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CAMPUS BRIEFS
Student robbed on campus
Friday near Arboretum
A student was robbed Friday
night when she left Spencer
Residence Hall near Coker
Arboretum, reports state.
The suspect reportedly snuck
up behind her, put a gloved hand
over her eyes and snatched her
purse, reports state.
The suspect then ran through
the arboretum toward Cameron
Avenue, reports state.
Items stolen were a $lO denim
purse, the victim’s driver’s license,
her UNC ONE Card, S3O cash, a
pack of cough drops and one sls
umbrella, reports state.
The victim described her
attacker as a large male, approxi
mately 5 feet 9 inches tall, reports
state. The suspect did not speak
during the attack and carried a yel
low umbrella.
Reports state that the case is
under further investigation.
Vending machine taken
from campus laboratory
Police reports state that a vend
ing machine was stolen from
Kenan Labs on Sunday. The
machine, worth SI,OOO, was
stolen some time between 6 p.m.
Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.
The case is under further inves
tigation.
CITY BRIEFS
Two laptops stolen from
Hillsborough Street home
A Hillsborough Street apart
ment was broken into by forced
entry late Sunday night, according
to reports.
Reports state that an unknown
suspect entered the residence
through a window.
According to reports, a Compaq
Presario 1600 T laptop valued at
$1,900, an IBM Think Pad valued
at $1,500, and sls worth of coins
were taken.
Man charged with larceny
for taking steaks from store
A man was arrested Sunday
morning on charges of larceny in
connection with stolen meat from
the Harris Teeter located at 310 N.
Greensboro St. in Carrboro,
reports state.
At 11:15 a.m., Charles Harden,
30, of 112 N.C. 54 Bypass, was
caught stealing $51.71 worth oft
bone/rib-eye steaks, according to
reports.
Harden was released on written
promise to appear in court, reports
state.
NATIONAL BRIEFS
Mass, legislature divided
about gay marriage issue
BOSTON An Associated
Press survey of Massachusetts law
makers shows a legislature deeply
divided over a proposed constitu
tional amendment to ban gay mar
riage in the state where the
nation’s first legally sanctioned
same-sex weddings could take
place as early as May.
The 199 House and Senate
lawmakers all up for re-elec
tion in November could take
up the volatile issue at a constitu
tional convention as early as
Wednesday.
The issue gained urgency last
week when the state’s high court
declared that anything less than
full-fledged marriage for gays in
Massachusetts would be unconsti
tutional.
The opinion put Massachusetts
lawmakers at the center of a polit
ical maelstrom that is being close
ly watched across the country and
could play a role in the presiden
tial race.
All of Massachusetts’legislators
were contacted by telephone and
e-mail by the AP since last week’s
Supreme Judicial Court opinion,
and 146 responded. Of those, 61
said they would oppose the consti
tutional amendment, while 70
said they could support it. An
additional 12 said they were unde
cided, and three said they had no
comment. Fifty-three did not
respond.
There is probably nothing law
makers can do to prevent the
nation’s first gay marriages from
taking place May 17. The earliest
the proposed amendment could
end reach the ballot is November
2006.
CALENDAR
Wednesday
9 p.m. The UNC School of
Medicine Class of 2007 will pres
ent a date auction at Avalon night
club. Twenty-five carefully select
ed first-year “hotties” will be auc
tioned off to raise money for
Carolina Donor Services.
Pictures of the men and addi
tional information can be found at
http://www.med.unc.edu/wms/ms
1/dateauction.
From staff and wire reports.
Panel to mull student town board seats
Plan set to explore civic involvement
BY DAN SCHWIND
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
A motion to create permanent
student positions in town govern
ment moved closer to fruition after
the Chapel Hill Town Council
voted Monday to create a commit
tee to examine such a possibility.
The Committee to Study the
Possible Creation of Student Seats
on Town Advisory Boards and
Commissions was approved unan
imously with the charge of achiev
ing seven objectives aimed at
exploring methods to improve stu
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Graduate student Anton Zuiker (left) and other students listen at the "AIDS: Principles & Policies" class Feb. 3. Zuiker
co-organized the “Narratives of HIV" event series, which begins Wednesday to emphasize HIV/AIDS awareness.
HIV PROGRAM
STRESSES CRISIS
Personal narratives breathe life into HIV-AIDS statistics
BY ADAM RODMAN
STAFF WRITER
Kimberly Smolen is HIV-positive.
She was popular: a member of a
sorority who partied a lot in college.
For a while, she dated a cool, funny
guy who refused to use a condom
and who was a drug addict.
