ftp. Serving the students and the University community since 1893 A
* v
I
The DTH turns 114
today. See page 5
for the story.
VOLUME 115, ISSUE 1
Easley budget could reduce tuition cap
BY ERIN FRANCE
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
RALEIGH Gov. Mike Easley’s
2007-09 budget could have a sig
nificant impact on resident under
graduate tuition for UNC-system
students.
The full scale of that impact will
take several months to realize as
the budget goes through revisions
in the N.C. Senate and House.
Easley released his recommen
dations Thursday, and they include
an increase of 11.3 percent for uni
versity funding.
According to system President
Erskine Bowles’ four-year tuition
policy, an increase of that amount
would lower the current 6.5 per
cent cap on resident undergradu
ate tuition, effectively limiting
The Daily Tar Heel followed student body president candidate Nick Neptune from the outset of his
campaign to give readers an inside look at what it takes to seek the highest office in UNC student government
Inside the trenches
r iflflrv
DTH/COURTNEY POTTER
Former student body president candidate Nick Neptune campaigns in the Pit on Monday, trying to close the gap between himself and eventual
winner Eve Carson. He said his favorite part of the campaign was being able to meet students that he otherwise would not have run across.
~wm
DTH/BETH ELY
Neptune views a Carolina Week feature on him on the Feb. 13 election
night with his parents, Donna and John Neptune, of Winston-Salem.
Bush touts N.C. energy future
BY BRENDAN BROWN
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
FRANKLINTON - A small
town in rural North Carolina
perhaps is an unlikely place for
President Bush to promote his
energy independence goals for the
next decade.
Yet rising from the farmlands
of Franklinton is a facility at the
forefront of developing technol
ogy to turn organic waste into
fuel for consumption —a key ele
ment of the president’s effort to
reduce U.S. oil use by 20 percent
in 10 years.
SEE BUSH, PAGE 4
Online I daii>tarheel.com
POLITICAL WEB Sites such as Facebook
play a bigger role in campus elections
JOB FRIENDLY Forbes names Raleigh-
Cary the best city in the country for jobs
DANCE FEVER Friday Arts Columnist Ben
Pittard returns to say he loves to boogie
N.C. Gov.
Mike Easley
proposed an
11.3 percent
increase in
system funding
through 2009.
potential hikes to 1.2 percent.
“There is absolutely no doubt
that if the university’s budget went
up by the amount proposed by the
governor’s budget, it would impact
the cap,” said Joni Worthington,
UNC-system associate vice presi
dent for communications.
Complicating the issue is the
fact that Easley’s proposal does
not earmark any of the more than
S2OO million requested for faculty
DTH/SHARON LEVINE
President Bush speaks about his plans to reduce fuel consumption at
Novozymes North America Inc. in Franklinton on Thursday morning.
arts I page 5
GHOULISH DELIGHT
Carolina Theatre's eighth an
nual Nevermore Film Festival is
set for this weekend and will
feature the debut of films from
Germany to Thailand.
| www.dailytarheel.coin |
salaries during the next two years.
“That’s our No. 2 priority, and
we will work with the legislature
very hard to include it in some
form or fashion,” said Andy Willis,
UNC-system vice president for
government relations.
The draft suggests a 2.5 percent
increase for all state employees,
which includes faculty at system
schools but does little to meet the
university’s salary goals.
“I don’t want to poke holes in
the governor’s budget,” Willis said,
adding that Bowles and his staff
will be meeting with legislators to
lobby for a larger salary hike.
Bowles has said in the past that
funding for faculty salaries is the
most important factor in alleviating
campus pressure to raise tuition.
Jjjt ™ v x
DTH/LAUREN SCHOEFFLER
Neptune and his staff meet at Franklin St. Pizza & Pasta on the eve of
the runoff election to discuss final strategy and reflect on the campaign.
Sports | page 7
THE BUZZER SOUNDS
Seniors Ivory Latta and Camille
Little say goodbye to fans
Thursday during their final
home game, a blowout win
against Wake Forest.
Chancellors often cite faculty pay as
the driving force behind hikes.
But with the possibility of a sharp
er limit on tuition, the system might
have to look elsewhere to push fac
ulty salaries up to the desired 80th
percentile of peer institutions.
Willis said nonresident tuition
probably would not be used to raise
the extra revenue, despite the fact
that there is no annual limit on
out-of-state rates.
“They’re not going to try to
make that up through out-of-state
tuition,” he said. “I don’t see the
Board of Governors allowing that
to happen.”
