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©lj? Satty ©ar CITY BRIEFS County commissioners to discuss this year's budget The Orange County Board of Commissioners will hold a joint work session with the Department of Social Services at 6 p.m. today. Following the meeting, commis sioners will hold a second work ses sion to discuss the county's budget for fiscal year 2005-06 and capital funding matters. The work session will begin at 7:30 p.m. The two meetings will be held at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough. STATE i MUTIiH Paulison tapped to replace Brown as FEMA director WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown resigned Monday, three days after losing his on-site command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The White House picked a top FEMA official with three decades of firefighting experience as his replacement. R. David Paulison, head of FEMAs emergency-preparedness force, will lead the beleaguered agency, accord ing to three administration sources who spoke on condition of anonym ity because the announcement had not yet been made. Paulison will lead an agency that has been under fire for its response to the Katrina disaster. Local officials and members of Congress have cited confusion and a lagging response to the Gulf Coast devastation. In an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Brown said he resigned “in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president.” He said he feared he had become a distraction. More corpses discovered in New Orleans, death toll rises NEW ORLEANS - The bodies of 45 patients have been found at a flooded-out hospital, a state health official said Monday amid other wise encouraging signs large and small that New Orleans is climb ing back two weeks after it was slammed by Hurricane Katrina. The bodies were found Sunday at 317-bed Memorial Medical Center, which was abandoned more than a week ago after it was surrounded by floodwaters, said Bob Johannesen, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Hospitals. The Louisiana death toll rose to 279, up from 197 Sunday, he said. Meanwhile, more than half of southeastern Louisiana’s water treatment plants were up and run ning again Monday, and business owners were issued passes into the city to retrieve vital records or equipment as New Orleans contin ued to stir back to life. Though 50 percent of the city remained flooded down from 80 percent during the darkest days and teams continued to collect hun dreds, perhaps thousands, of corps es, there were clear signs of recovery: Over the weekend, trash collection resumed, and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport reopened for cargo traffic. It planned to open to limited passenger service starting today. ASG's move to new facilities to increase funds for projects The UNC Association of Student Governments has approved a plan to move its offices deeper into downtown Raleigh. The organization, signed a three-year contract for space on West Hargett Street, and associa tion president Zach Wynne said he hopes to have the move completed by mid- to late-October. “They’re cheaper facilities, cleaner facilities, and closer-to-the legislature facilities,” he said. “I’m really excited.” Wynne said the new office is four blocks from the N.C. General Assembly, highlighting the ASG’s focus on legislative lobbying efforts. Under the terms of the new lease agreement, the group will be paying about $5,000 less per year, Wynne said, freeing up money for other projects. Blackout hits Los Angeles area, causing traffic jams LOS ANGELES Utility work ers connected the wrong wires and caused a blackout across major portions of Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, trapping people in elevators and snarling traffic at intersections, authori ties said. About 2 million people were affected by the resulting power surge and outages, which were reported from downtown west to the Pacific Coast and north into the San Fernando Valley. Much of the power, which failed at about 12:30 p.m., was restored within about 2 1/2 hours; all power was expected to be restored by 5 p.m. From staff and wire reports. Covenant enrolls 340, adds mentorship New program helps transition BY ERIN ZUREICK STAFF WRITER When freshman Ashley Zammitt learned she would attend UNC, she had two reasons to celebrate. Not only did Zammitt gain entry to her first choice of colleg es, but she will graduate from the University debt-free. As one of the beneficiaries of the Carolina Covenant Scholars pro gram, Zammitt’s full financial need will be covered by the University. “(It was) almost like a sigh of relief, but I was definitely excited about it too,” Zammitt said. “I feel like I can get an education and get a normal college experience with out having to worry about whether I can afford my meal plan.” Ml I I jj f* i „-t-MPlrf .MMt- 11 Cm \mm ,ggdßWp|)ii )| DTH/WHITNEY SHEFTE Chip Rich, chief of trauma and critical care for UNC Hospitals, shakes hands with patient Cheri D’Aby at a field hospital set up for Hurricane Katrina