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CITY BRIEFS
Town Council to take closer
look at consultant applicants
Wednesday’s public forum on
the budget for the next fiscal year
began with a discussion of the pro
fessional history of the company
from which the town’s new budget
consultant was hired.
The Virginia-based MAXIMUS
Inc. was hired by the Chapel Hill
Town Council to consult with town
staff and the council’s budget review
advisory committee for a contract of
SBO,OOO.
Town Manager Cal Horton told
the public that an Internet search
done after the hiring revealed that
the company had been investi
gated for financial impropriety
related to the provision of wel
fare programs in New York and
Wisconsin.
Horton said he was unaware
of that information when hiring
MAXIMUS, who has worked with
the town before.
“I don’t believe there is a reason
to be concerned with people work
ing with us,” Horton said. “But I felt
obligated to report (this informa
tion) to the council.
“Their references have been con
sistently solid.”
"Day for Day Care" to offer
training sessions in child care
Child Care Services Association,
in collaboration with the
Orange County Department of
Social Services and FPG Child
Development Institute, will host
its “A Day for Day Care” from 8:30
a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at East
Chapel Hill High School.
“A Day For Day Care,” now in,its
25th year, is a full-day, statewide
training event for child care center
directors, teachers and family child
care providers.
More than 110 sessions will be
held during three different time
slots throughout the day, and key
note speakers will address current
child care issues.
A detailed schedule can be found
at http://www.childcareservices.
org/dfdc_schedule_keynote.pdf.
Price to speak with seniors
on changes to Social Security
U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C.,
will come to Chapel Hill today to
talk with local seniors about pos
sible changes to Social Security.
Price first will have a ques
tion-and-answer session with the
Geriatric Coalition from 9:30
a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Carol Woods
Retirement Community at 750
Weaver Dairy Road.
The congressman then will
travel to The Cedars of Chapel Hill
Retirement Community, at 100
Cedar Club Circle, for an informal
town hall-type meeting.
Large crowds are expected at
both events.
Artist seeks public input
on project at IFC shelter
The Inter-Faith Council com
munity shelter will host a work day
for its public art project from 1 p.m.
to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The work day is an oppor
tunity for citizens to give input
on the Chapel Hill Public Arts
Commission’s Percent for Art proj
ect, which is being done for the
newly renovated shelter.
Sally Erickson was selected as
the artist after the project was first
publicized in 2003.
Erickson is creating the proj
ect, a mosaic, at her studio but has
requested public input before it is
set to be finished in March.
The community shelter was ren
ovated this summer and reopened
in September.
The shelter is located in the Old
Municipal Building at the corner of
Rosemary and Colujnbia streets.
STATE ft RATION
Oklahoma senator wants
boxing gloves for chickens
OKLAHOMA CITY - A state
senator has a plan for saving
Oklahoma’s gamefowl industry
now that cockfighters are legally
prohibited from pitting birds fit
ted with razor-like spurs.
State Sen. Frank Shurden, a
longtime defender of cockfighting,
is suggesting that roosters be given
little boxing gloves so they can fight
without bloodshed.
The proposal is in a bill the
Democrat has introduced for the leg
islative session that begins Feb. 7
“Who’s going to object to chick
ens fighting like humans do?
Everybody wins,” Shurden said.
Oklahoma voters banned cock
fighting in 2002. The practice is
still legal in Louisiana and New
Mexico.
Shurden said he’s not trying to
amend the existing cockfighting
ban, something he tried the past
few years without success.
Shurden’s legislation would
create the Oklahoma Pari-mutuel
Gamecock Boxing Act.
From staff and wire reports.
Honor Court sees more efficiency
BY JACKI SPIES
STAFF WRITER
Each year, incoming students at
UNC pledge to uphold the Honor
Code that governs appropriate
behavior and outlines disciplinary
procedures.
Asa tradition at UNC that has
been maintained for more than 120
years, the Honor Code’s visibility on
campus is tremendous. It is on the
front cover of UNC’s official exami
nation books and on plaques in class
rooms throughout the campus.
But there are some students who
fall into the trap of short deadlines
and poor time management, and
hasty decisions lead them astray.
Student Attorney General
Carolina Chavez recently released
a summary of 91 of the 96 honor
“The idea wasn’t really profound. It was
common sense and a matter of need, henry dearman, graduate education advancement board
□ as |
DTH/BRADY NASH
Karen Edwards, a marine sciences graduate student, attends an open house for the new Graduate Student Center on Thursday afternoon.
The new center above the Carolina Coffee Shop will provide a place for the graduate student community to connect socially and academically.
