®l|p Satlg Otar MM
INSIDE
THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 7,1996
Students hit polls in ‘droves,’ give Democrats a boost
BY LESLIE QUIGLESS
STAFF WRITER
AND ANGELA MOORE
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Students who thought their vote Tues
day wouldn’t make a difference were
wrong.
In fact, as far as newly elected N.C.
Sen. Howard Lee is concerned, the
heavily Democratic student vote may
have made all the difference in his race.
“The student vote was a tremendous
help,” Lee said. “It gave us the boost we
needed in Orange County.”
Lee said he had needed at least a
15,000-vote lead in Orange County to
overcome the Republican-voting
Randolph, Moore and parts of Lee coun
ties and win one of the two 16th District
Senate seats available.
“Chatham and Orange had to be our
boost,” he said. Lee ended up with a
15,000-vote lead in Orange County, se
curing him the Senate seat and defeating
his nearest challenger, Republican in
cumbent Teena Little, by just 12,000
votes. Lee said that he saw students com
ing to the polls “in droves,” and that
these votes helped put him over the top.
The top vote-getter in the race, Demo
crat Eleanor Kinnaird, said she benefited
from a high student-voter turnout.
“The student vote was absolutely cru
cial,” Kinnaird said.
First-time voter Alex Bass, a freshman
from Raleigh, said he had been wanting
to vote since he was 10 years old.
“It’s an opportunity to take an active
part in democracy,” he said. “That’swhat
Computer porn replaces
newsstands, streetcomers
BY HOLLY HART
STAFF WRITER
With a flick of a switch and a click of
a mouse, anyone with a computer and
Internet access can check out naked
women in the privacy of their own homes.
Internet sites such as “ Spewww” have
made proffering sex on street comers a
thing of the past by providing pictures of
men and women engaging in sexual ac
tivities to users looking for a quick thrill.
“The Internet is being misused by a lot
ofpeople,” said Deb Aikat, a professorin
the School of Journalism and Mass Com
munication, referring to the recent death
of Sharon Lopatka, who was murdered
by a man she met over the Internet.
Aikat teaches “Communicationlssues
in Cyberspace” and, along with doctoral
student Mark McCarthy, has conducted
a study of pornography on the Internet.
McCarthy created a web site that listed
sites containing sexual material, includ
ing “Babes on the web,” “Hot Sex” and
“alt.sex.bestiality.pictures.” By going to
these sites, a person can view pornogra
phy or “talk” to other people visiting the
same site. “Seventy to 80 percent of the
(pornographic) sites relate to female nu
dity,” Aikat said. “Most of the sites have
very objectionable material.”
Aikat said most of these sites, which
charge a fee in order to view the porno
graphic material, were created purely with
the intention of making money. “There
are people with deep pockets and inter
ests in all of this,” he said.
All you need to create these sites is a
computer and an Internet connection.
“You can operate this from your garage,
and not even your neighbor will know
about it," Aikat said.
The anonymity of the Internet is not
only attractive to site creators, but site
users. People who want to view pornog
raphy no longer have to go to the local
newsstand to buy a magazine. “I think
that’s what appealing to a lot of people,”
McCarthy said. “It’s very private.”
And for those people who want an
interactive sexual experience, they can
enter "chat rooms,” where users can talk
to each other through their computers.
Aikat said participants in the chat
rooms could remain completely anony
mous. Because of this anonymity, many
users create different identities for them
selves. “On the Internet you could be
anyone,” Aikat said.
The issue grabbed attention when
Lopatka’sbody was found inNorth Caro
lina. A housewife from Baltimore,
Help wanted
A Center for International
Studies seminar focused on
a lack of global skills in the
business world. Page 2
n
makes our nation so great. ”
Kinnaird said attitudes like Bass’
helped her get elected Tuesday. “Stu
dents have a freshness of attitude which
is hopeful,” she said. “Generally, Repub
licans aren’t so hopeful. Students tend to
respond to Democrats.”
Five off-campus districts where UNC
students live enjoyed extremely high rates
of voter turnout. North Carrboro, King’s
Mill, Colonial Heights, Coker Hills and
Carrboro precincts all had voter turnout
rates of 65 percent or more, well above
the national turnout rate of 49 percent.
