VOLUME 114, ISSUE 56
Police out in
full force for
first week
BY KAYLA CARRICK
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
While walking from one frater
nity house to another along East
Franklin Street on Tuesday night,
sophomore Alison Bolick was
arrested on charges of underage
possession of a malt beverage.
“I had a beer in my hand, and
the cop was just like, ‘Hey little girl,
come here’,” she said.
With students returning, charg
es such as Bolick’s increase.
To deal with students’ return,
Maj. Brian Curran said the Chapel
Hill Police Department puts extra
foot-patrol officers downtown and
restricts vacation days for officers.
“Undoubtedly this is a busy time
for this,” he said. “Many people are
on their own for the first time, and
there’s pressure from peers.”
Curran said officers focus on
downtown but also respond to
calls, mostly noise complaints.
Bolick said she was surprised to
see officers patrolling so heavily and
had mixed feelings about the arrest
“I think there’s a bunch of peo
ple underage drinking,” she said. “I
don’t think at certain points they
should be less strict.”
Curran said the department is
constantly shifting resources to
accommodate different needs.
“It’s pretty much like this every
year,” he said. “Kids don’t change
all that much. They come to college
with the same expectations.”
Officers run compliance checks
at bars and grocery stores and N.C.
Alcohol Law Enforcement officers
run checks at bars and nightclubs
Professor takes
first-day leap
BY ERIN ZUREICK
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Stephen Meyers began his first
day of class Wednesday after
noon in a small basement room in
Mitchell Hall.
Meyers wasn’t taking notes
he was leading an advanced
geology course, the second he has
taught at UNC.
“It’s all new right now,” he said.
Amid the hustle and bustle of
the semester’s start, first-year stu
dents aren’t the only ones adjust
ing to UNC. Professors such as
Meyers are faced with learning
the ins and outs as they try to plan
their first courses.
Meyers was a teaching assistant
in graduate school and led a UNC
course last spring, but he said he’s
still trying to find his comfort zone
with teaching.
“It’s different when you’re actu
ally organizing a course,” he said.
One of about 40 new tenure
track faculty members in the
College of Arts and Sciences,
Meyers received his Ph.D from
Northwestern University and
then spent several years at Yale
University conducting post-doc
toral research.
He said he was attracted to the
University partly because of an
attractive start-up package he was
offered including a $300,000
X-ray fluorescence care-scanner
to help him conduct research.
Meyers said UNC’s investment
in his research made him confi
dent that he had the University’s
support.
“It was an offer I couldn’t
refuse,” he said.
Dennis Mumby, chairman of
CORRECTION
Due to an editing error, a
Wednesday front-page story,
“Police to beef up down
town presence,” implied that
$250,000 would pay for a
13-member police unit. The
money will pay for five new
police officers. The Daily Thr
Heel apologizes for the error.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
oh t iatlu ®ar Mrrl
in Chapel Hill. During the main
drinking hours, agents watch to
make sure bartenders check IDs.
The ALE also sponsors a train
ing course on how to identify fake
IDs and recognize someone who’s
been drinking excessively.
Lauren Wilson, an ALE agent
who patrols Chapel Hill, said she
checks in on bars at a steady pace
throughout the year.
“This is prime time for arrests
for underage drinking, but we still
enforce all year,” she said.
Wilson would not disclose where
or when she usually patrols, but
Jeff Lasater, ALF.’s Raleigh district
supervisor, said agents tend to go
places that historically have sold to
underage people.
Several minors were arrested
last weekend at 300 W. Rosemary
St., the address of Pantana Bob’s.
Manager Chris Blindenbacher said
he’s increased security to watch for
people trying to sneak in.
“I believe the ALE does crack
down on us at the beginning of the
year,” Blindenbacher said. “They
came in here to check IDs a couple
of nights ago.”
And last weekend might only be
the beginning.
“We weren’t really worried about
last weekend because parents were
still here,” Curran said. “This week
end will be different. People have
a few classes under their belt but
realize they don’t have any home
work yet.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
jjjjjgA iC<j
DTH/EDYTHE MCNAMEE
Faculty member Stephen Meyers
presents a slide as he lectures
during the first meeting of his
advanced geology course.
the department of communication
studies, said UNC must put togeth
er competitive job packages if it
hopes to attract top professors.
