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The University and Towns
In Brief
Budget Gets Approval
Of Board of Education
On July 19, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
Board of Education approved their $39.6
million budget for next year in a 6-1
vote. Funding was $1.7 million less than
the school board requested, however.
The county commissioners expect the
school system to keep 5.5 percent of the
budget in the fund balance annually, but
this year encouraged the school board to
use the fund balance that exceeded that
amount to meet program needs. Under
this plan, the fund balance will be left at
$2.8 million, or 8 percent of the budget
Some board members were wary of
using substantial amounts of the fund
balance for needs that would recur in
subsequent years. They also anticipated
programs that would need funds for
next year.
Board chair Nick Didow noted that
the needs this year are heavier because
of the opening of Smith Middle School.
Several members expressed apprecia
tion for the staffs work to “cobble”
together a funding plan from a combi
nation of reductions, savings and addi
' tional revenue.
Carrboro Joins Group
To Combat Pollution
The Town of Carrboro has voted to
combat global warming by joining the
international Cities for Climate
Protection Campaign. By joining CCP,
Carrboro has committed to reduce local
greenhouse gas emissions.
Carrboro is now one of more than 80
U.S. towns, cities and counties participat
ing the the program. Durham and Chapel
Hill are also involved with the program.
Each city commits to take an inven
tory of local emissions and devise a plan
of pollution-cutting actions. Examples
of emission-reduction policies include
recycling, energy efficiency in munici
pal operations, weatherization of low
income housing and promoting
rideshare and alternative transit
The CCP is a program of the
International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives, an associa
tion of local governments dedicated to
the prevention and solution of local,
regional and global environmental
problems through local action.
UNC Conference Will
Identify Teen Problems
Anew assessment tool that provides
clues and guidance to help identify learn
ing and social difficulties faced by adoles
cents in middle and high school will be
introduced July 30 at a Chapel Hill con
ference.
Co-sponsored by the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of
Medicine and the non-profit All Kinds
of Minds Institute’s Student Success
Center, the conference "Promoting
Student Success: Clinical Assessment
and Management of Differences in
Learning" will be held Sunday through
Tuesday at the Carolina Inn.
More than 175 pediatricians, family
practitioners, school and clinical psy
chologists, educational diagnosticians,
social workers and speech-language
pathologists representing the United
States, Sweden, Hong Kong and
England will be in attendance.
Chapel Hill Museum
Opens New Exhibit
In conjunction with photo exhibit
“Lincoln High School: Mighty Tigers,”
the Chapel Hill Museum is opening a
supplementary exhibit that documents
both the struggle for civil rights in
Chapel Hill and the involvement of
Lincoln High students in those efforts
during the 19605. The exhibit is called
“Exercising Democracy: Bringing Civil
Rights to Chapel Hill,” and will run
• from Aug. 2 until Sept. 5.
“Exercising Democracy” features text,
! photographs, political cartoons and
handbills from die civil rights movement
in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
Ackland Art Museum
Wins Prize for Posters
UNC's Ackland Art Museum has won
a first prize for educational resources
from die American Association of
Museums, publicized in the association's
Museum News, July-August issue. The
honor was for a poster series for the
museum's Five Faiths project, which uses
works of art to help viewers learn about
the world's five major religions.
Ackland's series was lauded for "care
fully selected art and artifacts, elegant
ly combined with appropriate graphics
■ and colors.
Along with comparative text, each
poster presents multiple layers of com
plex information in a respectful way,
and each can stand alone."
From Staff Reports
UNC Alumnus, Others Vie for Council Seats
By Geoff Wessel
University Editor ’
Former UNC Student Congress
Speaker Mark Kleinschmidt announced
his candidacy for a seat on the Chapel
Hill Town Council earlier this week.
Kleinschmidt, who received his law
degree from UNC in 2000, was the sec
ond candidate so far to file for one of the
four seats that will be open in
November’s elections. Incumbent Edith
Wiggins announced her intention to run
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Randy Whitt of Silk Hope sings a tune Monday night at the Cave on Franklin Street. Whitt plans to release his first album, So It
Goes, in about a month. The album will be available at some record stores in Chapel Hill. Whitt will be playing at the Open Eye
Cafe on Aug. 1.
Greeks Near Safety Deadline
By Ashley Davidson
Staff Writer
Sprinkler system installations are
drawing to a close as UNC fraternities
and sororities aim for an August dead
line.
The fall deadline was set in
November 1996 as a result of a town
ordinance, a measure intending to
increase fire safety after a Phi Gamma
Delta house fire in May 1996 that killed
five students.
The ordinance requires that all fra
ternities and sororities install automat
ic sprinkler systems within five years.
