2
Thursday, May 4, 2000
A Year
Of
Change
And.
Challenge
Bank Deal Renews Concerns
By Jason Arthurs
Staff Writer
After signing a deal with Wachovia in
July to offer students banking options,
the University found itself in the midst
of yet another debate about how visible
commercial ties affected the intellectual
climate of UNC.
The contract with Wachovia was
signed on the heels of multimillion-dol
lar partnerships with Nike Corp., IBM
and Coca-Cola. The deal faced harsh
opposition from some professors and
students who claimed the influx of cor
porate partnerships would have detri
mental long-term effects.
In November, the Faculty Council
adopted a resolution pressuring
University officials to renegotiate the
contract.
Former faculty Chairman Pete
Andrews said the faculty who protested
the contract with Wachovia were con
cerned about too much increased visu
al commercialism and a potential bank
ing monopoly for Wachovia.
“The idea is that (the Pit) remain a
center for interaction and not be domi
nated by a commercial presence," he
said. “The concerns we had were well
resolved."
To appease the opponents of the con
tract, Lawrence Baxter, an executive
with Wachovia involved in the deal,
signed a three-page letter in December
to address the concern that Wachovia
would gain a monopoly over student
banking.
“I think it was appropriate, the way
(Wachovia) handled it," UNC ONE
/ want to give you the most I
Aug. 17,1999 —Two days after the
attempted sexual assault of a UNC sopho
resembles a man wantedftiranother
attempted assault earlier that week.
Aug. 22,1999- Renovations are com
pleted on the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity
house, which burned down in 1995, killing
five students.
Aug. 24,1999 -UNC
police nab Jesus Alvarez
Ramos as the suspect in the
attempted sexual assault
case of a UNC sophomore.
Dubbed BOLO' by UNC stu
dents, the suspect is charged
Card Director Mike Freeman said.
“Some battles are won on each side; that
keeps the University in balance.”
Andrews said discussions about com
mercialization on campus were far from
over.
“There is a larger conversation going
on about the role of larger corporations
in our lives," he said. “It’s healthy that
we continue to have that discussion."
Freeman said faculty opposition,
along with several other unexpected
barriers, slowed the process of initiating
the new system, which was scheduled to
begin this year.
“We definitely stepped on some peo
ple’s toes who didn’t want another cor
porate presence in the Pit,” he said. “But
the University signed a contract, and I
don’t think it would have been good
(public relations) for the University to
break that contract.”
Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft Corp.
and Nike Corp. are four corporate
names whose ties to UNC have already
made them more visible on campus.
And as UNC ushers in Chancellor
elect James Moeser, the University
could increase its corporate links during
the next several years.
During his tenure at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, one of Moeser’s most
memorable private partnerships came
when he signed a $24 million deal with
Pepsi.
Moeser said that while he did not
have a problem with partnerships with
private companies, the University need
ed to make sure the advantages can
celled out any possible drawbacks.
“Our alumni association (at
Looking Back, Facing Forward
with one count each of second-degree kidnap
ping, attempted second-degree rape and
attempted first-degree rape.
Sept. 6,1999 Orange County receives
more than 10 inches of rain from Hurricane
Dennis, the most in the county's history.
Sept. 9,1999 —The woman in the
'BOLO 1 case reveals assault details in a court
hearing. A District Court judge rules that
Alvarez Ramos will not be tried for second
degree rape, due to lack of probable cause.
Sept. 16,1999 Hurricane Floyd leaves
minimal damage after brushing the campus in
the early morning. However, President Clinton
declares the eastern two-thirds of North Carolina
Nebraska) has had similar deals with
bank cards and so forth,” Moeser told
The Daily Tar Heel in an April inter
view.
“The University is not for sale, and
we must never let it be for sale. But part
nerships with the private sector, on the
other hand, are entirely appropriate."
Freeman said a Wachovia service
center in the Pit would be completed
this summer and that students who
wished to open an account with
Wachovia would have new ONE Cards
with ATM feature capabilities printed
on the spot.
Freeman said that while the ATM fea
ture and the on-campus service center
would increase convenience, the VISA
check card feature and the ability to
transfer money to expense accounts
would make students’ transactions even
easier when they are initiated in January.
The new cards will be first available
to freshmen during C-TOPS, but
Freeman said any student who wished
to obtain anew card could do so by vis
iting the ONE Card Office.
Freeman said that although the idea
of making the ONE Card operative off
campus was a concept pushed by the
students several years ago, current tech
nology and the quadrupled use of the
cards over the last five years now made
it possible.
“With everyone being squeezed by
budget cuts, everyone is looking for
alternate funding,” he said. “But the
University still needs to be careful.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
a disaster area after the hurricane's landfall.
Sept. 20,1999 Clinton pledges feder
al disaster relief funds for victims of Hurricane
Floyd, promising millions of dollars in immedi
ate assistance.
Sept 23,1999 —UNC alumnus David
Benjamin Clayton donates $28.6 million to
UNC, marking the largest single gift in the
school's history, The money will go toward
many programs, including the construction
of a freestanding black cultural center.
Sept. 27,1999 UNC assistant men's
basketball coach Phil Ford is arrested for
driving while intoxicated and failing to stop
at a red light. Ford takes an indefinite medical
New Woes
Challenge
Leaders
Chapel Hill has wrestled
with Inter-Faith Council
struggles, a landfill transfer
and alcohol enforcement.
By Robert Albright
Staff Writer
The past nine months have been a
wild ride for Chapel Hill as local lead
ers, community groups and the police
have all faced various challenges
throughout the community.
