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Legislators Get Glimpse of Capital Needs
Bv Jennifer Hagin
Staff Writer
GREENVILLE - While onlookers
stood in the back of a crowded room,
two UNC-system chancellors painted a
verbal picture to state legislators of
decaying classroom buildings and a
nursing school resembling a trailer park.
Chancellors from Elizabeth City State
and East Carolina universities voiced
their separate concerns Monday to
members of the Committee on Higher
Education Facilities Needs.
The committee, which will travel to
several other UNC campuses in coming
Search Continues
For Housing Head
By Derick Mattern
Staff Writer
University officials are still seeking an
enthusiastic bousing director after none of
the applicants left a rousing impression.
Although the three finalists were
well qualified for the technical aspects of
the position, screening committee mem
bers said they lacked charisma.
“They didn’t represent what we were
looking for - out
of all three, none
stood out as a
dynamic individ
ual,” said Murray
Coleman,
Residence Hall
Association presi
dent. “We didn’t
want to be forced
to choose the
wrong person.”
Associate Vice
Chancellor for
Student Services
Dean Bresciani,
who has been fill
ing the job’s
RHA President
Murray Coleman
said none
of the housing
candidates stood out
as long-term leaders.
responsibilities since last semester, said
the housing position had been vacant
since last summer when former Director
of University Housing Wayne Kuncl left
the office.
He said the committee would find
someone soon. “Our goal would cer
tainly be before students arrive next
fall.”
The committee has started over by
placing more specific ads in the
Chronicle of Higher Education.
Instead of simply calling for a “inno
vative, accomplishment-oriented indi
vidual,” the committee has added
“enthusiastic” to the description.
“I’m looking for an individual who
GPAs Rise Throughout System
UNC officials say the rise
in GPAs is the result of a
higher quality of student,
not grade inflation.
By Worth Civils
And Kristina Casto
Staff Writers
Schools throughout the UNC system
have seen their aggregate grade point
averages increase in the past decade,
but most administrators are not con
vinced that grade inflation is the cause.
GPA data from seven state universi
ties showed that UNC-Chapel Hill,
N.C. State University, UNC-
Wilmington, Appalachian State
University, East Carolina University
and UNC-Pembroke all saw GPA
increases in the last 10 years. UNC-
Charlotte experienced a decrease.
Unlike officials at UNC-CH who are
trying to combat grade inflation, admin
istrators from several UNC schools said
Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and high
school GPAs showed that the quality of
students was improving.
Bill Ward, ASU associate vice chan
cellor of academic affairs, said, “Like
many institutions, our SATs are higher
than 15 to 20 years ago and even five
It is not the great temptations that ruin us; it is the little ones.
John W. De Forest
weeks, formed last year to study the sys
tem’s capital needs after the legislature
did not approve a billion dollar bond
request from UNC-system President
Molly Broad to fund buildings.
Capital needs have since been a con
troversial issue for the system, with state
coffers running dry and students oppo
sition to fee increases slated for building
improvements.
“We’re here gathering information
and having a refresher course in the (sys
tem’s) needs,” said committee Co-chair
man George Miller, D-Johnston.
In a crowded classroom that officials
said accurately represented reality for
has the charisma to get the department
through the next 20 years,” Coleman
said. “Someone who has ideas and the
spunk and tenacity to get things done.”
Earlier this semester, committee
members interviewed candidates over
the phone to narrow down the list.
Applications were solicited using adver
tisements in administrative journals.
During the last month, the committee
has brought the top three competitors to
campus for personal interviews.
Mary Hummel, assistant director of
housing at the University of Michigan;
Frankie Minor, director of resident life
at the University of Missouri; and
Gerard Kowalski, director of resident
life at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University, spoke with individual
committee members.
“We had a pool that reflected the best
of the field,” Bresciani said. “But we
weren’t satisfied; we just didn’t feel the
chemistry.”
Following the interviews, the com
mittee members discussed the pros and
cons of each applicant and came to the
consensus that they needed to continue
looking, Coleman said.
