VOLUME ill, ISSUE 96
Officials suggest change in cap plan
PROPOSAL LETS CAMPUSES ASK FOR MORE OUT-OF-STATERS
BY CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR.
STAFF WRITER
Two UNC-system leaders have
proposed an alternative to a poten
tial change in the enrollment cap
for system students that would
allow individual campuses to
request changes to their ratios.
Board of Governors members
Peter Keber and Addison Bell have
proposed a policy that would enable
OPENING DOORS
University officials say disability access is seeing a steady increase under the Master Plan
BY ARMAN TOLENTINO
STAFF WRITER
Though some campus
facilities have yet to
meet regulations
regarding disability access,
officials believe access is
improving, especially with
the construction and renova
tions taking place under the
University’s Master Plan for
campus growth.
Newly renovated buildings
such as Murphey Hall, which
opened for classes in
January, and Alexander,
Connor and Winston resi
dence halls, which opened at
the beginning of the semes
ter, are now fully accessible.
During the renovation process,
these buildings received new ele
vators, ramps, appropriate signage,
automatic doors and other disabil
ity access features.
James Kessler, director of UNC
Disability Services, said that only
Caldwell Hall and Smith Building
have significant problems with
disability access and that the cam
pus is more than 95 percent com
plete in terms of physical access.
He also commended Chancellor
James Moeser for having an eleva
tor installed in South Building
recently.
“By and large, this campus is in
really good shape,” he said. “Access
continues to get better and better.”
However, campus facilities that
were built or renovated before
1990 when the Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility
Guidelines were released might
not be fully accessible.
Kessler said these buildings will
be addressed in coming years as
the Master Plan continues to have
an impact on campus.
To make sure that renovation
projects are consistent with ADA
guidelines as well as the North
Carolina State Building Code, the
University this year hired Michael
Pierce, an architect who special
izes in disability access.
“With each renovation were
going into we’re making the whole
SEE ACCESS, PAGE 5
Foul weather doesn’t dampen fair’s end
Event surpasses average attendance
BY UNHDATRAN
STAFF WRITER
Exceeding its average yearly
attendance, the 2003 N.C. State
Fair closed its gates for the year
Sunday night beneath overcast,
rainy skies.
Enticed by candy apples, life
size teddy bears, adrenaline-pump
ing rides and towering kiddie
slides, more than 763,000 people
crowded the State Fairgrounds
during the event’s 10-day run.
Gov. Mike Easley and N.C.
Interim Agriculture Commissioner
Britt Cobb were present at the fair’s
opening ceremony Oct. 17-
INSIDE
GOSPEL ROAD, TAKE ME HOME
Professor Michael Chitwood's love for Appalachia
led to an award-winning book PAGE 3
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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campuses to ask permission to
accept more out-of-state students.
Campuses could base requests
on a wide variety of reasons, not
just the academic excellence of
potential students as proposed by
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor
James Moeser.
The BOG will consider a contro
versial and politically volatile cap
on nonresident students at its Nov.
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DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Senior political science major Rebecca Williford sits along a ramp to the basement door that is the only entrance to South Building accessible
for people who cannot use the steps. Williford, who uses a wheelchair, is one of 115 undergraduate students at UNC with a disability.
Lives not hindered by disability
SELF-IDENTIFIED DISABILITY STUDENTS
One hundred and sixty-seven
undergraduate and graduate
students at UNC identified
themselves as disabled last Flearing Impaired
spring. UNC has increased its
efforts to accommodate the
needs of such students.
■ Female ...
Visually Impaired
■Male mmm-
Mobility Impaired
All Disabilities
SOURCE: UNC-CH Department of Disability Service
DTH/MICHAELA IDHAMMAR
As of press time, this year’s
attendance already had surpassed
that of the 2002 fair by more than
65,000 people.
In all, attendance was expected
to exceed 800,000, said Fair
Manager Wesley Wyatt.
But attendance is not the only
factor by which the fair should be
judged, he added, since the num
ber of people who go to a fair
depends largely on the weather.
“Last year we had some rainy
weather, and that depressed atten
dance,” he said.
“We still had good attractions
and attendance overall.” \
www.dailytarheel.com
14 meeting in Chapel Hill.
Higher education officials across
the state, including UNC-system
chancellors and the members of
the UNC Association of Student
Governments, have weighed in on
the issue.
Bell, a member of the
Committee on Educational
Planning, Policies and Programs,
which first considered raising the
University, businesses
provide special services
BY MARY BETH BARDIN
STAFF WRITER
When it comes to involvement, Rebecca
Williford is among the most active students at
UNC.
The senior political science major is a tour
guide, an unrelenting advocate for disability
access and former student body secretary.
