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The University and Towns
In Brief
Carrboro Police Arrest
Two Men in Drug Bust
Carrboro police made two arrests
Thursday morning at a local residence
in connection with an ongoing drug
investigation.
Narcotics Investigator J. A. Lau said
Christopher Elector Howell, 40, and
Jermaine Christopher Yeager, 19, both
of 116 B Fidelity St., were arrested
about 9 a.m. Thursday when police
seized SBOO worth of marijuana and
crack cocaine.
Howell faces a felony charge of
maintaining a dwelling, and Yeager
faces the same charge as well as an addi
tional felony charge of possession with
intent to sell and distribute.
“It was a good bust,” Lau said. “We
expected to find drugs and money and
we did.”
Both men were arrested and taken to
the Orange County Jail in
Hillsborough.
Later the two men were released on
a written promise to appear in court.
Yeager and Howell are scheduled to
appear in Orange County District Court
in Hillsborough today.
Morning Blaze Engulfs
Carrboro Residence
An early morning fire in Carrboro
resulted in the the complete destruction
of a condemned house.
Carrboro Fire Chief Rodney Murray
said a man and a woman were inside
the house,which was located at 605
Davie Road, when the blaze began.
Both managed to escape through a win
dow.
“When we arrived on the scene, all
areas of the house were fully engulfed,”
he said.
Murray said the house had no power
or water, and had been condemned for
several years.
Even though the house was con
demned, Murray said the people who
owned the property had lived there for
many years.
Carrboro Fire Marshall Stan Foushee
said the fire appeared to be uninten
tional, but an investigation would deter
mine the exact cause of the blaze.
“We believe the fire started some
where in the living room area,” he said.
No one was injured in the blaze.
J.G. Booker, captain of the Carrboro
Police Department, said that years ago
the residence was a drug house, but
drug activity ended when the house was
condemned.
Wayne Lacock, department chief of
the Carrboro Fire Department, said fire
fighters responded to the blaze in under
two minutes because of the close prox
imity of the house to the fire depart
ment.
University
Wednesday, Feb. 9
■ A UNC student reported that a
Visa debit card was stolen or lost. The
card was used six times for purchases
totaling $276.43.
Police have no suspects.
■ Emergency Medical Service work
ers and University police responded to
a student who fell and broke her arm on
the third floor of Carroll Hall.
Police described her as conscious and
alert.
She was transported to the UNC
Hospitals emergency room.
■ A cardiology department patient
experienced irregular heartbeats and
was transported to the UNC Hospitals
emergency room to receive treatment,
police reported.
She was listed as being conscious and
alert at the time.
■ A Carolina Inn employee fainted
and was transferred to UNC Hospitals
emergency room, police reports state.
■ Two separate motorists reported
their cars were broken into and their
parking permits stolen, police reports
stated.
Both victims had left their cars doors
unlocked and no other valuables were
reported stolen.
One car had received two parking
tickets, reports state.
■ Police received a call from an
unknown caller that a vehicle in the Bell
Tower parking lot was leaking gas.
They reported that a 1 -by-1 foot pud
dle of gasoline was underneath the vehi
cle.
Police covered the puddle with kitty
litter and fire officials asked the driver to
move his vehicle.
Tuesday, Feb. 8
■ A UNC student reported her wal
let stolen from a classroom.
Her bank service later reported that
someone tried to withdraw S3OO, in
addition to the SSO in the wallet.
Also stolen was a UNC ONE Card
and other personal items.
Matthews, Harris Snag Presidential Endorsements
Sangam members also
endorsed Sherilynn Black
and Jason Cowley for senior
class officers at the forum.
Bv Elizabeth Breyer and
John Maberry
Staff Writers
Promises of a diverse campus marked
the latest attempt by candidates to
obtain endorsements and to further pub
licize their goals.
The Residence Hall Association and
Masala hosted a forum Thursday night
that gave candidates from the races of
student body president, senior class offi
cers, Carolina Athletic Association pres
ident, and RHA president a chance to
speak.
