VOLUME 115, ISSUE 128
System gains oversight of ASG purse
BY ERIC JOHNSON
SENIOR WRITER
University officials have quietly
intensified their scrutiny of spend
ing by the UNC-system Association
of Student Governments, part of a
broader effort to impose tighter
oversight of the group.
For the first time, all spending
by the student-run association will
be screened by a representative of
the UNC-system academic affairs
office before funds are allocated.
“This is anew process now that
we’re putting in place," said Kemal
Atkins, the system’s director for
academic and student affairs. “We
A DIFFERENT HOOP DREAM
Students make
debut on ESPN
BY AARON TAUBE
STAfF WRITER
Many North Carolinians grow
up wanting to be like Mike.
For Walter Storholt, a junior
broadcast journalism major and
Greensboro native, the dream was
just a bit different.
“I used to play a lot of sports
when 1 was younger, but when
1 played, I would broadcast the
game in my head," Storholt said
minutes before going on air as
ESPNU’s play-by-play man for
Wednesday night’s mens basket
ball game against UNC-Asheville
at the Smith Center.
Storholt's fantasy was fulfilled
as part of ESPNU's Campus
Connection program, through
which the network collaborates
with college students to broadcast
athletic events.
“What we want to do is get
closer to the college students," said
Dan Maigulis, the networks direc
tor of programming.
Wednesday night was the first
such telecast on ESPNU and fea
tured 16 UNC students working as
cameramen, statisticians, produc
ers and sideline reporters.
The network will move on to
host similar programs at schools
including the University of Texas
at Austin, Florida State University
and Syracuse University.
Besides game coverage, the
broadcast also included occasional
cuts to the students working both
in front of and behind the cameras
and several segments about life on
campus at Chapel Hill.
“It’s thrilling. This is the experi-
SEE ESPNU, PAGE 11
Classical performance sells out hall
BY PHILLIP CROOK
SlAff WRITER
Memorial Hall hosted three
of classical music’s powerhouse
names Wednesday in one of
Carolina Performing Arts’ most
anticipated performances of the
season.
The Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra, featuring superstar
violinist, violist and conductor
Pinchas Zukerman, was the first
show in CPA’s 2007-08 program
to sell out last fall, and for many
audience members the concert
proved to be well worth the five
month wait.
Tonu Kalam, a professor of
music and the music director of the
UNC Symphony Orchestra, said it
was the joint prestige of London’s
RPO, Zukerman and two familiar
Beethoven works that led to the
popularity of the performance.
"You can tell the whole audience
is entertained by the energy of this
group,’’ said Kearny Davis, a Chapel
Hill resident who attended the
performance. “Chapel Hill really
turned out for a Wednesday night"
university | page 11
EMPLOYEE DEBATE
Members of the Employee Forum
discussed the findings of a UNC
Human Resources Task Force
report. Some employees took issue
with the document's wording.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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are providing some oversight to
make sure their expenditures are
in alignment with their budget"
There has been no suggestion of
financial impropriety on the part
of any student officiids. The ASG
undergoes an annual indepen
dent audit and has always passed
cleanly.
But there has been growing
concern on the part of university
administrators about a lack of
focus in ASG spending. The group
will receive about $190,000 in stu
dent fees this year.
“In the past, they haven't really
looked at how we’ve been spending
-a—- M m
DTH/MELANIE HAYWOOD
Junior Waltei Storholt helps announce the men’s basketball victory versus UNC-Asheville with Fran Fraschilla and Mike Gleason (not pictured)
for ESPNU. Stortholt and 15 other UNC students helped with the ESPNU telecast as a part of the network's Campus Connection program.
INinnity students worked in the following capacities at
the UNC-Ashevtße game:
► Game producer ► Game analyst
>• Play-by-play announcer • Sideline reporter
The concert’s program began
with the whimsical overture from
Weber's opera “Oberon,’ followed
by Beethoven’s more recognizable
“Symphony No. 7* Nineteenth
century composer Richard Wagner
once described the symphony as
“the apotheosis of dance’ for its
energetic nature, and the work is
certainly one of Beethoven’s most
well-known.
The show concluded with
Beethoven’s “Violin Concerto in D
major,’ in which Zukerman per
formed as the featured soloist, in
addition to conducting the three
pieces.
‘Zukerman’s a great role model
for music students because he’s
great at conveying what it means
to be a musician at that level,’ said
Tim Carter, chairman of UNC’s
music department
Acclaimed for both violin and
viola, the Israeli-born Zukerman
is regarded as one of the world's
most accomplished musicians, and
Wednesday evening he confirmed
the substance behind those state
ments.
SpOltS | pagr 4
SIZE DOESN'T MATTER
UNC's Tyler Hansbrough measured
up against UNC-Asheville's Kenny
George —a man 10 inches taller
than him in the Tar Heels' 93-81
victory over the Bulldogs.
| www.dailytarheel.coni |
our money,” said ASG President
Cody Grasty. “Now they’re scruti
nizing us a lot more and making
sure we’re spending a lot more
thoughtfully."
It is unclear whether system
officials will consider blocking
expenditures they consider inap
propriate or what standard will be
used to judge spending requests.
