Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / April 30, 2002, edition 1 / Page 3
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Sailij (Tar Meri Police Roundup University Monday, April 29 ■ A backpack was reported stolen from Polk Place at 9:43 a.m. The victim left his backpack near the stage for the “Good Morning America” show at 8:20 a.m., and when he returned at 8:55 a.m., the backpack was missing, reports state. Contents, valued at $321, included a textbook, keys, a cellular phone and a UNC hat, reports state. Saturday, April 27 ■ Christopher Polgar of 100 W. Rosemary St. was arrested at 1:26 p.m. for one count of second degree tres passing near Davis Library, reports state. Reports state that Polgar has no asso ciation with UNC. Polgar was placed under S3OO secured bond and transported to Orange County Jail, reports state. Reports state that his trial is set for June 3 at the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough. ■ Reports state that a UNC student locked himself in a wall locker at 11:55 p.m. in the Student Union. The locker was 2 1/2 feet tall, 8 inch es wide and 12 inches deep, reports state. When asked why he got into the locker in the first place, the student told officers it was “just to see if he could do it,” reports state. Friday, April 26 ■ UNC employee Jennifer Ann Headen of 1003 Mays Chapel Rd. in Bear Creek, was arrested at 9:45 a.m. for one count of forgery and uttering, reports state. Reports state that a check for SI,OOO was stolen from a UNC student. The signature was forged, and the check was deposited into Headen’s account, reports state. She confessed upon being ques tioned, reports state. Headen was released on a written promise to appear in Hillsborough Superior Court on Monday. City Friday, April 26 ■ Chapel Hill police responded to a call from a business about obtaining property by false pretense at 5:58 p.m. The incident happened on Graham Street, reports state. Reports also state that the suspect established a cellular service plan in the suspect’s spouse’s name. The case is under further investiga tion. Saturday, April 27 ■ Carrboro police arrested Juan Carlos Juarez-Patino, 20, of 112 N.C. 54, Apt. A-6 at 11:36 p.m. Juarez-Patino is being charged with one felony count of first degree bur glary, one misdemeanor count of resist ing arrest and one misdemeanor count of injury to real property, reports state. Officers caught him while they were responding to a burglary call at a resi dence on Poplar Avenue, reports state. When officers arrived, the suspect was located outside the victim’s win dow. The suspect was confronted and apprehended after a brief foot chase, reports state. Juarez-Patino was given a SSOO secured bond and a court date for April 29 at the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough, reports state. After further checking of Juarez- Patino, officers discovered he also had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear on a breaking and entering charge he acquired March 11, reports state. For this charge, he was given a $l2O secured bond and another court date of May 9 for the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough. The case has been closed and cleared byJuarez-Patino’s arrest. Sunday, April 28 ■ Chapel Hill police responded to an unlawful burning at 7:32 a.m. to a residence on West Cameron Avenue. Reports state that a bonfire was burn ing next to the fraternity house. The case has been closed as all leads have been exhausted. ■ Chapel Hill police responded to a larceny call at 10:23 a.m. at a parking lot on Chapel Hill Boulevard. Reports state that an unknown indi vidual removed the rims and tires from a vehicle and then carried the items away from the car. The chrome rims and the tires for the 2002 two-door Chevrolet Corvette were valued at $2,000, reports state. The case has been closed, and all leads have been exhausted. Interest Rates on Stafford Loans Likely to Fall By Jamie McGee Staff Writer N.C. officials say the Stafford Federal Financial Aid Loans’ interest rates con tinue to drop, making it cheaper for stu dents to pay back college loans. The Stafford loans allow students to pay for college using funds both from the federal government and from lend ing institutions like commercial banks. Officials estimate that the loan rates, which are about 5.39 percent, will drop to about 4 percent this summer. The interest rates are set July 1 each year for the upcoming school year. The U.S. Department of Education determines the interest rate by adding i 'o DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer, hosts of "Good Morning America,” greet millions of viewers as they begin the daily morning television show, which was filmed Monday morning on Polk Place and in the Pit. UNC Bids Good Morning to Show By Addie Sluder Staff Writer Televisions across the country were flooded with images of blue heaven Monday as ABC’s “Good Morning America” broadcast live from UNC- Chapel Hill. Anchors Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson and weather anchor Tony