2 Friday, March 10, 2000 New Program Helps Immigrants By Brooke Roseman Staff Writer Anew organization has been created under the umbrella of Campus Y to acclimate foreign middle and high school students to American culture. Entering America Smoothly Through Enrichment aims to work with local teens and their families who have recently entered the United States. It also strives to encourage inter action between college students and teens with diverse backgrounds. EASE, created fall semester, has 30 mem bers - 15 little pals who recently immigrated to the United States and 15 big pals who are vol unteer college students. Right now, EASE involves middle school and high school students in the program, but it is expanding its reach to elementary students. Little EASE pals are recommended to the program by English as a Second Language teachers in local schools. ESL teachers identify children who have Town Selects Artist For Atrium Display By Amy Dobson Staff Writer A tapestry depicting the Chapel Hill of the late 18th century will soon add zest to the atrium of Town Hall. After a year long competition, a selec tion panel chose artist Anita Wolfenden, a resident of Chapel Hill since 1970, to receive a public arts commission of $4,000 to weave her proposed tapestry. Wolfenden said her selection was a surprise and she looked forward to hav ing her work displayed in Town Hall. “I am very excited about being cho sen,” she said. “The competition was fun.” A selection panel, composed of com munity representatives, art administra tors, artists, town employees and a rep resentative from the Public Arts Commission, narrowed the pool of more than 20 entries down to three finalists. The entries advancing to the finalist level consisted of two paintings and a tapestry. The panel later came to a group con sensus, deciding that the tapestry would best suit the given space in Town Hall. Julie Andresen McClintock, a former Town Council member who served on the selection panel, said the tapestry was a contrast to the paintings the other two finalists submitted. “We opted for a piece that would be more timeless,” she said. “The tapestry fulfilled all the criteria we were looking for.” Council member Kevin Foy, who also served on the panel, said, “All three did excellent work. (The panel) chose the tapestry because of its unusual tex ture and use of color." He said the process - from announc- Mb- - ' f ' | Healthy & Delicious | Open 7 days a week Lunch & Dinner S Across from South Square £ f: 4201; University Drive $ jS 489-5776 • www.saladelia.com § SPORTS SHORTS Next Week At Carolina... TUESDAY. MARCH 14 I Baseball vs. Pace University . JMm 1:00 pm at Bashamer Stadium Men’s Lacrosse vs. \ Pennsylvania Jj 2 7:oopm at Fetzer Field | : SATURDAY. MARCH 18 Men’s Lacrosse vs. Ohio State Hardee’s Students & Faculty Admitted EREE w/ll)! social troubles, such as those who have been called troublemakers because they have not adjusted to culture in the United States. EASE Co-chairman Anish Shah said EASE tried to accommodate the needs of the children. “We’re a mentoring program in that aspect,” said Shah, a junior from Wilmington. “Our mis sion is to help recent immigrants in the area to adjust into American society but at the same time retain their culture.” Shah said the EASE program had children from a variety of cultures. “We figure the best way to achieve our mission is through our diverse membership.” Shah said the program encouraged big EASE pals to take their little pals out in pairs so they could build friendships with other children. “We try to introduce them to a network of friends they can depend on and help them speak English more often,” Shah said. Ryon Chao, an EASE member and sopho more from Raleigh, said he joined the group to help children adjust to American culture. “The reason why 1 got interested in this pro ing the commission to reaching the final consensus - took about a year and coin cided with some of the council’s other art initiatives. “The Town Council is working to encourage art by helping artists find venues for their work and creating an attitude of appreciation in Chapel Hill,” Foy said. McClintock, along with Mayor Rosemary Waldorf, got the idea to spon sor the commission through conversa tions with residents. McClintock said the town wanted to showcase local art work. “All the finalists were from Chatham or Orange County,” she said. Wolfenden, who has been weaving for 20 years, said she wanted to find something relevant to the town’s early history when she submitted her entry. Her inspiration came from an old map she uncovered in the document room in Wilson Library, which showed a land survey of Chapel Hill in 1792. “I found the original map,” she said. “It was on an old, 3-foot-long piece of parchment paper that was crumbling.” She said she was intrigued by the old map of the University because of the feelings it stirred in her. “It awed me because of the sense it conveyed of this outpost of civilization sitting like a gem in the forest,” she said. “It looked so pre carious and isolated, but it also expressed the optimism of its time.” She said weaving the tapestry, which will measure 92 inches long by 74 inch es wide, should take her all spring and summer to be ready by Sept. 5. “I’ll be working all the time,” she said. “This is the biggest tapestry I have ever made.” