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Coldbusted!
N.C. State officials hope
for subdued Brent Road bash.
See Page 3
Lewd Act
Could Cost
Employee
The UNC School of Medicine
resident has 30 days to
respond to charges against
him for indecent exposure.
Bv Stephanie Horvath
Assistant University Editor
A poolside sex offense could leave a
resident at UNC Hospitals without his
medical license.
Stephen Michael Dingman, a UNC
resident in nuclear medicine and a 1999
graduate of UNC School of Medicine, is
now facing formal charges from the
N.C. Medical Board after he was arrest
ed Aug. 3 for indecent exposure.
Two undercover Raleigh police offi
cers arrested Dingman, 37, of 20
Striding Ridge Court in Durham, at an
apartment complex pool in Raleigh
after the officers witnessed him remove
his thong bathing suit and masturbate,
reports state.
According to a police report, the
undercover officers were tipped off by a
report of a similar incident that alleged
ly occurred at the same pool July 21.
An employee called the police to
report the first incident, but Dingman
already had left when they arrived.
Before he left, Dingman reportedly
gave a business card to the employee
advertising erotic dancing under the
name “Michael’s Entertainment.”
A female officer used an' e-mail
address on the card to contact
Dingman. Sgt. A. H. O’Connell of the
Raleigh Police Department said the offi
cer did not solicit Dingman’s services.
“I can tell you she did not ask him to
come back to that pool,” he said.
O’Connell said Dingman replied to
the officer’s e-mail and told her when he
would be back at the pool.
The two undercover officers
returned to the pool Aug. 3, and
Dingman approached them without
being asked, removed his thong bathing
suit and masturbated.
O’Connell said Dingman was at the
Raleigh apartment complex because he
used to live there.
Dingman is being suspended with
pay from UNC Hospitals, where he has
worked since July 1, 2000, said Tom
Hughes, a spokesman for UNC
Hospitals.
He has 30 days to respond to the
charges from the N.C. Board of
Medicine by either surrendering his
license or consenting to a hearing.
Dingman’s lawyer, David Long of
the Raleigh law firm of Poyner and
Spruill, said he and his client have not
yet discussed Dingman’s motives or
course of action.
“There are all kinds of possible reso
lutions,” Long said. “What we’re doing
now is trying to gather as much infor
mation as we can. Once we do, we’ll do
everything we can to bring this to a
prompt and fair resolution.”
Depending on the outcome,
Dingman’s medical license could be rein
stated, suspended, revoked or annulled.
Whatever the decision, the incident
See DOCTOR, Page 2
Viruses Vex Students, Officials
By Karey Wutkowski
Assistant University Editor
UNC officials are encouraging stu
dents to practice “safe computing” to
protect themselves from recent viruses
that send out users’ saved personal doc
uments while spreading the damage to
their friends.
Now is a particularly dangerous time
because students are coming back from
summer and might be bringing comput
General Assembly Nears Budget Completion
By Alex Kaplun
State & National Editor
After a busy day at the N.C. General
Assembly, lawmakers came a litde clos
er to reaching a conclusion to the ongo
ing budget conflict and finalizing a
tuition increase.
The Senate passed a continuing bud
get resolution Thursday that would keep
the state government operating until the
end of September.
The resolution also includes a provi
Drawing From Breakfast
By Sarah Kucharski
Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor
Two UNC alumni are hoping their
satire of cereal will become a full-fledged
Cartoon Network serial this weekend.
“Major Flake,” the brain child of
Adam Cohen, class of ‘B9, and Chris
(Casper) Kelly, class of ‘9l, is one of 10
different pilots in the running to become
a Cartoon Network series, with audiences
making the deciding vote online as part
of “The Big Pick.”
Cohen and Kelly’s satirical look into
the world of childrens’ cereal mascots,
“Major Flake” delves into the sociologi
cal evils and advertising spins of mass
marketed sugary goodness to youngsters.
