The Year in Review: 2009-2010

The events of a year — the death of a campus leader, a humbling basketball season and legislation with impacts on the UNC campus, to name a few — have inspired our actions, shaped our memories and taught us lessons.

We count those events as just some of the many that have had an impact on this community.

But as the school year winds down, don’t just look back. Use this guide to catch up on what’s happened and know what to expect next.

Campus reacts to junior Courtland Smith’s death

Courtland Smith, a junior biology major from Houston, was shot dead by police on August 23 following a traffic stop.

The Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity president was driving west on Interstate 85 when he called 911 at about 4:30 a.m., saying he needed help and was suicidal. Smith also said he had been drinking and claimed he had a gun.

The statement from the Randolph County District Attorney says Archdale police officer Jeremy Paul Flinchum shot Smith after he repeatedly ignored requests to back away and show his hands, then quickly drew a black item from behind his back.

The district attorney determined Flinchum was justified in his actions because he believed his and another officer’s life to be endangered.

Smith’s death came as a shock to his fraternity brothers and friends, who described him as a strong leader, loyal friend and passionate outdoorsman. Friends said he hoped to attend medical school to become a cardiovascular surgeon.

A Habitat for Humanity house in honor of Smith is being built by his fraternity brothers, and will be lived in by two UNC housekeepers.

Smith’s death prompted the University to launch an inquiry into Greek life at UNC. Alumnus Jordan Whichard was hired in January as a special consultant to evaluate the relationship between UNC administrators and fraternity and sorority members.

Recommendations will soon be presented to the Board of Trustees.

Atwater takes plea, accepts life in prison

One of the two men charged with killing former Student Body President Eve Carson pleaded guilty in federal court this month in exchange for life in prison.

The plea from Demario James Atwater, 23, ended a long legal battle in federal court during which his defense attorneys alleged that he was beaten by police and that the jury pool in North Carolina was too biased to consider the case.

It also helped bring the first sense of a resolution in the two years since Carson was found shot to death March 5, 2008 in a neighborhood off East Franklin Street.

“Nothing is going to make us feel better about what happened,” Chancellor Holden Thorp said after Atwater accepted the plea deal.

“It’s a tragic loss. If this gets us to the end of the whole thing more quickly and more easily, then I am very grateful for that.”

The state charges against Atwater remain unresolved. He still faces charges of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Those charges make him eligible for the death penalty.

He is scheduled to appear in Orange County court May 24.

Lawrence Alvin Lovette, 19, faces the same Orange County charges related to Carson’s death and is awaiting trial. If convicted or if he pleads guilty, the most serious sentence he can receive is life in prison because he was too young at the time of the incident to be eligible for the death penalty.

Budget cuts at UNC

The global economic crisis hit UNC in the form of a 11 percent budget reduction for the 2009-2010 school year.

Those cuts to UNC’s state appropriations — totalling $171 million — led to cut programs and employees. University administrators attempted to focus cuts away from the classroom, looking to federal aid and private sources.

Bain and Company, a private consulting firm hired by UNC through an anonymous donation, provided a fiscal analysis of University operations in July. Its recommendations are now being considered and implemented by the Carolina Counts program.

As the N.C. General Assembly begins crafting the state budget for 2010-2011, more reductions on campus are imminent. In December, administrators asked department head to prepare plans for 5 percent cuts.

Bowles stepping down as head of UNC system

UNC-system President Erskine Bowles announced in February that he would step down by the end of 2010.

Bowles took office in 2006 with the goals of ensuring that the UNC system met the needs of the state and that it became more efficient.

Out of that came the UNC Tomorrow initiative, which drove his presidency for its first couple years and raised the profile of the UNC system throughout the state.

But his handling of the recession and its impact on the system is what Bowles is most likely to be remembered for. He cut almost $300 million from the system budget last year and managed to concentrate most of the cuts on the administrative sector, ensuring  a minimal impact on students.

Bowles, who came to the system after several years in Washington, was announced in early 2010 as the co-chairman of a federal commission to address the national debt.

Meanwhile, the Board of Governors is conducting a national search for his replacement that just got underway. A search firm is expected to be selected soon.


Faculty hope to curb grade inflation

In response to steadily rising grade point averages at UNC, the Faculty Council approved Friday a proposal to add contextual information about grading practices on transcripts, which could include grade, class-year and major statistics for each class within the next few years.

The proposal would also require the registrar’s office to distribute information about grading practices to all instructors, including how their grades compare to those given by their departments and the rest of the University.

UNC now joins a small group of schools, including Princeton, Cornell and Indiana universities, in addressing the national trend of rising grade point averages.

The proposal was inspired by a report distributed last April that found that average grades at UNC had been increasing steadily since the 1960s, especially in the last 10 years, and that the most common grade given at UNC was an A.

