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5% Satly (Ear HM ANNE FAWCETT Mayberry Girl Knows About 'Wide World' Welcome back to campus for the new school year! While you’re standing in line to buy books or flipping through to find the crossword, I’d like to introduce myself and this State & National column. I’m a senior American studies major from Mt. Airy, home of the world’s largest open-faced granite quarry and the town upon which Andy Griffith’s fictional “Mayberry” was based. I gen erally regard having Mayberry as my hometown as positive (except when a tour busload of senior citizens parks in front of my house and the old folks proceed to picnic in our yard). But my background does beg the question: What does a girl from Mayberry know about the wide world, or even state and national issues? My answer: Plenty. As an American studies major, I’ve taken advantage of formal opportuni ties to learn about the UNC system, public transportation, labor issues and our uniquenesses as Southerners and as Americans. I’ve taken other courses to learn economic principles and some policy analysis. But those are qualifica tions any reader might have. Two summers ago, I worked as an intern at The Wall Street Journal’s Washington, D.C., bureau. I mainly covered the approval of new’ drugs by the Food and Drug Administration, but I also reported and wrote about health policy, die environment, lawsuits against the government, lotteries and affordable housing. In D.C., I learned how to look at issues from a broad per spective and how to focus on the inter esting details that can tell a whole story. My most important experience has been the five semesters I’ve spent as a State & National staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel. In this newsroom, I’ve learned the nuts and bolts of the issues I’ll be covering this year - elections, the UNC system, the General Assembly and the world that awaits us after col lege. I’m hoping to bring all of these experiences to my column this year, plus a healthy dose of curiosity about how several critical issues are going to play out in the coming months. This fall will keep the State & National desk busy with activity at every level of government, from the university system to the U.S. presiden cy. Beyond the government will be regular North Carolinians trying to make their state a better place to live. The most high profile area of inter est will be the Nov. 7 elections. These elections will touch us on almost every level. At State & National we’ll concern ourselves with the campaigns for presi dent, governor, General Assembly and most important to the future of this university, a bond referendum. The vote on the $3.1 billion bond, almost two years in the making, will determine whether UNC-Chapel Hill and the UNC system will be able to build and maintain physical structures in coming years to accommodate enroll ment increases and match their nation al-caliber academic reputations. The ref erendum’s success will depend on the results of a statewide effort this summer and fall to convince voters around the state that higher education benefits everyone, not just college graduates. This fall also marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Floyd’s destruction in eastern North Carolina. Although it was one of the most costly natural disasters in the state’s history, Floyd created a positive aftermath as it united North Carolinians working to help devastated communities rebuild. With this year’s hurricane season pre dicted to be at least as active as last year’s, we may have another Floyd on our hands before the semester is out. In all that I examine, I’ll do my best to present fair, well-researched analy sis. I will base my columns on report ing as I dig into issues to explain their significance, rather than simply spout ing my opinions. I hope this column will provoke greater discussion of issues beyond this campus or town. And while I don’t care what you call me when you don’t agree with me, I do have one request if you like what I have to say. Since I’m no relation to Farrah Fawcett or the thing that drips in your sink, please don’t call me “faucet.” I go by faw-SETT. Columnist Anne Fawcett can be reached at afawcett@email.unc.edu. Students Aim to Find Elections Chairmai Student Congress rejected Brad Matthew's choice of Marissa Downs for the post after the April elections. By Elizabeth Breyer Assistant University Editor Members of student government are working together to find a candidate as soon as possible for the open position of Elections Board chairman. “I would say we’ll have anew chair person in the next couple of weeks,” said Student Congress Speaker Alexandra Bell. The role was vacated this spring ® ™ ' • ill ' w' 1 PHOTOS BY JEFF POULAND Despite the recent economic setbacks to the tobacco industry, W.C. Smith (above), a tobacco farmer from Durham, believes tobacco still has a future. Margarito Leon (below), an employee at Ford’s Warehouse in Louisburg, sweeps the floor after a tobacco auction. Though the state's tobacco industry has taken recent hits, the Louisburg warehouse is still the second largest mthe world in terms of volume. Tradition Falls Prey to Change ■ • I ■ New Options Speed Up Meals By Karey Wutkowski Assistant University Editor Customers with a hunger for Mainstreet Lenoir will be getting their food a little faster in the coming weeks, as the vendors start installing grab-and go stations. But patrons will have to endure the temporary hassle of construction work for the faster service. Mike Freeman of Auxiliary Services said most stations will undergo some changes designed to cut down on lines by offering packaged food as Chick-Fil- A already serves. “You have to wait 10 minutes in line to get a hamburger, then you have to wait another 10 minutes in line to check out,” Freeman said. “Students don’t have that kind of time in between classes.” He said most of the stations will have their grab-and-go features ready by Friday. “The quality of the food is excel lent,” Freeman said. “We just weren’t making the stuff fast enough.” when former Chairwoman Catherine Yates graduated. Yates’ term as chairwoman was marked by criticism, after Elections Board computer problems delayed February’s student body elections results. Student Congress would not approve Student Body President Brad Matthews’ replacement of former Vice Chairwoman Marissa Downs, leaving the position unfilled. Downs was deemed unacceptable by Congress because she was in a relation ship with Matthews, creating a possible conflict of interest. They also doubted her abilities due to the elections mishaps. Matthews must select a candidate, who Congress will then vote to approve. Congress Speaker Pro Tern Sandi Lawsuits and Quota Cutbacks Threaten N.C. Tobacco Farmers By Lucas Fenske Assistant State & National Editor LOUISBURG - Waiting for their crop to be auctioned, farmers with time-worn faces pace between orderly rows