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. University & City gram is because I’m Asian American, and I realized that growing up in this country is a lit tle different,” he said. “I just wanted to help a kid from another country adjust here.” Chao said he had seen his pal grow socially in the time they had spent together. “Her English has improved a lot since she’s come here.” Besides taking his little buddy out, Chao said he took her and her mother to Davis library to help her with research for a class project. Shah said EASE wanted to expose the chil dren to different aspects of American society. “We promote that members take them to cul tural events on campus because that’s an impor tant aspect of American society.” Silka Patel, a sophomore EASE member from Charlotte, said she also joined EASE because she moved to the United States when she was young. “I kind of have an idea of what they are going through,” Patel said. “It would have been nice to have had somebody to show me the ropes.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. Labor Recommendation Delayed 2 Weeks Despite the stall, activists will continue to fight the University's affiliation with the Fair Labor Association. By John Maberrv Staff Writer The deadline for the University’s Labor Advisory Committee to submit a recommendation on membership to the Worker Rights Consortium has been extended to the week after Spring Break. The committee is debating whether to end partnership with the Fair Labor Association and join the Worker Rights Consortium, both labor monitoring groups. Members of Students for Economic Justice are advocating a union with the WRC, but the committee is continuing to discuss the issue. “We didn’t get all the pros and cons of each of our options laid out until Jewish Group Awaits Completion of Center Officials from N.C Hillel estimate they have raised more than $2.1 million for the rebuilding project. By Sabine Hirschaier Staff Writer With demolition work complete and the new building’s foundation already in progress, a local Jewish organization anxiously awaits the completion of its new activities center. N.C. Hillel, a campus-based Jewish group, hopes to reoccupy 210 W. Cameron St., where its old building was demolished in October. Executive Director Rabbi Edward Elkin said the new center would encom The First Annual Student Environmental Research Symposium Celebrating student environmental research ($250 to the best undergraduate project) Friday • April 14, 2000 UNC-CH Center for Undergraduate Excellence • Undergraduates and graduates exhibit posters of environmental research • Selected students give talks • All student research will be published Deadline: Submit a one paragraph description of research by March 20 to CESA (glaserkt@email.unc.edu) Sponsors: Carolina Environmental Student Alliance, Carolina Environmental Program and Carolina Parents ’ Fund It's All Here! " IIPHII • MORE Minutes Included! jSkjE E |Rj I • FREE Nationwide Long Distance! F Miff “ • SHARE Your Minutes With Up To ® ™ # 4 Additional Lines! 525/mo hr 175 minute Main Line; SI 0/mo hr each Share Plan Line r- *L. GTE Wireless gives you the flexibility f J to change your rate plan as your needs change authorized WIRELESS AGENT QMri| Wireless is Freedom " m Wire Free New Hope Commons (near Old Navy) / Durham / 549-4700 Chapel Hill North (near Harris Teeter) / Chapel Hill / 960-7100 We Match Competitors' Prices • We Deliver • www.wirefreecom.com The New Way to Buy Wireless 5 " JWn E S S^j hHHBI _ _ mmtm DTH/ CASEY QUILLEN Kelly Brown dances for Jesus Awareness Week. Along with an a cappella group, an impromptu rap and drama, her group and other Christian organizations spread their message in the Pit during lunch all week. <&,*- |l Monday,” said Labor Advisory Committee Co chairman Rut Tufts. “The report will be written over Spring Break, and we will have a rec ommendation for the chancellor by the end of the fol lowing week,” he said. SEJ will hold a picnic today to demand that Labor Advisory Committee Co-chairman Rut Tufts said the report would be written over break. administrators withdraw from the FLA and join the WRC. Last week, SEJ protested the University’s affiliation with the FLA by hosting a jam session inside South Building. The protestors were asked to quiet down or leave the area. The prior week, SEJ organized a “I’d rather be naked than wear clothes made in sweatshops” party on the steps of pass 10,000 square feet and cost about $3.6 million. He said he expected it to be completed in late fall. “We are in the middle of a capital campaign to raise money for the new building,” Elkin said. “We