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FRATERNITY
FROM PAGE 1
to sign the agreement.”
Curtis declined to answer ques
tions Friday.
Ultimately, the University did
not accept the addendum and
declined to recognize the fraternity
because its members refused to sign
the nondiscrimination policy.
FIRE sparks national debate
Members of the fraternity
then enlisted the support of the
Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education, a Philadelphia-based
civil liberties group.
“We were losing our ability to be
effective,” Olagunju said. “We were
losing access to public resources,”
FIRE’s program officer, Robert L.
Shibley, sent a letter to Chancellor
James Moeser on July 23, calling
for the University to recognize AIO.
He also demanded that UNC create
a policy that allows all groups with
an expressive purpose to restrict
membership to students whose
beliefs reflect that purpose.
The response is FIRE’s second
intervention on behalf of a reli
gious student group at UNC.
In December 2002, UNC refused
to recognize the Inter Varsity
Christian Fellowship because it
required its leaders to be Christian.
After much media coverage, the
University changed its policies and
reinstated Inter Varsity as an offi
cial student organization.
But Greg Lukianoffi FIRE’s direc
tor of legal and public advocacy, said
the incident with AIO now calls into
question the University’s sincerity.
“The whole reason why you
allow for expressive groups is so
that people can gather together to
make their voices more powerful to
express their ideas,” he said. “If you
change the mission and purpose of
the group, you are diminishing peo
ple’s ability to advocate their ideas.”
Fueling the flame
Moeser issued a response Aug. 12.
It explains UNC’s role in balancing
the right to freedom of association,
mandated in the First Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution, with pro
tection against discrimination, man
dated in the Fourteenth Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution.
William Marshall, a UNC
law professor and constitutional
scholar whom University officials
have consulted, said he believes
the University has not violated the
rights of those in the fraternity.
Of the University’s 595 student
organizations, 42 are recognized
religious groups.
Many student ministry leaders,
including Jimmy Satterwhite, a
leader in the Episcopal Campus
Ministry, have supported UNC’s
decision.
In his letter, Moeser noted that
groups have three ways to increase
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the selectivity of their organiza
tions: requiring members to have
an interest in the subject matter,
asking recruits to pass an objective
test and forcing officers to sub
scribe to the tenets of their group.
“We believe that our approach
to recognition in general and our
demonstrated willingness to work
with members of Alpha lota Omega
to achieve their goals strikes a prop
er balance between the interests of
nondiscrimination and free associa
tion,” Moeser stated in his letter.
Olagunju said he was not aware
of these policies when applying for
recognition last fall. They are not
included in the 2003-04 Official
University Recognition Agreement,
as displayed on the UNC Web site.
Striking back
FIRE President David French
sent a response to the University
on Aug. 16, claiming that Moeser’s
letter neglected to address several
pivotal issues.
He stated that UNC’s actions
were not reasonable and disregard
the rights of minority students.
The letter also details FIRE’s
viewpoint that UNC does not have
a legal obligation to keep a private
religious organization from discrim
inating on the basis of religion.
The same day FIRE issued its
response, U.S. Rep. Walter Jones,
R-N.C., sent a letter to the U.S.
Department of Education’s Office
for Civil Rights, requesting an
investigation into the “ongoing
problem of censorship of Christian
students” at UNC.
“It is an ideological decision
by the University,” Jones said
Thursday. “That is why we have
gotten involved in this second case
because whether the University is
right or wrong, we need somebody
who is impartial to review what is
happening.”
Stephanie Babyak, a spokes
woman for the Department of
Education, said that the situation
is under investigation.
In February, Jones called for an
investigation into an incident in
which a UNC lecturer chastised
one of her students for making
anti-homosexual comments.
The debate escalates
Moeser said Thursday that UNC
was in the process of drafting a
response to FIRE’s second letter.
“The point I want to stress is, for
me, this is not a political issue. It is
our best effort to square those two
amendments,” he said.
Moeser said he doesn’t foresee
the University changing its non
discrimination policy.
“This is clearly a gray area legal
ly,” he said. “And so ultimately, this
probably will be decided by the
United States Supreme Court.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
Construction disrupts campus
Majority of projects running smoothly
BY CAROLINE KORNEGAY
STAFF WRITER
Orange cones, mesh fencing and
dust clouds are creating a maze for
students as they return to campus
this fall.
But University officials say the
completed buildings and facilities
are worth the inconveniences.
From the massive Ramshead
Center on South Campus to the
Arts Common near Franklin Street,
new buildings are being construct
ed on each comer of campus.
