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CAMPUS BRIEFS
Tickets still on sale for next
week's Homecoming shows
Students who camped out for
tickets to The Avett Brothers were
able to get better seats in Memorial
Hall.
But the show didn’t sell out.
As of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday
there were still 99 tickets avail
able, according to the Memorial
Hall box office.
More than 500 Gym Class Heroes
tickets also were still available.
Sophomore Nathan Creger said
he thought tickets were gone.
“People just assumed that
there would be none left,” he said.
“There’s a problem with communi
cation.”
And Tom Allin, Carolina Union
Activities Board president, said the
communication problem was being
worked on.
“We’re doing our best to get the
word out that tickets are still avail
able for both shows.”
Students can purchase tickets
for the Homecoming concerts
at the Union Box office or at the
Memorial Hall box office.
UNC squad takes second in
national ROTC competition
An Army ROTC group com
posed of 10 students took second
place in its division in a Ranger
Challenge over the weekend.
The group traveled to Fort
Pickett, Va. Twenty-one ROTC
teams participated in the competi
tion, and the UNC squad competed
against nine others.
The teams took physical and
written tests, then performed night
navigation Friday.
Saturday, team members were
tested individually in first aid,
marksmanship, grenade accuracy
and radio procedures.
Chemistry professor named
December ceremony speaker
The University’s commence
ment speaker selection committee
named Valerie Ashby, a chemistry
professor specializing in biomate
rials, December’s commencement
speaker.
“Valerie Ashby is among our best
teachers in the classroom and the
lab,” said Chancellor Holden Thorp
in a press release. “She is an inspi
rational colleague and mentor and
a leader in biomaterials research.
Highly regarded by her students
and colleagues alike, she will bring
an excellent and timely message to
our graduates in December.”
Ashby, a UNC alumna, has been
named one of the top 12 young
female chemists in the country by
the American Chemical Society.
Ashby teaches organic chemis
try, as well as introductory chem
istry.
Thorp will preside at the Dec. 14
ceremony at 2 p.m. in the Dean E.
Smith Center.
CITY BRIEFS
Downtown Partnership to
hold public parking forum
The Chapel Hill Downtown
Partnership will hold a public
forum tonight to gather input
about parking.
The discussion will focus on the
downtown parking study, which
was presented earlier this month.
Parking has been identified as
one of the top-five issues affecting
the area by downtown business
owners, residents and visitors.
The study includes an assess
ment of available parking, an anal
ysis of parking supply and demand
and parking promotions. It also
makes recommendations for how
to improve parking downtown.
The forum will be held at
University Presbyterian Church at
5:30 p.m. If unable to attend, cedi
967-9440 to make comments.
Three arrested in county
for possession of cocaine
The Orange County and
Chatham County sheriff’s offices
arrested three people Tuesday for
the possession of cocaine.
The Orange County Sheriff’s
Office Drug Investigators searched
lot No. 12 in a southern Orange
County mobile home and seized
more than eight ounces of cocaine
and about $20,000 in cash.
Both Raphael Puga Martinez,
32, and Blanca Estela Lopez-
Espinoza, 29, were arrested on
charges of trafficking cocaine,
possession with intent to sell and
maintaining a place to keep con
trolled substances.
During the search, investiga
tors received information which
led to 200 Barnes St. in Carrboro.
At this apartment, Bernice Lopez-
Espinoza, 19, was found with over
seven ounces of cocaine.
She was charged with possession
with intent to sell, maintaining a
place to keep controlled substances
and possession of drug parapher
nalia.
All three were expected in court
Wednesday.
-From staff and wire reports
Increases may go to students
Could fund undergraduate research
BY MEGHAN PRICHARD
STAFF WRITER
This year’s student tuition
increases could go toward a venture
fund for undergraduate excellence,
providing money for anything from
special projects to first-year discus
sion groups.
This year the tuition and fee
advisory task force has discussed
creating this new program and
updating old ones to improve the
undergraduate experience and
recruit top-performing high school
students —one of Chancellor
Holden Thorp’s top priorities.
The task force discussed the
idea of a venture fund at its Oct.
20 meeting.
The fund’s purpose has not been
clearly delineated, but task force
members said the fund would sup
port students or faculty with origi-
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A tramp (left), played by Peter Gowen, listens to Dan Burke, played by Tom Hickey, during "The Shadow of The Glen" at Memorial Hall.
The play is one of two performances by the Druid Theatre Company. The group also performs "The Playboy of the Western World."
