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SBP Candidates Say Partisan Ties Avoided
Student Body President
Candidate Nic Heinke says
endorsements can make
elections more partisan.
By Angela Mers
Staff Writer
Although the two remaining student
body president candidates said they did
not represent political parties, this year’s
endorsements from student groups have
given the election a partisan flavor.
Expansion
Could Cost
Hefty Sum
Updated and expanded
research space are pressing
needs say officials who back
SSOO million in changes.
By Brian Bedsworth
Staff Writer
Needs for the future of the College of
Arts and Sciences include at least eight
new buildings and renovations to old
ones at a cost of SSOO million,
University officials said.
And although plans are in the works,
the University does not have funding
for them.
Chairman of Faculty Pete Andrews
cited poor conditions of many campus
buildings, a lack of space and the
expected enrollment increase as reasons
for new building proposals.
“Venable Hall is an ancient place to
teach modem science,” he said, describ
ing a building notorious for its 'winding,
narrow hallways and aged auditorium
and classrooms.
Andrews said consultants who stud
ied the UNC system’s needs during the
past year found a 900,000 square-foot
space deficit at UNC-Chapel Hill, most
ly in research space.
He also said the expected 6,000 stu
dent increase by 2008 made the need
for space more urgent. The increase was
called for by Chancellor Michael
Hooker’s Enrollment Task Force.
Dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences Risa Palm said the proposals
also stemmed from UNC’s need to stay
competitive with peer universities.
“We’re looking at future trends in sci
ences, the arts and social sciences,”
Palm said.
She said money for the buildings
would probably come from several
sources including bonds, private gifts,
tuition revenue and state funding.
Chairman of Communication
Studies William Balthrop said the
College of Arts and Sciences would
work with the University’s Master Plan,
which is the blueprint for campus
growth, to suggest locations of new
buildings. “Lord only knows (where the
buildings will be),” he said.
Palm said the earliest start date for
the construction would be in 2000.
According to “Carolina in the 21st
Century” -a report by Thomas Meyer,
vice provost for Research and Graduate
Studies - the project would probably
take five years to complete. “There will
be a re-invigoration of the historic cam
pus and new construction for interdisci
plinary' programs,” the report stated.
A proposed structure, the
Interdisciplinary Physical Sciences and
Information Technology Building,
would house the Department of
Chemistry, the Curriculum in Applied
Sciences and Materials Science.
Construction of the building would cost
S6O million, the report states.
The SBO million Genomic Sciences
See EXPANSION, Page 7
Bisexuals, Gay
men, Lesbians and
Allies for Diversity
and the Black
Student
Movement, both
progressive groups,
endorsed candidate Nic Heinke while
the conservative Carolina Review
endorsed candidate Brad Morrison.
Heinke said elections were now more
about political ideologies than' in the
past but only because of the nature of
endorsements.
“The race of myself versus Brad is not
Past Races Feature
Prank Platforms
A canine candidate and "El
Libre" played roles in
strange student campaigns
during the past 30 years.
By Ben Brazil
Staff Writer
Candidates for student body presi
dent would never disgrace the office
by proposing absurdities like building
a weatherproof dome over campus,
bringing Marxist revolution to Suite C
or nominating a dog for vice president.
Well, not this
year anyway.
But during the
last 30 years,
some candidates
for student body
president have
used their campaigns as campus-sized
stages to entertain the electorate.
“The time has come to kick the ass
of the ruling class and return the gov
ernment to the people,” said a student
TAR HEEL TACKLE
..—^^^^^^
DTH /CASEY QUILLEN
Fletcher O'Neil tackles his big brother Conor during a friendly game of
football in McCorkle Place. They were enjoying the weather with their
dad, Glenn O'Neil, and Chris Smith, a visitor from Maine.
When things come to the worst, they generally mend.
Susanna Moodie
Tuesday, February 16,1999
Volume 106, Issue 162
necessarily having liberalism versus con
servatism,” he said. “But, when you
throw the endorsements in, it gives (the
election) more of a liberal versus con
servative slant.”
