Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 3, 1998, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 Tuesday, February 3,1998 Groundskeepers plan response for Hooker ■ UNC groundskeepers had 13 of 17 grievances rejected by the chancellor. BY CHRIS HOSTETLER STAFF WRITER Seventeen UNC groundskeepers will meet this week with their attorney to discuss how to proceed with their griev ances against the University after Chancellor Michael Hooker rejected 13 of them at the Step HI level. The grievances were filed this sum mer when black groundskeepers began to complain of a “glass ceiling” that favored whites in promotion decisions. Leo Watford, a member of the steer ing committee in charge of the groundskeepers fil ing grievances, said he wanted more from the University. “Right now we’re going to sit and analyze and see where we stand before we make any moves. We’ll either move forward or back ward. We won’t stand still,” Watford said. Hooker recom- I Chancellor MICHAEL HOOKER said 13 grievances were denied because of late filing and job terminations. mended in a statement that the griev ances of 13 of 17 black groundskeepers be denied because each was either filed later than policy required or the groundskeepers had terminated their jobs with the University’s Grounds Division. Old Levi’s j m Buy ANY jansport Backpack and W m wfak. Get A FREE Jansport TShirt and Water Botde While Supplies Last “We’re going to sit and analyze ... before we make any moves. We'll either move forward or backward. We won't stand still.” LEO WATFORD Groundskeeper The other four complainants’ cases are still being investigated on the University level. Hooker also said the grievants’ working environment was “threatening and not conducive to opti mal work performance." The “most simple issue before this panel was a question of timely filing,” Hooker stated. This refers to the fact that the Counseling Service requires complaints to be filed within 30 days of the alleged incident. The groundskeep ers filed complaints after the deadline. In response to Hooker’s statement that the time of the filing decided the issue, Chapel Hill attorney Alan McSurely, who represents the groundskeepers, said, “Courts have ruled that when African-Americans rea sonably perceive that it would be futile and dangerous to complain about racist practices. Chancellor Hooker’s logic does not apply.” McSurely challenged Hooker, the University, the courts and society to “look at ftie racist system directly.” He said his clients might appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings, a system that hears lawsuits against the state. Hooker said Monday he agreed with McSurely’s concerns. “What I hope is that we have eliminated any structural instances of racism.” Aldermen to decide next move with franchise fees ■ Some officials feel the town should be reimbursed by Time Warner Cable. BYSEJALVORA STAFF WRITER The Carrboro Board of Aldermen is still concerned with Time Warner Cable, but instead of talking about high rates at their Tuesday night meeting, the discus sion will focus on franchise fees. A franchise fee is a specifically allo cated amount of money taken from cus tomers’ payments. After wanting to raise its Basic Service Tier rate in Carrboro, Time Warner has now come under fire for not paying full franchise fees back to the town. This has caused some officials to want the town to be reimbursed. “(Time Warner) had not been charg ing the appropriate franchise fee,” Town Manager Bob Morgan said. “Time Warner said they would not UNC-system schools implement substance-free living BY TRISHA LDABB ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR UNC-Chapel Hill’s recent decision to more than double the number of sub stance-free residence halls follows a What's up with T> the UNC system? trend throughout the UNC system. N. C. State University was unable to accom modate freshman requests for the campus’ alcohol- and smoke-free residence halls due to the number of returning residents, said Susan Grant, associate director of hous ing at NCSU. Tuesday 3:15 p.m. University Career Counseling in Nash Hall will conduct a career clinic to help students develop a plan of action for selecting a major or career. 