Perkins, filmed live in front of a poster-bearing crowd made up of students and commu nity members anxious for a spot on tele vision or a glimpse of the celebrities. The show visited North Carolina as part of its five-day tour of five states and a yearlong tour of all 50 states. During its visit, the show highlighted state features like the Triangle-area universities and the state’s tobacco industry. Much of the broadcast consisted of segments taped at area universities focusing on challenges like sex and alco hol that college students face. Sunday night, Gibson and Sawyer stayed with students at a Duke University coed residence hall. They attended a party at Duke and talked with their new roommates about issues relevant to college students. The show also included a previously taped forum on many of those same top ics at N.C. State University. Drew Pinsky, host of the radio show UNC Housekeepers to Protest Alleged Exploitation By Jessica Sleep Staff Writer UNC housekeepers plan to descend upon the steps of South Building today to protest the exploitation and injustice they say has resulted from the University’s administrative practices. The rally will take place at noon and will include members from UE Local 150, the N.C. Public Service Workers Union; and UE Local 150 A, the UNC graduate student and adjunct faculty union. Marc David, a member of UE Local 150 A, said the two unions will form an alliance today to speak out against issues that affect both groups and have caused them to think that they are being unfair ly treated. But he said anyone is wel come to attend. David said the rally was inspired by a feeling in the unions that University growth is adversely affecting both housekeepers and graduate students. the treasury bill rate at that time to a standard 2.3 percent. The interest rates for the 2001-02 school year were set at 5.39 percent. The year before, the rates were 6.32 percent. The Stafford loan program is made up of two types of loans, subsidized and unsubsidized. Subsidized loans are based on need. The federal government pays the stu dents’ interest rates while they are in school and gives them a grace period after graduation to pay back the loan. Unsubsidized loans are given to stu dents who do not meet the need require ments, and the students are responsible for paying the interest rates. “Loveline,” talked to a gr oup of students about sex, drugs and alcohol in the seg ment that was taped over the weekend. “We thought it would be very impor tant to start on a college campus because we are talking about the future and what it means to be an American,” Gibson said at the beginning of the broadcast. The show’s anchors mingled with audience members between segments, stopping occasionally to hold infants, or in Perkins’ case, to try Pokey Stix. “This has been a great welcome,” Perkins said in an interview. “I can’t believe the number of students and com munity members who have come out.” Enthusiastic fans did many things for a chance to get on the show. Two UNC-CH seniors even spent the night in a tepee on Polk Place in an effort to meet Sawyer. “This was just our effort to connect with Diane Sawyer,” said journalism major Mike Iskandar.“We’re her biggest fans,” added fellow camper Dustin Garis. “We’re starting the UNC Diane Sawyer fan club. Right now our membership is only two, but we’re looking to expand.” While an estimated 3,000 people gath ered to watch the filming, some students were lucky enough to participate in the broadcast. Monday’s program show cased various campus groups, including See FILMING, Page 7 He said that even though the University has continued campus expan sion, administrators have made no efforts to increase the number of housekeepers. Increasing the number of campus buildings without substantially increas ing the size of the housekeeping staff will create exploited employees, David said. “It’s basically more work with the same or even less pay,” he said. Housekeepers also are upset with the way the grievance process has been han dled by the new housekeeping adminis tration, particularly Housekeeping Director Bill Burston, David said. “(The administrators) are not treating housekeepers with dignity and respect.” David said he thinks class and race issues also are involved with the mis treatment of housekeeping employees. He said that in his opinion, UNC pays more attention to the concerns of its high est-paid employees, like faculty, while ignoring the concerns of its lowest-paid. News Steven Brooks, director of the N.C. Educational Assistance Authority, esti mated that the rates would drop to about 4 percent for the 2002-03 school year. “I am happy to say there will be a lower rate than usual,” Brooks said. But Brooks said that because the rates were already low, the decrease will have a small impact on the payments. “It won’t affect the number of loans," Brooks said. “The students that have them just won’t pay as much interest.” Brooks added that in a few years the student loans will go to a fixed rate. “My understanding is that student groups lobbied for a