Dilbert 02/22/01

A Nice Ring To It

Before the birth of the MusicianRing, it was all so simple. Whichever local subgenre you happened to dig, from electronica to bluegrass to hip hop, you could fairly easily insulate yourself from the outside musical world. After all, there was no real common bond between the fingerpickers and the turntable wizards other than their shared struggle to carve out a name in a crowded scene.Enter the MusicianRing, a student-maintained Web ring that allows local musicians to commiserate, seeks gigs, advertise and build an all-inclusive community in the process.

Haltom Denies Damaging Car

One of the UNC students charged with a felony for damaging a car after the North Carolina-Duke basketball game says he is in more trouble than he deserves.James Auman Haltom, a 20-year-old sophomore, was arrested and charged with felony rioting by Chapel Hill police after he turned himself in last Friday. But Haltom, who lives in the Chi Psi fraternity house, said he isn't responsible for the vandalism of a car that was flipped on Franklin Street and that he even tried to protect the car from further damage.

Due Punishment?

By Wes WhiteProForsyth County District Attorney Tom Keith has had enough of drunken drivers who kill people - and he wants to make them pay. He wants them to pay, potentially, with their lives. Keith has asked legislators to pass a law that would allow habitual drunken drivers to be subject to the death penalty if they kill while driving drunk. The measure would add habitual drunken driving to the list of felonies that, under state law, can be used to convict a defendant of first-degree murder.

Consider the Issues Before Supporting UNC's Master Plan

The University of North Carolina is embarking on a gigantic growth plan.In 1997, UNC hired a consultant to develop a new Master Plan for central campus. Now that the bond funds are available, the UNC Board of Trustees wants to vote on the Master Plan next month before key issues have been worked out with the town and the surrounding community. The town of Chapel Hill has regulatory responsibility for the campus expansion because the proposed plan exceeds the current zoning by 4 million square feet, therefore a zoning change will be necessary.

Legislators Have Mixed Reaction To Easley's Address

Gov.

Freshman Curators Put Paris Art on View

The sparkling personality of the City of Lights shines in the Ackland Art Museum's latest exhibition, "Seasons of Paris."But this showcase is different from the rest of the Ackland's offerings -- students were the main curators of the exhibit.The students in art Professor Mary Sheriff's first-year seminar "Paris: Representing the City of Light" last semester did everything from designing the layout of the galleries to creating the exhibit's Web site to writing the show's brochure.Timothy Riggs, assistant director for collections at the Ackland, said the collection

Chris Rock's New Comedy Meets Low Expectations

Down To Earth2 1/2 StarsThe trailer for "Down to Earth" left me bracing for the truly terrible. The movie just looked stupid -- black comedian plays aspiring black comedian who dies, goes to heaven and comes back as old white man? And just in time for Black History Month, too. Goody.As the film began, I thought of Richard Pryor movies like "The Toy." Was Chris Rock -- who co-wrote and produced "Down" -- about to go out like that?

Student Congress Says Yes to Brook, Newcomb

Despite modest attendance, Student Congress members tackled a wide range of issues, including approval of a new student attorney general, at their meeting Tuesday night.The meeting, which less than half of Congress members attended, opened with a push for all Student Congress members to participate in this weekend's Finance Committee workshop, in which Congress members will discuss the budget for the fall semester.Student Body Treasurer Patrick Frye said Student Congress has a $13,000 budget surplus heading into the finance committee weekend.

N.C. Lawmakers Weigh Bills for Student BOG Vote

RALEIGH -- The N.C.

Brown to Fill GPSF Presidency

Mikisha Brown's active campaigning led her to a 140-vote victory Tuesday night in the runoff election for Graduate and Professional Student Federation president.Of the 264 votes cast, Brown, a health education graduate student, received 202 and Shaun Hartley received 62. Both appeared as write-in candidates on the Feb. 13 ballot but neither garnered a majority of the votes last week. "I'm excited," Brown said. "I think it's an opportunity to get students talking about issues and concerns.

