2The Daily Tar Heelfl"hursday, May 30, 1991
i
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5
Reporters legally prohibited
from committee meetings
By Amber Nimocks
Staff Writer
Barring Chapel Hill Herald reporter
Tom Moore from a meeting of UNC's
Facilities Planning Committee last
Wednesday was normal procedure, said
Ben Tuchi, committee chairman and
UNC vice chancellor for business and
finance.
Moore, who wanted to hear the pre
sentation of an Odum Village resident
speaking about the proposed South Loop
Road, was asked to leave the meeting, a
move that angered the Chapel Hill Her
ald. "Since it is a working committee,
sessions are not normally open," Tuchi
said. "Decisions to open the meetings
are done on a case-by-case basis."
Tuchi said the presence of the press
would have hindered discussion at the
meeting.
"We have held 1 5 (public forums) in
the last two months where anyone could
participate," he said. "I don't know of
any committee on this campus that has
had that many."
The committee, which usually lis
tens to anyone who wants to address it,
typically does so in closed meetings.
"I think we have had a presentation
(from an invited speaker) at every meet
ing since the committee has been in
existence," Tuchi said. "Wednesday's
meeting was not unique."
Tuchi said he was not aware of any
other advisory committees that were
covered by the press.
The UNC Buildings and Grounds
Committee has denied the media access
to its meetings, but the UNC Housing
Advisory Board has met in open session.
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Ben Tuchi
The Facilities Planning Committee
was created to serve as the central body
for recommending priorities for land
use and buildings on campus, said Matt
Heyd, committee member and student
body president.
"We discuss the issues and advise the
chancellor," Heyd said. "Our influence
comes from the chancellor's willing
ness to listen to our recommendations."
During last Wednesday's meeting,
Odum Village resident Steve Wallace
offered an alternate plan for the pro
posed South Loop Road, Heyd said.
The road, which University administra
tors say would improve traffic condi
tions on South Campus, would force the
relocation of the married student hous
ing complex.
Donald Boulton, vice chancellor for
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student affairs, is planning to form a
committee to research the need for low
cost housing on campus, Heyd said.
The Facilities Planning Committee dis
cussed Wallace's suggestions in rela
tion to Boulton's committee, he said.
Katherine White, assistant counsel
to the N.C. Press Association, said the
committee could hold closed meetings
because it was not a public body as
defined by the N.C. Open Meetings
Law.
David Lawrence, professor of public
policy and government at the UNC In
stitute of Government, said University
committee meetings were not consid
ered to be of great public interest when
the law was written.
"When the (open meetings) law was
written 12 or 13 years ago, a study
commission tried to pick up on those
entities that were of interest to the pub
lic," Lawrence said.
'The commission was advised by
attorneys from the N.C. Press Associa
tion and the N.C. Broadcast Associa
tion," said Lawrence, who has written a
chapter on N.C. Open Meetings and
Public Records laws to be published in
The Media Law Manual for Reporters
in North Carolina.
"(The attorneys) just weren't con
cerned with the operations of Univer
sity committees."
The University also provided advis
ers to the commission, Lawrence said.
They did not want the press to have
access to every administrative board
and meeting.
Moore, the reporter who was asked
to leave the Facilities Planning Com
mittee meeting, said he was mistakenly
advised by a N.C. Press Association
attorney prior to the meeting that it
should have been open.
'There has been a lot of interest in the
South Loop Road, and we were inter
ested in hearing the committee's reac
tion to what Steve Wallace said," Moore
said.
Moore said he thought the law should
be changed.
"If this was a staff meeting, I'd un
derstand," he said. "But it is an impor
tant decision-making arm of the Uni
versity, and people have a right to know
what is going on there."
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Tom to pay legal expenses for
police officer charged by town
By Brooke Tyson
Staff Writer
The town of Chapel Hill will pay
legal expenses up to $1,500 for a po
lice officer charged by the town with
committing two traffic violations while
on her way to a hostage scene.
Chapel Hill police charged Sandra
DeWeese, a public safety officer, of
careless and reckless driving and run
ning a red light that caused a six-car
pileup and several injuries.
The Chapel Hill Town Council
voted 7-0 on May 13 to pay for
DeWeese's private legal defense of
the citations in accordance with a 1 985
town policy.
The council enacted the policy in
response to a N.C. law authorizing
municipalities to pay legal expenses
of employees charged with a crime in
the line of duty. The policy does not
cover an employee acting with malice,
willful misconduct or against the ad
vice of a supervisor or the town's
attorney, said Town Attorney Ralph
Karpinos.
The upshot of the policy is that one
arm of the town is charging DeWeese
with crimes, while another is paying
for her defense.
Town council member Joe
Herzenberg said citizens should real
Retire
tol building.
"He has been working for 30 years on
what we hope will be a book about the
North Carolina State Capitol the
building itself and the history of it,"
Jones said. "Hopefully he has the work
ings for a book."
Hardin described Sanders as "reli
able, thorough and a very wise judge."
"He is tremendously well-regarded
and a very valuable citizen of the cam
pus," Hardin said.
Student Body President Matt Heyd
said Sanders' knowledge of the Univer
sity and hisdedication were unmatched.
"He takes an interest in students when
he really doesn't have to," Heyd said.
"He is an amazing man."
William Friday, president of the
Kenan Trust Fund and former UNC
system president, said he had known
Sanders since 1948, when Sanders was
UNC student body president and he was
Tuition
taxes or keep cutting education spend
ing, Heyd said.