Major Flake, a Napoleonic dude in a
purple suit, and his sidekick, Sparkles,
are spokesmen for Major Flake cereal.
Major Flakeiaves his job and complete
ly fails to understand why the goopy,
ghasdy goo that is Major Flake cereal
(imagine eating white paste) is a less than
popular with the kids.
“He’s an egomaniac - he thinks he
can do anything and doesn’t know the
meaning of the word
fail,” Kelly said.
Sparkles, on the
other hand, the
absolute antithesis of
Toucan Sam and
Tony the Tiger, loves
Major Flake cereal
for one reason only
- his paycheck. Sour
and cynical, Sparkles can
only maintain his sugar
fairy persona during
their commercial takes.
To keep from being
canned by Sylvia Soggy,
CEO of Soggy Cereals,
Inc., the Major and
\
Sparkles have to win
the public’s affec-
Sugar Buzz, a
super-hyped up, sugar-addicted bumble
bee, and Reverend Ruffage, the mascot
of Moral Fiber cereal.
The creation of the pilot stemmed
from Cohen’s days as an advertiser for
the Cartoon Network. Based on the pop-
er viruses in tow, said Bruce Egan, assis
tant director for the Information
Technology Response Center.
Egan said students need to be proac
tive when dealing with viruses like
Sir Cam, a worm-type virus that goes
after individual computers in the form of
an e-mail attachment.
The worm then sends the user’s
Microsoft Word documents to the peo
ple in their e-mail address book.
Sir Cam, which Egan called the “vims
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Join the Party
Visit 103 Bingham Hall to learn more
about becoming a DTH staffer.
7 p.m. Aug. 28 and 29
sion for an across-the-board 9 percent
tuition increase for all UNC-system stu
dents. The proposal would increase in
state undergraduate tuition at UNC-
Chapel Hill by S2OO, while out-of-state
tuition would increase by SI,OOO.
The tuition increase would be
retroactive, meaning students would
have to pay additional money for the fall
2001 semester.
Also on Thursday, the House made
progress in resolving a budget stalemate
that has lasted two months into the fiscal
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DTH/KARA ARNDT
Adam Cohen sketches the main character of his cartoon series, "Major
Flake." Sparkles (left) and Major Flake (below) are characters in the pilot.
ularity and success of his print advertise- kind of looking for something satirical
ments, Cohen was approached by that hadn’t been done before, and we
tion for
their sub
standard
product.
Other
the network’s program directors,
who felt his advertisements were
funnier than some of the show
pitches they received, Cohen said.
When he was asked if he had .
any ideas for new shows, Cohen, ’
a former cartoonist for The
characters include
King Sweet,
the pompous
ruler of the
cereal market,
Daily Tar Heel, seized the
opportunity. He called in old
friend and fellow DTH
cartoonist Kelly to col-
laborate on the
effort
“We were
flavor of the moment,” surfaced this
summer with subject lines like “I send
you this file in order to have your
advice” and “I hope you can help me
with this file that I send," according to
Symantec, the corporation that produces
the Norton Anti Virus software.
Pat Lunday, an Academic Technology
& Networks virus specialist, said Sir Cam
is especially deceptive because it usual-
See VIRUSES, Page 2
■
lama part of all that I have met.
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Unleash Hell
UNC football makes
its 2001 debut.
See tab Section
year.
House Speaker Jim Black, D-
Mecklenburg, introduced a tax increase
proposal Thursday that was a combina
tion of the two different plans proposed
by the two legislative chambers and a
third plan proposed by Gov. Mike Easley.
“The reason for this compromise pro
posal is that it has elements of all the
other proposals -some elements from
the House, some from the Senate and
some from the governor,” said Danny
Lineberry, spokesman for Black.
were eating brunch, and it occurred to us
that no one had done a cartoon about
the backstage lives of cereal cartoons,”
1 said Kelly, a senior writer of promo
tions and specials at Cartoon Network.