of tobacco bales, occasionally leaning over and inhal ing the leafs distinctive sweet smell. Once the auctioneer begins his sing-song chant, buyers from cigarette companies cluster around him, calling out their bids for each tobacco bale, as they walk slowly down the rows to the rhythm of the auc tioneer’s voice. The scene Monday at Ford Warehouse, one of the state’s largest tobacco storehous es, will be repeated many times until the season closes later this fall. Prices this year, averaging $1.70 per pound of tobacco, were slightly higher than last year, triggering nH Jj|iH ip \^ DTH/SEFTONIPOCK The area in Mainstreet Lenoir where Ram Treats stood is being renovated to serve students faster. Senior Beth Therrell from Wake Forest said she usually eats at Mainstreet Lenoir about five times a week but tries News Chapman said that Matthews’ choice will likely be a person out side the Elections Board. If that happens, she said, it would take a two-thirds vote in Congress instead of a simple majority to approve the appointment “For various reasons, I think we may end up Speaker Pro Tem Sandi Chapman said the new choice probably will not come from the Elections Board. finding someone outside the (Elections) Board, but all of the candidates we have to go when it is not crowded. See LENOIR, Page 5 been considering have experience in the Student Code, especially the elections section,” she said. Bell also said that the appointment might possibly come from outside the Elections Board. “It’s ideal to have someone within the board, but not necessary,” she said. Bell said it might be a good idea to appoint someone outside the branch, cit ing the low publicity for April’s special elections as an example of how the Elections Board could improve. “I’d like to see the Elections Board take a more proactive role so we don’t have to keep having special elections.” No matter where the appointment comes from, both executive and legisla tive branch members said they want to hope of better times among farmers. Tobacco auctions have been a fixture of rural N.C. life for decades, changing little throughout the years. But the tobacco industry, long a bulwark of the state’s economy, has fallen under repeated attack recendy - dampening farm ers’ joy over slightly higher prices. A Florida jury awarded $145 billion in punitive damages to state smokers this sum mer after finding cigarette companies knowingly manufactured a deadly product. The verdict is being appealed. Cigarette manufacturers, in accordance with a multibillion-dollar deal in 1998, have begun reimbursing states’ Medicaid costs for treating smoking-related illnesses. Farmer’s quotas, which determine how See TOBACCO, Page 5 Local Demonstrators Join National Protests By Lucas Fenske Assistant State & National Editor Several UNC students protesting dur ing the Republican National Convention joined what some have deemed anew trend in political activism - groups uniting to fight globalisation. Seven UNC students and Chapel Hill residents were arrested at the Republican National Convention, which was held in Philadelphia from Aug. 7 through Aug. 10. Hundreds of protesters also crashed last week’s Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The convention protests were anew version of earlier movements such as the civil rights struggle and anti-Vietnam protests, said Eric Shockman, a University of Southern California polit ical science professor specializing in political protests. Wednesday, August 23, 2000 make streamlining the search a priority. Student Congress still has five vacan cies, but elections to fill those holes can not be held until a chairman is named. “As soon as we get an Elections Board chair, we’ll have (the special election),” Matthews said. Student government members say that goal should be reached soon with the appointment of a qualified candidate. “There are definitely students who are fully qualified that we’ve encouraged to apply and who have the necessary experience," Chapman said. “The leg islative and executive branch are work ing together hard in this process.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. Town Sits On Camera Decision Chapel Hill is tom over the issue of traffic cameras designed to catch those speeding through red lights. By Keliie Dixon Assistant City Editor Chapel Hill has the green light from the state legislature to install traffic cam eras on town streets -but the Town Council has put the brakes on the pro ject. The new cameras are designed to take a picture of the license plate of a car speeding through a red light, and the offender is then sent a citation in the mail. The N.C. General Assembly, on cue from town leaders, gave its nod to the project before it adjourned in July. But while other programs in Charlotte and Fayetteville have met with marked success, some town leaders are wary of the cameras, saying they could lead to government intrusiveness. “It reeks ;£'Big Brother is watch ing,’” said Town Council member Bill Strom. “I don’t know enough about it to say if my thinking is exaggerated or not. L for one, have a lot of questions about what it is and what we’re trying to accomplish." Kumar Neppalli, the new traffic engi neer at the Chapel Hill Engineering Department, was responsible for creat ing a traffic camera program in Fayetteville. If the Town Council decides to implement the cameras, he said he hopes to help facilitate the process. “In Fayetteville, the city negotiated with Lockheed Martin, a private compa ny,” Neppalli said. “The city negotiated with them and they installed the cam eras. Everything would be done by them.” He said each camera cost Fayetteville $60,000 overall, including construction. He also said the state mandated a SSO citation for each violation. “(Fayetteville) did not use any tax payers’ money,” he said. “Everything was done by the contractors up front, and we paid them back with $35 of each ticket.” Bill Stockard, assistant to the Chapel Hill town manager, said the cameras were a part of a proposed legislation called Video Traffic Code Enforcement that the town sought from Orange County delegates to the state legislature. See CAMERAS, Page 5 “My gut feeling is, it’s more of the same,” Shockman said. “But there does seem to be anew rubric.” After the Vietnam War, he said, pro testers lost their general goals and con centrated on specifics such as fighting for an equal rights amendment, the poor or the environment. “There were a myriad of single issues that didn’t go together,” he said. “It’s an interesting new development that they’re latching onto globalization and corporations.” UNC senior Wendy Dale of Delco said she protested corporate political involvement at the Republican National Convention along with nearly ten other UNC students. Dale said she and the others were protesting the two-party system in the United States. “We feel there’s not a See CONVENTION, Page 5 3
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