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CAMPUS BRIEFS
Graduate Senate meets to
elect committee members
The Graduate and Professional
Student Federation Senate met
Thursday for the first time this year.
The body elected members to its
committees and passed three bills.
The group represents gradu
ate students in all the academic
departments, including the profes
sional schools. One representative
is elected from each department to
serve on the senate.
Monika Schneider, vice presi
dent of internal affairs for GPSF,
spoke of the importance of having
a group to represent graduate stu
dents on campus.
’“Our voice is not heard as loud
ly,” she said.
This year the GPSF cabinet
wants to expand public service
work they are doing, said GPSF
President Cindy Spurlock. They
hope to meet with the Campus Y
to create shared activities between
graduate students and undergrad
uates.
Cancer researchers assist
innovative research study
Scientists at the Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center
helped release anew research study
that could help with further brain
cancer research.
The findings describe new genetic
mutations that could help diagnosis
and treatment of glioblastoma,.the
common form of brain cancer.
The research identified three
genetic mutations and mapped
major gene interaction pathways
that are disrupted in this type of
brain cancer.
CITY BRIEFS
Police investigating theft
of three Hondas this week
A Honda Accord was reported
stolen Wednesday, just days after
two Accords were stolen from the
same neighborhood, according to
Chapel Hill police reports.
The first two stolen Accords —a
1994 blue vehicle, and a 1995 gold
were reported stolen Monday
from Flemington Road in Chapel
Hill.
The attempted theft of a third
car —a 2000 silver model
occurred Monday at a parking lot
on nearby Hamilton Road.
The Accord reported stolen
Wednesday —a green 1995 model
also was parked on Hamilton
Road and is valued at SB,OOO,
reports state.
Flemington and Hamilton roads
are located east of the University’s
main campus, near Glen Lennox
neighborhood.
Chapel Hill police Spokesman
Lt. Kevin Gunter said the theft of
three such similar cars in the same
area is unusual, and the depart
ment is investigating to see if the
thefts are linked.
“We’re looking at obviously try
ing to connect the dots,” he said.
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen that
before. Our investigators are look
ing at different leads.”
Orange on pace for more
rabies cases than last year
• Orange County received a posi
tive test of a raccoon for rabies
Thursday.
It was the 15th identified rabies
case in the county this year, accord
ing to a press release from Orange
county Animal Services.
On Sept. 2, the raccoon was
found after a Hillsborough resi
dent heard a dog barking outside.
A neighbor killed the raccoon and
called animal control.
There were 19 positive rabies test
in 2007 and 27 in 2006, according
to the release.
STATE BRIEFS
Obama campaign announces
N.C. Republican supporters
Barack Obama’s N.C. campaign
disclosed Thursday the support of
about 200 N.C. Republicans for
Obama’s presidential candidacy.
The announcement was made
on a conference call where three
Republicans voting Democrat for
the first time in 2008 cited their
reasons for supporting Obama.
Read more about the announce
ment at blogs.daitytarheel.com.
UNC-C launching hurricane
research in Brunswick Cos.
UNC-Charlotte is working
with a Chapel Hill-based research
company to increase the infor
mation available about tornados
that spin off from hurricanes that
make landfall.
. The addition of three new hur
ricane monitoring sites launched
by UNC-C brings the total num
ber of sites in Brunswick County
to 11. Information from the sites
will be used to create a weather
map for the county.
Go to www.dailytarheel.com to
read the story.
From staff and wire reports
BOE chairman new to board
Others may apply until 5 p.m. today
BY KEVIN KILEY
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Some roles on campus require
special experience, and the Board
of Elections chairman has tradi
tionally been one of those roles.
But lack of interest from the board
caused student government to look
elsewhere for this year’s chairman.
Sophomore Ryan Morgan, who
was appointed to head the board
last spring, is the second consecu
tive sophomore chairman and took
the position without previously
serving on the board.
“I think anew perspective is
always good,” Morgan said.
Applications to serve on the board
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• DTH/DANIEL VAN NIEKERK
First-year student Prashant Angara (middle), performs a routine at tryouts for the Bhangra Elite dance group. "Tryouts are a little
harder than I thought," said Angara, who started Bhangra dancing in high school. "It was the hardest routine I have ever done."
WORKING UP TO ELITE
Students audition for Bhangra dance group
BY NATE HEWITT
FEATURES EDITOR
About 50 students leaped, raised their
arms, cocked their hips and dropped to the
floor in one fluid motion.
Each vying for one of about 25 positions
in the dance group Bhangra Elite at a tryout
Thursday.
Senior Amy Patel said she was inspired to
try out by her roommate, who has been on
the team for three years.
