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abi' lathi (Tar Hrrl 9 News/f Busine f 818 106 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community 1 since 1893 Students Speak Out Against Hike By Kim Mimgh Staff Writer Most students voiced their opposition to a proposed tuition increase at an open forum hosted by the Daily Tar Heel on Tuesday. Nearly 70 people gathered to debate and discuss the proposal in front of an eight-person panel, consisting of Board of Trustees members, student leaders, faculty and administrators. The forum came two days before the proposal is put before the Board of Trustees on Thursday. After the floor was opened to discus sion, most students openly criticized the plan’s proposed increases, and many Sailing Out of Reach? The University's plan to increase tuition to raise faculty salaries has some worried that the move will limit low-income students' access. By Cheri Melfi Staff Writer Some officials are worried a proposed tuition increase might limit accessibility for potential students scared off by the higher price tag of a UNC education. UNC Association of Student Governments President Jeff Nieman said a way for the University to preserve its history as an institution that was accessible to all N.C. citizens was to descri becar .. . yy ' com] ; v chanj '* "ijfp racial Bu Local Mentoring Gives Area Youths Tools to Succeed The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate Program provides students with a local adult as a role model. By Jenny Stepp Staff Writer The “Seven Principles of Highly Effective People” have become a cornerstone of Tyrone Hunter’s motivational think ing. That, and “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.” Unlikely pieces of frequent reading for a freshman at Chapel Hill High School, the books are a result of Hunter’s interaction with Avery Henderson, his mentor through the Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate Program. Hunter and Henderson attend movies, ball games and the zoo together. But the relationship is more than fun activities _ even if that’s what they’re masked as. Henderson recently watched “Roots” with Hunter to help explore Hunter’s background. Henderson also hoped it would help them address the race issues that inevitably arise in a relationship between a white mentor and a black student. Blue Ribbon is designed to prevent children from slipping through the cracks. It aims to help those students who would succeed at higher levels if it were not for circumstances beyond their control. The program pairs fourth-graders with adults who serve as mentors and advocates for the children within the school system. A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat Richard S. Childs offered personal testimonies about how a tuition increase could affect them. “I’m frankly outraged, and as a citi zen of this state, I’m embarrassed,” said junior Brad Matthews. “This is too much money. I will fight this to the governor’s desk if I have to.” Trustee David Pardue called Matthews’ speech “compassionate,” but said that a lesser increase wouldn’t make a significant difference in boosting fac ulty salaries. Several students questioned the hasti ness of the proposal, which was approved in less than three hours by the Chancellor’s Committee on Faculty Salaries and Benefits. “I don’t feel that these numbers were keep tuition as free as possible, as outlined in the N.C. Constitution. “If this plan goes through it will mean we are departing from the school’s mission and what the University is all about,” Nieman said. “This uni versity has a goal to be a premier institution of higher learning, but it also has a responsibility to extend its services to the state.” But Board of Trustees Chairwoman Anne Cates said plans to address these concerns with a beefed-up financial aid program would help lower-income students cope with the potential tuition increase. “We are told that statistics show that as long as we provide need-based financial aid, we can 1 X /,V rsiig - 1 DTH/MEREDITH LEE UNC English Professor Trudier Harris has been a mentor to sixth-grader Tiarra Headen for two years. “There’s not any other program like Blue Ribbon in terms of its depth and longitudinal capacity in the state,” said pro gram coordinator Graig Meyer. Meyer is a mentor to Henry Carmichael, an eighth-grader at McDougle Middle School. He said that when he met Carmichael’s mother, she said to him, “I want you to make sure he’ll do well in school because Henry is smart, but he See MENTOR, Page 9 Wednesday, October 27, 1999 Volume 107, Issue 102 gathered to meet a certain need,” said Lee Conner, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, stating that the figures were the product of a “bidding war.” “It was kind of like being at an auction,” he said. Junior Alex Little agreed with Conner, calling the proposal “ill-con structed and not very well planned.” “To have this come out of the provost’s office, with all respect to the provost, is a sad disgrace to the University,” Little said. Trustee Richard Williams countered that the committee had been consider ing the issue for some time before it voted on a final proposal. “I think we’ve been too involved in this decision to work to alleviate that,” she said. “We’re still one of the best buys in the country.” Student Body President Nic Heinke said he feared a tuition increase could separate UNC- Chapel Hill from other system schools. Heinke said the magnitude of the proposed tuition increases might give UNC-CH a reputa tion for only being attainable to students from affluent backgrounds, driving away potential stu dents. “North Carolina is not a wealthy state, so one of the draws of UNC-CH is that the tuition is so low,” Heinke said. He said students’ decisions of which UNC-sys tem school to attend should be based on the school’s reputation, not its cost. “There is a big difference between an elite institution and an elitist institution,” he said, explaining that “elite” described institutions with strong reputations and programs, while “elitist” described institutions that excluded participation because of their costs or other factors. More Coverage Of Proposed Tuition Increase See Page 5 Thad Beyle, a UNC political science profes sor, also expressed concern about the effects a tuition increase might have on UNC-CH & students. ■ He said many students might be intim idated by the growing costs. “This increase will be hard for some kids who are already here,” Beyle said. “And for the kids who might want to come here in the future, V the school might look too pricey for their f families.” Beyle also said a tuition increase would have definite effects on the demographic composition of the University. “I