Close Game
Heels fall to FSU
in OT. See Page 12
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CAA Dismisses Rumors of Crooked Duke Distribution
By Kim Minugh
University Editor
Despite rumors that a rigged ticket
distribution awarded some Lambda Chi
Alpha fraternity members with choice
men’s basketball tickets Saturday,
Carolina Athletic Association officials
say it was just a coincidence.
With prized Duke tickets on the line,
some UNC students have come forward
this week to say they heard rumors that
the number - allegedly chosen earlier
this week - would be assigned at about
4 p.m. Wednesday.
The number chosen Saturday
Race Continues to Divide Students
Despite exceptions such as Alpha
Epsilon Omega sorority, many UNC
students segregate themselves.
By Enyonam Kpeglo
and Lanita Withers
Staff Writers
Every day, UNC students have the opportunity
to interact with someone of another race, whether
it be in the dining halls, class or extracurricular
activities.
But whether
students take
advantage of the
opportunity is
another story.
Fifty years after
UNC’s integra
tion, these five
moments in time
shed light on the
state of race rela
tions at UNC.
Part two in a three-part series
examining half a century of
desegregation at UNC.
■ Today: Black and white
relations at UNC today.
■ Feb. 26: Paving the way
for an improved racial climate.
"The Black Experience"
Students spread themselves out as they arrive at
their “Black Experience” class in Gardner Hall.
Eleven are black, 28 are white and four are of
other ethnicities. Only a few sit in pairs.
Most have a seat or more between them, and
silence prevails while several read newspapers.
In the back row sit two friends of different
races, conversing about an upcoming exam.
Brianna Santeramo, a junior from Gamer, and
Robert Harris, a sophomore from Raleigh, help
break both the silence and the seating arrangement.
Santeramo said she enjoys interacting with dif
ferent races.
“I’m not closed-minded at all; it’s nice to get
different perspectives,” she said.
When Professor Reginald Hildebrand arrives,
the conversation ends, the newspapers disappear
and all the students seem to share an interest in
his lecture topic - race relations during slavery.
“Both my black and white students share a seri
ousness for this project,” Hildebrand said. “It is dif
ferent from the 1980s when classes were quite
polarized on this sensitive and explosive material.”
Despite underlying commonalities, Santeramo
said students in the AFAM 40 class do not socialize
because most of them do not know each other.
“This campus is so diverse, but many of the dif
ferent groups stick together,” Santeramo said. “I
feel that people want to keep up boundaries, and
race relations are getting worse instead of better.”
Johnson, Young Find Common Ground
By Brook Corwin
Staff Writer
This year’s candidates for student
body president concluded weeks of
campaign forums by discussing their
platforms in a
relaxed setting,
emphasizing
their shared
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goals in between bites of pizza.
Candidates Eric Johnson and Justin
Young said bringing the discussion into
the casual atmosphere of Franklin Street
Pizza & Pasta reflected the accessibility
they feel student government should offer.
“Student government often takes itself far
too seriously, rather than what it tries to
do too seriously,” Johnson said.
The essence of the black experience in America is in that art form ... blues music.
Albert Murray
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55,774 - seemed to verify the rumor,
and the fraternity members were some
of the first to receive tickets.
But Kerry Slatkoff, director of the
CAA’s Ticket Distribution Committee,
said allegations that the number selection
process was tainted to benefit Lambda
Chi members is completely false. “The
whole thing is absolutely and positively
untrue,” she said. “All of this is strictly
based on people who don’t have the fac
tual basis. This is a rumor, nothing but a
rumor. It’s not provable fact at all.”
Slatkoff said the number was chosen
at about 5:45 p.m. Thursday by those
who usually preside over the process -
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Human Nature and Hot Sauce
During a crowded lunch hour in Lenoir Dining
Hall, many students of different ethnicities dine at
the same table.
But more frequendy students choose to sit with
their own race. Even though they are eating the
same food and hold similar conversations, some
students continue to segregate themselves.
Two neighboring tables in the middle of the
dining area both have salads, chicken, iced-tea
and even hot sauce, among other things.
