Hatty ®ar Heel
INSIDE
FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 20,1996
Conflicting abortion actions incite, excite activists
BY VICKY ECKENRODE
STAFF WRITER
Abortion foes and advocates both have
had reason for outrage and smiles this
week.
The Food and Drug Administration
announced Wednesday it planned to
approve the abortion pill RU-486, and
the House voted Thursday to overturn a
presidential veto of a bill banning late
term abortions.
Not all UNC-system housekeepers battling privatization, conditions
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At a rally in Raleigh last spring, housekeepers from several area colleges and universities protested against
privatization and for better wages and working conditions.
BPWA members find common
thread in Housekeepers’ fight
BY KATE HARRISON
STAFF WRITER
Although fighting in different territo
ries, the Black Public Works Association
and the UNC Housekeepers Association
found a common cause: strivingforhigher
wages and against alleged discrimina
tion.
Steve England, member of the BPWA
Steering Committee, said the group has
worked closely with the Housekeepers
since the BPWA’s founding in June 1995.
“We’ve done several joint ventures
with the Housekeepers, including rallies
and speak-outs,” England said. “We’re
very supportive and very aware of one
another.”
Although the two are separate organi
zations, they have basically been work
ing from the same office and fighting for
the same cause, which is the right to live
with good living wages, he said.
“To do that, we first and foremost
have to prove that we’re fighting for a
principle,” he said. “We’re fighting to
prove certain injustices are going on.
“We’re living in a time that is not very
distant from slavery, and many black
workers are still in historically slave jobs
like housekeeping. We want decent liv
ing wages for those employees and to
bring out the fact that there is a pattern of
discrimination.”
England said the Housekeepers’ law
\1
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AMouseter'sof
Business
UNC students spent a
summer at the Magic
Kingdom. Page 4
a
The House voted 285-137 to overturn
President Bill Clinton’s April veto of the
Partialßirth Abortionßan Act. This vote
marks the first time Congress has de
clared a specific
abortion proce
dure illegal
since the Su
preme Court
House vote sets up
abortion limitation
See Page 5
ruled abortions legal in the landmark
1973 case, Roe vs. Wade.
Barbara Holt, director of N.C. Right
suit has been instrumental in making
people more aware of the unfair racial
practices taking place at the University
and in the town.
The Housekeepers’ lawsuit, which
cites a need for improved working condi
tions and higher wages, goes to trial
Monday.
The group rejected the settlement of
fered by the University on Tuesday but
was still working on possible negotia
tions.
“The University and town state that
there has not been a pattern of discrimi
nation,” he said. “We know that’s not
true there’s no question there’s a pat
tern.
“The Housekeepers have brought out
the discrimination in terms anyone can
understand. There’s no question that they
have a legitimate case—it’s only a ques
tion of whether people are willing to
acknowledge it.”
The BPWA has been working on its
own lawsuit against the Town of Chapel
Hill, citing discriminatory hiring prac
tices, salary adjustments and a shortage
of promotions and management posi
tions by the Chapel Hill Public Works
Department.
The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission was scheduled to look into
the hiring practices but was delayed by
See BPWA, Page 4
Check out
Sport Saturday
North Carolina brings the No. 2
defense in the country to Saturday's
contest with Georgia Tech. The
Yellow Jackets boast the ACC’s top
rushing offense —and an 0-7-1
record in Kenan Stadium. Grab a
copy of Sport Saturday for all the
news on the game, as well as
complete coverage of UNC sports.
Clothes aren’t dirty unless someone sees you in them.
Logica Paini
We're only human
Community members vie
for the Pauli Murray Human
Relations Award. Page 5
to Life, said the vote’s outcome pleased
her.
“It shows our elected officials, even
the ones who support Roe vs. Wade,
realize there are some abortion proce
dures that should never be allowed,” she
said. “We see it as a victory for women
and children.”
Holt said partial-birth abortions en
dangered the health of women who re
ceive them.
The Rev. Flip Benham, director of
Live•
Carroll
Ha 11...
BY JASON MORRELL
STAFF WRITER
From the fall of communism in Moscow to the
origins of the CNN network, Mark Walton seems to
have experienced it all.
And now the former
CNN correspondent is
putting his fife experi
ences to work at UNC by
• • •
sharing his proficiency in the area of communication
with students at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
The business school contracted with Walton’s lead
ership and communication consulting firm, The
Walton Group, to produce an unparalleled master’s
of business administration communications curricu
lum.
Walton said the new strategic leadership commu
nications program was the first of its kind nationwide.
The program will assist the students in developing the
See WALTON, Page 4
DA drops Petty’s hit-and-run charge
BY ASHLEY MATLOCK
STAFF WRITER
NASCAR legend and Secretary of
State candidate Richard Petty was cleared
Thursday of two reckless driving charges,
including leaving the scene of an acci
dent, but pled guilty to a misdemeanor
charge of following another vehicle too
closely.
District Attorney Mark L. Speas ex
plained that an incident cannot be con
sidered a hit-and-run unless one of the
vehicles is damaged, so Petty should never
have been charged with reckless driving
in the Sept. 11 incident.
“The case was not a plea bargain,” he
said. “Neither car was damaged."
Speas said he could only successfully
prosecute the charge of following too
N.C. Central
celebration
Gov. Jim Hunt and several
congressmen will speak
Monday. Page 5
tr
Operation Rescue, said in an interview
Thursday that the political decision re
flected a shift in the attitude of the general
public towards abortion.
