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INSIDE
FRIDAY
OCTOBER 11,1996
BSM: Bright was not pressured to withdraw
BY JOHN SWEENEY
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Leaders of the Black Student Move
ment spoke out Thursday against an ar
ticle in The Daily Tar Heel reporting that
members of the organization had pressed
former Homecoming king candidate
Jerry Bright to withdraw from the race.
“It is the sentiment of the Black Stu
dent Movement that the article printed
on October 10,1996 entitled, ‘BSM mem
ber drops Homecoming king bid,’ has
attempted to reduce the credibility of not
only Jerry Bright and Eugene Purvis, but
First king vied for queen’s crown
forced him to serve
DTH/BRIAN KAHN
■'v. "
Hg
DTIU COURTESY OF YACKFTYYACK
Delmar Williams' crowning attracted
controversy and national attention.
University Day: a time
to celebrate tradition
BY DAVE SNELL
STAFF WRITER
Planning on sleeping in Saturday?
Think again.
The 203rd anniversary of the found
ing of the nation’s
first public univer
sity promises to
make Saturday a
day for North
Carolinians to re
member.
“University
Day is a time to
celebrate and re-
University Day
Convocation
9:30 a.m.
Saturday
Memorial Hall
Free and open to
public
member the founding of the University, ”
Provost and University Day Committee
Chairman Dick Richardson said. “Every
institution needs a moment to reflect
upon its past and use its past to guide its
future.”
Students should take pride in being
part of a state university that has excelled
for over two centuries, Student Body
President Aaron Nelson said.
You must know your limitations. I drink a bottle of Jack Daniels a day, that’s mine.
Lemmy, of Motorhead
True colors
B-GLAD wants to provide a
friendly atmosphere for
gays at UNC on National
Coming Out Day. Page 2
Jd
that of the Black Student Movement,” a
press release from the group stated.
On Thursday, the DTH quoted an
anonymous source within the BSM as
saying Bright, also a BSM member, had
been pressured by members of the orga
nization to drop out of the race.
The source said those members were
concerned thatßright’s candidacy, spon
sored by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Inc.,
would conflict with that of Purvis, the
candidate endorsed by the BSM.
“It would better secure a victory for a
BSM member,” the source said.
The source also said Bright’s with
BY HILARY FRANKLIN
STAFF WRITER
No matter who is crowned 1996 Homecom
ingkingattomorrow’shalftime ceremony, UNC
alumnus Delmar Williams will always lay claim
to the honor ofbeing the first Hom
ecoming king in UNC history.
In the fall of 1975, Williams was
dared by several friends to do some-
thing wild and crazy for his senior year. One
friend suggested he run for Homecoming queen.
“No one had ever done anything like that
before, and I decided that I would do it,” said
Williams, who currently lives in Huntersville.
Williams’ decision to run for Homecoming
queen sparked controversy on campus, espe
cially in the Department of Athletics and the
General Alumni Association, both of which
claimed Williams had no legal right to do so, as
well as among the other members of the Home
coming Court.
“I was a little bit surprised by the amount of
controversy my candidacy caused, but you have
“Students take for granted that we are
the oldest public state-funded institution
in the nation, ” Nelson said. “This should
be a day when we thank the people of this
state for supporting us.”
Renowned southern author and
Alumni Distinguished English Professor
Doris Betts will be the featured speaker at
Saturday’s University Day convocation,
Richardson said.
“This day will also give special recog
nition to women’s studies... and Betts
will refer to the role of women at the
University in her speech,” Richardson
said. Betts’ speech is expected to recog
nize the 20th year of the women’s studies
program and its achievements.
“(Betts) is one of our most distin
guished and beloved faculty,” he said.
Other program highlights include a
traditional academic procession of fac
ulty, music and the presentation of five
Distinguished Alumni Awards. UNC
system President C.D. Spangler also is
scheduled to speak during the convoca
tion.
Crime and
punishment
Robin Hayes' new crime
plan includes chemical
castration. Page 5
t?•
“I will come out publicly and
say no one in the BSM ever
even spoke to me about
(withdrawingfrom the
competition). ”
JERRY BRIGHT
Former Homecoming king candidate
drawal would solidify opposition against
the other king candidate, Sean Behr, who
does not belong to the BSM.
to remember this was 1975 and a lot of people did
not like people who wanted to do something
different back then,” Williams said.
