Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Oct. 25, 1999, edition 1 / Page 1
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Slip Satin ®ar Mnl J News / f SB 106 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Officials Defend Backing of Failed School Report Outlines Needs of Students The School in the Community, a charter school which lost its charter last spring, prided itself on reaching students who often fell through the cracks of the public school system. 63% of School in the Community's students were from low-income families, living below the poverty line. 93% of School in the Community students had dropped out of school or were identified as , "at risk” of dropping out of school. 54% of School in the Community high school students either failed or had not taken the end-of-grade competency test for eighth grade, a basic requirement to graduate from high school in North Carolina. 20% of School in the Community students had recently been involved with the juvenile court and/or criminal justice system. Two students were teenage mothers. 70% of students admitted to having used drugs within the past month; more than 50% use drugs "regularly’. Eight School in the Community students had been identified as homeless or displaced. 54% of School in the Community students were black; the majority of others were white. 50% of students attended school every day. 84% of students had an Individual Learning Plan. 54% of students were below grade level in social students. 81% of students lived in live in single-parent homes. Dedication Draws N.C.'s Top Politicos Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., was one of several officials to attend the dedication for the School of Law. By Karey Witkovvski Staff Writer Prominent members of state and national government joined judicial sys tem officials for Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the new addition to Van Hecke-Wettach Hall at the School of Law. More than 1,000 people attended the event, which combined the dedication and the school’s annual Alumni and Family Weekend. “This is the biggest event in the law school’s history,” said Audrey Ward, director of communications for the law school. Speakers included law school Dean Gene Nichol, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., N.C. Supreme Court Justice Henry E. Frye and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “I’m genuinely honored to be here. And never, ever, did I say plans for a state zoo were under way,” Helms said referring to his infamous remark that the state should just put up a fence around Chapel Hill instead of creating a state O'Connor: Image Of Lawyers Fixed By Public Service Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor says lawyers must devote time to public service to change their negative images. By Karey Wutkowski Staff Writer U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor encour aged lawyers to participate in public service to avoid the despair plaguing the profession at Friday’s dedication of the School of Law’s new addition. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place under blue skies at the class of 1948 portico of the law school. The event com bined the law school’s Alumni and Family Weekend and the dedication of the new Van Hecke-Wettach Hall addition. O’Connor, the keynote speaker, said public service had the ability to change the negative reputation of the law system and to bring professional satisfaction. “Many Americans believe the U.S. justice system is unfair,” O’Connor said. “If this perception is to be changed, we must dedicate more time and resources to public service.” O’Connor, an associate justice, became the U.S. Supreme Court’s first female member in September 1981. She used her experience in the law field to deliver a dedication address The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. zoo. The remark caused a wave of laughter fromt the crowd. Edwards said he was especially hon ored to speak at the weekend dedication because he was an alumnus of the law school. “Law is a sacred thing to me, and I learned this at UNC,” he said. “I hope the new building serves all of us as well as that old building served me.” First-year law student Michael Burke said he hoped the new building would draw attention to the school. “The new addition looks really nice. I think it will get more students to apply here,” he said. “Hopefully the ranking (in U.S. News & World Report magazine) will go up.” Law Professor Elizabeth Gibson said the nuisance that came with three years of construction noise was well worth the end product. “The noise was a problem. There was a feeling that it would never be done, but now we have this beautiful school.” Gibson, also a graduate of the school, said its outward appearance had been a problem in the past. “Recruiting was especially hard,” she said. “I think the new addition will have a tremendously positive effect. The school’s beautiful and has a lot more space now.” Judge Bob Hunter, member of the class of 1969, said he was part of the first See DEDICATION, Page 7 igwjjsjffSw* 'SSSSSm. j ■-** ' ■ n n jsi . DTH/SEFTON IPOCK Sandra Day O'Connor speaks at the dedication of the new addition to the School of Law. expressing the need for change. “It’s hardly a secret that many lawyers are dissatisfied with their professional lives,” O’Connor said. She used the words “profoundly unhappy" and “profound ly pessimistic” to describe the common mind-set of lawyers today. “When asked, only half said they would become lawyers if they had to do it over.” See O'CONNOR, Page 7 Monday, October 25, 1999 Volume 107, Issue 100 A report named local and state officials as the cause for failure of an area charter school last spring. By Ginny Sciabbarrasi Assistant City Editor Reports of sabotage and other mis deeds in a report by the founder of a failed charter school have sparked sev eral local and state officials to speak out in defense of their actions. Fred Good, the founder of the School in the Community, which lost its charter last spring because of low enrollment, released a report last week as to why the school did not succeed. Good stated in the report that a lack of financial and physicad support com bined with alleged leaking of negative information to the press prompted the school’s demise. “We were all hoping the school would succeed,” said Roger Waldon, a Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education member. “There was never rm&lM If JflgH -J; DTH/SEFTON