aljp Saiiy (Ear Hrri
Possible death penalty study causes dispute
Supporters of moratorium cry foul
BY WHITNEY ISENHOWER
STAFF WRITER
A death penalty study pro
posed in the N.C. House of
Representatives promises to
examine issues such as racial dis
parities and innocent people on
death row —but some worry the
legislation could diminish support
for a moratorium on capital pun
ishment.
Rep. Linda Johnson, R-
Cabarrus, one of the bill’s two pri
mary sponsors, said the spread of
conflicting facts often accompanies
the issue when it is brought up in
the legislature —a main reason
she’s supporting the study.
“We’re being asked to vote on
Group to take up issue
of student-teacher talks
BY LIZ STANLEY
STAFF WRITER
A city schools’ task force com
mittee will need more than a No.
2 pencil to pass the upcoming test
it faces.
The 20-person committee
comprising one school board
member, five teachers, principals
and parents will meet today to
discuss a local issue that also is
affecting the entire nation: teach
er-parent communication.
“There has been a long tradition
of encouraging and supporting
interaction between parents and
teachers,” said Lisa Stuckey, head
of the committee and chairwoman
of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board
of Education.
But after teachers began report
ing problems with a small number
of parents who consistently con
sumed much of their time, the
board decided to take action.
“A vast majority of parent-teach
er interactions are very positive, but
there have been situations where
teachers feel communication could
have been better,” said Kim Hoke,
spokeswoman for city schools.
The district sent a survey asking
CAMPUS RECREATION UPDATE
SOFTBALL :: 10 Players c . study hard play hard. g 8
Today is the last day to sign up! 9n up " 203 Woo " en Gym Come learn the importance of core stability
and exercises you can do with the resist-a
$$ Become an IM Softball Official ball. Sign-up at the SRC front desk.
Clinic Dates: March 7, 6 PM / March 9, 5:30 PM in
Fetzer Gym 104 • ?’s: contact jgford@email.unc.edu fLimited snares availahlel J&' r !>
[open to UNC students, faculty, & staff only] ILimneo spaces avaiiaDlej
TEAM TENNIS :: 4 Players w® f § ‘; ,
INNERTUBE B-BALL:: 6 Players .|||||ja|Hfe J
.•sag | | Hv K .
—■
(KK CLIMB* B EC BEfITIO M
>" Check out the new routes —°—
IHB in Fetzer Gym C- “ROW, ROW. ROW YOOR ROM”
919962.4179 l^t^^
DAY HIKE Visit one of the last old-growth I
Sandhills Nature Preserve longieafpine forests m the world. | April 2,2005 111 Koury NatatorlUdl
This fire-dominated ecosystem ; H ' * 1
April 9, 2005 once covered the entire eastern | TT To benefit UNO’s Children’s Hospital
Sign up in 203 Woollen half of the state. \ It Register in 203 Woollen Gym.
www.unc.edu/sportclubs:: 919.962.1013
something when we don’t know
the numbers,” Johnson said. “When
you’re inundated with pros and
cons, you don’t know which num
bers are real.”
But the study doesn’t promise
to halt executions while it is being
conducted. Some see the bill as an
attempt to stop the momentum
for a death penalty moratorium,
which would temporarily halt
executions while a study is con
ducted.
Sen. Elbe Kinnaird, D-Orange,
who sponsored moratorium legis
lation in 2003, said the proposed
study is a divisive tactic meant to
draw support away from the mora
torium movement.
questions on the issue to teachers
at each school. Their responses
were due Friday.
Of the estimated 240 responses,
a majority came from elementary
school teachers, which might sug
gest that communication is more of
an issue at that level, Hoke said.
The survey asked teachers what
kinds of parent behaviors they found
most helpful, which ones were not
productive, how often they have
had communication problems, the
impact these interactions have had
on their work and suggestions they
have for improving the situation.
Using the teachers’ feedback as a
starting point, the committee hopes
to establish guidelines parents can
follow.
Of particular concern for teach
ers are unplanned visits by par
ents, which cut into planning and
instructional time, Hoke said.
Under the new guidelines, if par
ents want to visit a classroom or
meet with a teacher, they will know
how to go about doing so, Stuckey
said. Printed guidelines would be
placed in student handbooks.
