YEAR IN REVIEW
Daily ®ar Heel
www.dailytarheel.com
Moeser Tapped as New Chancellor
By Katie Abel
University Editor
APRIL 17 - It only took one brief
announcement Friday to erase months
of speculation about UNC’s future.
As UNC-system President Molly
Broad introduced the University’s next
leader, the secrecy and mystery sur
rounding the chancellor searchcame to
a ceremonial and celebratory close.
It was anew beginning.
The Board of Governors unanimous
ly elected University of Nebraska-
Lincoln Chancellorjames Moeser (pro
nounced MEE-zer) as UNC’s new chan
cellor, marking the official end of the
eight-month hunt for the late Chancellor
Michael Hooker’s successor. “1 accept
this election to the greatest University in
America,” Moeser said, as a throng of
BOG members and handful of students
escorted him to the podium.
Election Night
Fails to Reveal
New President
George W. Bush led Al Gore by about 200
votes in Florida, requiring state officials to
recount ballots to determine the winner.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, NOV. 8 - Vice President Al Gore con
ceded the presidential race in a telephone call to George W.
Bush on Wednesday morning -then took it back.
“He called an hour ago to concede. He just called us back
to retract that concession,” said Karen Hughes, communica
tions director for Bush. “It’s unbelievable.”
That was an apt description of the seesawing election night.
At one point, the key state of Florida was teetering toward
Bush and the TV networks called the race in Bush’s favor.
Gore picked up the telephone and called Bush.
As of 4:40 a.m., Gore led Bush in the general election by
about 60,000 votes with 96 percent of the precincts reporting.
Gore has 249 electoral votes and Bush has 246, with Florida,
Wisconsin and Oregon still listed as toss-ups, putting both can
didates just shy of the 270 needed to claim victory. A Florida
win for either candidate would grant him the presidency.
But the extremely tight race in Florida, now showing a
Bush lead of only about 200 votes with all precincts reporting,
requires state officials there to recount.
Several counties’ votes have not been counted, meaning
that the next president literally could be decided by a handful
of votes. As the election stretched into the early morning
hours, old-pro commentators repeatedly commented that this
election is unlike anything anyone has ever seen.
“We gave them a cliffhanger,” the vice president told Bush,
according to Hughes.
Bush replied to Gore during his first call, “You’re a formida
ble opponent and a good man. I know it’s hard. I know it’s hard
for your family. Give my best to Tipper and your children.”
A senior adviser with the Gore campaign confirmed that the
vice president made two calls, one to concede and one to retract.
Thousands of supporters stood in the streets of Nashville,
Tenn., where Gore was headquartered, and Austin, Texas,
Bush’s home - awaiting word from their favorite sons. Bush,
however, wasn’t sure what to say just before 4 a.m. EST.
“We’re trying to decide,” Hughes sighed. “We’re going to
watch what the vice president says. We’re going to wait and see
what he says, I guess.”
Bush’s wins, estimated by CNN, included his home state of
See PRESIDENT, Page 4
BOG Approves Tuition Hike for 5 Schools
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DTH KILE PHOTO
Members of the Board of Governors listen to tuition increase proposals
as students silently protest the increase by silently holding signs.
Perhaps even these things, one day, will be pleasing to remember.
Virgil
The heightened anticipation of the
morning announcement translated into
a fluny of activity at the Carolina Inn as
television crews and reporters from
across the state converged in the ball
room of the inn.
Clad in a Carolina-blue pin-striped
tie, the 61-year-old Moeser articulated
his vision for UNC to become the
nation’s top public institution, a priori
ty reminiscent of his predecessor.
“The principle attraction to this
University is its academic excellence
and tradition,” he said. “But more than
its tradition, is its potential.”
Moeser will officially take the job
Aug. 15 - at at a time when his perma
nent leadership at UNC will be crucial.
This summer, he must tackle a
University bond package, tuition plan
and financial aid program, all of which
are headed toward the unpredictable
hands of the state legislature.
