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The Music Man Gresham knows scene. See Page 3 ®be Sailw ©at* Heel www.dailytarheel.com Moeser Reacts to Labor Strike at Nike Plant Bv Daniel Thigpen Assistant University Editor Alleged labor code violations at a Mexican UNC-contracted Nike factory prompted swift action from Chancellor James Moeser on Thursday. Asa worker’s strike ensues at the Kukdong International plant in Puebla, Mexico, Moeser sent a letter to Nike on Thursday informing the company that the University is aware of supposed labor code violations at the factory. The ( Transfer oj Power Bush Speech To Set Tone For Term Bv Alex Kaplun State & National Editor For weeks political analysts have been asking questions - how will President-elect George W. Bush pass legislation with one of the most evenly split Congresses in American history? How will the American people accept a president who lost the pop ular vote and was finally able to claim the Presidency because of a court ruling? The answers could begin to trickle down on Saturday. Jan. 20 is Inauguration Day. A day when the outgoing president officially hands over the post to the president-elect. It is usually a day of celebration. And while Bush will still participate in all the usual inaugural activities, and Bush sup porters will flock to Washington, it could also be a day for Bush to begin what he has promised all along - uniting the nation. In previous inaugural speeches presidents usually set the table for the next four years and reiterated old campaign promises. In 1993, Bill Clinton spoke about America’s role in a global economy and a world of rapidly changing technology. In 1981, Ronald Reagan spoke about con tinuing the battle against Communism and pulling the country out of a recession. If Bush follows the same pattern, Bush’s speech will be about bridging the partisan gap. See INAUGURATION, Page 4 ■ Jim DTHMIKE MESSIER Sachin Patel, the external relations co-chairman of Sangam, shares his views as a panel member at Thursday night's race relations forum. Oh, if I could only be president and Congress, too, for just 10 minutes. Theodore Roosevelt plant manufactures sweatshirts for UNC and the universities of Michigan, Oregon, Arizona and Indiana. Eight hundred employees at the facto ry staged a worker’s strike Jan. 9 after 20 workers allegedly were fired for com plaining about rotten food, poor wages and receiving no Christmas bonus. But the dispute has shifted to the issue of the workers’ right to represent them selves. The employees are asking the com pany to recognize an independent union and disregard the current company union, As President-elect George W. Bush makes his HMHHHH 3Bp*jjPWE way from Texas to the White House, Vice Sra?, > r !§ W \ President Al Gore returns to Tennessee and the ; J ...... r. .<,.^...*1.11. 1 Inauguration Draws Local Groups By Kim Minugh University Editor Washington, D.C., might be 270 miles away, but UNC students are planning on making their presence known at the historic inaugura tion this weekend. And they’re not going to be quiet about it. Several student groups such as Students United for a Responsible Global Environment and the UNC Young Democrats have orga nized groups to peacefully protest voters’ rights they think were violated in Florida, as well as Weekend Project If you want to work for the DTH, get an application in Suite 104. Applications due Jan. 24. Serving the students and the University community since 1893 which was instituted during the previous Mexican government. UNC officials are worried that the workers’ freedom to assemble, a key element of the University’s labor code, is being jeopardized. Moeser’s letter to Nike stated that “... we reaffirm to Nike this University’s commitment to freedom of association as one of the basic labor standards we have required our licensees to adopt; and that you encourage them to do everything in their power to ensure that principle is carried out” some of President-elect George W. Bush’s more conservative Cabinet appointments. “We want to put the Bush White House on alert that the American people are watching and are disturbed not only by how he got in the White House but what he’s done since then,” said Chris Brook, president of Young Democrats. Brook said the group welcomed students from other organizations, such as the UNC chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Black Student Movement and “people who are just not happy about the irregularities that happened in this election.” Forum Discusses State of UNC Race Relations By Blake Rosser Staff Writer Concerned minority students voiced their opinions Thursday night about their responsibilities as members of the diverse UNC student population. The Mu Zeta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Inc. continued the cel ebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday by presenting a forum titled “Awakening from a Dream,” whose par ticipants included a panel of eight cam pus leaders and its audience. Barry Brinkley, the liaison to the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Committee within Alpha Phi Alpha, said he thought organizing such an event would be an important Labor Advisory Committee Co-chair man Rut Tufts said it is difficult for the University to assess the situation in Mexico because the facts are still not concrete. Tufts said the Workers Rights Consortium, a labor monitoring group to which UNC belongs, also has sent a letter to Nike and is planning to send representatives to Puebla to investigate and elucidate the logistics of the