Friday’s vote comes as a compromise after years of contentious discussions about grading. The debate has brought out strong emotions among faculty members, who see teaching and grading policies as being closely tied with academic freedom — the right to teach and research without interference from administrators.

A committee composed of at least three faculty members and an undergraduate student will convene in the fall to create a specific plan for implementation of the proposal.

Administrative Searches

UNC’s new top administrators didn’t have to move far to reach their new offices.

With the hiring of Bruce Carney as the No. 2 administrator on campus — the executive vice chancellor and provost — Chancellor Holden Thorp continued the recent pattern of hiring from within.

Administrators received criticism for filling the provost position with a white male with a science background, and failing to provide a greater degree of diversity among high-level administrators.

Thorp’s decision to bypass three external finalists selected by a search committee and hire Carney represents the third national search for an administrator that has resulted in the hiring of an existing UNC employee.

While Thorp said he had wanted to bring in external candidates, the decisions could indicate a growing preference toward administrators with extensive UNC experience, rather than outside perspective.

Thorp was hired as chancellor in 2008 when he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. UNC paid about $100,000 to R. William Funk & Associates to conduct the search, in which they evaluated several candidates but ultimately picked Thorp.

The University then conducted a national search to replace Thorp and picked Karen Gil, then chairwoman of the psychology department.

The choice to pick Carney concludes an almost year-long search conducted by a 17-member committee. Funk & Associates was paid $72,800 in non-state funds, plus expenses, to facilitate the process.

UNC, state deal with H1N1 cases

UNC won awards for its preparation for the H1N1 virus — better known as the swine flu — but that didn’t prevent hundreds of sick students from the virus.

One student, Lillian Chason, passed away in December after weeks of battling complications from the virus.

Chason, a freshmen dramatic arts major, became well-known throughout the UNC community through a Facebook group with more than 10,000 members, “Prayers for Lillian.”

Health officials urged students to stay vaccinated even as the number of cases declined, and UNC provided vaccine clinics for students throughout the year.

At some points, campus infection rates were so high that Campus Health Services turned away any student with flu-like symptoms and encouraged them to stay isolated.

Local elections

Mark Kleinschmidt is almost five months in his stint as mayor of Chapel Hill.

In November, the 39-year-old beat fellow Chapel Hill Town Council member Matt Czajkowski in the closest election in the town’s documented history, defeating Czajkowski 4,176 votes to 4,070.

The election saw the mayoral and Town Council candidates divide into “pro-business” and “pro-environment” camps.

Kleinschmidt received endorsements from the traditional liberal forces of Chapel Hill, including the local NAACP, the Sierra Club and several former mayors and council members.

Czajkowski, on the other hand, touted his experience as a former corporate executive, running on a business-oriented platform.

Incumbents Laurin Easthom and Ed Harrison were re-elected, and joining them were newcomers Penny Rich and Gene Pease.

But the most controversial council rookie is Donna Bell, who was appointed in January to fill the seat of Bill Strom, who abruptly resigned in the summer.

Bell was chosen in part to ensure black representation on the Council, despite not running in the election. Many residents had lobbied for the board to choose Matt Pohlman, who came 203 votes shy of scoring a Council seat in November.

Health insurance change on its way

After months of political wrangling, President Barack Obama signed the oft-maligned health insurance overhaul legislation into law in March.

The new law, which evolved considerably from the proposals Obama made during the 2008 presidential campaign and even from the time it was first introduced in Congress during the summer, requires most Americans to buy insurance or pay a fee.

It will fund subsidies for insurance coverage and blocks insurers from excluding people with pre-existing conditions. It also requires employers with more than 50 workers to offer insurance.

The law also has provisions targeted to help young people stay insured, including a provision allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plans up to age 26 unless offered health coverage by an employer.

Early estimates conclude that the law will extend insurance coverage to 30 million people who lack it and reduce the federal budget deficit by $138 billion in the next 10 years.

County to send waste away



Years of discussion about where to put the county’s trash once the landfill fills culminated in a December decision to send it all to Durham — at least for now.

The decision to send trash to a Durham transfer station came after a $490,000 consultation and a debate that highlighted problems with race relations in the county, as the current landfill is in a historically black and low-income neighborhood.

Shipping trash out of the county may only be a viable option for a few years. The county will have to work on an alternative solution.

EMS stretched thin with rising demand



The department that provides ambulances and emergency care to residents has been stretched thin this year.

With only five ambulances tending to a population of more than 120,000, Orange County Emergency Services is struggling to keep up with growing demand.

The overworked and underfunded department asked the county for help at an Assembly of Governments meeting in March.

County Manager Frank Clifton said he will recommend the county provide the department with a new ambulance, which carries a $225,000 price tag.

He said he will hold off, however, in recommending funding the department with the 29 new staff positions it asked for.

