Chapel Hill Faces Issues, Changes

Chapel Hill is a special town. At least, that's what I've been told my entire life.

By my parents, who lived here while my dad was in graduate school at UNC. By half of my family, who either attended or worked at the University. By a blanket that my grandmother crocheted, inscribed upon it in sky blue letters, "Heaven is nice, but it's not Chapel Hill." And by all alumni I've ever met, who have told me that there is no place finer than this college town.

Off campus, there is a vibrant life in Chapel Hill and Carrboro that is often described as "empty" when school is out. Sunday mornings at Weaver Street Market are filled with people listening to live acoustic music.

Under the surface, there is also a vibrant civic and political environment.

It makes its presence known with fliers posted on telephone poles calling for the stoppage of all U.S. military efforts in Iraq.

Often, protesters gather on Franklin Street in front of the post office to take issue with the Israel-Palestine conflict.

There is a community that is concerned not only with national issues but local ones as well -- local issues that are facing difficult decisions in the coming months, many of which could change the makeup of the town.

In education, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools is touted as one of the best in the state, if not the nation.

Yet under that glamorous image, it is a school system that is struggling to adequately educate its minority students.

There is a disturbingly gross difference between how Asian and white students perform compared with Hispanic and black students in the classroom and on mandated standardized tests.

Parents concerned over the minority student achievement gap have made their concerns known at school board meetings.

Not long ago, an entire school board meeting was held up as, one by one, black community members walked to the podium, some tearful and angry over the perceived notion of the board's lack of effort in dealing with the issue.

At Chapel Hill Town Council meetings, an even more involved debate over growth is being waged, with those decisions having a great impact on how Chapel Hill eventually will develop and grow.

Only last year did the council finish compiling a revamp of zoning codes. We have yet to see how exactly they will impact growth.

Issues over transportation also have taken the spotlight.

Most recently, the expansion of Weaver Dairy Road was a point of contention. Residents were concerned about the impact a N.C. Department of Transportation-backed proposal to expand Weaver Dairy to four lanes would have on the safety of their children.

All in all, the argument is a microcosm between those in Chapel Hill who wish to see it remain the ideal, small, lively college town and those who want the town to accept the development as inevitable and accommodate the growth.

As the nation deals with a lagging economy, North Carolina's woes have only worsened the situation for Chapel Hill.

Much of the money that the council could have budgeted was taken by the state to shore up its deficit. The result was a cut in the town's services.

If what economists predict is correct, we have a few years to see what this town can do with an increasingly bare cupboard.

The disparity between what I was told Chapel Hill was like and what it is in reality has a chance to change quickly over the next few months.

There are many issues town officials will have to sift through. The ethical weight of those decisions on the town's future should not be taken lightly.

Is it acceptable to grow when there are loose ends to tie up, such as in education?

Will our growth encroach upon the relative peace this town has known?

And these are only some of the tough issues that will face what I like to call -- and keep -- the "Southern part of Heaven."

Colin Sutker can be reached at cosu@email.unc.edu.