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Stye Sattg (Tar HM Tfe; i ASHLEY STEPHENSON Honor Court Reassessment Long Overdue My call for justice has finally been answered. The Big Meese and friends have decided to examine UNC’s Honor Court, no doubt due to my urg ing in a previous column. I take full responsibility for the word-up I give to Meese and the administrators involved. And there is plenty to examine. The chancellor and others have graciously sidestepped pointed questions regard ing the effectiveness and integrity of said court. Handling the situation quite gendy so as to not hurt feelings and point fingers, Meese said, “No system is without flaws. I’m just asking ques tions.” I lack Meese’s verbal delicacy. I would have just said that the Honor Court blows and let’s get the hell in there and fix it - because that bitch is broke. Allow me to take you back to earli er in the semester when several kids from a computer science class had been brought before the Honor Court. One of the cases was opened, which allowed students and The Daily Tar Heel to witness the nonsense first hand. Kids from the class were tried in pairs, sentences were changed and in the end, a superfly dude named Mike Trinh got the short end of the stick when the court shoved it up his ass. You see, the Honor Court is like a computer or a zipper - you know it exists for a purpose, but you don’t know exactly how it works. And the reason the court has escaped the wrath of administrators and smart-aleck columnists is because it keeps most of its proceedings literal ly behind closed doors. Meese has hinted that he might be in favor of a little more faculty involvement. And homeslice is on the right track. A student-run court and the peer accountability that comes with it are noble ideas, but I don’t buy it I don’t trust college kids with my academic future. I don’t trust college kids to interpret laws and hand down even-handed sen tences. I don’t trust college kids to serve as my counsel and argue in my defense. I would wager that most students at this University don’t know a damn thing about laws, save the ones about open containers and road sodas. And as far as court procedure, a hard-on for Judge Judy doesn’t cut it No, I don’t want faculty to take over the Honor Court. But I think the buckaroos that run it now could use a little help. In Mike Trinh’s case, it might have been helpful to have someone up on that Union Auditorium stage who could define “cross-examination” or mention a pesky word like evidence. The Big Meese also raised concerns about whether the Honor Court should only review cases regarding academic cheating. Yes, fellow students - surprise, sur prise. The long arm of the court extends over many other offenses - disorderly conduct, damage to University property, hazing, inflicting physical injury, sexual assault, harass ment and carrying a weapon. That’s the kind of tidbit I like to put under my pillow at night. I sleep the slumber of someone who knows that, if some dude pulls a gun on me while I’m walking through Coker Arboretum and then rapes the hell out of me, he will have to answer to the Honor Court. Meese is on point. The Honor Court has no business messing with serious offenses like that This bunch of characters mucked up a case regarding questionable cheating. If some dude assaults me in the arboretum, I want to see cops, guns, a judge, Rusty the Bailiff and a lawyer who knows his stuff - not college kids playing dress-up who could hand down a suspension or, God forbid, censure. So, Big Meese, press on. You have my blessing. Maybe when you’re through, UNC’s student judicial system will look more like h court and less like a joke. Columnist Ashley Stephenson can be reached at ashley2l@email.unc.edu. Mr 3 Hr M DTH/SEFTONIPOCK Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien answers questions from audience members after giving a speech at Duke University on Sunday. A Cut Above the Rest? 2 Try to Make Squad The pleas were cautious and con tinuous. Mike Cooke didn’t want to be sin gled out; he didn’t want to be the focal point. Nor did Philip Griffin. They just wanted to fit in, to be like the rest of the guys. They didn’t want the rest of the North Carolina baseball team to resent the attention they - the squad’s two new walk-ons - were receiving. After all, that late September day was just their first practice. Their futures with the team were yet unknown, and the two wanted to avoid being the story. Despite their mod- by lan Gordon Staff Writer esty, Cooke and Griffin are the story. Theirs is a tale of hope, of uncertain ty and most of all, of determination. Although the two never knew if or when their attempts to become varsi ty athletes would end, Cooke and Griffin plugged along, continuing to work and learn within the structure of Coach Mike Fox’s fall practices. This is that story. Their fates are now decided, and the duo is far removed from that Sept. 27 practice - a day when all was strange and new, when the odyssey was just beginning. Field of Dreams It started the night before on a cool, dew-laden Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium. Thirteen