o f " J""""7 H f 1 4 n Eiii ii A Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Volume 99, Issue 17 Tuesday, March 19, 1991 Chapel Hill, North Carolina NewsSportsArts 962-0245 BusinessAdvertising 962-1163 ID fekew Ki TO Ms 1 1 SUi. By Ashley Fogle Staff Writer The $400 meal plan benefit will be reinstated for newly hired resident as sistants, according to a letter University Housing Department officials sent to all RAs last week. Al Calarco, associate housing direc tor, stated in the letter that the department's office hours would be cut next year instead of the meal card ben efits for new RAs. "I believe we can tighten the use of our desk hours without severely af emeu! ikvtk&ftioim C7 By Jennifer Dunlap Assistant University Editor Two federal agencies recently began investigations into possible discrimi nation at the University and will continue talking with employees this week. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Raleigh sent an inves tigator to the University on Thursday. Zena Anderson, an EEOC investigator, has met with some University employees about alleged acts of discrimination and will meet with other employees later this week. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) began its investigation Monday. An investigator from OCR will be on campus until Thursday. The investigations stemmed from grievances filed against the University by Officer Keith Edwards of the Uni versity Police. The grievances allege that police officials racially and sexually discriminated against Edwards. She sent letters to both federal agencies re questing the investigations. Joyce Marshall-Williams said it was against policy to comment on a specific TUNC Hospitals rated sliglitly above avera By JoAnn Rodak StaffWriter UNC Hospitals rated slightly above average in categories such as employee communication and physical working conditions, according to the results of an employee survey. John Stokes, director of institutional : relations at UNC Hospitals, managed the survey, which was conducted by the Gallup Organization. The hospitals conducted the survey to establish a baseline of the hospitals ' status by which to measure change and improvement with subsequent surveys, Stokes said. "We needed to know the prevailing attitudes and expectations," he said. "It's good to keep a finger on the work force to make a better environment for patients and visitors." The survey, in which about 2,700 hospital employees participated, will also guide administrators in imple menting a new employee training program during the next three years, he said. G raacliev Associated Press report MOSCOW Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and his maverick rival Boris Yeltsin on Monday both emerged from the first referendum in Soviet history able to claim victory. In the non-binding election held Sunday in 11 time zones across the Soviet Union, Gorbachev won over whelming support for preserving a re newed federation with the majority of the population. But partial returns showed Yeltsin winning on a question that has been opposed by Gorbachev: creating a strong presidency for the Russian federation, fecting our availability and service," he stated in the letter. "In the past, these extra hours have been used for operating (residence hall) desks over breaks, extra staffing during the contract acceptance and assignments procedures, additional help to handle opening and closing the halls, and flexibility in case of emergencies." Calarco and Housing Director Wayne Kuncl were out of town Monday and could not be reached for comment. Mia Smith, a newly hired RA, said she was pleased with the decision, but she objected to the way housing offi Jbegm investigation. Marshall-Williams is charge receipt technical information unit supervisor at the Raleigh EEOC office. Rodger Murphey, OCR spokesman, said his group was conducting a Title 6 investigation of the University. A Title 6 investigation looks for possible dis crimination on the basis of race or na tional origin. He said he could not comment on the investigation while it is in progress. Susan Ehringhaus, senior University counsel, said she had not met with EEOC officials, but had met with the OCR investigator. Ehringhaus said she was helping coordinate support services for the OCR investigator, such as providing rooms for interviews and helping to arrange interviews with University administra tors. But the investigator also is conduct ing other interviews she has not ar ranged, she said. "It's his investigation," Ehringhaus said. "We're just trying to help. It's in everybody's interest that the investigation is thorough and accu rate." See INVESTIGATIONS, page 4 The poll, which cost UNC Hospitals about $29,000, was more of an audit than a survey because about 74 percent of employees participated, Stokes said. The hospitals surveyed its employees in November 1990, taking three workdays and covering all three shifts. The results, released about a week ago, showed that in the 10 major cat egories listed by Gallup, "UNC Hospi ; tals scored higher than the middle of the pack," Stokes said. "We know where we are and can measure change." Some results surprised hospital ad ministrators, Stokes said. Employees gave physical working conditions equipment and materials a lower rating despite $12 million spent on new equipment last year, he said. Communication between employees and their supervisors received a favor able rating. Stokes said many employ ees read internal publications regularly. "We realized a lot of communication takes place qualitycommunication." Employees were somewhat dissatis fied with parking facilities and cafeteria food, Stokes said. Yeltsi and filling it by direct election. Yeltsin was elected chairman by Russia's legislature in May. Known as the Russian president, he is in danger of losing that job in a no confidence vote on March 28 proposed by hard-line members of Russia's Congress. Even if Yeltsin lost that vote, he would be favored strongly in a popular election. Gorbachev's referendum won by margins of 70 percent to 95 percent in seven of the 15 republics: the Ukraine, Byelorussia, and in the five republics of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenia and Kirgizia. ge by e Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf. cials had handled the issue. "At the organizational meeting they said some RA benefits may be changed, so I wasn't really surprised when they took (the meal card) away," she said. "I would have wanted them to be straightforward and honest. We're all adults. They really did scoot around the issue." Smith said new RAs should have been told about the elimination of the meal card benefits before they accepted their positions. "If they had said, 'We're changing some benefits. If you want to withdraw Native commentary Dr. Yvonne Jackson, a registered dietician and chief of the nutrition and dietetics section of the Indian Health Service, gives a keynote address on federal Indian policies Monday mployeei "We realize that parking facilities are deficient, and we're moving rap idly to fix that," he said. "The survey told us what we already know." The survey consisted of about 160 questions, and employees rated the questions on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating. The ratings, arranged by category, are; O 3.64 on future orientation, which relates to the stability, faith and strength of the hospital organization. "This told us we had ahigh degree of confidence," Stokes said, 3,62 on patient service, 3.57. on the hospitals' image. Stokes said the hospitals' departments could do a better job of working to gether for the benefit of the patients. O 3.54 on whether supervisors ful fill promises and keep commitments. 