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CORRECTION
Due to a reporting error, Thursday’s
online story, “Hillsborough Amtrak
station a step closer to reality” incor
rectly stated that Art Mines said he
was hoping the proposal would be
submitted for federal binds. Mines
never mentioned federal funding;
Commissioner Alice Gordon did.
The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for
the error.
CAMPUS RRIEFS
DTH wins renowned award
for collegiate journalism
The Daily Tar Heel received the
Pacemaker award this weekend,
one of the most prestigious hon
ors in college journalism.
The DTH was one of nine
daily newspapers to receive the
award. Winners were announced
Saturday at the American College
Media/College Media Advisers
convention in Kansas City.
Visit Editor’s Notes at blogs.
dailytarheel.com for more about
the convention.
SBP candidate warned for
creating Facebook group
Potential student body president
candidate Julia La Roche, a junior,
received a warning from the Board
of Elections on Sunday for creating a
Facebook group for her campaign.
The group “Campaign Team
to Connect Carolina” was intend
ed only for her campaign team, La
Roche said, and she deleted it after
the elections board told her it vio
lated the Student Code.
La Roche said she wasn’t aware at
the time that such a group was ille
gal. The group had just five mem
bers. Though it stated, “I want to run
for student body president,” it did not
contain any platform points.
“I’m not really inclined to do any
big punishment about it,” said Ryan
Morgan, chairman of the board.
The board has already fined two
candidates, juniors Ashley Klein
and Matt Wohlford, S4O each for
pre-campaign activity.
Homecoming candidate's
signs in the Pit vandalized
Two signs belonging to Jeremy
Crouthamel, a male cheerleader
running for Homecoming king,
were vandalized with a derogatory
term for a homosexual.
Crouthamel said he discovered
the vandalism Friday morning, and
had the signs repainted and back
out by the end of the day.
Kiplinger's ranks UNC 'best
value' eighth year in a row
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance mag
azine ranked UNC the best value in
American public higher education
for the eighth year in a row.
The magazine ranked the uni
versities of Florida, Virginia and
Georgia second, third and fourth,
respectively.
The ranking is based on sev
eral measures of academic quality,
including SAT scores of incoming
first-year students and admission
and retention rates.
CITY BRIEFS
UNC business professor's
home site of investigation
Chapel Hill police are investi
gating the suspicious death of the
wife of a UNC business professor
Saturday at their home.
Chapel Hill Police Sgt. Steve
Lehew said police are doing a
death investigation but wouldn’t
give details about the investigation
at 207 Stagecoach Road, the home
of professor Barry Roberts.
“We consider all deaths to be
suspicious, and we investigate
them all the same,” Lehew said.
Neighbors of Roberts confirmed
that his wife passed away and said
the funeral was held Sunday.
Lehew said police might issue
more information today.
SPORTS BRIEFS
UNC women's hoops tapped
as No. 6 in preseason AP Poll
The North Carolina women’s
basketball team is ranked No. 6
in the preseason national poll,
released this weekend.
Connecticut claimed the top
spot for the first time in five sea
sons, and defending champion
Tennessee is seventh.
UNC already has been named
the preseason favorite in the ACC.
Tar Heels climb to No. 19 in
football's week 10 AP Poll
The North Carolina football
team climbed to No. 19 in the AP
Poll during its bye week after loss
es from four of the bottom seven
teams in last week’s poll.
UNC moved to No. 19 in the
BCS standings as well, up from
22nd last week.
The Thr Heels received 418 votes
in the AP Poll this week, almost
doubling last week’s total.
—From staff and wire reports
Seniors finish Habitat work
Home lacks electrical, plumbing work
BY DANIEL PATE
STAFF WRITER
. Saturday marked the first day
of November and the last day the
senior class needed to construct
a house for their Habitat for
Humanity project.
Construction on the house,
which was built for a needy fam
ily in Hillsborough, started in
mid-August. This is the third
consecutive year the senior class
decided to build a house for their
project.
“Being able to help with that and
actually have a very tangible role
in providing housing for someone
is just a really great feeling,” said
senior Rebecca White, who also
worked on a Habitat house as a
senior in high school.
“It’s not the privileged Carolina
life that you get exposed to every
day.”
Volunteer days have taken place
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Scott Avett (left) and Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers band, perform at Memorial Hall on Sunday to kick off the beginning of a week of
Homecoming activities. The brothers used a variety of instruments to reproduce their music including banjo, electric guitar and piano.
BAND OF BROTHERS
Passionate homecoming embraces audience
BY SETH WRIGHT
ASSISTANT ARTS EDITOR
There weren’t many songs after which a
member of The Avett Brothers didn’t have
to leave the stage for anew guitar.
Sometimes they even had to leave mid
song.