Although the school year for UNC stu
dents is coining to a close, the town’s full
time residents do not get a three-month
vacation from the issues at hand. They
have dealt with myriad trials, ranging
from the location of a downtown home
less shelter to an increase in homicides.
Amid a monetary struggle, the Inter-
Faith Council continues to look for a
location able to house its food and ser
vices for the homeless.
The IFC Community Kitchen, locat
ed at 100 W. Rosemary St., is in need of
either expansion or complete reloca
tion. Throughout the year, the Chapel
Hill Town Council has debated whether
to move the facility or extend the IFC’s
lease on Rosemary Street.
In response to local businessmen and
residents who said homeless people were
detrimental to the downtown atmos
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leave from his team duties.
Oct 11,1999 —The Chancellor's
Committee on Faculty Salaries and Benefits
proposes a plan to combine a tuition increase
with legislative funding to increase faculty
salaries. The proposal calls for tuition increas
es over the next three yearc.
Oct. 18,1999 -The
committee approves a
five-year modified plan to
increase in-state under
graduate tuition $1,500
and out-of-state under
graduate and graduate
tuition $2,000 to fund
higher faculty salaries.
f
DTH FILE PHOTO
Kevin Campbell shelters himself from the rain on Franklin Street.
Campbell had at the time been homeless for three years.
phere, the council passed an ordinance
in late September 1998 banning aggres
sive panhandling on Franklin Street.
Since passing the law, the council has
extensively examined the possibility of
moving the downtown shelter.
“The town is committed to helping
the IFC find a place,” said council
member Flicka Bateman. “But when I
proposed to grant the IFC a long lease
on the town property (that the IFC is
currently using), no one seconded my
motion.”
In addition to the relocation debate,
IFC program director Chris Moran said
a revenue problem closed the doors at
the IFC for some Saturday and Sunday
operations since April 8, forcing the
homeless to look elsewhere on weekends.
Moran said the IFC had experienced
a $90,000 revenue shortfall, but he said
meeting the goal of raising $240,000
through grants and donations would
relieve the financial problem.
While the IFC commanded the
attention of the Town Council, local
(Thr Bailg Ular MM
Oct 19,1999 The Hillsborough grand
jury indicts Alvarez Ramos on a charge of
attempted second-degree rape, overturning a
judge's earlier ruling of lack of evidence.
Oct. 28,1999 Despite protest by more
than 400 students, the Board of Trustees
approves a proposal to raise tuition $1,500 for
all students. The plan calls for an increase of
S3OO per year over the next five years
NOV. 1,1999 —North Carolina men’s bas
ketball players Ed Cota and Terrence Newby ?
are arrested for their alleged involvement in at
fight. They are each charged with three counts
of assault inflicting serious injury and two
counts of simple assault.
leaders also discussed the transfer of the
Orange County Regional Landfill oper
ations to the county.
For nearly 10 years, representatives
from Chapel Hill, Carrboro,
Hillsborough and Orange County have
been fine-tuning a plan to transfer full
responsibility of the landfill into the
hands of the commissioners.
After several proposals and heated
debates, all four municipalities finalized
the transfer of the landfill, handing full
control over to the county March 6.
Gayle Wilson, director of Chapel
Hill’s solid waste management, said the
transfer to the county would allow the
county more autonomy in the decision
making process for the landfill.
“We are ready to move forward and
adjust to the county way of doing
things,” Wilson said.
While Orange County was dealing
with the landfill transfer, University stu
dents living -off-campus in houses or
apartments faced the possibility of re
arranging their living situations.
Residents from Chapel Hill’s
Northside neighborhood proposed that
no more than two nonrelated residents
live in a rental space together.
Lee Conner, former president of
UNC’s Graduate and Professional
Students Federation, asked the council
to keep the maximum number of non
related occupants to four.
“The council hasn’t responded favor
ably to Northside’s proposal,” he said.
Students are dealing with the
increased presence of the Alcohol Law
Enforcement Agency, which has
stepped up its efforts to curb underage
drinking.
ALE, a state agency that enforces
state alcohol, drug and gambling laws,
opened an office under the Franklin
Street post office this spring.
On April 7, ALE conducted
“Operation Saturation” in Franklin
Street bars. ALE spokeswoman Sara
Kempin said 32 individuals received
citations, which resulted in a total of 50
alcohol-related charges. “If we save one
life by making an arrest, then all our
hard work is worthwhile,” Kempin said.
While ALE enforced drinking laws,
the Chapel Hill Police Department has
investigated two homicides since the
new year. Previously, the last murder in
Chapel Hill was in 1996.
Police found Michael Gregory
Crosby dead at the Orange Water and
Sewer Authority on New Year’s Day.
Michael Jordan Cruz, 23, of 2738 New
Bold Drive, Raleigh, was arrested in
connection with Crosby’s murder but
was released in early March because of
insufficient evidence to convict him of
the felony first-degree murder charge.
Chapel Hill police spokeswoman
Jane Cousins said police were still inves
tigating Crosby’s murder.
The following month, police discov
ered yet another murder case. Nehesia
Kentae Taylor, 22, was found shot and
killed Feb. 10.
Dwayne Rayshon Degraffenreid, 21,
of 510-A Craig St., was arrested Feb. 17
and charged with one felony count of
first-degree murder and one felony
count of assault with a deadly weapon
with intent to kill.
Cousins said the number of homi 1
cides in Chapel Hill this year had been
comparatively high. .
Despite the troubles the towns have
experienced, Carrboro Board of
Aldermen member Diana McDuffee
said the year as a whole had been
marked with success.
“It has been a big year for looking
ahead and planning for the future,” she
said. “We want to focus our efforts on
what’s best for the community.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.