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County officials discuss land issues
N.C. schools risk failing standards
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Volume 110, Issue 113
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The latest victim
told police that
the suspect is 5
feet 9 inches tall,
weighs 160
pounds and has
short, wavy brown
hair and no facial
hair. He was
wearing a dark
parka and jeans.
Police Have
Composite
Of Suspect
In Thefts
By Rob Leichner
Staff Writer
University police released Tuesday a
composite sketch of a man suspected of
stealing laptop computers from three
prominent campus locations in October
and November.
Student laptops were stolen from
Lenoir Dining Hall, Davis Library and
the Undergraduate Library.
The most recent victim confronted
the suspect when he tried to conceal the
victim’s comput
er in his back
pack in Davis on
Friday, according
to police reports.
The suspect
fled with the lap
top before police
arrived at the
scene, but the vic
tim was able to
provide police
with a detailed
physical descrip
tion. The victim
said the suspect is
about 5 feet 9
inches tall and
160 pounds with
short, wavy
brown hair and
no facial hair,
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University police
released this photo
of the suspect, taken
by a security camera
at the Unaergrad.
reports state. He
was wearing a dark bluish-purple and
black North Face parka and blue jeans.
There is a good chance that the same
person committed all three robberies,
said Lt. Archie Daniel of University
police’s investigations department.
“Right now, we don’t know who any
of the three are,” Daniel said. “If we get
a clue who the suspect is in one, it may
link us to the others.”
Capt. Mark Mclntyre of the investi
gations department said the suspect in
all three larcenies appears to be a stu
dent between the ages of 18 and 22. The
suspect carried a dark-colored backpack
in both library larcenies, and the sus
pect in the Undergrad theft wore a
UNC T-shirt.
But Mclntyre said police are not lim
iting their investigation to members of
See LAPTOPS, Page 2
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cut—
DTH FILE PHOTOS
North Carolina men's basketball players Jonathan Holmes (left) and
Will Johnson have been suspended for violating NCAA rules.
■
Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his disposal Drugs, alcohol or lies.
Jean Cocteau
'Tis the Season
Town Council officials drop parking fees for
several days to help boost the local economy.
See Page 3
“It’s dangerous. I know it’s dangerous. One time I was about to go to sleep, and I didn’t want to sleep
because I was afraid I wouldn’t wake up. ”
"Mark"
Former UNC Student
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DTH PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN CASSELLA AND MIKE MESSIER
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as GHB, is a drug many young people are beginning to use for recreational purposes
at parties and in clubs. Use of the drug, which is a depressant, can result in severe side effects such as seizures, coma or death.
DATE-RAPE DRUG GAINS
POPULARITY IN CLUB SCENE
By Addie Sluder / Features Editor
Some call it being on a swirl.
After swallowing the drug, the music begins to
throb louder. The room spins faster. The lights
dance, faces blur, and all inhibitions suddenly are lost.
“It’s like a hypnotic sedative. It’s basically like being
really, really drunk -but a different kind of drunk,” said a
21-year-old former UNC-Chapel Hill student who spoke
to The Daily Tar Heel on condition of anonymity.
The student, who will be referred to as “Mark,” said he
has taken the drug between 10 and 15 times - usually
pouring it in a glass of water or a Red Bull energy drink.
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, known as GHB or just G, has long
carried a “date-rape drug” stigma. But officials say some college
aged men and women now are choosing to consume the illegal
drug by the capful for personal use - usually without consideration
for its potentially dangerous consequences.
“GHB is a depressant, and the more you put into your system,
the more it acts as a central nervous system depressant,” said Will
Glaspy, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
“The worst-case scenario is death or coma.”
In the past, GHB has been used as a sleep aid, bodybuilding sup-
■ f f
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Johnson; Holmes Suspended for Season Opener
Playing in benefit tourney a rules violation
By lan Gordon
Senior Writer
The NCAA has suspended North
Carolina men’s basketball players
Jonathan Holmes and Will Johnson for
the Tar Heels’ season opener because of
their participation in an on-campus
three-on-three basketball tournament in
the spring.
The two seniors played in the
Carolina Cancer Focus basketball tour
nament at Woollen Gym on April 13.
The event raised money for the
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer
Center on UNC’s campus.
Empty Stomachs
Campus Y sponsors hunger
banquet to raise awareness.
See Page 3
plement or psychoactive drug. But now, because of its use as a recre
ational drug, GHB has joined the ranks of ecstacy and ketamine in its
being considered a “club drug.”
In September, UNC-CH fresh
man Justin Ryncavage was arrested
for possession of the chemical
gamma-butyrolactone, or GBL,
which the body converts into GHB
after ingestion. He was treated at
UNC Hospitals for an overdose of
GBL two days before his arrest
GBL and 1,4-butanediol are
both industrial solvents that have
the same effect as GHB and have
been used more widely since GHB
became illegal two years ago.
