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QHff Baily ular Heri ASHLEY STEPHENSON Where Do I Fit Into Campus Race Debate? This is a hard column to write. I had planned to take a side on the blistering debate sur rounding David Horowitz’s ad, the protests against the naming of Saunders Hall and the charges tllat institutional racism at UNC is alive and well. I’m having a hard time doing it - mosdy because I’m white. And because of that, it’s hard to fig ure out my place in this debate. It’s hard to figure out what I have a right to think and say because I’m white. It’s hard to comment on racism when you haven’t been the victim of racism. My closest experiences have been through friends - watching a Radio Shack employee at University Mall follow my friend around while she browsed, or my landlord’s suspicions about my new roommate. It sure as hell doesn’t make me an expert, and it only gives me a mere glimpse of what other students on this campus have gone through every day of their lives. But at the same time, I’m a part of this equation. There has to be a place for my voice. I’m just not sure where it is. I watch my words whenever the topic is broached, be it conversations with friends or discussions in class. Because there are few words that sting like “racist.” Most times I find myself on the defensive, trying to avoid the pitfalls of making assurances like, “Hey, I have black friends.” I struggle with the fear that if I dis agree with these protesters, I incrimi nate myself. If I express my sympathy for their plight, I’ll be perceived as patronizing. And that fear hinders the dialogue that could be the next step to making things better. My best experiences dis cussing racism have been one-on-one, with people who knew me well enough that we could duke it out with out judging one another or hurling convenient stereotypes. I defend this paper’s right to publish Horowitz’s words without branding itself racist. This column isn’t a one on-one forum, so I’m taking a risk. I give my weekly kudos to the On the Wake of Emancipation Campaign. I’ve been begging for a demonstration from anybody all year. OWEC is the first that has gotten truly hyped and bucked the apathy trend at this University. And that’s what it takes to get our administration’s attention. I support the idea that a plaque should be added to Saunders Hall, revealing Col. William Lawrence Saunders’ involvement in the Ku Klux Klan. But when the debate turns to the monument of Silent Sam, as it has nearly every year since I’ve been here, I stand my ground. The statue is dedi cated to the men of the University who died during the Civil War, the ones who learned that duty “is the most sub lime word in the English language.” Those advocating the bulldozing of said statue contend that it is a monu ment to slavery. Confusing the issue are those calling for its destruction while arguing that the Civil War was not fought over slavery. A part of me is scared to admit that I believe Silent Sam is a monument to men who loved their country enough to die for it and nothing more. It sure ly means something else to others. But tearing down such structures does not erase these facts and the sen timents surrounding them. Hiding ugly truths won’t change a damn thing on this campus. Instead, in likeness to placing an additional plaque on Saunders, monu ments should be constructed to cele brate the efforts of those who haven’t been acknowledged. In the meantime, I hope these debates and discussions don’t lose their fire. Because like it or not, such demonstrations are bringing to fight problems on this campus that aren’t as apparent as Union construction. It’s going deeper into issues that most of us don’t know about and some know all too well. The protesters have raised the racism question again. I’m eager to see how the Big Meese, and the UNC campus, answers it Columnist Ashley Stephenson can be reached at ashley2l@email.unc.edu. School Board Plans to Up Next Year's Budget By Robert Cummings Staff Writer The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education met Thursday to plan its 2001-2002 budget and decide how to dole out the funds. The school board proposed a 15.5 percent budget increase that will raise it to $40.4 million. That money will be used to help pay for anew school, increase teacher benefits and institute new programs. Two-thirds of the school board’s pro posed budget is reserved for fixed costs, most of which are associated with stu dent enrollment growth and include opening anew middle school. The remaining third of the budget provides for several programs including 3-oii-3 Keeps Competition, Hope Alive The basketball tournament, which drew 3 varsity men's basketball players Saturday, raised about SBOO for cancer research. By Jenny McLendon Staff Writer Although the NCAA tournament has come and gone, March Madness continued into April on campus Saturday with a three-on-three basketball tournament that raised funds for the Lineberger Cancer Research Center. Carolina Cancer Focus’ second annual tournament brought 22 teams to Woollen Gym to compete for prizes donated by local businesses including Bandido’s, Michael Jordan’s 23 and Johnny