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Spring Flings
With spring comes an influx
of interested applicants.
See Page 3
Officials Draft Budget Cuts of Up to $16.4 Million
Bv Jennifer Samuels
Assistant State & National Editor
UNC-Chapel Hill officials have put
together budget cut scenarios of up to 4
percent for the 2002-03 fiscal year,
which would result in a cut of about
$16.4 million for the University.
UNC-CH administrators submitted
the proposal to the UNC-system Office
of the President as part of a request from
Gov. Mike Easley that all state agencies
brace for budget cuts.
Both the governor and state legisla
Town May
Up Prices
To Park
The proposal could go into
effect as early as June 1 and
could create approximately
$257,000 in town revenue.
Bv Ben Brooks
Staff Writer
People looking for parking in down
town Chapel Hill might soon have to
bring along extra cash.
On March 1, the Town Council lis
tened to a proposal developed by town
staff that would raise public parking
rates at all town parking spaces, the first
increase in almost 10 years.
Should the proposal be passed,
hourly meter rates would be increased
from the current hourly rate of $1 to
$1.25. The monthly rental fee would
jump from $65 to $75 a month.
Hourly rates to park in a town garage,
like the Rosemary
Street parking
deck, would also
be raised between
10 cents and 30
cents per hour,
depending on the
length of stay.
There has not
been an increase in
the general parking
rates since 1993.
When the state
recalled more than
$1 million from
the town’s budget
this year, Chapel
Hill officials trans-
Council member
Ed Harrison
says the fare-free bus
service should
compensate for the
parking shortage.
ferred SIOO,OOO from the Parking Fund to
the General Fund to ease the blow. Town
officials are hopeful the extra revenue
generated from the parking rate increas
es would be helpful in covering the
amount removed from the Parking Fund.
Assistant to the Town Manager Bill
Stockard said the town must adopt the
new budget byjune 30. He said July 1
is the earliest date the increases could go
into effect.
The combined total of the increases
creates approximately $257,000 more
in revenue. Extra revenue from on
street meters is estimated to total
$47,000, while off-street meters would
create about $14,000. Increasing month
ly rates in public garages would gener
ate approximately $23,000. In addition,
$173,000 is expected to be raised by rate
increases for hourly spots in the
Rosemary Street parking deck and
other off-street parking facilities.
“I think there is a general gripe that
the town is making parking too expen
sive, but our parking situation is a much
larger issue than parking rates going
up,” said council member Ed Harrison.
Harrison said that increasing the
parking rates will probably not affect
the parking situation but that he is hope
ful Chapel Hill’s fare-free bus service
eventually will compensate for the park
ing shortage.
“I think the fare-free service has not
See PARKING RATES, Page 7
In the face of great danger, salvation can only come through greatness.
Charles De Gaulle
WmLJv
five leaders last week began work on
building the budget for the 2002-03 fis
cal year, which starts July 1. Due to a
declining economic outlook, the state
could be facing a budget shortfall signif
icantly more than $1 billion for next
year, forcing state leaders to consider
cuts in all comers of state government.
The other 15 UNC-system schools
also submitted proposals, all with simi
lar budget reduction scenarios. At the 4
percent level, the 16 UNC-system
schools would lose a total of about $63
million from their $1.6 billion budget.
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DTH/ANNE MEADOWS
Student Body President Jen Daum takes the oath of office from William J. Long, the chief justice of the Student Supreme Court,
on Tuesday. Daum was inaugurated with members of her Cabinet, as well as other student body officers for 2002-03.
Students Step Into New Positions
In front of a crowd of almost 200
people, new student body officers
expressed excitement about the
tasks that lay ahead of them.
By Daniel Thigpen
Assistant University Editor
Tuition increases. Looming budget cuts.
Campus parking problems.
UNC’s newly inaugurated student body offi
cers know what lies ahead of them -and now
it’s their turn to deal with those issues.
Parking Registration on Schedule
The trustees' vote to send
back the parking proposal
should not cause any delay,
UNC and town officials say.
By Nikki Werking
Staff Writer
Chapel Hill Transit Authority and
UNC administrators said Tuesday that
parking registration and transit contracts
should continue as originally scheduled,
despite the delay of the parking propos
al by the UNC Board of Trustees last
week.
The trustees voted at Thursday’s
BOT meeting to send the parking pro
posal back to administrators to create a
new version without a night parking per
mit system.
Carolyn Elfland, associate vice chan
cellor for campus services, said after the
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Get Into the Groove
WXYC invites you to rock the casbah
at its semiannual 'Bos dance.
See Page 4
Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice presi
dent for finance, said UNC-system offi
cials requested that each campus pro
vide scenarios for cuts of up to 4 percent
because the UNC-system chancellors
said it was the most that could be cut
from the budget without hindering class
room activity.
“We are responding to requests from
the governor to present this information,
and the governor asked us to make a
proposal that doesn’t impact instruc
tion,” he said.
Easley wrote in a March 21 letter to
In an elegant changing of the guard Tuesday
night at the Friday Center, past student body
officers passed the torch -and many ongoing
campus issues - to anew administration.
As he took the podium to introduce UNC’s
new Student Body President Jen Daum, former
Student Body President Justin Young looked
back on the turbulence he said has characterized
his term. “Words can’t even begin to express
how challenging this year has been,” he said.
But instead of focusing on his administration,
the former student body president was more
eager to close his remarks on a positive note.
“This moment is about a beginning for the
people you see right now," he said. “Jen, I wish
meeting that the BOT’s decision could
delay parking registration for the fall
2002 semester and the Department of
Public Safety’s negotiations for a bus
contract with the transit authority.
