6
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2005
Family relieved by law’s passing
Hopes to prevent future incidents
BY JABEEN AHMAD
STAFF WRITER
Two years to the day after
Stephen Gates’ hit-and-run death,
his family finally has a dim silver
lining.
Gov. Mike Easley signed into
law House Bill 217, better known
as Stephen’s Law, on Sunday.
“In the past two years we have
had very little to celebrate,” said Pat
Gates, mother of Stephen Gates.
“The signing of Stephen’s Law
brings hope out of a tragic situa
tion.”
The law amends the current
North Carolina hit-and-run stat
ute to hold not only drivers but
also passengers accountable for
failure to stop in the event of an
accident.
It goes into effect Dec. 1.
“These laws send the message,
once again, that North Carolina
is tough on crime,” Easley said in
INTEGRATION
FROM PAGE 3
Perry says he believes divisions
are formed not only along racial
lines. “More likely than not, peo
ple who share interests you’re pas
sionate about come from the same
background,” he says.
Dolbee says he thinks self-selec
tion plays a role.
“You gravitate toward people
you suspect have had similar life
experiences,” he says. “A lot of
it is your socioeconomic back
ground.”
Senior Ana Cema, president of
the Carolina Hispanic Association,
says she supports integration but
stresses maintaining a cultural
identity.
“I think it’s important to inte
grate, but I also think it’s impor
tant to keep in mind what’s
important to your culture,” she
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a press release on Stephen’s Law
and other vehicular legislation
Sunday.
After months of work on the
legislation, Gates’ family was glad
the law named in the former Tar
Heel Sports Network reporter’s
honor is now in effect, but wished
they had been present for the sign
ing.
“We had hoped to be present
for the signing, but we were disap
pointed and surprised that it was
privately signed yesterday,” Pat
Gates said.
She said that her son is still a
part of her life.
“We continue to learn things
about him. We think about him
and talk about him a lot,” she
said.
Gates died in a hit-and
run accident in 2003 when an
SUV driven by then-N.C. State
University senior Emily Caveness
says.
Having explored the causes of
self-segregation, the next question
is: How can East meet West?
All the interviewed students
considered diversity and integra
tion to be desirable.
Some say the problem cannot be
solved, that it’s human nature for
the groups to be divided.
The individual is key, Peny says.
University officials should work
to foster interactions among races,
he says, but ultimately, individuals
must “branch out” and leave their
comfort zone.
Dolbee agrees. “When you’re
growing up, you have to be with
a diverse group of people,” he
says.
“Then it’s not ‘those people’ any
more it’s ‘my friends.’”
Contact the Features Desk
atfeatures@unc.edu.
m j s
Former Tar Heel
Sports Network
reporter
Stephen
Gates was
killed by a hit
and-run driver.
struck him.
Caveness stopped the vehicle
about 800 yards from the accident
and switched seats with another
passenger, Rabah Samara, before
leaving the area.
Both Caveness and Samara were
charged with fleeing the scene of
the accident.
But Samara was acquitted of all
charges due to a loophole in the
previous hit-and-run statute.
Caveness pleaded guilty to a
lesser charge.
The judge at Samara’s trial
drew attention to the possibility of
acquittal due to the loophole, Pat
Gates said.
In order for a person to be held
responsible for hit-and-run under
the previous statute, he or she alone
must hit the victim, cause injury,
acknowledge the hit and flee, said
N.C. Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-
Guilford.
“Because different drivers did the
ZAFFRON
FROM PAGE 3
proposed satellite campus.
“We’re one of the players, and
some of the property is in our
jurisdiction,” he said.
“What I think is interesting is
the proposal The Village Project
put forward,” said Zafffon, noting
the more housing and less parking
suggestion. “It’s really worthwhile
to take a deep breath, step back and
take a look at these really thoughtful
approaches.”
Zaffron said University can play
a role in helping the town build a
Bolin Creek preservation area.
“Ultimately what we’d like the
University to do is to put (Bolin
Creek) into perpetual conserva
tion,” he said.
Zaffron would like to see the
University use the cutting-edge
storm water retention techniques
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News
“The signing
ofStephens law
brings hope out
of a tragic
situation.”
PAT GATES, MOTHER
hitting and the fleeing in the Gates
case, no one was held accountable
for his death,” she said of the inci
dent.
After the incident, the Gates
family worked with Harrison to
amend the loophole in the state’s
current law.
