Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 11, 2005, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
4 TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005 Town Council OKs new name for road BY ADAM W. RHEW STAFF WRITER Dec. 7 The emotion that char acterized an 11-month saga about renaming Airport Road in honor of a civil rights leader spilled into the topic’s final chapter. The Chapel Hill Town Council received a standing ovation from members of the community when it voted unanimously in favor of chang ing the name of Airport Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. “Dr. King fought just for this,” said Brenda Brown, an at-large member of the Special Committee to Consider Renaming Airport Road. The committee’s recommenda tion of the name change by a 15- 3 vote helped drive the council to approve the renaming. Brown wept with joy after the council approved the committee’s proposal, which calls for the road to be renamed by July 4, 2005. That recommendation also calls for the placement of separate street signs with the designation “Historic Airport Road” along the road. But some people were not as pleased as Brown. Catherine Holland, who served on the committee and owns a business on Airport Road, expressed frustra tion with the committee’s final rec ommendation, which evolved dur ing three November meetings. “To (committee members in favor of the renaming), Airport Road seems like the only solution,” she said. Before voting on the proposal, council members heard a presenta tion from two of the facilitators hired by the town to ensure that the com mittee’s meetings stayed focused. The presentation highlighted the committee’s final report, which discusses the group’s 10 total rec iBIENVENIDOS, ESTUDIAWTTES! MEXICAN WITH ATWIST 1 TIMBERLVNE SHOPPING CENTER, next to eckebp ♦ CHAPEL HlLl ♦ 942-4745 The office of First Year Seminars, the First Year Seminar Student Advisory Board and each of the students who took a First Year Seminar in fall 2004 wish to recognize the 77 fall 2004 faculty members for their excellence, dedication, and enthusiastic guidance in teaching. THANKS TO: Alicia Rivero Kenneth Andrews Carol Amosti KajaFinkler Alberto Scotti Ladnor Geissinger Beth Kurtz-Costes Robert Lawson Roberto Camassa Michael Lienesch Connie Eble William Maisch David Reeve Tim Marr Carl Ernst Madeline Levine John Chasteen Michael Salemi Ivan Cherednik Sorin Mitran Francisco Werner Michael Shanahan Chuanshuji Marc Lange Christopher Martens Michael Luger Altha Cravey Mary Pardo Cecil Wooten Nicholas Allen David Adalsteinsson James Noblitt David Dill Abigail Panter Drew Coleman Patrick Conway Douglas Kelly Richard Andrews Dorothy Holland Richard Pfaff David Moreau Peter Gilligan Douglas Crawford-Brown Peter Robinson David Pike Diane Pozefsky Edward Samulski Patricia Pukkila Michael Falvo Paul Leslie Geraldine Taylor Charlene Regester George Houston Richard Falvo John Halton Rosa Perelmuter John Nadas Scott Provan Jim Hirschfield Beth Grabowski Jocelyn Neal Jack Snoeyink Jose Rial Sarah Shields John McGowan Steven Rosefielde Jason Reed Tim McMillan Karl Petersen Todd Taylor Kenneth Andrews Jessica Wolfe Kevin Stewart William Smith Hugon Karwowski Gang Yue Kathryn Starkey ommendations and its decision making process. Council members then heard omments from community mem bers on both sides of the issue. “It would be nice if we could just wave a magic wand and every body would be happy about this,” said Billy Madden, who lives near Airport Road and was opposed to the change. After the vote, facilitator Calvin Allen said he knew some people would not be happy with the deci sion. “It’s hard that there are still some questions out there,” he said. One of those questions relates to a concern that the committee was “hand-picked” by the council in order to achieve a certain outcome. “I can’t help but think that the committee was stacked,” said Bruce Johnson, an Airport Road business owner and one of the three com mittee members who voted against recommending the name change. Holland expressed similar dis pleasure. “I am very disappointed and discouraged by the actions of the members of this council,” she said. In a pre-meeting press confer ence, Mayor Kevin Foy said the council picked people who wanted to engage in discussion. “We didn’t need to stack the committee,” he said. “We didn’t have to have the committee at all.” At Monday night’s meeting, Foy requested that Town Manager Cal Horton review the committee’s nine other recommendations, including the promotion of further discus sions on race relations. Council members will likely hear those proposals in January. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. Year in Review Stone Center opens its doors BY ARMAN TOLENTINO STAFF WRITER Aug. 23 Overcast skies and light rain didn’t stop the grand open ing ceremony Saturday morning for the freestanding Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History an event that marked the culmination of more than a decade of controversy, advocacy, planning and fund raising. Chancellor James Moeser, with Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, UNC-system President Molly Broad and other top officials on hand, officially dedicated the building in front of more than 500 guests who gathered under a tent outside the facility. The morning ceremony was the second part of a four-day grand opening celebration. On Friday night, members of the University community participated in a can dlelight vigil and procession from the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery to the new building. “Very few building dedications carry as much meaning and emo tion as this one,” Moeser said. “It’s extraordinary because so many of you knew Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone.” Stone was an associate profes sor of African-American studies and was known for her efforts to give minorities a stronger voice in University affairs. Moeser said the building is fittingly named for Stone, whom he described as an inspirational teacher. “We want all of our students to be moved by the experience of a teacher,” he said. “This center is the physical