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iatly (Tar HM A Knight's Tale of TPAC Woe All of us would like to play chan cellor for the day, for our per sonal opinions to carry the weight of University mandates. Last week, the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee’s chair man, Bob Knight, lived that dream - until it turned into a public relations nightmare. Facing Chancellor James Moeser’s pressing deadline for a TPAC budget proposal and a divided committee, Knight decided to rally his TPAC troops at last Wednesday’s meeting with five directives he claimed were from the chancel lor for an “acceptable" pro posal. He said this knowledge was garnered from Moeser’s Cabinet meeting Tuesday. KATY NELSON UNIVERSITY COLUMNIST Yet Knight did not attend Moeser’s meeting last Tuesday, which was not even a full Cabinet meeting. He admit ted Thursday that the ideas he had attributed to Moeser were his own. In a Napoleonic effort to get some thing done, it seems Knight borrowed Moeser’s power to force through his own ideas at the height of TPAC’s power -a time when TPAC’s verdict on possible night parking prices and parking prices in general could halt the Department of Public Safety’s $2 million budget crisis. Officials have said hiking parking permit prices would cover the recently added costs of fare-free busing, expanded bus service and additions to the PR lot. Knight told The Daily Tar Heel in mid-January that “the assumption is that unless the committee recommends (to the Board of Trustees) that we do something to increase revenue, we won’t be able to fund these projects.” Something had to give with the chancellor and BOT breathing down Knight’s neck -and this time, it was reason and justice within TPAC. Knight misled the conflicted com mittee to ensure action from TPAC rather than have the chancellor sub stantially tweak the proposal. Knight told the DTH Thursday that “I was trying to do something dramatic to get (TPAC) to come to a consensus.” Mission accomplished on the drama part - both TPAC and Moeser appar ently were surprised. The chancellor seemed so taken off guard that he sent the entire University an e-mail Friday assuring students, faculty and staff that no parking decisions had been made. At a time of financial crisis, costly construction and mounting tension between students and the administra tion, it seemed Knight decided to try telepathic communication with the chancellor to hasten TPAC negotia tions. What in the world was Knight thinking? Officials and TPAC mem bers in particular would like to know. Just to recap the insanity of this situa tion, let me repeat: Bob Knight went before an advisory committee to the chancellor with advice he claimed was from the chancellor. TPAC members were outraged by what they thought was Moeser undermining their power but voted on these directives. As of Friday, Bob Knight appears to have had the committee vote on misleading advice. TPAC already has the difficult task of creating next year’s budget with a projected $2 million shortfall in time for the March 28 BOT meeting. Now it also must deal with a chairman who seems to have imagined advisory ses sions with the chancellor. In the name of teamwork - no, under extreme deadline pressure - Knight summoned Moeser’s visionary spirit and came up with these direc tives. Apparently Knight’s seance did not include chatting with the public relations side of Moeser’s brain. Logically, it doesn’t make sense that Moeser would intervene in TPAC’s process when he can do whatever he wants with the proposal Knight pre sents him with this week. It particularly doesn’t make sense considering that Moeser has just launched his new campaign of listen ing to public opinion before making huge decisions. By Thursday, Knight most likely had heard from the real Moeser and had to backtrack from his power strat egy. He admitted to the DTH that those directives were not from Moeser’s brain, but his own. Since South Building isn’t talking, it appears that the TPAC fiasco all came out of Knight’s head. It’s not just a dream, TPAC; last week really did happen. I can’t believe it either. Columnist Katy Nelson can be reached at knelson@email.unc.edu. Talks Focus on Downtown's Future " 4 H ff^ DTH/ANNE MEADOWS N.C. State senior Colin Blackford discusses his ideas for future development on Franklin Street. H' ! ;; JHHP ■ St DTH/BRLAN CASSELLA Senior Ryan Blake, first baseman on the varsity baseball team, practices soccer stunts in his exercise class Friday afternoon on the intramural fields. In this juggling drill, the students competed to keep the ball in the air the longest. The group took advantage of the sun and unusually high February temperatures to hold the class outdoors. Budget Issues May Delay New Buses By Jennifer Johnson Staff Writer Although Chapel Hill’s request for 20 new buses is a high priority for the N.C. Department of Transportation, town officials say recent bud get cuts might cause delays at the local level. Every two years, NCDOT planners decide which transportation projects will receive fund ing -and when - during the next seven years. At a Feb. 13 forum, the NCDOT placed Chapel Hill Transit Authority’s request for addi tional buses near the top of its tentative list for 2004-10. The list will be finalized in 2003. If the town’s request remains on the finalized priority list, 80 percent of the cost of added buses will be paid by the federal government, 10 percent by the state and 10 percent by municipal governments. The 20 extra buses would cost about $3 mil- Conference Addresses Perspectives on Racial Reparations By Brook Corwin Staff Writer Professors from across the country