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107 years of editorial freedom
Serving the students and the University
community since 1893
DTH/VICTORIA ECKENRODK
Mocking a DTH article on the controversy surrounding his appointment,
Student Body President Brad Matthews defends his choice to Congress.
DEFINING ourtlME
Today, the DTH concludes its look at the issues that will define our time and society.
Generation Y is ambitious, optimistic and has a mighty legacy to uphold. Are we ready?
Bv Cate Doty
Managing Editor
There are 72 million of us.
We were bom after 1977 to mid-to-late baby boomers, and
the youngest members of our group are finishing kindergarten
right now.
Generation X, our awkwardly named predecessors baby-sat
for us.
Our parents left us at home more and left
each other more, too. By the time we were in
elementary school, the widely quoted statistic
that one out of every two marriages would fail
turned out to be true.
To us, “family values” is a political stump
ing point. We came of age in a time of inter
racial marriages and the growing fight for
legal gay and lesbian unions. As the
American nuclear familv grows less picket
fence and more diverse, “normal” to us is
subjective.
We are marketers’ darlings - having high
ly defined tastes and picky sensibilities, we’re
demanding consumers who know what we
want.
Wielding an annual combined buying
power of sl4l billion helps, too. Thanks to a
bull market riding on tech stocks, we have
more disposable income than previous generations. We spend
our money with a highly critical eye for trends and quality, and
we see through ads that attempt to cater to us.
We’re connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A 1999
study demonstrated that we watch less television than any
other generation, choosing to spend our free time - what lit
tle we have - in front of a computer screen.
And “free time” is a nebulous term to us. We’re economi
cally ambitious and socially conscious -and keeping those dri
ves alive fills our calendars. We’re as booked as our parents, yet
we’re better at balancing work with pleasure.
Stressed yet spiritual, picky yet accepting, we’re Generation
Easley, Vinroot Seize Gubernatorial Nominations
Vinroot Boxes Out
Conservative Foes
Bv Anne Fawcett, Matthew B. Dees,
Lucas Fenske and Jennifer Hagin
Staff Writers
Richard Vinroot played for a losing UNC bas
ketball team in the 1961-62 season, but Tuesday
night he pulled out a win in
North Carolina’s Republican
gubernatorial primary.
“How sweet it is,” Vinroot
said. “How sweet it will be in
November."
With 88 percent of the
vote counted, the former
Charlotte mayor came back
from his 1996 primary loss to
capture the GOP nomination
with 45.7 percent of the vote.
Leo Daughtry followed with 36.6 percent, while
Chuck Neely garnered 15.4 percent of the vote.
Vinroot said his victory would send a message
of less government, less spending and more hon-
$
IDENTITY
The finale of a 10-part series
examining the issues that
will face our generation
in the coming millennium.
ELECTIONS
m
STATE
DTH'KATE MEI.I.NIK
Republican gubernatorial candidate
Richard Vinroot greets his supporters.
esty to Raleigh politicians.
Pledging to enact sweeping educational reform,
bring character to politics and pass a taxpayer pro
tection act that would limit budget increases,
Vinroot said he would triumph in November.
“I’m not going to let you down this time," he
told the crowd of nearly 200 supporters, some with
See REPUBLICANS, Page 6
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
Doc Brown
Congress to Matthews: Try Again
Bv John O'Hale
Staff Writer
Despite Student Body President Brad
Matthews’ resolute defense of his con
troversial appointment Tuesday, Student
Congress virtually nixed junior Marissa
Downs’ chances of serving as Elections
Board chairwoman next year.
Downs remained on a list of unfavor
able names after a 10-10 vote fell short of
the two-thirds majority needed to over
rule an earlier recommendation by the
Rules and Judiciary Committee.
That majority would have allowed
Downs to defend her appointment
before the entire Congress and forced a
full-body vote.
Y. We also answer to “echo boomers,” “the Millennium
Generation” or simply “Millenniums.”
And with nearly twice the size of Generation X and more
pop culture punch than the Woodstock Generation, experts
predict that the societal wind will blow where we want it.
We’re a louder echo of our parents’ powerful generational
presence, sandwiching Generation X between two highly influ
ential groups.
Purportedly more optimistic than that much-maligned
“slacker” generation, Generation Y has a
glossier image and ambition to spare.
And we know it.
