VOLUME 113, ISSUE 45
Suit claims UNC caused bankruptcy
BY BRIAN HUDSON
MANAGING EDITOR
A former construction subcontractor has filed a law
suit against the University, alleging that UNC forced the
company to declare bankruptcy last summer.
Southern Site & Environmental officials claim that
the University and T.A. Loving, UNC’s general con
tractor, exhibited deceptive trade practices, fraud and
breach of contract, according to a lawsuit filed earlier
this month.
The company hopes to acquire between $2 million
and $3 million in the suit, said Mike Unti, the lawyer
representing Southern Site.
University officials declined to comment on specific
allegations in the lawsuit.
Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for con-
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Freshman pitcher Tyler Trice is unable to stop the
Georgia Tech onslaught in the eighth inning of an 8-1
loss. Although the Heels lost the final game, they won
the team’s first series against the Yellow Jackets since 2001,
setting anew record at Boshamer Stadium with 32 wins at
Banquet honors
UNC sports elite
Dorrance, Durham
and Lam recognized
BY ROCKY RIVERO
SPORTS EDITOR
Most of the people inducted into
the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame are
retired from athletics by the time
they’re honored. At the annual ban
quet Thursday in Raleigh, an excep
tion was made for the “Voice of the
Tar Heels” and one of the University’s
most successful coaches.
Radio announcer Woody Durham
and UNC women’s soccer coach
Anson Dorrance were inducted for
their prevailing contributions to
sports in North Carolina.
Reese Edwards, executive direc
tor of the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame,
w
S&ce Chancellor of Student Affairs Peggy Jablonski (right) speaks with
sbhn Adams at a meeting on the first day of student leader orientation.
rjDNKilllE
'■l The UNC Board of Trustees will examine plans for
Carolina North at its full meeting Thursday morning.
Check www.dthonline.com for updated coverage.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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struction and planning, said officials
still are gathering all information to
assess the situation.
“We’re working through legal
counsel here to look at the claim and
then try to resolve it appropriately,”
he said.
“And at this point we don’t have all
THE HISTORY OF
SOUTHERN SITE &
ENVIRONMENTAL AT
THE UNIVERSITY
BOYS OF SUMMER
said both men are representative of
the ideal balance that is vital to the
selection process. “We look for ath
letic achievements that have brought
honor not only to the athletes but to
the state as well,” he said.
Former UNC wrestling coach
Bill Lam was also honored last
week with a Lifetime Service to
Wrestling Award, presented by
the state chapter of the National
Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Lam retired in 2003 after
winning 15 ACC titles during his
30-year career at UNC and was
named National Coach of the
Year in 1982 and mentored five
NCAA champions.
Lam said he’s honored by his
induction, but any award given
SEE HALL OF FAME, PAGE 5
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Bands in the local scene are more
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the information from the contractor.
We’re in an evaluation phase.”
When the University began reno
vating the Medical Sciences Research
Building in August 2003, Southern
Site was hired to demolish the interior
of the building.
But according to the lawsuit, the
AUGUST 2003
Southern Site & Environmental is
awarded the interior demolition
job in the Medical Sciences
Research Building renovation.
home this season. The previous record was 30 wins, reached
both in 2000 and 1993. “That’s a great accomplishment for
our players,” said UNC coach Mike Fox. The two close victo
ries against Ga. Tech should build the team’s confidence in
the postseason, he said. For the full story, please see page 9-
Town council weighs lot developers
Firm could be pegged by mid-June
BY CHRIS CARMICHAEL
STAFF WRITER
Dressed in black suits and
crisply knotted ties, represen
tatives of Ram Development
Company and Grubb Properties
made their claims Monday to the
future of downtown Chapel Hill.
The development vision that
will drive an undoubtedly major
transformation to the town’s
urban landscape could be decided
by the Chapel Hill Town Council
as early as June 15.
The selected firm will have the
task of developing phase one of a
major downtown project. The first
phase includes development of a
mixed-used facility on lot 5 across
from University Square and an
expansion of the Wallace Deck on
Rosemary Street.
While council members say they
Jablonski s first year fostered communication
BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
One year ago, the Division of
Student Affairs was in flux.
Then the University hired
Margaret Jablonski.
Officials said the Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs
provides much-needed stability to
the post and revitalized the divi
sion through internal reorganiza
tion and external relations.
Friday marks the one-year
anniversary of her appointment
an announcement that was the
result of a 15-month nationwide
hunt by two search committees.
Provost Robert Shelton said the
end result was worth the wait.
University and TA. Loving have refused
to pay the company in full, forcing
Southern Site to file for bankruptcy in
June.
The lawsuit claims that the $369,000
Southern Site received for the demoli
tion is actually $160,000 less than the
value of its work an alleged discrep
MARCH 2004
N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources begins an
investigation into allegations of
hazardous chemicals at the site.
DTH/ISAAC SANDLIN
will await town consultant John
Stainback’s assessment before mak
ing any decisions, early opinions
are percolating perhaps to the
delight of Ram Development Cos.