Ryncavage appeared in court
Oct. 24, and his case will be con
tinued until Jan. 23. He has been
ordered to participate in a pro
gram for first-time drag offenders.
Ryncavage did not return calls.
Though Ryncavage’s lawyer said the freshman took GBL as a sleep
aid, the drag is now often used recreationally in clubs and at parties.
“It’s just completely taken a face-lift from date-rape to party
See GHB, Page 2
NCAA bylaws state that basketball
players can lose eligibility after becom
ing student-athletes if they participate in
any organized competition except while
representing their institution in intercol
legiate competition.
Holmes and Johnson were not avail
able for comment Tuesday, though
Johnson, a possible starter, issued a
statement released by the department of
Athletics.
“Every year our compliance staff and
coaches tell us we can’t play in outside
competition,” Johnson said in the state
ment. “We had no idea, though, that
playing in an informal on-campus bas-
■M
EJ
GHB Facts
• Definition: GHB is an illegal drug
that comes in the form of white
powder, which becomes an odorless,
colorless liquid.
liquid. There are a variety of uses
for GHB, ranging from predatory to
recreational in nature.
• Side Effects: In lower doses, this drug might cause
dizziness, nausea and visual disturbances. At higher
doses, seizures, severe respiratory depression or coma
might occur.
• Cost: $5 to $25 per capful
SOURCE: http://WWW.DEA.GOV/CONCERN/GHB.HTML
DTH/DIANA SURYAKUSUMA
ketball game against other students to
raise money for cancer research would
be against NCAA rules.”
The athletic department’s compliance
office, which reported the incident to the
NCAA at the beginning of October, is
appealing the decision.
Steve Kirschner, men’s basketball
spokesman, said the one-game suspen
sion given by the NCAA is fairly typical
for the situation.
Kirschner said that after learning of
the violation, UNC had to declare the
two athletes ineligible to play. When the
NCAA reviewed the situation, the one
game suspension was levied, though the
athletic department’s appeal will be
heard Friday or Saturday.
A decision will be made by Monday’s
Weather
Today: A.M. Showers; H 55, L 33
I Thursday: Mostly Sunny; H 60, L 37
Friday: Partly Cloudy; H 59, L 42
Congress
Passes Bill
To Reform
Elections
Bill changes spending,
time limits in campaigns
By Shelley Walden
Staff Writer
The Larson-Daum Campaign Reform Act 0f2002
passed Tuesday by voice vote in a late-night session
of Congress.
The bill, which will take effect for the February
general election, will shorten the time period in
which campaign funds can be spent, increase the
number of signatures required to run for office, limit
campaign expenditures and require campaigns to be
funded only by student fees.
Student Body Presidentjen Daum said the purpose
of the bill is to clean up elections and to fix a broken
system that favors students with greater resources.
“What went on this past February was not an ideal
campaign,” she said. “It wasn’t working. We are try
ing, to the best of our ability, to level the playing field.”
Previously, students with financial problems could
ask Congress for money, but Daum said this “opened a
whole can of worms.” Furthermore, students had no
guarantee of being reimbursed. Daum said that under
such a system, the best candidates could be encouraged
not to run, making the entire student body worse off.
See ELECTION REFORM, Page 2
Renewable Energy
Referendum Gets
OK in Congress
By Caroline Kornegay
Staff Writer
Student Congress passed a resolution 19-4
Tuesday that will put a referendum on the February
general election ballot giving students the chance to
decide whether they want student fees to fund efforts
to expand renewable energy programs on campus.
The resolution calls for a vote on a $4 per semes
ter student fee increase to fund sustainable energy
projects on campus and buy power from renewable
energy providers.
With numerous questions and concerns voiced by
representatives, the debate lasted more than an hour
during the meeting.
Details of the possible uses for “green energy”
were explained and defended by members of the
Student Environmental Action Coalition, who lined
the back walls of the meeting room and spilled out
into the hall to show their support for the resolution.
SEAC garnered support from UNC’s Campus,
Energy and Facilities services to place solar panels on
See ENERGY, Page 2
Preseason NIT game against Penn State,
the Tar Heels’ first regular-season
matchup, Kirschner said.
UNC’s appeal argues that the tour
nament, held annually since 2000, did
not really have a formal setting and
should not be considered a non-sanc
tioned event, said Larry Gallo, senior
associate director of athletics.
“I think we’re all hopeful that they’ll
rale in favor of Will and Jon,” Gallo
said. “The informality of the tournament
is one reason they thought they could
play.”
The players paid $lO each to partici
pate in the tournament, but they
received no money or gifts for partici-
See SUSPENSIONS, Page 2
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