VOLUME 116, ISSUE 31
UNC Tomorrow progress aired
Forums detail Chapel Hill’s readiness
BY REBECCA PUTTERMAN
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
UNC-Chapel Hill has less than
one month to determine how to
bring North Carolina into the next
century.
After holding one public forum
Monday and another today, UNC
CH will submit its recommenda
tions by May 1 for contributing to
a systemwide mandate of serving
the state.
UNC Tomorrow, the brainchild
of UNC-system President Erskine
Bowles, outlines how the system
will contribute to the states 21st
century growth in terms of seven
goals, including global readiness.
EDWARDS TELLS
STUDENTS TO SPEAK UP
Shares life stories
during UNC talk
BY GREG SMITH
STAFF WRITER
At a campus known for its pub
lic service initiatives, Elizabeth
Edwards emphasized the impor
tance of reaching beyond academ
ics, sharing stories of her time at
UNC during the Vietnam War and
the civil rights movement.
“I wanted to do something, not
throw a rock or burn a flag, but
something that would make a dif
ference," she said.
About 100 UNC students
showed up Monday night to hear
the story of Edwards’ life.
During the question-and-answer
period after her talk, she appeared
reluctant to discuss the presidential
race, simply saving that she had
been surprised by everything so far
in the N.C. primary contest.
In reference to the national
election, she implored Democrats
not to get disillusioned if their pre
ferred candidate isn’t chosen. Her
husband, former N.C. Sen. John
Edwards, dropped out of the presi
dential race in late January.
The event was presented by
the Distinguished Speakers Series
Committee. ”We invited her because
of her public service and her passion
in standing up for what she believes
is right,’ said Danny Randolph, for
mer committee co-chairman.
Edwards began by saying learn
ing can remove a layer of gauze
from your eye. revealing the truth.
“Colleges are incubators. You
have the luxury of time to think
about classes ... and also to be
SEE EDWARDS, PAGE 5
Residents: justice not upheld
Object to waste transfer site criteria
BY MAX ROSE
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Rogers Road residents will
argue today that social justice
concerns should exclude their
neighborhood as a possible site for
a waste transfer
station to handle
the county’s gar
bage.
The Orange
County Board of
Commissioners
is expected to
approve general
criteria that will eliminate many
possible sites for the transfer sta
tion, but not the location of the
current Orange County Landfill.
Residents say the landfill, which
university | online
HOLOCAUST LECTURE
The Carolina Center for Jewish
Studies presents a lecture by UNC
history professor Christopher
Browning on the memories of
Holocaust survivors.
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access to higher education, public
schools, health, the environment
and public outreach.
For each UNC Tomorrow goal,
all 17 UNC-system campuses must
identify five to six new and existing
programs that will respond to those
demonstrated state needs.
“This is not a report that will go
in and be done and never seen or
heard from again," said UNC-CH
Vice Chancellor for Public Service
and Engagement Mike Smith,
who presented the University’s
response to the initiative.
This is a set of recommendations
where in many cases, we’re creating
processes that will get started after
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Elizabeth Edwards talks to students in Carroll Hall on Monday night about her experiences at UNC, as well as her views on issues such as
universal health care and the role of the press in the election process. Edwards advised students to “turn what you're thinking into action.”
has been in the Rogers Road
neighborhood since 1972, has low
ered property values and possibly
caused health problems in the pre
dominantly black neighborhood.
Barbara Hopkins, who has
lived in the neighborhood for 35
years, said a resolution will be pre
sented today that asks that the site
be excluded.
"We’re hoping they’re going to
take what we had to say in consid
eration,” she said.
Possible specific sites for the
waste transfer station will not be
identified until after the criteria is
developed. The board decided in
March 2007 to place the transfer
station at the current landfill but
voted to reconsider in November
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IRON & WINE TO PLAY
South Carolina native Sam
Beam, who performs under the
name Iron & Wine, will return to
his Southern roots tonight in a
sold-out Memorial Hall show.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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May 1," Smith said, adding that
there will be more opportunities
to involve the campus during the
response’s implementation.
The UNC-system Board of
Governors will review all 17 campus
responses by its June 13 meeting.
To develop the University’s
response plans, UNC-CH Provost
Bernadette Gray-Little appointed
six committees.
Having only begun meeting on
Feb. 14, the UNC-CH response com
mittees have been rushed to make
viable recommendations, which
concerned many at the forum.
