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Stones from the University and Chapel Hill
BOG Unanimously Elects
Cameron as Chairman
C. Clifford Cameron, a retired Char
lotte banker, was unanimously elected to
serve a two-year term as chairman of the
Board of Governors on Friday.
The board also unanimously elected
Winston-Salem businessman Benjamin
Ruffin, the former secretary, as vice chair
man.
Cameron has been a member of the
board’s Committee on Educational Plan
ning, Policies and Programs since joining
the BOG in 1991. He has also served as
chairman of the University Award Com
mittee and has served on several special
and ad hoc committees.
Cameron’s involvement in North
Carolina’s higher education is wide-rang
ing. A former chairman of the UN C-Char
lotte Board of Trustees, he currently chairs
the UNC-C Foundation Board and the
board ofUniversity Research Park Inc. He
is a life trustee of Wake Forest University
and served on the 100-member UNC board
before the system’s restructuring.
Cameron earned a bachelor’s degree in
engineering from Louisiana State Univer
sity. The former Charlotte Man of the
Year has chaired North Carolina Citizens
for Business and Industry and has received
that organization’s top awards for distin
guished citizenship and public service.
Vice Chairman Ruffin dso joined the
BOG in 1991. He is serving his second
term as vice chairman of the board’s Com
mittee on Business and Finance.
Ruffin, the vice president for corporate
affairs for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Com
pany, graduated from N.C. Central Uni
versity. He holds a master's degree in
social work from UNC-Chapel Hill and
honorary doctorates from several univer
sities.
Ruffin chairs the corporate round table
of the National Black Caucus of State
Legislators and serves as vice president of
the board for Mechanic and Farmers Bank.
Asheville businessman John F.A.V.
Cecil was elected secretary.
Escaped Mental Patient
Found on Franklin Street
Clifford Leslie White, 45, an escaped
mental patient from Cherry Hospital in
Goldsboro, was found walking near the
Franklin Street Greyhound/Trailways bus
station July 22 at about 1 p.m. He was
promptly taken into custody by Chapel
Hill police.
White escaped froiua locked ward at
Cherry Hospital on July 19.
Marshall Smith, chief of Standards
Management at Cherry Hospital, said law
enforcement agents were called and an
APB was released on the police informa
tion network. Three days later, White was
spotted and picked up by Chapel Hill po
lice.
Jane Cousins, spokeswomen for the
ChapelHillPolice Department, said White
was not armed and acted cooperatively
when the police took him into custody.
White has been placed on a higher
security 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.
Student Government
To Register UNC Voters
A student government-sponsored voter
registration drive will urge students to edu
cate themselves about issues affecting
young people and to use this knowledge
when they vote.
Student government, along withProject
Vote, a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization that works to register and
inform voters, will attempt to create a
voice in government for college students.
Student Body President Aaron Nelson
said registering young voters would be the
main focus of student government for the
beginning of the 1996-97 academic year.
“Our purpose is to register students to
vote, to educate and to mobilize,” said
Nelson.
Because college students are
underrepresented in voter registration, this
drive would strive to increase the number
of young voters who turnout for the No
vember elections, Nelson said.
Nelson said there would be registrars at
all area residence hall offices as soon as
students arrive and check in. The regis
trars would continue to approach students
until the end of the voter registration pe
riod, Oct. 8.
Nelson said student government would
take all measures to reach students, even
those living off campus. “We will have
people to sit in the Pit and will offer re
wards to those who register the most stu
dents,” Nelson said.
Reyna Walters, executive branch assis
tant chief of staff, said the nonprofit orga
nization would supply the drive with vot
ing materials such as clipboards and voter
registration forms as well as check the
forms for accuracy.
Every vote would count in helping stu
dents’ issues be heard, Nelson said.
“There is nothing more important than
exercising our vote.”
STAFF REPORT
Hooker Calls for
Shorter ’96 Rush,
More Education
BY JOHN SWEENEY
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
This summer marked what could be a
major turning point for the Greek system
at UNC, as Chancellor Michael Hooker
announced several changes to fall rush
procedures, changes that were received
enthusiastically by Greek leaders.
Hooker’s changes, announced June 24,
included reducing the fall rush period and
expanding mandatory education periods
for pledges.
“Clearly, changes need to be made,”
Hooker stated in a press release.
Robert Monk, president of the Interfra
temity Council, suggested some of the
changes. Monk said he did not foresee any
difficulties as a result of Hooker’s changes.
