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Sally ®ar Hwl £ ANNE FAWCETT THINK Transit Thinks Broadly, Acts Locally Spring Break doesn’t have to be about getting the best tan or spending entire days on the beach. Among the alternative Spring Break plans that spread students across the country doing service and good works, one UNC organization headed north for the break to explore transit systems in other metropolitan areas. As its members explored and learned, Teaching How to Incorporate New Kinds of Transit (THINK Transit), cemented its position as a campus organization focused on issues outside the stone walls. THINK Transit’s members spent the break in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York exploring the ways public transporta tion has been incorporated into city and regional planning. The main purpose of the trip was for members to gain the experience they need to teach local eighth-graders how to use public transportation. They hope that by encouraging the students to use transit before the kids can drive, the students will be more likely to take buses or rail later in their lives. It’s a necessary mind-set adjustment in the South, where public transporta tion is so rare that few of THINK Transit’s members had even taken it. Without their Spring Break trip, the students wouldn’t have realized how difficult it is to figure out a bus or rail map in anew city or how to know when to get off the bus in an unfamil iar neighborhood. These issues can easily turn com muters away from public transit, so they’re the kind of message THINK Transit wants and needs to pass on to its students. The students on the trip also became advocates for good transporta tion planning as they took a critical and comparative look at the systems they encountered in each city, docu menting the problems and solutions on cameras, video and paper. In doing so, they established their organization as a credible player in the region’s transportation network. They quickly identified the reasons public transit isn’t well-used in the United States and recorded their mishaps and their successes with signs, stations and trains. They visited Reagan National Airport to see how the airport integrat ed rail to get its passengers into D.C. They met a 96-year-old woman on a New York bus who knows every bus route in the city by heart but refuses to take the subway because she’s afraid of falling down the stairs. Few, if any, of New York’s subways are accessible to disabled passengers. They explored Philadelphia’s regional rail and found that the stops outside the city limits offer absolutely no information about the train’s route or schedule and that the ones in the city are unfinished and unappealing. They found that the colors on New York’s subway maps have no real sig nificance and could confuse riders accustomed to a color-coded system. But along with all the problems, the members also saw how easy it is to move through a large metropolitan area once they mastered how to use public transit. After students had spent four days learning how to navigate using buses and rail, THINK Transit President Brad Rathgeber organized a scavenger hunt through New York to test the students’ skills. They passed with flying colors. After experiencing all the benefits public transit has to offer, the mem bers came home inspired about what transit could do for this area and deter mined to educate the community so local residents will be primed to use transit when it finally arrives. While many UNC organizations are content to receive only recognition from the campus or do service only for individuals, THINK Transit went out and explored issues on a national level that its mission confronts regionally. THINK Transit members should be commended for looking at issues that don’t immediately affect students and taking the initiative to spend their Spring Break learning how to make a difference in the entire region. Columnist Anne Fawcett can be reached at fawcetta@hotmail.com. UNC Research Draws Big Bucks From NIH By Stephanie Horvath Staff Writer UNC research programs received a booster shot recently when the National Institutes of Health announced that it awarded the University a total of $207 million in grants for research in the fis cal year 2000. The sum is a funding increase of 20 percent from last year’s NIH grant total of $171.3 million, placing UNC 13th in the nation among public and private universities for NIH grants. NIH grants are awarded after scien tific experts nationwide review universi ties’ research programs, said School of Medicine Dean Jeffrey Houpt “The NIH funding, because it is peer review, is a legitimate indicator of the quality of research that goes on in an MIX Harvard Institute New Aid Programs Officials from the two universities say some schools may follow their lead, but a nationwide trend will probably not begin. By Kristy Jones Staff Writer Several universities - including Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology - recently have announced changes to significantly alter student financial aid programs. The changes, which follow a similar decision by Princeton University in late January, will offer students more grants instead of loans to cover tuition and other expenses, cutting the price of college. Financial aid officials said some other schools also might tweak their financial aid programs, but UNC and Duke uni versities likely will not. Betsy Hicks, MIT director of student financial services, said their change in the financial aid system was not a result of the similar programs at Princeton and Harvard. “We were already discussing (the possibility) last summer, and we were already at that point (to make an announce ment),” Hicks said. “We are in a fortunate position that we have more oppor tunities to