COMMUNIVERSITY: Program teaches children heritage CAMPUS, page 2 AGAINST THE TIDE: Monasterio bucks tradition for team SPORTS, page 4 ON CAMPUS SENIORS: Don't forget to apply for graduation at your respective schools by today if you want that diploma!! Serving the students and the University community since 1893 0 1992 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Volume 99, Issue 133 Tuesday, January 14, 1992 Chapel Hill, North Carolina NcwtSpoctiArn 9624241 BmlocM Advertising 962-1163 WEATHER TODAY: Cloudy; high 60-65 WEDNESDAY: Sunny; high near 40 fflhi ft 11 Money-minded students popularize Asian languages By Robin Lowe Staff Writer Last week George Bush struggled to improve trade rela tions with the Far East, but an increasing number of American students have chosen to take diplomacy into their own hands. Enrollment shows that many students at UNC are turning to Asian language courses instead of the traditional Romance languages. Jerome Seaton, professor of Chinese, said that all the classes in the East Asian Studies curriculum are closed and overloaded again this semester. When Seaton first taught Chinese in 1 968, only four students signed up. This semester thecapacity of Chinese 1 classes was reached at 100 students. 'This is just the take-off point," Seaton said. "I expect it to grow even faster." J.D. Eyre, a professor of geography, said the attraction stemmed from a "general broader awareness of the impor tance of the Pacific area in international affairs." Students choose to study Chinese or Japanese out of a basic cultural inquisitiveness and as a practical thing. Eyre said. Seaton attributed the recent popularity to both cultural awareness and business incentives. "A long time ago, in the '60s, students were interested in Chinese as an alternative culture," he said. "Today it's business." Seaton said only about 1 0 percent to 1 5 percent of his students take Chinese for cultural reasons. Although most people don't associate China with boom ing business, trade centers like Hong Kong and Singapore speak the Chinese language, Seaton said. Keiko Inoue, a lecturer in Japanese, has especially noticed the growing number of business and economics majors taking her classes. "American students are wondering why the Japanese economy is growing so fast, and this leads to cultural interest," Inoue said. But Marcia Harris, director of University Career Planning and Placement Services, said not many employers had asked for students proficient in Japanese or Chinese because lan guage skills aren't needed for entry level jobs. "There's no immediate advantage," Harris said. "In the long term (know ing Japanese or Chinese) could lead to mobility overseas, and it may give students a slight edge in international jobs. For the most part, it's not realistic to expect foreign language skills to win you a job, although it may be helpful down the road." Many students choose to use their language proficiency through the JET teaching program and similar opportunities. This year, the Japanese government has invited 10,000 English-speaking people with bachelor's degrees to teach in Japan, Inoue said. The positions pay as much as $26,000 a year, $3,000 more than someone with a master's degree earns teaching Japanese in America. "Most people usually extend their contracts," Inoue said. "They can make more money there." Seaton said a former student in one of his Chinese classes was now the vice president of the Hong Kong branch of NCNB. The media also play an important role in shaping students' choices, said Jing Wang, an assistant professor in Chinese language and literature at Duke University. After the Tiananmen Square incident in the summer of 1989, Wang noticed her class enrollment drop drastically. Seaton said the same thing happened at UNC, but since then there has been a steady recovery in Chinese enrollment. In 1985, when Inoue taught Japanese at the University of Oregon, her class enrollment tripled after the television mini series "Shogun" aired. "Enrollment is very sensitive to media," Wang said. "It's like a fashion. If China made a drastic improvement in human rights, enrollment would soar." Another factor in the increasing interest in Asian lan guages is the growing number of Asian-American students. In the fall of 1987, 1.6 percent of UNC's undergraduate population identified themselves as Asian or Pacific Islander. That number grew to 3.3 percent in the fall of 1991. Asian-Americans are naturally attracted to their back ground and heritage, Inoue said. "They want to know more about their culture." Liz Kim, a freshman who lived in Korea for nine years, took Chinese 1 last semester and is continuing in Chinese 2 now. "I would have taken Spanish," she said, "but it was at 8 o'clock." Kim said her main incentive for taking Chinese was to fulfill the General College language requirement, but she also wanted to learn more about the culture. "I'll probably See ASIAN, page 2 Congress fortifies off-campu voice By Shea Riggsbee Staff Writer Student Congress passed a resolution Monday night redrawing campus electoral districts andadding six new seats to congress, including an at-Iarge seat for graduate students. Tim Moore, Student Congress speaker, said the resolution made districts fairer by adding representatives for off-campus