TIME TRAVELING
Druid Theatre Cos. captures Irish heritage
BY PHILLIP CROOK
STAFF WRITER
Druid Theatre Company’s productions of
“The Shadow of the Glen” and “The Playboy of
the Western World” play to audience’s precon
ceptions about Irish culture, largely turning
them on their heads through skilled comedy.
The works, both by Ireland’s bench
mark classical playwright John Millington
Synge, simmer, and sometimes boil over, in
an emotional recipe of strife and humor.
The juxtaposition of the struggles of early
20th century life framed through comedy is
enhanced by the company’s crafted handling
of the material.
Presented by Carolina Performing Arts,
the plays each examine a female character’s
awakening to her identity in rural Ireland.
Time traveling more than 100 years since
each play’s premiere, Synge’s works connect
with modern gender issues articulated in
the cast members’ performances.
As the curtain-riser to the evening’s main
production, the one-act “The Shadow of the
Glen” provides an introduction to Synge’s
trademark language and style and to the
issues raised in the second play.
“Shadow” is obligingly short, yet within
the span of 30 minutes, the play traverses
McCrory visits Chapel Hill
BY REBECCA PUTTERMAN
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
In Mama Dip’s back room,
Republican gubernatorial candi
date Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory
made sure no one misunderstood
his opponent.
“(Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue) says one
thing in Charlotte and another thing
somewhere else,” he said about his
Democratic
opponent.
“I give the
same mes
sage no matter
where I am.”
I
■RifiTlr*!
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton
introduced McCrory on Wednesday
at a supporters’ breakfast, empha
sizing that he is a Democrat endors
ing a Republican.
“I’ve been impressed by the way
he’s stood up for good government
in North Carolina,” Chilton said.
Chilton accused the state gov
ernment of being corrupt and pow
er-hungry, and pointed to McCrory
as a leader who could change that.
SEE MCCRORY, PAGE 9
Top News
nal ideas.
“I’m thinking more of a venture
fund as a way of supporting inno
vation,” said Steve Farmer, direc
tor of undergraduate admissions.
He added that the fund could be
a selling point in student recruit
ment.
He said the fund would not
require much money, but he was
not sure of an exact amount.
Farmer also emphasized the
importance of connecting new
students with existing opportuni
ties or creating new ones.
He said one priority was invit
ing students to take part in under
graduate research.
“One idea that I think has come
up in conversations is an idea of
learning groups in the first year
that are focused on great prob
lems,” Farmer said.
complex thematic ground.
A wandering beggar takes refuge in a
small cottage in County Wicklow, where he
finds a woman sitting out the wake of her
dead husband. The plot heightens,when the
believed-dead patriarch reveals himself to be
alive, much to the dismay of his wife, Nora.
“The Playboy of the Western World,”
internationally recognized as Synge’s great
est work, tells the story of Christy Mahon, a
young man who runs away from his family
farm. Christy arrives in County Mayo, where
he charms the townspeople by spinning a
wild tale of how he killed his father.
The local barmaid Pegeen Mike is capti
vated by Christy’s story and his mysterious
allure. The couple’s romance is thrown into
comedic havoc, made all the more compli
cated when Christy’s father turns up alive
in the town.
Audiences with little exposure to the
Irish accent will likely find the production
an aural puzzle.
It’s the kind of production that makes
audience members yearn for subtitles and,
unfortunately, much of the humor is lost in
the tangle of difficult language.
But despite the obvious accent barrier,
Synge’s humor manages to shine through,
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory speaks
to supporters at Mama Dip's about how he will clean up Raleigh.
He gave the example of a pre
medical student joining a learning
group to discuss issues of public
health.
But potential tuition increas
es won’t just support this fund.
Money will go to faculty raises
and graduate financial aid.
The committee also is consider
ing giving more money to academic
advising and undergraduate finan
cial aid.
Trustee John Ellison said the
UNC Board of Trustees set aside
some of last year’s money for advis
ing after hearing that its services
needed improvement.
“We’d gotten feedback from the
students and particularly from Eve
(Carson)'that students were upset
with the quality of the advising, and
the amount of resources that the
administration had to put towards
that was limited,” he said.
Ellison said he looks forward to
hearing the task force’s ideas about
THEATER£V7£W
THE SHADOW OF THE GLEN
AND THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
DRUID THEATRE COMPANY
WEDNESDAY
ickirCrk
ATTEND TONIGHTS SHOW
Time: 7:30 p.m. today
Location: Memorial Hall
Info: www.carolinaperformingarts.org
thanks to the precisely timed physicality and
delivery of the casts.
