VOLUME 112, ISSUE 94
UNC’s lawsuit saga
begins next chapter
OFFICIALS SLATED TO REACT
TODAY IN FRATERNITY BATTLE
BY STEPHANIE NEWTON
STAFF WRITER
The University is set to respond
today to a federal lawsuit that was
filed Aug. 25 by a Christian civil
rights group when students were
just returning to classes.
The Alliance Defense Fund
stands poised for combat on behalf
of Alpha lota Omega, a three-mem
ber Christian fraternity that was
denied official UNC recognition.
After refiising last fall to sign the
nondiscrimination and sexual ori
entation policies that are required
of all UNC organizations, the fra
ternity members enlisted the sup
port of national civil rights organi
On the Road
The DTH follows the
highlights and low points of a
presidential campaign
Voters in
Fla. aim
to escape
the past
BY CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR.
SENIOR WRITER
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - The
anger many Florida voters felt at
the sites Democratic vice presiden
tial nominee John Edwards visited
Friday went beyond the “redefeat
Bush” buttons people in the crowd
wore.
It went further than the dis-
dain the crowd
showed for two
women with
signs support
ing indepen
dent candidate
Ralph Nader
the man some
say helped
Democratic
candidate Al
Gore lose the
state in 2000
by taking away
liberal votes.
It went so
I % - " ;5 *"
N.C. Senator
John Edwards
toured Florida
on Friday and
spoke to voters.
far, in fact, that it might wind up
going to a place it rarely visits: the
voting booth.
Edwards, North Carolina’s
senior senator, played heavily on
voters’ sense of disenfranchise
ment in a tour of the state Friday,
making it the central theme of his
travels from Boynton Beach in
the morning to a 6 p.m. rally in
Jacksonville.
In 2000, George W. Bush won
Florida’s 25 electoral votes —and,
in turn, the presidency by 537
votes in a race in which 5.9 million
Floridians cast ballots.
But the process was marred by
questions about faulty ballots and
voter lists, as well as a decision by
the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a
recount of the state’s votes more
than a month after Election Day.
Tens of thousands of ballots
were thrown out many from
black voters.
On Friday, rally attendees from
a diverse swath of Florida’s elec
torate, many of whom still remem
ber that election, were stirred by
Edwards’ words in the packed
Tamarac Community Center gym
nasium in Broward County.
“I have to say, we know because
we’ve seen it before, we know our
opponents are going to be up to
their same old tricks trying to
keep people from voting, trying to
make sure people don’t get to the
polls,” Edwards said to an applaud-
SEE EDWARDS, PAGE 7
ONLINE
Groups rally at UNC to boost Democratic cause
Local GOP candidates commiserate at picnic
For these stories and more, visit<www.dthonline.com.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
®hi' daily oar Heel
zations to fight for what they con
sider their First Amendment right
to freedom of association.
The University has held that it
must compromise between students’
First Amendment rights and those
freedoms from discrimination stipu
lated by the Fourteenth Amendment
and the N.C. Constitution.
But history doesn’t always
repeat itself, and today will deter
mine how UNC will follow a path
already laid.
In 2002, the University struck
two deals of religious sensitivity.
As part of its Summer Reading
Program, UNC originally required
all incoming students to read
WuHm ¥ i -MM
A young boy scales a climbing wall
Saturday night at the N.C. State
Fair. The fair, which closed down
Sunday after what organizers deemed a
successful week, featured the typical array
Legend’s show draws sold-out crowd
BY JIM WALSH
ASSISTANT ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
After much controversy and debate,
the Homecoming concert opened
Sunday to a sold-out crowd of 650 in
the intimate confines of the George
Watts Hill Alumni Center.
John Legend, who was tapped for
the performance after the Carolina
Athletic Association failed to secure
rock band Sister Hazel, played his sig
nature R&B piano music, interjecting
casual banter between songs.
“Y’all really represented tonight,”
INSIDE
ELECTION 2004
Read the first stories in the DTH's
series profiling candidates PAGE 3
www.dUionline.com
and write a response paper on
“Approaching the Qur’an: The
Early Revelations,” translated and
introduced by Michael Sells.
But the University later changed
its requirements and stated that
students with religious objections
did not need to read the book.
Later that year, Inter Varsity
Christian Fellowship an orga
nization that excludes practicing
homosexuals from leadership posi
tions because they do not follow
the example of the life of Christ
received a letter from University
officials to inform members that
they were not in compliance with
the nondiscrimination policy.
The policy states that groups
must allow membership and par
ticipation without regard to age,
race, color, national origin, religion,
disability, sex or sexual orientation.
A VIEW FROM THE TOP
DTH/HUNTER MCRAE
of down-home cooking, midway games,
topsy-turvy rides and exhibitions on the
state’s agriculture as well as a pair of shows
by “American Idol” alumnus Clay Aiken.
For the complete story, please see page 6.
Legend said to an enthusiastic crowd,
which at the beginning of the show
had already given him several stand
ing ovations.
The concert, for which Legend
charged $5,000 in artist’s fees, was a
joint effort between the CAA and the
Carolina Union Activities Board.
“We’re glad that we were able
to bring an artist to campus for
Homecoming,” said CAA President
Lindsay Strunk.
The two student groups chose
Legend because his music appeals to
But in December of that year, the
Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education, a Philadelphia
based individual liberties orga
nization, threatened to press
charges against UNC for violat
ing the First Amendment if it did
not allow Inter Varsity to exclude
non-Christians from leadership
positions.
