Student guest passes for football on sale
Gone, or at least diminished, are the days of hustled football ticket sales and students sneaking their non-UNC friends into games with borrowed One Cards.
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Gone, or at least diminished, are the days of hustled football ticket sales and students sneaking their non-UNC friends into games with borrowed One Cards.
Students will be getting their hands green with the help of a new internship offered this year.
Whether she’s writing and editing stories about the town of Chapel Hill or making The Daily Tar Heel staff feel welcome, junior Sarah Frier has a strong sense of community. Frier, the current city editor and a former features editor, said one of her primary goals would be to foster a stronger community relationship after The Daily Tar Heel’s move off campus next fall.“I think as we move off campus it’s going to be absolutely pivotal for us to work harder on engaging the community in our coverage, and we’re going to have to focus efforts on things that are really important for us to not get lazy about, like reaching out and trying to get people’s help to bring new voices to the paper,” she said.
Hogan Medlin won the student body president runoff election Tuesday night, maintaining his status as the election’s front-runner when he swept to a substantial victory over Shruti Shah.Medlin received 61 percent of the vote, while Shah received 39 percent. All results are preliminary until the Board of Elections certification, which must occur by Saturday.Medlin’s election marks the end of a race characterized by a lack of surprises — he has been planning his bid since his freshman year, was the front-runner heading into the race and gathered 44 percent of the general election vote in comparison to Shah’s 16 percent.The president-elect said he was not expecting such a large margin of victory and was stunned by the show of support from students.“The percentage and number of votes is inspiring and truly supportive,” Medlin said.Medlin said he hopes to use the support to make his administration an organization more representative of the student body.“That’s what I want to channel,” he said. “We’ve got the support. Now let’s act on it.”At least 5,499 votes were cast in this election, a drop from the 9,513 votes cast in last year’s runoff, which also included a contentious fee referendum.Medlin’s election means he will serve as the student body’s chief voice to the administration and have a chance to influence issues such as tuition, Greek affairs, budget cuts and the academic future of the University.His vision for student government was where he differed most from his opponent. Throughout the election, Medlin has emphasized his belief that a larger student government will allow more voices to be heard, in contrast to Shah’s call to downsize the organization to promote efficiency.In the last week of campaigning, Shah received the support of three of the four previously eliminated candidates — Nash Keune, Joe Levin-Manning and Greg Strompolos — hoping to achieve a repeat of last year’s election.In 2009, Jasmin Jones overcame a deficit of 20 percentage points in the general election to defeat Thomas Edwards in the runoff, after receiving the strong support from the four eliminated candidates.But this year, eliminated candidate Monique Hardin, who finished third with 14 percent of the vote, did not endorse anyone. Medlin was able to hold on to enough of his support to beat Shah by 1,213 votes.Medlin, who will take office in April, said he will immediately begin to prepare for his responsibilities by speaking with Jones. “I’m sitting down with Jasmin, and I’m going to pick her brain about everything,” he said.Shah said she was disappointed at the loss but was thankful for the election experience.“It was an exciting process,” she said. “It was great to be a part of it.”Shah said she also thinks Medlin will make a great president and she hopes to be involved in his administration next year.Medlin’s 68-page platform includes a variety of goals, such as making student government more accessible to students, exposing students to campus events through the Carolina Monthly Look publication and creating a more personalized academic experience for students.Medlin said he is thankful for how far he has come.“I come from small rural North Carolina. I’m now in a position where I can do something big for this University.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Juniors Monique Hardin, Nash Keune, Joe Levin-Manning and Greg Strompolos did not receive enough votes to compete next Tuesday’s runoff election and were eliminated from the race after a month of campaigning.Hogan Medlin and Shruti Shah will continue campaigning for another week until students vote again in a runoff to determine the next student body president.The eliminated candidates now have the opportunity to potentially influence the outcome of the election by throwing their support — and campaign organizations — behind the two remaining candidates.Two said they will endorse Shah. In last year’s race, Jasmin Jones beat Thomas Edwards, the front-runner in the general election, after receiving the support of the four eliminated candidates.Levin-Manning, the former speaker of Student Congress who resigned to run for student body president, said he is disappointed by the loss but knew it would be a difficult race.