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ANNE FAWCETT
Voting Doesn't
Get Any Easier
Than This
The clock is ticking down for No
Excuse Voting, so I stopped by
the Morehead Planetarium last
week to dig up insider details and pass
them on to those who have yet to vote.
12:30 p.m. I enter the door of the
Morehead Planetarium facing the quad,
greet the girl sitting at the desk and fol
low the signs into die polling place.
Three people are ahead of me in line.
12:33.1 sit down to fill out the form
certifying that I’m a registered voter in
Orange County. I’m glad I brought my
voter registration card with me so I
could just copy the pertinent informa
tion onto my form.
I’m surprised they don’t need my
drivers’ license, but I see they’re
checking on a computer to make sure
the person with my name is registered
in Orange County. They take the bal
lot away from a woman behind me
when they realize she’s not registered.
12:35. Chiefjudge James Weathers
explains the ballot to me in a speech he
has given more than 1,000 times
already. He shows me that even if I
want to vote a straight ticket (all the can
didates of a party at once) I must still
vote for the president, the higher educa
tion bond and the soil and water conser
vation district supervisor separately.
12:38. Mr. Weathers sends me off
with a black magic marker to connect
the arrows on my ballot in one of
seven blue-partitioned voting booths. I
get busy, pausing only as I attempt to
remember the name of the candidate
for state dogcatcher I saw advertised
the night before.
12:41.1 survey in dismay the long list
of judges, none of whose names I rec
ognize. Because I don’t believe in vot
ing forjudges based on political party, I
leave them all blank and hope that
other voters are more informed than I.
12:43.1 slide my ballot into the
electronic ballot box, which makes a
satisfied beep as it swallows my votes
into its belly.
That’s it. It takes 13 minutes to par
ticipate in our democracy. But lines
are getting longer, so don’t put voting
off too long.
Democracy doesn’t have to be con
venient, but (hat’s the case in No
Excuse Voting. As long as you’re a
registered voter in Orange County,
you can vote at the planetarium from
10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. through Friday.
Even students who live off campus
can cast their ballots within walking
distance of their 10 a.m. classes.
By Tuesday morning, 1,997 people
had voted there. The Carrboro Town
Hall and the Orange County Board of
Elections house other No Excuse poll
sites.
The new method appeals to adults
because it allows them to avoid long
lines after work on Election Day. “Our
precinct has a lot of people and here we
don’t have to wait very long,” said
Nancy Dole, a staff member at the
Carolina Population Center, who voted
with her husband. “In presidential
years, we sometimes wait half an hour.”
Students like No Excuse Voting
because they can cast their ballot
whenever it’s convenient Natalie
Crater, a freshman from Winston-
Salem, was voting for the first time. “I
(voted) because I know I’ll forget,” she
said. “I remembered today, so I came.”
But Weathers said the pollsters were
disappointed in student turnout This is
especially deplorable since the Elections
Board placed the site at the Morehead
Planetarium for students’ benefit
To their credit, some students have
voted and others have tried. Some ran
into trouble when they tried to vote at
the planetarium without changing their
registration to Orange County.
But Weathers said most of the voters
coming through have said they were
pleased with the process. “The people
coming through have generally been
really excited about where the location
is for them,” he said. “We’re in the cen
ter of town for people working with the
University and Chapel Hill.”
But it ends at 4:45 p.m. Friday.
You have three days left to cast your
ballot before you have to wait in lines
for half an hour or more next Tuesday.
Three days to vote on a student’s
schedule instead of an adult’s. Or wait
until Tuesday. But with the new options,
there’s really no excuse not to vote.
Columnist Anne Fawcett can be
reached at fawcetta@hotmail.com.
Local Officials Tour Possible School Sites
fix
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DTH/RYAN VASAN
Members of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education look on as
Ken Redfrost (left) and Jim Wiley present plans for anew school.
Mall Event Keeps Trick or Treating Safe, Fun
By Kentia Etheridge
Staff Writer
Hundreds of children, dressed as X-
Men, Pokemon and Minnie Mouse,
among other costumes, filled the
University Mall, anxiously searching for
candy.
The costumed children go to the mall
to participate in its annual Halloween
trick-or-treating.
The University Mall sponsors activi
ties in the mall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
where children can trick-or-treat at the
different shops within the mall.
“There was an estimate of 500 kids,
not including parents, from last year,”
said Allen Foster, representative of
University Mall marketing department
“We had over 200 kids in the costume
contest (last year).”
Several activities are provided for the
children’s entertainment, including a
costume contest and a DJ.
Many children participate in the cos
tume contest, which is divided into 11
categories.
For each category, a first-place prize
of $25 is awarded.
“There are different categories and it
varies by age group," Foster said.
