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(04/27/07 4:00am)
National media attention this year has changed its focus from three Duke University lacrosse players to the Durham County District Attorney who prosecuted them.
Michael Nifong, Durham's district attorney, faces future legal consequences for his handling of a case where three Duke students were charged with raping an exotic dancer at a March 13 party.
Attorney General Roy Cooper dismissed the charges against the lacrosse players April 11.
"We're glad the attorney general has made that decision, which we welcome, and we look forward to moving ahead," said Keith Lawrence, director of media relations at Duke.
"One of the things that came out of this case is Duke considering its campus culture," he said.
Duke University President Richard Brodhead canceled the Duke lacrosse season in 2006 and initiated conversations about campus culture through different committees instructed to investigate aspects of university life.
These committees have begun to release recommendations on the way Duke can improve its community, and the suggestions will be taken into consideration this fall, Lawrence said.
While university students are trying to move past the episode, it is unlikely Nifong will be able to avoid the media's spotlight this summer and beyond, said Thomas Metzloff, a Duke law professor.
After his N.C. State Bar hearing June 12, Nifong could lose his license and face other civil suits from the players. "The three players certainly are contemplating it," Metzloff said. "I would expect them to file a civil case."
Nifong issued an apology to the lacrosse players one day after Cooper dropped the remaining charges of kidnapping and sexual assault against them.
"To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused,'' Nifong stated in a press release.
The original rape charges were dropped in December after the accuser, who was an N.C. Central University student, started telling different, improbable versions of the alleged incident.
Nifong then removed himself from the case Jan. 12 because of ethics charges leveled against him by the N.C. State Bar.
Metzloff said the grievance committee of the N.C. State Bar decided to prosecute Nifong in October after receiving complaints from various sources. After new information surfaced about improper handling of DNA evidence by the district attorney, the civil suit was amended in January to include the new charges, he said.
"A lot of his defense is 'I didn't intend to do anything wrong'," Metzloff said. Nifong also faces ethics charges of withholding evidence and lying to the court.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/27/07 4:00am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - New details surfaced Thursday in the deaths of 33 students and faculty at Virginia Tech on April 16, even as the community struggles to regain its normal footing.
Seung-Hui Cho, a senior English major, fired more than 170 rounds in nine minutes at Norris Hall, the Va. Tech's student newspaper, the Collegiate Times, reported Thursday.
The press conference where this detail emerged also held official confirmation that Cho chained shut three main entrances to Norris Hall before he started shooting.
State police said they believe Cho wanted to hold off any police response to the location and trap his victims inside the building.
Cho killed 30 and wounded 25 students and faculty before taking his own life on the second floor of the building.
There was a second shooting earlier April 16 in West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall where a female student and a male residence advisor were killed.
The Collegiate Times reported Thursday that police still have not confirmed Cho as the gunman in both incidents and cannot find a connection between him and the deceased.
For now, police tape still surrounds Norris Hall and campus tours are redirected where they once would have passed through the building.
The university administration has closed the building until the end of the semester, May 2, but there are rumors that the building might be razed.
"I can't really say I agree with that actually, because we're already pressed for space," said junior Matthew Quinn.
There also is concern that allowing the destruction of the building would be a disservice to those who died within it.
"As an alumni and current student here, I am staunchly against demolishing that building," said veterinarian graduate student Amy Tanner.
She said she would rather see a memorial erected to those who died, instead of a key part of campus torn down.
"We don't really want to be defined by this," Tanner said.
Ting Cai, a chemistry graduate student, said he would like to see the second floor of Norris where the shootings occurred cordoned off.
"It maybe better to just reassign the second floor," he said.
Cai said the site could be dedicated as a permanent memorial, filled with the expressions of sympathy the university has received, and continues to receive, from around the world.
There seems to be no end to the memorabilia created by Va. Tech and given to the school in helping their community grieve: There are banners from different groups hanging in the student union; a circle of 32 stones covered with flowers, cards and other effects outside Burruss Hall; and boards with well-wishes written to the deceased standing on the Drillfield.
Even on Facebook.com separate groups have been formed to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of the students and faculty killed.
With the community processing its grief, the school's administration has left grades and the exam schedule flexible, allowing students to choose how their grades will be calculated.
"I think the school has been great in giving us a lot of time," Tanner said.
"Admittedly, it's been hard to focus," she added.
"I think it's going to get better each day."
Quinn said he intends to come back to Va. Tech in the fall semester, but the tragedy has changed his outlook and possibly his computer science major.
"I was starting to question a lot of things beforehand - but that was the kicker," he said.
Now he's considering employment in a field where he can help people overcome obstacles, instead of the lucrative business that can be found in a job related to computer science.
"I enjoy more helping other people," Quinn said.
Something fundamental has been changed in the everyday lives of the students, faculty and staff at Va. Tech, and the effects of that change will continue to show through the next year.
Junior Andrew Blando said his girlfriend has visited Va. Tech for their April 15 anniversary for the past two years.
She still was in town when the shootings occurred.
"It's going to be weird if she wants to come down next year."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/24/07 4:00am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The first day back to class for Virginia Tech students began with a morning ceremony honoring the 32 students and faculty killed by senior English major Seung-Hui Cho.
Thirty-two white balloons were released with the strike of a bell in front of 33 small stones placed in a semi-circle on the wide expanse of the field known as the Drillfield.
The 33rd marker, placed between Matthew Gwaltney's and Dan O'Neil's, was for Cho, who killed himself at the end of his rampage; it was removed later Monday.
There still is a sizable showing of flowers and notes in the place where his stone lay.
"He was still a person, too," junior Matthew Quinn said. "He was still a Hokie."
In this community of more than 25,000 students, there are signs of forgiveness toward the gunman, but it is not a consensus.
There were not many on campus willing to talk to the media Monday, and while the campus population spiked from last week, it was far from a normal spring day.
"There are a lot of students back, but this is pretty sparse," graduate student Amy Tanner said. "I think it will be just a slow, long week."
Instructors received e-mails from the Va. Tech administration encouraging them to mention last week's events in their classes.
Ting Cai, a graduate student, is teaching a general chemistry class today and said he cannot predict how many of his students will attend.
"We're only going to meet for 15 minutes," he said. "I think I'll probably start with a moment of silence."