“It’s not going to cause any problems,”
Monk said. “We’re just going to (conduct
rush) as we’ve always done it.”
Shortly after the May 12 Phi Gamma
Delta fraternity house fire that killed five
UNC students, Hooker suggested delay
ing the rush process, which normally takes
place at the beginning of both fall and
spring semesters, until spring semester.
But with the fall semester then only two
months away and rush plans well under
way, Hooker decided to wait for his Task
Force on Greek Affairs’ study on the ef
fects of delaying rush, to be completed by
the 1997-98 school year.
Director of Greek Affairs Ron Binder
said the chancellor’s committee had al
ready been discussing the delay for at least
a year. But he said the discussion needed to
be broader. “The issue of deferred rush is
an idea that needs to be studied and that
requires consultation and consensus,” he
said. “Studying it in the fall will allow
greater time to accomplish that.”
Binder said he didn’t expect many com
plaints about the change because many
fraternities were not really happy with the
old rush procedures. “A lot of chapters
DA: New Policy to Cut Down on
Underage Drinking With Fake IDs
BY JEANNE FUGATE
EDITOR
MAY 23 Underage drinkers convicted of using fake IDs to
purchase alcohol could lose their driver’s licenses for a year due to
anew policy from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
“We are not going to be doing deferred prosecution if you
present a fake ID in an attempt to purchase alcohol,” said District
Attorney Carl Fox. Anyone charged would go to trial instead.
A deferred prosecution allowed a first offender to complete a
certain number of community service hours in exchange for the
case not being tried. Afterward, attorneys could expunge the
deferred prosecution from their clients' records.
Director of Student Legal Services Dottie Bemholz said she
had dealt with many students caught with a fake IDs. “Normally
the students would do community service and we’d expunge their
records,” she said. “It’s not going to be the case any longer.”
Fox said the new policy became effective this summer. He said
he based the change on the amount of effort it took to obtain
fraudulent identification. “Going to the trouble of having a fake
ID made or using someone else’s ID is much more of a criminal
nature than some of the other offenses, such as underage posses
sion of alcohol,” he said.
“This is an attempt to deceive owners of businesses that have
alcohol permits,” Fox said.
Fox said he was also responding to the town’s concerns about
how to deal with alcohol problems. The Chapel Hill Town
Council passed an ordinance in April to allow themselves more
Eternal Flame
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DTH FILE PHOTO
UNIVERSITY & CITY
have expressed concern that rush is too
long and it’s been too expensive,” Binder
said. “For the most part, students would
appreciate that,” Binder said.
The second change would emphasize
the national and local fraternity policies
regarding alcohol consumption.
“Everybody’s national policy states very
clearly that alcohol is not to be present at
any recruitment function,” Binder said.
Binder said the groups in the Interfrater
nity Council were the only ones that typi
cally did not adhere to the policy, but he
was going to scrutinize them more closely.
The final change would expand the re
quired education sessions to include infor
mation on fire safety and substance abuse
during Greek rush and freshman orienta
tion. Prospective members already attend
sessions on date rape and risk manage
ment.
Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones said
he had also discussed the possibility of
training a student team in fire safety tech
niques that they could relay to their peers.
“We’re committed to it, and I know the
University administration is committed to
it,” Jones said. “I doubt you’ll see anyone
at the Chapel Hill Fire Department who
wants to go through another May 12.”
Matt Sullivan, the Substance Abuse
Prevehtion counselor for Student Health
Service, is working on the session about
substance abuse.
“We’d also like to train one member
from each of the organizations as a peer
educator," Sullivan said. “If someone had
a problem they’d probably feel much more
comfortable going to them.”
Binder said other planned changes,
which would be implemented by the Divi
sion of Greek Affairs and the IFC, in
cluded a rush seminar where prospective
pledges could leam more about the Greek
system.
Jeanne Fugate contributed to this article.
control over the sale of alcohol. Once a bar had an ABC violation,
the council would be able to review its alcohol licensing.
Fox also drew upon bar owners’ feelings of being unfairly
targeted in Alcohol Law Enforcement sweeps. “Part of it is the
concerns ofbar owners that they are the ones totally blamed when
students are going to great lengths to obtain fake IDs,” Fox said.
Bemholz said the trials would bring up some interesting gray
areas. She said if a student used a fake ID to enter a bar and did not
purchase alcohol they might not be in violation ofboth parts of the
citation: having an ID and using it to purchase alcohol.
