VOLUME 113, ISSUE 66 HOW TO HELP FRACTURED RELIEF ERIC JOHNSON ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR Writer shares story of trip to Gulf Coast Last Thursday, 1 met a man who was sifting through the rubble of his house, looking for family pho tographs and pieces of a china set, and the first thing he wanted to talk about was basketball. “A Tar Heel!” he said, looking at my UNC hat. “Well, you can tell them you were out in the middle of a daggum disaster area, and you found a Tar Heel fan.” Then we joked about the fact that Roy Williams, having lost all of his starters, is facing quite a rebuilding year. It didn’t seem to trouble Tom Ellis, standing in the middle of his utterly destroyed neighborhood in Waveland, Miss., that his entire town was facing a monumental rebuilding of its own. He held up a painting of his former home to show me how the hurricane ripped out all of the pine trees in the yard —much to his glee —and left only the tower ing oaks. “That’s going to be gorgeous whenever we get this lot cleaned . up again,” he said, smiling. I smiled with him, in awe of a man who could look at his demol- SEE TRIP, PAGE 6 DH .■ •.• | Tiff tlwßil COURTESY OF CASTLE & COOKE INC. A rendering of the Kannapolis worldwide center for biotechnology, scheduled to be built during the next five years for S6OO million. Man crosses U.S. to raise funds BY SHANNAN BOWEN SENIOR WRITER John Buoniconti’s bookbag is adorned with collector’s pins from 14 states and a weathered picture of his parents on their wedding day. The collage of souvenirs remind Buoniconti, 30, of the journey he is traveling —one that won’t stop until his size 13s have made footprints in each of the 48 contiguous states. In three years, Buoniconti will have walked 16,000 miles to raise a goal of $5 million for uninsured and under-insured cancer patients. “We focus directly on getting cancer patients treatments they CORRECTION Due to an editing error, Monday’s front page story, “Baristas battle for best brews,” incorrectly identified the cam- j pus-based The Daily Grind Espresso Caff as being located in Efiand. The Daily Tar Heel apolo gizes for the error. Serving the students and the University community since 1893 She lailn ®ar MM The Red Cross seeks volunteers and donations. E-mail occhapnc@intrex.net for more info. f— • COURTESY OF STOCKTON PERRY (Above) A tent outside of Biloxi, Miss., issues encouragement to passersby. (Below) Spanky's Restaurant, on Franklin Street, held a day-long fundraiser Monday for hurricane relief. The restaurant's goal was to raise $2,500 by the end of the night, including tips. BY JENNY RUBY ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR It’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane Katrina left her mark on the Gulf Coast. Despite numerous meetings among stu dent organization leaders, UNC-Chapel Hill is struggling to coordinate its relief efforts. “It’s been very ffactioned,” said Adrian Broome, deputy student attorney general. “So many different groups want to help in so many different ways.” Just days after learning of the destruc tion on the Gulf Coast, more than 30 orga nizations came together to collaborate in Carolina Katrina Relief. Students went to classrooms soliciting UNC-CH One Card donations and set up areas in the Pit for cash donations —with the overall goal of raising $50,000 by Saturday. As of 5 p.m. Monday, $11,425.97 has been accounted for. But Erica Curry, vice president of UNC CH Red Cross, said it is difficult to know how much money truly has been collected. She said almost 40 sheets with One Card donations have npt been scanned yet because there are not enough volunteers. Rebecca Wolfe, a graduate student in the chemistry department, said some don’t even know that funds can be donat ed through the UNC-CH Red Cross. She said the Association of Chemistry Graduate Students held a raffle and trivia night Thursday and raised $3,000 for hur MORE INFORMATION available on the Internet at TheßigWalk.org or call (970) 490-1515 can’t afford,” he says. “Until the health care system changes and until the cure is found, people need help today.” You might notice him trekking through the Tttangle this week. On Sunday, he stopped in Durham after a 12-mile walk from Mebane. North Carolina is the 14th state he’s reached, and he’s walked more than 1,775 miles thus far. Ollline | dttilyUirhwkHmi A VIEW OF THE STARS UNC team sees ray burst 13 billion light years away PLANNING AHEAD Council asks state to reprioritize transit planning criteria OTHER BUSINESS Town Council mulls affordable housing, environmental policy | www.dailytarheel.com | HURRICANE KATRINA | THE AFTERMATH Pm rTjpa DTH/ALISON YIN ricane relief, intending to donate the money directly to the American Red Cross. Wolfe announced late Monday that the association would give the money instead to the campus wide relief effort after being put into contact with Curry. Last week, organization leaders discussed the possibility of challenging alumni to match the donations collected by students. But plans have hit a standstill because students have not received a formal go ahead from the chancellor’s office or the athletic department. Research campus plans unveiled BY STEPHEN MOORE STAFF WRITER KANNAPOLIS - Rising slowly from his seat, David Murdock, 81, stepped to the microphone and gazed out at