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(09/25/07 4:00am)
Student Congress will face off with the executive branch of student government on two issues in the legislative group's meeting tonight.
Representatives of both branches said the showdown should be exciting, as Congress will attempt to override a veto by Student Body President Eve Carson and will consider three proposed fee increases.
"It should make for a lot of debate," said Pedro Carreno, chairman of the finance committee.
Carson vetoed a bill Sept. 11 that would increase the number of votes required to submit fee increases to the student body by referendum.
(09/20/07 4:00am)
It's back to basics for a UNC student fee review organization.
In about a month, the student fee audit committee will resume the function for which it was created more than a decade ago - conducting periodic investigations into the use of student fees.
The committee has not performed this task in several years, focusing instead on its unofficial role of assessing fee-increase proposals and making recommendations to the chancellor's student fee advisory subcommittee.
"We can find out exactly what our fees are being used for," said Student Body Treasurer Jordan Myers, who serves as the committee's chairman. "According to our bylaws, we have every right to ensure proper levying of fees on students."
This academic year, each student paid about $1,300 in general fees - including education and technology, health service and student activity fees.
Myers said the committee has not determined a procedure for evaluating fee usage nor has it selected fees to investigate.
But he said general fees paid by all students probably will be the first priority.
"What the committee will do is sit down individually with fee departments and dig down in depth," Myers said. "We feel that it's good to find out how revenues come into a certain department and how fee revenues are used."
Lauren Anderson, Graduate and Professional Student Federation president, sits on the audit committee.
She said she thinks the education and technology fee - which costs each student about $400 this year - will be among the first researched when the committee begins auditing. Anderson added that she expects audits to start in November.
The student fee audit committee was formed in 1996 after several members of student government raised concerns about the use of an education and technology fee - the largest general fee.
"They were not clear whether the money was being used for the purposes it was intended," said Roger Patterson, associate vice-chancellor for finance.
Students approved the creation of the committee in the 1996 general election, giving it the power to periodically assess whether student fees were being used effectively and for their intended purposes.
"That was kind of what started the student fee audit committee's existence," Patterson said. "It was really to go look at the actual use of the fees being charged. Later, students changed it into a fee-approval process."
Patterson and Myers both said they aren't sure when the committee stopped performing periodic audits of fee use.
Patterson said the committee is free to address student fees in any way it chooses, and Myers said he thinks it is the group's responsibility to oversee fee use.
"I think it's being a responsible treasurer as well as fee audit committee to make sure that you're auditing fees," Myers said. "It's just a good practice to initiate this."
Returning to periodic audits was suggested in years past but was never seriously considered, Anderson said.
"There are a lot of things we don't know about what the fees are being spent on," she said.
And Myers said the audits and investigations will keep recipients of general fees accountable to students.
"We'll make sure that we're getting our best bang for our buck."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/12/07 4:00am)
With Student Congress doling out about $9,000 to student organizations in its meeting Tuesday, representatives say appropriations are right on track.
Five student groups, including the Carolina Hispanic Association and the N.C. Journal of Law and Technology, received money from the 89th Congress during the legislative body's second meeting of the semester.
Members of this year's Congress say they will plan appropriations more carefully than last year.
The 88th Congress ran into financial trouble last semester when the body handed out so much money early in the 2006-07 academic year that it ran out of money in the second semester.
"In the first two or three meetings of the spring, we decided we were desperately low on cash," Speaker Tyler Younts said.
With almost no money for subsequent appropriations, Congress relied on reversions - reclamations of unused money from student groups whose funding requests previously were granted - to get through the semester.
This year, representatives said the approximately $52,000 Congress can give out each semester is being handled cautiously.
Rep. Pedro Carreno, chairman of the finance committee, said that so far Congress has appropriated about the same amount of money - about $11,500 - that had been given out at this point in fall 2006.
"I'm not seeing this as any different," said Rep. Val Tenyotkin, who served as chairman of the finance committee for the 88th Congress.
Tenyotkin said that last year, the third and fourth finance committee meetings each had about 12 appropriations requests.
But at next week's meeting - the third - the committee will hear only about three funding requests, Carreno said.
Representatives said that groups also were given money long before it was needed last year.
Younts said he became concerned about the financial state of the
88th Congress early in the fall, when it began giving groups money to use in the spring semester.
"We're not taking requests for next semester," Carreno said, adding that requests for funding for spring projects will not be heard until mid-November.
