North Carolina Newspapers

Vol. 82, No. 9 Chapel Hill, North Carolina Thursday, July 24, 1975 s ffyondls COT) DOT) u lj u u u u m mm by Carolin Bakewell Staff Writer The Campus Governing Council (CGC) froze funds of two campus organizations for alleged violations of treasury laws when it went into executive session Tuesday night. Funds for the UNC Football Club and the Graduate History Society are being withheld until, the first fall meeting of CGC, when its Finance Committee will begin investigations. A bill introduced by CGC Speaker Dan Besse stated that "the Student Body Treasurer has uncovered suspected financial dealings of certain Student Government-funded organizations which are alleged to be in violation of Student ftydw if 1 Government Treasury law..." CGC Finance Committee Chairman Bill Strickland said the violations occurred when certain organizations transacted business outside the Student Affairs Funding Office. CGC officials declined to comment on the specific nature of the alleged offenses. S hould a student organization be found guilty of budget law violations, funds could be permanently cut off and the group dropped from future CGC budgets. Gerald L. Featherstone, advisor to the Sports Club Council, was shaken by charges made against the Football Club. "There were some allegations that our club mishandled funds," he said. "Out of five years. 1 don't think one dime ft Ml ULQ) has gone the wrong way." "Over 80 student organizations are funded by Student Government," Student Body Treasurer Mike O'Neal said Tuesday afternoon. "Perhaps they haven't been supervised as well as they should have been in the past." Besse opposed the calling by O'Neal of a CGC executive session to discuss the alleged budget violations. "The action was illegal and any members voting for the executive session were voting for an illegal motion," he said. "This action doesn't qualify as an exception to the state meeting law." CGC is subject to regulation by the law. since it is a governmental bodYjie-added. Under state open meeting laws, official meetings of governmental bodies are required to be open to the public, unless specifically exempted. Exemptions are legal if acquisition of property, matters dealing with medical staffs or privileged relationships (such as lawyer-client) are to be discussed. In proposing that the meeting be closed to non-members, O'Neal argued that possible defendants' rights to a fair trial could be jeopardized by open discussion. He pointed out the possibility of media reports influencing prospective jurors and subjecting defendants to 'trial by press. Strickland argued the budget discussions qualified as an exception to the open meeting law under the category of employer-employee relationships. Dean John B. Adams of the UNC School of Journalism, an expert on open meeting law, said CGC "was stretching the definition a bit." He said one interpretation might allow executive sessions to be called in the case of discussions of possible disciplinary actions against students. "That would be opening up a pretty w ide door," Adams added, however. The judicial branch of Student Government, under the leadership of Attorney General Andromeda Monroe, is also investigating the alleged violations. The judicial branch is interested in determining if a breach of the student honor code occurred, Monroe said. m i: f U if? t' mx mm Mm 'to , M0 1' l$t jj II I jC mun"" iijujl. Z; r s&'s,, .... 'Wxv CGC in session Tuesday night Staff photo by Wamock-Lobraleo and sponsoring isn't easy eing a refugee is hard by Lynn Medford News Editor Sponsoring a Vietnamese, refugee is almost as hard as being one, yet Chapel Hillians have become sponsors for two Vietnamese families and are anticipating the arrival of more. According to UNC history professor Thomas Q. Reefe, who, along with his wife, will sponsor a Vietnamese family, five Chapel Hillians have already volunteered to sponsor refugees. Reel'e. who has been making preparations for the arrival of a Vietnamese family for months, described the rigors of sponsorship. The Vietnamese arrive literally with just their clothes on their backs," he said. In leav ing refugee camps, Vietnamese are given $100, a Social Security card, and a work permit. Each sponsor, cleared by refugee camp officials, must raise money for the Vietnamese on his own, Reefe said. Eighty per cent of persons who apply to become sponsors are rejected by camp administrators, Reefe said. He said many applicants were either too idealistic or wanted to engage in exploitation of the refugees. . . "About 90 per cent of the soldiers (in Vietnam) didn't go into combat but were at army camps with Vietnamese women. So now they think it's a way of keeping the sexual fantasy of the war going on they advertise to sponsor single women." . Reefe also said many religious groups applied to sponsor Vietnamese (who are predominantly Buddhist and Catholic) with intentions of converting them to Protestantism. Sponsors must help, the Vietnamese to become acclimated to the American culture, which is' made difficult by American misconceptions. "The press presents the Vietnamese as helpless objects of pity who will take anything they can get," he criticized. "This is not true. Like Americans, they want the best deal they can get." Many Americans are antagonized by refugees they feel are cutting into the