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CLARIFICATION
A Wednesday online version of
the story, “Congress backs off on
ticket reform,” incorrectly implies
that Dustin Ingalls, speaker pro tem
of Student Congress, did not agree
with John Curtis, faculty adviser to
Congress, that the ticket-distribu
tion-policy bill would be discrimina
tory. The Daily Tkr Heel apologizes.
CAMPUS BRIEFS
Year's first transportation
meeting addresses parking
Representatives from the
Triangle Transit Authority, UNC
Hospitals and student government
met Wednesday for the advisory
committee on transportation’s first
meeting of the academic year.
“I wouldn’t say that this is the
most challenging year,” University
police chief Derek Poarch said. “But
I wouldn’t say it’s the most boring
year either primarily due to the
construction on Manning Drive.”
The meeting focused on the
state of parking on campus.
More parking spaces will be lost
because of the large amounts of
construction on campus, including
spaces in the Bell Tower lot and Art
Commons lot where anew music
building is to be built.
Child-development institute
receives sls million grant
The Frank Porter Graham
Child Development Institute was
awarded a sls million grant from
the U.S. Department of Education
Oct. 1 to be distributed over the
next five years.
The grant enables the center’s
technical assistance to states deal
ing with special-needs children to
continue.
The National Early Childhood
Tfechnical Assistance Center is a proj
ect within the institute that focuses
on the needs of disabled children.
“We provide technical assistance
training and consultation to states
and state agencies that provide
policies and services throughout
local communities to serve almost
one million children in this nation,”
said Pascal Trohanis, director of
NECTAC.
This is the second grant for
NECTAC since its start-up grant
in 2001.
Apply for graduate student
research award by Friday
AnnlicatinnK for the-2nn7 tn-aHn
ate student Impact Awards are due
Friday.
Sponsored by the Graduate
Education Advancement Board,
Impact Awards recognize gradu
ate students who have conducted
research that specifically helps
North Carolina.
Award recipients receive a
SI,OOO cash prize, and they are
recognized at die graduate school’s
annual recognition event.
They also serve as graduate stu
dent ambassadors.
The award has seen research
on such topics as the link between
drinking and depression, snowfall
in the Appalachian Mountains and
prison construction as an economic
development option.
Visit www.dailytarheel.com for
the full story.
CITY BRIEFS
Students arrested on drug
charges after home search
Three UNC students were
arrested on a slew of drug charges
Monday, according to Chapel Hill
police reports.
Reports state Scott Kevin
Russell, 19, Paul Benjamin Peters,
19, and David Ross Algood, 21, all
of4oß Cotton St, were arrested just
before midnight at their home.
Police spokeswoman Jane Cousins
said officers received some informa
tion in the last two weeks about pos
sible drug activity and conducted
undercover buys before obtaining
and serving a search warrant
Cousins said officers found 3.8
grams of cocaine, 65 grams of
marijuana, 11 adderall pills, seven
depressant pills, drug parapher
nalia and $21,005 cash during the
search Monday.
Officers arrested Russell and
Peters on felony charges of posses
sion with intent to sell or distribute
marijuana, possession of cocaine,
possession of a Schedule TV con
trolled substance, possession of a
Schedule II controlled substance
and misdemeanor possession of
drug paraphernalia, according to
reports.
Reports state Algood was
charged with felony possession of
cocaine and misdemeanor pos
session of drug paraphernalia.
Both Algood and Russell also
were charged with maintaining a
dwelling for the purpose of selling
drugs.
All three men were transported
to Orange County Jail in lieu of
$2,500 bail, reports state.
They were scheduled to appear
in court Tuesday.
From staff and wire reports
UNC reviews vendor options
3 vying to replace computer system
BY ELISABETH GILBERT
STAFF WRITER
The University is one step closer
to selecting anew computer system
vendor.
UNC’s evaluation teams met
Wednesday to assess which of
three competing vendors can fulfill
UNC’s system requirements most
effectively.
The system that University offi
cials are looking to replace includes
student services, human resources
and financing.
Last May, Information
Technology Services developed a
DTH/SARAH NEAL SIMPSON
Former UNC men's basketball coach Dean Smith receives a flu shot from nurse Pam McCall of the Orange County Health Department
on Wednesday. Smith spoke to residents of the Chapel Hill Senior Center about the importance of getting influenza vaccinations.
COACHING FLU PREVENTION
Dean Smith speaks at Chapel Hill Senior Center
BY DAVE PEARSON
STAFF WRITER
Dean Smith is not a doctor.
But the lack of a medical degree did not
stop him from speaking about the impor
tance of influenza vaccinations at the Chapel
Hill Senior Center on Wednesday.
Smith, who has spoken at flu prevention
events for the past six years, spoke about the
late Dr. W. Paul Biggers giving him his flu
shot during basketball practices.
“It’s the best shot you’ll ever take,” Smith
said to about 30 people.