“The problems and the needs
are urgent, and we need to get on
them," Smith said, emphasizing the
need to promptly address concerns
voiced at previous campus and
ATTEND THE MEETING
Thnt: 5:30 pm. today
Location: Southern Human
Services Center
Info: www.olver.com/orangecounty/
index.html
after residents raised concerns
about the process.
And the board has indicated a
possible willingness to consider
matters of social justice in the
decision.
"We were talking about
using as a criteria social justice
issues,” Board of Commissioners
Chairman Barry Jacobs said. "We
want to make sure it’s not just
anecdotal, but systemic."
They will hear recommenda-
SEE TRANSFER SITE, PAGE 5
community forums.
“Let’s let people who we talked
to know that we’ve heard them
and that we’re moving on it.’
Smith discussed the response
committees' tentative plans for
consolidating or expanding exist
ing UNC-CH programs to meet the
needs of the state. In some cases,
there is a need for completely new
initiatives.
“Tire UNC Tomorrow process is
a classic gap analysis that we’ve put
together," Smith said. “Here's where
we are now; here are the needs of
North Carolina in the future. How
are we going to close the gap? How
will the university system go about
closing that gap?"
He presented ideas for consoli
dation including pooling resourc-
Preaching extends beyond the Pit
BY MARY COLE ALLEN
STAFF WRITER
More than a year ago, Pit
preacher Gary Birdsong was
removed from his pulpit.
Since then, other religious
groups have come to campus
everyone from a singing guitarist
preacher to a reserved group of
young evangelists.
Those groups are preaching
from the heart of campus. But
Birdsong, the most recognized Pit
preacher, has had to relocate to
Polk Place.
“I like that it’s not quite as loud
in the quad, because the kids can
hear me better," he said. “But I’d
like to be able to come back to the
Pit because that’s where most of
the students are.”
SEE PIT PREACHER. PAGE 5
Cit) | page 7
GREENWAY EXTENSION
Planning could begin on
extending the Bolin Creek
greenway trail to Carrboro if the
Board of Aldermen accept
funding at their meeting tonight.
ATTEND TODAY’S FORUM
Time: 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. today
Location: Student Union, Room
3206
Info: unc.edu/pse/unctomorrow
about.php
es in the Triangle to create a center
for global health, expanding and
further funding the Institute for
the Environment, creating a Public
Education Collaborative Council
and pooling faculty research in a
UNC Center for Applied Public
Policy Research.
Those in attendance at Mondays
forum suggested that the commit
tees consider issues such as includ-
SEE UNC TOMORROW. PAGE 5
OTH FILE/J B YOUNG
Preacher Gary Birdsong, seen here in February, was banned from the
Pit in 2007. Cither religious groups have since preached in the Pit.
this day in history
APRIL 15,2004...
The Town Council passes a
resolution urging the town to 'be
extremely cautious' with resources
for Carolina North until the fate of
Horace Williams Airport is decided.
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2008
Police
see a
link in
crime
Latinos likely are
targets of spree
BY ROSE ANNA LAUDICINA
STAFF WRITER
Investigators from the Chapel
Hill and Carrboro police depart
ments are working together to
solve a string of robberies they
believe are connected.
All of the victims are Latino,
with one exception, and the
descriptions of the suspects given
by the victims share several close
similarities, leading police to
believe the same people are com
mitting the crimes.
“We have had similar descrip
tions on many occasions," Carrboro
police Capt. Joel Booker said.
“They have been described as
black males each time, and the
builds are similar; one is always
described as being slightly larger
than the other," he added.
Ten robberies have been report
ed in Carrboro this month. Latinos
have been the victims of five of
those robberies. A sixth victim was
Burmese. Chapel HOI had three rob
beries a week ago, of which all the
victims were Latinos.
Officials said they believe the
fact that the victims are Latino is
no coincidence.
Charlie Pardo, a Latino victim
specialist for Chapel Hill police,
said the reason this group is tar
geted is because of language bar
riers and the small probability that
they will report the incident.
“Many times when I call a vic
tim to follow up, they tell me that
their friend got robbed also, but
they didn't report it," he said.
“They can often think, ‘What are
the police going to do, my money
is already gone?' or they feel that
there isn’t anyone who speaks
Spanish that could help them."
Pardo said many members of
the Latino community are targeted
because they do not use banks and
often carry around large amounts
ofcash.
Booker said the communica
tion barrier between the Latino
community and the police also is
a reason why they are targets for
this sort of crime.
“When they do report a crime,
there can be a loss of communica
tion," he said.
SEE CRIME. PAGE 5
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