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UNC Right
To Consult
Conscience
UNC-Chapel Hill has a pretty
big ego. We’re a community of
just a few thousand people —of
professors, students and staff scurrying
about campus while focused on the
daily grind of University life.
The daily activity of campus can
seem mundane, but the truth is that
UNC-CH has a higher place in society
than many other
institutions.
It’s a well
deserved ego
that comes from
UNC-CH being
a haven of high
er thought that
produces scien
tific research and
ideas that can
shape and
improve society
in the ways of
KARFY
WUTKOWSKI
UNIVERSITY
COLUMNIST
medical
advances, political policy and literary
contributions, just to name a few.
And it’s an ego that comes with a
certain responsibility that UNC-CH
administrators seem well aware of.
This responsibility has increasingly
come to light in the past year as the
downturn in the state and national
economy has forced people to reevalu
ate their priorities.
Perhaps the first example of UNC
CH realizing what a large social
impact it can have on the outside com
munity came last May when the
University’s Department of Athletics
was poised to install a $2 million dol
lar video board in Kenan Stadium.
Although the money for the video
board came solely from private dona
tions, University administrators were
hesitant about the negative public per
ception that could come from flaunt
ing private money when state officials
were projecting a budget shortfall of
about $2 billion for the 2002-03 fiscal
year and members of the N.C.
General Assembly were discussing cut
ting funding for UNC-system schools.
“Even though it was a privately
funded project paid for through broad
cast rights, the symbolism didn’t feel
right,” said Chancellor James Moeser.
“It was a taxpayer sensitivity issue. Not
only our staff, but thousands of people
in North Carolina were without jobs.”
A few months ago, the University
showed again that it realizes the mes
sage its actions can send out when
administrators decided to defer light
ing the Bell Tower, a move that would
have cost SIOO,OOO.
Officials had private contributions
identified and earmarked for the phys
ical upgrade, but they decided to redi
rect it to support academic programs,
sending out the message of where the
University’s priorities lie in times of
budget constraints.
And now the University’s sense of its
outside impact is being tested once again
as the Carolina First Campaign is enter
ing its public phase, with administrators
touting UNC-CH’s goal to raise $l.B bil
lion in private funds in the name of
becoming the leading public university.
Although in the past year UNC-CH
has showed that it is cautious about how
it flaunts its private financial resources,
it seems that administrators are slighdy
shifting their public attitude toward pri
vate money as financial times change.
The public phase of the campaign
originally was scheduled to commence
in October 2001, but administrators
delayed the move after the Sept. 11 ter
rorist attacks, partly due to concerns of
appearing callous while asking for
donations when other fund-raisers were
channeling money to the attack victims.
As the private phase of the cam
paign progressed this past year,
administrators were cautiously boastful
about announcing large donations and
news that they were exceeding its
goals, remaining sensitive about the
continuing economic downturn facing
the state and nation.
But as the tension of financial woes
have eased, with the figure of potential
UNC-system budget cuts being
reduced, UNC-CH administrators
have duly responded, now seemingly
feeling freer to brag about its private
coffers, as press releases and cere
monies have abounded.
UNC-CH does have a right to boast
about its private donations, and admin
istrators do have a right to assign the
University a bigger ego as a result.
Alumni and corporations donate
money to UNC-CH because they
believe it is a great institution, and it’s
hard not to tell others about praise and
compliments when you receive them.
UNC-CH’s administrators, howev
er, have proved their ability to take the
high road, sacrificing publicity, video
boards and illuminated landmarks to
preserve the image of humility they
know others will be noting.
There’s nothing better than a litde
conscience to back up an ego.
Karey Wutkowski can be reached at
karey@email.unc.edu.
ASG Creates Student Administrator Post
By Elyse Ashburn
State & National Editor
WILMINGTON - The UNC-system
Association of Student Governments cre
ated a position for a vice president of
administration at its meeting Saturday -a
move essentially made to sidestep the
Board of Governors’ ban on the hiring of
a professional administrator for the group.
The vice president of administration
will receive a $20,000 salary and pri
marily is charged with performing day
to-day clerical duties.
ASG Presidentjonathan Ducote said
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DTH/JESSICA FOSTER
Brian Stynchula feeds and pets the goats at the N.C. State Fair petting zoo Sunday. The 10-day fair opened
Friday and drew crowds throughout the weekend despite overcast skies. The fair closes Sunday.
Ist Weekend Fares Well
Thousands gather to enjoy fair's unique sights, sounds, tastes
By Gillian Bolsover
Staff Writer
“Do you have a towel? My tail’s all
wet,” shouted Gerald Cook to his wife,
Jill, after sloshing off the white-water
rapid ride Sunday morning.