Williams brought up the issue of Title IX, a
federal statute that says that sex-based discrimi
nation is unlawful at federally funded educa-
not agree to be crowned Homecoming king if he
won, the ceremony would be called off.
In an article printed in The Daily Tar Heel on
Oct. 31,1975, former Sports Information Direc
tor Rick Brewer said the athletic department was
considering cancelling the ceremony.
“There is a feeling among athletic department
officials that Delmar Williams has made a mock
ery of the Homecoming ceremony, ” Brewer said
in the article. “These officials are not going to let
Mr. Williams make a mockery of the athletic
department."
Williams said he felt the officials at the ath
letic department were doing everything they could
Today marks registration deadline
BY EMILY HOWELL
STAFF WRUER
Today is the national deadline to reg
ister to vote in the November elections,
and voter registration groups are racing
to beat the clock.
Registration efforts have gone well
thus far, officials from voter registration
groups said.
Todd Foreman, state director of Clean
Up Congress, a nonpartisan organiza
tion whose goal is electing pro-environ
mental candidates to Congress, estimated
Clean Up Congress and Musicians Orga
nized for Voter Education have regis
tered more than2,ooostudents combined.
Almost 1,000 of these new voters were
registered at last week’s Pearl Jam con
cert in Charlotte, and 220 were registered
at Wednesday’s Rally for Change in the
Pit, Foreman said.
Campus groups such as Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity Inc., Campus Y, Young
Democrats, Black Student Movement,
Students for Choice and the Department
of History are also registering voters.
Groups registering voters on campus are
organized by the Carolina Vote Project.
Carolina Vote Project Director Kirti
Shastri stressed the nonpartisan nature of
4^
But Bright said Thursday that he had
not been pressuredby anyone in the BSM.
“I will come out publicly and say no
one in the BSM ever even spoke to me
about (withdrawing from the competi
tion),” he said.
’Hie BSM’s press release also stated
that the group was not opposed to Bright
running, evenagainstafellowßSMmem
ber.
“With regard to the ‘source’ BSM
member, he or she was misinformed
about the circumstances surrounding the
situation,” the press release stated. “Jerry
Bright’s candidacy for Homecoming king
tional institutions.
Title IX allowed Williams to
run; however, he was told by the
athletic department that if he did
★★★★★★★★
Today is tlijgpM day
to register to vote.
★★★★ ★ ★ ★ ★
the campaign. “The goal is to register as
many students as possible,” she said.
“It was critical that so many organiza
tions on campus came together for voter
registration because it allowed us to reach
all areas of the campus.
“Students registered to vote are actu
ally very likely togoout and vote,” Shastri
said. “The number of students register
ing to vote suggests that we’ll have a high
turnout.”
The groups have ordered more than
100,000 voter registration forms from the
Board of Elections since January, said
Michelle Wyatt, director of voter regis
tration for the state Board of Elections.
As of April, local officials reported
74,454 registered voters in Orange
Tar Heels tackle
Terps on Saturday
This Homecoming, UNC
looks for its fifth win of the
season. Page 9
was never an issue within the (BSM). In
fact, we openly encouraged both candi
dates in their efforts.”
The BSM press release also questioned
the DTH’s decision to publish the article
on the day voting for Homecoming king
and queen would take place and bringing
racial issues into the article, because it
mentioned Behr was white.
“The Daily Tar Heel policy of‘stating
the obvious’ in reference to the ethnicity
of the candidates has shifted the focus of
the Homecoming contest from the quali
fications of the candidates to an issue of
race.”
to prevent him from running for queen.
“They wanted to cancel the ceremony alto
gether, so I agreed to the compromise,” Will
iams said. “I’m kind of unhappy I did that, but
it’s history, and I felt that if I had not made the
compromise, there would not have been a cer
emony, period.”
Asa result of the compromise and threats of a
potential lawsuit from the Student Supreme
Court, Rob Friedman, the Carolina Athletic
Association chairman, allowed all 12 sponsored
candidates for queen to be placed on the ballot
regardless of the Homecoming Court screening
committee’s decision to narrow the race down to
six candidates.
