Questions remain year after accident
One year ago, UNC lost a friend and student to a tragic accident.
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One year ago, UNC lost a friend and student to a tragic accident.
An annual $5 fee can mean the difference in a successful all-nighter and cramming in the dark while your roommate sleeps. The Student Endowed Library Fund takes $5 per student from student fees each year to keep the Undergraduate Library open 24 hours and to provide valuable services to UNC students. In addition to supporting many resources in the UL and Davis Library, the fund also goes to the rental of LCD projectors, cameras and popular reading materials for students. The fee originated with a $360,000 gift from the class of 1991 to purchase various works and materials at the discretion of the University librarian. In 1993 the student body voted to create the fund, which collected $5 annually from each undergraduate and graduate student. A group of five students makes up the Student Library Advisory Board and votes on what the fund will be used for. Whitney Brown, a first-year graduate student, is a member of SLAB. "The fund has paid for a variety of things," Brown said. "One of my favorites is the Alexander Street Press online music database, which students, faculty and staff can stream for free. "I don't think many people know about our access to it. I didn't know until I joined this board." The endowment fund also helps keep the Media Resource Center materials up-to-date and well-stocked. Board members said there aren't really any limits to how the fund can be used. "I don't think we could throw keg parties or anything like that, but we give money to a huge variety of projects," Brown said. "Anything seems possible, honestly, and the library administrators with whom we work are incredibly receptive to new ideas." Leah Dunn, director of the Undergraduate and Branch libraries, is one of those administrators. "It's really up to the students on the SLAB," Dunn said. "And we don't have any plans to ask for more funds." The SLAB will continue to decide on and implement new services, and members are always looking for input. "If students have requests, they should let us know," Brown said. "We're always looking for new ideas." The fund is estimated to have more than $205,000 after fees are collected next year, and some students think it should be used to expand technical resources. "The money could go to expanding wireless and getting new desks in Davis," junior Antony Hughes said. Other students have completely different ideas altogether. "I think they'd make good money off video game rentals," senior Rodrick Hanson said. "Maybe an adult section, too." Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
The second-largest student-run organization on campus will kick off its election season this week. The Black Student Movement will hold a forum Wednesday so its members and the student body can meet prospective candidates. The offices up for grabs include president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The elected executive officials will also appoint the offices of executive assistant and parliamentarian. Only a few students have applied, but more have shown interest.
For students seeking priority registration, their fate will be determined this week. Friday was the deadline for campus groups to submit applications for priority registration, and a committee will meet Wednesday to decide who qualifies. Priority registration allows students who meet certain standards - such as hours devoted to athletics or degree programs, as well as certain disabilities - to register for courses before the rest of their graduating class.
Mothers often tell their children to look both ways when crossing the street and to ride their bikes on the sidewalk. But by the time these children reach college, those rules can fall by the wayside, putting them at a greater risk for accidents, especially when they inhabit a pedestrian-oriented campus. "I just usually go, assuming people will stop," senior Joshua Card said about the crosswalks for pedestrians. "But people are pretty good about stopping for you." With about 28,000 students constantly traveling about a bustling campus, both pedestrian and bike safety are critical issues for those maneuvering around UNC. Jill Coleman, landscape architect for Facilities Planning and Construction, said facilities officials are making progress in bike safety, and addressing the placement of the bike lane in between car and bus lanes on South Columbia Street. The lane was repainted just a few weeks ago, Coleman said. "The bike lane has evolved over time," Coleman said. "It originally started as a bike and bus lane but was later separated after suggestions by the community." Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said it has been the department's mission to inform students that they must learn how to share the streets. "Students should not take pedestrian safety for granted," he said. "I think everybody can educate themselves to a greater degree." The lack of bike lanes and their questionable layout frustrates some students who depend on bikes as their means of transportation on campus. "It's tough to ride with traffic," Card said. "But it's even harder to weave in and out of students on the sidewalk." Coleman also said the University plans on exploring and implementing new projects in pedestrian safety at locations such as Ehringhaus Residence Hall, the Dental Sciences Building and Student Stores. The proposed projects include pedestrian bridges to help prevent accidents and to alleviate traffic congestion throughout the University. In recent years, public safety has issued jaywalking tickets, which can total up to $125, to pedestrians who disrupt the flow of traffic or disobey traffic signals, Young said. According to the Department of Public Safety's statistical data, the last pedestrian traffic fatality on campus occurred in 2001. But since 2002, there have been about 60 accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles and about 20 accidents involving cyclists and vehicles. And in January 2006, two pedestrians and one bicyclist were struck and killed by cars near UNC's main campus within only a few days of each other. To avoid such accidents, some students said they do take precautionary measures when traveling about campus. "I always cross at a crosswalk," freshman Caitlin Ward said. "I'm too scared about being hit by a car." Even with the precautionary plans in place, Young said the Department of Public Safety will continue to take suggestions from the University community on how to make the streets of UNC safer. "There's more communication that can be done," Young said. "It's a two-way street when it comes to communicating between pedestrians and drivers." Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