IPOCK Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor cuts the ribbon to officially open Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, the new addition to the School of Law. The dedication marked the end of three years of construction. any point where we could have helped them and didn’t. I don’t know what else we could have done.” Good said the press received anony mous tips about problems before the administration knew about them, thus sabotaging any attempts for funding. “Parents would complain, and we’d read about it before it came to our board.” Waldon said he regretted that Good felt a lack of support for the school and its place in the community. “(The school) offers an opportunity for stu dents to thrive in a different environ ment than in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools,” he said. “Nothing was done explicitly or overdy to undermine the school.” In a letter to the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, which granted the school SIO,OOO to get started, Good also accused the town of turning its back on the problems faced by lower economic classes. “Dominated by a University which in many ways has benefited from maintaining a poor, largely black under class to clean its bathrooms and kitchens, its dorms and offices, its class DTH Forum to Probe UNC Tuition Proposal Anne Cates, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, says she will listen to students at the Tuesday night forum. Staff Report The Daily Tar Heel will host an all campus forum Tuesday night to give the UNC community a chance to discuss the proposed tuition increase at the University. All students and faculty are invited to attend the event, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in 111 Murphey Hall. “Because there has been little time for UNC faculty and students to have their voices heard on this issue, the paper felt this was something it needed to do,” DTH Editor Rob Nelson said. “It’s important to try to bring the campus together on this before the Board of Trustees takes the vote.” The BOT is scheduled to vote on the plan Thursday at an 11 a.m. emergency meeting at the Morehead Faculty rooms and halls, town-gown relations have focused on economic growth and the quality of life for the affluent and middle class while consistendy ignoring the plight of the poor,” the letter stated. Town Council member Flicka Bateman said that while the town need ed to examine the needs of this popula tion, the town had not turned its back to the community. “I think there’s no question that the community needs to address the needs of this population,” she said. “The sys tem wants to do the right thing.” Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, said the allegations that the town was neglecting the needs of the lower class were exaggerated. “I have some concerns about the amount we’re reaching the poor,” he said. “Statewide, we need to reach out. I would not single out Chapel Hill and Orange County.” Several members of the school board said the most important thing was the success of all students in the area, regardless of their economic status. See CHARTER, Page 7 I y Lounge. BOT Chairwoman Anne Cates, Trustee Richard Williams, Director of Scholarships and Student Aid Shirley Ort and Associate Provost Kathleen McGaughey have agreed to attend. The DTH is still confirming the attendance of other UNC offi cials. Director of Scholarships and Student Aid Shirley Ort will be attending the . forum. Cates said Sunday she hoped the forum would prove beneficial for all participants. “We listen to all of the stu dents and hope they will listen to us,” she said. “We are all in the UNC family, and we are all trying to do what’s best for the institution.” For more information, contact DTH Editor Rob Nelson at 962-4086. News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1999 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Tuition Battle Continues Student leaders mailed a letter to faculty Sunday encouraging them to fight against the tuition increase. By Matthew Smith Staff Writer With 1,478 signatures on a petition opposing a proposed tuition increase behind them, student leaders have turned their campaign from awareness to action. The Board of Trustees is slated to vote on a proposal Thursday that would dramatically increase tuition for all stu dents during the next five years. Student Body President Nic Heinke and Graduate and Professional Student Federation President Lee Conner held a strategy meeting Sunday to urge students to attend Thursday’s meet ing and to contin ue to speak out against the increase. “It’ll be kind of tough for the board to ignore hundreds of stu dents Thursday,” Conner said. “It’ll let the trustees know this is some thing of great con cern to students.” Journalism Professor Chuck Stone says it could be hard to get faculty to speak out against the tuition increase. Another main thrust of the campaign will be to solicit faculty support against the proposed increase, Heinke said. To seek faculty aid for their fight against tuition increases, Heinke and Conner distributed almost 200 copies of a letter Sunday night to all Faculty Council members, department chair men and other faculty members. The letter stressed that students did not oppose a tuition increase to support faculty salaries but that they were against the proposed plan that called for such steep increases. “We fear this tuition increase could create an unnecessary divide between faculty and students,” the letter said. Conner said student and faculty See STRATEGY, Page 7 Carolina, Speak Out! A weekly DTH online poll Do you supjsort a tuition hike to increase UNC faculty salaries? www.unc.edu/dth to cast your vote. INS UNC's Man Friday Former UNC-system President Bill Friday received the John Tyler Caldwell Award from the N.C. Humanities Council Saturday night, which is bestowed annually upon a person selected for their moral, intellectual and civic disciplines. See Page 4. Speak Your Mind The Daily Tar Heel is looking for UNC faculty to share their thoughts and opinions on the proposed tuition increase at the University. Interested faculty should write letters to the editor or guest columns, all of which will be published this week. Contact Editor Rob Nelson at 962-4086 or at rnelson@email.unc.edu with questions. Today’s Weather Sunny; Low 60s. Tuesday: Sunny; Mid 60s.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 25, 1999, edition 1
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