“I’ve been watching them perform for
years,” she said. “It could give me that cul
tural activity that everyone needs.”
Students learned the dance for the tryout
on Tuesday and practiced it Wednesday.
And unlike previous years, group admin
istrators said there was virtually no drop-off
after the two practice days.
Administrators said they planned to select
Retirement after 40 years
Lenoir employee
recalls changes
BY DANIELLE ADAMS
STAFF WRITER
Esther Jeffries, a 40-year UNC
employee, says working with peo
ple has always been her bread and
butter.
Today is the last day of work for
the 75-year-old cashier, who has
seen thousands pass through UNC
in her time here.
“This place is like a home to
me,” Jeffries said. “I’ve been here
so long, and I’ve seen so many
things change here. I’m getting
older though, and my health is not
as good as it once was, so I think it’s
about time.”
Having served as supervisor at
the Student Union for seven years
and a cashier at Lenoir Dining Hall
for the remainder, Jeffries has seen
her share of changes at UNC.
When Jeffries was just starting
her job, Lenoir was the only build
ing near what used to be a park
ing lot. That parking lot is now the
Pit
Jeffries said she even remem
bers seeing the construction of the
Student Union.
“A couple staff workers and I
were leaving after our shifts one
Top News
will be accepted until 5 p.m. today.
Six to 10 members will be selected.
The board is responsible for orga
nizing and overseeing the elections
process and enforcing sections of the
election law in the Student Code.
Most chairmen are selected from
the boat'd. Officials said they usually
look within the board for applicants
but received none in the spring.
“Honestly, nobodyfrom the board
applied,” said Todd Dalrymple, the
student body vice president.
Morgan said he applied without
knowing that no board members
had applied.
Last year’s elections board chair
man, junior Mitchell Capriglione,
new members immediately after the tryout
“The longer you wait, the less you remem
ber,” member Nikita Goel said. “It’s good to
go ahead and make the decision and not
make them have to wait.”
“Anyone can do it; just have enthusiasm
and the willingness to learn,” Goel said. “The
most important thing is that you realty have
a passion for the music and the culture.”
Generally, only about 15 dancers perform
at a time and travel to competitions.
But interest in the group is growing,
member Anurag Satsangi said.
“Bhangra’s all over YouT\ibe,”he said. “We’re
up there every time there’s a competition.”
Bhangra dancers move to the beat of a
two-sided barrel drum, called a dhol.
“We use it to follow the tempo,” said Anish
Thakkar, who plays during performances. “It
maintains the beat of the song and determines
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Lenior Dining Hall employee, Esther Jeffries, 75, is retiring after 40 years
of work. "I didn't ever think I would be here for this long,” she said.
day at about 12 a.m., and the Union
was in the process of being built,”
Jeffries said. “But when we came
back at 3 p.m. the next afternoon,
the Union had fallen in. They had
to start all the way over.”
Buildings are not the only things
that have changed, though. Jeffries
said the major alterations are the
actual students, from the way they
dress to the manner in which they
present themselves.
said the job was a large responsibility
and he didn’t have time this year.
“I just wanted to spend a little
more time on schoolwork,” he said.
Matt Spivey, last year’s vice chair
man, also said other commitments
kept him from seeking the position.
Morgan successfully argued a
case before the Student Supreme
Court about election law last year
as the campaign manager for a dis
qualified candidate. Capriglione
said that demonstrates his knowl
edge of the Code.
“He’s coming into the office with
more knowledge of the Code than I
had when I took office,” Capriglione
said, who served as a first-year.
But having someone come from
outside the board with that kind of
knowledge is an anomaly, he said.
the kinds of moves we make.”
But performing completely live often proves
difficult, group captain Angad Patheja said.
“We tend to mix a bunch of music tracks to
perform to and use the drums when we can.”
Group members perform in about five
competitions a year. They have traveled to
Washington, Atlanta and Richmond, Va., as
well as other places.
The folk dance, which has now evolved
into a form of pop expression, has spread to
various parts of the globe, notably featured
in collegiate competitions.
The Elite will perform dual shows on Oct
4 for events sponsored by the senior marshals
and Masala, UNC’s multicultural group. The
group’s favorite competition will come in April
with the Bhangra Blowout in D.C., which is
confined to college groups.
The group also will sponsor Bhangra Sutra
in February, an annual event that showcases
SEE BHANGRA, PAGE 6
Asa single parent of five chil
dren, she said her motherly
instincts always kick in when she
sees the students.
“I enjoy the kids, and I always
look forward to the beginning of
the year and seeing all the new
faces and freshmen,” Jeffries said.