3.48 on whether employees are knowledgeable of job expectations and are justly rewarded. D 3.12 on whether they are paid fairly. Employee satisfaction with See HOSPITALS, page 4 I in ioci norns m There were no final totals for Russia and Azerbaijan on Monday. Local counts were running strongly in favor of the union in the Russian countryside and many cities, but weak in Yeltsin's strongholds, Moscow and Sverdlovsk. Six independence-minded republics refused to hold the referendum and the majority of their voters appeared to stay away from polls held in Communist Party and military bases. Less than a 50 percent turnout renders an election in valid under Soviet law. But officials claimed 500,000 voted in Latvia and 652,000 in Lithuania your application, you can,' they could have saved a lot of time and embar rassment," she said. New RAs have said housing officials sent them a letter alluding to the elimi nation of the meal card benefit, but they actually learned of the cut from news paper reports. Christi Hazel, a new RA, said she was concerned about the way new RAs were told about the cuts. "I understood that there was a budget problem, but it was the principle of letting us know." RAs and members of the housing staff met March 7 to discuss RA com ' vf .Fund-raisin UNC By Marcie Bailey Staff Writer Efforts to raise $2.5 million to con struct a new station for WUNC radio have failed, and station officials plan to discuss options to spend the $ 1 .2 million raised to improve the present facilities. The WUNC station, located in Swain Hall, was planned to be moved to new facilities because of Swain Hall's in adequate space and equipment. WUNC (91.5 FM) serves an audience of more than 120,000 people in central North Carolina. About $52,000 was spent on building plans for the new building. Thomas Davis, general manager of WUNC, said the money for the plans was well spent. "Money for plans was an absolutely responsible expenditure." Craig Curtis, WUNC program di rector, said making plans for construc tion required great expense. 'To one extent you can say we lost money, but we learned a number of important lessons," Curtis said. "The (new) building is not an impossibility. We will take the plans, roll them up and with a 97 percent 'yes' vote in Lithuania. The turnouts were less than the required 50 percent, but still higher than expected because both republics voted strongly for independence several weeks ago. Both republics reported widespread ballot-stuffing on Sunday, because voters' names were not checked against registration rolls. There is no tradition in the Soviet Union of politicians publicly announc ing victory or conceding defeat. The results reported by election of ficials and news media reflected con fusion. Gorbachev first proposed the refer W radi first pensation and communication between the two groups. Pam Hartley, a new RA who attended the meeting, said she thought the meeting was a factor in housing officials decision to reinstate the benefits. "I think (the housing department) realized how big the problem was," she said. "I think they thought it was just a few RAs in Carmichael or Scott Resi dence College, but it's a decision that affects every RA in the system. "The money itself was not a hardship I was really upset by the way it was handled and the precedent it set." f V 1 J ; . i aO i if night in the Union Auditorium. Her speech Cultural Week, March 1 8-23, sponsored by o station put them on a shelf until we have the money (to build)," he said. "I don't regard the money as entirely wasted." Davis said the options of renovation, redesign and relocation would be dis cussed at a meeting March 27 at the Carolina Inn. The $1.2 million raised may be used to buy new equipment and fund reno vations, he said. An advisory committee is consider ing options that include moving off campus, renovating the present studios or issuing a construction bond to build a studio and pay off the debt over 20 years, he said. "All (options) have relative benefits and relative drawbacks," Davis said. "We need to decide which best meets the station's long-term needs and is at the same time affordable." Curtis said the next step would be to examine the options for long- and short term plans carefully and to ask con tributors' opinions. "We may commence to purchase broadcast equipment that can be used in Swain and can be moved to other places," he said. "There is a lot we can irons i oviet election endum in December as a means of pres suring leaders of the 1 5 Soviet republics into signing a new Union Treaty to preserve central control over politics and the economy. The main referendum question did not mention the Union Treaty, however, and was so vaguethat even Gorbachev's allies were not sure how to translate an electoral victory into policy. In the meantime, Yeltsin and the leaders of the next three largest Soviet republics have worked together to wrest power from the central government. See SOVIET, page 4 Lewis Mumford In the letter sent last week, Calarco also proposed establishing a Student and Staff Services Advisory Committee to discuss RA and staff concerns. Renee Neill, an RA in Carmichael Residence Hall, said she wanted to know more about the committee and its function. "I would have to have a more explicit definition of what the committee is," she said. "A big problem is the intimi dation a lot of people feel when taking concerns to housing. Forming a com mittee is one thing, but listening is another." . DTHSarah King opened the celebration of Native American the Carolina Indian Circle. or new fal short do to improve technical quality. "Everyone is disappointed that there will be no new building, but at least we are happy, we'll be able to proceed and make improvements in Swain Hall," he said. Davis declined to say what he thought would be the best option for the station, but Curtis said he thought the advisory committee would decide to renovate the station in Swain Hall. "I suspect we will do some level of renovation in Swain because it is wise economically," Curtis said. "The other Win Mb urn iiM) FEATURES Studies on women reveal facts about' college, careers and science 5 SPORTS Superfrosh show they have learned their roles well in tournaments 5 Campus and City 3 World 4 Classified 6 Comics 7 WEATHER TODAY: Cloudy; high low 60s WEDNESDAY: Sunny; high low 70s ON CAMPUS Charles Sykes will lecture on The Politization of the University at 7:30 p.m. in 209 Union. 1 991 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. See WUNC, page 4 1 llKi(9 ll.Djljlj

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view