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Underdogs
Four Democratic Senate
candidates debate in Raleigh.
See Page 3
www.aanytarneei.com
PETA Video Spurs UNC Lab Inquiry
By Jeff Silver
Staff Writer
The release of a video by People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals showing
“inhumane” treatment of rats and mice at
labs in UNC’s Thurston Bowles Building
has led University officials to begin inves
tigating laboratory procedures.
At a press conference Thursday, UNC
officials defended the policies in place to
protect animals used in campus labs.
“We really believe we give great care
to our animals,” said Tony Waldrop, vice
chancellor for research.
Waldrop said he had viewed the
PETA tape and said officials will look
into the accusations. “There are things
we want to investigate,” Waldrop said.
The video, shot by PETA undercov
er investigator Kate Turlington, shows
researchers decapitating mice with scis-
UNC, State
Differ on
Budget
The budget cuts sent to
the governor by UNC were
returned on the grounds
that they hurt instruction.
By Michael McKnight
Staff Writer
Letters exchanged between UNC-
Chapel Hill officials and state budget
writers indicate there is some disagree
ment over which parts of the
University’s budget should be cut.
Gov. Mike Easley has called for cuts
in all state government departments,
including the UNC system, in order to
eliminate a more than $1 billion state
budget deficit for the 2002-03 fiscal year.
Easley sent a letter to UNC-system
chancellors March 21 asking them to
recommend cuts that could be made to
the budgets of their respective universi
ties that would not impact instruction.
“Protecting the classroom has been,
and will continue to be, my strongest
imperative as I assemble budget rec
ommendations. I ask that you keep that
in mind as you make recommendations
to me,” Easley stated in the letter. “I ask
that you work diligently to identify sav
ings in administration, travel, personnel
utilization and other areas to help pro
tect the classroom.”
UNC-CH administrators submitted
a list of proposed cuts to UNC-system
President Molly Broad on April 1, and
she in turn submitted it to the state bud
get office on April 3.
But on April 8, State Budget Director
See BUDGET, Page 4
TAs Worry Budget Cuts May Affect Stipends, Classes
ByJoy Buchanan
Staff Writer
George Harper, a graduate student in the
Department of Biology, spends 15 hours a week
preparing to teach a recitation section of
Biology 132.
Before the class on evolutionary mechanisms
begins, he reviews the reading assignment and
prepares discussion questions.
Harper makes $5,000 a semester as a teach
ing assistant, but he and other graduate students
are increasingly concerned that pending budget
cuts will cost them their main source of income.
If the N.C. legislature passes a 4 percent bud
get cut to UNC-system schools, officials say some
teaching and research assistant positions might be
eliminated. “Minus (the stipend), I can’t afford to
live here,” Harper said. Even with his TA income,
Harper said, he still must take out student loans.
The state legislature will consider a campus
initiated tuition increase of S3OO this summer
that might raise TAs’ salaries. The UNC-Chapel
i a M I
sors and footage of Turlington finding
live mice feeding on a dead mouse.
Turlington also filmed “extremely sick
and injured” rodents being neglected,
some paralyzed or with broken necks.
Turlington started working at the lab
in October and documented the alleged
violations for about six months. She
never disclosed her ties to the animal
rights group and wore a hidden camera
under her clothes to record the events.
She said in a Thursday interview that
many of the practices shown in the
video violate rules prescribed by UNC’s
Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee and the National Institutes
of Health. The IACUC is a board that
oversees and approves all research pro
jects using live vertebrate animals at the
University, as required by federal law.
The NIH is a federal group that funds
scientific research provided that proce
FOREIGN FLOWERS
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DTH/GREG LOGAN
Freshman Li Li works on her flower arrangement Thursday night. The art of ikebana, a form
of Japanese flower arrangement, was the focus of the seminar hosted by the Society of
Undergraduate Students with Interest in Japan. For the story, see www.dailytarheel.com.
Hill Board of Tmstees passed a recommendation
in January to earmark 5 percent of the tuition
increase to raise graduate student stipends.
But in the meantime, officials say recitation
sections, which often are taught by TAs, might
be the first sections of classes to be cut.