do this.” Hicks said the new aid program would allow students to concentrate more on school work because they would be able to work less and not worry about paying back thousands of dollars in student loans. The grants will be funded through the schools’ endow ments. Don Betterton, director of undergraduate financial aid at Princeton, also said he believes their decision will benefit stu dents. Both Hicks and Betterton said they think that a few more universities may follow Princeton, Harvard and MlT’s lead but that a nationwide trend will not begin. “You may see a few more (universities),” Betterton said. “Asa national trend, no.” Hicks added that each school is different and needs to make the right choice for its students. “Each school needs to look not only at what the competi- See MIT, Page 7 Town Council; Residents Oppose Rezoning By Stephanie Gunter Staff Writer A proposal with the potential to add affordable housing in Chapel Hill was opposed by residents and town staff at a public hearing Monday night. At the hearing, the Chapel Hill Town Council discussed the possible rezoning of 32 parcels of land. Rezoning these prop erties would give the council leverage to insist that 15 percent of the development be low-cost housing when the developers apply for their special-use permit. But the Planning Board unanimously voted 7-0 against the proposal to rezone the properties. Gay Eddy, chairwoman of the Planning Board said more than half of these properties would be out of compliance with the land-use plan if they Committed CEO Inspires Students By Rachel Clarke Staff Writer The CEO and owner of Chick-fil-A said Tuesday night that he is still the “top chicken” at Chick-fil-A and that he will continue to be for many more years. At 80, Truett Cathy still actively man ages Chick-fil-A and participates in sever al charities. “My initials are T.C.,” he said to an enthusiastic audience at the Kenan- Flagler Business School. “Some say that stands for tough chicken, others say ten der chicken, but I say top chicken.” Cathy explained how he developed Chick-fil-A into a business that made more than $1 billion in sales last year, and shared how his religious convictions institution,” he said. All of UNC’s health sciences schools were ranked in the top 25 nationwide for NIH grants, with the schools of Dentistry, Nursing and Public Health in the top five. These UNC schools were joined in the NlH’s rankings by other prominent research institutions such as Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities. “We clearly are considered one of the leading public research universities in the U. 5.,” said John Stamm, dean of the School of Dentistry. “The increase we’re seeing, I think, significandy strengthens our presence in molecular biology, genomics and some of the scientific fields that are emerging.” Houpt said a fair amount of the NIH grants were related to areas close to genomics. Some of the money will go to equipment for the genomics initiative - 'fridfl By' /. .inl^ ' 'A ' m \ mm:.., / ss HI m i m wj jppj Jflj J N? gSMS* ' - „ , . JHHHHHHHMI DTH/SEFTONIPOCK Sophomore Gina Filiberto from High Point stops to turn her wind-blown umbrella right side out Tuesday afternoon. Tne cold, windy weather kept students struggling with umbrellas and running to dodge the rain throughout the day. were rezoned. “The board urges you not to pursue this rezoning,” she said. Eddy said the land-use plan indicates certain densities, determining how the land can be used. “If the zoning com plies with the land-use plan, then the res idents can predict what might be built on that land,” she said. But Eddy said that without that option, residents would be left in the dark. Faced with these concerns, the Chapel Hill Town Council voted to re evaluate the issue. Town Manager Cal Horton suggested in his preliminary rec ommendation that the council rezone 16 of the 32 properties considered. But Roger Waldon, Planning Board director, was quick to point out that if any of the parcels have protest petitions from residents, it will take seven votes instead of have influenced his life. He began his career at age 8, reselling six-packs of Coke for a five-cent profit. He later started a roadside magazine stand, he said. “I sold the Saturday Post and made a cent and a half, and then I sold The Ladies Homejoumal and made 4 1/2 cents,” he said. “You can imagine which one I tried to sell first.” After graduating from high school and serving in the Army, he opened a restaurant called the Dwarf Grill with his brother Ben in 1946. The grill’s suc cess allowed him to open a seoond in 1951. Cathy attributes that success to his dedication to the company. “Oftentimes, the difference between success and fail ure is this one word - commitment." News a project that Chancellor James Moeser announced in February. The initiative, which will intensify UNC’s focus on genomic research, is backed by $245 million in public and private donations and includes faculty from all five health sciences schools. The College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Law will also participate in the initiative. In addition to genomics, the NIH grant money will be used to research topics ranging from tissue engineering to tropical diseases. Many of the research areas involve collaboration between dif ferent schools at the University. This spirit of collaboration is being rewarded by the NIH, said Sherrie Settle, administrative director for graduate edu cation and research in the School of BUMBERSHOOT six from the council to rezone the area. He also said all but three of the parcels con sidered have protest petitions on record. About 30 residents were present, and those who spoke commended the council for its pursuit of area affordable housing. But some residents, like Mildred Scott