dispute. A Nike representative also is in Mexico. Tufts said the University primarily The group will gather at 10 a.m. in DuPont Circle, where Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization for Women, will be voic ing her concerns to the masses. At 2 p.m. the students will begin marching around the city to carry their message with other protesting voters. Susan Navarro, a member of Young Democrats, said it is important for UNC stu dents to represent state Democrats. “We want people to know that even as a Southern state, a conservative state, there’s still liberalism here,” See PROTESTS, Page 4 step in recognizing King’s accomplish ments. “We decided to do something that would capture his dream by bringing people of all different races and back grounds together,” he said. “We wanted to kinda wake people up and let them know the dream still exists - the strug gle’s not over.” Journalism Professor Chuck Stone began the discussion with a summary of the current state of race relations. “When I came here in 1991, there was great enthusiasm for diversity and multiculturalism, but now it’s gone. It does not exist anymore,” he said. The theme near the beginning of the forum focused on encouraging people to branch out. Panelist Mimi Patel, presi wants to ensure a fair resolution process at the plant and ensure the workers’ interests are best represented. ‘‘We’re not really get ting involved in a labor dispute, but we want it carried out in a fair way,” he said. Students for Economic Justice repre sentative Todd Pugatch said he is impressed by Moeser’s prompt attention to the situation. “I think it’s very appro priate that the Chancellor let Nike know we take labor code violations very seri- See LABOR, Page 4 dent of Theta Nu Xi multicultural soror ity, recognized a compromise. “You can identify with a certain group but also make a personal effort to inter act with other, different groups,” she said. Camille Holt, a sophomore business major, said she thought a separate prob lem took precedence. “I don’t think we should branch out to talk to other races before we can even talk amongst our own race (without problems).” Aidil Polanco, treasurer and historian for the Carolina Hispanic Association, turned the discussion to focus on a per son’s “box” and their need to step out side of that box. “Asa resident assistant at Granville More Rain Today: Stormy, 63 Saturday: Showers, 52 Sunday: Sunny, 39 Friday, January 19, 2001 Computing Initiatives Successful Programs at Dartmouth and Virginia Tech similar to CCI came through their initial stages with positive results. By Sally Francis and Allison Mitchener Staff Writers Despite recent student criticism of the Carolina Computing Initiative at UNC, other universities across the nation with similar programs have reported successful progress. Dartmouth College and Virginia Tech have adopted initiatives similar to UNC that require all students to pur chase personal computers, hoping to enhance student education through the electronic expansion of the classroom. And some students and administra tors at these schools, aside from techno logical glitches, say they are pleased with the requirement “The program has been successful for several years now and has been a significant tool in helping students to complete assignments,” said Heather McElrath, Virginia Tech spokeswoman. The faculty at Dartmouth and Virginia Tech decided to require stu dents to own computers to maximize the schools’ computing networks. “By 1991, it was the feeling of the fac ulty that you couldn’t be an effective part of the community without a com puter,” William Brawley, spokesman for Dartmouth’s computing group, said. “So now everyone here has a computer.” Student complaint at Dartmouth is limited to frequent network shutdowns, but the school is able to fix the problem with little time lost Dartmouth, a mem ber of the Ivy League, has required stu dents to own computers since 1991. Unlike UNC, Dartmouth students are allowed to use the computer type of their choice and can even bring a per sonal computer from home instead of purchasing one from the school. Only students at Dartmouth’s business school must own IBM Think Pad laptops. Brawley said that Dartmouth’s size - about 4,000 undergraduate students and about 1,000 graduate students - has made the transition over the past 10 years very manageable. In four years there will be about 16,000 undergraduate students at UNC, all with their own laptops. Since 1998, Virginia Tech -a univer sity slightly larger than UNC in size - has required its incoming students to purchase personal computers. McElrath said the university has had no problems with implementing its program. But students at Virginia Tech criticize the school’s ability to meet incoming students’ computer demands. “Eight weeks into the first term of my freshman year I still didn’t have the See CCI, Page 4 Towers, I have a lot of interaction with Cau casian people," she said. “They don’t want to get out of their box because they’re afraid they’ll say something wrong.” But Polanco recognized it as a mutu al problem. “Black people don’t step out of their box because they don’t want to have to be the ‘teacher’ and explain their differences and history.” Junior Kristi Booker placed the onus on all racial groups. “Is it always the responsibility of the minority to make the effort?” she asked. “I’ve been to several diversity groups, and minorities are the only ones who go to them.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 19, 2001, edition 1
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