The department, which has lost two paramedics in the past year, may not be able to fill the spots it asked for, Clifton said.

The 29 new positions would cost $1.2 million to fund. They include 10 positions for paramedics , 10 for emergency medical technicians and 9 for 911 call processors.

Emergency Services processes more than 1,000 calls a day.

Community colleges allow undocumented workers

The N.C. Board of Community Colleges voted in March to approve a policy that would allow undocumented immigrants to enter the 58 community colleges in the system.

The policy comes with three stipulations that undocumented immigrants must meet: students have to be graduates of a U.S. high school, pay out of state tuition — $7,700 annually — and not displace a state or U.S. citizen.

The decision was a major victory for undocumented immigrants becaues it came after almost a decade of debate. But the policy still has to pass the legislature’s Rules Reviews Commission. If 10 or more people enter letters of rejection, it must then be approved by the full N.C. General Assembly.

UNC basketball’s NIT season

The departures of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green proved too much for the North Carolina men’s basketball team to overcome in 2009-10.

Despite the additions of five highly-touted freshmen to replace these NBA draft picks, the Tar Heels compiled a mediocre 20-17 record (5-11 in the ACC) and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in coach Roy Williams’ tenure.

North Carolina showed promise during the non-conference portion of its schedule, knocking off Big Ten heavyweights Ohio St. and Michigan St., but ACC play exposed its flaws on the offensive and defensive ends.

Though UNC did gain a measure of redemption by making it to the finals of the National Invitation Tournament, next year should improvement with the addition of recruits Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall.

Barnes, a small forward, arrives in Chapel Hill as the No. 1 recruit in the country, while Bullock and Marshall both are rated near the top of their positions of shooting guard and point guard, respectively.

Football team’s juniors return

North Carolina football made its second straight bowl game this season, but an announcement made by a quintet of juniors in early January is what has expectations soar for Butch Davis’ fourth season.

Five UNC defenders — linebacker Bruce Carter, defensive tackle Marvin Austin, cornerback Kendric Burney, safety Deunta Williams and linebacaker Quan Sturdivant — decided to return to Chapel Hill for their senior seasons rather than enter the NFL Draft.

All were considered to be highly-rated prospects in last weekend’s draft.

They anchored a unit last season which finished No. 6 nationally in total defense.

With their return, as well as leading pass-catcher Greg Little’s, anything less than an ACC title game appearance will be considered a disappointment.

“We’ve got unfinished business,” Williams said.

How far UNC can go will also depend on how consistent its offense performs. Quarterback T.J. Yates threw for more than 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, but also tossed 15 interceptions.

Women’s sports nab national championship titles

While the men’s basketball team struggled, a pair of women’s sports claimed national championships this year for North Carolina.The women’s soccer team netted its 21st national title and the field hockey team won in dramatic fashion to get its sixth.

Junior Jessica McDonald scored the game-winning goal for the women’s soccer team in a 1-0 victory against Stanford, while senior Danielle Forward scored the game-winning goal with 11.7 seconds left to give the Tar Heel field hockey team a 3-2 win against Maryland.

While the seasons were certainly banner years for both programs, they will have to deal with the loss of a large number of seniors.

Standouts Tobin Heath, Whitney Engen and Casey Nogueira will be gone from Fetzer Field next year, and Forward and Illse Davids will not be leading the field hockey team’s offensive sets.

Both teams may experience growing pains near the beginnings of their seasons, but they will not be down for long. For programs like these, it’s a rather a reloading rather than rebuilding.

Spring Sport Success

Time in the top-spot has been shared by three North Carolina teams as spring sports enter the end of their regular seasons. The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, as well as women’s tennis, have all climbed to the top of their respective sports, with women’s lacrosse and women’s tennis currently maintaining their place at No. 1.

The women’s lacrosse team (14-2) stopped then-No. 1 Northwestern in its tracks with a 18-16 upset just under two weeks ago that snapped the Wildcats’ 41-game winning streak. Led by senior attacker Kristen Taylor and senior midfielder Megan Bosica, the now-No. 1 Tar Heels placed in second in the ACC Championship after a 10-5 loss to Maryland last weekend.

Women’s tennis likewise battled it out with Northwestern for the top spot under the veteran play of seniors Sanaz Marand and Katrina Tsang. UNC (26-4) narrowly missed an ACC title, losing to Georgia Tech in the finals 4-3.

In coach Joe Breschi’s second season at North Carolina, the No. 4 Tar Heels (11-2) shot to a 10-0 start with big wins against Princeton,

Maryland and Johns Hopkins. Junior All-American Billy Bitter and senior midfielder Sean DeLaney have steered UNC to only two losses coming at the hands of No. 1 Virginia and the ACC champions, No. 3 Maryland.

All three teams await NCAA selection shows announcing the fate of their chances at a national title.