legacy of a great teacher.” Broad also acknowledged Stone’s legacy and said her ideals and dreams will live on in the center. “It breathes life into Dr. Stone’s unwavering commitment to social justice,” Broad said. 1 pp|pw* - DTH FILE PHOTO/LAURA MORTON Senior Michelle Greene, a four-year Communiversity member who worked for the old Black Cultural Center, helps lead a procession to the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on Aug. 20. A debate begins When Stone died of a stroke in 1991 at the age of 52, officials renamed UNC’s Black Cultural Center at the time located in a suite in the Student Union in honor of Stone. Shortly after, students associ ated with the center and the Black Student Movement pushed for a freestanding black cultural center. Debate about a freestanding center intensified when former Chancellor Paul Hardin, who sup ported an expanded cultural cen ter in the Union rather than a free standing one, remarked in March 1992 that a cultural center should be “a forum and not a fortress.” Hardin later explained his rea sons for opposing a freestanding center, including the lack of avail able funding, his own self-described conservative attitude toward new buildings and his desire for all minorities to feel comfortable. But his comment attracted national media attention and result ed in student-led protests, marches, sit-ins and subsequent arrests. Joseph Jordan, director of the Stone Center, acknowledged the students who began the fight for I Dine Good Cause! I~ one day only ~ Tuesday, January 11 IHunam Chinese Restaurant 20% of daily profits from lunch, dinner, take out & delivery will be * donated to help those affected p \ j Enjoy great food while supporting a W great cause! 790 Airport Rd., Chapel Hill ■■' [ • i :j J|| r_ pgj||l T MHIWIBI * ■bBB gjpiKM a freestanding center during his opening remarks. “Today, this is much their day as it is anyone else’s,” he said. Stone’s son, Robert B. Stone-El, Jr., also paid tribute to those stu dents and others at UNC who made the freestanding center possible. “I call this University great, not because of its size or because of the beautiful campus, but because of the people who are here and make it great,” he said. The search for funds Hardin eventually threw his support behind a freestanding center, but fund-raising efforts struggled to meet the $9 million needed to build the facility. To raise money, students spon sored benefit concerts and led community walks. In 1997-98, students made a pledge to raise $20,000, while mem bers of the UNC Board of Trustees promised a five-to-one match from their own pockets if students met that goal. They succeeded, and the trustees made their match. Then in 1999, the University received a $29 million gift from an alumnus. Former Chancellor oaihj (Tor Michael Hooker decided to use part of the gift to complete the fund-raising campaign. Moeser acknowledged Hooker in his address, as well as the efforts of students, faculty, staff and members of the University community who helped make the center a reality. “The struggle to build this build ing was a crucible of commitment,” he said. Broad echoed Moeser’s com ments on the hard work and dedi cation that went in to establishing a freestanding center on campus. “The hope and dreams of so many are embodied in this place,” she said. “It is a culmination of years of dogged persistence in a belief and vision.” BSM President Erin Davis also talked about the struggle for a standalone center. She said that the movement was led mostly by stu dents who took pride in their heri tage and who demanded that the University do the same, generating loud applause from the crowd. Making an impact Richard “Stick” Williams, chair man of BOT, spoke about the impact the center will have on the University and the surrounding community. “This place is open to everyone all races and creeds, all schools and departments,” he said. “If done right, this center can be quite a gath ering place for folks across campus and the community.” Foy also commented on his desire for the center to be accessi ble to all people, regardless of their background or where they live. “It’s my hope that the center will not be confined to this University, but that it will look outward to this town, to this state and to this nation,” he said. Student Body President Matt Calabria also addressed the crowd, commenting that the candlelight vigil made him realize how special the center is to the University. “It wasn’t until last night that I got it,” he said. “It’s hard for stu dents right now to truly understand just how r the Stone Center was developed and the struggle for it to come about. But last night I really felt what it means to be here.” 'lt's finally here' After the ceremony, visitors took a tour of the 44,500-square-foot facility that features a 360-seat cyl inder-shaped theater in the form of an African drum. The facility also includes a 10,000-volume library, art gallery, dance studio and a multipurpose room in addition to classrooms, seminar rooms and a computer lab. Offices will house the center staff, visiting scholars, the Institute of African American Research and Upward Bound. Moeser invited the crowd to explore the building, in the same way he envisions people from the community and the state doing in the coming years. “I see North Carolina children vis iting this building, just like they do at Morehead Planetarium,” he said. During the year, the center will offer a variety of programs, includ ing lectures, concerts, workshops and discussion groups. Senior Michelle Greene, who worked with the Stone Center when it was located in the Union, said she is glad the center finally has a true home. “You just get the feeling that it’s finally here,” she said. With the beige walls of the Stone Center behind her, Broad looked into the crowd and spoke about the significance of the day’s events. “We mark an important mile stone in what has been a very long journey,” she said. “Today is also a fresh start for a future that is full of great poten tial.” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 11, 2005, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75