Teachers are using Monday and Tuesday to assess the grades and conditions of their students before finishing the semester.
Exams are optional in calculating students' final grades.
Andrew Blando, a junior oceanic engineer, said he still is debating the different options.
"I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of the situation," he said.
The students remaining on campus Monday were searching for normalcy.
Many students experienced abbreviated classes along with reminders of the last week, such as signs on the outside of all academic and residence halls curtailing the media's presence.
"I know in my first class there was quite a bit of awkward silence," Quinn said. "Being able to go back to class helps, though."
The somber atmosphere is punctuated by requests for media interviews, many of which were turned down, although Quinn acknowledged the importance of broadcasting information.
He said he just found out Sunday that he knew one of the victims when he saw her picture on CNN.
"I was just in shock for, like, five minutes," he said.
Authorities have named Cho the gunman in one of two university shootings last Monday.
The first incident occurred about 7 a.m. at the West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall, where a resident adviser and a female student were shot.
Police have identified Cho as the gunman in the second shooting two hours later that left 30 people dead at Norris Hall, an academic building. Cho then committed suicide. One of the guns used in the second shooting also was used in the first.
There is a heavy police presence on campus as the investigation continues.
Campus tours resumed Monday, although guides had to detour to avoid the police tape surrounding Norris Hall.
"This is a great school," was repeated to prospective students and their parents by professors and current students.
And the decreased numbers in the student body this week might not indicate next semester's trend.
"I don't know many people who weren't coming back," Blando said.
For the Blacksburg community, it will be a long time before they can walk through campus without thinking about the 33 dead students and faculty.
"It's always going to be in the recesses of my mind," Blando said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - A steady stream of breaking news added to the tension on Virginia Tech's campus Wednesday following the Monday deaths of 33 students and faculty.
An afternoon press conference revealed that NBC News received a package containing what network officials described as a "multimedia manifesto" from Cho Seung-Hui, the student definitively identified as the gunman in one of two shootings Monday.
"Upon reception of this correspondence, NBC News immediately notified authorities," Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty said.
"This may be a very new, critical component of this investigation."
Authorities still were evaluating the materials Wednesday night, even as NBC began to release images and videos taken by Cho. Students gasped and whispered "Oh my god" as television screens flashed an image of Cho posing menacingly with two handguns raised at eye level.
The videos portray the intense anger of an individual whose exact motives still are unclear. Cho assigned blame for the massacre to his victims, claiming that he "died like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of weak and defenseless people."
He called his victims "snobs" and suggested the source of his rage was the privilege and materialism that he saw in his classmates.
"Your trust funds wasn't enough," he said, sitting in front of a plain cinder-block wall and appearing to read from a script. "Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough."
The release of the video capped an already uneasy day. Even two days after the shootings, and with a dwindling number of students on campus, the community remained on edge.
Early in the day, a swarm of police and media descended on Burruss Hall after a Va. Tech operator received a threat on university President Charles Steger's life. The building was secured by police and a report of a suspicious person came in amid the confusion, said campus police Chief Wendell Flinchum.
"These kinds of reports are not uncommon in the wake of what has occurred in the last 48 hours," he said, alluding to the vigilant mood in Blacksburg.
The last two days have left investigators, reporters and students scrambling to understand an event that left friends, family and community members dead.
There is growing frustration at the news that Cho had an extensive history of psychological instability, including a recommendation of involuntary hospitalization dating back to 2005.
Campus police were contacted with complaints about Cho in November and December of last year, when two female students alleged that he repeatedly contacted them through phone calls, Internet messages and in person.
At the time of the second complaint, police received a separate report that Cho might be suicidal. University counselors found the risk credible enough that he was sent to a mental health facility in nearby Radford, Va., on Dec. 13.
Lucinda Roy, the chairwoman of the English department at Va. Tech, also shared her concerns with campus police during the fall semester of 2005 when she became concerned about the substance of Cho's writing.
Flinchum was careful to note that there was no direct threat in the writings, so the university had no ground for taking drastic action.
"The writings did not express any threatening intentions or allude to any criminal activity, and no criminal violation had taken place," he said. "Since those contacts in November and December of 2005, I am not aware of any additional incidents or reports made to our department."
Even as the revelations about Cho's history at the university became public, most students remained reluctant to fault the university's handling of the supposed warning signs.
"You never know what's beneath the surface," said Matt Stewart, a senior at nearby Radford University who was on campus to pick up his girlfriend. "You can't prevent crazy."
Stewart said his girlfriend would be staying with him for a few days because she had a "bad vibe" about remaining on campus.
"She just wants to get away and let the town settle down a little bit," he said.
That seemed to be a common sentiment. Throughout the day, students trickled out of dormitories carrying backpacks and suitcases, some piling into cars with friends and others being picked up by parents.
"I'd say most people just want to get away for a bit, get a little breather," said Eric Hilgartner, a freshman waiting for his ride outside West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall. "I need to come home for my parents' sake more than mine. I know they'd like to see me."
The university canceled the spring football scrimmage scheduled for Saturday, and professors still are figuring out how to cope with grades and class schedules before students return Monday.
Across campus Tuesday and Wednesday, groups of students speculated about what might happen with essays and tests that had been scheduled for this week and how exams might be affected.
University officials announced Wednesday afternoon that individual deans would have the authority to decide how to proceed with the semester. They left open the possibility that final exams could be canceled at the discretion of the university's separate colleges.
But with police visible on every corner and a continuing frenzy of media activity on campus, many students said they simply wanted to get out of town. Hilgartner said he hopes the university is out of the media glare by the time he returns.
"We'd like to get back to that quiet reputation we had in Blacksburg," he said. "Well, if we can ever get it back."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The revelation that Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui had a documented history of psychological problems is likely to intensify an already heated debate about how campuses handle troubled students.
A number of high-profile court cases in recent years have centered on the constraints and responsibilities university officials confront in deciding whether to take pre-emptive action on behalf of at-risk students.
Christopher Flynn, director of the Cook Counseling Center at Virginia Tech, alluded to that difficulty in discussing Cho's history of strange behavior.
"There are lots of issues that are present on a college campus," Flynn said during a Wednesday press conference. "The extent to which we can make a judgment about whether someone is a danger is a separate issue."
