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Satly (Har MM ♦ MONDAY, AUGUST 19,1996 n i- -f' •* 7 ?i WF' • . * shl jWdt||K ■ .a •XI ' jQ k Vi - \;^X , DTH FILE PHOTO Firefighters combat the blaze that killed five students early Sunday morning. Friends, Family Remember Five Lives Cut Short by Tragedy BY JEANNE FUGATE —corroß MAY 16 “Remember when you were young you shone like the sun,” the rock band Pink Floyd sang. The lyric must have struck a chord in Mark Briggs Strickland, a victim in the May 12 Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house fire. He had this quote printed by his senior picture in the 1993 Rocky Mount Acad emy yearbook. Below Strickland’s yearbook picture, Josh Weaver smiles awkwardly. Strickland and Weaver, both juniors from Rocky Mount, shared a yearbook page, a lifelong friendship and a tragic death. The fire claimed the lives of their childhood friend, Anne Mcßride Smith, also a junior from Rocky Mount; and that of Joanna Howell, a Task Force Releases New Lenoir Design BY JOHN SWEENEY UNIVERSITY EDITOR After more than a year of travelling, planning and decision making, students are finally getting the first glimpse at what the new and improved Lenoir Dining Hall could look like. Preliminary designs for the renovations of UNC’s main dining facility were sent to student leaders earlier this month, the first step in the long process to completely over haul University dining services. Associate Vice Chancellor for Business Carolyn Elfland said construction on the project should begin immediately after Commencement next spring. Scott Hammack, co-chairman of the Student Services Committee for student government, said he hoped the newly de signed Lenoir would attract students back to UNC' s dining services, which are run by the Marriott Corp. under contract from the University. “Hopefully, it is going to make Marriott attractive to students again and bring stu dents back on campus to eat," Hammack said. Student Body Vice President Lindsay- Rae Mclntyre said she thought the ineffi ciency ofLenoir's current design kept many Welcome Back We hope this paper gives you a rundown of what's been going on since you left for summer break. Well be returning to our regular schedule Wednesday. The Daily Tar Heel is currently hiring for all positions. Those interested should pick up an application in Suite 104 of the Student Union. Deconstructing T sgi V The McDade House might be destroyed to make room MHH9H for growth. Page 6A junior from Cary; and Ben Woodruff, a sophomore from Raleigh. People who have read Strickland’s quote said they sensed the irony during a time when everyone is grappling to remember the victims. Josh Weaver Josh Weaver took on many different roles: swim mer and swim coach, student body president of his high school and a band member. “I’ve never met anyone who was more energetic, had more enthusiasm for life,” said Jason Hughes, Weaver’s freshman year roommate. Libba Weaver searched for the right word and said her son had always been “very effervescent.” “No matter what he was doing, he approached it students from enjoying the University’s food services. Consequently, she said, many students go to Franklin Street to eat. “Right now, a student will walk into the front of Lenoir at lunchtime, take one look around and decide not to eat there because there are so many people,” Mclntyre said. The biggest change students will see could be the addition of a third floor to Lenoir. Currently, the building has a base ment level with a cafeteria-like atmosphere and a main level with a food court. The new plans call for office space in the base ment, a food court on the first floor and a new floor that will look much like the current basement. The first floor food court would include nine dining options, as op posed to the five currently available. In addition, the new Lenoir would have a cafe with extended hours, a vestry that would jut out into the Pit to make it more accessible to students passing by and sev eral smaller dining rooms for a more pri vate atmosphere. Elfland said the biggest concern for the Food Services Task Force was making sure students did not have to eat in the basement of the building. “We said ‘We don’t want anybody to eat in the basement,”’ Elfland said. “That is the key.” The estimated cost for the project is more than $lO million, well over the $9 million originally projected. Hammack said the task force was look ing into scaling back other renovations in the Student Union and Chase Hall to pay for the Lenoir project. Up to $ 13.1 million for all three renova tions will be covered by the General As sembly, who voted this summer to pay for the project, following the recommenda tion of the Board of Governors. The ceiling isn’t glass; it’s a very dense layer of men. Anne Jardim zrv So Much to Do, So Little Time JL A weekly calendar in The Daily Tar Heel will compile BMB all campus events. Page 5A Phi Gamma Delta Fire Leaves Five Dead BY JEANNE FUGATE EDITOR MAY 16 lnvestigators have con cluded that the May 12 Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house fire that killed five UNC students was accidental and probably started by smoking materials. Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones said the blaze started in the southeast comer of the basement, where the fraternity kept housewares, paper products and trash. A smouldering cigarette or match dropped ■V Jli DTH FILE PHOTO Firefighters remove a body from the wreckage at Phi Gamma Delta. with a lot of enthusiasm,” she said. Weaver was able to keep watch on her son since teaching him at Rocky Mount Academy. Smith and Strickland were also in her class. Paul Proctor, Assistant Headmaster for Rocky Mount Academy, said, “Josh had good ideas, he asked thought provoking questions. He challenged you.” Weaver and five or six of his classmates formed a band in high school. That love of music continued at UNC where he played in another band, The Willets. Weaver swam competitively for 10 years. Once he came to UNC, he started coaching. Libba Weaver said he had planned on coaching a team this summer. See STUDENTS, Page 2A Eleven Tar Heels Have Golden Summer Ajy Eleven current and former Tar Heels won gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics this summer. More jKwflw than 20 athletes and coaches participated in the '96 Games. For full coverage of all their tears, fears and triumphs, look for Sports Wednesday in the August 21 edition of The Daily Tar Heel. j UNC-affiliated athletes /jT Cindy Parlow, sophomore forward 7* Tiffany Roberts, sophomore midfielder f. Staci Wilson, junior defender Mia Hamm, UNC grad Kristine Lilly, UNC grad i Carla Overbeck, UNC grad Tisha Venturini, UNC grad Lauren Gregg, UNC grad (asst, coach) April Heinrichs, UNC grad (asst, coach) New Budget Pleases Students, Administrators ■ The General Assembly increased the UNC-system budget by $54 million. BY JOHN SWEENEY UNIVERSITY EDITOR After months of debate, the General Assembly finally passed a revised state budget August 3, allocating $54 million in new money to the UNC system. The new money will be put to a variety of uses, the most expensive ofwhich will be the 4.5 percent pay raise for state employ ees, including University faculty. Nearly S3O million of the new money will be allocated for that increase. In addition, legislators voted to give $17.8 million dollars in academic enhance ment funds to UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University. near the bar probably started the fire. “An actual cause of ignition will be impossible to determine," Jones said. Assistant Fire Marshal Larry Johnson said the downstairs room had old pine panelling that helped the fire to spread quickly. He said open doors and windows allowed the fire to bum rapidly. Johnson said if the basement door had been closed, it would have stopped the oxygen flow and slowed the fire. All eight people who were in the build ing when the fire struck have been ac- % I Mark Briggs Strickland, 21, a junior from Rocky Mount, majored in biology fa wresTling 125.5dfeyeight % TRACKcgf FIELD 100-meter hicjji hurdles Katherine Kraft, Graduate and Profes sional Student Federation president, said the academic enhancement funds were a key to UNC-CH’s continued strength. “Having an academic enhancement fund that we can use to benefit our own needs will be really important to us, ” Kraft said. In its initial budget plan, the Board of Governors requested several million dol lars to fund health insurance for graduate students. The General Assembly did not allocate money for that project, but UNC CH has decided to use some money from the academic enhancement funds to pay for the insurance instead. Administrators at UNC-CH have yet to decide how much money will be needed for that project. UNC-system President C.D. Spangler said he was pleased with the General Assembly’s final budget and what it prom ised to do for the UNC system. “I think the General Assembly addressed • First Dante, Then Jeff, Now Brooker The men's basketball team loses another guard for the upcoming year. Page 11A counted for, investigators said. The five students who died in the fire are Joanna Howell, a junior from Cary; Benjamin Woodruff, a sophomore from Raleigh; and three juniors from Rocky Mount: Anne Mcßride Smith, Mark Strickland and Robert