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VOLUME 104, ISSUE 10
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Campus Echo The war on voters continues in NC
N.C. Sen. E.S. “Buck” Newton (Republican) Primary sponsor of SB 721 OFFICE
NUMBER:
N.C. Sen. Norman Sanderson (Republican) Primary sponsor of SB 666 and SB 667
919-715-3030
OFFICE
NUMBER:
N.C. Sen. Bill Cook (Republican) Primary sponsor of SB 666 and SB 667 OFFICE
(919) 733-5706
NUMBER:
N.C. Sen. Ronald Rabin (Republican) Primary sponsor of SB 666 and SB 667
(919) 715-8293
OFFICE
NUMBER:
(919) 733-5748
Four NC Republican Senators introduced three bills that may gut voting rights in the state. STORY BY MATT PHILLIPS
T
ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
he South still toils. Down here, where the sun beats hard and the tea drinks sweet, a shameful, oppressive voter disenfranchisement history will not die. This month, Republican senators introduced state legislation that threatens to undermine student and minority voting rights in North Carolina.
N.C. Senate bills 666, 667 and 721 call for a comprehensive overhaul of basic voting rights. Proposed changes include a voter identification card requirement, drastically reduced early voting days, elimination of same-day registration voting and a tax hike for parents whose children register to vote at their respective colleges and universities. All three bills have been referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate where they will be reviewed — and possibly revised — before a Senate vote. Voting rights activists say the bills were drafted to diminish student and minority voting power across North Carolina.
Sanyu Gichie, a community organizer general with the N.C. Student Power Union, said SB 666 and SB 667 would disenfranchise student voters — and that that’s the Republicanintended result. As the bills are written, if a student from Henderson County is enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill or N.C. Central University, he or she wouldn’t be able to vote in Durham or Orange Counties. That is, unless the student’s parents decided to give up the $2,500 tax deduction to which they are entitled for having a dependent. Gichie, a political science and public policy sophomore at UNC-Chapel
n See VOTING Page 2
Court deliberates gay rights Meanwhile NCCU celebrates LGBTQ Week and declares: “NOH8” BY JAMAR NEGRON
What the bills would do (in brief): SB 721 “Election Omnibus” • Institute voter photo ID requirement • Cut early voting to six days • Make convicted felons who have served their sentences wait an additional five years to vote. SB 666 “Election Law Changes” • Prevent parents from claiming the $2,500 dependent deduction on their taxes if child is registered to vote at a different address. • Repeal same-day voting. • Limit early voting to ten days. SB 667 “Equalize Voter Rights” • Same as above concerning the $2,500 tax deduction • Would require the voter to register their car at their voting address within 60 days
Anything he can do, can she do it too? BY JONATHAN ALEXANDER ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR
ECHO ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR
The fight for human rights continues in the U.S. Supreme Court, with two landmark cases. In the first case, “Hollingsworth v. Perry,” two same-sex couples filed a lawsuit debating the constitutional validity of the amendment known as Proposition 8. Proposition 8 ruled same-sex marriage unconstitutional in California. Although on Feb. 7, 2012, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in a 2-1 decision that Proposition 8 was indeed unconstitutional, the ruling was petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. In the second case, “U.S.
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NCCU students show their support for gay rights at the “NOH8” gathering on Friday. JAMAR NEGRON/Echo assistant A&E editor
NC Budget may hurt NCCU BY ISHMAEL HINSON ECHO STAFF REPORTER
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory proposed a budget last month that would cut approximately $135 million from the University of North Carolina system budget. "Right now, we pay based upon how many students you have, not on the
results of how many jobs you're getting people into," McCrory told WRAL-TV State lawmakers want to consolidate duplicate programs throughout the UNC system. Sen. Pete Brunstetter, a Republican from Forsyth and co-chairman of the N.C. Senate Appropriations Committee, said in an interview with WRAL that he and his col-
leagues are more concerned about how money for higher education is spent than about the actual size of the appropriation. "I think our members definitely envision that there could be some consolidation between campuses, and we might need to go from 16 down to 15, 14 — something like that," Brunstetter told WRAL. Brunstetter has since
Remember the “anything you can do I can do better” commercial that starred Mia Hamm and Michael Jordan? Jordan and Hamm compete one-on-one in almost every sport imaginable. The commercial’s purpose is to say women can be just as good as men. Women’s college basketball phenom, Baylor Center Brittney Griner, made recent media attention when Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told reporters he’d already given thought to using a second-round draft pick on the 6-foot-8, 200pound Griner. “All I care about is skill,” Cuban told the Echo in an email. “If she can make it through the tryout and is the best player available, why not?” In only a few sports have
NBA Player
n See GOT GAME Page 13
WNBA Player
6’7” *Based on league averages
walked back that suggestion. But budget woes remain an issue for UNC. So what does that mean for N.C. Central University? NCCU — a state-funded institution in the UNC system — has seen a tremendous number of cuts in the past year. In 2012, NCCU reduced
n See BUDGET Page 3
women played with men on college and professional teams. There have been multiple women NASCAR drivers, women have played with the men in professional golf and there have been a few female placekickers in college football as well. But can women compete on the same level as men in basketball and break the gender barrier? Ann Meyers tried. She became the first woman to sign an NBA contract with the Indiana Pacers. However, after a three-day tryout she was not chosen for the final squad. UNC women’s basketball head coach, Sylvia Hatchell, recently enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, doesn’t expect a woman to play with the men. But she believes it’s possible.
6’0”
221 lbs 167 lbs
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