Heinke said some issues on his plat
form could be considered liberal, such
as his support of affirmative action.
But Morrison said student politics
were non-partisan and students must not
categorize the candidates into political
parties. He said he concentrated on stu
dents and not on any political aspects.
“I tried to come up with a platform
that unifies the students and lets student
calling himself “El Libre” - Spanish
for “The Free One” - when he
announced his candidacy in 1974.
He said the greatest problem facing
UNC was “the enslavement of the stu
dent proletariat by the whips and
chains of the fascist bourgeoisie admin
istration.” 1 ,
El Libre’s answer? Revolution.
Sporting a beret and toting an Uzi
in his 1974 photo in The Daily Tar
Heel, El Libre pledged to nationalize
Student Stores, throw weekly tequila
parties in the Pit, promote streaking
and raise the minimum grade from “P
to “B.”
The revolution, however, would
face opposition. One day after Ell Libre
announced his candidacy, a student
hidden behind a black mask adorned
with a giant white question mark
entered the race. “The Mystery
Politico” immediately lashed out at
other candidates.
“The only thing El Libre has in
common with Marx is that he looks
like Harpo,” the Mystery Politico said
in a 1974 interview.
... in these locations:
■ Student Union 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
■ Chase Hall 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
government truly involve the students.”
Morrison said he did not know how
influential the endorsements would be.
“In the end, the (endorsements) obvi
ously help, but I do think they are just
one factor (in deciding the winner).”
Associate Publisher of the Carolina
Review Scott Rubush said the endorse
ments of the student body president can
didates did not necessarily reflect the
candidates’ political ideologies.
“Brad was endorsed by The Daily Tar
Heel -a moderately liberal publication,
Blue Ink -a middle of the road publi
cation, and the Carolina Review -a
° mt ISh^sSl
t '%XO,
DTH nil PHOTO
In 1983, a joke candidate named Hugh G. Reckshun (right) made it
to the runoff election before being defeated by Kevin Monroe.
The Mystery Politico also promised
to reveal his identity only if elected,
when he would also retire his mask in
a ceremony in Carmichael
Auditorium. It never happened.
Instead, it was El Libre who broke
out of the seven-candidate field and
qualified for the runoff against “real”
candidate Marcus Williams. But before
the final votes were cast, El Libre,
whose real name was Bill Schooley,
withdrew from the election.
The revolution went with him, and
N.C. Officials Brace
For Y2K Meltdown
The director of the state's
Y2K project office says
North Carolina should be
95 percent ready by June.
By Courtney Hathaway
Staff Writer
With the end of the millennium
rapidly approaching and bringing with
it the potential for major problems with
computer networks, officials say the
state and the UNC system are on their
way to bypassing any potential prob
lems.
North
Carolina
should be 95
percent ready
by June to
County, School
Officials Discuss
Y2K Preparations
See Page 2
combat any
malfunctions caused when the clock
strikes midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, said
Debra Jones, director of N.C.’s Y2K
project office.
“I feel confident that we’ll have our
application systems ready in time,”
Jones said. “We’ve prioritized the ones
that will have the largest impact”
Jones said state agencies were focus
ing on four different areas, comprising
application systems, hardware readi
ness, facilities and supplies.
She said one of the institutions it has
investigated ,was UNC Hospitals. She
said out of the 178,000 pieces of medical
equipment tested, only 168 were not
prepared for the Y2K bug.
■ Granville Towers 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
■ Hanes Art Center 9 a.m. -3 p.m.
■ Law School 10 a.m. -3 p.m.
conservative publication,” he said.
But B-GLAD member Kurt Davies,
from Whispering Pines, said the candi
dates’ political views were a factor in B
GLAD’s endorsement.
“It is inevitable because our issues
concerning gay rights are interpreted as
leftist issues,” he said. “It is rare that a
right-wing politician would support our
rights.”