Joshua Weaver. Woodruff, Strickland andWeaverwere members of Phi Gamma Delta. Smith’s friends had last seen her with Strickland, and Howell had stayed with another fra ternity member. Firefighters found the five victims on the second floor of the fraternity house in four bedroom areas. In one bedroom, a victim was facedown over a couch. In another room, a victim was trying to crawl under the bed, and another victim was lying on a cot. One victim was found in a bedroom doorway and a victim was found flung over a bike. Associate Chief Medial Examiner Tho mas B. Clark 111 said all five deaths were a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from the smoke. • % LJ Joanna Kristine Howell, 21, a junior from Cary, majored in journalism Robert Joshua Weaver 20, a junior from Rocky Mount, majored in biology UNC-affiliated athlete Kendall Cross, UNC grad Won 5-3 against Canada's Guivi Sissaoruri UNC-affiliated athlete Allen Johnson, UNC grad Time: 12.95 (Olyrtipic record) DTH/HM WEBB many of the issues that we asked them to, ” Spangler said. Student Body President Aaron Nelson said he thought student communication with legislators played a big part in con vincing the General Assembly to be more generous in their funding of the UNC sys tem. “I could not be more pleased with the students’ efforts on this issue,” Nelson said. “We were successful in conveying our in terests to the legislators.” While Spangler said he was “particu larly pleased” with the salary increase for University employees, he said he had hoped for more. “I would have preferred, of course, that the General Assembly had done what the BOG recommended for faculty salary in creases, which was 7 percent,” Spangler said. See BUDGET, PageßA 103 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the Unhnsty community since 1*93 Ncws/Feamra/Arts/Spans: 962-0245 Business/ Advetttsmg: 962-1163 Volume 104. Issue 51 Chapel Hill, North Carolina C 1996 DTH Publishing Cop. AH rights reserved. Four of the victims had positive alco hol results above the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent on the breathalyzer scale. “Each of the positive alcohol results was significantly greater than this limit,” Gark stated. Howell had no blood alcohol content. In breathalyzer equivalents, Strickland had a 0.14 percent, Woodruff had a 0.2 percent, Weaver had a 0.17 percent and Smith had a 0.18 percent. The victims were probably trying to escape until overcome with smoke. “People underestimate the amount of smoke that’s generated. They have no concept of the smoke that’s generated from a room contents fire,” Jones said. The smoke may have contributed to the students’ deaths. Carbon monoxide is taken into the bloodstream at a faster rate than oxygen, Jones said. “Their ability to escape may be impaired," he said. The three who escaped by jumping out See FIRE, Page 2A Mr- LIS Benjamin Watson Woodruff, 20, a sophomore from Raleigh, majored in economics If y Anne Mcßride Smith, 21, a junior from Rocky Mount, majored in English Town Council Approves Bus Fare Increase BY MICHAEL KANAREK STAFF WRITER The 14,000 people who ride on the Chapel Hill Transit System daily will pay more for a bus ride this fall. A 15-cent bus fare increase was recom mended in mid-April to offset a decrease in governmental subsidies. It will be in effect when students return for classes. Council member Joe Capowski said in May that the increased revenue would be used to replace the almost $300,000 the town will not receive from the government next year. “(The council members) want to keep (bus fares) as low as possible, but by law we must have a balanced budget,” he said. Chapel Hill Transportation Director Bob Godding said in May that over the past five years, government funding for Chapel Hill Transit had dropped from $1.3 million to $325,000. Godding said the fare increase was also a result of rising operating costs. “One-third of the cost of service is ex pected to be maintained by the user," Godding said. “Lately, that hasn’t been happening." Mayor Rosemary Waldorf said in May that although the cost of bus service has been increasing over time, the council had postponed fee increases to protect riders’ budgets. “It’s not a decision that anybody feels good about, but mass transit is not a service that pays for itself,” Waldorf said. The fee increases will cause the regular bus fare to rise from 60 to 75 cents. The price of a bus pass will rise from $lB9 to $204, and Capowski saidinMay thatprop erty taxes would increase by a half cent to 59.6 cents per SIOO of property value.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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