State Health Director Dr. Leah Devlin
said thousands of people, most of whom are
above the age of 65, die fiom influenza each
year.
Despite a shortage of flu vaccinations
last year, Devlin said she anticipates having
enough to go around this season and urges
Officials approve
Festival of Lights
BY EMILY GALLIMORE
STAFF WRITER
Franklin Street is set to shine
this holiday season.
Members of the Chapel Hill
Downtown Partnership approved
a proposal for the Franklin Street
Festival of Lights at a meeting
Wednesday.
The festival will kick off with a
holiday open house Dec. 3 from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. and will continue
through Jan. 6.
The 35-day celebration, which will
cost an estimated $16,000, will focus
on illuminating Franklin Street,
as the road is named for Benjamin
Ftanklin, the lather of electricity.
Dining the open house, Franklin
Street stores will be urged to offer
holiday specials and refreshments.
“We’d run pedicab rides in the
street,” partnership executive direc
tor Liz Parham said. “We could use
the bus stop areas as pedicab and
carriage stops.”
The finale of the open house will
feature the lighting of a community
Christmas tree.
Partnership members are work
ing toward confirming a site in the
memorial garden of University
Baptist Church on the corner of
Franklin and Columbia streets.
Members approved the purchase
Top News
list of more than 2,600 functional
requirements for the new computer
system, called Enterprise Resource
Planning.
The requirements include every
thing from recognizing invalid
Social Security numbers on admis
sion applications to adding anew
department or campus to the sys
tem.
The new system must also be
able to convert data, including full
academic records from as far back
as 1968, said Stephanie Szakal,
assistant vice chancellor for enter
prise applications.
people of all ages to get vaccinated.
“It’s not too late to get it in December and
into January,” Devlin said, saying that’s when
North Carolina’s peak flu season occurs.
Smith, who celebrated his 75th birthday
in February, smiled when saying that no, he
had never had the flu.
The Department of Health and Human
Services estimates that about 36,000 people
will die from the influenza virus this year.
Those most in need of vaccinations are
infants, people more than 50 years old, preg
nant women and health care workers.
Andrea Held, a public health educator
for the immunization branch of the N.C.
Division of Public Health, said washing your
hands with warm soapy water and staying
home if you are sick are common sense ways
of not spreading the virus.
Held also allayed fears of a pandemic.
of a 22-foot commercial grade tree
unless the church agrees to plant
a live tree.
The two-story artificial tree
would be an annual Franklin Street
fixture and would be stored by the
town after each holiday season. It
would come from Raleigh in four
pieces, already covered in lights,
and would be anchored to the
ground with airplane cables.
To add to the effect, businesses,
fraternities and sororities will be
encouraged to light up their Franklin
Street locations for the festival.
The corner space at 100 E.
Franklin St. will host Santa Claus
and other costumed characters every
weekend of the festival.
The group is conducting a search
for carolers and people to dress in
costume and carry lights.
The partnership and Friends of
Downtown are planning a window
display contest, which will judge
the windows on use of light. WCHL
1360-AM has agreed to provide free
advertising for businesses with the
best fronts.
“We hope to really grow and
expand on and incorporate all the
holidays through the winter season
that center around lights,” Parham
SEE FESTIVAL, PAGE 4
Three vendors Oracle/
People Soft, SunGard/Banner, and
SAP responded with reports
on how they intend to meet those
needs.
The reports detail which needs
vendors could meet immedi
ately and which would require
more time, the ways in which the
requirements would be met and
the approximate cost of meeting
them.
Beginning Nov. 7 representa
tives from each of the vendors
will come to campus to dem
onstrate their software and its
ability to meet specific system
requirements.
“We know they can all do it,”
She said each year there are different
strains of influenza, such as last year’s HSNI
avian flu, that are candidates for a pandem
ic. Public health groups are ready, she said,
even though the chances of a serious out
break are low.
For those afraid of needles, Held described
the flu shot as “minimally painful” and said a
mild soreness in the arm is usually the only
negative side effect of immunization.
Event organizer Myra Austin, the well
ness coordinator for the Orange County
Department on Aging, opened the event by
reminding those in attendance that flu sea
son runs from October until April.
Anne Butzen, senior associate of the out
patient team at the Carolinas Center for
Medical Excellence, was there with the Flu
Clinic Finder, an online resource at www.
thecarolinascenter.org that enables people
to find flu shots by zip code in either of the
SEE FLU PREVENTION, PAGE 4
Groups praise Allred’s involvement
BY COLIN CAMPBELL
STAFF WRITER
When he ran for student body
president in February, James Allred
touted a platform that emphasized
accountability to student groups.
Halfway through Allred’s term,
many student leaders said they’re
impressed with his efforts to deliv
er on this promise, but both Allred
and leaders outside his administra-
tion said more
can be done.
