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(The Saily (Tar Hrel Police Roundup Student Pleads Not Guilty to Identity Fraud A UNC graduate student has pled not guilty to charges of identity fraud against his former academic adviser, according to wire reports. Mark Conrad Rendina, a 33-year-old Durham resident and master’s student in bioengineering, was placed on SIOO,OOO bail Monday morning in Orange County District Court in Hillsborough. Rendina is accused of using the identity of Walker Anderson Long -a former research professor at the UNC School of Medicine - to open several credit card and cell phone accounts. According to reports, Long worked for eight to nine months as an adviser for Rendina’s master’s thesis before dis missing the student because of person al issues. Rendina gained national atten tion in 2000 after creating several Web sites under the names of several politi cal parties and candidates and steering visitors to pornographic sites. Rendina is scheduled to appear at a probable cause hearing Thursday after noon. University Sunday, May 19 ■ A University police officer responded to a larceny call at 11:29 a.m. at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, police reports state. Anthony Cileo, an employee, report ed the theft of a blue and white UNC pole banner from the center, reports state. The banner, measuring approxi mately 2 1/2 feet by 4 feet, was last seen Sunday morning. The case is under further investigation. Saturday, May 18 ■ An officer responded to a call at 10:23 a.m. at Horace Williams Airport after a UNC Hospitals bus knocked into a plane hangar door, causing the door to hit and damage a plane on the edge of its left wing, police reports state. The bus driver, Eutiejackson Wilson Jr., told officers that while making a rou tine stop at the airport, the rear door of the bus stuck open, reports state. Wilson said he got off the bus to close the door. When the door was shut, the bus’s brakes released, causing the bus to roll forward and strike the hangar door. The bus’s emergency brakes were not on at the time of the incident, reports state. Reports state that there is no suspect ed motive of malice and the incident is considered an accident. Maintenance was called to repair the hangar door. City Monday, May 20 ■ Chapel Hill police arrested a 27- year-old man at 4:30 p.m. for several outstanding warrants, reports state. Ajay Chandu Chaudhari was stopped at the corner of Erwin Road and Dobbins Drive for a traffic violation. He was then taken into custody for outstanding warrants, including a felony hit-and-run charge, reports state. The hit-and-run incident occurred May 16 when a car with no headlights on, allegedly driven by Chaudhari, rear ended a car at 10:29 p.m. on East Franklin Street, reports state. Police say the suspect then left the scene and was not found until Monday. The case has been closed. ■ A Chapel Hill High School senior was arrested on two counts of posses sion of weapons on school grounds, reports state. Officers took 18-year-old Tyrone Keyes Jr. of 355 S. Estes Drive into custody at 10:22 a.m. after he was found in posses sion of two knives, a 4-inch buck knife and a 4-inch switchblade, reports state. He was released into his mother’s custody on a signed promise to appear in court. Keyes is scheduled to appear in Orange County District Court in Hillsborough on June 29. Sunday, May 19 ■ Chapel Hill police responded to a vandalism call at 11:22 a.m. at 210 W. Cameron Ave., reports state. The property houses the N.C. Hillel building. A rock was thrown by an unknown suspect through a window sometime after midnight, reports state. No arrests have been made, and the case is closed with all leads exhausted. Friday, May 17 ■ Chapel Hill police responded at 9 p.m. to an arson call at Chapel Hill High School, reports state. Upon arrival, officers discovered that unknown people had set fire to an out door display, causing an undetermined amount of damage. The school, located 1709 High School Road, did not sustain any damage. No arrests have been made. School Overcrowding Curbed by SAPFO By Abigail Smith Staff Writer The issue of overcrowding in local schools may soon be a thing of the past as the result of anew ordinance. An exponential population increase in recent years in Orange County has caused a boom in the number of stu dents requiring education. Many officials have expressed concern over a lack of facilities for the ever-grow ing numbers of pupils. This growing con cern has led to the proposed Schools Adequate Pubic Facilities Ordinance. On May 14, SAPFO took another major step toward approval when the The Changing Shape of N.C. Legislative Districts The shape of the legislative district that contains Chapel Hill has changed twice in the last o the basic location of chapel Hill and Carrboro year due to an ongoing battle for control of the state legislature. Text color: counties, black; districts, white N.C. Senate Plans 2000 Existing Plan 2001 Senate Plan 1C 2002 Fewer Divided Counties ~i ] I r~ j r ~r~ Rockingham Caswell) Person Rockingham Caswell) Person Rockingham Caswell Person Guilford orange Guilford [ j oran9e ; Guilford oran9e Alamance Durham Alamanbe Durham Alamance Durham j __ yO j I __j O j o jj Randolph Chatham Randolph Chatham Randolph Chatham L y \ Lee L ■ r f iee C Lee / Moore v Moore Moore \>J : V) N.C. House Plans 2000 Existing Plan 2001 Sutton Plan 3 2002 Sutton Plan 5 Rockinghamj Caswell Pp,son Rockingham Caswell Person j Rockinghamj CasW ei^^Bj Guilford l|g® anse i Guilford SHV l Guilford Alamance 'Durham Alamance .'Durham AlamanjjPjSpurham Randolph I Chatham Randolph Chatham Randolph Chatham . \ Lee ' Lee f Lee Moore v Moore Moore ■ Y/Y SOURCE: HTTP:/AVWW.NCLEC.NET Legislators Submit New Districts By Alex Kaplun Editor RALEIGH - Last year it took legislators about a month to pass state redistricting plans. This time around it took only four days. Of course, this time lawmakers also had a court-imposed deadline hanging over their heads. Legislators were forced to draw new maps last week after the state Supreme Court ruled April 30 that state House