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WORLD BRIEFS
Slain American was warned
to leave Iraq but remained
BAGHDAD, Iraq An
American civilian who was behead
ed in a grisly video posted on an al-
Qaida-linked Web site had been
warned to leave Iraq but refused,
U.S. officials said Wednesday. The
masked men who butchered him
claimed they were angered by coali
tion abuses of Iraqi prisoners.
The American captive identified
himself as Nick Berg, 26, of West
Chester, Pa., a suburb of
Philadelphia. His body was found
near a highway overpass in
Baghdad on Saturday, the same day
he was beheaded, a U.S. official
said The video posted Thesday bore
the title ‘Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
shown slaughtering an American,”
referring to an associate of Osama
bin Laden believed behind a wave
of suicide bombings in Iraq.
It was unclear whether al-
Zarqawi was shown in the video or
simply ordered the execution. He
also is sought in the assassination of
;a U.S. diplomat in Jordan in 2002.
The United States has offered a $lO
million reward for information
leading to his capture or killing
? A U.S. official, speaking on con
dition of anonymity, said Berg was
in Iraq “of his own accord” and
' had been advised to leave Iraq but
refused. The official refused to
Elaborate but promised more at a
later time.
!•
North Korea offers nuclear
freeze in exchange for aid
BEUING North Korea
demanded aid in exchange for
freezing its nuclear weapons pro
gram as it began low-level talks
'Wednesday with the United States
. and four other nations, a South
Korean report said.
North Korean envoys said the
success of the talks would depend
on whether the United States
agreed, the Yonhap News Agency
citing unidentified
diplomatic sources. Also taking
part are China, South Korea,
Russia and Japan. The “working
group” talks are meant to help pro
duce an agenda for a third round
of high-level talks on the North’s
r nuclear ambitions, which host
Beijing hopes takes place before
July.
The United States and its allies
say they are willing to provide aid
if North Korea freezes its nuclear
and commits itself to dis
mantling them. Washington says
such a freeze must be a short tem
porary step toward permanent
dismantling.
North Korea has balked at mak
ing such a commitment, and
. insists on aid and a freeze taking
1 place simultaneously.
Roadside bombings prompt
dual Israeli missile strikes
f GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —An
, Israeli helicopter fired a missile in
Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood on
Wednesday, killing at least one
.person, after three loud explosions
rocked the area, Palestinian offi
cials said.
The neighborhood has been the
scene of intense fighting in recent
days between Israeli troops and
Palestinian militants. Palestinian
residents said the missile strike,
the second in less than two hours,
had targeted a group of people
outside a mosque. Hospital work
ers said one person was killed and
at least eight were wounded.
Israel’s Army Radio said the
earlier explosions were apparently
caused by roadside bombs deto
nated by Palestinian militants.
The army said militants had
fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli
vehicles, missing the target but
landing dose by. It had no word on
casualties, but Palestinian wit
nesses said Israeli ambulances
rushed to the scene.
American forces continue
to battle cleric's loyalists
KARBALA, Iraq U.S. soldiers
.hacked by tanks and helicopters
‘battled fighters loyal to radical der
mic Muqtada al-Sadr near a mosque
“in the holy tity of Karbala early
•Wednesday, hours after Iraqi lead
ers agreed on a proposal that would
“end al-Sadr’s standoff with the U.S.-
Jled forces. Up to 25 insurgents were
'killed, the coalition said.
J U.S. soldiers raided houses
"ibesday night in Sadr City, a
•Baghdad neighborhood where
“support for al-Sadr is strong, wit
nesses said. Three Iraqis were
At a funeral ceremony
‘Wednesday for one of the slain
•men, mourners raised Iraqi flags
•and al-Sadr posters as they chant
led: “Down, down U.SA.”
* Much of the fighting in Karbala
“took place near the al-Mukhaiyam
“mosque, which has served as a
'base for al-Sadr’s Al-MaMi Army
•militia and is less than a mile from
Hone of the holiest Shiite sites in the
I world, the Imam Hussein shrine.
; Compiledfrom
* staff and wire reports.
Officials could work around airport
Alternate Carolina North plans exist
BY EMMA BURGIN
AND JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
SENIOR WRITERS
UNC’s plan to break ground on
a million dollar satellite campus
appears to be experiencing some
turbulence.
The Chapel Hill Town Council
approved an ordinance last month
that effectively halted all commu
nication dealing with Carolina
North until the fate of the Horace
' m i ‘-■■Mi
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DTH/PHIUP MCFEE
The second annual Doctoral Hooding Program featured an array of candidates from a wealth of departments, ranging from
biostatistics to linguistics to social work. The lengthy procession of degree recipients also included the students’ advisors.