For universities, it is an issue fraught with moral and legal complications. Officials have to balance concern for campus safety with an obligation to protect individual privacy, often with vague guidelines.
"Schools walk a real fine line," said Johnne Armentrout, assistant director of counseling services at Wake Forest University. "The tricky thing is that they face lawsuits on both sides, either from not doing enough or from violating their students' privacy rights."
Federal law prohibits universities from revealing a student's psychological problems, even to parents, unless they have a signed waiver or believe the student poses an imminent danger to himself or others.
Deciding when to break that confidentiality is difficult, but universities typically have erred on the side of protecting student privacy.
In recent cases, universities have prevailed in court against parents arguing that they should have been better informed about their children's psychological problems.
"When in doubt, my decision is to respect the student's right to privacy," said David McCord, head of the psychology department at Western Carolina University. "The students' right to privacy is mandatory training for all faculty."
But in the wake of Monday's tragedy at Virginia Tech, there already are calls for revisiting the circumstances when counselors can disclose potential threats. Flynn and other campus officials faced tough questions Wednesday about why Cho was not forced to seek more help when professors complained about his behavior.
"We certainly are always sensitive to the potential for violence," Flynn said. "That's a very difficult thing to predict clearly."
That uncertainty is what puts counselors in such a challenging position, said Robert Murphy, executive director of the Center for Child and Family Health, a joint venture between UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke and N.C. Central universities. He said universities are likely to review their policies in the aftermath of Monday's shooting.
"Legally, our society has come down more on the side of the individual client or patient rights," Murphy said. "There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in this country who might present with similar warning signs but never go on to commit an act like this, and that's the really tricky part."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/17/07 4:00am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech's campus was virtually empty Monday afternoon. The doors to the student union were locked, and police in squad cars blocked every entrance.
As the news that 33 people were shot and killed and 15 more were wounded Monday morning on their campus began to sink in, students either left town or began to venture out and react to the tragedy.
The deaths occurred in two separate shootings, one in a residence hall at about 7:15 a.m. and the other in a classroom, office and laboratory building about two hours later.
"I'm in disbelief because this is the last place I would imagine it happening," said sophomore William Lindner, a business information and technology major who is minoring in computer science. "Blacksburg is a tiny town. This isn't the kind of place you would expect something like this to happen."
Lindner said the hardest thing for him is not knowing who was killed.
"As a computer science engineer, I could very well have had a lab where I was working with one of these kids that got shot, and I don't know that," he said.
Lindner said he slept through his 9 a.m. class, which would have put him on campus during the second shooting.
Campus police have not confirmed if the two incidents are separate or related and say they are investigating all possibilities. Two weapons were recovered from the crime scenes.
No victims' names had been officially released as of press time, but a male resident adviser, senior Ryan Clark, was confirmed killed during the first shooting.
Police received the first 911 call of the day at 7:15 a.m. They responded to West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall, where Clark and a female student were shot dead inside a dorm room, campus police Chief Wendell Flinchum said.
After the first shooting, police shut down West Ambler Johnston, which houses about 895 students. The rest of campus remained opened because police said they believed the danger had been contained.
"You have to remember there are 26,000 students on campus and only 9,000 live on campus," Flinchum said. "Where do you keep them that is the safest?"
Flinchum said the decision to leave the rest of campus open was based on information gathered by investigators at the scene. Officers also believed, based on witness interviews, that the dorm room shooting was a domestic incident, he said.
Police received the second 911 call at 9:45 a.m.
They responded to Norris Hall, an engineering building, within minutes only to find the front doors barricaded shut with chains from the inside. Flinchum said officers broke down the doors and followed the sound of gunshots to the second floor where they found the gunman and 30 other victims dead in various locations.
No information about the gunman has been released except that he is a male. Flinchum said that police were not engaged in a shootout with the gunman and that they believe he killed himself.
Freshman Erin Sheehan was able to walk out of her 9:05 a.m. German class in room 207 Norris Hall, reported the Collegiate Times, Va. Tech's independent student newspaper.
"It seemed so strange," she said. "Because he peeked in twice, earlier in the lesson, like he was looking for someone, somebody, before he started shooting. But then we all heard something like drilling in the walls, and someone thought they sounded like bullets. That's when we blockaded the door to stop anyone from coming in."
Sheehan described the shooter as an Asian male wearing a Boy Scout-type outfit in a tan button-up vest and a black ammo vest.
"I saw bullets hit people's body," she said. "There was blood everywhere. People in the class were passed out, I don't know, maybe from shock from the pain. But I was one of only four that made it out of that classroom. The rest were dead or injured."
Flinchum said that investigators have identified a person of interest in the first shooting but that he is not in custody. He said they were interested in the person because he knows the female victim in the dorm shooting.
The university is closed today, and classes have been canceled. University President Charles Steger said a decision will be made today about when to resume normal campus activities.
"We are focusing our energies on the tragedies experienced by these families, and we will deal with these other issues later," he said.
About 100 students came and went during an informal vigil started by the ROTC Monday night at the War Memorial Chapel.
"Everyone here is connected to someone," said Nancy Morgan, a freshman at the vigil. "That's why everyone is so impacted.
"I think everyone will be watching their back a lot more," Morgan said. "I think other colleges can really learn from this."
Students chanted Hokies cheers and prayed during the event. Messages of hope and unity were written on a cardboard cutout of the Va. Tech logo.
"This is our campus," said sophomore Russ Dalton, who lives in West Ambler Johnston. "We have to realize it's all real."
Many students were reluctant to talk to reporters but wanted to express the feeling that this could have happened anywhere.
"I don't feel any less safe here than before," freshman Max McCall said. "There's nothing that's going to stop a killer who has no value for his own life."
Students and faculty were notified of the first incident by a mass e-mail that was sent more than two hours after the 911 call was received.
Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations, said people also were notified of the incident through the emergency weather line, the school Web site, calls to campus phones and a call-in line with a recorded message.
Many questioned the effectiveness of the school's communication system Monday.
"It would have been nice to have known if someone was still out there," Dalton said.
After an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard and fled to the Tech area earlier this academic year, school administrators discussed ways to improve emergency communications.
Hincker said that officials have been looking into ways to send urgent messages to students through text messaging but that such a system has not been implemented.
