Good Fun
Event earns cancer
funds. See Page 3
Daily (Jar Heel
www.dailytarheel.com
Students to Take Action Against Budget Cuts
By Daniel Thigpen
Assistant University Editor
Wednesday not only marks the end of
classes but also the beginning of a stu
dent-centered movement to combat
potential budget cuts at UNC.
About 20 students from student gov
ernment and other campus groups met
Sunday night outside Hamilton Hall to
plan protests against the proposed cuts.
Earlier this month, a General
Assembly subcommittee, facing the
worst budget deficit in a decade, sug
gested that $125 million be cut from
Housing
Frustrates
Residents
Christopher Payne, director
of housing, said students
were back on South Campus
because it has more rooms.
By Rob Leichner
Staff Writer
Officials say complaining parents are
not the reason that rising sophomores
had trouble moving off South Campus
for next year.
Rumors that the parents of incoming
freshmen, concerned about unsighdy
construction, have successfully pres
sured housing officials to keep their chil
dren off South Campus have spread
since housing assignments recently
were issued.
But Director of University Housing
Christopher Payne said the main factors
are a record number of housing appli
cations from returning students, the
closing of Joyner Residence Hall for
renovations and the reservation of a cer
tain number of spaces on North and
Mid campuses for incoming freshmen.
“It’s just that we have more physical
bed spaces in our South Campus com
munities,” Payne said.
The recontracting process, which
took place during the week of March
19, differed this year from previous
years in that rooms were assigned on a
first come, first serve basis by academ
ic classification.
After fulfilling the requests of gradu
ate students, seniors and juniors, the
only sophomores who could switch
regions were those who had chosen a
roommate already living in another
region.
“We value the opportunity for stu
dents to select their roommates,” Payne
said. “It’s untrue to say that all students
living on South Campus couldn’t move
to a different region.”
Spaces are reserved each year for
incoming freshmen to live on North and
Mid campuses. “Our philosophy is to
place students from all academic classi
fications in all of our campus communi
ties,” Payne said.
About 1,800 freshmen currently live
on South Campus, with 700 living on
North and Mid campuses. The ratio
changes from year to year, Payne said,
adding that the complete figures for
next fall’s ratio are still unavailable.
“We don’t operate off a percentage,”
he said. “What we do is develop inten
tional communities.”
Payne said he has not talked to any
parents of incoming freshmen who did
not want their children to five on South
Campus. Instead his experience has
shown the opposite to be true. “Most
first-year students give us their prefer
ence as one of the South Campus com
munities,” Payne said.
The trend of fewer students switching
from South Campus to other campus
regions in their sophomore year will
See HOUSING WOES, Page 5
_ m. .m.
UNC-system funding. UNC’s share
would total $25 million.
Student Body President Justin Young
suggested developing a lobbying system
that will attract the most attention from
the state.
“What we need to do is make sure we
set up our strategy front,” he said.
Young and other organizers plan to
set up e-mail and phone stations in the
Pit on Wednesday so students can con
tact state representatives.
A demonstration with student, facul
ty and administrative speakers will take
place the same day, but a location is yet
Bush Approval High After Ist 100 Days
By Michael McKnight
Staff Writer
After 36 days of recounts, lawsuits and dangling
chads, Texas Gov. George W. Bush was named the
winner of one of the closest and most contested
presidential elections in American history.
When President Bush entered the White
House on the bitterly cold and rainy afternoon of
Jan. 20, he did so with low public expectations
and, many said, without a mandate.
Many wondered whether the new president
would be able to overcome the stigma of the far
from-decisive election, a near-even split in
Congress and questions about his experience to
lead the country.
His campaign and inaugural address were both
filled with lofty goals, including instituting the
largest tax cut in national history, reforming edu
cation and ushering in anew era of bipartisanship.
One hundred days into his term, some analysts .
and politicians say Bush has lived up to his
promises and exceeded expectations, while oth
ers say he has fallen short of his goals and leaves
much to be desired.
