Tanner Bond

News

N.C. Town Fighting for State Funding

By Tanner Bond | May 1

When the floodwaters from Hurricane Floyd receded in the waning months of 1999, it was evident that the town of Princeville had suffered millions of dollars in damage.Town officials are now claiming they are being further damaged by a faulty tax return system's failure to account for the effects of Floyd.Princeville's leaders claim that by using the 2000 census instead of the 1999 population estimate, the Office of State Budget, Planning and Management is shortchanging the town in tax returns.The state government receives numerous sales tax proceeds and then turns them over to the loc

News

Commission Wants Mascots Retired

By Tanner Bond | April 26

A statement released last week by the Civil Rights Commission argued that schools across the country should retire the use of American Indian mascots, citing them as a form of racial insensitivity.The statement is only the commission's opinion and has no legal implications.Charlene Teters, a member of Spokane Nation, gave reserved praise to the committee's statement.

News

N.C. May Revise Election Laws

By Tanner Bond | April 25

Legislative committees passed a wide slate of bills Monday night that would reform North Carolina's election laws, including a proposal that would change how the state distributes its Electoral College votes.The bills also include a measure that would restrict the use of "soft money" -- contributions given to political parties rather than candidates -- in the state.The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the N.C. Senate approved the Electoral College reform bill in a 35-15 vote divided along party lines.Sen.

News

Report: N.C. Narrows Achievement Gap

By Tanner Bond | April 12

The National Education Goals Panel recently released a report that suggests North Carolina has become a leader in reducing the achievement gap on exams between the highest- and lowest-scoring students.The report reveals the findings of a study conducted by the panel during the last decade. The panel compared scores in reading and math from selected years throughout the decade.The study looked at math scores from fourth and eighth grade and reading scores from fourth grade.

News

Group Seeks Bill For Immigrants' Higher Education

By Tanner Bond | April 6

El Pueblo, a North Carolina-based Hispanic rights group, is pushing legislators to consider a bill allowing all resident Hispanics to attend state universities at in-state tuition rates. Despite the increased presence of resident aliens in North Carolina's labor force, noncitizen immigrants are barred from attending North Carolina's public universities.State Sen.

News

Colo. Advances Bullying Bill

By Tanner Bond | April 4

In the wake of recent school shootings in Colorado and California, the Colorado General Assembly will debate a bill aimed at combating harassing behavior among students.Colorado Rep. Don Lee, the Republican sponsor of the bill, proposed it in the House Education Committee on March 21, where it passed by a vote of six to five.

News

Study Finds No Racial Bias in Jury Verdicts

By Tanner Bond | March 30

The results of a recently released study call into question the widely held assumption that juries' verdicts are affected by racial biases.UNC law professors John Conley and Bill Turnier and Chicago psychologist Mary Rose conducted a study that found white and black jurors hand down nearly identical verdicts.The study lasted nearly two years and used 600 actual jurors from Wake and Alamance counties.

News

Duke Officals Consider Mandatory Onb-Campus Living for Sophomores

By Tanner Bond | March 22

Duke University sophomores might soon have little choice of living locations if a recently proposed housing measure is approved.The school's Residential Program Review, which examines campus housing policies, has proposed that all sophomores be required to live on Duke's West Campus starting in fall 2002.Judith White, director of the Residential Program Review, said the proposal builds on the success of the first-year program, which requires freshmen to live on campus in an attempt to ease the transition to college life."(The proposal is) a follow-up on the success of the first-y

News

Financial Aid Structure Harms Distance Education Students

By Tanner Bond | March 2

By Distance education courses, which are often conducted over the Internet instead of in a normal classroom, have become increasingly popular over the past few years.But the number of students taking these courses has been restricted by federal financial aid regulations.A recent report released by the U.S.

News

Appointments Draw Criticism

By Tanner Bond | February 26

The recent appointment of N.C. House committee chairmen has caused conflict not only along partisan lines but within the Republican party as well.House Minority Leader Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston, questioned the motives of House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, who appointed two Republicans not chosen by the Republican caucus as chairmen of their respective committees.Black selected Rep. Larry Justus, R-Henderson, as co-chairman of the Legislative Redistricting Committee and Rep.