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Meetly sunny toddy with a
high in th3 CDs, low tonight in
th3 403. Friday will get
cloudy.
What, ms work?
Unless you're Jackie O. or
own a veil factory in Iran, you
have to work. To help you get
a job, see paga 6.
- A.
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7 ( M f !
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Vclums G7, tssuo No. 5
Thursday, November 8, 1979, Chspe! Hi'.l, North Carolina
News. Sports; Arii S33-C2S5
Businest'Aciveiiising S33-1183
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Ccr.ccrncd cilizsns silsntiy stood ouUida ths post office for en hour Wednesday to mourn ths Greensboro murdsrs
Killings mourned
200 join in local vigil
By LYNN CASEY
Staff Writer
Two hundred people stood solemnly in front
of the Chapel Hill post office Wednesday to
protest the killings of five people in Greensboro.
The five were gunned down Saturday during an
anti-Ku Klux Klan rally.
The group of grim-faced protesters, many of
whom were wearing black armbands, stood
from noon until 1 p.m. Concerned citizens from
Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh planned the
vigil to express their outrage and sorrow for the
killings, said Diane Spaugh, a spokesman for
the group and a member of the Chapel Hill War,
Resisters League. Spaugh said the group was
not affiliated with the CWP.
The group also sponsored two other silent
vigils one at Capitol Square in Raleigh and
the other at City Park in Durham.
"We felt the best response to the killings was a
non-violent and silent vigil," Spaugh said. "We
do not condone the tactics of the Communist
Workers Party armed revolution but we
support their stands against the. Klan and
Nazis."
The killings took place Saturday morning as
CWP members gathered for a anti-Klan rally
through a Greensboro federal housing project.
Four members of the party died on Saturday
and a fifth person shot during the rally died
Monday.
Police said they have linked six of the 14
suspects with the Klan and three others with the
Nazi Party.
. About 200 people attended the protest in
Durham and 75 protesters gathered on Capitol
Square, said Steve Sumerford, a member of the
group sponsoring the vigils.
Everything went well in all three places and
there were no incidents, Sumerford said.
Two Chapel Hill police officers stood by
during the protest on Franklin Street. Police
Officer Barry Thompson said the department
had expected no trouble.
The silent vigil was held in front of the post
office on Franklin Street, the site of many anti
war protests during the '60s. Some of the
protesters held signs which read "No More
See VIGIL on page 2
i! .1
ii1 mamciai moepemaence o
By JIM HUMMEL
Staff Writer
The governor's task force on radioactive wastes on
Wednesday selected Butner as a temporary site for
the storage of low-level radioactive waste materials
generated in the state.
Located 13 miles northeastof Durham, Butner
was chosen because of its state-owned warehouse
that has the capacity to store low-level radioactive
materials up to three years.
"This is an above-ground warehouse that will be
used anywhere from 18 to 24 months while we
develop a long-range solution," said Dr. Quentin
Lindsey, science adviser to Gov. Jim Hunt.
The task force will also recommend the
development of a permanent site for the incineration
and recycling of low-level wastes at a cost of about
$500,000.
"We're confident we'll have a permanent site in
operation within two years," Lindsey said. "The
temporary site should be in operation by Jan. I,
1980."
The task force, appointed by Hunt in July, has
been under pressure to find a temporary storage site
following the shut-down of storage facilities in
Washington and Nevada which handled much of
North Carolina's low-level radioactive wastes.
"We weren't exactly sure of the timing on
Washington and Nevada shutting down," said Dr.
Ralph Ely, a physicist at Research Triangle Institute
and a member of the task force. "We were pretty sure
something was going to happen, but figured we'd
have at least a year." j
Ely said both states complained to the Nuclear
Regulatory - Commission, claiming trucks were
leaking the radioactive ; materials during
transportation to storage facilities. When the NRC
failed to look into the matter, the governors in both
states closed the facilities.
Another storage site in Barnwell, S.C. recently has
restricted the materials it will accept. The facility will
Handle solid wastes but has refused to take liquids.
Because of the squeeze on storage sites across the
country, some insiders say there will be pressure on
North Carolina to accept other state's wastes.
"At this point, we have enough problems of our
own," said one observer. "I think (the Butner site)
will definitely be restricted to wastes from within the
state." .
"Research Triangle Institute hasn't had that much
problem because Barnwell accepts most of pur
materials," Ely said. "But a lot of places in the state
are having problems because they relied on the
Washington site."
The state plans to contract with a private company
to manage the Butner facility, with the state
maintaining overall control. The stored wastes will
remain the property of each organization using the
facility. .
Since 80 percent of the low-level wastes come from
the Triangle area, many observers said the site should
be in the Piedmont area. Scientists had ruled out
eastern and western North Carolina because of each
area's soil composition.
Ely said the committee expects the state to
generate up to 3,500 barrels of waste a year, and said
the Butner warehouse could handle a total of 10,000
barrels.