“We’re competing against other
major public and private univer
sities,” he said. “We have to offer
resources that allow them to get
their research done.”
He said University officials seek
faculty members they think can
become leaders in their fields.
“We’re looking for somebody
with a lot of potential, somebody
who is going to augment the offer
ings we currently have.... some
one who is able to teach a variety
SEE FIRST DAY, PAGE 4
online | cliulytarhaelcom
24-HOUR AFFAIR Earth Fare gears up
for a celebration to promote its new hours
SCIENCE WARS Geologist argues
'pluton' can't be used by astronomers
DOWNTOWN GUIDES Partnership
decides to field a group of ambassadors
www.dailytarheel.com
CAMPUS COMES TO LIFE
BY KATIE HOFFMANN
FEATURES EDITOR
By taking snapshots of you
on your-first days of school, your
mother tracked your progress
each year, making that initial
day a benchmark of growth for
the following year.
Although the days of fresh cray
ons —and probably your mother’s
pictures are long gone, the idea
stays the same.
Whether freshman or senior,
Wednesday’s first day of school
marked a turning point
First time around
Walking into a college class
room for the first time can be a bit
like walking into the lion’s den.
“It was massive. There were
about 300 people in there,” said
freshman Jordan Puckett.
“It was a bit overwhelming,”
echoed freshman Ellen Beverly.
For freshmen, the first day of
college means navigating a for
eign campus armed with maps
and being forced to the low end of
the totem pole.
“You’re starting all over again,”
said Beverly, a Durham native.
“There are a lot of older people
who are intimidating.”
Not only are they at the bot
tom once more, but freshmen
are thrust into a sea of thousands
of unknown students.
“(My class) was probably close
to my whole senior class being in
one big auditorium,” Puckett said.
“There are a lot of new faces.”
But besides trekking up from
Hinton James Residence Hall
and dealing with the long lines at
Lenoir Dining Hall, most fresh
men said it was an exciting day.
“It wasn’t as scary as everyone
said it would be,” Beverly said.
The second season
They’ve put away their maps,
and they just might have been
lucky enough to get out of South
Campus.
With one foot up on the food
chain, sophomores said one year
makes a world of difference.
“I feel like I’m starting with
more experience than I had last
year,” said sophomore Charlotte
Townes. “It’s a continuation.”
“I kind of know what I’m look
ing for now in classes and pro
fessors,” she said.
She added that she has become
more comfortable at UNC now.
“Instead of just being one per-
Ticket policy to debut
BY STEPHANIE NEWTON
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Leaders are cautiously optimistic about the
new online student ticket distribution system
set to be up and running Friday.
The program, which wiped away the bracelet
system, was unveiled this summer and quickly
drew scrutiny from students who said the online
process will take away from tradition.
But those central to the switch said students
should see how it works before being critical.
“We want to go through it and see first
hand, instead of just talking about (students’)
potential fears,” Carolina Athletic Association
President Rachel High said.
Students can sign up to enter the online
lottery for two home football games starting
at 10 a.m. The system will serve as a trial run
for basketball ticket distribution.
Those hoping to attend the Sept. 9 Virginia
Tech football game must sign up by 5 p.m.
Tuesday. The deadline for the Nov. 18 N.C.
State game is 5 p.m. Oct. 28.
“There’s always the chance there could be
some hiccups,” said Clint Gwaltney, director
of ticket operations. “We’ll be fielding those
calls and trying to help everyone we can.”
Rolling out the system during football sea
son gives officials time to smooth out any bumps
before basketball season begins, Gwaltney said.
It also will ensure that Kenan Stadium can
accommodate students during these high inter
est football games, which both are sold-out.
City | page 4
EAST VS. WEST
Top of the Hill brings an
added incentive to the heated
Chapel Hill High School vs.
East Chapel Hill High School
sports rivalry.
DTH/COURTNEY POTTER
The Pit is alive with activity Wednesday afternoon as students shuffle across campus. Students young
and old had different experiences during the first day of class, ranging from confusion to nostalgia.
son in a big crowd, you’re looking
for people you know,” Townes said.
