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Officials to tackle
dorm-storming
BYALKILLEFFER
STAFF WRITER
Student government leaders are
scheduled to meet with University
officials this morning, with one of the
top items on the agenda being regu
lations regarding dorm-storming.
Although the acquisition of votes
via door-to-door solicitation became
a hot topic during the presidential
election, when organizations such
as Vote Carolina Chafed under the
University’s facility-use policies that
prohibit die practice, voter registra
tion will not be the meeting’s focus.
“(We’re) looking to examine
the policies as they stand now,”
said Student Body President Matt
Calabria, saying student government
campaigns will begin at the start of
spring semester. “(We want to) make
sure we’re on the same page.”
Unlike voter registration drives,
which sparked the recent controver
sy, students are permitted to go door
to door for student campaigns.
One of the University’s policies
concerning dorm-storming in stu
dent campaigns stipulates that only
a certain number of students can be
in a given residence hall at a given
time. Student leaders are wonder
ing whether the administration will
want to increase or decrease that
number and what the penalties will
be for those who violate the policy.
“All those questions are on the
table,” Calabria said.
Officials scheduled to attend
the meeting include a representa
tive from the Office of University
Campus Y
to relocate,
anticipate
renovation
Operations to be
moved to Union
BY CAROLINE KORNEGAY
STAFF WRITER
Beginning next year, the historic
but crumbling Campus Y will under
go renovations to update the building
for anew generation of students.
When construction starts,
Campus Y staffers will take up tem
porary offices in the Student Union
until the work is completed.
“We’ll be a little cramped for
a while, but there will be a lot
of pluses,” said Derwin Dubose,
Campus Y co-president.
The new offices will be located
across the hall from student govern
ment, and the proximity to student
leaders will help foster a better work
ing relationship, Dubose said.
Virginia Carson, director of the
Campus Y, said she is excited about
the restoration project.Tm trying
not to get carried away."
Since the cornerstone was laid
in 1904, the Campus Y building
has been a focal point of campus
activity. But the structure since has
become worn from decades of use
by thousands of students.
After recent flooding in the
basement, mold is eating away at
the building’s wooden frames.
Rails on the stairs are burnished
from the countless hands that have
run over them through the years.
Chunks of plaster are missing
in the stairwell, and beige paint is
peeling from the walls.
“It needs the renovation so
badly,” Carson said. “It’ll be tun to
be in anew place for a while.”
Renovations might start as early
as March, and officials predict
completion by Nov. 15,2005.
“The renovation should start
probably late spring, early sum
mer,” said Bruce Runberg, associ
ate vice chancellor for planning
and construction.
Architecture firm Pearce, Brinkley,
Cease and Lee of Raleigh is almost
done with the project’s design.
Drafts feature a sidewalk cafe,
anew library on the third floor
and new seminar rooms and work
spaces for students.
“I think the whole campus will
benefit from it and be glad we did
it,” Carson said.
“We won’t have quite as much
visibility,” Carson said of the orga
nization’s new Student Union suite,
but she added that group now will be
close to the center of the University.
Projected costs for the renova
tions are about $4.4 million.
The University will provide
$1 million of the funds, and the rest
will come from donations the orga
nization raises, Runberg said.
Still, one thing will be lacking in
the Student Union, Dubose said.
“I think everyone’s going to miss
the snack bar.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
Counsel; Margaret Jablonski, vice
chancellor for student affairs; and
Christopher Payne, director of hous
ing and residential education.
While dorm-storming won’t
be the central issue, Calabria said,
he and his constituents also will
inquire about the reasoning behind
the University’s opposition to dorm
storming for voter registration.
Payne maintained that the
University’s policies exist for stu
dents’ well being.
“Our door-to-door solicitation
policy is based on respecting privacy
and the protection of students who
live in campus housing,” he said.
Vote Carolina Chairman Amon
Anderson, whom Calabria credits
for making the topic of voter reg
istration such an important issue,
also will be in attendance.
“I understand the drawbacks
of allowing dorm-storming,”
Anderson said. “But I don’t think
it’s responsible to prohibit it with
out providing a viable alternative.”
Face-to-face contact is the most
effective way to activate other stu
dents, he added, saying that if the
University is to prohibit the prac
tice, officials bear the burden of
creating a comparable option.
Judith Wegner, chairwoman of
the faculty and another outspoken
proponent of door-to-door solici
tation, said universities are legally
bound to make a good-faith effort
to encourage students to vote.
Like Anderson, Wegner recog
nized that door-to-door solicitation
raises serious security and privacy
concerns. But she maintains that
“if there was a desire to explore the
issue more fully, (one) could find a
solution.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
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News
Congress aims to up visibility
Members hit Pit
seeking outreach
BY KRISTLE SPELLMAN
STAFF WRITER
Decked out in “86th Student
Congress” T-shirts, representatives
sat from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tbesday
in the Pit in an effort to reach out
to their constituents.
The Outreach Committee of
Student Congress organized
the event to afford students the
opportunity to meet the people
who represent their particular
districts.
“The problem is that people
recognize branch leaders but don’t
necessarily know who their rep
resentatives are,” said Outreach
Committee Chairwoman Emma
Hodson.
Hodson said the event was
intended to help students put a
name with a face for their repre
sentatives, who are directly elected
according to district.
Congress members said they
have held forums in the past with
the same goal in mind, but they
were not always successful because
it is difficult to get students to
attend the events.
“If students don’t let us know
what they are concerned about,
we have to just try to act in the
best interest of the students,” Rep.
Stephen Lassiter, District 3, said
while sitting at the Pit table.
“This is about the best we can do,
just put ourselves out here so they
can come and tell us what they are
concerned about,” he said.
Hodson said that the event was
successful and that she was sur
prised by the number of students
who came out to talk to them early
in the day.
Robin Graham, a sophomore
sociology major, stumbled upon
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Freshman Uzma Panjwani (right) reads a flier given to her by Luke Farley (left), a member of Student Congress.
On Tuesday, Congress members sat in the Pit in an event aimed at reaching out to hear constituents' concerns.
the event while walking through
the Pit.
“I didn’t even know we had rep
resentatives for each district,” she
said. “It was nice to see their faces
and know that there are people
working for you.”
Graham said she believed that
the event benefited students who
still are unfamiliar with their rep
resentatives.
“I thought the event was help
ful,” she said. “I think it is espe
cially helpful for freshmen that
didn’t know who their representa
tive was.”
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2004
Representatives said that dur
ing the event, students asked how
they could become involved with
Congress.
Some students wanted to know
more about how funds are allocat
ed and exactly what kinds of things
for which Congress is responsible,
members said.
Rep. Caroline Spencer, District
4, said she feels connected to her
constituents.
Because Granville Towers, her
district, is such a tight-knit com
munity, she said, most people
know that she is one of their rep
resentatives.
Rep. Luke Farley, who serves as
chairman of the Rules & Judiciary
Committee, said events like these
help representatives connect with
students and might continue in
the future.
“This (event) is kind of like tak
ing Congress to the next level,” he
said.
“Depending on the success of
this event, we may have more next
semester.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
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