VOLUME 113, ISSUE 30
Carrboro
examines
satellite
campus
Carolina North talks come
as town considers land use
BY MEGHAN DAVIS
STAFF WRITER
As its population continues to swell, Carrboro wants
to see commercial development keep pace with resi
dential expansion and a major University project.
But officials and residents don’t exactly agree on
the best ways for that development to reflect the
town’s distinct atmosphere.
The Carrboro Board of
Aldermen held a work session
Tuesday on the commercial
zones it could employ in the
Northern Study Area, north of
Homestead Road. It also con
sidered the impact UNC’s pro
posed satellite campus, Carolina
North, will have on that zoning.
“We have a limited amount
of land, and within that limited
amount we have to decide what’s
appropriate,” said Alderman Joal
Broun.
Expanding commercial space
is a key tenet of the town’s
Former mayoral
hopeful Jeff
Vanke said
Carrboro is too
eager to expand.
Vision 2020 development plan, an outline for
future growth.
While town officials have focused primarily on
revamping downtown, most new residential districts,
such as the newly annexed neighborhoods around
Rogers Road, lie near the northern area —as does
Carolina North, the 963-acre research park.
“I think we need to expand the same type of
vision we have for downtown Carrboro to northern
Carrboro,” said Alderman John Herrera.
The northern area also includes the Winmore
project and the northern transition zone, which falls
under the jurisdiction of both town and county.
Annexed residents have voiced distrust with both
the annexations and the town’s plans for the area.
“I observe that this board enjoys planning and
expanding for its own sake like a set of Tinker Toys,”
said Jeff Vanke, 2003 mayoral candidate and a resi
dent of one of the annexed neighborhoods.
For the northern study area, town staff favor
floating village mixed-use districts, which combine
dense residential and commercial areas, as well as
zones for office space.
But the aldermen are concerned about the ambi
guity of floating zones and what zoning acreage lim
its will mean for Carolina North. The town’s land
use ordinance limits the size of different zones, and
the satellite campus isn’t a small undertaking.
“Carolina North could come in and gobble up all
of the acreage, or other developments could come
in before Carolina North is even on the ground,”
Alderman Jacquelyn Gist said.
Planning administrator TVish McGuire said town
SEE ZONING, PAGE 5
European politics dominate speech
BY ERIC JOHNSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
Setting aside a malfunctioning
microphone, Ambassador John
Bruton had no trouble reaching
a crowd of almost 200 students,
faculty and guests assembled
Tuesday night in Carroll Hall.
In his Irish baritone, the
European Union’s ambassador to
the United States gave an ener
getic and wide-ranging seminar
on the EU and its ongoing effort
to ratify a European constitution.
Bruton, who served as Irish
prime minister from 1994-97,
didn't mince words in explaining
why the United States should look
favorably upon further European
integration.
“Wars in Europe have been
probably the cause of the loss
of more American lives than
any other source,” he said. “The
European Union is a guarantee
—a very detailed guarantee —of
democracy and stability.”
Mentioning upcoming national
referendums on the European
constitution, Bruton said there
is a significant chance it could be
voted down by France, Britain or
the Netherlands. A “no” vote by a
single member state would prevent
the constitution from taking effect.
“Psychologically and politically,
INSIDE!
DOLLAH DOLLAH BILL, Y'ALL
A change in homeland security legislation could
prove lucrative for UNC-system schools PAGE 7
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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Above: Player Sean May (standing) and the rest of the UNC men's basketball team are honored Tuesday afternoon in a joint session of the General Assembly in
Raleigh. Below: Members of the team sit pensively during the end-of-season banquet at the Smith Center. Four Tar Heels could leave school early for the NBA.
BY LAURA YOUNGS RALEIGH
SENIOR WRITER
All that red carpeting in the
Legislative Building finally
got a taste of Carolina blue.
. Hundreds of legislators
and Tar Heel fans packed the N.C.
Senate floor Tuesday to honor the 2005
national champions in a joint session of
the General Assembly.
Members of the UNC men’s basketball
team including Coach Roy Williams
and his assistants received a standing
ovation as they filed in one by one onto
the Senate floor, shaking the hands of
those lining the path to greet them.
With onlookers spilling out the cham
ber doors, lawmakers passed a joint res
olution recognizing the team for taking
the national title in St. Louis last week.
“North Carolina is a grand old state,
and the University is a priceless gem,”
said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand,
D-Cumberland, one of many sponsors of
the resolution and a UNC alumnus.
“I’d just like to thank them for a job
SEE BASKETBALL, PAGE 5
“Psychologically
and politically, (a
‘no’vote on the EU
constitution) would
he a huge setback.”
