North Carolina Newspapers

®lte Satlu ®ar Heel ) J? HBH 107 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 BOLO Case Ends With Guilty Plea Jesus Alvarez Ramos, the man accused of two campus assaults, faces five years of court-supervised probation. By Jamila Vernon Staff Writer After eight months in jail, the man accused of attacking two women on UNC’s campus in August pleaded guilty despite his continued denial of having committed the crimes. Jesus Alvarez Ramos entered a guilty plea Tuesday based on an agreement that stipulated he would he released immediately due to time already served. Under the agreement, Alvarez Ramos pleaded guilty to two counts each of attempted sec ond-degree kid napping and assault on a female, said Kayley Taber, assistant district attorney for Orange County. o Suspect Jesus Alvarez Ramos could be deported to Mexico within the next two days. “He was given the option of getting out of jail yesterday or waiting for a trial,” said Amos Tyndall, assistant pub lic defender for Alvarez Ramos. “Who knows when this case would have gone to trial. He would risk being convicted.” Instead of having to serve the sen tenced lfi months to !20 months in prison, Orange County Superiorjudge Wade Barber suspended it to five years of supervised probation, Tyndall said. Alvarez Ramos still denies having attacked the two women. “It wasn’t him,” Tyndall said. The first attack took place Aug. 15 when a UNC sophomore and two of her friends were walking near Cameron Avenue. I he three split up as the victim began walking home. The victim testified that the assailant threw her on the ground between Caldwell Hall and Grimes Residence Hall and attempted to sexually assault her. Two days later on Aug. 17, a woman was assaulted between the Carolina Coffee Shop and the Hanes Art Center. The man threatened her with a knife and attempted to jump on top of her. Both victims recalled details of the See PLEA, Page 2 UNC Employee Sues Hospital Bv Harmony Johnson and Geoff Wessel Staff Writers UNC Hospitals could be held responsible for alleged prejudiced hir ing practices after hearings for a dis crimination lawsuit conclude next week. In the second day of preliminary hearings, five hospital employees testi fied Wednesday for a discrimination lawsuit filed in October by employee Robin Smith. Smith is suing UNC Hospitals for race, sex and age discrimination after being denied a promotion last June. Smith, a 44-year-old black woman, was employed at the hospital as a level II medical laboratory technologist in the histopathology department. Smith still holds her position within the histopathology department, which deals with the study of tissue samples. A hospital employee for more than 23 years, Smith applied for a level 111 med-tech position in June. Despite being the senior applicant, she was turned down in favor of Bert Basabe, a 39-year-old white man who See TRIAL, Page 2 If I smashed the traditions it was because I knew no traditions. Maude Adams Sorensen Takes Name Off Chancellor List By Alexandra Molaire Assistant University Editor University of Alabama President Andrew Sorensen, a strong contender to become UNC’s ninth chancellor, yanked his name off the list Wednesday. In a press release, Sorensen stated that mounting inquiries about his status in the search prompted him to make an official announcement. He stated, “While I consider it a great honor to have been nominated for the post, 1 have asked that my name be withdrawn from consideration.” Sorensen, the third candidate to pub- # LtAU> fej. The road fiercely cc Bv AhneF* r. mm.' : t .***-> yi <£ • jX'Sfci \JI :. • • i DTH/JEFF POULAND Howard Parker answers questions during a hearing involving Robin Smith, who is suing UNC Hospitals for discrimination. licly drop out of the search since December, was not speaking to reporters Wednesday. Committee Chairman Richard Stevens could also not be reached for comment. Sorensen’s exit marks another snag in the seven-month search, which is sup posed to conclude by Commencement. Committee members have remained tight-lipped during the closed search, even with media leaks that forced other candidates out of the running. Jeffrey Houpt, dean of the UNC School of Medicine, and Linda Christ, executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California-Berkeley LEADINGthePACK The road to college life and the job market has become fiercely competitive, forcing students to run the rat race. ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES PHARR Thursday, March 9, 2000 Volume 107, Issue 170 both dropped out of the running in December after their names were leaked to local press. The Chancellor Search Committee met Tuesday, prompting specu lation that Sorensen’s with drawal was possi bly spurred by a committee change of heart to no Bv Anne Fawcett Staff Writer Fifty years ago, high school seniors had a variety of options after graduation. Some young men enlisted to fight in Korea. Others knew they could make a good liv- ing by joining the family business, while a few decided to try their luck in college. Thirty years ago, a young man’s Vietnam draft number determined his future more immediately than his education. Today, the United States is enjoying its longest period of peace time prosperity since World War 11. But with the economic boom has come an increased demand for a col- lege education. Over the last decade, competi tion for higher education has become intense as increasingly larger numbers of high school seniors apply for the same quantity of college admissions slots. Record numbers of high school students registered for the Scholastic Assessment Test in 1999 as part of the college admissions process. Driven by growth in minority test takers, tbe number of students tak ing the exam has increased by nearly 200,000 in 10 years. This swell of new applicants has forced admissions coun selors to raise their standards Congress Kills Proposal To Amend Drug Policy By Katy Nelson Staff Writer Student Congress asserted its inde pendence from the Board of Trustees by shooting down BOT-initiated clarifica tions of UNC drug policy by a 5-14 vote. The Committee on Student Conduct’s proposed drug policy revi sions for the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance would have expanded the scope of drug possession violations. But