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Ufa ia% GJar MM WORLD BRIEFS Judge refuses to rule out death penalty in sniper case VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Despite little proof that John Allen Muhammad pulled the trigger, the judge at his trial refused to take the death penalty off the table Wednesday, saying the evidence suggests that he and fellow sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo worked together. The ruling came as Muhammad’s defense rested its case after calling only five witness es who testified for a total of two hours. Muhammad did not take the stand. The prosecutions case stretched over three weeks and included more than 130 witnesses. Muhammad’s lawyers argued unsuccessfully that Virginia law prohibits the death penalty for Muhammad on one of the two capital murder charges against him because there is no evidence that he was the triggerman. Arafat establishes new Palestinian government RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat swore in anew Palestinian Cabinet on Wednesday, getting the govern ment he wanted after a long wran gle and setting the stage for a renewed push to implement the stalled, U.S.-backed “road map” peace plan. The new government earlier won a vote of confidence from Palestinian legislators after Arafat joined Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia in calling for an end to three years of violence that has claimed thousands of lives. Israeli officials said they will give the new premier a chance to restore calm, and Islamic militant groups said they will consider a cease-fire. University won't get funds after school paper flap HAMPTON, Va. - A presti gious journalism organization canceled a $55,000 grant to Hampton University after the school’s administration confiscat ed the student newspaper for not running an item on the front page where the administration wanted it • The American Society of Newspaper Editors had intended to provide funds for a 2004 sum mer training program for high school journalism teachers at the university’s new Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. But the society voiced doubts after the university’s actions last month. Tuesday, it sent a clear message by declining to hand over the money. According to student journal ists, the university confiscated the Oct. 22 issue of the Hampton Script because a letter from JoAnn Haysbert, the acting university president, didn’t make the front page, as requested. Gunman, 2 others die as Dallas standoff concludes DALLAS A daylong standoff between police and a gunman ended Wednesday with the man and two other people dead and four officers wounded. Seven chil dren and a woman held as hostages were released unharmed. SWAT team officers shot and killed Francisco Fuentes, 32, who had held them at bay for nine hours and fired twice at officers. Fuentes who had been in a stand off with police that ended peace fully two months earlier. A police report said Fuentes broke into an apartment at about 2:45 am. and fatally shot one man in the chest with a shotgun. He went into a bedroom where the woman and other man were sleep ing and shot the man in the head. Fuentes then barricaded himself in the bedroom with the hostages. Police hadn't determined the motive in the hostage-taking and killings, and they were questioning the woman who had been held hostage, spokesman Sgt. Gil Cerda said. Fuentes w'as the father of at least two of the children, police said. The police report identified the woman as Fuentes’ wife, though acquaintances described her as his ex-wife. The men killed were iden tified as Mario Rios, 30, and John Watson, 31. CALENDAR Friday 7:30 p.m. The Wesley Foundation, at 214 Pittsboro St., will host a Coffeehouse Night. If you play the guitar or piano, sing or dance or simply just enjoy hearing these sounds, please join us. This event is open to the entire community, and refreshments will be provided. Call 942-2152 for more information. Compiledfrom staff and wire reports. System may struggle to fund growth Schools taking in 6,000 new students BY DAN PIERGALLINI STAFF WRITER The UNC system enrolled about 6,000 more students in 2003-04 than it did the previous academic year, according to preliminary reports, leaving some state legisla tors wondering if North Carolina can pay for the system’s growth. Including this year’s increase, the LAST MINUTE TOUCH-UPS EIK v v3 '<i I*” I enior international studies major Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum works k,. Wednesday afternoon on an acrylic piece of artwork for a show called “Hidden Place” that will open Monday in Hanes Art Establishments reopen despite S9OK tax debt BY TERRENCE JORDAN STAFF WRITER Avalon dance club and W.B. Yeats Irish Pub both will remain open for business after a week dur ing which both were shut down by the N.C. Department of Revenue. State revenue officials said the businesses were closed because of an outstanding debt owed by their owner, Dan