would-be varsity athletes stood on the field’s foul territory, stretching and getting ready for possi bly the only chance they would have to be members of UNC’s baseball team. There was little talk among the group. After all, a walk-on tryout probably isn’t the best place to try to make new friends. Soon the tryout started. After lis tening to assistant coach Scott Forbes and Fox describe the format of the showcase, the players were in a con stant stream of motion for the next 90 minutes. Those gathered at Boshamer ran DTH/JEFF POULAND Julia Marslender came to UNC in 1997 as a walk-on. She started every game for the Tar Heels this year. the gamut of experience. Some were former junior college players, while others looked as if they would’ve had a difficult time making Chapel Hill High School’s varsity team, let alone the Tar Heel squad. At the conclusion of the workout, Fox gathered the players around first base for one final talk. A former walk on himself, Fox informed his intent listeners of the 17 newcomers that were joining the baseball team this season -a number that would make it hard to add many, if any, walk-ons. “What we’re look ing for are certain positions,” Fox said. “Some of you we could eliminate right off the bat. There’s a certain level of talent you have to have. This is a very high level of baseball. The ACC is probably one of the best conferences in the country. Most walk-ons aren’t going to make an impact on this pro gram right away.” The listeners knew all of this. They knew their chances to make the team were slim. But after Fox was finished speaking and the tryout was over, being selected was entirely out of their hands. Fox said he would post the names of those who had made it the next day. Until then, it would be a waiting game for all assembled at the stadium. Cooke, a freshman from Greensboro, would have to wait. Cooke caught and played second base for Page High School and for a local AAU team. He tried out for UNC’s team as a catcher. Griffin also would have to wait. The freshman center fielder from tiny Jamesville -a community of fewer than 700 people in eastern North Carolina - thought he had played well at the tryout, despite the fact that the cold air had prevented the ball from carrying well. At Jamesville High School, Griffin played baseball, basketball and foot ball and ran track. The idea of playing just one sport at UNC was too good of Walk-Ons Fulfill Dreams On UNO's Varsity Teams Jim Everett came to UNC as an unlikely candidate to play varsity basketball. He didn’t make die varsity squad at Providence High School in Charlotte until his senior year. Even then, he never started a game. Not one. Yet there he is every game, sitting in uniform on the UNC bench as a walk on. He gets no scholarship money and only slightly more playing time, but he loves it “It’s awesome,” Everett says. “It’s like a dream come true just to be out here.” Everett is one of many walk-ons fulfilling their athletic dreams at the University. These athletes were not recruited in most cases and receive no money. They take part in all kinds of sports and come from all kinds of situations. News Duke Welcomes Canadian PM By Faith Ray Staff Writer DURHAM - Newly re-elected Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien shared his views on the changing rela tionship between the United States and Canada on Sunday night at Duke University. Hundreds of people attended Chretien’s hourlong speech, which was his first public address in the United States since being re-elected to a third term as Canada’s prime minister on Nov. 27. Chretien said he was delighted to speak at Duke because of the school’s highly regarded Canadian studies pro gram. “I am especially pleased to be here because Duke is such a magnet for the study of Canada,” he said through a I "*■ Sjjfgl IS [ Jgm % alßst M Jr H| i 1H RHs. rafapn ■ ; HI SB ' I ■ ; . •. > 'fll jp v • WKt i"® • S '“S I? fflift ’t j i.]W r c,.'?., > IJ * \ % 'T* |fS „ V;. v l BP w'-.jH K J§ [' ’ ----- DTH/JEFF POULAND Freshman walk-on Mike Cooke from Greensboro catches for Jason King in the bullpen during an October practice at Boshamer Stadium. an opportunity for Griffin to pass up. “I’d just like to sit the bench,” he said. “It’s just the thought of being on the Carolina baseball team. I come from a small school, so ain’t nobody ever reached this level.” Little did Griffin know that the next day, he would again be on the Boshamer turf. On Wednesday, “Mike Cooke” and “Philip Griffin” were the only names listed outside of Boshamer’s offices. The Next Step It would be easy to lump Cooke and Griffin together and explain their experiences with UNC baseball together. After all, they were both walk-ons, right? However true that might have been, their situations followed entirely different routes after the initial tryout. Cooke is a catcher. The Tar Heels by T. Nolan Hayes Sports Editor thick French accent. “Canada and the United States are close members of a grand familia of the Americas. They seem like long-lost cousins separated by distance.” But this separation is exacdy what Chretien aims to maintain by