VOLUME ill, ISSUE 157
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT RUNOFF ELECTION
CANDIDATES IN LIMBO
AS ELECTION STAGNATES
RESULTS: Uncertified totals show
West defeated Calabria by 7 votes
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Board of Elections members (left to right) Heather Sidden, Walker Rutherfurd, Jennifer Hill, Vice Chairwoman Mansa Semenya, Chairwoman
Melissa Anderson and Megan Mitchell prepare to announce the postponement of election results Tuesday. Two board members are not pictured.
Probe on alleged violations begins
“Ourfirst
priority is
ensuring a
fair election.
It’s not the
publics
knowledge
of what’s
going on.
Basically
I’m saying
to back off”
MEGAN MITCHELL,
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
BY BROOK R. CORWIN
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
The formal investigation into the
closest and most controversial student
body president election in recent his
tory will begin today as the Board of
Elections solicits statements from
alleged witnesses of reported campaign
violations.
BOE chairwoman Melissa Anderson
sent an e-mail at 12:43 a.m. Thursday
to alleged witnesses, who have until 9
p.m. today to submit a written state
ment regarding the campaign practices
of candidates Matt Calabria and Lily
West.
The e-mail, which was made avail
able to The Daily Tar Heel, requests
that those contacted also solicit state
ments from any other potential wit
nesses.
Nineteen people including both
candidates and their campaign
mangers, former candidate Faudlin
Computer system
in need of review
BY EMILY STEEL
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
The results of a routine audit of
the University’s Information
Systems highlight the need for fur
ther investigation of the general
security of the UNC computer sys
tem —a process that could cost
several hundred thousand dollars.
The Office of the State Auditor
released a report Wednesday that
calls for the University to conduct
a study that will assess which com
puter data and programs are vul
nerable to hackers and viruses.
“It caught the attention of our
auditors of something that needs
to be done that wasn’t being done,”
said Dennis Patterson, spokesman
for the Office of the State Auditor.
The audit report identified three
areas where the University’s
Information Systems did not meet
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regulations: the general security of
the system, the access control of
the environment and the uses of
the system’s software.
According to the report, UNC
needs to conduct an evaluation to
identify the critical, sensitive infor
mation that could prevent poten
tial hacking. But Steve Jarrell,
interim vice chancellor for infor
mation technology, said it could be
challenging to fond such a report.
“This is not an indication that
anything is wrong,” Jarrell said. “We
are required to complete a thorough
analysis, and just having the money
to pay for that is the issue.”
The assessment by an outside
agency would cost several hundred
thousand dollars, an amount that
has not been calculated into the
SEE AUDIT, PAGE 4
www.dailytarheel.com
INVESTIGATION: BOE begins
soliciting alleged witness accounts
Pierre and Senior Class President-elect
Jovian Irvin were contacted. At least
eight of the individuals contacted for
submissions are associated directly
with a campaign.
Once the submission deadline has
passed, Anderson and BOE vice chair
woman Mansa Semenya are slated to
start studying the information obtained.
The full board is slated to meet Friday or
Saturday in an open hearing to discuss
its findings and to issue a ruling.
The board’s decision will determine
whether the unofficial results of
Tuesday’s runoff election, which indi
cate West won by seven votes, will be
certified, whether a candidate will be
disqualified or whether a re-election
will be held.
The board announced its plans at
12:30 a.m. today through Student
Attorney General Jonathan Slain, who
will serve in an advisory role to the
board.'
•j v I
COURTESY OF UNC SPORTS INFORMATION
North Carolina senior Yuri Suguiyama (left) will make
his second attempt at the U.S. Olympic Team in July.
INSIDE
PRIMARY SHIR
A strong showing in Wisconsin bodes well
for the success of John Edwards. PAGE 3
Anderson had said Tuesday that four
alleged campaign violations were
reported in the final minutes of the
election, but she would not specify
which violations applied to each cam
paign.
The allegations include campaign
ing within 50 feet or visible sight of a
campus computer lab, operation of a
polling site in a public venue for cam
paign purposes, altering the home page
of a campus computer for campaign
purposes and sending an unsolicited
mass e-mail for a campaign.
The board is withholding details of
the allegations against candidates Matt
Calabria and Lily West and declined to
provide legal justification for that deci
sion. The board also would not com
ment Wednesday on whether addition
al allegations have been filed and has
fold Calabria and West not to comment
SEE INVESTIGATION, PAGE 4
SUGUIYAMA GIVES
OLYMPICS 2ND TRY
BY BRIANA GORMAN
STAFF WRITER
Representing the United States in the
Olympics is a dream few athletes have the
opportunity to turn into reality even once.
Swimmer Yuri Suguiyama is getting a
second chance to fulfill this dream.