Tom Hickey as Dan Burke in “Shadow” is
a humorous portrait of a grouchy old man
teetering on the edge of death, yet enlivened
by fierce wit.
The three single village women harping
for husbands in “Playboy” also earn laughs
for their cooky fusion of girlish glee and
witch-like swagger.
But audience members also will find pig
ments of meaning in “Shadow” and “Playboy.”
That is, at least, the portions they can rec
ognize as English.
Contact the Arts Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2008
where the money should go.
“I’m totally open as to what the
recommendations to the trustees
should be,” he said. “I really want
to listen to what the committee has
to say.”
Ellison added that he would
not support any recommendations
that he felt did not serve students’
interests.
“I think the tuition increases
should be restricted to things that
enhance the quality of the stu
dents’ experience at UNC,” Ellison
said.
Farmer also said any increases
must stay focused on moving the
University forward.
“We want to make sure that
whether times are good or if
times are bad we are continually
improving upon students’ experi
ence.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
Students dance to
beats of their own
BY NICK ANDERSEN
STAFF WRITER
Cassie Butler and Lucas Wood
don’tknoweach other. But that didn’t
stop them from dancing together in
the center of Polk Place.
Sharing iPod headphones,
dance moves and laughs, more
than a dozen students gathered
Wednesday afternoon for a silent
disco put on by Carolina Union
Activities Board’s campus voice
and exposure committees.
“The exposure committee is
all about people getting together,
building relationships through
more personal events,” said Butler,
a chairwoman of the group.
“With the silent disco, we wanted
people to get outof the box they build
around themselves and have fun.”
In a silent disco, dancers gather
in a public space armed with iPods,
earphones and a general disregard
for social norms.
Silent discos have spread across
Europe, Canada and the U.S. with
Raynor
holding
student
forum
Input sought on
improving UNC
BY MEERA JAGANNATHAN
STAFF WRITER
Trustees John Ellison and J.J.
Raynor will hold a forum today at
2 p.m. in Gerrard Hall. The event is
part of their ongoing project called
“Carolina: Best Place to Teach, Learn
and Discover.”
Raynor, who is also student body
president, answered questions
about the event that she hopes
will stimulate dialogue on areas in
which the University can improve.
Q: Why should students come?
Raynor: Any idea you put
out there will be recorded and
put into the academic plan. For
instance, the last time we did the
academic plan, they really pushed
the first-year seminars, and now
we have first-year seminars.
It also goes into the next capital
campaign, so the ideas that we’re
getting from the forum are going to
be the ideas that (Vice Chancellor
for University Advancement)
Matt Kupec and the Office of
Development raise money for.
If you need a change on campus,
this is the way to make that change
happen. And a lot of these changes
are going be lasting, so they’re going
to be here long after you’re gone.
Q: What sort of issues should stu
dents present?
A: What matters to them. We
really want the student perspective.
I don’t think that the University
gets to hear it as often as it needs to.
This is the chance for students to
represent what they want and what
they think needs to happen.
Q: How should students prepare?
A: They should really think
about what they like about Chapel
Hill, what they think we need
to change and what they think
would add value to their degree
that we’re not already doing.
But really, we don’t want people to
feel like they have to do a lot of prep
work. We just want their impres
sions and we don’t want them to
feel intimidated. We know that
students are going to have creative
ideas about how we can make
Carolina better.
Q: What is the forum's format?
A: We’re basically going to have
an open mic. People can come up
and present their ideas and we’ll
have someone taking notes. It’s
just an open forum for people to
tell us what they want.
Qt What are your hopes for the
forum?
A: I really hope that we’ll be able
to get some creative ideas to move
us forward. I think that’s what
students are really good at com
ing up with ideas that other people
haven’t really thought of yet This
forum is for faculty, staff and stu
dents, and I really want everyone to
hear what everyone else has to say.
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
large-scale events in downtown
areas of New York and Boston.
Wednesday’s event was inspired
in part by a silent disco tent held
at Nashville’s Bonnaroo Music and
Arts Festival, said campus voice
Chairwoman Gabriella Miyares.
“We wanted an event that would
bring people together in creative
self-expression,” Miyares said. “I
feel redly liberated.”
Social networking sites, such as
Facebook, helped spread aware
ness about the movement.
“I saw the event on Facebook,
and thought to myself, What a per
fect excuse to get silly in public,”
sophomore Yasmeen Zamamiri
said. “I just love to dance.”
As the silent disco quietly raged
on throughout the afternoon,
passing students gave the dancers
strange looks and cat calls.
“Are y’all in a Mac commercial?”
one bemused student asked els he
SEE SILENT DISCO, PAGE 9
3