“It was a slim shot,” he said but added that the loss has some advantages. “I’m relieved that I can now have my life back,” he said.Keune, who ran a less-than-serious campaign that included narwhals, said he is actually pleased not to be a candidate in the runoff.“I am a little relieved — actually, very relieved and very excited,” he said. “That was quite a show.”He said he was surprised by the results and did not expect to win.“We got about 850 votes more than I thought we would,” Keune said. “I thought we’d get about seven.”Levin-Manning said he plans to endorse Shah because he thinks she is the best candidate for the job and has always supported her.“We’ve had a pact since freshman year that if she ran, I would endorse her,” he said.Strompolos also said he plans to endorse Shah because he thinks she is the better candidate.“She has a good perspective of how student government is inefficient,” Strompolos said. “She would be a good face for the University, and she’s so enthusiastic.”He said he thinks Medlin’s expansive platform is trying to accomplish too much, but he respects Medlin’s campaign.“He’s a hustler,” Strompolos said. “He did it. He organized it.”Hardin said she has not decided if she will endorse.Keune also said he has not decided who to endorse and does not know if he even has the authority to do so but likes Shah as a person.“Some of the people on our campaigns have become good friends, and she’s a really nice person,” he said.All four losing candidates said they do not know if they will be involved in student government next year.Staff writers Emily Banks, Victoria Cook and Courtney Tye contributed reporting.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
The student body president has always faced difficulties when it comes to tuition — namely balancing student interests with UNC’s fiscal needs. But next year’s chief student representative could face greater challenges than usual.
Only one candidate this year is truly going to hit home with most students.
From James Bond movie nights to Sadie Hawkins dances, this year’s senior class president candidates have filled their platforms with ideas for social and service events.Tyler Aiken / Justin WebbSenior class officer candidates Tyler Aiken and Justin Webb designed their campaign around giving seniors the opportunity to have fun, give back to the community and prepare for the future.The candidates suggest creating an online address book for the senior class that can be used to keep in contact with classmates.
Even on a challenging bike ride in Malaysia this summer, student body president candidate Monique Hardin knew what it took to be a leader.Leading a group of rising sophomores on a study abroad trip through southeast Asia, Hardin showed her determination and perseverance by motivating the group to finish the ride, said sophomore Laura Harker.“She kept pushing me the whole time,” Harker said. “We went from the back of the group to the front.”That drive and determination will help Hardin as she runs against five other candidates for the campus’ top student government position — a job that requires managing a large staff to accomplish various initiatives and representing students in regular meetings with administrators.Hardin, a public policy and economics major from Charlotte, said she is running because she wants to stand up for UNC students and thinks she can do it well.“I’ve always been taught growing up, ‘You have a voice. Use it!’” she said.This year, Hardin has served as an executive assistant to Student Body President Jasmin Jones, helping her complete various tasks. She is president of the Public Policy Majors Union and has worked with the Study Abroad Office and the Leadership Institute in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.If elected president, Hardin said she hopes to make student government more accessible to students though office hours in the Pit and on South Campus.Other platform points include the implementation of a textbook exchange to save students money and a Board of Trustees open house where students can interact with top administrators.Aside from the textbook exchange, Hardin’s platform lacks major initiatives that would require administrative approval, which are common in student body president races.Instead, it deals mostly with ongoing initiatives such as energy use, lighting, improving the dining halls and strengthening contacts with everyone from the mayor to the advising office.Lauren Cutshaw, Hardin’s campaign manager, said the candidate has been committed to finding tangible solutions.“Monique is more about solutions and not just ideas,” she said. “When she was working on her platform, she would call and be like, ‘This platform point won’t happen, but here’s a new idea.’ She won’t make promises she can’t keep.”Sophomore Peter Mills, who traveled with Hardin in Asia, said he was always impressed by her cheerful and outgoing personality.“She’s humble, and she actually does care,” he said. “You come first, and she always comes second.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Correction (March 28 10:29 p.m.): Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated the room number of The Daily Tar Heel forum. It will be 6 p.m. Feb. 3 in Student Union, Room 3411. This story has been updated to reflect this correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
They’re inconvenient, unsightly and one of the most popular ways to campaign for student government. And they’re threatening students’ health.