already tight job market. "They're not taking jobs from the Americans," Reefe objected. "These people are qualified and fill job gaps that Americans leave unfilled. They (Vietnamese) produce generalists, while we tend to put out unemployable specialists." In preparation for the arrival of Reefe's refugees, approximately $1,500 worth of pledges have been raised by four churches and various individual donations. Free medical care has been arranged with local doctors, and tutors have volunteered to conduct English classes, Reefe said. A furnishings and clothing committee has been created to pick up donations twice a week. "While serving in Vietnam (1970-71), I saw the personal dilemmas and , suffering that the Vietnamese experienced as they were swept up in the war," Reefe said, explaining his decision to be a sponsor. "My wife is Japanese-American and spent four years as a child in Japanese-American internment camps on the West Coast during World War 1 1 . Neither one of us wishes to see the suffering and dislocations of the Indochina War continued." SG begins challenge of 1971 ruling against hiring attorney by Carolin Bakewell Staff Writer UNC Student Government (SG) is continuing plans to select a Student G overnment Attorney, despite doubts of the legality of such an appointment. Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor indicated July 18 in a letter to Student Body President Bill Bates that without permission from Governor James E. Holshouser Jr., employment of an attorney by CGC would violate N.C. General Statutes. Taylor cited a letter that former Attorney General Robert Morgan wrote to then-Di-Phi Societies President George T. Blackburn II in 1971. Morgan ruled that the state attorney general is the official legal counsel for the state and all its component parts. " I n view of the above," M organ said in the letter, "it appears that the student government of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill would not be authorized to employ private counsel on its own initiative to represent the student government organization." "There are questions of legality," CGC Speaker Dan Besse said Tuesday night. "But these are old opinions . . . attorney generals have changed since then ..." Besse explained that the decision rests largely upon the definition of the UNC S IO direc to r qu its by John Hopkins Staff Writer Jack E. Williams, UNC sports information director for the past nine years, has submitted his resignation, effective July 31, to enter private business, the Sports Information Office reported yesterday. Williams declined to specify what new business he was entering, but said it "will involve sports." Despite rumors that Williams was pressured to resign, Williams said yesterday in a telephone interview that he resigned voluntarily. "There was no pressure on him to resign," UNC Director of Athletics Homer Rice also said yesterday. "It was his own decision. He had talked about it for the last few months." - Williams disclosed that he plans to write a book on Dean Smith, the Tar Heels' colorful basketball coach. Rice said Rick Brewer, an assistant in the SI office the past seven years, has been Y asking funds A YMCA-sponsored drive to raise money for a Vietnamese refugee family will be held Friday on campus. Donations will be collected on a nickel and dime basis in the Pit and YMCA court from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Vietnamese family, which will be sponsored by UNC history professor Thomas Reefe, has not yet been selected from U.S. refugee camps, but preparations for their arrival have begun. The goal ot the drive is $500, which Reefe estimates will be required by two adult Vietnamese each month. Volunteers to help refugees should call INFO (942-8749) during the day, and Reefe (929-8301) at night. cieoftists baSfiie against CP&L ireactoir by Jim Brozo Staff Writer Responding to months of pressure from two U NC geologists and one Duke geologist, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently ordered the Carolina Power & Light Co. to install earthquake monitoring devices at its Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant near Southport, N.C. The three geologists -David M. Stewart and David E. Dunn of UNC's geology department and Duncan Heron of Duke have jointly compiled data on the seismic risks of the Southport location since last fall. Stewart began independant research in January, 1974. Reacting to the NRC's order, Dunn said Tuesday, "I'm quite pleased, because I hope that seismic risk analysis will become a routine part of the safety analysis for all nuclear installations." Though pleased with the order, Stewart was not surprised by it. "We were on sound scientific ground," he said Tuesday. Stewart knew the locations of North Carolina's nuclear plants and became concerned last year when he examined data on land elevations and found an "area of rapid uplift" at the Brunswick plant site. The land at the site is rising at a rate of about one-fourth of an inch per year, a sign that has preceeded earthquakes in other parts of the world. Stewart first warned CP&L that its Brunswick location was possibly earthquake-prone last October, but said he received no response. Joined in his efforts by Dunn and Heron last fall, the trio filed a petition for a show cause order with NRC in January, asking that CP&L be