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(Jhe latlg (Jar Rrrl J® ■0 114 jcin of editorial freedom Serving the snideras <uui the Unnemy community since 1893 Former grad student says he’s no threat ■ Romesh Fernando was involuntarily committed after a year of disputes. BYTONYMECIA SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR When Chapel Hill police officer Donnie Rhodes pulled up to the home of journalism graduate student Romesh Fernando last Wednesday, Fernando wasn’t sure why the officer had come. But after Rhodes handcuffed him and placed him in the back of the police cruiser, Fernando understood: He was being committed involuntarily to UNC Hospitals for alleged psycho logical problems. “(Rhodes) wanted to check me out because people had made complaints against me,” Fernando said earlier this week from behind the bolted doors of UNC Hospitals’ adult psychiatric unit. “The complaint is, you are a threat Former journalism graduate student ROMESH FERNANDO said he does not pose a risk to the University community. to the community,” he said. Fernando said that because of some e-mail he had sent —some referred to M-16 rifles and talked of “revolution” —some people in the journalism school had compared him to Wendell Williamson, the UNC law student who shot two people to death on Henderson Street in January 1995. Williamson, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity, sued the University this summer, claiming administrators should have done more to help him with his mental illness. Susan Kitchen, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the University changed the way it dealt with threats to the community as a result of the Williamson shooting. An emergency disciplinary committee of administra tors now has the flexibility to intervene in dangerous situations, she said. Fernando, who is Sri Lankan, said he was surprised at his institutionalization, which he said occurred without his fam ily’s knowledge. He said he was not a threat and was mentally healthy. But Fernando’s colleagues at the journalism school weren’t as shocked. To many, this development marked the culmination of a bizarre yearlong battle between Fernando and UNC officials. Last year several female journalism graduate students accused Fernando of sexual haiassment. This spring, he accused a professor of racism when she gave him an “F” in a course. When administrators backed the professor, See FERNANDO, Page 9 Parking problems create jam of potential solutions ■ University officials say UNC needs to encourage people to use mass transit. BY KENYA ELDRIDGE STAFF WRITER The University task force trying to solve campus parking problems has to consider as many options on how to change transit as there are universities. At a Tuesday meeting, members of the Transit and Parking Task Force talked about ideas ranging from adding more bike paths and encouraging car pooling to raising the price for parking permits to their market value about S6OO in Chapel Hill. “We’re trying to find out what have people done to try to improve parking,” committee member Rachel Willis said Wednesday. The idea to increase the cost of park ing permits was just a brainstorm. But at least one member of the committee said Police find armed robbery suspect in Fla. BY PHILLIP GARDNER STAFF WRITER The man who allegedly robbed a stu dent Union Station employee at knife point Oct. 20 was arrested in Orlando, Fla., on Friday. John Allen Campbell, 37, was arrest ed by the Orlando Police Department as a fugitive from justice from North Carolina, said a representative from the Orange County, Florida, jail. The charge is a third degree felony, and there is no bond. Several N.C. law enforcement depart ments have outstanding warrants for Campbell’s arrest, including the Carrboro Police Department and Orange and Wake County sheriff’s departments. Campbell would have to be trans- Candidates rppn turningXj ICCAI BY JON OSTENDORFF ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR With a projected doubling of the population of the Triangle in the next 20 years, some candidates said growth was by far the most important environmental issue of the election. Greg Gangi, political chairman of the Orange- Chatham Group of the Sierra Club, said this year could be pivotal for envi ronmental policy in Chapel Hill. Gangi said one of the most important environ mental issues of this elec- tion season would be managed development. The Sierra Gub along with other local environ mental groups recently released an environmental score card. The score card tracked council members’ votes on environmental and development issues. Joel Harper, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, said the score card was all pol- itics. “It has nothing to due with the environment.” Harper said development was very important