2
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2004
Some state workers get pay hike
§Jf.sMfund will help lowest paid
BY BRIAN HUDSON
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
After two years of waiting, some
UNC employees will be getting a
much needed hike in pay, although
workers say the funds should be
only a first step in providing fair
wages.
On Jan. 1, Gov. Mike Easley
announced that $4.5 million will
be used to raise the salaries of state
employees. The money will go
toward the lowest-paid workers.
One goal of the increase is that no
employee shall earn less than
$18,312, which is 20 percent high
er than the federal poverty line for
a family of three.
These would be the first increas
es state employees have seen in
almost two years. Last year the
UNC Employee Forum urged state
U.S. begins troop rotation
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
military has begun a rotation of
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan that
amounts to the largest movement
of U.S. troops in decades, Army
officials said Thursday.
The changes present an enor
mous logistical challenge not only
for the Army and Marine Corps, but
also for the Air Force and Navy,
whose planes and ships are ferrying
the troops to and from Iraq.
They also add to the security con
cerns of commanders on the ground
in Iraq, who worry that fighters
opposed to the U.S. occupation will
look for security gaps created by the
monthslong rotation.
The transition began this week
with the return from Iraq of the first
200 members of the 101st Airborne
Division to their home base at Fort
Campbell, Ky., and the departure
from Fort Bragg, N.C., of para
troopers of the 504th Parachute
Infantry Regiment of the 82nd
Airborne. Ships carrying equipment
for the 25th Infantry Division left
Hawaii this week, officials said.
In a related matter, Army offi
cials said a military team has
arrived in Iraq to advise ground
commanders on ways to cope with
UCS Internship Fair
Thursday, January 22, 2004
10:00am - 3:oopm
Alumni Center
PARTIAL list of organizations attending:
GlaxoSmithKline
NC Museum of Natural Science
Fastenal
North Carolina Amateur Sports
Target
Nestle Purina Pet Care Company
Walgreens
U.S. Department of State
IBM Corp.
Cintas
Department of Juvenile Justice
Philip Morris
Sports Endeavors
Sanford (division of Newell Rubbermaid)
Neiman Marcus
University Directories
National Services Group
Breakthrough Collaborative
Raleigh Parks & Recreation
Three Springs of NC PR
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Cardinal Health
State Bureau of Investigation
A Helping Hand
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Division of Student Affairs
Questions? Visit us Mon - Fri Bam-spm • Hanes Hall • 919-962-6507 • http://careers.unc.edu • ucs@unc.edu
lawmakers and University admin
istrators to give increases in both
salaries and benefits.
Katherine Graves, vice chair
woman of the Employee Forum,
said she is appreciative of the
increase, but she made it clear
more increases are still needed.
“It is a step forward,” she said. “I
think they should announce a raise
for all state employees. The first
item on the agenda for the budget
should always be state employees.”
Although the guidelines deter
mining the distribution of the
money are not yet published, offi
cials said housekeepers and
groundskeepers are the A UNC
employees most likely to see an
increase.
“It’s not all employees, it’s a
select group. It affects facility
the homemade bombs that insur
gents have detonated along roads
used by U.S. convoys over the past
several months, often killing or
maiming soldiers.
The Ar my, working with the
other military services, has been
planning the rotation of forces in
Iraq for many months. The
approximately 130,000 U.S. troops
in Iraq now will be heading home
during the coming four months, to
be replaced by a more mobile, less
heavily armed force of about
110,000. That force will include
about 20,000 Marines and an
increased proportion of National
Guard and Reserve troops.
A senior Army official provided
details of the rotation Thursday on
condition of anonymity. He said
the movement would involve the
equivalent of eight of the Army’s 10
active-duty divisions.
It also includes Marines of the
Ist Marine Expeditionary Force
from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and
the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at
Miramar, Calif. —some of whom
participated in the invasion of Iraq
last March and the dash to
Baghdad. Marines left Iraq late last
summer; they are being called on
again because the Army is too
From Page One
workers, housekeepers and a few
other areas where there is high
turnover,” said Tom Arnel, an
Employee Forum delegate.