Snow Blankets Chapel Hill; Classes Canceled
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DTH FILE PHOTO
A giant snowman is drenched in the sunshine that will soon melt it away. January's
unusually severe snowstorm covered Chapel Hill with 16 inches and closed UNC for 3 days.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Moeser said Friday the University
must periodically enact tuition increases
to recruit and maintain top faculty as
well. “I don’t think you can keep it at
rock bottom and be the kind of univer
sity you want it to be.”
But Moeser said the key to building
UNC’s coffers was gamering more pri
vate support, calling for increased
reliance on UNC’s alumni.
An ambitious fund-raiser at UNL, he
said one of his top priorities as UNC’s
chancellor was to boost UNC’s $1 bil
lion endowment. He also called for
increased reliance on UNC’s alumni.
“The endowment is not the stature it
ought to be," he said. “The margin of
excellence will clearly be private support”
During his four-year tenure at UNL,
Moeser ushered in more than $350 mil
lion in private donations and reallocat
ed state funds to boost information tech
nology and distance learning programs.
By Kathleen Hunter
Assistant State & National Editor
FEB 14 - A student proposal to limit
tuition increases to two UNC-system
schools caused an uncommon division
among Board of Governors members,
who eventually voted Friday in favor of
tuition increases at five system schools.
The BOG released its final verdict on
the controversial tuition issue during its
meeting at the Carolina Inn, where the
board passed a committee proposal that
will boost tuition S6OO at UNC-Chapel
Hill and N.C. State University.
The plan, which now rests with the
state, marked the crescendo of five
months of student debate as various pro
posals wound their way through the
UNC-system bureaucracy.
The board also voted in favor of
tuition increases at East Carolina
“There is incredible potential for the
University to take a huge step forward (in
fund raising),” he said. “Maybe it’s the No.
1 priority for the next administration.”
But before he can set sights on boost
ing UNC’s bank account, Moeser must
shape his Cabinet. He said he would
immediately launch an intensive search
for his second-in-command -a provost
to succeed Dick Richardson, who will
retire in June. “I will pledge my full
energy to starting immediately,” he said.
“We will start tomorrow.”
But before Moeser became entangled
in his priority list, he received plaudits
from both UNC and system officials,
who called him a seasoned administra
tor and remarkable fund-raiser.
“James Moeser brings to the
University a passionate commitment to
academic excellence and diversity,
proven strategic planning skills and a
deep understanding of the ties that bind
University, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-
Wilmington. ECU and UNC-C were
granted a S3OO tuition increase over the
next two years.
At UNC-W tuition will go up $l2O
the first year, slls the second. The
board also passed a 2.1 percent sys
temwide increase.
This ends months of debate among
campus administrators and UNC-sys
tem officials on the controversial tuition
issue, which will now go the N.C.
General Assembly for approval.
The BOG’s decision flew in the face
of significant opposition from students,
who have continually spoken out
against boosting tuition.
More than 50 students packed the
meeting, many touting signs opposing
increased tuition.
See TUITION, Page 4
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PHOTO COI >RTESY OF UNC NEWS SERVICES
Chancellor James Moeser accepts UNC's highest office after the
Board of Governors approved his nomination.
all great universities to the citizens that
support them,” said UNC-system
President Molly Broad.
Former Student Body President Nic
By Gavin Off
Staff Writer
JAN. 28 - North Carolina is still shiv
ering from its fourth wintry bout this
month, which left work crews toiling
around the clock and the Triangle strug
gling to dig itself out from the worst win
ter storm in its history.
Monday night’s storm, which buried
Chapel Hill under 16 inches of snow,
closed interstate highways, grounded
planes and left hundreds of thousands
across the state without power.
The severe weather prompted Gov.
Jim Hunt to declare a state of emer
gency early Tuesday morning that was
still in place Thursday.
Eleven UNC-system schools closed
because of the storm, which rendered
UNC-Chapel Hill students without class
for a record-setting three days in a row.
