G.I. Jane
Cadet rises in
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www.unc.edu/dth
Study Examines Solutions for U.S. 15-501 Congestion
By Theo Helm
Staff Writer
Local officials introduced residents to
a plan for easing traffic congestion on
U.S. 15-501 at an informal meeting
Thursday night.
Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary
Waldorf, town transportation planners
and study consultants presented the
Major Investment Study. The MIS must
be completed to receive federal funding
for anew transit system.
Waldorf said the study team is dis-
Faculty Must Keep
Bond Talk Neutral
As state employees, faculty
must inform the public
about the bond referendum
without openly backing it.
By Monica Chen
and Rachel Cottone
Staff Writers
Many UNC-system faculty members
support the $3.1 billion higher educa
tion bond referendum but must exercise
caution when voicing their opinions.
Sue Estroff, UNC-Chapel Hill facul
ty council chairwoman, said most of the
University’s professors favor the bond
referendum but stop short of publicly
endorsing it
“Some people are giving talks,”
Estroff said. “We have to walk a fine
line, though. We are state employees.”
The $3.1 billion bond referendum,
the largest in the state’s history, will be
used to renovate and build capital facil
ities across the UNC system. And UNC
will receive a significant portion of the
bond package, totaling $499 million.
North Carolina res
idents will vote on
the package Nov. 7.
As state
employees, faculty
members cannot
legally use state or
university
resources to pro
duce or distribute
materials actively
supporting the
bond.
“It is difficult (for the faculty)
to distinguish between the
faculty and university role
and the personal role. ”
Evelyn Hawthorne
UNC-CH Associate Vice Chancellor
But faculty members are allowed to
educate the public about the bond, pro
vided they stick to factual information.
The guidelines suggest “that informa
tional material include alternatives to
die bond issue.” According to the guide
lines, the real distinction between edu
cating and advocating depends on
“style, tenor, timing and content of the
publication or activity.”
Estroff said faculty are allowed to
lobby for the bond but must operate
within limits.
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Director of Public Safety Derek Poarch (left) and Deputy Director Jeff McCracken (right)
show off the new Emergency Operations Center at DPS headquarters Thursday.
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
Henry Adams
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cussing four options -a diesel rail sys
tem, a light rail system, a busway and a
combination busway and mixed traffic
area - to curb traffic between Chapel
Hill and Durham.
“Everyone knows there’s an extreme
congestion problem on (U.S.) 15-501
between Chapel Hill and Durham,”
Waldorf said. “How can we best have
transit service from Ninth Street (in
Durham) to the UNC Hospitals?”
Triangle Transit Authority has already
chosen the diesel rail system as the trans
portation system linking Raleigh and
“As private citi
zens, (the faculty)
can do what any
other citizen can,”
she said. “We can
educate. We can
inform.”
But Evelyn
Hawthorne, UNC
CH associate vice
chancellor for
government rela
tions, said faculty
must remember
their public and
private lives can
be hard to sepa
rate.
UNC Faculty Council
Chairwoman
Sue Estroff
said professors do not
stump for the bond
package publicly.
“It is difficult (for the faculty) to dis
tinguish between the faculty and uni
versity role and the personal role,”
Hawthorne said.
Some faculty at other UNC-system
schools also favor the bond but cannot
voice that opinion.
Brenda Killingsworth, former East
Carolina University Faculty Senate
chairwoman, said partisan support for
the bond is strong and widespread but
not voiced.
Killingsworth
said ECU faculty
supported the
bond because of its
possible impact on
the school’s future.
“We know how
much it means to
us," she said. “We
need the money.”
But
Killingsworth said ECU Faculty Senate
meetings regarding the bond have been
used to educate faculty so they do not
petition for the bond.
Philip Carter, chairman-elect of the
N.C. State University Faculty Senate,
said he also favors the bond but under
stands any public advocacy must
remain educational.
“One function (of faculty) is to inform
the public.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Marshall Marches In
The Thundering Herd rolls into
Kenan Stadium on Saturday.
See Page 5
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Durham, but it
will not be built
until 2007, assum
ing the project
receives funding.
Chapel Hill res
ident Robin
Helbum suggested
integrating a rail
system with the
one TTA is plan
ning.
“To have to
switch from tech-
Chapel Hill Mayor
Rosemary Waldorf
said changes are at
least 10 years away.
Memorial Honors Late Principal
Students
Recall Life
Of Educator
By Stephanie Gunter
Staff Writer
Students and faculty at Guy B.
Phillips Middle School gathered
Thursday to celebrate the life and
accomplishments of late Principal
Alton Cheek.
Cheek’s goal for Phillips had been to
achieve the status of an N.C. School of
Excellence. The school was honored
Thursday with that tide, which it gained
under Cheek’s leadership for the 1999-
GO school year.
“We are proud that we were able to
reach this achievement before he left
us,” said Richard Pierce, interim prin
cipal at Phillips. “On behalf of Alton
Cheek and his family here today, we
are proud to accept this honor as a N.C.
School of Excellence.”
State Superintendent Mike Ward
commemorated the event by presenting
Phillips with a banner. In addition to
praising the school for a job well done,
Ward also shared thoughts on Cheek.
“I have known Alton Cheek since the
days when I was a principal," he said.