But the tables differ in the race of their occupants.
One table seats three computer science majors. All
are black males. At the table beside them sit four
white freshmen who attended the same high school.
Brian Foxx, from the first table, said no student or
campus organization can change the tendency for
races to segregate. “It’s just human nature that we
tend to stay with our own kind,” Foxx said. “But just
because I’m sitting here doesn’t mean I respect
(white) people any less.”
Among the students at the other table is Braxton
West, who said he lacked exposure to different races.
“I went to a majority white high school, and all my
friends are white,” he said. “But (self-segregation)
doesn’t seem detrimental.”
Besides hot sauce, both groups agree on one thing:
People form relationships with others who share
Young agreed, saying the competition
and animosity sometimes associated
with student elections is an unnecessary
component of the process.
“A lot of people can take it personal
ly if they don’t get X number of votes,”
he said. “Just because you don’t win
doesn’t mean you can’t get involved.”
The candidates shared similar views
on a number of issues, both stressing the
importance of incorporating the
Carolina Computing Initiative into class
rooms and fighting tuition increases.
But they also outlined different
strengths in their leadership styles and
different methods toward working to
achieve their goals. “My biggest strength
is to combine big-picture vision with
small details,” Johnson said, citing his
she and Department of Athletics employ
ees Shane Parrish and Clint Gwaltney.
“We are the three who chose this num
ber,” Slatkoff said. “I did not even tell
Adam (Livengood), who is my co-direc
tor, until about 5:45 a.m. Saturday.”
But senior Hunter Fritz said members
of his fraternity, Delta Upsilon, and his
colleagues at the ROTC were talking
prior to Wednesday about the fraternity
planning to get the best number at 4
p.m. “Everybody at my house knew
about it,” he said. “A lot of people in my
fraternity knew about it.”
Fritz said the rumor shows that the
ticket distribution system is flawed.
DTH/BRENT CLARK
Brian Foxx and Kerrick Faulkner joke with friends during lunch at Lenoir Dining Flail.
At a nearby table, several white freshman enjoy a meal together.
founding of Carolina Cancer Focus and
re-establishment of the Student
Ambassador Program. “I’ve been able to
convince good people why they should
give their time and effort to help out.”
Young used his colorful election cam
paign as an example of his ability to
reach out to a diverse audience. “I can
combine traditional and nontraditional
methods of getting things done,” he said.
Both candidates cited perfectionism
as the greatest weakness in their leader
ship styles.
The format of the discussion was
intended to be a public forum, but low
turnout forced the candidates to move to
Franklin Street and examine student apa
thy. “Just because people are apathetic
about student government doesn’t mean
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“It’s too much of a coincidence. I think
this just proves that students shouldn’t be
running this,” he said Sunday. “It should
be done by professionals.”
Another anonymous source said he
had heard the same rumors through a
friend of his, who is close to a Lambda
Chi member. “I think a lot of it is political,
and CAA has been screwed up all along.”
Junior Daniel Brand, a member of
Lambda Chi and the Ticket Distribution
Committee, said he received accusatory e
mails that blamed him for the alleged rig
ging of the system. “You don’t know how
upset I was about these allegations against
me and my fraternity and CAA because
interests. To them, race is secondary.
Hoop Dreams
Rubber squeaks and the smell of sweat perme
ate the Woollen Gym basketball courts on a
Sarin-day afternoon. Eight pickup games go on
simultaneously as players push to squeeze in one
last matchup before closing time.
The racial makeup of the games is constandy
changing. On one court a team of Asian students
plays a team of white students. On another, a team
of black and white students play. Right beside them
two all black teams fight for the ball. “Today, when
we first came in, this court had a nice racial mix,”
said senior Jevon Walton. “Right now, it’s very
segregated. It just depends."
Walton said the integration of the courts
depends on the stereotypes of the players.
“Sometimes blacks and whites don’t want to play
together," he said. “Carolina’s kind of funny when
it comes to that. Say you have (the court) next after
somebody’s game, and they’ll pick up and leave.
When white guys try to say they got next, black
guys try to take advantage of them cause they don’t
believe they can play.”
