2
Thursday, May 25, 2000
University Mourns Loss of Two Professors
Federico Guillermo Gil and
Blyden Jackson were two
distinguished UNC profes
sors who recently died.
By Michael Abel
Staff Writer
This spring, the University commu
nity lost two former faculty members,
Federico Guillermo Gil and Blyden
Jackson.
Gil, Kenan professor emeritus of
political science, died April 22 of a pul-
Collapse
Injures
Over 100
The cause of the walkway
collapse at the Charlotte
Motor Speedway Saturday
is something of a mystery.
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE - The investigation
by Lowe's Motor Speedway into what
caused steel cables inside a collapsed
footbridge to corrode and snap may be
made public before the track hosts this
weekend's Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR
race.
“Hopefully, we'll do that here in the
next 48 hours,” speedway spokesman
Jerry Gappens said Tuesday.
More than 100 people were injured
Saturday night when an 80-foot section
of the walkway, owned by the speed
way, broke in half as race fans headed
for parking lots. They plunged 17 feet
onto U.S. Highway 29.
Speedway crews began tearing down
the rest of the ruined walkway Tuesday.
A second speedway footbridge was
closed Monday after an inspection
revealed signs of corrosion on the four
year-old walkway.
The state Department # of
Transportation said Tuesday that it will
inspect North Carolina's eight other pri
vate walkways over public roads and
close any spans that are dangerous..
The state also will require owners or
privately owned bridges to have them
inspected every two years at their own
expense, DOT officials said.
Speedway president H.A. “Humpy”
Wheeler spent most of the day Tuesday
meeting with engineers employed by
the track.
Corrosion is suspected as the cause of
the failure, but engineers are puzzled
that rust could have weakened a bridge
that was just five years old.
“We don't believe there was anything
in the design or manufacture of the dou
ble-T itself that in any way contributed
to the cause of the failure,” Lowndes
said. “We don't know exactly what did,
but we are fairly confident that that was
not a cause.”
“I have never heard of a double-T
cracking in the middle like that,” said
Dan Falconer, engineering manager at
the American Concrete Institute in
Farmington Hills, Mich. “It is one of the
most bizarre things 1 have ever seen.”
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monary embolism. He was 85.
Gil was a faculty member for 37
years, serving as director of the Institute
of Latin American Studies for 25 of
those years. During Gil’s tenure as direc
tor, the institute’s undergraduate cur
riculum was ranked first in the nation
twice.
Jonathan Hartlyn, current director of
the institute and professor of political
science, said Gil was devoted to his work
and to the students.
“Dr. Gil was an extraordinarily
prominent scholar, a devoted mentor to
his graduate students, an award-winning
undergraduate teacher and a brilliant
Graduates Flock Uptown to Celebrate
By Kate Hartig
Staff Writer
A rainy night did not keep UNC
graduates and their families and friends
from packing local restaurants and bars
this weekend.
As well-wishers piled into Chapel
Hill for Sunday morning’s commence
ment ceremony, restaurants were busy
taking reservations and bars were gear
ing up for a busy weekend.
“We were hooked for dinner two
weeks before graduation,” Tiger Posey
said, server and bartender at Top of the
Hill Restaurant and Bar. "We were real
ly crowded all weekend.”
On Saturday night, lines to get into
Top of the Hill, located at 100 E.
Franklin St., stretched all the way from
UNC BOND
From Page 1
time for voters to show their support.”
Lee Conner, president of the
Graduate and Professional Student
federation, said the placement of the
bond onthe ballot is a crucial investment
in the UNC system.
“I think it’s one of the most critical
things to be on the ballot in North
Carolina in a long time,” he said.
Some UNC-CH facilities are among
the “woefully outmoded buildings” with
“mounting deferred maintenance” said
a March \5 \3NC-system press release
referring to consultant Eva Klein’s 1999
examination of facilities at the state’s
public universities.
Many of the University’s aging class
rooms, laboratories, libraries and resi
dence halls need repairs and present
problems to students and faculty.
Venable Hall, which was built in the
19205, houses the chemistry department
and is plagued by cramped conditions
and outdated laboratory and classroom
facilities. The press release described it
as “an inappropriate facility.”
The press release also mentions “sub
standard lab space housing millions of
dollars worth of sophisticated research
equipment.” Plastic tubs catch water
dripping from the ceiling in one room
BOND
From Page 1
UNC political science professor
Thad Beyle said that by putting the vote
up to the people, they could decide how
to spend their tax money. “(The bond)
is paid off by taxes,” Beyle said, “So (the
referendum) seems to make sense.”
University & City
administrator,” Hartlyn said. “We will all
miss him terribly.”