highlight ing Canada’s individual identity. Chretien said he wants to make sure that Canada and the United States are able to work together, especially on eco nomic issues, without sacrificing Canada’s individuality. “It is the fundamental differences that intensifies our relationship,” Chretien said. “Our closeness is not diminished.” Several members of the Carolina Canucks, UNC’s Canadian student organization, attended the speech. Jesse Moore, a UNC senior from Toronto, said he agreed with Chretien’s needed anew bullpen catcher - the guy who warms up a pitcher before he comes into games - because Nathan Baldwin, who filled that role last year, decided not to play this season. Therefore, Cooke had basically made the team based on his perfor mance from the first tryout. Griffin’s road was not nearly as easy. “I talked to Mike after the first meeting, and he had already told me right then that he was going to be there in the spring - that they had told him that,” Griffin said. “So I knew his role, and I knew it was just going to be an extended tryout for me. They had told me up front that they could drop me at any time.” Despite that insecurity, Griffin played well in his debut with the team. In his first at-bat of the first See BASEBALL, Page 5 Some are instrumental to their teams’ suc cess on game day. Others, such as Everett, aren’t But they all have roles of some sort and find ways to contribute. Take Julia Marslender. She arrived at UNC in 1997 as a walk-on on the women’s soccer team. Marslender was never sup posed to play, but she perse vered and ended up starting as a defender this year. “I’ve kind of been on both sides, starter and reserve,” Marslender says. “So now I can say, looking back as a starter, it’s a great feeling to be on the other side. People shouldn’t be dis couraged if they’re not playing or starting - because it can happen.” See WALK-ON, Page 5 Monday, December 4, 2000 efforts to maintain Canada’s distinctive ness. “I was pleased to hear that the bor ders will remain rigid,” Moore said. Another member, Maurice Ojaick, a UNC sophomore from Ottawa, echoed Moore’s sentiments. “We have separate cultural identi ties,” Ojaick said. “Canada is not the 51st state.” Despite the clear differences between the United States and Canada, Chretien said the two countries share the com mon goals of democracy and freedom. He called the relationship between the countries a “partnership for freedom and prosperity” and said Canada must establish new economic and social pro grams to maintain that prosperity. Chretien’s administrative agenda See VISIT, Page 5 Nuclear Plant Protesters' Trial Delayed Three CP&L protesters are frustrated that they will not be tried until January, citing their right to a quick trial. By Phil Bailey Staff Writer Three area nuclear power protesters appeared in Wake County court Friday, only to be disappointed by an unwant ed continuance of their trial. The N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network members were charged with second-degree trespassing at the Carolina Power & Light Co.’s Raleigh headquarters during an OcL 17 protest The demonstrators, protesting increased storage of nuclear waste at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, obstructed the back entrance of the prop erty and refused to move until arrested. But Jim Warren, Carrie Bolton and Lewis Pitts will have to wait until 9 a.m. Jan. 11 for their trials because of a con tinuance motion from Wake County Assistant District Attorney Allan Briounas. Warren expressed frustration at the continuance and at the absence of CP&L representatives in the courtroom. “We were ready and rearing to go,” said Jim Warren, director of N.C. WARN. “But apparently the CP&L people didn’t think it was important enough to show up for court” The motion to continue was granted by the court over the objection of the activists and their attorney Stewart Fisher, who cited a constitutional right to a speedy trial. Warren said it was important to go to trial to gain visibility for the organization’s goal of public hearings on CP&L’s expan sion plans for existing storage pools. CP&L officials could not be reached for comment on Friday’s trial. Warren defended the protesters’ actions as acceptable, considering their goal of public hearings. “In this situation, we violated the law in order to accom plish a higher purpose,” Warren said. But he said the protesters’ actions do not imply a lack of faith in the Orange County Board of Commissioners’ ability to effect change through legal channels. The commissioners also are pressing for public hearings concerning the storage of nuclear waste at the Harris plant Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming trial, Warren said N.C. WARN will continue protesting at the plant until CP&L participates in public hearings on the issue. “We’re not going to stand idly by and let CP&L get away with this.” The City Editor can be reached atcitydesk@unc.edu. OLD SCHOOL 1111 l \ J I j* DTH/JEFF POULAND Ex-UNC standout Vince Carter has his jersey honored at the Smith Center on Saturday. 3
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