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uUh’ iailu ®ar TTfrl J News/ J? □ME 106] 106 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 BOT: $1,500 Tuition Hike for All Students By 9-3 Vote, Trustees Approve Revised Plan By Katie Abei. University Editor Amid the songs and chants of stu dents one floor below, the Board of Trustees approved a modified five-year plan Thursday to increase tuition $1,500 for all students. Under the proposal, which was approved in less than three hours, stu dents would pay tuition increases of S3OO per year for the next five years start ing in fall 2000. Additional Tuition Coverage See Pages 6-8 The board passed the plan by a 9 to 3 vote, with only Student Body President Nic Heinke and BOT members Richard Stevens and Cressy Thigpen voting against it. Chairwoman Anne Cates did not cast a vote. The tuition increases are part of a package that also calls for legislators to fund a 3 percent faculty salary increase next year and a benchmark 5.5 percent over the next four years. The plan coming from Thursday’s Students Storm Steps, Pack Lounge in Protest By John O'Hale Staff Writer In impassioned protest of a proposed tuition increase, more than 400 students covered the steps of Morehead Building on Thursday, chanting protests and singing “We Shall Overcome.” Inside, the fervent wails from outside penetrated the building’s brick walls. One hundred fifty students lined the halls of the building, observing a funer al silence, as they strained to hear any comments emanating from the Board of Trustees’ meeting room. “I hope that they’ll take what we’re saying into consideration,” said fresh man Chessa Huff, a biomedical materi als major. Like most students, Chessa was wearing a sign around her neck that read “locked out of college.” BOG Next to Study Proposal The Board of Governors is expected to hear Thursday's faculty salaries proposal at its November meeting. By Taena Kim Staff Writer The Board of Trustees washed its hands of a tuition increase proposal Thursday, but UNC-system officials are keeping silent on the fate of the plan as it makes it way to the Board of Governors. The BOT voted for the proposal to increase funds for faculty salaries, begin ning a process that could eventually result in a $1,500 tuition increase for all students. The BOT’s proposal will be consid ered next by UNC-system President Molly Broad. Jeff Nieman, president of the UNC Association of Student Governments and nonvoting BOG member, said Broad was likely to form an advisory committee that would look at recom mendations from system schools. Nieman said the advisory committee would help Broad make her recom mendation to the Board of Governors. Nieman said he was a likely candi date for the advisory committee, whose membership Broad would determine. Once the BOG receives Broad’s rec ommendation, it will be sent to the A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat. Richard S. Childs session was a modified version of the proposal brought before the board by the Chancellor’s Committee on Faculty Salaries and Benefits. That plan called for a $1,500 increase for in-state undergraduates and $2,000 for all other students over a four-year period. The plan approved Thursday includes a $1,500 increase for all UNC students over a five-year span. And it shoulders less of the burden on graduate and out-of-state students than the committee’s proposal, which called for a total increase of $2,000 for these students. Richardson said the final plan came after weeks of intense discussion and debate on the issue. “Something like this takes a long time and a lot of changes,” he said. “I think the plan is fine.” The weeks suddenly came down to moments as trustees made their way into Morehead Faculty Lounge amid a throng of shouting students fining their path. Cates allowed only four speakers to come before the full board Thursday. Graduate and Professional Student See VOTE, Page 7 Cramped in the humid corridor, stu dents waited. Outside, the scene was an angry car nival. By 10:15 a.m., protesters dotted the lawn with signs that read “Keep UNC accessible” and “100 percent increase does not equal for the people.” Spray-painted banners were draped over the planetarium’s columns, and stu dents wearing green arm bands that symbolized their fight against the increase waited to publicly denounce the proposal on crackling megaphones. During the protest, many students expressed a feeling of abandonment. Bonswa Banks, a sophomore from Durham, said his family of 17 children might no longer be able to afford his education at UNC if tuition was raised. Banks has four siblings in college, and his family must also support a Budget and Finance Committee, which will then make a proposal to the full BOG on Nov. 19. If the plan is passed, it will be presented to the N.C. General Assembly in December. Jeff Davies, the UNC-system vice president of finance, said the BOG would consider proposals from all 16 UNC-system schools. The UNC General Administration is conducting its own study assessing the need for faculty salary increases on all system campuses. BOG member John Sanders, who attended Thursday’s BOT meeting, declined to comment on the UNC pro posal because he will be required to vote on November’s BOG proposal. Nieman said he doubted the BOG would pass the tuition proposal. “I think the chances of this extreme proposal going through (the BOG) are slim." Nieman said the BOT proposal was too divisive and would not be viewed positively by the BOG. “It divides between faculty and stu dents,” he said. “It also divides between the 16 schools within the UNC system. Personally, I don’t want it to wedge between faculty and students.” Lee Conner, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, said several BOG members had expressed negative feelings about the tuition increase. “One board member has already said he will not support this proposal,” Conner said. “We’ve also heard from Friday, October 29, 1999 Volume 107, Issue 104 wt 4 -Mu a rlffl w F The UNC Board of Trustees voted