think (a tuition increase) will certainly change some of the dynamics of the University,” he said. “It will have an effect on the diversity that we have -and that diversity is not only racial, it is a diversity of level of incomes.” But the affordability of UNC-CH did not appear to be a concern to some rural high school guidance counselors who largely work with low- have it called (a bidding war).” The atmosphere became more per sonal with the testimony of sophomore Bonswa Banks, an exercise sport science major who comes from a family of 17 and fears that a tuition increase will force him to attend another university. “People keep talking about the poor - I’m one of the poor,” he said. Banks’ father is a truck driver and his mother is deceased. He said that with other siblings in college, his father will not be able to meet UNC’s proposed tuition demands. “If they raise (tuition), how am I going to be able to afford to come here? It’s ridiculous; I hardly eat.” See FORUM, Page 9 income students. Jayne Miller, guidance counselor at Smitbville-Selma High School in Smithville, said she did not think a tuition increase would dis courage students’ from attending the University. “If a student wants to go to Chapel Hill, that’s where they’re going to go,” Miller said. “They know it is still one of the better bargains in the state, so cost has nothing to do with it.” Miller also said the Chapel Hill campus was not in danger of having an elitist reputation. “The only way Chapel Hill would run the risk of becoming an elitist institution would be if its tuition was brought to the level that Duke’s is at,” Miller said. “In fact, most Smithville-Selma stu dents in the top 20 percent of their class are using UNC-CH as a fall-back school.” Linnea Westbrook, senior counselor at Northern Vance High School in Henderson, also said an increase in tuition would not pose a dan ger to UNC-CH. “Carolina is not a cost-prohib itive school,” Westbrook said. “As poor as some students at Northern Vance might be, all they have to do is look at the cost of private schools and they see Carolina is a bargain.” Westbrook also said although many students at the University seemed to come from affluent families, there had still been a good minority rep resentation. But members of UNC-CH student govern ment said they were still worried the student population might be perceived as predominant ly wealthy. To make that perception fade, Eric Johnson, executive assistant to student body president, recendy held a meeting with Heinke to begin a county outreach program to let rural high school students know UNC-CH is attainable to every one - not just to students from urban-upper-class families. The University committee that proposed the See ACCESS, Page 9 State Programs Offer Tutors, Companions By Kristian Kordlla Staff Writer Working with high school students in need of a friend has been a rewarding experience for Susan Benton, a nine year veteran mentor with Gamer High School’s Communities in Schools program. “Miracles happen when students see that you care,” said Benton, a part-time tutor and employee at Carolina Power & Light Cos. “Some need academic help, but some just need someone to talk to.” CIS site coordinator Ellen Dingman said many high school students needed role models. “It’s important in today’s world to have someone who can be aca demic helpers and role models for our kids,” Dingman said. The CIS program is part of the N.C. Mentoring Initiative, consisting of inter active programs designed to cater to at risk N.C. high school students’ needs. The state’s initiative aims to create and implement various mentoring opportunities to make a positive differ ence in the lives of children and assist them in reaching their highest potential, according to its mission statement. Dingman said the CIS program con- * #ifi rf• ’ili DTH/JEFF POULAND Sophomore Bonswa Banks reads articles about the proposed tuition increase at a forum sponsored by The Daily Tar Heel on Tuesday evening. sisted of 86 volunteer tutors from vari ous walks of life. “We have retired citi zens, college students, housewives and husbands, and anyone else who can give one or two hours of their week to a child,” Dingman said. Linda Harril, director of N.C. Promise, a branch of the state program, said there were currendy many mentor ing programs for the state’s high school students, such as the Support Our Students program. “This program aims to provide after-school activities to pre vent students from getting in trouble with the law,” she said. Harril said other state mentoring pro grams included the CIS and Big Buddy programs. Both programs match adult mentors with high school students in need of extra attention from someone other than their teachers or parents. She said the students often felt more com fortable confiding in someone they do not view as an authority figure. A 1995 study gauging the program’s success showed students involved in the Big Buddy program were 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs and 27 per cent less likely to use alcohol. These stu- Sce STATEWIDE, Page 9 News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1999 DTH Publishing Cotp. All rights reserved. 3 Groups Endorse Candidates Some local candidates say endorsements by groups such as the Sierra Club are not critical to elections. By Jenny Stepp Staff Writer Three community groups have released candidate endorsements over the past four days amid charges of elitist voting procedures and political game playing. the Sierra Club and the Chapel Hill Alliance for Neighborhoods announced endorsements of mayoral candidate Susan Franklin and Town Council candidates Bill Strom, Madeline Jefferson and Julie McClintock. The Orange County Greens group announced support for the same candidates, adding Don Sweezy to its list. The Sierra Club and the Orange County Greens released their endorse ments Tuesday, while the Alliance for See SIERRA, Page 9 Carolina, Speak Out! A weekly DTH online poll Do you support a tuition hike to increase UNC faculty salaries? t Goto V r&) www.uncedu/dth to cast your vote. l*T Wednesday Graduate Concerns Chairman of the Faculty Pete Andrews and Graduate and Professional Student Federation President Lee Conner addressed the proposed tuition increase with a group of graduate students Tuesday night. See Page 5. Voice Your Opinion 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 the paper will try to publish during this week. Call DTH Editor Rob Nelson at 962-4086 or at rnelson@emaii.unc.edu with questions. Today’s Weather Sunny; Low 70s. Thursday: Sunny; High 60s.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 27, 1999, edition 1
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