In the past nine years, Theresa McReynolds has been divorced, learned to cope with a chronic illness and spent countless hours in the library.But she has yet to receive the doctoral degree in anthropology that brought her to UNC in the first place.McReynolds’ experience is consistent with a trend in higher education for doctoral students to take seven years or more to receive their Ph.D. degrees.Doctoral students say the time it takes them to complete degrees is lengthened by a policy at UNC that only funds them for 10 semesters. The lack of funding in later years forces them to take on other jobs, distracting them from research.The Student Advisory Committee to the Chancellor, a group of students that regularly meets with Chancellor Holden Thorp, is compiling data to determine the time it takes students to complete their degrees.McReynolds, a committee member, said the group is hoping to show that students need more time and funding to get their degrees.“Limiting our funding and encouraging us to rush through lowers the quality of the degree,” she said. “And I don’t think it’s beneficial for the University to look like it’s a degree mill.”Steve Matson, dean of the Graduate School, said tuition assistance is only provided to graduate students for 10 semesters.But according to the National Science Foundation, the national average to complete a doctoral degree is about 20 semesters.“What they’re doing is becoming experienced in the area they’ve chosen to study, and that requires some amount of classes and original research,” Matson said.But he said the tuition limits are important to have in place.“It’s not in place because we think all students should complete their degrees in 10 semesters but so that we can fairly allocate funding to all the students,” he said.Funding doctoral students for the entire time they take to complete their degree would generate high costs for the University.According to the National Science Foundation, the time it takes to earn a doctoral degree varies widely by discipline. It takes an average of 6.8 years to receive a doctoral degree in chemistry while it takes 11.9 years on average to complete an anthropology degree.“A student who takes chemistry gets almost full funding, while an anthropology student only gets five years,” McReynolds said.Matson said UNC encourages students to complete degrees in a timely manner for their own benefit.“The quicker they complete their degrees, the sooner they can go out on the job market and put their education to use, doing research or teaching others,” he said.McReynolds said she thinks increasing funding would help students graduate sooner because it would remove financial demands that often force students to become distracted from their studies.The National Science Foundation supports her claim, showing that the average time-to-degree for doctoral students is lower for students who receive monetary support.McReynolds said the committee wants to show similar data to Thorp and Matson once it is compiled.“We’re hoping that what we’re going to show is that a Duke student who receives full funding graduates in eight years but a UNC student who does not graduates in 12,” she said.
Students’ passion for Saturday morning sleep will be overcome by their visceral hatred of Duke University this weekend.Dozens of student groups will wake up early, dress in Carolina blue and roll through the streets of downtown Chapel Hill as part of student government’s Homecoming parade to build spirit for another chapter in UNC and Duke’s storied rivalry.UNC is revitalizing the old tradition — — being held for the first time since about 1993 — to make this year’s Homecoming a more student-oriented event, instead of having the celebration focus entirely on alumni.Student Body President Jasmin Jones said the goal of Saturday’s parade is to get more students involved in Homecoming.“I just think Carolina has some of the most school spirit that I’ve seen in the nation,” Jones said. “This game is a great way to highlight that pride, and the parade is a way to showcase how great Carolina is.”Jones said more than 70 student groups are registered to participate, as well as other members of the University community and notable residents, including outgoing Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy.“It will be a nice mix of the University and the community,” Jones said. Student government officials worked with the town of Chapel Hill and the UNC Department of Public Safety to close parts of Franklin, Raleigh and Columbia streets during the event. “The effort was worth undertaking,” Jones said.Jones added that the parade comes without a hefty price tag. The event will cost UNC about $200, which will mostly cover cleanup costs. The money is coming from student fees.Fred Hobson Jr., a distinguished professor in English and comparative literature, said he remembers the Homecoming parades from when he was an undergraduate in the 1960s. “It was a pretty big deal on Friday nights,” he said.Hobson said there used to be two fall parades — one for Homecoming and another before the football game against Duke. This year’s Homecoming parade will be similar to UNC’s past parades, as participants will still proceed down Franklin Street in the spirit of defeating Duke.But this year’s parade will take place on the morning of the game instead of the night before, when it was scheduled in the past. Hobson said he thinks the parade will be similar to the ones he enjoyed as a student but is interested to see how the tradition will evolve.