VOLUME 112, ISSUE 140
Congress talks back to BOT
BY KRISTLE SPELLMAN
STAFF WRITER
Tuesday night, members of
Student Congress expressed their
outrage toward the University’s gov
erning board for approving signifi
cant tuition hikes and student fee
increase proposals against what rep
resentatives consider to be students’
best interests.
Congress unanimously passed two
resolutions “strongly opposing” each
swell in student contributions.
The resolutions will be hand
delivered to several members of the
‘‘Almost everyone who has ever been in a major position in student government
is ... worried about losing the ground that has taken decades to gain ” matt calabria, student body president
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DTH/WHITNEY SHEFTE
Student Body President Matt Calabria takes the stage at Tuesday's Student Congress meeting to respond to campaign attacks on his policies and his administration.
Calabria takes stand, strikes back
BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Matt Calabria, the man who emerged victorious
from last year’s tooth-and-nail student body president
competition, said dirty tactics already have been used
during this year’s campaign making last year seem
like “a walk in the park.”
Although student body presidents typically stay
mum during elections, Calabria told Student Congress
on Tuesday night that his administration has been
attacked and that the future of the campus is at stake.
During his 10-minute address, Calabria outlined
his stance on two key issues in this year’s race: sti
pends for student leaders and funding for the student
government office manager.
Candidate Tom Jensen stands alone in pushing for
the elimination of these expenses as part of his plat
form no other candidate backs Jensen’s stance.
Last February, Congress allocated $13,000 in stu
Dearmin nabs GPSF nod;
Johnson gets vote for CAA
BY KATHRYN BALES
STAFF WRITER
Members of the Graduate and
Professional Students Federation
gave their seal of approval to stu
dent body president candidate Seth
Dearmin and Carolina Athletic
Association president candidate
Justin Johnson on Tuesday.
The endorsements mark
Dearmin’s first and Johnson’s third
of the campaign season.
Representatives for different
graduate student groups brought
a variety of topics to the table.
Child care, ticket distribution,
transportation and housing were
hot button issues for the graduate
students and candidates alike.
“This was our way of asking the
candidates, ‘Do you have a prac
tical plan or do you just want to
help?’” said Danna Hargett, the
SEE GPSF, PAGE 4
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University’s administration, the Board
of Trustees, the UNC-system Board of
Governors and Gov. Mike Easley.
“(The tuition and fee increases)
completely undermined the work
we’ve done this year,” said Speaker
Charlie Anderson, who drafted the
legislation.
Student officials said that many
students are dismayed by the two
year $l5O increase in the athletics
fee and frustrated by the S2OO in
state and $950 nonresident hikes in
tuition.
Despite the high out-of-state
dent fees to the creation of the office manager post
an allotment Jensen has deemed wasteful.
But Calabria said the position is essential for stu
dent government to function properly. He also argued
that dragging the position into the election is deplor
able. “This isn’t just a political football; it’s a person,
and that is unacceptable.”
On the topic of stipends, Calabria railed against
any change, claiming that the monthly checks keep
student government’s doors open to all students,
regardless of economic status.
“I could probably parade in front of you all night
long people who have been in student government
who struggle to make ends meet,” he said.
Calabria noted that his S3OO stipend goes directly
toward paying for his housing —and that campaign
officials have questioned his receipt of this money.
“I think all of this kind of behavior is unacceptable,”
he said, invoking a round of applause as he closed his
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DTH/MIKE RAABE
CAA presidential candidate Justin Johnson (center) and SBP candidate
Seth Dearmin (left) were endorsed by the GPSF during a Tuesday forum.
INSIDE
UNFOLDING THE UMBRELLA
Five candidates step up to vie for
Campus Y co-presidency PAGE 5
www.dthonline.com
tuition hike, the athletic fee is the
greater annoyance to student govern
ment officials, some said Tuesday.
“As far as the student fee goes, I
think all of us were very disappointed
in the actions of the BOT,” said Student
Body President Matt Calabria.
Alexa Kleysteuber, student body
vice president, echoed that thought. “I
think (the increase in the athletics fee)
is a huge disappointment and a slap in
the face to students,” she said.
Thistees passed the fee increase in
spite of recommendations from both
the Student Fee Audit Committee
IE!
and the Chancellor’s Committee on
Student Fees to reject the proposal.
