Circles in Sand
Ceremony hon
ored See Page 3
Site Sailu ®ar Heel
www.dailytarheel.com
State Debates Raising UNC Tuition
By Geoff Wessel
University Editor
JULY 26 - State legislative proposals
could lead to an unexpected jump in the
cost of students’ tuition, making their
education even more expensive than the
last round of tuition increases left it
But University officials take comfort
in knowing that even if another increase
is added to the 4 percent increase
approved last year by the Board of
Governors, UNC-Chapel Hill and other
Legislators
Examine
NC Budget
House and Senate leaders
engage in a summer-long
budget debate, trying to
come to a final agreement.
By Matt Viser
City, State & National Editor
JULY 26 - The budget clock has
been ticking louder by the second as
legislators have continued to meet in an
effort to find ways to clear up a bleak
revenue picture.
On May 31, the N.C. Senate voted
along party lines to approve their budget
plan, 33-15. A month later, the House
passed their version of the budget by a
91-27 margin and representatives boast
ed that they managed to avoid harsh
cuts without increasing taxes.
“We have been able to present a bal
anced budget and we’ve been able to do
it without raising taxes,” said Rep.
David Redwine, D-Brunswick, after the
House approved the budget. “We actu
ally think the Senate will like it a lot.”
But Senators disagreed with many
measures in the House-proposed bud
get and began pointing out several areas
of strong contention.
“We're concerned with the revenue,”
said Sen. Tony Rand, D-Fayetteville. “We
don't see how we can do these things
with the revenue picture they have.”
A conference committee was formed,
comprised of leaders from both the House
and the Senate, in order to hammer out
the differences in the two budgets.
Perhaps the strongest area of concern
has been how much money can be gen
erated and which sources of revenue
will be used. Although tax increases
have not been favorable in the House,
representatives have indicated they may
be willing to accept some of the Senate's
proposed tax-loophole closings.
Loopholes are areas of special inter
est where taxes can be increased. The
.Senate included nine loophole closings
in their budget, amounting to $l9O mil
lion in revenue. The House originally
removed all loophole closings from
their budget proposal, but legislation
passed in the House Finance
Committee that would approve three of
the Senate's nine tax-loophole closings,
raising s6l million in revenue.
Also being discussed among budget
writers is an increase in the sales tax,
which would be raised by a penny, gen
erating an estimated S7OO million over
the next two years.
Local governments would be given
more flexibility in implementing sales-tax
increases. In response, the state would cut
funding to local governments by about
S3OO million a year, with the money to be
made up by the sales tax increase.
It is unclear at this point, however, if
any tax proposal will pass in the full
House. “A number of legislators are
completely anti-tax of any sort," said
Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham. “It's real
ly unclear of whether the tax will pass in
the House.”
See BUDGET, Page 2A
In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.
Albert Camus
... _ |
system schools would remain less
expensive than peer institutions.
On the other hand, officials still want to
keep any further increases to a minimum.
“The way this state will thrive is to make
sure its young people become educated,”
said Provost Robert Shelton. “The level of
state support for the universities is a criti
cal factor for any great public University.”
As state legislators attempt to work out
a budget for the state in the midst of one of
the worst economic downturns since the
early ’9os, two proposals have emerged
Ceremony
Celebrates
UNC 2001
Graduates
Though some faculty members
criticized the choice of Stuart
Scott as graduation speaker,
Scott was praised by students.
By Brian Frederick
Editor
MAY 31 - Vince walked.
Stuart Scott spoke from the heart.
Senior class president Jason Cowley
raised a blue cup.
And UNC graduates of2ool, deprived of
the traditional walk across the field in Kenan
Stadium, were no less exuberant.
In a move that disappointed some stu
dents, organizers of the 199th annual UNC
Commencement led undergraduates direct
ly through stadium entrances to their seats.
In past years, students walked across the
field, resulting in such craziness as games of
basketball, waterslides and dancing.
“At first I was upset,” said graduating
senior Katie Wolford. “But it worked out
really well in the end.”
Students receiving graduate degrees were
still seated on the field.
This year’s ceremony was in the national
spotlight because of former UNC basketball
player Vince Carter’s decision to return to
Chapel Hill to participate. He left early to fly
to Philadelphia for Game 7 of the NBA’s
Eastern Conference semifinals.