Thursday on a proposal to increase tuition. The board approved an increase of S3OO per year for the next five years. daughter with Down’s syndrome. “If we can’t afford $1,500 now, we can’t afford student loans, which they say will cover it,” he said. The assemblage of students were con cerned about their futures at UNC. “I was at a private university that I could n’t afford, and I knew I could stay in school by coming here,” said Emily Waszak, a junior political science and sociology major. “I transferred here because I wanted a good education I can afford. I want to say the (BOT) are the meanest people, and they have no hearts, but I think they honestly don’t realize how (the tuition increase) is going to affect students. Education should be accessible,” she said. The accessibility of UNC was a major theme of the protest, and a few sweating other board members that they are not in favor of it.” Conner said students had already begun lobbying BOG members against the proposal. E-mail messages opposing the tuition increase sent to BOT mem bers this week were also forwarded to members of the BOG, Conner said. “We were assuming that something was going to pass through the BOT,” he said. “So we put the BOG on the e-mail messages, which was a good thing on our part.” Conner estimated that the BOG had already received about 100 to 200 e-mail messages. Nieman, Conner and Student Body President Nic Heinke have also person al lobbied the members. “(Heinke and I) have made personal phone calls and visits, doing intensive lobbying,” Conner said. Nieman said he planned to do more to persuade the BOG members. “I will do my best to have conversations with the board members to get a more sensi ble recommendation,” he said. He said he would propose a resolu tion opposing the recommendation at the next ASG meeting. Nieman also said he would voice his opinion opposing tuition increases if he were on Broad’s advisory committee. “We want a faculty raise and our goal is to get the money from the state.” The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. runners tried to involve all students in the meeting by delivering BOT quotes to the protesters, repeatedly jogging up the stairs to get more information. Students recoiled when a quote was read that stated excellence was more important than accessibility. “For the people, not for the rich,” screamed the crowd, and a few faces peered out from the upstairs window. Controversy grew among protesters over whether “excellence” was analo gous to higher rankings in magazines. “We’re not responsible for (the rank ing in) U.S. News & World Report,” said senior Meral Karan. “Being number three or four shouldn’t dictate how much we pay.” The administration would attain these higher rankings See PROTEST, Page 7 30,000-Plus Anticipated For Halloween Blowout Chapel Hill Police officials say they will use preventive measures to control Franklin Street crowds this year. Bv Jenny Stepp Staff Writer Local police officers say that while they are not looking forward to the throngs of people that will storm the streets Sunday for Halloween, they are prepared to handle any situations that might arise. This year the Chapel Hill Police Department has implemented some new poli- Area Children Prepare for Fun Fright Night See Page 4 cies and is focused on preventing prob lems rather than dealing with them after they occur. “(Safety) is a concern,” said Maj. Gregg Jarvies of Chapel Hill police. “(But) I guess we’ve been doing it for so long, it’s just another event.” Because Halloween falls on a Sunday, Jarvies said the police depart ment was expecting a smaller crowd than last year, which peaked at almost 70,000 people. The department is antic ipating attendance figures between H IS n jgßmk DTH/CARA B RICKMAN More than 400 students gathered on and around the steps of the Morehead Building on Thursday morning to protest a tuition increase. 30,000 and 35,000, he said. Jarvies said the police department’s response to Halloween was dependent on the crowds. Because Halloween fes tivities are not a town-sponsored event, there is no schedule for when roads would be closed. Jane Cousins, spokeswoman for the police department, said the streets were closed only when it became necessary. “We close the street when it’s just not safe anymore,” she said. There are, however, a number of pre ventive steps the police department is taking in anticipation of problems. As has been the case in the past sev eral years, no alcohol will be permitted within the area blocked off by the police. The police department has also recruited a large number of state alcohol law enforcement officers in the area to help control potential problems such as illegal consumption and possession as well as public urination. Parking will be restricted within the downtown area and driving while impaired checkpoints will be established by the N.C. Highway Patrol. The department has called in support from surrounding police departments and will have 250 officers working Sunday night, nearly 80 of which will be See HALLOWEEN SAFETY, Page 7 News/Features/Arts/Sports 9624)245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1999 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. DTH/CARA BRICKMAN SURVEY SAYS... Do you support a tuition hike to increase UNC faculty salaries? Out of 194 responses: n2 Si 74% f jKii) NO W 4 26% ™: ,; icjnc 111 Friday Call to Vote Despite running uncontested in this year’s elections, Carrboro candidates for the Board of Aldermen say it is still important for residents to go out and vote. Election day is this Tuesday for five different races. See Page 5. Puzzling Pundits Political experts were left guessing as to who will lead the polls in the 2000 election, after Democratic Presidential candidates Al Gore and Bill Bradley faced off for the first time Wednesday night in a debate. See Page 9. Today’s Weather Sunny; Low 70s. Saturday: Sunny Low 70s.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 29, 1999, edition 1
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