By August, all University fraternity and
sorority houses must have sprinkler
systems or their members will not be
permitted to occupy the buildings.
“We’re saying that no one can occupy
the houses until they meet the deadline,”
he said.
Updated systems require new water
lines and cost an average of $50,000.
Since the ordinance was established,
many greek houses have been working
to raise money to foot the added
expense of anew sprinkler system.
“I think it’s an expense (the fratemi-
Hip-Hop Meets Television for Zoom Culture Series
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DJ Craze, a participant in Zoom Culture's "Hip-Hop Nation: Notes from
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University & City
for re-election on July 6, and environ
mentalist Diane Vandenbroek, biologist
Lisa Everett and UNC art history
Professor Dorothy Verkerk have
announced their candidacies since then.
“I’m looking forward to including all
parts of the Chapel Hill community in
my run for council,” Kleinschmidt said.
“I’d hoped for that from the beginning,
even in my earliest comtemplations of
running. I’m just thrilled that it’s actual
ly working out that way -1 can actual
ly represent myself as a voice of the
MUSIC MAN
ties and sororities) all budget for,” said
Jay Anhom, director of the Office of
Greek Affairs.
Regardless of the ordinance’s
expense, UNC fraternities and sororities
seem to be on schedule. Kappa Kappa
Gamma President Carrie Jackson says
that the house has been well ahead of
the fall deadline.
“We were the first house to have (a
sprinkler system) installed,” she said.
“We’ve had ours for years.”
She said the sorority also plans to
increase the safety of their current sys
tem by linking it with an alarm system
that directly contacts the Chapel Hill
Fire Department.
Along with the forthcoming sprinkler
system installations, the Office of Greek
Affairs further encourages fire safety by
requiring each group to have a separate
fire marshal to conduct regular safety
inspections.
“We have a fire marshal, fire drills,
inspections and routed maps throughout
the house,” Jackson said.
According to the 1996 ordinance, the
only exceptions to the fall deadline are
those houses that are undergoing reno
vations and will not be completed by
community at large.”
Kleinschmidt said that as a resident
and aspiring representative of the town,
he still feels connected to the University
through his recent stint as a campus
leader. He said UNC students have been
a strong influence on his campaign.
“I’m really excited about die student
interest in my candidacy,” Kleinschmidt
said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that the
student population supports the issues I
support.”
Kleinschmidt’s campaign manager is
that time.
Six of the 23 Interfratemity Council
members’ houses are now under reno
vations and will be vacated until con
struction is complete.
Delta Upsilon president Jason
Minton said that, though his fraternity is
one of those under construction, fire
safety regulations will be met in the
completed building.
“As far as Delta Upsilon goes, our
house is being renovated, so we won’t
be living here next year," Minton said.
“However, we are planning to be done
with construction in one calendar
year.”
Minton said the new Delta Upsilon
house will have a complete sprinkler
system and will be in compliance with
orders.
As the sprinkler system deadline
approaches for UNC fraternities and
sororities, progress looks promising to
Greek officials.
“All of the groups will meet the dead
line,” Anhom said. “No one’s having
any problems.”
Ashley Davidson can be reached
at drsassley@yahoo.com.
Area hip-hop artists and
students participated in
"Hip-Hop Nation: Notes
from the Underground."
By Daniele Eubanks
Senior Writer
Lounging around tables or moving to
the pulsing music, an eclectic blend of
hipsters and suits filled Michael Jordan's
23 last Friday night at the premiere
party for “Hip-Hop Nation: Notes from
the Underground,” which will air on
NBC-17 on Saturday.
Business interests and hip-hop culture
converged to produce the show, a collab
orative effort between Zoom Culture, a
Chapel Hill-based company that pro
duces and distributes digital video content
for TV and the Internet, and NBC-17.
Steve Mitchem, vice president of dis
tribution for Zoom Culture, said Hip-
Hop Nation would give viewers anew
UNC senior Bharath Parthasarathy of
Atlanta, who served under Kleinschmidt
in the 81st Congress.
“The beauty of Mark’s campaign is
that it is such a great mix of young adults
and experienced individuals,”
Parthasarathy said. “It’s exciting that a
council candidate wants to include
UNC students in his vision for the
town.”
Kleinschmidt said he would try to
maintain cordial town-gown relations.
“The historic relationship between
New Law Helps
Protect Victims'
Confidentiality
A recent N.C. statute signed by Gov. Mike
Easley was inspired by last year's subpoena
of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.
By Ashley Williams
Staff Writer
An Orange County court case last fall has led to anew state
statute that protects victims of assault and domestic violence.
On July 12, Gov. Mike Easley signed a law preventing inves
tigation into the files of places such as rape crisis centers for infor
mation that could help defendants discredit their alleged victims.
