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Heels get tough
win. See Page 11
Site Daily Sar Heel
www.dailytarheel.com
Gore Goes to Courts to 'Let the People Have Their Say'
The Associated Press
A1 Gore defended his unprecedented
reach to the courts Monday, declaring
“let the people have their say” by count
ing every ballot in Florida’s make-or
break presidential election.
George W. Bush
plunged into the
work of building a
new government
even as scattered
rank-and-file Democrats warned that
Gore’s time may be running out.
A day after Bush summoned TV
cameras to press for Gore’s concession,
the vice president laid out his case for
letting courts setde America’s long-count
election. “This is America,” he said with
a forced chuckle. “When votes are cast,
VT Coach
Decides to
Stay Put
Frank Beamer said he
would stay at Virginia Tech
one day after visiting with
Dick Baddour in Chapel Hill.
By Bret Strelow
Assistant Sports Editor
Jim Weaver made the prediction last
Tuesday.
“I full well expect - when the dust
setdes - that Frank Beamer will still be
at Virginia Tech,” Weaver, Virginia
Tech’s athletic director, told The Daily
Tar Heel.
The dust finally settled Monday.
After three
days filled with
meetings with
administrators in
Blacksburg, Va.,
and Chapel Hill
and talk of seven
figure salaries,
Beamer made
Weaver’s wish
come true.
Beamer
announced at a
press conference
Monday after
noon that he
would remain the
head football
Virginia Tech coach
Frank Beamer
will have his salary
increased from about
$750,000 a year to
more than $1 million.
coach at Virginia Tech. Beamer’s salary,
which was about $750,000 a year, will
increase to $1,025 million.
The decision came a day after
Beamer and his wife, Cheryl, met with
North Carolina Director of Athletics
Dick Baddour in Chapel Hill.
“When you get away a little bit, you
realize how special a place like this is,”
Beamer said at the press conference.
“The grass
always looks
greener some
where else, but
you actually sit
back and look
UNC in Trouble
If Backup Plan
Not in Place
See Page 11
and see how green the grass is here.”
The announcement marks the second
time in about five months that a coach
has held a press conference to say he was
n’t coming to Chapel Hill. Roy Williams
announced in July that he would not
become the Tar Heels’ head basketball
coach. Baddour had a press conference of
his own later that night, but this time he
simply released a statement.
“We are disappointed that Frank
Beamer withdrew from consideration
for our coaching position,” Baddour
said in the statement. “He was one of
several outstanding candidates we have
been considering, and we will continue
to vigorously pursue those other candi
dates. I am confident that we will secure
See BEAMER, Page 5
we count them.
We don’t arbi
trarily set them
aside because
it’s too difficult
to count them."
Poll: Public Feels
Gore Should
Accept Results
See Page 4
The prime-time televised address was
perhaps Gore’s last, best chance to
explain why the closest presidential elec
tion in 124 years didn’t end Sunday night
when Florida’s top elections officer, a
GOP partisan, certified Bush the winner
by 537 votes out of 6 million cast.
Gore protested the results in a Florida
state court earlier Monday, becoming
the first candidate in U.S. history to con
test a presidential election before the
judiciary. His lawyers asked for a quick
hearing, but might not get one before
the end of the week.
' jjlf' I
DTH FILE PHOTO
Francisco, a sophomore at Chapel Hill High School who was blinded when he was 10 years old, could regain
sight in his right eye after a cornea transplant preformed today in Nashville, Tenn., by Dr. Ming Wang.
Hoping the End Is in Sight
By Wendy Phillips
Staff Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
Perfect strangers in
the Chapel Hill
area have rallied
behind him.
His family, classmates
and fellow church mem
bers have lent moral,
financial and spiritual support. A
renowned surgeon has agreed to oper
ate for free.
Now all that is left on 16-year-old
Francisco’s two-year journey toward
regaining much of his sight is 15 minutes
of state-of-the-art surgery.
The travel-weary Chapel Hill High
School student spent Monday at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
gearing up for the procedure today that
will combat what his doctor calls the
equivalent of terminal cancer for vision.
“I am excited, but I don’t know
Leave the gun. Take the cannolis.
"The Godfather"
Life Goes On
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closing, never fear. Go elsewhere
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Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Republican presidential candidate
George W. Bush is claiming victory, but
Democrat Al Gore has not conceded.
And on Friday, the U.S. Supreme
Court is set to hear GOP argument
against recounts.
The stakes could hardly be higher.