Rep. Mike Morrill, a finance committee member, said the group has been cautious, recommending that Congress give most groups about half of the funding requested. Of the five student organizations granted money Tuesday, only one was given the amount originally requested.
"We've definitely been pretty stingy about it so far, and I think part of that is because of what happened last year," he said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(08/29/07 4:00am)
Student Congress first convened Tuesday, but some representatives already are concerned about a possible strain between the legislative and executive branches of student government.
The conflict centers on a bill that was passed Tuesday by a 16-8 vote. The legislation, authored by Speaker Tyler Younts, would make it more difficult for Congress to place student-fee increase proposals before the student body.
Certain student fees require a referendum to be passed by the student body before they can be increased.
Because some of Student Body President Eve Carson's platform points rely on increasing fees, some representatives said they are worried the bill could impede Carson's ability to accomplish goals.
If signed by Carson, the bill will raise the number of supporters needed to send such referenda to the student body from a simple majority to two-thirds of representatives.
Rep. Val Tenyotkin said the bill will inhibit Carson's ability to accomplish some platform points.
"Passing this bill so early in the semester would introduce a hindrance to any fee increase," he said. "We're starting out on a bad foot here. We're pissing off the executive branch."
While Carson said before the vote that the passage of the bill would not anger her, Student Body Vice President Mike Tarrant said the change is unnecessary.
"What's wrong with the current process?" he asked Congress. "Have fees been skyrocketing? Are fees out of control? No, I don't think so."
Younts cited other congressional acts that require a two-thirds majority to pass, saying he thinks it is inconsistent to require this amount of support for some acts and a simple majority for others.
"In my opinion, a simple majority is too low of a threshold for a fee increase," Younts said. "Does it make sense that it is easier to levy a fee than it is to change the date of a special election?"
Speaker Pro Tem Tim Nichols said the bill will ensure that fee increases are considered carefully.
"I believe that a two-thirds vote would show that Student Congress has reviewed (a referendum) and, yes, it needs to happen," he said.
After about 45 minutes of discussion, the bill was passed by a roll-call vote.
Although Carson declined to comment on whether she'll sign the bill, she said she thinks it could limit student participation in the fee process by reducing the number of referenda sent to the student body.
"Congress and the executive branch have different philosophies on students' part in the fee-setting process," Carson said.
Some representatives said that the meeting was reminiscent of disputes that occurred between the two branches last year.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(08/23/07 4:00am)
English professor Alan Shapiro said the sweltering heat in room 306 of Bingham Hall made it feel like the detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"I felt like I was teaching at Gitmo," he said of his "Stylistics" class held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. "Had I spent another minute in that room, I'd have confessed to anything."
UNC's Facilities Services has received many complaints about unusually warm classrooms across campus, said Brandon Thomas, the department's communications director.
"Just with the heat the way that it has been, we have been getting a lot of calls," he said.
Thomas said classrooms are being kept at slightly higher temperatures in accordance with an order issued from Gov. Mike Easley on Aug. 8.
Easley declared that thermostats in state buildings should be set between 78 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit to conserve electricity during the recent heat wave.
On Tuesday, a technician checked out Bingham 306, the room Shapiro compared to Guantanamo Bay, and found that the air-conditioning unit was operating normally.
"The unit was working," Thomas said. "(The technician) did adjust the temperatures in that room. The temperatures were higher than they should have been."
It usually takes 24 hours for classrooms to cool down after the air-conditioning units have been adjusted.
But by Wednesday afternoon, Rita Patton, financial assistant for the Department of Communication Studies, said Bingham was still uncomfortably hot.
"It is horrible in there," she said. "The entire building is warm."
Because of additional complaints about the building, Thomas said the air conditioning units in Bingham classrooms would be examined again.
Sophomore Erin Stoneking said her "Introduction to Fiction Writing" class in Bingham 306 was disrupted by the heat in the classroom.
"Everyone had their waters out," she said. "There was talk about opening the window, but everyone was too hot to get up and do that."
Stoneking said the class was released about 15 minutes early as a result of the opressive temperature and boiling conditions.
"(The professor) let us go as soon as he could," she said.
Shapiro said he hopes the temperature problems will be remedied before his class meets today.
"The air had the consistency of spit," he said. "My shirt was drenched by the end of class, and I was lightheaded.
"I'm afraid that all of the students who signed up for the class are going to drop it because the room was so hot."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(08/21/07 4:00am)
UNC's first-year students brought a national political issue into an academic setting before they even set foot in their first classes.