Though breaking strings left and right,
the group never stopped moving, never
stopped playing and never stopped putting
forth a blur of emotion —a testament to the
group’s showmanship.
The band is a four piece acoustic group
that had the power of a metal band.
Seth and Scott Avett, along with their
stand-up bassist Bob Crawford and cellist
Joe Kwon, brought an indescribable energy
to the Memorial Hall stage Sunday, playing
their fan favorites as well as songs from the
group’s new EP.
Strumming and dancing, Scott and Seth
Avett both used their feet to play bass drums
and high hats.
The audience’s commitment to the show
created the moving, lively atmosphere that
every performer hopes to bring.
Palin comes to stir up voters
BY ARIEL ZIRULNICK
STATE AND NATIONAL EDITOR
RALEIGH The Republican
presidential campaign is banking
on a high Election Day turnout to
balance the high Democratic turn
out in early voting.
For that
to happen,
they need to
energize their
supporters.
Republican
vice presidential candidate Sarah
Palin came to the state fair
grounds Saturday seeking to do
that.
Palin excels at energizing
crowds and has drawn large num
bers at every rally in the state. On
Saturday, thousands lined up out
side the Exposition Center hours
early. Even though about 5,000
were admitted, thousands were
turned away at the door.
“She’s electrifying crowds all
across the battleground states,” said
Rick Davis, the McCain campaign
manager, in a national conference
call Friday
Top News
every weekend since the Saturday
before classes began, with the
exception of Labor Day weekend
and Fall Break.
Senior class Vice President
Pinar Gurel said she didn’t even
know how to use a hammer when
the project started but felt like a
professional by the end of it.
Another challenge was waking
up before 8 a.m. to work on the
house.
“It’s hard to wake up, but when
you get there, it’s very rewarding
and fillfilling,” Gurel said.
Volunteers also said collaborat
ing with other students to con
struct the house has allowed them
to meet others who share common
interests.
“It’s a really good way to just
open your mind and just think
about things beyond all the
academic concerns we have at
school,” said senior Jessica Traylor
The band not only got the audience
involved through clapping, but also stopped
singing and allowed all of Memorial Hall to
sing along to their songs.
They played songs from all of their pre
vious albums with animation that can’t be
purchased with 10 bucks for a CD.
In fact, there was never a moment The
Avett Brothers didn’t seem to be conneqting
with every member of the audience.
Whether it was through their slow, touching
ballads or their energetic and electric chants,
the group never ceased to be full of life.
The Avett Brothers’ lyrics were flawless
with a bewildering intensity which at times
led to crowd chants and screaming.
Occasionally the band would completely
stop playing their instruments and sing a four
part harmonization that was chill-inducing.
As the group played, the intensity contin
ued to build, and both the band and audi
ence thrived off the escalating excitement.
The group threw their bodies across the
stage, fell to the floor and strummed until
their strings popped.
All creating a nearly flawless show.
Palin has turned some previ
ously lukewarm McCain support
ers into staunch advocates of the
Republican ticket.
“She is the American idea She
came out of nowhere and she is
going to be the next vice president,”
said Vivian North, a stay-at-home
mother from Durham who home
schools her children.
“I’m voting for Sarah Palin. John
McCain just happens to be there.”
The largely female crowd
Saturday cheered and shouted
so loudly and frequently that
the tail ends of Palin’s sentences
often were drowned out espe
cially when Obama’s tax plan was
brought up.
“He calls this idea ‘spreading the
wealth.’... A tax plan like that,— it
sounds to me like socialism,” she
said.
Audience members booed in
response, accompanying their vocal
reaction with pompoms, American
flags and homemade signs ordering
people: “Let Joe keep his dough.”
SEE PALIN, PAGE 10
“It’s a really good way to just open
your mind and just think about things
beyond academic concerns we have.”
JESSICA TAYLOR, SENIOR
while layering another coat of
white paint on rails for the front
porch.
Even though the seniors are fin
ished with construction, the house
still needs professional electrical
and plumbing work before its offi
cial opening.
A dedication for the house will
be held the day that the family
moves in.
Seniors are still working toward
raising the $35,000 needed to pay
for the project.
One of the more successful
fundraisers this year was the
Habitat House Party, a concert
held in Memorial Hall in early
October, which raised about
$2,000.
CONCERT REVIEW
THE AVETT BROTHERS
MEMORIAL HALL
SUNDAY
A A A A A
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After short leave at the end of their set, the
band received a much deserved call back to the
stage.
Playing “Pretty Girl from Chile” from their
2007 album “Emotionalism,” the Avetts lived
up to their famous energetic act.
All of Memorial Hall went dark for a
moment and then everything erupted to
bright lights, applause and a mayhem of
energetic strumming.