opponents said the changes were redundant with the cur rent drug code and were only proposed to pacify the BOT’s concerns. The committee’s plan would have made “possession of any object contain ing any remnants or residue of illegal drugs” a chargeable offense. The committee also proposed to update the policy by clarifying the defi nition of possession. It stated that the “possession shall mean the actual phys ical possession of any illegal substance, or the ability to exercise control or dominion over any illegal substance.” longer consider him for the post. An editor at the UA campus newspa per, the Crimson White, said Sorensen backed out to protect his reputation. “The feeling here is that it’s a face saving measure,” said Matt Yoakum, administrative affairs editor for the paper. “This was kind of a way for him to bow out gracefully.” He said UA administrators respected his decision to take interest in the posi tion but wanted him to remain at the university. “But they didn’t want him to go, partly because he’s been a good president and partly because changing chancellors is a very difficult thing to go University of Alabama President Andrew Sorensen officially withdrew his name from the list of candidates. from years past. Students have responded by grooming themselves to be attractive from every angle. “(Applicants) are members of every club and go to every conference to make them selves desirable,” said Martha Roseman, associate dean of academic advising at Johns Hopkins University. “Schools look for lead ers, so students show leadership. Being a good student academically just isn’t enough.” But with this intense competition comes Wp COMFEnnOR Part three of a 10-part series examining the issues that will face our generation in the coming millennium. origin in the mid-1980s. She attributed their stress to the college admissions process. “Students are applying to more colleges than ever before, and they’re faced with increased competition to get into the best schools,” Sax said. “They spread themselves so thin by doing so many activities that they’re getting overwhelmed.” Their competitive spirit carried over to post-college plans in 1999, as record num bers of freshmen placed their educational goals higher than a bachelor of science degree or a bachelor of arts degree. Changes to the code were proposed after the BOT acted on UNC-Chapel Hill’s relatively low numbers of drug violations compared to other UNC-sys tem schools. Last year, UNC-system schools had the following drug violation totals: UNC-CH, 16; Appalachian State University, 116; East Carolina University, 58; and N.C. State University, 54. Administrators were concerned that UNC-CH’s drug policy failed to address all behavior involved with drug use, including use of paraphernalia. Speaker Mark Kleinschmidt, who voted against the bill Tuesday, limited debate time to 30 minutes for each side by certifying the debate as a contested issue, a rarity in Student Congress. Congresswoman Alexandra Bell said that because possession was already ille gal, the bill’s clarifications were not nec essary except to satisfy the BOT’s initial concerns. “This bill didn’t change any thing. It’s an ineffectual bill to show tbe See POLICY, Page 2 In 1985,31.6 percent of college freshmen planned for a master’s degree to be their highest level of education. The same year, 9.2 percent hoped to complete their doctor ate. This year’s survey showed 40.1 percent of freshmen are working toward a master’s degree and 14.2 percent are aiming for doc toral studies. Sax said the increases reflected practical matters rather than interest in education. “Students feel they need to have at least a master’s (degree) to get a job in a certain field,” Sax said. “It’s not a desire to learn more, but to be marketable.” This focus on students selling themselves marks a generational gap for many families. UNC senior Danae Ringelmann said her father felt sorry for today’s students. “He sees it as a fast track,” Ringelmann said. “There’s pressure to get as many letters after your name as possible to be successful.” But many students find they can take detours along the way. Ringelmann has chosen a more gradual career course. She has majored in American studies at UNC while taking premedical requirements on the side. Eventually she would like to mesh her interests, perhaps in the business world. Her job after graduation will send her off to gain practical knowledge. Come September, she’ll enter the work force at the investment banking firmJ.P. Morgan & Cos. “I’m going to give myself two years to see what I’ve got lined up, then I’ll go from there,” she said. Despite the increased pressure felt by incoming freshmen, Ringelmann is part of a growing number of graduating seniors eval uating the job market and putting the degree race on hold. These students opt to forgo graduate and See COMPETITION, Page 2 intense stress, said Linda Sax, coordi nator of the University of California-Los Angeles’ Cooperative Institutional Research Program, a survey distributed each fall to fresh men nationally. Sax said the 1999 survey showed incoming freshmen were the most overwhelmed of any students since the program’s An Irish Spring With the advent of Riverdance, Celtic music entered mainstream America, but artists still hold a unique identity tied to tradition. Bands have surfaced in Chapel Hill as well. See Page 5. Day Glow To raise pedestrian safety, a committee wants to add neon-yellow and green pedestrian walking signs as well as more police officers on the streets to ticket people that don't stop at crosswalks. See Page 2. News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Busi ness/Ad vertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 2000 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. through,” Yoakum said. UA Director of Media Relations Cathy Andreen said the fact that Sorensen was a possible candidate for UNC chancellor raised concerns among the UA community. “Some of the faculty and students here were going to wonder if he was going to stay or not.” Sorensen came to UA from the University of Florida, where he served from 1990 as provost and vice president for academic affairs. The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. Thursday Today’s Weather Sunny; High 70s. Friday: Sunny: Low 70s.