After his retirement in 1980, Gil
remained involved with University
affairs, heading the Latin American
institute’s Spanish exchange program.
In 1988 Gil was recognized by the
College of Arts and Sciences with an
endowed chair bearing his name. In
1991, he was awarded an honorary
degree from the University.
“But above all, he was a gentleman
and a gentle man,” Hartlyn said.
The University also mourns the loss
of Professor Blyden Jackson on April 28
at the age of 89.
the outside door to the corner of
Franklin and Columbia Streets.
“The line to Top of the Hill was
ridiculous,” graduating senior Martha
Hoelzer said. “Other bars had lines, too.
He’s Not Here had a line almost all the
w'ay to Copytron. Uptown was definite
ly a lot more crowded than a regular
Thursday night.”
Lindsay Koike, also a graduating
senior, agreed that “uptown” bars were
busier than most weekends.
“Lines for bars Friday and Saturday
were Halloween-night ridiculous,’’she
said. “We tried to get into Top of the Hill
and He’s Not, but ended up going to
other bars whose lines weren’t as bad,”
Mark Burnett, manager of He’s Not
Here, located at 112 1/2 W. Franklin St.,
said graduation weekend is one of their
and repairs are underway on one of the
computer labs’ decaying walls, which
rains chips of paint and plaster on the
floor and passersby.
The University has planned to even
tually demolish Venable Hall because
continued renovations were found not
to be w'orth their cost.
Susan Chung, a junior biochemistry
major, said plans for the Hall’s eventu
al destruction are worth it.
“1 personally don’t like the condition
of it,” she said.
Similar problems also plague other
campus buildings. In the Medical Sciene
and Research Building, age and deteri
orating facilities prevent faculty from
controlling temperatures and force them
to conduct research in conditions that
could ruin experiments.
Hill Hall, which houses the music
department, faces a frequently flooded
basement while a lack of humidity con
trol pose a serious threat to library mate
rials. Library users must negotiate their
way through steam pipes that crisscross
the library at about shoulder level.
Students must also deal with outdat
ed classroom facilities and poorly air
conditioned classrooms, and store musi
cal instmments in broken lockers.
lan Zook, a senior music major said
Hill Hall is in need of renovations. Zook
also works in the Music Library.
“Most of the music is in peril of water
Because the amount of the bond is so
large and taxpayers’ money is used,
UNC-system President Molly Broad
said the legislators put their confidence
in the voters.
Broad said the challenge now lies in
convincing the voters to support the
bond in November.
“We are pleased to have the opportu
nity to bring our case to the citizens,”
Broad said. “We are quite optimistic of
die likelihood citizens of North Carolina
will support the bond.”
She said the UNC General
Administration, with the guidance of
N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry,
will campaign in support of the bond
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Jackson, the first black professor at
the University, taught African-American
literature from 1969 until his retirement
in 1981. During part of this time, he also
served as associate dean of the graduate
school.
Jackson taught English in the
Louisville public schools, before depart
ing to become a professor at Fisk
University. In 1969, after serving as
dean of Southern University’s graduate
school, Jackson became a member of
the UNC faculty.
Evelyn Dove-Coleman, Jackson’s
goddaughter, said he was a talented edu
cator.
busiest times.
He said a lot of people also came out
to hear bands that played both Friday
and Saturday nights.
“Moms and dads came in with their
kids and bought t-shirts and got Blue
Cups,” he said. “It is one of those times
where students take their parents out.”
Hoelzer said she had never seen that
many people at He’s Not Here.
“I couldn’t get over how many peo
ple were in He’s Not Saturday night,”
she said. “It was person-to-person, sand
wiched in that place. It was crazy.”
Burnett also said that even though it
rained Sunday night, patrons still filled
the inside of the bar.
“The rain stopped some people from
coming out,” he said. “But we piled as
many people as we could into the inside
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damage,” he said. Committee, May 3.
Other UNC schools also face inade- “Either we pay more now or we pay
quate facilities, many of which are in more later,” he said,
worse condition than those at UNC-CH
State Treasurer Harlan Boyles The University Editor can e reached
addressed the issue to the Capital Needs at udesk@unc.edu
during the summer and into the fall.
“(The campaign) is still in the process
of being developed,” Broad said.
“Overall campaigning will be developed
over the coming weeks.”
The campaigning will focus on the
importance of the bond to the state and
its institutions of higher education.
Rand said the future of the state’s
economic viability depended on the
bond because of the state’s reputation of
valuing higher education.
For the UNC system, with outdated
buildings and an expected enrollment
increase of 50,000 over the next 10
years, Broad said, “Securing funding (for
renovations and additions) is critically
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“He had a way of capturing young
people’s attention and keeping it,” she
said. “He was my favorite teacher, but
thousands of UNC students would say
that.”
