A Sight to See
Locals try to help
student. See Page 3
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Student Congress
Grapples With
Financial Strain
With the number of student groups on the
rise, Congress members must decide how
best to spend a rapidly shrinking budget.
By Jason Arthurs
Staff Writer
Facing a dwindling pool of funds, Student Congress will
find out tonight how far it can stretch the student buck this
semester to fund campus groups’ activities.
During its meeting, Congress will likely dole out about
$4,000 to nine campus groups hoping to get their share of the
$9,567.15 still remaining for student organizations, said
Congress Speaker Alexandra Bell.
Student Body Treasurer Patrick Frye said Congress gets
strapped for cash every year but usual
ly not until the end of spring semester.
“It happens every year; this year it hap
pened a little quicker.”
Frye said that given this year’s short
age of funds, accompanied by an
increase in student groups, Congress
generally needs to be more careful this
year about what events it supports.
“It’s hard to say ‘no,’” he said, adding
that the general attitude when making
tough funding decisions was, “Who
cares if there’s not going to be enough
money for the next Congress?”
Student Body Secretary Michael
Woods said that it is because of
Congress’ habitually careless spending
practices that it is scraping the bottom of
the financial bucket so early in the semester.
“They had their hand in the fire for three months, and now
they are looking up and saying ‘shit, it’s burning,’” he said.
“It’s really about some of the practices of Congress.”
But Bell said Congress has made smart choices this semester.
“I think Congress has been heavily scrutinizing all the groups,”
she said. “We’ve been funding what we think is important”
Congress Finance Committee Chairman Mark Townsend also
said the shortfall was not due to Congress’ unwise spending. “It
comes down to we don’t have enough money,” he said.
Frye said the funding shortfall was caused this year by a
depleted Special Projects and Speakers
Fund and fewer unused dollars being
returned by groups.
The Subsequent Appropriations Fund,
which is currently being distributed, is the
money that Congress doles out for events
held by campus organizations not
accounted for in Congress’s annual bud
get. The fund, which totaled $22,350 at
the start of this semester, is composed of
11.6 percent of the $lO student fee paid
by each undergraduate student.
Bell said most groups that came before
Congress had prftposed legitimate uses
for the money they requested. But Woods
said Congress needs to learn how to say
no to funding events that do not directly
benefit UNC. “Is value being returned to
the campus? Since all students are paying for this, are all students
benefiting?” Woods said. “It’s tough because decisions have to
be made, and you can’t replace your wallet with your heart.”
Rep. David Seymour, Dist. 17, said he has tried to support
events that have a direct impact on campus. “You can’t really
point the blame at someone person,” Seymour said. “Some
people are going to get money, and that’s just the way it is."
Woods said the first come, first serve attitude in Congress is not
fair to all groups at UNC. “If we can develop a better protocol,
at least you’d know ahead of time what the score is,” he said.
The Subsequent Appropriations Fund was about $5,000 short
this year because of a debt incurred by last year’s Congress. The
debt, Frye said, occurred because the budget reversion, or left
over money returned by student groups, did not reach the pro
jected 20 percent. He said the reversion came up about 1 percent
short because Congress changed the reversion policy to allow
unused funds to cany over into the spring semester instead of ask
ing groups to return the money at the end of each semester.
“The reason the reversion rate wasn’t as high as expected
was they changed the rules of reversion after budget was
made,” Frye said. “Groups had the money longer, and they
had greater opportunities to (spend) that money.”
He also said Congress gave individual groups less money
last year. “When you give groups less margin, they return less.”
Moreover, the Special Projects and Speakers Fund, which
in the last three years has paid for groups’ guest speakers and
Hip Hop Nation’s annual concerts, has been exhausted.
Frye said the money in the Special Projects and Speakers
Fund became available three years ago during the 79th
Congress, which passed legislation providing that speakers
costing more than $2,000 to be paid for with the fund.
He said that while the reversion shortfall will be corrected this
year and the $3 increase in student fees will help, the absence of
the Special Projects and Speakers Fund will have long-term
effects. “This Congress doesn’t have the money (to restore it).”
The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.
| Phases of the Environmental Master Plan: J
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resource management 1 hey identify eonfliijS and impacts aed 4*
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Today, the DTH begins its three-part
examination of UNC’s Master Plan, a
blueprint for campus growth.
Congress Speaker
Alexandra Bell
says Congress has
“heavily scrutinized”
each organization's
requests.
Ecology Plays Role
By Loren Clemens
Staff Writer
When it rains on campus, it’s more
than a natural phenomenon - it’s a fac
tor now changing the course of campus
growth.
Stormwater runoff is just one of
UNC’s ecological dilemmas the
Environmental Master Plan is attempt
ing to address. These recommendations
for a greener campus are part of the
larger UNC Master Plan, which will
guide future development on
University property.
To form a set of environmental
guidelines for UNC, Ayers Saint Gross,
the architectural firm hired to formulate
the Master Plan, called in Andropogon
Associates and Cahill Associates. The
two Pennsylvania firms are known for
helping businesses, colleges and botan
ical gardens around the country design
ecologically sound facilities.
M
Student Body
Treasurer
Patrick Frye
said Congress needs
to be more selective
in doling out funds.