ONLY THE BEGINNING
BY PHILIP MCFEE SUMMER EDITOR
tone Sunday at Commencement was one
I of exuberance defined by signs, shouts
■X. and colorful celebration.
On the previous day, at the Doctoral Hooding
Program, the atmosphere was markedly different.
The degree recipients were reserved, taking in the
event with a quiet gratitude. An exhausting proj
ect, a Ph.D. represents the culmination of a seem
ingly unfathomable amount of effort.
“(It’s) a process that takes years of commitment,
self-discipline and incredible support,” said Linda
Dykstra, dean of the Graduate School, in one of
SEE HOODING, PAGE 7
Brescani successor recommended
BY CAROLINE KORNEGAY
STAFF WRITER
Dean Bresciani, UNC’s interim
vice chancellor for student affairs,
will leave the University in the
coming months after accepting the
post of vice president for student
affairs at Texas A&M University
and officials believe they are close
to naming his replacement.
Texas A&M President Robert
Gates named Bresciani as head of
the Office of Student Affairs at the
end of April.
In a statement released last
month, Gates said, “Dr. Bresciani
emerged during our national search
as the top candidate to fill this posi
tion that is absolutely key to main
taining —and strengthening the
programs and services for our large
and diverse student body.”
He replaces Malon Southerland,
who retired last year from Texas
A&M. The post has been filled tem
porarily by Bill Kibler, who took a
similar position at Mississippi State
University after close to 24 years of
service at Texas A&M.
Bresciani filled the UNC posi-
Top News
Williams Airport is decided.
The N.C. General Assembly
required the University to keep the
airport open until Jan. 1,2005, and
is expected to extend the deadline
to help relocate the Area Health
Education Centers, which trans
ports physicians across the state
from the airport.
But the University met with the
council May 5 for a presentation
scheduled before the ordinance
■HHT jfflffltojtfßg&jk '^gsT^t ljsSiili ’Crates. ' '
DTH/PHIUP MCFEE
Provost Robert Shelton (left) assisted in the hooding of
some of the 150 students, 20 more than the previous year.
Interim VCSA
Dean Brescani
was chosen
for a similar
position at
Texas A&M
University.
tion, which was vacated by Sue
Kitchen in spring 2002, after serv
ing as the associate vice chancellor
for student services for five years.
Bresciani is out of town and
could not be reached for comment.
A recommendation has been
made for the permanent replace
ment after a seven-month process
by the search committee, said Steve
Matson, chair of the committee.
“The search committee met, and
we forwarded a recommendation
to Provost (Robert) Shelton and
Chancellor (James) Moeser, and at
present, they’re doing what they do
with recommendations,” Matson
said.
The committee considered three
candidates, but the recommenda
tion has yet to be announced.
passed. Officials presented the first
revision of the plan since December
to the council.
For more than three hours, the
council questioned Tony Waldrop,
UNC vice chancellor for research
and economic development, and
Doug Firstenberg, of Stonebridge
Associates, on issues the plan does
not address. Waldrop skirted the
issue of the airport, continuosly
noting that he would address it in
“the next couple of slides.”
After a lengthy back and forth
about the importance of parking
The candidates are Jody
Harpster, vice president for student
affairs at Shippensburg University
in Pennsylvania, Margaret
Jablonski, dean for campus life at
Brown University and Edward
Spencer, vice president for student
affairs at Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University.
Shelton and Moeser are deliber
ating and could be close to a final
decision, Matson said. “I am hope
ful that we will have some
announcement by the end of May,”
Matson said. “I have no ciystal ball.”
Matson said he and the com
mittee members think that the per
son to fill the post should be com
mitted to working with students.
All three candidates have visited
UNC, and have met with adminis
trators and students.
“(The candidates) were all
extremely student-centered,”
Matson said. “The candidates were
genuinely impressed with the stu
dents.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
and the potential failure of the
project, the council members quit
asking questions and started
demanding answers.
“I can’t believe we’ve been here
for three hours and we’ve acted like
the airport isn’t even there,” coun
cil member Sally Greene said.
The airport was even equated to
an elephant in the room by council
member Jim Ward, who noted that
any discussion about the plan as it
stands could be irrelevant.
Waldrop then revealed several
alternatives to the plan, including
ASGtaps
Devore as:
new leader
Plans to lobby legislators
along with new senior VP -
BY CHRIS COLETTA ‘
STATES NATIONAL EDITOR
The UNC-system Association of Student
Governments underwent a changing of the guard
May 1, choosing N.C. State University master’s stu
dent Amanda Devore as its new leader.