the immense crowd. His wrinkled hands resting on the edge of the lectern, he leaned forward, smiled, and announced the rebirth of a city. Murdock, owner of Dole Food Company Inc., unveiled his plan Monday to partner with the UNC system to make Kannapolis a worldwide center for biotechnol ogy. The news comes two years after But it’s more than a charitable walk. For Buoniconti, the project, called The Big Walk, fulfills a ded ication to addressing the financial struggles against a disease that claimed the lives of several of his family members. When Buoniconti was 8 years old, he lost his mother Gayle to a 61/2-year battle against leuke mia. Less than two years later, his father, John, passed away as a result of small-cell lung cancer. Later, he learned that all of his father’s sib lings have battled cancer. SEE BIG JOHN, PAGE 7 * The Center for Public Service has full listings of ways to help online at: www.unc.edu/cps “Really at this point everyone is kind of on a holding pattern,” Broome said. “They are concerned about alumni being asked for money from all different directions.” While UNC-CH continues working toward unification, other nearby univer sities have successfully coordinated their efforts. N.C. State University students formed Compassion in Action and kicked off fundraising efforts at their season-opening SEE FUNDRAISING, PAGE 6 Pillowtex Corp. closed the doors on its textile plant in the city, laying off more than 4,000 workers. Carlyle Rutledge, a 95-year-old native of Kannapolis and a former state representative and senator, said he is excited at the prospect of the new facility. “I’ve seen some great things hap pen in Kannapolis,” Rutledge said as he toured the site, looking at the diagrams of the future campus. “This is a greater vision than I ever dreamed to happen.” Officials will spend between S6OO million and S7OO million building an N.C. Research Campus Roberts confirmation begins BY ERIN GIBSON ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR There was nothing extraordi nary about the first day of Senate confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts, experts say. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary made opening statements Monday in the hearings to deter mine if Roberts will be the next chief justice of the United States. “Today was a totally unsurpris ing day,” said William Marshall, professor at the UNC School of Law. “I think Roberts did a fairly good job of presenting himself.” campus | paged THE HELP RETURNS Medical officials from across the state continue to donate time and resources to Hurricane Katrina relief. Several UNC officials returned Saturday. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 within the city in the next five years, Murdock said. When finished, the campus will house more than one million square feet of laboratory and office space, in addition to 350,000 square feet of retail and com mercial space and 700 residential units. The bulk of the money will come from Murdock and Dole, but the N.C. General Assembly also will be contributing to the effort. “The state legislature has com mitted to fund us S6O million in one-time funding to buy specialty equipment,” said UNC-system John Roberts began his hearings Monday for the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice position Roberts reiterated to the senators his commitment to interpret the laws, not legislate from the bench. “Judges and justices are ser vants to the law, not the other way around,” he said. “Judges are like umpires they make sure every- national | p*v4 A TIMELY NOD President Bush's nomina tion of an undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs comes as his domestic approval ratings plummet. FUNDRAISERS $11,425.97 was raised by the Katrina relief committee as of Monday Socks & underwear The DTH will be accepting these much needed supplies in Union Suite 2409 LOCAL EVENTS On top of relief Top of the Hill and Kappa Kappa Gamma to host fundraiser 100 Franklin St. Give blood The Red Cross and Student Union board will host an all-day drive Hooker Center atrium INSIDE TODAY Homecoming N.C. medical team returns from service in hurricane-affected areas Page 3 Closer to home N.C. prepares for its own storm with Katrina fresh in mind ONLINE MULTIMEDIA For a photo slideshow of the DTH's coverage from Louisiana and Mississippi visit dailytarheel.com President Molly Broad. Beyond the initial funding, the state will give $25 million per year in support of the universities’ work at the complex, she said. The UNC Institute for Excellence in Nutrition will be established by UNC-Chapel Hill to study the impact of diet on the brain, obesity and cancer. “We’re hoping that this will be a world-class research institute,” said Steven Zeisel, professor of nutrition at UNC-CH. N.C. State University will con- SEE KANNAPOLIS, PAGE 7 body plays by the rules.” He said that he had no plat form because he was not running for political office but that he is dedicated to fulfilling the position of court justice to the best of his ability. “Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes. I have no agenda, but I have a commitment,” he said. “If I am confirmed I will be vigi lant to protect the independence SEE ROBERTS, PAGE 6 weather Mostly Sunny H 89, L 67 index police log 2 calendar 2 crossword 7 ; sports 11 edit 12