VOLUME 113, ISSUE 72
N.C. leaders say gas tax repeal unlikely
CITE SCHEDULING CONCERNS,
HIGH COSTS AS DISADVANTAGES
BY KAVITA PILLAI
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
High gas prices have led some peo
ple to call for a temporary tax break at
the pump, but North Carolina’s legisla
tive leadership says no such action will
be taken in the state.
Though several states have suspend
ed the gas tax, the impact on revenue
House Speaker
Jim Black has
indicated that a
special session
will not happen.
HURRICANE KATRINA: THE AFTERMATH
School funds
incite debate
BY ERIC JOHNSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
A Bush administration plan to
provide federal aid for schools that
enroll Hurricane Katrina evacuees
is facing criticism from opponents
of school vouchers.
The proposal would allocate
$1.9 billion to help cover unex
pected expenses for schools that
accepted students displaced by
the storm, paying up to 90 percent
of the average per-student cost in
each state.
The amount of federal aid
received by each school or school
district would be determined by
the number of new students who
have enrolled.
But school voucher opponents
have balked at a provision that
would set aside up to S4BB million
to support those displaced children
enrolling in private schools.
“Federal hinds and public dollars
should go to public schools,” said
Denise Cardinal, a spokeswoman for
the National Education Association.
“We’ve never supported public funds
going to private schools.”
The U.S. Department of
Education noted that some of the
areas most affected by Katrina
had an unusually large portion of
students in private schools 25
percent in four of the hardest-hit
parishes of Louisiana, compared
with 11 percent nationally.
Cynthia A. Thornton, a mem
ber of the Texas State Board of
Education since 2001, said the
extraordinary circumstances of
SEE KIDS, PAGE 4
MULTIMEDIA
For a photo slideshow of
the DTH's coverage from
Louisiana and Mississippi
visit dailytarheel.com
Nation goes ‘all in’ on poker trend
Successive generations take to game
BY NATALIE HAMMEL
STAFF WRITER
Do a Google search on “Texas
Hold’em” and more than eight
million links appear at your
fingertips. Turn on the TV and
see amateurs, professionals and
celebrities alike all anteing up at
the table.
It appears that everyone,
including most college-aged
males, have jumped on the
poker bandwagon after Chris
Moneymakers 2003 World Series
of Poker victory proved that even
an average-joe accountant could
transform himself into a multi
millionaire.
“Anybody, regardless of how
CORRECTION
Due to a reporting error,
Monday’s front page story, “An
unbalanced plan,” incor
rectly stated that Top of Lenior
has 250 seats.
The facility actually has
seating for 650 people.
The Daily Tar Heel apolo
gizes for the error.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
olrr lailu ®ar Med
in North Carolina would be too great
for the idea to be considered, said Julie
Robinson, spokeswoman for House
Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg.
“It would cost upwards of $l2O mil
lion to suspend the tax for a month
with very little impact on the cost (of
gas),” she said.
According to the N.C. General
HOWTO HELP
The Red Cross
seeks volunteers and
donations. E-mail
occhapnc@intrex.net
for more info.
The Center for
Public Service
has foil listings of
way’s to help online at
www.unc.edu/cps
FUNDRAISERS
Supplies fundraiser
The DTH is
collecting new’ socks
and underwear all
month. We have a
drop-off box in Union
Suite 2409, and will be
in the Pit from 3 p.m.
to 6 p.m. Friday.
INSIDE TODAY
Yet another
Hurricane Rita smashes
Florida, heads toward
Katrina-ravaged areas
Page 4
LOCAL EVENTS
Dollar)? for Disaster
Student groups will
continue to canvass
classrooms for One
Card donations.
Carolina relief
The Katrina relief
planning committee
will meet. 6:30 p.m.,
Union, Room 3413
long they’ve played, can sign up
and win a huge amount of money,”
says Steve Carman, a 19-year-old
sophomore who is a regular player
himself.
“Kids have always looked for the
quickest and easiest way to make
money as possible," he says.
A study by the National
Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth
showed a huge increase in card
playing among males ages 14 to
22. The number of youth saying
they gambled in card games at
least once a week jumped from
6.2 percent in 2003 to 11.4 percent
last year.
SEE POKER, PAGE 4
online I dailytarheel.com
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR Read
about some of the DTH's new style changes
AND THE READERS SAY Discuss the
letters to the editor printed in this edition
A DRINK FROM THE WELL Discuss
Seth Dearmin's role on the UNC trustees
www.dailytarheel.com
Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division,
the state gas tax rate is 17.5 cents per
gallon plus 7 percent of the average
wholesale price during a six-month
period.
One penny of the tax brings in about
$54 million in revenue each year,
which feeds state highway funds. The
rate is set to change again Jan. 1.
