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All in the Family
Arun Gandhi shares his
grandfather's perspective.
See Page 3
Development Plan Passes 8-1
By Matt Viser
Senior Writer
University officials breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday
night after UNO’s Development Plan was approved by the
Chapel Hill Town Council in an 8-1 vote.
Less than 30 minutes after the approval, another burden
was lifted from UNC’s shoulders. In a separate 8-1 vote, the
council abandoned the Smith Center special-use permit,
which required UNC to set aside a 200-foot vegetative buffer
between the Smith Center and Mason Farm Road.
The two measures will allow UNC to implement the first
phase of its Master Plan, a 50-year blueprint for campus growth.
But with the council’s approval of the Development Plan
came 36 stipulations aimed at protecting residents. The addi
tions were modified from the Chapel Hill Planning Board’s
recommendations. “We’re pleased to see it approved with the
stipulations that were added,” said Bruce Runberg, associate
vice chancellor for facilities planning. “We felt the staff in par
ticular came up with a viable solution.”
Council member Joyce Brown cast the lone dissenting vote in
both decisions. “I think we let down the neighborhoods we’ve
pledged to protect,” she said. “This sets a bad precedent”
Several other council members expressed regret over their
affirmative votes. “I don’t think anyone is jumping up and
happy about this,” council member Edith Wiggins said.
“We’re doing this because it’s practical and we don’t want to
risk any regulatory relations with the University.”
The Development Plan, which was unveiled in July, details
campus growth over the next eight years and explains how
this expansion will affect the town. The plan proposes 41 new
buildings and an addition of nearly 6 million square feet to the
See DEVELOPMENT, Page 2
Moeser's Approach Frustrates Some Residents
By Matt Viser
Senior Writer
When he was chosen to serve as UNC’s
ninth chancellor, James Moeser’s reputation
for being a tenacious leader had already
earned him both praise and criticism as chan
cellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
During his first year at UNC, Moeser’s
tenacity again has drawn mixed reviews.
And like at UN-L, his tenacity has played
an integral role in shaping town-gown rela
tions during his time at UNC, particularly in
regards to UNC’s Development Plan.
The Development Plan, an eight-year strat-
A Work in Progress: Charting UNC's Proposed Expansion
The University's Master Plan, a 50-year blueprint for growth, and its Development Plan, an eight-year development guide, have been the source of lengthy negotiations between UNC and Chapel Hill officials.
September 2000
■ UNC officials unveil revised edition of UNC'S Master
Plan.
July 2,2001
■ Town approves UNC rezoning request, putting UNC in
new Office/lnstitutional-4 zoning district and lifting its
floor cap of 14 million square feet. UNC now occupies
13.6 million square feet
July S, 2001
■ UNC submits its Development Plan. Town has 90 days
to review the proposal.
Aug. 21,2001
■ UNC officials meet with the Chapel Hill Planning Board
and answer questions raised by the town
about the plan.
Only 1,000 Tickets Left to Be Distributed
By John Frank
Staff Writer
When UNC students line up two
hours before sunrise outside the Smith
Center, usually their goal is to score bas
ketball tickets.
But Wednesday morning, students
began to gather as early as 5 a.m. for a
different sport - football.
Twelve hours later, distribution offi
cials had to cut off the line with 200 peo
ple still waiting for tickets to Saturday’s
football game against East Carolina
University, said Carolina Athletic
Association President Reid Chaney.
By the time the dust settled, only
I, student tickets remained - more
than 11,000 were distributed Wednesday.
“This is probably a first, to give out
11, tickets in one day,” Chaney said.
When the box office opened at 8 a.m.
-
r p : " y "— 1 - —--
DTH/REBECCA OIDOHERTY
Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities services, explains UNC's stance on the Development Plan
to town officials Cal Horton, Ralph Karpinos, Bill Strom and Flicka Bateman before Wednesday night's vote.
egy for managing campus growth, has been
the source of considerable tension between
residents and University officials.
The Chapel Hill Town Council approved
the plan Wednesday night -a victory for
University officials, including Moeser, who has
stressed the importance of campus expansion.
