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Weekly
THURSDAY,JULY 25,1996
Escaped Mental
Patient Found on
Franklin Street
■ Clifford White, who was
indicted in 1984 for a double
murder, was found Monday.
BYAMYCAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
Of all the people at the Greyhound/
Trailways bus station Monday afternoon,
there was one man wandering around who
was very far from home.
Clifford Leslie White, 45, an escaped
mental patient from Cherry Hospital in
Goldsboro, was found walking around the
Franklin Street station at about 1 p.m. and
was promptly taken into custody by Chapel
Hill police.
White, who was indicted in the murders
of his aunt and uncle, escaped from a
locked ward at Cheny Hospital late Friday
evening.
Marshall Smith, chief of Standards
Management at Cherry Hospital, said
White’s escape happened within a 15-
minute time span. “A check was made at
11 p.m., and (White) was observed by staff
to be in his bedroom," Smith said. “At
approximately 11:15 p.m., the staff indi
cated they heard a door close.”
The door the staff members heard leads
to the outside. Smith said a search was
made outside the door and no movement
New Task Force Faces
‘Huge Responsibility’ in
Battling Substance Abuse
BYSHENGLEE
STAFF WRITER
The 31 members of the Chancellor’s
Substance Abuse Task Force held their
first meeting on Wednesday, July 17, but
many said it was still too early to see any
results.
Amy Bowles, a committee member and
second-year graduate student in the School
ofSocial Work, said
she emerged from
the meeting feeling
a great sense of duty
to the campus.
“I came out over
whelmed, but I
think we have a
huge responsibility
ahead of us,”
Bowles said.
She said she felt
overwhelmed be
cause the commit
tee was laiger than
she had expected
and because she had
not been aware of
CM ot Staff
ELSON FLOYD said
the committee was
going to discuss abuse
of all substances, not
just alcohol.
the amount of work the University had
already put into addressing substance
abuse.
At the meeting, Chancellor Michael
The End of the Road
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ELECTIONS
fizz: [iZ3
was observed. He said the door also ap
peared to be properly locked.
“We conducted a check of the popula
tion and (White) was not evident on the
unit at that time,” Smith said. “We then
proceeded with a search and (White) was
not found in the immediate hospital facil
ity.”
Smith said law enforcement agents were
called and an All Points Bulletin was re
leased on the police information network.
Three days later, White was spotted and
picked up by Chapel Hill police.
Jane Cousins, spokeswoman for the
Chapel Hill Police Department, said White
was not armed and acted cooperatively
when the police took him into custody.
White has been placed on a higher secu
rity level until hospital administrators can
determine how he escaped and got to
Chapel Hill, Smith said.
White was admitted to Cherry Hospital
in 1984 after being indicted in the murder
of Johnny and Bertha Howze, his aunt and
uncle. The two were found inside their
Wilmington home, which had been set
ablaze. Both had multiple stab wounds.
White was found incompetent to stand
trial and has been in the state psychiatric
system ever since, Smith said.
When asked whether White had ever
been a danger to the community while he
was free, Smith said, “I would not be in a
position to qualify that.”
Hooker said although he created the task
force, it did not mean he was discounting
past efforts, Bowles said.
Hooker said one of the reasons he cre
ated the committee was because he was
particularly concerned about the events of
the past year such as the May 12 Phi
Gamma Delta fraternity house fire, Bowles
said.
The fire killed five students, four of
whom had high blood alcohol content lev
els, according to toxicology reports.
Hooker said he wanted the task force to
collaborate with a Faculty Council com
mittee on intellectual climate, Bowles said.
William Jordan, chair of the substance
abuse task force, could not be reached for
comments.
At the meeting, Jordan directed the task
force to concentrate its energies on tack
ling all substances, Vice Chancellor Elson
Floyd said.
“Dr. Jordan made it clear that the the
task force would focus on (all forms of)
substance abuse,” Floyd said.
Floyd said the task force would explore
the problem through subcommittees .which
would function as the stepping stone to
ward combatting the problem.
