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Slip iailit Sar Mppl * News/ , p 106 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Sacked? All Signs Point Toward Torbush's Firing Saturday's game against Duke is expected to be UNC head coach Carl Torbush's last with the Tar Heels. By Brian Murphy Sports Editor Although the campus and Internet chat rooms were abuzz with reports that North Carolina football coach Carl Torbush would be fired following Saturday’s contest against Duke, those close to the Department of Athletics said that the reports were premature. But at least one prominent booster said that Torbush was on his way out. “It hasn’t been a good season - let’s put it that way,” said Maurice Koury, one of UNC’s top athletic boosters. “I don’t have any info about it being a done deal, but they’re probably nego tiating his buyout. I think it’s a matter of necessity because attendance is falling.” The Tar Heels averaged 55,670 fans in their five home games last season. This year, as UNC struggles through a 2-8 season, that number has fallen to 46,000. And Koury is not alone with his theory about attendance. “Another group of people that I’ve heard talk say the real problem is the economic problems,” Board of Trustees Faculty Coalition Joins Fight Fifty-eight faculty members sent a letter to the Board of Governors in opposition to a proposed tuition increase. By Harmony Johnson Staff Writer Students continuing their fight against a proposed tuition increase at today’s Board of Governors meeting now have public backing from more than 50 UNC faculty members. BOG members will receive a state ment at the morning meeting from 31 members of the newly formed Progressive Faculty Network and 27 other UNC faculty who are calling the proposed increase a “short-term fix for a long-term problem.” “Each time we need to raise salaries, this is not the way to go. We should not look upon the students as consumers,” said Rashmi Varma, an assistant English professor and PFN member. The statement is the first sign of uni fied faculty opposition to proposed increase since the issue flooded campus last month. The PFN, which began as a listserv, formed earlier this semester. The Board of Trustees voted 9-3 on Oct. 28 to increase tuition for all stu dents $1,500 during the next five years. On that day, more than 400 students organized a rally against the proposal, but only a handful of faculty members attended the meeting. Until now, the main spokesperson for professors was Faculty Chairman Pete Andrews, who has publicly sup ported the increase. Varma and several other faculty members from PFN will join students at 9:30 a.m. in the Pit in preparation for their march to the BOG See PROTEST, Page 4 Police Continue Investigation of 2 Residence Hall Fires By Geoff Wessel Staff Writer Police are investigating the cause of two suspicious fires that drove Morrison Residence Hall residents from their beds early Thursday morning. The first alarm bells broke the silence of the night when a trash can fire in the sev enth-floor kitchen area was reported at 1:54 a.m. The first fire caused no damage, "Defeat is worse than death, because you have to live with defeat " Bill Musselman member Bill Jordan said. “They worry that if we keep the same coaching staff, that may cost 10,000 to 15,000 seats next year in season tickets sales. And if it does, all the Olympic sports will not be funded.” Buying out the remaining three years on Torbush’s contract is expected to cost the department nearly $450,000. Koury added that he thought an announcement would come as soon as Saturday night. But Moyer Smith, the president of the Educational Foundation, which raises funds for the athletics department, said he had no indication that Torbush would be fired. “I can honestly telf you that I don’t know anything officially,” Smith said. “I have not been informed of any decision or the process.” If the decision has been made, no one close to the team is letting on. Several players said that Torbush, after a brief opening statement, conducted practice as usual Thursday. “He just said, ‘l’m your coach. I did n’t get fired,’” punter Brian Schmitz said. “But it’s hard not to hear what’s going on.” Tight end Dauntae’ Finger echoed Schmitz’s sentiments. “It’s kind of just sickening, man. You don’t know what’s going on.” Director of Athletics Dick Baddour did nothing to squelch the rumors that BOG, BOT Divided on UNC Faculty Salary Needs By Mauli Desai Staff Writer Two recently conducted studies assessing faculty salary needs at UNC have resulted in significantly different results. At a Board of Governors workshop Thursday, the results of General Administration’s much-anticipated fac ulty salary study were released. The study’s results came just weeks after the Board of Trustees voted to raise every student’s tuition $1,500 to fund an increase in faculty salaries. The BOT proposal, which the BOG will consider injanuary, claims that clos- FORD'S DAY IN COURT afJ3k W / v agflar ■ DTH/SEFTON IPOCK North Carolina men's basketball assistant coach Phil Ford (left) pleaded guilty Thursday for driving while impaired. Ford was sentenced to one year of probation. See page 5. said interim Chancellor Bill McCoy. Students were able to return to their rooms at about 2:30 a.m., but at 3:17 a.m. another fire, this time in a fourth floor television lounge, was reported. McCoy said the fires were being char acterized as suspicious. The fourth-floor lounge will be locked until police finish their investigation and officials can clear out the debris. “At this point we have not been able to Friday, November 19, 1999 Volume 107, Issue 119 Torbush, whom he hired in December 1997, would be fired at the end of the season. Reached Thursday night, Baddour reiterated comments made ear lier in the day. “We’ve got a game to play and in fair ness to the players, I’m not going to dis cuss the situation,” he said. “We’re not going to go on a day-by-day evaluation. We have a game to play.” Saturday’s contest has become a mere afterthought as the rumors sur rounding Torbush have intensified. But Schmitz said Torbush deflected talk about himself and tried to focus his team on stopping the Blue Devils for the 10th consecutive year. “Coach Torbush said it himself; he’s not bigger than the game, not bigger than the rivalry,” Schmitz said. Even as the rumors heat up, Torbush is being defended by the same people who went to Baddour two years ago to argue for his promotion from defensive coordinator to head coach - his players. “I think it’s a bunch of crap. It’s some thing that didn’t need to come up before the game,” senior holder/kicker Derrick DePriest said. “Someone has a pretty big ego - whoever’s leaking this. “I understand why he’s being pushed out, but I don’t agree with it.” The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. er to sll million