Up until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard drove his pickup into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself, according to The Associated Press.
Virginia Tech had received multiple bomb threats in the past two weeks, but school officials say they don't know if they were related to Monday's shootings.
The school has an enrollment of about 25,000 full-time students and a 2,600-acre campus.
Leaders are planning to hold a Convocation at 2 p.m. Wednesday to come together and mourn. President Bush's staff has inquired about the president attending the service. Gov. Tim Kaine, who declared a state of emergency in Virginia on Monday, was planning to fly back to the state today from Tokyo to attend the Convocation.
The service will attempt to provide solace to the shaken campus.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Steger said. "The University is shocked and, indeed, horrified."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/13/07 4:00am)
There are two tickets running for the UNC-system Association of Student Government's president and vice president positions this weekend.
M. Cole Jones, the student body president at East Carolina University, is running for president with Cody Grasty, the student body president of Western Carolina University, on a platform that advocates communication and facilitation for the group.
"Everybody I've spoken with has said these are reality-based initiatives," Jones said.
Stephen Moore, the ASG's vice president for government relations, is running for president of the group with Jake Parton, the ASG's vice president for academic and student affairs.
The two UNC-Chapel Hill juniors have a platform based on increasing the student voice on individual campuses, in the General Administration, and on issues of graduation and retention rates, campus safety and advocacy.
"We've got several issues on there that students can really get behind," Moore said.
Both Moore and Jones acknowledged that effective communication and compromise, a concern that led to several delegations walking out of a meeting in January, will be a major hurdle during the coming year.
Moore noted that tension between campuses has long been an issue for the association but stressed the quick resolution of conflicts this year.
"Everybody knew the other person," he said. "We'd been working together for a whole year."
Originally, Moore had agreed to run as Jones' senior vice president, but decided to run against him after it came to light that Jones had been charged with allegedly assaulting a woman on Valentine's Day.
"I felt like we differed on the way things should be run," Moore said.
Jones said that he was surprised at Moore's reaction to the situation, but that he hopes Moore and Parton will continue their work with the ASG, no matter what the result of the elections.
"I would definitely like to have them as part of my team," he said.
The elections for the association will be held after the candidates present their platforms to the UNC-system delegations at N.C. Central University on Saturday.
Both Moore and Jones have expressed optimism in their bids for the presidency and said they have received positive feedback on what the group can do for students from several campuses.
"We can't grow vertically," Parton said, alluding to the limitations put on ASG spending by the General Administration. "We can grow horizontally out to the students."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/12/07 4:00am)
DURHAM - Almost all of Duke University seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after kidnapping and sexual assault charges were dropped against three former lacrosse players by the state Attorney General Roy Cooper.
Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans originally were charged by Durham's District Attorney Michael Nifong in the alleged rape of a black, female exotic dancer at a March 13, 2006 party.
The female also was a student at the nearby historically black N.C. Central University.
The charges of rape were dropped after the accuser's testimony of the night's events changed.
"The result is that these cases are over, and no more criminal proceedings will occur," Cooper said during a press conference Wednesday.
"We believe that these cases were the tragic result of a rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations."
He said he did not believe any charges should be brought against the accuser but would not explain further, mentioning that the documents informing his decision are sealed.
"She did want to move forward with the case," he said. "However, the contradictions in her many versions of what occurred and the conflicts between what she said occurred and other evidence, like photographs and phone records, could not be rectified."
Joseph Cheshire, Evans' attorney, in a later press conference in Raleigh, said his clients were not pressing any charges against the accuser in the desire to have the episode finished.
Much of the harsh criticism aired was reserved for Nifong and his handling of the case, for which he now faces ethics charges of withholding evidence and lying to the court by the N.C. State Bar.
"He has no right being in a position of power over any North Carolinian," Cheshire said.
And while Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans said they are glad to be exonerated of the charges, they said they blame Nifong for a year's worth of legal trouble and emotional pain.
"This entire experience has opened my eyes up to a tragic world of injustice,'' Seligmann said.
"I can't imagine what they would do to people who do not have the resources to defend themselves."
When the rape first was reported, a contingent of the school and Durham community were vocal in their support of the accuser, manifested in marches in the street as well as calls on Nifong to find evidence against the three students.
"We're just as innocent today as we were back then," Evans said. "Nothing has changed''
But things have changed on Duke's campus since the allegations were leveled.
President Richard Brodhead suspended the 2006 lacrosse season at Duke and launched several conversations and committees to investigate campus culture.
Students from N.C. Central and Duke started several service projects during the year to ease the underlying racial tensions in a case that seemed to pit three wealthy white men against an unnamed black woman.
"I'm concerned that statements were made publicly that turned out not to be true," Cooper said. "People owe a lot of apologies to other people."
Awa Nur, a freshman at Duke, said she, and other first-year students, reserved judgement until enrolling for the fall semester.
"We kind of made our own decisions once we were on campus," she said.
Nur said she chose to support the athletes, as did most of the school.
"Obviously, the whole school is glad to see the charges resolved."
Relief was the mood for many students on Duke's campus Wednesday night, including the non-indicted members of the lacrosse team.
In a press conference on Duke's campus, lacrosse member Matt Danowski, said the team and the university would come back stronger for having overcome the troubles in the last year
"I can say at this moment that I am definitely a stronger person than I was this spring."
Fellow teammate Ed Douglas echoed the sentiment and thanked the supporters of the team.
"We certainly appreciate the way the students have come behind us," he said.
The next chapter in the Duke lacrosse saga comes Friday when Nifong appears before an N.C. State Bar hearing committee Friday.
If his appeal for dismissal is refused, his court date is set for June 12.
Consequences for a guilty verdict range from a written punishment to disbarment.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/11/07 4:00am)
As of Wednesday afternoon, all charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players have been dropped.
David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann had been charged with sexual assault on a female N.C. Central University student at a team party in March of 2006.
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper announced the end of the case at a press conference in Durham.
"The result of our review and investigation shows clearly that there is insufficient evidence to proceed on any of the charges," he said.
"The result is that these cases are over, and no more criminal proceedings will occur."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/30/07 4:00am)
RALEIGH - The N.C. Education Lottery celebrated its first birthday to much less fanfare than its passage in either N.C. General Assembly chamber.
