2
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2005
Teacher pleads
guilty to charges
BY EREN TATARAGASI
STAFF WRITER
A local elementary-school
teacher pled guilty Thursday in
Orange County District Court to
five charges related to child abuse
and assault.
Kathleen Yasui-Der, a former
teacher at Frank Porter Graham
Elementary School, was arrested
Aug. 24 and charged with two
counts of assault on a handicapped
person, two counts of contributing
to the neglect of
a minor and one
count of child
abuse.
Yasui-Der had
taught at Frank
Porter Graham
for 12 years and
was the school’s
2002-03 teacher
of the year.
The charges
were brought
against her by
parents of two
Former teacher
Kathleen
Yasui-Der
pled guilty to
five charges.
former students.
“This wasn’t an easy decision,”
said Thomas Maher, Yasui-Der’s
attorney, referring to her choice to
plead guilty.
Maher said the plea quieted
Yasui-Der’s main concern: having
a criminal record.
“I wish this had been resolved
without a criminal trial to begin
with,” he said.
“I feel it is a good outcome,”
said Jacqueline Perez, the pros
ecuting attorney for the District
Attorney’s office. “If the parents
hadn’t been satisfied with the
arrangement, we would have pro
ceeded with the trial.”
Barbara Kuller, mother of one
of the alleged victims, testified
Thursday. Kuller’s son was diag
nosed with autism several years
ago while attending Frank Porter
Graham. He was placed into Yasui-
Der’s class after the traditional
classroom did not meet his needs.
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“My son is a really sweet and
wonderful child,” Kuller said.
Mary Hopson, whose 10-year
old son was the other alleged vic
tim in the case, also testified.
Erin Casey, who was an in-class
facilitator for children with spe
cial needs at the school, testified
that she witnessed Yasui-Der hit
Kuller’s son.
After demonstrating what she
had witnessed for Judge Charles
Anderson, the court recessed and
came back with a plea agreement
that many might not have expected.
Yasui-Der pleaded guilty under
the Alford plea not an admittance
of the charges, but an acknowledge
ment that there is sufficient evidence
for a conviction.
The agreement states that Yasui-
Der will have an inactive teacher’s
license for one year, undergo psy
chological analysis and write a let
ter of apology to the parents.
“In the long run it’s a good
result,” Maher said. “If she does
what she is supposed to do, it will
be dismissed.”
Friends of Yasui-Der came to
court ready to testify but were
unable to because the agreement
had already been reached.
“This is a sad, sad day,” said
Ginny Berg, former principal of
Frank Porter Graham. “We’ve lost
a truly outstanding teacher, and it’s
getting increasingly difficult to get
teachers of her caliber.”
Others were satisfied with the
final decision made by the court.
“I’m pleased to hear she’s plead
ed guilty to all five charges,” Kuller
said. “I wish that everyone would
have heard the rest of the testi
mony because there was so much
to be said.”
Yasui-Der will have to appear in
court in one year, and the presid
ing judge will decide whether to
dismiss the case.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
abr Daily alar Hrri
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Michelle Jarboe, Editor, 962-4086
Advertising & Business, 962-1163
News, Features, Sports, 962-0245
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© 2005 DTH Publishing Corp.
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new lower rates
6 schools outpace
growth expectations
BY ERIC JOHNSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
Six of the seven schools desig
nated as part of the UNC system’s
Focused-Growth Initiative shat
tered the program’s goal of expand
ing enrollment by 20 percent in
five years.
On average, the participating
campuses grew by more than 36
percent between the fall terms in
1999 and 2004.
Anticipating a surge of high
school graduates during the next
decade, UNC officials in 1998
drafted a 10-year plan that called
for dramatically expanding capac
ity across the system.
The plan designated seven insti
tutions that presented the greatest
potential for growth, and in 1999,
the state legislature appropriated
$lO million in recurring fluids to ini
tiate the focused-growth program.
Universities with relatively low
enrollment UNC-Pembroke,
Elizabeth City State University,
N.C. Agricultural & Technical State
University, N.C. Central University,
Winston-Salem State University,
Fayetteville State University, and
Western Carolina University
received millions to improve facili
ties, add new degree programs, hire
and retain faculty and intensify uni
versity advancement programs.
“These campuses now they
have blossomed,” said Michelle
Howard-Vital, UNC-system asso
ciate vice president for academic
planning. “They now are much
more attractive to a wide variety of
North Carolinians.”
Officials at numerous schools
said the large-scale infusion of fund
ing has broadened their appeal.
“It really is just changing the
face of the university,” said Philip
Cauley, director of admissions at
WCU. “We think that being named
an enrollment growth institu
tion has raised the awareness of
Western across the state.”
Among the programs attracting
attention at WCU, Cauley cited
new majors in construction man
agement and athletic training. The
school also has added master’s pro
grams in community counseling
and social work, among others.
The result of more than $8 mil
lion in extra investment at the school
has been a 27.6 percent increase in
enrollment from 1999 to 2004.
Winston-Salem State has seen
the most striking enrollment jump,
opening its doors to an additional
News
2,018 students an increase of
72.4 percent.
“Theie’s been a lot of physical
growth on our campus,” said Daniel
Lovett, associate vice chancellor for
academic affairs for enrollment
management.
The school also has increased class
size to handle the enrollment boom.