Master Plan Committee Promises to Be Friendly Toward the Environment

TO THE EDITOR:The Orange-Chatham Group of the Sierra Club presented a statement of Thirteen Environmental Principles for UNC Campus Planning to the Chapel Hill Town Council last week and intends to present it to the UNC Board of Trustees later this month.We were pleased to see the statement because much of what the group suggests is embraced in the work we have been doing on the campus Master Plan.

2 Football Players Suspended Following Arrests

Two North Carolina football players were arrested in separate incidents Friday and Saturday.Bryant Malloy, a sophomore offensive tackle, was arrested for assault on a female, and junior cornerback Errol Hood was arrested for larceny by an employee.Both have been suspended indefinitely from all football activities.Malloy was arrested for an incident at 159 1/2 E. Franklin Street at Players Club.

CAA Accusations Were Personal Attacks, DTH Didn't See Whole Story

TO THE EDITOR:In response to the plethora of inquiries, rumors and articles appearing in Monday's paper concerning Saturday's Duke ticket distribution, I would like to defend my personal credibility in this situation. Matt Dees' Viewpoints column in Monday's edition of The Daily Tar Heel contained several personal attacks on me.

`Superman' Leaves Behind Legacy

It's like Superman is dead," the fan, Craig Freshwater, told The Associated Press outside the makeshift memorial for Dale Earnhardt."Heroes aren't supposed to die."I spent the late hours of Sunday watching Home Team Sports' coverage of the crash during the last lap of the Daytona 500 that killed the 49-year-old legend. I watched with a friend from Huntersville, where Earnhardt's body was flown to a funeral home."It's so surreal," she said and even now I can't disagree.I'm not trying to pretend I'm a diehard NASCAR or Dale Earnhardt fan because I'm not.

UNC Opposes Expansion Of School Board Power

A proposed ordinance amendment that would require developers to obtain school board approval for a project faced opposition from a University spokesman at Monday's Chapel Hill Town Council hearing.The amendment would require developers to submit a Certificate of Adequacy of Public Schools with their development applications.Called a CAPS, the certificate would be issued by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education as confirmation of adequate school facilities in accordance with the development.The certificate would be a key element in the ordinance's goal to pace residential develop

UNC-System Hometowns Join Forces

In a recent preliminary meeting, officials from towns containing UNC-system schools met in Raleigh to address various town-gown issues -- including public transportation and housing shortages.Talk at the meeting emphasized common grievances related to the impact of university students on the towns and included finding solutions to unify town leaders.Public transportation, zoning, housing shortages, student safety and state reimbursement for fire protection are problems the committee plans to tackle in subsequent forums.

Young Edges Johnson by 30 Votes

It was now or never for Justin Young on Tuesday night, and it all came down to 30 votes.After four weeks of campaigning, this year's student body president election was decided by the slimmest margin in recent UNC history, giving Young the presidency with 50.3 percent of the 5,081 votes cast in the runoff contest between Young and Eric Johnson.Young said the 10 seconds it took for Board of Elections Chairman Jeremy Tuchmayer to announce the results lasted an eternity -- an eternity that ended in a visibly overwhelmed Young falling forward onto the desk.

Tenn. Lottery May Sway N.C.

The Tennessee General Assembly has approved a referendum that, if it is passed, would lift the state's constitutional ban on lotteries and could put even more pressure on N.C. lawmakers to allow a lottery.Rep. Bill Dunn, a Tennessee Republican, said it is too early to predict if voters will approve the referendum, which will appear on the ballot in November 2002. A similar referendum passed last year in South Carolina. If Tennessee were to implement a lottery, Dunn said a large portion of the money raised likely would go towards college scholarships.Like some N.C.

Students Mingle With Legislators

RALEIGH -- After months of planning, about 200 students from various UNC-system schools congregated in front of the N.C. Legislative Building for Students' Day at the Capitol.The UNC Association of Student Governments organized the event to urge state lawmakers to increase need-based financial aid, raise faculty salaries by 6 percent and approve a student vote on the Board of Governors.The day started at 12:30 p.m. with a pep rally.