About 20 first-year students met with Chancellor James Moeser and Student Body President Eve Carson on Monday afternoon to discuss this year's summer-reading book.
Moeser began by asking students to share what surprised them most about Sister Helen Prejean's "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions."
The book gives Prejean's account of her relationship with two men on death row whom she believed to be innocent.
Several students expressed their concern with Prejean's representation of the American justice system.
In the book, Prejean defends her anti-death-penalty stance with examples of prosecutorial misconduct and convoluted legal procedures.
"I was surprised that something like this actually happened in the American justice system," freshman Brad Waters said.
Lizzy Hazeltine, another first-year participant, said she thinks the book also reveals the modern legal system's deviation from the adage "innocent until proven guilty."
Moeser said the problems of prosecutorial misconduct and assumptions of guilt have been illuminated by events following last year's Duke University lacrosse scandal.
Former N.C. District Attorney Mike Nifong, was disbarred from the N.C. State Bar because of his actions in prosecuting the case.
Many of the students also said they were astonished to read Prejean's evidence implying that the death penalty is not the quick, cheap solution that many of its supporters claim.
"I feel like it kind of gave me a perspective that you don't usually see as much," Waters said. "I am much more informed about the topic now."
Most group members said that the discussion session forced them to examine their beliefs.
"I won't say that it converted me in any way," freshman Jordan Seal said. "But I would like to sit down and have a conversation with Helen Prejean."
Moeser, who has led a summer-reading discussion group at the start of each of his eight years at the University, said different opinions are desirable in group discussions.
"The quality of this discussion was really wonderful," he said. "I would have been disappointed if there had been no difference of opinions. This is what a University discussion should look like."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/25/07 4:00am)
Student Congress offered the Carolina Athletic Association more autonomy at its meeting Tuesday after a year that has been riddled with contention between the two bodies.
Speaker Tyler Younts and Student Body President Eve Carson co-sponsored a bill to restructure Title VII of the Student Code - the portion of student government's governing document that deals with CAA.
The act, which passed during a voice vote after some discussion, effectively throws out Title VII and replaces it with a simplified version.
Younts said the CAA act was written in reaction to the controversial Student Supreme Court ruling earlier this semester that struck down Congress's attempt to oversee CAA basketball ticket policies.
He also said that CAA's leaders wanted Congress to strike Title VII from the Code completely and pass a resolution approving CAA's constitution but that he thought this would be unwise.
"This (bill) was a compromise that was reached between me and Eve and the outgoing CAA people," Younts said. "It wipes out Title VII and replaces it with a much shorter document."
He said that CAA derives its power from both the student body and the Department of Athletics and that CAA should be able to follow its own constitution with some oversight from Congress.
Revamping the Code's guidelines for CAA will allow the organization more autonomy, while still allowing Congress to oversee some of CAA's actions.
The new Title VII declares mutual respect between CAA and Congress and upholds Congress' ability to approve all appointed CAA Cabinet members.
The act also establishes that CAA serves as a liaison between the student body and the athletics department, which Younts said will allow CAA to act under its own constitution.
To prevent a future Congress from overstepping its authority, the act's authors introduced a permanence clause that states that Congress has only the powers listed in Title VII, Article III and Title I.
"The intent of this clause was to be for institutional memory," Younts said. "Congress does not have authority over any area over which CAA derives its power from the athletic department."
Congress also approved various people for leadership positions at the meeting. Mitchell Capriglione was confirmed as chairman of the Board of Elections, which oversees campus elections.
Members of the student advisory committee to the chancellor and associate justices to the Student Supreme Court also were approved.
The body also passed a resolution to oppose the implementation of the Achievement Index - an alternative to the traditional grade point average, which will be discussed at Friday's Faculty Council meeting.
Tim Nichols, speaker pro tem and one of the resolution's co-sponsors, said he thinks many students are concerned about the impact of AI on the University.
"I've actually been contacted quite a few times by my constituents," he said.
Carson urged Congress to pass the resolution because she said it could harm students by fostering a negative campus atmosphere.
Congress also passed a resolution sponsored by Younts and Carson to offer condolences to the Virginia Tech community in response to the attacks that occurred on the Blacksburg campus April 16.
"I think it's going to be very important to keep them in our hearts and in our policies," Carson said. "The response from campus has been overwhelming."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
A UNC professor recently named the chairman of BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina's Board of Trustees is gearing up for his first meeting in the new role.