of 3411 Westover Road, said they feel they are being penalized for not developing their land. Anne Maddry of 2510 Homestead Road said she felt that down-zoning the property would be an “arbitrary and capricious use of the town’s power.” The residents are upset because the proposal will change the zoning of the 32 parcels to R-l. R-l is a low-density rating that requires 17,000 square feet of gross land for a single family home. All 32 parcels are zoned higher than R-l or Despite his devotion to the business, Cathy said it was difficult to run the two restaurants after the death of two of his brothers in the late 19405. He said he occasionally even wished to only have one restaurant again. “So the Lord took care of that,” he said. “After operating two restaurants for 10 years, one burned to the ground.” In 1967, he opened the first Chick-fil- A restaurant in Atlanta, he said. Today, Chick-fil-A has more than 967 locations in 34 states and South Africa. The company has had success with its popular “Eat Mor Chikin” advertising campaign. He said it plans to paint eight See CATHY, Page 7 Pharmacy. She said the NIH is showing a tendency to support cooperative grants, in which several disciplines work together. Several University health affairs administrators described UNC as a model for interdisciplinary work. “Most everybody who has worked at another university and comes to Chapel Hill points out that it is easier to collaborate with other academics here than any other place,” Stamm said. UNC administrators said they hope the grants will help attract more high quality faculty and students to the University to continue research expan sion. “I think it bodes extremely well for the future,” Stamm said. “The challenge will be to continue to grow in these areas.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. are designated for mixed use. The high er residential zonings require less space of gross land for a single family home. Pearlene Peace of 970 Airport Road said she felt that rezoning her property would lower the value of her property and keep the taxes at an “astronomical” level. Some residents even brought alterna tive solutions to the table. Joe Capowski of 404 Coolidge St and a former council member, offered one possibility. “Why not just float a $2 million bond?” be asked. Bill Stockard assistant to the town man ager, said the council supported a motion that would allow the town to review its position. “It’s not scheduled to come back on the calendar anytime soon.” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. BE JH IMJIr BaHaHK _ . mebhkubbhhhbem DTH/KIMBERLY CRAVEN Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy speaks at the Kenan-Flagler Business School on Tuesday. The first Cnick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967. Wednesday, March 21, 2001 In the Money Health sciences schools received top research dollars from the National Institutes of Health. Funding (in Professional National miHions of School Ranking dollars) Dentistry 3 8.4 Public Health 5 28.8 Medicine 15 144.2 Pharmacy 24 1.5 SOURCE: NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH Inner-City Researcher Gives Hope Robin Jarrett focused on the positive achievements and effective coping strategies of inner-city residents. By Elizabeth Parrott Staff Writer The presentation of a study examin ing successful African-American women heading families in Chicago’s inner city kept a full audience captivated Tuesday night at the School of Social Work. Robin Jarrett, professor of human development and family studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana- Champaign, shared her findings and encouraged continuing such research in her lecture, “In Their Own Words: The Lives of Inner-City African-American Women and Their Families.” Her research arose out of the desire to explain how some families prosper in inner-city neighborhoods, unlike other research that has focused on the negative outcomes, Jarrett said. “There is some thing missing in these models,” she said. “They do not tell us about the families that are doing well in these neighborhoods.” This oversight prompted Jarrett to do an in-depth study of inner-city families. She said her research was a hands-on pro ject that included interviews and casual time spent with the families. “This kind of research reminds me of the humanity of people when they are otherwise statistics that we see on the nightly news.” Jarrett said she found successful inner city families had common ways of cop ing, including in-home learning, resource seeking, parental monitoring, role mod els and an emphasis on education. She explained each living practice and then added that one underlying theme of all studies on inner-city fami lies is looking at family coping strategies. Jarrett challenged the audience to continue hands-on research in inner-city areas and to think of ways to help the families that are struggling in areas of poverty. She posed the question, “How do we get these successful families more involved in the neighborhood?” After the lecture, Jarrett presented the audience with a slide show documenting her experiences in Chicago. Audience members’ responses varied from laugh ter to tears as they viewed personal pic tures of the families and the homes. Gitangali Saluja, a post-doctorate stu dent at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, said she attended the lecture because she had heard posi tive things about Jarrett’s research. “I thought she really showed us the side we don’t see in the newspaper or on the nighdy news about single inner city African-American women." The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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March 21, 2001, edition 1
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