VOLUME 111, ISSUE 115
Students fail to show up at polls
ONLY 329 VOTED IN ELECTION
DESPITE REGISTRATION DRIVE
BY GREG PARKER
STAFF WRITER
Only 329 voters aged 18 to 22
turned out to vote in Chapel Hill
for the 2003 town elections,
despite a voter registration drive
sponsored by student government
that garnered 2,300 new student
voters in Orange County.
Leaders say
tuition hike
is feasible
BOG members say they’d
mull nonresident increase
BY LINHDA TRAN
STAFF WRITER
Despite a UNC-system Board of Governors rec
ommendation that universities cap the amounts of
their tuition increases, some BOG members indi
cated that they might not be opposed to an out-of
state tuition hike on the table at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Jim Phillips, chairman of the BOG’s Budget and
Finance Committee, recommended in October that
system schools only approach the board with
increases that are less than S3OO and that would go
toward a very narrow set of funding needs, such as
financial aid and faculty salary increases.
Last month, the University’s Tuition Task Force
created a proposal to hike tuition rates for both in
state and out-of-state students by S3OO every year
for three years.
But the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees dis
cussed proposals last week to increase out-of-state
tuition significantly anywhere from $2,000 to
SB,OOO.
Many trustees also have discussed percentage
based tuition hikes that would result in greater
tuition increases for out-of-state students. Thistees
delayed on Thursday a vote to decide on tuition and
fee increases.
Phillips said the BOG has not yet begun discus
sions about potential increases.
He said that if board members are presented with
proposals for amounts higher than he recommend
ed, they “will consider it” as dictated by N.C. law.
“We are trying to give general requests to the
(schools). At this point, it is not really decided.”
Ben Ruffin, BOG member emeritus and former
board chairman, said it’s never been the intent of the
board to have students pay entirely for their educa
tion if they live in North Carolina.
“I basically support no raise in tuition for in-state
students. The state of North Carolina is responsible
for (paying for education).... Even though they have
tough budget situations ... we cannot afford to push
students out of school and continue to increase
tuition,” Ruffin said.
Increasing out-of-state tuition should be neither
the first resort nor the last resort in looking to
increase financial resources, said BOG member
Brent Barringer.
During the debate on raising the out-of-state
enrollment cap, Barringer had proposed increasing
out-of-state tuition as well.
But Barringer added that increasing out-of-state
tuition is different from raising it for N.C. residents.
Out-of-state tuition needs to be raised not only
to eliminate any state subsidiaries, Barringer said,
but also to keep universities competitive with each
other.
“If we have the flexibility to significantly raise out
of-state tuition and still attract out-of-state students,
then we need to do that,” he said.
BOT Chairman Richard “Stick” Williams said he
thinks the board will have to consider increasing
tuition as one of the ways to raise revenue.
“The one thing that we absolutely don’t want to do
SEE TUITION, PAGE 2
A Chapel Hill
firefighter
works late
Sunday to
extinguish the
flames at an
abandoned
house at
107 Stephens
St. The fire,
which is being
investigated for
possible arson,
started outside
and was out by
11:45 p.m.
DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
ONLINE
WWW.DAILYTARHEEL.COM
Committee for the conservation of the Northside
neighborhood to present final plans today
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
®lir iailg (Tar Heel
The numbers provided by the
Orange County Board of Elections
indicate that it would have been
impossible for student votes to
influence the outcome of the elec
tion, given the number of young
voters who cast ballots.
Four Town Council seats were
determined in the election, with a
L. i. ;J|l
DTH/JOSHUA GREER
Duke running back Chris Douglas (4) rides the Victory Bell on the field celebrating the Blue Devils' 30-22 victory Saturday.
BELL TOLLS FOR DUKE
BY lAMIE AGIN
SENIOR WRITER
Like drivers passing a wreck on the
freeway, some North Carolina football
.
FOOTBALL
Duke 30
UNC 22
Having just watched Duke defensive
tackle Matt Zielinski sack Darian
Durant to kill UNC’s chances of rallying
from a 30-22 deficit, the Tar Heels had
to stomach something not seen since
1989.
INSIDE
EMBARGOED
MBA student protests $V,500 fine
received for visiting Cuba PAGE 8
www.daHytarheel.com
discrepancy of more than 1,000
votes between the fourth- and
fifth-place candidates.
Student Body President Matt
Tepper was surprised by the low
turnout. “Given that we registered
2,300 students, I would have hoped
that more than 329 voted,” he said.
Tepper did say, however, that stu
dent government’s efforts had a pos
itive impact on turnout, as student
turnout was larger for the 2003
election than it was in 1999, the last
time the race for mayor had only
The Blue Devils mobbed the Victory
Bell and— with Zielinski riding on the
cart dragged it to midfield, where the
picture posing began.
“I was crushed," said tailback Jacque
Lewis. “Normally I’m the last person to
leave the field at every game, but I left
the field first.
“I ran in before everybody. I couldn’t
even be out there.”
And this was after the good half.
In a season full of inconsistent foot
ball, the Tar Heels saved their worst per
formance for Saturday’s first 30 minutes
and found themselves in a 23-0 hole at
plavers were uneasv
about what they saw,
yet compelled to
look. Others couldn’t
bear to.
