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Saving the students and the University
community since 1893
Candidates
enjoy support
from locals
■ Residents have donated
thousands of dollars to
U.S. Senate campaigns.
BYTONYMECIA
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR
Although the election is still a week
and a half away, some local residents
have already voted —with their check
books.
The two leading Democrats who
square off in the May 5 U.S. Senate pri-
mary, D.G.
Martin and John
Edwards, have
raised tens of
thousands of dol
lars from Chapel
Hill supporters,
campaign finan
cial records filed
last week show.
From the start
of the campaign
until March 31,
Martin raised
$26,550 in large
donations from
Chapel Hill
sources, and
Professor
THAO BEYLE
said he was surprised
at the amount of
money John Edwards
had been able to raise
in the area.
Students, teachers praise area
charter schools for innovation
BY MATT LECLERCQ
AND ANGELA LEA
STAFF WRITERS
Sitting on the hall floor outside their
classroom, two fourth-graders seemed to
answer the question that officials across
the state are asking.
Do charter schools really work?
These children are among the first
students in the state to experience this
new and controversial alternative to
public education.
“You learn so much more here than
in other schools,” said Michael Heath, a
9-year-old student at Village Charter
School in Chapel
Hill. “You learn
about eight times
more.”
Both Heath
and 9-year-old
Erin Moore
immediately
agreed the work
was harder at the
charter school
A three-part series
examining issues
pertinent to
Chapel Hill-Carrboro
City Schools.
than at the traditional schools they had
attended last year.
But they said they loved their work,
including story writing, field trips, kite
building and higher-grade math.
“Everybody knows each other,”
Moore said. “At my old school, the
other grades didn’t have real contact
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DTH FILE PHOTO
Last fall, some UNC students cheered on Franklin Street in front of the Chi Omega sorority house
as part of Bid Day, when sororities announce their future sisters.
M In the
Green
D.G. Martin has received about twice as many big contributions
from Chapel Hill-area people as has his opponent in the May 5 primary,
John Edwards. Some notable contributors from both sides:
D. G. Martin
Donor Association Amount given
Robert A. Bashford UNC medical professor SI,OOO
Jack Behrman Retired UNC business professor SSOO
William B. Blythe UNC medical professor SI,OOO
May Martin Bryan UNC law student SI,OOO
Walter W. Bums UNC medical education office $250
Camilla Crampton UNC Hospitals technician $250
H. Shelton Earp 111 UNC medical professor SSOO
Donald Hayman UNC professor emeritus SSOO
Gail Henderson UNC medical professor SSOO
Jeffery A. Lieberman UNC medical professor SSOO
Charles T. Ludington UNC English professor SSOO
William 0. McCoy UNC-system vice president SI,OOO
C.D Spangler Former UNC-system president SI,OOO
Laura Svetkey UNC professor SSOO
B.R. Wilcox UNC medical professor SSOO
SOURCE: FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION
Edwards took in $15,300.
Edwards, who’s loaned his campaign
$1.5 million so far in 1998, outspent
Martin almost 10-to-l in the same peri
od.
Federal law requires campaigns to
disclose the names, addresses and occu
pations of all individuals who contribute
more than S2OO.
Smaller contributions are not item
ized.
The law forbids individuals from con
tributing more than SI,OOO per election.
Edwards is a trial lawyer who lives in
Raleigh. This is his first campaign for
political office, but he has emerged as a
with my grade.”
Principal Nancy Adams said smaller
class size was only one advantage of
charter schools.
“This is a whole new outlook on edu
cation,” Adams said. Her school is one
of three charter schools in Orange
County that is nearing the end of its first
year.
“It’s a school that is organized with
parents so that there’s total parental
involvement in all aspects of the estab
lishment and running the school.”
The N.C. General Assembly passed
legislation last year that allowed any pri
vate, nonprofit board of directors to
apply for a charter to open a public
school, said education consultant
Richard Clontz of the N.C. Department
of Public Instruction.
Charter schools offer parents an alter
native to regular schools while keeping
their children in the public sector, he
said.
This year, 34 charter schools across
the state had fewer than 5,000 students.
