VOLUME 111, ISSUE 156
RACE IN QUESTION
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS ARISE AT 11TH HOUR, DELAY RESULTS
BY BROOK R. CORWIN, EMILY STEEL,
MEGAN SEROW AND ARMAN TOLENTINO
STAFF WRITERS
Four last-minute allegations of cam
paign violations including one
that could be grounds for disquali
fication forced the Board of
Elections to postpone the release of the stu
dent body president election results Ihesday
night and to conduct an investigation that
could last as long as a week.
Almost an hour and a half after polls
closed, BOE chairwoman Melissa Anderson
announced that the board will investigate
the multiple allegations. Later, she told The
Daily Tar Heel that the board will consider
whether the allegations are founded,
whether they affected the result and whether
the candidate was aware of the violations.
Anderson would not disclose the results of
the election but said the slim margin
between the candidates would make it easy
for any violation to alter the outcome.
“Because the race was so incredibly close,
we have to investigate,” she said. “If we
allow this to slide, that just reflects poorly
on the whole election and the candidates
themselves.”
The allegations, Anderson said, include
campaigning within 50 feet or visible sight of
a campus computer lab, operation of a polling
site in a public venue for campaign purpos
es, altering the home page of a campus com
puter for campaign purposes and sending an
unsolicited mass e-mail for a campaign.
The Student Code states that at least one
violation political solicitation near com
puter facilities if committed with the can
didate’s knowledge, carries a penalty of auto
matic disqualification.
All four allegations came forth in the final
minutes before the polls closed at 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Anderson said.
“There’s one serious allegation that
prompted this,” she said. “We then received
follow-up allegations.”
According to the Student Code, the BOE
Another
sexual
assault
reported
BY MEREDITH MILLER
STAFF WRITER
Carrboro police are investigat
ing a rape that was reported
Sunday night, making it the town’s
third sexual assault by an unknown
intruder in the past week.
Officials have yet to say if this
incident is related to a rape that
occurred Feb. 9, but they noted
similarities between the incidents.
According to police, Sunday’s
perpetrator, who wore a hoodless
sweatshirt, jeans and a belt,
entered a residence on Sue Ann
Court and found the victim, whose
name was not released, alone. The
suspect then tied the victim’s
hands and proceeded to rape her.
The victim received treatment
at UNC Hospitals for minor
injuries but was not admitted.
There is no composite sketch
available of Sunday’s suspect, but
police said one will be released as
soon as possible. According to the
report, the description of Sunday’s
rape suspect is similar to the com
posite sketch of the Feb. 9 suspect.
SEE RAPE, PAGE 9
INSIDE
ON YOUR FEET
Dance marathons are held across the country
to raise money for children’s health care PAGE 3
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Candidate Lily West (center) and her boyfriend, Alistair Cooper, leave a closed-door meeting Tuesday with Board of Elections Chairwoman Melissa Anderson (rear).
has 96 hours to conduct the investigation-and
can then ask the Student Supreme Court for
a 72-hour extension. If the board still has not
certified the election, Student Body President
Matt Tepper will call for a special election at
the earliest convenience to fill the position.
Walker Rutherfurd, a member of the
Board of Elections, said the board has con
tacted Student Attorney General Jonathan
Slain and the chief justice of the Supreme
Court, to make sure members are abiding
with all proper protocols.
The 1995 Carolina Athletic Association
TAKING AIM AT ATHENS
Victory fuels Olympic
bid of UNO’s Flanagan
BY HUNTER POWELL
STAFF WRITER
In running, so many things can happen in
one second. A second can mean avoiding a
disqualification or a collision. It can also be
the difference between first and second place.
Therefore, when Shalane Flanagan crossed
the finish line two sec
onds ahead of a field of
professionals last week,
her Olympic hopes sud
denly looked golden.
By winning her first
U.S. national title in a 4-
QRP
UNC'S OLYMPIC
HOPEFULS
kilometer race and rebounding from a
fourth-place finish in her previous race
against similar competition, it became clear
that Flanagan might not have to wait until
2008 to be an Olympian.
She showed her endurance and strength
against professionals, and in the process, she
defeated professional runner and longtime
rival Carrie Tollefson by two seconds.
