Aits and Sciences
andamemberofthe
search committee,
said he thought the
committee’s work
was done, though
they had not been
officially dis
banded.
“I was under the
impression that we
were done, but I’m
not really sure
where things are
going from this
point,” Birdsall said last Thursday.
Student Body President Aaron Nelson,
organized four citizens'
forums to talk about
the state budget
nally voted on dur
ing the legislature’s
1995 session.
Forums have al
ready been held in
Charlotte and
Goldsboro. About
500 people went to
Goldsboro’s forum
on Tuesday, which
was held at Wayne
Community Col
lege. Gov. Jim
Hunt, who moder
ated the forum, said
he hoped the Gen
eral Assembly’s return to Raleigh on Mon
day would be marked by anew spirit of
bipartisanship.
anew computer lab for the ‘X’ depart
ment.”
Regardless of this lack of flexibility with
the activity fund, summer students may be
able to look forward to having their student
fees work more directly for them.
iNti
9* X %
Wrapped Around
His Finger
Sting's show this weekend
proves again that there is
life after The Police. Page 4
a member of the search committee, said he
received a memorandum Monday inform
ing him the search committee would be
brought back together once more to meet
with the candidates when they visited be
tween July 13 and 25.
However, the means by which the three
latest candidates in the search were se
lected remains unclear.
In April, the search committee recom
mended several names to the Chancellor’s
office as excellent candidates. But none of
those candidates were named to the posi
tion. Instead, the new candidates were
selected using unknown methods. Hooker
said he had not been very closely involved
with the search at any point.
Chief of StafFElson Floyd, the member
of the Chancellor’s office most closely as
“This is not a time to try and take a
partisan advantage,” Hunt said. “There
are a lot of things we are all interested in. ”
Several University students spoke about
their concerns for binding higher educa
tion. Student government representatives
from UNC-Willmington also attended to
show support for higher education.
UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student and
former teacher Trish Richardson said she
had to work five jobs last summer. “Asa
teacher and as a grad student, we need
more support,” she said.
Association of Student Governments
President John Dervin said he was worried
about themessagethe legislature was send
ing with the budget deadlock. “We talk
about values. We talk about morals. We
talk about responsibility,” Dervin said.
Inaccurate Press Release About
Heineman Creates Controversy
BYAMYCAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
Theoffice ofU.S. Rep. Fred Heineman,
R-N.C., and the Congressional watchdog
group North Carolinians for Fair Repre
sentation locked horns again earlier this
week over federal mass transit funding
subsidies and the congressman’s 1995 and
1996 voting records.
NCFR Representative Mo Elleithee re
leased a press statement Friday alleging a
previous Heineman release was mislead
ing. Heineman’s release disputed claims
made during a June 20 press conference on
mass transit funding cuts. Carrboro Mayor
Mike Nelson and Chapel Hill Mayor Rose
mary Waldorf spoke at the event.
“Heineman claims that the mayors were
given misinformation prior to the press
conference, "theNCFßrelease stated. “He
claims that he is a supporter of mass transit
funding, and that the past legislation he
supported on the issue did not contain a 47
percent cut from operating subsidies as
claimed by (NCFR). According to the
Congressional Quarterly Voting Record,
however, this is not true.”
Elleithee cited three voting instances as
103 years of editorial freedom
Serving the students and the University
community since 1893
News/Feannes/Aits/Sports: 962-0245
Business/Advertising: 962-1163
Volume 104, Issue 47
Chape! Hill, North Carolina
CI996DTH Publishing Corp.
AH rights reserved.
sociated with the search, could not be
reached for comment.
A search committee formed to narrow
down the pool of candidates has already
spent more than two years on the project,
at one point having to start over when then
new Chancellor Michael Hooker came into
the picture and started looking for different
qualifications than the committee had origi
nally counted on. A search firm, Heidrick
& Struggles, was also hired.
Whatever the means by which he or she
is chosen, Nelson said he hoped anew vice
chancellor for Student Affairs would be in
place soon.
“I would have liked to have had a vice
chancellor for student affairs a long time
ago,” Nelson said. “This is something that’s
really important for students.”
“You don’t walk out on students.”
Barbara Perry, a member of the BOG,
said she felt the state would reap the ben
efits of funding higher education now.
“It is very obvious to (the BOG) that the
future of the state’s economy depends on
investing in education,” Perry said.
Dervin said the forums were probably
the last opportunities people would have to
speak to their representatives and make
their opinions heard. “With legislators not
in their offices, the only way to get their
attention is through the press and talking
with other concerned people, ” Dervin said.
Another “Citizens’ Forum” will occur
today at the Weaver Education Center in
Greensboro from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The
forum will travel Thursday to New Bern,
where it will occur from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
evidence ofHeineman’s lack of support for
the funding of mass transit.
The first event occurred on May 18,
1995, when Congressman Heineman sup
posedly voted in favor of H.Con.Res.67,
which called for the elimination of all fed
eral mass transit operating subsidies by
2002. Elleithee cited Heineman’s “aye”
vote as Congressional Quarterly Vote No.
1345.
Mike Scanlon, press secretary for
Heineman, said no vote No. 1345 was ever
taken on May 18,1995.
“If you look at the Congressional Quar
terly, vote 885 was the last roll call vote
taken in 1995,” Scanlon said. “They are
citing phantom votes.”
Elleithee said the vote was actually No.
345. Due to recording practices of the Con
gressional Quarterly, which places the num
ber one before the vote number to signify
that it occurred in the fust session of Con
gress, he had transcribed the number as
“1345.”
He said the mixup on the press release
was a mistake on the part of NCFR, but
that in vote No. 345 Heineman did vote in
See HEINEMAN, Page 5