“We’ve also significantly increased
our faculty,” Lovett said, adding that
the school is working to streamline
scheduling and to introduce more
evening and weekend courses.
Growth has been driven by a more
aggressive recruiting campaign and
the draw of 11 new degree programs,
many at the master’s level.
The only institution to fall short
of the 20 percent goal was FSU,
where enrollment expanded by 11.5
percent over the five-year period.
“We’ve been hampered a little bit
by just not enough (private) schol
arship funding,” said Jon Young,
senior associate vice chancellor for
enrollment management at FSU.
The school received nearly $8.7
million in additional funding
during that time, adding under
graduate majors in general music,
nursing, banking and finance, and
birth-kindergarten education.
“We have done a lot of work with
funds to assist with marketing and
student recruitment,” Young said,
adding that more degree programs
were in the works.
Officials at N.C. A&T, which
has seen growth of more than 36
percent, said recruitment had been
stepped up in an effort to promote
the school’s new offerings.
“Some of the funds have been
used to beef up staff,” said Lee
Young, associate vice chancellor for
enrollment management. “We’ve
been attending more high school
and community college programs
both in-state and out.”
Like many schools in the focused
growth program, N.C. A&T has
worked to raise its stature as a
research institution. The school
won a $4.8 million grant to open
a genetics research center and has
partnered with NASA to work on
propulsion systems.
Willie Ellis, vice chancellor for
business and finance, said the school
is expecting steady growth to con
tinue over the next several years.
“It’s a very nice challenge to
have,” he said.
Contact the State Cf National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
POLICE LOG
FROM STAFF REPORTS
■ Chapel Hill police are inves
tigating two reports of attempted
sexual assault at Chapel Hill High
School, police reports state.
In one incident, the suspect
pushed a female victim into a
bathroom and tried to force her
to perform sexual acts, said police
spokeswoman Jane Cousins.
Police do not have information
on the other report yet, but the sus
pect is the same, she said.
Cousins said both incidents
occurred before Christmas break.
The investigation continues.
■ Three reported break-ins
occurred in parking lots off Melville
Loop about 8 p.m. Wednesday,
Chapel Hill police reports state.
According to reports, the driver
side windows of all three vehicles
were pried open, and in two of the
break-ins, a stereo was stolen.
The vehicles were late-’9os
Hondas an Accord and two Civics
—and the stolen property totaled
$1,200.
Police spokeswoman Jane
Cousins said the incidents might
be related.
Police are still investigating.
■ More than $3,000 in property
was stolen Wednesday night from a
UNC student in a vehicle break-in,
Chapel Hill police reports state.
According to reports, the inci
dent occurred about midnight at
321 W. Cameron St.
Items stolen from the 2002 Volvo
S4O include a laptop, MP3 player,
Tape from Iraqi terrorist
promises long struggle
BAGHDAD, Iraq lraq’s most
feared terror leader called on his fol
lowers Thursday to show patience
and prepare for a long struggle
against the Americans, promising in
an audiotape posted on the Internet
that “ferocious wars ... take their
time” but victory was assured.
Elsewhere, U.S. troops launched
fresh raids around the city of Mosul,
killing five suspected insurgents, in
a bid to rein in guerrillas and safe
guard the Jan. 30 national elec
tions. Iraqi forces sealed off main
routes into Baghdad a day after a
wave of deadly car bombings.
The 90-minute message, pur
portedly from Abu Musab al-
Zarqawi, appeared to be aimed at
rallying his forces following the
loss of their base in Fallujah and at
marshaling support as Iraqis pre
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watch and adapter, reports state.
■ A UNC student was charged
with an alcohol violation and resist
ing arrest at 1:15 a.m. Thursday after
police responded to a noise com
plaint at the Warehouse Apartments,
Chapel Hill police reports state.
According to reports, Casey Keith
Shandley, 19, of 316 W. Rosemary
St., Apt. 306, was charged with
resisting arrest after he gave a false
identification to police officers on
three different occasions. He also
was given a citation for underage
possession of a malt beverage.
Shandley was released on a writ
ten promise to appear Feb. 21 in
Orange County District Criminal
Court in Hillsborough.
■ A UNC building at 206
W. Franklin St. was broken into
Wednesday night, Chapel Hill
police reports state.
The office is listed as the location
of part of UNC’s Carolina Population
Center, according to its Web site.
According to reports, the cleaning
crew came in to find several open
drawers and scattered material.
Police do not know how the
office was entered, and nothing
was reported stolen.
■ More than $2,000 in medi
cine was stolen from an unlocked
car at 79 S. Elliot Road, Chapel
Hill police reports state.
According to reports, an unknown
suspect entered the white 1989 Jeep
Wagoneer at 8 a.m. Wednesday and
stole prescription drugs.
pare for their first poll since the col
lapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
“Fighters who have taken the
path of jihad have to realize the
nature and the demands of the
battle toward the required goal,”
the speaker said. “This group has
to be patient in the path that it has
taken and ... not to hurry victory.
The promise of God will be fulfilled
no matter what.”
The authenticity of the tape
could not immediately be verified.
It appeared before President Bush
was sworn in for a second term that
begins under the shadow of a con
tinuing insurgency in Iraq.
The speaker also acknowledged
that a leading al-Qaida commander
in Fallujah, Omar Hadid, had been
killed fighting the Americans when
the city fell to a U.S.-Iraqi assault.