VOLUME 111, ISSUE 57 Cuts hit graduate students’ finances Grad positions drop with budget BY BROOK R. CORWIN UNIVERSITY EDITOR Dan Herman thought he had a good candidate to fill an open seat in the Graduate and Professional Student Federation. The candidate was qualified, would have been around all year and had financial support from a teaching assistant position. Then he lost his TA funding for the next semester, and his status as a GPSF senator —and as a UNC student was placed in jeopardy. Hearing such tales of hardship has become increasingly common for Herman since he took office as GPSF president last April. Budget cuts have made the number of on-campus jobs for graduate students including teaching assistant, research assis tant and technical support posi tions increasingly scarce. “Positions are going down all over campus,” Herman said. “A lot of cuts were made in the past that had been fairly invisible, but now you’re seeing them.” And many graduate students are experiencing them. For example, the closing of a computer training center for fac ulty and staff this summer elimi nated several positions staffed by graduate students. Although the University is bringing in a record number of research awards from outside sources, Herman said, many departments in the College of Arts and Sciences actually are cutting back on available research assis tant positions. With state budget cuts amount ing to more than SSO million dur ing the past two years, departments heavily reliant on state funds don’t have enough money for new research projects, Herman said. For some graduate students, the SEE GRAD STUDENTS, PAGE 7 UM to try ‘holistic’ race policy STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The University of Michigan unveiled a new undergraduate admissions policy Thursday that gives the high est priority to academic achieve ment but also retains race as a fac tor in an effort to comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. “We continue to believe in gath ering a group of students that are very bright but different from one another— students from all walks of life and backgrounds,” UM Provost Paul Courant said. In a 6-3 ruling in June, the Supreme Court struck down the university’s race-conscious point system for undergraduate admis sions, which gave a 20-point boost to minority applicants, greater weight than it gave to some meas ures of academic excellence. The same day it issued that rul ing, the high court also issued a 5- 4 ruling on UM’s Law School admissions policy. In that ruling, the court decided that race can be a factor that col leges use to select their students provided that it is not the only fac tor. The lawsuits were filed by three white UM applicants Jennifer Grata and Patrick Hamacher, who applied as undergraduates in 1995, and Barbara Grutter, who applied in 1997 to the Law School— who SEE MICHIGAN, PAGE 7 HELP WANTED DTH INTEREST MEETINGS 8:30 p.m., Sept. 2, Union 226 5 p.m., Sept. 4, Union 22b Serving the students and the University community since 1893 ®ltr Sailu (Ear Heel mb mm k DTH PHOTOS/ASHLIE WHITE Rogerio Maldonado Rivera stands near the corner of Davie and Jones Ferry roads in Carrboro early Thursday morning. Along with many other men, Rivera waits for contractors looking for workers for the day. Sometimes workers secure a spot as early as 6:30 a.m. LABORERS MAY BE FORCED TO MOVE Immigrant workers provide labor, but some are criticized for loitering BY EMILY VASQUEZ STAFF WRITER At 6:15 a.m. there already are four men in line at The Pantry, a con venience store located at the intersection of Jones Ferry and Davie roads in Carrboro. Three additional men fill cups with steaming coffee at the end of the counter. The stores assistant manager estimates that these regulars account for about 30 percent of the stores sales. But as soon as they step outside the store, they are told not to loiter and to walk away quickly from the store front to drink their coffee. These are Carrboro’s day laborers. Most of them are Mexican immigrants who wait each morning for contractors and landscaping companies to pull up and offer a day’s work. Recently their daily assembly has become the source of a great deal of com plaint from local businesses, customers and residents. “We probably answer at least two to three calls for service each day in that gen eral area,” said Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison. “Sometimes more.” Alfred Avery, assistant manager at The Pantry, verified Hutchison’s estimation. “Customers complain of panhandling every day; we call police,” he said. Steady reports of loitering, suspicious persons, public intoxication, harassment and even drug deals have made this inter section one of Carrboro’s “hot spots” —a location requiring ever-increasing amounts of police patrol. The complaints have left day laborers unwanted in the area. As Fausto Ruiz Morina, a laborer, said in Spanish, “We all end up paying for one.” New apparel colors bring bucks to UNC BY EMILY STEEL ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR UNC is looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. After Student Stores was flooded with pink regalia last spring, periwinkles, tangerines and lime greens started trick ling into the shop, mingling with the classic Carolina blue. UNC merchandise generated SIOO million last year, making it one of the top selling college apparels in the coun try. About 3.6 percent of that money came from the colorful merchandise. While UNC fans only have been able to purchase the clothing on campus for a couple of months, the nontraditional line has been on the market for almost two decades. In fact, varied colors of UNC apparel date back to the 1980s, said Rut Tufts, the University's deputy director for aux iliary services. But the colorful line didn’t catch the eye of John Jones, campus merchandis- .. J9HL www.dailytarheel.com BIDING TIME Hutchison acknowledged that not all the laborers are responsible for the distur bances and that only a small group of men are repeatedly the source of trouble. These men often