Even with Gov. Mike Easley's budget proposal shifting lottery funds away from school construction in favor of a program for at-risk pre-kindergarten students, there is little discussion about the institution that created almost a dozen years of controversy.
Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, said he has not heard much discussion about the lottery within legislative circles, but he said he does not support the governor's proposed changes.
"School construction is near and dear to my heart," he said.
"Property taxes alone can't keep up with the school construction."
Lottery officials who met players at Triangle Town Center to eat cake and participate in prize giveaways Thursday said they've heard little from legislators now that the lottery is running.
"We really haven't gotten any feedback," said Alice Garland, a spokeswoman for the state's lottery.
Without much discussion, opponents and proponents of the lottery have found justification in the last year for their views.
"It's a brand-new revenue stream that we didn't have before," Garland said.
But detractors say the revenue stream is not as great as estimated and is having a negative effect on North Carolina's economy.
"Our objection to the lottery still holds," said Roy Cordato, vice president for research at the John Locke Foundation.
"The fact is that it tends to prey on the poor."
The foundation published a report earlier this month detailing the amount of sales made in each county.
The report found that the poor eastern counties played the lottery more than others in North Carolina, although advocates of the lottery said the disparity could be attributed to the highways that run through the eastern part of the state and better access to transportation.
Cordato said he hasn't heard of any lottery supporters switching sides in the past year.
"I haven't heard of anyone saying, 'Gosh, I wish I'd voted against it,'" he said.
Pam Walker, communication director for the N.C. Education Lottery, said a commercial the organization played during Gambling Awareness Week did entice a few extra residents to play the games.
"They said they were just thrilled to see us take that proactive approach," Walker said.
But she said she didn't expect to see a change in the mind-set of most who are strongly against the organization, even if the lottery stays functional for the next 10 years.
"There's always going to be people who have strong feelings against the lottery," she said.
School systems statewide still are waiting to use the lottery money on school construction, a main beneficiary of the funding.
Wake County Public Schools, which recently passed a bond to build 17 schools over the next three to four years, will receive an estimated $9 million in lottery proceeds for this year.
Bill Poston, public information officer of Wake County Public Schools, said the estimated funds could pay for half an elementary school.
"We certainly are benefiting from the lottery, but it is a small portion of the needs that we have in our community."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/23/07 4:00am)
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced Thursday that he will not be leaving the race, despite a recurrence of his wife's cancer.
"The results of all the tests are that her cancer is back," Edwards said during a press conference at The Carolina Inn. "It's no longer curable."
Test results from UNC's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center confirmed Wednesday that Elizabeth Edwards' metastatic breast cancer has returned as a tumor in her rib.
Her cancer is stage four, which is incurable, but treatments such as hormones or chemotherapy can stop growth or decrease its size.
The public reaction to the Edwards' family announcement is hard to gauge at the moment, say political pundits.
"The truth is, I don't think any of us know how voters are going to react," said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's Program on Public Life.
"Both of them have a really deep commitment to running this presidential campaign - so deep that Elizabeth's health won't stand in the way."
With his wife due to undergo treatment after reviewing a final set of tests, voters could see the Edwards family two different ways.
"The question now is do they admire them for doing this, or do they wonder why he's still running," Guillory said.
John Edwards said the possibility of dropping out was not considered for very long after a diagnosis was made.
"This is the most extremely unselfish person I've ever met," he said in reference to his wife. "All she wanted to talk about . was her children, me and the country."
With the first caucus in Iowa on Jan. 14, 2008, Iowa voters will be an early indicator for how the rest of the country might respond.
"She was quite popular here the last time John Edwards ran for president," said Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University. "(It) actually could provide a connection with voters on a key issue . that is health care."
But Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State political science professor, said the majority of people he's spoken with are unsure whether John Edwards' decision to stay in the race is sound.
"This is going to be the most brutal season of raising money and campaigning in recent history, and maybe ever," he said. "Invariably, that's going to take a huge toll on his family."
Edwards is in fourth place or lower in recent Iowa polls, making the pressure to campaign even greater, Schmidt said.
He added that, in polling people, he found a minority of Iowans who admire the Edwardses for their decision.
"The other opinion is: This guy has a huge amount of courage if he can make a decision like this."
The Edwards family has been through a similar experience before. Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer was first diagnosed the day after the 2004 election.
The recurrence was first detected last week after she experienced pain in her side while moving a chest. X-rays revealed a fractured rib, but also a tumor.
Dr. Lisa Carey, an oncologist at UNC's cancer center and Elizabeth Edwards' physician, was unwilling to speculate on her prognosis.
Healthy individuals with the disease can live 10 to 15 years after it's diagnosed but also are likely to develop cancer in other areas of the body.
"Primarily it's in the bone," Carey said. "There may be other sites, but they are very small."
Elizabeth Edwards said she is optimistic about being able to maintain her current lifestyle for years to come.
"Is this a hardship for us? Yes, it's another hurdle," she said.
She added that the low volume of cancer and the fact that she's asymptomatic are positives. "We're always going to look for a silver lining because that's who we are."
For the time being, Elizabeth is joining her husband on the road, and the couple left Chapel Hill on Thursday to make stops in New York and Boston.
"The campaign goes on," John Edwards said. "The campaign goes on strongly."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced today at The Carolina Inn that he will not be leaving the race, despite a recurrence of his wife's cancer.
Elizabeth Edwards confirmed Wednesday that metastatic breast cancer has returned as a bone tumor in her rib. Her cancer is now in stage 4, which is incurable, but treatments such as hormones or chemotherapy can stop the growth or decrease the size of the tumor.
She is being treated at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center by Dr. Lisa Carey. Carey and the Edwards family were optimistic about the outcome of the as-yet undecided treatments.
"We're always going to look for the silver lining because that's who we are," Elizabeth Edwards said.
John Edwards said he will continue on the campaign trail but will maintain a flexible schedule so he can be at his wife's side if she needs him.
"The campaign goes on," he said. "The campaign goes on strongly."
John and Elizabeth Edwards left Chapel Hill after the press conference to make campaign stops in New York and Boston.
Check Friday's The Daily Tar Heel for the full story.
(02/28/07 5:00am)
RALEIGH - The continuing debate on the state budget centers on more than just percentage points and fund allocations; it strikes at what legislators see as the responsibility of the state.
