VOLUME ill, ISSUE 155
Officials
ponder
funding
surplus
Cite lack of good,
planned requests
BY LAUREN HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
Members of Student Congress
cited a lack of legitimate, well
planned funding requests as the
reason for a $91,604.72 student
activity fee surplus.
“We don’t want to fund any
thing speculative because it wastes
student fees,” Congress Speaker
Will DuPont said.
The increase in the student
activity fee to sl9-50 per semester,
approved in a student referendum
last year, allowed Congress to have
a budget of $304,325.07 and to
allocate money to 70 student
organizations. This marks a leap
from last year’s $164,000 budget.
One of the arguments to
increase the student activity fee
last year was to bring big-name
speakers to the University.
The Student Congress Finance
Committee awarded more than
$15,000 to the UNC College
Republicans last weekend to bring
retired Lt. Col. Oliver North to
speak on campus.
Since the beginning of the
2003-04 school year, Congress has
appropriated more than $20,000
to bring three conservative speak
ers to campus.
But DuPont said that Congress
does not make budget decisions
based on political affiliations. “We
look at this as a big speaker that
will draw lots of people,” he said.
DuPont said that while it is
much easier to fund big-name
speakers because there is signifi
cantly more money, many groups
that requested funding had not
confirmed the details of their plans.
Young Democrats Vice
President Justin Guillory said his
organization, which received $295
of $3,700 requested, is still decid
ing which speakers it would like to
bring to campus.
“We will look for a speaker that
will benefit all students and not
represent the interests of just a few
Democrats,” he said.
Guillory said he does not
oppose spending a significant
amount of money on a Republican
speaker but that North isn’t worth
$15,000 of student fees.
Student organizations that did
not receive any of the money they
SEE SURPLUS, PAGE 5
Anderson to assume
presidency of CUAB
Hopes to increase event involvement
BY BRIAN HUDSON
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Junior Claire Anderson was
selected Carolina Union Activities
Board president Sunday, promis
ing more public involvement for
the organization.
Anderson, an international
studies major, said she wants to
provide better advertisement for
the organization’s upcoming
events.
“I’d really like to get the word
out,” Anderson said. “A lot of peo
ple don’t know about CUAB and
what the Union does.”
She said that during her presi
dency she hopes to increase pub
licity for the Union’s events.
“If more people knew, more
people could get involved and
excited about events,” she said.
Anderson said one of the major
functions of CUAB is to bring
guest speakers to UNC, such as the
Thursday lecture featuring rapper
Chuck D.
“Beyond that, we’re in charge of
the art gallery and the films every
SPORTS
APPROACHING HURDLES
UNC heads to Clemson on Friday and Saturday for the
ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships PAGE 7
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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DTH/PAILIN WEDEL
Lily West and Matt Calabria face off as they campaign outside Lenior Dining Hall on Monday afternoon. The two runoff candidates and their
supporters have been participating in last minute campaigning before the election takes place today, ending the five-week election season.
FOCUS, EXPERTISE
SET HOPEFULS APART
CALABRIA, WEST BRING VARIED FACULTIES TO SBP OFFICE
BY BROOK R. CORWIN
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
One cites action, the other interaction.
One draws upon a year of student government
experience working under Student Body
President Matt Tepper, the other working under
former Student Body President Jen Daum.
One professes a strength for dealing with offi
cials off campus, the other
an ability to unite students
on campus.
Matt Calabria and Lily
STUDENT
ELECTIONS
West, respectively, face off today in a runoff elec
tion that will decide who will serve as student
body president next year.
All students may cast their ballot online for
student body president from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.
today on Student Central.
Those involved in the five-week long cam
paign, including campaign workers and leaders
of student organizations who hosted forums, say
both candidates possess strong platform ideas
and impeccable credentials.
But in the areas of leadership styles and per
sonal strengths, a clear divide emerges. “It’s not
so much the issues we discuss,” West said. “It’s the
way we deal with students that is different.”
For Calabria, that approach is based primarily
on crafting and implementing a long list of plans
to improve student life. It’s a focus that can be seen
in the size and scope of his platform, which fypi-
weekend,” she said. CUAB also
organizes Women’s Week and jazz
festivals.
Last semester the organization
also hosted a Def Poetry Jam con
test and band The Neal Pollack
Invasion.
CUAB, which ran on a
$160,000 budget this year, com
prises nine board members, each
in charge of a committee with five
to 10 members.
Anderson, chairwoman of the
Creative Outlets Committee, said
she would like to implement more
programs focusing on the arts.
She said she wanted to create an
outdoor drama series. “Something
a little more low-key than a ticket
ed event,” she said.
Her inspiration for the project
came after she was impressed with
last semester’s CUAB-hosted
exhibit, “art in the dark,” she said.
Located in the Pit, the nighttime
exhibit featured a number of pieces
of artwork brightened by lamps.
SEE CUAB, PAGE 5
www.dailytarheel.com
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT RUNOFF ELECTION
cally is the first thing to get praise from those who
have endorsed his candidacy. “I work with com
plex issues very well,” he said. “I’ve always been
interested in the projects themselves.”
West takes an approach rooted in interaction
with a broad base of the student body. Her inclu
siveness is reflected in the diverse spectrum of her
endorsements themselves, which range from the
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered-Straight
Alliance to the UNC College Republicans.
“I’m willing to lend an ear to everyone,” she
said. “I listen to what they have to say and take it
seriously into account.”
These distinctions between the candidates also
affect which elements of the position they are
most qualified to tackle. The consensus view
among all endorsing parties is that Calabria holds
an advantage in advocating for student interests
to officials off campus, while West has an edge in
uniting and rallying students on campus.