victims at a Kmart parking lot in Waveland, Miss. Rich was one of four UNC Hospitals officials who returned to Chapel Hill on Saturday. UNC FOUR RETURN FROM THE FRONTLINE BY STEPHANIE NEWTON STAFF WRITER Surrounded by photographs of shattered homes and makeshift encampments imag es that they say don’t capture the reality of Hurricane Katrina’s utter devastation UNC Hospitals staff recounted their 10-day opera tion in Waveland, Miss., on Monday after noon. “The mission has a purpose,” said Michele Rudisill, Mid Carolina Trauma Regional Advisory Committee coordinator. “For the people of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, we are saving their lives.” Hospital professionals joined Rudisill to acknowledge and applaud the collaborative efforts of North Carolina’s medical units. “We were deployed in the eye,” said Chip Rich, chief of trauma and critical care at UNC Hospitals and one of four hospital officials who returned Saturday. The group left Sept. 2 from Charlotte and stayed in Camp Shelby, Miss., before reach ing Waveland on Sept. 4. By 8 a.m. the next Greeks say stereotypes don’t tell whole story BY SHANNAN BOWEN SENIOR WRITER Brotherhood and sisterhood aren’t the only terms associated with UNC’s Greek system. A column that ran Aug. 30 in The Daily Tar Heel brought forth stereo types and negative claims against the recruitment process. Especially during recruit ment, mem bers of the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council strive to show others the meaning of ALOOK into GREEK LIFE today Igrcek life stereotypes their organizations. But leaders say they first have to dispel preconceived notions. “Fraternities and sororities have an elitist nature,” says IFC President Tom Merrihew. But, he says, that elite mentality mostly is true in that the system is selective in choosing its members. “That’s where a lot of stereotypes stem from,” Merrihew says. About 15 percent of UNC’s undergraduate population belongs to a Greek organization, of which there are more than 50, organized Top News Zammitt was one of the 340 stu dents accepted into this fall’s enter ing Carolina Covenant class. In order to be eligible, family income must fall at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Last year, the first for the pro gram, the University welcomed 225 scholars, but students had to fall at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. University officials released Friday statistics detailing this year’s incoming class of scholars. Of the 340 students entering this fall, 237 fell at or below 150 percent of the poverty level, while 103 landed between 151 percent and 200 percent, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. Students within the lower income bracket had an average SAT score of 1209, and students with higher family incomes scored day, the N.C. State Medical Assistance Team II Field Hospital was up and running in a Kmart parking lot with a six-bed treatment area. By midday, 15 beds were in place. “A mini-city has evolved,” Rudisill said. Complete with laundry services, wireless inter net and police patrol, the strip mall which the group found entirely blown out in the front, littered with cars and inhabited by an alligator is known now as “Camp Katrina.” Helicopters were landing by Sept. 6, and the crew responded to at least one helicopter landing per day. T\vo to three landings each day was not uncommon. “I thought I was in Vietnam or a war zone,” said Rudisill, whose sleeping quarters were next to the landing pad. “It was very surreal.” The approximately 80 statewide staff members who accompanied the UNC troupe saw 1,000 patients, 90 percent of whom needed acute care. Pharmacists, respiratory specialists and emergency medical person nel were among the volunteers. “I gave people Motrin, and they thought I into four councils. “We’re small,” Merrihew says. “We’re not any big percentage of the school.” Counting perceptions You’ve probably heard many of the common claims: phrases that label Greek members as party-crazy, designer-wearing, wealthy individu als who pay for their friends. Those are just a few descriptions Panhellenic President Kit Mac Lean has heard. “In terms of the image of a soror ity girl, I think there definitely is a stereotype,” she says. “And that very much is like Reese Witherspoon in ‘Legally Blonde.’” But, she says, those attributes aren’t always true. “You can’t say that (almost) 2,000 women are materialistic,” she says. Rainbow flip-flops, Croakies, New Balance shoes and shaggy hair are what most people hold as the image of fraternity men, Merrihew says. He says most fraternity brothers dress alike because they often have the same taste. “Clothing is just clothing,” Merrihew says. “I wear my polo shirt and New Balance shoes.” Mac Lean says she also hears 2005-06 Carolina Covenant students The second year of incoming Carolina Covenant students includes students whose family income is up to 200 percent of the poverty level. The number of new Covenant students enrolled this year is up 115 from the 225 in last year's inaugural class. Up