Peter Coclanis, chairman of the Department
of History, said the department does not want
to eliminate entire courses, so its only option is
to cut the number of sections. “Sometimes we
have to cut the number of TAs because there
are no funds for discussion and recitation sec
tions,” Coclanis said. “It’s not a great scenario,
but it’s better than cutting classes.”
But Branson Page, president of the Graduate
and Professional Student Federation, said educa
tion will suffer if course sections are eliminated.
“If you eliminated TA positions, you’re not
just hurting graduate students, you’re dealing a
real blow to undergrads,” Page said.
Page said cutting TA positions might increase
class size and, in the midst of enrollment growth,
could worsen the class shortage UNC might face.
A good conscience is the best divinity.
Thomas Fuller
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Your Own Soap Box
Pick up an application for a position as
a columnist or editorial board member.
See Page 8 for Details
dures are followed.
Turlington said she hopes the allega
tions will prove that the federal govern
ment should oversee research institutions
because they are unable to govern them
selves -a charge UNC officials disputed.
Jeffrey Houpt, School of Medicine
dean, said rules are in place to prevent the
actions depicted in the PETA video. But
he added, “It’s always possible for proto
col to be broken.” Waldrop noted that all
research done at the labs conforms to rules
set by the NIH. “We go even beyond what
the (NIH) requirements are.”
Waldrop noted at the press confer
ence the benefits of using rodents to
investigate human ailments, saying that
the animals are used to research condi
tions such as epilepsy and alcoholism.
UNC received $236.8 million from
the NIH in 2001, the 12th highest total
in the nation. Waldrop said officials are
Michael Poock, assistant dean of academic
and student affairs, said TA positions are valu
able for graduate students. “This is their training.
It’s a good thing to do," Poock said. “It benefits
the University, and it benefits the students.”
In addition to the impact on graduate stu
dents’ pay and education, fewer TA positions
would make it difficult to recruit outstanding
graduate students, Harper said. “It is already
difficult to recruit to this University because of
low TA pay,” he said. “We have no doubt ...
that it has cost us promising graduate students.”
Page said members of the GPSF will lobby
the state legislature this summer to minimize
budget cuts. He said he hopes to make legisla
tors aware of the important contributions TAs
make. “Graduate students at Carolina ... help
recruit more and better graduate students to
Carolina, which could only enhance the quali
ty of education throughout the state.”
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
1 v. 4
Men's lacrosse plays No. 1
Virginia today.
See Page 5
Volume 110, Issue 34
not worried about losing NIH funding
as a result of PETA’s video, and a
spokesman from the NIH declined to
comment Thursday about any possible
implications of PETA’s investigation.
Waldrop said UNC labs are accredited
by the Association for Assessment and
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care,
a private organization that offers voluntary
accreditation for labs seeking funding.
Turlington said she was taught proce
dures she considered humane during her
two-day training. But she said she saw
many cases of abuse after starting. “It was
very clear the way I was trained wasn’t the
way things were done,” Turlington said.
She said complaints from her and other
lab technicians were not taken into con
sideration by the researchers. “Our con
cerns weren’t taken seriously,” she said.
See PETA, Page 4
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DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Mice kept in research laboratories of the Thurston Bowles Building, part
of UNC Hospitals, allegedly have been subject to animal mistreatment.
5 Appointees Complete
BOG Review Commission
By Jennifer Samuels
Assistant State & National Editor
N.C. House Speaker Jim Black, D-
Mecklenburg, appointed five legislators
Thursday to a commission that will
examine the structure of the UNC-sys
tem Board of Governors.
The N.C. General Assembly passed
legislation in December allowing the
formation of a 10-member UNC Board
of Governors Study Commission.
Black appointed Rep. Joe Hackney,
D-Orange, to serve as co-chairman of
the committee with Sen. Tony Rand, D-
Cumberland.
Black also appointed Rep. Philip
Baddour, D-Wayne; Rep. Beverly Earle,
D-Mecklenburg; Rep. Marian
McLawhorn, D-Pitt; and Rep. David
Miner, R-Wake.
Black’s five appointees complete the
10-member commission.
