OPINION
The Chronicle
Ernest h. Pitt pubhsherico-fomder
S
ndibisi egemonve Co-Founder
elaine Pitt Business Manager
Fannie henderson Advertising Manager v
Free tuition plan makes sense
Lieutenant Governor Dennis Wicker recently proposed
free tuition for North Carolina students who enroll full
time in the state's community colleges upon high school
graduation. This would usher in a new education stan
dard, extending free public education from 12 years to 14.
Today's standard of K through 12 is obsolete, Wicker
explained.
His plan responds to employers' changing demands
and rapid technological advancements. The proposal also
echoes the Clinton administration's Goals 2000, an edu
cational initiative to ensure that every 8-year old can read,
every 12-year old can access the Internet, every 18-year
old can go on to college, and every adult can keep on
learning fdr a lifetime. "We have to make the first two
years of college as universal as a high school education is
today," said President Clinton. "Two years of college
alone means a 20-percent increase in learning and a quar
ter of a million dollars more in earnings over a lifetime."
The North Carolina legislature has yet to consider
Wicker's proposal, but it deserves bipartisan support. The
plan will not only motivate and enable more students to
attend college; it will give the state an edge in the global
marketplace by preparing students for the jobs of the
future. These jobs will require more than just basic skills.
Workers will need advanced technical skills and the abili
ty to solve problems, think creatively, communicate clear
ly and learn new information. Only 15 percent of the jobs
in the United States will require a four-year college
degree, but more than half the jobs will require post-sec
ondary education and training. To compete in the year
2000, workers will need at least two years education or
training beyond high school.
Given these trends, the North Carolina State Board of
Education and the Community College Board in 1993
jointly established the Tech Prep program. Across the
state, this workforce preparedness program is linking pub
lic schools, community colleges and businesses. Tech Prep
spans a student's four-year high-school course of study
plus two years at the community college level or two years
in a registered apprenticeship program. Both the Win
ston- Salem/Forsyth County and Guilford County school
districts offer Tech Prep programs in partnership with
community colleges and local industry.
Making community college free to high-school gradu
ates will carry this initiative one step further. Passage of
legislation based on Wicker's plan will also underscore
the state's commitment to equal educational opportunity.
Already a bargain, community colleges will gain more
appeal among low-income students who may have
thought college was beyond their reach.
Most importantly, Wicker's plan will give students who
don't go to four-year colleges a smooth transition from
school to work. It will help them land a good job with a
growing income and empower them to realize the Ameri
can dream of upward mobility.
The Information Age and a robust economy present
opportunities, but not guarantees. Tuition-free communi
. ty college education will position more young people to
seize future-opportunities. It doesn't take a college degree
to realize Wicker's proposal makes sense.
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Chrenide Midbiag, ftO. Box 1636, Wkutun Salem, NC 37103. f-mai
Minorities 4o tare a stake in
global warariag 4etate
To the Editor:
Over the years I've fought
for protection of the environ
ment. I've stood up to environ
mental injustice where major
polluting companies try to sin
gle out rural or poorer neigh
borhoods for environmental
racism.
But now comes along an
issue wrapped in the mislead
ing cloak of environmental
protection that could hit hard
on the jobs and household bud
gets of minority and rural com
munities in North Carolina.
The issue is the Kyoto Glob
al Warming Treaty. The United
Nations treaty is based on the
premise that human activities
are causing temperatures to
rise. Those human activities
primarily include putting non
toxic carbon dioxides and
methane into the air through
farming, industrial and auto
mobile emissions.
Scientific proponents of the
treaty say those human activi
ties and animal-emitted gases
are holding the heat in. Many
other scientists believe those
emissions have nothing to do
with global temperatures. Sim
ply put, the earth has heated
and cooled for millions of
years before humans came
along. ' ?
Last fall, the U.S. Senate
voted 95-0 to oppose the treaty.
Republicans and Democrats,
liberals and conservatives, envi
ronmentalists and industrialists
were unanimous in their beliefs
about the Treaty's unfairness.
Despite this clear message,
there is a concerted effort for
the president to sign the Treaty
and the Senate to ratify it.
I usually find myself on the
same side as President Clinton.
But when he's wrong, I am
obliged to take positions that
are best for the constituents
who elected me to represent
them. And based on the exist
ing evidence, the Senate should
continue to oppose the treaty.
The reasons are simple.
First, the treaty would require
the United States to spend bil
lions of dollars to reduee car
bon dioxide and methane
emissions, but would exempt
132 countries from any con
trols at all. That's fundamental
ly unfair.
Each and every American
family would share in the costs
of reducing those emissions.