“We are going to tackle this through
subcommittees,” Floyd said.
He said the subcommittees would in
vestigate the effectiveness of existing regu
lations like alcohol policies and enforce
ment mechanisms.
Floyd said he thought the task force’s
preliminary work would help formulate a
realistic approximation of the problems
residing on the campus scene.
“I think it will provide a very good
inventory of what (problems) currently exist
on campus,” Floyd said.
Floyd said the information would be
used to create an accurate survey to submit
to the chancellor.
Laddell Robbins, committee member
and senior class president, said his goal
was to make a difference in students’ lives.
“My personal goal is to make sure that
what we do will have the greatest benefits
for students,” Robbins said.
“Students can reach me at the senior
class office in the Student Union with their
concerns.”
After the subcommittees have deter
mined their findings, the larger committee
will compile reports.
This report will go to Hooker.
The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.
Robert Benchley
A Vote of
Confidence
Student government makes
plans to prepare students
for November. Page 2
Two Left Feet
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DTH/KATHLEEN OEHLER
The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs ‘Offenbach Overtures' at Duke University. The
performance ended the month-long American Dance Festival. See story on page 4.
Construction Begins on New Road Through Coker Woods
■ Biology professors say the
loss of Coker Woods will be
felt in the classroom.
BYJOHN SWEENEY
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Construction crews began work on an
entrance road to the Bell Tower parking lot
that will run through Coker Woods, effec
tively ending the three-year fight to save
the tiny hardwood forest.
The demolition is the first step in the
construction of the freestanding Sonja H.
Stone Black Cultural Center, which will be
built where the current entrance road is
located.
A notice from the Department of Trans
portation and Parking stated some spaces
in the BG and S2 zones of the Bell Tower
parking lot would be blocked because of
the construction for about 120 days. The
notice stated the DTP did not expect any
overcrowding in the two zones, located in
the northernmost section of the lot.
That project, in addition to the Kenan
Stadium enhancements approved last fall,
will result in the complete demolition of
Coker Woods.
Alan Stiven, associate chairman of the
TWA Flight 800 Crash Affects Triangle Air Travel, Airport Security
BYAMYCAPPIELLO
CITY EDITOR
After the July 17 explosion of Paris
bound TWA Flight 800, which killed all
230 passengers, questions about the effect
on air travel still linger, even locally.
“Air travel is at a record level,” said
Steve Leslie of Travel Associates.
Leslie said the necessity of flying en
sured it would not be affected greatly
either now or in the future.
“People are tough. They’re shaken, but
life goes on,” he said. “People have got to
get from point A to point B.”
‘Tomorrow’ Is
Another Day
A recent UNC alumnus
uplifts readers with his
poetry. Page 4
3
Department of Biology, said some mem
bers of the biology department would be
saddened to see the area razed.
“It was certainly a pleasant place to
have on campus, the last uncut hardwood
area,” Stiven said. “It will certainly be
missed by the department.”
Robert Peet, a professor in the biology
department, said die effects of the demoli
tion would be felt in the classroom.
“(Coker Woods has) played a modest
role (in teaching) in that I would take
classes there for field exercises,” Peet said.
“It will mean a lower quality of what we
do, but we’ll be able to carry on.”
Peet said the small excursions to Coker
Woods would have to be replaced by less
regular trips off campus.
“We have before and will continue to go
to the botanical garden properties, but that’s
not practical for a 50 minute class period, ”
Peet said.
Seth Reice, chairman of the curriculum
in ecology, said he would miss Coker
Woods for both academic and educational
reasons.
“On the first day of class last fall, I took
150 students out of Coker Hall and con
ducted my class right there,” Reice said.
“That’s not practical at any other area on
campus.”
“It’s too small to be an important re-
However, Kevin O'Gorman, the man
ager for ITG Travel Center, said he was
seeing a decrease in air travel reservations.
“With leisure travel, I think people who
were thinking about traveling or just mak
ing travelplansarebacking off, ’’O’Gorman
said. “Leisure travel will be down for the
next month or so.”