Republicans argue that part of that responsibility is to allow two taxes, on sales and income, to expire this year.
The taxes were passed as temporary measures, but are renewed in Gov. Mike Easley's 2007-09 budget in order to raise more than $300 million in revenue in a year's time.
"I do not support continuing those sales tax increases," said Rep. Cary Allred, R-Alamance, who is on the appropriations committee. "I believe the legislature should keep its word to the people."
Some source of funds will have to be found to replace the necessary revenue if the taxes are allowed to expire on time, said Chris Fitzsimon, the director of N.C. Policy Watch.
"It would be irresponsible to not collect taxes in a year where there are so many needs in our state," he said. "My position is that fundamentally . we should assess what we can reasonably do."
And while education is a big priority for the state and is properly addressed, other needs are not mentioned in the budget, Fitzsimon said.
"No one that I know believes there's adequate resources for the mental health system," he said.
The state put a cap on the number of mental health patients the four state hospitals could admit this month, sending the excess into local hospitals. Officials worry that the cap will place strain on area emergency rooms that are not equipped to treat psychiatric cases.
Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, is the chairwoman of the N.C. House's Mental Health Reform committee and said she'd like to see more funds going to the mental health system.
"It's very skimpy, and I hope we can get additional funding," she said. "The governor has clearly focused on education."
Easley's budget, which still has to undergo scrutiny in both chambers of the N.C. General Assembly, includes an 11.3 percent increase in funding for the university system, the largest increase in recent years.
It also calls for a 5 percent average pay increase for teacher's salaries statewide and funds the governor's Learn and Earn program, which aims to make higher education more attainable and affordable.
But even within education issues, many legislators debate the governor's redistribution of lottery revenue from school construction to winnings. The extra revenue would go toward increasing the percentage of winning scratch-off tickets, currently at 50 percent.
Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, who sponsored the original lottery bill, said he does not support that item in the budget.
"Property taxes alone can't keep up with school construction."
Rep. William Current, R-Gaston, said that those who would benefit from Easley's proposed elimination and reduction of income taxes for almost 1.2 million low-income North Carolinians, are the same people who play the lottery the most.
"It looks to me like you're freeing up money . so that people can play the lottery," he said.
For Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, the governor's priorities are right on target, despite the changes the budget needs to undergo in the House and Senate.
"I believe education is the most important thing the state government can do."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(02/23/07 5:00am)
RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley's 2007-09 budget could have a significant impact on resident undergraduate tuition for UNC-system students.
The full scale of that impact will take several months to realize as the budget goes through revisions in the N.C. Senate and House.
Easley released his recommendations Thursday, and they include an increase of 11.3 percent for university funding.
According to system President Erskine Bowles' four-year tuition policy, an increase of that amount would lower the current 6.5 percent cap on resident undergraduate tuition, effectively limiting potential hikes to 1.2 percent.
"There is absolutely no doubt that if the university's budget went up by the amount proposed by the governor's budget, it would impact the cap," said Joni Worthington, UNC-system associate vice president for communications.
Complicating the issue is the fact that Easley's proposal does not earmark any of the more than $200 million requested for faculty salaries during the next two years.
"That's our No. 2 priority, and we will work with the legislature very hard to include it in some form or fashion," said Andy Willis, UNC-system vice president for government relations.
The draft suggests a 2.5 percent increase for all state employees, which includes faculty at system schools but does little to meet the university's salary goals.
"I don't want to poke holes in the governor's budget," Willis said, adding that Bowles and his staff will be meeting with legislators to lobby for a larger salary hike.
Bowles has said in the past that funding for faculty salaries is the most important factor in alleviating campus pressure to raise tuition. Chancellors often cite faculty pay as the driving force behind hikes.
But with the possibility of a sharper limit on tuition, the system might have to look elsewhere to push faculty salaries up to the desired 80th percentile of peer institutions.
Willis said nonresident tuition probably would not be used to raise the extra revenue, despite the fact that there is no annual limit on out-of-state rates.
"They're not going to try to make that up through out-of-state tuition," he said. "I don't see the Board of Governors allowing that to happen."
The board's primary budget priority - financial aid - received appropriate funding, Worthington said.
"The governor has been very responsive in need-based financial aid," she said.
Easley proposed more than $58 million during the next two years for need-based financial aid and offered details about the EARN scholarship he mentioned in his State of the State address Monday.
"This is probably one of the most significant financial-aid packages in the country," Willis said. "It's one of the best budgets that the system has seen out of the legislature in the last 25 years or so."
Easley's EARN program would provide $50 million in 2007-08 for a two-year need-based financial aid program. It would serve families 200 percent below the poverty line.
"I'm very interested in his college funding project," said Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, co-chairwoman of the Senate appropriations committee.
Although Hagan viewed a summary of the budget, she still was waiting for the full budget Thursday afternoon. She said the draft is a good first step.
"The governor has covered a lot of critical issues in his budget," she said, noting that the House will conduct the first review of the budget. "There will definitely be changes and modifications."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Other priorities in Gov. Mike Easley's
proposed 2007-09 budget
Eliminates the income tax for 545,000 low-income individuals and families
Cuts in half the income tax for 629,000 more low-income
individuals and families
Includes a 5 percent average pay increase for public school teachers
Sustains the $1 million
funding for military morale, welfare and recreation grants to military installations
Provides $3.6 million to expand prison-bed capacity to meet both current and future inmate population needs
Funds the N.C. Biotechnology Center with $3.5 million to help the state remain a recognized leader in the field
The budget will go through three more revisions in the N.C. General Assembly over the next few months before becoming law.
SOURCE: The N.C. state budget
(02/14/07 5:00am)
RALEIGH - The N.C. Education Lottery is rolling out a new raffle game in the midst of lagging profits.
Funds from the lottery have been used to build schools, but there are problems attracting the expected number of consumers.
Thomas Shaheen, executive director of the lottery, said the new game will sell 500,000 tickets for $20 apiece, with four chances to win $1 million.
"$3.5 million will go to education if it sells out," he said.
This plan comes at a time when the expected transfers to education from lottery profits have fallen behind by millions.
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, said she is worried about changes to the games and the advertising in order to boost sales. She said she is not pleased with the raffle idea.