Even though the wastes will be transported a
shorter distance, Ely said the cost of storage may be
higher than shipping the material to Washington.
"We ship the wastes in 55 gallon drums," Ely said.
"The company we contracted with was charging us
$80 a drum for shipping and burial. At 15 drums a
month it adds up."
The total cost could be higher because the private
company managing the wastes will be dealing with
smaller volumes and will not enjoy the price
reduction that accompanies bulk storage, a task
force member said.
The task force says burial of the wastes will not be
a main objective in choosing a permanent site for
disposal.
"We're mainly looking to incinerate or recycle the
wastes," Ely said. "Obviously there will be some
burial, but we want to make it as little as possible."
Producers of the low-level wastes, mainly
hospitals and medical schools, have had to find
temporary storage since the shutdown in
Washington. One task force member said 99 percent
of all low-level radioactive materials come from
public health-related fields.
"I would say before the year has passed, the federal
government is going to have to take a serious look
and recognize the need for disposal sites," Ely said.
A study recently prepared for the NRC proposed
12 sites across the country as possibilities for waste
disposal.
The governor's task force is primarily composed of
scientists from the Triangle area, but is growing
steadily. There are currently about 25 people on the
committee including a member from the League of
Women Voters.
31
11
GPSF oppos ed
jf
IF
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By THOMAS JESSIMAN
' Staff Writer .
A proposed campus referendum to give financial
independence to the Graduate and Professional Student
Federation faces stiff opposition from the Campus
Governing Council, CGC officials said this week. .
"I can't think of any student organization on campus
now that should get that kind of autonomy," said
Rhonda Black, CGC spokesperson.
If the referendum passes in a student election
tentatively scheduled Dec. 4, the federation annually
would allocate 15 percent of all graduate student fees,
freeing it from the responsibility of asking the CGC for
money.
"The GPSF isn't getting a lot of money now because
they haven't been financially responsible," Black said. "I
would not vote for the referendum."
"This may give the GPSF freedom, but I don't think
the referendum is even good for the graduate students."
The referendum, if successful, would give the
federation roughly $18,000 meaning that other
student-funded programs and organizations that benefit
graduate and undergraduate students could soon have
funding problems, Black Said.
"I think they should be responsible to a bigger
organization," Black said. "If their programming is
worthwhile then it should be able to stand up with the
other programs that CGC funds."
"If the referendum passes and other organizations get
statutory appropriations, then no one will be left to
control student funds," she said.
Roy Rocklin, president of the federation, disagreed
with Black over the merits of the referendum. "I don't see
how any reasonable person could think that this
allotment of money is a threat to present programs," he
said.
. The federation asked for 15, not 100 percent of
graduate student fees so graduate students still could
benefit from existing campus programs, Rocklin said.
. "Student government has a surplus of five times what
we are asking for and they have an unappropriated
balance of $20,000 that could be used to keep funding all
the programs," he said.
Rocklin said he thinks there is a good chance that the
referendum will pass. Anyone with a sense of fairness
should be in favor of the referendum, he said. "No one
ought to be in favor of student government shafting a
group," he said.
Undergraduates should vote for the referendum
because they might be graduate students at UNC one
day, Rocklin said. They also will benefit if they are
associated with one of the graduate departments on
campus, he said.
David Wright, CGC finance committee chairperson,
said he is opposed to the GPSF referendum.
"I don't think there is any way it will pass," he said.
"The GPSF has not proved itself responsible in the past
and you need to take a good look at their programs
rather than just give them a big block of money and let
them do with it what they please.
"I do think the GPSF should get some money but they
should go through some orderly process to get funds,"
Wright said.
.The GPSF still has to collect enough signatures to
justify an election on the referendum. The student body
president will set the final date for the referendum
Rocklin said he hopes for an election by Dec. 4.
emissaries
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DTHFli Photo
Referendum shouldn't pass
...CGC member David Wright
Despite plus -minus grades, GPAs have chan
ged little
By PAM HILDEBRAN
Staff Writer
Although an official study has not been made on
the effect of computing pluses and minuses into
grade point averages, a look at last year's grade
distribution reports shows that the effect has been
minimal.
Plus and minus grades were first weighted in fall
1978. Undergraduate GPAs for the previous
semester averaged 2.732. The fall 1978 average
dr6pped to 2.705 but went up to 2.712 in spring 1979.
Doris Betts, assistant dean for honors in the
College of Arts and Sciences, said an official study
has not been done because University administrators
are trying to create a new format to make the reports
more representative.
The old system is not truly reflective because
things like lab courses and music performance
courses are included in the totals," Betts said.
"Grades are usually higher in these courses and make
the averages higher." The computation of
incompletes and pass-fails also raises the averages,
she said.
The plus-minus option was recommended in 1975
by James Leutze, UNC history professor, as a means
of decreasing the point spread between letter grades.
Under the new system, an A is worth 4.0; A-minus,
3.7; B-plus, 3.3; B, 3.0, B-minus, 2.7 and so on down
to D.
