(Slip Daily (Bar Bppl
National Guard Helps Tighten
Airport Security for Holidays
By Wes Misson
Staff Writer
President Bush announced Friday
that airports across the nation must
increase security before next week’s
Thanksgiving holiday.
Bush, whose order aims to ensure safe
ty during the upcoming holiday season,
said the U.S. National Guard will increase
its presence at commercial airports across
the country. White House officials called
for more guards in terminals and an over
all increase in security activities.
National Guard personnel now stand
guard at security checkpoints and patrol
the terminals.
According to the American
Automobile Association’s annual travel
survey, 4.6 million people will travel by
air this Thanksgiving, down 27 percent
from last year’s 6.3 million passengers.
Fred Hartman, spokesman for N.C.
Gov. Mike Easley, said he expects an
increase in National Guard presence to
occur before this weekend at North
Carolina’s 12 commercial airports.
Hartman said Bush’s mandate for addi-
New Area Mayors May Jump-Start
Efforts for Triangle Rail System
Recently elected mayors of
Raleigh, Durham and Chapel
Hill all have shown interest
in creating a regional track.
By Metoka Welch
Staff Writer
Raleigh Mayor-elect Charles
Meeker’s environmentally-based plat
form could facilitate the creation of a
regional rail system in the Triangle.
Meeker, newly elected Durham
Mayor Bill Bell and Chapel Hill Mayor
elect Kevin Foy all support smart
growth initiatives, including a regional
rail system.
Planning for the regional rail system
is being handled by the Triangle Transit
Authority. To receive funding the project
must first be approved by the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
Funding for the project would come
from all levels of government.
Meeker said his platform reflects his
desire to hone in on environmental
issues, particularly the reduction of strip
development, traffic congestion and
urban sprawl through the regional rail
way.
UNION
From Page 3
Union now will not necessarily receive
space when construction is completed -<
instead it will depend on which groups
apply to Student Body President Justin
Young for space, Luse said.
Steve Russell, editor of the Carolina
Review, was excited about the possibil
ities the project could offer when it is
RSWP
From Page 3
Moran also said the public’s shift in
focus to national issues has resulted in a
neglect of local needs.
“Our attention is changing, and now
we’re not paying enough attention to
local issues that need to be addressed,”
he said.
Last year, the RSWP raised more
than $36,000 for local service organiza
tions in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel
HONORARY DEGREE
From Page 3
Development. Office director Speed
Hallman said the total is not surprising
because most degree recipients have a
connection to the University. “When
you’re talking about a group that
includes so many alumni that have been
very successful in their careers, you’d
expect that many of them would want to
give back to their school,” Hallman said.
The Commencement speaker can be
selected for an honorary degree in addi
tion to the five people chosen each year.
Ludington said the committee typically
nominates the Commencement speaker
but did not consider ESPN Sports Center
anchor Stuart Scott - last year’s
Commencement speaker- for the honor.
Senior Class President Ben Singer
said many faculty members feel strongly
about selecting a speaker this year who
vyill be honored with a degree. “There
has kind of been a knee-jerk reaction to
what happened last year," Singer said.
Last year, some UNC officials
expressed concern about how much
Scott’s speech could add to the
tional troops will expand the role of the
National Guard to include curbside activ
ity, baggage checks and car searches.
“There will be a 25 percent increase
in the number of National Guardsmen,
from 112 to 140,” Hartman said. “They
will be there for at least 60 days through
out the end of the holiday season.”
Mirinda Kossoff, communications
manager for Raleigh-Durham
International Airport, said travel vol
umes have returned to normal levels
after a decrease immediately following
the Sept. 11 attacks.
Kossoff also said RDU has recovered
faster than most airports in the country
because it serves the Research Triangle
and a number of major universities. “We
are seeing lots of passengers in the termi
nals,” she said. “The load factor is up to 80
to 90 percent capacity, near lull”
Kossoff said RDU has a full flight
schedule for Thanksgiving week but
added that she expects to see some can
cellations since American Airlines Flight
587 crashed Monday in New York.
The AAA survey also stated that 87
percent of the 34.6 million people expect
“I am all about better growth and
practices, including the restriction of
clear cutting of trees,” he said.
Meeker added that in the future he
will continue to stress the importance of
environmental issues. “I want to coordi
nate the development of various cultur
al facilities and coordinate water and
sewer facilities.”
Meeker was elected mayor of Raleigh
in a Nov. 6 run-off election against
incumbent Paul Coble. He earned 51
percent of the vote and will be inaugu
rated Dec. 3.
Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary
Waldorf said urban sprawl is a vital issue
and expressed support for Meeker’s
plan.
“In the past, Mayor Coble was an
outspoken opponent of the regional rail
system, (but) anybody who tries to get
from Chapel Hill to (Research Triangle
Park) knows that we have (an) absolute
ly bruising transit problem,” she said.