Overcoming the Election
Before the election was decided, analysts and
average citizens alike speculated that the new
president, whomever he turned out to be, would
have difficulty being accepted as legitimate by the
American people.
Even now, three months after the inaugura
tion, some people still harbor such feelings. “I
think (the closeness of the election) makes people
wonder if he is our legitimate president,” said
Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of Common
Sense, a liberal think tank based in Raleigh.
A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll indi
cated that close to a quarter of Americans still
don’t accept Bush as a legitimate president.
But Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who recently
hosted Bush during his visit to promote his tax cut
in Greenville, said the future looks bright for the
Bush administration.
“I don’t think (the election) really affected
(Bush’s presidency) from the standpoint of his abil
ity to lead the nation,” Jones said in a recent tele
phone interview. “I don’t think there is a cloud
over this administration. I think the sun is shining.”
Bush has enjoyed high job-approval ratings
thus far. A Gallup poll taken last week gave Bush
Crowd Protests Nuclear Expansion
By Kellie Dixon
Assistant City Editor
Early Saturday morning, 10 bicyclists ped
aled furiously from Sen. John Edwards’ Raleigh
office down a 22-mile stretch to protest the on
site expansion of a nearby power plant.
The bicyclists wore signs encouraging
motorists to follow them to Carolina Power &
Light Co.’s Shearon Harris Nuclear Power
Plant, where more than 100 residents, students
and other activists teamed up to protest the
plant’s potential on-site expansion. The expan
sion is slated to start this summer, should the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s March 1
decision go uncontested.
Kristen Kerr, co-chairwoman of the Students
Environmental Action Coalition, said the bicy
cling tactic was a creative way to make an
impact “It showed how close the plant is,” she
said. “It was a good way for people to do pub
lic outreach.”
Kerr also said that props, such as a two-head
ed gigantic puppet representing a connected
Music is well said to be the speech of angels.
Thomas Carlyle
Oh, What a Knight!
Heath Ledger stars in a medieval
comedy with a modem twist.
See Page 2
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
to be determined.
Students will be able to meet legisla
tors in person Thursday, and Young said
transportation is still being worked out.
He said he is weighing several options,
from carpooling to busing.
Wednesday and Thursday’s events
are scheduled to coincide with other
demonstrations at campuses across the
state, particularly N.C. State University,
Young said.
Students at N.C. State will be walking
out of classes Wednesday at 11 a.m. and
gathering at their bell tower, where they
will march to the legislative building and
V ws.'- '
President George W. Bush flashes a 'W' sign to supporters during a stop in Greenville
early this month. Bush has crossed the country to garner support for his tax cut.
a 62 percent approval rating, seven points high
er than Clinton in his first 100 days. “Right now
in terms of public perception, he is doing very
well,” said Michael Munger, professor and chair
man of the political science department at Duke
University. “But I think that will dissipate.”
Munger said most presidents’ approval ratings
tend to drop after the 100-day honeymoon period.
Exceeding Expectations
Munger attributed Bush’s strong showing in the
polls to his selection of a diverse Cabinet He said
this combination made it difficult for people on
both sides of the spectrum to be critical. “It’s the
most diverse administration in history,” Munger
said, adding that it would be easier for Democrats
See BUSH, Page 5
relationship between CP&L and the NRC,
were used to push their points further home.
“It boosted the morale of people,” she said.
“This issue has been going on for a long time so
it’s easy to get burned out.”
Keith Poston, spokesman for CP&L, attend
ed the event and said plant officials respect the
community’s right to protest. “We are steadfast
in our belief that our plan is safe and responsi
ble,” he said. “Not everyone is going to agree
with us. We might have to agree to disagree.”
Poston also dismissed claims made by the N.C.
Waste Awareness and Reduction Network that
CP&L and the NRC were working together.
Talks began between CP&L and N.C.
WARN last week, where officials are trying to
mend the process.
“We made it clear that we are committed to
answering all the questions we can,” Poston
said. “We’re also realistic and know that we
can’t make everyone happy."
But Kerr said she thought CP&L was becom
ing aware of the implications of ruling without
input from residents.
meet with representatives at noon.
