VOLUME 115, ISSUE 79
Town names new police chief
BY KAYLA CARRICK
CITY EDITOR
When Brian Curran and his
college roommate came to Chapel
Hill to see Michael Jordan play on
weekends, Curran never thought
he would one day lead the town’s
police force.
“I got out of the Navy, came to
town for a weekend, and I’m still
here,” he said.
In the 21 years that followed,
Curran has worked his way from a
public safety officer to the depart
ment’s head post.
During a Chapel Hill Town
Council meeting Monday, Town
HOMAGE TO INTEGRATION
BY DAVID GILMORE AND
STEPHANIE METZEN
STAFF WRITERS
Students were shocked when a group of
protesters carrying racist signs and scream
ing racial slurs burst out of Lenoir Dining
Hall and into the Pit at noon Monday.
Holding satirical posters with messages
such as, “Separate is not equal, but it’s easy”
and “Race mixing is communism,” the white
protesters surrounded nine black students as
they were led by mock federal troops.
The scene was part of a
re-enactment of the deseg
regation of Little Rock
Central High School, a
pivotal civil rights moment
that celebrates its 50th
anniversary today.
Organized by the Mu
Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity Inc., the
event commemorated the
integration of nine black
See a video on
the re-enactment
at dailytarheel.
com.
students into the previously all-white school.
“We want to remind people of where we’ve
come from,” said Bryce Jenkins, a principal
organizer of the event and member of Alpha
Phi Alpha. “We’ve made progress, but in lieu
of recent events, there is more that can be
done by both black and white people.”
The performance came in the wake of the
Jena Six protests in Jena, La., in which six
black students were charged with counts of
attempted murder for the beating of a white
student. Many have decried the charges,
which followed the hanging of nooses from
an oak tree in front of the local high school,
as excessive and racially motivated.
More than 100 students witnessed
Monday’s re-enactment and the poetry read
ing that followed. Members of the Ebony
Readers/Onyx Theatre presented poems
filled with poignant questions and lyrical
descriptions of the forced integration.
“In an era when rocks were being heaved
through rock windows, these nine little rocks
sought to change the face of class windows,”
recited Maya Mitchell, vice president of the
group.
Observers said they found the poetry espe
Chatham’s growth increases commuters
BY TRACEY THERET
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
The eastern portion of Chatham
County is growing, and an increas
ing percentage of its residents
work in Orange County.
Both counties’ government offi
cials are concerned about the effects
the commuters’ traffic might cause.
“The big issue is how we can get
people efficiently and with a mini
mum of pollution and traffic from
the parts of Chatham that have a
lot of University employees to the
campus,” said Barry Jacobs, vice
chairman of the Orange County
Board of Commissioners.
There are 1,258 employees affili
ated with the University and UNC
Health Care and Hospitals that com
mute daily from Chatham County,
according to UNC News Services.
That accounts for about 7 percent
of a total of 18,771 employees.
“The proportion of UNC
employees that live in Orange
County is declining,” Jacobs said.
With thousands of housing units
popping up in eastern Chatham,
local governments will have to use
time and resources to adjust for the
population shift.
online I dailytarheel.com
LIGHT IT UP The Town Council approves
new blue-light locations in Chapel Hill.
NO SMOKING Students will hold a
forum to discuss a possible smoking ban.
BREAST CANCER UNC study finds that
a healthy weight increases cancer survival.
lailn ®ar Heel
Brian Curran
was named
Chapel Hill
police chief
Monday after
six months as
interim chief.
Manager Roger Stancil officially
named Curran chief of police, after
a lengthy search that kept Curran in
the interim position for six months.
Curran has led the department
temporarily since former police
Chief Gregg Jarvies’ April retire
ment.
dally moving. “I felt as if they put their hearts
into what they were saying. You could tell
these struggles were meaningful to them and
were something they were passionate about,”
UNC senior Chandni Patel said.
Students said they were most surprised by
the way the performance started.
“We wanted to have definite shock value,”
said Jarrette Pittman, another member of
Alpha Phi Alpha.