“Asa principal, I tried to pattern myself
after great leaders like Alton Cheek.
Alton Cheek was a giant in our midst.”
Cheek died of natural causes Aug.
22 and was found at home by Chapel
Hill police. Students said they were
shocked when they heard of his death.
“I was sad,” said Charles Clarke, a
seventh-grader at Phillips. “He was
really nice. He was real laid-back and
lots of principals are strict.”
The faculty at Phillips had planned a
daylong celebration in honor of Cheek,
designed to be a joyful remembrance
rather than a mournful time.
After the award ceremony, students
enjoyed a day of sidewalk chalk draw
ings, face painting, music and food.
“The whole focus is to celebrate his
life with the upbeat music and all of that,”
said guidance counselor Anne Brashear.
UNC Unveils High-Tech Crisis Center
By Paige Ammons
and Tori Kiser
Staff Writers
The newest addition to UNC’s campus lurks
behind a maze of long hallways and security
systems.
Only four supervisors hold a key to this
locked room that might control the safety of all
UNC students and faculty in an emergency.
The Emergency Operations Center, which
opened in July, has placed $50,000 worth of
high-tech equipment designed to respond to
emergency situations on campus in the hands
of Director Derek Poarch and Deputy Director
Jeff McCracken.
“It puts us in the situation where communi
cation and services can continue to be provid-
nologies is a real barrier to ridership,”
Helbum said. “It’s like reading a book
with a different font for every chapter.”
But any hopes for a quick solution to
transit problems were dashed when
Waldorf explained the time schedule for
the project.
“We want to finish the study by Feb.
1,” she said. “The best guesstimate I’ve
heard about when this thing could begin
being built is 10 years, minimum.”
Waldorf said the best short-term
action would be to persuade the N.C.
Department of Transportation to install
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DTH/BRENT CLARK
Sixth-grader Kelan Danku of Phillips Middle School sends a message in chalk to her recently deceased
principal, Alton Cheek. She was participating in a schoolwide celebration and memorial for Cheek,
who passed away Aug. 22 from natural causes.
Cheek’s daughters, Lynn and
Jacquie, were also in attendance and
presented the school with a small gift in
memory of their father.
“My father treated you all like fami
ly,” Lynn Cheek said. “You all were
and still are his No. 1 priority.
“My father had a lot of sayings,” she
continued. “One was there were no
problems, only challenges. Think out
side the box. Don’t close yourself in.”
Asa symbol of this sentiment,
Cheek’s daughters gave the school a
small golden box with a figure perched,
appropriately, outside it.
Seventh-grader Gabrielle Foushee
shared her fond memories of Cheek.
“When I got in trouble, he always
helped me out," she said. “He was
always there for me.”
An array of stuffed animals had
graced Cheek’s office, reflecting his
love for the toys. After Cheek’s death,
See MEMORIAL, Page 4
ed,” Poarch said.
The large room, located in the basement of the
Department of Public Safety building on South
Campus, houses all the essentials needed to keep
the University functioning during all kinds of dis
asters, which include hurricanes, tornadoes, thun
derstorms and even riots, Poarch said.
Poarch said one of the primary responsibili
ties of those manning the center would be to
monitor the situation and classify the emer
gency’s severity. “We would create an emer
gency plan based on whether it was a Category
II or 111 emergency,” Poarch said.
An example Category II situation would be
an airplane crash; a Category 111 would be a
hurricane, Poarch said.
In the event of an actual emergency, the only
people allowed in the room would be those
* 44* 4 i
high-occupancy vehicle lanes between
Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park,
which conceivably could encourage car
pooling. The HOV lanes also could
serve as bus lanes, Waldorf said.
The goal of the project, both short
and long term, is to prevent the worsen
ing of congestion, Waldorf said.
“We’re not talking about a drop in
traffic flow unless there’s sudden depop
ulation,” she said. “Traffic congestion is
here to stay.”
Orange County resident Ted
Seymour said he is worried about the
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DTH/BRENT CLARK
Kenneth Oliver and his son Justin release their homing pigeons in
front of students and teachers at Phillips Middle School on Thursday.
The moment capped off a day dedicated to celebrating the school's
academic achievements and the life of Phillips' late principal.
T.G.I.F.
Today: Rainy, 77
Saturday: Sunny, 86
Sunday: Stormy, 86
Friday, September 22, 2000
effect the project could have on residen
tial areas. “I’m concerned about neigh
borhood areas being uprooted by mass
transit,” he said. “But we certainly do
need some sort of mass transportation
system to alleviate congestion."
Helburn said the community ulti
mately would rather have a rail system.
“People would be happier to see a set
of tracks rather than a giant highway. We
already have one (in U.S. 15-501).”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
from DPS, the Health and Safety Department,
the Facilities Planning Department and media.
Each of these representatives would have an
individual assignment, but all would collective
ly work together to disseminate information to
University officials, faculty and students.
“We now have a place to bring people togeth
er who do have to work together,” Poarch said.
“The sole purpose is to monitor and effectively
protect the University’s property.”
The center is equipped with telephones,
base-unit radios, fax machines, cable television
and additional monitors, McCracken said.
A weather satellite dish on top of DPS head
quarters keeps one of the large TV screens
updated on forecasts around the globe. The
See EMERGENCY CENTER, Page 4