Finding qualified applicants had been
easy because the job involved a depart
ment that was in sound financial shape
and would be starting several building
projects soon, said Sue Kitchen, vice
chancellor for student affairs.
But she said the new director would
also augment the senior leadership team
of the University, so it was important
that he or she mesh with the present
administrators and student leaders.
She said, “I think we have a wonder
ful job and haven’t found the right per
son yet.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
Grade Inflation Across the UNC System
As grade inflation becomes a hot topic at the University, other officials around the system say
higher grades at their respective schools have not set off any panic buttons.
School Past GPA Present GPA Change
UNC-CH 1990; 2.82 1999: 3.0 up 18%
UNC-C 1991: 2.76 /1999: 2.72 down 4%
UNC-W 1990; 155’ 2000: 2.79 up 24%
N^-Well ' ' ftj 19906 1646-Bl 1999: 2.817 up 17%
ECU 1992: 2.55 1999: 2.73 up 17%
ASU 1991: 2.70 1998: 2.86 up 16%
UNC-P 1994: 2.51 1999: 2.54 up 3%
SOURCE: UNC-SYSTEM SCHOOLS
years ago.”
UNC-CH faculty are discussing a
plan that would lower the University’s
aggregate GPA from 3.0 to 2.7, the ideal
average, according to a Faculty Council
Committee report released Feb. 11.
Officials said the move would restore
integrity to the University’s grading sys
tem and heighten the educational value
of a UNC-CH diploma.
Wednesday, March 8, 2000
Volume 107, Issue 169
many ECU students, Elizabeth City
State Chancellor Mickey Bumim
showed pictures of dilapidated buildings
on his campus.
He also included a picture of the foot
ball field with the caption “Our Halftime
Locker Room.” Elizabeth City State
does not have a field house, forcing foot
ball players to remain on the field dur
ing halftime.
“Elizabeth City has been neglected
far too long,” Miller said.
ECU Chancellor Richard Eakin
emphasized the school’s need for a mod
em science facilities, saying its chemistry'
lab was the state’s second worst.
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Ejj~ * m
DTH/JEFF POULAND
UNC shortstop Clay Hooper forces out Western Carolina's Charlie Wands at second base en route to completing
a 4-6-3 double play in the seventh inning Tuesday. The No. 2 Tar Heels improved their record to 17-0 after
defeating the Catamounts 11-8 at Boshamer Stadium, setting a school record for wins to begin a season.
Although UNC-CH and many other
UNC-system schools are seeing a GPA
increase, Gary Barnes, UNC vice pres
ident for planning, said grade inflation
was an issue best dealt with on individ
ual campuses. Administrators and facul
ty senate members at schools other than
UNC-CFI said they had not submitted
See INFLATION, Page 6
The committee also toured ECU’s
Flanagan Building, a chemistry facility.
Members saw corroded pipes, leaky
ceilings and hoods that recirculated the
toxic air they were intended to remove.
A small group of students also partic
ipated in the tour. They described labs
where they wore winter coats due to a
faulty heating system. Corissa Cheek, a
senior chemistry major, said equipment
forced her to struggle through labs. “Our
last lab we couldn’t even do because the
machine broke,” she said.
Student BOG member Jeff Nieman
also went on the tour. “I think that leg
islators can now relate firsthand what it
TWIN KILLING
Students Start Up
Internet Enterprises
Founders of StartEmUp.com
are holding an interest
meeting tonight to explain
the rules of their contest.
By Megan Butler
Staff Writer
In the age of communication tech
nology, the Internet is a gold mine for
business entrepreneurs. And for college
students, what is the glorious part of the
wealth?
It is that 20-somethings are heading
up the Internet Revolution.
Four Duke University seniors are
capitalizing on the riches of the dot.com
craze to help other college students hop
ing to make their mark on the World
Wide Web.