Ben Tuchi, UNC-CH vice chancel
lor for business and finance, said he
agreed. If the budget crisis continues,
permanent damage may be done to the
University, he said.
"I'm not sure there's an alternative to
a change in the tax structure," Tuchi
said.
Because of the severity of the budget
crisis, some legislators believe that
Martin's proposed tuition increase does
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ize that the town occasionally plays
opposing roles. "It may sound strange,
but this sort of thing comes up every
once in awhile."
The police department acted in the
role of law enforcement and charged
DeWeese, and the council acted in a
completely different role when it de-.
cided to pay DeWeese' s legal expenses,
Herzenberg said.
Town Manager Cal Horton said it
was not strange for the town to act in
these roles simultaneously. "The police
have responded to make a judgment on
an infraction," he said. "We (the town)
have a responsibility as an employer."
Karpinossaidthattwodifferentques
tions were answered by two different
groups in the DeWeese case. The police
and District Attorney Carl Fox first
decided that there was enough evidence
to support a trial. Horton and Karpinos
later decided that the case fit the 1985
employee defense policy.
Karpinos said he and Horton deter
mined that DeWeese's case was not
exempt under the policy.
"It clearly was not deliberate crimi
nal misconduct," he said. "The officer
was acting in an emergency situation
and was acting in good faith."
Horton said, "We believed the em
ployee had not acted in a manner that
caused us to believe she intentionally
on the staff of the dean of students.
"He is a rare example of a person
who is always well-prepared and gives
of his many talents to the University,
the community, the state whatever
he is called to do," Friday said. "He is a
teacher in everything he does. It is only
right for him to retire when he wants,
but he will be missed."
John Turner, social work
school dean
Turner, who has worked at the Uni
versity almost 18 years, said he was
planning to retire because he is turning
70. He will work on research after his
departure from the University.
"I'm hoping to be able to devote
hours to create new educational and
research undertakings," he said.
Turner's first project will be titled
"The Institute of the Future of a Black
Child," he said.
not go far enough.
Rep. Joseph Hege, R-Davidson, said
in-state tuition for public N.C. colleges
is the lowest in the South. Hege has
proposed raising tuition to correspond
to the regional average.
Another potential savings source lies
in the millions spent by the state each
year to subsidize the 17,500 out-of-state
students attending state schools.
According to The Charlotte Observer,
the state pays 36 percent of the cost of
these students' education.
Sen. T.L. Odom, D-Charlotte, has
proposed that student aid to students
from other states be reduced if schools
in those states treat N.C. students less
favorably financially.
Representative Frank Rhodes, R-Winston-Salem,
has gone further by
proposing that state support for out-of-state
students be cut off completely.
Rhodes said North Carolina was one
of only six states that provided subsi-
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set out to cause any harm."
The town's decision to pay for
DeWeese's legal fees will not affect
the judges' decisions during the court
proceedings, Horton said. "Absolutely
not; judges only consider what comes
before them in court presentations,"
he said.
According to a police report,
DeWeese, who was driving east on
East Franklin Street, hit William Dou
glas Humphries' Ford as he turned out
of Eastgate Shopping Center.
DeWeese's car then hit several other
cars traveling west on East Franklin.
It is unclear whether DeWeese had
activated her car's flashing lights and
siren, the report stated. Witnesses'
statements to police were inconsis
tent, but a"majority of witnesses stated
that vehicle No. 1 (DeWeese) was not
using warning lights and audible si
ren," the report stated.
Laurie Brill, a Chapel Hill citizen
involved in the accident, said she had
no opinion of the council's decision to
pay for DeWeese's legal fees. "I don't
know what the ramifications of that
are "she said.
Jada Melissa Bo wens, a Chapel Hill
resident who also was involved in the
accident, said her lawyer had advised
her not to talk to anyone about the
incident.
from page 1
Gary Shaffer, an associate social work
professor, saidTumer's departure would
be a great loss to the school.
"He has brought a lot of enthusiasm
to the School of Social Work and en
couraged the faculty g- reach out to
programs across the state," Shaffer said.
"He has increased the school's visibil
ity and has been instrumental in bring
ing in funds. We will definitely miss
him."
Hardin said Turner was a statesman
and a fine dean.
"He has brought the school to a great
stature," Hardin said. "Retirement is
generally expected of administrators at
age 65, but it is entirely his initiative not
to stay. We wish he was 10 years
younger."
Hardin said he had convinced Turner
to stay an extra year to get final legisla
tive approval for anew School of Social
Work building.
tli , from page 1
dies to students fjpm outside the state.
Published reports . have quoted him as
saying he had received letters from
across the state in support of his pro
posal. UNC-system President CD.
Spangler opposes ending support for
out-of-state students. "What we've got
has worked very well," he said.
Spangler said eliminating aid to out-of-state
students would change the con
figuration of the student body.
Jay Robinson, the UNC general
administration's chief spokesman and
lobbyist, was said Rhodes' proposal
would deter out-of-state students from
studying in North Carolina.
"Just because someone's from out-of-state,
we cannot raise tuition as high
as we want it.
"There is a limit on what out-of-state
students will pay to come to this Uni
versity," he said. "We have to remain
competitive."
Heyd called the tuition-increase idea
for out-of-state students a "rotten idea."
Such plans do not have much chance of
being enacted, he said.
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