Civil Unrest Students protest ad. See Page 3 ®he Sailu (Jar Hrel www.dailytarheel.com BOT to Vote on Master Plan Despite Council Concerns By Kara Eide Staff Writer The fate of the Master Plan is in the hands of the UNC Board of Trustees today as the group votes on whether to approve the blueprint for campus devel opment Developed by the Baltimore-based architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross, the Master Plan is a campuswide improve ment and expansion project that, if Claaaina the Ah’? awralr Environmental Officials Seek Solutions to N.C. Smog Problem uip * jJ -/* I. : DTH/CHRISTINE NGUYEN Traffic moves along Interstate 40 near exit 280. A bill regulating tail-pipe emissions is expected to be introduced this legislative session. N.C/s Diversity Evident in 2000 Census Results By Benjamin Glover Staff writer Results from the 2000 U.S. census report show that North Carolina’s pop ulation is becoming more culturally diverse, largely because of a rapidly increasing Hispanic com munity. While the percentage of whites and Legislature to Use Census Data for Redistricting See Page 3 blacks living in the state has decreased since 1990, the percentage of Hispanics living in North Carolina increased from 1.2 to 4.7 per cent - prompting some officials to say that the state needs to address the needs approved, will be implemented during the next 30 to 50 years. But some town residents and the Chapel Hill Town Council have expressed concern that final approval is being decided prematurely. The council has asked the BOT to postpone its vote until after the results of the Major Investment Study on trans portation are released in May. The research study is being conduct ed by the N.C. Department of of the growing Hispanic community. Whites make up 72.1 percent of the N.C. population, down from 75.6 percent in 1990. The black community decreased slightly, falling from 22 to 21.6 percent of the population. The state’s population as a whole has grown 21.4 percent, up from 6,628,637 to 8,049,313 - enough to qualify the state for anew seat in the U.S. House, even though Utah officials have called the results into question. But officials say the most staggering statistic is the dramatic increase in North Carolina’s Hispanic population, which was once virtually nonexistent. Stephen Lilley, an associate professor of sociology at N.C. State University, attributes the state’s good economy and Dangerous is the man who rationalized his emotions. David Borenstein Name Who's Next Apply to be a member of the DTH Editor Selection Committee. Applications due March 23. Serving the students and the University community since 1893 l —mmt 5 J Transportation, Duke University, UNC, the Triangle Transit Authority and Durham and Orange counties. But Chancellor James Moeser said he does not believe the requested delay of the approval vote Chancellor Moeser By Talley Sergent * Staff Writer On a clear summer’s day one can see for ever, right? Blink an eye, or even both, and fast for ward to a hot, muggy summer day, typical of the North Carolina climate. Driving along Interstate 40 during rush hour, cars pack the lanes, inching along slow ly from Raleigh to Chapel Hill. Traffic piles up, cars sit idly and the air fills with nitrogen oxide, or smog, making the horizon seem to disappear in the distance. Smog is a haze caused by the mixing of solar ultraviolet radiation and hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. Smog and its potentially damaging effects are no longer just a concern for environmental groups but have come to the attention of the N.C. General Assembly and power companies. Tom Mather, public information officer of the N.C. Division of Air Quality, said the state has a smog problem, which can be attributed to the high levels of ozone in the area. According to Environmental Protection Agency reports, there are two types of ozone - good ozone and bad ozone. Good ozone, which occurs naturally in the atmosphere, is found 10 to 30 miles above the Earth’s surface and shields the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. But bad ozone, or ground-level ozone, forms when automobiles and power plants release pollutants that react with sunlight. “Over the past five years we’ve had increasing levels, except this past year because we had so much rain,” Mather said. Smog levels depend on the amount of pre cipitation during the summer months. Mather said North Carolina had 35 days when smog levels surpassed federal regula tions in 2000, ranking it seventh in the nation for smog days last year. But in 1999, North Carolina racked up 68 smog days because of low levels of unemployment to the Hispanic population explosion. Lilley said that during the 19905, when the nation was experiencing unprecedented economic growth, Mexico and Latin American countries suffered from sluggish economies. Asa result, many Hispanics migrated to America in search of work. Although N.C. wages are low com pared to the rest of die nation, UNC- Chapel Hill history Professor Harry Watson added that average wages in the state are still higher than in other coun tries, particularly Mexico. And changes are in store for the state’s Hispanic community based on See CENSUS, Page 2 is necessary. “This Master Plan has been in preparation for three years,” Moeser said. “We’re pretty confident about all the data, and I have no reservations.” Moeser said that if the results of the study do not support the Master Plan, then proper changes can be made to the proposal. But Moeser said he believes changes will not be necessary. “I’m real ly confident that (the findings) will sup port the Master Plan,” he said. Jonathan Howes, director of the a decrease in rain during the summer months. In North Carolina, the smog season begins April 1 and lasts until the end of October, Mather said. California, a state that has been scrutinized by environmental groups in the past for its air pollution, first experienced major smog prob lems in the 1970 sand ’Bos. In 2000, California experienced 120 days of smog, topping the list of states with the most smog days. Yet Rep. Ptyor Gibson, D-Anson, said it is impor tant not to link California's smog problems with North Carolina’s “air quality” problems, which he said are “very serious.” Nitrogen oxide, better known as NOx, is the main cause of smog, Mather said. “NOx interacts with hydro carbons in hot, sunny weath er, causing ozone,” he said. K .From,. Manteo Mlurphy A four-part series on some of the major environmental issues facing North Carolina. Today: