o/ o/ 3 / o :-uz
t'aye o i -l , x;
5A
OPINIONS/ The Charlotte Post
Thursday,August 7, 1997
Drugs contribute to our societal decline
'By Robert Harris
'special to the post
There is a common thread that runs through many
of the worst ills plaguing society. In the examination of
contributing factors to crime, violence, child abuse,
HrV/AIDS, the health care crisis, and the deficit, one
element linked to al of these stands out - substance
abuse. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse,
although usually thought of as a “stand alone” on our
society today.
Alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse contributors sig
nificantly to this nation’s overwhelming health care
costs as well as the deficit. Twenty-five to 40 people
out of every 100 in general hospital heds are being
treated for complications of alcoholism. Annually
about 520,000 deaths are due to alcohol, tobacco, or
illicit drug abuse. It is estimated that in 1993, the cost
for every man, woman, and child in America.
' Alcohol and other drug-related crime cost society
$57.3 billion in 199. Annual arrests total nearly 3.2
fflllion for alcohol and other drug statutory crimes. In
addition, alcohol is a key factor in p to 68 percent of
manslaughters, 62 percent of assaults, 54 percent of
murders/attempted murders, 48 percent of robberies,
and 44 percent burglaries.
Drug and alcohol are contributing factors in violent
incidents, including sexual assault. Domestic inci
dents of wife battering and child abuse often carry an
alcohol or other drug component. And, according to a
1994 U.S. Department of Justice report, more than
half of defendants accused of murdering their spouses
had been drinking alcohol at the time of the murder.
Alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs can impair
judgement, increasing the risk of having unsafe sex.
Unprotected sex with an partner is the most common
way that HIV?AIDS is spread. Additionally, sex under
the influence can lead to sex without contraception; at
least half of all unplanned pregnancies occur when
people drink and/or use drugs before the act of inter
course. The continued use of alcohol, tobacco, or other
drugs while pregnant can lead lead to birth defects
and/or addicted babies, caring the damage of sub
stance abuse into the next generation.
Preventing the abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs
could mean substantially decreasing many of the
Nation’s problems. But what can we do to work for
prevention? At home and in our communities, there
are basic prevention strategies we can follow and
teach to others.
Raise awareness of the dangers of drugs use and
the benefits of constructive behavior.
Promote good parenting skills and strengthen the
family as the first defense against drug abuse.
Provide positive role models for young people.
Pave the way for individuals to build social, acade
mic, and vocational skills, allowing them the chance to
develop into self-sufficient, contributing members of
society.
Mobilize communities to establish environments
conducive to personal growth.
Support, policies that promote healthy lifestyles
and change community norms for the better.
In order to keep the Nation strong and solvent, we
as individuals need to be healthy and productive and
to help others become healthy and productive. To real
ize these goals, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse
must be prevented. Prevention works, but it can’t
work for everyone until everyone works for preven
tion.
ROBERT HARRIS is a cluster leader for Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Fighting Back, an anti-drug campaign.
Exhorbitant salaries soak the state budget
By Jon Sanders
Special to the post
RALEIGH - Salaries of state
[officials in North Carolina are,
[like Superman, going up, up and
jaway What’s worse, the increas-
les appear to be linked and there-
ifore endemic - a sickness plagu-
ling the state’s coffers.
t
I
I Here are three recent examples
|of this outbreak:
I Example One: When the UNC
[Board of Governors prepared to
[seek a replacement for retiring
[system president C.D. Spangler
I Jr., one aspect of the job they con-
isidered was salary Spangler in
!1996 was receiving an annual
1 salary of $158,660. Saying that
[salary was too low to recruit
I quahfied applicants, last
■ September the board raised it to
[$190,000.
! Furthermore, they hiked the
j salary to be offered the new sys-
[ tern president to between
[$210,700 to $269,400.
; Ironically, the board’s choice,
' Molly Corbett Broad, received an
■ annual salary of $162,888 last
i year as vice chancellor of the
California State University sys
tem - little more than Spangler’s
original 1996 salary and far less
than his adjusted salary of
$190,000. The irony was lost on
the board, who awarded Broad
an annual salary of $240,000
anyway. So in one year, with no
justification, the salary of the
president of the UNC system has
been raised by 51.3 percent.
