Newspapers / The Daily Tar Heel. / Nov. 27, 1996, edition 1 / Page 1
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
®tje Daily (Ear Uppl INSIDE ■Hi NOVEMBER 27,1996 UNC, Housekeepers near end of legal battle ■ The two sides signed an agreement Tuesday that could end the lawsuit. BY JOHN SWEENEY ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR UNC administrators and leaders of the UNC Housekeepers’ Association signed an agreement Tuesday that could mark the end of the 5 1/2-year-old dis crimination suit filed by the housekeep ers against the University. The settlement proposal, developed by mediator Jonathan Harkavy, a Greens boro lawyer, includes plans for retroac tive salary increases, career training pro grams and regular meetings between the housekeepers and University officials among other things. Employees of the housekeeping ser vices department met Friday night in Hill Hall to discuss the proposal and over whelmingly approved it by a vote of 212- 1, with two abstentions. Looking ahead The tentative plans for renovation of the Undergraduate Library will involve the complete interior demolition of the structure. Q This area will be renovated into an electronic and self-service reserves reading room. The twin staircase will be altered in an attempt to reduce traffic bottlenecks. Anew reference classroom will offer students a chance to learn databases. The far right-hand area will become an electronic reference room. @ This room will be changed into an additional photocopy room. SOURCE: FAdUnES PLANNING Students could get more flexible P/D/F BY SARA YAWN STAFF WRITER Looking to safely expand your aca demic horizons by taking a class pass/ D/fail? If so, the Academic Affairs Com mittee of student government will be proposing some changes that might in terest you. The committee is recommending that students be given more time to decide if they should declare a class P/D/F, said Sarah Schweitzer, a freshman from Oak Ridge, Term., and a member of the com mittee. The committee also said students should be allowed to choose to receive letter grades even if they have declared a class P/D/F. Often, students must, de cide to declare a class P/D/F before any grades or tests have been given. “Students have to decide so early that they don’t know what they’re getting Tobacco funds affect universities’ research BYSARADEMANIGOLD STAFF WRITER A threat to tobacco-company-funded medical research might not harm N.C. universities significantly, but the possible effects remain unclear. An American Medical Association editorial published in July recommended 14 steps to decrease tobacco use, AMA spokesman Dan Meyer said. However, the N.C. Medical Society, an organiza tion 0f6,000 doctors, voted down three ofthe 14points, including one that would deny tobacco corporation funding to Help wanted A search committee is considering applicants for a new senior administrative position. Page 2 a “We believe this settlement under scores the University’s exceptionally strong commitment to making condi tions on tht job better for housekeepers and other employees at the lowest salary grades,” Chancellor Michael Hooker stated in a press release. Housekeepers attorney Alan McSurely agreed. “This is a real step toward collec tively solving the problems of the house keepers,” he said. Most of the initiatives listed in the proposal will go into effect Jan. 1,1997, and continue through at least 1999. But the retroactive salary increase could be carried out before Christmas. That increase, if approved by the State Personnel Commission, would give the housekeepers four months of back pay from a pay raise that was originally an nounced in July but was not included in paychecks until last week. About 340 housekeepers will share $121,000 —anywhere from s2ooto S6OO each depending upon years of service to the University. Anew program, tided the New Ca jj Entry ;j j cm □ I"". *1 | |j I,'VT. I Til n jj©JLgJ O r~n~ , _ □ h p I] i Undergraduate Library, Entry Level into,” said Louise Flaig, a freshman from Dallas and a member of the committee. The changes would also reward stu dents who work hard in P/D/F classes, members said. “I think it’s unfair for a student who works hard in a class to still not be able to get an A or a B,” said committee member Vanessa Ramsey, a sophomore from Snow Hill. “(The proposal) encourages students to strive to do the best that they can and still have that security blanket.” Chairman Bryan Winbush, a sopho more from Havelock, said students who ended up excelling in a class that they were not accustomed to taking should be allowed to earn a grade. The current system was adopted after lengthy discussion between students and faculty, Provostßichard Richardson said. This system allows students to take four hours P/D/F each semester and 11 medical schools and research institutions. “We reject the recent AMA recom mendation concerning tobacco compa nies funding research because we think it is unfair to single out one industry, ” said a spokeswoman from Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest Uni versity. The major N.C. medical schools re ceive varying amounts of money from the tobacco industry, leading to confu sion about how much the proposed regu lation would affect state research. The UNC School ofMedicine received a minute amount of funding from to There is no Jove sincerer than the love of food. George Bernard Shaw Picture perfect A local photographer won a state grant to document women living in remote areas. Page 4 3 reers Training Program, will help house keepers and other University employees by allowing them to overcome the social and economic forces working against them, McSurely said. The plan for the training program in cludes requirements that UNC provide funding of no less than $400,000 during the next three years and describes pos sible elements to the program, including computer support and training in con junction with Durham Technical and Community College. “This is die University of North Caro lina, and its mission is the business of educating,” McSurely said. “It should be creating more options for people, not less.” But McSurely said the real sellingpoint in the agreement was the regular meet ings between University administrators and housekeepers’ leaders, including the Housekeepers’ Association Steering Team, something he said administrative law judge Brenda Becton could not have ordered the University to do. “What we believe was offered in this DTH/JESSICA GODWIN AND PHILLIP MOLARO hours total. No perspective courses or major credits can be taken P/D/F. Richardson said the system gave stu dents the option to take classes outside their general knowledge and experience. “It enables students to be experimen tal and exploratory ... without fear that they are going to