Children as young as newborns and as
old as 13 participate in such categories
as Cutest, Scariest and Most Original
NCCU Starts Chancellor Search
Students and faculty had
the chance to discuss their
ideal candidate in two open
forums at NCCU this week.
By Faith Ray
Staff Writer
DURHAM - Members of N.C.
Central University’s Chancellor Search
Committee continued working to iden
tify characteristics anew chancellor
would need during open forums
Monday and Tuesday.
Longtime Chancellor Julius
Chambers will resign at the end of the
2001 spring semester.
The forums included discussion of
the search process and of the next chan
cellor’s role in the university.
The committee also heard student
concerns regarding the next chancellor
at a meeting Monday.
There were no students in attendance
during the Tuesday forum.
The executive search firm of Heidrick
and Struggles will conduct the search
process along with members of the
NCCU search committee.
Lisa Fisher, spokeswoman for
Heidrick and Struggles, said she was sur
prised at the level of misunderstanding
that students who attended the forum
Monday had regarding the chancellor’s
role.
“Communicate, communicate, com-
Carrboro Hosts Halloween Carnival
By James Miller
Staff Writer
A tiny winged dinosaur, pumpkin
people and a slew of witches, cowboys
and fairies were among the costumed
children that descended upon the
Carrboro Town Hall Commons on
Tuesday evening.
They were joined by parents, volun
teers of all ages and local residents who
came to enjoy the Halloween Carnival, a
family-oriented annual event set up by the
Carrboro Recreation and Parks
Department and Commission, a voluntary
citizens’ board that advises the department
on town recreational activities.
“We want to provide a safe activity,
primarily for children, but an activity
costume.
Lia Blue, a 12-day-old infant, won
first runner-up for cutest costume in the
newbom-to-10 month category with an
orange pumpkin costume.
“The pumpkin I thought would be
good for a baby,” Lia’s mother said.
Many parents attend the University
Mall’s trick-or-treat because of the safe
and friendly environment.
“Even if he were to get lost, he’s
inside,” said Michelle Berry, who was
there with her 3-year-old son, Marcel
Berry.
“Because store owners are giving out
candy, you don’t worry about whether
they can get the candy,” she said.
About 25 merchants participated in
the event.
“It’s something many malls do as a
community service,” Foster said. “If you
want a nice, safe environment, if you
don’t want your kids to walk through
roads, it’s a safe alternative.”
Many store owners, such as Martha
Jenkins, who owns Kitchenworks, said
they are happy to participate in the
event.
“I’m just glad to give back to the peo
ple who have been so kind to make me
have a successful store,” Jenkins said.
The children enjoy the activities and
See MALL, Page 4
municate,” Fisher
said, reiterating
one goal of the
committee.
Discussion at
the forum ranged
from the impact a
new chancellor
will have on uni
versity curricu
lum to how a
new chancellor
will financially
manage the uni
versity.
Search com
mittee Chairman
A committee is
searching for a
replacement for
NCCU Chancellor
Julius Chambers,
who is retiring.
William Smith said the group is look
ing for someone who can handle both
aspects of the job.
“This is an open search,” Smith
said. “We want the
best person to
lead the universi
ty.”
NCCU recent
ly established a
Web site for appli
cants to send in
resumes.
From the
resumes, the com
mittee will select a
“The best method to anticipate
what (the candidates)
will do in the fiiture is to
focus on their past.”
Veronica Biggins
Partner in Heidrick and Struggles
pool of candidates, who will be inter
viewed by committee members in
December.
The full search committee will inter
view the candidates, but each committee
parents are comfortable with, too,” said
Carol Rosemond, recreation superin
tendent for the Carrboro Recreation
and Parks Department.
“Commission members and other
volunteers work the events and the staff
plans and sets it up,” she said. “It takes a
whole lot of people.”
Rosemond said the carnival was
probably in its 25th year.
Free game booths and activities like
the Bean Bag Toss, the Hungry
Caterpillar and the Monster Mash pro
vided plenty of entertainment for visi
tors like Brandon Henderson, a cow
boy and Carrboro Elementary first
grader, who visited the Hungry
Caterpillar.
The young cowboy squeezed one of
News
By Stephanie Gunter
Staff Writer
Local officials and school board
members gathered Tuesday to tour a
proposed site for anew elementary
school they hope will ease overcrowding
in the school system.
Meadowmont, a development off
N.C. 54, is the proposed site for the
school. It will be the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro City Schools’ ninth elemen
tary school.
“We had a Long-Range Facilities Ta :k
Force that thought about what our
school needs to be,” said Board of
Education member Teresa Williams.
Meadowmont is the preferred site
being considered. The development, a
435-acre mixed-use site, will include
new homes, apartments and a wellness
center.
“It’s not (a site) that we need to pur-
•jwPMfnff
DTH/MILLER PEARSAU
Heather Watkins, 3, joins in thejcpstume competition at the University Mall on Tuesday night. Her mother,
Jennifer, brought her from Durham for the festive occasion. Heather won third place in her age group.
member will be assigned a specific area
of questioning for the prospective chan
cellor.