Carter, star of the Toronto Raptors, was
criticized by some because of his decision to
be away from the team. Still, others lauded
his decision, claiming it helped emphasize
the importance of graduating from college.
The Raptors ended up falling to the 76ers
after Carter missed a last-second shot.
Scott, an anchor on ESPN’s Sports Center
and a 1987 UNC graduate, began his speech
by referring to the criticism of Carter, asking,
UNC Names Waldrop as New Research Vice Chancellor
By Geoff Wessel
University Editor
JULY 5 - Former Morehead Scholar
and UNC track star Tony Waldrop has
been tapped as UNC’s new vice chan
cellor for research, university officials
announced June 28.
“I am very excited about coming
back to UNC,” Waldrop said. “First of
all, it is a great institution. And second
ly, it’s a place I'have a lot of great mem
ories of.”
Waldrop, who holds three UNC
degrees, is now vice chancellor for
research at the University of Illinois at
WELCOME
BACK ISSUE
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
for increasing tuition. The Senate propos
al would raise tuition by an extra 5 percent
for all UNC-Chapel Flill students for
about a 9 percent total increase. The N.C.
House of Representatives countered with
a proposal to leave in-state students with
no increase, but raise out-of-state students’
tuition by 15 percent
Shelton said UNC compares favor
ably with other public universities.
“The state has a horrible budget cri
sis,” he said. “The state budget deficit is
roughly a billion dollars. Secondly,
■■pF' PHv ff w%
DTHFILE PHOTO
Former UNC basketball player Vince Carter (above) returned to Chapel Hill to
participate in the graduation ceremonies. ESPN anchor Stuart Scott (below)
urged the graduates to appreciate the diversity present on campus.
“Why is it we applaud a two-sport athlete
who plays in a football game and a playoff
baseball game in the same day?”
Scott then said he would be brief. “You’ve
been up most of the night before gettin’ your
party on. The last thing you want is someone
who’s gonna take 45 minutes up here telling
you ‘go forth and prosper.’”
Instead, Scott gave the graduates “some
things to think about.”
He mostly focused on diversity.
“Remember the different walks of life you’ve
seen here on campus: all colors, all creeds,
all religions, all sexual make-ups, athletes,
scholars, hippies, frat boys, sorority girls. I
hope youv’e accepted whatever is different
from you as simply what it is - just different."
Scott also emphasized the power of com
munication. “Don’t be afraid to use [the
power of communication.] Whether you’re
reaching out to five kids at a summer camp
or whether you’re addressing Congress.”
Chancellor James Moeser spoke highly of
Scott. “I thought Stuart did a good job of
connecting with the undergraduates. He
obviously spoke from the heart.”
Most students seemed happy with the
choice of Scott as speaker. “I think every
body enjoyed [Scott],” said Mindi McAteer,
a graduating senior. “He was more personal
than most speakers would be.”
Graduating senior Brandon Briscoe
agreed. “Scott did a brilliant job of balancing
humor and entertainment with serious com
ments demanded by the occasion.”
The loudest cheers seemed to come dur
ing Cowley’s speech, or rather, toast. While
doing some research on North Carolina,
Urbana-Champaign.
He said his experience at Illinois
would serve him well at UNC. “I’ve
dealt with some of the same issues, look
ing at technology 1 transformation,
research park activities and new research
into genomics and protonomics.”
Provost Robert Shelton said he is
pleased by Board of Governors
Personnel and Tenure Committee’s
approval last week of Waldrop’s appoint
ment, which will begin in mid-August.
“We had a number of excellent final
ists for the position, and (Waldrop) was
an overwhelming first choice," Shelton
said. “We’re just thrilled that we can
tuition is relatively low here.”
North Carolina’s student enrollment
costs in public universities are second
lowest in the nation, according to a Pope
Center for Higher Education Policy
research paper. Under the Senate pro
posal, UNC-Chapel Hill tuition and fees
would total $3,219, still the lowest
among the 17 universities classified as its
peer institutions.
But students are still concerned about
See TUITION, Page 2A
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNC NEWS SERVICE
Cowley said, he came across the official Tar
Heel toast. He then raised a He’s Not Here
blue cup. The students roared in approval.
What followed was a humorous adapta
tion of the Old North State toast.
