Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 6, 1975, edition 1 / Page 1
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f f i : y "'l'i'ta"iii,linniii jjT ft I -O Fp iP 1 fjr 1 I t I I I I I 1 s t Serving the students and the llnivmim ,.... .. icoi Vol. 83. No. 53' - nmiriiiduji Jil.C 107J Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Thursday, November 6, 1975 Weather: fair End warm '"'T' iimiwiiwwwwwwmmmwwwwm,,, Illllli.w. iiii.m.i nni i ..uiiina., m., l ,i.. , , , TTT ' r "T" "' "f-nr "i . v - liii.ii j u.i.ij . . ,u n i..uui.mij..iuj m.i ., ., , ' A ., ' ; i ! V""" " II I II HII U.j lll i, H -vj - i 4 ! . I ft . , n , , j - ; : ' . V . ; I ,. ::,::.... ..'-J , , J " f - v 'j f . ; ym:! , , - , V: I s w. i , .kl:..sV' d ''.- iJ4- : ;V-'J I. i m5 Vi?y - vw vs svjs . - r's VS v W.' ' I fJ I i . . 1 , i -s . -s s y- Ss'- i s . . i : .V Sr ? S S ? 5 .w-s"-' iA A-Siss4, 'WSW : : ' 1 The Hare Krisna people are back in Chapel Hill this week A News Analysis by Richard Whittle Staff Writer The concensus among political observers here including several who were candidates in Tuesday's municipal elections is that the political pressure group Citizens for Chapel Hill (CCH) has a long way to go before approaching its goal of becoming a positive influence in Chapel Hill politics. h The; group endorsed six ; of 'the 14 candidates in -s the race for five Board of Aldermen seats, and also declared its approval of Jimmy Wallace, who won a convincing victory in the mayor's race, taking 64 per cent of the vote. But Wallace's runaway win, which came after he declared his independence from Governors may reverse decision to intervene by Dan Fesperman Staff Writer The UNC Board of Governors may reverse its decision to intervene as a defendant in a law suit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund against HEW, Richard Robinson, assistant to the president of the consolidated university, said Wednesday. Robinson and N.C. Deputy Atty. Gen. Andrew Vanore met in Washington Wednesday morning with private attorney J.D. Williams of the Williams and Jensen law firm to discuss the pros and cons of a possible intervention. The suit charges HEW with not enforcing strict enough desegregation measures in North Carolina and seven other states, but most of the charges involve the University of North Carolina system. If the Legal Defense Fund wins the suit, the University system would be forced to match the racial mix of high school graduating classes in North Carolina. The Board of Governors voted last week to intervene after being recommended to do so by a subcommittee appointed three to four weeks earlier. The subcommittee also recommended that the University system consider consulting private legal assistance. Robinson said Wednesday that Williams cited several disadvantages of intervening, and because of these disadvantages "there is a possibility that the board may be inclined Comptroller bill delayed again by Chris Fuller Staff Writer For the third time, the Campus G overning Council postponed Tuesday night a bill to establish a student body comptroller. Rep. Jay Tannen, who introduced the motion to postpone the bill, said CGC should consider all alternatives before voting. His motion followed two alternatives to the comptroller which were ruled out of order by CGC Speaker Dan Besse. The first motion, made by Student Body President Bill Bates, was to establish the office of assistant student body treasurer. Bates' bill was ruled out of order because it had been tabled by the Administration Committee the week before. An alternative motion by Tannen was also ruled out of order by Besse because there was already a motion on the floor. Details of Tannen's alternative are not known because the bill did not come to the ,ss s s -Cw.sss; N s - s-s "ss,.1 iss. ' ssv V. .JXsSSSSi -ssssS , sssSXs wW s X s s .sss .-SSSN IM9NKibWsM AuMt- OinAi .feat::' '.A- s , - -K ssss. CCH, makes it clear that he needed no endorsement from CCH to win. Likewise, the group's endorsement of R.D. Smith and J onathan H owes, two of the five alderman winners, probably had little to do with the fact that they won, observers say. In fact, Howes publicly asked CCH not to advertise for him about a week before the election and then emerged as the highest vote-getter in the race Tuesday. So the question is, what does the future hold for Citizens of Chapel Hill as a force in Chapei Hill politics and government? Or, in short, is CCH all washed up? Charles G. "Chuck" Beemer, one of the unsuccessful alderman candidates backed by CCH, thinks not. Beemer was one of the early CCH members when the group formed during the summer. Later, he was asked to head CCH by its founders George Coxhead to change its mind." One of the main reasons the board favors intervention is that such an action would ensure representation in a case which could drastically affect the consolidated university. But Richardson said Williams told him that the consolidated university would eventually be represented in court whether it intervened or not. Without intervention, a ruling in favor of the defense