<o)f Baily (Ear iff rl
CORRECTIONS
Due to a reporting error,
Wednesday’s page 7 story, “El
Centro sees silver lining,” contains
two errors.
First, the article states that El
Centro Latino is continuing after
school programs at Scroggs and
McDougle Elementary schools. The
programs are being run through
those schools but will take place at
El Centro Latino.
Secondly, the article states
that El Centro Latino will host
a statewide soccer tournament.
The organization’s upcoming soc
cer tournament actually will only
feature teams from across the
Triangle.
The Daily Tar Heel apologizes
for the errors.
CITY BRIEFS
Officials vote to increase
funding for area children
County officials now are pro
viding more support for child
care.
The Orange County Board of
Commissioners voted Wednesday
to give $50,000 to the Social
Services Department due to the
increasing need for affordable child
care in the area.
The money will be used for sub
sidies to give to families waiting for
day care services.
In June, the county estimated
that it had almost 400 children
waiting to receive child-care sub
sidies.
Social Services also is looking
for sponsors in the county to fur
ther increase the support for child
care.
Orange County acquires land
for conservation program
Orange County will be acquir
ing a parcel of land for conserva
tion, as part of its Lands Legacy
Program.
The Orange County Board of
Commissioners recently approved
the acquisition of 36 acres of land
in the southwestern portion of the
county.
The land which is located
in the Pickard’s Mountain area
is owned by Charles Keith,
who opened an arboretum on the
property with his wife during the
1980s.
The land is a conservation
easement that will help protect
the property from future devel
opment.
It is estimated that Keith’s
arboretum boasts more than
5,000 species of trees and shrub
bery indigenous to a variety
of locations from around the
world.
Monthly art event provides
public with variety of works
Locations throughout the area
are participating in the 2nd Friday
Art Walk.
The event titled “The Hot
Spot to be for Art” will run from
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.
Participants include The Chapel
Hill Museum and The Ackland
Art Museum and other art gal
leries throughout Chapel Hill and
Carrboro.
The event is held monthly to
give locals a chance to view many
genres of art.
Refreshments will be provided
at each museum and gallery, and
some locations also will feature live
music.
Admission to attend the event
is free.
Additional information about
the evening can be found at
http: / / www. 2ndfridayartwalk.
com/.
STATE S NATION
Gay marriage bill's future
remains unclear in Calif.
The California legislature passed
a bill to redefine marriage as gen
der neutral Tuesday, by a 62-50
vote.
But the future of this legislation
still is up in the air, as Republican
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sig
naled he would not sign the bill
into law.
In 2000, California voters
passed Proposition 22, defining
marriage as an institution between
a man and a woman.
Since then, the issue has been
winding through the state’s court
system.
“The governor believes the
courts are the correct venue for this
decision to be made,” said Margita
Thompson, Schwarzenegger’s
spokeswoman in a Sept. 6 press
release.
“I think it’s a political and pub
lic policy mistake,” said Assembly
member John Laird, D-Santa Cruz,
an author of the bill.
The latest poll on the issue
shows the state split right down
the middle, and there is time for
proponents of the bill to voice
their opinion before the veto, he
added.
From staff and wire reports.
Students restart efforts for workers
BY SHARI FELD
STAFF WRITER
University officials announced
Thursday that investigators found
insufficient evidence to confirm
allegations against Aramark Corp.,
UNC’s food-services provider.
Officials were investigating claims
of employee mistreatment and the
use of harassment and intimida
tion to prevent unionization. The
University released the findings at a
meeting with various student leaders
in attendance.
But many student activists say
they are not convinced.
“I feel the University hasn’t tried
to objectively investigate,” said Jillian
Johnson, an outspoken member of
Student Action with Workers. “There
haven’t been any attempts to find any
clear and convincing evidence that
would meet University standards.”
University officials’ expectations
• * jig? /jjr -‘ •
DTH/GILUAN BOLSOVER
Sophomore Caitlin Corkery cradles a candle Thursday evening during a vigil held in the Pit for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A crowd of
more than 300 gathered to show their support. The event was put on by Carolina Katrina Relief, which hopes to raise $50,000 for the cause.
TAKING A MOMENT
Campus community reflects on Katrina victims, aftermath
BY JENNY RUBY
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
In the spirit of unity, hope and determi
nation for change, a crowd of more than 300
gathered in the Pit on Thursday in support
of victims of Hurricane Katrina.
