(Bte iotly (Ear Wtd Girl Power Female rabbi hopes to make Hillel a hip, inviting place. See Page 3 Legislator: Finalized Tuition Plan Near By Alex Kaplun State & National Editor Legislative budget writers moved one step closer Tuesday afternoon to imple menting a 9 percent across-the-board tuition increase for all UNC-system stu dents. Budget writers were putting the fin ishing touches Tuesday afternoon on a continuing budget resolution that would finalize the tuition increase and fully fund the University’s enrollment increase. Two months into the fiscal year, state lawmakers have yet to put together a budget and have passed several contin uing resolutions to keep state agencies operational. Student Vote Bill Will Die In Committee A bill written to give the ASG president a vote on the Board of Governors passed the House by an 83-26 margin in April. By Alex Kaplun State & National Editor As the legislative session draws to a close, the student vote on the Board of Governors has once again died at the hands of one state senator. Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, informed Andrew Payne, UNC Association of Student Governments president, last week that a bill granting the ASG President a vote on the BOG will not pass this session. Rand, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, has repeatedly blocked the passage of the legislation giving a vote to the sole student member of the BOG despite widespread support from legis lators, student leaders and UNC-system officials. The bill overwhelmingly passed the House in April. The bill then moved to the Senate Rules Committee, where it has been stuck ever since. As chairman of the committee, Rand has the power to determine when, if ever, bills are heard on the Senate floor. In 1999 and in previous years, Rand has simply allowed the bill to sit idle in the committee until the end of the ses sion - essentially killing the legislation. Rand said he met with Payne last Thursday to inform him of his stance on the bill and to talk about issues concern ing the university. “I like talking to stu dents as often as I can,” Rand said. “I was a student once myself.” Payne said he was disappointed with the meeting and the decision to leave die bill in committee. “The Senate lead ership has made it very clear that they will not allow this bill to pass,” Payne See STUDENT VOTE, Page 8 Police Mull Lot Investigation By Lizzie Breyer University Editor University police are advising students to be cautious when buying parking spots from private Sources as they begin preliminary inquiries into a parking service that came under fire last year. But the owner of the service, Chapel Hill res ident Gustave Frederick Mueller, said there are no problems with his lot this year. University police said they had not deter mined the source of fliers being distributed on campus, but they suspect the fliers came from Mueller, who has operated a parking lot on U.S. 15-501 South since 1995. Last year, Mueller met with criticism from stu dents who bought his spaces only to find that in The most recent continuing resolu tion expires a week from today. Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday that lawmak ers were finishing up work on the next resolution, which could extend into mid- September. The proposed resolution not only will allow the state government to continue to operate, but it will also include a 9 percent across-the-board tuition increase and more than S3O million in funding for increased enrollment and develop ment of distance-education programs in the UNC system. The 9 percent tuition increase would raise in-state undergraduate tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill by about S2OO and f H < J ■ m/P rSjPI .-Jf JF ,'^sSP HI '• / ,/; / V Jr The student vote was stalled by N.C. Sen. Tony Rand, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. DTH/SEFTONIPOCK Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., sits between Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at a dedication ceremony on campus in October 1999. Helms reportedly will announce his retirement from the Senate today. ~ir Helms Could Announce Retirement Staff and Wire Reports RALEIGH - Sen. Jesse Helms, the former newspaper editor and TV commentator who has been one of the most fiercely conservative voices on Capitol Hill for three decades, has decided not to run for re-election next year, sources said Tuesday. The five-term Republican will announce the plans Wednesday night on Raleigh TV station WRAL, where he made his reputation during the 1960s with his editorials condemning com munists and civil rights marchers, said two ASG President Andrew Payne said he is disappointed that the bill will die in committee. promised features were not present He reached a $5,200 settlement with some of the students involved, who were represented by Student Legal Services. “We had a lot of frustrated peo ple who bought parking last year and didn’t feel like they got what they paid for,” said Lieutenant Achie Daniel of the University police. But Mueller said he was indeed responsible for the fliers in question and that the situation is very different this year.“We made a mistake with the representation of the lot. We agreed it was a prob lem and refunded the money,” he said. “(Claims about safety) are not on our flier this year - there is absolutely no misrepresentation about the lot” Mueller described the condition of his lot as a combination of gravel, grass and paving. Lights are present, but there is no security and no gates. Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Wear Shower Shoes Study shows meningitis is most common in on-campus freshmen. See Page 5 out-of-state tuition by about SI,OOO. Those increases will be retroactively charged to students for the fall 2001 semester. Lee said the resolution could clear the Senate as early as today and could reach the House floor either Thursday or early next week. But Lee said lawmakers were two to three weeks away from coming to an agreement on the state budget due to persistent disagreements about various tax increase proposals. “We have yet to reach any sort of agreement on how we can increase rev enue,” Lee said. “We are at least two weeks away from completing the budget process.” Senate Democrats have proposed a Even though the lot currendy appears muddy and construction equipment is present on the site, Mueller attributes the condition to unrelat ed road work being done on U.S. 15-501. “There is nothing wrong with our lot,” he said. Mueller said the crucial difference between last year’s situation and this year’s was in the way he planned to conduct business - this year he said he plans to offer a lease that students can sign so that their money can be refunded without legal action if they are dissatisfied. But Daniel said he would advise skepticism before signing any lease, including Mueller’s. “There were a lot of promises made last year - I suggest to people who are interested that they See PARKING, Page 8 This is like deja vu all over again. Yogi Berra Peace Out UNC quarterback Luke Huard says goodbye to the team. See Page 9 plan that would raise the state sales tax by one cent, which would generate SBSO million in additional revenue, while House Democrats have called for a com bination of tax proposals that would generate $450 million in additional rev enue. Neither plan has enough votes to pass the closely divided House where the Democrats have just a 4-seat majority, especially because the Republicans are staunchly opposed to any tax increase proposal. The amount of revenue raised from any tax increase that is approved could impact how much the UNC system’s funding will be cut during the ongoing budget negotiations. So far, the UNC system has been sources who spoke with staffers in Helms’ office. The sources spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. In an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, Bill Cobey, the chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party, would not confirm Helms’ retirement but admitted there is “strong specu lation" in various circles that Helms is retiring. “He’ll speak eight to 10 minutes, and then the world will know," he said. The speech will be broadcast by satellite throughout the country. Helms, 79, was first elected to the Senate in largely spared from cuts, but that could change as legislators continue to build a budget Judith Pulley, the UNC-system’s vice president of academic planning, said she is relieved that the legislature will likely decide to fully fund the UNC-system’s enrollment increase but said she is still concerned about possible cuts to the recurring budget. “It’s very good news that the General Assembly has decided to fund our enrollment increase,” Pulley said. “But they could still cut out the legs of our University if they cut our base fund ing.” The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. 1972. In recent years, he has suffered a variety of health problems, including prostate cancer, and, since knee surgery in 1998, has used a motorized scooter to get around Congress. Two GOP sources said Helms’ staff members have begun telling senior Republicans, includ ing advisers to President Bush, that Helms will not seek another term. Eddie Woodhouse, a Helms aide in Raleigh, refused to say what the televised remarks would involve. WRAL general manager Bill Peterson See HELMS, Page 8 * - ..- - :r __, DTH/KARA ARNDT Chapel Hill resident Gustave Mueller claims that his parking lot, shown above and located on U.S. 15-501 South, has improved since students complained about its condition last year. Weather Today: Sunny; H 88, L 68 Thursday: T-storms; H 89, L 70 Friday: T-storms; H 88, L 68 UNC, Town Address Concerns Town and UNC officials met Tuesday night to discuss the effect of the Master Plan on traffic and parking. By Matt Viser Senior Writer University officials met with the Chapel Hill Planning Board and resi dents Tuesday night as town official! continue to sift through the University’! proposed inch-thick development plan. The main issue of contention at the meeting centered on how the University will handle increased traffic during and after its Master Ran expansion. University officials are opposed to increasing traffic volume along Manning Drive because of the project ed rise in student population and their movement along South Campus. But residents counter that argument, saying if traffic is diverted to Mason Farm Road, the value of their home! will decrease. “Mason Farm Road will be a thor oughfare for the student family housing units,” said Joe Wilber, who lives on Mason Farm Road. “Traffic volume and speed have already increased." University officials said the Development Han provides solutions that will help minimize the impact of traffic. “We must minimize additional traffic and minimize additional parking,” said George Alexiou, transportation consul tant for the Master Plan. “The develop ment plan displaces 3,880 surface (park ing) spaces, and the net result is 1,550 additional spaces.” Alexiou suggested other ways of reduc ing traffic, such as more park-and-ride sites and expanding the town’s bus sys tem. “There is a lot of potential for more use of Chapel Hill transit,” Alexiou said But several residents suggested that the transit system should not expand until traffic improves. “Buses can’t follow schedules when they’re sitting in traffic jams,” said resi dent Joan Bartel of 1004 Columbia St “In order for anew transit system to work, we first have to reduce the number of cars." University officials opened their pre sentation by explaining what their pro posed 5.9 million square foot expansion entails and the reasoning behind it “'Wife must meet enrollment demands, install sprinkler systems and renovate the high rises to keep our students on campus," said Sue Kitchen, vice chancellor for stu dent affairs. “We also have a commitment to ensure that our enrollment will not have an impact on the community.” To the lessen the impact on the com munity, the new zoning requires that UNC provide a development plan detailing the University’s moves over the next eight years of construction. Under the Development Plan, 11 three-story units will be built along the See MEETING, Page 8

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