Lavonda van Benthuysen, com
munications officer with the N.C.
Department of State Personnel,
said the guidelines will be sent to
state agencies sometime today and
will be available to the public soon
afterwards.
Tommy Griffin, chairman of the
Employee Forum, said he is very
glad employees are receiving some
attention from the state, and he
feels the money should go to any
one earning below a living wage.
“Anyone working with lower
than $27,000 should get it,” he
said. “Those with the lowest pay
should get it first.”
Although all state employees
need pay increases, those living in
the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area
greatly need it due to the high cost
stretched to meet all the troop
requirements.
The Navy's 3rd Fleet announced
on Wednesday that the helicopter
carrier USS Boxer will head for the
Persian Gulf next week from San
Diego with equipment for the Ist
Marine Expeditionary Force.
The Marines are to operate in
the area west of Baghdad, replac
ing soldiers of the 82nd Airborne,
the Ist Infantry Division and the
2nd Light Cavalry Regiment.
Ttoo brigades of the Ist Infantry,
along with a brigade of the 25th
Infantry and the 30th Infantry
Brigade of the North Carolina
National Guard, will operate in the
area around Tikrit and Kirkuk in
northern Iraq, replacing the 4th
Infantry Division and the 173rd
Airborne Brigade.
A brigade of the 2nd Infantry
Division, known as the Stryker
Brigade, will operate in the Mosul
area of northern Iraq where the
101st Airborne has had its head
quarters. The 101st is one of the
last major Army units left in Iraq
that also participated in the initial
invasion and defeat of Baghdad.
The Ist Cavalry Division from
Fort Hood, Texas, will replace the
Ist Armored Division in Baghdad.
“It is a step
forward. ... They
should announce
a raise for all
state employees
KATHERINE GRAVES. EMPLOYEE
of living, Griffin said.
He said the forum would con
tinue to petition the state legisla
ture for pay increases.
“We’re going to keep on doing
what we’ve been doing, keep on
asking for more money,” he said.
“It’s going to take a while but it
shouldn’t take a while. If they can
find $4.5 million, they can find a
little more.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
TUITION
FROM PAGE 1
dents at the Kenan-Flagler
Business School.
Tuition revenues and state sup
plements will be used at the
business school to maintain the
quality of education, business
school Dean Steve Jones said.
At the law school, the minimal
tuition increase will fund two of
the three faculty positions elimi
nated after state budget cuts.
“Why not do more?” asked Gene
Nichol, dean of the law school.
“Because this small increase will
not fix the problem, will not make
salaries compatible.”
Across the board, rates will
work differently toward the same
goal by using tuition revenue to
compensate faculty salaries, main
tain the quality of education and
keep schools’ national rankings.
The School of Social Work also
is examining a tuition increase.
The proposed $3,500 increase,
which would be billed during a
two-year period to all new students
pursuing a master of social work
degree, would support faculty
retention and student recruitment.
“If we don’t raise compensation,
then students won’t come,” said
Dean Jack Richman.
Trustees echoed this same senti
ment, noting that tuition hikes will
play an important role in UNC’s
long-term goal of becoming the
nation’s leading public university.
“The point is, we have built a
franchise,” Winston said. “Why
would we ever want to let ourselves
slide?”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
& Uraen^ e Care dB
Ah r Walk In Health Clink uB&
. ffit ■' M-F'Bam -8 pm
’*. r || Sat. -Bam~ 6pm jjHHPiHh..,
iJjT B | insurance plans and -p
credit cards. - NV \ 'flm
I No Appointment Necessary .
I Saturday January 10 J
chapel hill store only
one day only
10 to 6 pm -1
W 25-75% off • all sales final I
BOG okays Hill,
UNC land swap
FROM STAFF REPORTS
A committee of the UNC-sys
tem Board of Governors approved
a property swap between UNC-
Chapel Hill and the Chapel Hill
Town Council member Cam Hill.
The University will use the 0.19-
acre Cam Hill property, located at
606 Cameron Ave., to construct a
parking lot in conjunction with
four other parcels of land the
University already owns.