Fox has also decided that people who lend their IDs to under
age drinkers cannot enter deferred prosecution.
Fox said he hopes the stringent measures will make students
think more about breaking the law. “If students think those
convictions are going to be with them forever, they’ll think twice
about going out and getting a fake ID,” he said.
Local attorney shave had to rethink their ad vice as well. Chapel
Hill Attorney Bill Massengale said he was advising students
differently due to the new policy. “When students called me on
these cases, I used to tell them to go down to the district attorney’s
office and do a deferred prosecution,” he said. “Now they’ll
probably have to hire a lawyer."
Bemholz said Student Legal Services would also advise stu
dents to hire an attorney. But she said many students would not
know to hire a lawyer. “I’m afraid that what most students will do
is plead guilty, and they will be unaware that they will lose their
license, ” she said. “I certainly know there are a lot of students who
are going to be surprised when they can’t drive for a year.”
if
*
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BY TANYA K. MERRTTTE
STAFF WRITER
JUNE 27 Moving. Wonderful. Overwhelm
ing. These were just some of the words used to
describe the Olympic Torch as it passed through
Chapel Hill and Carrboro on June 23 on its way to
Atlanta for the centennial Olympic Games.
Thousands of people gathered on Franklin Street
to cheer the torch’s arrival and the five local citizens
selected to carry it. The citizens, called Community
Heroes, were chosen because of their contributions
and service to the community.
Chuck Stone, a professor of journalism and mass
communicationatUNC, said he had mixed feelings
about carrying the torch.
UNC System Releases Fire Safety Study
BY JEANNE FUGATE
EDITOR
With all the talk of fire safety in frater
nity and sorority houses this summer, many
might have missed out on the discussion of
similar problems in residence halls.
UNC-system President C.D. Spangler
initiated a study to find out how residence
halls measure up on fire safety May 16,
only four days after five UNC-Chapel Hill
students were killed in a fire at die Phi
Gamma Delta fraternity house.
"Somebody’s got to start doing some
thing to keep something like this from
happening again,” he said.
The study revealed fire safety could cost
the 16 UNC-system schools over $55 mil-
Town Council
Delays Voting
On Sprinklers
■ The council decided to
wait on students’ return
despite legislative approval.
byren£etoy
STAFF WRITER
In a unanimous decision May 29, the
Chapel Hill Town Council postponed vot
ing on a proposed ordinance requiring au
tomatic fire sprinkler systems in fraternity
and sorority houses until members of the
Greek community could return to town to
voice their concerns.
On September 16, the Town Council
will vote on the ordinance that would re
quire all existing fraternity and sorority
houses to install automatic fire sprinkler
systems. A proposed time period for the
installation is five years. All newly con
structed or renovated houses would also be
required to install the systems at the time of
construction or renovation.
The resolution to adopt the ordinance
was proposed by the Town Council a little
more than a week after the May 12 fire that
gutted the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity
house. Five people were killed and three
injured in the blaze, which fire officials
said could have been halted by an auto
matic fire sprinkler system.
Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf
' * ■■ .~
The Olympic Torch was run through UNO's campus (left), and then on Franklin Street (above).
“There were many feelings pride, surprise,
humility, embarrassment,” he said.
Stone said he had first questioned whether he
deserved to cany the torch. He said he could think
of members of the University community who were
“tar more worthy” than he. But as the moment drew
nearer, Stone said the intensity increased and he was
proud to be included in the event.
He said on that day, Chapel Hill symbolized
America. “I was so proud to be a part of it,” he said.
AnotherCommunityHero.WilliamMyrleSmith,
deputy chief of the Chapel Hill Fire Department,
echoed Stone’s sentiments. He lit the Olympic Caul
dron.
“I was completely overwhelmed and excited to
be able to participate in the torch relay,” he said.
lion for the installation of sprinklers and
alarms. The figure also includes costs for
necessary renovations, like asbestos re
moval, at UNC-CH.
Spangler said he hoped the information
would provoke discussion about improv
ing fire safety on UNC-system campuses.
UNC-CH racks up the highest cost with
an estimated $lB million to upgrade on
campus housing. While all 29 UNC-CH
residence halls have alarm systems, only
three, Carmichael, Old East and Old West
residence halls, have sprinkler systems.
The $lB million figure arises from an
estimate of $4.32 per square foot. Spangler
said the cost could be as much as 20 percent
more or less.
