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Carolina Victory Pirates walk the plank. See Page 9 ©lip laily ®ar Itel www.dailytarheel.com Congress Member Wants More Debate on CAA Inquiry By Rob Leichner Staff Writer If Congress member Tony Larson has anything to say about it, an investigation of the Carolina Athletic Association might still be on Student Congress’ agenda. Larson, who chairs the Congress Finance Committee, sent an e-mail Monday encouraging Congress members to reconsider a resolution that would have set up a special committee to inves tigate the CAA’s general procedures. The resolution was voted down 9-3 last week. Young Calls for Special Election To Fill Congress Congress Speaker Mark Townsend says he would like to see all 37 Congress seats filled to bring more voices to discussion. By Karey Wutkowski Assistant University Editor Complaints about the large number of vacant seats in Student Congress prompted Student Body President Justin Young on Tuesday to call for a special election to be held next month. The election, which Young proposed for May 1, will aim to fill the 14 open seats in Congress. , “Congress came to me concerned about the empty seats,” Young said. “When there are that many holes, there are problems with representation. We need bodies there to represent all peo ple.” Young said his executive order calling for a special election first will have to pass through Congress’ Rules and Judiciary Committee. The resolution then will go for a vote before the full Congress on April 24. Speaker of Congress Mark Townsend said it is not unusual to have so many open seats, especially with it being so early in the congressional session. “We have names that are written in, and people find out that it’s not really what they want to do,” he said. “People aren’t aware of how much time it entails.” Townsend said he ideally would like to see all 37 seats filled because it brings more voices to Congress. “It gives more of a sense that all parts of the University are being represented,” he said. Board of Elections Chairman Jeremy Tuchmayer said the voting process for the special election will be the same as the student body elections held in February. Online voting will be available through Student Central from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. To be listed as a candidate on the ballot, Tuchmayer said students need to have a petition signed by 10 people who live in their district and turn the petition in to Suite C by April 24. Otherwise, students interested in running for a seat will See ELECTION, Page 2 UNC Puts Its Money on Genomics Research By Blake Rosser Staff Writer UNC could be teetering on the precipice of a scientific breakthrough of extraordinary proportions. Thanks to $245 million in public and private funding and a dedicated research team headed by Dr. Terry Magnuson, UNC is at the forefront of what promises to be a revolution in the field of genomics. Chancellor James Moeser announced the University’s commitment to genomics research in February 2001, hoping to make UNC a leading figure in genomics -a budding field that could change the face of modem medicine. And Magnuson said the time is ripe for a surge in genomic discoveries. “What we’re working on is the post genome era, figuring out what genes do, to determine their function,” he said. The 82nd Congress voted earlier this month to place the CAA under the over sight of Congress after allegations of questionable CAA practices. Larson attributes the failure to pass the new resolution partly to new Congress members’ unfamiliarity with the issues involved and wants to see the measure reintroduced at Congress’ Tuesday meeting. “I’m going to motion to reconsider and re-debate it,” Larson said Tuesday. “If we vote to reconsider, that does not mean we vote to pass it, but we could discuss the issue (further).” Data based on individuals convicted in Orange County since October 1,1994, and released from any N.C. prison between March 1.2000, and Feb. 28,2001. SOURCE: WWW.DOC.STATE.NC.US/RAP/RAPWEB/WEB/REPORTGEN.HTML n Bill May Preclude Profiling By James Miller Staff Writer In 1994, black motorist Stacey Washington was stopped by an N.C. Highway Patrol officer on Interstate 85 for undisclosed rea sons, searched without his consent and detained for 2 1/2 hours. Student Body President Justin Young says Congress can't represent students with such vacancies. The illegal search-and-seizure case that ensued was one of two N.C. cases taken by the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1990s in an effort to identify and stop the practice of discriminatory traffic stops and searches. The state settled the case out of court. Seven years later, efforts across North Carolina to address concerns about racial profiling could change the way law enforcement agencies in Orange County record traffic stop and search statistics. If it becomes law, a bill filed February in the General Assembly will bring all county and most municipal law enforcement agencies under a pro vision of a state statute. The ACLU of North Carolina has called this new statute the first state “Driving While Black or Brown” legislation. Proponents of Senate Bill 147 say it is an impor “We want to figure out how multiple genes interact; genes don’t work in a vacuum, they work together.” Genomic science combines elements of genetics - the study of heredity -with the relatively new area of genomics, or DNA sequencing. In addition to solving the puz zle of human genetic identity, scientists think genomics research could affect the health care industry and significantly con tribute to the fight against cancer. And UNC researchers think they’re on their way to finding answers. Magnuson was hired as a professor and chairman of genetics in July 2000 to head the new genomic science studies at UNC. He brought his 15-person staff from Case Western Reserve University and has since hired seven more researchers. Dr. William Marzluff executive associ ate dean of research, said UNC is one of the national leaders in the development of Crime wouldn't pay if the government ran it. Anonymous Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Reopening debate would require a two-thirds vote of Congress. Returning Congress members led the opposition to the resolution last week, arguing that an investigation would neg atively affect this year’s CAA adminis tration, that the people responsible for any wrongdoing could not be brought to justice because they are