“I am now inclined to view the
Ram proposal as a much stronger
proposal,” said council member
Jim Ward.
Ward said he was impressed by
the 25 days Ram spent in Chapel
Hill speaking to a focus group
composed of various town lead
ers, including affordable housing
advocates Empowerment, Inc.
Empowerment Co-director
Delores Bailey said she too was
struck by Ram’s level of commu
nication with existing neighbor
hoods, especially the Northside
community, which abuts lot 5.
“The way Ram is handling the
project is inclusive,” Bailey said.
“The qualities that we saw in
her in the interview process have
proven correct,” he said. “She’s a
very engaged person; she’s very
open and accessible.”
Jablonski, who left her job as
dean for campus life at Brown
University for UNC, wasted no time
in shaking up the division.
In January, she rolled out sig
nificant changes that created sev
eral new positions, including two
associate vice chancellors, a senior
associate dean of students and a
director of development and alum
ni affairs. The move was more fluid
than Jablonski had hoped, and she
said it’s created increased respon
siveness.
THE NEXT EPISODE
LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda return to the big
screen in the sixth "Star Wars" film. PAGE 9
JUNE 2004
SS&E files for bankruptcy protection
under Chapter 11. Company officials
announce their intent to file a
lawsuit against the University.
ANALYSIS
Universities
assess tuition
Tuition autonomy is a national issue
BY WHITNEY ISENHOWER
STAFF WRITER
Universities across the country
are searching in places besides
state legislatures for dollars to
run their schools, and many don’t
want the state or an overarching
board to have a say in it.
A provision in the N.C. Senate
budget would allow both UNC-
Chapel Hill and N.C. State
University to follow the emerging
trend of schools setting their own
tuition rates.
As the two largest schools in
the UNC system, discussion about
how to properly fund the state’s
research universities led to talks
about tuition autonomy.
But other systems also have
implemented tuition autonomy
policies to better meet individual
university needs, and officials
warn that the move doesn’t solve
all tuition problems.
The University of Virginia has
utilized a tuition-autonomous
approach.
But the Virginia legislature still
places freezes and caps that make
planning long-term tuition rates
difficult, said Melody Bianchetto,
“It’s not just about Northside; it’s
about Northside blending in with
the future of Chapel Hill.”
Thus far, both groups have
pledged around 18 percent of their
total residential units for affordable
housing. Council members have
Development in downtown Chapel Hill
Two companies are vying for a contract to develop parking and housing.
The Chapel Hill Town Council could decide on a firm as early as June 15.
Total budget $ 62,638,091 $ 74,96T,694
Total cost for town $ 19,328,438 $8,470,835
Affordable housing 28 units 35 units
Total housing 180 units 233 units
Total retail space 44,400 sq. ft. 30,820 sq. ft.
Location of firm Charlotte, N.C. Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
SOURCE: SPREE STAINBACK PUBLIC/PRIVATE REAL ESTATE DTH/JENNIFER ALLIE'
She also made a concerted effort
to bolster the division’s presence on
campus by holding weekly lunch
meetings with members of more
than 100 student organizations.
“She’s someone that students
can trust and that has demon
strated time and time again that
she really cares about what stu
dents think,” said Matt Calabria,
former student body president.
The meetings allowed Jablonski
to get used to the University, but she
said she didn’t know that UNC was
truly her home until the spring. “It
was a combination of just working
with a lot of student leaders on a
SEE JABLONSKI, PAGE 5
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THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2005
ancy that forced the company into the
financial red.
“They couldn’t pay their own sub
contractor and material men because
they had, in turn, not been paid by the
University,” Unti said. “Bottom line'
SEE SOUTHERN SITE, PAGE 5
JANUARY 2005
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Eastern
North Carolina orders SS&E to file a
civil action within 120 days regarding
their contract complaints.
director of the budget for UVa.
“It’s very unpredictable when
it’s not consistently applied,”
she said. “By knowing that the
state won’t come in and change
us every year it makes us able to
plan.”
Recent legislation could allow
even greater and more concrete
tuition autonomy for its univer
sities.
The Virginia General Assembly
passed amendments to the Higher
Education Restructuring Bill in
April that allow three different
levels of autonomy based on the
institutions’ financial capabilities.
The schools also could outline
six-year plans for tuition and fee
ideas.
“We’re hoping with autonomy
(tuition) can become more consis
tent and predictable,” Bianchetto
said.
The University of Texas system
implemented a tuition autonomy
policy in 2003.
Don Davis, associate director
of the office of student finan
cial services at the University of
SEE AUTONOMY, PAGE 5
stressed that they would like to see
as much as 20 percent of the total
units dedicated for this purpose.
A key difference between the
two groups is how each approaches
SEE LOTS 2 & 5, PAGE 5
“You see more
from what people
do than from
what they say ,
and I have seen
her actions
match her words”
VIRGINIA CARSON,
CAMPUS Y DIRECTOR
a