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Serving the students and the University
comsnumty since 1593
Freshman Seminars to enhance climate
■ Forty faculty members
will be hired to implement
the new seminars.
BY MONICA DEV
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Next year’s incoming freshmen will
be the first to experience the University’s
first major step towards anew intellec
tual climate.
The Chancellor’s Task Force on
Intellectual Climate presented plans to
start the Freshman Seminars program at
Friday’s Faculty Council meeting. The
committee plans to begin the seminars
next January.
Students in groups of no more than
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DTH/ION GARDINER
A crowd of more than 300 people marched down Franklin Street from the post office to
the Hargraves Recreation Center, where people had a chance to speak their minds in
celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Activists rally to remember
legacy of civil rights leader
BY JON OSTENDORFF
CITY EDITOR
Even a blast of winter weather Monday
couldn’t keep some from living the dream.
Three hundred peo
ple rallied at the
Franklin Street post
office and marched to
the Hargraves
Martin Luther
King Jr. Week
kickoff banquet
See Page 2
Recreation Center in
honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Those who
spoke at the rally focused on the legacy King
Smart driving necessary
due to low temperatures
BY SHARIF DURHAMS
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Fluffy white flurries coated campus
Monday, causing more of a distraction
to students than problems on roads in
Chapel Hill.
Tlie precipitation, which switched
back and forth from rain to snow, left
two inches of mixture on roads.
Unlike the area’s last major snow
storm two years ago, ice did not pack
roads before snow fell, so precipitation
on major roads melted during the day.
But the National Weather Service
expected temperatures to drop into the
20s on Monday night, causing haz
ardous driving conditions for drivers hit
ting the road this morning.
“If it’s going to stay that cold, we’re
going to have some icing problems,”
said Sgt. Brian Curran of the Chapel
Hill Police Department.
University Police Lt. C.E. Swain sug
gested drivers take care on bridges,
which freeze more quickly than road
ways. He also suggested that drivers
watch for patches of ice. “The water,
when it freezes over, you can see it,"
Swain said.
Police said they were lucky that busi
ness and school closings for the Martin
20 will work intimately with professors
on research projects, Provost Richard
Richardson said.
“The experience of a freshman work
ing (with faculty) will be very exciting,”
he said.
Student Body President Mo Nathan,
who serves on the task force, said the
seminar program would enhance the
freshman experience.
“We may be a large research institu
tion ... but we intend to treat our stu
dents with the same care as a small lib
eral arts college,” he said.
The task force was formed at the
beginning of the school year to find
ways to encourage students to have
more intellectual conversations both in
and out of the classroom.
Much of the task force’s agenda con-
left behind.
Leo Wafford of the UNC Groundskeepers
Association told the crowd that the
groundskeepers, much like King, were also
struggling for civil rights. “We, too, are fighting
racism,” he said. “We must stamp out racism.
It’s like an alcoholic denying his own disease.
Each person must admit his own racism to
overcome it.”
Last week 19 groundskeepers told a
University committee that institutional racism
See MLK DAY, Page 2
“ Traffic has been a lot clearer
than it would normally be for
a Monday. We’ve had fewer
accidents than if it had been
clear (on a non-holiday).”
SGT, BRIAN CURRAN
Chapel Hill Police Department
Luther King Jr. holiday kept a lot of
motorists off the road and likely pre
vented accidents.
“Traffic has been a lot clearer than it
would normally be for a Monday,”
Curran said. “We’ve had fewer acci
dents than if it would have been clear
(on a non-holiday).”
The sole accident on campus sent
three people to UNC Hospitals and one
to Student Health Service.
Witnesses reported that a vehicle
leaving the parking lot at Morrison
Residence Hall ran into a vehicle travel
ling the speed limit on Manning Drive,
Swain said.
A 7-year-old involved in the accident
seemed fine after an examination by
doctors, and everyone involved in the
accident seemed in decent condition, he
Real unselfishness consists in sharing the interests of others.
George Santayana
Tuesday, January 20,1998
Volume 105, Issue 135
centrated on
enhancing the
freshman experi
ence.
To offer semi
nars in conjunc
tion with regular
courses, the
University will
hire 10 new facul
ty members every
year for the next
four years.
Any depart
ment that offers
seminars will
receive new facul
ty to fulfill teach
ing spots for cours
es, Nathan said.
Chancellor
MICHAEL HOOKER
said the new
seminar would
aid freshman
retention at the
University.
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DTH/ION GARDINER
Step Edwards keeps hold of his children. Crews and Ashley, while chanting along with the
crowd gathered on the steps of the Franklin Street post office.
itffe Safe driving in the ICE and MOW
and ice create hazardous conditions on North Carolina's roadways. Specific driving techniques should
be employed during these conditions. The following tips are taken from North Carolina's driving license manual:
If you decide to brake on ice or other slippery
surfaces, apply the brakes gently, increasing
the pressure as you feel the tires grip the road.
Do not brake to the point that the wheels lock.
If the wheels should lock, ease slightly off the
Bm completely.
n without
y. Then
seoff
ocess.
Pump the brakes to avoid locking
SOURCE: N.C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
said.
A small number of accidents were
reported off campus as well. Chapel Hill
police only had one accident reported
on Monday afternoon.
“Earlier, when it was snowing pretty
hard I was a little concerned,” Curran
said.