The costs of farming would
increase, resulting in higher
grocery prices. Even President
Clinton's own economists
?
admit that gasoline prices
would go up a minimum of 26
cents a gallon. Many experts
say it would go up much more.
Electric power prices would
increase by 20% to 30% or
more. These are important
items in the budgets of low and
moderate-income families, and
especially farmers.
There would be hundreds of
thousands of job losses, includ
ing up to 50,000 in North Car
olina, according to one study.
Where would the jobs go? They
would be moved overseas to
those countries that are
exempted from the treaty. We
have already seen too many
good paying jobs in this coun
try ? many of them in rural
areas move overseas. <
Even progressive Senator
John Kerry of Massachusetts
said, "No one in their right
mind is going to sit in the Sen
ate and say that it's okay for the
United States to make these
significant efforts while our
competitors are going free."
The Kyoto Treaty also is
flawed because there's no real
evidence that if we followed the
terms of the treaty, it would
make much difference. Last fall
at a global warming confer
ence, President Clinton ?
departing from his script ?
asked assembled scientists how
much the temperature of the
globe would go down if the
United States complied with
the treaity. There was dead
silence in the room. They
quickly moved on to another
topic.
More than 15,000 scientists, ,
including 300 from North Car
olina, recently signed a petition
that said there is no credible
scientific evidence that there is
a link between human activity
and global temperatures. In
fact, there is a whole body of
scientists saying that increased
carbon emissions are helpful
and benefit plant growth.
This is too big of a decision
for our country to be rushed
into by countries that don't
have to pay the same price that
our North Carolina citizens
will pay. China, which will
become the world's largest ,
emitter of carbon dioxides
early in the next century, all of ,
South America, Mexico and ,
the Middle East, are all {
exempted. Because of a major
loophole, most of Eastern
Europe is exempted.
Instead, we must insist on a ?
more balanced approach. By i
insisting that other countries
do their part, we can reduce the ,
migration of jobs overseas and
reduce our economic costs in
this country.
There's nothing I hold dear
er than protection of our air
and water. But much more evi
dence is needed about the envi
ronmental benefits of the
Kyoto Treaty before we risk the
human costs of lost jobs, high
er grocery, gasoline and elec- i
tricity prices that are so
important to the household
budgets of rural and minority ]
communities in North Caroli- ,
na.
Rep. Howard Hunter repre
sents Bertie, Gates, Hertford
and Northhampton counties and (
I
is a past chairman of NC Leg
islative Black Caucus.
Let's stop pining and
play nail!
To the Editor:
Baseball is not dead, but
rather, it is alive and well ir
Winston-Salem. Even though
the recent referendum regard
ing a prepared foods tax tc
build a Major League Basebal
stadium was defeated, we need
to find some sort of victory ir
that defeat. It is my hope thai
all the enthusiasm and excite
ment derived from the venture
isn't wasted but is channeled
towards the existing Minoi
League franchise at Ernie
Shore Field.... the Winston
Salem Warthogs. Let's take
what we've got and make it the
best it can possibly be. For ovei
SO years, generations of chil
dren and adults, both black
and white, have enjoyed Caroli
na League Baseball at the loca
ballpark. Heroes and memories
have spanned the years and
have helped to bridge gap*
between the sexes, races and
generations. I can guarantee
that at Ernie Shore Field you
will still find an affordable fam
ily-oriented evening of great
baseball along with a friendly
hometown v smile here and
there. Fifty years of memories
have been harvested. Let'*
make sure we have another 5C
years. Play ball!
Peter J. Fisch, General Man
ager Winston-Salem Warthog:
What the \
heck is
this? \
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Voices from the community...
i 1 1 ?
Freaknik: a huge, no-holds barred, unabashed springiest party traditionally held in Atlanta
that draws thousands of African-American college students from around the U.S. each spring.
Atlanta officials say they are tired of the event taking place in their city, so we asked college
students what they thought about Freaknik festivities like concerts and stepshows moving to
Daytona, Florida.
. .1
Chiklta Dick*ni
"I would make the transition if it's
a permanent stay."
! f
Otktvin AHcinton
"No matter where they move it, they
are not going to stop people from coming
to Atlanta Everybody is used to it hav
ing been in Atlanta for the past 16
years"
LaToya Barber
"I believe moving Freaknik from
Atlanta to Daytona Beach is a baa idea
because there is not as much security in
Daytona (and) I heard about a couple of
guys getting killed there With them mov
ing it down there, similar things are bound
to happen."
Mlcho*/ Cox
"It still might be as perverted as it
is (now), but it may get worse because
Daytona Beach is a larger area than
Atlanta."
N.
Tynma Smith
"It's has been in Georgia all these
years and I don't think they should
change that. I've heard that there's
been some problems in the past when
blacks went down to Daytona."