Jeffrey Houpt, professor of psychiatry and former dean of the School of Medicine, was elected chairman of the company after serving on the board since 2004.
He also will continue his role at UNC as a professor.
Houpt was elected to the position at a board meeting in March and will lead his first meeting when the group convenes again in May.
Houpt said he joined the board and wanted to become its chairman because he feels that those are logical steps after his work with the UNC Health Care System.
"I thought it would be an opportunity for me to continue to contribute to health care in North Carolina," he said.
Houpt also was the dean of the School of Medicine at Emory University before taking the same post at UNC in 1997, in addition to becoming vice chancellor for medical affairs for the University.
In 1998, Houpt took on the additional role of CEO of UNC Health Care.
He stepped down from all three positions in 2004 - the same year he became a BlueCross and BlueShield trustee - and took his current post as a professor in the Department of Psychiatry, bringing his base salary to $286,757 per year.
BlueCross and BlueShield spokesman Mark Stinneford said Houpt's experience as an administrator of a large health care provider prepared him for his role as chairman.
"He brings a unique set of skills and experience that are important for governing our business, which is the state's largest health insurer," Stinneford said.
BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina has more than 4,300 employees and serves more than 3.4 million people.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for hiring the company's executive team and auditors. The chairman - who is elected by the board from among its members - presides over meetings of the board.
In addition to meeting several times a year, board members are required to be available to meet at any time to deal with issues that arise within the company and to spend time between meetings in preparation and study, Stinneford said.
He said the chairman must be capable of maintaining a financially stable business, as well as understanding people's health care needs.
Bill Roper - Houpt's successor as dean of the School of Medicine - said the former dean is up to the task of presiding over the board.
"He is a very skilled medical and health care leader, and I think is eminently suited to lead the board," Roper said. "We are proud of his latest accomplishments."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/11/07 4:00am)
In a brief meeting Tuesday, Student Congress passed legislation regarding approval of appointments, debate time limits and congressional employees.
One member described the hour as "the shortest meeting ever."
Speaker Tyler Younts introduced a bill that he co-sponsored with Student Body President Eve Carson and student affairs committee chairwoman Charissa Lloyd. The bill exempts certain presidential appointments from approval by Congress.
Congress is responsible for approving the external appointments to the executive branch.
Younts said Congress members typically do not have the expertise to effectively question appointees to these organizations, so approving these appointments is unnecessary.
The bill originally exempted the Campus Recreation Board of Directors, Student Library Advisory Board and others from congressional approval.
It was amended to include only Yackety Yack - UNC's yearbook - and the committee on community and pluralism at the recommendation of Student Body Vice President Mike Tarrant and Student Body Treasurer Jordan Myers.
Tarrant said that the organizations he suggested be removed from the bill use student fees and that he thinks Congress should continue to oversee fee-funded groups.
"I think it's important that y'all maintain oversight over these student fees," he said.
The body passed the act unanimously.
Younts said the fact that he and Carson co-sponsored a bill is evidence of his good relationship with the student body president.
"In my time here, I don't think the president and the speaker have ever co-sponsored legislation," Younts said.
Congress also passed a bill to move the power to appoint two members of the Student Library Advisory Board and three members of the Student Stores Advisory Committee from the speaker to the student body president.
Younts said this power has been given unofficially to the president for two years.
"It's been done like this for two years. It will just be formalizing the way we've been doing it," he said.
Younts also nominated two students to serve as Congress' clerks.
Katie Kennedy was approved as the body's principal clerk for the next year, and Amanda Lathom will be the committee clerk. And at Younts' suggestion, the body passed a bill to pay the committee clerk federal minimum wage.
"I don't think we've had one since I've been here, and the reason is that few people are willing to do it unpaid," Younts said.
He also sponsored a bill to allow the speaker to introduce time limits for debate on each item before Congress at the beginning of each meeting.
The act - which passed without opposition - will replace the calendar committee created by former Speaker Luke Farley to improve Congress' efficiency.
The body also allotted Virtuous Woman Magazine about $3,000 to cover printing costs for a second semester of publication.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/10/07 4:00am)
Student government officials met Monday with former student election candidates to discuss potential changes to election laws.
The Election Laws Study Commission - created by Jim Brewer, chairman of the Board of Elections - was established in August 2006 to evaluate student election laws and recommend changes to Student Congress.
"We have no formal power," said Kris Gould, commission co-chairman.
But he said that the commission can issue recommendations to Congress, whose responsibility it is to change the election laws in Title VI of the Student Code.