But Cheryl Stout, assistant director of
parking services, said parking registra
tion is still planned to begin April 8 as
originally scheduled.
“We’re still planning, and we’re still
discussing, but we’re shooting for the
eighth,” she said. “We’re going to try.”
Stout also said the revision should not
affect the allocation process for day
parking permits or the recommended
increases in prices for day permits.
In the administration’s original pro
posal, the recommended permit prices
increased by about 20 percent for most
parking lots but by as much as 40 per
cent for others.
But Stout said she does not expect
these prices to change in the adminis
tration’s revised plan.
Close Call
Tar Heels secure narrow 9-8
victory over the Flames.
See Page 8
Volume 110, Issue 22
UNC-system chancellors that one of his
goals was to “protect the classroom”
from the effects of the budget cuts.
System officials will present a com
prehensive report of possible budget
cuts to the governor Wednesday.
Davies said the report will consist
mainly of information pertinent to the
system as a whole but added that the
individual school reports will be includ
ed.
The proposal submitted by UNC
CH breaks down the total 4 percent
budget cut into 1 percent intervals.
you the best of luck.”
Speaking before a crowd of almost 200,
Daum took the opportunity to thank the many
friends, colleagues and family members who
helped her throughout her campaign.
But she didn’t hesitate to discuss the forth
coming challenges at hand. While at times light
heartedly joking, Daum made clear her com
mitment to working for low tuition and pro
fessed her determination to ensure UNC
remains affordable. Despite her roots in
Wisconsin, Daum also stressed the University’s
duty to serve the people of the state.
See INAUGURATION, Page 7
“To my knowledge, (the recommend
ed parking permit prices) won’t be
raised more than proposed in the origi
nal ordinance,” she said.
Stout also said the BOT’s decision
should not change plans from the origi
nal proposal to gate four parking lots:
440 W. Franklin St. (Nl); Porthole and
Morehead (N2); Cobb, Connor and
Paul Green Theatre (N4); and Public
Safety (SI).
“We’re not going to go back and say,
‘Oh, let’s gate 10 more lots,’” she said.
Although Elfland said DPS’s negotia
tions for a transit contract might be put
on hold due to the BOT’s decision,
Chapel Hill Transportation Director
Mary Lou Kuschatka said discussions
are continuing on schedule.
“We’re currently in our normal cycle
in developing a budget and what transit
service we will provide next year,” she
See DELAY, Page 7
%
Weather
Today: Strong Storms; H 73, L 38
Thursday: Sunny; H 58, L 32
Friday: Partly Cloudy; H 64, L 35
Areas that stand to be reduced
include faculty and staff positions, sum
mer instruction and funding for
libraries.
Elmira Mangum, UNC-CH associate
provost for finance and human
resources, said that even though the
requested 4 percent cuts are lower than
what other state agencies are facing,
UNC-CH will still be drastically affect
ed.
“We’re going to be devastated by any
large budget reductions because any
reductions ... are going to impact
Out-of-State SBPs
Face Challenges
With Legislature
In order to better relate to N.C. legislators,
former Student Body President Justin Young
registered to be an Orange County voter.
By Jamie Doigher
Staff Writer
Student Body President Jen Daum’s inauguration Tuesday
makes her the third consecutive out-of-state student to hold the
office -a designation which some say might require her to make
certain adjustments during her term.
The out-of-state student enrollment
at UNC is capped at 18 percent, yet the
last three students elected to the post of
student body president - Daum, Justin
Young and Brad Matthews - have all
come from outside the state of North Carolina.
But the trend did not always lean toward electing out-of
state students. The last 10 student body presidents elected
before Matthews were all in-state students.
John Sanders, student body president from 1950-51, said
that he has been familiar with student government for many
years and that he could only remember a handful of student
body presidents who might have been from outside North
Carolina in the last 55 years.
Former student leaders said out-of-state student body pres
ident face challenges that in-state presidents might not, pri
marily in dealing with the N.C. General Assembly.
Former Graduate and Professional Student Federation
President Lee Conner said legislative interaction is the only
area in which he thinks student body presidents from North
Carolina have an edge. He said that when student body pres
idents meet a legislator, it helps if they are from the legislator’s
district or at least from the state.
“Their incentive to care is from a political standpoint,” he
said. “They care about voters, and you’re not one of them.”
But Conner said that if student body presidents are from
another state but are well-informed with accurate facts about
North Carolina, they can succeed. “You overcome that with
knowledge, facts and being able to persuasively argue about
the benefits of the University to the state of North Carolina,”
he said.
Young, who is from Stone Mountain, Ga., followed this phi
losophy and registered himself as an Orange County voter. He
said he is aware of how legislators tend to cater to their con-
See OUT OF STATE, Page 7
BODY MOVIN'
1 M ami * ’
DTH/VICTORIA FRANGOUUS
Handy Man and Housewives perform their skit, "Aerobics,” to a
full nouse at the annual drag show held in Union Auditorium
on Monday night.
' * t* * *
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
instruction,” she said.
If a 4 percent cut is implemented,
UNC-CH could eliminate about 100
filled staff positions and about 80 filled
faculty positions.
A substantial percentage of those lay
offs could come from the health affairs
division.
But Mangum cautioned against
assuming that layoffs will be an auto
matic result of budget cuts.
She said that while it is correct to say
See BUDGET CUTS, Page 7
SBP Campaigns
Call for Major
Expenditures
See Page 7