Grad students get own home
BY SHARI FELD
STAFF WRITER
Graduate students across disciplines at
UNC now have a place to learn and socialize
together under one roof.
The Graduate Student Center, which
opened Thursday, will provide the University’s
graduate student community with a spot to
meet, work and share research ideas with stu
dents from other departments.
“It will give them an identity and hopefully
a place to expand opportunities for inter
disciplinary exchange,” said Linda Dykstra,
dean of the graduate school. “In addition to
expanding academic opportunities, there are
chances for social opportunities that weren’t
there before.”
She said the center acknowledges the impor
tant role graduate students play on campus.
Graduate students said they are grateful
for the center, even though they can use it on
a reservation-only basis —a constraint many
hope will be removed.
Kate Shallcross, a senator in the Graduate
and Professional Student Federation, said she
Report: NCSSM
has unfair breaks
BY MEGAN MCSWAIN
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
A local conservative higher
education watchdog has deemed
that the tuition waivers for UNC
system schools given to graduates
of the N.C. School of Science and
Math are unfair.
The John Williams Pope Center
for Higher Education Policy
released a report Wednesday stat
ing that North Carolina is wasting
money on the grant program.
The N.C. General Assembly
waived tuition costs for NCSSM
graduates as a motivation for
them to attend college in the state.
The public residential high school,
started in 1980, is affiliated with
the UNC system.
“This is a carrot to keep those
students in our university system,”
said Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford,
who sponsored the bill.
The Pope Center says it is a car
rot the state cannot afford.
“It’s not a justified expense when
the state is looking at a billion-dol
lar deficit,” said Shannon Blosser,
co-author of the Pope Center’s
report.
Top News
cases that were tried this fall.
According to the report, plagia
rism is the most common academic
violation at UNC. Last semester, 29
of the 91 cases concern academic
dishonesty by plagiarism.
Chavez said she thinks the high
detection rate of plagiarism is related
to the “nature of what it is.” Teachers
can easily access the Internet mate
rials most students chose to copy.
Driving under the influence and
possession of marijuana are the two
most common disorderly conduct
cases received by the court.
Dave Gilbert, assistant dean of
students, said the majority of stu
dents tried for possession of mari
juana are caught during their first
semester at UNC.
“I think the theory behind this
sees a lot of potential for the space.
“I hope there is some form of community
created so students in different departments
can socialize together,” she said.
The center is partly a response to recom
mendations of the University’s Academic Plan
by integrating interdisciplinary research and
education, as well as incorporating gradu
ate and professional students more fully in
University life.
“We need more spaces for seminars and
informal intellectual exchanges,” Dykstra
said. “It will meet their needs for extra space
for class.”
She said about eight interdisciplinary
groups of fellows will hold their meetings at
the center. The graduate school also will use
the facility to host interdisciplinary programs
like global studies, computational sciences
and urban livability.
The center, located on Franklin Street
above the Carolina Coffee Shop, held an open
house from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday.
The location used to belong to the Upward
Bound program, which moved to the Sonja
The report also states that the
program is discriminating against
students who attend other high
schools.
“It discriminates unfairly against
other North Carolina high school
students who may be at least as
academically promising as gradu
ates of NCSSM, if not more so,” the
report states.
But Hagan said North Carolina’s
economy, and its universities, will
benefit if NCSSM students stay in
the state.
The school, the first of its kind,
has a curriculum that centers on
science and math, and it requires a
unique admissions process.
Craig Rowe, director of com
munications for NCSSM, said the
bill was able to send a higher per
centage of students to UNC-system
schools and boost the high school’s
enrollment.
Last year’s class was the first that
had the chance to take advantage
of the tuition waiver.
Eighty percent of the graduating
class stayed in the UNC system, an
SEE WAIVER, PAGE 5
trend is that a lot of first-year stu
dents, when they first move into
the residence halls, are testing the
boundaries,” Gilbert said.
He said this type of illegal activ
ity tends to die down after students
realize there are repercussions for
their actions.
In recent years, the UNC honor
system has noticed an increase in
the court’s efficiency.
Gilbert said the number of cases
heard by the Honor Court in the
fall was a marked improvement. He
said the 84 cases brought to court
in fall 2003 and 64 hearings in fall
2002 indicate a rise in court’s abil
ity to address students’ needs.
“The courts are providing stu-
SEE HONOR, PAGE 5
Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and
History.
Steve Allred, executive associate provost,
said he took advantage of the vacancy to
secure the center’s spot.
Allred said he hopes to find a more suitable
space for the center within the next few years.
As campus construction progresses, Allred
said he anticipates a vacancy in the basement
of Bynum Hall and hopes the center can be
placed there as early as 2007.