For the Cook family, and many oth
ers, fun is the name of the game at the
annual N.C. State Fair, where entertain
ment ranges from elephant ears to
candy com, exhibiting to clogging and
eating to cheering.
The state fair opened its gates Friday
at the fairgrounds in Raleigh and will
run until Sunday.
Fairgoers can find the world’s small
est pony near the world’s longest snake
and a 1,100-pound pig just a few feet
away.
Michael Cox, who works in Florida
with this famous pig, said he has never
seen or heard of a bigger swine.
Chris Schiot, a 10-year-old from
Gamer, said he was amazed by the pig.
“I have never seen anything as big,” he
said. “He’s so fun. I wish I had a pet like
him.”
Pig lovers also can head over to
'Sunrise' Gives Glimpse of U.S. Past
By Elliott Dube
Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor
Many Americans are justifiably con
cerned with what the future holds for the
United States. Haymakers Repertory
..Bpir ' n
; |H Bfat. W
PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAYMAKERS REPERTORY COMPANY
Kenneth Strong (left), playing the character of Davy Crockett, talks with
Mike Regan, playing the character of Hardin, in "Sunrise in My Pocket."
the position was created to relieve him
of mundane operational tasks.
“I’m being bogged down with doing
all this paperwork and can’t do what I’ve
been elected to do,” Ducote said.
Association members attending
Saturday’s meeting, including UNC-CH
Student Body President Jen Daum, reit
erated Ducote’s sentiment and approved
the position in a 36-28 vote. “In order to
lead the administration anywhere, we
had to free (Ducote) up from those
administrative duties,” Daum said.
ASG members had intended for a pro
fessional administrator to perform the
Hogway Speedway to see quartets of
pigs - Vietnamese, pot-bellies, black,
pink - mnning forward, backward,
around and not at all.
These barnyard staples were joined
by goats and ducks racing around the
woodchip track.
Four-legged
winners received
cheese noodles.
Humans at the
fair preferred a
snack of the pow
dered sugar vari
ety.
Funnel cakes -
$4, with an extra
50 cents getting
the patron extra sugar - are a state fair
tradition for Durham resident Ashley
Moore.
“I only eat them at carnivals and
fairs,” she said. “But I’d give them a nine
out of 10. They’re good, sweet and
fatty.”
Ostrich meat was available for the
daring and health-conscious.
This delicacy, reared on one of North
Carolina’s 300 ostrich farms, is lower in
Company is shedding light on the ques
tion by looking at the country’s past.
Specifically, the company has
brought a folk hero back to life in
“Sunrise in My Pocket: The Comical,
Tragical, True History of Davy
News
duties of the newly created vice president,
but the BOG froze the hiring process at its
September meeting. Members expressed
concern over ASG’s hiring of an admin
istrator, saying they wanted the associa
tion to remain student-run.
The administrator’s original job
description included not only perform
ing clerical duties but also researching
pertinent state legislation and perform
ing minor management duties.
The board said the position had to be
limited to clerical duties and halted the hir
ing process until an altered job description
could be approved. The BOG is slated to
calories and fat than most meats, said
farmer C.W. Horsley from Oakridge
Farm. He said ostrich meat tastes, looks
and feels like beef.
“It’s just like sausage,” said Mike
Larry of Greenville after taking a emu-
“When I was young we all used
to get the same day off school to
go to the fair. All the local
children went together. ”
Jo Falloe
Fairgoer
mind of 7-year-old Megan Harvell of
Gibson as she waited in the wings of the
folk festival tent.
Dressed in a denim skirt with red
sequins and lace trim and oversized red
leather boots, Harvell said she has
clogged for the past four years. This was
the first time she performed at the state
fair.
See FAIR, Page 5
"Sunrise in My
Pocket: The
Comical, Tragical,
True History or Davy
Crockett”
Playmakers
Repertory Company
Wednesday, Oct. 16
★★★★☆
Crockett,” the first
production of the
season for PRC.
Edwin Justus
Mayer’s play,
adapted and
directed by Jeffrey
Hayden, is run
ning until Nov. 10.
Crockett always
has been associat
ed with the out
doors, so relocating the wilderness to an
indoor theater was a necessary task. The
play’s crew has done wonders, using
realistic tree props, changes in lighting,
pre-recorded sound effects and other
small touches to enhance the story.