don’t find work and instead remain along the roadside all day, usually consuming alcohol. Concerned that the area could deterio rate, Hutchison recently resolved to seek a solution. “We want to provide a safer, more rea sonable spot to wait for work,” she said. Hutchison asked Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen on Tuesday for permission to begin an active review of the troubled inter section, which likely would lead to the establishment of anew and more accept able pickup spot for the laborers. Hutchison’s proposal includes an ordi nance that would bring an end to loitering at the location. Alderman John Herrera said he would like to establish a place with trash cans, a “It has nothing to do with athletics. It has to do with fash ion. ” john jones , CAMPUS MERCHANDISING DIRECTOR ing director, until April. While attending a national meeting of college bookstores at the University of Oregon, Jones saw articles of clothing in shades other than the host school's tra ditional green and yellow. He said he spoke with managers from college stores across the country and learned that college apparel in colorful shades is selling well, especially at schools in California. When Jones returned to UNC, he asked buyers to add Carolina-imprinted clothing to the store in nontraditional colors. Although traditional Carolina blue remains the overwhelming favorite color of students, Jones said, periwinkle, pink and graphite also have sold well. “We know the base of our market is Carolina blue, but just for that person SPORTS BRIDGING THE GAPS UNC volleyball looks to fill void left by star players PAGE 6 Carrboro has a large group of day laborers who have no steady job and who depend on contractors for employment. shelter to protect the day laborers from adverse weather and possibly even a portable toilet. Alderman Jacquelyn Gist suggested Tuesday that the parking lot behind the Carrboro Farmers’ Market might be a suit able spot for the relocation. It is unoccu pied weekday mornings and is within walk ing distance from The Pantry. But the problem solving has just begun. “There is a lot of liability attached to finding anew location. Asa community, we need to brainstorm for the best solution,” said Herrera. Hutchison also acknowledged that she will need to consult with the laborers and their employers regarding the hours during which individuals would be permitted to wait at any new location. She originally suggested that the pickup zone should be open between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and SEE LOITERING, PAGE 7 who wants something different, who wants to make a fashion statement, we added some new colors,” Jones said. Customers have bought about 400 pieces of the colorful Tar Heel regalia since the clothing arrived at Student Stores this summer, he said. While he said he recognizes that dif ferent people have different tastes, Sherrell McMillan, president of the Carolina Athletic Association, said he doesn’t expect fans to wear nontradi tional colors while supporting the Tar Heels. “I don’t see Carolina pink being very strong at football games,” he said. But Ttifts said that not only UNC stu dents buy the merchandise. “It has nothing to do with athletics,” SEE COLORS, PAGE 7 INSIDE BEATING THE BUSHES President Bush is expected to campaign for Republicans in North Carolina PAGE 9 FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2003 Report critical of APS shelter BY NICK EBERLEIN ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR After months under a micro scope, the local chapter of the Animal Protection Society was served sobering news Thursday: Its control over Orange County’s animal shelter might come to an end within months. The Humane Society of the United States released its sensitive report on the shelter’s operations after the Orange County Board of Commissioners work session adjourned late Thursday night. “We look at this report as a tool to improve and not use as a weapon.... To do that is detrimen tal to the entire community,” said Kate Pullen, the Humane Society’s consultation services director. “The situation here in Orange County is a lot of people who are looking to this report for validation of their own feelings,” she said. The release of the evaluation was preceded by a round-table dis cussion among the commission ers, the Orange County Board of Health and the APS. County officials asked the Humane Society in September for an assessment of the animal shel ter in response to public criticism of its administration. The outcry reached its zenith in February when area animal rights activists Judith Reitman and Elliot Cramer filed suit against the shel ter’s director, Laura Walters, and the APS board of directors. Cramer and Reitman accused Walters and the APS board of financial mismanagement and ani mal cruelty, among other charges. The parties are scheduled to meet with a court-appointed mediator within a month. Gwen Harvey, assistant county manager, said the role that the APS will play in the shelter’s oper ations is “to be determined.” If the county assumes control of the shelter, which all indications sug gest, the APS will lose all its administrative powers. Harvey presented a preliminary staff report to the commissioners that outlined measures the county might take if it assumes control of the shelter. APS renews its contract to run the shelter on a yearly basis, but starting Tuesday it will be sub ject to monthly renewals. Pullen repeatedly urged her audience to avoid overreacting to the Humane Society’s findings. “The preliminary report had nothing positive to say about APS, that’s true,” she said. “But when the recommendations are taken out of context they can be damaging and hinder progress.” SEE APS, PAGE 7 • if i r QH3XnK WT DTH/GREG LOGAN Sophomore psychology major Kim Pastwick tries on one of the newly available colors of UNC garments at Student Stores on Wednesday afternoon. WEATHER TODAY Partly cloudy, H 94, L 69 SATURDAY T-storms, H 91, L 68 SUNDAY T-storms, H 89, L 70

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