Smog Friday: Expansion According to the Environmental Defense, an online database that records pollution by geo graphic area, NOx includes various compound, such as nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide. The compounds form NOx when fuels are burned at high temperatures, which occurs mainly in power plants and automobiles. Particulate matter, the other main agent that produces smog, is a mixture of particles such as soot, dust and smoke. Particulate matter, or PM, is most dangerous in its smallest forms, according to the Environmental Defense. So just what do these scientific terms mean? Mather said the NOx and PM that com prise smog - or bad ozone - not only cause far-reaching health hazards but also could affect North Carolina tourism. “No one wants to go visit the mountains for their beauty and not see anything,” he said. Mather said the state risks losing its natur al beauty in all three of its main geographic regions - the coast, the piedmont and the mountains. Tourism accounted for $11.9 bil lion in total expenditures in 1999 by domes tic and international travelers. See SMOG, Page 2 Melting Pot The results of the 2000 census show that since 1990 the percentage of the Hispanic population of the state has nearly doubled. • ■ White 70.2% ■ Black 21.4% □ Hispanic 4.7% | Asian 1.4% I American Indian 1.2 % | Other 0.1 % □ SOURCE-2000 U.S. CENSUS Master Plan, said he also supports the BOTs decision to move forward with the Master Plan. “There will always be a reason not to act on it,” Howes said. “I think the BOT feels as though they’re ready to act on it” Howes also stressed the importance of the plan’s flexibility. He said the plan is a living document that can be altered if nec essary. “If the circumstances in the future, such as transit, warrant a change, then the BOT can make changes in the plan.” Pruitt: Congress Bill Restricting CAA Hideous' The bill passed by the Rules and Judiciary Committee of Student Congress would force congressional approval of CAA procedures. By Greg Steffensen Staff Writer New accusations and the threat of student congressional oversight of Carolina Athletic Association Cabinet appoint ments have angered CAA members and prompted vehement denials of impropriety. “We don’t have anything to hide,” said CAA President Tee Pruitt on Wednesday. “But it’s ridiculously hideous for (Congress) to think they can do that,” he said, referring to a bill passed Tuesday by Congress’ Rules and judiciary Committee that Would make the CAA’s procedures subject to Congress’ approval. “The necessary check is through the spring election cycle." Congress members drew up the legislation in response to recent concerns about CAA’s possible misconduct. Full Congress will vote on the bill next Tuesday, along with two resolutions to censure Pruitt and other top CAA officials. CAA External Relations Director Rachel Goodman also said she is displeased with the turn of events. “It’s personally upsetting to me because I know so many people oo CAA have worked for the student body, and those rumors and lies are just a horrible compensation,” she said. “I can see why student government would respond, but there’s nothing we’re cover ing up, so there’s nothing for them to find." CAA Chief of Staff Greg Rocco said criticism of the orga nization is unfair. “Everyone has already made up their minds that we’re crooks,” he said. But Board of Elections Vice Chairman Fred Hill said he is sticking by assertions he made before Congress’ Student Affairs Committee on Tuesday night that the CAA president receives 40 to 60 purely discretionary tickets to each basket ball game and that ticket distributions for regular season bas ketball games and the ACC championship were conducted improperly. The Daily Tar Heel has been unable to confirm or deny Hill’s claims with the ticket office. In testimony before the committee and in a letter to the DTH on Wednesday, Hill said it was his personal belief that every ticket distribution for the past two years has been rigged. Hill further testified that two friends in die CAA told him that bracelets distributed at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays would be at the front of the line for riser tickets. But CAA Cabinet members deny any abuses. “That is the most inane thing I’ve ever heard," said Kerry Slatkoff, direc tor of CAA ticket distribution. “No one knows those numbers except myself, (ticket office Director) Clint (Gwaltney) and (ticket office employee) Shane (Parrish), and we don’t pick them until Saturday.” Slatkoff said Gwaltney and Parrish are both present for the selection of regular seat and riser seat numbers, which she said is done using a random number generator in Microsoft Excel. Cabinet members also deny any secret stash of disposable tickets. Pruitt said he receives around 26 tickets per game, from section 117 and the back of the Carolina Fever block. Roughly 14 are given to members of the sports marketing committee and nine to the External Relations Committee. The remaining two or three tickets Pruitt gives to whoever wants them, he said. The DTH has been unable to confirm or deny Pruitt’s claims with the ticket office. Slatkoff said dozens of such extra tickets are impossible. After two tickets are given to each of the 25 ticket distribution workers and another 50 are distributed among the roughly 25 Cabinet members, there simply aren’t enough left- she said. Although they could offer no evidence of impropriety, some former Cabinet members say Pruitt and other officials might be hiding something. “It sounds very feasible -1 wouldn’t put anything past Tee,” said Tiffany Black, a former CAA Cabinet member. Pruitt fired Black on Feb. 28 for allowing campaign duties to interfere with her organizational responsibilities. Pruitt said the Cabinet has not yet discussed whether to attend Congress’ Tuesday meeting. “Obviously, there are tilings that are much more important than perpetuating tile rumor mill.” The University Editor can be reached at udeskQunc.edu. About Time Today: Partly Cloudy, 63 Friday: Sunny, 63 Saturday: Showers, 66 Thursday, March 22, 2001 Student Body President Brad Matthews echoed Howes and Moeser’s sentiments, saying the Master Plan is not set in stone. “This is not a process that was done in a vacuum - there’s all sorts of exter nal pressures that apply,” Matthews said. “But this is just an outline. We’ve got to have a starting point This is a plan, and plans change.” See BOT, Page 2

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