Fire singes Airport Road home
BY KATHRYN GRIM
CITY EDITOR
A fire that erupted late Sunday night
significantly damaged a house off Airport
Road in a Chapel Hill neighborhood
heavily populated by student residents.
The Chapel Hill Fire Department is
investigating the fire as a possible arson.
The property at 107 Stephens St.
belongs to Billy G. Batten of Sanford,
according to Orange County property
records. But neighbors said the house has
been vacant for about two years.
Twelve firefighters arrived on the scene
in three engines just after 11:15 p.m., when
one candidate on the ballot. In that
race, 269 voters aged 18 to 22 voted.
Data from the elections board
also show that the number of reg
istered 18- to 22-year-olds
decreased from 4,357 in 2001 to
3,138 in 2003.
But Tepper said the high regis
tration numbers in 2001 largely
were due to carry-over from voter
registration efforts during the 2000
presidential campaign.
Another student disappointed
with the turnout was Michael
the break.
“Give me all the credit for not having
the football team ready to play in the
first half,” said UNC coach John
Bunting. “I never thought that would
happen, but it did."
The Blue Devils (4-8, 2-10 in the
ACC) began their scoring with a 27-yard
field goal set up by a 45-yard Chris
Douglas run.
On the next series for UNC (2-10,1-
7), Ronnie McGill fumbled at the Tar
Heels’ 35-yard line. Duke recovered and
SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 2
a neighbor reported flames that firefight
ers estimated reached 12 to 15 feet.
Battalion Chief Barry McLamb said
the fire started outside the house, which
firefighters found entirely boarded shut.
“That makes it a little bit easier on us
because we knew we didn’t have victims.”
Capt Robert Borgesi arrived in the first
engine on the scene. Firefighters quickly
forced their way through the front door
into the undamaged side of the house.
“The fire was heavy on the porch and
was starting into the house," Borgesi said.
“We did a primary search, looking for any
people as we went in. We extinguished
SPORTS
A NEW ERA BEGINS
Tar Heels dominate Old Dominion in
basketball season opener, 90-64 PAGE 8
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2003
McSwain, a UNC senior and for
mer Town Council candidate. He
promised to donate a dollar to the
UNC Dance Marathon and UNC
libraries for each student ballot.
“I was extremely shocked when
I heard the number,” McSwain
said. “I knew- it would be low, but I
had no idea it would be that low.”
McSwain said he blames his
campaign tactics in part for the low
turnout. “My campaign wasn’t as
SEE STUDENT VOTE, PAGE 2
the fire, then the second line was
deployed to help us finish.”
McLamb said the fire had not been
burning long before the call. “Neighbors
had left 30 minutes prior to the call, and
nothing was going on then.”
The fire was under control by 11:36
p.m. and extinguished at 11:45 p.m.
McLamb said that the shed in the
front yard was heavily damaged by fire on
April 2 but that the property was aban
doned before that date.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
WEATHER
TODAY P.M. thunderstorms, H 71, L 34
TUESDAY Sunny, H 54, L 28
WEDNESDAY Mostly cloudy, H 59, L 42
YOUNG VOTERS AT THE POLLS
The number of people aged 18 to 22 who
voted in five past Chapel Hill town elections:
Percentage
of total
registered
liii
■ ■■■ <995
- = : 1997 8%
: - ' ' 1999 7%
-s: 2001 8%
2003 10%
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003
SOURCE: ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF ELECTIONS DTH/LIZ2Y MOSER
Suspect’s
murder
charges
dropped
BY RYAN C. TUCK
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Sherman Tate Sr., accused of
killing his daughter’s husband last
November, was cleared of all
charges Friday in Orange County
District Court.
Chapel Hill police charged Tate
with first-degree murder on Nov.
18, 2002, for the shooting death of
James Earl Thompson, 34, outside
Tate Realty & Construction Cos. on
Rosemary
Street.
Tate’s attor
ney, Barry
Winston, said
in Friday’s
probable-cause
hearing that
Tate acted in
self-defense
after Thompson
allegedly made
threatening
moves toward
Tate during an
argument.
Murder suspect
Sherman Tate
Sr. was cleared
of all charges
in court Friday.
Chief District Judge Joe
Buckner ruled that there was no
probable cause that a crime had
been committed.
Tate met Thompson on Nov. 18
to accompany him to the property
Thompson shared with his daugh
ter, Sharon Tate, Sherman Tate
testified.
Winston argued that
Thompson, who was found to be
carrying a loaded .22-caliber pistol
in his pocket at the time, previous
ly had threatened Sharon Tate and
her brother and that he became
aggressive with Tate when the two
met.
The investigating officer and trial
witness, Greg Sorrell of the Chapel
Hill Police Department, testified
that Sharon Tate and her brother.
Sherman Tate Jr., recently had
taken out warrants, which never
were served, against Thompson for
threatening their lives.
Sorrell said that on the day of
the incident, Thompson also had
told a friend of Sharon Tate that he
was going to kill her father or
brother.
Tate Realty employee Robert
Edwards of Carrboro told Sorrell
that the men left the office in heat
ed exchange. Orange-Chatham
District Attorney Carl Fox was the
prosecuting attorney, whose main
witness w r as working in a nearby
SEE CHARGES, PAGE 2