fixed rate to avoid the volatility of annual rate fluctuations I il ' DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA Justin Dixon and Shannon Byrne, both members of Tar Heel Voices, sing the show's theme song. Administrators have spent a lot of time discussing ways to keep faculty salaries competitive with other universi ties, but they have spent little time dis cussing ways to raise the salaries of UNC housekeepers, David said. David said University practices, like increasing enrollment growth, also will negatively impact graduate students. “The administration has plans to increase enrollment growth, but they have no real plans to hire new faculty,” he said. “Graduate employees will be asked to pick up the slack and will end up teaching four classes instead of three each semester." David said the goal of today’s rally is for housekeepers to unite and publicly air their grievances to UNC administra tors. “This particular speak-out is for housekeepers, but graduate students will stand behind them in a solid alliance." The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. under the variable structure,” Brooks said. “Up until then, clearly, the lower the rate, the better.” Shirley Ort, director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC, said the rate drop will enhance UNC students’ abilities to pay back their loans. “Loans will be easier to pay back because the terms are better,” Ort said. “But it probably won’t cause people to get more loans.” Ort said the lower rates will espe cially benefit graduate and professional students. “They don’t get as many grants as undergraduates,” she said. “Typically, the graduate and professional schools have to borrow for a larger share of their educational funding.” New Committee Hopes to Boost Minority Plan The new committee hopes to decrease the achievement gap among races by educating community members about an existing plan. By Adrienne Clark Staff Writer Dissatisfaction with the progress of local schools’ Minority Student Achievement Plan, which was designed about a year ago to reduce the achievement gap between white and minor ity students, has prompted the creation of anew group to over see the program. About 50 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools staff members and parents involved with the minority achievement plan met Monday at Lincoln Center in Chapel Hill to discuss die intro duction of a six-member steering committee. Superintendent Neil Pedersen said the steering committee is designed to make sure the achievement gap is closed. “The steering committee will be a staff of community members,” he said. “The outcome of the steering committee will be a stable roster of the Minority Student Achievement team.” The committee is expected to meet on the fourth Monday of every other month starting Sept. 23. Meeting facilitator Nettie Collins-Hart said the committee is being created with the hope of increasing community mem bers’ understanding of the district’s minority achievement plan. “The reason for the committee had to do with concern See MINORITY GAP, Page 7 UNC Task Force Tries to Prioritize Academic Goals Provost Robert Shelton said the task force hopes to provide a framework for making University budget decisons in the future. By Krista Faron Staff Writer A broad plan oudining the academic future of the University is being developed by a task force created by UNC administrators. The Academic Plan Task Force, composed of 24 faculty mem bers, administrators, staff members and students, will draft a con cise report by next fall that will guide budget decisions and allo cation of resources to academic uses during the next five yean. Darryl Gless, co-chairman of the task force with Provost Robert Shelton, made a brief presentation about the group’s goals and structure at Friday’s Faculty Council meeting. The task force has representatives from a number of UNC schools, programs and departments, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law and the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center. Shelton said the group will make valuable recommenda tions for academic resource allocations. “We want to have them identify priorities and determine where the University should be heading academically,” he said. See ACADEMIC PLAN, Page 7 ill DTH FILE PHOTO Barbara Prear, president of UE Local 150, a union that represents University employees, leads a protest on University Day, Oct. 12,2000. Tuesday, April 30, 2002 Ort noted that there is a significant amount of students at UNC using Stafford loans. In the 2000-01 school year there were 5,847 UNC students borrowing $30.2 million in subsidized loans and 5,126 students borrowing $32.1 million in unsubsidized loans. Since 1997, the average cumulative debt for graduating seniors has dropped, Ort said. “The University has put more grant money in to help students because of the rising tuition," Ort said. “Less students have had to borrow." The State & National Editor can be reached atstntdesk@unc.edu. 3
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