VOLUME 112, ISSUE 53
reaching^for •
resolution
Mired in debate and controversy, a community seeks to define and protect freedom
BY EMILY STEEL UNIVERSITY EDITOR
As members of the class
0f2006 forged their way
into the Pit two years ago
with copies of the highly
debated “Approaching the Qur’an:
The Early Revelations” under their
arms, they unknowingly stepped
into a circle of fire.
Demonstrators, television crews
and reporters from across the nation
swarmed into the path of the timid,
wide-eyed freshmen as they wove
their way to the annual discussions
for the Carolina Summer Reading
Program.
Last year, it happened again.
The class of 2007 ventured into
classrooms to discuss Barbara
Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed: On
(Not) Getting By in America,” once
again under public scrutiny.
Conservative groups, enraged with
the selection, pointed to the program
as the manifestation of what they
perceived to be UNC’s liberal bias.
Twice in a row, the University
refused to back down and change
the summer reading selection.
This fight for academic inde
pendence and freedom of
expression has become a con
tinuous battle at the University.
SEE UNIVERSITY. PAGE 6
“If there ever was an election where young people could
really make a difference, this is it. michael delu carpini, dean of communication school upa.
Political tumult attracts youth
BY EMMA BURGIN
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
Never, experts say, has an election
had so much potential to be depen
dent on young voters as does the still
too-close-to-call 2004 presidential
race.
As tensions grow over the conflict
in Iraq and the struggling economy,
young voters seem to have come out
of the woodwork to be the most influ
ential campaign volunteers.
A whole new generation will be
able to vote this year —one that has
undoubtedly been affected by tragic
images of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks and the war with Iraq.
But they’ve also borne witness to
the rise of “The Daily Show” and the
Rock the Vote campaign, which asso
ciates popular music artists with the
democratic process.
Airport plans prompt
latest pause in battle
BY DAN SCHWIND
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
The University’s development plan for a
satellite campus remains in a holding pat
tern while officials consider what to do with
the Horace Williams Airport.
The plan stalled in April when the Chapel
Hill Town Council voted that University
officials had to determine the fate of the
60-year-old airport before any discussion
of Carolina North, a proposed 963-acre
research park, continued.
The main point of contention was whether
the airport, located on land scheduled to be
INSIDE
YEAR IN REVIEW
Arts Editor Philip McFee meditates on the pros,
cons of the 'O4 media Master Plan PAGE 13
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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DTH/JUSTIN SMITH
Chancellor James Moeser prepares to kick off anew academic year by welcoming the University's freshman class during convocation in the Smith Center on Sunday night.
And because of all of this, no expert
is willing to bet on what the night of
Nov. 2 will bring,
But the poll results keep coming
in, and as the election nears, the race
between Democratic nominee John
Kerry and President Bush gets tighter.
An Aug. 18 CBS News poll showed
Kerry with 47 percent of voters’ sup
port besting Bush, who only gar
nered 44 percent.
But other polls, such as the Aug. 15
Harris poll, show the two politicians
deadlocked, which experts say more
accurately portrays the political cli
mate.
“If there ever was an election where
young people could really make a dif
ference, this is it,” said Michael Delli
Carpini, dean of the Annenberg School
for Communication at the University
of Pennsylvania.
developed in the project’s first phase, would
need to be closed when construction began.
But some believed the closure would
disrupt the N.C. Area Health Education
Centers program, which uses the airport to
transport physicians and university person
nel across the state.
The N.C. General Assembly included a
line in the recently approved state budget
that keeps the airport open until anew
home can be found for AHEC, thus delaying
progress on Carolina North indefinitely.
SEE AIRPORT, PAGE 6
INSIDE
BRIDGING THE GAP
Ramshead Center to connect
campus, sate students PAGE 5
www.dlhoxilxne.com
“If there ever was an election where
you could imagine young people real
izing that, this is it.”
Tom Jensen, a UNC junior and
chairman of Students for (Senate can
didate Erskine) Bowles, said he has
witnessed an increase in young peo
ple’s getting involved in the political
process this year.
“What I’ve done both summers
since high school is go home and run
local campaigns,” he said. “In the past,
I have been the only person under 50
working on anything. This summer,
the bulk of my volunteer corps was
high school students.”
Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC’s
Program on Southern Politics, Media
and Public Life, said younger voters’
engagement has intensified in this
election because of the conflict with
Iraq.
Rwrmrm
ipi
He said the struggle’s heavy play on
the news is the one issue most respon
sible for any kind of upsurge in young
voters’ interest in this election.
“Whereas older voters, blue-col
lar workers in our state ... may be
anxious of the economy more than
in the past, younger voters tend to
be motivated by the national discus
sion,” he said.
Guillory said he thinks most young
voters are up for grabs by any political
party in this election.
“I suspect that young people are more
undecided,” he said. “There are people
who are still searching for leadership.”
But some already have their alle
giances.
Guillory said young voters tend
to be anti-war, so they sympathize
SEE YOUNG VOTERS, PAGE 7
DTH FILE GRAPHIC
SPORTS
GOING FOR THE GOLD
UNC tears up the Olympic soccer field and
scores, 2-1, a place in the finals PAGE 17
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2004
Grants give
students an
education
Carolina Covenant brings
more than 250 to campus
BY KELLY OCHS
FEATURES EDITOR
Nayeli Lozada didn’t speak English when she
moved to North Carolina from Mexico City three
years ago.
Lozada, who was a foster child when she moved
to Siler City, said she didn’t have anyone to support
her during her move and to tell her that she should
go to college.
But last weekend, she joined hundreds of other
freshmen moving into Hinton James Residence
Hall.
Lozada is one of more than 250 incoming freshman
who will graduate from UNC debt-free because of the
Carolina Covenant.
This year’s freshmen are the first to benefit from the
Carolina Covenant, a commitment that the University
has made to help historically low-income students
graduate from college with no debt. Chancellor James
Moeser announced the plan for the scholarship pro
gram in the fall of 2003.
Before they are even considered for the grant,
students must first be admitted to the University.
Carolina Covenant students then are selected based
on financial need. To be eligible, their parents’ com
bined income cannot exceed 150 percent of the federal
poverty guidelines.
Students who are selected will work 10-12 hours
a week at a work-study job. The Carolina Covenant
fund then supplements contributions from the fami
lies and the work-study job.
The project is supported by federal, state and uni
versity funds and private donations.
Recently, Pepsi signed a contract with the
University that will give $1.5 million during five years
to the fund.
SEE COVENANT, PAGE 6
WEATHER
TODAY Partly cloudy, H 86, L 63
WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy, H 84, L 64
THURSDAY Showers, H 78, L 68
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