Jackson was awarded with an
Honorary Doctoral degree from the
University in 1985. In 1992 the
University named the admissions build
ing in honor of Jackson and his wife,
Roberta.
Coleman said, “He was short, but he
was a giant in terms of personality.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu
of the bar.”
Posey said that when it started storm
ing Sunday night, people began to flow
into Top of the Hill.
“All those people that wanted to go to
He’s Not ended up coming here,” he
said. “Once it started raining, we got
slammed.’’
He also added that the graduation
crowd was much more upbeat than the
regular crowds.
“The crowd was a little more rowdy,”
Posey said.
“People were trying to leave their last
marks, carving their names into tables
and taking things from the bar. It was
definitely celebration time.”
The CitylState & National Editor can
be reached atstntdesk@unc.edu.
important to the ability of the universi
ty (system) to serve students pursuing
21st century careers.”
According to the UNC Office of the
President, 36 percent of the bond fund
ing will go toward the modernization of
existing buildings, 25 percent for the
replacement of facilities and 24 percent
for the construction of new buildings.
While the majority of the money will
go toward facilities’ needs, some UNC
schools will receive significantly more
than others. Almost $1 billion is slated
for UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State
University, while some smaller schools
and historically black colleges will only
get around SSO million each.
But since legislators have already
voted to put the bond to a referendum,
Rand said the allocation of the money
to the different schools could not
change. He said the public would have
to decide on the package as it stands.
“It will be a challenge,” Rand said.
“But it’s an opportunity to acquaint the
people of North Carolina with the issues
and let them understand what we hold
so dear.”
The CitylState & National Editor can
be reached atstntdesk@unc.edu.
T A Q U E ft I A
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Sk Daily (Ear MM
Lobbying
Underway
for Bond
University officials now turn
efforts towards convincing
voters to approve the bond
referendum this November.
By Kathleen Hunter
Senior Writer
University advocates are laboring to
coordinate the fledgling stages of a mas
sive lobbying effort aimed at encourag
ing N.C. voters to approve the largest
bond in state history.
The N.C. General Assembly votjed
unanimously last week to send the $3.1
billion bond package to voters for
approval in November.
The package would fund building
renovation and expansion at the state’s
public universities and community col
leges, where enrollment is projected to
rise dramatically in the coming decade.
Last week’s unanimous approval
marks a sharp contrast to the legisla
ture’s action last summer, when
Democrats and Republicans were
unable to agree on a package before the
legislature
adjourned in July.
The UNC sys
tem will now turn
its attention to the
general public to
ensure
November’s refer
endum is success
ful, said J.B.
Miliken, UNC
system vice presi
dent for university
advancement.
“The challenge
is to make sure
that the informa
tion about the
UNC Prof. Thad Beyle
expects an uphill
fight this November
when the bond refer
endum goes before
N.C. voters.
enrollment explosion this state faces
gets out,” Miliken said.
UNC-system officials enlisted N.C.
Citizens for Business and Industry, a
Raleigh-based advocacy group, in
January to help garner legislative sup
port.
“Our hope is that between now and
November this partnership between the
universities, the community colleges
and NCCBI will work to communicate
the needs of the University,” Miliken
said.
NCCBI President Phil Kirk said the
General Assembly’s unanimous support
would give the lobbying effort momen
tum in coming months.”We worked
really hard to get (the proposal) through
the legislature,” Kirk said. “Now we
have to sell it to the public.”
He said a committee, comprised of
UNC and community college represen
tatives and members of the business
community, would be named to orga
nize the lobbying campaign and edu
cate the public about the bond.
The committee will work to raise
advertising hinds and also help organize
local and regional lobbying committees.
“We have our work cut out for us, but
it will certainly be easier because tlfe
universities and community colleges
have a very strong following in our
state,” Kirk said.
The massive lobbying effort will be
officially set in motion during the com
ing weeks, despite some lingering reser
vations about the package’s fate.
UNC political science professor
Thad Beyle said the package’s support
ers would likely face an uphill battle this
year in their attempt to educate the pub
lic about the system’s needs.
Beyle said this fall’s election season
could overshadow the bond referen
dum. “It’s going to be hard work to
break through the noise,” Beyle said.
But Miliken said he was confident
the NCCBI-led lobbying effort would
succeed, in part because NCCBI suc
cessfully led a $2.7 billion bond cam
paign in 1996.
Miliken said, “Whenever the state
has had serious financial needs, the peo
ple have always stepped up and made
the investment.”
The CitylState & National Editor can
be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.