After the ceremony, students were
allowed to walk around to the south side of
the field, where they danced, played catch
and hugged their friends.
Said Briscoe, “I thought the new policy
brought an appropriate amount of dignity
and speed to die ceremony, but still allowed
seniors to celebrate on the field.”
Brian Frederick can be reached at
brifred@yahoo.com.
bring him here. I think he’ll be terrific.”
Shelton said UNC will have a wide
variety of research opportunities in the
years ahead, with studies of the human
genome among the most highly visible
research projects.
“There are just so many things going
on on the campus,” he said. “The new
positions associated with the genomics
initiative are a good example. They’re
not only in the biological sciences: there
are positions in the physical sciences,
computer science, the law school and
the business school. What that initiative
shows is that we need to draw on all of
our disciplines here.”
Move On In
Good luck getting settled into
the new semester. The DTH's first
fall issue will appear Aug. 21.
Breaking Down the Hikes
Tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students has been part of the ongoing budget
debates, as both the N.C. House and the N.C. Senate have both recommended different cuts.
■ 2000-01 $11,951
B Senate proposal I
H House proposal ill|||
, 111
$1,860 nsMsam $1,860 .
■■■ ■■■
In-state tuition Out-of-state tuition
Town Council
Approves UNC
Rezoning Plan
After much deliberation, the town has
approved UNC's rezoning proposal that will
allow for more expansion and development.
By Matt Viser
City, State & National Editor
JULY 26 - The Town Council approved a University rezon
ing proposal July 2, placing UNC one step closer to the imple
mentation of its Master Plan.
In an 8-1 vote, the council adopted a
new Office/Institutional-4 zoning district
In a separate 8-1 vote, the council moved
to rezone UNC, placing it in the newly
created district. Councilwoman Joyce
Brown cast the lone dissenting vote in
both measures.
“The new ordinance has the potential
to be much better,” Brown said. “I think
there are some gaps.”
The 01-4 zoning frees the University
from the 14 million-square-foot floor-area
limit that restricts UNC in its present 01-3
3 zoning. The University already occupies
13.6 million square feet, but seeks to add
an additional 5.8 million under its Master
Plan.
Most of the growth is planned for a large housing expansion
that will be built to accommodate a projected increase in enroll
ment. The expansion focuses on the southern part of campus,
where the University plans to build additional undergraduate
and student family housing.
Approximately 500 new units
would eventually replace the Odum
Village apartments and enable for
more undergraduate housing to be
built.
University officials have made sev
eral compromises from their original
proposal, however, by eliminating some of the tracts they had
initially submitted for rezoning.
Originally, the University requested all of the property on the
main campus be rezoned, and the town divided the area into
nine separate tracts.
After several town-gown meetings and a heated public hear
ing, the University's nine-tract proposal was scaled back to four.
“The University has tried very hard to be responsive to com
munity concerns,” said Nancy Suttenfield, vice chancellor for
finance and administration. “We urgendy need to move ahead
with the next step of our partnership.”
The next step came with the submission of the University's
development plan, which was submitted on July 5.
The development plan addresses issues such as the general
location and size of planned development and allows the town
See REZONING, Page 2A
He said the range of research going
on at UNC is among the University’s
strengths as a research institution.
“One of the keys to Carolina’s great
ness in the area of scholarship is the
breadth of high-quality research," Shelton
said. “It’s a highly competitive world.”
Waldrop also said he sees the position
as an important one for the University.
“It is an important post, first of all,
because research is one of the key ingre
dients on campus, given the amount of
research expenditures,” he said. “It’s one
of the three main missions of the
University, along with education and
public service.”
Saturday, August 18, 2001
DTH/EVANN STRATHERN
Town Councilwoman
Joyce Brown
said the rezoning
ordinance could have
been stronger.
UNC Submits its
Development Plan
to the town
See Page 6A
The proposed Horace Williams
Master Plan, which would direct future
construction on the University’s nearby
Horace Williams property, includes
extensive plans for research-oriented
development of the tract. Waldrop said
he is enthusiastic about the possibility of
expanding UNC’s research facilities.
“I would like to see growth in the
arena,” Waldrop said. “I’m delighted to
be coming back now as someone who
trained at UNC, and now will be able to
contribute to UNC.”
Geoff Wessel can be reached
at vrooom@email.unc.edu.