“I think
what he’s
doing is a great
start,” said
Today:
\ Student
k x*fl at ' ons
Renae McPherson, president of the
Black Student Movement, noting
that unlike his predecessors, Allred
attends some BSM meetings.
Allred also is involved with the
senior class and is working with offi
cers to plan the senior class address.
“I can pretty much guarantee he’ll
be at senior class events,” said Senior
Class President Meg Petersen.
But Allred’s involvement often
goes beyond attending meetings.
Julian Wooten, co-chairman
of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgender-Straight Alliance,
said Allred has aided in efforts to
secure benefits for same-sex part
ners at the University.
“Helping with that definitely
sent the message that he is fight
ing for us,” he said.
But Wooten, who serves as
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006
Szakal said. “It’s whether they can
do it the way we want”
The decision also will be based
on recommendations from other
schools that use software from
those vendors, as well as site vis
its.
Among the schools UNC solic
ited recommendations from are
East Carolina, North Carolina
Central and Duke universities.
All three schools use one or more
of the University’s prospective
providers.
Evaluation teams must submit
their final decisions by Dec. 8, one
week after the end of the dem-
SEE VENDORS, PAGE 4
“Ifyou encompass the...people working
for the executive branch, we’ve tried to
draw from allfacets of campus life.”
JAMES ALLRED, STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT
chairman of student government’s
minority affairs committee, said he
is one of the only GLBTSA mem
bers in the administration.
McPherson also expressed con
cerns about the diversity of student
government.
“There isn’t as much diversity as
some would like to see,” she said.
“More has been done than before,
but that doesn’t mean more can’t
be done.”
But Allred said his administra
tion includes members of BSM,
Chispa, Sangam, Young Democrats
and College Republicans.
“If you encompass the totality of
people working for the executive
branch, we’ve tried to draw from
all facets of campus life,” he said.
Allred’s administration reaches
out to student groups in several
ways. Through the student life
committee, for example, the work
of student groups is facilitated.
Senior Adviser Doug Weiss is
charged with working directly
with student groups. Weiss has
been working with environmental
groups to put paper recycling bins
in Davis Library.
Foreign
drama
to take
stage
Studies struggles
in India province
BY MORGAN ELLIS
ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR
With every chaotic act that
occurs, there always seems to be
an artistic voice to make light of
those events.
Ratan Thiyam’s Chorus
Repertory Theatre will present
“Nine Hills One Valley” as a part
of the Carolina Performing Arts
Series at 7:30 p.m. today and 8
p.m. Friday at Memorial Hall
to shed light on the struggle in
Thiyam’s homeland and the rest of
the world.
“I think the kind of work that
I’ve been doing is known to every
human being on this planet because
we are suffering from many things,”
said Thiyam, the production’s writ
er and director, who hails from the
easternmost province of India,
Manipur.
Thiyam spoke to various class
es throughout the week at UNC,
including courses that focus on law
and drama. He most recently spoke
to students in a first-year seminar
taught by the series’ executive
director for the arts, Emil Kang.
His 26-member Chorus
Repertory Theatre, from the same
locale, will portray the strife and
violence associated with the poli
tics, economics and traditional val
ues of their home.
Kang described Manipur as
one of the most remote locations
he’s ever been to, and he noted the
military presence in the area.
But the violence isn’t just spe
cific to Manipur.
“The morning cup of coffee or
tea becomes bitter,” ThiyflpMNM
“When reading the newspaper head
lines, there’s no difference between
a small place or a bigger place.”
Kang said the production refer
the bombings of Hiroshima aria
Nagasaki.
But Kang said it also refers to
ancient times.
Thiyam said that Manipur is
rooted in art and culture and that
he tried to tie together the different
times in “Nine Hills One Valley,”
specifically in terms of what he
calls the modem man.
“After all, what is a modern
man?” he asked.
“A mix of past and present.”
All of these themes come together
in what The Washington Post called
a “visually arresting” presentation.
Kang said that the set is liter
ally dark, and that the visuals are
accompanied by live music.
SEE NINE HILLS, PAGE 4
ATTEND THE PLAY
Time: 7:30 p.m. today; 8 p.m.
Friday
Location: Memorial Hall
Info: www.carolinaperformingarts.
org
“One thing we would like to
increase is going out to student
groups,” said Christie Cunningham,
Allred’s chief of staff.
Allred said he is working to restart
the Student Organization Council,
a group created to bring together a
variety of groups on campus.
“Until we get that council back
up and running, we’re hindered in
our ability (to work with groups),”
Allred said.
He said student government
should not take up the initiatives
of students groups but should aid
them in other ways.
“One of the biggest things we
can do is improve the room reser
vation process,” Allred said.
Allred and his cabinet also are
working on plans to take out the
bowling alley in the basement of
the Student Union and find other
uses for the space.
Cunningham said the replace
ment which is yet to be deter
mined should address the needs
of student groups.
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
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