■ m f'T jr% &> M'^fi ~jgg * Hr ly u. B |( ‘ , ■•■ “s4!2S!lir\ “**"’ . \ 7 jB Vfj .-- .■'*•* ,*".'.lv.-■ \; .rsr *“■'. M 4 ' -• 1 -* ~J i yy fAi? #*gfc f *i t f XN _ DTH/BEN PIERCE Freshman Leah Brown gets help from the audience by using her lifeline during trivia at the Harry Potter Feast and Trivia Tournament. The event held Monday evening in the Great Hall of the Student Union, brought out fans to enjoy food, drink and games based on the book. THE MUGGLE GREAT HALT, BY ZACK LEVINE STAFF WRITER Students didn't even have to search for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on Monday- night to be transported to the Hogwarts Great Hall. Students filed into UNC’s Great Hall ready to feast on wizard fare and to test their knowledge of Harry Potter. The trivia tournament, hosted by Carolina Union Activities Board, attracted about 200 Potter fans. “It was kind of a random idea," said junior Lindsey Paytes, co-director of the event. “Sarah (Bagot) and I just asked ourselves one morning, 'Wouldn’t it be cool to turn our Great Hall into the Hogwarts Great Hall?” CUAB got the word out through a Face book event notice and by posting fliers throughout campus. Those who hoped to participate placed their names in the “Goblet of Fire’ upon arrival, and the 24 names selected became the contestants. The event was carried out similar to a spelling bee, where contestants were eliminated if they missed a question. A house hill of 1 man’s trash BY HEATHER CALDWELL STAFF WRITER When Julie Goodstadt furnished her Town House apartment last year with a coffee table, stereo, car pet, printer and wine glasses, she did it without spending a penny. Goodstadt found each of these items on the Freecycle Orange County Web site, a Web-based nonprofit group that takes dump ster diving high tech. The organization, which focuses on reducing waste in landfills, uses Internet message boards where people can post items they no longer want and give them a second life. “Freecycle sort of epitomizes reduce, reuse and recycle,' said Caryl Feldacker, a graduate student in the School of Public Health. “As an environmentalist, as someone interested in conservation and reducing waste, there is no way to put that mantra into practice except through Freecycle.” Members of Fteecyde groups on Yahoo.com post offered and want ed items on a message board and receive daily e-mails with informa tion on new posts. Top News The agreement with Ram marks the first time that public art will be incorporated into a private devel opment. About $671,000 has been set aside for art. In 2002, Chapel Hill became the first municipality in the nation to incorporate public art as a part of land planning when they decided to require that 1 percent of new public buildings' budgets go toward art Kim said this project is unusual because it is being designed at the same time as the development "I think what’s unique is the opportunity to really interplay the sculpture with the place,’ she said. "It’s like a big vision working together.’ The landscape will include bench es and an outdoor plaza It will incor porate blue lighting to create the appearance of permanent fog. Kim, who is based out of Massachusetts, designs public art as far away as Korea She also is responsible for Paytes and Bagot the other co-director, kept the audience involved by giving participants lifelines to help them answer questions. The contestants competed for Harry Potter-themed prizes such as a Hogwarts school banner. “We got really excited about getting the prizes and came up with the idea of the tour nament to give them away," Paytes said. Some students took their Potter fanhood to the next level by dressing the part. Sophomore Liz Komar was wearing full Hogwarts attire, including dress robes and a tie. The judges began the tournament with simple questions such as, “What was Professor McGonagall’s first name?" and continued as the tournament progressed with ones like, “What was Arthur Weasley’s pet name for his wife?" Competitors proved they knew their trivia early on when the judges only had to elimi nate one person in the first round. Sophomore Patricia Ramos made it to the third round before being unable to answer a question. ‘l’ve read the first two books about six " ■ S' • m DTK/ALEXANDRA PORTER Julie Goodstadt plays cards with Omer Levit (left) and Nir Josipovich in her apartment which is furnished with items from the Freecyde Network. When members find items they want, they e-mail the owner and arrange a pickup location and time. For convenience, the owner will often leave the item on the front porch or in the yard with a sign bearing the recipient’s name. "People give away weird stuff, like life-size Little Mermaid cardboard ■ ART AREA I: Sculptural stormwater retention in main plaza ■ ART AREA II: Stormwater retention and architectural light, street effects x SOURCE CHAPEL HILL ARTS. GOOGLE MAPS DTH/REBECCA ROLFE Chapel Hill’s Streetscape master plan, which will attempt to incor porate art into daily public life. “It’s more than just lining a street with stores and putting con dos above,’ said council member Mark Kleinschmidt. the council's liaison to the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. “It’s a transfor times but the others not as many," she said. “I’m a little disappointed I didn't win.' The trivia junkies competed for about six rounds before a winner emerged. After answering some very specific ques tions, senior Andy Cao was the last one standing and took home a Hogwarts school banner as well as a Weaslev family clock for his knowledge of J.K. Rowling's series. “I didn’t study for it actually." Cao said. “I’m just a big fan and a pretty good reader.’ Attendees enjoyed many Hogwarts deli cacies, including cauldron cakes, licorice wands, butterbeer, pumpkin juice and the infamous Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. The unusual menu items were created using everyday food such as TWizzlers. cream soda, Hawaiian Punch and 56 pounds of cupcakes. “We wanted it to be a sort of welcome back to campus, and for students to take a break from everything, to do something completely random and fun,’ Paytes said. “Everything was great. It went above and beyond our expectations.’ Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. cutouts’ said Goodstadt, a senior history major. “Lots of half-used shampoo bottles and stuff like that' But Freecycle is not only about getting; it is also about giving. “The first rule of Freecycle is you have to give before you receive," SEE FREECYCLE, PAGE 5 TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2008 mative downtown project" Kleinschmidt said the site could help to bring together the east and west ends of Franklin Street. Community members who saw Kim’s design Monday said the art could play a central rqje in the future of downtown Chapel Hill. "It’s a place that really celebrates community, and we need more of these places in town," Cramlinge said. Kim told the council that she will submit a final concept plan in February based on community feedback and that an artist will be picked to design the Rosemary- Street side of the lot in the coming weeks. Construction on the art is not expected to begin until about 2010. "It’s going to be possibly the heart of Franklin Street’ said Steve Wright a staffer with the Public Art Commission. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. Study abroad catches up on credit transfers BY ANDREW RYAN COSGROVE STAFF WRITER Credit transfer issues that have plagued UNC students who studied abroad in the past year are finally starting to be resolved by the Study- Abroad Office. “The problem students are hav ing now is that they have not filled out the proper forms or we are wait ing for department majors to send in forms," said Kathryn Goforth, associate director for advising for the Study Abroad Office. Personnel issues within the office have caused a delay in transferring academic credits from internation al institutions. Many seniors are worried they will not be able to register for grad uation by Feb. 8 because they have not gotten credit for the classes they took abroad. But Goforth said seniors can still register. “We have talked to Academic Advising and they are aware of the situation,* Goforth said, adding Retreat hits top goals for year Aldermen focus on development BY ELISABETH ARRIERO ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR On the second and final day of its annual retreat the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and key town staff met to discuss goals for 2008. At the retreat, town officials identified transit, land develop ment and economic development as top areas that they will focus on in the coming year. From a laundry list of 79 recom mended actions and goals, most of which were taken from last year's retreat the town whittled down the number to 10 priorities. “Obviously this is an incredible list," Mayor Mark Chilton said. “We need to pick our priority items and work from there." One item that made the cut was the need to complete a downtown parking plan in order to provide multiple ways to access the area. Chilton said the item was clearly- needed based on the origi nal list. “About a quarter of these items have to do with transportation and parking downtown,’ Chilton said, referencing goals to make the downtown more pedestrian friend ly and improve transit. Town officials also acknowledged the need to explore “green-collar" business development in 2008. That type of business development keeps the environment in mind while pur suing economic development The aldermen also committed to exploring how to curtail land uses and activities that would use large quantities of water. “I would make a real strong argument that this year we need to make water an economic issue.’ Alderman Jacquelyn Gist said. "We need to start thinking about the long-term implications if we don’t watch our water usage." Facilitator Phil Boyle also asked the aldermen to create categories under which the goals could fall. The aldermen decided on 10 val ues to consider when pursuing their goals in the coming years, includ ing sustaining existing businesses, respecting the character and history of the town, providing long-term tax revenue and staying consistent with the town’s environmental ethics. Alderman Joal Hall Broun said she wanted to make sure that all of the projects the town got involved with provided long-term benefits. “That should be an overarching value of this board,’ Broun said. Gist said that it was important for the board to remember these values later on. “I just don’t want it to become like a mission statement that isn’t actu ally considered." Gist said. “Because it really should be a working part.’ The board asked town staff to make suggestions for town action on the list of goals within 30 days. There was general consensus among the aldermen that this year’s retreat was successful. “This is the first retreat that vali dates everyone’s position and takes them into account’ Alderman John Herrera said. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@ unc.edu. that students should check in with their advisers. The backup began when four full time study abroad advisers left their jobs last year, causing the office to fall behind in transferring credits for UNC students who studied abroad. Students returning from abroad had to work with multiple tempo rary advisers. “Mv adviser changed about three times, which made communicat ing much more difficult," said Neil Gerber, a senior who studied in Barcelona last spring. By January, the Study Abroad Office had filled all the advis ing positions left vacant last year, which has helped ease the work load on advisers. Gerber said it is now up to him to go to the office and get the prop er forms filled out But other students are still encountering issues with their credits. SEE STUDY ABROAD, PAGE 5 3