Margaret Barrett, executive director of the Orange County
Rape Crisis Center, said she was excited that the statue has
local roots. "It is neat that it was an Orange County connec
tion that raised awareness of the need for change,” she said.
Last year, Chapel Hill lawyer Amos Tyndall subpoenaed
the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, trying to get infor
mation that would discredit an alleged victim of his client.
Tyndall’s motion was based on a Supreme Court case, Penn v.
Ritchie, that ruled judges had the right to review certain priv
ileged information.
Although the case was settled out of court, it made people
more aware of victim confidentiality issues.
Barrett said the statute limits grounds under which a judge
would order investigation of an organization like the Rape
Crisis Center. There are now only certain circumstances under
which the defense could have access under a judge.
The law specifically prohibits searching records if the infor
mation is repetitive, such as information already obtained
from another source.
N.C. Coalition Against Sexual Assault Executive Director
Monika Hostler said the law was passed mainly to protect vic-
See RAPE CRISIS, Page 7
Young Cites Local Woes
For USSA Absenteeism
By Geoff Wessel
University Editor
The news that the University will not
be sending representatives to this week’s
U.S. Student Association national con
ference caught some members of
Student Congress by surprise.
In an article in last week’s issue of
The Daily Tar Heel, Student Body
Presidentjustin Young announced prob
lems with scheduling and interest pre
vented any UNC students from attend
ing as representatives of the UNC-sys
tem Association of Student
Governments, a member of USSA.
The announcement came as a sur
prise to Congress members, who set
aside funds last semester to help send
seven students to the conference. In a
July 19 message to the Congress listserv,
Rep. Elmarie Bodes, DisL 7, asked what
would happen to those funds.
“I’m confused,” Bodes wrote.
Young responded with a message to
Congress explaining that “due (to) the
timing of the situation and the immedi-
perspective about the music and culture
associated with hip-hop. “You normally
see hip-hop on-stage, but this is behind
the scenes where no TV show has ever
shown you before,” he said.
The show, a collage of clips from
local clubs, artist interviews and street
culture, has the feel of a documentary,
but its rawness gives it life.
In fact, one of the challenges producer
Susan Herzog faced was retaining that
edge while making the show acceptable to
network censors, Zoom Culture founder
Nate Wieler said. Clips run the gamut of
hip-hop culture, from the actual music and
artists to lifestyles and broader social issues
associated with the movement
These clips came from footage cap
tured by Zoom Culture’s zoom direc
tors. More than 400 student zoom direc
tors pay for membership, receive free
equipment and training and provide
Zoom Culture with content.
Capturing their worlds through the
lens of a digital camera, the zoom direc
tors give Zoom Culture’s content an
TTiursday, July 26, 2001
the town and the University has been a
fairly good one,” Kleinschmidt said.
“We have a fairly good model of
cooperation. The University is depen
dent on the town and the town is depen
dent on the University, and I think that
if we can understand that the issues that
arise are important to both parties, the
relationship can continue to be an excel
lent one.”
Geoff Wessel can be reached
at vrooom@email.unc.edu.
ate planning that was necessary it was
tough to handle, and (sending represen
tatives) became a lot more costly than
initially expected."
He wrote that the executive branch
was recently forced to recognize the
impossibility of sending students to the
conference, due to declining interest
since the money was appropriated. The
money will be returned to Student
Congress’ coffers.
“We could see it would not be neces
sary to take the money, so we decided to
give it back,” Young said Tuesday.
“We were unable to (send a delega
tion) because of the lack of planning that
went into the setup of the trip.”
Young was able to use funds from
other sources to help senior Erica
Smiley, who serves on die USSA board
of directors, represent UNC at the con
ference.
But he said his cabinet decided not to
use any of the funds appropriated from
Congress.
See USSA, Page 7
edgy, compelling flair, Bob Wittenstein,
vice president of finance, said.
He explained that Zoom Culture is
essentially about creatively expressing
young peoples’ perceptions of their
world. “‘Hip-Hop Nation’ is the audi
ence for hip-hop creating a show for hip
hop,” he said. “Our zoom directors have
their hands on the pulse of what is going
on.”
The show will be hosted by Larry
Pickett, a hip-hop aficionado who has
become something of a local celebrity
with the success of “The Larry Picket
Show,” which also airs on NBC-17, and
his weekly appearances on the radio sta
tion K-97.5.
But lesser-known contributors to the
hip-hop movement also contributed to
“Hip-Hop Nation."
“L", a Chapel Hill resident who spon
sors the weekly hip-hop showcase at the
Hideaway, submitted some of his music
for the show. It wasn’t used, but L came
See ZOOM CULTURE, Page 7
3