They have built their own Internet
company based on the idea that the
Internet epitomizes anew kind of busi
ness. And they are betting that college
students are the best ones to harness its
potential.
That’s how StartE,mUp.com came
about. The four founders, Matthew
Weiss, John Quintiliani, David Huang
is like to be in an inadequate science
lab,” Nieman said.
Lois Britt, BOG secretary and an
ECU alumna, said it was shocking how
little the labs had changed since she was
a student. “It looks just like it did 30
years ago,” she said.
Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, the
other committee co-chairman, said he
was disappointed in the conditions.
“It points out tremendous need,” he
said. “We’ve got to do a better job taking
care of our schools.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
and Brad Minsley, call it “the Web’s first
dorm-room incubator.”
Their goal is to facilitate other college
students’ dreams for Internet-based
companies.
But to get help, students must prove
the worthiness of their ideas by submit
ting them in a contest.
There will be an interest meeting
tonight at the Carolina Inn for prospec
tive applicants to hear more about the
contest and meet the founders.
The four have challenged teams of
college students to make their own
dot.com dreams come true despite aca
demic demands and the shortage of
funding by coming up with the best
dot.com company.
The contest is open to student teams
from N.C. State University, UNC-
Chapel Hill and Duke. Students will
enter their ideas online, and the winners
will be chosen sometime in April.
The winning students will earn a
prize that would be the envy of any
entrepreneur.
StartEmUp will provide office space
in Durham, complete with DSL con
nection speed and all the necessary'
See INTERNET, Page 6
News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245
Business/Advertising 962-1163
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
© 2000 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved.
UNC Police
Get Tough
On Tickets
Officials say the parking
enforcement team is fully
staffed for the first time
in more than three years.
By Karey Wutkowski
Staff Writer
Some students are finding their cash
supply flowing to the Department of
Public Safety with a recent crackdown
on campus parking violations.
Because the parking enforcement
division of the UNC Department of
Public Safety is now fully staffed, there
has been a 60 percent increase in cita
tions from February 1999 to February
2000, said Deborah Hawkins, parking
enforcement manager for the DPS.
“This is the first time we’ve had a full
enforcement staff since November
1996,” she said.
Hawkins said people had gotten the
impression they could park illegally
without consequences due to enforce
ment constraints.
Assistant Director of Parking
Services Cheryl Stout said the increase
in violations occurred all over campus.
“There’s been a tremendous amount
of violators,” she said. “We’ve been get
ting complaints from permit-holders
(about others in their spaces).”
Hawkins said the frequency of illegal
parking had gone up during the past
month but would come back down
once people realized parking regulation
was again at full force.
“I don’t expect the March numbers
(of citations) will look anything like the
February numbers, and the April num
bers will probably be even lower.”
Tbe parking enforcement’s under
staffing have been a result of turnovers
and a low unemployment rate in the
Chapel Hill area, Hawkins said.
But she said the enforcement had
been more visible and consistent since
fall.
Junior Brandi Coble, who doesn’t
have a parking permit, said she had
noticed an increase in parking citations
in the past few months. “Recently every
time I park illegally, I get a ticket”
Coble said she had received two tick
ets in the past month. “Before it didn’t
happen as much, but I’ve not been able
to get away with (parking illegally) late
ly”
Senior Loretta Bates said she had
been forced to park illegally because
she could not get a parking permit.
“I’ve been on a waitlist for a vear,”
See PARKING, Page 6
INSIDE
Wired Community
N.C. Community Colleges have
established a program to offer online
courses to working parents and other
residents who do not have time to
attend regular classes. See Page 4.
Playing It Safe
m w
Local
school
kids are
getting
valuable
lessons
in safety
from anew group that encourages
children to think about accidents
before they happen. See Page 5.'
A Senator's Plea
Sen. Robert Cooper urged UNC
students and the community to fight
against underage drinking at a Students
Against Destructive Decisions forum
on Tuesday. See Page 5.
Today’s Weather
Sunny;
Low 80s.
Thursday Sunny
Low 80s.