“Stephen’s Law closes the loop
hole exposed by the tragic acci
dent of Stephen Gates,” Harrison
said.
“Now, both the driver and the
passenger are held accountable.”
The stricter text might prevent
future incidents.
“Hopefully, the law will dis
courage hit-and-run,” Harrison
said.
“It will also make it easier to
prosecute hit-and-run.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
the Pacifica mixed-use develop
ment already has in place.
He also wants to push for dou
bling the square footage of market
able space downtown.
“We’re just flat out of space down
town,” he said. “That speaks to the
success we’ve had as a cultural dis
trict. We want to extend the notion
of a community living room.”
Zaffron also wants to push for
stricter affordable housing rules.
“According to interpretations
of state law, we’re not allowed to
do strictly inclusionary zoning,” he
said.
“We’ve been working on these
work-arounds.... My preference is
to go back to stronger mechanisms.
“You have to be willing to be
creative. It takes years and it takes
persistence.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
BEST BUDDIES
FROM PAGE 3
“I enjoy spending time getting
to know all the buddies, because
they each have really great charac
teristics,” she says.
“We all realize how much the
buddies appreciate our presence
and effort in making their every
day lives more fulfilling.”
Lambert says she has noticed her
buddy become more outgoing dur
ing the course of their friendship.
“We were pretty good friends
from the get-go,” she says. “As time
has gone on, her sense of humor and
confidence have sky-rocketed.”
Nohe says being in the program
gives buddies a chance to do nor
mal activities they’ve missed out
on, such as listening to music in a
student’s residence hall.
“It’s so normal to so many peo
ple, but to them it’s such an oppor
tunity,” she says.
These experiences help buddies
learn to get along with co-work
ers and make future friends, says
MOREHEAD
FROM PAGE 3
lenges, and shoot for something
better,” he said.
Chesebrough plans on getting
the center connected to other aca
demic fields, through institutions
such as the Ackland Art Museum.
His ideas for making changes
in the planetarium are in line with
what is expected of the new direc
tor.
“Museums are changing,” said
Peter White, chairman of the search
committee and professor of biol
ogy. “David Chesebrough is a super
CHILTON
FROM PAGE 3
use,” he said. “I think that we need
to build on our partnerships with
the nonprofit organizations that
do this kind of work.”
In addition to affordable hous
ing concerns, Chilton also stresses
his ideas for economic issues.
One way Chilton said smart
growth could be addressed in
downtown Carrboro is by changing
the way projects are approved.
Chilton said the Board of
Adjustment now approves applica
tions for developments that mea
sure less than one acre the size
of most downtown properties.
Chilton said that with some
larger downtown projects, having
the aldermen review applications is
important because they are able to
negotiate with the developer.
Chilton proposed that the review
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“We’re hoping that more and
more what we’re doing is creating
an inclusive society,” she says.
Participants also say another
important characteristic of Best
Buddies is that it’s a mutual learn
ing experience.
Sophomore Sarah Truluck, now
co-chairwoman of the program,
joined UNC Best Buddies at the
beginning of last year after spot
ting a poster in her residence hall.
“It helps teach you a lot about
not judging people at face value,”
she says. “You just have to be
patient.”
She says what she likes most
about her interaction with the
buddies is their expressiveness.
“They’re just really not afraid to
say, ‘I love you,’” she says.
“It’s just really touching because
a lot of people our age are wary of
saying ‘I love you’ or being affec
tionate.”
Contact the Features Editor
atfeatures@unc.edu.
leader in the museum field.”
White said the candidates will
not be compared with each other
until the end of the forums, which
run until Oct. 12. Committee
members decided against setting
a deadline, instead favoring an
exhaustive process.
The next candidate forum is for
Ryan Wyatt, science visualizer for
the American Museum of Natural
History. It is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Wednesday in the Morehead
Faculty Lounge.
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
be based on building size.
When it comes to preserving the
Bolin Creek corridor, Chilton also
has some thoughts.
“One, we need to designate
a preservation area that will be
sort of our long-term plan for
what we want to see on the cor r
ridor,” he said. “I believe we need
to improve Carrboro’s stream buf
fers, which are in some cases as a
little as 15 feet.”
Chilton said he likes the walk
ability of Carrboro for him, his
wife and two sons.
“I live real near downtown,
and it’s great to be able to walk
to Weaver Street Market and the
Farmer’s Market and cultural
events downtown,” Chilton said.
“That’s what we love about being
in Carrboro.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.