“I try to be like a mother to them
since they’re all new here. I guess
SEE RETIREMENT, PAGE 6
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008
“This is one of the first times,
if not the first, that the chairman
has not been on the board before,”
Capriglione said.
The Student Code states that
Board of Elections chairmen
should have at least one semester
of experience on the board.
But it allows Student Congress
to approve an inexperienced chair
man with a two-thirds majority
Morgan said he has spent the past
week talking with potential student
body president candidates to try to
clarify sections of the Code.
The talks are in response to sever
al candidates holding large interest
meetings, which could violate early
campaigning restrictions, depend-
SEE BOE, PAGE 6
Classical quartet part
of younger generation
BY PHILLIP CROOK
STAFF WRITER
For those who say classi
cal music is dying, September
Prelude counters with the poster
child for a younger generation of
musicians.
The four members of the
Chiara String Quartet are in
their early 30s, and while that
may not sound very young, violist
Jonah Sirota said most quartets
have spent decades performing
together.
“We’re not young in the sense
that we’re new to this, but our per
spective is generational,” Sirota
said. “If we’re the new young face
of classical music, then we’re down
with that.”
Presented by Carolina Performing
Arts, Duke Performances and the
Raleigh Chamber Music Guild,
September Prelude’s fifth year
demands a large repertoire and
stamina from the quartet.
The concert today in Memorial
Hall is the first of three in the
Triangle this weekend, each offer
ing listeners something new each
time.
Tim Carter, chairman of the
music department, said today’s
program is a particular treat for
State’s
leaders
stump
at home
Candidates give
up delegate seats
BY ARIEL ZIRULNICK
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
The country’s attention was
focused on Denver and Minneapolis-
St Paul the last two weeks, but N.C.
candidates opted out of attending
their parties’ national conventions.
The senatorial and gubernato
rial candidates instead campaigned
in North Carolina.
Staying home from the convention
is a growing trend, said UNC jour
nalism professor Ferrel Guillory.
“One of the most precious things
a candidate has is his or her own
time,” he said. “You’ve got to cal
culate whether taking four or five
days to go to a convention are you
spending that time well? Or should
you spend it here, campaigning?”
And as participation in state pri
maries grows, the convention has
become an official nomination cer
emony in favor of a candidate who
has already been chosen.
“It’s not as if they’re going to go
to Denver or St. Paul and have a key
role in deciding whose going to be
the next president,” Guillory said.
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory,
Republican candidate for gover
nor, was a convention delegate but
chose to spend the week in the state
instead. The campaign could not be
reached for an explanation.
Reasons for skipping the con
ventions vary, but maintaining dis
tance from the party establishment
is often a big one, Guillory said.
The unpopularity of the George
W. Bush administration has been
cited widely as a possible reason
why many Republicans up for re
election stayed away this year.
But campaign stafffor Republican
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole who
faces a re-election battle against
N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford
denied that had anything to do
with their decision to opt out.
Dole has attended several con
ventions in the past and was a
speaker one year.
“She’s got a pretty packed sched
ule this week, which is why we had
to decline.... No political motiva
tion there at all,” said Hogan Gidley,
the campaign’s press secretary
He stressed that it was not an
attempt to distance Dole from
the unpopular administration of
President Bush.
But Gidley did say that Dole
opted to stay in the state to make
sure North Carolinians were famil
iar with the work she’s done.
“She knows that this is an
important election and she wants
to make sure that people in the
state remember what she’s accom
plished,” he said.
The Hagan campaign said the
decision to not attend was made
awhile ago, when they realized how
close it was to the election.
“She got seven more days of
meeting and greeting folks,” said Kay
Hagan’s Communications Director
SEE CONVENTION, PAGE 6
SEETHE SHOW
Time: 8 p.m. today
Location: Memorial Hall
Info: carolinaperformingarts.org
audience members with its inclu
sion of a piece by a cutting-edge
Chinese-born American com
poser.
“It’s quite a coup for us to have
this piece,” Carter said. “It’s deeply
rooted in different traditions to
produce a very post-modern, com
plex image. It places the whole pro
gram in anew context.”
Zhou Long’s “Song of the Ch’in”
fuses Eastern and Western styles
to create an imitation of a Chinese
folk instrument by plucking on
the strings of the viola, violin and
cello.
Music professor Richard Luby
said the Chiara String Quartet is
admired for championing alterna
tive and contemporary music.
“They’re known for bringing
music to new venues, like clubs
and restaurants, but in a classy
way,” Luby said.
Sirota said part of the reason to
perform in such venues is to appeal
SEE QUARTET, PAGE 6
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