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Cross Cultural Communications Institute of the Sopja H. Stone Black Cultural Center will sponsor a dialogue workshop series for black and white NEWS go back ... and pay us for the last couple of years." Morgan said the franchise fee was normally paid on 5 percent of gross receipts, which includes money collected for franchise fees. Carrboro Town Manager 808 MORGAN said Time Warner Cable had not been charging the correct franchise fees. He said this case was raised because of a decision in the sth Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated that a cable operator must pay franchise fees based on all the cable operator’s rev enues. “Time Warner has not been including franchise fees as part of the gross receipts they collect,” he said. According to the analysis of the town manager’s office, this practice by Time Warner has been continuing since either 1993, when rate regulations were re- “We are expanding the number of both types (of residence halls) according to demand,” Grant said. “We now have three alcohol-free residence halls and four buildings that are smoke free.” Grant said enforcement of the policy comes mostly from students, who often confront violators of the rules. In addi tion, resident advisors deal with prob lems that may arise, and if necessary, direct them to the judicial board. “If it needs to become a judicial mat ter it will,” said Grant. “But we only had two incidents last school year and have not had any this year.” Six of the 16 North Carolina institu tions currently provide some form of policy for a substance-free environment, women to come together and discuss Issues. Dialogues will continue tonight in the BCC, and will continue on Tuesdays for at least three weeks. 7 p.m. The Young Republicans will meet in Union 208. Leo Daughtry, majority leader of the N.C. House of Representatives, will be the featured speaker. 8 p.m. The Nike Awareness Campaign will present Jeff Ballinger, America’s fore- instituted, or when Time Warner took over cable operations in 1996. Morgan said Time Warner made a proposal to start charging customers and collecting full franchise fees beginning Feb. 1. But he said the average subscriber was probably not even aware of the problem with franchise fees. “The administration is recommend ing to the board to accept Time Warner’s proposal,” he said. “The board will have to decide what action the administration should take. It could either take legal action or action through the (Federal Communications Commission).” But Morgan said whatever the town gained in franchise fees would not cover legal expenses if the dispute was taken to court. He also said the board could only get reimbursed for two years since Time Warner took over operations in 1996. Alderman Hank Anderson said the dispute was not over yet. “I think (Time Warner) is going to be coming back with a response,” and at some schools the demand con tinues to increase. “We started out the first year with one floor, 42 students,” said Brad Reid, director of housing at Appalachian State University. “We had so much success, we actually doubled the next year. “We now have two floors of sub stance-free housing that has been in effect for two years, and I’d like to expand again.” The floors, which house both males and females, promote a healthy lifestyle. ASU expects positive things out of the program, said Reid. Similar to the Chancellor’s Task Force suggestion, the 84 ASU students living on the floors are required to attend Campus calendar most expert on Nike’s overseas labor prac tices, speaking in 204 Dey Hall. Ballinger, a former program advisor to the AFL-CIO in Indonesia and the founder and director of Press for Change, a consumer advocacy group, has been a leading critic of Nike’s exploitation of overseas factory workers. In his presentation, Ballinger will address the implications of UNC’s $7.1 million athletic contract with Nike. ®ljr Satly (Ear Hrrl “1 suspect some of the top Time Warner people will be present (at the meeting) too. But I just don't know how this is going to fall all out." HILLIARD CALDWELL Carrboro alderman Anderson said. He said the board was going along with a recommendation made by Bob Sepe, a consultant studying cable rates for the board. “But I don’t know what is going to happen.” Alderman Hilliard Caldwell said he did not know what would happen next, but thought the board had not heard the last from Time Warner. “I suspect some of the top Time Warner people will be present (at the meeting) too,” Caldwell said. “But I just don’t know how this is going to fall all out.” a certain number of programs related to substance-free living. The success of substance-free pro grams, however, is not guaranteed. East Carolina University attempted to intro duce a “Healthy Living” floor two years ago at the request of Recreation Services. Only two students showed interest in the program. The experience taught Department of Housing Director Manny Amaro that implementation must come from the administration to be taken seriously, but said his department still takes student initiatives into account. “We don’t have any programs cur rently, but are considering them,” Amaro said. Hems of Interest Applications for UNITAS, a living/leam ing program in Carmichael Residence Hall will be available Wednesday at the Student Union front desk. Applications are due by Feb. 18. The program teaches residents about multiculturalism through experience. Residents also receive three hours of elective credit per semester.
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