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INSIDE
MONDM
OCTOBER 28,1998
j. Elections ’96
| 0 The Daily Tar Heel
examines bonds and state
offices today in ongoing
elections coverage. Page 2
Spring referendum on SBP power
turned down by Student Congress
BY JOHN SWEENEY
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Student Congress members seeking to
change the roles of executive branch of
ficers in the legislative process could not
muster enough votes at last week’s Stu
dent Congress meeting for a student body
referendum on the subject.
The proposed referendum would al
low students to vote on whether to re
move some of the constitutional powers
of the student body president and the
student body treasurer. But a bill to place
the referendum on the ballot in the Feb
ruary elections failed by a vote of 11 -11.
Rep. Bryan Kennedy, Dist. 4, spon
sored the bill and said he was frustrated
that more members of Student Congress
did not support the bill.
“I am outraged at the pompous elitism
of my colleagues who think they know
better then their constituents,” Kennedy
said.
Rep. James Hoffman, Dist. 15, said it
was especially disappointing to see Stu
dent Congress take file power to decide
UNC professors lean
toward political left
BYTONYMECIA
STAFF WRITER
In the middle of an economics lecture
at the University of Texas at Austin last
year, Professor Dan Morgan decided to
liven up his class.
Discussingthe federal deficit, Morgan
called Ronald
Reagan a “son of
a bitch" and re
ferred to Reagan
and George Bush
as “real villains,”
according to Campus Report, a national
publication that chronicles incidents of
political bias in college classrooms.
After a Republican student in the class
complained, Morgan toned down his
rhetoric and revealed to the class that he
was a staunch Democrat who was very
politically active.
The extent to which faculty at UNC
present their personal opinions in class is
Black lawyers
want probe of
CIA drug link
■ Allegations have surfaced
that claim the CIA helped
bring crack to inner cities.
BYLEANNSPRADUNG
STAFF WRITER
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK —
The nation’s largest association of black
attorneys demanded Friday that the in
vestigation be stepped up into allegations
linking the CIA to the introduction of
crack cocaine into black communities.
The attorneys contend that Nicara
guan Contra operatives sold cocaine in
black communities and used the funds to
buy weapons with CIA knowledge or
approval.
The CIA a*rd the Department of Jus
tice are currently investigating the allega
tions, published in a late-August series in
The San Jose Mercury News. However,
U. Lawrence Boze, president of the
17,000-member National Bar Associa
tion, said that wasn’t enough.
“We do not feel that the CIA can
police itself," Boze said Friday at a press
conference at the Sheraton Imperial Ho
tel. “We feel that the U.S. government
See CIA, Page 6
Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper.
Robert Frost
Several members of Student Congress recently proposed a referendum to remove
certain legislative powers granted to executive branch officers. A bill to place the
referendum on February ballots failed last week.
■ The Student Body President is classified as a "nonvoting ex officio member of
Student Congress,' according to the Student Code.
■ The Student Body Treasurer is a nonvoting ex officio member of the Finance
Committee and a financial adviser to Student Congress.
■ Both officers may submit legislation to Student Congress by virtue of the offices.
■ The proposed referendum would remove all ex officio memberships, while
allowing the Student Body President and Student Body Treasurer to continue to
submit legislation. The Student Body Treasurer would still act as a financial adviser.
DTH/ASHLEY HENKEL
out of students’ hands.
“As far as I know, a referendum is the
most democratic thing we do,” he said.
But Rep. Josh Cohen-Peyrot, Dist.
16, said he felt much of the student body
president’s contribution in Student Con
gress would not be understood by stu
dents who did not attend Student Con
gress meetings on a regular basis. Be
an open question. But if politics are en
tering University classrooms, Board of
Elections records indicate it’s coming
predominantly from one side of the po
litical spectrum.
In eight departments at UNC, 91 per
cent of professors who are registered with
a major political party are Democrats.
