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Wednesday, September 19, 2001
UNC Experts: No Need to Worry About Stock Market
By Krista Faron
and Jenny McLendon
Staff Writers
Although Monday’s stock market
drop prompted concern among some
UNC students about their ability to
finance their education, many economic
experts are advising students not to panic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
dropped 684 points Monday, one of the
largest one-day falls in the market’s his
tory. It was the first day the markets
State Economy's Future Remains Unclear
By Sara Longenecker
Staff Writer
With the state’s budget still under dis
cussion, North Carolina economic and
business leaders are uncertain how the
recent terrorist attacks and the possibility
of war could impact the state’s economy.
Michael Walden, a professor of eco
nomics at N.C. State University, said he
expects lower revenue growth than pre
viously predicted for North Carolina in
light of the past week’s events.
But Walden said North Carolina’s cit
izens play a role in the state of the econ
omy. “The key (to economic stability) is
consumer confidence,” he said. “If con
sumers are not confident they will not
Local Vendors Prosper Even Without Game
By Gina Christenson
Staff Writer
Local businesses reported normal
sales last weekend, despite the cancella
tion of UNC’s first home football game
and the onset of what some officials say
is a slump in the economy.
Carolina Family Weekend kept local
businesses hopping, and Robert
Humphreys, executive director of the
Chapel Hill Downtown Commission,
said a few business owners mentioned
they were pleased with Saturday’s sales.
“There wasn’t a lot going on in the
morning, which was probably related to
the game, but after lunch things really
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were open after last Tuesday’s terrorist
attacks in New York City, Washington,
D.C., and Pennsylvania.
“It really scares me a lot,” said Mark
Richardson, a freshman from Wendell.
“I don’t have money in the stock mar
ket, but my parents do, and part of the
money that helps pay for my college
education is in mutual funds.”
Although students might be con
cerned about the future of the economy,
not everyone on campus is expecting a
significant downfall.
put money into the economy.”
On Monday, the first day the New York
Stock Exchange opened after last week’s
terrorist attacks, the Dow Jones Industrial
Index dropped nearly 700 points -one of
the largest declines in U.S. history.
Two weeks ago, State Treasurer
Richard Moore wrote a letter to mem
bers of the N.C. General Assembly stat
ing that the predicted growth rates for
the economy were too high.
After receiving the letter, Walden told
members of the Senate that the econo
my appeared to be recovering from the
low point of a temporary slowdown.
But in light of recent events, Walden
said it might be prudent for General
Assembly members to reevaluate their
picked up,” Humphreys said.
Even apparel and paraphernalia
shops that typically rely on fans as con
sumers did not suffer from a loss of prof
it or disappointing sales.
Holly Dedmond, manager of Chapel
Hill Sportswear at 133 E. Franklin St.,
said she went home for the weekend
when she heard the game was canceled,
but was pleasantly surprised by the
turnout.
“It was busier than we expected it to
be considering there wasn’t a ball
game,” she said.
In preparation for football games,
Shelton Henderson, owner and manag
er of The Shrunken Head, located at 155
Economics Professor Michael Salemi
said he is confident in the economy’s
ability to recover from recent events.
Not only was Salemi not alarmed by
Monday’s market drop, he said he was
actually reassured that the fall was not
worse.“l take a great deal of comfort in
what the market did on Monday,” he
said. “It did not free fall.”
Salemi said he believes the U.S. econ
omy will snap out of its lull. “I don’t
think there’s a good case for panic or
depression,” he said. “Be confident, and
growth numbers. “It is too early to tell,
but the projected numbers may need to
be revised downward,” Walden said.
Tad Boggs, director of public affairs
for the N.C. Department of Commerce,
said losses in the airline industry have
sent an economic shock wave through
the state. Midway Airlines recently
announced the closing of its hub at
Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
U.S. Airways is considering downsizing
8,900 jobs in the Charlotte area.
“The main thing you have to remem
ber is that 10 days ago no one would
have guessed that Midway Airlines
would be gone or that U. S. Airways
would be considering eliminating half of
its employees in Charlotte,” Boggs said.
E. Franklin St., explained that the store
usually stocks up and keeps more per
sonnel on-hand.
“It was a wonderful weekend,”
Henderson said, “We had a lot of nice
families.”
Craig Jackson, manager of The
Rathskeller, located at 157-1/2 E. Franklin
St., said business was close to normal in
comparison to past family weekends.
Jackson also said he does not think
his business is being affected by an eco
nomic decline.
Humphreys said an economic slump
exists, but because it is short-term local
businesses should not be concerned.
“In the last six months, we have real
News
be optimistic.”