Example Two: When former
governor Bob Scott resigned as
president from the State Board of
Community Colleges in 1994, he
was earning an aimual salary of
$113,673. His successor, Lloyd
“Vic” Hackley finagled a salary
much higher than Scott’s using
some financial abracadab-
salary negotiations with the
board, Hackley sriid his compen
sation at Fayetteville State
University, where he was chan
cellor, was $231,000 annually (A
curious legislator assigned
research staff members to calcu
late Hackley’s compensation
package, and they came up with
$178,185 - $53,000 less than
Hackley’s estimate.)
Hackley’s trick was in double-
coimting his benefits (such as the
rental value of the chancellor’s
house and the cost of the house
keeping services, both provided
by FSU). First he added together
the value of the benefits, then he
added in the extra salary he
would have needed to purchase
those services on his own. Presto!
Instant salary inflation. The illu
sion worked. 'The board raised
the president’s salary to
$140,000 - 24 percent higher
than Scott’s - to prevent Hackley
from suffering what would seem
an inordinate pay cut, and
Hackley was able to say gallant
ly that he was taking a cut in
compensation of nearly
$100,000.
When Hacklev left under a
cloud two years later, he was
receiving an annual salary of
$149,226. Instead of returning
the president’s salary to a more
reasonable level, however, the
board granted incoming presi
dent Martin Lancaster an annu
al salary of $155,000. So in three
years, including Hackley’s artifi
cial increase, the salary of the
president of the State Board of
Community Colleges has jumped
by 36.4 percent.
Example 'Three: The jump did
n’t end there. As the salary of the
president of the State Board of
Community Colleges rose, so did
the salaries of the board’s admin
istration officials. Some adminis
trators saw one-year raises rais
es of 35 and 41 percent. 'The exec
utive vice president, J. Parker
Chesson Jr., received a 13 per
cent raise, from $101,709 to
$115,000, in the two years follow
ing Scott.
Chesson’s salary is important
becarrse it enabled bim to tell leg
islators considering him for the
post of chairman of the
Employment Security
Commision (ESC) that his salary
was much higher than the
$77,365 aimual salary siven the
outgoing ESC head, Ann
Q.Duncan (a trick he no doubt
learned from Hackley).
Chesson’s story prompted legis
lators to ehminate the line item
specifying the ESC chairman’s
annual salary at $77,365 and
replace it with a provision a few
pages over that allowed the gov
ernor to set the salary to “an
amount no higher than the high
est salary set by the General
Assembly for an executive
branch official.”
IWth the highest salary being
the $113,143 (stipulated for the
state controller), Chesson’s
salary was - naturally - set at
$113,000. So in one year, thanks
to some budgetary shenanigans,
the aimual salary of the ESC
chairman was raised by 46 per
cent.
This last example, at least,
prompted some legislative
action. Rep. Carolyn Russell (R-
Wayne) is trying to bring the
ESC chairman’s salary back to
normal, although Sen. Aaron
Plyler (D-Union) has vowed to
fight it in the conference commit
tee. Of course legislators are a
cagey lot when it comes to
salaries; another House
Republican, Monroe Buchanan
(Mitchell), proposed a four per
cent pay raise for legislators,
which was of course approved in
the House as part of its budget
proposal.
JON SANDERS is a research-
fellow at the Pope Centerfor
Higher Education Reform at the
John Locke Foundation.
Too early to talk about N.C. governor’s race
The governor’s race in 2000.
■' 'The presidental election that
Same year.
- Is it too early to start talking
”tibout who will be running for
“those offices?
For most people it surely is.
^ But not for us. Not for you and
I 'toe - and others like us who feed
’ upon political speculation the
■'-tvay our normal friends devour
‘^hews of sports stars and enter
tainment celebrities.