Her impact on the University community has
been such that her contributions were honored
with the Laura L.D. Thomas Access to the
Journey Award earlier this month.
Williford also uses a wheelchair.
Last spring, she was one of 115 undergrad
Wyatt said he deemed this year’s
fair a success because there were
no major accidents or injuries to
fairgoers.
He added that there also was a
consistently high quality of arts,
crafts and entertainment.
Fairgoers such as Jenna Rosato,
a Wake Forest High School stu
dent, and her friend Beth Jackson
were slightly wary of the larger
crowds this year.
“It’s really crowded, but it’s a lot
of fun,” Rosato said.
The two young women were
among many thrill seekers waiting
in line for the Fire Ball, a rotating,
swinging pendulum in which rid
ers are held in place by an over
head harness.
cap in October, has been a vocal
opponent of the increase.
He has asserted that state legis
lators will oppose a policy that
would enroll a higher percentage of
out-of-state students.
Keber and Bell could not be
reached by press time Sunday.
Others, including Moeser and
UNC-CH Student Body President
Matt Tepper, have said that raising
uate and 52 graduate students with disabilities
at UNC. Records have not been updated for the
current semester.
“These students aren’t different,” said James
Kessler, director of UNC Disability Services. “It’s
a medical condition. It’s only one characteristic."
Hilary Franklin, a senior public policy major
who has a hearing impairment, said there are
no significant differences between her life and
that of a nondisabled student.
“Everybody is basically the same,” she said.
“I’m just different in one fundamental way."
Students such as Franklin and Williford say
they haven’t let disabilities stand in the way of
education or school involvement, even as some
buildings are compromised by construction.
But some find social interaction to be slight-
SEE DISABILITY, PAGE 5
Jackson said she also was look
ing to conquer the fair’s conces
sion stands after surviving the
rides.
“Eat and eat some more,” she
said.
Culinary choices at the fair
ranged from fried candy bars to
turkey legs. Classics such as candy
apples, cotton candy, hot dogs, fun
nel cakes and pizza were found in
every nook and cranny of the fair
grounds: in the lunch stands,
across from the sand sculpture or
next to Kiddieland.
Every night except for
Wednesday, when strong winds
became a hindrance —a 15-minute
SEE FAIR, PAGE 5
SPORTS
CRUSHING DEFEAT
Even after one of their best rushing games,
the Tar Heels still lose to Clemson, 36-28 PAGE 10
BOG member
Addison Bell,
who drafted
the alternate
proposal, has
been a vocal
opponent of a
cap increase.
the cap will diversify the system’s
student population, improving stu
dents’ overall academic experience.
Some system officials have not
taken a side on the issue, saying
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DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Fairgoers ride the Top Spin attraction at the 150th State Fair in Raleigh
on Sunday afternoon. The 10-day event wrapped up yesterday.
WEATHER
TODAY Rain, H 67, L 45
TUESDAY Partly cloudy, H 61, L4l
WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy, H 66, L 38
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2003
their schools most likely won’t be
affected by potential changes.
BOG Chairman Brad Wilson
said the board will consider all pro
posals, including the one by Keber
and Bell, in November. The board
will meet an hour earlier to allow
for a full debate on the issue.
BOG member Jim Phillips,
chairman of the board's Budget
and Finance Committee said that,
at least initially, he is in favor of the
SEE CAP, PAGE 5
Leaders
release
October
Report
Account updates
Peppers progress
BY MEGAN DAVIS
STAFF WRITER
After six months in office,
Student Body President Matt
Tepper’s administration released
its October Report on Tuesday,
highlighting the progress made
thus far in the administration’s
diverse platform.
Already this semester the
administration has delivered on a
majority of its platform goals,
which included forming the Off-
Campus Housing Association, aid
ing the establishment of a more
predictable tuition increase plan
and successfully spearheading the
largest campus voter registration
drive in at least five years.
The platform was designed to
address the diverse needs of the
student body, Tepper said.
Publicizing services and events
offered through the Women’s
Affairs Committee of student gov
ernment and Student Health
Sendee is one way the administra
tion has represented varied cam
pus needs.
The administration also has
enjoyed success in cementing new
security measures and awareness
on campus by updating University
police patrol routes and making
Safe Shuttle a permanent service.
The shuttle’s sendees now extend
to sorority houses in addition to
campus housing locations.
Another major boon to the
administration is the inclusion of
apartment-style housing on South
Campus in the University’s Master
Plan, a 50-year blueprint for cam
pus growth.
This was a topic the
Department of Housing and
Residential Education wavered on,
Tepper said, and the administra
tion was able to convince
University officials that it is some
thing in which students are high
ly interested.
“We’ve accomplished so much
in so many different areas that we
think everyone has benefited in
SEE REPORT, PAGE 5
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