“Abortions are at the lowest level since
1976,” Benham said. “Now the House
voted more than the two-thirds needed to
overturn Clinton’s veto. The heart of the
nation is changing.”
On the other side, pro-choice advo
cates said they felt the veto was a danger
ous infringement on the rights of women
BY ERIC FLACK
STAFF WRITER
While housekeepers and administrators at UNC-Chapel
Hill have wrangled over wages, working conditions and
privatization for years, they have enjoyed a less turbulent
coexistence at other UNC-system universities.
East Carolina University outsourced their housekeeping
management six years ago.
Linda, an ECU housekeeper who asked that her last name
not be used, said although tfiere would always be those who
complain about management, the majority of the staff have
been content with the
privatization.
“Everyone always finds
something to gripe about, even
when management was under
the state government, ” she said.
“As far as I’m concerned, everything is OK.”
John Durham, director of public affairs at ECU, said he was
happy to see the transition from public to private management
go smoothly.
He said he saw no reason why action taken by the UNC-CH
housekeepers should affect or incite the housekeepers at ECU,
but said he would monitor the outcome of the pending lawsuit
alleging discrimination.
“While there are some similarities between the institutions,
in no way can a one-to-one correlation between them be
made,” Durham said. “ But we are always interested in devel
opments concerning our sister institutions.”
In recent years, an increasing number of UNC-system insti-
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Former CNN correspondent Mark Walton leads the first class of anew program, highlighting the
importance of effective communication, at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
closely.
The accident occurred when Petty was
driving behind a car going 5 5 mph in a 65
mph zone on a Cabarrus County section
of Interstate 85, Speas said.
Petty stated in the police report that
the driver in front of him, James Forest
Rassette of Oak Ridge, kept braking and
slowing down. Petty stated he then
bumped the rear of the car and proceeded
north.
N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper M. W.
Mantel encountered Rassette, then pur
sued and stopped Petty in Randolph
County, according to the report. Police
later cfiarged Petty with hit-and-run and
reckless driving.
Though the reckless driving charges
See PETTY, Page 4
to control their own health.
Beth Ising, executive director of the
N.C. chapter of the National Abortion
and Reproductive Rights Action League,
said Tuesday’s vote reflected the mea
sures Congress would take to intrude in
women’s lives and to use the political
process to satisfy special interests.
“It is unacceptable for Congress to
practice medicine,” Ising said. “That’s a
decision to be made between a woman
and her doctor.”
tutions have privatized housekeeping services. Twelve ofthe 16
UNC-system schools privatized in one form or another.
However, UNC-CH is not the only university where
privatization has drawn protest. Cafeteria workers protested
the privatization of the dining halls at Elizabeth City State
University two years ago. The workers lost their fight, and
Marriott Coip. took over the food services responsibilities.
C.D. Spangler, president of the UNC system, said that when
the N.C. General Assembly asked the universities to determine
the areas in which outsourcing would be advantageous, it was
meant to allow each school to control its own future.
"Each campus was asked to look at the possible areas which
could be considered for privatization in the near future,”
Spangler said. “Then each university was to develop guidelines
and determine if there were any areas on campus which fall
under those guidelines for privatization.
“But the process was meant to be done in a way where each
campus could be captain of it’s own ship.”
But some schools still shy away from privatization. Brad
Reid, director of housing at Appalachian State University, said
security issues had prevented administrators from even study
ing the possibility of housekeeper privatization at ASU.
“There is a lack of competition in Boone to gain any
advantage from privatization, but that is minor compared to
our safety concerns,” Reid said.
“How comfortable are the Chapel Hill students about the
possibility of an outside company coming in, often times
having lured anyone off the street, even people with prison
records, and having these people come into your halls?” he
See HOUSEKEEPERS, Page 2
HiCA
Housekeepers Association
- * ffcttthree of a four-part senes
Police to issue citations for
Kenan alcohol consumption
BY JENNIFER PENDER
STAFF WRITER
After reports of some restroom users
attempting to flush small, empty liquor
bottles down the toilets, the University
Police informed student government and
Carolina Athletic Association represen
tatives Tuesday that alcohol consump
tion at Kenan Stadium would no longer
result in warnings.
“There was a report after the Clemson
game about liquor bottles in the toilets,”
University Police Chief Don Gold said.
“We need to be vigilant to ensure that
restrooms aren’tusedforwhatthey aren’t
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Today's
Weather
Mostly sunny; high
70s.
Weekend: Cloudy; high 70s.
Janet Colm, president and CEO of
Planned Parenthood ofDurham County,
was concerned with the health risks of
outlawing partial-birth abortions when
used to protect the mother’s life or health.
“It’s a real threat to the lives, health
and future fertility of women who need
this procedure,” she said. “I think it’s
interesting so much of this focus is on the
veto; at the same time, we’re making
See ABORTION, Page 2
meant for.”
University Police will begin issuing
N.C. uniform citations at the game, and
the primary charges will be underage
drinking and public consumption, Maj.
Greg Graves said.
The stadium’s old restrooms were not
utilized, but the new ones showed evi
dence of misuse, Student Body Secretary
Lacey Hawthorne said.
Aside from alcohol consumption, the
bottles clog toilets, Hawthorne said. She
said she hoped the citations and increased
patrols would alleviate the problem.
See ALCOHOL, Page 5