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(The latly (Tar MM www.dailytarheel.com AIME! to educate campus on AIDS * UNC alumnus opens barbershop •Ofc Look for more stories online. Volume 110, Issue 148 “The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. ” - George W. Bush, President LOOKING FOR ANSWERS DEBRIS FROM SHUTTLE FALLS OVER 2 STATES AS INVESTIGATION INTO CAUSE BEGINS The Associated Press / CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Just before it disintegrated, space shutde Columbia expe rienced an abnormal rise in temperature and wind resis tance that forced the craft’s automatic pilot to make rapid changes to its flight path - possible evidence that some heat protection tiles were missing or damaged, NASA said Sunday. Engineers began assembling a grim puzzle from debris recovered in Texas and Louisiana and disclosed computer ized data showing that the unusual events before Saturday’s accident occurred in the wheel well and fuselage on the left side of the shuttle - the same side hit by a piece of fuel-tank insulation during the launch 16 days earlier. Shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore cautioned that the data were preliminary but said the combination of events and data suggest that the thermal tiles that protected the shuttle from burning up dur- LUFKIN DAILY NEWS/MARC R MASFERRER Tracy Smith (left) and Don Jacobs look at a large piece of shuttle debris found in a cow pasture in Alto, Texas, on Sunday. direction,” he said. Dittemore said the engineering data showed a rise of 20 to 30 degrees in the left wheel well about seven minutes before communi cation was lost with the spacecraft. Then there was a rise of about 60 degrees over five minutes in the left-hand side of the fuselage above the wing, he said. On the right side, the shuttle temperature rose the normal 15 degrees over the same period, he said. All the readings came from sen sors underneath the thermal tiles on the aluminum hull of the craft. The temperature rises were followed by increased drag on the spacecraft that caused its automated flight system to adjust its path, he said. The adjustments were large enough that “we have never seen it to this degree” but still were within the shuttle’s capabilities, he said. Communication with the shuttle was lost soon after. “It was if some- See SHUTTLE, Page 4 Panel Votes To Modify Title IX By Ashley Holt Staff Writer The U.S. Commission on Opportunity in Athletics approved Thursday changes to the Tide IX amendment that will redistribute schol arships to male and female athletes based on the proportions of each in an institution’s student body. The landmark Tide IX is part of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and requires federally funded schools to give equal opportunities to women in college athletics, halting gender discrimination in collegiate sports. The sharply divided commission, which was formed injuly and is headed by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, reviewed and passed a series of recommendations that would change the law by shifting the measures used to calculate the number of students in fed erally funded schools. See TITLE IX, Page 4 Two More Weeks Immigration and Naturalization Services delays implementation of international student tracking system. See Page 9 ing re-entry may have been damaged Jan. 16. “We’ve got some more detective work, but we’re making progress inch by inch,” Dittemore said, adding that engineers are trying to extract 32 seconds more of com puterized data from the doomed spacecraft. As engineers pinpointed the exact satellite locations of debris, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said it had found remains from all seven of the astronauts who perished. Dittemore said that earlier in the mis sion, NASA had investigated aggressively the possible effects of the impact from the fuel tank’s foam insulation and concluded that “it did not represent a safety concern.” “As we gather more evidence, certain ly the evidence may take us in another SOLDIERS BID FAREWELL By Mait Hanson Assistant State & National Editor DURHAM - Soldiers from the 30th Corps Support Group gathered in the gym of Northern High School on Sunday to share hugs, tears and a rousing rendition of “God Bless America" with their families and loved ones. This week, the soldiers will join thousands of other N.C. National Guardsmen who already have been mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom. For the last week, soldiers of the 30th CSG have been working diligently to “make sure the unit is locked and cocked and packed and ready to go,” said Maj. Gen. William E. Ingram. All the soldiers have left to do is load the last of the equipment, file some necessary paperwork and spend time with family members, said Staff Sgt. James Martin. Martin said he will spend the next few days doing some close bonding with his wife. The two plan to go out for a nice din ner at their favorite restaurant. This week, the 30th CSG will move to an active duty post somewhere in the