fund would not directly bind the University system. "HEW would act, in a sense, as a conduit for the court order," Robinson said. If the U niversity system failed to carry out HEW's orders, HEW could then either move to have the system's federal funds cut off or refer the casetotheU.S. justice department. No matter what course of action HEW would take, he said, there would be a court case involving the University system. Robinson said that Williams will send him a summary and opinion letter next week concerning the possible consequences of intervention. If the consolidated university does decide to intervene, he said, it will have more time for preparation than had been expected. "It will probably be six weeks to two months before the court will address the plaintiffs (Legal Defense Fund's) motion," he said. Robinson said the extra time will also be beneficial by giving the Board of Governors more time to decide whether to intervene. council floor, and, Tannen could not be contacted for comment Wednesday. According to the comptroller bill, the comptroller would act as an administrative aide to CGC and its Finance Committee and would perform many of the duties now performed by the student body treasurer. CGC would appoint the comptroller, and only CGC could dismiss him. Bates' assistant treasurer bill would provide for an assistant to help the treasurer and to act as treasurer if he is unable to fulfill, his duties. The assistant treasurer would be appointed by the student body president with CGC approval and could be dismissed by the president or impeached by CGC. The assistant treasurer bill is similar to the comptroller bill since both are designed to -establish apolitical offices. Neither the comptroller nor the assistant treasurer would be able to hold any other office in either Student Government or any Student I Xssfes -ssss.. . ' ,S j, s aSW.-W " "WW ss. - u x .s , s s v- v' s fs ss sss. .sys" S..SS- - Wfsiss.vsSiSxS. and can be found singing, chanting and Roland Giduz. Beemer stepped down as chairperson after announcing as a candidate for alderman but said Wednesday that CCH's executive committee had reelected him to the top spot on Monday, the day before the election. "1 think we had a pretty good effect," Beemer said. "1 think we will continue to remain a force in Chapel Hill politics." The loser in Tuesday's mayoral contest, Gerry Cohen, saw things differently, however. On election night, Cohen said, XhHr (GCH's) candidates were overwhelmingly defeated, and the kinds of negative programs they put forward were overwhelmingly rejected by the voters." Beemer said the town's reliance on federal funds is the only issue on which the voters can be said to have totally rejected the group's stand. "As for that issue, I would suspect that the voters of Chapel Hill rejected our concept of a more selective approach to federal funding." But Beemer said he thinks the voters "certainly did not repudiate" the group's ardent disagreement with Cohen's belief that Chapel Hill has in fact, though not by law, a full-time mayor and needs one. "Cohen's loss was a fairly dramatic representation of the fact that Chapel Hill doesn't want a full time mayor," Beemer said. Others involved in local politics pointed to what Alderman-elect Howes called "the inept part of Citizens for Chapel Hill's campaign." Howes and others said Wednesday that CCH's main problem, and the reason for their evident lack of support at the polls, came from "some of the press coverage they got and some of the things their leaders were quoted as saying." Early in the campaign, Citizens for Chapel Hill was termed conservative by most segments of the news media. Beemer and other of the group's leaders protested the conservative label, saying the group was composed of a broad base of Chapel Hill citizens from both the Democratic and Republican parties. But the tenor of CCH's objectives and stated positions on the issues have left little doubt that the group is at least conservative by Chapel Hill's liberal standards. Still, most observers agree that the most damaging statements about CCH came from the lips of its own leaders particularly George Coxhead, who was CCH chairperson during Beemer's campaign. Statements from Coxhead, such as, "Cohen is an admitted socialist, and he's not the kind of person I want running Chapel Hill," came early and often in the campaign. Government-funded organization. In other CGC action, a committee was established to recommend to the CGC a professional person, group or firm to investigate the General Surplus and make suggestions as to what minimum balance Student Government should maintain. The bill to set up the committee also provided that the investigating individual or group will also recommend how the surplus funds will be invested when not needed. The bill was introduced because the money in the General Surplus must be used until student fees are collected and because Student Government does not draw any interest on the General Surplus, the bill's introduction reads. The bill, introduced by Rep. Dick Pope, recommended CGC members Pope, Doug