Diversity was the main issue
addressed by student body president
candidates throughout the debate that
resulted in Brad Matthews being
endorsed by Sangam and Michael
Harris by the Carolina Hispanic
Association.
From the Mountains to the Hill
. r _ * lit'
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARYN MCCRUMB
Sharyn McCrumb, a UNC alumna and bestselling novelist,
will read from her works in Wilson Library on Sunday.
Snow Makeup Days Set for Area Schools
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City
School students will attend
classes on three Monday
holidays and a Saturday.
By Sabine Hirschaler
Staff Writer
January’s winter snowstorm, which
canceled classes at Chapel Hill-
Carrboro City Schools for eight days,
will force local students to spend Easter
Monday in classrooms instead of at
home.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of
Education voted Thursday night for a
snow makeup day schedule which
would include Easter Monday.
“It is a very tough decision to make
for us, but we are in a decision mood,”
said board member Teresa Williams.
Steve Scroggs, interim assistant super
intendent of support services for the
school system, said another alternative
Board Rubber Stamps End to Class Rank
By Kellie Dixon
Staff Writer
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City
Board of Educationvoted 5-2 Thursday
night to send a request to the UNC
General Administration which could
scratch class rank from college applica
tions.
Initiated by the School Governance
Committee of East Chapel Hill High
School, the request asked that the state
allow it the right to abolish class rank.
Several parents and students claimed
that students not in the top 10 percent of
their class would be given an equal
chance in admissions with the passage of
this request.
“High-achieving students are at risk
of lowering their grade point average
and hence class rank by participating in
Sangam endorsed Tee Pruitt for CAA
president, Jason Cowley and Sherilynn
Black for senior class officers, and Robin
Yamakawa for RHA president.
CHispA endorsed Michael Songer
and Adam Walters for CAA, Cowley
and Black for senior class officers, and
Yamakawa for RHA.
“We must increase communication
and coordination to stop reinventing the
wheel and truly address our diversity
problems,” Matthews said.
A number of questions from groups
sponsoring the forum pushed the candi
dates to explain the specifics of their
plans to make UNC a more diverse
campus.
CHispA President Erika Hamilton
said Hispanics would be the largest
minority in the United States by the vear
2050.
She invited candidates to provide
ideas for dealing with the growing num
bers.
“We need to use student government
press to publicize events that celebrate
Hispanic culture and hopefully welcome
them into the mainstream,” said candi
date Matt Martin.
proposal was a shortened spring break.
But, Scroggs added that this option
encountered strong opposition from par
ents.
“By talking with the parents, we got
the strong message not to mess with
spring break.” Scroggs said. “The pro
posal to use Easter Monday was almost
exclusively based on parental input. We
know that these days conflict with the
holidays and might raise religious
issues.”
But, board member Elizabeth Carter
said the board should consider a short
ened spring break despite the strong
opposition.
“We need to stop seeing spring break
as something sacred,” Carter said. "If
this is what we have to do, than we have
to do it.”
Other options discussed included
Saturday makeup days and extending
the school year overall.
Both parents and board members
expressed opposition to the option to
extend the school year.
School Board
member
Elizabeth Carter
voted against a plan
to abolish class rank
in local high schools.
cultural arts pro
grams which give
credit for that par
ticipation (but not
on the weighted
scale),” Madeline
Mitchell, a mother
of five, said.
“Taking any extra
class that is not
weighted can neg
atively affect a stu
dent’s average.”
The ECHHS
waiver stated that
students in the
15th to 30th per-
centile were at a disadvantage. Because
the average GPA at ECHHS is so high,
even those that score well are at a dis
advantage in college admissions. The
News
Most candidates focused on the
importance of increasing the numbers of
Hispanics by creating a more sensitive
admissions process.
“We could hire someone who can
deal with special concerns of minorities,
especially Hispanics - the country is
growing and it is truly a melting pot,”
said Harris.
