VOLUME 112, ISSUE 61 BUSH LAUNCHES BID FOR RE-ELECTION 1 — DTH PHOTOS/JUSTIN SMITH President Bush acknowledges a packed, frenzied Madison Square Garden crowd Thursday night, when he accepted his party's renomination for president. During his speech, regarded as one of the most important of the campaign, Bush outlined a plan for his second term and touted his response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11,2001. BY EMMA BURGIN NEW YORK STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR Standing atop the seal of his office and surrounded by his most enthu siastic supporters, President Bush on Thursday staked his claim to his party’s nomination and four more years in the Oval Office. During the closing session of the 2004 Republican National Convention, Bush spoke in the electrified convention hall and pro claimed that the next four years would be full of hope and rebuilding. “Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to climb and found the strength to climb them,” he said. “Now because we have made the hard journey, we can see the valley below. We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America, and nothing will hold us back.” Much of Bush’s speech was dedicated to the war in Iraq and the fight on terror. He insisted SEE BUSH, PAGE 5 Business school seeks to sate student demand BY BRIAN HUDSON ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR For the past several years, many of the stellar students applying to the Kenan-Flagler Business School have received rejection letters in their mailboxes. But business school officials now are investigating the feasibility of accepting 100 more undergradu ates to the school annually. “There are a lot of qualified stu dents that are trying to get into the undergraduate program— more than we’ve got space for,” said Steve Jones, dean of the business school. The grade point average of the 300 students in this year’s incom ing class was 3.5. If the next 100 students had been admitted, the average would have dropped a mere 0.3 points, Jones said. “It’s an indicator that there’s a lot of high-caliber students that would like to be in the program, and we would like to make room for them,” he said. During the past several years, an increasing number of incoming freshmen have listed business as their intended major, Jones said. “There’s a large, pent-up demand H SPORTSATURDAY COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF Look for the first issue of the DTH’s special football publication, Sport Saturday, at UNC's home opener Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Satlg aar Mttl Students savor New York BY LAURA YOUNGS SENIOR WRITER NEW YORK lt’s a chance that only comes every four years. And for the students participating in the 2004 Republican National Convention, it’s an oppor tunity they know they can’t take for granted. Hosted in glittering New York, the RNC boasts more than 2,000 delegates, many of whom are students. And those from North Carolina are taking full advantage of a week in the Big Apple. “It’s kind of overwhelming with everything that goes on,” said Michael Pomarico, a UNC- Wilmington senior, an alternate delegate and chairman of the N.C. College Republicans. “There’s always something going on in