T-Shirt. Nike also supported CCF by contributing several pairs of sunglasses as the grand prize for the tournament’s winning trio. Tournament organizer Paymon Rouhanifard said he was pleased with the outpouring of interest in the event and the SBOO garnered for the lineberger Center. “We got a lot of support from businesses and also players and volunteers," he said. “The busi nesses were really helpful and eager to participate, and we had 22 of the best teams you could possibly assemble come out to play.” UNC varsity basketball players Joseph Forte, Willjohnson and Jonathan Holmes showed their support for CCF by play ing in the tournament. But to keep team selection fair, orga nizers made a rule of only one junior varsity or varsity play er per three-member team. As the pool of teams narrowed to 16, eight, four and final ly two, the temperature in the gym heated up -and so did the competition. “There’s some pretty serious competition in here, but everyone is really here to have a good time and help the cause,” said CCF Vice Chairman Michael Abel. In the end, Jau’Ron Hayes, Reggie Gore and Matt Schafermeyer walked away with the Nike grand prize, snag ging the tournament tide for the second year in a row. Kris Graves, a junior political science and economics major from Pennsylvania, played in two games and said he thinks stu dent involvement in events like the tournament is critical. “It’s important for college students to get out and get involved with causes like this and not just sit around and do nothing,” he said. Ivy Spera, a junior biochemistry and music major from New York, said she enjoyed watching the tournament games. “I was actually going to play, but they didn’t have enough girls’ teams, so I decided to volunteer instead,” she said. As North Carolina’s public comprehensive cancer center, the Lineberger Center aims to reduce cancer cases through research, treatment, training and outreach. The facility is staffed by 200 faculty scientists from 25 UNC department, as well as 515 staff members. See CCF, Page 4 N.C. Senate Mulls Merits Of Character Education By Cliff Nelson Staff Writer A bill introduced Thursday in the N.C. Senate is being touted by support ers as a “character education” proposal -but its provisions go beyond teaching good character. The Student Citizen Act, backed by 15 Democratic sponsors and publicly supported by Gov. Mike Easley, requires state schools to develop a char- acter-education curriculum to teach students integrity, kindness and respect. But die act also would promote civic involvement by middle and high school stu dents. If passed, the “Young folks need to know what makes North Carolina such a great state to live in. ” Sen. Linda Garrou D-Forsyth bill will require state schools to imple ment a one-week social studies unit on the law-making and voting process as well as conduct classroom discussion on current events. It would also require high school stu dents to write an elected official about issues important to them. The middle school curriculum would include a tour of local government facil ities such as a jail or town hall. iPiS® attracting and retaining teachers through increased benefits and sup plements. The new bud get must be approved by the Orange County Board of Commissioners, which finances the schools. B u t Superintendent Neil Pedersen pro posed that nearly Board Chairman Nicholas Didow said he was pleased with the final outline of the school board's 2001-2002 budget. sl.l million of the increases be offset by raising the school district’s special prop erty tax by 2 cents. '' V' ' St ' W %> 1 i \f , Mm ■! msst x . J||ji DTH/CHRISTINE NGUYEN Ten-year-old Josh Chance tries to block Joseph Forte at the Carolina Cancer Focus 3-on-3 Tournament. Proceeds from the tournament will go to the Lineberger Cancer Center. Students also would be required to analyze a local community problem and offer public policy recommendations on the problem to iocal officials, like the town mayor or council member?. Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, a co sponsor of the bill, said she is concerned that young people are becoming “turned off" by politics and welcomes the civics instruction proposed in the bill. “Young folks need to know what makes North Carolina such a great state to live in,” Garrou said. She said she expects the bill to attract bipartisan support once Republican law makers have stud ied it. “I expect a number of Republicans will sign on," Garrou said. Sen. John Garwood, R-Wilkes, said he has not yet read the bill but that it would not necessarily garner the sup port of Republicans. “A lot of schools have already imple mented character education,” Garwood said. “So I need to see the bill to know See CHARACTER, Page 4 News School officials suggested to the school board that the revenue from the 2-cent tax increase be used only to cover the $1.4 million cost of opening Smith Middle School. “One of the consequences of growth is new schools,” school board member Maryanne Rosenman said. Two of the district’s other middle schools already are over capacity, and there will be a general increase in stu dent enrollment next year, Pedersen said. “Overall, the