undergraduates. UNC has about 6,000 on-campus undergraduates and 9,500 off -campus undergraduates, but the old districts gave more seats for on-campus representatives, Moore explained. The new districts are designed to represent 700 to 900 students for each congress member, but there are some discrepancies, he said. District 13, which comprises STOW Residence College, has only 500 students, Moore said. The 27 new districts were drawn around population cen ters and major thoroughfares, which caused some previous districts to be split, he said. "If you get this too big . . . you lose the responsiveness," he said. "If you're going to have districts, they might as well mean something." District 1 1, the at-large graduate district, will serve as a guinea pig for a future congress elected totally at-large without districts, he said. Daryl Grissom, finance committee chairman, proposed a amendment that would provide an at-large undergraduate seat as well, but the amendment failed after some debate. "My reason for wanting an at-large district is just to help stimulatecongress," Grissom said. "(At-large elections) could be a movement to make Student Congress more fluid." Congress members elected at-large would be more likely to be supported by advocacy groups, such as the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center, that are more in tune with campus issues, he contended. Mark Shelburne, Dist. 19 representative and speaker pro Heyd vs. Moore: Is a conflict damaging student government? By Jennifer Mueller Staff Writer Members of government walk a fine line between hurting and helping their constituents when using a sys tem of checks and balances. Some Student Congress members believe Speaker Tim Moore and Stu dent Body President Matt Heyd are treading this precarious ground that could destroy an effective student government. "I think that a lot of things went through congress (last year) because of a relationship between the speaker and the president that does not exist this year," said Carl Clark, Dist. 18. Congress members believe the un derlying tension between Moore and Heyd surf aced at the last Student Con gress meeting in the fall, when Moore See LEADERS, page 3 tempore, said: "You've got to think about the idea of one person representing the entire campus. ... There's some thing wrong with that." Congress also approved Student Body President Matt Heyd's nominees for Elections Board chairman and vice chairman. Chris Bracey, new Elections Board chairman, vowed, 'This time around there's not going to be the fun and games there was before. '"Keep it Clean' will definitely be a theme for the election." Bracey said he also wanted to de crease the number of poll sites while balancing the number on North and South campuses. Melvin Davis, Elections Board vice chairman, said he hoped to avoid con troversy and to ensure a fair process. In other business. Congress passed a resolution to direct the Elections Board to conduct a hand-counted public vote for all races in 1992 student elections. Moore said Bracey supported the proposal and explained that there had been discrepancies in the past when votes were counted electronically. "Elections have been ... kind of screwy in the past," Moore said. fe ' 1 11 iiniWMFlli ; Se habla lab tape DTHEvie Sandlm Bryan Tate, a senior from Elizabethtown, listens intently to his Spanish 4 lab tape. The language lab was filled with students trying to get a head start on their studies and to escape Monday's wet weather. Council to discuss development for Top of the Hill site By Emily Russ Staff Writer Top of the Hill, theconvenience store located on the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets, will be replaced by a three-story, multi-purpose building if the Chapel Hill Town Council approves a development proposal tonight. Town residents will have the oppor tunity to let council members know how they feel about the proposal at a public hearing to be held in the Chapel Hill Town Hall council chambers. Riddle Commercial Properties, a Fayetteville-based real estate firm, has applied for permission to construct a 33,000 square foot building on the south east corner of the downtown intersec tion. Joseph Riddle, who applied for the special-use permit, said the owners of School Kids Records, which is pres ently located at 144 E. Franklin St., have made tentative plans to relocate in the proposed building if the project was approved. Several other prospective tenants also have expressed interest in occupying the proposed building, Riddle said. Council member and mayor pro tern Joe Herzenberg said the project was generally well-received by the council members. The proposed building would be very handsome and would boost the economy of Chapel Hill, he said. "I do think this is a very interesting project," Herzenberg said. Herzenberg said the gas station that currently occupies the site is not condu cive to public safety. Traffic entering the intersection from the gas station makes accidents very likely, he said. Chapel Hill Town Manager Cal Horton said the proposed building is in keeping with the atmosphere, scale and mood of downtown Chapel Hill. "(The proposed building) will pro- "(The proposed building) will provide a use that is more consistent with the character of downtown." Cal