North Carolina Newspapers

2 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2004 UNC trustees backed Town Council bids BY SARAH RABIL STAFF WRITER Sympathetic attitudes toward the University motivated the decision by some members of the UNC Board of Trustees to donate about $1,900 to candidates in the 2003 Chapel Hill Town Council elections. The majority of the donations were made to UNC senior Mike McSwain and Dianne Bachman, an architect in the UNC Facilities Planning Department, both of whom lost the election. Cam Hill, a vocal critic of the University who defeated both Bachman and McSwain in November for a seat on the coun cil, said voters elected a council that will be more assertive of the town’s needs with respect to University development. Despite the setback, BOT mem bers said they are confident that town-gown relations will continue to improve. Trustee Roger Perry, who con tributed the maximum S2OO to Oifjp la% ®ar Hppl P.O. Bo* 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Elyse Ashbum, Editor, 962-4086 Advertising & Business, 962-1163 News, Features, Sports, 962-0245 One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased at The Daily Tar Heel for $.25 each. O 2004 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved [A/iui / <■ <■ / l:nou cJbout me]' ... , I-Laous one deuj iff i~a/it to -’ta it it lajnilii... . ‘>u/ not jet • Birth Control • Pregnancy Testing yrjk • - Abortion By Pill * Jjjmt- 1 • Surgical Abortion # • Conscious Se-datior (optional) £ • erV/HW I www.planrteclparenthood.org/ppdnc , Thank you The Office of New Student Programs would like to thank the following for their support of week cf Welcome (WCW) 20©J: Campus Y Ben and Jerry's Starbuck's Ham's Restaurant Strong's Coffee Syd's Hair Salon Caribou Coffee Inside Scoop NAACP , Visart RHA - Blockbuster Order of the Bell Tower Shrunken Head ATI£2 Boutique TIAO) Loreleis ONS Carolina Inn On The Spot Psalm 100 Achordants Walk-Ons CHiPs GAA To get involved with WCW 2004, visit http://orientation.unc.edu/your_orientation/wow.html or email orientation@unc.edu by February 20,2004 WCW 2CC4 August 20 - August 27 “We feel there are probably some candidates who will be more likely to support the University interests.” JOHN ELLISON, UNC TRUSTEE FROM GREENSBORO both Bachman and McSwain, said he was not discouraged by their unsuccessful council bids. “I’m pe* fectly satisfied with this council and believe we will be able to work effectively with them.” He said that though he knew both candidates he supported through the University, he con tributed to their campaigns because he felt they were “the best qualified candidates.” John Ellison, a trustee from Greensboro who gave S2OO to McSwain’s campaign, said he thinks it is appropriate for University officials to support can didates who are sympathetic to the University. “We feel there are prob ably some candidates who will be more likely to support the University interests, and that’s who we’d like to see on the Town Council,” Ellison said. Even though the candidate he supported was not elected, he said, Ellison is still confident that town gown relations are improving steadily. He cited Carolina North discussions as an example of the JK Mill Creek M CONDOS Great Location Popular Student Rentals 4 & 2 Bedroom Units Pool & Tennis Courts Walk to Franklin/Downtown/Campus Parking Space with Each Bedroom www.millcreek-condos.com town and University working together. Bachman, who missed a seat on the council by 1,017 votes, spent !j 7,890 by far the most of any candidate. Trustees Perry and Russell Carter ofWilmington each gave S2OO to Bachman’s cam paign. Carter’s donation was refunded after the election. McSwain garnered $1,500 from BOT members in campaign con tributions and finished second to last in the race. Of the eight BOT members who donated to McSwain’s campaign, Perry is the only one who lives in Chapel Hill. BOT member Nelson Schwab gave S2OO to McSwain’s campaign, though his Charlotte residency prevented him from voting in the Chapel Hill election. was a student and was interested in representing the University’s perspective,” Schwab said. “I support a lot of candidates I can’t vote for.” Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. News ASG project takes aim at possible tuition hikes Unveils book in front of legislature BY CHRIS COLETTA ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR RALEIGH About a dozen representatives from the UNC-sys tem Association of Student Governments met Monday in front of the N.C. Legislative Building to unveil a book the ASG hopes will give officials pause as they consid er proposed tuition hikes. The 500-page book, called “The Personal Stories Project: Faces, Not Numbers,” includes about 800 stories from students, parents, staff and faculty from across the system describing how cost increases and budget cuts have harmed them. Amanda Devore, ASG vice pres ident for legislative affairs, was in charge of the project, which she said stemmed from the need to make legislators and the UNC-sys tem Board of Governors aware of the ramifications of its actions. In its Friday meeting, the BOG will consider campus-based tuition increases for all 16 system schools as well as a 2 percent systemwide hike. The N.C. General Assembly does not reconvene until May. “The goal of this project became a means to act as the collective voice of those behind the barriers,” Devore said in a speech. In order to drive home this point, the ASG presented a pair of Johnson appeals demotion Questions police department motives BY LINDSEY LISTROM STAFF WRITER The issue of racism within the Chapel Hill Police Department was the focus of a hearing Friday for a black officer recently demot ed from captain to police officer 