VOLUME 112, ISSUE 49
Budget negotiations near completion
EDUCATION PLAN FINALIZED
AS PRIMARY BATTLES LOOM
BY CHRIS COLETTA
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
As negotiations on the state’s
$15.8 million spending plan rolled
into their second week, lawmakers
continued work on resolving their
differences but were significantly
closer to the process’s end.
As budget conferees in the
House and Senate returned to
Raleigh on Tuesday after the long
July 4 weekend, they already had
wrapped up talks on the education
budget die largest chunk of cash
—and moved on to dealing with
KERRY TAPS EDWARDS
AS RUNNING MATE
BY CHRIS COLETTA
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
Sen. John Kerry picked John
Edwards as his running mate Hiesday,
calling on the Southern populist in
hopes that his small-town demeanor
and skill on the stump will invigorate
Kerry’s bid for the White House.
The formal announcement came
Tuesday morning at a rally in
Pittsburgh after the Massachusetts
Democrat phoned Edwards, a first
term senator from North Carolina, to
inform him of his decision.
“I have chosen a man who under
stands and defends the values of
America, a man who has shown
courage and conviction,” Kerry said of
his choice.
For his part, the 51-year-old
Edwards released a statement Tuesday
morning expressing his gratitude at
being chosen. He and Kerry were
scheduled to campaign together
Wednesday in Ohio before flying to six
more states, wrapping up in North
Carolina later this week.
“I was honored this morning to
receive a call from Senator Kerry ask
ing me to join his ticket,” Edwards said
in the statement. “I was humbled by
his offer and thrilled to accept it.”
In making his decision, Kerry
passed over a bevy of other candidates,
including Rep. Dick Gephardt of
Missouri and lowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.
The pair were widely believed to be the
leading alternatives to Edwards.
Kerry’s choice marked the end of a
search that lasted about four months,
during which Kerry was able to keep
his decision secret until a few hours
before the official announcement.
President Bush said Ttiesday that
Vice President Dick Cheney called
Edwards to congratulate him and that
he welcomed Edwards into the race.
“I look forward to a good, spirited
contest,” Bush told reporters in the
Oval Office on Tuesday.
Kerry’s choice pleased many
Democratic leaders, who had been
stumping for the Tar Heel in hopes that
he could energize what has, at times,
seemed to be a lethargic campaign.
Ultimately, that seemed to be the
deciding factor in Kerry’s decision
despite the fact that he and Edwards
often were at each other’s heels during
the primary season earlier this year,
when Edwards wound up as Kerry’s
last major competitor.
But if any animosity was present
Tuesday, Kerry wasn’t about to let on.
“I have worked with John Edwards
side by side and sometimes head to
DTH FILE PHOTO
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry had been tight-lipped about
his decision in the months leading up to the Democratic National Convention.
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Nerd-cum-hunk Tobey Maguire springs into action in
the summer sequel "Spider-Man 2." Thwip. PAGE 6
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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about $lO million in discrepancies.
Though the fiscal year began
July 1, legislators are working on
making adjustments in the second
year of a two-year budget. They
therefore have some leeway in the
amount of time they can take to
finish their talks.
A major impasse was cleared
late last week when lawmakers
agreed to give Gov. Mike Easley
full funding for More at Four, his
signature preschool program, and
another initiative to reduce third
grade class sizes to 18.
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N.C. Sen. John Edwards shakes hands with Heather Miller as part of his sixth annual July 4 walk along Wrightsville Beach,
two days before he was picked by Sen. John Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, as a running mate.
head,” he said. “I've seen John Edwards
think, argue, advocate, legislate and
lead for six years now. I know his skill,
I know his passion, I know his strength,
I know his conscience. I know his
faith.”
The decision came a few weeks
before the Democratic National
Convention, when Kerry and Edwards
are set to accept their party’s nomina
tion.
Thad Beyle, professor of political sci
WEEKLY SUMMER ISSUE
www.dailytarheeLcom
The House’s budget included
that money, but senators initially
had balked, giving Easley only $25
million of the $59 million ’asked
for in his recommendations for the
2004-05 fiscal year.
The move came after a heavy
push from the governor’s office.
Last year, Easley threatened to
veto the budget, which he viewed
as not fiscally conservative enough,
but made no such admonition this
year.
Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth
and co-chairwoman of the Senate’s
budget delegation, told The
Associated Press last week that
negotiators couldn’t spend any
more time arguing about the
ftmds.
ence at UNC, said the early decision
will win the ticket favorable media
attention before the Senate begins
debate on a constitutional amendment
that would ban gay marriage.
Now that he has been chosen, how
ever, Edwards is almost certain to
come under scrutiny. Already, the Bush
campaign has begun to air an ad, titled
“First Choice,” which suggests that
Arizona Sen. John McCain, a
Republican, was Kerry’s real pick for
the vice presidential nod.
And indeed, Edwards brings many
negatives and positives to the table.
