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ttlfp Sailu alar Hr cl INSIDE WEDNESDAY APRIL 16,1997 N.C. Senate slashes UNC-system budget proposal ■ The recommendation failed to meet the Board of Governors’ requests. BY JONATHAN COX ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR Student and University leaders react ed unhappily to large cuts from the Board of Governor’s budget requests in the N.C. Senate, considered to be “ally” of the system. The Senate Education Committee released its recommendations Monday for the two year UNC-system budget. Festival lets officials take ride into future ■ A self-propelled train system should link cities in the Triangle by 2002. BY MARY-KATHRYN CRAFT CITY EDITOR A glimpse of the 21st century rolled across the tracks in downtown Carrboro on Tuesday. Local leaders kicked off Orange County’s Triangle Rail Fest, a nine day demonstra tion of the self propelled diesel rail car that will one day link Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. The festival, which began at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh on Monday, was held at Carr Mill Mall to introduce resi- Chapel Hill Mayor ROSEMARY WALDORF said Orange County leaders had worked hard in bringing mass transit to the area. Recovering, still remembering l &*T~ ,’7," ~ *jf\ y jjß&&r%-* **%£’£*; S? * s*£&'■ * vj^Vt^l ’jHH Ht •• ‘J. -\ • 7 s *,*. - • •*?*>•• *4fc- ■ * • -’; *-~ . ~ '77 •^'~ >; -7f**' '• 8 ®S^f*;-f:-^C*'^E £f*f||| DTH/DARE BLACKBURN A fire killed five UNC students in May 1996 at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house. This incident caused the N.C. General Assembly to pass anew law that requires sprinkler systems be installed in all fraternity and sorority houses. Full house Families and friends of the UNC class of 1997 have booked up local hotels. Page 2 Despite the committee’s attempts to fulfill the BOG’s requests, they came up short by nearly S4O million for the 1997- 98 year. “I think these recommendations are very positive for the UNC system,” said Sen. Leslie Winner, D-Mecklenburg and co-chair of the Senate education com mittee. “Various needs are being met in this budget.” Winner said these large discrepancies were not unusual. “It’s the job of the BOG to put in there what they would like to have,” Winner said. “The BOG does not have to come up with a bal anced state budget.” John Dervin, ex officio BOG mem- “If America is building a bridge to the 21st century, then the Triangle is going to ride a train across that bridge.” MIKE NELSON Carrboro Mayor dents to the RegioSprinter rail car and to present the mass transit plan to begin linking the cities of the Triangle by 2002. Rachel Willis, the Triangle Transit Authority trustee appointed to represent Chapel Hill, was the first passenger to ride the RegioSprinter from Raleigh to Chapel Hill. “I got to ride to Carolina on the train,” she said. “I am here to tell you it was a beautiful ride. There was so much greenspace I did not know where I was.” Willis emphasized what she called LPN local phase now when talk ing about the Triangle’s mass transit plan. She said the Chapel Hill and Carrboro part of the plan would con nect the University’s main campus with Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain. Billie Holiday Remembering the Holocaust A local woman gave an account of life during the Holocaust. Page 4 ber, said he was pleased with the recommendations of the Senate com mittee, but he said he wished more money could have been allocated. “I think, in gen eral, (the recom mendations) are good,” Dervin said. “It doesn’t go as far as we would have liked.” Dervin said new restrictions UNC-system President C.D. SPANGLER said the N.C. General Assembly could be petitioned for more funds. |hu w \ [ §• Js Tfl wL 'i^m*j&^M DTH/ION GARDINER More than 75 people crowded onto the Regio Sprinter at Carr Mill Mall for Tuesday’s 10-minute demonstration. The train will be part of a mass transit system slated to come to the Triangle in the near future. future satellite campuses at the Horace Williams and Mason Farm tracts, the Meadowmont property, Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson wel comed the RegioSprinter to town and praised the area’s mass transit efforts. Losing it in the lights Errors cost the UNC baseball team dearly Tuesday night. Page 9 hindered the Senate’s budgeting capa bilities, causing the lack of educational funding. “I think we need to realize a lot of the physical restraints placed on the Senate by tax cuts last year,” he said. “Even though we think a small cut in a corporate tax doesn’t affect us, I think we need to realize it does,” Dervin con tinued. “They took a lot of education funding away with that (cut).” Student Body President Mo Nathan said the Senate committee agreed with the BOG about priorities in the univer sity system but did not go far enough to address those issues. “I’m glad the Senate, for the most part, stood with the Board of Governors “We are a town that takes public transportation seriously,” he said. “If America is building a bridge to the 21st century, then the Triangle is going to ride a train across that bridge.” After Nelson, Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf, UNC Executive With one glance at a television news report, Libba Weaver knew that her life had changed forever. She watched closely that morning as news came in that Phi Gamma Delta her son’s fraternity had been destroyed by a pre-dawn fire. But the devastation of that day had just begun. “I remember looking at the TV and I could see Josh’s window,” Weaver said. “I knew then that he was gone.” On May 12, 1996, the fire at Phi Gamma Delta claimed the lives of UNC students Josh Weaver, Anne Smith and Mark Strickland, all juniors from Rocky Mount; Joanna Howell, a junior from Cary; and Ben Woodruff, a sophomore from Raleigh. Though it has been almost a year since the tragedy that stunned the UNC community, the victims’ families and friends are still recov ering. And still remembering. “I will never forget the disbelief of that day," Rita Strickland said. “Mark had just been home for three days before the fire and had given me a Mothers’ Day gift, a painting from Jamaica. Before he left he said, ‘l’ll call you tomor row.”’ That day Mark headed back to campus for the pre-graduation party at the fraternity. Neither he nor his mom knew that the call would never be made. Strickland said the past year has been the worst of her life, as she constantly copes with the loss of Today's Weather Sunny; lower 70s Thursday: Showers; upper 60s in identifying the priorities that need to be funded,” Nathan said. “I’m just con cerned that the funding for some of the priorities is woefully inadequate.” Nathan said cuts in information tech nology concerned him the most. “I am extremely concerned about information technology,” he said. “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has set forth a myriad of critical needs in technology.” Nathan said UNC-CH initially requested s2l million for information technology, but General Administration officials advised UNC-CH to reduce its request to $3 million. He said the com mittee’s $6.2 million recommendation Vice Chancellor Elson Floyd and Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon welcomed a crowd of close to 100. Both officials and residents board ed the RegioSprinter for its maiden voy- See RAILFEST, Page 7 her son. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him,” she said. “Each day I get up and make an effort to get through this, but it’s hard.” Finding hope through Mark's memory has helped with the pain. “I know Mark would n’t want us to grieve our- By Rob Nelson Assistant Cits’ Editor selves to death," she said. “He would want me to be happy. I can close my eyes sometimes and hear him talk to me.” Ben’s mother Bonnie Woodruff said though she wished she could tell her son how proud she was of him, she found comfort in the final moments they shared togeth er. “It was the Thursday before the fire,” she said. “And my last words to him were ‘I love you.’” All of the victims’ families have spent this past year trying to understand the void that unex pectedly entered their lives. “Each person played their own special role in our family," Woodruff said. “You take away an ingredient, and we all become a different per- See FIRE VICTIMS, Page 5 104 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 News/Features/Arts/Spoyts: 962-0245 Business/Advertising: 962-1163 Volume 105, Issue 32 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1997 DTH Publishing Corp. AH rights reserved. for the entire system concerned him. “We need to be making progress in information technology,” Nathan said. “I fear failing to commit adequate resources to it will cause us to slip fur ther behind. “Technology is too important to the present and future quality of this insti tution to be considered a luxury, half heartedly funded by our state and other wise funded by student fees.” Despite his concerns, Nathan said he understood the Legislature had less money to allocate this year. Nathan said student government officials would meet See BUDGET, Page 7 Broad’s past reflects care for students ■ Officials say she fought for students even though she had little direct contact. BY ANGELA MURPHY STAFF WRITER Molly Broad, UNC system president select, lacks classroom experience. But officials from both the California State University system and the UNC system say she understands student concerns and should fill her new position well. Co-workers said Broad’s current position did not facilitate easy access to the student body. But, they said, Broad cares about students. “The closest campus in the Cal State system is 30 minutes away.,” said Pat Henry, Broad’s secretary. “However, (students) are an important part of the university and important to Molly.” Executive assistant Lori Erdman said Broad, though seldom on campus, had an impact on students through her work with technology. “She is earning a reputation as a leader who sees applications for telecommunications and technology in education,” Erdman said. “She has taken a number of initiatives that have had real impact in the classroom for students." Erdman said Broad established relationships with IBM, AT&T and Pacific Bell to improve techno logical capabili ties. UNC Board of Governors mem ber Sam Neill said he was confident about Broad’s abilities. “I think she’ll be an excellent president,” Neill - ASG President JOHN DERVIN said Broad’s experience and vision made her an ideal advocate for the system. said. “She may not have had much direct experience with students, but she has their interests at heart.” Association of Student Governments President John Dervin said he was impressed with Broad so far. “My interview with her at the BOG meeting was very positive," Dervin said. “We have to have someone with expe rience in administration, a vision for education and experience with legisla ture. “She brings all that in a way that has impressed me greatly.” Dervin also said Broad’s lack of experience in dealing with students should not be a problem. “Her lack of classroom experience is made up for by her people skills," he said. "She has also expressed a strong willingness to work closely with stu dents.” UNC system President C.D. Spangler said that the office was flexible and Broad must decide what she wants to accomplish. “I think it’s whatever the President wishes it to be,” Spangler said. "The President can pretty much determine what she wishes to do."
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 16, 1997, edition 1
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