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Francis Chan, co-owner of Jade Palace Chinese & Seafood Restaurant,
surveys the damage after Carrboro firefighters extinguish the fire.
Snowstorm
Hits, Makes
Quick Exit
Thursday morning's winter
storm quickly became a
memory, as warmer weather
melted the fallen snow.
By Shahrzad Rezvam and
Deepika Narasimhan
Staff Writers
Following the early morning hours of
heavy snowfall and heated snowball
fights across campus, students rose to
the news that classes would be held as
scheduled Thursday.
The sounds of snowball pelts and
high-pitched shrieks were heard until
nearly 4 a.m. Thursday morning as 2 to
3 inches of snow fell in the? Triangle
area, according to the National Weather
Service.
The storm followed a Tuesdav storm
that brought 2 to 4 inches of snow to
Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.
But while Tuesday’s snow allowed stu
dents to play throughout the dav,
’Thursday’s wanner temperatures limited
winter fun to the early morning hours.
Before the snow melted, snowballs
were not the only objects filling the air.
“People were throwing condoms full
of snow at each other,” said Derek Olds,
a freshman business major from Cary.
Senior Sam Jenkins said other stu
dents were not the only targets outside
of Hinton James Residence Hall.
“There were .500 people out there
throwing snowballs at cars as they went
by,” said Jenkins, a chemistry major
from Williamston.
Students without the proper snow
equipment made use of whatever they
could find to enjoy the w intry weather.
“I borrowed a tray from Chase Hall, but
1 brought it back," said freshman Scott
Holleman, a business major from
Charlotte. He said he used the tray to
sled down the icy sidewalk in front of
Ehringhaus Residence Hall.
“As long as you could avoid the trash
cans and trees, it was quite a thrill,”
Holleman said.
Clinton Proposes Aid
For Higher Education
Staff & Wire Reports
WASHINGTON - President
Clinton unveiled a tax credit proposal
Thursday designed to make a college
education more affordable, one that
University administrators say could ben
efit UNO students.
“When we open the doors to college,
we open the doors to opportunity,”
Clinton said in a press conference.
The centerpiece of the program out
lined by the president is a S3O billion,
10-year initiative that would make high
er education more affordable for mil
lions, said officials, who spoke on the
condition of anony inity.
When the “College Opportunity Tax
Cut” is fully phased in, a family could
There is no force so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
Everett Dirksen
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DTH/lEFF POULAND
Polk Place lies under a blanket of snow early Thursday morning. Many stuaants came out to play in the fresh layer, despite the late hour. The snow
began falling about midnight at a rate of an inch per hour. Areas in the Triangle reported receiving as much as A inches.
While the snowstorm provided
excitement for students during the late
night hours, it followed Tuesday’s exam
ple of causing early morning transporta
tion problems for off-campus students.
Some students said they found that
buses were inconveniently not running
early Thursday.
Brooks Ann Camper, a graduate stu
dent in dramatic arts from Tyler, Texas,
said the bus did not show up at 8 a.m.
“I had to set my alarm at 7 a.m. in
case I had to walk if the buses weren’t
running,” Camper said. “I had to end up
calling friends to get rides.”
Maj. Jeff McCracken of the
Department ol Public Safety said the
snow on the roads Thursday morning
was not severe. “It w'as a Condition 1,
which basically means everything is open,
and if you can make it, come on in.”
Despite some students’ gripes about
the snowy roads, McCracken said he
w as pleased with how the DPS and the
receive a tax deduction of up to $ 10,000
for tuition, fees and training.
Alternatively, taxpayers could seek a
maximum credit of $2,800 a year. A
similar proposal died in Congress last
year. “When we make college more
affordable, we make the American
dream more achievable,” Clinton said.
The proposal is in its fledgling stages,
but it might help to ease the financial
burden of college for UNC students if it
passes, said Shirley Ort, director of the
Office of Scholarships and Student Aid.
“It sounds like a really ambitious and
positive agenda for higher education,
and one that could benefit our students
as well,” Ort said.
Sec CREDIT, Page 2
Friday, January 21, 2000
Volume 107, Issue 138
Midday Blaze Guts Local Eatery
By Kevin Krasnow
Staff Writer
As smoke billowed out of a local
Chinese restaurant Thursday afternoon
and firefighters w'orked feverishly to
extinguish the blaze, the restaurant’s
owner shared a tearful embrace with her
daughter.
The future of Jade Palace Chinese
and Seafood Restaurant, located at 103
E. Main St. in Carrboro, is uncertain
after a structural fire ripped through the
building.
“It was all smoke,” said Jenny Chan,
the restaurant’s owner. “1 went inside,
and the damage was a lot.”
Carrboro Fire Chief Rodney Murray
Grounds Department handled the snow
by adding salt and chemicals to clear ice.
Additional preparation by the N.C.
Department of Transportation and
Highway Patrol helped thwart problems.
As the snow began to fall around
midnight Wednesday, county mainte
nance engineers began clearing out
major routes, said Ashley Memorv, a
spokeswoman for the N.C. DOT.
Memory said the state’s plan of
action helped prevent dangerous situa
tions. “We were operating under the
state’s adverse weather policy, and it
helped a lot this morning,” she said.