Hemy Dearman, former dean of the graduate
school and member of the Graduate Education
Advancement Board, proposed the idea for the
center to the board about three years ago.
He said graduate students deserve an estab
lishment devoted to fostering unity and con
versation similar to the James M. Johnston
Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
“The idea wasn’t really profound,” Dearman
said. “It was common sense and a matter of
need.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
Local colleges get schooled
Security official
touts visa policy
BY ALEX GRANADOS
STAFF WRITER
In light of concerns about foreign
student enrollment, the Department
of Homeland Security is traveling
the country to inform college officials
about the ins and outs of visa policy.
C. Stewart Verdery Jr., assistant
secretary for border and transpor
tation security policy and planning
for the department, finished up a
tour of some of the nation’s top uni
versities Thursday at UNC.
He met with the University’s
International Affairs Advisory
Council and other school officials
to answer questions and to provide
information about the effect of U.S.
visa policy on universities.
“We saw. big declines in the
number of student applicants after
9/11,” he said. “But the qumbers
are rebounding, and we want to
encourage that.”
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror
ist attacks, enrolling in American
schools was much harder and
more time-consuming for foreign
students. But how, Verdery said,
improved technology is helping the
FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2005
HONOR COURT DOCKETS, FALL ‘O4
Student Attorney General Carolina Chavez provided The Daily Tar Heel with a breakdown of 91 of the
96 cases heard by the Honor Court during the fall semester. Of the 91 cases, 74 had a guilty verdict.
Academic Dishonesty by Cheating 7 4
Academic Dishonesty by Plagiarism 29 27
Academic Dishonesty by Unauthorized Aid 2 0
Academic Dishonesty by Using Unauthorized Materials 2 2
Damage to Property 1 7
Damage to Property and Disorderly Conduct 4 4
Disorderly Conduct 4 3
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Other Substances 11 9
Drug Possession: Schedule I or II 33
Drug Possession: Schedule 111-VI 16 14
Inflicting Physical Injury on Another 2 2
Possession of Marijuana, Disorderly Conduct through Verbal Abuse,
Disorderly Conduct by Pushing RA, CD, and PO, Furnishing False Info 1 1
Possession of Schedule 111 - VI Drugs 1 0
Providing False Information to a University Official 33
Theft/Damage to Property 1 1
Trespassing 3 q
Weapons Possession 1 0
SOURCE: CAROLINA CHAVEZ DTH/MARY JANE KATZ
mm
!p.
DTH/MEGAN MCSWAIN
C. Stewart Verdery Jr., assistant secretary at the Homeland Security
Department, visited UNC to inform college officials about visa policies.
process move more quickly.
He said his meetings with
college officials at schools such
as Harvard and Duke universi
ties were designed to determine
whether the policies of his office
are interfering with the enrollment
of foreign students.
“The use of biometrics fin
ger scans and digital photographs
Student
leaders
fume
over fee
Officials wanted
increased debate
BY JENNY RUBY
AND JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITORS
Members of two campus com
mittees charged with examin
ing student fees said they were
shocked Thursday when the UNC
Board of Trustees approved an
unprecedented fee hike.
Just days before the BOT’s vote,
the Student Fee Audit Committee
and the Chancellor’s Committee on
Student Fees voiced almost unani
mous disapproval for the proposal
to use student fees to fond athletics.
The plan calls for a reallocation
of 25 percent of logo revenues from
athletics to merit-based scholar
ships and a SSO increase in student
fees to fond Olympic sports.
The BOT also approved a SIOO
hike in the student athletic fee for
the 2006-07 academic year.
Student Body President Matt
Calabria, a member of both com
mittees and an ex-officio trustee,
was one of two members of the
BOT to vote against the move.
He said he didn’t think the pro
posal had been studied thoroughly
enough to bring it to a vote.
“I think all students present
were very surprised when it was
brought up,” Calabria said. “I think
the process was rushed and skipped
a number of important steps.”
Speaker of Student Congress
Charlie Anderson, also a member
of both the advisory committees,
said he was troubled by the vote.
“The timing of it didn’t allow us to
do the proper research,” he said.
“This obviously isn’t the best
choice for students.”
Chairwoman of the Faculty
Judith Wegner, who proposed the
increase, said she was surprised
that the BOT made a decision
“Sometimes if you wait, it doesn’t
make it any better,” she said. “They
really were conscientiously trying
SEE REACTION, PAGE 5
for most of our programs... can
speed people up, because there is
less worry.”
This technology can help immi
gration officials clear foreign stu
dents who are not on a terrorist
watch list and who have visas.
Biometrics and databases will
SEE VISAS, PAGE 5
3