By Zack Tyman staff writer Junior Jeasun Huh lives in a world very different from that of her native Korea. "When I tell people that I'm from Korea, they ask me if I'm from North or South," she said. "As if they were unaware of the atrocities in North Korea." Huh founded Vision for North Korea last semester at UNC. Today the group is hosting its first event, a lecture by George Mason University professor Kim Hyun-sik, hoping to educate people about North Korea. Kim served as a tutor to former North Korean President Kim Il Sung. "Students' knowledge of North Korea is minimal," Huh said. "The more knowledge that is dispersed, the more we can do." Kim will give half his speech at 6 p.m. today in the Student Union Great Hall and will deliver the second half Tuesday at Duke University. Huh said the lecture seeks to clear up misconceptions students might have about North Korea. "When you think of North Korea, you think of Kim Jong Il. You think of nuclear weapons and the Axis of Evil," junior Matthew McKirahan said. "I think we've stereotyped it just because of the leader . and I think it's worth discussing." Political science professor James White believes one of the biggest misunderstandings is about leader Kim Jong Il. "It's a big mistake to think that he is some kind of kook," White said. "He makes Saddam Hussein look like Mary Poppins." White also said there is a need for information on North Korea and the actions of its government - both in and out of the country. "It's one of the most tightly wrapped, brutal governments you could find," White said. "If they could spread information (to North Koreans) about what the outside world is like, maybe they could weaken the government." But with one in five North Koreans in the military or police, White said it's hard to distribute information. Overall, Huh said she thinks improving life for North Korean citizens is a group effort. "The biggest pitfall is saying that doing just a little won't change anything," she said. "But working with other organizations at other universities, we can make a difference." Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
UNC alumnus Rye Barcott learned about the world while studying in Chapel Hill. But it is 8,000 miles away, in Nairobi, Kenya, where his impact on the world truly can be felt. In 2001 Barcott founded Carolina for Kibera, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting peace and prosperity in the region. On Friday, Barcott gave a presentation to about 100 people on the history, growth and state of CFK, in an effort to raise money for the organization. The lecture was held in the FedEx Global Education Center. Starting with only $26, Barcott and Tabitha Festo, a nurse from Nairobi, Kenya, established a small medical clinic in Kibera, Barcott said. Kibera is the largest slum in east Africa - no bigger than Central Park but with a population of about 800,000 people. CFK also attempts to promote peace and development in the area with sports programs and a girls' education center. The group is collecting funds to add another wing in one of the medical clinics. But CFK removed its volunteers from Kibera last month because of rising ethnic violence in Kenya, Barcott said. "What's been happening over the last 30 days has been very frustrating," Barcott said during the lecture. "CFK was put together in order to prevent violence." With the escalating violence, CFK has few options. But members of the organization are doing everything they can to help, Barcott said. "We're providing emergency medical relief and food vouchers to those in our program," he said. Barcott visited Kibera during his senior year and was inspired to help. After graduating from UNC, he served for five years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. While serving in the Marines, Barcott raised about $10,000 a year, he told ABC. Many students who attended the lecture said they were inspired by Barcott's words. "(CFK) is fantastic," freshman Yaniv Barzilai said. "It's such an unbelievable theory . and self-sustaining organization." The evening concluded with a presentation on the senior class campaign from Senior Class President Ashley Shores. She said the class could raise more than $75,000 for CFK. If 30.5 percent of the senior class participate in the campaign, anonymous donors will give $25,000 to CFK. Donors also will match seniors' contribution of an amount up to $25,000. "We were inspired by CFK and all the work that they do," Shores said. "Our class is very altruistic, and it's all about becoming a more international university." For some students in attendance, Barcott's message hit very close to home. "It gave me a lot of hope," said Mark Laichena, a freshman of Kenyan descent. "Hopefully Kenya can move past tribalism, and there are a lot of people that really care about it." The state of Kenya leaves CFK in jeopardy, but Barcott said he has hope for the future. "We're trying to build an endowment. . The main goal of (Friday) was to raise money and get seniors to donate," Barcott said, adding that he hopes his presentation inspires students to take action. "Get involved. You can make a lot of difference in the world by listening to people." Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.