111. Everette Johnson, who was for merly the highest-ranking black in the history of the department, appealed his demotion, claiming the action was facially motivated. At the hearing, both sides had 90 minutes to present information to Assistant Town Manager Flo Miller, who has 14 days after the hearing to decide vhether to rehire Johnson as captain. Al McSurely, Johnson’s lawyer, said he thought the hearing gave Miller a good sense of the racism Johnson has faced while working for the department. “We felt that the assistant town manager got a little sense of the attacks by the various forces on Captain Johnson,” McSurely said. “That was our main aim.” Police Chief Gregg Jarvies said he could not comment on infor mation presented by Major Tony Oakley and himself at the hearing but said they followed standard hearing procedure of data presen tation and counter-examination. Miller said she could not corn — ———— fcjJKV X El AWARD Congratulations to Doug Eyre and Mary Turner Lane '53 <med> 2004 recipients of the General Alumni Association's Faculty Service Award Established in 1990, the GAA's Faculty Service Award honors faculty members who have performed outstanding service for the University or the Alumni Association. 1990 1995 2000 H.G. Jones Richard G. Hiskey Ruel W. Tyson Jr. 1991 1996 2001 William F. Little '52 Rollie Tillman Jr. '§s William Leuchtenburg 1992 1997 2002 Doris Betts '54 Chuck Stone William S. Powell '4O Joel Schwartz 1998 2003 19 9 3 James L. Peacock ILiad Lewis Beyle David Griffiths __ 19 9 4 Berton H. Kaplan '53 (MSPA), '62 (PhD) lu(in)j)]i Richard J. Richardson General Alumni Association students to tell their stories. Rachel Johnson, a senior psy chology major at Appalachian State University, and Tony Caravano, stu dent body president at N.C. State University, told stories of struggling to make ends meet. ASG President Jonathan Ducote said the event was part of a “strong, continued effort” this week to lobby officials, which will culmi nate Friday at the BOG meeting. One factor working in their favor is the support of Gov. Mike Easley, who wrote a letter to BOG Chairman Brad Wilson on Sunday expressing his opposition to tuition increases. “Students and families need to do everything they can to support the governor,” Ducote said in an interview. “He’s on the mark.” In expressing opposition to tuition increases, ASG members centered on a specific theme: Article IX, Section 9 of the N.C. Constitution, which states that attending system schools should be free “as far as practicable.” Varying interpretations of this phrase have fueled much of the deba,te, and Ducote said the BOG’s conception is unacceptable. “Philosophically, we’ve dedicat ed ourselves to the idea of provid ing an education at no cost,” he said. “It erodes that philosophy ment on the hearing, which was closed to the public and the press because it concerned town person nel. Johnson and McSureiys presen tation focused on past cases of racism within the department and the events leading to Johnson’s demotion. “Our position was that he was targeted by a small group of white officers,” McSurely said* Those officers 'disliked that Johnson had authority over them, McSurely said, and filed com plaints against him to oust him from his position. “They don’t mind working with (blacks),” McSurely said. “But they sure as hell don’t like taking orders from them.” During Johnson’s 31/2 years as captain, four complaints were filed against him through the depart ment’s citizen complaint system. McSurely said he thinks that all of the complaints were filed by officers, not citizens, and that Johnson did not know about two of the complaints until Friday’s hearing. McSurely also said the Police Protection League, an organization within the department, had threat ened Jarvies with a reverse dis crimination suit after Johnson became captain, claiming his (Eljp laily (Tar Bwl “We’ve dedicated ourselves to the idea of providing an education at no cost.” JONATHAN DUCOTE, asg president when you have tuition increases.” Matt Tepper, UNC-Chapel Hill student body president, said this idea applies to all students. Tepper said that at UNC-CH, where in-state students might face a S3OO hike and out-of-state stu dents are looking at an increase of $1,500, the numbers don’t matter as much as the fact that tuition is being increased at all. “When you get down to it, you’re a student no matter what,” he said just after delivering a personal copy of the book to N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, one of the only legislators in the building. That fact, Devore said, prompt ed her to put together the book. “If (officials) do decide to increase tuition anyway, I hope they find the time to contact every student, parent and staff member who has been affected and explain to them what their decision is.” Contact the State £2 National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. “ Our position was that he was targeted by a small group of white officers.” AL MCSURELY, JOHNSON'S LAWYER minority status led to Irs promo tion. Johnson has worked in various divisions in the department for over 20 years. Jarvies said his decision to demote Johnson, which cut Johnson’s annual salary by $15,000, was based on the history of his performance and came only after much consideration. “I take every bit of information I can before making a decision,” he said. The last complaint filed against Johnson concerned his off-duty work. He was hired to patrol a bank for three hours on Oct. 11, 2003. The same night, Johnson cov ered for another officer at a bar three blocks away. McSurely said bank officials paid Johnson in full even though Johnson told them of his three hour absence. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.