And in the storm’s aftermath, they reaf
firmed a campuswide commitment to pro
vide relief for the Gulf Coast.
“We have all been touched deeply by these
horrors,” said Margaret Jablonski, vice chan
cellor for student affairs.
She and Student Body President Seth
Dearmin encouraged students to learn more
and challenge issues that have come to light
in the hurricane’s aftermath especially
those relating to race and poverty.
“There are a lot of tough questions we
need to ask,” Dearmin said. “We need to
make sure we’re having this kind of dia
logue.”
Jablonski said she hopes to see students
use the events following the hurricane as
incentive to join together against racism
and class disparity.
“We all saw those faces,” she said. “We
heard their cries.
Graduate students
focus of tuition talks
Tuition Task Force
kicks off meetings
BY BRIAN HUDSON
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Less than a year after graduate
student leaders said their interests
weren’t considered in tuition dis
cussions, it seems that graduate
students might be at the forefront
this year.
During the first meeting of the
Tuition Task Force on Tuesday,
members discussed allocating pos
sible tuition revenue to graduate
students’ needs.
The academic department
chairmen attending the meeting
portrayed the needs of graduate
students as desperate.
“Each year we’re bringing in
fewer graduate students,” said task
force member James Thompson,
chairman of the English
Department. “I don’t want to take
in anyone I can’t support.”
Because so many graduate stu
dents are financially independent,
they rely on factors such as tuition
remission which provides a
discounted tuition to graduate
students who serve as teaching or
Top News
for “clear and convincing evidence”
are unrealistic, she said, because
the investigation did not use per
sonal testimony from the workers
as concrete evidence.
“I feel like these things have been
communicated, and we’ve gotten
nowhere,” Johnson said.
The investigation focused on
breach of contract —a charge that
was not proven.
“There was no basis for us to
conclude that Aramark was not
in compliance with our contract,”
said Joanna Carey Smith, who con
ducted the examination of UNC’s
contract with Aramark.
The University can monitor the
Aramark contract, she said, but it
is not the University’s right to tell a
company how to operate.
Students expressed their concern
that violations of workers’ rights
might have occurred even though
“I urge you to think about this issue as the
defining one for your generation.”
Senior Hicks Wogan, one of three UNC
students from the affected area to speak at
the vigil, said he felt lucky that his house and
his family are safe.
But he said the tragedy is not about him.
“This is also not about politics,” Wogan said.
“And it’s sure as hell not about gas prices.”
The thousands of poor and less-fortu
nate citizens who were unable to leave New
Orleans in time are the ones in the most dire
need of aid, said James Brown, a junior from
New Orleans.
“It is these people who give my home its
life and spirit.”
Lauren Hansell, a graduate student from
Waveland, Miss., said each person seen on
the television has a story.
“By coming here tonight, by praying, by
donating blood ... you are allowing those
stories to continue, to grow and not to end,”
she said.
Following the speeches, candles were lit
and students participated in a moment of
silence.
The Loreleis, the Achordants and members
research assistants.
The consensus among the task
force was that graduate students, in
their role as teaching and research
assistants, are crucial to the fabric
of a successful university.
Chairwoman of the Faculty
Judith Wegner, a task force mem
ber, said most faculty would prob
ably favor more graduate assistants
instead of faculty salary increases.
“It comes out in the end,” she
said. “They’d probably say, ‘Do
something to keep the grad stu
dents.’”
Task force member Steven
Matson, chairman of the biology
department, said the decreasing
number of research and teaching
assistants is having negative reper
cussions across campus.
“We were doing well up until
last year,” he said. “Last year was
an unmitigated disaster. We’re not
competitive.”
Matson reported that because of
the lack of assistants, half of biol
ogy teaching assistants study in a
discipline other than biology.
“There is a substantial popula
tion of graduate students getting
hosed by this,” Thompson said.
SEE TUITION, PAGE 6
there might not have been contrac
tual violations.
While officials boasted their con
fidence in the investigation’s find
ings, they noted that watchdogs are
in full force.
“I am comfortable with the con
clusion we made, but it is an ongoing
process,” Smith said. “I think there
are concerns that people have that
they should be able to raise with
Aramark, regardless of if they have
to do with contractual compliance.”
This recent rise in the storm
comes after a fairly calm summer.
Faith Everett, a member of SAW,
was the only student to take any sub
stantial action on behalf of workers
this summer. But that does not mean
other students do not care, she said.
“Many students just weren’t
here,” she said. “They just had other
SEE WORKERS, PAGE 6
of Ebony Readers/Onyx Theater offered per
formances and reflections during the vigil.