See BLACK HISTORY, Page 2
they are apathetic in general,” Young said.
johnson cited the existence of 400
student organizations as proof that stu
dents can get excited about being
involved. “Students are apathetic about
student government because we haven’t
given them a reason not to be,” he said.
Both candidates said that regardless
of the election results, the two will share
a friendship and a vision for student gov
ernment that began when they worked
together as executive assistants for for
mer student body president Nic Heinke.
“Eric doesn’t fall too far from the Justin
tree,” Young said. “And Justin doesn’t
fall too far from the Eric tree.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
_ Here We Go
A, Today: Partly Cloudy, 50
Tuesday: Cloudy, 64
Wednesday: Showers, 62
in no way did I do anything,” he said.
Brand said the rumors started from a
group decision made by seniors in his fra
ternity to get bracelets in a pack. The
seniors were placed eighth and higher in
fine, but only by coincidence, he said.
“Maybe the seniors said, ‘Hey, that’s the
time to go,’ but they have no ties,” he said.
Brand said the seniors were commu
nicating over the fraternity’s listserv. An
e-mail sent by member Phillip Kennedy
on Tuesday reads, “We need to plan a
time to go get Dook bracelets tomorrow
late afternoon, if possible. Anyway, let’s
get a group to go together so we can sit
and hate Dook together, one last time. I
Elections Board Calls
For CAA Re-election
By Kim Minugh
University Editor
The race for Carolina Athletic
Association president will continue for
another week, ruled the Board of
Elections on
Saturday night.
A Feb. 27 re
election has
student SMT
SK3®@6Q®DDB
been scheduled to award Reid Chaney
or Michael Songer the post.
After further investigation Friday, the
board issued seven administrative and
Charges in Car-Flipping
Unfounded; Friend Says
UNC student James Haltom
has been charged with one
count of felony rioting, but
a friend says he's innocent.
By Ben Gullett
Staff Writer
A friend of the UNC student charged
with a felony stemming from the van
dalism that took place on Franklin
Street after the UNC-Duke game says
the charges are unwarranted.
James Auman Haltom, 20, of 321 W.
Cameron Ave., turned himself in to
Chapel Hill police Friday after police
issued a warrant for his arrest in con
nection with the Feb. 1 incident.
But Drew Lineback, Haltom’s friend
who was with him during the celebra
tion, said, “I know he wasn’t involved in
the flipping of the car.”
Haltom has been charged with one
count of felony rioting for his alleged
role in the vandalism of a car following
the Feb. 1 basketball game.
Haltom was released on a written
promise to appear in court. He will
appear Feb. 20 at Orange County
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DTH EMILY SCHNURE
Student body president candidates Justin Young and Eric Johnson take
part in an informal DTH forum Sunday at Franklin Street Pizza & Pasta.
Monday, February 19, 2001
suggest around 4 p.m. Talk amongst
yourselves, then let’s make something
happen to that effect”
“(CAA) is not a corrupt organization,
and we’re not a corrupt fraternity,”
Brand said.
Gwaltney confirmed that he was pre
sent Thursday when the number was
chosen using Microsoft Excel. “We did it
Thursday,” he said. “To my knowledge,
it’s got to be coincidental.”
Editor Matt Dees contributed to this
report.
The University Editor can be reached
atudesk@unc.edu.
punitive orders about candidate Michael
Songer’s allegations that he was slandered
by opponent Reid Chaney’s campaign.
After Chaney was declared the win
ner Wednesday, Songer and his cam
paign staff charged that an e-mail sent by
the Chaney campaign caused irrepara
ble damage to Songer’s campaign.
About 5,000 students received an e
mail Monday from Davin McGinnis,
former UNC student and Carolina Fever
president, asking them to “put an honest
man in office” by voting for Chaney.
See CAA, Page 2
Sophomore James Auman Haltom
turned himself in to police.
District Court in Hillsborough, accord
ing to police reports.
Although Haltom would not com
ment for the record on the charges,
Lineback maintains that Haltom was
See ARREST, Page 2