VOLUME 115, ISSUE 150
Sapikowski gives final guilty plea
BY TED STRONG
SENIOR WRITER
Adam Sapikowski's head bowed
closer and closer to the table Friday
as family spoke about how much
they missed the parents he killed.
“I’m not looking forward to my
own graduation because 1 know
when I get my diploma and I look
out there, my mom won’t be cheer
ing, and my dad won’t be doing his
silly celebration dance," said Lauren
Sapikowski, the defendants older
sister.
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Junior Monique Meertens and freshman Ashlee
Edwards perform a Puerto Rican folk tale titled “Medio
Pollito" as a part of the Carolina Caribbean Association
at the 2008 Masala Fashion Show, “Carolina Confidential.”
New hire must mesh with system
Other schools see chancellor tensions
BY KEVIN KILEY
STAFF WRITER
While the University created a
committee of 21 people to seek out
candidates, the decision about its
next chancellor ultimately falls on
the shoulders of one man: UNC
system President Erskine Bowles.
The committee will select three
names to submit to Bowles, who
wall narrow the field to one and
State seeking new measures to combat dropout rates
BY ELIZABETH DEORNELLAS
STATE A NATIONAL EDITOR
In response to increasing dropout rates,
the state of North Carolina is seeking to
restructure high school so that it flows more
directly into higher education.
*We are changing this product that we
call high school, and we are merging it with
college,* Gov. Mike Easley said, addressing a
group of university, community college and
PreK-12 administrators Wednesday.
A report presented Thursday to the state
Board of Education found that 23,550 stu
dents 5.24 percent of N.C. high school
students dropped out during the 2006-
07 school year.
Those numbers reveal a 4 percent increase
in the dropout rate and a 6.2 percent increase
in the number of lost students as compared
to the 2005-06 school year.
The state’s education officials came
1
Day left until
student elections
set pg. 7 for stories
01ir Satin (Far Mrri
His aunt and half-brother also
read statements about how the
loss affected them.
Officially, Sapikowski on Friday
only pleaded guilty to and was sen
tenced for the murder of his moth
er, Alison Sapikowski. He had
already pleaded guilty to obstruc
tion of justice and the murder of
his father, James Sapikowski, the
coach of the UNC club hockey
team, as part of a plea deal.
The deal meant he was sen
tenced to between 40 years and
‘CAROLINA CONFIDENTIAL’
submit that name to the Board of
Governors for approval.
The chancellor hired will report
to Bowles, but the relationship
between UNC-Chapel Hill’s chan
cellor and the UNC-system presi
dent has been described as both a
partnership and a hierarchy.
The president is responsible for
setting the direction of the sys
tem, which comprises 17 constitu-
together Wednesday to discuss solutions
including using lottery funds as monetary
rewards for high school graduates and get
ting rid of local school boards.
But the most seriously discussed solution
was the creation of a seamless education sys
tem in which PreK-12 education would feed
directly into higher education, eliminating
many of the barriers between high school
and college.
The state created Learn and Earn and
its online counterpart to give students the
opportunity to gain college credits while in
high school and even to graduate from high
school with an associates degree.
But Easley said the online programs
haven't expanded far enough. ‘The product
we have out there right not is not selling*
Easley, who is taking two online courses
SEE DROPOUT RATES, PAGE 5
online | dailytarlu*cl.com
LOVE SHOW Improv group Transactors
performs a Valentine's Day-themed show.
WHAT'S IN A POLL Professors and
pollsters discuss presidential polling.
IN TRIBUTE A Hillsborough middle
school celebrates Black History Month.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
www.dailytarheel.com
four months and 50 years in pris
on.
Instead of claiming insanity, he
took the deal because he wanted
to spare his family a trial, said his
attorney, Rosemary Godwin. He
also avoided the possibility of a
sentence of life in prison without
hope of parole.
‘He has struggled to accept what
has happened." Godwin said.
The family's testimony marked
what was presumably the closing
chapter in a murder investiga-
The annual show was held Friday night in Memorial Hall
and featured performances by diverse UNC groups, from
dances by Chispa and Bhangra Elite to a final fashion show
by Concept of Colors. See pg. 6 for the full story.
ent institutions. Each constituent
institution has its own chancellor,
who reports to the president and
Board of Governors.
N.C. Sen. Richard Stevens, R-
Wake, said it is going to be impor
tant that Bowles and UNC-CH’s
next chancellor foster a strong rela
tionship.
“It will be extremely important
that they work together as a team,"
he said. “There are a lot of interests
at stake."
Because chancellors are respon
■Sir A- j/ ms
m
-a
tion that saw widespread cover
age in the press, both because of
James Sapikowski's prominence
and because his son hosted a prom
party at the house while the dead
sible for their institutions but
answer to the president, there is
the potential for disagreements.
Differences can emerge about
the direction a university should
take or how to get there.
“Any time you have two people
deciding the direction of a uni
versity, there is the potential for
conflict," N.C. Sen. Tony Rand, D-
Cumberland said.
There tends to be a greater chance
SEE CHANCELLOR. PAGE 5
High school dropout?