“We have competed against each other
since high school, and on the national level,
she is my big rivalry,” Flanagan said. “She
makes me a better competitor because she
makes me rise to the occasion, and I really
love beating her.”
The win qualified her to run at the World
Cross Country Championships in Belgium in
March, another goal of hers.
“She will put herself in a world of her
own,” said her father, Steve Flanagan. “She’ll
get to a point of exhaustion and she will push
through when others will fall. I guarantee
you that Shalane put (Tollefson) in a world of
www.dailytarheel.com
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT RUNOFF ELECTION
w mam
DTH FILE PHOTO/GABITRAPENBERG
UNC senior Shalane Flanagan, a two-time
NCAA cross country champion, hopes to
represent the United States in the Olympics.
never-never land.”
The Olympics brought Flanagan anew
approach to training and scheduling. The
real change, however, will be the competition
against athletes of her caliber.
In college, she almost never lost, winning
four straight ACC championships and two
straight NCAA titles.
“She was so aggressive in high school that
she didn’t know how to run in a pack,” said
North Carolina coach Michael Whittlesey.
“In a couple of races, I basically handcuffed
her to another athlete and said, ‘You can’t
election was the last race that required the
Supreme Court’s intervention, according to
documentation available at press time.
The 1993 student body president election
also involved charges of illegal campaigning.
The Supreme Court dismissed the two
charges against victor Jim Copland, and he
was allowed to take office.
Anderson made the initial announcement
about Tuesday’s allegations after the board
met for about 30 minutes with candidate
SEE SBP, PAGE 9
leave until this point in the race.’
“As she got fitter in her sophomore and
junior years, that almost got impossible to do
because it was too easy for her to run that
slow.”
Flanagan and Whittlesey have simulated
running from behind by having Flanagan
run longer distances while her teammates
take turns running shorter sprints and push
ing her to catch up.
Another change for Flanagan is her sched
ule, which includes fewer races and, conse
quently, more pressure to run well at each.
, “It’s weird staying motivated at home and
seeing my teammates going off every week
end while I am staying here,” Flanagan said.
“It’s hard thinking so long-term. I have never
had a goal so far away.”
In high school, Flanagan had no real
coach or team camaraderie, and her love for
running grew during endless breakfast con
versations with her father.
Her running flourished when she became
a member of the Tar Heel track family.
“I don’t think a shoe contract from Nike or
adidas can replace the feeling that I have for
UNC,” Flanagan said. “I think it’s going to be
tough for me because I run for something I
really love, and I will always show my love for
North Carolina, whether it be through the
colors or whatever.”
Flanagan boasts two shiny national cham
pionship rings and more UNC records than
should be allowed. But she cherishes most her
ACC team championship and the powder
blue uniform she specifically requested from
Nike and wears in national races.
“She knows it’s about competition,”
Whittlesey said. “But afterward, it’s about
friendship, relationships and about being a
SEE FLANAGAN, PAGE 9
INSIDE
GOODBYE, ATKINS DIET
New bagel shop on campus draws students in
with late-night service and menu variety PAGE 2
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2004
Norovirus
spreads to
N.C. State
University
BY ERICA E. ELLIOTT
STAFF WRITER
After weeks of treating students
for the gastrointestinal norovirus
at UNC-Chapel Hill, students at
N.C. State University have been
struck by the illness, though no
link has been found.
N.C. State’s Student Health
Services received an influx of stu
dents Feb. 9 with symptoms simi
lar to those of the norovirus at
UNC-CH, including nausea, vom
iting and diarrhea, as well as pos
sible stomach cramping,
headaches and low-grade fevers.
After the first reported case, it
only took a short amount of time
before lab tests confirmed that the
norovirus had hit N.C. State’s
campus.
By Monday, more than 200
cases had been reported and the
number still is increasing.
Mary Bengtson, medical and
laboratory director at N.C. State’s
student health center, said these
cases have turned up no specific
origin.
When students came to be
treated, they were given question
naires to fill out that charted their
SEE NOROVIRUS, PAGE 9
WEATHER
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THURSDAY Sunny, H 61, L 33
FRIDAY Partly cloudy, H 63, L 42
DTH/JUSTIN SMITH
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