After college she ran the New York
City Marathon. She said she felt so
successful that she decided to donate
blood that same week. After the
results from her blood donation came
back, she descended into homeless
ness and drug addiction.
This semester Smolen will come to
UNC to talk about her experiences as
part of the program, “Narratives of
HIV,” which begins Wednesday. Anton
Zuiker, a graduate student in journal
ism and co-organizer of the event
series, stressed the importance of
awareness of HIV and AIDS, especial
ly for college students.
“On the national level, the (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention)
released a report that said new cases of
HIV are still going up,” he said. “One
of the highest places of transmission is
the South. And in North Carolina,
over the past four to five years, there
has been an outbreak on college cam
puses.”
Forty million people in the world
have HIV, including about 900,000 in
the United States, according to the
SBP carries weight beyond campus
Strives to make student voice heard
BY LAURA BOST
STAFF WRITER
At a university that historically
has valued self-governance, the
responsibilities of the student body
president involve cooperating with
a multitude of governing bodies.
In its most basic function, the
position of student body president
is the liaison between the student
voice and these bodies, ranging
from Student Congress to the N.C.
General Assembly.
“The role of the SBP is to mobi
lize the student voice,” said Lily
West, a candidate for student body
president. “The power is derived
from the student voice, and it is
imperative students are informed
about the office.”
But as such, the student body
president serves as an ex officio
voting member of the UNC-Chapel
Top News
dent involvement in civic affairs.
The objectives were set forth by
a committee comprising council
members Mark Kleinschmidt, Jim
Ward and Edith Wiggins.
The council members charged
the new committee with identify
ing current opportunities for stu
dent involvement, evaluation of the
position of University Student
Liaison to the Town Council and
consideration of what boards, if
any, should have student seats.
Kleinschmidt said that the town
historically has provided the
HIV AWARENESS
CDC. And, according to a recent study
by UNC researchers Peter Leone and
Lisa Hightow, there also is an HIV
outbreak among college students in
North Carolina.
“We are in the middle of a rapid
resurgence of HIV on our campuses,”
said Leone, a UNC professor of med
icine.
Leone said that at some North
Carolina colleges, the HIV incidence
rate among black men is almost 500
per 100,000. This is significantly
higher than the overall incidence rate
for North Carolina males: between 27
or 28 per 100,000.
“It certainly shows it’s time for
North Carolina college students to be
concerned,” said Beth Credle, coord-'
nator of human sexuality programs at
UNC’s Center for Healthy Student
Behaviors.
She attributed the higher campus
infection rates not only to college stu
dents, but also to young adults in gen
eral, more experimentation in college
and alcohol risks.
“People are starting to be sexually
active at younger ages, and they’re
having more partners and getting
married later,” she said. “This leads to
more sexual partners overall.”
Leone predicts increased HIV
infections if nothing drastic is done. “I
see the next wave of HIV” he said.
Although he doesn’t think the lat
Hill Board of Trustees and as an
ambassador to the town of Chapel
Hill, other schools, the state and
the nation.
Since 1973, the student body
president has served on the BOT as
an ex officio voting member —what
some believe to be the president’s
most influential role, especially
given recent tuition controversies.
As the only student trustee on
the 13-member board, the presi
dent has a difficult role to play.
BOT Chairman Richard “Stick”
Williams said that while presidents
have an equal opportunity to influ
ence the board as voting members,
much of their success depends on
the situation and the individual
holding the office.
In 1999, then-president Nic
Heinke organized a large protest
against the BOTs proposed $2,000
chance for political involvement to
all ages and that the objectives
were created to encourage more
such involvement.
Ward expressed similar senti
ments, saying the committee
would be designed to provide as
much access to government as
possible.
“We wanted to explore opportu
nities beyond the existing standing
committees,” he said. “We felt like
the petition was right on target
it just needed to expand.”
Monday’s vote also addressed
the composition of the committee,
recommending a 14-member
board.
est AIDS outbreak will be as severe
as the one in the early 1980s, Leone
said there will be an increase in the
number of HIV cases in the United
States when there should be a
decrease.
“If we see this in this country... it
doesn’t bode well for anyone else,” he
said.
“Narratives of HIV” will start
Wednesday with the film, “A Closer
Walk,” at 7 p.m. in the Union
Auditorium. Academy Award-nomi
nated director Robert Bilheimer will
attend and answer questions at the
screening.
During the week of Feb. 23, Mark
Schoofs, a reporter for The Wall Street
Journal, will talk about his Pulitzer
Prize-winning series on HIV and
AIDS. On March 22 the film “HIV
Positive Voices” will come to the
Rosenau Hall auditorium, followed by
a speech from Smolen, who is featured
‘ in the documentary.