But the sun finally came out in full
force Thursday and, despite below
freezing temperatures and record lows,
aided in the statewide meltdown.
The storm blew into the region
Monday night after smacking Charlotte
and portions of South Carolina with
snow and ice.
The storm hit the Triangle hardest,
with Orange County receiving the
largest accumulations of snow and ice in
the state.
When it left the Carolinas early
Tuesday, the storm continued north
ward into Virginia and Washington,
D.C., dropping a foot of snow on the
capital and prompting the federal gov
ernment to shut down Tuesday and
Wednesday.
The storm left in its wake record low
temperatures for Raleigh and the area,
said National Weather Service
spokesman Bob Chartuk.
Chartuk said Raleigh marked mer
cury falling to 12 degrees Wednesday,
breaking the record of 13 degrees set in
1986.
The storm also broke Raleigh’s 1893
record of 20 inches of snow accumulat
ed in a single month, as 25.8 inches of
snow have fallen on the city so far in
January.
Higher Education Bond
Passes by Large Margin
By Kathleen Hunter
State & National Editor
RALEIGH, NOV. 8 - They said
“yes.”
Unofficial results indicate that N.C.
voters overwhelmingly passed the $3.1
billion higher education bond referen
dum Tuesday - news that was greeted
with thunderous applause from a gath
ering of more than 100 higher education
advocates at The Brownstone Hotel in
Raleigh on Tuesday night
With 53 percent of the precincts
reporting, 74 percent of voters approved
the bond proposal, and 26 percent
voted against it.
The bond - the largest in state histo
ry - will fund capital improvements on
Monday, January 8, 2001
Heinke, the sole student on the search
committee, said that firm commitment
See MOESER, Page 4
While the Triangle saw the worst of
the storm, other areas of the state felt its
icy wrath as well.
Greensboro acquired 14 inches of
snow and sustained winds of 35 to 45
miles per hour, while gusts of 55 mph
rocked Elizabeth City.
Kirsten Weeks, Hunt’s press secre
tary, said Wednesday the state was tak
ing several preventative measures to
ensure the safety of its residents.
“(The state of emergency) enables
that state to put all of its available
resources to taking care of the problems
associated with the storm,” Weeks said.
At the height of the storm early
Tuesday, Carolina Power & Light Cos.
reported 173,000 power outages in
North and South Carolina.
Weeks said 11 emergency shelters
were set up across the state to care for
the homeless and sick.
Tom Hegele, spokesman for N.C.
Emergency Management Services in
Raleigh, said Thursday that 566
National Guardsmen were on 24-hour
duty across the state and thousands of
homes still lacked power.
Weeks also said the state enacted a
temporary hodine for those in need of
help. She said Hunt might request fed
eral aid within days, in hopes of speed
ing up the recovery effort.
“We have not decided yet (to ask for
federal aid),” she said. “We have not
been able to access the damages
throughout the state.”
Weeks said it was still unclear what
federal aid would be specifically used to
fund.
But Kim Gazella, spokeswoman for
Wake County EMS, said the storm still
held an icy grip on the Triangle’s road
ways Thursday.
“The roads are bad again today,”
Gazella said. “We’ve been trying to give
priority to extreme emergencies, like
people who need dialysis.
“We have 50 or 60 people who called
in and offered to use their four-wheel
drive vehicles.”
The storm not only left the back
See SNOW, Page 4
the state’s university and community
college campuses.
Those who worked on the bond cam
paign, which began this summer shortly
after the N.C. General Assembly voted
unanimously to send the proposal to the
people, were all smiles Tuesday night as
election results began to flash across two
big-screen television sets in the
Brownstone’s grand ballroom.
“Sometimes goals that are really big
and really important take a lot of time, a
lot of persistence and a deep commit
ment," said UNC-system President
Molly Broad, shortly after 10 p.m. when
campaigners deemed the referendum a
success. “And I think what we have seen
See BOND, Page 4