already have $2.1 million.” Elkin said the organization was confi dent it would be able to raise the remaining funds. “We have good support from the local Jewish alumni and the communi ty,” he said. Program Director Kes Spilker said the new building would enable the group to expand already existing activ ities and programs. “The new building is three times larg er (than the old one),” she said. “It will have recreation rooms, a library and a new kitchen with meat and dairy sepa- A HOLY FERVOR South Building. SEJ set today as the Labor Advisory Committee’s deadline, to give interim Chancellor Bill McCoy ample time to have a decision on WRC membership before April 3. The change, however, will not ham per the chancellor’s decision. “The chancellor said he should have no problem rendering a decision by the deadline,” Tufts said. The April 3 deadline was made to meet the WRC deadline for delegation at the consortium’s founding conference April 7. Should McCoy decide to sign a con tract with the WRC, SEJ members have already promised to pay his airfare to attend the New York conference. “If we’re not present at the WRC founding table, our voice won’t be heard,” said Todd Pugatch, student rep resentative to the Labor Advisory Committee. “It’s a really significant opportunity for UNC to be in on the founding of a very influential commit tee.” ration (according to Jewish dietary law), which will make our traditional Friday dinners easier.” The presentation of group programs also would be improved with the larger building, Spilker said. “With more space available, we are planning to run multiple programs simultaneously,” she said. The temporary move into two offices in the Wesley Foundation at 214 Pittsboro St., has hindered the group’s activities, Spilker said. “It requires tnore time to plan pro gram events since we have to rent places,” she said. “Also, students do not have a place to gather. The place here is just too tiny to relax.” Abby Karesh, Hillel student board vice president, also criticized the limita tions of the present location. Campus Calendar Today 11 a.m. - Students for Economic Justice will host a lunch on the steps of South Building to discuss issues of sweatshop labor. Interim Chancellor Bill McCoy and other administrators have been invited, and the event is open to all. Please bring your own lunch. Tuesday, March 21 3 p.m. - There will be a tax seminar for all international students and scholars in 268 Venable Hall. Need help doing your taxes? Join us on Tuesday! The event is free and the public is STILL no microwave, styrofoam, pre-fab food,* ALL BEER SI.OO 3/13 through 3/17 i. 3 m |OOtps p|o *ojq.aj '6u|pped Mon-Fri 11am-10pm • 932-9010 • 161)4 E. Franklin St. (Beyond Bandido's ALL the way thru the Rathskellar Alley) £l)p iailg alar MM SFJ has pledged to continue the fight that began last April when students staged a three-day sit-in, resulting in administrators’ agreement to require dis closure of UNC licensees’ factory loca tions. “I really feel like we have taken a step back since the sit-in by joining the FLA,” Pugatch said. Despite high-profile protests by SEJ, Tufts does not see change as likely. “Right now, I don’t feel like there is a lot of support for leaving the FLA,” Tufts said. Membership in each organization costs $30,000 annually, so leaving the FLA and joining the WRC will not increase payment. “It’s very dangerous for the University to be involved with the FLA,” Pugatch said. “We may find out years from now that we have certified a free labor factory that is, in fact, a sweat shop.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. “It is very hard to plan things right now,” she said. “But with the new build ing in sight, it will be worth it at the end.” Karesh said the old building was not only in need of a lot of repair but also became too small for the growing group of supporters and visitors. “With 50 to 60 people coming a week, the old building outgrew itself,” she said. Karesh said she wanted to see the facility function as a place for social activities for Jewish life on campus. “We are a minority, but we have a presence in the community,” she said. “(The new building) is a great opportu nity for us to say ‘hey, we are here.’” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. welcome to attend. For the Record In the Wednesday article “GPAs Rise Throughout System," the grade inflation increases reported in both the graphic and the story were incorrect. The correct percentage increases are: UNC-Chapel Hill up 6.4 percent between 1990 and 1999, UNC- Charlotte down 1.5 percent between 1 991 and 1999, UNC-Wilmington up 9.45 percent between 1990 and 2000, N.C. State University up 6 percent between 1990 and 1999, East Carolina University up 7 percent between 1992 and 1999, Appalachian State University up 5.9 percent between 1991 and 1998 and UNC-Pembroke up 1.2 percent between 1994 and 1999. The Daily Tar Heel regrets the errors.

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