VOLUME 116, ISSUE 83
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online
MEN'S SOCCER WINS
With a 2-1 victory against UNC-
Asheville in the 10th game of
the season, UNC has surpassed
its entire 2007 win total. "I'm
glad we're winning games,"
captain Mike Callahan said.
State | page 6
THE ISSUES: EDUCATION
See how N.C. Lt. Gov. Bev
Perdue and Charlotte Mayor
Pat McCrory, both candidates
for governor, match up on
education.
: I JjF /
university | page s
COME TOGETHER
Performers at the fourth-annual
Greek Alliance Council Showcase
sought to promote diversity and
unity within the organization.
state I page 5
THORP ON THE ROAD
Chancellor Holden Thorp
continues his tour of the state
with a stop in Asheville to talk
with high school students.
online | dailytarheel.com
SCHOOL BOARD
Chairwoman Pam Hemminger
plans to resign her seat.
AIRPORT SITING
Local residents oppose plans
relocate the county's airport.
SCHOLAR PRODUCTIVITY
The School of Education is No.
2 in academic productivity.
this day in history
OCT. 1,1990
Clef Hangers a capella group
is cited for a noise ordinance
violation after students in
Old East and Old West
complain about their singing
at the Old Well.
Today’s weather
O
Sunny
H 75, L 51
Thursday’s weather
Sunny
H 73, L 51
O
index
police log 2
calendar 2
crossword . 5
sports 8
nation/world 9
opinion 10
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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STATUES HOLD DOUBLE MEANING
BY KEVIN TURNER
ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR
Thousands of people pass them
daily but don’t really see them.
Silent Sam, the Unsung
Founders Memorial and The
Student Body are works of art
meant to beautify the University,
but as Race Relations Week begins
Monday, the racially charged foun
dation of many campus statues is
once again in question.
Since its Oct. 23,1990 unveiling,
the class ofl9Bs’s senior gift, a sculp
ture called The Student Body, has
been scrutinized as being racist.
Artist Julia Balk was selected
to create the piece to celebrate the
racial and ethnic diversity of the
campus, which was to be placed in
front of Davis Library.
But when the statue was
unveiled, the reception was any
thing but celebratory.
Of the seven students depicted
in the sculpture, many thought the
two black students were shown in
a particularly stereotypical way.
“Almost immediately there was
a huge student protest,” said Tim
McMillan, associate department
chairman and professor of African-
American studies at UNC. “Both
black and white students pro
tested.”
Pit preacher slapped
Evangelist says he
won’t press charges
BY MEERA JAGANNATHAN
STAFF WRITER
Micah Armstrong, a 41-year-old
evangelical fundamentalist better
known as Brother Micah, was assault
ed Thesday while preaching in the Pit,
according to police reports.
Witnesses said the unidenti
fied suspect took personally one of
Armstrong’s pronouncements, which
are often provocative.
“I was preaching the Bible,”
Armstrong said. “He was challenging
me, basically on why bad things hap
pen to innocent people, and I implied
that something had happened in his
childhood. He shoved me once and I
just stood. He shoved me again and
I stood, and then he hit me across
the face.”
First-year C. J. Scott said he saw the
incident from the steps of the Pit.
“He said, “You were probably raped
when you were young,’ and the guy
went up to him and pushed him and
told him to apologize,” Scott said.
“And then he just stood there and
the guy pushed him again, and then
he slapped him. It was loud.”
Armstrong, an occasional visitor
to UNC, speaks passionately against
homosexuality, evolution and hypoc
risy among Christians. He often
draws a large crowd of students who
argue with him.
Sophomore Alex Efird, who was in
the area when the incident occurred,
said she thought Armstrong pro
voked the assault.
“He steps on people’s toes,” she
Enrollment chief
faculty concern
BY KEVIN KILEY
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
For the past two months,
Student Body President J. J. Raynor
and IVustee John Ellison have been
hearing ways to improve UNC from
every comer of campus.
The Employee Forum and science
departments will weigh in today.
The discussions are part of a
comprehensive campus review
through which the duo hopes to
get input on what the major issues
facing the University are.
They are looking for three con
crete ideas for how to address
these problems and will present
them to the board in May.
Since August, the two have met
with more than 130 faculty mem
bers, staff and administrators to
learn how to improve the school.
“I’m not quite sure in hour terms
how many hours I’ve put in,” Ellison
said. “But I’ve been on campus
three or four days a week.”