A look at Orange County and
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools
dropout rates:
6%,
A ■ N.C. Public Schools
5%
4< * ■ Orange County Schools
3%
2% —Tf Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools
at. a. i ,ii i ■
2002 2004 2006
SOURCE: N.C DEPT. Of PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
DTHfMAEGAN WALKER
SportS | page 12
HEELS WIN 2 OT THRILLER
The men's basketball team
defeated Clemson 103-93 Sun
day, marking the 53rd straight
time they've beat the Tigers at
home, anew NCAA record.
bodies lay in the master bedroom.
District Attorney Jim Woodall
also revealed new details.
Sapikowski had claimed he
shot his parents on the morning of
April 29,2005, because his father
had been emotionally abusive and
his mother hadn’t intervened,
Woodall said. He would have
argued that his father threatening
him with a baseball bat was the
trigger that precipitated the mur-
SEE SAPIKOWSKI, PAGE 5
Adam
Sapikowski
pleaded guilty
in court Friday
to the murder
of his mother,
Alison.
Blue books
are free at UL
starting today
BY KATY DOLL
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Beginning today, a limited sup
ply of blue books and scantrons
will be available for free at the ref
erence desk in the Undergraduate
Library-.
After learning of student dissat
isfaction with haring to wait in line
for blue books, the library decided
to put a small fund “for the ben
efit of the undergraduates" toward
supplying these testing materials,
said Leah Dunn, director of the
Undergraduate Library.
“One of the things we try to do
here is make the busy lives of the
students a little easier." Dunn said.
The library bought two cases of
blue books and one case of scant
rons, which comes to about 5,000
scantrons and 1,000 blue books.
“We’re hoping people will be
conscientious and not stock up
on their year supply," Dunn said,
adding that library officials might
buy more supplies depending on
what happens.
Student Stores began charging
for blue books and scantrons at the
beginning of the spring semester.
Blue books cost 15 cents apiece
or seven for sl. Scantrons run 8
cents each and seven for 50 cents.
“Even though it's just a couple of
cents, it is time consuming," sopho
more nursing major Allison Silsbee
said of having to wait in line to pur
chase testing materials.
John Jones, director of Student
Stores, said the rising price of
supplying these materials for free
was detrimental to the store.
“It was a cost to us, and we
were charging that cost to adver
tising and promotions," he said.
“And when we started doing it in
the early ’9os, it was only a couple
thousand dollars."
But that price has risen to
almost $30,000. And last year.
Student Stores supplied 200,000
blue books, Jones said.
DTH/IAUREN COWART
CHCCS has one of states lowest dropout rates
BY ELIZABETH JENSEN
STAFF WRITER
Fewer students dropped out of Chapel
Hill-Carrboro City Schools last year to put
the district ahead of other school systems
and the state average.
According to anew N.C. Department of
Public Instruction report, the school district
has the lowest dropout rate out of nonalter
native public schools statewide.
The district’s high school dropout rate fell
28 percent in the 2006-07 school year, from
1.5 9 percent to 1.12 percent
‘I am delighted, and I am ecstatic," said
Burmadeane George, director of Phoenix
Academy, a CHCCS alternative school.
In the 2006-07 school year, 41 students
dropped out of Chapel Hill-Carrboro
this day in history
FEB. 11,1958...
The Dialectic Senate votes on
whether Greek organizations have
the right to discriminate based on
race when choosing members. The
vote ends in a 4-4 tie.
MO NDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2008
ATTEND THE
DTK FORUM
The Daily Tar Heel will
question the campus
election candidates in a
forum open to the public
from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
today in Murphey 116.
See pg. 7 for
election coverage.
“One of the things
we try to do here
is make the busy
lives of students a
little easier."
LEAH DUNN, director of the ut
Until today . Student Stores was
the only location on campus pro
viding blue books.
Dunn said the library had
considered supplying some blue
books and scantrons before the
controversy arose.
“We thought that now would
be a good time to act, especially
with midterms around the cor
ner," she said.
Dunn said that the books will
be at a monitored reference desk
but that she hopes the library
won’t have to police the supply.
She said it will not put its entire
stock out at once.
“We're not looking at the library
as the sole source ofblue books and
scantrons." Dunn said. “We thought
we could be a convenient pickup
point for students who need it*
Students generally expressed
delight at the news and not hav
ing to wait in line.
“I’m a transfer, and in Wisconsin,
professors would give them blue
books and scantrons to you," said
Jessie Stellini, a sophomore psy
chology major. “So I’m not used to
me being responsible for them."
Although student government
officials met with Jones to work
on supplying free materials. Jones
said he has not met with anyone
else for several weeks.
“The whole blue book issue
has been very quiet the past few
weeks," he said.
Contact the University Editor
at ndesk@unc.edu.
schools, compared to 57 in the 2005-06
school year.
Orange County Schools did not experi
ence the same success. One more student
dropped out in the 2006-07 school year
than the year before, but because of dis
trict growth, the rate of dropouts actually
decreased from 4.31 percent to 4.28 per
cent.
“We certainly aren’t pleased,” said Michael
Gilbert, spokesman for Orange County
Schools. ‘Anytime one student drops out,
it’s one too many."
Both districts said they are making sig
nificant efforts to keep students in school
by strengthening parent involvement and
SEE LOCAL SCHOOLS, PAGE 5
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opinion 8
games 11
sports 12