graduating and that there is insufficient proof of guilt. Larson said his main concern is that many of the new Congress members did not fully understand the issue and the for mat of the debate last week. “This was Law and Disorder? j First-time 18 0 offenders mouse models of human disease. “There is no question that UNC is recognized nationwide as a place that has not only committed resources to genomics but has actually followed through and already established a program,” Marzluff said. Magnuson said that only recendy has the field moved from mapping bacteria genomes to more complex organisms such as mice. “The challenge of the genome era is getting the entire DNA sequence of an organism,” he said. “At the beginning of 2000, we had mapped only the worm (in addition to about 60 bacte ria). By the end of 2000 we had done the fruit fly, (the plant) arabidopsis and the human -and the mouse, rat, zebrafish and pufferfish will be following soon.” Marzluff stressed the role of UNC’s genomics research in other areas, such as cancer-related studies. “We have strong programs in yeast and Drosophila (fruit A State Divided North Carolina works to reconcile competing economic interests. See Page 3 their first meeting in Congress ever for some of them, and they did not complete ly understand parliamentary procedure.” Ethics Committee Chairman Dave Ruddell, who introduced the initial res olution, said he hopes the new Congress members will get more involved in the debate if the resolution is reconsidered. Although Ruddell plans to support Larson’s motion, he said he wants mem bers to decide for themselves if they think more debate is warranted. “I am concerned that some people will (vote to) reconsider just because The J 9 11/0 offenders Data based on individuals convicted in Durham County since October 1,1994, and released from any N.C. prison between March 1,2000, and Feb 28.2001. GRPAHICS BY: LAUREN DAUGHTRY tant step toward identifying and stopping the practice of racial profiling, but not all law enforcement professionals in Orange County agree that the law is necessary. “We feel that a great deal of racial profiling is still going on, and we can’t get a handle on it without local enforcement sta tistics,” said Sen. Elbe Kinnaird, D-Orange, one of the bill’s A three-part series examining issues regarding the local legal and judicial system. Today: Repeat Offenders Racial Profiling Thursday: Trial Speed Community Courts Friday: Unsolved Crimes fly) that have been useful in finding genes that are important in cancer." Marzluff went on to say that researchers in genetics are working in collaboration with cancer researchers. “The two newest people we’ve hired (for genetics) both work with cancer.” The new hirees are Dr. Charles Perou, who specializes in breast cancer, and Dr. David Threadgill, whose area of expertise is cancer genetics. Both researchers have labs in the Lineberger Cancer Research Center. Magnuson said the department’s genet ics research will have a significant effect on the medical community. “We will be able to start predicting what diseases you are susceptible to, which will have a major impact on the health care industry." Jesse Mager, a third-year graduate stu- See GENOME PROJECT, Page 2 Daily Tar Heel had an editorial about it,” he said. Larson cited in his e-mail a Monday editorial that took issue with Congress’ action last week. Some of the new Congress members said they felt lost during die debate over the resolution. Rep. Dana Culp, DisL 5, who had been to one meeting before last week, said a training session would help the new members feel more comfortable. Larson said he is concerned that die new members didn’t fully understand the issues of the debate, especially those members who had not been to any meetings before sponsors. Kinnaird said she is unaware of any racial profil ing issues in the counties she represents, which include Orange and Chatham. “But we don’t know until we find out, and we can’t find out until we have statistics and data,” she said. The current statute requires state law enforce ment agencies to compile and submit to the State Bureau of Investigation data about all traffic stops, including, among other things, the race or ethnici ty of the driver and the action taken by the officer or officers making the stop. This data is compiled and made available to the public on the N.C. SB I Web site of at www.sbi.jus.state.nc.us/. See RACIALS, Page 2 ... DTH/SEFTON IPOCK A pedestrian on Franklin Street shows her preparation for the midday sleet and wet snow that hit the area Monday only days after temperatures in the 70s and 80s. w,.Lf 4 ■m Breezy Today: Sunny, 54 Thursday: Sunny, 62 Friday: Sunny, 70 where the CAA had been discussed. While Larson and Ruddell said they were not sure if they could obtain the two-thirds vote needed to reconsider the resolution, Culp appeared more opti mistic. Culp said she hopes more mem bers will come to the next full Congress meeting so the issue could receive the full attention of the Congress. “It’s so contro versial that I would have to think that people would want to debate it again.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. Programs to Help Repeat Offenders Repeat offenders are likely to be arrested for crimes such as shoplifting, larceny, credit card fraud and dealing drugs. By James Miller Staff Writer The charges against them commonly range from shoplifting to felony possession of drugs with intent to sell. They are an established feature of Orange County’s crime and punishment landscape -a feature that police, attorneys and judges say is all too familiar and difficult to address. Repeat offenders and their crimes bur den police and courts and have spurred authorities to explore new punishment and rehabilitation options. “Yes, we do arrest the same people over and over again, and the courts let them loose, and we arrest them again,” said Capt. John Butler of the Carrboro Police Department “It’s just the way it is.” The challenge posed to the criminal jus tice system by repeat offenders starts with their numbers, said Jim Woodall, Orange County assistant district attorney. “If you consider a repeat offender some one coming back into the court system for at least a second time, I would imagine 40 or 45 percent, maybe even 50 percent of the peo- See REPEATS, Page 2 SPRING? Wednesday, April 18, 2001
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 18, 2001, edition 1
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