Raynor and Ellison both said
they have noticed repeating themes
in what they’ve heard, and similar
issues keep coming up.
“Almost all of what we’ve heard
has concentrated around enroll
ment growth,” Raynor said. “Of
www.dailytarheel.com
McMillan hosts a tour of the
campus called “The Black and Blue
Tour” that explores black history and
its relationship with the campus.
McMillan said the figure of a
black woman carrying a book on
her head, reminiscent of an African
tribal woman, and a black male stu
dent carrying a book by his side and
spinning a basketball on his finger
created the most controversy.
“Art is something that is interpre
tations!,” said Archie Ervin, associ
ate provost for diversity & multi
cultural affairs. “It was clear to the
naked eye that these were clearly
stereotypical images, and therefore
subject to real interpretation.”
Due to the large outcry against
the sculpture, it was never dedicat
ed and was quickly moved to a gated
courtyard behind Hamilton Hall.
Nearly 18 years later, that sculp
ture still stands in the same place,
without any plaque or picture show
ing the original representation of the
statue —a fact that some criticize.
“What I’m most taken aback
about, is that we don’t know the
history behind it,” said Alysa
Campbell, vice president of the
Black Student Movement. “It does
an injustice to not know where it is
SEE STATUES, PAGE 4
JB
DTH/CAMERON MOSELEY
Brother Micah preaches passionately to an equally heated crowd in the Pit
on Tuesday. The crowd grew larger after Micah was slapped by a listener.
said. “It’s only natural for humans to
get upset. Why would you call some
one out on something so serious and
so personal?”
But some said both parties were
out of line.
“I don’t think either of them was
really in the right. Obviously the guy
was victimized by the preacher, but
I’m not a fan of violence,” first-year
Abbey Herrmann said. Herrmann
was also in the area but did not actu
ally witness the assault.
Armstrong said he will not press
charges.
“I don’t know where people get
this idea that I go around suing peo
ple, because I don’t press charges,”
Armstrong said. “I’m not out to get
anything out of it”
everything that has come up, most
of the issues have touched on it.”
The two will spend the spring
semester examining the feasibility
of implementing the three major
projects they come up with.
“Not only do we need good ideas,
but we also need implementable
ideas,” Ellison said.
When Raynor and Ellison meet
with UNC community members, the
two sit down and discuss the current
state of the University and then hear
what the other party has to say.
Ellison said they try to focus on
that person’s experience.
“In each meeting, we try to focus
on the areas that they are experts
in,” Ellison said.
But Ellison and Raynor said they
were surprised by how discussions
tended to be more Universitywide
than specific to that person.
“I’ve been amazed at how little
the response has to do with some
body’s own self-interest,” Ellison
said. “It’s amazing how University
focused people are.”
Raynor and Ellison said they
will continue having meetings
throughout October, incorporating
SEE INPUT, PAGE 4
Campus statues have controversial messages
African-American studies professor Tim McMillan takes students on a tour of the University noting important statues and
buildings on campus that have a strong connection to African-American history, specifically antebellum black history.
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SOURCE: UNC NEWSSERVICES DTH/ANNA CARRINGTON AND DAUA RAZO
Armstrong also said it is not unusual
for students to get physical with him.
But campus police said this was the
only assault on Armstrong at UNC.
“We’ve had incidents with the Pit
preacher but I don’t recall anyone
assaulting him,” Department of Public
Safety Lt. Steve Thornton said.
Despite Tuesday’s incident,
Armstrong said he will continue talk
ing with UNC students.
“Today I happened to get assault
ed,” Armstrong said. “But I love
Chapel Hill because I think this is
one of the most intelligent campuses.
Chapel Hill is one of the more civil,
thinking schools.”
Contact the University Editor
at vdesk@unc.edu.
Multi-instrumentalist set to play
A CUAB goal to
bring diverse acts
BY BENNETT CAMPBELL
ARTS EDITOR
The last time he saw Andrew
Bird in concert, Carolina Union
President Tom Allin said the
quirky singer-songwriter walked
on stage and immediately took
off his shoes, revealing a pair of
brightly colored socks.
And that was before he even
started whistling or playing the
glockenspiel.
Bird will bring his one-of-a-kind
performance to Memorial Hall
tonight, due in large part to Allin’s
efforts near the end of last year to
book the multi-instrumentalist
“He just won the audience over
really quickly. It was as though
you were in his living room lis
tening to his music,” Allin said. “I
thought at the time it’d be perfect
for Memorial. And when the date
worked out, we just felt like it’d be
a fantastic way to get the school
year started.”