“It was real,” freshman Antoinette Lecky
said. “The poetry reading brought it to life.”
The desegregation of Little Rock Central
High School has become a symbol for the
struggle that characterized the forced inte
gration of American schools.
The black students entered their new high
school with the protection of federal troops
Sept. 25,1957, despite opposition by many
white protesters and the Arkansas governor.
“This posed a constitutional crisis. The gov
ernor thought it was a state’s right to decide
whether or not the schools should integrate,”
said Scott Carter, public relations manager
for the city of Little Rock, Ark.
The governor’s opposition conflicted with
the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that all schools
must integrate. It was only after President
Dwight Eisenhower intervened by sending
federal troops to back the court’s decision that
the governor temporarily relented.
The governor later closed public high schools
in Little Rock for a year before the state finally
allowed integration efforts to continue.
Harry Watson, director of the Center for
the Study of the American South at UNC,
said the integration of Little Rock Central
High School was an important first step in
the civil rights movement.
“At the time, 1957, it looked like it was
the beginning of something,” Watson said.
“It really was starting the enormous conse
quences of demonstrating what a local black
community could do.”
Watson said the Little Rock Nine helped
fuel the sit-in movement, brought aid to
Martin Luther King Jr. and spurred the cre
ation of the Voting Rights Act 0f1965.
The courage of those nine students
SEE LITTLE ROCK 9, PAGE 9
Orange County and Chatham County growth
Orange County's population increased at a rate of 1.6 percent during six years,
whereas neighboring Chatham County's increased at a rate of 21.7 percent.
Chatham County population
150,000 r ■ Orange County population
120,000 - "jg*
90,000 - H
49,329 6 °' 052 1
3 t fit ■
2000 2006
SOURCE: WWW.CENSUS.GOV DTH/ALLIE WASSUM
Chatham County Planner Keith
Megginson said the county first saw
a population surge in the mid-1970s
from Orange County spillover.
“As other areas got more crowd
ed, people looked to move from an
urban area to a more rural or sub
urban area,” Megginson said.
He added that the widening of
highways in Chatham, such as U.S.
64 and U.S. 15-501, accelerated
growth because of the reduction in
time for commute.
According to the Office of State
arts I page 3
ONE SONG
A performance group led by
Chapel Hill-Carrboro-area high
school students is holding
auditions today and Wednesday
for its production.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
www.dailytarheel.com
A national search for a replace
ment for Jarvies began in January,
but Curran didn’t apply for the job.
“I just didn’t feel at that time
that I was really prepared for it,”
he said.
After a selection process, Stancil
decided to hire former Fayetteville
police Chief Tom McCarthy. Just
before he was supposed to be sworn
into the position, McCarthy learned
he had health problems that kept
him from becoming chief.
When McCarthy was unable to
accept the position, Curran decided
he wanted to lead the department.
“I just decided I was going to
Budget and Management, about
4,206 employees commuted each
weekday into Orange County in
2000. That number accounts
for about 17 percent of the entire
Chatham work force that worked
within the state and about 31 percent
of the workers who commuted into
30 other N.C. counties
In the same year, Chatham had a
total out-of-county employment rate
of 55.3 percent, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau. Census data also
shows that only 0.2 percent of the
F ;
embrace the job, and I’ve been hav
ing a lot more fun since,” he said.
The town began accepting a sec
ond round of applications in July,
when about 50 additional applicants
submitted their names. Most of the
other job candidates were external.
After a panel interview, Stancil
decided Curran possessed the
attributes that residents said
they wanted in their police chief,
including honesty, experience and
a knowledge of the community.
“His behavior is consistent with
who he says he is,” Stancil said.
“Chapel Hill is a unique commu
nity, and he knows what it’s like.”
lit iWBt *
\ Jpg / F
mm I * f *
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m
DTH/LAUREN COWART
Students re-enacted the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School on Monday in
the Pit by acting out the parts of protesters and the students, called the Little Rock Nine.
.
DTH/RICKY LEUNG
A truck drives southbound on the
four-lane U.S. Highway 15-501
from Orange County
into Chatham County on Monday.