gathered Saturday at the UNC School of Law for a conference examining the issue of reparations from a variety of racial, legal and philosophical perspectives. The conference - titled “Reconciling Hope and History: The Question of Reparations” - was the sixth in the annual series of Conferences on Race, Class, Gender and Ethnicity, a series organized by UNC law students. Clare Norins, a law student and one of the conference’s four co-chairmen, said about 140 students, professors and com munity members attended the conference. By Scott LaPierre Staff Writer About 60 Chapel Hill residents, stu dents, town officials and University offi cials met Saturday to discuss the creation of more downtown commercial and res idential areas to connect business corri dors on East and West Franklin streets. The discussion, which ran from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Town Hall, touched on the possible construc tion of pedestrian spaces, parks and new two- and three-story buildings. Peter Batchelor, an architect and pro fessor at N.C. State University, opened the day with a half-hour lecture on urban design. “The purpose of any urban design is to create meaningful space for human social interaction,” he said. Batchelor urged participants to come up with design ideas that will invite peo ple into areas that might be underutilized. Chapel Hill Planning Director Roger Waldon oudined four areas the town is examining: Parking Lot No. 5 at the cor ner of Church and Franklin streets, Parking Lot No. 2 at the comer of Columbia and Rosemary streets, the University Square area and West Rosemary Street focusing on Mitchell Lane, which is the largest area. Included in the Rosemary Street area is UNC’s 440 W. Franklin St building, LOOK, MA! NO HANDS! lion, making Chapel Hill’s 10 percent total about $300,000. But some local officials are wondering where the town will find the $300,000 given its pending fiscal crisis. Gov. Mike Easley recendy announced that funds would be withheld from the state’s munic ipalities to help cover a state budget shortfall that already has reached S9OO million. About $1.04 million will be withheld from Chapel Hill, bring ing the town’s budget shortfall to $1.4 million. Mayor Kevin Foy said the budget problem could affect the number of buses Chapel Hill can afford because the town is being forced to cut back on many programs. “Given the current situation, any expenditure is a problem,” he said. “(The budget cut) absolutely affects things like public transportation.” Regional Transportation Planner David Bonk also said the binding squeeze could limit Norins said the topic of reparations for past racial and ethnic injustices was picked because of recent legal cases that have dealt with affirmative action and compensation for descendants of slaves. “This topic is one that is pretty time ly,” she said. “Reparations is something that is not normally discussed.” John McClendon, an associate pro fessor of African-American studies and American cultural studies at Maine’s Bates College, delivered the confer ence’s keynote address, which connect ed racial discrimination to politics and economic class issues. “Understand that the history of this country has always been slanted by the hands of those who rule,” McLendon News which houses University business offices. “The University has been very forth coming with ideas and thoughts,” Waldon said. “The chancellor said he will fully participate in this (discussion) process, and lots of University repre sentatives were here today.” Dianne Bachman, an architect in UNC’s Department of Facilities Planning, led an afternoon discussion on Parking Lot No. 5. Owners of private lands that were dis cussed were also on hand, including Betty Kenan, owner of property at University Square. While noncommittal, Kenan said she is “open to the suggestions.” After a lunchtime stroll through the downtown areas under consideration, participants broke into small work groups. Upon reconvening, parking and pedestrian issues took center stage. “It was really hard for (our work group) to stop talking about parking and sidewalks,” said Ruby Sinreich, member of the Chapel Hill Planning Board. Sinreich’s group discussed the West Rosemary Street area. The group sug gested that the town float a bond pack age to build more sidewalks there. Phil Szostak, an area architect, echoed Sinreich. “Rosemary has really been the stepbrother to Franklin Street,” See WORK SESSION, Page 5 the number of new buses Chapel Hill will be able to afford in the next few years. “I wouldn’t say the current budget problems will have no impact,” Bonk said. “Funding at the state and local level will be affected, which includes the purchase of new buses.” But Town Manager Cal Horton doesn’t think public transportation is in danger because the 10 percent cost for the buses is shared by Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC. Horton also said the town has set aside funds for replacing buses. “We set aside moneys in reserve every year to replace buses, and we’ll do that when the time comes. I don’t anticipate any problems.” Chapel Hill Transportation Director Mary Lou Kuschatka said the town can deal with budget-related delays in securing additional See BUSES, Page 5 said. “White supremacy has not been based solely on being anti-black; it’s about maintaining power.” McClendon said reparations alone can not fully correct a history of racial injus tice because they would not change the social and political infrastructure that he said perpetuates injustices toward blacks. But McClendon said the discussion of slavery reparations can be used to raise interest in organizing efforts