Waldorf added that she thinks the
railway will bring economic benefits to
the area, as well as help to reduce urban
sprawl.
“If money from the development
community is going toward (building
business offices, medical buildings, etc.)
rather than slapping a subdivision out in
completed. “It will be a cleaner, nicer
environment,” Russell said.
He said the Carolina Review staff
hopes to have anew computer and bet
ter Internet and phone connections
when the project is finished.
Luse addressed the construction in
terms of how it affects student organiza
tions. “I think it continues to have peo
ple scratching their heads wondering
when they’re going to be moving from
one place to another."
Hill-Carrboro. The Chapel Hill-
Carrboro program raised $22,023.
Longiotti said she hopes to meet or
exceed the total that the fund raiser gen
erated last year.
“If people respond well to the needy
in our community, we will do well,” she
said.
Local RSWP restaurant participants
say they might see a slight increase in
business today, but none have planned
efforts to generate additional clients.
“(Business) might be a little more, but
it’s pretty much going to be a regular
University’s intellectual climate.
“A lot of the faculty members want
someone with the qualifications to be hon
ored as a degree recipient,” Singer said.
But Singer said that while honorary
degrees are often used as incentives to
get Commencement speaker candidates
to speak at graduation, he is not basing
the choice on potential to receive an
honorary degree. “If there’s an overlap
between student speaker choices and
honorary degree nominees, that would
be nice,” Singer said. “But w'e’re just
looking for the most dynamic speaker.”
Ludington said such overlap is
unlikely because the committee’s crite
ria for degree recipients are usually dif
ferent than the students’ criteria for
Commencement speaker.
He also said the committee’s deci
sions to nominate degree recipients have
always been approved by the BOT and
received the full backing of University
administrators. “An honorary degree is
held very highly at this University,”
Ludington said. “It’s the highest honor
we can bestow on someone."
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
State & Nation
ed to travel 50 miles or more will travel
by car, up from last season’s 83 percent.
“It’s logically far more dangerous to
get in a car and drive, as shown by sta
tistics with automobile fatalities, but peo
ple fear,” Kossoff said.
White House officials hope to dimin
ish the fears of travelers by increasing
the role of the National Guard, a role
criticized by the Air Transport
Association as a mere show of force.
Kossoff said she thinks the National
Guard presence continues to act as a
deterrent and generally helps passengers
feel safer.
“Most people like them,” she said. “If
we can use them the way we feel they
will be most useful, then it will be a big
help for us,”
But the added forces will not come
without a price tag, putting further strain
on both the state and national budgets.
Hartman said, “It’s our understand
ing that the federal government will con
tinue to reimburse the state.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
the suburbs, then we will decrease
Raleigh’s sprawl,” she said.
David Godschalk, UNC city and
regional planning professor, said
Meeker’s on-the-record approval of the
regional rail will be environmentally
advantageous for the area.
“I think Mr. Meeker’s election will be
a real catalyst to move forward the
Triangle Transit Authority’s rail plan,”
he said. “I think the regional rail will
make a big difference.”
Godschalk said that in addition to
connecting Triangle cities, the rail would
decrease the rapidly growing urban
sprawl in the Raleigh-Durham area.
“Putting in a mass transit rail line will
encourage field development in stations
in different areas where there will be
train stops,” he said. “The future growth
will be concentrated in the areas around
the rail line, and the popularity of that
kind of living is bound to increase.”
Godschalk added that other cities
across the country have successfully
joined metro areas by rail lines. “The
greatest success story is Portland,
Oregon, which faced a lot of sprawl.
Hopefully the same will happen here.”
The State <8 National Editor can
be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
He said there still are tasks yet to be
completed before the rooms are ready
for occupancy but that construction will
be finished by mid-March at the latest,
barring any future difficulties.
But Luse said there still are tasks
workers need to address during the con
struction. “There are issues with things
we’ve looked at and had to be redone.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
day," said Michael Waudby, general
manager of Franklin Street Pizza &
Pasta, one of the local restaurants par
ticipating in RSWP.
Longiotti said she hopes patrons will
not only support local restaurant busi
ness but also remember the continuous
fight against hunger.
“We can all look forward to a nice
breakfast, lunch and dinner, but not
everybody has that option."
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
OPEN SPACE
From Page 3
convince the council that their plan is
feasible.
At a council meeting Oct. 10, sever
al student representatives from SEAC
shared their ideas for the parking lot
with town officials.
At that meeting, the council opted to
wait on the measure and passed two
resolutions -one stating members’
goals for the downtown area and the
other approving the process of putting
together the workshop.
To encourage student input, Grueff
said SEAC will set up a mock town
plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday
in Polk Place.
“We will have bands playing and
maybe some free coffee,” he said.
By doing so, Grueff said SEAC
hopes to show the community how
valuable a town plaza would be.
“(It would) provide a very nice set
ting for collective gathering.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
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