s!tr daily aor Hppl
CITY BRIEFS
Town Council candidates
to sound off to Sierra Club
The Sierra Club will host a can
didates forum for the Chapel Hill
Town Council at 7 p.m. in Town
Hall.
All but one of the 12 candidates
will be present. Candidates will
make opening statements before
responding to prepared questions
from club members.
The group then will send its rec
ommendations for endorsement to
the statewide organization, which
will declare endorsements formal
ly in early October.
All members of the public are
welcome to attend, and WCHL
AM will carry the event live.
Council postpones vote
on sprinkler ordinance
The Chapel Hill Town Council
postponed its vote regarding the
proposed sprinkler ordinance at
their Monday night meeting.
Members voted to delay the
decision when concerned parties
were not notified that the ordi
nance was being decided at the
meeting. Hurricane Isabel was the
cause of this lack of communica
tion.
Since these people w'ere not
notified properly, there was con
cern that residents would miss the
opportunity to express their views
before the vote took place. The
council moved the decision to its
Oct. 8 meeting.
Police shoot boy who fired
gun into classroom wall
SPOKANE, Wash. - Police
shot and wounded a 17-year-old
boy who brought a gun to school
and fired a bullet into a wall
Monday.
The teenager was reported in
good condition at a hospital.
Police said they were trying to
establish a motive for the standoff,
which took place in a third-floor
science classroom at Lewis and
Clark High School.
About 2,000 students and staff
members were evacuated from the
school around midday after it was
learned the boy had a handgun.
He fired a shot from the 9 mm
semiautomatic into a wall, but no
one was hurt, said Police Chief
Roger Bragdon.
No hostages were taken during
the standoff, police said.
Moseley Braun kicks off
campaign for presidency
WASHINGTON - Democrat
Carol Moseley Braun, who made
history as the first black woman
elected to the U.S. Senate, formal
ly launched her long-shot bid for
the presidency Monday, vowing to
“fix the mess” created by the cur
rent leadership.
Braun faces nine other
Democratic candidates all men
who, for the most part, have raised
more money and are beating her
in the polls. Nevertheless, she is
forging ahead with her campaign,
arguing that as a former ambassa
dor, senator and local government
official she is uniquely qualified to
be president.
Braun stunned the political
establishment in 1992 the “Year
of the Woman” unseating an
incumbent Democratic senator,
two-term lawmaker Alan Dixon, in
the primary on her way to what
once was considered an improba
ble victory in November.
Faith-based programs to
receive federal grants
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Four
government regulations complet
ed Monday and a half-dozen more
in the works will provide federal
money for religion-oriented pro
grams run by people President
Bush has dubbed America's
“neighborhood healers."
Cabinet members met with the
president at the White House to
discuss ways agencies are eliminat
ing barriers that have kept “faith
based” groups from obtaining fed
eral grants to help people in need.
The White House also
announced that the Department
of Health and Human Services has
awarded $30.5 million in grants to
81 organizations, which will use
the money to provide technical
assistance and subgrants to
church-related and community
groups in 45 states.
Wednesday
5 p.m. All male students
interested in trying out for the
men’s basketball junior varsity
team or walking on to the varsity
men’s basketball team must attend
an information session. The meet
ing will take place in Section 118 of
the Smith Center. Students should
enter the Smith Center through
Gate A.
Compiledfrom
staff and wire reports.
Council approves plan for Northside
Final preservation scheme is in sight
BY NICK EBERLEIN
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
With preservation efforts hitting
the homestretch in the Northside
neighborhood, the Chapel Hill
Town Council accepted Monday
evening an interim conservation
platform for the area.
If the council expresses no trep
idation about the interim proposal
after its review, the Northside
Neighborhood Conservation
District Advisory Committee will
be given the green light to draft a
final platform.
The committee drafted the pro
posal in conjunction with the
town’s Planning Board. The group
says that residential developers
and investors focused on the stu
dent housing market have eroded
f I _— - *"
wttL I **
Ij y .