'■i*' For us it is never too early to
®-'^ssip about “who might run for
't'tvhat.” So let’s talk about the two
'■‘iaces: governor and president. In
*^e North Carolina governor’s
'7face, the Democratic lineup look-
®‘tfpretty simple. Lt. Gov. Dermis
■^Wicker and Attorney General
’•^Mike Easley are hoth in a good
^'Jlosition to run. Both have orga-
■^fiized and won state-wide races.
'^^Both have a network of support,
tarij Their interest in ruiming for
governor is no news. 'The ques
tion for speculation is whether
there will be other Democrats to
challenge them.
Senate leader Marc Basnight
is often mentioned in the legisla
tive haUs as a possibihty. But
Basnight doesn’t encourage this
kind of talk. Nor does Erskine
Bowles, President Clinton’s chief
of staff, when people suggest that
he might be interested.
What about the Repubhcans?
The choices are not obvious.
There are, of course, two
Republicans with experience
running for governor - Robin
Hayes and Richard Vinroot.
Neither was successful, but both
now know their way around the
state. 'That experience gives
them a head start on the others.
Vmroot is preparing to run.
Hayes is considering it. But he is
also considering the possibihty of
running for the U.S. Congress
next year against Bill Hefner. If
he won that race, it would be
hard, it seems to me, to turn
around and run for governor in
the very next election. If he lost,
he would have a hard time con
vincing Republicans that he
could win the governor’s race.
The other folks people talk
about are N.C. House Majority
Leader Leo Daughtry and
Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer.
Although neither has run a state
wide campaign, each has con
tacts and support across the
state.
Will there be others?
Sure. I am betting on someone
whose first name is “Jim.” Since
1973, every governor of North
Carolina has had that name (Jim
Holshouser, Jim Hunt, and Jim
Martin).
So if people call you Jim, con
sider throwing your hat in the
governor’s race. You will have an
asset that the current prospec
tive candidates are missing.
In the presidental race, like
the governor’s race in North
Carolina, the Democratic field is
pretty well defined: Vice
President Al Gore. House
Minority Leader Dick Gephardt.
And, possibly, former Senator
Bill Bradley.
Gephardt and Gore have run
for president before. If campaign
experience is an asset, both of
them have it. Gore has the extra
benefits - and burdens - of his
partnership with President
Clinton.
Gephardt, like Bob Dole
before him, faces the problem of
dealing with the demands of con
gressional leadership and a pres
idential campaign.
It is a very tough challenge.
Bradley would
be the out-
sider—and
that may be an
advantage in
2000. On the
Republican
side, the
newest star,
Senator Fred
Thompson, got
his first tryout
last month. How did you think he
did in chairing the hearing on
campaign finance practices?
My opinion: I was disappoint
ed. 'Thompson was a pretty good
movie actor and I expected a bet
ter performance as a chairman in
frirnt of the camera. Still, an all-
Tennessee presidential race
between Thompson and Gore
would be a classic.
Another 'Ifeimessean, former
Hunt
governor and 1996 presidential
candidate Lamar Alexander
mi^t have a better chance in
2000 than he did last time- if he
still has the drive to run again.
'Then there is William Weld,
the former governor of
Massachusetts, whose current
battle with our senior senator
over an ambassadorship to
Mexico mi^t be an effort to get
national attention for a presiden
tial run.
It will be fun to watch, but I
am not betting on him.
And there are the others.
Reruns perhaps for Phil Gramm
and Malcolm Forbes. Former
Vice President Quayle. Sen.
'Trent Lott, the majorily leader.
More likely, perhaps, the
Repubhcems will find strength in
a solid, practical, hardworking
governor whose name is not on
any body’s chart yet.
Or even more likely yet. North
Carolina’s favorite daughter,
Ehzabeth Dole.
D.G. MARTIN is vice presi
dent of public affairs for the
University of North Carolina sys
tem. He can be reached via e-mail
at dgmartin@ga.unc.edu
Let’s follow Sojourner’s trail to become involved in the sciences
riJ.