At the time of its creation, the group was scheduled to give Congress the first round of recommendations following the 2006 Homecoming elections.
The group chose to refrain from issuing recommendations until the end of this semester. Co-chairman Walker Rutherfurd said he thinks making one set of suggestions will be more effective than if the group proposed changes in the Code twice.
"Right now, we haven't actually issued any formal recommendations to Congress," Gould said. "We will be issuing recommendations sometime this month."
The commission - which met several times during the Fall 2006 semester - met Monday to hear suggestions from students who ran for office in the most recent election cycle.
"These are people who have obviously dealt with the Code and the election laws," Gould said. "Basically, what we want to do is give candidates the opportunity to comment to the commission."
Gould said that the meeting had no set agenda but that commission members were eager to discuss the concerns of attendees.
"This meeting was mainly for candidate feedback and assessment of the elections in the past year," Rutherfurd said.
The meeting was attended by Rutherfurd, Gould, Congress Speaker Tyler Younts, Speaker Pro Tem Tim Nichols and Student Body Treasurer Jordan Myers.
Rutherfurd said other former candidates who were not present e-mailed him ideas for potential Code changes.
Some potential changes discussed by the group included specifying how much candidates who break election laws will be fined, setting a date for special elections in the fall semester, changing laws regarding use of online technology such as Facebook.com and limiting how campaign funds can be spent.
Nichols said he is concerned that candidates who run as a slate can spend more money as a group than candidates who run individually are allowed to spend.
"I'm just worried about the instance where groups can actually form together to run together rather than run through the constituents," Nichols said.
The commission will meet for the final time April 23, after which it will issue its recommendations to Congress.
"Congress can do what it wants from there," Gould said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/28/07 4:00am)
For such a controversial year, the 88th session of Student Congress came to a close Tuesday night with a quiet finish.
(03/27/07 4:00am)
He restructured the way Congress conducts its meetings.
He embroiled the campus in controversy on stipends and basketball tickets for student government officials.
He attempted to increase the authority of student government's legislative branch.
When Student Congress Speaker Luke Farley calls the last meeting of his second term to a close tonight, he will leave a mixed legacy of improved congressional efficiency and heated controversy.
In Farley's final meeting, a special session, Congress will discuss the confirmation of top student government officials for the '07-08 school year.
The senior's completion of his second term as speaker - an unusual feat - demonstrates his unique handling of Congress.
When Farley first sought the speaker post in spring 2005, he aimed to increase the efficiency of Congress and to improve relations with students and administrators.
"My initial concern was, and has remained the entire time I've been speaker, making Congress a force for good in students' lives on campus," said Farley, who joined the group during his freshman year.
He said one of those issues was the infamous inefficiency of the legislative branch.
"Before he came in, we had meetings that lasted until 3 a.m.," said Tyler Younts, student affairs committee chairman.
Farley's solution was to table legislation that was not immediately important and to hold special sessions to deal with issues such as external appointments.
"We struck a good balance," he said. "We've never met until 3 a.m. since I became speaker."
During his first term, Farley promoted increased interaction between representatives and constituents by promoting an open house, although few attended the event.
After one term of what he described as "cleaning up Congress," Farley said he decided the legislative branch was ready to tackle more controversial issues.
Farley used his second term to try to expand Congress' power.
Under his watch, Congress asserted its power over the Board of Elections in a suit about the controversial Facebook Protection Act, which allows for campaigning via social networking Web sites.
"While they may have the full right to legislate, personally, I question whether it was in the best interest of the student body as a whole," BOE Chairman Jim Brewer said of the ruling.
But the body lost a suit against the Carolina Athletic Association when it tried to strip student government leaders of basketball tickets doled out by the Department of Athletics.
Student Body President James Allred said that Farley has sought power more actively than most.
Allred vetoed three of Congress' bills this year. The first dealt with basketball tickets for student government leaders. The second and third were bills that would cap the amount of student fees that could be used to fund campus concerts and speakers.
The final bill, which would limit funding for campus publications, still is awaiting Allred's signature.
"I'm very proud that I've been able to bring a different perspective to these issues," Farley said.
This disregard for what is popular is part of what Farley said he hopes will become his legacy.
"My outspoken conservatism over the last few years, hopefully, has sent the signal that you don't have to accept the status quo," he said. "There are different ways to solve the problems that this campus is facing."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
After Student Congress passed an act Tuesday limiting spending for campus publications, magazine editors are being forced to look for new sources of funding.