county and Triangle areas are growing rapidly,” Pedersen said. “Student population (in the district) is about twice the rate of the general pop ulation.” Kim Hoke, spokeswoman for the Officials Aim to Keep Well Wet A student complaint prompted campus leaders to find ways to keep the Old Well flowing year-round. By Stephanie Horvath Staff Writer Students seeking a lucky sip from the Old Well on the first day of spring semester classes found the landmark’s tap bone-dry. But after a student e-mail inquired about the reason behind the dry well, officials are now trying to get the foun tain flowing year-round. For the last few years, the University has cut off the water supply to the Old Well from November fo March to pre vent the well’s pipes from freezing, said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancel lor for facilities services. But Runberg said the University is now planning to take steps to keep the well running all year after Chancellor James Moeser received an e-mail from a UNC graduate student concerned about the fountain being dry. Runberg said it was the first com ment on the well’s inactivity he had received in his eight years on the job. “I think it simply highlighted that this is a very important landmark, and there is the tradition associated with taking a drink on the first day of classes,” he said. school system, said the district is enrolling more students than any other in North Carolina. “We are the fastest growing district in the state, percentage wise,” she said. Besides an increase in students, there are also state-mandated increases in teacher salaries, the costs of health insur ance and the increases in the state retire ment plans that comprise the rest of the two-thirds fixed cost. Nicholas Didow, chairman of the school board, said the budget was with in the target range that the board had outlined in February. “I’m quite pleased with what was brought forward,” Didow said. But one critical issue that many school board members said they felt was left out concerned pay increases for . DTH/SEFTONIPOCK Six-year-old Chase Davis takes a drink from the Old Well on Sunday afternoon during his first trip to campus. “So we’ll try to keep it open year round so everyone can get a bit of luck year-round.” Runberg said the University is look ing into installing valves that are not sus ceptible to freezing or strip-heaters, which wrap around the pipes and heat them with electricity. The improvements will be made Monday, April 9, 2001 employees in the lowest salary grade. This salary grade includes custodians and cafeteria workers, Rosenman said. She and other board members stressed at the meeting that the current salaries for these workers place them dangerously close to the poverty fine. Rosenman also mentioned a need for funding “anti-bully programs” that would improve school safety and deter the violence that has afflicted some schools in the nation. Rosenman said she had a good feel ing about the pending budget review by the commissioners. “We’ll have to make some cuts, but I feel pretty comfortable.” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. Leaders: SCRA Pleas Unrealistic South Campus residents upset with living conditions presented their demands to the housing department. By Brad Chiasson Staff Writer Campus leaders have made it clear that many of the goals of the South Campus Residence Alliance, which was created recendy by students to voice concerns about South Campus con struction, are unrealistic. But the ones that are, officials say, will be addressed soon. David Cooper, the new Residence Hall Association president, called the SCRA unnecessary and said the RHA could have been more effective in han dling student grievances. “It could have been dealt with a lot smoother through RHA," Cooper said. “Most of the demands they made are impossible or have been met or are in the process of being met.” Some of the demands made by the SCRA included students on South Campus getting first priority in choos ing housing assignments and refunds for the hassles of construction. But both Cooper and Christopher Payne, director of the Department of Housing and Residential Education, agreed that students on South Campus should not have first priority on housing because they all would want to move to North Campus. Payne also said moving students off South Campus would be pointless because the entire University will soon experience construction. Cooper and Payne also said refunds would be unrealistic because there is not enough money to refund every student who has suffered due to die construction. Max Gustashaw, co-founder of the SCRA, said he met with Payne to dis cuss South Campus construction issues. “He spent a long time with us, around 2 1/2 hours,” Gustashaw said. “Now that we have the reasons, we See ALLIANCE, Page 4 before next winter. Runberg said it is too early to know the exact cost, but he esti mated it at a few hundred dollars for each option. The Old Well found on campus today is a renovated version of the orig inal, built in 1898. The well was UNC See OLD WELL, Page 4 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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