“I really like working one-on-one with admin
istrators, and I’ve had a good rapport with them
in the past,” Calabria said. “Lily does a good job as
far as being persuasive to students.”
When describing the research that went into
crafting their respective platforms, Calabria is
quick to cite his discussions with administrators,
while West focuses on her outreach to the entire
student body.
SEE FACE OFF, PAGE 5
Candidates square off in final forum
BY MEGAN SEROW
STAFF WRITER
Student body president candi
dates Matt Calabria and Lily West
faced off Monday night in their
last forum before today’s runoff
election.
The event was sponsored by
the Coalition of Independent
Voters in
Carolina, a
new student
organization
STUDENT
ELECTIONS
founded to promote nonpartisan
political debate.
Only about a dozen students
showed up for the forum, but
CIVIC leaders said the debate
was important as long as there
were interested voters.
“A lot of people are burned out
by the SBP elections, but it was a
good forum,” said CIVIC member
Mark Mclntyre. “Both candidates
have the potential to sway voters.”
Each candidate was given 3
minutes for a brief overview of
their platforms, then took turns
asking each other questions.
West’s questions to Calabria
focused on his platform goals
regarding basketball tickets for
graduate students’ spouses, cheap
and legal music downloading,
and wireless Internet for off-cam
.L—sSl- L
pus students.
Calabria said he hopes to get
bulk rates for both a music down
loading program and wireless
routers for off-campus students.
“(A file-sharing program)
would allow a relatively cheap
option that beats competitive
prices,” Calabria said.
Questions from Calabria to
West centered around the large
number of new committees West
has planned and her proposal for a
Center for Creative Student
Leadership, which would create a
physical place to provide office
resources to student organizations.
West said she doesn’t necessar
ily want to start brand new student
government committees but spec
ify already existing jobs to make
student government and organi
zations run more efficiently.
“I want to specifically map out
what each person does so we can
hit the ground running,” she said.
Afterward, the candidates were
asked questions from CIVIC and
anonymously submitted by the
audience. The questions focused
on voter turnout and the possibil
ity of adopting the platform goals
of former opponents in the race.
Both West and Calabria said
they would support a same-day
INSIDE
FOR THE KIDS
Eight-year-old George Kupit and his family will be
helped by this year's UNC Dance Marathon PAGE 3
ENDORSEMENTS
MATT CALABRIA
UNC Young Democrats
Sports Club Council
The Blue & White
Student Environmental Action
Coalition
CAA President-elect William Keith
Former SBP candidates
Ashley Castevens*
Faudlin Pierre*
The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board*
LILY WEST
Black Student Movement
Sangam
Asian Students Association
GLBT-SA
UNC undergraduate chapter of
the ACLU
Senior class officers-elect Jovian
Irvin and Becca Frucht
Former SBP candidates:
Matt Compton*
Matt Liles*
John Walker*
UNC College Republicans*
'endorsements received after the initial election
1 1 1 NNjp I
DTH/NANCY DONALDSON
Matt Calabria (left) answers a question from fellow SBP candidate Lily
West at the CIVIC forum Monday night. The SBP race culminates today.
voter registration program, but
that the most important aspect of
voting is to get students out to
vote, not just registered.
When asked if they voted in last
November’s Chapel Hill Town
Council elections, West admitted
that she hadn’t, but she said that she
didn’t feel like she knew the candi
dates well enough to vote for one.
WEATHER
TODAY Rain/snow, H 37, L 29
WEDNESDAY Flurries, H 46, L 30
THURSDAY Partly cloudy, H 53, L 33
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2004
Easley
stance
mildly
praised
Tuition proposal
hinges on budget
BY KATHRYN ROEBUCK
STAFF WRITER
Some legislative leaders say
they think Gov. Mike Easley’s
proposition to freeze tuition
increases and add system funding
in the 2004-05 budget is ideal but
probably not feasible due to the
state’s economic climate.
In a letter sent Feb. 6 to Brad
Wilson, chairman of the UNC-sys
tem Board of Governors, Easley
stated the importance of afford
able tuition for N.C. students,
especially in hard economic times.
Easley also stated his intentions to
implement funding for enrollment
increases, financial aid and pay
increases for faculty and staff.
Easley asked BOG members to
vote against the tuition increases.
The BOG is expected to make
decisions on tuition increase pro
posals from UNC-system schools
at its March 19 meeting.
Sen. Tony Rand, D-
Cumberland, said that he thinks
Easley’s proposal is a good idea
and that he does not support
tuition increases.
“The governor and I both grad
uated from UNC,” he said. “We
remember the days in Chapel
Hill, and we want the education
there to be as economical as pos
sible.”
Rand said many public univer
sities across the country are* cut
ting back on professors and
becoming more privatized, citing
Washington State University and
the University of Virginia as exam
ples.
“This is a nationwide problem,
and fortunately North Carolina
has done better than most,” he
said. “I really hope we don’t have
to cut back or make that move.”
Lisa Kimbrough, spokes
woman for N.C. House Co
s Richard Morgan, R-
Moore, said Morgan also is
opposed to any tuition increases
and would support any method of
funding.
But she also said that the possi
bility of incorporating university
funding in the budget depends on
the economy.
“The numbers for the budget
SEE BOG, PAGE 5
“It’s hard to cast a vote for some
one you don’t know,” she said.
Calabria said he did vote in the
last election, but he agreed with
West on the issue of creating more
informed voters.
“We need to bring political fig
ures and organizations here and let
SEE SBP FORUM, PAGE 5