Adele Ricciardi, Carolina Union
Activities Board music chairwom
an, who, as a result of Allin’s efforts,
had the show essentially placed in
her lap, said Bird’s performance
will be difficult to describe.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2008
300 E. Main
project OK’d
BY KATY DOLL
SENIOR WRITER
After almost five years,
300 E. Main St. in Carrboro
can break ground.
The development, which
spans from Cat’s Cradle to
the Arts Center, unanimously
was approved Tuesday after
several impassioned speeches
from members of the Carrboro
Board of Aldermen and years
of back and forth about the
project’s potential impact.
“I am not very happy
with this project,” Alderman
Jacquie Gist said. “In my heart
of hearts I want to vote against
it. I strongly believe it’s not
good for the town I love.”
But Gist went on to vote for
the project.
“It meets the letter of the
ordinance. My job is to enforce
the law and the ordinance as
it stands, not as I would like
it to be,” she said.
The development, by Main
Street Properties, will include
a five-story hotel, office build
ings and a parking deck.
At Weaver Street Market,
across the street from the
site of the proposed develop
ment, community opinion
was mixed.
“I think Carrboro wants
to grow for growth’s sake.
It’s not going to be Carrboro
anymore,” resident Christian
Bonanno said before the
Songwriter
Andrew Bird
whistles and
plays the
violin, guitar,
mandolin and
glockenspiel.
“He’s definitely a unique artist,
and he’ll put on a show nobody’s
ever seen before,” she said. “The
way he acts on stage is very per
sonal lt’s a unique experience.”
Allin said the performance by
Bird, a native of Chicago, exem
plifies CUAB’s mission to bring
in a wide scope of artistic acts.
“One of CUAB’s big goals this
year is to provide a good, wide
variety of music,” he said. “And
with Andrew Bird, he’s definitely
already very established and pop
ular, but he’s also certainly a rising
star in terms of people continuing
to catch on to his music.”
Allin said Bird might not yet
be a household name among
UNC students, but one of the
goals of the performance is to
pique their curiosity.
“It doesn’t fit squarely into a
category,” he said. “It’s exciting
to hear music that you can’t say
‘l’ve heard something like that
before,’ and Andrew Bird defi
nitely does that.”
meeting.
He said that in his eight
years in Carrboro, he has seen
the town change and the peo
ple that drew him there move
away.
“Its the growth you see
everywhere,” Carrboro resident
Luke Roberts said, adding that
Carrboro has been labeled an
authentic or cool place to live.
And with this label comes
new development as more
people want to move into the
area.
“Carrboro will no longer be
that authentic little pocket,”
Roberts said.
The first section to be built
is the hotel, run by Atma
Hotel Group Inc.
Though developers origi
nally planned to construct a
Hilton Garden Hotel, they said
Tuesday that they may instead
build a Hampton Inn.
Gist expressed concern
about how this could change
the design and the skyline.
“I can see a Hampton Inn
sign in my mind,” she said. “I
don’t want that dominating
the Carrboro skyline.”
The developers have often
stressed their local roots and
commitment to Carrboro.
Atma Hotel President
Manish Atma stressed in an
interview that the hotel group
SEE MAIN STREET, PAGE 4
ATTEND THE SHOW
Time: 8 p.m. today
Location: Memorial Hall
Info: vww.unc.edu/cuab/events.shtml
A classically trained violin
ist, Bird also plays the guitar and
glockenspiel, in addition to being
a world-class whistler.
Ricciardi said his multiple tal
ents made Bird an obvious choice
for a concert.
“He represents a great oppor
tunity to bring an up-and-coming
musician who’s fun but very mul
tidimensional and musically tal
ented,” she said. “And he’s a treat to
watch because he’s still very acces
sible and pleasing.”
CUAB spent $17,500 on the
show, and tickets are still available.
Allin encouraged those who
aren’t familiar with Bird to attend.
“There are a lot of artists, a lot
of opportunities to see a lot of dif
ferent music,” he said. “But if you’re
going to take a risk on one person,
Andrew Bird would be the one.
He’s one where I and some other
people I know just happened to
pick up his CD, and it’s a really
rewarding listen.”
Contact the Arts Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
Contact the Arts Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.