jeopardize their grade point,” he said. Students agreed with Richardson. “It allows you to take a class that you have an interest in without having to worry so much about it," said junior Erika Bono, a psychology major from Charlotte. Junior Rachna Mahlotra, an interna tional studies major from Rocky Mount, said taking classes P/D/F made college less stressful. Winbush said the committee’s pro posal would be sent to the Office of the Provost and the College of Arts and Sci ences before Winter Break. bacco interests in North Carolina last year. “In the 1995-1996 fiscal year, two combined awards worth $158,146 were given,” said Dr. Robert Lowman, associ ate vice provost for research. He said the Council for Tobacco Research, a non profit organization funded by tobacco companies, gave the grants. Lowman said funding for the medical school last year totaled $122.8 million. “Avery small amount of research money was from tobacco companies or their nonprofit affiliates,” he said. See TOBACCO, Page 2 Critical condition Mother Teresa, listed in unstable condition, awaits more tests in a hospital in India. Page 5 i f Meeting halfway The University and the Housekeepers’ Association agreed on a settlement last week that could end the five-and-a-half year old housekeepers lawsuit. Among the agreed-upon items: ■ Regular monthly meetings with University administrators ■ Retroactive salary adjustments ■ New career training programs ■ Continued support for scholarship programs for employees ■ Funding and support for improved health care and preventive care programs SOURCEIUNC NEWS SERVICES agreement was more than Judge Becton could have given us,” he said. The agreement must still be approved by Becton, who has overseen the case since 1993. If she approves it, the house keepers have agreed to dismiss their class action lawsuit. Despite that, McSurely said he thought the agreement marked the end of only Library to get face lift for 21st-century look BY RICK CONNER STAFF WRITER Students have complained that the not-so-modem Undergraduate Library needs a face lift, and administrators are responding. “The Undergraduate Library definitely needs renovation and updating,’’ said Brandon Davis, a sophomore business administration major from Statesville. Reba Brennan-Wagner, facilities plan ner for the Department ofFacilities Plan ning and Design, said the renovations would bring the library up to more mod em standards. “The plan is to design the library to embrace the technology of the future and provide more computer resources for stu dents,” she said. Joe Hewitt, associate provost for Uni versity libraries, said Information Tech nology Services would move into the new Undergrad’s lower floor. This level would include a larger computer lab and [ _.jgg -^PIPP^ s iß| ■ I JHH ' fBHBMreRf# *-• • DTH/VTBtfUTI UPPAL Freshman Amanda Orser (left), junior Drew Parkinson and senior Elizabeth Whitfield donate their time Tuesday to collect money for the Salvation Army. The trio spent the afternoon ringing bells on Franklin Street. Today's Weather Mostly sunny; mid 50s. Thursday: Sunny; mid 40s. ■ Continued restructuring ofthe housekeeping department ■ Formation of a commission to study and commemorate the contributions of black employees to UNC ■ Increased support for employees with child or elder care concerns DTH/STAFF one phase ofthe housekeepers’ struggle to end practices they believe discrimi nated against blacks. “(The agreement) will go almost until the year 2000, and maybe by then it will give the University some guidance on how to treat the 28 percent of the state’s population that up until a few years ago couldn’t set foot on this campus.” hands-on classrooms to teach computer and information literacy. The second, or entry level, would house the periodicals, circulation desk, classrooms and elec tronic reference area. “We’ll also be developing things like electronic reserves that are self-service, so students won’t have to stand in line to make copies anymore," Hewitt said. Plans for the upper level include indi vidual and group study areas, more class rooms and a snack lounge. The proposed renovations resulted from student surveys and studies con ducted about the existing Undergrad, which identified the most common com plaints of poor lighting, noise level and traffic in and out of the building. Thenew building will remedy those problems, Brennan-Wagner said. “The library committee traveled to the University of Southern California and Austin, Texas (The University of See LIBRARY, Page 2 RING-A-LING 103 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the Univenity community since 1893 News/Fcatures/Arts/Sports: 962-0245 Business/Advertising'. 962-1163 Volume 104, Issue 119 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1996 DTH Publishing Cotp. All rights reserved. Prozac not ‘magic bullet’ bulimia cure ■ Doctors say the drug might help treat depression associated with the disease. BY VICKY ECKENRODE STAFF WRITER The FDA’s Monday approval of Prozac to treat eating disorders, which affect up to 31 percent of UNC women, is just one step in a long recovery process, local doctors and a recovering bulimic student said. “It’s not a magic bullet,” said Bruce Vukoson, a physician at Student Health Service who often sees patients with eat ing disorders. “Just taking Prozac does not stop bulimia.” SHS will continue to prescribe Prozac to students with eating disorders on a case-by-case basis, said Dr. Erica Wise, chairwoman for SHS’s psychological department. Thirty-one percent of 187 UNC women questioned in an informal survey this fall by Stacy Ferrari and Joan Harper, graduate students in the School of Public Health, reported binging, purg ing and using laxatives. Many doctors already prescribe Prozac, the world’s best-selling anti-de pressant drug, to counteract depression felt by those with eating disorders, Wise said. Vukosonsaid, “What has been shown, particularly concerning binging, is that Prozac seems to help some women with the depression associated with bulimia. ” Doctors use a number of anti-depres sants to treat bulimia but consider Prozac’s side effects to be less serious, Vukoson said. Christy Gonzalez, student facilitator for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Diseases, UNC’s eating disorders sup port group, stressed the need for overall treatment that dealt with the patient’s feelings and self-esteem. “You may not be as obsessed about eating by taking Prozac,” said Gonzalez. “But it won’t heal, and it won’t stop the patterns.” Gonzalez said bulimia is a serious problem for many women on UNC’s campus. She pointed out many female students develop bulimic behaviors once they undergo the stressful transition of See PROZAC, Page 2
Nov. 27, 1996, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75