But the victory has come at the expense of
some residents, who think the University is pre
pared to disregard their concerns. And some
residents have attributed what they see as an
increase in the University’s aggressiveness in
part to the fact that Moeser had taken the helm.
“University relationships with the communi
ty and with the neighbors have gotten worse,”
Sept. 4,2001
■ Chapel Hill Planning Board tells the town that it should
only support the plan if 33 changes are made to it.
■ The board also recommends that the Chapel Hill Town
Council further discuss three additional changes to the
Development Plan, including removing a four-lane
access road along the southern border of campus.
Sept. 5,2001
■ University officials promise to submit an addendum to
UNC's Development Plan to the town in hopes of
clearing up a discrepancy between the University's
Development and Master plans
■ In the Master Plan, a 50-year blueprint for internal
campus growth, the University indicates that a four
lane road and a 60-foot transit corridor eventually will
more than 500 students lined the side
walks. Many students waited in line for
more than three hours to get tickets.
“That was insane,” said sophomore
James Baley, who said he waited for three
hours and 18 minutes for tickets. “It was
worse than basketball ticket distribution.”
Ticket office and CAA officials said
they were prepared for the rush but did
not expect the 12,000-plus tickets to sell
out until Friday, the last distribution day.
Chaney said the ticket line moved
more slowly than it does for basketball
because students are allowed to bring
four UNC ONE Cards instead of the
two allowed for basketball distributions.
The general admission tickets to the
ECU football game sold out months
ago, Chaney said “We have never really
played ECU in any sports before, and
See TICKET LINE, Page 2
Good fences make good neighbors.
Robert Frost
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Marred Memorial
Officials say they might not remove
vandalism of the Sept. 11 memorial.
See Page 3
said UNC professor and former Chapel Hill
Mayor Ken Broun. “(Moeser) and his staff have
not handled things in a way that would improve
relations, either. I’m not assessing blame, but
things have gotten worse in the past year.”
When Moeser arrived at UNC in August
2000, campus plans for massive expansion
already were under way. In May 1998, the
UNC Board of Trustees began drafting
UNC’s Master Plan, a 50-year blueprint for
campus growth.
In October 2000, Moeser helped start a
discussion of how the University could col
laborate with the town on campus expansion.
“He should be credited with working with
be built on the southern perimeter of campus.
Sept. 10,2001
■ UNC's Development Plan is presented to students,
faculty and residents at a forum sponsored by the
Faculty Council, Employee Forum and student
government.
■ The forum addressed UNC's plans for housing
expansion and renovation in addition to explaining
how the University will absorb increased traffic from
additional construction —a strategy outlined in the
Development Plan.
Sept. 19,2001
■ A standing room only crowd shows up at the Chapel
Hill Town Hall to voice its support—or its concern
for UNC's Development Plan.
—hi—lit
DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Tucker Brown, a third-year pharmacy student, makes his way
through a long ticket distribution line Wednesday with his dog, Brant.
Holy Comics, Batman!
Diversions explores modern comic
books in a troubled industry.
See Page 5
the mayor in devising the process that
allowed the town to consider the University’s
Development Plan,” said Jonathan Howes,
special assistant to the chancellor.
Despite the fact that both University and
town officials moved forward with the
approval of campus expansion, some resi
dents began to feel alienated by the process.
Residents’ discontent with Moeser was
apparent in May when a bill that would have
exempted UNC from Chapel Hill zoning
laws was drafted into the state budget by Sen.
Tony Rand, D-Cumberland. Although it is
See CHANCELLOR, Page 2
Sept. 26,2001
■ UNC officials hold meetings with residents to discuss
their concerns with the Development Plan. At the
meetings, residents voice concern about the access
road and new construction on the whole.
■ The meetings last one week and at the end, some
residents say they still feel ignored.
Oct 3,2001
■ The Chapel Hill Town Council passes the Development
Plan with an 8-1 vote.
