VOLUME 115, ISSUE 66
ASG
set for
anew
year
Jones tries to put
conviction in past
I
BY ERIC JOHNSON
SENIOR WRITER
After months of uncertainty
about the depth of support for his
presidency, Cole Jones is moving
. to shore up his position as head
of the UNC-system Association of
Student Governments. <
Despite being elected in a land
slide in April, Jones has been
dogged by questions about an Aug.
1 criminal conviction. ,
Student
body presidents
across the UNC
system have
refrained from
public criti
cism, but pri
vate discussions
have continued
among presi
dents and ASG
officers about
whether Jones
has handled
the; situation
appropriately.
ASG President
Cole Jones
hopes to quiet
concerns about
his position.
In a conference call Tuesday
night, Jones called for concerns
about his legal situation to either
be aired publicly or dismissed.
“I have made it clear that I serve
at the discretion of the students,”
Jones said during the call, which
included about half of the system’s
17 student body presidents.
The misdemeanor assault convic
tion stems from a February domestic
dispute involving the maternal aunt
and grandmother of his 2-year-old
son. TWo related charges were dis
missed at trial, and Jones is appeal
ing the remaining charge.
During the Tuesday teleconfer
ence, Jones asked the presidents to
draft a clear statement of support
at the next ASG meeting, which is
scheduled for this weekend.
“I believe the support is still
where it was when I was elected,”
he said. “If there is anyone on the
call who would object for any rea
son, I won’t take it personally.”
No one spoke, and that silence
could prove to be a turning point.
Whatever concerns student offi
cials might have, this week marks
the last opportunity to air them
before Jones assumes one of his
most important duties.
He is scheduled to be sworn in
SEE ASG, PAGE 4
Homeless partnership kicks off plan
DTH FILE/GALEN CLARKE
Johnny Cooper, aka "D.C.," often sits watching on Franklin Street. An
Orange County program hopes to end homelessness within 10 years.
Sports | page 1 3
DOWN NOT OUT
The women's soccer team is
looking to bounce back after its
season-opening loss. The squad will
take on Texas A & M on Friday
at Fetzer Field.
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RUGBY TEAM SUSPENDED
Hazing one of three charges
BY WHITNEY KISLING
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
The UNC men’s rugby team is suspended indefinitely
from participating in team-related events because members
have been accused of violating University policies.
The allegations are threefold: unlawful acts of hazing, dub
actions that violate the University’s alcohol policy and misrep
resentation of the University and club locally and abroad.
Some members of the team declined to comment, but
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DTH/l/tUREN BRENNER
Bill Friday prepares for an interview with Craig Hill, N.C. Wachovia Principal of the Year, on Wednesday in Swain Hall on “North Carolina People,” Friday's television show for the past 37 years.
Long-running talk show back at home
BY COLIN CAMPBELL
STAFF WRITER
One of the state’s longest-running public
TV programs has returned to the UNC cam
pus studio where it began 37 years ago.
Former UNC-system President William
Friday’s weekly talk show, “North Carolina
People,” is broadcasting from Swain Hall
for the first time since 1989 because of
a partnership with the Department of
Communication Studies.
“We now have a home,” Friday said. “It’s
nice to have a place where you know what
the circumstances are.”
Friday, 87, served as the system’s presi
dent for 30 years before retiring in 1986.
Many credit him with improving the
university | page 6
PEACE BRIGADES
Human rights activist Liza Smith told
UNC students Wednesday about
working for Peace Brigades Interna
tional, a group that shadows individuals
with the intent of preventing violence.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
www.dailytarheel.com
national reputation of the system.
Friday started the program 37 years ago
when UNC-TV —a station he helped found
asked him to moderate a discussion with
four former governors. The show was a suc
cess, and he was asked to host more pro
grams.
“It was pure coincidence,” he said.
When UNC-TV moved out of Swain Hall
18 years ago to newer facilities in Research
Triangle Park, the show was filmed in a con
ference room in Graham Memorial Hall.
Bobby Dobbs, the show’s director, said
the studio in Swain will be a major improve
ment from the Graham Memorial location,
which was not designed for filming a TV
show.
Introduces goals
of 10-year project
BY ANDY KENNEY
STAFF WRITER
Julie Ransford spends many
of her days shuttling food and
supplies and making connec
tions with the homeless people
of Chapel Hill.