Amy Ochagavia, 21, has two
Generation Xers for siblings and
two aging flower children for
parents. A junior at Wesleyan /
University in
Connecticut, Ochagavia ,
is a graduate of a presti- '
gious New England
boarding school. She’s also
the daughter of a Buddhist
monk and a contemporary of
Allan Ginsberg and an eight-year
survivor of a kidney transplant.
When she graduates from college, she will
owe more than $30,000 in college loans -
almost the full price of another year at
Wesleyan.
But it’s the price of making a mark, she says.
“I want a career where 1 feel satisfied, but
where I do something that benefits the
world,” said Ochagavia, an American
studies major. “You don’t really exist unless
there’s a sign of you somewhere else.”
That’s why Ochagavia wants to teach, she says. And
her sentiments resound across Generation Y. An active group
with an environmental and social conscious, about half of all
See IDENTITY, Page 6
Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Volume 108, Issue 45
“I am disappointed,” Downs said. “I
still have faith in the organization, but I
think they made the wrong decision.”
Last week, Matthews and Downs
revealed their romantic relationship,
one that existed while he was running
for the presidency and she was vice
chairwoman of the Elections Board. The
admission prompted ethical concerns
from Congress members.
The debate intensified Sunday after
former student body president candi
date Erica Smiley urged Congress in an
e-mail message not to remove Downs
from the unfavorable list.
The e-mail message sparked further
congressional discussion leading up to
Tuesday’s session.
“the Millennium ■Cv
ttion X and more jZfc.s''
neration, experts
re we want it.
erful generational /’W t
n two highly influ- it)
m college, she will H? u/ AoSt Cy.
n college loans - Sllll V vl "xyt
another year at
“but
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An active group 'fc -r A ; T -J \ \
s, about half of all "'S\ G■ £ {'^\ v O■ r \
ye? Ml ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES PHARR
Easley Grooves
To Victory Beat
By Worth Civils, Cheri Melfi
and Alex Kaplun
Staff Writers
Standing before a festive crowd, Attorney
General Mike Easley celebrated his landslide vic
tory over Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker in Tuesday’s
Democratic gubernatorial primary.
“Words cannot contain my gratitude,” Easley said,
thanking his supporters.
Easley had received
59.3 percent of the
Democratic vote, com
pared to 36 percent for
Wicker, with 88 percent of
For Coverage
Of County and
Local Primaries
See Page 3
the vote tallied.
Chants of “We want Mike,” rang through the
crowd shortly before Easley appeared on stage to
deliver his victory speech.
Easley thanked his supporters, his campaign
team and the voters of North Carolina, many of
whom were in the crowd which packed the Raleigh
Members also questioned Downs’
abilities in light of the many problems
that plagued the board during
February’s elections.
Matthews pointed out that Downs
was the sole applicant for the position,
even though the executive branch had
distributed several hundred e-mail mes
sages and paper applications.
He also testified to her dedication and
desire to improve next year’s elections
process. “She is the first student in three
years who believes that simply conduct
ing an election is not enough,” he said.
“She deserves to be considered in the
full Congress.”
Despite Congress’ rejection, Downs
could still assume the position as early as
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DTH/SF.FTON IPOCK
Mike Easley thanks the crowd for
supporting him in the Democratic primary.
restaurant that served as the nominee’s campaign
headquarters.
Easley said he entered the race to provide a
voice for the state’s children, senior citizens and
working class. “Special interests can speak for
themselves,” he said. “I want to speak for the peo
ple first.”
See DEMOCRATS, Page 6
News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245
Business/Advertising 962-1163
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
© 2000 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved.
today if Elections Board Chairwoman
Catherine Yates resigns from her post,
an option Yates said she was considering
late Tuesday night.
Yates must remain in the post until
Matthews appoints anew candidate
next fall, unless she chooses to vacate
the office early.
According to the Student Code,
Downs would assume the position by
default in such a situation.
Speaker Alexandra Bell, who voted
in the committee meedng to put Downs
on the unfavorable list, said Yates’ res
ignation would be dishonest.
“1 think it is a way of fundamentally
See DOWNS, Page 6
INSAL.
The Future Is Now
at ikcT
Graduating soon? Worried about the
future? The DTH Graphics Staff brings
you a playful campus guide to the year
2050. It’s nothin' but hoverboards from
now on ... See Page 5.
Livin' La Vida Loca
Two intrepid Daily Tar Heel reporters
looked at the night and day differences
while studying abroad in London and
Spain this semester. See Page 4.
Today’s Weather
Sunny;
High 76, Low 54.
Thursday: Sunny;
High 78, Low 56
w