October 18, 1988
Page 3
From the Honor Court
Vote November 8
As everyone knows, 1988 is a presidential election year. On Nov. 8, as
citizens of the United States, you are able to exercise the right to choose those
individuals who represent you in the legislative process. However, you cannot
exercise this right if you are not registered to vote.
Statistics show time and time again that young people between the ages of 18
and 35 have the lowest voter turnout rate in elections, particularly among
blacks.
When you fail to cast your ballot, you forfeit the privilege and responsibility
that many black men and women fought and even lost their lives for, many
years ago.
As college students, particularly freshmen, do not become part of this
statistic that symbolizes the irresponsibility and apathy of your youth — too
much is at stake.
Important decisions and policies that affect you — economically,
academically, politically and socially are results of the electoral process. Make
sure you are registered to vote in your election district at home or here in
Chapel Hill and vote on Nov. 8 at home, by absentee ballot, or on campus.
Just do it. It’s your prerogative.
Black Student Movement
Constitution
Preamble
We, the members of the Black Student Movement, embrace a unique culture apart
from the dominant culture found at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In view of this fact, it is the goals of this organization to strive for the continued
existence of unity among all its members; to voice the concerns and grievances of its
members to the University; to offer outlets for expressing Black ideals and culture;
and finally, to ensure that the Black Student movement members never lose contact
with the Black community.
The Harvey Beech Fund of
The University of North Carolina at Chapel
By Warren Robinson
The Harvey Beech Fund, named for
the first Black to graduate with a degree
from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, is being established to
provide support for enhancing the pres
ence of minority students, faculty, and
staff at the University. In addition, the
Beech Fund will support the programs
and activities of the Black Cultural Cen
ter which promotes intraracial and in
terracial dialogue and understanding
among members of the community. The
Beech Fund will bring together leader
ship from the faculty, staff, students,
alumnni, and friends of the University
to develop and identify the human and
fiancial resources that are needed to es
tablish a substantial endowment.
Rationale
Afro-American students have been
enrolled in tli^ University since 1949.''
The first Black member of the faculty
joined the School of Social Work in
1966. The first Native-American stu
dent entered the university in 1962 and
yet to this date, there has never been a
Native-American faculty member at
this University. In short, the University
has not achieved the fully integrated
community that it desires. Over the
years, the University has exerted tremen
dous influence on matters of equity in
American society. The establishment of
the Harvey Beech Fund would begin an
organized effort to direct a concen
trated attack on the remaining barriers
to full integration. Specifically, the
Beech Fund will address minority stu
dent retention and multicultural inter
action and understanding.
Recent institutional studies show that
Black students and Native-American
“students are graduating at'a rate of less
than 50% after five years of study,
by Wilton Hyman
I would like to welcome all freshmen
here to UNC and hope you have a
wonderful experience. As chairman of
the Undergraduate Honor Court, I
come in contact with lots of different
students under very difficult
circumstances. Since you are new to this
University, there may be lots of things
that you are unaware of, and I hope this
letter may help you in some way.
First, for those of you taking English
classes or classes where you must write
major papers, make sure you fully
understand your instructor’s
requirements regarding documentation
and paraphrasing for your written
work. Plagiarism offenses are the most
numerous items we deal with. In all
cases, it is not clear-cut; however, these
are the cases which are easiest to avoid.
The importance of all new students
learning their instructor’s expectations
in regards to documentation in papers
cannot be stressed enough.
Second, offenses of cheating are also
a big part of our caseload. To cheat is to
risk possible suspension from school
and an F in the course. Not all people
who are accused of cheating are guilty;
there may be a misunderstanding
concerning the incident between the
student and professor, or maybe a
student unknowingly claimed someone
Hill
while White students are graduating at a
rate of over 75%. There are a number
of reasons for the lower graduation rate
of minority students; some are aca
demic and career related, others are
related to financial need. The Beech
Fund will address the financial aid
matters through the development of
scholarships to be awarded to minority
students who are in good academic
standing and have made excellent con
tributions to campus life.
Through the newly developed Black
Cultural Center, the Beech Fund will
contribute to the improvement of multi
cultural understanding. Support will be
provided for the program and the
resources budget of the Black Cultural
Center.
continued on page 4
cheated when they actually did not. We
do our best to make sure such mistakes
are uncovered and resolved. However,
the best way to remove all uncertainty is
to avoid doing things that may indicate
cheating. More importantly, you should
study hard. Your knowledge cannot be
questioned; however, your actions are
up for scrutiny by anyone.
I hope this may be beneficial to some
of you; the rest is up to you. Make a
conscious effort to learn proper
documentation and paraphrasing
techniques from your instructors. You
should also proofread your written
work and check it for any possible
mistakes or documentation errors.
You should also make a conscious
effort to avoid doing anything that may
indicate cheating, such as leaving open
textbooks nearby or having class notes
near you while taking an exam. People
are not perfect and do make mistakes.
When a person is unjustly accused of
cheating, it is a stressful and trying
situation. You reduce the risk of that
happening when you avoid activity
which may hint that you are cheating.
These suggestions are very minimal,
but I hope you find them helpful. I wish
you all good luck here at UNC.
Honor Court Chairman
BSM President (cont’d)
ity students have looked like a moun
tain side. One year we are up, and the
next year we are in the valley. Last year,
minority enrollment got as low as 8.5 at
UNC-CH. Even worse, the graduation/
retention rates for black students fell as
low as 48.9®7o.
These are only a few examples of why
we must view our jobs as a battle and
combat. In this world, no one gives you
anything. At this university, no one
gives you anything. We must view our
tenure here as battle because we must be
constantly be ready to face opposition
to our ultimate goal of equality and
freedom. We must consider it combat
because we only win the battle if we
have plans and strategies. Therefore, we
must unite before it is too late. We must
prove that black students can come to a
predominantly white institution,
succeed academically and prepare that
university for those who will follow.
However, until we unite somewhere else
other than the Undergraduate Library
and the Greenlaw Wall, we should
never ask “why don’t we do well here”.
Instead we should say “WHY NOT”.
Kenneth Perry