is needed, while the systemwide study indicated that UNC needed only about $7 million to make faculty salaries competitive. The study compared faculty salaries and compensation at all 16 UNC-system schools to those at each school’s peer institutions. The BOG made recommendations on adjustments that could be made in salaries and compensation to Bring UNC institutions up to par with compa rable schools. The board did not discuss possible sources of salary revenue. The discrepancy between UNC esti mates and BOG figures is mainly because of the methods the two groups determine whether the fires were related," said Maj .Jeff McCracken, deputy director of the FYiblic Safety Department. Though it was caught and controlled early by fire officials, the second fire caused extensive smoke damage to the lounge, McCoy said. “The first time it went off, we went downstairs and we were out there for 30 minutes,” said sophomore Lucy Mauney, who fives near the fourth floor lounge. I ii / m M \l / - m m DTH MILLER PEARSALL North Carolina coach Carl Torbush has compiled a 10-13 mark in nearly two full seasons with the Tar Heels. He is the only Division I head coach in the country who is also his team's defensive coordinator. used to reach their decisions, said Kathleen McGaughey, associate vice provost at the University, who helped put together the original University report on its faculty salary status. Roy Carroll, vice president of acade mic affairs, said the system’s study also used a peer group of at least 15 schools for each UNC-system school, while the UNC study focused on three competi tors - the University of Virginia, the University of Califomia-Berkley and the University of Michigan. The system study also indicated that compensation at UNC schools was sub standard to that offered at peer institu tions, an issue the BOT did not address. University Signs Deal For Microsoft Software By Karey Wutkowski Staff Writer In a move to reduce computer costs, UNC signed their portion of a software licensing agreement with Microsoft. The deal, signed Wednesday, is designed to provide software and upgrade savings for faculty, staff and stu dents across campus. Marian Moore, vice chancellor for Information Technology Services, announced the agreement at Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting. “The four year lease will provide free upgrades and new versions of software for free.” Under the new agreement, UNC will pay Microsoft a flat annual rate of $300,000 for software and upgrades for all University-owned computers. University officials have been negoti ating with Microsoft for a year with the intent of reducing the cost of software. The contract comes at a time of debate surrounding the University’s dealings with commercial interests. Last week, the Faculty Council passed a proposal expressing disap- “We came back and woke up at 3:15 with another one. I went and looked and you could not see the door at the other side of the (elevator) lobby, there was so much smoke.” Many students were slow to leave the residence hall for the second alarm of the night. “I think with the time of the morning and the fact that it was the sec ond alarm, there were some students who had to be asked to leave the build Compensation includes retirement and health care packages. The BOT focused its research on a comparison between UNC and its peer institutions nationwide, including both private and public schools. The BOT then discussed ways to bring UNC salaries up to the same level. McGaughey said the BOT study focused more on defining means of clos ing a salary gap that had accumulated over the past several years. North Carolina employees have received 2 to 3 percent annual pay increases in recent years, while the University’s peer institutions received between 5 and 7 percent, she said. proval of the exclusive nature of UNC’s contract with Wachovia. This week, UNC signed its part of the unfinalized software contract and sent it to Microsoft for its approval. There is no definite date of when the contract will take effect. The deal comes less than a year before the onset of the Carolina Computing Initiative, which requires all entering freshman, beginning next fall, to own laptop computers. It also offers significant discounts on IBM laptops. But all UNC students with personal computers will be able to gain savings even if their computers are not linked with the initiative, Moore said. Once the deal goes into effect, the price of both initiative laptop models, now $2,166 or $2,895, will drop SSO because the Microsoft software package is included in the laptop price. And students who have non-initiative computers can buy the software sepa rately at a reduced price. Those who buy the software through See MICROSOFT, Page 4 ing,” McCracken said. “But the majority did evacuate properly.” Freshman Christy Flake, a Morrison resident whose name was taken for leav ing the building late, said she and her roommate slept through the alarm. “We were both sleeping, and we heard a loud bang on our door," Flake said. “It woke both of us up, and the fire See FIRES, Page 4 News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1999 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. UNC-system President Molly Broad said the increase in faculty salaries was an important issue the BOG would con tinue to address in the future. “Faculty are our greatest resource, so it is imper ative that UNC be competitive, not just average.” Jeff Nieman, an ex-officio BOG member and UNC student, said he was pleasantly surprised with how the sys tem study compared to the BOT pro posal. “I’m very encouraged by the fact that the picture they painted (of the salary situation) was not that bleak.” The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc. edu. Carolina, Speak Out! A weekly DTH online poll Do you support UNC's contract with Wachovia? \ www.unc.edu/dth to cast your vote. 1 Friday A Prayer for the Dying More than 100 people gathered Thursday at the University United Church of Chapel Hill to discuss the death penalty in light of Dawud Abdullah Muhammad’s execution. Participants included School of Law Dean Gene Nichol. See Page 2. Jamming to a Legend Jam Master Jay, famous for playing a part in the rise of hip hop as a mem ber of the ’Bos legend Run-D.M.C., will be at Gotham tonight, spinning records. The group is looking forward to anew release. See Page 4. UNC Soccer in Action Both the North Carolina men’s and women’s soccer teams take the field this weekend in NCAA Tournament play. The women tackle William & Mary at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fetzer Field, and the men play at Furman on Sunday. See Page 5. Today’s Weather Sunny; High 60s. Saturday: Cloudy; Low 70s.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 19, 1999, edition 1
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