for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. “Development is the The Daily Tar Heel asked students which five elections issues were most important to them. The DTH now presents a five-part series detailing the issues students chose. Issue 5: Taxes Issue 4: The environment Issue 3: Fducation Issue 2: Town-gown relations Issue 1: Crime University adding new buildings to give the students more opportunity,” he said. “It’s building new homes. It’s creating jobs. Without growth there are no pay rais es and no new money for schools.” Melva Okun, associate director of the environmen tal resource program at the School of Public Health, said the reputation of the Triangle as one of the best places to live in the nation would contribute to rapid growth. “When some people hear this, they hitch the trailer to the car and move here,” she said. Okun said that if the projected population growth UNC needs to find ways to discourage people from driving to campus. “I believe parking is one of this cam pus’s biggest problems,” said Emily Williams, student representative of the Transit and Parking Task Force. Williams, who did not express her view on raising permit prices, said increasing prices could have some advantages. “It would be an incentive for people to use mass transit, and it would serve to increase revenue for a parking fund, which could go toward more parking facilities,” Williams said. Carolyn Efland, associate vice chan cellor for Auxiliary Services, said permit prices at UNC are considerably lower than at other schools, which charge up to five times as much as UNC does. Efland said UNC needs to find a way to improve transportation on campus. UNC has grown over the years, and expansion projects like the McColl Building on South Campus push the See PARKING, Page 9 Psychiatry is the care of the id by the odd. Anonymous Thursday, October 30, 1997 Volume 105, Issue 100 ported to North Carolina for the charges to be exe cuted, an Orlando Police spokes woman said. Carolina Dining Services Director Scott Myers said he heard about Campbell’s arrest Wednesday morn ing. He said a University Police detective called the Union Station manager, who later told Myers. University Police officers say JOHN ALLEN CAMPBELL held a student employee of Union Station at knife-point. He said he was glad Campbell was arrested. was not managed, then it could turn Chapel Hill into one of the worst places to live. “It will put stress on our water treatment plant and landfill,” she said. “We have had high standards in the past. New explosive growth challenges these standards.” Harper said managed development was a good idea if the rules were upheld. “Make ELECTIONS the rules and regulations as tough as you want,” he said. “But once the rules are set, you need to permit A growth within the rules. This is not what (the council) has done.” Harper said once the rules were set the council could change and alter them. “As a property owner you have no assurance that the rules will be kept,” he said. Bill Strom, who helped to compile the score card, said growth was not J always eco- ( nomically ben- eficial. “Study after study has shown that growth is expensive,” he said. “Durham county has had retail development along (U.S.) 15-501 and the Research Triangle Park for years. They should be in their golden age. Instead, they have a higher tax rate and a larger debt.” Edith Wiggins said the score card was not a fair rep resentation of all the environmental issues. “It is just See ENVIRONMENT, Page 9 MM f dmm .. —' ')*f :*■■ ’ ,’" DTH/LAURA GIOVANHJJ Pumpkin seeds fly as sophomore Amy Pattishall begins work on her jack-o'-lantern. Kenan Residence Hall held a pumpkin-carving party Wednesday to inspire Halloween spirit. “Wow, was that quick,” Myers said. He said he was pleased with University Police’s work in investigating the rob bery. “Obviously, we don’t know all the details, but they were there right away and asked the right questions." He said he could relate to how the student Union Station employee felt about the robbery because he was also held up once as a college student while working at a gas station. “You hear stuff like that on TV every night, but when it happens to you or someone you know, it’s almost amaze ment,” he said. Myers said he would cooperate with the police in their attempt to close the case. “Whatever we can do to help the police, we want to do.” 1 regulations as u he nee the rrnit V, ||fis|l' / 41 up / / ft X. . Jorbi r vW / i™— Vaß GRAPHIC compile illustration BY CHRISTIAN ‘n- THE GREAT PUMPKIN MEETS HIS MATCH “You hear stuff like that on TV every night, but when it happens to you or someone you know, it’s almost amazement. ” SCOTT MEYERS Director, Carolina Dining Services Paul Reinecke, production and ser vice manager for Union Station, said although last week’s robbery hasn’t affected his job, safety procedures have been changed