The plot revolves around the famed
frontiersman’s journey from Tennessee
to Texas to fight against Santa Anna’s
Mexican army. He also sees Texas as a
“virgin country” that hasn’t yet been vio
lated by greedy speculators and bankers.
Davy has a ragtag team to accompany
him. There’s Crawling Caterpillar
(Douglas Spain), his Harvard-educated
Native American sidekick; Hardin (Mike
Regan), a pugilistic pirate; Thimblerig
See SUNRISE, Page 5
address the issue at its November meeting.
ASG Presidentjonathan Ducote said
the new position is intended to tem
porarily replace that of the administra
tor. The $20,000 salary for the vice pres
ident position will come from the
$40,000 allotted for the administrator.
“It’s basically taking the administra
tive position and giving it anew name,”
he said. “It’s solving what was becoming
an external problem internally.”
Ducote said he thinks BOG members
will approve of the move because giving
the administrative duties to a student
addresses a key point of contention.
sized bite out of his
ostrich burger. “I
was attracted by
the huge plastic
ostrich head above
the stall. I have
never tried ostrich
before, but I will
again not regu
larly though.”
Food was the
last thing on the
Campuses Find Individual
Solutions to Budget Cuts
BOG must approve
plans in November
By Matt Hanson
Staff Writer
Officials at most of the 16 UNC-sys
tem campuses will strive to protect qual
ity of education and campus safety mea
sures in their final budget plans.
The UNC-system Board of
Governors will review final plans at its
November meeting. The BOG released
Oct. 11 the official amount each univer
sity must cut from its budget.
System schools were required to sub
mit plans for anticipated budget cuts in
April, said Jeff Davies, UNC-system
vice president for finance. Davies said
he expects to see the 16 campuses gen
erally follow their April plans but that
each university has the authority to dis
tribute cuts within its departments.
“Preparations for final budget reduc
tions have the benefit of several more
months of research,” he said.
Monday, October 21, 2002
“One of the board’s number one con
cerns was that the association remain
under student control,” he said. “I think
this sits right in line with what the board
has been saying.”
But the student-filled position will
exist, at most, until the end of the acad
emic year. The vice president of admin
istration will be responsible for hiring a
full-time professional replacement meet
ing the BOG’s revised guidelines.
Daum said that she wants the
revamped position to be filled well before
See ASG, Page 5
UNC Aids State
In Combatting
Nurse Deficit
New program allows students
to be registered nurses faster
By Lance Johnson
Staff Writer
An ongoing national nursing shortage means that although
nursing students face severe working conditions, their oppor
tunities are limitless, UNC officials say.
North Carolina is projected to have a shortfall of 2,046 reg
istered nurses by 2005. The shortfall is expected to soar to
17,924 by 2020, according to a report published by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services in July.
The report cites a growing and aging patient population, an
aging registered nurse workforce and a decline in nursing
graduates as sources of the shortage.
Nursing school graduation numbers have dropped 26 per
cent over the past five years.
But despite the overall decline, enrollment at UNC’s
School of Nursing rose to 162 students in the fall of 2002, up
from 144 last year, said nursing school Dean Linda
Cronenwett.
Many nurses say the shortage problems have to do with
nursing conditions.
As nurses become overworked and stressed because of
staffing shortages, many retire, creating worse conditions for
those who stay.
Susan Pierce, professor of nursing, said the most pressing
problem is an unsatisfactory workplace environment, ranging
from abuse from physicians and patients to large amounts of
paperwork.
“These nurses have too many patients and work too many
hours,” Pierce said. “It makes them feel like they’re not doing
See NURSING, Page 5
m
DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Second-degree nursing student Tracey Farmer checks
the heart rate of mannequin "Stan the Man."
UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Robert
Shelton distributed cuts to departments
before the BOG acted Oct. 11. At UNC
CH each department will be in charge
of accounting for its own reductions.
N.C. State University has planned for
the reductions since June, said George
Worsley, N.C. State vice chancellor for
finance and business. “We anticipated a
cut around 5 percent,” Worsley said. “As
a result of that, we laid off 50 people.”
N.C. State’s administration and acad
emic departments will see 4.5 percent
and 2.5 percent budget cuts respective
ly, he said.
But Worsley said increased enrollment
funds allowed the safety department
space to expand and enter a contract with
Pinkerton Security to provide greater
security after two recent robberies.
Appalachian State University also has
acted in anticipation of the cuts, said Bob
Shaffer, ASU vice chancellor for public
affairs. The university has seen a $5.7
million reduction in its budget since fall
2001-02, Shaffer said. He added that
See BUDGET. Page 5
3