Another important diversity issue
revolved around the means by which
candidates would get in touch with
minority groups and represent their con
cerns.
“We want to make this a more diverse
campus, and I plan on standing there
with you (recruiting) as student body
president to say I represent students and
we want you,” said SBP candidate
Preston Smith.
Candidate Erica Smiley also said the
role of student body president exerted
power which could help nurture diver
sity on campus.
“Student government has the poten
tial to legitimize many minority issues,”
she said.
“If we create an accessible student
government, the diversity will come
By Allison Rost
Staff Writer
lans of Sharvn McCrumb’s
Appalachian storytelling-style can hear
the author read her works in person
Sunday when she visits the UNC cam
pus.
McCrumb, a UNC alumna who has
written 16 novels
and topped The
New York Times’
Bestsellers List sev
eral times, finds
inspiration in her
family’s roots in
Appalachia.
Growing up in
Mitchell County
gave McCrumb a
Star
Heels
*1
lot of culture to work with. Her family
settled in the Appalachian Mountains in
the 17905, and her great-grandfathers
were circuit preachers who traveled by
horse to different mountain towns each
week.
“I grew up listening to the music and
tales of the history and folklore of the
North Carolina mountains,” McCrumb
said. “1 find in this heritage a rich vein
of material for writing.”
Her books, such as " The Ballad of
Frankie Silver,” the true story of an
Appalachian woman hanged for murder
in 1833, incorporate that material.
“We want the students to have as pro
ductive makeup days as possible,”
Williams said.
“1 am very concerned about the up
coming (Advanced Placement) exams,
and students who will struggle because
of the time they lost.”
Superintendent Neil Pedersen said it
was impossible to choose a plan that
would please both students and staff
members.
“Whatever we are deciding on here
tonight, there will be no ideal plan,”
Pedersen said. “It is choosing the lesser
of two evils.”
The resolution also included makeup
days on Feb. 21, April 24 (Easter
Monday), Feb. 26 and june 12.
In a motion presented by board
member Roger Waldon, the board
authorized the superintendent to sched
ule Saturday makeup days immediately
following school cancellations.
At Thursday's meeting, the board
also discussed a proposal to lengthen the
school day next year for the citv schools.
request stated that students were over
looked in the admissions process
because they were not in the top percent
of their class, even though they still per
formed well.
But some board members remained
hesitant. “Currentlv. I do not agree class
rank causes stress,” said board member
Elizabeth Carter. “We live in a compet
itive society and education is valued
here. The likelihood of the I NC system
saving yes is unlikely.”
Student class rank is an influential
factor in college admissions and is based
on a profile established by the school
itself. The profile represents the school
and the difficulty of the courses.
The software used by the school sys
tem does not allow for class rank to be
removed from the individual school pro
files. But Ann Hart, assistant superin
■ : -v JBL | 3 a %ss&r ■■■ '•StSßf&tfSifr >!?•% r
DTH/JEFF POULAND
Student Body President candidate Brad Matthews outlines his platform
during the Masala/Residence Hall Association forum Thursday night.
about by itself.”
Other issues which came up included
the prospect of a center for Asian-
American studies and the need for a
McCrumb knew at the age of seven
that she was going to be a writer.
“When I was a child, I read a book a
day, and that preparation helped to
change my perceptions of style and
structure,” she said.
McCrumb found her literary voice
when she was very young and has main
tained it ever since, resisting trends in
literature.
She said she was always drawn to
truly original writers who tried to con
nect with people rather than show off a
contrived writing style.
Although McCrumb was sure of her
path before college, her time at UNC
was memorable enough to record in a
short story titled “Southern Comfort,”
featured in “Foggy Mountain
Breakdown,” a collection of her short
stories.
For those students wanting to follow
her path, McCrumb has some advice.
She said to remember that more than
one kind of writing existed and that
being a successful writer required just as
much intelligence and dedication as a
career in medicine or law.