and Senate districts passed by the N.C. General Assembly were unconstitutional. In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court decided that the plans approved by the legislature in November violated a clause in the state constitution that forbids splitting of coun ties when drawing district lines. State lawmakers had until noon Monday to present new redistricting plans to N.C. Superior Court Judge Knoxjenkinsjr., who was sched uled to determine Wednesday whether the plans meet the Supreme Court’s requirements. Knox’s ruling was not available as of press time. Schools Focus on Security An attempted kidnapping at a local elementary school has led to a larger police and parent presence. By Jon Dougherty City Editor Following the May 8 attempted kid napping of a 10-year-old girl, school security in Chapel Hill and Carrboro has become a major concern for offi cials and parents alike. The incident took place at Carrboro’s Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, next to Kingswood Apartments, the home of the man charged with the crime. Since the assault, a Chapel Hill police officer has patrolled the grounds of the school and numerous parent vol unteers keep watch over children walk ing to and from classes. Ross McGlothlin, assistant principal at Frank Porter Graham, said the school has recovered well from the incident. “We have a very active PTA, and our PTA president-elect has been on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved a memorandum of understanding. SAPFO is the product of a coopera tive effort consisting of the governments of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County and both local school boards, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education and the Orange County Board of Education. Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs said, “SAPFO will help pace devel opment so the population doesn’t outstrip the capacity for adequate school space.” The Triangle is known around the country for its conglomerate corpora tions, booming businesses and research universities. These institutions make Legislative leaders convened a special ses sion May 14 to draw new district lines. By late afternoon Friday - just four days later - the new maps were approved by both houses. The new redistricting plans passed the House 62-55 in a largely partisan vote. Likewise, the plans passed the Senate 28-9, also along party lines. The new plans split fewer counties and elim inates multi-member districts. But Republican lawmakers in both chambers continued to grumble that Democratic leaders had forced through a plan that still violated the Supreme Court’s directive in order to hold on to their majority in both chambers. “Nowhere does it say you only comply with the law when it doesn’t hurt Democrats,” said Rep. Art Pope, D-Wake, who was one of several Republican lawmakers to present his own plans. Republican legislative leaders submitted their own district plans to Jenkins for consideration. But Sen. Brad Miller, D-Wake, chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, said ulti l.::| Y) 1 ' ii— Ja ill i tI DTH, KIMBERLY CRAVEN Chapel Hill police officer Jim Orbich patrols Frank Porter Graham Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon. phone, calling parent volunteers,” he said. McGlothlin said that between 40 and 50 parents, including several UNC pro fessors, have been acting as campus safety monitors since the incident. “The parents are watching the chil dren moving between class, looking for kids who get separated from their groups,” he said. And the way the children get from place to place has changed in response to the incident. “In the past, if an older child wanted to take a book to the library or get a Band-Aid from the office, they could go alone,” McGlothlin said.“ Now, all children must be accom panied by an adult.” News Chapel Hill and Orange County an attractive destination for many families. Carrboro Board of Aldermen mem ber Jacquelyn Gist said the draw is because “the public schools are so good.” But SAPFO will require residential developers to go before school boards and outline their plans for construction, including how many units they plan to build and expected occupancy numbers. The school board must decide if the local school systems can accommodate the influx of students from the new res idential development before construc tion may begin. Developers must then request a Certification of Adequacy of Public mately the political makeup of the legislature will be determined on Election Day, not by the district maps. “The reason the Democrats ... have a major ity (in the General Assembly) is the quality of the candidates and the quality of campaigns,” Miller said in a committee meeting Friday. But despite Democratic support for the new district lines, the new plans could boost Republican representation in the legislature. The Senate map places Democratic Sens. Howard Lee and Elbe Kinnaird, who have together represented Orange County since 1996, into the same single-member district. All told, the new district lines create a dozen races where incumbents could face off against each other, either in the primaries or in the gen eral election. Several lawmakers also now find themselves in districts where the party makeup has changed significantly. The State & National Editor can be reached atstntdesk@unc.edu. Despite the presence of a police offi cer at Frank Porter Graham, the bulk of school security is the responsibility of each individual school. Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said police officers don’t station themselves on school campuses. “We have a resource officer at each high school and middle school,” Cousins said. “Frank Porter Graham is the only other school with an officer on its campus.” McGlothlin said he is pleased with police support and input on campus security. See SECURITY, Page 7 Schools Facilities. The certification is an indication of agreement between the school system and the developer and will help ensure that school systems will not become overcrowded. While SAPFO has been lauded as a good solution to keeping schools under capacity, officials still have concerns over possible side effects. Jacobs said small builders may run into problems competing. “We may be putting ourselves into a physical straight jacket that would be inflexible,” he said. Orange County school board mem ber Delores Simpson said the possibility of the studies behind SAPFO being mis calculated is minimal. DTH/ADRLAL DALE. COBIEDEISON, AND JUSTIN OSBORNE Suh Chosen as Gift Artist; Design, Funding in Works By Elliott Dube Staff Writer Those who have been lost in the pages of history soon will be found. The creation of the Unsung Founders Memorial, which recognizes the efforts of people of color in building the University in the late 18th century, is under way. The gift of the class of 2002, the memorial will be designed and pro duced by Korean artist Do-Ho Suh. Suh’s work often employs the con cepts of collective versus individual and identity versus anonymity, said Emily Stevens, director of the young alumni program in the Office of University Development. Such themes, along with those of oppression and perseverance, relate to Suh’s background. “Do-Ho is a very soft-spoken man -very observant,” said 2001-02 senior class President Ben Singer. “He grew up in similar oppressive circumstances in Korea, where he’s from. “When he walked through the slave’s cemetery, he was very quiet, and he said, ’This is affecting me. 1 want to do this project.’” Fourteen artists submitted portfolios of their work to the senior gift commit tee. Thursday, May 23, 2002 Gist said she does not like the idea of the school board and superintendent having a say in developments because it is not their responsibility. But she said SAPFO is seen as a tool that begin to handle the present problem. “It is based on a scientific method, so I’m sure it’s all been taken into consideration,” Gist said. “Lots of kids have spent almost all their time in trailers,” Chapel Hill Town Council member Flicka Bateman said. “SAPFO will help pace development with school capacity and cut down on overcrowding.” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. Budget Woes Delay Kenan Video Board The video board will be funded by a private contract, but the chancellor said it will be postponed to be sensitive to perception. By Benji Cauthren Staff Writer UNC will not install a video board at Kenan Stadium this year, Chancellorjames Moeser and Director of Athletics Dick Baddour announced last week. UNC officials said their decision to postpone the board was influenced - although not directly caused - by the state bud get crisis. The $2 million board and public address system were to be funded privately. “Because of the budget constraints the state and University face this year, Dick Baddour and I feel it is better to delay the installation of the video board,” Moeser stated in a press release. Moeser stated that this was not a matter of financing but of public perception. He said it is important to be sensitive to public perceptions of finances during the budget crisis. Moeser stated that he, Baddour and football coach John Bunting agreed to postpone the installation. “I thank them for putting the football program’s needs behind what is best for the University,” he stated in the press release. “Dick had worked tirelessly to find funding for the board that would not use state or academic dollars.” State officials have projected a budget shortfall of about $2 billion for the 2002-03 fiscal year, and members of the N.C. General Assembly have discussed cutting funding for UNC system schools. Gov. Mike Easley announced Tuesday that he will recom mend that the UNC system’s recurring budget be trimmed by 5 percent. But Easley has stated that he will not support any cuts that harm classroom instruction. UNC Board of Trustees member Richard Stevens said he supports the decision to delay the video board. “I thought that (delaying installation of the video board) was a good idea,” said Stevens. “There was no state money going into this project, but it might have given off the wrong impression considering our budget crisis.” Stevens added that much careful consideration went into the decision. “I think these projects need to be looked at on a case-by case basis,” Stevens said. “For example, we have four new dorms that are being built, but we really need more housing. “I trust Chancellor Moeser and his staff to make the right decision.” Steve Kirschner, director of sports information, said plans for installing the board are on hold until 2003. “With the budget situation the state is facing, we wanted to be sensitive to the fact that installing the board wouldn’t send out a good message," Kirschner said. “Chancellor Moeser, Mr. Baddour and Coach Bunting all agreed that this was for the best.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. Four finalists were invited to the cam pus, and Suh was eventually chosen. Generating his fee - SIOO,OOO, which will go mostly towards purchasing the vast amount of materials - has proved to be a challenge but one committee members said they were willing to face. Suh has exhibited his work in Baltimore, Houston and Venice, Italy. One of his pieces, “Floor,” was recent ly acquired by the Ackland Art Museum. The professionals who advised the committee implied that the artist proba bly would be too busy to participate in such an enterprise as the memorial a few years from now. With that in mind, the seniors went to work. After Singer met with Chancellor James Moeser and Provost Robert Shelton, he was told that the University would match the senior class’s fund-rais ing efforts dollar for dollar. So far, seniors and alumni have donated $44,000, making tin l Unsung Founders Memorial the m uccessful single-year gift campaign . 1 ;. Despite the huge am< u;, of financial support that has arisen, the project is still in its fund-raising stage as plans for the artwork itself develop. Details of Suh’s proposal arc not set in stone - the location of the memorial See SENIOR GIFT, Page 7 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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