Nine percent are Republicans. The dis
parity raises questions about the unifor
mity of ideas presented in University
classrooms, though many professors say
it’s not a problem.
Studies of election records at indi
vidual colleges found similar results to
those at UNC. Democrats outnumber
Republicans by ratios of 20-to-1 at Cornell
University, 12 -to-1 at Dartmouth Col
lege, 11-to-l at Stanford University and
6-to-l at Duke University, according to
student newspapers at those schools.
“With all the talk about diversity on
campus, there would seem to be little on
the part of the professoriate, ” said Glenn
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CANINE KIND
■Hr i As 4* •wM
• ■' v-'-lR-
' " Byjjk" "
DTH/MISTI MCDANIEL
Kay Harvey prepares her dog, Sandy the Spacedog, for Saturday's Animal
Protection Society Pooch Parade in Carrboro. See story> page 6.
▲ am The Chapel Hill Service
fijHQyjfl League is busy gathering
donations for the annual
fIBHE Christmas House. Page 6
cause of that, he said, students could not
make an informed decision on how much
power the student body president should
have in Student Congress.
“It’s not that (my constituents) are
ignorant,” he said. “It’s that they don’t
have access to a lot of important informa-
See REFERENDUM, Page 7
The party line ’
The party affiliations of 223 faculty
members in eight UNC departments
SOURCE: BOARD OF ELECTIONS, ORANGE AND DURHAM COUNTIES
Ricketts, of the National Association of
Scholars, a Princeton, N. J., organization
of 4,000 traditional and conservative
university professors.
The Daily Tar Heel searched Board of
Elections records in Orange and Durham
counties for the names of 295 professors
in chemistry, economics, English, his
tory, journalism, mathematics, political
science and public policy. A person’s
party affiliation is public record.
The search yielded 204 Democrats, 19
Debate club
A jfjfjHe* Gov. Jim Hunt and
challenger Robin Hayes
spar in their only face-to
face debate. Page 7
SINGING FOR THE COLD
8j £ JußfmL i ■
* I I WWWWi aWIME MB
I ■ j.: .. [4 H
DTH/BRAD SMITH
The UNC Clef Hangers performed their 20th annual Fall Concert at Memorial Hall on Friday night. This year's
theme was The Olympics,” intermingling Olympic-oriented skits with songs. See review, page 5.
[ Departmental breakdown j
Dem. Rep.
Chemistry 18 4
Economics 19 4
English 40 2
History 46 1
Journalism 23 2
Mathematics 18 2 TTj|
Political Sci. 23 2
Public Policy 17 2
DTH/ PHUUP MOLARO
Republicans and 25 unaffiliated voters.
Forty-seven names were not registered.
Those not registered might live outside of
Orange or Durham counties or be regis
tered under names different than those
listed in the 1996-97 Undergraduate Bul
letin. Emeritus professors were excluded.
The departments with the greatest dis
parities were history, English, political
science, journalism and mathematics,
See FACULTY, Page 6
BCC members strive to teach different races
about African-American experiences, culture
BY DANA SPANGLER
STAFF WRITER
While the endeavors of the Sonja H.
Stone Black Cultural Center focus on the
black experience, supporters say a free
standing center will benefit all races.
“The BCC is an academic center de
signed to educate the wider community
about the unique experience of peoples
of African descent,”BCC Director Gerald
Home said.
Students asked about the goals and
purpose of the BCC agreed the center is
primarily a place for education.
“The BCC is a place where black
people can find their own personal iden
tity; a place where anyone can go and
learn about culture,” said Andrea
Wolfson, a freshman from St. Peters
burg, Fla.
Myrvine Bemadotte, a junior from
Elmont, N.Y. who attends some BCC
programs said, “The BCC is a center
which tries to enhance and celebrate Af
rican-American culture.”
Some students passing in front of the
center last week said they realized the
programming was for all cultures, but
did not make it a priority to attend. Of the
nearly 20 students randomly asked about
the center, none said they attended pro
gramming.