“I feel like I’m home now.”
Seasoned veterans
After two years of hard work,
juniors can finally call themselves
upperclassmen.
“It went by really fast,” said junior
Sarah Mian. “It seemed like just
yesterday that I was a freshman.”
Don’t be fooled, however
even though they’re upperclass
men now, juniors still have their
freshman moments.
“It’s really noticeable who the
freshmen are,” Mian said. “But
even as a junior some names are
still really unfamiliar to me.”
But already on the first day,
school is overshadowed by what
many juniors labeled a looming
preoccupation graduation.
“I’m not thinking of classes as
much because I have some big
decisions ahead of me,” said junior
Varsha Samaroo.
“It’s dawned on me that it’s com
ing up a lot faster than I thought.”
A final lap
After a semester abroad, senior
Christine Deaver made her return
Sign-ups for basketball tickets open at 10
a.m. Oct. 2.
“We’re going to do everything we can to get
the word out,” Gwaltney said. “We’ll evaluate it
as it goes, get feedback on a real-time basis, see
what’s successful. “It will take a little bit of time,
but I think it will be well received in the end.”
There is no advantage to signing up first
the lottery does not guarantee students a
ticket to any game. Seating assignments also
are random for all student ticket orders.
Some of the chatter surrounded the system’s
inability to let large groups of friends sit togeth
er an option under the prior method.
“There are those that say, ‘Were just die
hard fans, and we don’t care where we sit,’”
Gwaltney said. “We hope that’s the approach
that’s taken.”
One Cards still will be required to gain
admittance to the Smith Center and Kenan
Stadium, along with the printed ticket.
Exhibition games will not require a printed
ticket just a One Card.
For the Duke basketball game distribution,
the athletic department will work with the
University registrar to identify seniors who
have registered with the online system.
Students can request a maximum of two
tickets per One Card and must indicate their
preference regarding riser seating standing
positions that will be numbered sequentially
to prevent a camp-out, Gwaltney said.
But he emphasized that the process
dive | page 5
KNOW YOUR MUSIC
Need to know what to do this
weekend? Not familiar with
the arts scene? Check out the
new-look Diversions section
for some guidance.
fit ’*2^
J
DTH/COURTNEY POTTER
Freshman Jeehyun Yoe searches for Steele Building. She was one of
many students who used maps to navigate campus on the first day.
to campus.
“It’s been really nostalgic,”
she said of her first days back.
“I didn’t really appreciate the
classes before.”
With three first days of UNC
under their belts, seniors said
Wednesday was more relaxed
compared to their first year.
“You don’t have the butter
flies,” said senior Jim Brewer.
shouldn’t affect the atmosphere.
“Coach Williams’ biggest thing is that he
wants students there early,” he said. “He wants
to walk out there on the court, look up and see
the seats filled. “Trust me. He notices.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
How to use tiie new ticket system:
1. Logging into your account
► Go to www.tarheelblue.com
► Click on *Buy Tickets Online" and then
the link for "Student Tickets”
► Enter your personal information, create a
password and dick "Next Step"
2. Requesting the student ticket lottery
► Click on the name of the game you want
to attend
► Enter the number “ 1" in the box and
“Add to Cart*
► Clide "Continue shopping’ and repeat the
above steps for additional games
► When finished, dick "Check Out"
► You will receive an e-mail confirmation
3. Confirming and printing tickets
► If notified by e-mail that you received
tickets through the lottery, you will have four
days to confirm
this day in history
AUG. 24,1864...
A letter from Joseph Engelhard
told of a battle involving N.C.
men where Robert E. Lee said,
"There they stand as if they
have tar on their heels.”
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006
IMllillllWPHMßi
“You know what’s expected.”
But the seniors’ first day was not
entirely devoid of nervousness.
“I can’t believe it’s here,”
Brewer said. “But you want to
enjoy your whole year without
having in the back of your mind
that it’s the last hurrah.”
Contact the Features Editor
atfeatures@unc.edu.
weather
Sunny
H 91, L 67
index
police log 2
calendar 2
games 5
sports 7
opinion 14