VOLUME 112, ISSUE 6
Congress approves SI3K post
NEW OFFICE MANAGER TO INCREASE
EFFICIENCY FOR EXECUTIVE BRANCH
By UZZIE STEWART
STAFF WRITER
In a near-unanimous vote, Student
Congress allocated $13,000 of the Student
Activity Fee to its operating budget this
weekend to oversee the hiring of an office
manager for student government.
The amendment to allocate the money to
the executive branch failed, but Congress
allocated the money to itself to allow for
more oversight.
ASG finds
its footing
with funds
BYCLEVE R.WOOTSON JR.
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
The draft budget of the UNC-system
Association of Student Governments for this year
reads like a lobbyists’ Master Card commercial.
Advocacy book: $8,000; travel expenses: $2,831;
office space in state capital: $12,800.
It’s been almost two years since the ASG
received a six-digit increase in its allowance, and
leaders say the money is helping the organization
evolve from a hodgepodge group of student
politicians to a legitimate advocacy organization.
ASG President Jonathan Ducote admits the
organization has had its share of problems. Last
year, an investigation by The Daily Tar Heel
showed organizational lapses during the first
year the ASG received funding from student fees.
At some meetings, the association grappled with
questions of quorum. Members even disagreed
about the legitimacy of the person filling one of
the ASG’s top posts.
The association has rebounded but still has
room to improve, said UNC-Chapel Hill Student
Body President Matt Tepper. “You have to expect
a whole new level of services from the (ASG),”
Tepper said. “It’s just gearing up right n0w.... I
think it’s yet to be seen how effective it is.”
Ben Ruffin, a member of the UNC-system
Board of Governors who was board chairman
when the BOG voted to increase the ASG’s fund
ing, said it has “a clean order that means
they’re appropriating the funds properly.”
The ASG’s expected revenues went from about
$165,000 to less than $150,000, as questions
about the $1 fee were clarified. But Ducote said
the association has made strides with that
money, as evidenced by the increasing presence
of students at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.
That’s part of Amanda Devore’s job. Devore is
the ASG’s vice president for legislative affairs
and was behind the organization’s most recent
project, a book that showcased personal stories
about the impact of recent tuition increases.
She says the impact of the fee can be seen
most of all in the increasing impact students are
able to have on the N.C. General Assembly.
“I guess the saying is true, that money talks,”
Devore said. The ASG gave her office and the
office of public affairs more than $18,600.
“(Money is) the means and resources that you
have to come across to lawmakers because they
have so many people talking to them.”
Ducote said the students having those conver
sations with legislators are coming from all parts
of the state, a marked improvement from two
years ago when the organization’s biggest prob
lem was lax participation from smaller schools
and those in the state’s outlying areas. The asso-
SEE ASG, PAGE 5
Court date set for
Dorrance civil suit
BY BRIAN MACPHERSON
SPORTS EDITOR
The apparent failure of settle
ment negotiations in a civil suit
against North Carolina women’s
soccer coach Anson Dorrance
could necessitate a jury trial in
October to resolve allegations of
sexual harassment.
The two sides had been working
toward an agreement outside of
court, but attorney Daniel Konicek
said Friday that he saw little chance
of reaching a settlement before an
Oct. 4 court date set in January.
“There were some disagree
ments on some material terms of
the settlement agreement related
to programs that would be insti
tuted by the University, programs
INSIDE
WAR OF THE ROSES
PlayMakers' “The Subject Was Roses" chronicles a
man's return home after WWII PAGE 4
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
3hr lathi ®ar Heel
“It shows that they are forward-thinking,”
Student Body Treasurer Aexa Kleysteuber
said. “It is kind of sad that they don’t trust
the executive branch to make a request and
follow through with it.”
The office manager will perform a variety
of duties to make the day-to-day running of
the office smoother. Such duties will include
basic office tasks such as answering the
phone and addressing questions from the
host of students who come into the office
ft
IK w||W|
f w 1
if ii w nil • mw m
| i MS:. § NaK&ft 1
§ nMMW T* 0 zz&Sßmm&sk jAIPf W
jl imw JfrA O
J 'iiM
Elil Wm
1 \ t; ; ff : *if 1 K'
Mlii \ jm s I M
Members of Sangam leave the stage Saturday
during the Masala Fashion Show while
other members of the group dance behind
them. Sangam, one of 13 organizations that per
formed at the annual show, is a South Asian aware
North Carolina
women's soccer
coach Anson
Dorrance was
sued for sexual
harassment by
two former
players in 1998.
C> -
that Coach Dorrance would be
required to participate in and
attend and fines or sanctions if
they failed to comply with the
terms,” said Konicek, who is repre
senting former UNC soccer player
Melissa Jennings.
A court date originally had been
set for April, but an extended peri-
SEE CIVIL SUIT, PAGE 5
www.dailytarheel.com
everyday. “There’s been a need and a desire
for an office manager for as long as I can
remember,” Kleysteuber said.
The office manager also will facilitate the
transition period between administrations.
“This new person is coming in, and they
don’t know how to set up their calendar or
how to set up their voice mail or what
appointments they’re on,” Kleysteuber said.
“They are also concerned with picking their
officers and Cabinet.”
She said the new position will create an
increase in efficiency. “The productivity of
the office is going to expand,” she said.