Devore, the ASG’s 2003-04 vice president of leg
islative affairs, was accompanied on her ticket by
Victor Landry, a Fayetteville State University masters
student who will serve a second term as the group’s
senior vice president.
She takes over for Jonathan Ducote, a student St
N.C. State who served two terms as ASG president
During that time, Devore said, the association -f
buoyed by a $1 fee paid by all UNC-system
that amounts to about $150,000 annually grew by
leaps and bounds.
“We’re obviously becoming much more important
players in the state,” Devore said. She cited the group’s
“Personal Stories Project” book, increased presence at
the UNC-system Board of Governors and lobbying of
legislators as evidence of what the group has done to
improve its effectiveness.
Still, Devore and Landry face a laundry list of
issues that must be addressed, both internal and
external.
First on that list is the General Assembly’s summer
session, which is meant primarily to re-examine the
SEE ASG, PAGE 7
ANALYSIS
Obtaining vote,
will be difficult!
BY CHRIS COLETTA ;
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
When Amanda Devore heads to Chapel Hill ths
fall and takes her seat as a student member of the
UNC-system Board of Governors, she’ll likely finil
that her work is cut out for her. !
As the new president of the UNC-systeih
Association of Student Governments, Devore $
granted a spot oh the 32-member board, which if
responsible for setting system policy. The position
offers her valuable face time with the system’s movere
and shakers, but it lacks something the ASG has yat
to secure: a vote. ;
That’s something Devore would like to sefc
changed.
“We’re doing all we can,” she said. “A lot of it just
comes from bringing educated, rational arguments to
the table.” I
As it stands, ASG presidents serve as ex officio menv
bers of the BOG who have the right to make motions
and participate in debate but who can’t cast ballots. *
Efforts to change that status have been OK’d by
both the BOG and the N.C. House on numerous occa
sions, but the situation isn’t likely to change in the
near future. That’s largely due to the actions of one
man: N.C. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, Dr
Cumberland.
•I
SEE ANALYSIS, PAGE 7 2
Candidates For Upcoming Elections
Below is a list of candidates in this year's elections. Primaries ;•
will take place July 20; the general election will be held Nov. 22
President
John F. Kerry, Democrat
George W. Bush,
Republican
Ralph Nader, independent
Governor
Mike Easley, Democrat
Rickey Kipfer, Democrat
Patrick Ballantine,
Republican
Dan Barrett, Republican
Bill Cobey, Republican
George Little, Republican
Fern Shubert, Republican
Richard Vinroot,
Republican
U.S. Senate, North
Carolina
Erskine Bowles, Democrat
Tom Bailey, Libertarian
Richard Burr, Republican
John Hendrix, Republican
Albert Wiley Jr.,
Republican
U.S. House, District 4
David Price, Democrat
Todd Batchelor,
Republican
Howard Mason,
Republican
James Powers, Republican
N.C. Senate, District
23
Ellie Kinnaird, Democrat
Kim James, Republican
N.C. House, District SO
Bill Faison, Democrat
Barry Jacobs, Democrat
Joel F. Knight Democrat
Duke Underwood,
Democrat
Robert Whitfield,
Republican
N.C. House, District 54
Joe Hackney, Democrat
N.C. House, District 56
Verla Insko, Democrat
Orange County Board
of Commissioners
(2 members to be elected)
Margaret Brown,
Democrat
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2004
anew starting point for the devel
opment. The plan, which assumes
the airport will close Jan. 1,2005,
requires the University to break
ground where the airport now sits.
Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, said
Tuesday that the legislators that
comprise the Joint Select
Committee on the Horace Williams
Airport will meet Thursday for the
first time to discuss AHEC’s future.
Insko said last month that legis
lators likely will keep the airport
SEE NEW PLANS, PAGE 7
Moses Carey Jr., ;J
Democrat
Valerie Foushee,
Democrat 2
Pam Hemminger, J
Democrat
Jack Lamb, Democrat •
Artie Franklin, Libertarian
Jamie Daniel, Republican;
•
Orange County Board!
of Education
(nonpartisan election) •
Liz Brown 2
Keith Cook
Al Hartkopf
James Hemminger
Dennis Whitling 2
Orange County Board!
of Education 2
(nonpartisan election for;;
an unexpired term ending
in 2006)
Andrea Biddle 2
Delores Simpson ;J
* incumbents in italics 2
DTH/MARY JANE KATZ
3