Smith and John Sawyer serve as the committee. The council approved the recommendation. p o I it i c !SssSfs:,iiw,!'"' S S s s' 5, s i s , s s and praying in the Pit. So often, in fact, that it was said in September that the group's initials should be changed to ABC Anybody But Cohen. Another statement made by Coxhead when it became evident that some candidates would have preferred the group not endorse them was, "If these men toss their hats into the ring, and we like them, we're going to endorse them whether they like it or not." But few political observers contacted after the election would say that all is lost for Citizens for Chapel Hill. s """The"" most significant thing "about 'the group is that it's new and it's young," Alderman-elect Howes said. And Beemer said that, with the election over, the group will now gear up "to become the gadfly in Chapel Hill's conscience we started out to be." Thorpe to seek recount in election of aldermen U nsuccessful alderman candidate William H. "Bill" Thorpe said Wednesday afternoon he will ask for a vote recount in Tuesday's municipal elections. Thorpe finished sixth in the 14-candidate race to fill five seats on the board. Although Thorpe trailed fifth-place candidate Marvin Silver by only one vote after 14 of 15 precincts had reported, Silver outpolled Thorpe in that last precinct, Coker Hills, by a 240-200 vote. He said he will go to the Orange County Board of Elections at 11 a.m. today to petition for a recount. "I was trailing by one vote, and (then Coker Hills) was announced on the radio," Thorpe said. "It concerns me that the people in Coker Hills took over an hour to count their ballots." Different effects ew students voted by Art Eisenstadt Associate News Editor Only a small percentage of students who are registered to vote here cast ballots in Tuesday's municipal elections, and the two Chapel Hill mayoral candidates had differing ideas Tuesday of how the small student turnout affected the race. Although . it is difficult to determine precisely how many students are registered in each precinct or whom they voted for, Mayor-elect Jimmy Wallace said he thinks he received approximately half the student vote and that the low level of the turnout did not influence election results significantly. But Alderman Gerry Cohen, who lost to Wallace, 3,939 to 2,274 Tuesday night, said h- probably received approximately 75 per cent of the student ballots. Had the student turnout been higher, the election might have been closer, he said. Estimates of the student turnout ranged from approximately one-third to almost half of those registered, candidates, campus campaign managers and election officials Sai"The estimated number of registered students varied from 2,000 to 3,500. In the town overall, 45 per cent of the 15,000 registered voters cast ballots. Speaking from his Kings Mill home CGC decides to bypass operating procedures to pay Ali for speaking by Nancy Mattox Staff Writer The Campus Governing Council voted Tuesday night to bypass standard operating procedures and immediately appropriate $2,500 to pay heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali for his speaking engagement held here last Friday. Ali's speaker's honorarium was left unpaid after Friday's appearance because of the Student Government-imposed freeze of Black Student Movement funds. The funds were frozen for alleged treasury law violations involving the BSM -sponsored appearance. The appropriation was surged by CGC Rep. Humphrey Cummings and BSM Chairperson Lester Diggs, who said further delay in paying Ali's bill would only result in "further embarrassment for us (the BSM), Student Government and the whole campus." Cummings said he urges immediate CGC authorization of the appropriation. He added that the business image of - the University "should not be affected by the petty games we play around here (in CGC)." The appropriation neither unfreezes BSM funds nor excludes the BSM from any possible penalty that may be levied by CGC following investigation of the alleged violations. CGC Finance Committee Chairperson Bill Strickland and Student Body Treasurer Graham Bullard froze the organization's funds Monday after it was learned that the BSM paid for Ali's security guards in cash from advance tickets sales for the speech. The ticket sale receipts had not yet been processed through the Student Activities Fund Office (SAFO) as designated by Student Government Treasury Law. According to the treasury law, all funds used by Student Government-funded organizations must first be deposited with SAFO. Expenditures may then be made ' through a requisition signed-by the student body treasurer and the director of SAFO, Frances Sparrow. Late requisitions must be signed by the CGC Finance Committee chairperson. Strickland said Tuesday he first discovered the requisition for the $2,500 The Coker Hills precinct finished counting at 11:15 p.m. Thorpe said he was not alleging any wrongdoing but explained, "We just need to check it out for our own self-confidence." He said he does not expect to be announced winner, even after a recount