“If the people do not in the end
choose me, so be it,” Gore said standing
Step 2 C. After membrane is
i 4 removed, new cornea
p is transplanted
A: Scar tissue / /
removed /
\ D: Transplant of stem cells
\ from the limbus
i,,, B
what’s going to happen," Francisco,
whose last name has been withheld by
his family, said during a preoperative
information session. “1 will wait and
hope that I will see again.”
If the surgery is successful, Francisco’s
vision in his right eye will be corrected to
20/50. His final operation is scheduled to
begin at 9 a.m. this morning and will be
performed by Dr. Ming Wang.
Francisco lost his eyesight at the age
of 10 in Mexico when he picked up and
opened a bottle filled with sulfuric acid
floating in a river. The bottle exploded
at a presidential-style lectern before a
dozen American flags. “The outcome
will have been fair, and the people will
have spoken.”
“If they choose me, so be it. I would
then commit to bringing this country
together. But whatever the outcome, let
the people have their say, and let us lis
ten,” Gore said, hours after Democratic
leaders and President Clinton queued
up to show their support.
With the agonizingly close election
stretching into its fourth week, neither
side appeared ready to give way in a
fierce struggle that has entangled the
judiciary in the business of presidential
politics, threatening to spill past the Dec.
12 deadline for selecting state electors.
“It is in our nation’s interest that the
See ELECTION, Page 5
and burned through his corneas, leaving
him blind in both eyes.
“Chemical injuries are a very serious
problem,” said Wang, who is one of
only three people in the nation to ever
perform today’s delicate procedure.
“However, Francisco has proven him
self to be very optimistic and strong -1
think he will come out on top.”
If today’s surgery is successful,
Francisco will undergo more operations
to restore his left eye, which remains
See FRANCISCO, Page 5
. ylu > 10 More Days
Today: Sunny, 60
Wednesday: Cloudy, 57
Thursday: Sunny, 50
certification imposed by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris.
Monday.
■ The Bush campaign filed state lawsuits late Sunday in Hillsborough,
Okaloosa, Orange, Pasco and Polk counties, charging that their
canvassing boards improperly rejected several overseas absentee ballots,
including those that were not dated or postmarked. The lawsuits seek
to force the counties to count the overseas ballots.
■ A lawsuit over Palm Beach County's 'butterfly ballot' was sent to the
state Supreme Court on Monday. Some Democrats complained the
ballot was so confusing that they mistakenly cast votes for Pat Buchanan.
SOURCE" THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Memorabilia
Pilfered From
Smith Center
Antawn Jamison's jersey is one of the
$l,lOO worth of basketball memorabilia
reported stolen during the break.
By Rachel Clarke
Staff Writer
Unknown culprits took advantage of a desolate campus
during Thanksgiving Break to swipe several pieces of prized
memorabilia from the Smith Center.
University police reports state that basketball merchandise
worth about $l,lOO was reported stolen at 6:17 a.m. Saturday.
According to reports, maintenance personnel found the
tunnel doors leading to the court propped open when they
arrived Saturday morning.
Reports state that the maintenance workers then found
feces in the middle of the court and discovered that retired
basketball jersey No. 33, which was hanging from the rafters,
was missing.
Jersey No. 33 was worn by Antawn Jamison, who played
basketball for UNC from 1995 to 1998.
The white jersey was valued at about $450, reports state.
According to reports, a framed black-and-white photograph
See SMITH CENTER, Page 5
Top UNC Officials
Call for Review
Of Honor Court
Many UNC administrators wish to enhance
awareness of the Honor Court on campus
as well as increase faculty involvement.
By Robert Albright
Staff Writer
Student and faculty discontent in the wake of the comput
er science cheating case in late September might have quiet
ed, but the debate over UNC’s Honor Court system is far from
over.
In an ongoing effort to improve the University’s student
judicial system, some top UNC administrators - including
Chancellor James Moeser - have asked faculty members to
review the University’s method of judicial governance.
Moeser, who received many complaints from the
University community after the hearing, said he fears some
faculty lack confidence in the system.
“I’m a big advocate for the honor system, but I worry that
the faculty doesn’t always use the Honor Court to handle
issues of academic integrity,” Moeser said. “Some faculty may
think they would rather handle it themselves.”
Moeser said the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he
served as chancellor before coming to UNC, used a judicial
process with much more faculty and administrative guidance,
making Nebraska’s judicial process more faculty-based than
UNC’s student-run system.
See HONOR COURT, Page 5
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
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