VOLUME 111, ISSUE 139
Arena ads looming for University
OFFICIALS EYEING SIGNAGE
TO AID ATHLETIC BOOSTERS
BY EMILY STEEL
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Officials are likely to approve
advertising in athletic facilities as a
solution to the increasingly difficult
task of funding athletic scholar
ships, a burden that got almost
$300,000 greater just last week.
“The question is not whether
but how, and the proper steps the
University can take to make sure it
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1 DTH/LAURAMORTON
Men offer help Sunday afternoon and push a stranded car up Raleigh Street to Franklin Street, which was more thoroughly cleared of snow.
GLASSES CANCELLED
Wintry weather swirls into Triangle , bringing mixed bag of problems
BY STEPHANIE JORDAN
AND DAN SCHWIND
SENIOR WRITERS
The Triangle was crippled Sunday after a
winter storm swept into the area, bringing
with it snow, sleet and freezing rain.
University officials announced Sunday
evening' that the University would be closed
and operating under a condition 111 adverse
weather alert. They said they took into con
sideration conditions at the time as well as
weather forecast projections.
According to the National Weather Service
on Sunday, the forecast for today predicted
freezing rain and drizzle early in the day,
resulting in some ice accumulation with the
high temperature in the 20s.
Carrboro public works officials said they
believed more problems would arise with the
forecasted wintry mix.
Gwen Snowden, a deputy director in the
Orange County Department of Emergency
Management Services, said that despite sever
BOG names Roper
health system CEO
BY EMILY STEEL
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
With a patterned bow tie around
his neck and smile spread across
his face, William Roper walked
into a room filled with applause
shortly after the UNC-system
Board of Governors unanimously
appointed him to lead the UNC
Health Care System on Friday.
Roper will assume the three
tiered position of chief executive
officer of the UNC Health Care
System, UNC-Chapel Hill vice
chancellor for Medical Affairs and
dean of the School of Medicine on
March 15.
“I am delighted for the confi
dence the president and the chan
cellor and others have shown in
me,” Roper, currently dean of the
ONLINE
Aspiring teachers discuss No Child Left Behind Act
Winter weather doesn't deter medieval festivities
More coverage online at www.dailytarheel.com
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
©lie latlg Star Heel
is in within the University’s mis
sion,” Chancellor James Moeser
said Friday.
Many universities allow advertis
ing in athletic facilities, but officials
long have fought to keep advertis
ing, so-called corporate signage, out
of UNC facilities. Now, officials say
maintaining the policy might not be
feasible as the cost of athletic schol
arships increases.
al problems reported throughout Orange
County, the storm still was not as bad as the ice
storm of December 2002 that brought the area
to a standstill.
As of 5 p.m. Sunday, 80 traffic accidents
were reported across Orange County, though
Snowden said only one accident was serious
and most involved only mild vehicle damage
and a few scrapes and bruises.
“It wasn’t bad at all,” she said. “We haven’t
gotten any ice, which was the problem last
time. This time was just people going out and
not slowing down.”
Chapel Hill resident Katie Guest was driv
ing on Airport Road when her blue BMW lost
traction and became stuck.
She backed into the parking lot of the BP
gas station at the bottom of the hill but was
told by an employee that her car would be
towed if she left it there.
It Wok the help of three police officers and
a motorist to muscle her car into the parking
lot of the police station fiirther up the hill
9
Public health
school Dean
William Roper
will take over
UNC Health
Care when
CEO Jeff Houpt
retires in May.
School of Public Health, said
Sunday.
At hn annual salary of
$450,000, Roper now will earn
the University's highest base salary.
Jeff Houpt, who currently serves
in the position, earns an annual
salary of $382,825 the ninth
highest at the University.
Shortly after Houpt announced
SEE ROPER, PAGE 4
INSIDE
DEMANDING TASK
Task force begins examination of
the O.C. animal shelter PAGE 11
| www.dailylarheel.com |
A tuition hike approved
Wednesday by the Board of Ihistees
51,500 for out-of-state and S3OO
for in-state students will affect
significantly the Educational
Foundation, which traditionally
funds all athletic scholarships.
During the last two years, the
foundation has struggled to meet
its obligations and, last year, could
not cover the full cost of its schol
arship needs. The BOT’s proposal
will take an extra toll.
The Department of Athletics
had projected the 2004-05 schol
arship budget to be about $7.9 mil
Snowden said the county began making
preparations as early as Friday afternoon when
emergency vehicles replaced their standard
tires with snow tires.
Chapel Hill Transit did not experience any
serious problems with service Sunday Dut
ended service for the day at 5 p.m. Transit offi
cials said they would assess conditions early
this morning before deciding how and when
service would resume.
Progress Energy, which was hit particularly
hard by the December 2002 storm, reported
no weather-related power outages as of
Sunday afternoon.
Progress spokesman Garrick Francis said
the company made numerous preparations for
the storm. Most notably, Progress mobilized
1,400 personnel in the event of power outages,
including damage assessment teams and tree
trimmers.
Francis also warned customers to be wary of
SEE WEATHER, PAGE 4
Officials: Campus illness waning
Cause of symptoms still unknown
BY MICHELLE JARBOE
FEATURES EDITOR
Though at least 133 students vis
ited Student Health Service last
week and eight patients required
acute care Saturday, SHS officials
believe the mysterious epidemic’s
force has taken a downturn.
In addition to the rush of stu
dents cared for at Student Health
between Tuesday and Sunday, res
idence hall assistants turned up a
list of 185 names during sweeps
last week. SHS Director Robert
Wirag said many of these names
were duplicates of those already
recorded by Student Health.