John Sanders, retired professor of the
Institute of Government and former stu
dent body president from 1950-51, said
See ELECTIONS, Page 7
the Mystery Politico never got to retire
his mask. Even 25'years after his
defeat, the Mystery Politico's identity
remains a secret, said a member of his
campaign team Thursday. “We’ve
made a promise that we’d take the
answer to our grave,” said Geoff Hulse,
now a 43-year-old Goldsboro lawyer.
“I’ll tell you this: due to the fact that
the Mystery Politico wore a cape and a
mask, there might have been more
See JOKE, Page 7
She said there should not be a dis
ruption to governmental services.
“Our biggest concern is making sure
that there are no shortages of parts that
are needed,” she said. “We’re doing a
strong outreach to make sure we bring
everyone up to Y2K readiness. It’s a big
problem, but manageable.”
UNC has taken several Y2K initia
tives, which include work on adminis
trative data, UNC Hospitals, physical
plants and academic issues, said Jeanne
Smythe, UNC Academic Technology &
Networks computing policy director.
But the initiatives’ main focus at this
point is to establish where problems
might arise.
Smythe said many areas on UNC’s
campus would be affected by Y2K,
including the majority of the individual
departments and schools.
“There are over 30,000 computers
and imbedded devices on campus,”
Smythe said. “Every place has desktop
PCs, and the lab equipment needs to
work for education and research.”
Other areas Smythe said they had
inventoried included the payroll system,
purchasing system, hot water, heat,
building maintenance, security and air
conditioning.
Smythe said UNC’s emphasis was on
walk-throughs, outreach awareness and
inventory. “Every school must fix its
own equipment, but we will help,” she
said. “We’re trying to cover the critical
(systems), and I think we’re doing a very
good job.”
See Y2K, Page 7
■ Business School 10 a.m. -3 p.m.
■ Grapevine Cafeteria, Medical
School 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
News/Features/Arts/Spoits 962-0245
Business/Advertising 962-1163
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
C 1999 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved.
25-cent Fee
On Ballot
Criticized
Executive Branch cabinet
members say they do not
feel the N.C. Renaissance
program should get fees.
By Carrie Callaghan
Staff Writer
Student government leaders are
opposing an initiative on today’s ballot
that asks for a 25 cent per semester
increase in student fees to support the
N.C. Renaissance program.
Representatives from the executive
branch and Student Congress said the
outreach program
would not benefit
UNC students
enough to receive
student fees.
The program,
which relies on
private donations to remain free for par
ticipants, brings rural high school stu
dents to UNC during the summer to
encourage them to attend college, NCR
Director Ellen Greer said.
Ten percent of the student body
signed a petition requesting that the
matter be put to a student vote. Greer
and executive branch members briefly
discussed the issue at the Feb. 6 meeting
of the Student Fee Audit Committee.
Greer said the program deserved stu
dent funding as a way for UNC to fulfill
its mission to serve the state.
But Student Body President Reyna
Walters maintained that a program paid
for with student fees should benefit
more UNC students. “(Funding) prefer
ence should be given to organizations
that would benefit a large percentage of
the student body.”
Student Congress Finance
Committee Chairman Ryan Schlitt said
See RENAISSANCE, Page 7
INSIDE
1 ill If llTaesdav
A Feminine Touch
“Through Women’s Eyes, By Women's
Hands,” the Women’s Center’s 15th
Annual Juried Art Show and Sale,
features the work of female artists of
all different races, classes, religions and
sexual orientations. See Page 7.
The Iraqi Challenge
Iraqi officials warned American and
British armed forces in Turkey
that Iraq would retaliate if they
continued to patrol the ‘no-fly’
zones surrounding the country.
See Page 4.
Today’s Weather
Sunny:
Hid 60s.
Wednesday Cloudy,
chance of rain; mid 60s.
Deadline’s Here
Story proposals for the Joanna
Howell Fund are due at 5 p.m. today in
Union 104.
The fund awards a $250 grant to a
student to report an in-depth story for
publication in the DTH.
The Joanna Howell Fund Award hon
ors a former editorial writer who died
in the 1996 Phi Gamma Delta fire.