The bill, which limits campus magazines to two student fee-funded issues per semester was passed during the last regularly scheduled full body meeting of the 88th session.
Some editors of campus publications said they are disappointed that the funding cap passed, but the legislation still must be approved by Student Body President James Allred.
"I'm actually very confused about why they passed it," said Amy Guyer, editor of Blue & White magazine.
Guyer said members of Congress' finance committee told her that the act was intended to prevent more recent publications from growing.
"By passing the act, they are keeping well-established publications from publishing like they should be," she said.
Blue & White was created about 10 years ago and now has a readership of about 1,500 and publishes four times per semester, Guyer said. The magazine gets about 90 percent of its funding from student fees.
"Next year I guess we are just going to have to sell a lot of ads," she said.
Dan Wurzelmann, editor-in-chief of Boiling Point, said the social and political commentary magazine has enough funds to publish its usual three issues per semester for one year.
"Beyond that, it's a bit questionable," he said. "We'll have to see exactly how things play out."
The bill is the only surviving portion of the three-part Cap Act - an attempt to curb spending by placing limits on funding for speakers, concerts and student publications. The first two bills were vetoed by Allred.
Congress Speaker Luke Farley, author of the bills, said funding for magazines needs to be limited because money spent on these publications often is wasted.
At Tuesday's meeting, Farley gave a presentation highlighting that waste by displaying photos of outdated magazines left around campus. He said he thought his presentation convinced many representatives to vote in favor of the controversial bill.
"People saw that this is a very serious problem and that we are wasting student fees," he said. "The problem with magazines is that nobody wants them."
Finance Committee Vice Chairman Jordan Myers said he was not convinced by Farley's presentation because he doesn't think the bill actually addresses waste.
Myers said an act that limits the number of copies magazines can print per issue would more effectively target waste problems. But this would not be cost-efficient, he said.
"If he wanted to have an effective act that would have worked, it would be one that addressed the waste itself," he said.
The funding cap will not be finalized unless Allred signs the bill, and Farley said that because Allred vetoed the first and second attempts to curb spending, he is not optimistic about the success of this cap.
"The president has already been disingenuous once on the Cap Act," Farley said, adding that he hopes Allred will sign or veto the bill in enough time for this Congress to attempt to override a veto before new representatives step in April 3.
"Both Congress and the president were elected to make decisions," Farley said. "We need to give the students an answer."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/20/07 4:00am)
Student Congress representatives said they expect tonight's general body meeting to be a long one.
In addition to debating controversial legislation, the 88th session of Congress will use its final scheduled meeting to attempt to finalize the 2007-08 budget and hold a vote to override two vetoes by Student Body President James Allred.
"We have a pretty big night," said Congress Speaker Luke Farley, who will be presiding over the last regularly scheduled session of his second and final year as speaker.
Despite the full agenda, Farley said he thinks everything can be addressed in one meeting.
Jon Curtis, Student Congress adviser, said it is not unusual for Congress to be backlogged at the end of a session. He said representatives will be able to handle the load.
One item on the agenda will require Congress to attempt to override Allred's veto of two bills that would cap funds for campus events.
The first bill would limit student organizations to $6,000 per speaker, and the second would permit a maximum of $10,000 per concert.
Though a two-thirds majority is required to override a veto, Farley said the vote will not take long because debate is not allowed.
But he said passing the budget and a third funding cap, which would limit the number of fee-funded issues per semester for campus publications, will take more time. "Every time we talk about how we spend the money, Congress gets divisive."
He said he thinks there are two factions that disagree on how to allocate the about $500,000 that Congress doles out to student organizations. "It's going to be pitting those who are OK about wasting money and raising fees against those who want to hold the line."
Finance committee Chairman Val Tenyotkin said he has opposed the funding caps since Farley proposed them.
He said limiting those funds is not sufficient to cure Congress' budget problems. He said that he was initially opposed to student fee increases but that after the recent annual budget meeting, he sees no other alternative. "The fee will have to be raised."
If all goes as planned, Tenyotkin said the next meeting will be a special session to deal solely with Student Body President-elect Eve Carson's nominees for executive office.
A selection committee met to interview Carson's picks Monday. After the committee makes its suggestions, Carson will nominate a candidate for each position. Three of the five spots - student body vice president, treasurer and secretary - must be approved by Congress.
Tenyotkin said he hopes the full Congress will meet March 27. Appointments must be finalized before new student government members take office April 3.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(02/27/07 5:00am)
Before Student Body President-elect Eve Carson takes office, she must assemble her cabinet – a process that can be time-consuming and complicated.