QQP
UNC'S OLYMPIC
HOPEFULS
went and I was 17 then, and I was a little
more intimidated then.
“But just my years of experience and
already having been to the trials, I’d say
it’s a little more excitement. It’s more fun
then anything.”
With the ACC championships coming
up next week, Suguiyama admits he is
more focused on that competition and
has not had much time to think about the
INSIDE
HOLDING THEIR BREATH
The women's swimming and diving team
leads in the ACC championships PAGE 10
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2004
HISTORY: Allegations of cheating
have emerged in past races at UNC
BY BROOK R. CORWIN
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Candidate Lily West
received seven more votes
than her competitor Matt
Calabria in Tuesday's
runoff election for student body
president, the narrowest margin in
recent election history, according
to uncertified results released
Wednesday morning.
The Board of Elections could not
certify the results because of alleged
campaigning infractions against
both candidates and, therefore, has
not named an official winner.
Four last-minute allegations
forced the board to postpone its
certification of the election pend
ing an investigation into the
charges and their potential impact
on the results.
According to the numbers
released Wednesday, West received
3,060 votes, and Calabria received
3,053 of the 6,113 votes cast in
Tuesday’s runoff. West’s votes
amounted to 50.06 percent and
Calabria’s results were 49.94 per
cent of the ballots cast.
Before this election, the closest
student body president race in the
last 15 years occurred in 2001, when
former Student Body President
Justin Young defeated candidate
Eric Johnson by 30 votes.
West said that her campaign
staff reacted with enthusiasm upon
learning of the unofficial result but
that the allegations have kept her
from feeling excited.
“I’m really disgusted about what
Charges marred
2 past contests
BY BRIAN HUDSON
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
UNC student body president elections have a
history of last-minute allegations. In the past fif
teen years there have been several investigations
that required rulings from UNC’s student gov
ernment bodies.
In 1990 and 1993 allegations were made
against the front runner before the run-off elec
tion, yet in both instances the candidate’s lead
was not affected by accusations.
Nevertheless, former president Bill Hildebolt,
who was accused of allegations during the 1990
campaign season, said the implication discred
ited his presidency.
“There’s no doubt that we went from having
tremendous good will with a large cross-section
of the student body, (to losing) a good deal of
credibility,” he said Wednesday. “We become
more of a niche focus group.”
SEE HISTORY, PAGE 4
HISTORY
■1990
The runoff
election is
postponed for
almost a
month after
allegations
against Bill
Hildebolt.
■ 1993
Jim Copland's
campaign faces
violations for
campaigning
within 50 feet
of a polling
location.
■ 2004
Candidates
Matt Calabria
and Lily West
are investigated
for various
infractions.
But in reality, all
he really wants to do
is enjoy himself.
“I’d say I’m not
necessarily intimi
dated,” Suguiyama
said. “In 2000, I
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happened that I can’t feel joy about
(the results),” she said. “It’s put a
damper on this.”
Calabria said that the pending
allegations could jeopardize the
election results if they are proven
true and that his campaign staff is
ready for a possible special election.
“They’re all on stand-by,” he said.
“They have to know that they may
be asked to come back and serve in
a campaign capacity again.”
The elections board now has 96
hours to investigate the allega
tions, which Anderson said are
against both campaigns. A 72 hour
extension then may be granted by
the Student Supreme Court.
If the board determines that any
of the allegations affected the
result of the election and if neither
candidate is disqualified as a result
of campaign violations, the board
likely will advise Student Body
President Matt Tepper to call a
special election between West and
Calabria to fill the position.
Tepper said the special election
would have to be held on a Tuesday
at least one full week after being
called. He said he and the board
would decide, based on the cir
cumstances, if campaigning would
be allowed in this election.
Calabria expressed concern that
an election that prohibited cam
paigning would stifle voter turnout
and encourage illegal campaigning
in secret.
“A campaign without campaign-
SEE RESULTS, PAGE 4
July trials.
The Olympics are a comfortable sub
ject for Suguiyama to talk about. He’s
been familiar with the games since he was
six years old, when he began swimming
for the Curl-Burke Swim Club in his
hometown of Ijamsville, Md.
There he was able to swim with One of
his role models, 2000 Olympic gold
medal winner Tom Dolan.
“Just to watch him compete day in and
day out and watch how he trains and to be
able to train alongside of him has really
influenced me as a swimmer, competi
tively and psychologically,” Suguiyama
said. “And it’s really helped me a lot. I try
and mimic him.”
Dolan’s abilities rubbed off on
Suguiyama. His first year in college,
Suguiyama broke the UNC record in foe
1,000-yard freestyle held by former
Olympian Yann de Fabrique.
SEE SUGUIYAMA, PAGE 4
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