“I believe there will be a little more irony and an edge to the floats, which I would like,” he said. Ken Jameson, an executive assistant to Jones, helped organize this year’s Homecoming events, including the “Fair Before the Fight,” a carnival held Thursday night at Hooker Fields. Jameson said he hopes both the fair and parade will show students that Homecoming is not just for alumni, but that it is important for the student body. “Our main difficulty has been breaking the stereotype that Homecoming just comes and goes,” Jameson said. “It is an important event.”He added that he hopes students are more enthusiastic about Homecoming this year.“In the past years, everyone has said, ‘What’s the big deal about Homecoming?’ This year, the goal is to break that apathy,” he said. “We’d love to inspire our football team and get everyone involved in their school.” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Blocked by a truck travelling in the neighboring lane, junior Caldwell Zimmerman could not see what was coming when his scooter crashed into a turning car on Manning Drive. Zimmerman’s accident was one of 50 collisions since the start of 2009 on either Manning Drive, Mason Farm Road or the smaller roads in the area of UNC Hospitals. Efforts to make the roads safer have been targeted toward pedestrians despite higher accident numbers for vehicle-to-vehicle accidents. Campus safety officials say that the area is one of the most dangerous on campus for both pedestrians and motorists. “It’s certainly one of the areas of concern on campus,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. In response to the high number of accidents, the Department of Public Safety has stepped up efforts to reduce pedestrian accidents. But most accidents in the area have involved two vehicles. Young said heavy traffic and construction along with poor visibility and people’s unfamiliarity with the area have combined to make the roads around the hospitals a hot spot for accidents. Jeremy Pinkham, communications coordinator for the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, said the intersection of Manning Drive and South Columbia is especially dangerous for those reasons. “Campus tries to address potential pedestrian safety problems when there is construction, but that is still a problem,” he said. He added that the crosswalk in front of the School of Dentistry is dangerous because it is not at an intersection and does not have a stoplight. “We are conscious of limited visibility and high traffic, which presents challenges we don’t see in other areas,” Young said. In May 2008, Lisa Carolyn Moran, 20, was jogging through the intersection of South Columbia and Manning Drive when she was struck and killed by a Chapel Hill transit bus. Another pedestrian was hit by a car in January but survived. In all, there have been 13 accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles in the hospital area. DPS spreads safety information through the Yield to Heels campaign and by posting signs, flashing lights and crossing guards on dangerous crosswalks. Kumar Neppalli, a traffic engineer for the Town of Chapel Hill Department of Public Works, which is primarily responsible for safety efforts in the area, said measures have mostly been targeted toward reducing pedestrian-related accidents. Efforts to reduce the number of vehicle-to-vehicle accidents have included enforcement of traffic regulations and the addition of a traffic signal at the intersection of Mason Farm Road and South Columbia, Nepalli said. Young said enforcing speed limits more closely would be the best solution to the area’s safety issues. DPS uses Speedsentry systems to track the amount of traffic and levels of speed in different areas on campus. Young said he believes having more of those systems in operation would help DPS step up efforts. “We would love to see more of those in operation.” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Blocked by a truck travelling in the neighboring lane, junior Caldwell Zimmerman could not see what was coming when his scooter crashed into a turning car on Manning Drive.Zimmerman’s accident was one of 50 collisions since the start of 2009 on either Manning Drive, Mason Farm Road or the smaller roads in the area of UNC Hospitals.Efforts to make the roads safer have been targeted toward pedestrians despite higher accident numbers for vehicle-to-vehicle accidents.Campus safety officials say that the area is one of the most dangerous on campus for both pedestrians and motorists.“It’s certainly one of the areas of concern on campus,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. In response to the high number of accidents, the Department of Public Safety has stepped up efforts to reduce pedestrian accidents.But most accidents in the area have involved two vehicles.Young said heavy traffic and construction along with poor visibility and people’s unfamiliarity with the area have combined to make the roads around the hospitals a hot spot for accidents. Jeremy Pinkham, communications coordinator for the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, said the intersection of Manning Drive and South Columbia is especially dangerous for those reasons.