to 150 percent of up to 200 percent First-generation < poverty level . poverty level . college students \^t 237 students enrolled 103 students enroiled 132 students enrolled 4.04 high school GPA | 4.12 high school GPA I 4,05 high school GPA f 1209 SAT score I 1251 SAT score f 1185 SAT score I 64% were minorities I 53% were minorities I 66% were minorities I 42% first-generation I 31% first-generation I college students I college students I SOURCE: OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT DTH/FEILDING CAGE an average of 1251. Asa whole, the entering fresh man class scored an average of 1299 on the test. Shirley Ort, director of scholar ships and student aid, noted that students who attend high schools saved their life,” said Ed Wilson of the UNC Emergency Department. The team dealt with lacerations, injuries from falls, crushed extremities, broken bones and a few car crashes due to faulty traffic lights at intersections, said Ben Zarzaur, a UNC critical care surgeon. “Once you’re there, you start to see the pattern of what’s going on,” he said. Rudisill, who was staffed in the triage tent, recalled patients whose houses were knee-deep in mud and a man who severely injured his arms while grasping a tree for more than 12 hours during the hurricane. The medical assistance team will be deployed for a minimum of 8 to 12 weeks, with shifts of Regional Advisory Committee volun teers leaving for a week every Thursday. “If you go, you need to go with a group,” Zarzaur said. “Otherwise, you’re going to be part of the problem and not the solution.” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu DTH/ALEXANDRA MONTEALEGRE Members of Zeta Tau Alpha are part of a Greek community that wants outsiders to focus more on their public service, scholarship and unity. tales that potential members must be wealthy to join a chapter. “How much money someone has ... really has no connection with whether or not they’re in a sorority,” she says. The average cost of joining a fra ternity or sorority (living out of the house) is about $1,600 per semes ter, which includes meals, local and TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 with more advanced classes or who have advantages like SAT-prep classes often are more prepared than students from lower-income backgrounds. “(There is) a strong correlation between SAT scores and income,” national dues, liability insurance, socials and other costs. Some chap ters without houses ask for about SSOO for dues per semester. Alcohol also pervades discus sions about the Greek community, officials say. “There is truth to the fact that a SEE PERCEPTIONS, PAGE 5 she said. The entering Covenant class also includes 132 first-generation college students. Their average SAT score was 1185, and 66 per- SEE COVENANT, PAGE 5 Student group names favorites Throws support based on creativity BY KATHY CHO STAFF WRITER A progressive student organiza tion will throw its support behind five candidates in the Chapel Hill town elections. Students for a Progressive Chapel Hill will endorse Mayor Kevin Foy and Town Council candidates Jason Baker, 4 f MUNICIPAL Laurin Easthom, Will Raymond and incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt, the group said Monday. “We expect candidates to have a record of service to Chapel Hill, a record of progressive leadership ... and a record of reaching out to students,” the organization said in a statement. The meaning of “progressive” includes standing up for the under privileged and supporting civil lib erties, said Tom Jensen, chair of the group. The decision was based on ques tionnaires and position papers submitted by the candidates. Only mayoral candidate Kevin Wolff did not respond, acknowledging that he had not lived in town long enough to meet the criteria. Jensen said that about 30 mem bers of the group were ready to vol unteer in the campaigns. SEE ENDORSEMENTS, PAGE 5 Council rescinds business fee hike Answers pleas of local merchants BY TED STRONG CITY EDITOR When is a fee not a fee? When it’s a tax, of course. That subtle distinction between fees for provided services and taxes levied to raise funds led to a large, and potentially cost ly, misunderstanding, said Aaron Nelson, executive director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. Monday the Chapel Hill Town Council voted to rectify that misun derstanding, decreasing a tax that many town businesses pay cap ping it at S3OO as opposed to the $750 adopted in June. The tax called the Privilege License Fee is levied by the town on the gross receipts of busi nesses not exempted or capped by the state legislature, like appli ance stores, wine shops and chain stores. The council had increased the fee for non-exempt or capped busi nesses when it approved its budget in June, but voted Monday for a more modest increase suggested by the chamber of commerce. “Everybody thinks that when you have a small business you make a lot of money and when you SEE LICENSES, PAGE 5 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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