Wayne Kuncl, director of the Depart
The $55 Million Question
This June, UNC-system President C.D. Spangler directed the General .
Administration to study fire safety concerns in residence halls. The Board of
Governors is not expected to act on the recommendations this summer.
ESTIMATED COST OF RENOVATION. IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
$35 m i
$31,582,895
S3O m Estimated Costs for UNC-CH j;
U $18,343,257 - Installing sprinkler
$25 m - systems in all residence halls Zj
1 $13,000,000 - Other work, -g
_ including asbestos removal
S2O m £jj
■ $239,638 - Adding central alarm r|
sls m “ pjj
$lO m " |
$7J4ff465 JjH
$5 m “ U945_38^8
$ 0 —-—I i S,
UNC-CH N.C. State East Carolina Appalachian's'
University University State Univer^ynj|
SOURCE: UNC GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
and council member Julie Andresen ex
pressed the need to pass the ordinance
quickly, but agreed with requests to post
pone a decision until members of the Greek
The price of installing automatic fire sprin
kler systems caused some concern in both
the Chapel Hill and Greek communities.
Neither Rain, Nor Sleet,
Nor Snow Can Stop Registraj i
Now: No More Mailed Grade!
STAFF REPORT
The University will save over $ 18,000 a
year by disbursing grades with anew toll
free telephone system introduced in De
cember 1995 or the World Wide Web.
The University will no longer automati
cally mail out grade reports.
“This change will reduce costs and pro
vide faster, more reliable delivery of
grades,” stated University Registrar David
Lanier in a June 27 guest column in The
Daily Tar Heel. “While it is convenient to
receive grades by mail, it is the most expen
sive and the slowest way to deliver them. ”
Some mailed grades never arrive be
cause of delivery problems either the
address is incorrect, the grades are lost or
they are intercepted.
Lanier stated the mailed reports take an
average of two weeks to reach students.
Students can access grades by telephone or
the World Wide Web about 24 to 48 hours
after instructors submit them.
Associate University Registrar Donna
Redmon said the University had also insti
tuted the new system due to the popularity
of the toll free number.
Frances Hargraves, a retired special education
teacher and community volunteer, said it was an
honor to be chosen to carry the torch and she never
dreamed such a thing would happen to her.
“I always thought I would be a spectator, not a
participant,” she said. “It was the most thrilling
thing to happen in my senior yean.”
Hargraves also praised the crowd who came out
to cheer for her. “My support from the townspeople
was super,” she said.
Art Cleary, who was named a Community Hero
for his work in Habitat for Humanity, was pleased
that people came out in spite of the high tempera
ture.
See TORCH, Page 6A
Monday, August 15,1996
ment of Housing, said, “That’s probably
still a very conservative number.”
University planners have estimated sl3
million for necessaiy renovations to re
move asbestos and improve fire safety ca
pabilities. Kuncl said UNC-CH had estab
lished a system of renovating the residence
halls on a schedule.
Spangler said renovations needed to be
discussed now, before the UNC system’s
luck with on-campus fire safety ran out.
“Nobody can remember there ever be
ing a fatality in a dorm owned by the
University caused by a fire,” he said. “It
seems like an impossible good fortune.”
John Sweeney and Sheng Lee contributed to
this article.
OTH/BEIHPOV
“1994 estimates on new construct
said the cost of adding a sprinkler syst
caused costs to rise by 1 to 5 percent of
total cost of the building,” Chapel I
Town Council member Lee Pavao ss
See SPRINKLERS, Page 9A
“When we introduced our new grawg
reporting system, we received over 86,000
telephone calls,” she said.
Students can access grades by calling |H
800-473-6112, for up to four weeks aln
exams. Grades can also be accessed at ffljj
Registrar’s home page at http.ffljj
regweb.oit.imc.edu.
Redmond said students can still obtain
printed grade reports. Tjij
Students on campus can have a list of
their current semester grades printed in the
Office of the University Registrar. Stu
dents also can write to the office during the
semester and request that a grade report be
mailed to their official address.
“It could be misconstrued that we are
going to take away something that stu
dents have always gotten,” Redmon said.
“I want to be sure that students do under
stand that we are going to provide for their
needs.”
Redmon said she thought students, once
they found out about the new procedure,
would approve. “We want to be sure that
students are aware of it,” she said. “We
want it to be a positive thing.”
3A