“I think it’s probably fair to say
that there were probably close to
200 students with gastrointestinal
signs and nausea, vomiting and
lion, but the tuition increase tacked
an extra $285,000 onto that tab.
The 2003-04 projected scholar
ship budget is $7.3 million.
“Just like the tuition increase is
killing students, it is killing the
Educational Foundation,” said
TVustee John Ellison, member of
the Educational Foundation and
the newly appointed Task Force on
Signage in Athletic Facilities.
Original proposals for the
tuition increase reserved money for
talent- and merit-based aid, but
heavy criticism of the plan led offi
cials to eliminate this component.
diarrhea,” Wirag said.
Though the Orange County
Health Department and Student
Health have not pinpointed the
cause of students’ symptoms,
Wirag said the illness seems to
have run its course.
Student Health treated six
patients Tuesday, 70 Wednesday
and 38 Thursday, said SHS
Associate Director Mary
Covington. Eight patients
required acute care, including
intravenous fluids Friday.
Covington said no patients
required hospitalization, though
SHS used hospital stretchers and
space to make students more com
fortable during Wednesday’s rush.
A few students also visited UNC
Hospitals’ emergency room after
SPORTS
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Tar Heels rebound from a loss on the
road to beat UVa. on Saturday PAGE 12
Faculty, staff and students high
ly criticized board members, who
ultimately decided using tuition
funds to hold harmless private
foundations was a bad policy move.
“If it is really going to hurt those
foundations that badly then that
would lead me to think that it
would harm all students that way,”
said Lissa Broome, professor of law
and chairwoman of the Faculty
Athletics Committee.
The Educational Foundation and
the athletic department will now
face the challenging task of finding
funds to maintain all the scholar
Dems. stump
for votes in
N.H. primary
BY MATT HANSON
SENIOR WRITER
MANCHESTER, N.H. -
Democratic presidential candi
dates battled for every last unde
cided voter over the weekend as
the margin between the top candi
dates nar
rowed in the
days before
the all-impor-
PRESIDENTIAL
PRIMARIES *O4
tant Tuesday primary.
Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts still was leading the
pack after winning last week’s lowa
caucus and gamering a few last
minute endorsements from various
groups in New Hampshire.
Assorted polls conducted in the
-last few -days'showed''Kerry\Vith r ’
the support of 30 percent to 34
percent of Democratic voters.
A wrestling match seems in the
works for second, third and fourth
place. Former Vermont Gov.
Howard Dean, currently second,
has continued to slide in polls, while
Sen. John Edwards of North
Carolina is gaining ground slowly
on the third spot, now occupied by
retired Gen. Wesley Clark.
The candidates rehearsed now
familiar stump speeches, stopping
at town hall meetings and other
*<&** i: fe., s . rtu ' l ' I
■ ■■'" '^Stfw^
DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA
Edwards speaks to an overflow crowd of enthusiastic campaign
supporters at Rochester Middle School in Rochester, N.H., on Saturday.
Student Health closed in the
evenings, but all were treated and
discharged.
“In no sense was this a life
threatening illness, but I’m sure
that many patients were very
uncomfortable,” Covington said.
Eight students required atten
tion Saturday, and five patients,
none of whom required acute care,
visited Student Health before 4
p.m. Sunday.
“This is tapering off,” Wirag
said. “It doesn’t look like there’s
another reservoir out there.”
Though the number of patients
continues to decline, Wirag con
firmed that secondary infection is a
possibility. One SHS secretary left
work Friday with similar symptoms
to those displayed by students. Her
name was submitted to health
department officials, Wirag said.
“There are some similar illnesses
WEATHER
TODAY Freezing rain, H 33, L 31
TUESDAY Partly cloudy, H 43, L 26
WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy, H 47, L 32
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2004
ships the foundation now provides.
“If the tuition and fees are going
to be raised every single year, the
challenge will become greater and
greater,” said Larry Gallo, senior
associate director of athletics.
“At some particular time, it may
force an organization, in our case
the athletic department, to make
some difficult decisions.”
John Montgomery, president of
the Educational Foundation, did
not return calls last week.
Some officials see allowing cor-
SEE ADS, PAGE 4
small gatherings of voters. One
theme was iterated by all candi
dates at weekend campaign stops:
“America needs a higher stan
dard of leadership,” said Clark, in a
speech delivered at a dinner
Saturday night. “We can do better
than George W.
Bush, and we
must.”
Edwards’
wife, Elizabeth,
issued a similar
declaration at a
Nashua, N.H.,
middle school
cafeteria.
“Any one of
these men
N.H. PRIMARY
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coverage in
today's paper,
go to Page 3
■ Check out
more photos
and articles at
dailytarheel.com
“Wodld be better- than-the -one we
have in the White House,” she said.
The cafeteria was crowded with
snowflake streamers, lunch tables
and several hundred voters who
came to see Edwards, and this was
just the overflow room for those
unable to pack into the gym
already filled with 500 or more.
She criticized President Bush
for being out of touch with the
American working class.
“This is a man different than he
SEE PRIMARY, PAGE 4
that have started going around (the
SHS) community” Covington said.
“I don’t know if it’s the same thing"
Secondary infection, whether
related to an original viral or bac
terial source, might be a possibil
ity for anyone who came into con
tact with vomit or other bodily flu
ids last week, Wirag said. He
urged students and housekeeping
staff to observe proper hand wash
ing procedures to prevent trans
mission of illness.
According to a medical update
sent Friday by the health depart
ment, specimen analyses should
return today. Preliminary data sug
gest that the illness might be food
related and sparked by contact
with a common source. Health
department officials continued to
contact students during the week-
SEE ILLNESS, PAGE 4