Uailtj ®ar Heel
Sen. Helms,
Please Pass
The Panache
James Knox Polk is awfully tall. A
bit thin too. Ferocious brow.
He was standing valiandy on top
of an embossed carving of the United
States. Hurrah for Manifest Destiny!
The brief rendezvous with our 11th
president was courtesy of a visit to the
“No Excuse”
voter station at
the Morehead
Building. It was
Wednesday, and
the Sept. 10 pri
maries were just
too far away.
It was one
small feat. Go in
for two minutes,
get an “I voted”
sticker. There’s
no excuse not to.
But staring at
fit
NATHAN PEREZ
STATE &
NATIONAL
COLUMNIST
the ballot, it has to strike any voter
that this election season hasn’t offered
much substance, if any.
Many had forecasted an election
season full of Level 4 “Erskines” and
“Liddys” on the rampage. But alas,
there is barely a gale-force wind.
North Carolinians usually welcome a
windstorm over the alternative, a hur
ricane, but not during the balmy poli
ticking months.
The U.S. Senate race was purported
to hit the Tar Heel state with all the
fervor of fortune hunters hitting the
gold mines of California during Polk’s
presidency. OK, maybe more like col
lege students flocking to Bojangles.
Five-term U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms
was retiring; surely we’d have an
enthralling struggle for his seat, right?
There was many a vision of Elizabeth
Dole versus Erskine Bowles, ala a
Ben-Hur chariot race, with Dan Blue
scraping at some knees.
After all, Dole has just come off a
brief 2000 presidential run, even
though she wasn’t on anyone’s nation
al radar. Bowles was Bill Clinton’s
chief of staff, and his daddy Hargrove
“Skipper” Bowles meant something to
this University. And Blue was N.C
House Speaker from 1991-95 and has
served Wake County for more than 20
years.
Now welcome to the short end of
the stick.
Liddy Dole appeared on the cover
of the Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club maga
zine, which was mailed to 195,000
N.C. homes.
Dole’s leading opponent in the
Republican primary, Lexington lawyer
Jim Snyder, pounced.
“We’ve had the political titans
invade North Carolina attempting to
influence the electorate,” he said.
“Apparently there is an economic titan
which is descending with its talons on
the North Carolina electorate.”
That is the best he could come up
with? Puh-lease.
A more noteworthy issue: Is the state
interested in electing Dole, who is not
even half the N.C. resident that UNC-
Chapel Hill’s out-of-state students are?
Here is a suggestion for Liddy Dole:
learn the state motto, “Esse Quam
Videri” -be a North Carolinian rather
than to seem like one.
But wait, the stick gets even shorter.
Erskine Bowles’ ad campaign is as
geeky as his glasses. One spot shows
him at a bowling alley (get it, Erskine
bowls!). Far worse are his heinous
glasses. Some point to the Harry Potter
chic, I point to the Valley of the Ashes.
Remember the disturbing billboard
near George Wilson’s garage in F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”
Those eyes, seeing all, judging all,
hemmed in by those defunct glasses.
Those are Erskine’s glasses. Cue the
shuddering.
What’s more, Erskine has raised
about $4.2 million and has about $1.73
million in cash on hand. Though it still
pales in comparison to Dole’s $9.7
million and $2.4 million, respectively,
one has to wonder if Bowles will really
show up in some tiny town on some
dreary weeknight to revel, perchance
to bowl.
Gutter balls, you say?
Maybe it’s not prudent to poke fun
at the candidates, but who can resist?
By all means, zest resulting from the
classic scandals and controversies is
unwelcome, but you have to wonder if
Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” has
had any fun with this sleeper of a race.
Maybe things will pick up. We
could pray, but save the blessings for
more agua.
It seems that the Sept. 10 primary
will tnly serve one purpose - to elimi
nate any remaining panache.
You know who had panache, even
though he would hate that characteri
zation? He’d probably even enact
some legislation to ban the word
panache. No, notjames K. Polk.
Take care, Sen. Helms. Happy
trails.
Nathan Perez can be reached at
nperez@email.unc.edu.
Senior Officers to Pick 3 Options for Gift
Fiesta Celebrates Culture, Heritage
Organizers expect to best
last year's 46,000 turnout
By Michael Davis
and Jamie Dolgher
Assistant City Editors
Thousands from all over the state will gather in
Chapel Hill to experience Latino culture and cel
ebrate the heritage of North Carolina’s fastest
growing minority population.
The event, La Fiesta del Pueblo, will be held
from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 6
p.m. Sunday at Chapel
Hill High School.