JOHN BRUTON, AMBASSADOR
it would be a huge setback,” he
said. “There would be a sense that
the people are no longer with us.”
Having helped draft the pro
posed constitution, Bruton said
it was important to establish a
sense of European identity. “The
emotional development of the EU
is just as important as the intel
lectual development.”
Bruton at one point called him
self and the crowd “most unusual
people” for being so interested
in the workings of the European
Union, a point reinforced by
detailed audience questions on
everything from EU environmen
tal policy to American colonial
history.
“The questioning was very
high caliber,” said Anita Jotwani,
co-chairwoman of the Great
Decisions lecture series. “I’m very
SEE BRUTON, PAGE 5
INSIDE
POOR COURSE OF ACTION
Favoritism in college admissions is
a bad idea, speaker says PAGE 7
www.dthonline.com
THE FINAL LAP
ij
DTH/JUUA LEBETKIN
John Bruton, the European Union's ambassador to the United States,
shakes hands with audience members before his speech Tuesday night.
McCants to announce plans
BY DEREK HOWLES
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Ever since Sean May grabbed the
final rebound of North Carolina’s
championship season, a single
question has loomed ominously
over the basketball program.
Who’s turning pro?
Nine days later, part one of
that four-piece puzzle will finally
be put in place.
Rashad McCants will hold a
press conference at 2 p.m. today
in the Smith Center to announce
whether he will return to UNC
for his senior season or make
himself eligible for the NBA
Draft on June 28.
Conferences for Raymond
Felton, Sean May and Marvin
Williams the three other Tar
Heels considering leaving early
have yet to be scheduled, as it
appears all three are still weigh
ing their options.
Coach Roy Williams who last
week said he expected McCants
to enter the draft made the
announcement after the Tar
Heels’ end-of-season banquet last
night at the Smith Center.
The coach’s statement was
the only NBA talk in a two-hour
SPORTS
GALE-FORCE WINS
Freshman righty overcomes last bad outing
to shut out Davidson at home, 4-0 PAGE 8
-
ceremony marked by starkly con
trasting emotions.
Jawad Williams cried. A lot.
Roy Williams cried, too, and so did
traditional jokester Melvin Scott.
But the thousands of fans?
They cheered. And cheered. And
then cheered some more to the
tune of 19 standing ovations.
The loudest applause, not to
mention the heaviest tears, came
when the survivors of the infa
mous 8-20 season of 2001-02
Students’ input
central to talks
BY ADAM W. RHEW
STAFF WRITER
Many University students have
tried —and failed to become
a member of
the Chapel Hill
Town Council.
Michael
McSwain expe
rienced the pro
cess firsthand in
2003, when he
finished second
to last in a race
of 11 candidates.
He was one in a
long line of stu
dents who faced
similar results
and the same
complaints: not
old enough, not
experienced
enough, would
have an agenda.
Mark Chilton
wasn’t one of
them.
ON THE
TOWN
A look into
college-town
politics
TODAY
Student
interaction in
town affairs
THURSDAY
How combative
the town and
gown are
FRIDAY
How the town
and gown
interact with
development
The Carrboro alderman won
election to the council in the early
1990s as a UNC undergraduate. He
WERTHER
TODAY Showers, H 53, L 39
THURSDAY Partly cloudy, H 59, L 41
FRIDAY Partly cloudy, H 59, L 38
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2005
DTH/WHITNEY SHEFTE
followed a 35-year-old tradition
by giving their senior speeches at
the end of the banquet.
After senior walk-ons Charlie
Everett and C. J. Hooker had their
time, Jackie Manuel stepped to
the podium. As the first of the
three 8-20 veterans to speak,
Manuel said his teammates were
“not only my teammates but...
my brothers forever. I love you.”
SEE BANQUET, PAGE 5
said student involvement, regardless
of the outcomes of town elections, is
key to government affairs in college
towns, such as Chapel Hill.
“Students are a constituent group
just like any other,” Chilton said.
Perhaps one of the most pro
gressive atmospheres for student
involvement in municipal affairs
is in College Park, Md.
In order to hear from students at
the nearby University of Maiyland,
the College Park City Council
appoints a student liaison annually
to serve a one-year term.
“Right now I would say the
College Park City Council is more
student-oriented than ever,” said
UMd. senior Drew Vetter, who is
finishing his term as this year’s
representative.
City Clerk Caroline Lightfoot
said liaisons attend every council
meeting. They can’t vote, but they
do voice their opinions on all mat
ters before council members take
any action.
Like Vetter, Lightfoot said the
system has been beneficial because
SEE STUDENTS, PAGE 5