UNC avoided legal action when
Chancellor James Moeser issued a
statement and allowed Inter Varsity
to be exclusive in its requirements
for leaders as long as qualifications
for general membership remained
nondiscriminatory.
Both sides were satisfied with
the Inter Varsity bargain, and UNC
spared itself from severing strong
ties with the group, which has three
SEE LAWSUITS, PAGE 7
the diversity on campus, Strunk said.
T. J. Abrams, chairman of CUAB’s
Performing Arts Committee, proposed
bringing Legend to campus after the
first Homecoming act fell through. He
said everything about the show worked
like clockwork.
“It’s something different,” he said.
“We look forward to bringing a lot of
different types of events.”
Legend, an up-and-coming star
who has toured with Kanye West and
SEE LEGEND, PAGE 7
SPORTS
BEATER OF THE PACK
The men's soccer team wins its fourth
straight, downing N.C. State 2-0 PAGE 12
Ohio’s swings
hold sway in
national race
BY MARK PUENTE
STAFF WRITER
The outcome of the presidential
election might boil down to one
state Republicans and Democrats
consider a symbolic prize in every
race for the White House —and
it’s not Florida.
No Republican has ever cap
tured the White
ELECBn House without cap
turing Ohio’s 20
electoral votes. And
only two Democrats
in the 20th century,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F.
Kennedy, won the presidency with
out winning the Buckeye State.
Now, President Bush and his
Democratic challenger, John
Kerry, are racking up thousands of
frequent flier miles in an attempt
to seize pivotal swing votes in the
must-win state.
“Ohio swings back and forth,”
said David Paul, professor of
political science at Ohio State
University-Newark. “It tends to
go with the winner.”
Pundits have identified 11 swing
states in the 2004 election, with
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida
gamering the most attention.
In the battle over Ohio, Bush
and Kerry are fighting hard to win
Toledo, which has never witnessed
so much attention. “It’s bigger than
anything that has ever happened
in Toledo,” said Lynn Bachelor,
professor of political science at the
University of Toledo.
But Bush and Kerry might
consider the city the epicenter of
their campaigns. Nestled along the
shores of Lake Erie in the north
west comer of the state, its airwaves
have been deluged with campaign
ads at levels never seen before.
More than 14,300 ads have hit
SEE OHIO, PAGE 7
Seniors to vote
on gift Tuesday
Officials proffer 4 possible legacies
BY HEATHER ANDREWS
STAFF WRITER
Senior class officials were cau
tious in narrowing the senior gift
ideas down to four choices including
physical and intangible options.
Now, after releasing the choices
last week, they said they hope that
at least one gift idea will spark each
senior’s interest, making the gift a
testament to the spirit of the class.
Several students responded well
to the class officials’ efforts, and
they will get a chance to vote for
their favorite on Student Central
on Tuesday.
On Thursday, senior marshals
set up a table in Polk Place to show
case the possible gifts: a campus
beautification project through the
N.C. Arts Program, a 9/11 memorial
garden located on North Campus,
a student television station that
would run 24-hour commercials
for student organizations and two
travel/service scholarships.
DTH/GARRETT HALL
Pianist John Legend performs at the George Watts Hill Alumni
Center on Sunday night as part of UNC's Homecoming week.
WVlkftl II Ml
TODAY Partly cloudy, H 70, L 48
TUESDAY Sunny, H 71, L 46
WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy, H 70, L 47
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2004
SWING STATES
These 11 states, feted here with current polling
data and electoral vote tallies, are still in play.
■ Went for Bush in 2000
B Went for Gore in 2000
Colorado _____
Bush 52, Kerry 45
Survey USA pod. Oct, 20
Florida
Bush 46, Kerry 46 SUL
St. Petersburg rimes/Miami Herald
° Ct2l j|
lowa IMA
Bush 50, Kerry 46
Survey USA. Oct. 20 8888
Michigan
Kerry 49, Bush 43
EPIC/MRA Oct. 21 Hj^B
Bush 48, Kerry 46
Rasmussen, Oct. 22 JUsUr
Nevada Hfll
Bush 49, Keny 47
Research 2000, Oct. 21
New Hampshire A
Kerry 49, Bush 47
Rasmusssen, Oct. 18 MB
m
New Mexico
Kerry 48, Bush 46
American Research Group,
Oct. 18
Ohio
Kerry 49, Bush 43
Ohio University, Oct. 21 ■HjflV
Pennsylvania
Kerry 48, Bush 46
Muhlenberg College, Oct. 22 AHA
Wisconsin
Bush 49. Kerry 46
Strategic Vision, Oct. 19
SOURCE: ELECTORAt-VOTE.COM
DTH/MICHELLE FURLER
“(The event) was a huge success,”
said David Ruskey, chief marshal
of the senior class. “Everybody
seemed so excited about each of
the options.”
Though senior mathematics
major Vemia Hall said she doesn’t
know which she will vote for, she
said class officials have succeeded in
creating a broad range of choices.
But some students said they
wished there had been more pub
licity about the senior gifts before
last week.
“It would be more ideal to have
dialogue (about the gift) earlier,”
said Sean Marimpietri, a senior
linguistics and anthropology dou
ble major. “The whole point of it is
to talk about it.”
Becca Frucht, senior class vice
president, said extensive research
and the timing of Fall Break con
tributed to the late release. She
SEE CUSS GIFT, PAGE 7
<£*