"My first reaction was 'I think this would up the ante and would cause a lot of damage,'" she said.
Kinnaird voted against the lottery when it passed in the N.C. Senate 24 to 24 with Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue breaking the tie and passing the bill through the N.C. General Assembly.
"Too bad they're not making all that money they want," she said.
Advertising for the lottery was limited in an attempt to gain more support for the bill. For a dozen years, lottery bills were introduced and then discarded.
Kinnaird said the advertising restriction, which only allows publicity on vendors' property, might be relaxed if revenues don't increase.
"That's a shame because we have such a beautiful state," she said, in regard to additional billboards that might appear because of potential changes to advertising guidelines.
Despite the aesthetics of such a move, Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange, said he would have liked fewer restrictions on advertising in the bill. He added that too many restrictions might be why the lottery is not making as much money as expected.
"The lottery, in my view, is in competition with movie theaters for entertainment," he said. But an addendum to the original bill will not be introduced soon, he said.
"The likelihood of anybody doing a major revamp of the lottery is fairly low," Faison said. "It needs to be called in by the leadership of the House and the Senate."
There are no bills to change the lottery on either chamber floor, and what once was a contentious issue among politicians now is on the legislative back burner.
"The people I've talked to about (the lottery) are pleased about it," said Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank.
Owens said that he is not in favor of relaxing the advertising restrictions but that he thinks the lottery is doing exactly what it was designed to do - keeping North Carolinians' money in the state.
"We're educating our children and building our schools," he said.
Owens said the raffle might be a good way to collect extra profits from a slightly different audience - something lottery officials will have to accomplish to keep the state competitive with other border states' lotteries.
"I'm sure there are a number of games to come this year, and years to come, to keep up with the competition."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(01/31/07 5:00am)
GREENSBORO - Students at Guilford College still are trying to absorb the full impact of the events that occurred on their campus almost two weeks ago.
While there has been a vocal contingent calling the alleged Jan. 20 assault of three Palestinian students racially motivated, the majority of students are reserving judgment.
Much of the public debate in the past week has centered on naming the event a hate crime, but the student view is more complicated.
"It was late at night and there was a lot of alcohol involved," said Ian MacPhail, a junior lacrosse player at Guilford. "Whether or not it was racially motivated, it was a tragedy."
The incident led to the arrest of six Guilford College football players by the Greensboro Police Department. All six were released on bond.
The debate about the broader meaning of the incident continues to dominate the conversation at Guilford, whether in the cafeteria, the classroom or Saturday night house parties.
"People are using this as a springboard for a bunch of different (stuff)," said Seth Congdon, a sophomore.
One of the largest issues occupying students and the administration is the divide between students and student-athletes.
A majority of students said they feel safe, but a minority have suggested a policy for monitoring athletes on campus.
MacPhail said the sometimes rocky relationship has been inflated in the media.
"It's got to be at least partially manufactured," he said. "That would be the exact opposite of what Guilford students stand for."
Campus signs lining the walkways describe the school's core values, including diversity, honesty and integrity.
Jeremy Bante, managing editor of the campus newspaper and a student-athlete, said he didn't see those values the first few days the incident was publicized.
"I was very disappointed with this community's response after the incident," he said.
Bante said many students, hearing of the incident for the first time, conducted their own trial and assumed that the football players are guilty.
Robin Shores, a sophomore living in Bryan Hall, where the incident took place, said members of the football team and Palestinian students lived on his hall and had a history of conflict with one another.
"It was two equally aggressive groups talking (stuff)," he said.
Add into the mix alcohol and some co-eds, Shores said, and the scene was ripe for a confrontation.
Statements were taken from all parties involved and several witnesses, about 25 separate accounts. The witnesses were widely divergent in assigning blame for the fight.
Guilford College is conducting its own investigation of the incident, focusing on five unnamed students.
The students will undergo a hearing by the Judicial Board, which includes both students and faculty, a process that will take two to three weeks.
The results of the campus investigation will not be made public, said Nic Brown, assistant director of college relations at Guilford.
"If somebody's charged by the police, it's not that Guilford charges them."
But any action by the college likely will be widely known on campus, as students remain fixated.
In the weeks that follow, several events are planned for students and faculty to express their feelings about the incident.
Bante said a "Do What You Don't" Day is in the works, meant to encourage students to swap roles for the day, taking on activities they would normally not pursue.
But he was unsure that it will ease tensions between students.
"The best that's going to do is get people to notice each other," he said.
Brown and Bante said the incident might have an effect on enrollment numbers, something that could lead to more cutbacks in campus programs.
"A lot of the plan for funding was based on increased enrollment," Bante said.
No matter how students might feel about the incident and their safety on campus, there haven't been any reports of dropouts or transfers related to the incident.
Todd Drake, an art professor at Guilford, said he is planning to create artwork based on the experiences of the college community in the aftermath of the confrontation.
He will collect fliers that students have made promoting different awareness campaigns, as well as sketches and accounts from community members.
Drake said he hoped the material would help illuminate the truth of the incident.
"I'll reach some understanding that's not just my perspective - and not just the students'."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Guilford College by the numbers
Traditional student
head count: 1,351
Male: 48 percent
Female: 52 percent
Out of state: 63 percent
Quaker: 9 percent
Minorities: 16 percent
International students: total of 23
Total student head count: 2,687
City of Greensboro:
Metro population:
1.4 million
City population:
234,000
(01/25/07 5:00am)
RALEIGH - The normally austere N.C. General Assembly was packed for the first day of session Wednesday.
Families, friends, lobbyists and politicians looked on as Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, assumed his post as the newly elected House Speaker.
Instead of using the usual electronic tabulation, the members of the House were called to name their candidate for speaker, with Hackney garnering 68 votes and Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, earning 52 votes. The tallies reflect the party lines in the chamber.
After his election and escort to the podium, UNC graduate Hackney, who was first elected to the House in 1980, expressed his optimism for the upcoming session.
"There is a great collection of wisdom in this body," he said. "We must pledge ourselves to civility."
Rep. William Wainwright, D-Lenoir, was voted speaker pro tem and temporary operating rules were voted on for both chambers of the General Assembly.
Legislators use these rules until a committee submits its suggestions for how they can be improved. After a vote on the amendments, the rules become permanent and are used for the rest of the session.