(02/22/07 5:00am)
It might be a rich man's world, but students at UNC, Duke University and Bennett College have raised more than $1 million to help eradicate poverty in Africa.
The partnership, known as the Millennium Village Project, seeks to raise $1.5 million by June to sponsor Marenyo, a village in western Kenya.
"We are on track," said Manisha Panjwani, co-coordinator of the project.
She said the UNC branch of the project has been successful because of enthusiastic assistance from other student organizations, which are collaborating with the project by co-hosting fundraising events.
Phi Delta Theta fraternity decided last semester to raise funds for the project, and the organization has raised about $122,000 since December.
Juliana Mulholland, who heads the Interfraternity Council's philanthropy coordinating committee, said the amount Phi Delta Theta has raised is an impressive sum for such a short time.
"It's amazing how quickly that fraternity was able to get so much money for such a good cause," she said. "Usually it will take several months before the events will turn out. They've just been unbelievably quick about this."
Andrew Woodin, the philanthropy chairman for Phi Delta Theta, said the fraternity decided to get involved after several members went to a presentation about it, given by Jeffrey Sachs, the project's key national leader.
"It really influenced a lot of people," Woodin said, adding that after the presentation, several of the fraternity's alumni contacted the group's leaders and expressed interest in donating to the project. Since then, the fraternity has committed to raising $200,000 by May.
Woodin said that most of the money raised for the project has come from alumni and anonymous donors but that the fraternity also has held fundraising bar nights.
He said the group plans to hold a band party and a golf tournament later in the semester, in addition to soliciting alumni donations.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship sponsored an AIDS-awareness Broken Bread Meal on Wednesday in the Pit.
Students were given a dish typical for AIDS victims in Third World countries, and donations to the project were accepted at the event.
The Asian Students Association is partnering with the project to hold an ice skating event Saturday at the Cary Ice House. Proceeds from that event also will be donated to the project.
Phi Delta Theta President Trevor Slaven said he thinks campus organizations are choosing to donate to the project because of the plan's relatively effective structure.
"Its goal isn't to raise a bunch of money and then hand it over," Slaven said. "The goal is to help these people improve their own lives."
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(02/15/07 5:00am)
Running on a platform promising nonpartisanship and limited student government, nine students were elected to Student Congress on Tuesday, possibly tipping the balance of power in the body.
The students were among 13 who ran together under an unconventional entity called "Progressive Students for Student Congress."
The candidates, who were organized by the campus political affairs committee of Young Democrats, included students of all political ideologies who think representatives in Congress are too dependent on party beliefs and leaders.
"People should not be voting along political lines," said Val Tenyotkin, chairman of Congress' finance committee, who has said he will seek the speaker post when leaders are elected in April.
Tenyotkin said he decided to join the progressive slate because of this belief. The nine newly elected representatives will make up almost one-fourth of Congress' membership - the body has 41 members when all seats are filled.
Others said the slate itself promotes partisanship.
Congress Speaker Luke Farley said it is ironic that students who protested party politics ran under one heading, while other successful candidates didn't run as party members.
"You saw a lot of candidates running on platforms that try to address real problems," he said. "These are neither conservative nor liberal ideas. They are just pro-student ideas."
Tenyotkin said that the progressives are not opposed to party affiliation but that they want to make sure Congress members represent the interests of their constituents and not those of influential leaders.
"Parties get people motivated," he said. "I don't care what party people get into Congress on as long as they vote with their conscience."
Freshman Drew Turnier was one of the progressive candidates who gained a seat in Congress. Turnier said he wanted to run because he thinks there are too many conservatives in student government.
"I don't think it's an adequate representation of the student body," he said, adding that his goal is not to tip the balance in favor of left-wing politics but to make sure students are represented fairly.
"It's not that we want to go in there and advocate liberal ideas or anything, but we thought that bringing together liberals and conservatives in Congress would bring better representation," Turnier said.
"I wouldn't label myself as someone that's only going to advocate for progressive issues; I'm going to advocate for what the student body wants."
Turnier said the progressive students ran successful campaigns because they were able to work together.
"It's easier to run if you are united under one front," he said. "You have as many people as possible helping you out."
Tenyotkin said he thinks having a common ideology is attractive to voters.
"The main part is that we came together and made it clear that we stand for the same thing."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(02/14/07 5:00am)
In a rare decisive victory, Ashley Shores and Veronica Mora won the race for senior class officers Tuesday night, garnering 51 percent of the vote.