Earlier Wednesday, Thorpe analyzed his defeat. He said the fact that no campaign pamphlets were distributed in Coker Hills may have contributed to his defeat. "The support that I have received has been broad," he said. " 1 think we have a fine board they're going to move to the reorganization of the board that I campaigned for. "But I really wanted to be a part of that because if they don't do it right they're going to run into problems." observed Wednesday, Wallace said, "I would say, and of course this is off the very top of my head, that (1) the student turnout was way below what was expected, and (2) of all the turnout, I got about 50 per cent of it." Wallace said he believes his campus support increased toward the end of the campaign, and he partly attributes the increased support to a "Students for Wallace" committee. "It is unlikely that a larger student turnout would have changed (the results) significantly," he said. Robert Pharr, co-chairperson of "Students for Wallace," said, "I think the . vote was split just about down the middle, although Gerry Cohen probably got a few more votes." Cohen, who said he had a rough idea of the student registrations in each precinct, said, "What I expected is that about 75 per cent of the students who voted went for me, but two-thirds of the registered students didn't bother to vote. "If the student turnout, instead of being 40 . jper cent, was 60 per cent, and the black 'turnout was 60 per cent, the election would have been very, very close." Of the Mason Farm precinct, which is one ' of the two precincts that Cohen won, he said a high turnout of graduate students helped ' him. While he estimated the undergraduate honorarium lying on a desk in Student Government offices Oct. 31, the day of the Ali appearance. He added that he considered the requisition late and refused to sign. Another alleged violation involved securing Ali's speaker's fee before financial agreements had been worked out with Student Government. Under treasury laws, requisitions must be cleared through Student Government before the services of any group or individual are contracted by an organization. Speaking arrangements for Ali were completed Oct. 8, according to a letter Student Government received from Ali's business manager. Strickland said the fact that Student Government did not receive a requisition from BSM until Oct. 31 was inexcusable. Diggs replied at the CGC meeting that the BSM received confirmation from Ali's business manager Oct. 10. "It was not until we received the letter that we were aware how much he (Ali) would charge," he said, adding, "There was no way we could have put in a requisition; it was a matter that was not avoidable in any way." The requisition was submitted late because the BSM had originally intended to pay for the speech expenses in cash, Diggs said. But Bullard sent the BSM a letter the week before the appearance, stating that no cash payments were to be made and that a requisition would have to be submitted to SAFO. Diggs and BSM Special Projects Chairperson Buddy Ray were then asked if the BS M knows of the treasury law requiring that all organization funds be processed through SAFO before expenditures are made. Ray answered that he asked Bates approximately three weeks ago about financial operating procedures for the upcoming Ali appearance. Bates, who was acting as student body treasurer after the firing of former student v treasurer, Mike O'Neal, Suggested the BSM file a requisition and deposit all money from each day's ticket sales into the Union safe. Ray said, "I think it's kind of ironic the situation we're in now. I was trying to get (in the meeting with Bates) all I needed to know to prevent any further violations." sl v. Bill Thorpe in election turnout to be only approximately one student in three, the graduate student turnout was roughly one in two. The Mason Farm precinct incudes James and Craige dormitories and married student housing. Precinct registrar Sheldon White said he does not know how many students voted, but he noted that the non-student turnout near his Chase Avenue neighborhood was heavy. Paul Melbostad. chairperson of the UNC College Democrats and Cohen's campus campaign manager, said, "I was disappointed that students didn't come out in better numbers, particularly in the Greenwood and Mason Farm precincts. But even if students had turned out in full force, it wouldn't have been enough. Too many townspeople are scared of Gerry." Doug Markham, treasurer of the UNC College Republicans, said Wallace could not have been hurt if the student turnout was higher. "A lot of people looked really carefully at this race after we distributed Wallace pamphlets to all the Republicans on campus yesterday," he said. Markham and Cohen said they were told by some students that the two candidates were too similar to warrant their voting. Cohen also said some of the polling places were inconvenient to students, citing the Greenwood precinct as an example.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 6, 1975, edition 1
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