Enrollment has already doubled for next
fall with an additional 29 charter
schools, he said.
The group Financial Reform for
Excellence in Education received the
charters to open the Orange County
Charter School in Hillsborough and
Village Charter School.
School in the Community in
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
John Dewey
Friday, April 24,1998
Volume 106, Inue 39
mm John Edwards
D° nor Association Amount given
Steven A Bemhofe Bemhob Law Finn SI,OOO
Kenneth S. Broun UNC law professor S3OO
Celia Harnett UNC graduate student SI,OOO
J. Kirk Osborn Attorney SI,OOO
Linda Parry (unknown) SI,OOO
Roger Perry East West Partners SI,OOO
Stephen Schewel owner. The Independent SI,OOO
Ronald Strom The Ron Strom Company SI,OOO
DTH /IAKF. ZARNF/UR
front-runner by getting his message out
in numerous television ads. Edwards
graduated from the UNC School of
Law in 1977.
Martin, who lives in Chapel Hill, is a
former vice president and lobbyist for
the UNC system.
He ran unsuccessfully for U.S.
Congress in 1984 and 1986.
Edwards, Martin as well as five other
Democrats hope to win the May 5 pri
mary' and have a shot at Republican
incumbent Lauch Faircloth in
November.
A look at the Federal Elections
Commission records reads like a Who’s
Carrboro was established by Fred Good
of the Association of Quality Schools.
While any group can apply for a char
ter, academic and financial guidelines
must be met during the year to keep the
school open, Clontz said.
“They are the most scrutinized group
of schools in the state,” he said.
“Everyone has a magnifying glass over
them to see what they are doing.”
In fact, Clontz called the program a
test that could drastically alter how reg
ular schools are managed.
New and better concepts in teaching
that are developed in charter schools
could be implemented in all schools
some day, he said.
“It’s an experiment in education that
could have a tremendous impact on edu
cation in the years down the road,” he
said.
Polly Barrick said her two children
were thriving after she moved them from
New Hope Elementary School to
Orange County Charter School.
“For me, academics was the most
important thing,” she said. “From my
experience, the focus in public schools
was not on academics.
“(The charter school) is a smaller
school, and there’s more individual
attention,” she said.
School in the Community lead
teacher Amanda Hughes said her school
also promoted more personal classroom
Tradition plays role in differences
between fraternity, sorority rush
■ Women must visit each sorority,
while men may pick and choose
which fraternities they want to see.
BY PAUL HOBSON
STAFF WRITER
High school seniors planning on going Greek
this fall had better brush up on rush rules because
the road to accepting a bid is long and winding.
The University’s 11 Panhellenic Council soror
ities must weave through a series of rules and reg
ulations, while the 22 Interfraternity Council fra
ternities operate under a looser system.
“Rush in its purest form is two people talking to
each other, and (UNC sororities are) trying to get
back to that,” Director of Greek Affairs Ron
Binder said.
Sorority rush is divided into several stages that
involve one-on-one talking, skits and food.
It begins with “open house,” when rushees
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Who of Chapel Hill heavyweights.
Edwards’ big supporters include for
mer Chapel Hill mayor Kenneth S.
Broun.
Meadowmont developer Roger Perry
and Stephen Schewel, the owner of The
Independent are also on record as con
tributing to Edwards’ campaign.
Of Edwards’ 17 contributors with
Chapel Hill connections, nine are
lawyers.
“John Edwards is pleased with the
level of support that he has found in
Chapel Hill and around the state,” said
See CONTRIBUTIONS, Page 6
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DTH/ANDRIA CHENG
Amanda Hughes, left, head teacher for the School in the Community in Carrboro, speaks with students in an
advisory meeting Thursday. The charter school was started last fall and has about 85 students in grades 6-12.
interaction.
“The most important thing is that
kids get into a relationship with the
teacher and not see them as the enemy,
but the advocate,” she said.
Parents like Barrick who volunteer at
their children’s charter schools help
staffs that are almost always short-hand
ed. “This is a parental movement,”
Jordan said of volunteers at Village
Charter.