Jessica Leonhardt, a junior from
Fallston, said she recognized the center’s
educational value but did not attend pro
Today's
* Weather .
" Partly cloudy, high *
70s.
Tuesday: sunny, high 60s.
Effects of construction
lost on outside workers
BY LEAH HANEY
STAFF WRITER
The University Grounds Department
was forced to rerout drainage pipes at the
Navy ROTC building last week after
contracted workers left the pipes above
ground, highlighting what some see as a
problem with contracted workers.
Last year, outside construction com
panies were contracted to renovate the
interior of the building. UNC grounds
officials would not name the companies.
In addition to the drainage problem,
the company cut around the root system
of a 70-year-old tree while performing
excavation work at the building.
The tree had sustained no visible dam
age when the construction company fin
ished, but groundskeepers cut it down
this summer because it could not survive
the root damage.
Tom Sudderth, landscaping supervi
sor at the Navy ROTC building, said this
was just one example of the ongoing
grams. “I think the programs they have
now would be beneficial to everyone, but
I have never really thought about going, ”
she said. “I have some friends that at
tend, but we have never discussed me
going.”
While other students said they knew
nothing about the center’s programming,
Home said he did not believe this was a
major problem. “I don’t agree that
undergrads are unaware of our exist
ence,” he said, referring to past programs
that attracted packed houses.
Home said some students might be
uncomfortable with the idea of the BCC
because of racial tension in the past.
"Because of the difficult and tortured
history of this nation, some in the nation’s
majority do not feel comfortable in the
presence of those who compromise the
nation’s largest racial minority, ” he said.
Suggestions on how the center can bridge
that gap are welcomed, he said.
Some feel the gap will actually be
widened by the planned freestanding
building. The BCC has been housed in
the Student Union since its establish-
Tell us what you think
The Daily Tar Heel will be sponsoring a
focus group discussion at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
We want about 12 average readers, preferably
ones who pick up a paper every day, to talk
about ways in which we can better serve the
103 yeari of editorial freedom
Serving the sudens and the Umrany
community ainee 1893
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Volume A44, Tune 97
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C 1996 DTH Publisher* Cap
All ngbtj reserved
battle with construction. He said there
had been other times when outside con
tractors had damaged tree root systems
in their efforts to do their job. He said one
problem was outside contractors did not
see long-tenn effects of their work.
“Whenever you have an outside con
tractor, you’re going to lose some care;
it’s the nature of the game,” Sudderth
said. “We’ll be here for many years to
come while the outside contractor will be
here a few days, and he’ll be gone. Uni
versity personnel take a lot of pride and a
lot of care.”
But some groundskeepers said the
problem was with the contracts rather
than the contractors.
Kirk Pelland, University forester, said
the construction company did nothing
wrong, but oversights in the contract left
problems that UNC groundskeepers had
to fix.
Pelland said the problem lay with edu-
See CONSTRUCTION, Page 7
ment and will be mo ved to a Coker Woods
site when enough funds are raised.
In 1993, former trustee John Pope
placed an advertisment in the Chapel
Hill News opposing a free-standing BCC
because he felt it create segregation.
Some student groups have also at
tacked the idea of a free-standing center
as separatist. Others deny the building
will create racial separatism.
“Some people now see the BCC as a
black student union, but I don’t see how
a center for multiculturalism could segre
gate the races more,” said Jacob
Bonenberger, a continuing studies stu
dent from Greensboro.
Bemadotte said, “A building cannot
separate the races, only a individual’s
mentality."
With $4.4 million left to raise toward
a $7.5 million goal, fund raising for a
planned free-standing building is also
important for the BCC. Home said BCC
administrators had approached several
possible donors. “We have a number of
lines in the water that we hope will lead
to the ‘bigfish’beinglanded. Staytuned.”
community. Any interested readers should
come by the DTH office, Suite 104 of the
Student Union, and sign up. Questions should
be directed to Staff Development Director
Robin Berholz at 962-0245.