that could lead to blacks achieving equality. “We must see reparations as instru mental, not as an end in itself," he said. After the address, a panel of professors heatedly debated the pros and cons of reparations and the form they should take. Robert Sedler, a law professor at N.C. Legislators Share Views on District Ruling A judge decided the districts may stand for the 2002 election, though Republicans say they plan to ask the judge to reconsider. By Christen Broecker Staff Writer N.C. legislators have mixed reactions to a Friday court deci sion that legislative redistricting plans violate the state consti tution even though the U.S. Department ofjustice found the plans acceptable. N.C. Superior Courtjudge Knox V. Jenkins Jr. ruled Friday on a lawsuit filed by the N.C. Republican Party that claims the N.C. House and Senate redistricting plans unconstitutionally split too many counties into separate districts. The deci sion is expected to be appealed. Democrats say the redistricting plans, drawn by the Democrat-controlled N.C. General Assembly, deliberately split large counties to follow the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protects minority voting rights by ensur ing that they are not diluted. The U.S. Department of Justice approved the House and Senate redis tricting plans Feb. 11, stating that they comply with the act. The department also has approved the state’s 13 congres sional districts. Jenkins also ruled that the 2002 elec- tions can proceed with the current districts, but he is slated to hear a Republican request Wednesday that might force the N.C. General Assembly to redraw the districts before this year’s election. Republican Minority Leader Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston, said he supports most of the judge’s decision. “I think that the court ruled correctly,” Daughtry said. “The Democrats have disregarded traditional districting criteria." But Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson, said the decision left an unresolved debate between the supremacy of the Voting Rights Act and the N.C. Constitution. “The only thing in con troversy is the splitting of counties that are not subject to the Voting Rights Act,” said Sutton, who is an attorney. Forty out of 100 counties in North Carolina are subject to the provisions of the act. Sutton said the legal system will have to determine whether See LAWSUIT, Page 5 ASG Positive About Success of 'Keep N.C. Educated' Campaign ASG President Andrew Payne is asking students to attend the Board of Governors' March 6 vote on campus tuition increases. By Jennifer Samuels Assistant State & National Editor WINSTON-SALEM - The UNC-system Association of Student Governments met Saturday to discuss ways its “Keep N.C. Educated” campaign will be used to fight against tuition increases. ASG President Andrew Payne said the campaign’s success rests on the active participation of students. Payne emphasized the importance of a strong student pres ence at the March 6 meeting of the UNC-system Board of Governors, where members will debate and vote on tuition increases. “We really have a chance to make something hap pen,” he said. The “Keep N.C. Educated” campaign officially began last Wednesday with a kickoff at UNC-Chapel Hill. ASG officials hope to use the campaign to educate N.C. voters about tuition and prompt them to lobby state legislators to increase univer sity funding. “There was an awesome showing of student support,” Payne said. “I think it really drove home the point. If you're not on the (tuition) train, you better get out of the way.” Payne also encouraged delegates to attend a special Tuesday meeting of the BOG Budget and Finance Committee. He said he expects the BOG to strongly consider the mes sage behind the ASG’s campaign. “I’m going to try to get as many things as possible debated,” he said. “I think they’ll lis ten. You can’t argue (with the campaign). There’s no come back, faced with the facts, statistics and common sense.” Les Stewart, an ASG delegate from UNC-Wilmington, said delegates must contact BOG members before March. He said convincing BOG members to vote against a tuition increase might be easier than convincing individual campus See ASG, Page 5 Michigan’s Wayne State University and an active civil rights lawyer, spoke against granting slave reparations by arguing that such an idea would not be supported by the white community. “Reparations will not happen,” Sedler said. “The word has the unfortunate con sequence of undermining race relations, and therefore it should be abolished.” But Adjoa Aiyetoro, a law professor at American University, said racial injus tice cannot be corrected until past injuries against blacks are understood and resolved. “Reparations must take us back into history," she said. “Not for us to stay there, but because we first must understand the injury.” The second half of the daylong con- Monday, February 18, 2002 ** is Republican Minority Leader Leo Daughtry says he supports most of the court's decision. ference included 10 individual work shops that examined different issues related to the topic of reparations, including compensating Japanese Americans detained in concentration camps during World War 11. After a question-and-answer session with a panel of professors who led the workshops, UNC law Professor John Calmore closed the conference by prais ing the study of reparations as a way to alleviate injustices of the past while still looking toward the future. He said, “Talk of reparations is talk of making hope and history rhyme." The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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