“Campus tries to address potential pedestrian safety problems when there is construction, but that is still a problem,” he said.He added that the crosswalk in front of the School of Dentistry is dangerous because it is not at an intersection and does not have a stoplight. “We are conscious of limited visibility and high traffic, which presents challenges we don’t see in other areas,” Young said.In May 2008, Lisa Carolyn Moran, 20, was jogging through the intersection of South Columbia and Manning Drive when she was struck and killed by a Chapel Hill transit bus. Another pedestrian was hit by a car in January but survived.In all, there have been 13 accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles in the hospital area. DPS spreads safety information through the Yield to Heels campaign and by posting signs, flashing lights and crossing guards on dangerous crosswalks. Kumar Neppalli, a traffic engineer for the Town of Chapel Hill Department of Public Works, which is primarily responsible for safety efforts in the area, said measures have mostly been targeted toward reducing pedestrian-related accidents.Efforts to reduce the number of vehicle-to-vehicle accidents have included enforcement of traffic regulations and the addition of a traffic signal at the intersection of Mason Farm Road and South Columbia, Nepalli said.Young said enforcing speed limits more closely would be the best solution to the area’s safety issues.DPS uses Speedsentry systems to track the amount of traffic and levels of speed in different areas on campus. Young said he believes having more of those systems in operation would help DPS step up efforts. “We would love to see more of those in operation.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Getting 60,000 fans into Kenan Stadium for the school’s first-ever Thursday home football game presents a host of challenges for the University.And while administrators have been preparing since last spring for the game, many UNC employees still aren’t comfortable with how things will be run.Reducing traffic Thursday afternoon will require getting employees and some hospital patients off campus sooner.“It’s just one more nail in the coffin,” said Alan Moran, a facilities services employee and Employee Forum delegate, about the plan’s effect on employee morale.Administrators hope to avoid congestion by ending the workday at 3 p.m. Employees are required to make up for the two lost hours or use leave time to cover them.“We encourage managers and supervisors to allow employees to have a flexible schedule — taking a shorter lunch, coming in early or leaving later — if that fits in the employee’s schedule,” said Kathy Bryant, human resources communications director.An e-mail detailing other options for making up lost time was sent two months in advance, Bryant said. But some employees still aren’t satisfied with the University’s efforts.“There are a number of individuals affected by this on campus and they find they haven’t been given full due consideration,” Moran said.The University wants to get employees off campus to reduce congestion as spectators arrive.“The transition is the major issue,” said Athletic Director Dick Baddour. “How do we get people off campus and people on campus? How do we get people here?”Employees feel Thursday’s game causes an unfair inconvenience.“A lot of people at the forum spoke vociferously about this,” Moran said. “Employees were kind of overlooked. This has added to some of the morale issues that we can have in a down economy.”Chancellor Holden Thorp spoke during one of the Forum’s meetings to address these issues. Delegates for the forum and many employees remain unhappy with the decisions made by administrators.“One of the phrases I’ve heard is, ‘We figured out that we’re an institution of athletes that participate in education so that we can participate in the ACC,’” Moran said.Increased traffic also poses a problem for employees and patients at UNC Hospitals, but it planned ahead to deal with Thursday night’s challenges, said Dalton Sawyer, director of emergency preparedness and continuity planning.Patient discharge, lab appointments and clinic hours have been scheduled around times expected to have a high volume of traffic. The hospital also has alternate routes in place to give vehicles expedited access to the hospital, Sawyer said.“It’s the same as what we practice every year for Halloween when there are a large amount of people converging on Chapel Hill,” he said.Hospital administrators were more than willing to work around the game schedule, he said.“The athletic department has supported us on other ventures and this is an event we really support for the benefit of Chapel Hill,” Sawyer said. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Five UNC alumni were presented with Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Awards on Monday at the University Day convocation ceremonies. Each was recognized for significant contributions to their respective fields. The awards were first presented in 1971.