Kleysteuber said Chancellor James
Moeser made no mention at last week’s
BOT meeting of the advice he had
received from both advisory bodies.
By passing the fee increase, trust
ees disregarded the advice of the
student committees designated to
observe such issues, Anderson said.
“Basically it was just rammed right
down our throats in the worse way
possible,” he said.
SEE RESOLUTION, PAGE 4
remarks. “It’s invective. It’s insidious.”
When informed of Calabria’s actions, Jensen, who
was participating in forums Tuesday night, reasserted
that the office manager doesn’t have a sufficient work
load and that student government leaders should not
receive stipends because other student leaders don’t.
He also defended his right to critique the administra
tion. “I don’t know why anybody would think it would
be inappropriate for any candidate running for office to
point out why things need to change,” Jensen said.
An outsider to student government, Jensen said he
knows he is doing something right if student govern
ment officials are against his candidacy.
He questioned whether or not Calabria crossed the
line of neutrality student officials are bound to observe.
But Heather Sidden, board of elections chairwoman,
said Calabria acted within his rights.
SEE CALABRIA, PAGE 4
GLBTSA hands Jensen his
4th endorsement of season
BY STEPHANIE NEWTON
STAFF WRITER
Student body president candi
date Tom Jensen’s endorsement
from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgender-Straight Alliance
could have been sealed with a kiss.
“Without hesitation, he said he
would be willing to kiss another
boy,” Win Chesson, GLBTSA co
chairman, said at Tuesday night’s
forum. “He will receive a personal
invitation to our next Kiss-In.”
The statement which came in
response to a GLBTSA member’s
question regarding the candidates’
reaction to last semester’s Kiss-In
at the Pit was a deciding factor
in the organization’s endorsement
vote.
“I thought that spoke very loud
ly of Tom’s willingness to experi
ence the marginalization that our
SEE GLBTSA, PAGE 4
INSIDE
ONE FOR BALLARD
Environmental groups hold forum, give
SBP hopeful Seke Ballard Ist vote PAGE 2
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2005
Athletic
group
avoids
changes
Congress backpedals
on most CAA efforts
BY ERIN ZUREICK
STAFF WRITER
The Carolina Athletic Association
escaped unscathed from Tuesday night’s
Student Congress meeting after represen
tatives withdrew several pieces of legisla
tion and sent other proposals back to the
drawing board.
Congress passed legislation that adds
the student-elected CAA president to the
student body president’s Cabinet. The
body failed to create a ticket distribution
review board or to pass a resolution rec
ommending merger negotiations between
Carolina Fever and the Rams Club.
Trey Winslett, chairman of Congress’
athletics committee, said he did not
expect much opposition to the legisla
tion because more contentious items
were withdrawn from consideration
before the meeting.
Representatives said they were con
cerned that the specific wording of the
ticket distribution legislation could have
created problems for future sessions of
Congress.
The language is vague, they said, and
could be reinterpreted over time.
“There are just a lot of vagaries and
missing pieces in (the legislation) that
would be better addressed with revisions,”
Congress adviser Jon Curtis said.
Representatives also said they were frus
trated with the athletics committee for not
addressing the legislation thoroughly.
“I am disappointed that these issues
didn’t come up earlier,” Speaker Charlie
Anderson said.
The athletics committee held a pub
lic hearing Jan. 26 to discuss possible
reforms to CAA. The forum resulted in
the removal of legislation that would limit
CAA’s budget.
Since then, committee members also
withdrew a proposal to make the CAA
presidency an appointed position.
Congress voted to send legislation to
create a ticket distribution review board
back to committee after concerns arose
regarding the division of labor within the
group.
“It’s not an issue of whether the group
should be created,” said Kris Gould, athlet
ics committee member.
“We just need a clarification about the
roles of the review board and ticket distri
bution committee.”
Representatives also butted heads over
whether to legislate a set number of tickets
for CAA members.
“Right now the Student Code says CAA
is allotted 40 tickets, but that hasn’t been
enforced,” Gould said.
Most Congress members said they were
SEE CAA, PAGE 4
Speaker
Charlie
Anderson
drafted two
bills protesting
tuition and fees.
SB f
DTH/LEAH GRONING
SBP candidates Seke Ballard (left), Leigha Blackwell, Seth Dearmin and
Tom Jensen speak at the GLBTSA forum Tuesday night in Murphey Hall.
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