Horton Chapel Hill town manager vide a use that is more consistent with the character of downtown," he said. "I think the arch itectural proposal is pleas ing as well." The proposed building, which would include three levels and a basement, would also include areas allotted for office, restaurant and retail space. A two-story facade would face Franklin Street and a three-story facade would face Columbia Street. The basement and the first floor would be used by retailers. The second floor would include office and retail space. A restaurant or office space is projected for the third floor. The proposed development meets all regulations outlined by Chapel Hill's development ordinance with three ex ceptions. New developments are required to provide off-street parking, but Horton said in a report to the council that the site would be too small to accommodate adequate and safe parking. As proposed, the building also vio lates the ordinance's floor area and height limitations. But Horton decided the design of the proposed building fit well on the site and recommended in his report that the council allow the build ing to be built as designed. The proposal received a favorable recommendation from the planning board, the design review board and the town's appearance commission. North Carolina bounces back at home, shells Terrapins, 96-76 r -f J ;. , ll,ifa, .1 By Neil Araato Sports Editor Brian Reese Dean Smith does not think starting a basketball game is all that important. Five players get introduced and get their feet wet first. Brian Reese and Hubert Davis, a pair of mainstays in the UNC lineup, were not among the UNC coach's starting five for the Tar Heels Monday night, but they certainly proved they belonged there. Davis scored 26 points and Reese scored 16 two shy ofa career high as the Tar Heels turned a 10-point half time lead into a 96-76 Atlantic Coast Conference victory versus Maryland in front of 21,1 13 in the Smith Center. UNC, which dropped from No. 8 to No. 14 in the latest Associated Press poll following Saturday's loss to Notre Dame, upped its record to 1 1-2, 2-1 in the conference. Maryland fell to 7-7, 0 4 in the league. The Terrapins, who got 32 points from guard Walt Williams, have lost six consecutive games. Davis continued his familiar 20-a-night scoring trend. The Burke, Va., native has scored at least 20 points in seven games and has led North Carol ina in scoring 10 times this season. He was three points away from acareer-high 29 established early this season in a 68-65 win at Houston. "Hubert didn't start simply because hedidn't grade out quite as highly in the Notre Dame game as we wanted," Smith said. "Maybe I'll have him come off the bench all the time. He can hardly wait to get those shots and make them." Davis got his first shot a3-pointer with 15:33 left in the first half after entering the game at 16:45. He buried the shot to break a 4-4 tie and hit another trey 38 seconds later, sending him on his way to his highest point total in ACC play. His 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting came in just 30 minutes of play. Davis, UNC's lone senior, was his usual solemn self afterwards, saying he had done whatever it took to win. "I always want to help the team, whether I'm on the court or on the bench," the 6-foot-5 guard said. "I can cheer if I'm on the bench or lead by example on the court." Reese, who chipped in six rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes, said defense, not scoring, was his main con cern. "I try to work on my defense first," Reese said. "My defense is what gets my offense going. I've tried to maintain my stamina and combine it with my athletic ability." Added Smith: "This was a good ex perience for Reese and it should help his confidence." When Maryland threatened to close the gap early in the second half, Reese displayed some of his physical skills. With UNC leading 43-33, Reese fol lowed a miss on the fast break with a rim-rattling dunk that kept the Tar Heels' lead above 10. After a basket by Maryland's Evers Burns closed the gap to 1 0 with 1 7:2 1 left in the game, Reese canned his second 3-pointer of the night to give UNC a-53-40 lead with 17:11 left. A jumper by Davis and a jump hook by Kevin Salvadori forced Mary land, down 57-44, to call a timeout with 14:58 left. "I thought we made several good opportunities to start a run, but it seemed like we couldn't get over the top to affect (UNC's) confidence," said Mary land head coach Gary Williams. "I'm See MARYLAND, page 5 Attention: Last DTH interest meeting today! Get over those first-week-of-class blues by joining The Daily Tar Heel, possibly the hippest student group on campus. The DTH needs University, city, state and national, features, arts and Omnibus writers. Dedication and time arc the biggest requirements, since the DTH will teach you all you need to know about how to be an ace reporter and writer. The final information meeting will be held today from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in 226 Union. Applications can be picked up at this meeting or in the DTH reception area. So join the DTH now and avoid becoming an annoying politico. c The quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love. Polybius

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