The board’s primary budget prior
ity financial aid received appro-
SEE BUDGET, PAGE 4
Nation dances for good causes
BY MEGHAN DAVIS
SENIOR WRITER
When several hundred students
collapse with exhaustion Saturday
in Fetzer Gymnasium, they will
have capped a year of fundraising
with 24 hours of
dancing cer
tainly an impres
sive feat.
But the
University’s
MX-
Dance Marathon isn’t alone in
using a dance floor as a fundrais
ing tool.
The grandfather of all
dance marathons is Penn State
SEE MARATHON, PAGE 4
■ : mm
Other priorities in Gov. Mike Easley's
proposed 2007-09 budget
► Eliminates the income tax for
545,000 low-income individuals
and families
► Cuts in half the income tax for
629,000 more low-income
individuals and families
► Includes a 5 percent average
pay increase for public school
teachers
► Sustains the $1 million
funding for military morale,
welfare and recreation grants to
military installations
BY KATIE HOFFMANN FEATURES EDITOR
t’s fitting that Nick Neptune’s favorite show is “The
I West Wing.”
“It gives an insider view of how politics works,”
JL. said Neptune, a junior American Studies major
who said his favorite place is Washington, D.C. “It’s the
art of government.”
A view of Neptune’s personal politics unfolded in the
past 10 months, as he found out first hand what it’s like to
run —and come up short for student body president.
The Nepteam
It began last year on Valentine’s
Day, minutes after the announce
ment of Student Body President
James Allred’s election win.
“A few people came up to me
in Carroll 111
and asked
me when I
was going
to start the
campaign,”
Neptune
said. “I was
-I STUDENT
TS-* 2007
like, what?”
He said the idea of running for
the position had been planted in
his head long ago, but he had yet
to thoroughly consider it
He did, and two months later,
in May, the Nepteam was born.
First on board was cam
paign manager Andrew Brown,
Neptune’s
suitemate
from fresh
man year.
Ta bit h a
Messick,
chief of
campus out
reach, and
Amanda
Zalaquett,
fBLO66IN’
with the
Features Desk
Why we chose
to follow Nick
Neptune:
apps.dailytarheel
.com/blogs/categ
ory/newsroom
chief of logistics both juniors
Neptune’s known since freshman
year hopped on soon after.
Katie Baker, Neptune’s chief
volunteer coordinator, met him
Dance Marathon around the country
Penn State
► Founded: 1978
► Benefits: The Four Diamonds
Fund for pediatric cancer
patients
► Dances for: 46 hours
► Number of dancers: 700
► Event: Feb. 15-16
► Raised: $5.2 million in 2007
UCLA
► Founded: 2001
► Benefits: Elizabeth Glaser
Pediatric Cancer Foundation and
this day in history
FEB. 23,2004...
Testimony surfaces that a
candidate's boyfriend coerced
votes in the runoff election. The
controversy delays certification of
election results.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2007
► Provides $3.6 million to
expand prison-bed capacity to
meet both current and future
inmate population needs
> Funds the N.C. Biotechnology
Center with $3.5 million to help
the state remain a recognized
leader in the field
The budget will go through
three more revisions in the N.C.
General Assembly over the next
few months before becoming
law.
SOURCE: The N.C. state budget
through a friend when they took
a spontaneous trip at 9 p.m. to
Washington, D.C., to see the
confirmation hearings for Chief
Justice of the United States John
Roberts.
“I wanted to work with him
pretty much, from the moment
I met him,” said Baker, a junior
political science major. “There’s
something about Nick. He has a
passion for higher education.”
Throw in sophomore Logan
Liles, who met Neptune in the fall
through student government, and
the “inner core” was complete.
In the weeks leading up to the
election, the group decided every
detail of Neptune’s life when he
got a haircut, when he woke up,
which part of campus he’d be on
and when he could eat.
“That’s the nature of a cam
paign,” Neptune said. “The can
didate is campaigning 24 hours
a day.”
Drawing on experience
Neptune said his preparation
for the race and his platform
started when he came to UNC.
“I’ve been involved in and
out of student government for
the past three years,” Neptune
said. “I formed my platform out
of that experience.”
He said he based his platform,
SEE NEPTUNE, PAGE 4
two camps for AIDS patients
► Dances for: 24 hours
► Number of dancers: 650
► Event: Feb. 17-18
► Raised: $330,345.70
University of lowa
► Founded: 1994
► Benefits: Children’s Miracle
Network
► Dances for: 24 hours
► Number of dancers: 1,000
► Event: Feb. 2-3
► Raised: $31,000
weather
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index
police log 2
calendar 2
games 5
sports 7
opinion 8