During the 3 1/2 year process,
Cohen and Kelly began sketching out
J ideas, writing scripts and working
with animator Bob Kurtz to produce
Major Flake. Using the same actors who
voice Johnny Bravo and Pinky from
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“Pinky and the Brain,” Cohen and
■ See CARTOON, Page 2
Jo I %
When Worms Attack
ATN officials are warning students to be cautious of all e-mails sent to them because some could contain attachments with worm-type viruses.
77. ■ / . DTH/MARY S
Worm enters computer by
hiding in an e-mail
attachment. , ' \
mKj Person must open the
™ e-mail attachment to set
a worm loose on
sourcecnetnews.com the hard drive.
A
Black’s plan calls for a 1 cent sales tax
increase, half of which would replace an
annual tax reimbursement the state gives
to county governments. The proposal
would also increase taxes on wealthy
individuals, create a 6 percent sales tax
on liquor and boost several tax credits.
While Black’s plan breezed through
the House Finance Committee on
Thursday morning, its real test will come
early next week when it goes before the
full House. It is unclear if the legislation
has enough votes to pass the House.
Weather
Today: T-storms; H 87, L 67
Saturday: Sunny; H 87, L 69
Sunday: Partly Cloudy; H 88, L 68
Previously, Democratic House lead
ers have been unable to build a consen
sus on any tax increase proposal
because of staunch opposition to any tax
increase proposal from the chamber’s
Republican minority.
But with just a four-seat majority in
the House, the real challenge for Black
has come from a small group of liberal
Democrats led by Rep. Dan Blue, D-
Wake, who favor more targeted tax
See BUDGET, Page 2
Departments'
Resources,
Classes Scarce
Popular departments such as psychology are
especially hard hit as they try to oblige an
ever-increasing student population.
By Ann Hau
Staff Writer
As the first week of classes draws to a close, heads of the
University’s most popular departments are working to make sure
resources are available to accommodate an influx of students.
This year’s increased student population, combined with
scarce faculty resources, might make it difficult for some depart
ments to offer enough highly demanded classes for their majors.
Since class standing determines registration priority, some of
the 3,650 students in this year’s freshman class - die biggest class
in UNC history - had trouble enrolling in courses they wanted.
More students are registered for a full course load now than
at this time last year. But departments with popular majors,
such as psychology, biology and communications, are feeling
pressure to accommodate the increasing student population.
“From last year to this year, the situation has worsened sig
nificantly,” said Gustavo Maroni, associate chairman and pro
fessor of biology. Like other department chairmen, Maroni
blames several factors, including lack of staff, for the problem.
Maroni said the department also is having problems hir
ing teaching assistants and finding space to open more lab sec
tions, adding that a resolution of the fingering budget dispute
in the N.C. General Assembly would help. “Knowing ahead
of time how much money the department had to spend to hire
would lead to better planning,” he said.
Despite the strained resources, Maroni said the department is
doing everything it can to ensure that its majors have the cours
es they need and that it is making sure each class is enrolled to
capacity. “We are at 99 percent efficiency,” said Maroni.
Seth Leibowitz, associate director of academic advising, said
frustrated students should be persistent, talk to professors and
sit in on lectures. But Leibowitz said he had never seen cases
where students were denied their first-choice major. “The
departments do an excellent job in accommodating the needs
of their students despite limited resources,” Leibowitz said.
William Balthrop, chairman of communications, said sever
al factors are responsible for the improvements made within his
department, which experienced similar woes several years ago.
“There was a merger with communications and the
radio/TV department, resulting in a tremendous increase in
enrollment,” said Rosemary Howard, academic adviser for
communication studies. “Since then, they’ve been interview
ing and hiring, but not fast enough.”
After the merger, many communications students were
forced to take summer school classes and were worried they
would not be able to graduate on time.
Balthrop said the decline in communications majors over
the last four years, combined with an increase in qualified
teaching assistants and faculty, have aided the department
“You can’t just quickly shift faculty resources,” he said. “It
See RESOURCES, Page 2
Worn Infects the sro,m
in the user’s address boots