At the same time, extensive
renovations are under way at
Memorial Hall and in many resi
dence halls.
“There are significant positives,”
said Bruce Runberg, associate vice
chancellor for planning and con
struction.
“At the same time, we under-
Director appointment could unify arts
BY PHILIP MCFEE
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The seemingly listless University
arts community, fragmented since
the dissolution of the umbrella
organization Arts Carolina more
than a year ago, soon might
appoint a figurehead.
The ongoing search for some
one to fill the new post of execu
tive director for the arts is nearing
completion, with an appointment
likely by the spring semester.
“(It’s) a remarkable group
of applicants,” said Executive
Associate Provost Steve Allred.
“We’re now working with a group
of approximately 14. ... (We’re)
looking to further narrow that list
and bring candidates to campus
starting in late September.”
Anticipation is heightened by
the impending construction of
Phase I of the Arts Common, a
large-scale overhaul of the North
Campus area that centers on
Hanes Art Center.
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stand there are inconveniences.”
Runberg said that although the
construction can be a nuisance, the
end result of more spacious and
modern facilities will benefit the
University in the long run.
“The projects are of high quali
ty,” he said, listing the renovation of
the Undergraduate Library, which
reopened for the 2002 fall semes
ter, as an example.
The ambitious physical Master
Plan for UNC has a price tag of
approximately $1.3 billion, and
the current phase of construction
is scheduled for completion in
2008.
The plan, which began in 2001,
includes almost 150 projects.
A number of those tasks already
have been built or renovated.
About half of the funds for
the projects are coming from the
The new director will arrive at
a crucial point. The first phase of
the “50-year project,” as the Arts
Common has been called, begins
in 2006, with completion project
ed in 2009. Talks also are under
way to secure the director a freshly
revamped work space in the fall
semester of the year in which con
struction will begin.
Virginia Carson, director of the
Campus Y, said the third floor of
the then-renovated historic build
ing could host the offices of the
executive director.
“(We are) very excited about
this,” she said. “Having the arts
director there would be a good
thing.”
This excitement has been aug
mented by speculation about a
future financial windfall.
Allred said that if the University
receives adequate state funds from
a large-scale bond referendum
similar to the one passed in 2000,
the Arts Common could be corn
MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2004
higher education bond referen
dum passed in 2000 by the North
Carolina electorate, which gave the
university system more than $3 bil
lion for capital projects.
The University also is partially
funding the construction, and out
side funds from the $l.B billion
Carolina First campaign make up
the difference.
Spending on the construction
has reached a rate of $1 million
per work day and totals about S2O
million per month.
Runberg said many of the sites
in need of renovation are being
updated as part of the project.
“About one-third of the $5lO
million is in renovations,” he
said.
Despite some setbacks, Runberg
is optimistic that all the programs
will be completed without many
more delays or additional costs.
“We feel we’re in good shape to
finish up within budget and on
pleted during a 20-year span.
He added that updated figures
place the project’s total cost at $177
million, down from prior estimates
of S2OO million.
“That’s their estimate, taking
into account their best understand
ing of inflation,” he said.
One of the areas most affected
by all phases of construction is the
Department of Communication
Studies, set to inherit a newly con
structed building upon the Arts
Common’s completion. Department
Chairman William Balthrop
expressed excitement about the
project’s potential but acknowl
edged the efforts involved.
“There’s general enthusiasm
about it, but we all recognize it’ll
be several years away,” he said.
Balthrop also was a member
of a committee formed to discuss
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schedule,” he said.
One project that has been prob
lematic is the sls million addition
to the School of Nursing.
The site has been under con
struction since November 2002
and was set for completion this
November.
After crews ran into subsurface
problems, more work still must be
completed before finalization.
Despite setbacks, the project is
about 65 percent complete, with
the building scheduled to reopen
in early 2005.
Once opened, new spaces in the
building will host programs for
both students and members of off
campus groups, Runberg said.
“A lot of these projects will pro
vide better facilities to not only
students but (also) to the com
munity.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
the Arts Common’s future, which
included both town and University
representatives.
“I think there was a remarkable
degree of agreement about the kinds
of things that people saw as what
the possibilities could be, the kinds
of ways in which this space could be
of incredible benefit,” he said.
The program represents a monu
mental undertaking, from its incep
tion in committee to its completion.
The appointment of an executive
director from the 172-member field
is another step toward the realiza
tion of the Arts Common. •
“On the timeline, the chancellor
has called it a ‘SO year plan,’” Allred
said. “But I hope we can do it in less
than that.”
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
5