The interview process should come
to an end at the beginning ofjanuary, at
which point the committee will select
the new chancellor.
But Veronica Biggins, partner with
Heidrick and Struggles, said there are no
leading contenders for the position so
far.
She also said the committee will be
looking for candidates who have a
clear vision for the future of the uni
versity.
Biggins added that it would be essen
tial to review past actions of the candi
dates.
“The best method to anticipate what
they will do in the future is to focus on
their past,” Biggins said.
But she said that
while the commit
tee is still in the
candidate develop
ment phase, they
have been
impressed by the
accomplishments
of candidates that
have applied so
far.
“I am pleased
with the quality of people who are inter
ested at this time.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached atstntdesk@unc.edu.
the sock caterpillars that was protruding
from a wooden garden and guessed its
contents.
“I guessed what the caterpillar ate,
silly,” Henderson said. “I won a spider
ring.”
This year’s carnival also catered to
older children, said Doris Murrell, chair
woman of the citizens’ advisory board.
“We always have a lot of older kids
out, but there have never been a lot of
activities to keep them involved,” she
said.
The Monster Mash was just such an
activity, said Tim Larson, a program
assistant with the Carrboro Recreation
and Parks Department.
See CARNIVAL, Page 4
chase,” Williams said. “It obviously
became a favorable site."
The elementary school would be
built on 22 acres of land in the
Meadowmont community. The school
board ir/ 't commit to building the new
school by 2002 and the new school must
be completed by 2007.
But Meadowmont is rot the only site
the school board is considering for the
new school.
“We have been asked by the
(Orange) County commissioners to con
sider other sites," Elizabeth Carter, a
school board member, said.
The school board and county officials
also toured the Eubanks Road site
Tuesday. But officials said they have a
number of concerns with the Eubanks
site.“ The site on Eubanks has no utili
ties,” said Steve Scroggs, assistant super
intendent of the school system.
Scroggs said that in addition to utili
P.E. Games, Festivities
Await Seawell Students
By Kim Perry
Staff Writer
With Halloween costumes and
music, physical education teachers at
Seawell Elementary School are using
holiday fun to show students the impor
tance of what is being learned in the
classroom.
During gym classes from Monday
through Wednesday, students partici
pated in Halloween Stations, where they
could earn tickets by running laps or
long jumping. They then used those
tickets at different stations around the
gym to play games.
This year, students could choose
from activities such as rope swinging
through a “snake pit” and dancing at
“Franky’s Monster Mouth.”
“It’s just a way to tie into the novelty
of (Halloween),” said Sherry Norris, the
school’s physical education teacher. “In
different years, we do different things.
We’ve had a maze before, a giant bub
ble for the kids to go inside and a spider
web to crawl through.”
Norris said she thought of the idea
about 24 years ago as a way to incorpo
rate math into physical education and
has been doing the activity ever since.
Michelle Wood, another P.E. teacher
at Seawell, said she thought the students
enjoyed earning tickets the most.
“Some kids spend so much time eam-
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DTH'KATE MEIXNIK
Chisung Cho, 6 years old, tries to win prizes by tossing a ball into
floating saucers at the Halloween carnival in Carrboro.
Wednesday, November 1, 2000
ties, the road in front of die Eubanks site
would have to be widened to include a
turn lane.
But the board has some concerns
with Meadowmont as well. About half
of the school will be located in Durham
County and the other half in Orange
County.
Superintendent Neil Pedersen said he
is confident this issue will not be a prob
lem.
“We have special legislation
approved that allows us to encroach into
Durham County,” Pedersen said.
Carter said the board hopes to create
a design different from other schools in
the area.
“My hope is that we will use another
(model),” Carter said. “Not just the exact
model but certain pieces.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
ing tickets that they don’t have enough
time to play the games,” Wood said.
Several students agreed and said get
ting to use their tickets for the other
activities was the best part of the class.
“I like when you swing on the rope,”
said Eh Powell, a second-grade student
Both Norris and Wood said they feel
that watching the students having to
think and apply basic math skills was
the most rewarding part of the activity.
“I had a kindergarten class in here
today,” Wood said. “They were just
learning counting.”
Norris said integrating curriculum
and reinforcing basic concepts learned
in the classroom, especially through
things like physical education, helps
children learn and develop.
“What they can’t learn in the class
room, sometimes they can learn in
here,” Norris said. “If they can some
how make a connection here and take it
back to the classroom, it helps.”
As students ran from station to sta
tion, some in their Halloween costumes,
they seemed to be having more fun than
anything else. “When children can do
things that they like to do, it motivates
them,” Norris said. “They’re getting a
really good workout, and they don’t
even know it”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
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