The festival, now in its
ninth year, is sponsored
by El Pueblo, a Raleigh
based nonprofit organiza
tion committed to the
state’s Latino community.
The largest effort in a
campaign to encourage
Latinos to vote in upcom
ing elections will take place
at La Fiesta del Pueblo,
with some candidates
attending to elicit support.
Admission is $1 for
adults and is free for chil
dren. Artisans and a wide
variety of Latino food
vendors will be on hand.
Andrea Bazan-Manson,
“We want them
to learn more
about the Latin
American
community in
North Carolina.
It’s the fastest
growing Latino
population in the
country. ”
Andrea Bazan-
Manson
El Pueblo Director
executive director of El Pueblo, said the event will
be an opportunity to share Latino culture with the
masses. “Our purpose or mission is to promote mul
ticulturalism and understanding,” she said.
Dancing and musical performances by local
groups will take place at La Fiesta del Pueblo,
reflecting the party sentiment. “There’s a strong
festival aspect,” Bazan-Manson said.
Daum Picks Date
For Special Election
Student Congress must fill 3 vacant seats
By Will Arey
Staff Writer
Student Body President Jen Daum
filed an executive order Thursday call
ing for a special election to fill three
vacant seats in Student Congress.
The special election will be held from
6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sept. 24. Students
can vote in the special election using the
online voting system accessed through
Student Central.
Speaker of Congress Tony Larson
said all 'three seats are in graduate stu
dent districts.
Larson said two vacancies are in
District 5, which is composed of the
graduate programs for the School of
Information and Library Science and
the College of Arts and Sciences.
The other empty seat is located in
District 2, which includes the graduate
programs for the schools of Education,
Social Work and Journalism and Mass
Communication.
Board of Elections Chairman Brian
Fauver said an interest meeting for
prospective candidates will be held at 7
p.m. Sept. 10 in the student government
offices of the new Student Union.
Fauver said the interest meeting will
help introduce potential candidates to
the world of Student Congress.
“The interest meeting will help me
get to know who’s running and help
make sure that each candidate has a
clear understanding of the student gov
ernment general election laws,” he said.
To get their names on the ballot,
prospective candidates must attend the
interest meeting and gather 10 signatures
s’
DTH FILE PHOTO
Juliana Ortega dances with her brother Marcos at the eighth annual La Fiesta del Pueblo
at Chapel Hill High School on Sept. 8,2001 .The ninth annual fiesta will be this weekend.
The festival drew a crowd of 46,000 in 2001,
and she expects to exceed those numbers this year.
Bazan-Manson stressed that the event is not only
for Latinos but also for anyone interested in learning
about the Latino community. “One of the big things
we like to do is include everyone,” she said. “We have
600 volunteers, and many of them are not Latino.
“We want them to learn more about the Latin
American community in North Carolina,” she
said. “It’s the fastest-growing Latino population in
the country.”
She said there are about 500,000 Latinos in the
state, an increase of almost 400 percent in the last
10 years.
from their constituents to be turned in by
Sept. 17 to the elections board.
Daum said the special election is
essential to Student Congress, and she
stressed the importance of filling the
remaining seats.
“Getting the graduate student seats
filled is extremely important so that the
Student Congress genuinely represents
the makeup and interests of the student
body,” she said.
Student Code guidelines require that
the student body president call a special
election in order to address the vacant
positions in Congress.
A special election held April 23 failed
to fill all of the empty congressional
seats. That special election also drew
attention because of a failed referendum
that proposed increasing undergraduate
and graduate student activity fees to
$16.50 a semester.
Despite a majority “yes” vote, the ref
erendum failed because of low voter
turnout for the special election. The
Student Code mandates that a mini
mum of 10 percent of the student body
participate in an election if student fees
are to be raised. Only 417 students voted
in the April special election.
Despite this low turnout, Daum said
she is optimistic that the upcoming spe
cial election will fill the remaining seats.
“I’m confident that this election will
provide us with a full Student
Congress,” Daum said. “I’m very excit
ed to work with a full Congress in the
upcoming year.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
news
By Nikki Werking
Staff Writer
Senior class officials said today that
they soon will narrow down the field to
three suggestions for a class gift after
recently collecting ideas from seniors
and University officials.
Senior Class President Paymon
Rouhanifard said he and his senior mar
shals visited with University officials
from various departments to get ideas
and took suggestions from seniors at Fall
Fest and in the Pit on Tuesday.