Funding for “Narratives of HIV”
has come from many University
sources, including the School of
Medicine, the School of Public Health
and the School of Journalism and
Mass Communication, as well as
Student Health Services and the
Office of Student Affairs.
“The campus has been really sup-
SEE NARRATIVES, PAGE 5
tuition hike for nonresidents. His
fight was successful: The BOT
agreed to a $1,500 increase and the
UNC-system Board of Governors
lowered it to S6OO.
Heinke and Student Body
President Matt Tepper both said
trustees listen to the student voice,
even if it differs from the majority
opinion.
“The SBP’s power within the
BOT depends on issues and cir
cumstances,” Tepper said. “I always
have their attention. ... My ideas
are respected, even if they just lead
to dialogue and debate.”
Remembering his time in office,
Heinke said it is essential that the
president spend time on campus to
be an accurate representative.
“Getting out of the office and
being involved in campus activities
increases power because you are
then carrying more weight,” he said.
SEE SBP, PAGE 5
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2004
William Hartye, chair of the stu
dent government committee on
town relations, added his stamp of
approval at Monday’s meeting, say
ing he thinks the committee’s com
position was a particular strong
pc int of the resolution.
“(Student government) is in full
support of this recommendation,”
he said. “The makeup of the com
mittee will help advance towards
our goal of improving student
interest.”
Of the 14 members, the resolu
tion recommends two council
members and four University stu
dents, two undergraduate and two
graduate.
Primary is
set for July
Delay might hurt hopefuls
seeking to oust Gov. Easley
BY KAVITA PILLAI
STAFF WRITER
The N.C. Board of Elections decided Monday to
delay the state primary until July 20 because of a
pending lawsuit to redraw legislative district maps
passed by the N.C. General Assembly in November.
The delayed primary leaves three months of cam
paign time before the general election and could
prove detrimental to Republican challengers trying
to unseat Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.
“As we learned in 2002, short campaigns favor
incumbents or other especially well-known candi
dates,” said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC’s Program
on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life. “You’ve
got a group of six or seven Republicans knocking
against each other, while Easley runs unchallenged.”
In 2002, a similar situation delayed the primary until
September, hurting Democrats running for the U.S.
Senate nomination against Republican Elizabeth Dole.
“The Democrats were running against each other
longer and running against... Dole for a shorter peri
od,” Guillory said. “Now, the situation is reversed.”
The late primary date could hinder fund raising by
Republican gubernatorial candidates who so far have
SEE DELAY, PAGE 5
Democrats
vie for South
Kerry projected to prevail
in upcoming primaries
BY ALEX GRANADOS
STAFF WRITER
Sen. John Kerry is winning the hearts and minds
of Democrats everywhere, but he still has to prove
himself in the Republican-dominated South in order
to secure his party’s presidential nomination, politi-
PRESIDENTIAL
PRIMARIES 'O4
MSNBC-Zogby poll released Monday shows him
with 45 percent of the vote in Tennessee and 47 per
cent in Virginia.
Compared with Sen. John Edwards of North
Carolina and his projected 21 percent in Tennessee
and 24 percent in Virginia, Kerry appears unstop
pable.
Holly Armstrong, communications director for the
Kerry campaign, said last week’s South Carolina pri
mary was important for the senator’s campaign.
“All the states in February are important,” she said.
“But South Carolina has been known as first in the
South.”
Kerry lost South Carolina to Edwards but has led
ever since in national polls.
Few Southern states have held their primaries, so
today’s contests could demonstrate whether the
South will play an influential role in deciding the
nominee.
Bill Buck, national press secretary for Gen. Wesley
Clark’s campaign, said the South often is overlooked
SEE PRIMARY, PAGE 5
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Performers present their act Saturday night at the
Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey’s “Greatest
Show on Earth” in Raleigh. The circus, held at the
RBC Center, began Thursday and ended Monday night.
The show has been traveling the country for 133 years.
Kleinschmidt and Ward already
have agreed to serve as the coun
cil’s representatives.
The issue of student positions
on town advisory boards first sur
faced at the Nov. 24 council busi
ness meeting.
UNC Student Body Secretary
Frances Ferris presented a petition
proposing that the council create
permanent positions for students
on boards that directly affect stu
dent lives such as the transporta
tion board.
Kleinschmidt said that while the
petition only addressed student
SEE POSITIONS, PAGE 5
cal experts say.
Kerry, of Massachusetts, has
won 10 of the 12 primaries and
caucuses held so far, and an
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