The State Highway Patrol also fol
lowed a plan of action. “(In addition to
being on the highways) we put out state
ments advising people to stay off the
roads,” said Renee Hoffman, spokes
woman for the patrol.
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
USSA Referendum in Violation
Of Code; Another Vote Possible
By Katie Abei.
University Editor
A controversial voter referendum
slated to appear on the Feb. 8 ballot is in
clear violation of the Student Code, and
the fate of the legislation remains
unclear.
In a late-night meeting in December,
Student Congress voted 12-10 to add a
referendum to the ballot that would ask
students to pay about $3 more annual
ly in student fees to join the United
States Student Association, a higher edu
cation advocacy group.
But the resolution was passed with
out the necessary votes, according to the
Student Code.
said the fire department received notice
of the fire from Emergency
Management Services at 1:32 p.m. and
one minute later arrived to find heavy
smoke coming from the rear of the
restaurant. It took 23 firefighters about
40 minutes to extinguish the fire.
Preliminary damage estimates were
unavailable Thursday afternoon, but
Murray said the east side room, where
special events were held, suffered heavy
damage, while the main dining room
sustained water and smoke damage.
Chan stood near the rear of the build
ing, watching in anguish as the firefight
ers tried to subdue the fire. After the
blaze was out, she ran to her daughter
for comfort and support.
‘,r_ yj / i
DTH MARGARET SOUTHERN
The sun made its way out Thursday afternoon, helping to melt several
inches of snow that had fallen in the early morning hours.
Title 11, Article
IV, Section Hit) of
the code states
that,“No resolu
tion calling a refer
endum to amend
the Constitution of
the Student Body
shall be passed at
any time without a
two thirds vote of
the Congress.”
A referendum
proposing anew
student fee
requires an
amendment to the
n
mat?
Student Body
President
Nic Heinke
said the Speaker
needed time to
consider his options.
Student Constitution and thus is subject
Peter Drake, a worker at the nearby
Weaver Street Market, said he was walk
ing along the street when he noticed
clouds of smoke.
“Smoke was puffing out on the street
from both sides of the restaurant,” he
said. “The traffic didn’t seem to notice
until the fire department arrived.”
Murray said the 10 employees and
three patrons in the restaurant were able
to escape from the building without any
injuries.
Murray said the cause of the fire was
yet to be determined. A malfunction in
the heating system was deemed to be
the preliminary cause.
Chan said she was not sure when the
restaurant would reopen, considering
to the two-thirds requirement.
Student Body President Nic Heinke
told The Daily Tar Heel on Thursday
that student government was giving
Mark Kleinschmidt, speaker of Student
Congress, time to weigh his political
options.
But Kleinschmidt’s pending decision
does come with a certain sense of
urgency, as the legislation would have to
come before Congress on Tuesday, the
last full meeting of the body before stu
dent elections.
But sources told the DTH that the
legislation could die altogether because
it might have to pass committee before
See REFERENDUM, Page 2
9624)245
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All rights reserved.
the extensive damage.
“The smoke went to the mam dining
room, which will make it harder for us
to recover,” she said. “I just bought a
new carpet, and that was also damaged.”
Chan’s daughter, Roxanne, a regis
tered nurse at UNC Hospitals, said she
had never seen her mother so visibly
shaken.
“I don’t think she cried when she got
robbed,” Roxanne Chan said. “She tries
to be practical, but this is tough. She’ll
try to reopen as soon as possible.”
Many of the bystanders watching the
scene were workers at nearby stores.
Ben Wingrove, of Slick Winston
See FIRE, Page 2
Court Case
Adjourned
Indefinitely
Junior Chiara D'Amore
gave new evidence with
which the court was not
familiar before the hearing.
By Geoff Wessel
Staff Writer
An open Honor Court hearing held
Thursday was adjourned until a future
date after the court added two new
charges against junior Chiara D’Amore.
Two charges - misusing the
University’s property and obstructing
the operation of University activities -
were brought against D’Amore, in addi
tion to the original charge of furnishing
false inforihaudri to University officials.
D’Amore said she was upset about
the addition of the new charges.
“I think that the proceedings were
unfair and that my rights were not kept
in mind,” she said.
D’Amore’s testimony presented facts
with which court members w ere unac
quainted before entering the hearing,
prompting the addition of new charges.
The Instrument for Student Judicial
Governance allows the court to correct
any error it finds to have been made in
the charges against a student.
Student Attorney General Drew
Haywood said that when he first saw
the case before the hearing, he became
aware that additional charges were a
possibility. “I thought myself that per
haps we ought to rewrite the charges,
but because of the late date that would
See OPEN COURT, Page 2
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Friday
Everybody’s Doing It
Staff applications are now available in
the DTH front office. We are seeking
applicants for several desks.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 25 at
the front desk. Contact Editor Rob
Nelson at 962-4076 with questions.
Constructive Critics
The DTH is looking for students to
serve on its Student Feedback Board,
which meets to discuss issues related
to the paper’s coverage. We’ll even feed
you. Contact Managing Editor Vicky
Eckenrode at vickye@email.unc.edu.
Today’s Weather
Sunny;
High 30s.
Saturday: Cloudy;
Low 40s.