By putting mentally ill homeless
people in contact with the proper
services, she helps pull them out of
destructive cycles.
Ransford is the assistant coor
dinator of the Project to Assist in
the Transition from Homelessness
arm of Housing for New Hope,
but according to executive direc
tor Terry Allebaugh, Ransford is
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President Rufaro Sikipa gave an official response.
“There’s absolutely no hazing with initiation into or con
tinued membership of UNC rugby,” he said, adding that the
team does not condone underage drinking either.
The team is suspended from practicing, playing games
and using University facilities under the team name.
Winston Crisp, assistant vice chancellor for student
affairs, and Jason Halsey, director of sports clubs, met
Tuesday with the team of about 50 players to discuss the
allegations and the suspension.
“We went in pretty blind,” Sikipa said, adding that team
members had received an e-mail Monday informing them
more like a one-woman team.
“We see where we’re going; we
just don’t have the right resourc
es,” Allebaugh said during a pre
sentation to the executive team of
the Orange County Partnership to
End Homelessness on Wednesday
night.
The meeting launched the part
nership’s 10-year plan to reduce
homelessness in the county and
highlighted initial efforts.
Sally Greene, chairwoman of
the executive team, described the
plan as a joint effort by the town
and the county.
“It’s funded by and supported
by the four jurisdictions,” said
Greene, who also is a member
of the Chapel Hill Town Council.
SEE HOMELESS, PAGE 4
diversions | page 7
HELPING HAND
Traditional Southern musicians
get aid from a nonprofit
foundation that seeks to
preserve their music and the
artists behind the melodies.
IF YOU WATCH THE SHOW
Time: 9 p.m. Friday and 5:30 p.m. Sunday
Channel: UNC-TV
Info: www.unctv.org/ncpeople
“It’s more convenient,” Dobbs said. “We
know our way around here.”
“North Carolina People” is a weekly pro
gram in which Friday conducts interviews
with a range of people from across the state
from governors to World War II veter
ans.
“Every person in this state has an inter
esting story if you’ll just listen,” Friday said.
“You meet these people in the strangest
Presidential group
convenes in town
BY ELIZABETH DEORNELLAS
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
The President’s Council on
Bioethics is holding a series of
public meetings at the Carolina
Inn today and Friday to discuss
ethical issues in the fields of medi
cine and nanotechnology.
President Bush created the coun
cil in November 2001. Its mission is
to advise the president on the ethi
cal implications of emerging bio
medical science and technology.
All sessions of the two-day confer
ence are open to the public, with the
last reserved for public comments.
The council’s previous meetings
were held in Washington, D.C., but
this day in history
SEPT. 6,1898...
Forty sample class rings are
stolen from an unlocked
storeroom in Student Stores.
The rings are estimated to
be valued at $7,600.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
only of a mandatory meeting with their coaches and the
Division of Student Affairs.
The team is suspended until administrators come to a
conclusion based on their findings of an investigation now
under way. Team officers will be interviewed, followed by
the players, during the next two weeks.
“We do plan to investigate it fully,” Halsey said. “We’ll be
trying to gather information to either confirm or refute the
allegations that we’ve received.”
The rugby team is a member of UNC’s Sport Clubs
SEE RUGBY, PAGE 4
places.”
He said one of the most interesting pro
grams of his career was an interview with a
man who sits in a car seat in front of a store
in Banner Elk telling mountain stories.
Sometimes Friday takes the program on
the road, broadcasting from locations like a
Cherokee Indian Reservation and the deck
of a fishing boat off Cape Hatteras.
Friday has interviewed the Rev. Billy
Graham, author Jan Karon, football player
Charlie “Choo-Choo” Justice and journalist
Charles Kuralt.
The programs can be challenging, Friday
said, recounting an outdoor taping when a
SEE FRIDAY SHOW, PAGE 4
“We thought, you
know, let’s get out on
the road and bring
it out there.”
DIANE GIANELLI, DIRECTOR OF
COMMUNICATIONS PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON
BIOETHICS ON DECISION TO MEET IN CHAPEL HIU
council members decided to go
on the road to better fulfill their
charge of educating the public, said
Diane Gianelli, director of commu
nications for the council.
SEE BIOETHICS, PAGE 4
weather
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W H 95, L 64
index
police log 2
calendar 2
sports 13
games 13
opinion 16