Stuckey said the committee’s
ultimate goal is to develop a teach
News
“What we really need is a mora
torium, because we’ve seen inno
cent people get the death penalty,”
she said.
“A study wouldn’t get those folks
off death row.”
The N.C. Coalition for a
Moratorium is asking for a two-year
injunction on the death penalty in
hopes of ensuring that no innocent
people are sentenced.
Supporters of the moratorium
say it is pointless to study the pen
alty without halting executions
while doing so.
David Neal, executive director of
the Fair Trial Initiative, said fixing
the death penalty is impossible if
the state practices it while trying to
repair it. “We didn’t fly the space
craft while we were working on it,”
Neal said.
er-parent communication policy
the school board would approve.
“We want to make the partner
ship between parents and teach
ers better and more productive,”
Stuckey said.
Hoke said a majority of the
committee’s work will be done this
spring.
Its efforts are only a small part
of a larger, ongoing initiative in the
district to improve workplace con
ditions for teachers.
During the fall, Superintendent
Neil Pedersen convened a workplace
conditions task force to address
ways to improve the working envi
ronment for city teachers, including
setting aside planning time.
Two weeks ago, during a two
day planning conference, board
members discussed the task force’s
results. Out of their efforts, they
made 10 recommendations, and
officials created individual work
groups for each.
The parent-teacher communica
tion committee will meet at 7 p.m.
today at Smith Middle School.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
“When you’re
inundated with
pros and cons, you
don’t know which
numbers are real.”
REP. LINDA JOHNSON, R-CABARRUS
Critics say the movement is an
excuse to abolish capital punish
ment eventually.
“If you’re going to be against the
death penalty, just be against it,”
said John Hood, president of the
John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh
based political think tank.
Some legislators say the debate
about whether to conduct a study
has been unnecessarily prolonged.
Choose the next
DTH Editor
The Daily Tar Heel is seeking students to serve on the panel that will choose
the editor of the DTH for the 2005-2006 school year.
Applications for the seven at-large positions on
l-ditorSelection Board art- available
at Office and the Carolina
info desk kiosk.
f Applicants available for
BnBKAf./v’JrSBB on ' entalion meelin g from 6-7 pin
■i Thursday. March and from
jgfcrapproximately B:3oam-4pm
| Saturday. April 2 to conduct
interviews and make the selection.
Wr \il Students may apply for at large positions
except current DTH news staff members. If you have
any questions about the process, please contact Michelle
Jarboe (962-4086, mjarboe@email.unc.edu) or Paul Isom (962-0520,
pisom@unc.edu).
“The study could have been
done in the past four years,” said
Rep. Phillip Frye, R-Avery, who
co-sponsored the bill advocating
the study.
Hood said evidence exists that
juries tend to value white victims
more.
“What does appear to be true
is that murderers of black victims
are less likely to get executed,”
Hood said. “But data do not show
that juries are likely to sentence
people to death row because
they’re black.”
The co-sponsors of the bill said
they want the study to straighten
out this conflicting information.
“We’re making sure that every
thing is covered by the law as the
process is being conducted,” Frye
said.
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2005
Johnson said she thinks a study
could only make the issues clearer
for everyone.
“I’m looking for unbiased, fac
tual information," she said.
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
UNC Undergraduate
Environmental
Programs Open House
ffl UNC
— 1 CAROLINA
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROGRAM
Rosenau Hall
Second Floor Lounge
6:00 pm Wednesday,
March 2, 2005
Free pizza and drinks
provided!
UNC Chapel Hill is
one of the greatest
environmentally oriented
universities in the U.S.,
ranking in the top ten
in environmental
engineering and science and
in environmental policy and
management. We offer one
of the best undergraduate
programs in environmental
study you can find
anywhere.
Learn more about the:
• B.A. in Environmental
Studies
• B.S. in Environmental
Science
• B.S.P.H. in Environmental
Health Science
For more information about the
event, or directions to Rosenau
Hall Second Floor Lounge,
please contact Greg Gangi at
the Carolina Environmental
Program, 962-9805 or
ggangi@email.unc.edu
7