TWA would not be the only airline
affected, O’Gorman said.
“People know that it could happen to
any airline,” he said. “The odds are next
time that it won’t be TWA.”
O’Gorman said he thought the number
of people traveling abroad would decrease
We, the Students
People reflect on the
Student Constitution, which
turns 50 years old. Page 5
11
GPSF President
Calls Insurance
Plan ‘Misleading’
BY JOHN SWEENEY
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Graduate and Professional Student Federation President
Katherine Kraft cautioned students this week to be aware of
possible problems regarding anew health insurance policy.
The policy, mailed to students through the U.S. Postal Service,
is underwritten by the Mid-West National Life Insurance Com
pany of Tennessee and offered through the American College
Students Association.
Kraft said Tuesday she had never heard of the American
College Students Association, nor had Association of Student
Governments President John Dervin.
Dianne Clemens, an ACSA official, said the group was origi-
nally created by insurance companies to
offer students insurance they might not
otherwise be able to obtain.
“It was formed especially for college
students so they could have things college
students can’t normally get, like health
insurance, car insurance,” Clemens said.
“We also offer student loans.”
Students can join the ACSA by purchas
ing an insurance policy from the group or
paying a small membership fee, Clemens
said.
Kraft said she was concerned the policy’s
claims would lead students unfamiliar with
insurance regulations to make erroneous
assumptions about the policy.
“Ido believe (the policy) is very mislead
ing,” Kraft said.
Kraft cited one section, where the brochure states, “The Master
Policy at the school becomes effective at 12:01 a.m., September 1,
1996.”
Kraft said she had not found any “Master Policy” on file at the
University.
“That line implicates a campus body as a Major Policy holder,
which is not the case, as far as I know,” Kraft said.
Paul Decki, administrative assistant to the dean of the Graduate
School, confirmed that the University had no connection to the
policy.
In addition, Kraft has sentaletter to the N.C. State Department
of Insurance, requesting advice on several legal questions she
thought the policy brought up.
Kraft questioned the policy’s claims that policy holders could
pay their premiums by credit card.
“I am totally confused by the offer of (the credit card) option,”
Kraft stated in the letter. “According to information I have
received from other insurance companies, they cannot offer this
option due to restrictions on the use of credit cards for the purpose
of purchasing insurance in the General Statutes of the State of
. -A
See INSURANCE, Page 5
Construction Cuts Coker Woods
Construction began Monday on anew entrance road to the Bell Tower parking lot
through Coker Woods. The entrance will also serve the future Sonja H. Stone
Black Cultural Center. Some professors and students have criticized the choice of
this site, traditionafly used as an outdoor laboratory for biology classes.
DTH/JIMWEBB
search area, but it’s still an important area
for the spirit of our students," Reice added.
Reice said he was dismayed at the ca
sual manner with which he thought the
the most, especially if terrorists caused the
TWA crash. No matter what caused the
crash, however, it will affect business, he
said. “Regardless of terrorism, pilot error
or mechanical failure, a crash is a crash,"
O’Gorman said.
With rumors of terrorist involvement,
including speculation that the plane was
felled by a bomb, airport security has tight
ened, especially with the Olympic Games
being held in Atlanta.
O’Gorman said he wasn’t sure how
much safer airports could get. “What else
can they do? They’re already at level one
security at most major airports," he said.
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Graduate and
Professional Student
Federation President
KATHERINE KRAFT
said the policy could
mislead students.
University had approached the issue.
“We should have higher environmental
See COKER WOODS, Page 6
O’Gorman said he thought the airports
would probably just increase the frequency
with which they conduct security checks.
“I would say there are probably many
more procedures in terms of checks and
double checks, more bomb-sniffing dogs
around the cargo,” he said.
Rick Martinez, the public affairs man
ager for Raleigh-Durham International
Airport, said RDU had not increased its
security measures. “We went to a higher
level of security in January, and that was
without it being in response to an event,”
See TRAVEL Page 2