Lee partly attributed the better-than
average turnout rates to Sen. Jesse Helms’
race against Harvey Gantt. “The U.S.
Senate race was very exciting to stu
dents.”
In Orange County, Gantt received an
overwhelming 67 percent of the vote.
Some UNC students were disappointed
that Democratic senatorial candidate
Harvey Gantt did not win.
“The fact that Helms won again says a
lot about North Carolina,” said Kevin
Thomas, a sophomore from Richlands.
“I really wanted Gantt to win. ”
Jennifer Bateman, a junior from
Franklin, said she was upset Helms won,
not only because of his views but also
because of his age.
“I was very disappointed that Helms
won because he’s older than God," she
said. “It doesn’t sound very intelligent,
but it’s true.”
Regardless of whom they were voting
for, the high number of UNC students
who turned out to vote was pleasing, said
Mark McCollum, the chief of staff for the
executive branch. He said the Point-2-
Lopatka portrayed herself on the Internet
as a dominatrix and a screen actress,
promising sexual encounters and videos
to those willing to pay for them.
Lopatka also searched on the Internet
for a man to fulfill her sexual fantasies.
According to police, Lopatka found that
man in Robert Glass, who agreed to bind
her with ropes, make her bleed and then
strangle her nude body before dumping it
into a shallow grave.
Many of Lopatka’s friends and neigh
bors said Lopatka was a normal house
wife from an influential family. “She was
just like anyone else you know,” said
Debra Walker to The News & Observer.
Aikat said Lopatka was not atypical of
Internet users who sought out pomogra
phyandsex. “You’dbesurprisedatwho’s
outthere,” Aikatsaid. “It could be some
one who is very well-respected in the
community. Internet users are educated,
sophisticated people.”
Technology has made the Internet
more accessible. “Five years ago you had
to be sick, twisted and dedicated to do
this,” he said. “But today, a 10-year-old
child can get in with a click o f the mouse. ”
The ability for a child to easily access
pornographic materials has led to pro
grams that control Internet information.
“A lot of the sex-related sites are com
ing with warnings saying that they offer
adult information and not to come in if
you’re under 18,” Aikat said.
Programs such as Net Nanny,
CyberPatrol and Surf Watch block out
certain sites.
But these programs ban sites based on
criteria that many people find question
able. “What’s pom here in Chapel Hill
may not be pom someplace else."
Stephanie Flynn, a master’s student in
mass communication, echoed Aikat.
“CyberPatrol is blocking out the White
House site because it has the word
‘couples’ in it and that’s one of the words
CyberPatrol has deemed unacceptable.”
People need good lies. There are too many bad ones.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Waste your time
creatively
Check out Dive's annual Big
Quiz and win flowers for
your mama. Page 5
IlliflP -ssgjfll v^B
- ' s■'*• 4M&&
Jgm fZ" BoribHEßHbgv BKm
DTH/BEN MCALLISTER
Students flocked to the poll site at Fetzer Gymnasium on Tuesday. After the polls closed, poll site volunteers said
they believed Tuesday’s voter turnout was the highest ever at that site.
Point shuttle service to the polls helped a
great deal.
“The P2P shuttle had around 600 stu
dents, which is a lot of students for vot
ing,” he said. “The vast majority of reg
istered (student) voters did come out to
vote. We were very, very pleased.”
Area arsonist could be thrilled by setting fires
BY RACHEL SWAIN
STAFF WRITER
Children are taught not to play with
matches. But some people develop an
unusual fascination with fire and use it as
a destructive outlet for suppressed emo
tions.
Recently, the Carrboro police and fire
departments have been battling a person
believed to be a serial arsonist. Seventeen
fires have been set under similar circum
stances since March.
The case took another turn Sunday
when three fires were set in the area.
Authorities said they believed a person
who wanted to copy the arsonist set the
fires due to differences in location.
The early-morning fires were set in
portable toilets in three subdivisions off
Hillsborough Road. These fires differed
See ARSON, Page 4
Campbell grabs auditor win;
Daly heading back to UNC
BY ANNE HARDEN
STAFF WRITER
Although the state Board of Elections
won’t certify a winner in the race for state
auditor for several days, media groups
have declared incumbent Democrat
Ralph Campbell the victor over Republi
can Jack Daly.