Mm*
DTHZKRISTIN GOODE
nthony Florian (front), 6, puts finishing touches on his sidewalk painting at Litchtin Plaza on
Sunday in Raleigh while his brother, Justin, 8, pauses from his work to watch. As part of Raleigh s
fifth annual Street Painting Festival, the Florians created their own works of art celebrating the
theme of “First in Flight.” Artist Ngaire Wills from Sydney, Australia, came to the festival to
participate, and N.C. State University student Stephanie Clinton went to Sydney to “chalk" in exchange.
Vice chancellor search
runs into speed bump
BY EMILY STEEL
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
University administrators have
made little progress in the selec
tion of anew vice chancellor for
student affairs after the search
committee submitted its recom
mendations on the three candi
dates last week.
Chancellor James Moeser,
Provost Robert Shelton and 13 offi
cials from the Division of Student
Affairs discussed Monday after
noon the three candidates and the
characteristics they expect in a vice
chancellor.
But the group failed to arrive at
a final recommendation after its 1
1/2-hour meeting.
Shelton said the search’s next
steps include aborting the current
search and returning to the draw
ing board, negotiating a contract
with one candidate or bringing two
candidates back to campus for
more interviews.
“We have a lot of substantial
things to think about,” Shelton
said. “We don’t want to make a
knee-jerk reaction.”
Shelton said he does not feel a
Top Nows
the neighborhood’s historic char
acter and demographics.
Recent amendments to the
town’s Land-Use Management
Ordinance allow restrictive
covenants to be placed on “unique
and distinctive older in-town resi
dential neighborhoods” that con
tribute significantly to the town’s
identity and character.
“We had Northside in mind
when we changed the law to allow
conservation districts,” said coun
cil member Mark Kleinschmidt.
Adoption of restrictive covenants
is left to the discretion of the coun
cil since it initiated the process and
appointed the committee.
Northside, the area north of
SEE NORTHSIDE, PAGE 6
CHALKIN’ IT UP
sense of urgency to select anew
vice chancellor because student
affairs is currently under good
leadership.
“Our sense is to get a really
strong person. It may take an extra
week or an extra month,” he said.
“It is too important of a job.”
On Sept. 15, Shelton called the
three candidates to update them
on the search committee's
progress, saying they would hear
about a decision within the next
couple of weeks.
If administrators decide to start
the search from scratch, Shelton
said, the process could take sever
al more months.
But the process will proceed
faster if officials select a candidate
or decide to bring two of the
prospective vice chancellors back
to campus. “Negotiations won’t
take long, assuming (the candi
dates) are still interested,” Shelton
said.
All three candidates said Monday
that they were still interested in the
position but that they would need to
SEE SEARCH, PAGE 6
1 :r—-
DTH/ASHLEY PITT
Many residents of the historically black Northside neighborhood are proposing legislation to the Chapel Hill
Town Council that would restrict the construction of homes that cater solely to the college student market.
Ehrenreich teach-ins spark debate
Workers wont get time off to attend
BY ASHLEY HOLT
STAFF WRITER
Students, faculty and University
employees will discuss the plight of
low-wage workers today at two
teach-ins featuring Barbara
Ehrenreich, author of “Nickel and
Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in
America” —but conflicts have
risen about the controversy of
employee attendance at the events.
The teach-ins, to be held from
noon to 2 p.m. and from 6 to 9
p.m, will be on the steps of South
Building and the Rosenau
Auditorium at the School of Public
Health, respectively. Gerrard Hall
will house the afternoon teach-in
in case of rain.
The teach-ins are results of the
controversy surrounding the
Summer Reading Program’s selec
tion of Ehrenreich’s book. The
book chronicles her experiences as
a Wal-Mart cashier and a waitress,
among other jobs.
