UNC Loses RB Williams checks out. See Page 9 laxly ®ar Heel www.unc.edu/dth Records Reveal Lot Owner's Criminal Past By Elizabeth Breyer and Kim Minugh University Editors Tar Heel Parking owner Gustave “Gus” Frederick Mueller, the target of recent student complaints, has an exten sive criminal record, including several violent and sexual crimes dating back to 1986, The Daily Tar Heel has learned. Mueller, a 32-year-old Chapel Hill resident, has been under fire in recent days for falsely advertising secure, easi ly accessible parking spaces at a cost of S3OO per year and for conducting busi ness in an unsatisfactory manner. “(Tar Heel Parking is) trying to cheat N.C. Legislators: Tuition Not Way To Increase Pay Several state lawmakers say they will push for a bill that would fund faculty salary increases at all UNC-system universities. By Alex Kaplun Assistant State & National Editor State legislators gathered in Raleigh on Tuesday to discuss future plans for funding faculty salary increases - plans not involving raising tuition for UNC-system students. Several members of the committee said they would like to introduce a bill called the Excellent Universities and Community Colleges Act at the upcoming legislative session that would require the legislature to gradually increase facul ty salaries over a four- or five-year span. The legislation would be similar to the Excellent Schools Act the N.C. General Assembly passed several years ago, which funded annual pay increases for public school teachers. The General Assembly approved tuition increases this summer at five UNC-system schools, including UNC-Chapel Hill, to fund increases in faculty salaries. A report conducted by UNC-system officials indicates that the tuition increases generated about $8 million this year in faculty salary increases for the five universities. But several state legislators have rejected the idea of fund ing future faculty salary increases through tuition. “(The tuition increase) was a temporary fix and could not be used on a regular basis,” said Sen. Charles Carter, D- Buncombe. Carter also said a tuition increase that would raise faculty salaries to a satisfactory level would violate the N.C. Constitution, which calls for tuition to be as low as possible. University advocates said they hope the legislature will pro vide the $28.5 million UNC-system schools would need to remain competitive with other comparable public schools nationwide. Several schools in the system would also require another $13.5 million to compete with private institutions. But these funds would likely have to be generated by the univer sities themselves, not the General Assembly. Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, said employee salaries make up approximately 80 percent of a university’s budget, an amount that is impossible to fund with tuition. She said the legislature must pass faculty pay increases for UNC-system schools to remain competitive with other schools. “The General Assembly has to come to the plate for faculty salaries.” The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. Provost Finalist Opens Up in Campus Forum By Mark Thomas Assistant University Editor As he solicited support from the University community Tuesday, one of the five candidates for the provost’s chair said he favors a cap on enrollment to maintain UNC’s tight-knit community. Dr. Robert N. Shelton, one of five candidates for provost, led an hourlong qiiestion-and-answer forum and fielded a variety of questions from a sparse audi ence of students, faculty and staff at Wilson Library. He also touched on issues such as hiring and retaining fac ulty and how he envisioned his role should he be selected. -Shelton has been vice provost for B^ n ~ J ji>Ol i T us out of $600,” said Shane Landrum, a sophomore journalism major, who, along with his roommate, purchased a full-year lease from the company. But this isn’t the first incident to put Mueller’s credibility in question. According to police reports, Mueller has been charged with a number of crimes since 1986, when he pled guilty to six break-ins in Chapel Hill. He was tagged the “toe-sucking bur glar” by police after teenage girls report ed waking up to find a man fondling or sucking their toes, the News & Observer reported in 1997. He was already suspected in 21 local burglaries at the time, reports state. —■ iPhhhhHki jMhUP/i ■PWSHT’ .a* 1 9 /; ■a&.aoi * fflLugri V ■ dm mm DTH/SEFTONIPOCK Chancellor James Moeser meets with supporters of the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center on Tuesday afternoon to answer questions and concerns about cultural diversity on campus. Chancellor Lends Support to BCC The forum included discussion on affirmative action, hiring more minority faculty and other racial concerns facing the University. By Kim Minugh University Editor Chancellor James Moeser pledged his dedi cation to minority issues Tuesday while meeting with supporters of the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center. “We are at a University that is really com mitted to diversity and inclusion,” Moeser said. “I pledge to work with you to make sure this happens.” Moeser said he is anxious to see the creation research in the office of the president at the University of California since 1996 and is a professor of physics at the University of Califomia-Davis. He