United ■ Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit. Frank Borman Serving the students and the University community since 1893 i AP TERRY RENNA NASA security removes the space shuttle Columbia flag from the flagpole at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., after the Columbia broke up over Texas on Saturday. ■I DTH BRIAN CASS ELLA Members of the 30th Corps Support Group of the N.C. National Guard stand during a mobilization ceremony Sunday. States, where it will go through a validation process to hone skills and ensure that it will be able to operate in the field. From there, soldiers are slated to report to the Central Command Area of Operations in southwest Asia. Martin, who specializes in water purifi cation projects, said he never has been deployed overseas. But, he said, he is pre pared to begin the process this week. “We all have to be ready,” he said. “That’s what we signed up for.” In speeches to the soldiers and support- Victory Levied UNC falls to Wake Forest in fourth straight loss. See Page 12 Monday, February 3, 2003 Marybel Johnson will help her family through the length of the mobilization by operating a Web site that will allowjohnson to communicate with her family. They will be able to post pictures and messages for each other on the site. It also will serve as a message board for friends so they can schedule who will be cooking meals for Johnson’s husband and three children on any given night. Though Ingram said the story of the citi- See SEND-OFF, Page 4 c, KB ers at the ceremony Sunday, commanding offi cers said even family mem bers staying back home need to be mentally and emotionally prepared for the times ahead. “The sacrifices you endure are important for our nation,” said Brig. Gen. Charles E. Gibson. “Hopefully, that will make it easier to bear." Ingram charged families to stay strong and “take care of business” back on the home front. He said this will allow the soldiers to continue to do their jobs effectively. Supporters of Maj. Weather Today: Partly Cloudy; H 68, L 49 "vk Tuesday: A.M. Rain; H 65, L 27 Wednesday: Cloudy; H 43, L 15 www.dailytarheel.com INVESTIGATION: NASA Hurt By Shortage Of Funding, Key Experts The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Shortages of key experts, tight budgets and mounting safe ty concerns all plagued the nation’s space program in recent years, according to a trail of reports by congressional auditors, outside panels and NASA retirees. How much of a forewarning they were to Saturday’s space shuttle Columbia tragedy could be determined in the next several weeks. National Aeronautics and Space Administration critics both in and out side the government and investigators into the accident are sure to comb the reports for anything that might explain the disintegration of the spacecraft near ly 40 miles above Texas as it screamed toward a landing in Florida at more than 12,000 miles per hour. As President Bush took office, the investigative arm of Congress found in 2001 that NASA’s shuttle work force over the years had declined significant ly, to the point of reducing the agency’s ability to safely support the program. Many key areas were not sufficient ly staffed by qualified workers, and the remaining work force showed signs of overwork and fatigue, the General Accounting Office stated. There were other warnings, includ ing a report to Congress last April on See INVESTIGATION, Page 4 9 Victims Still Critical After Kinston Blast Man died Friday in burn center By Elyse Ashburn State & National Editor The Kinston factory blast claimed the life of another vic tim Friday, bringing the death toll to four and leaving nine victims still in critical condition at UNC Hospitals' N.C. Jaycee Bum Center. Kevin Cruiess, 22, of Kinston died in the bum center Friday from injuries sustained when the West Pharmaceuticals Services plant exploded Wednesday. Hospital officials declined to comment on the specific cause of death. Cruiess was one of 10 patients - nine men and one woman - flown to the bum center Wednesday. Nine patients remain in crit ical condition and are receiving around-the-clock care, Michelle Boyce, UNC Hospitals nursing health supervisor, said Sunday. None of the patients are fully aware of their surround ings, though some issue mini mal responses when spoken to or touched, she said. Boyce said that all nine are breathing with assistance and that doctors have made no plans to remove them from ventila tors, though they no longer require manual resuscitation. “It’s going to be a long haul for all of them,” she said. But the victims’ families hold out hope - even faith - for speedy recoveries. “All we can do now is pray,” said Mary Ratliff, mother of Sharedenna Ratliff, who was burned severely in the explo sion. “It’s in God’s hands now.” Family members such as Mary Ratliff haunt hospital cor ridors and waiting rooms, hud dled in anxious groups. News is infrequent, visits even more so. No more than two visitors See VICTIMS, Page 4
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