It’s rare to see a band become so invested
emotionally, physically and musically in a
single performance.
And though the North Carolina natives
have gained national attention and a major
record deal, Sunday’s show was a personal
homecoming for the Avetts, which was clear
ly emitted to the UNC crowd.
Contact the Arts Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
DTH/ARIANA VAN DEN AKKER
Republican vice presidential
candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
speaks at the state fairgrounds in
Raleigh on Saturday.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2008
Gurel said she has been pleased
with the volunteer turnout as well
as the expressed enthusiasm.
After discovering a litter of
unwanted puppies living next to
the Habitat house early in the
project, seniors also decided to find
homes for them. The puppies are
currently still living at the neigh
boring house.
Seniors said the heart of the
cause is helping out those in
need.
“Sometimes you feel obligated
to give back in college, especially
after nights like Halloween,” senior
Allen Spicer said.
Contact the University Desk
at udesk@unc.edu.
Senior leads McCrory’s
UNC campaign effort
BY RYAN DAVIS
STAFF WRITER
Senior Michael Hutson has
turned a passion for politics into a
labor of love.
Since June, Hutson has been
in charge of a campus campaign
effort to elect Charlotte Mayor
Pat McCrory,
a Republican,
to the office of
N.C. governor.
“I sleep five
hours a night
and the free
time definitely
isn’t there,”
Hutson said.
Campaigner
Profile
Today: Michael
Hutson
“But for me, campaigning is an art
and a love.”
Hutson, who grew up in
Charlotte, became familiar with
Mayor Pat McCrory during his 14-
year tenure as mayor.
Once he found out McCrory was
running for governor, he wanted to
take part in getting him elected.
A few
prefer
political
sideline
Some cite lack of
time, knowledge
BY AARON TAUBE
STAFF WRITER
Voter registration efforts have
signed up more than 3,000 new
voters at UNC. And in Orange
County, 104,897 people already
have flocked to the polls.
But first-year Melissa Auton
isn’t one of them.
“There’s too much fanaticism
behind the election,” Auton said in
reference to the partisanship and
negativity.
Auton also said she doesn’t think
she would make a sound voting
decision.
“I feel like I’m not informed
enough as a voter,” she said.
Whether it’s because students feel
uninformed, alienated by the candi-
dates or sim
ply can’t find’
time to get to
the polls, some
have chosen
not to vote.
election
2008
And economics professor Ralph
Byrns said they may be acting
rationally by not voting.
“If you’re voting because you think
you’re going to change an election,
you’re wasting your time,” he said.
According to a recent study, the
average American has a 1 in 60 mil
lion chance of casting a decisive
vote in the upcoming election.
“The probability that any single
vote is going to swing an election
is less than the probability of win
ning a lottery even if you don’t buy
a ticket,” Byrns said.
In the 2004 presidential elec
tion, only 64 percent of voting
age Americans made it out to the
polls, and voter turnout among
18- to 24-year-olds capped out at
47 percent.
“Some people just aren’t inter
ested in politics,” political science
professor Jason Roberts said.
“Some people don’t have the time
or the energy or the willingness to
gather the information they need to
feel like they can make a decision.”
Other students may choose not
to vote because they don’t find
either ticket appealing.
Sophomore Nick Remmey said
he would have voted for Republican
presidential candidate Sen. John
McCain but is strongly considering
not voting because he does not care
for his running mate, Sarah Palin.
“I don’t want her representing us
to other countries,” he said.
While she realizes that her vote
is just one of millions, junior Hallie
Lipsey has voted early and still feels
her fellow students should vote.
“I feel that it’s important if you
are of age and have no reason for not
voting, you should exercise your duty.
It’s part of democracy,” she said.
And while a single vote will not
do anything by itself, students vot
ing collectively will influence the
outcome of the presidential race,
Byrns said.
“It’s like yelling at a UNC bas
ketball game. No single person in
the crowd, by yelling, changes the
outcome of the game,” he said.
“But collectively, crowd noise
can change a game. Collectively,
votes can change history.”
Contact the Features Editor
atfeatures@unc.edu.
UNC senior
Michael
Hutson has
been working
to help elect
Pat McCrory as
N.C. governor.
Jim Ceresnak, a senior political
science major at North Carolina
State University, joined with
Hutson in an effort to inform oth
ers about their candidate.
“I’ve known Michael since 6th
grade, and I’ve never met anyone
more motivated or dedicated to a
cause than he is,” Ceresnak said.
Ceresnak said the McCrory cam
paign did not recognize the duo’s
efforts during the summer.
“We invested our own time,
energy and a lot of our own money,”
Ceresnak said.
But by August, the McCrory
SEE HUTSON, PAGE 10
3