Pointing to the furniture and supplies
in her classroom, she said almost every
thing had been bought, donated or made
by parents. “I even have a mother that
spend 25 minutes at each sorority, visiting every
house by the end of the night, Binder said.
Sororities then decide whom to invite back for
the second round, called the “food round.”
Rushees can visit up to eight sororities during this
stage.
Rushees and sororities then whittle their lists
down to three choices and rank those choices when
they meet again on “pref night.”
A computer program matches candidates with
chapters, trying to give each her first choice, Binder
said. Eighty to 90 percent (of rushees) get their first
choice and 75 percent pledge, he said.
But some say the rigid schedule requiring
rushees to spend an equal amount of time at each
house and restricting social contact might be inrim,
idating. “It’s a pretty time-consuming process,
especially if you’re a freshman not knowing where
everything is,” said freshman Helen Holmberg.
“After the first day, I had no idea which (sororities)
to choose. They all ran together.”
See RUSH, Page 6
W. Michigan might
pick Floyd for post
BY ANDREW MEEHAN
STAFF WROER
The Board of Trustees of Western
Michigan University will likely decide
today if its next president will be UNC’s
Executive Vice Chancellor Elson Floyd.
The board interviewed Floyd for the
job Tuesday. He is among five finalists
for the post. Floyd could not be reached
for comment
Thursday.
Richard St.
John, a board
member, said
Floyd was a very
strong candidate.
He said Floyd
arrived a day early
to talk to the
mayor of
Kalamazoo, the
town where
WMU is located,
and attended
classes at WMU,
St. John said.
“Many of us
were very
(%
8
Executive Vice
Chancellor
ELSON FLOYD
is one of five finalists
for the presidency of
Western Michigan
University.
impressed with his initiative,” he said.
“(Floyd) shows a real interest in
Western Michigan University and the
area (around the campus).’’
Board member Richard Chormann
said Floyd’s experience with outreach
comes in once a week and cleans the
room and organizes my desk.”
Margaret Mitchell, whose son is a
fifth-grader at Village Charter School,
said she volunteered eight hours a week.
“Because it’s a grass-roots effort, you
have parents who are highly involved
and much more intimate,” Mitchell said.
Parents and teachers also have more
power in charter schools to shape what
is taught. However, the schools must
adhere to the standard course of study,
Clontz said.
Orange County Charter School
Principal Bill Estes said that with the dif
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C 1998 DTH Pubtishinf Corp.
All rights reserved.
programs and at a research institution
were strong qualities.
WMU is not the first university to
consider Floyd for a high post. He was
one of two finalists earlier this year for
the presidency of the University of
Kentucky’s board of higher education.
Floyd removed himself from consid
eration from that post, saying he wanted
to finish working on the Carolina
Computing Initiative, which will require
freshmen to own computers in 2000.
“(Chancellor Michael Hooker) and I
have a full agenda,” Floyd said on April
5. “Right now, I don’t know of a situa
tion that’s going to present itself that
would cause me to leave the University.”
But an article in The Kalamazoo
Gazette in Michigan quoted Floyd as
telling WMU’s board Tuesday that he
was ready to move on from UNC.
“I really do feel that I’ve fulfilled my
duties and responsibilities (at UNC),
and it is time to move on and do other
things,” Floyd said in the article.
Hooker said he was not surprised by
Floyd’s interview at WMU despite his
rejection of Kentucky’s offer. “I knew
that (the board) was looking at him,” he
said. “Elson is certainly ready.”
Along with Provost Richard
Richardson, Floyd is Hooker’s second in
command. Richardson handles the aca
demic affairs, and Floyd handles every
thing else.
ferent curriculum he expected his stu
dents’ end-of-year test scores to be at or
above the county average.
“Give us three or four more years,
after we move into a large building and
get more stabilized, and you’ll really see
a difference,” he said.
The unconventional approach of
charter schools has stirred controversy
in the county, but no school has faced as
much criticism as the School in the
Community, said Good, the school’s
founder.
See CHARTER, Page 6
s f. n fife, fin
ilwwl Friday
Light my fire
While smoking among the general
population decreased, an increasing
number of students continued to light
up on college campuses across the
nation. Page 4
♦
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