He has proven himself a bom politi
cian during his few years on the
national stage, winning his audacious
first run for public office by defeating
incumbent Sen. Lauch Faircloth in
1998 and lasting longer than anybody
expected in this year’s primaries.
And he’s used his populist roots as
the son of a Seneca, S.C. mill worker to
great effect, bashing Bush by insisting
that the president has created “Two
Americas” —one for the rich and one
for everyone else.
“He kind of brought anew perspec
tive to what you do in politics,” Beyle
said.
Furthermore, the Southerner could
narrow Republicans’ large leads in
some Southern states, particularly
“You’ve got to come to the point
and decide,” she said. “This is a
three-legged stool.”
Legislators last week also ended
work on the budget for the UNC
system.
Last week, Sen. Kay Hagan, D-
Guilford, said conferees agreed to
set the amount of financial aid
doled out to the system’s campus
es at $26 million.
That’s significantly less than
what the Senate asked for but
more than the s2l million allotted
in the House’s proposal and the
$23.8 million called for in the
2003-05 budget.
“I’m very concerned not to
SEE BUDGET, PAGE 4
North Carolina —a state that hasn’t
been carried by a Democrat since 1976,
when Georgian Jimmy Carter was able
to capitalize on the backlash from the
Watergate scandal to defeat Gerald
Ford.
“I think it’s going to make the state
more competitive,” Beyle said. “It’s
probably going to make it competitive
enough that the Bush people are going
to have to spend a little more money
here, and a little more time.”
On the other hand, Edwards is sure
to be dogged by questions about his
experience.
The former trial lawyer, who has
spent only six years in the Senate, has
left many wondering about his foreign
policy experience and whether he
could succeed Kerry in case of disaster
questions Kerry himself raised dur
ing the primary season.
For now, however, the questions are
likely to be pushed to the side as the
new ticket introduces itself to the
nation.
“(Kerry) probably had had enough
of the questions: “Who’s it going to be?
Who’s it going to be?’” Beyle said.
“So he probably said: ‘l’ve made that
decision. It’s time to announce it.’”
Contact the State National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
INSIDE
WAS IT EASY BEING GREEN?
Independent hopeful Ralph Nader faces trouble with
getting a spot on the North Carolina ballot. PAGE 2
System officials react
to latest round of cuts
BY CHRIS COLETTA
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
As the N.C. General Assembly
wound down its work on the state
spending plan this week, officials
and student leaders in the UNC
system said they were pleased the
system got the amount of money it
did.
“I know it could have been
much worse,” said Jane Helm, vice
chancellor for business affairs at
Appalachian State University.
Task force
kicks off
diagnosis
of safety
BY ALEX GRANADOS
STAFF WRITER
Last Thursday, a UNC-system task force took the
first steps toward squelching student and parent fears
regarding campus safety.
After the recent deaths of two UNC-Wilmington
students, a 16-member panel with jobs ranging from
admissions director to chief of police met in Chapel
Hill to discuss safety.
UNC-system President Molly Broad said the cir
cumstances necessitated a second look at safety on
campus.
“I think the coincidence of events really demand
ed that we take a clear and careful look at a variety
of issues regarding campus safety,” she said.
Stephen Farmer, senior associate director of
admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, said the task force
primarily gathered the background necessary to make
future decisions.
“It was more in the nature of a general conversa
tion, getting the lay of the land,” Farmer said.
He said the task force was split into two subcom
mittees —one for admissions and one for campus
safety.
SEE SAFETY, PAGE 4
—JuBHBhL
DTH/MIKE GIBSON
Kim Isaacs, a digestive diseases specialist in UNC's
highly ranked program, examines Allison Millard.
Hospital’s
programs
ranked high
BY MATT STODDARD
STAFF WRITER
UNC Hospitals was honored this week when seven
of its medical programs were listed among the top 50
of their kind in the nation, according to a ranking by
the U.S. News and World Report.
The report, which will be published in the July 12
issue, states that just less than 4 percent of the nation’s
hospitals “were of high enough quality to be ranked in
a single specialty.” Four of the seven specialties that
were included moved up in the ranks from last year’s
list with the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and
Neck Surgery in the ear, nose and throat area show
ing the biggest advancement, a 15 point jump.
The individual categories in which UNC programs
placed are digestive disorders at 14 (up from 18); can
cer at 29; ear, nose and throat at 22 (up from 37);
gynecology at 29; kidney disease at 22 (up from 36);
SEE UNC HOSPITALS, PAGE 4
WEATHER
TODAY Mostly Sunny, High 92, Low 69
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SATURDAY Partly Cloudy, High 88, Low 69
THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2004
“Of course, we would have been
happy if there were no cuts, but ...
we know we’re part of the state
system.”
As it stands, the budget calls for
cuts of 1.7 percent to the system,
which amounts to $27 million
across 16 campuses. And even
though they arrive on the heels of
years of similar cuts, leaders
expressed hope that this might be
SEE CUTS, PAGE 4