said his biggest worry as provost would be balancing UNC’s role as a uni versity of the people, which likely would entail increasing enrollment to some degree while still maintaining the inti mate feel on campus. “How do you do that and not give off a sense of elitism?” Shelton asked rhetorically. “It is a balancing act.” Shelton went on to note that campus officials might look at changing admis sions standards as a means of maintaining both responsibility to the state and its peo ple while preserving UNC’s atmosphere. If you can achieve puberty, you can achieve a past. Truvy Jones Anne Fawcett: ASG needs to find suitable replacement for Webster, and fast. See Page 3 Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Mueller’s record also includes a 1996 conviction for indecent liberties with a child. He pled guilty in that case to involve ment with a 15-year-old girl who worked for him and received a sentence of eight to 10 months in jail, six months intensive probation and 4 1/2 years regular pro bation, according to police reports. The jail time was suspended, but the proba tion was left standing. In 1997, he was charged with second degree rape of a 20-year-old acquain tance, reports state. The charge of sec ond-degree rape, which was dismissed, involves the use of force but no weapon. Mueller has also been charged with of a freestanding BCC, a plan that was finally set into motion last year. Although the late Chancellor Michael Hooker gave his approval to the plan in November 1997, funding was not secured until September 1999, when the orga nization was given $6 million of a $28.6 million beques om a deceased alumnus. “It’s a very exciting time to be here,” Moeser said. “I want to thank my predecessor Chancellor Hooker for making the opportunity for this building to be built.” But the controversial building was not the only focus of the meeting. Moeser also empha sized the importance of incorporating black cul ture into the student body, faculty and staff. And he urged all students to work toward improved race relations. “Your job in part is to reach out past your comfort zone," he said. “Part of your University experience should be “(The University) would have to be more selective,” he said. The provost operates as the chief aca demic officer for the University. The next provost will also assume the role of executive vice chancellor, whose duty is chief financial officer and University spokesman. Shelton said UNC’s relatively small enrollment compared to other universi ties was part of the position’s appeal. “A big part of what excites me about coming here is that this is a very small community,” he said. “I would lose inter est rapidly if (UNC) had plans to take on an enrollment of 45,000 people.” With nearly a quarter of UNC’s fac ulty expected to retire in the next seven assault and parole violations, the most recent of which was a November 1999 charge of indecent liberties with a child. Police reports stated that Mueller and a 16-year-old girl were observed alone at the restaurant that he owned and man aged, Romano’s Pizza, which has since been tom down. The restaurant formerly stood on the site where Mueller is now leasing park ing spaces, and the rubble littering the lot is from that building’s demolition. Mueller and the girl said they were living together, police reports state. But the terms of the probation that Mueller received after his 1996 convic tion prohibit him from being alone with years, Shelton said the role of provost takes on increased importance. “There are a lot of positions to be filled here - the provost is going to be involved in selecting them because he is going to have to work with them,” he said. Shelton said the similarities between the University of California and UNC system, combined with his background, make him a perfect fit here. He said, “I think those two systems have, at their core, a sense of responsi bility to be among the premiere institu tions in the country.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. <22* a female under the age of 18 in his place of business or residence. He could not be reached for com ment Tuesday. More grievances against Mueller came to light Tuesday after several stu dents said they were unsuccessful in try ing to obtain refunds. Students began filing complaints against Tar Heel Parking with Chapel Hill and University police Saturday, claiming fraud and false representation after they found the lot did not measure up to their expectations. And where Carolina-blue fliers See MUELLER, Page 5 to reach out beyond the familiar.” Moeser, who called himself a firm believer of affirmative action, promised to actively bring diversity within the University realm. “We don’t just sit back and wait for the African-American pool to come to us,” he said. “It means we go out and actively recruit people of color.” He also said retention is a critical issue. Moeser said it was students who broke the mold of the Jim Crow South years ago. He called for continued enthusiasm and tolerance. “I think it is students who can show that mul ticulturalism can work today,” he said. “Every time there’s a one-to-one relationship between (races) we’ve moved one step closer to understanding each other.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. t? 1 ■„; t \-~ 'V , /'-' - j IgflH if^M-Sjk v >* * 9 it - jW • JB w** JBP,p *