Sarah Greenblatt attended the vigil to seek
comfort. She said she has not been able to
reach a friend since the hurricane hit.
“I just thought it might be good to come
out and hear about other people’s experi
ences,” she said. “I think it was the first time
I was able to think about it.”
The vigil is part of Carolina Katrina Relief,
a campuswide effort to raise $50,000 for the
American Red Cross by Sept. 17.
As of 10 p.m. Thursday, $4,377-44 had been
collected, according to the UNC Red Cross.
“Everything is adding up,” Dearmin said.
“Hopefully we’ll reach the goal that we have
set up —and surpass it.”
Wogan said students should continue to
do more.
“I’m urging you, I’m begging you to dig
deep,” he said.
“Do what you can. Help because this
didn’t happen to you. Help because you
can.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
Women s group jumpstarts race
BY MEGHAN DAVIS
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Candidates in the upcoming
elections had the opportunity to
say a few words to voters Thursday
at a forum hosted by an Orange
County political group.
The Orange County Democratic
Women sponsored the event
which was the first such gathering
of the election season.
And with response times limited
to 90 seconds, candidates chose
their words very carefully.
Candidates for the Chapel Hill
Town Council and Chapel Hill-
Carrboro Board of Education
mingled with the audience at the
Southern Human Services Building
at 2501 Homestead Rd.
Questions from the audience
—filtered through moderator Dan
Coleman ranged from connect
ing neighborhood roads to tech
nology, to whether the town would
support a Wal-Mart.
Coleman, a local political activist,
selected three candidates to address
each question.
Many questions to council can
didates centered around develop
ment in town and around the
University allowing them to
harp on what are becoming signa
ture platforms.
Bill Thorpe, who served on the
council intermittently between 1977
and 1987, said he learned the key to
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2005
k I k
DTH/RICKY LEUNG
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Margaret Jablonski meets with
Student Action with Workers on Thursday to discuss working conditions.
B & WBji
DTH/ISAAC SANDLIN
Town Council candidates Ed Harrison (left), Jason Baker and Robin Cutson
participate in the Orange County Democratic Women's forum Thursday.
development is compromise.
When the University built the
Smith Center, Thorpe recalled
standing up for area neighbor
hoods that were against it.
“I was one of the few coun
cil members to vote against the
Dean Dome,” he said. “We got the
University to build that ceiling on
it, for noise.”
When asked the difference
between good growth and bad
growth, council member Mark
Kleinschmidt said good growth is
transit-oriented human-scale
buildings and without sprawl.
Officials
consider
FEMAs
future
BY MATTHEW BOWLES
STAFF WRITER
With nearly three months
remaining in the hurricane season,
the federal government’s response
along the Gulf Coast is bringing
concerns about the future of disas
ter relief in North Carolina.
Rep. David Price, D-N.C., met
with victims of Hurricane Katrina at
a Wake County shelter Tuesday and
said he would hold the administra
tion accountable for what he called
a slow response to the disaster.
The state is threatened by sever
al hurricanes every year and often
relies on the help and support of
the government during the recov
ery process. But decreased funding
could pose problems.
Bridget Lowell, spokeswom
an for Price, said the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
needs adequate funding to be pre
pared for such emergencies.
But North Carolina has yet to see
a hurricane this year. The state was
hit by seven named storms in 2004.
The resources reserved by the
legislature for specific recoveries
remain available, she said.
“The state as a whole is well-pre
pared for natural disasters,” said
Patty McQuillan, spokeswoman
for the N.C. Division of Emergency
Management.
But she acknowledged that
FEMAs role remains crucial to states
affected by major natural disasters.
FEMA intervenes to assist state
agencies and victims if the state
receives a Presidential Disaster
Declaration, which the governor
must request.
Recent restructuring of the
federal bureaucracy has left some
lawmakers uneasy about the per
formance of those agencies.
In 2003, the once-indepen
dent FEMA was one of several
agencies consolidated into the
new Department of Homeland
Security.
SEE FEMA, PAGE 6
Other candidates Foy,
incumbent Ed Harrison and
UNC graduate Walker Rutherfurd
also said they want to improve
and expand the town’s public
transit service.
Robin Cutson argued that posi
tive growth requires more precise
utility planning than the town has
provided.
“Smart growth can’t create
water,” she said. “What we need is
sustainable growth.”
Candidates also debated how
SEE FORUM, PAGE 6
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