since the incident. “We’re more careful when we handle money,” he said. Like Myers, Reinecke said he was pleased with the police’s work. Officials question use of PACs in elections BY HUGH PRESSLEY STAFF WRITER The addition of a political action committee in Orange County has some town officials questioning the direction of local elections. Reaction was sparked by the Alliance for Neighborhoods becoming a PAC. The organization started 15 years ago as grass-roots public interest organization consisting solely of volunteers, said member Bill Strom. Strom said Alliance protected the neighborhoods, the environment and residents. But despite efforts, PACs in general have not gained the sup port of every town official. “The Chamber of ELKTKWS Commerce floated the idea of forming a PAC years ago, but there was strong public reaction against it and they chose not to do it,” Mayor Rosemary Waldorf said. “There’s really not a history of PACs in Chapel Hill.” In a town as small as Chapel Hill, big-time political activity by PACs could drastically change how die town handles politics and elections, said Pat Evans, Town Council member. “It’s sad to see our community move into the direction of forming PACs to support candidates, because that’s disrupting grass-roots public interest,” she said. Yvonne Southerland, chief deputy director of the State Board of Elections, said the alliance was the only PAC to register in Orange County this election season. A PAC is any person, commit tee, association or organization that pro motes any candidate or political party and attempts to influence an election, she said. Strom said he had not given money Newi/Featurei/Arti/Spartl: 962-0245 Burinew/Advertising 962-1162 Chapel Hill. North Cuobu C 1997 DTH Publishing Corp. Ail rights reserved. “I thought they did a good job,” he said. “We knew that if we didn’t get him right away, we wouldn’t get him at all.” Now that Union Station has been informed of Campbell’s arrest, the stu dent employee who was held up will come back to work Thursday, Reinecke said. The employee hasn’t worked since the robbery. Campbell allegedly broke into Union Station’s cash office Oct. 20 where the student employee was counting money for a deposit and had the safe open, reports state. She heard a knock on the door, but no one answered when she asked who was there, according to reports. The suspect then opened the door, pulled out a knife, and reached into the safe. He took a large bag of deposit money and a petty-cash bag. to Alliance, but according to Orange County Board of Elections documents he contributed $1,113. In a later inter view, Strom said he did not give, but rather loaned Alliance the money at a 6 percent interest rate. He said Alliance did not stand to profit from the contribution and that town officials were trying to deceive the public about how it received the money. “There was a 6 percent interest-bearing loan of SI,OOO given to the the alliance that will be paid back this fall.” Strom emphasized money was not the issue. “This is about morality and what the people of Chapel Hill deserve,” he said. “I contend that who ever is out complaining about us is try ing to deflect voters’ attention by not allowing them to see whether developers are bundling money.” According to a press release of Alliance, bundling allows one developer to deliver large sums of money to a can didate under the pretense that it has been given by individuals. Strom said developers would make millions of dol lars this year through political activities. “The alliance money is small pota toes in comparison,” he said. The alliance is not the only active PAC in the county, said Greg Gangi, member of the Orange-Chatham Group of the Sierra Club “We’ve been active for 15 years in the area,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure other environmen talists know who they’re supporting.” Gangi said other PACs, like the Orange County Greens, had also been active in Orange County. Despite the lack of support from some officials, Strom said the Alliance for Neighborhoods would continue to do its part for environmental and social issues. “Any corporation needs to have a political committee, and the Board of Elections recommended that we start a PAC. It was not our choice." INSIDE Attire for a night of frights With just 24 hours until the start of Halloween festivities. Diversions gives ideas for those last minute costumes. Page 5 Today's weather 'rtf' Mostly sunny; low 70s Friday: Mostly cloudy: mid 60s Get dates online The Daily Tar Heel is expanding its campus calendar capabilities through its City Search web page. Post campus events as far in advance as you want by e-mailing them to dth®unc.edu with the subject line 'campus cal endar.' Submission rules for the printed cam pus calendar remain the same.
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