Shores and Mora defeated two other pairs who were vying for the office - Kareemah Lewis and Nick Harper, and Sade Carter and Beth Hopkins
Shores and Mora received 877 votes. Lewis and Harper trailed with 541 votes. Carter and Hopkins finished third with 191 votes.
Shores said that she and Mora are excited to win and that they are glad to be finished campaigning.
(01/31/07 5:00am)
As the Carolina First fundraising campaign zeroes in on its $2 billion goal, the University also is gaining ground in its pursuit of creating 200 endowed professorships.
UNC's goal for creating these positions is just short of this mark.
Since the inception of the Carolina First campaign - the University's private fundraising effort - 193 new endowed positions have been created. These are in addition to 339 professorships created in previous fundraising efforts.
Endowed professorships are created when donors give money to the University, usually in honor of a former faculty member. The money is used to pay the salary of a chaired position.
"A number of our donors are alumni, and they had great professors while they were here at school," said Scott Ragland, director of development and communications for the development office. "They want to make sure current students have the same benefits of having great scholars in the classroom."
These positions are considered an honor, said Joe Templeton, faculty chairman and Francis Preston Venable Professor of Chemistry.
"There's a professional recognition that goes along with it," he said. "That means that somehow you've been recognized on campus."
Besides the honor bestowed from receiving an endowed position, these professors generally receive flexible funding that can be used for books, seminars, travel costs, office supplies and other expenses.
"It is really professionally rewarding," Templeton said.
Endowed positions also are valued because they can be used to attract and retain outstanding faculty members.
"Those people put UNC on the map nationally and internationally," Templeton said. "It's an attractive aspect in terms of retaining our best faculty."
He added that professors with the most accomplishments and those who have made the biggest impacts often hold endowed positions.
According to the Office of University Development, UNC's endowment, or permanent invested funds, is much smaller than those of its peer institutions.
UNC's endowment trails behind those of the University of Michigan, Duke University and the University of Virginia, among others.
To raise UNC's total endowment, the development office created the Carolina First campaign.
The effort, which expires in December 2007, calls for $800 million in donations. The desired 200 endowed professorships is only one part of this goal.
The money also goes to create scholarships and fund research.
Ragland said he doesn't know when the 200 endowed positions will be reached but said it is a priority. He said he also is unsure of what will happen once the 200-mark is reached because post-campaign planning has not yet begun.
"I would stay tuned," he said.
"We will not stop raising money."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/30/07 5:00am)
Courtney Krolikoski was supposed to read to elementary school students at noon Monday.
Krolikoski, a senior on the UNC fencing team, planned to participate in a program that would bring children from an area elementary school to read with athlete volunteers.
The event, titled "Read Aloud with UNC Athletes," was to kick off Children's Rights Week sponsored by Helping Youth by Providing Enrichment, a committee of the Campus Y.
At the last minute, however, school officials informed HYPE members that the children needed to stay in school to prepare for End-of-Grade testing, said Deepti Panjabi, committee co-chairwoman.
In anticipation of a potential cancellation, Panjabi and others had planned an alternative event Sunday night. Panjabi said the group had experienced difficulties contacting school officials and decided to create a backup plan.
"It's not that big of a deal," Panjabi said.
She and other HYPE members set up a table Monday morning in the Pit with candy, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, juice boxes, hula hoops, Slinkys, footballs and other toys. The event became known as "Playskool Carolina."
Krolikoski said she was disappointed to discover that she would not be reading with children.
"It would have been fun," she said.
Panjabi said that because the children could not be present, the group hoped to remind students of what it is like to be a kid and make them aware of Children's Rights Week.
"It's a fun kickoff," she said.
HYPE co-chairwoman Sarah Rashid said the goal of Children's Rights Week is to make students aware of what rights children have internationally and what rights they are denied.
"People think of inequalities in education but don't think of problems kids face in health care," Rashid said.
The committee also hopes to educate children about these issues, as well as teach them about different international cultures.
HYPE has events planned for each day this week, including a "How to Get Involved" fair Thursday morning an "Around the World" carnival for elementary students Tuesday afternoon.
Committee members also will be in the Pit at 11 a.m. each day through Thursday to talk to students about childrens' rights.
Rashid said that despite the cold weather and the last minute changes, many students came to the committee's table for juice and sandwiches.
"It's something a little fun," she said. "I think it's going to be a successful week."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.