SOURCE: DTH ARCHIVES
V
Weather
Today: Sunny; H 84, L 54
Friday: Sunny; H 81, L 54
Saturday: T-storms; H 70, L 43
Bush Pushes
Congressional
Relief Package
President Bush also is considering proposals
to raise the minimum wage and provide tax
breaks for businesses to boost the economy.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush urged Congress on
Wednesday to pass an economic stimulus package of up to
$75 billion driven by anew round of tax cuts. Democrats
agreed the ailing economy needs a jolt, and Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan also gave the green light. “I
know people are hurting,” Bush told business leaders in
New York.
Bush wants a plan of between S6O billion and $75 billion
that would accelerate income tax cuts currendy set to take
effect in 2004 and give tax rebates to millions of lower
income workers who didn’t qualify for this summer’s checks.
The president also is pushing an extension of unemployment
benefits.
In addition, Bush wants several tax breaks for businesses
-some retroactive to Sept. 11, the date of the terrorist attacks
-and has an open mind about a Democratic proposal to raise
the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage, Treasury Secretary Paul
O’Neill said.
The terrorist attacks, Bush said, “shocked our economy just
like it shocked the conscience of our nation.” Congress and the
administration, he said, must “provide a kick start to give peo
ple reason to be confident, and we will do that.”
The stock market responded in robust fashion, with Dow
Jones industrials rising 170 points to close above 9,000 for the
first time since the terrorist attacks.
At the size Bush is proposing, the action would bring the
total economic stimulus since the terrorist attacks to well
over SIOO billion. Congress already has passed a S4O billion
emergency spending package and a sls billion airline aid
plan.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said a prospective military
strike in Afghanistan against the al-Qaida terrorism network
would be only the first step in the U.S. campaign against ter
rorism. At the same time, the Bush administration was prepar
ing to substantially boost its humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Bush was preparing to announce expanded humanitarian
aid to Afghanistan in a visit to the State Department on
Thursday, two administration officials said. The new money
will approach SIOO million, one aide said.
During the weekend, Bush dipped into an emergency fund
and authorized an additional $25 million in relief aid to
Afghan refugees. This brought U.S. assistance to more than
$205 million, including $32.8 million in assistance during the
last few weeks.
Powell received unqualified support Wednesday from
Qatar, a Persian Gulf emirate. “This is the first phase of this
operation,” Powell said. “I obviously cannot comment on
what might happen in the future.”
As Powell left open the possibility of taking the U.S. fight
beyond Afghanistan, he offered assurances that “we are not
looking for conflict with other nations.”
Officials said Wednesday the CIA had developed general
information a month before the attacks that heightened con
cerns that bin Laden and his followers were increasingly deter
mined to strike on U.S. soil after several strikes overseas.
The information indicated bin Laden and his supporters
“were trying to bring the fight to America” but details were
lacking, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
“There was something specific in early August that said to
us that he was determined in striking on U.S. soil,” the offi
cial said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But there was
nothing about who, when, where or how.”
DTH/HELENYU
Senate Committee Set
To Hear BOG Quota Bill
By Cleve Wootson
Staff Writer
The N.C. Senate’s education commit
tee will consider today a piece of legis
lation that would eliminate the quota sys
tem in place for appointing members to
the UNC-system Board of Governors.
A lawsuit filed May 30 by former
BOG member Walter Davis and other
plaintiffs seeks to eliminate mandatory
quotas for board seats.
According to the lawsuit, the quotas
violate the state constitution’s equal pro
tection guarantee. The constitution
states that four members of the BOG
must be women, four have to be mem
bers of a minority race and four have to
be members of the largest minority
Jrit
party in the General Assembly.
The BOG makes policy recommen
dations to the state legislature concern
ing the 16 UNC-system schools and sev
eral other entities, including UNC-TV.
But the board-decided not to fight the
legal battle and in May asked its attor
neys to request that the General
Assembly drop the portion of the
statute mandating reserved seats.
“The Board of Governors consulted
with experienced legal opinions and
then consulted amongst itself and then
decided whether to litigate or continue
trying to educate young people,” said
BOG Chairman Ben Ruffin.
In May the BOG and its lawyers said
See BOARD, Page 2