“I definitely think my candidacy influenced
his decision to allow all the candidates to be on
the Court,” Williams said in an Oct. 27, 1975,
DTH article. “Rob (Friedman) wanted to avoid
a legal confrontation, and, in many respects, so
did I.”
The athletic department and GAA officials
See WILLIAMS, Page 4
County. Wyatt estimated the number of
statewide voters at 4 million. She ex
pected about 300,000 additional state
voters after the deadline.
MOVE and Clean Up Congress will
register voters today. Then their focus
will switch to contacting the new voters.
“The least likely people to vote are
those newly registered voters, ” Foreman
said. “We’re trying to focus on students
and disaffected voters. People who are
already voting are voting for those al
ready in power.”
at
103 years of editorial freedom
Serving the studens and the Univenity
community sinoe 1893
News/Feamra/Are/Spate 962-0245
Business/Advening; / 962-1163
Volume 104, Issue 88
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
© 199612111 Publishing Cop.
All rights reserved.
Today's
Weather
Mostly sunny; low
60s.
Weekend: Sunny: mid 60s.
Forum offers
ways to end
sexual crimes
■ The Orange County Rape
Crisis Center hosted the
forum in the Friday Center.
BY KATE HARRISON
STAFF WRITER
Attendees of last night’s Community
Forum on Sexual Violence were not in
terested in another philosophical discus
sion on rape and child molestation. In
stead, they focused on direct plans of
action to improve victims’ rights and
prevent future acts of sexual violence.
“It is possible for us to do something
about sexual violence,” said Martha Prior
Cook, director of the Orange County
Department of Social Services, in an
opening speech. “Idon’tbelievewehave
a choice. We must act if we want to keep
our community strong and vibrant and
produce citizens who do not live in fear. ”
The forum, sponsored by the Orange
County Rape Crisis Center, broke into
small groups to discuss concerns and
solutions for the different aspects of sexual
violence, such as acquaintance rape,
children’s issues, clergy response, judi
cial response, minority issues and treat
ment for victims and offenders. The en
tire group then reconvened to present the
solutions they had discussed.
The group discussing acquaintance
rape sawestablishingaMen Against Rape
association at UNC, organizing a man
datory session on sexual violence for all
students and getting the community out
side the University involved in the issue
as a few key solutions.
“I think we need to sit incoming stu
dents down and tell them the facts, like
they do with the honor code assembly,”
UNC sophomore Miriam Burkett said.
“I didn’t know the facts until something
happened to a friend of mine —then I
had to learn them fast.”
Several adult survivors of childhood
sexual abuse spoke to the group about the
importance of recognizing signs of abuse
in children and giving victims a voice.
Elizabeth Oldham, program director
of the North Carolina Chapter of the
National Committee to Prevent Child
Abuse, said she was abused from age six
to age 24 and stressed the importance of
outside intervention.
“You hold the power, and whether
you know it or not, you’re very powerful
people,” Oldham said in her address. “I
hope you exercise that power.”
Lisa Tobe, representative of the
Children’s Issues group, said victims
needed more access to treatment and
suggested increased funding for student
psychiatric services and pro bono work
from the hospitals.
“We need to work with adult survi
vors so that they can gain a voice,” she
said. “They need to be the ones who talk
about their experiences, what they mean
and how things can change for the better
in their communities.”
Chuck Anderson, representative of the
judicial system group and a candidate for
District Court Judge, said many in his
group expressed their frustrations with
the judicial system.
“The court system is sometimes in
timidating for and hostile to the victim, ”
he said.
Ned Brooks, chairman of the Rape
Crisis Center’s board of directors, said
the quality of what he heard from the
small groups was extraordinary.
“The important thing is being able to
look back on tonight years from now and
say, ‘Oh my goodness, look what we’ve
done we’re so much better off than
when we started on that October night in
1996.’”
Check out
Sport Saturday
North Carolina cornerbacks Dre’ Bly
(left) and Robert Williams have
wreaked havoc on opposing
receivers this season. They and the
rest of the Tar Heels will look to
maul Maryland in a Homecoming
matchup Saturday night. Pick up
your copy of Sport Saturday for the
lowdown on the game.