Between now and Wednesday,Young
said organizers will be getting the word
out by fliers, e-mails and word of mouth
so students will be eager to get involved.
“I think it’s important we do so now,”
Young said. “We have to make sure our
voice is heard throughout the summer.”
Chancellor James Moeser made an
appearance at Sunday’s meeting to
encourage the students’ endeavors.
He said developing a strategy is
essential to alleviating potential damage.
“These are very real cuts,” Moeser
said. “If we don’t turn this thing around
■ 'sir SQ* 4 * s "
ji 1
“CP&L has met with N.C. WARN in the past
week, so they’re getting scared,” she said.
“They’re running out of time. We want to rally
the public and take a stand on the issues.”
At the end of the event, Kerr said about 20
people stuck around to meditate after the group
finished singing. “We sat and meditated to send
good energy into the plant," she said.
Jim Warren, executive director of N.C.
WARN, said the rally was targeted at getting
Edwards more involved. “(Edwards) is being
expected and being asked to try and persuade
the NRC’s call for these hearings and that is
what we’ve been waiting for all this time.”
Warren said this is the chance the group
needs to spring forward and get what they want.
“The (NRC) has full discretional authority and
(will) do whatever is right,” he said.
“Sen. Edwards has an opportunity to
demand that this go through proper safety
review.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
it will be very devastating.”
Moeser said he doesn’t believe legis
lators want to harm the University, but
that students should emphasize the
importance of finding other means of
cutting the state deficit.
“I think it is our job to mobilize pub
lic opinion,” he said.
Moeser rallied the students and gave
them inspiration to make the projects
effective means of persuasion. “I think
our work is cut out for us.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
DTH/MIKE MESSIER
DTH/MIKE MESSIER
H 1 I
DTH/BESS LOEWENBAUM
Trip Overholt shows daughter Taya the cooling tower
at the Shearon Harris plant while protesting CP&L.
Countdown
Today: Sunny, 74
Tuesday: Sunny, 81
Wednesday: Sunny, 81
Monday, April 30, 2001
UNC, Nike
Consider
Labor Issue
The University could set an
example for other schools
by incorporating labor
concerns into its contract.
By Kim Minugh
University Editor
Department of Athletics officials say
UNC is taking a groundbreaking
approach in drafting its new contract
with Nike, addressing labor concerns for
the first time in the partnership’s history.
Director of Athletics Dick Baddour
said the University’s negotiators are
hoping to incorporate UNC’s labor
code into the deal, balancing the depart
ment’s financial needs and UNC’s
social responsibilities. By doing so, he
said, UNC would
set an example for
other universities.
“We’ve been
talking to Nike
about initiatives,”
Baddour said in
an interview with
The Daily Tar
Heel on Sunday.
“Nike knows our
concern about
labor practices.”
Although still in
the fourth year of a
five-year deal with
Nike, UNC began
the recontracting
Athletics Director
Dick Baddour
says UNCs financial
needs and its duty to
promote fair labor
practices can coexist
process this year, and Baddour said he
hopes to finish next month. The Nike-
UNC partnership began 10 years ago.
Then, in the summer of 1997, Baddour
signed a $1.7 million contract with the
sportswear giant
Baddour said he has played an inte
gral part in this year’s negotiations, which
he expects will lead to a contract hat will
result in an even larger payoff for UNC.
But getting more for his money hasn’t
been his only concern, Baddour said.
Discussions have addressed the UNC
community’s changing areas of concern.
Students for Economic Justice and oth
ers have pushed UNC in recent years to
support fair labor practices. Chancellor
James Moeser most recendy tackled the
issue by sending a letter to Nike in
January expressing his disapproval of
alleged labor code violations in a Nike
contracted factory in Puebla, Mexico.
Baddour said discussions used to cen
ter on public versus private dealings, but
now the issue is reconciling money and
morals.
Because the University is a member
of the Fair Labor Association and the
Workers’ Rights Consortium, two labor
See NIKE, Page 5