Chatham work force utilized public
transportation to commute.
Jacobs said Orange and Chatham
government officials are discussing
how to integrate Chatham residents
SEE CHATHAM, PAGE 9
sports I page 7
THE ROAD AHEAD
UNC's football squad faces a
challenge in Saturday's game
against the athletic Va. Tech. The
Tar Heels are looking to avoid
a fourth-straight loss.
Stancil said he has asked Curran
to assess the department, develop a
leadership program for nonswom
officers and become a member of
the town’s management team.
Stancil also wants Curran to
expand the community policing
concept to the entire town. Curran
implemented community policing
in the Northside neighborhood.
Curran said he will spend his time
improving a great department.
“One of the good things I like
about the police department is
we’re not broken,” he said.
SEE POLICE CHIEF, PAGE 9
Congress to consider
fees increases, veto
BY EMILY STEPHENSON
STAFF WRITER
Student Congress will face off
with the executive branch of stu
dent government on two issues
in the legislative group’s meeting
tonight.
Representatives of both
branches said the showdown
should be exciting, as Congress
will attempt to override a veto
by Student Body President Eve
Carson and will consider three
proposed fee increases.
“It should make for a lot of
debate,” said Pedro Carreno, chair
man of the finance committee.
Carson vetoed a bill Sept 11 that
would increase the number of votes
required to submit fee increases to
the student body by referendum.
The bill which was authored
by Speaker Tyler Younts and passed
by Congress on Aug. 28 would
increase the necessary number of
votes from a simple majority to
two-thirds of representatives.
If Congress overrides the veto,
the executive branch could chal-
this day in history
SEPT. 25,1973...
The RHA announces a $2
semester enhancement fund
charge for on-campus students to
go to housing upgrades and
community activities.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
Shift a
maybe
for law
school
BY WHITNEY KISLING
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
As the Board of TVustees preps
to make an approval decision
about Carolina North conceptual
plans, the School of Law is get
ting feedback about moving to the
satellite campus or renovating its
current facility.
The school recently received a
review, conducted by the architec
tural consulting firm Smith Group,
that considers the cost and time it
would take to renovate the law
school building, located near the
School of Government on Ridge
Road.
The review estimates that the
renovation would cost s9l million
and take four or five years to com
plete through four phases.
Because of the costly forecast,
several law school officials are
expecting to lean toward a move
off campus, which could change
the school’s climate.
“The law school values being
on campus being halfway to
Davis Library, Lenoir Hall and the
School of Government,” said Jack
Boger, dean of the law school.
But the building, which was
SEE LAW REVIEW, PAGE 9
Details of the law
school's possible
expansion
*■ Add 75,000 square feet of new
space to the existing 165,000
square feet.
► Include a 250-seat auditorium,
classrooms and more faculty
offices.
► Update facilities with improved
technology in smaller classrooms.
Three possible designs:
► Student Interaction com
ponents are organized around a
central atrium.
► Campus Space share green
space with School of Government.
► Outreach moves law clinic,
library and auditorium along
Ridge Road.
SOURCE: Executive summary of the
Smith Group
ATTEND THE MEETING
Time: 7:30 p.m. today
Location: Peabody 08
Info: congress.unc.edu
lenge that vote, taking it before
the Student Supreme Court.
Carson vetoed the referendum
bill because she thinks its passage
would reduce student input on
fee increases. Because she vetoed
it after Congress’ agenda for that
day's meeting had been set, Younts
postponed the vote until tonight.
Because of differences in inter
pretation of the Student Code, some
members of the two branches said
the delay is a violation of the Code.
“Congress didn’t act on it when
they should; therefore the veto
stands,” Rep. Val Tenyotkin said.
But Younts said pushing back
the override vote was justi
fied because Carson’s veto was
announced too late.
“I can’t make them believe any-
SEE CONGRESS, PAGE 9
weather
O Sunny
H 91, L 60
index
police log 2
calendar 2
sports 7
opinion 8
games y\