required to install seismic detection devices. A series of meetings was held in Washington, D.C., between the geologists and representatives from CP&L and the NRC, culminating in the order from NRC this month. CP&L has maintained that the monitoring devices were not necessary. This assertion was based largely on results of its own safety analysis of the Brunswick site. Dunn noted that when the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) first accepted CP&L's safety analysis, there was not a field in earthquake prediction. "Ninety-five per cent of what we know about earthquakes is information five years old or less," Dunn said. "It's a field that's literally exploding with information." But misconceptions surrounding earthquakes persist, Dunn and Stewart contented. For example, Dunn call "preposterous" concerns that an underground nuclear test could trigger an earthquake. He likened such an occurrence to using a firecracker to detonate a nuclear warhead. Another misconception is in the area of casualties. "The hazards of an earthquake to life have been greatly exaggerated," Stewart said. "The greatest hazards today are not the earthquakes, but the failures of man-made structures resulting from the earthquake." Damage to structures such as dams and nuclear plants highly escalate both human and monetary losses, he said. Both geologists expressed concern over possible earthquake damage to the Brunswick plant, with the populous Wilmington area about 20 miles north of' Southport. "Depending on which way the wind is blowing, it could have devastating results," Dunn said, referring to resultant emissions of radioactivity. "There's a real dearth of seismic stations on the East Coast," he said, noting that earthquakes in this area, though infrequent, "are destructive." When asked if any action can be taken to diffuse earthquakes, Dunn answered, "My own experiments are directly designed to approach that question." Dunn termed the trio's effort to get the seismic devices installed at Southport "strictly a one-issue" endeavor. "I feel as though I'm capable to talk about site hazards," he said. He stressed that the group did not delve into other possible dangers of atomic plants. Although the Conservation Council of North Carolina paid the trio's air fare for one of the Washington meetings, the geologists have met all expenses incurred in their project entirely from their own private funds. To undertake such a project, Stewart said, "It takes a person willing to spend a lot of his own money... and time." named Sports Information director on an interim basis. A native of Winston-Salem, Brewer attended Greensboro Grimsley High and is a 1971 graduate of UNC with an A.B. degree in journalism. He is 26 years old. In making the announcement, Rice told U NC Sports News, "We wish Jack Williams great success in his future endeavors. He is extremely talented and made many outstanding contributions to our department in his time here." Williams was named Sports Information director in August, 1966, succeeding Bob Quincy, He is the third man to have held the position. The late Jake Wade held the position from 1946 until his death in 1962. A native of Durham, Williams served as sports editor of three North Carolina newspapers The Raleigh Times, the Durham Morning Herald and 77ie Chapel Hill Weekly and was assistant sports editor of The Atlanta Constitution for six years. He is a graduate of Durham High School and UNC. Student Government as a component of the state government. "1 think this is meant to be a test case," he said. "One of the first cases the attorney, hears may be to determine if he can legally collect his salary. "I don't know if Ferebee Taylor can - unilaterally stop the money from going out of the student affairs office," Besse said. The proposal to create the Student Government attorney position was approved in April after more than three years of study. The office was approved April 21 on a one-year experimental basis and is funded by a 512,000 CGC allocation. It will be one of two such positions in the state, N.C. State University creating the first several years ago. The General Counsel will serve as attorney of record for Student Government and other student organizations. He will also counsel "Individual students during his spare time at "nib charge. ' N.C. State University's similar legal counseling system was started several years ago by the Student Senate. The Legal Defense Corporation, now funded by the interest from original appropriations, has an attorney on retainer to handle cases in behalf of the entire student body. The idea to appoint a General Counsel for UNC originated in the administrations of former Student Body Presidents Joe Stallings and Richard Epps. Although the 1973 Student Legislature voted to create the position of General Counsel, lack of funds shelved the idea during the Runge administration. Interest was revived last spring when former Student Body President Marcus Williams recommended the establishment of the counsel position. One U NC student and two UNC School of Law professors were appointed to the selection committee Tuesday night. Student Attorney General Andromeda Monroe, Dr. Thomas Andrews and Dr. Jon Eddy were chosen to serve with Bates on the committee. Jk"" ' . r J7 4 it fx I J Dr. David Stewart En his offlco Staff photo by Gary Lebrafeo