Markscheid. Markscheid incurred the debt while he was running Gotham, a dance club previously open where Avalon is located. Avalon inherited the debt when Markscheid replaced the old club. W.B. Yeats was closed down at the same time as Avalon because Markscheid holds the liquor licenses for both businesses. Markscheid said he was frus trated at the chain of events that led to his businesses’ doors being closed. “The way it happened did n’t make any sense,” he said. Markscheid said he didn’t find out that the businesses were being closed until Nov. 4. He said he had agreed to a deal with the Department of Revenue on Nov. 5, but the deal was canceled by the department Nov. 6. The doors of Avalon were pad locked Nov. 6 but are slated to be reopened tonight. State revenue officials closed W.B. Yeats on Nov. 5, resulting in the cancellation of a UNC Dance Marathon fund-raiser. The restau rant reopened TUesday. Ralph Foster, assistant director of the Collection Division in the Department of Revenue, said the department obtained a writ of exe cution, forcing both establish ments to close their doors. Top News system has grown by 20,000 stu dents in the past three years, said UNC-system President Molly Broad in a press conference Wednesday. Last year, the N.C. General Assembly provided about $47 mil lion for enrollment growth in its budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year. Broad expressed confidence during the press conference that Center. Works from classmate Ginny Lam also will be displayed in the show. The painting Sunstrum is working on, not yet titled, focuses on the idea of inner healing and spirituality. 7 don’t see how the people of (the state) are being served bp closing... Avalon and W.B. Teats.” DAN MARKSCHEID, OWNER “(Markscheid’s) businesses have withheld more than $90,000 in sales tax and gross receipt tax,” Foster said. While Markscheid acknowl edged the debt, he disputed the amount he owes. “The department came up with a fictitious number.” Markscheid said the closings were counterproductive because the money he would use to pay off the debt would come from his businesses. “I’m not saying (the depart ment’s) actions were malicious, but I don’t see how the people of North Carolina are being served by clos ing down both Avalon and W.B. Yeats,” he said. Foster said the department acted within its rights by closing the businesses because of the debt. Despite the difficult process, Markscheid said, he is grateful for the words of encouragement he has received from members of the community. “I can’t tell you how many peo ple called to show their support,” he said. “We genuinely appreciate that.” Markscheid also expressed grat itude toward the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “The efforts SEE CLOSINGS. PAGE 4 state legislators will continue to fund enrollment growth fully. However, recent budget con cerns could disable the state from supporting a growing number of students each year. Sen. Majority Leader Tony Rand, D- Cumberland, said he is worried about how lawmakers will raise enough revenue to accommodate budget demands. He emphasized that North Carolina’s projected budget, DTH/JUSTIN SMITH Congress mulls varied issues Forum invites student dialogue BY JOHN ZHANG STAFF WRITER Student leaders and UNC- Chapel Hill officials discussed a plethora of issues, from the out-of state enrollment cap to the Carolina Covenant, at the student government-sponsored Fall Forum on Wednesday night. The event offered students a chance to discuss and hear about developments and issues on cam pus. About 35 students, mostly Student Congress members, attended, and television station WNCN provided media coverage of the forum on its 11 p.m. newscast. Barbara Polk, senior associate director of undergraduate admis sions, discussed misconceptions about raising the out-of-state enrollment cap. Polk mentioned that the North Carolina and California public uni versity systems have the lowest caps and compared them with the University of Virginia, which does n’t have an official cap but whose freshman classes usually comprise about 30 percent nonresidents. The UNC system has an 18 percent cap. “Currently, Carolina is one of the toughest public schools for out-of state students to be admitted to,” she said. “One of the main reasons top in-state students leave is because they feel that Carolina does not have national representation.” Polk said that UNC-CH turned away this year more than 1,000 out-of-state students with an SAT score of more than 1400 as well as many National Merit Scholars. Student Attorney General THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 approved in June, relies on a 5.5 percent revenue increase during the next fiscal year, in addition to a 3.5 percent projected increase for this year. “You have to see where everything is and see what you can do with the least amount of dam age to the state’s future,” Rand said. Historically, legislators have funded enrollment growth requests because giving new