The executive branch is working with
Student Union Director Don Luse to secure
MASALA FASHION SHOW
Hearing today on UNC growth
BY EMMA BURGIN
CITY EDITOR
Residents will be able to raise
concerns and questions tonight at
a public hearing about the Horace
Williams Citizens Committee rec
ommendations to the Chapel Hill
Town Council for the Carolina
North development.
On Jan. 28, the Town Council
received a report on principles
from the committee. Today’s meet
ing, which starts at 7 p.m. in Town
Hall, will provide an opportunity
for the public to respond to the
suggestions.
The citizens committee formed
in October 2002 to advise the
council in its deliberations with
the University regarding plans for
Carolina North, the 963-acre
Horace Williams tract to be devel
oped during the next 50 to 70
mmam
■W
approximately $15,000 of the Student
Union’s budget to add to the $13,000 that
Congress already has allocated. This would
make the office manager a full-time paid
employee earning sls per hour.
Although Student Congress officials had
concerns about using the Student Activity
Fee to fund a non-student salary, Kleysteuber
said, a student could not do everything nec
essary of the position due to time constraints.
“I think there’s a sense of responsibility and
longevity that we want this position to have,”
she said. “It would be contrary to the goals of
the office manager if it were a student.”
SEE ASSISTANT, PAGE 5
ness organization and is the largest international
group on campus with more than 200 members.
Other performances during Saturday night’s event
included students from Asian Students Association,
Bhangra Elite, CHispA and Carolina Concepts.
years. The development will con
sist of research, residential and
retail space.
“There’s not a lot that seems
controversial,” said Ruby Sinreich,
who serves as vice chairwoman of
the citizens committee. “So much
of it is stuff they’re going to
address anyway... because it’s in
the University’s best interest.”
In the recommendations, the
committee calls for “one bed for
every head” in the Carolina North
development to address the cur
rent shortage of student housing.
Members also reiterate the
need for preserving open space,
suggesting 75 percent of the tract
remain undeveloped. The com
mittee includes a stipulation that
roads should not subdivide envi
ronmentally sensitive tracts.
Members also maintain that
SPORTS
WOLFPACK SWEEP
The Tar Heels pull out a 71-64 win over N.C. State
in Raleigh to complete a season sweep PAGE 12
DTH/NANCY DONALDSON
“It’s always hard to get people interested
... until it’s being built in their
backyard.” RUBY SINREICH, committee vice chairwoman
the University needs to center its
transportation plan around
Chapel Hill Transit rather than
single occupancy motor vehicles.
“People will be looking at what
they do about transit because it
will have a huge impact on the
town,” Sinreich said.
Joe Capowski, a member of the
citizens committee, said the lack of
a school site and too much parking
space within the development
could incense the public.
Perhaps the largest change to
the committee’s principles was the
request to rezone the entire tract
to Office/Institutional-2. The
WEATHER
TODAY Mostly sunny, H 70, L 52
TUESDAY Windy, H 71, L 48
WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy, H 69, L 49
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2004
Judicial
branch
stipend
rejected
Congress wary of
setting precedent
BY LIZZIE STEWART
STAFF WRITER
Student Congress was reluctant
to allocate funding to the judicial
and executive branches of student
government at its annual budget
weekend because of a pending ref
erendum that would allocate stu
dent fees permanently to the
branches.
The proposal will be on the bal
lot Utesday and, if passed, will
allocate automatically 3 percent of
the Student Activity Fee to the
executive branch and 5 percent to
the judicial branch of student gov
ernment. Currently, the two
branches must request all funding
from Congress.
Student Attorney General
Jonathan Slain attempted to
secure a $2,700 stipend for an
honor system outreach coordina
tor but was unsuccessful. Slain
said the judicial branch will cre
ate the position without the
stipend.
The outreach coordinator will
be responsible for informing
teaching assistants and incoming
students about the honor system.
The debate about the justifica
tion of a stipend for the new posi
tion dealt with a lack of precedent
to judge the potential effectiveness
of such a coordinator.
Another issue of debate in
Congress was comparing the pos
sible duties of the coordinator to
those that the student body presi
dent and other executive officers
already carry out.
“Basically, we’re looking at it
from a comparative standpoint,”
Congress Speaker Pro Tern Charlie
Anderson said.
Given that the student body
president receives a stipend of
$2,400, Anderson said, giving the
honor system outreach coordina
tor $2,700 would be “ridiculous.”
Slain said they would discuss
the stipend further at the budget
committee’s next meeting March
23.
“They will consider the debate
on stipends in terms of all the stu
dent officer positions, not just the
honor system outreach coordina
tor,” Slain said.
Anderson supported an amend
ment as a compromise to Slain’s
proposal by allocating $1,350 as a
stipend for the position, but it was
not passed by Congress.
“Getting a stipend would hold
them accountable,” Anderson said.
“Once you’re getting paid, you’re
held on a shorter leash.”
Rep. Parker Wiseman said the
issue of stipends had to be
addressed.
“At this point the only solution
is to address the (Student) Code,”
SEE STIPEND, PAGE 5
committee’s vote on this change
was split 11-5 against letting the
tract’s zones remain the same.
Land zoned as 01-2 is subject
to special use permits for all build
ings more than 20,000 square
feet. The University would have to
ask the town for each permit.
“01-2 is a placeholder,” said
Capowski, who voted against the
stipulation in hopes that the tract
be zoned Residential-1 so office
space could not be built.
The recommendation goes
against the University’s desire for
SEE MEETING, PAGE 5
a