UNC played host to a group of 12 of the country’s top journalism programs last week as part of an effort to revitalize the news business.These programs were in town as part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative, a national program intended to foster collaboration between 12 universities. It also provides funding for eight of the schools to develop interdisciplinary multimedia projects on topics of emerging national importance and encourage innovation in the industry.Last week’s forum positions UNC as a leader in changing journalism education. Involvement in the program opens up numerous possibilities for the school and its students, from innovative research projects to travel opportunities.UNC became part of the program in July 2008, receiving a $250,000 grant to fund different aspects of the program.UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication is using the grant to expand global projects, develop relationships with the law school and business school and add new courses, said Jean Folkerts, the school’s dean. Folkerts said the initiative benefits the school in a variety of ways.“It allows us to look at how we approach things with new technology such as multimedia, deepen international relationships and expand curriculum,” she said.Eight institutions, including UNC, have been named incubator universities. They will focus on investigating different topics for an overall project called “The American Tapestry: Exploring the Demographics of a Changing Nation.”UNC’s component is called “Powering a Nation: The Quest for Energy in a Changing USA,” and explores energy use in America.“The program is designed to create innovation in the media industry,” she said.Four other universities have been named associate schools and send representatives to the incubator schools to contribute to their individual projects.Jennifer Gallina, director of research administration at the school, said the initiative helps different aspects of the University work together. “It’s designed to enhance collaboration with different areas in the school and other programs on campus,” she said. “We will be continuing a variety of interdisciplinary efforts that were started in the first year.”These efforts include continuing to establish the center for media law and expanding collaborations with the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the School of Information and Library Science.“Faculty are getting together to look at ways to grow these programs further, both with academic degrees and research,” Gallina said.“The whole program is built around the idea of collaboration,” she said. “We want the journalism school to be a leader or participant in different programs on campus.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu
The casual, subdued atmosphere of Wednesday’s Carolina Marketplace was a stark contrast to the more hectic kickoff event known as Fall Fest.The event, held in the Pit, was designed to give student organizations related to arts and culture another opportunity to reach out to students.Carolina Marketplace — part of Student Body President Jasmin Jones’ platform — was sponsored by the student life committee of student government.“Jasmin really wants a way for students to get involved and highlight new student organizations on campus,” said Kelsey Farson, co-chairwoman of the student life committee.“Fall Fest is a very overwhelming time, especially for first-year students.”Jones worked with Farson and Nina Brashears, the committee’s other co-chairwoman, to organize the event and was a proponent of the idea from the start.This was the first year the event has taken place, and its organizers said they hoped it would provide freshmen with an opportunity to learn about organizations at a deeper level. “Unlike Fall Fest, you can come based on your interests,” said Brashears.Wednesday’s Marketplace was the first installment in a series of three events. It highlighted groups relating to arts and culture.An Oct. 7 event will be a venue for advocacy and service organizations, and Oct. 14 will be a showcase for religious, athletic and miscellaneous organizations.“It’s a really great opportunity to see everything all in one place,” Farson said.Organizations that are participating in Carolina Marketplace include Pauper Players, Carolina Performing Arts, North Carolina Hillel and more.Senior Aaron Salley, an administrator for the student-run production company Pauper Players, said he thought Carolina Marketplace would be a good place to find new members. “We figured we’d get a little more focused crowd,” he said. “They sought us out, instead of us throwing flyers in their faces.”Some students said they found the event to be more relaxed than Fall Fest and a good opportunity to find new interests on campus.“I think it’s a great idea,” said junior Hannah DeBlock. “It’s nice for student organizations to have another voice throughout the semester.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.