“We had about 60 seniors fill out sug
gestion forms on Tuesday,” he said. “The
time they spent to fill it out really paid off
because their ideas will be heard.”
Senior marshals will discuss all the
suggestions at their retreat this weekend
and will pick three for an upcoming
senior class vote, Rouhanifard said.
Class officials expect to release an
official announcement of the gift by
mid-October or early November.
Interning in Nashville: Priceless
Student gives credit
to music industry
By Addie Sluder
Features Editor
Rarely are people’s summer plans
inspired by a television commercial.
But UNC sophomore David Krusch
has a Master Card advertisement to
thank for what he describes as the
experience of a lifetime.
After seeing a commercial advertis
ing a summer music program spon-
sored by
Master Card, l ]
Krusch decided a
on a whim to sub- jS
mit an applica- "Ijjfl
tion essay online.
“I wrote a 250-
word essay about the
mj
music industry at 4 a.m. one
morning last year,” he said.
“I was really surprised when I got
picked.”
The essay challenged applicants to
submit a business idea for the music
industry.
In his essay, Krusch proposed an
online radio station that would buy
national airtime to play music by new
artists.
“I think the Web site would be a
good idea,” he said. “It’s a way to get
music heard.”
Krusch was chosen from about
17,000 applicants to be one of 50 par
ticipants in the Master Card Priceless
Edge Program- an all-expense-paid
five-week summer music experience in
Nashville, Tenn.
The program and airfare were
included, and participants received
SI,OOO in spending money.
See KRUSCH, Page 4
Rouhanifard said the most popular
suggestions made by students include a
Sept. 11 memorial, benches, a mural
and a room sponsored by the class,
although they received a few more ideas
that stood out from the rest.
“Some students suggested ajumbotron
or a fish tank for the new Student Union,
but that just wouldn’t work out,” he said.
“We also had someone suggest a statue of
a famous alumnus that did something to
advance the University’s commitment to
prestige in academics.”
Class officials also collected ideas from
University leaders during the summer,
Rouhanifard said. Most of their sugges
tions involved grants and endowments,
but they also suggested a plaque com
memorating the events of Sept 11, he said.
“Over the summer we mostly talked
about a plaque because it’s really hard to
find space on campus (for a larger
memorial),” Rouhanifard said. “They
still can’t find a spot for last year’s senior
class gift, so that’s why we thought about
La Fiesta del Pueblo also will include ways to
help Latinos in the community.
A number of different groups and agencies attend
a health fair to give shots and check the blood pres
sure of the festival attendees, among other services.
Bazan-Manson said booths at La Fiesta will
address public safety concerns, like drinking and
driving, using child car seats and wearing seat belts.
She said the event brings together the entire com
munity to recognize and learn about Latino heritage.
“It’s a celebration of Latin American culture.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
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Sophomore David Krusch participated in the Mastercard Priceless Edge
program in Nashville, Tenn.,last summer.
Friday, September 6, 2002
doing something with a wall.”
A site for the class of 2002’s gift, the
Unsung Founders Memorial, still has
not been selected, said Emily Stevens,
director of the young alumni program in
the Office of Development.
The memorial will commemorate the
efforts of people of color who helped build
the University in the late 18th century.
Stevens said a final site has not been
chosen because the Building and Grounds
Committee wants to make sure the memo
rial will not disrupt any grassy areas or tree
root structures. “The memorial will have a
prime location on campus,” she said.
Stevens said that memorial artist Do-
Ho Suh has sketched the design but that
other details have not been worked out
yet. She said University officials plan to
have the design and location released by
the end of the month and hope the memo
rial will be finished by next summer.
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
UNC Plans
For Science
Institute
Facility to combine
multiple sciences
By John Frank
Assistant University Editor
For most students, studying chemistry
and physics means bubbling beakers
and challenging gravity experiments.
But students who participate in
research at a newly proposed science
institute could be working to cure can
cer and build molecules.
Made public for the first time
Wednesday by Chancellor James
Moeser during his State of the
University Address, the Institute for
Advanced Materials, Nanoscience and
Technology will incorporate science
undergraduate and graduate students in
state-of-the-art research.
The purpose is to “bring together
strengths we already have here,” said
Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for
research.
University officials hope to combine
the strengths of the science departments
to boost the prominence of UNC in the
science research community, said
Provost Robert Shelton.
Similar to the new genomics pro
gram/the institute was identified by a
science steering committee nearly a
year ago as a source of growth at the
University, Shelton added.
Moeser’s proposal Wednesday is the
commitment from the University that
See NANOSCIENCES, Page 4
3