The property has received
appraisals ranging from $153,000
to $200,000, although UNC-sys
tem staff members told the board
it could be worth more pending
the completion of improvements
now underway. The 0.276-acre
UNC-CH property Hill will receive
in return is located at 412 E.
Rosemary St. in Chapel Hill and
has a 1,716-square-foot house the
University uses as rental property.
The property has been appraised
between $237,000 and $300,000.
The University’s Board of
Trustees approved the controver
BOG
FROM PAGE 1
point i5.... I’ll leave that to (UNC
CH Director of Admissions) Jerry
Lucido.”
Board members will get their
first glimpse of the 15 other cam
puses’ tuition and fees requests
today at a workshop.
UNC-system President Molly
Broad said BOG members also
might get their first look at options
for a systemwide tuition increase.
“We have the committee process
under way” she said. “There are
several variations.”
Last year, BOG members opted
not to allow any tuition increases,
though the N.C. General Assembly,
which has the final say on system
tuition rates, pushed through a 5
STUDENTS
FROM PAGE 1
“They should wait because they
don’t even know how we feel yet,”
she said. “If they go ahead and
increase it, they wouldn’t know
how people like me wouldn’t be
able to attend'(UNC) anyfriore.”
Student Body -Viee-President
Rebekah Burford also supports
more research before making a
decision.
She said she is concerned that
current out-of-state students could
have trouble affording tuition if the
increases are approved.
“(Out-of-state students) already
planned financially for their edu-
Ulhr latlg (Ear Mppl
sial trade Nov. 19.
N.C. Central's mold problem
to be eradicated by August
UNC-system staff said N.C.
Central University will be fully
operational by the end of this sum
mer after a mold problem shut
down several academic buildings
and two residence halls.
“N.C. Central will be frilly mold
free in all the academic facilities
by the time the students return in
late summer,” said UNC-system
Vice President for Finance Jeff
Davies.
He added that residence halls also
would be open. The residence hall
dosings have forced hundreds of
N.C. Central students to stay in area
hotels.
The BOG Budget and Finance
Committee Chairman Jim Phillips
said the primary reason for the
increased action is Gov. Mike
Easley’s additional attention to the
issue.
percent across-the-board increase
anyway.
Phillips said BOG members,
who probably will want to have a
say, should give the increases some
thought during the next month.
He encouraged them to clear their
calendars for an additional
evening of wrangling potential
increases.
But he also said BOG members
must be ready to face the fact that
the General Assembly ultimately
can amend the BOG’s actions as it
has in the past.
“I think that’s something that
we have to be very mindful of” he
said. “Our action will not be the
final say.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
cation,” she said. “Most families I
know cannot just come up with
that money out of the blue.”
Tepper, who is from Cary, said
he sympathizes with current out
of-state students such as Diggs
who likely would incur an increase
if the tuition hike is approved.
“It’s incredibly unfair that stu
dents come to Carolina with the
impression that they would be get
ting a bargain, and then in the
middle of their time here tell them
their tuition will increase,” Tepper
said.
“I’d feel exploited if I were a
nonresident.”
Contact the University Editor
at vdesk@unc.edu.
PEARSON
FROM PAGE 1
personal friends who sent e-mails
to Chancellor James Moeser ask
ing for the charges against Pearson
to be dropped.
Osment said the Orange County
District Attorney’s office would
have to drop the charges, although
such action could come after dis
cussions with the University.
She expressed hope that many
students, along with others inter
ested in the issue of free speech,
will travel to Hillsborough next
week to see the trial in person.
“The statute (Pearson) was
charged with directly pertains to
higher education,” Osment said. “If
people want to see what con
straints are placed on their free
dom of speech in a college setting,
this would be the trial to see.”
Contact the University Editor
at ttdesk@unc.edu.
Oil’ll {He Hill
jp
-
the
UOGURJ )
1 pump V y
Downtown Chapel Hill • I 1 ; PUMP
www.yogurtpump.corri
7 •• i*n "p>n. Si', iv- !!(..„