Barenaked Ladies Put on Silly Show
The Barenaked Ladies left
their fans at the Smith
Center satisfied after a
show full of goofy antics.
By Warren Wilson
Staff Writer
Call them nerds, criticize their
music, knock their Canadian heritage
-but you still can’t deny that
Barenaked Ladies put on a good show.
The band’s
Friday night per
formance in the
Smith Center
was a marvelous
example of a
mediocre band
giving the crowd what they want, and
how they want it.
The theme of silliness, highlighted
by giant balloons floating above the
stage and a random guy dressed as a
chef, veiled the well-oiled machine
that is Barenaked Ladies and their
crew.
The precise pacing and execution,
not to mention the excellent sound
There are no shortcuts in evolution.
Louis D. Brandeis
Bling Bling
N.C. A&Ts voter registration drive
racked up more new voters than
UNC or N.C. State. See Page 3
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
“lt became obvious that the land and
water resources had to be considered,”
said Teresa Durkin, Andropogon
Associates’ project manager for the
Environmental Master Plan. She said her
firm, along with Cahill Associates, was
called in to analyze the topography and
the stream system of UNC’s campus.
The firms had help from the
Environmental Advisory Group. This
group was composed of individuals
from the UNC and Chapel Hill com
munities who are knowledgeable about
environmental issues facing the area.
They served as guides and advisers for
the consultants as they evaluated the
campus from April iojuly.
When it came to identifying the most
important problems, the group’s dis
cussions covered a lot of ground. Air
pollution, solid waste management and
energy efficiency were all brought to
the consultants’ attention.
The number of undeveloped spaces
and the snazzy matching red-and
black outfits, reflected the slickness
and superficiality of their latest album,
Maroon, yet the members still took suf
ficient time to banter with the crowd
and goof off.
The concert began with a reading of
the poem from which the album takes
its name, set to cheesy Latin jazz, a
nonsensical cartoon on the four giant
screens strategically framing the stage.
After sufficient buildup, the band
came onstage and burst triumphantly
into “Too Little Too Late.” The Ladies
proceeded into “Alcohol” from Stunt
and “Life in a Nutshell,” before stop
ping to talk to the hysterical crowd
about how much fun spinning until
you get dizzy is.
There was method behind the ludi
crousness, though, as the jokes and
dorky freestyles always flowed seam
lessly into another song, as did the one
drum solo and one bass solo of the
night.
While the band played them as well
as technically possible, many of the
songs themselves were still pretty
lousy, especially Maroon flops like
“Baby Seat.”
The set included most of Maroon,
,
Zrey/ew/-'
Barenaked Ladies
Friday, Oct. 27
★★★
■ Today: The Environmental Impact
■ Tuesday: The Faces Behind the Plan
■ Wednesday: A Plan in Action
in Plan
on campus was high on the list of pri
orities for group members. Planners say
future developments will not encroach
on too many of the campus’ existing
green spaces, and plans to construct
new ones are also in the works.
But along with the need to preserve
trees and lawns, the group’s primary
focus eventually setded on water quali-
ty and control.
“One thing we
wanted to do was to
make this campus a
leader for the state
in what you can do to be environmen
tally sensitive,” said Don Fransisco, part
of the 31-person group. “Water was the
thing we could have the most impact
on.”
UNC’s campus is the watershed for
several local streams, one of which runs
directly under Kenan Stadium.
See ENVIRONMENT, Page 2
peppered with well-timed old favorites
like “The Old Apartment” and
“1,000,000 Dollars.” For those whose
favorite songs could not fit into the set,
the band included a funny but well
done five-minute medley of about a
dozen of its older tunes.
Barenaked Ladies’ two encores left
the crowd satisfied, finishing the first
one comically as the roadies came
onstage with paper bags over their
heads to take away the instruments.
The second encore concluded the
show sweetly, as the band delivered a
touching version of “Call and
Answer.”
The timing and production of the
show did become sickeningly con
trived at times, as did their goofy, fun
for-the-whoie-family humor.
The giant screens exacerbated this
problem, zooming in on Steven Page’s
and Ed Robertson’s singing faces,
writhing in emotion while I was
writhing in pain.
But the band still managed to seem
down to earth as far as S3O, alcohol
free arena concerts go.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
-
Town Sweats
Sprawling
UNC Campus
By Leah Cole
Staff Writer
How big is big enough?
As UNC’s campus continues to grow, many peo
ple worry that the University will start spilling into
neighborhoods despite efforts by officials to preserve
as/mp/eplan
University development over a 25- to 50-year peri
od. But the University is not an island unto itself, and
the UNC Master Plan will affect not only the cam
pus, but also the areas surrounding it. And some are
concerned that not all those changes will be positive.
“The major goal (of the Master Plan) is to accom
modate the growth and development of the University
while maintaining the beauty and the small campus
See SPRAWL, Page 2
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jew- , j vU
DTH/RYAN VASAN
Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies, belts out the song
"Alcohol" on Friday night in the Smith Center.
Gee Whiz
Today: Sunny, 65
Tuesday: Sunny, 74
Wednesday: Sunny, 76
Monday, October 30, 2000
the town’s small size.
In September, a revised
edition of the Master Plan
for UNC was unveiled. This
blueprint will guide