And McCrumb is exemplar)- of her
own advice. In addition to having two
books on The New York Times’
Bestsellers List (“She Walks These Hills”
and “The Rosewood Casket”), she has
See STARHEEL, Page 4
The proposal would provide students
with the required 1,000 hours of class
time, which is not fulfilled by the current
schedule.
“The state requires 333.33 minutes
per day for 180 school days and our ele
mentary school falls over 18 minutes
short,” Williams said.
She also said to comply with state
regulations, various options were dis
cussed, including earlier starting times
and later closings.
“All of these options will effect trans
portation and parents are concerned if
their children are being picked up earli
er or later in the day,” Williams said.
But, board member Nicholas Didow
said he questioned the validity of the
1,000-hour state requirement.
“Hundreds of our high school stu
dents take academic courses which do
not count in the overall,” he said. “That
puts us well beyond the 1,000 hours.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
tendent for curriculum, said that
changes could be made.
Board member Gloria Faley request
ed that school profiles be updated to
accommodate the change and that dia
logue remain open.
“Along with the waiver, attach an
updated profile, updated and changed
transcript to say this will show how well
our students do,” Faley said.
If approved, ECHHs would join the
ranks of private schools across the state.
ECHHS Principal David Thaden
said, "(We) look forward to working with
(the associate provost and director of
admissions for UNC) in the years to
come as we try to make sure our kids are
looked at as the individuals they are.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
Friday, February 11, 2000
diverse faculty.
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
BOG Seeks
Stricter
Standards
A desire to raise freshman
grades prompted the BOG
to examine heightened
admissions requirements.
By Deepika Narasimhan
Staff Writer
A Board of Governors planning com
mittee laid the preliminary groundwork
for raising the admissions bar to UNC
system schools Thursday.
The committee discussed a proposal
to increase minimum course require
ments for UNC-system admissions,
which would require high school stu
dents to complete at least two years of
foreign language and four years of
math, including one course bevond sec
ond-level algebra.
The foreign language requirement
would be implemented in fall 2004, and
the math requirement would take effect
two years later, said Gary Barnes, UNC
vice president of program assessment
and public service.
Barnes said raising the course
requirements would lead to improve
ments within the system such as increas
es in retention rates, graduation rates,
incoming Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores and first-semester grade point
averages.
“Math beyond Algebra II more than
doubles chances that a student will com
plete a bachelor’s degree,” Barnes said.
Present system admission require
ments are four years of English, three
years of math, three years of science
and two years of social sciences.
But Barnes said most UNC-svstem
students were already meeting the pro
posed requirements. “95.3 percent of
freshmen are meeting the two years of
foreign language. And 78.7 percent of
freshmen are meeting both the math
and foreign language recommenda
tions.”
Barnes said he was confident the new
standards would boost freshman grade
point-averages throughout the system.
Students who enter college with onlv
three years of math and less than tw o
years of foreign language have an aver
age first semester GPA of 1.76, he said.
But if the plan was implemented,
freshmen in 2006 who met the new
minimum requirement would have an
average first-semester GPA of 2.34. he
said.
Barnes said there was no reason high
school students could not meet the addi
tional course requirements. “ There is
plenty of room in their schedules for
students to take these courses," he said.
But some members of the planning
committee voiced concern that imple
menting this plan would create an
increased need for high-school teachers.
Barnes admitted that more teachers
would be needed, but he said the BOG
communicated more now with N.C.
high schools than it ever had in the past.
He said the schools would be well
informed of the requirements and
would be able to prepare for the addi
tional courses. Barnes said the planning
committee would make a recommen
dation later in the s eat after gauging the
BOG’s reaction Thursday.
UNC-system lYesident Molls Broad
said she approved of the plan and had
already begun discussing it with the
state Board of Education. “It will
increase the college-going rate," she
said. “The evidence is quite persuasive,"
The State & National Editor can be
reachedatstntdesk@unc.edu.
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