The computation of the plus-minus option also
was thought of as a means to cope with grade
inflation. Since fall 1967, overall GPAs have risen
from 2.388 to 2.712, with a peak 2.742 occurring in
spring 1976.
In 1976, the Faculty Council voted to adopt a two
year trial period to include pluses and minuses on
report cards and transcripts, but without grade point
values attached to them. After the trial period, the
council voted to compute pluses and minuses into
GPAs beginning in spring 1978.
Grade distribution reports are compiled each
semester and kept on file in the office of records and
registration. The reports list the number of grades
given in each department and the percentages given
for each letter grade. . .
Robert R. Cornwell, assistant director for records
and registration, said the GPA deviances are so small
that it would be hard to determine if they were caused
by the introduction of pluses and minuses.
The report shows that for overall undergraduate
grades, professors gave more As than A-minuses,
more Bs than B-pluses, more Bs than B-minuses,
more Cs than C-pluses, more Cs than C-minuses and
more Ds than D-minuses.
Out of 65,742 undergraduate grades given last
semester, there were 14 percent As, 9 percent A
minuses, 10 percent B-pluses, 17 percent Bs, 9
percent B-minuses, seven percent C-pluses, 11
percent Cs, four percent C-minuses, two percent D
pluses, four percent Ds and two percent Fs.
The most even distribution of straight letter grades
compared with pluses and minuses came in the
departments of African studies, anthropology,
biology, dramatic art, English, geography, history,
philosophy, political science, RTVMP, speech and
the School of Business Administration.
Cornwell said he thinks that professors are more
encouraged to use pluses and minuses because the
grades are more precise.
"Professors have told me that when classes weren't
weighted, they tended not to give a B-plus because
See GRADES on page 2
admittance
WASHINGTON (AP)--Two
American emissaries sent to negotiate the
release of some 60 Americans held
hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
were stalled in Turkey on Wednesday
when Iranian leaders refused to let them
into the country,
Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney
general, -and William Miller, a staff
member of a Senate committee, were
reported by the State Department to be
waiting in Ankara for further instruction.
'State Department spokesman
Hodding Carter said the two emissaries,
carrying a personal message from
President Carter to Iranian leaders,
would remain in Turkey indefinitely
pending clarification from the Tehran
government.
President Carter sent Clark and Miller
on Tuesday night to meet with
government leaders in Tehran. (
But as Clark and Miller undertook
their mission, Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, Iran's religious revolutionary
leader, insisted that no Iranian official
had been authorized to negotiate with
them.
The State Department and oil
companies also said Wednesday that
tankers were being loaded at Iran't main
Persian Gulf oil terminal despite reports
the port had been shut down. Wholesale
home heating oil prices rose sharply in the
United States.
Reports of a shutdown at the Kharg
Island port, possibly due to local labor
troubles, also were denied by the oil
minister and national oil company of
See IRAN on pago 4
Chap
el Hill mayor's race
No' regrets, hut loer wondle
By ANNE-MARIE DOWNEY
Staff Writer
Joe Nassil's narrow victory in the Chapel Hill
mayoral race has left his opponents Town
Council members Robert Epting and Gerry
Cohen, and political newcomer Harold Foster
to figure out just where their campaigns went
wrong.
Epting,. who trailed Nassif by only 263 votes,
said Wednesday it was not so much a case of how
his campaign failed, but how Nassif s succeeded.
"In the first place he (Nassif) worked very hard
and he has an outstanding reputation," Epting
laid.
But Epting did say his loss by almost 1 00 votes
in the residential Ridgefield precinct was crucial
in his defeat. He attributed his defeat there to his
consistent and well-known opposition to the
$300,000 open space bond referendum, which
voters except those in Ridgefield defeated
overwhelmingly. The bond would have financed
the purchase of 70 acres of land in the Ridgefield
area, which would have remained undeveloped
and prevented construction of a planned
subdivision.
Epting said the Ridgefield bond hurt his
candidacy "even though my position was
vindicated by the voters."
The low voter turnout, only 39 percent, also
hurt his mayoral bid, Epting said.
"But it is hard to say if more people would have
turned out, they would have voted for me," he
said.
In the final analysis, Epting said, "none of
these are excuses" because Nassif simply got
more votes.
Epting's defeat means he will leave the council
rwiiy
on Dec. 3 because his four-year term has expired.
There has been some speculation that he may be
offered the fifth council seat that will open up
when Cohen resigns from the council in
December.
1 But Epting said, "I feel as though I made my
choice when 1 ran for mayor. I'm not sure I would
feel right backing into a council seat after I lost
for mayor."
After Dec. 3, Epting said: "I will sit back and
assess my situation and see where it goes from
there. I really don't have any political plans."
In his two remaining weeks on the council,
Epting said he would like to sec the council stick
to its schedule and select a cable television
franchise for the town.
See WHY? on page 2
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