But the addition of stricter finan
cial oversight is in keeping with
a recent pattern of more involve
ment by UNC-system officials.
Administrators hare grown increas
ingly frustrated by a series of crises
within the ASG and have shown a
Positions available to students through ESPN
iilgfs nf3HHb|P£—,
DTH/KEVIN TSUI
Pinchas Zukerman, solo violinist and conductor, peforms with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday night at Memorial Hall.
But Zukerman is not only con
sidered one of the best players in
the world, he is also a musician’s
musician, who balances playing
and conducting with seamless skill
and unmistakable passion.
“He listens to us, and so it’s
greater willingness to intervene in
die student-led group.
Last semester, the group's pres
ident was forced to resign after
being convicted of misdemeanor
assault. And in each of the past
few years, the 17 campuses that
comprise the association have
squabbled publicly about how to
spend tens of thousands of dollars
in discretionary funds.
Greg Doucette, president of
N.C. State University’s Student
Senate and one of ASG's most
active members, said the associa
tion deserves to haw its spending
more closely monitored.
Other opportunities UNC students may have:
► Contributing special segments and feature stories for other ESPN net
works (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN36O.com, etc)
► Writing articles for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com.
a two-way street,’ said Daniel
Hammersley, a cellist who has
been with RPO for five years. “He’s
relatively unique like that’
One of London's four major
SEE ZUKERMAN, PAGE 11
diversions | page 5
YEAR'S BEST
Check out Diversions to see what
movies and albums the section
staff chose as the top 10 of
2007, and see if £hey match up
with your picks.
“In light of the schizophrenic
leadership and the general lack
of performance by the Council of
Student Body Presidents, it’s a nec
essary measure to slow down ASG's
slide until someone competent can
take charge," Doucette said.
“They need to make sure we're
not blowing money on stuff that's
not being used."
The ASG did not begin receiving
the student fee money sl paid
by every student in the UNC sys
tem until 2002. Since then the
group's members hare engaged in a
SEE ASG. PAGE 11
Students now must
pay up to take tests
BY KATE SULLIVAN
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Blue books and scantrons are
no longer available for free at
UNC Student Stores.
The store is charging 15 cents
per blue book and 8 cents per
scantron.
‘I think that’s a little ridicu
lous especially with the tuition
increases,* freshman Meghan
Cooper said, adding that students
already pay for a lot of other neces
sities. such as textbooks.
“It’s not that much, but it still
seems unnecessary *
The move marks the first time
the store has charged students
for the testing materials since
the early 19905, said John Jones,
director of Student Stores.
The store also will offer deals,
such as seven blue books for sl, a
savings of 5 cents, and seven scan
trons for 50 cents, which saves
students 6 cents.
“The individual cost to any one
this day in history
JAN. 10.1999...
The School of Medicine begins a
study of ethical concerns in genetic
discoveries. The project, funded by
the National Genome Research
Center, is set to last three years.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008
House
could
expel
Wright
Panel confirms
8 ethics charges
BY DEVIN ROONEY
ASSISTANT STATE S NATIONAL EDITOR
Rep. Thomas Wright. D-New
Hanover, could face expulsion from
the N.C. General Assembly due to
unethical conduct charges.
On Wednesday, a six-member
bipartisan House committee unan
imously found probable cause for
eight charges against Wright.
Wright’s story evokes the long
shadow of former House Speaker
Jim Black, a one-time ally ofWright
who fell from power to prison
after becom-
Rep. Thomas
Wright faces
multiple counts
of ethical
misconduct.
ing embroiled
in a bribery
scandal. After
Black's convic
tion. legislators
passed ethics
reform tak
ing on corrupt
fundraising.
But Wright s
case contains
allegations dat
ing as late as
Jan. 31,2007. a
month after the
new ethics legislation took effect
At the Wednesday hearing,
Rep. Rick Glazier. D-Cumberland.
chairman of the investigative com
mittee. said he believes there is a
preponderance of evidence against
Wright “There were multiple cases
of probable fraud." Glazier said.
Wright has two weeks to
respond and file motions, to be
heard Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. An evi
dentiary hearing will follow at an
unknown date.
Wright faces multiple counts of
ethical misconduct for allegedly
misusing charitable donations. In
three cases, he requested donations
for the charity- Community Health
Foundation Inc. on false pretenses,
raising SB9OO for the organization
that he allegedly deposited into his
own bank account
Because the charity was not
certified as a non-profit, the funds
did not qualify- for tax deduction,
according to the panel.
SEE WRIGHT, PAGE 11
student should only be a few dol
lars every year,’ Jones said.
On average, students use more
than 100,000 books and scant
rons per year, which costs the store
thousands of dollars, Jones said,
adding that rising paper prices
have added to increased costs.
With the semester just begin
ning, many students haven’t heard
about the new prices for testing
materials, but those who had were
surprised to find out they will have
to pay.
“It’s a shock for students,’ said
Jonathan Barnes, a cashier at
Student Stores. “There wasn’t a
formal announcement There have
just been signs, ’ he said, referring
to signs posted during final exams
last semester that warned students
to take just one book or scantron or
the store might start charging.
While students have been
receiving their testing materials
SEE SCANTRONS, PAGE 11
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opinion 12