More accidents occurred on county
Dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences Risa Palm said the seminar
program should assist tremendously
with the University’s advising program.
The University advising system has
come tinder fire recently after being
ranked last among UNC-system schools
by UNC-Chapel Hill students. Part of
the problem with the University’s advis
ing program lay in students not feeling
connected to University faculty mem
bers, Palm said.
She said the seminar program would
provide freshmen with the opportunity
to choose a mentor in their field of inter
est.
“Students want to be known by a fac
ulty member,” she said.
Chancellor Michael Hooker said the
seminar and mentoring opportunities
Driving on a slippery surface can throw
your vehicle into a skid. When this occurs,
there are several actions to take:
■ Do not press on the brake any further.
• Turn the wheel quickly in the direction
of the skid.
■ As the car begins to straighten out, turn
the wheel quickly back the other way so
your vehicle doesn't wind up skidding : n
the opposite direction.
Direction of skid
1. Turn wheel left 2. Straighten wheel
roads. Highway patrolmen found
between 15 and 20 fender benders in
Orange County, said Sgt. M R. Strader
of the N.C. Highway Patrol.
“We haven’t had anybody seriously
injured or any fatalities, but we have had
numerous accidents,” he said.
Area residents were also spared
power outages that plagued other parts
should assist in freshman retention.
But he said it would not be easy to
study that improvement since the
University already has a high freshman
retention rate.
While new faculty probably will not
be teaching the seminars, no decisions
have been made as to whether they will
be taught solely by tenured faculty, Palm
said.
“We welcome participation from
members of graduate and professional
schools," she said.
Palm also said no one had decided if
non-freshman undergraduates would be
allowed to enroll in seminars or if fresh
men would be required to take them.
“We wanted to implement the pro
gram first, structural issues will be token
up early.”
SR*MrS
Here are some other suggestions
for safe winter driving:
■ Before you start driving, clear
snow or ice from all windows and
lights so you can see and be seen
by others.
■ Equip your car with snow tires
or chains to help prevent skidding
and reduce stopping distances.
• Drive gently: do not change
speed or direction suddenly.
• Slow down before stopping or
turning. Driving on packed snow is
like driving on ice.
• Watch for ice on bridges and in
shady areas. Bridge surfaces freeze
before other road surfaces.
DTH/JAJIZARNEGAR, ANDRES FERNANDEZ AND CHANIAE PUNDSACK
of the state. About 6,000 Raleigh resi
dents lost power due to the storm, but
Durham and Chapel Hill residents did
not experience any such damage.
“We have some outages, none with a
significant amount of customers affect
ed,” said Duke Power Company spokes
woman Sherri Graham. “None of them
really due to the weather.”
News/Framra/Am/Spara: 9620245
Buiinesj/AdvCTtmni: *62-1163
ChipdHiU, North C*tofm
C 1998 DTH Publishing Corp.
All lights reserved.
Council fills
vacant spot
with Bateman
■ The council appointed
Flicka Bateman after many
attempts to fill the seat.
BY NICOLE WHITE
STAFF WRITER
Following five ballots, two meetings
and a great deal of compromise, the
Chapel Hill Town Council unanimous
ly selected an applicant to fill the coun
cil vacancy at their retreat Saturday.
Flicka Bateman was the council’s
unanimous choice after five votes, two
of which were cast at the Jan. 12 coun
cil meeting. Bateman received only one
vote in each round of voting during this
meeting.
In the retreat’s
first ballot, Mayor
Rosemary
Waldorf and
council member
Joe Capowski
voted for
Bateman. Council
members Julie
Andresen, Joyce
Brown and Kevin
Foy voted for
Dianne Bachman.
Council members
Pat Evans, Lee
Pavao and Edith
Wiggins voted for
Jim Ward.
Council member
PAT EVANS
said the final decision
to fill the seat witii
Bateman was the
result of a great deal
of compromise.
In the second ballot, Capowski,
Evans, Waldorf and Wiggins voted for
Bateman. Andresen, Brown and Foy
voted for Bachman. Pavao voted for
Ward.
Bateman garnered all eight votes in
the final ballot. “The overriding concern
was having someone that everyone on
the council could work with,” Foy said.
“What we ended up with was someone
who everyone could support.”
Capowski, who consistently voted
for Bateman, said she would make a
superb council member.
“I’ve known her for years,”
Capowski said. “She’s very smart, hard
working, open-minded and fair.”
Waldorf held a similar opinion of
Bateman. “She has a well-deserved rep
utation as a reasonable person who
approaches problems rationally and
cares about people.”
Council member Pat Evans said the
final selection was a result of a great
deal of compromise. “I think everybody
compromised except for Joe
Capowski,” she said.
Although Evans did not cast her first
three ballots for Bateman, she said she
thought the council had made a good
choice.
See COUNCIL, Page 2
INSIDE
Drinking too young
Anew survey reveals the younger
teenagers begin drinking, the more
inclined they are to become depen
dent on alcohol at some point in their
lives. Officials hope the results will
prompt parents to monitor the drink
ing habits of their children. Page 5
Long road home, for some
Out-of-state
students face
several
differences
attending UNC.
How did they deal with leaving home
for college? Page 11
Today's weather
Sunny;
mid 40s
Wednesday Partly Cloudy;
low 50s