students access to college has been one of their top priorities, said Jeff Davies, UNC Scholars group to seek funding Robertson Scholars seek fixed income BY MEGAN DAVIS STAFF WRITER Three years after its implemen tation, the Robertson Scholars Program is re-examining its finan cial state while preparing for a scheduled external evaluation. Its current grant will cover the four years it needs in order to grad uate the first class of scholars, but more funding is necessary for the program to continue. The program was established in 2000 with a $24 million grant from the Robertson Foundation that was divided between Duke University and UNC. It allows stu dents to take advantage of academ ic programs at both universities throughout their four undergradu ate years, including a one-semester stay at the affiliate university. Program officials are working with the Robertson Foundation to establish a support organization board that would create a plan to Student Congress freezes Stein funds Sponsors may have broken protocol BY EMILY STEEL ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR For now, UNC College Republicans might not have enough funds to dole out Ben Stein’s money. The $4,111.50 in student activi ty fees appropriated to the student group for the humorist and politi cal commentator’s $15,000 speech Monday night is frozen because of possible Student Code violations. The funds will be frozen until College Republican leaders appear before the full Student Congress next Tuesday to resolve the conflict. “The freezing of the funds is not a punishment,” said Student Body JSjE <f &-, -dal BP* t 7- ;^hß^^rv, DTH/KATE BLACKMAN Student Attorney General Jonathan Slain speaks Wednesday night on the Honor Code at Student Congress' Fall Forum in 116 Murphey Hall. Jonathan Slain and Marc Hennes, outreach coordinator for Honor Carolina, presided over the topic of honor and integrity on campus. Slain discussed taking pride in honor as a tradition at UNC-CH with events such as Honor and Integrity Week. Students brought up the issue of the Honor Code being too long and difficult to access. The code is post ed on the Internet, and a link to the Web site is on every computer the Carolina Computing Initiative pro vides to freshmen, Slain said. Shirley Ort, director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, spoke next about the Carolina Covenant, which guarantees that UNC-CH will meet the financial need of low-income students admitted to the University. The newly developed plan was publicized and commended nation system vice president for finance. The system is projecting consis tent growth during the next decade, he said, and the UNC-system Board of Governors hasn’t consid ered slowing its growth. The board will see a comprehensive report on the growth Friday, Broad said. Davies added that tuition hikes have been used in the past to cover rising enrollment growth costs. SEE GROWTH, PAGE 4 fund the program permanently. “The creation of the support organization is one of many things we’re exploring to solidify the future funding of the program,” said Eric Mlyn, director of the Robertson Scholars Program. He said program directors always have intended to create a mechanism for funding the pro gram permanently. The board would comprise nine members, with two representatives from each participating university and three from the Robertson Foundation. Two other members not affiliated with the foundation or the universities also would serve on the board. “The creation of this mechanism is to ensure that all of the various parties ... and the foundation are represented on any board that might oversee the program in the SEE SCHOLARS, PAGE 4 Treasurer Alexa Kleysteuber. “It is just a precaution until we get to clear things up.” Speaker Pro Tern Matt Liles said that at Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting, members were upset that College Republicans reserved almost 100 seats in the standing-room-only event, limiting student access to the student-funded event. When College Republicans Chairman Tripp Costas requested student fees from the Finance Committee, he said the group only would reserve about 10 seats for the SEE CONGRESS, PAGE 4 ally, and Ort said the plan will secure a growing economic diversi ty, which is the top concern for pub lic universities in the state. Colin Scott, vice president of the Residence Hall Association, was the last speaker, drawing feedback on issues of campus residents. Scott said that student input w as considered on new buildings and renovations and that RHA is ensuring that contractors are responsible in handling problems. Scott also addressed safety con cerns, saying the campus is very safe with a low crime level com pared with the surrounding area. Freshman Katherine Rodgers attended the forum “to stay informed about the issues in order to have an educated opinion.” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 13, 2003, edition 1
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