Rand was appointed to the commis
sion Monday by N.C. Senate President
Pro Tern Marc Basnight, D-Dare.
Basnight’s other four appointees are
Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth; Sen.
John Garwood, R-Wilkes; Sen. Jeanne
Lucas, D-Durham; and Sen. RC. Soles,
D-Columbus.
Hackney said the commission is
See COMMISSION, Page 4
All See DPS Budget Proposal
As Acceptable Compromise
By Nikki Werking
Staff Writer
Students, staff and administrators said Thursday
that they think the Department of Public Safety’s
new budget proposal is a fair compromise at the
end of a long and difficult process.
The plan, which was announced Wednesday,
could raise $566,650 by cutting the price UNC
pays for Chapel Hill Transit services, eliminating
the EU bus route and making internal cuts in the
DPS departmental budget. DPS needed to raise $2
million to balance its 2002-03 budget, which will
come from the new cuts as well as an increase the
price of day parking permits and gating some lots.
The new proposal was created after the UNC
Board of Trustees rejected a budget plan with a night
parking permit system and extended hours in visitor
parking lots. But the process leading up to the pro
posal heard by the BOT was an arduous one. The
Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee had
several contentious meetings and leadership changes
over many months, and students actively protested
the night parking plan because of safety concerns.
Student Body Resident Jen Daum said the current
proposal reflects collaboration between students and
administrators. “I think (the proposal is) an example
of students and administrators working together and
making lemonade out of lemons," she said.
Former Student Body Vice President Rudy
Kleysteuber, a critic of night parking and TPAC in
Weather
I Today: P.M. T-storms; H 90, L 64
Saturday: P.M. T-storms; H 91, L 63
Sunday: T-storms; H 83, L 54
BOG Review Commission
Co-dtaiimen Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumbedand, and Rep Joe Hackney, D-Orange,
will head a commission reviewing the UNC-system Board of Governors
Senate House
Tony Rand (D) ioe Hackney (D)
7 Terms 11 terms
Senate Majority Leader Speaker Pro Tern
Vice-Chairman, Appropriations Member, Finance Committee
Committee
Philip Baddour (D)
Linda Garrou (D) 4 terms
2 Terms House Majority Leader
Chairwoman, Appropriations on Ex Officio Member, Most Committees
Education Committee
Vice-Chairwoman, Education Beverly Earle (D)
Committee 4 Terms
Majority Whip
John Garwood (R) Member, Appropriations Committee
3 Terms
Former Board of Governors member Marian McLawhorn (D)
Member, Appropriations Committee 2 Terms
Board of Governors Nominating
Jeanne Lucas (D) Committee
3 Terms Member, Education Committee
Chairwoman, Appropriations
on Education Committee D av i** Miner (R)
Chairwoman, Education Committee 5 Terms
Member, Appropriations Committee
R.C. Soles (D) Member, Legislative Redistricting
13 Terms Committee
Vice-Chairman, Finance Committee
Member, Rules Committee source n.c. general assembly DTH/STAFF
the past, said he is pleased that the new plan calls for
cutting expenses rather than raising money by charg
ing for new programs. “We encouraged (UNC) to
take cutting measures a semester ago," he said. “I’m
just glad someone helped them to see that”
Tommy Griffin, chairman of the Employee
Forum, also said cutting expenses rather than raising
revenue should have been considered from the start
“We should have looked at being cost-efficient”
University Police Chief Derek Poarch said
Wednesday that Chapel Hill Transit was able to
reduce the amount it charged UNC by $369,582
because the town was able to make cost-saving
reductions. Student leaders and administrators
applauded the efforts.
BOT member Richard Stevens said the new pro
posal will be a good compromise between adminis
trators and students, staff and faculty because it
excludes any elements of a night parking permit sys
tem and still finds a way to fill the $566,650 deficit.
The BOT Audit, Business and Finance
Committee will hear the proposal by teleconfer
ence April 25, and following the committee’s deci
sion, the full board will vote by mail April 26.
Stevens said the plan sounds like a good solution
that will fill the needs of students, faculty and staff.
“It sounds like the revisions to the plan are positive,
and I hope it can be accepted by the board.”
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
Friday, April 19, 2002