To suspend the state’s gas tax, the
legislature would have to reconvene
in a special session, an action that
both Black’s and Senate President Pro
Tern Marc Basnight’s offices said is not
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DTH/SARA LEWKOWICZ
The view from inside of tent of Liz Mason-Deese (left to right), Jillian Johnson and Catherine Kronk out on the quad Thursday evening.
STAKING OUT REFORM
Student activists set up camp in Polk Place as part of a weeklong
schedule of activities, leading up to a Washington, D.C., protest.
BY KATIE CLINE
STAFF WRITER
Polk Place has long been regarded as one
of the more laid-back areas on campus.
But some students have taken that feeling
a step further this week, turning the lower
quad into their own living room.
A group of student activists has literally set
up camp in the lower portion of Polk Place
and is inviting students to come in, sit down
and discuss world issues.
The discussion will build into the student
activists’ trip this weekend to an anti-war
demonstration in Washington, D.C.
Anna Carson-Dewitt, a senior anthropol
ogy major, said she hopes the campsite will
provide people with a place to engage in
dialogue about issues in local, national and
international communities.
' ' ’ ' IT.. „ v .
DTH PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/BRADY NASH
Large-scale competitive poker tournaments are becoming increasingly
common among younger generations, especially at college campuses.
planned.
“The initial discussion stemmed
from the governor’s office,” said Tony
Caravano, assistant director of com
munications for Basnight, D-Dare.
“It was nothing more than a general
conversation.”
But Rep. Louis Pate, R-Wayne, said
he plans to make the conversation
more specific.
“I’m going to be sending out a letter
to all of the leadership advising them
of my feelings about it,” he said.
Pate said he doesn’t want to sus
“By creating a temporary community
here, we are hoping to explore together what
an ideal community can look like,” Carson-
Dewitt said.
The students have planned various other
activities this week that are intended to raise
awareness and allow people to voice their
opinions on the war in Iraq.
At the end of this week, students will par
ticipate in a protest in Washington D.C., led
by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan the
mother of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, who
has traveled the country spreading her ideals
since August.
Sheehan is most widely known for her
especially long stop at President Bush’s ranch
in Crawford, Texas.
Student activists will pile into six buses
for the protest, and many more students are
Protester’s NCSU visit
leads to campus spat
BY ERIN GIBSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
First Amendment rights are a hot
topic at N.C. State University after
protesters disrupted a Thursday
night rally for Cindy Sheehan’s
Bring Them Home Now Bus Tour.
The N.C. State Campus Greens
hosted the event to give students
a chance to hear from the mother
of a U.S. soldier killed while serv
ing in Iraq. The N.C. State College
Republicans also were scheduled
to hold a counter demonstration
in the university’s brickyard.
NCSU-American Civil Liberties
Union and Campus Greens now
are considering taking legal action
against the College Republicans for
features | page s
GOTTA HAVE IT
College campuses such as
UNC run wild with caffeine
addiction. Most rely on coffee
and other beverages to get
through busy schedules.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2005
pend the entire state tax, only the
variable portion. The Jan. 1 rate will
be set at the end of this month, and
the price spike following Hurricane
Katrina could alter significantly what
consumers pay.
“We certainly, in this world of high
priced gasoline, do not need to add 5,
6, 7 cents a gallon,” he said. “I think
we should call for a moratorium or a
cap or temporarily displace this gas
increase until the price comes back to
SEE TAX, PAGE 4
traveling by car, Carson-Dewitt said.
The students camping out said they hope
their efforts will spark the interest of stu
dents and inform them of the reasons to
protest.
A variety of students interested in engag
ing in dialogue came together to stage the
campsite, Carson-Dewitt said.
“It’s a group of students concerned with
the way government policies have affected
our communities,” she said.
Though the group will be living on the
lawn, they still will venture home for show
ers.
And the activism will not get in the way of
class, Carson-Dewitt said.
Activities for the week include speakers,
SEE PROTEST, PAGE 4
nation | pa&v n
CAN I SEEM SOME ID?
Opposition gathers against a
recent Georgia state law that
would require all voters to
present identification before
being able to vote.
violating their freedom of speech.
Elena Everett, chairwoman of the
N.C. Green Party, said she and the
College Republicans were told that
the groups were supposed to stay on
opposite sides of the brickyard.
“They had taken me in for a
couple special meetings before
hand because the permit office
knew there would be a counterac
tion,” she said. “They drew us out
a map and gave copies to us and to
the campus police, so it was clear
where we were going to be and
where they were going to be.”
College Republicans Vice
Chairman Adam Downing said the
SEE STATE, PAGE 4
weather
Y'V Partly Cloudy
H 88, L 64
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