Permanent operating procedures likely will be voted on in February.
Stam, along with a few Republican supporters, spoke in favor of revising the operating rules for the House.
Several issues were raised about deadlines and whether legislators have enough time to read and understand each bill before a vote.
Ferrel Guillory, director of the UNC Program on Public Life, said such deadlines give budgetary discipline to the assembly.
"The election of leaders and adoption of rules is a critical staring point for legislative actions."
But, he added, contention over rules is not an unusual occurrence for a legislative body and does not send a negative political signal in terms of future relations between the two parties.
Stam said he is optimistic that some of his concerns were heard despite the adoption of the bill by an 82-37 vote.
"They usually pass 110 to 10," he said. "The majority always votes for the rules because it lets them get on with business the next day.
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, said the Senate was the quieter legislative chamber for the day.
She said this is the sixth time she's attended the opening day of the legislature and still finds the event exhilarating. "It doesn't lose its excitement."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(01/16/07 5:00am)
Elder Bernice King, the daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., wants the next generation to step up to the plate and address the problems in their communities.
King visited N.C. Central University's McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium on Friday to deliver the keynote address at the university's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
More than 1,000 people came to listen to King, including buses of students from area schools.
King spoke passionately about the stakes of today's students against society and how it was different from the civil rights movement of which her family was a major part.
"I believe we have settled for second-class citizenship," she said.
King said she sees too much complacency in today's black population and wishes that the spirit of the civil rights era would come back to the youth.
"There were kids this age involved in my father's movement," she said, gesturing to the grade-school students sitting above her.
She said it was the last generation's fault for becoming docile and not passing on a strong legacy to their children.
"We are passing on a legacy of immorality to the next generation," she said. "We are letting other people define us - and I will not let that happen to me."
Elder King addressed the death of her mother Jan. 30 at the beginning of her speech.
Monday marked the first time Coretta Scott King was not alive for the day named in her husband's honor.
Elder King said she is committed to finding a cure for the ovarian cancer that killed her mother.
Since turning 17 and speaking at a meeting of the United Nations, King has traveled to various venues to talk about her family.
She graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She received her divinity and law degrees from Emory University.
King is an ordained preacher who ministers to the congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia.
King repeated her pleas to the youth throughout the auditorium to stand up for equality.
"I pray that my parents' legacy is not in vain."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(01/12/07 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The UNC-system Board of Governors kept the future a main priority in their meeting Thursday.
The board introduced a proposal for a new study to discover how the system can best serve North Carolina during the next 20 years and also reviewed accountability standards which might be voted on as late as May.
Service to the state
Board members expressed excitement about the study and were eager to join.
"It will be an enormous time commitment," system President Erskine Bowles said.
Derek Pantiel, president of the Association of Student Governments, said it is imperative that students are included in the study because they will be the main portion of the workforce.
"It is my greatest hope that students will be a part of this," he said.
Jim Phillips, chairman of the board, agreed that students should have a voice in the program, but expressed concerns about how the long-term nature of the program could create problems for finding steady student involvement.
Bowles said he also wants student opinion on the matter, adding that members of every campus would be interviewed for the project.
Norma Mills, a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government, will lead the study.
"As goes this university, so goes the state," she said.
Measuring accountability
The accountability program that the system is developing has garnered national attention.
Bowles said that during a recent meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, she expressed excitement about the program which would hold not only the General Administration accountable, but also each of the 16 campus schools on academic and economic priorities.
"Margaret Spellings was right - higher education has gone on much too long without accountability," Bowles said.
The topics under discussion Thursday and for the next few months are what factors can be measured with goals and the timelines set for each one.
Some of the main areas in which administrators are searching for suitable goals are student success, program emphasis and quality, outstanding faculty, and economic and community development impact of the university.
Bowles said he would like to see more progress in public service, stating he saw a lack of a definitive, measurable goal from the General Administration.
"I never really focused on that," he said.
Although discussion focused on the types of information available on things such as SAT scores across the state, Bowles stressed that he wants members to focus instead on what that information means.
Bowles will present board members Friday with an overview of his actions since he assumed the post in 2005.
"I hope myself that you all give us a lot more feedback," he said. "I want to be held accountable."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(01/11/07 5:00am)
Today marks the funeral for Denita Smith, a 25-year-old graduate student at N.C. Central University who was shot Jan. 4 outside her apartment.
Former 911 dispatcher Shannon Elizabeth Crawley is being charged with the murder.
Crawley was arrested Tuesday in Greensboro and is being held at Durham County Jail without bond.
Her court date is set for Feb. 1.
Though the arrest brought some closure, students at N.C. Central still are recovering from the shock of the incident.
"The students are saddened by the death of Denita," Sharon Saunders, special assistant to the chancellor for public relations, said.
"It took us all by surprise."
She said Smith worked in her office as an intern for a semester as an undergraduate.
"She was very eager to learn new and different things," she said.
Saunders said the university provided a sign-up sheet for students who wanted to attend the funeral.
A 57-seat bus bound for the service will depart campus.
The funeral is slated to start at 2 p.m. at University Park Baptist Church on 6029 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte following a family hour.
The university will hold a memorial service Tuesday, at 10:50 a.m. Tuesday in the B.N. Duke Auditorium.
Association of Student Governments President Derek Pantiel, a senior at N.C. Central, said many on campus are concerned.
"Everyone's in shock more than anything," he said.
"Her death caught a lot of people off guard."
Pantiel said he knew Smith since his freshman year when she worked as a photographer on his campaign for student body vice president.
"She always was a caring individual," he said.
"Always willing to put forth effort."
Pantiel said that though the Durham crime rate is high, no one expected the event to occur in Campus Crossings Apartments, where Smith lived.
"It's a hard loss."
The complex is operated by N.C. Central and houses about 500 of its students.
Since the incident N.C. Central campus police have kept constant surveillance on the apartments, including checking the identification of people going into the residence.
The university's police department also is examining changes including more video surveillance in the wake of the murder.
Crawley was suspended from her job as a 911 operator when it was learned she was a person of interest in the case.
She had worked in that position since 2000.
Smith was found by a maintenance worker at the bottom of a stairwell in Campus Crossing Apartments about 10 p.m., two hours after gunshots were reported at the residence.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.