Topics of the two teach-ins will
include abrupt schedule changes,
conflicts with UNC-system policy,
housing and child care, said Sascha
Bollag, a sophomore history major
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2003
Gay couples
face barriers
in fight for
equal rights
Despite mired motives,
hope for change is uniform
BY KIRSTEN VALLE
STAFF WRITER
If Ed and Tim were heterosexual, there wouldn’t
be a problem.
But since he’s half of a gay couple, Tim, a Canadian
transplant to Raleigh, is looking for a w r ay to stay in
the United States. Though he gladly would marry his
partner, same-sex marriage alone doesn’t guarantee
citizens' rights in the United States.
To be with Ed, his partner of almost four years,
Tim relies on a tourist visa an uncertain and tem
porary solution. “It’s a constant fear in the back of our
minds that immigration could say, Your time is up.’”
Ed said work requirements make a more perma
nent visa difficult to obtain. "Working with comput
ers is ... what Tim was doing, but the company fell
under hard times and didn't renew his visa,” said Ed,
who works at a Morrisville software company.
Though Tim has computer training, an education
degree and a background in math, no school he has
contacted about math teaching jobs will accept his visa.
“For any two people, there are challenges in being
a couple,” Ed said. “Gay couples have a challenge, too.
It’s real easy to say, 'Forget it.'”
Couples who do manage to marry also encounter
barriers. According to a Thursday article by The
Associated Press, a homosexual couple married in
Canada said they were denied entry' to the United
States when they refused to fill out individual cus
toms forms, preferring to file as a family.
Though an Ontario court deemed a strict hetero
sexual definition of marriage unconstitutional in
June and other Canadian provinces successively took
up the issue, Reuters reported Saturday that the
Canadian Parliament had introduced legislation to
reaffirm the male-female marriage standard and to
permit only same-sex civil unions.
Gay marriage recently stepped into the spotlight in
the United States as well. On Sept. 10, some Roman
Catholic bishops endorsed the idea of a constitutional
amendment prohibiting gay marriage, following in the
footsteps of the Vatican’s June 3 statement, available
on its Web site, in opposition to gay unions.
Chris Newiin, an employee at Raleigh's White
Rabbit gay and lesbian supply store, said he’s heard
varying opinions about marriage within the gay com
munity. "I think there are a lot of people who have
been fighting a long time. Then there are some that
don't really care.”
SEE GAY MARRIAGE, PAGE 6
and organizer of the 6 p.m. teach
in.
Barbara Prear, a UNC house
keeper and vice president of UE
Local 150 the N.C. Public Service
Workers Union, winch helped
organize the noon teach-in said
that she will participate in the dis
cussion and that she hopes officials
acknowledge low-wage workers’
plight in the United States.
“The University says it is a liber
al organization, but they are not
liberal at all when it comes to low
wage workers,” Prear said. “We
have to deal with disrespect, work
loads, wages and being forced to
wurk outside of our pay range.”
Workers such as Prear wanted to
attend the summer reading discus
sions in August but said they were
refused admittance by Summer
Reading Program organizers.
Cindy Wolf Johnson, associate
vice chancellor for student learning
and chairwoman of the Summer
Reading Program, could not be
reached for comment.
The attendance of low'-wage
workers is a main concern among
the union members and workers
Author
Barbara
Ehrenreich
will speak at 2
teach-ins today
on low-wage
employees.
who organized the teach-in.
“We are the experts of (being)
nickeled and dimed.” said David
Brannigan. a groundskeeper at
UNC. “And absolutely nothing has
been done to include low-wage
workers. ... We will not enjoy the
luxury of attending like faculty' and
staff members.”
Brannigan wrote a letter Sept 11
to Chancellor James Moeser on
behalf of all low-wage workers,
asking the University to sponsor
the noon teach-in so more workers
could attend without losing valu
able salary.
Moeser responded in an e-mail
Wednesday. In it, he said that the
teach-ins will not be University
sponsored events and that vacation
time will need to be taken if work
ers wish to attend.
“Professors are getting paid
SEE TEACH-INS, PAGE 6
3