Many UNC officials are not worried
about the economy’s effects on students.
Shirley Ort, associate provost and direc
tor of scholarships and student aid, said
her office will do its best to provide for
students’ financial needs, regardless of
the economy’s status.
UNC provides most students with
financial aid packages that are based on a
two-thirds grant and one-third loan for
mula. Although Ort said she believes the
University might be forced to increase
He said state exports have remained
stable.
Jerry Hostetter, vice president of
Smithfield Food, said the North
Carolina-based company is conducting
business as usual. “Our stock was down
a few cents at the close yesterday,” said
Hostetter. “But it was actually up 20
cents earlier in the day.”
Hostetter said the outlook for his
company is good and that growth can be
expected even if the U.S. goes to war.
“Food stocks are considered defensive
stocks. Investors would typically tend to
buy those stocks in times of uncertainty.”
The State <8 National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
ly felt the effects of the national econo
my slowing down that we normally
would not feel in Chapel Hill,”
Humphreys said. “But it’s a normal cost
of doing business.
“This is a short concern, but it doesn’t
reflect on the long term viability of the
town.”
Christy Lehmann, manager of Johnny
T-Shirt, located at 128 E. Franklin St.,
predicts that her store will remain strong
despite the economic downturn.
“When a lot of bad stuff is going, on
people look to sports.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
loans and decrease grant money, she does
n’t believe the system will be dramatical
ly altered. “Carolina has a wonderfully
proud tradition of meeting students’ finan
cial needs,” Ort said. “I’m confident, but
I’ll have to work real hard.”
Despite this confidence among
University officials, some students still
have doubts that their education is secure.
Margarita Vergara, a junior history
major from New Jersey, said her market
investments are critical to her graduate
school plans. “I’m not panicked, but it is
Officials Hope New Buses
Will Remedy Congestion
By Meredith Nicholson
Staff Writer
Some students who depend on the U
and Reverse U campus shuttles have com
plained that the buses leave students wait
ing at bus stops much longer than sched
uled.
But officials admit that although there
is a problem with buses running on
time, the problem should be fixed when
new buses are purchased in October.
Nazarene Tubman, a freshman from
Silver Springs, Md., said that although
she knows that the shutde is supposed to
come every fifteen minutes, she doesn’t
think that is the case.
“That doesn’t happen all the time,”
she said. “Sometimes they come right
after each other.”
Mary Lou Kuschatka, director of
transportation for Chapel Hill, said ide
ally there should be three buses running
on each shuttle route during peak hours,
from roughly 6 a,m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
to 6 p.m. But there are two buses run
ning on each route during peak hours,
and three buses during nonpeak hours.
During the peak hours, less buses run
because they are needed for other routes,
Kuschatka said. She said there are not
extra buses to add to the route at this time
but that 17 additional buses, which will be
utilized for routes in addition to the U and
Reverse U, have been purchased and are
expected to arrive in late October.
Jennie Beeker, a freshman from
Concord, said she rides the U bus every
day. She said the U bus is convenient for
her because it picks her up in front of
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a big deal, because grad school is expen
sive, and a lot of the money that I have
invested in stocks and mutual funds will
go toward it,” she said.
Rupa Shukla, a junior chemistry
major from Tennessee, also said she is
not sure of how the economy will affect
her ability to finance her education.
“Right now, I’m just praying that my
money will be OK.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
her residence hall and drops her off
right next to her classes.
But Beeker said other aspects of the bus
are inconvenient. “I still can’t figure out
when they come (to Hinton James),” she
said. “In the mornings they don’t come
that often, and then one will finally come
and it will be full. That’s really frustrating.”
Kuschatka said students aren’t the
only ones who have noticed delays.
“Drivers have brought it to our attention
that buses are very full,” Kuschatka said.
“Sometimes they can’t get all of the stu
dents on who want on.”
UNC buses hold approximately 60 rid
ers at capacity.
Kuschatka said she plans to begin re
evaluating the bus schedules in October to
determine which routes are consistently
on time and which need to be reworked.
Bus drivers have a block schedule that
they follow to keep on time, but some
deviation from the schedule is inevitable,
Kuschatka said. “There will be times
when buses are unable to stay on sched
ule due to traffic and class changes.”
The re-evaluation will continue in
January, when the entire town bus system
goes fare-free, because many students
who could be served by other routes take
the U and Reverse U shuttles simply
because they are free, Kuschatka said.
Kuschatka said she believes students
will be more willing to take other routes
once the new fare-free system goes into
effect “We anticipate that once the system
goes fare-free, the load will spread out.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.