Daly conceded I
the race Wednes- 1
day and said he IjJ
would be heading 1
back to the UNC |
School ofLaw next I
semester. “I will I r 4a
continue doing the I [ v.
hard work of free- F \
dom,” Daly said. t~. -• k—H
In a press re- JACK DALY said his
lease, Campbell auditor bid proved he
stated that he was a viable candidate
would continue the * or sla * e °^ce
work he had started. “I am grateful for
the confidence (voters) have shown me
and the professional staff that works in
our organization,” he stated.
Campbell’s Executive Assistant, Bob
Slade, said the auditor and his staff were
ready to get back to work. “Our agenda’s
pretty well set,” he said, citing techno
logical initiatives. “(Campbell)’s looking
to get more productivity out of us."
Flattening foes
The women's soccer team
looks to capture its Bth
straight ACC title with a
defensive change. Page 7 7
$
Kirti Shastri of the Carolina Vote
Project also said P2P was instrumental in
assisting students going to vote.
“It seems as though a lot of people
went to the polls, if the number of stu
dents who obtained rides from P2P driv
ers and volunteer drivers are any indica
.X
Dangerous game / )
_i,b - The Carrboro Police and Fire departments .S’ \
i / have been searching for an arsonist since T ANARUS„ t, a
■ ArcnnVtc, c „n„ July. Now, they are looking for a copycat fnnufrt „■ ,
I Arsonists usudlly _ . , , . n . ~ , copycst arsonist ,
■ .... do nouarget humans. X ■ ° WK
\ ■ Arsonists usually are “ l 0 there are s ° me characteristlcs that expressing feelings. / \
fascinated by fire. } these people share: ■ They do not get the
■ For some, starting a fire# same gratification as $
DTH/PHILLIP MOLARO
ELECTIONS
Tuesday morning, The Associated
Press reported that Campbell had carried
50 percent of the vote and Daly 48 per
cent with 98 percent of precincts report
ing. The Board of Elections will not de
clare a winner in the race until it receives
certification from all counties, said
Michelle Wyatt, voter registration direc
tor for the Board of Elections. “It’s too
close to call right now,” Wyatt said.
Slade said Campbell was banking on
accurate statistics from the press. “We’re
seeing the usual conservatism from the
Board of Elections,” Slade said.
Possibly for the first time in this race,
Daly agreed with the Campbell cam
paign and conceded defeat.
“Well, I didn’t win,” he stated in a
press release, “but I sure shut the critics
up! People who said I wasn’t old enough
to run are now practically worshipping at
my feet. It’s been amusing to watch the
party naysayersbegging for forgiveness."
Daly said he was pleased to have come
See AUDITOR, Page 4
Today's
Weather
Cloudy, chance of
rain; low 70s.
Friday: Showers: mid 60s.
tion,” she said. “The drivers were very
busy.”
Kimberly Davis, a sophomore from
Greensboro, said the long lines at her
polling site also demonstrated that many
See TURNOUT, Page 2
HOOKED ON STUDENTS
Hik. M
DTH/AMY CAPPEIO
On Wednesday, Chancellor Michael Hooker spoke to Student Congress
and answered students' questions. See story, Page 3.
103 years of editorial freedom
Serving the students and die University
community since 1893
News/Feamra/Am/Sports 962-0245
Business/ Adveraang: 962-1163
Volume 104, Issue 105
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
C 1996 DTH Publishing Cap.
AH rights reserved
UNC-system
schools boast
high turnout
BY APRIL DEMERT
STAFF WRITER
High-interest races, such as the U.S.
Senate rematch between Sen. Jesse Helms
and Harvey Gantt, and voter education
efforts brought UNC-system students out
to vote in high numbers Tuesday.
“I was surprised
and pleased with
the number of stu
dents at the polls,”
said Angela Nix,
student body presi
dent at East Caro
lina University.
Association of
Student Govern
ments President
m
CAMPUS
CONNECTIONS
John Dervin attributed the high turnout
to student disapproval of the N.C. Gen
eral Assembly’s attempts to cut univer
sity funding. “Clearly the champions of
educationwononElectionDay,” Dervin
said.
Student officials across the system said
voter registration and education programs
influenced turnout
State groups, such as Musicians Orga-
See CAMPUS CONNECTION, Page 4