^'‘By Stephanie E Myers
Pt'ltAinONAL NEWSPAPER
PIPUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION
'This year’s fourth of July car-
a special thrill for me. After
.,j tjie smoke from the fireworks had
„rcjeared, my husband and I sat in
ji fyont of our personal computer
j.giid surfed the NASA Internet
sjte where photos were being
r,;-fyansmitted from Mars 118 mil-
I Ijon miles away 'The pictures
p^amed via satellite in “real
time” were taken by the
Sojourner 'Truth Rover, a toy
^_^ized, land rover transported to
T ^ars by the Mars Pathfinder. We
were thrilled by the experience
was on several levels. First, we
realized that we were eye wit
nesses to a worldwide historic
event. Second, as publishers we
were impressed that we were
able to get the information and
photos at exactly the same time
as the rest of the world. And final
ly, having served four years as
director of the U.S. Department
of 'Transportation, Office of
Commercial Space
'Transportation, I was gratified
that my work, along with many
other advocates of the commer
cial use of space, had resulted in
pushing NASA to allow citizens
and businesses direct access to
information from space research.
'This means that commercial
companies have more opportuni
ties than ever to find ways to cre
ate products and explore econom
ic opportunities through space
exploration.Although excited, I
did, however, feel a tinge of sad
ness because I reahzed that in all
probability most African
Americans could care less! Most
of us are so involved vrith issues
of survival, that we don’t have the
time or energy to think about
making money from space explo
ration. But, I would like to sug
gest that African Americans pay
more attention to the Mars
Exploration project and get with
it! Let’s follow Sojourner
'Truth...again!If history is full of
lessons, maybe there is a mes
sage for us in the life of the
Sojourner 'Truth, after whom the
Mars land rover was named.
Bom into slavery in 1797,
Sojourner 'Trath was a unique,
charismatic woman who was
fearless, strong and dynamic. She
traveled extensively forging new
ground in the fight against slav
ery Considered illiterate, she was
faced with overwhelming prob
lems, but rose above her daily
conditions and dealt with the
larger issues of her time. 'Ibday
she is recorded in U.S. history as
one of the most powerful aboli
tionists of the 1800s.During slav
ery, our ancestors followed
Sojourner 'Truth towards free
dom. 'Ibday it is important that
we follow the spacecraft
Sojourner into the 21st century.
We must realize that, along with
everyone else in the world, we are
in a new era.
STEPHANIE E. MYERS is
former director of the U.S. Office
of Commercial Space
Transportation, is an author,
public speaker and vice president
of a publishing company.
Letters to The Post '
Well done on Hill ;
Thank you so much for the i
beautiful article on Sister Trudy !
Hill, Missionary to Ghana (July 1
17). Even though I know 'Trudy 1
very well, I am stiU amazed at 1
what God will do through even ;
one person if she vrill make her- j
self available to Him. 'Iriidy’s |
mission started with a plan to [
provide bicycles to Ghanian pas- [
tors who sometimes walk 10-20)
miles per day. For years she has
traveled alone Ghana to assess,
the most pressing needs of thef
people,and then returned to the
United States to work tirelessly
to provide those needs. I thank
God for her and the example she
has set for me, as a relatively
new missionary. Having just
returned from my second mis^
sionaiy trip to Kenya, I praise
God for the generosity of the
many wonderful individuals and
Churches that supported 'Trudy
in Ghana and our Mission 'Ifeam
in Kenya. As 'Trudy alwayq
reminds people, the reward to
those who support the mission
effort is the same as the reward
for the missionary; because the
Church is one body, with each
member having separate, but
critically important roles.
'Thanks again, Charlotte Post)
for giving the space to a story
that will bless all who read it.
And thank you, 'Trudy HiU, for
being the tireless warrior for
Jesus Christ that you are.
Lydia A. Harper-Epps
Charlotte
On ethnocentrism
By Junious R. Stanton
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION
Ethnocentrism is the charac
teristic of holding one’s own
racial or ethnic group to be wor
thy, of value; identifying with and
being proud to be a member of
one’s own racial or national
group. It is a natural and healthy
support system that provides
identity, commonalty, continuity
and belonging. It is an extension
of the role of the family within
the ethnic group.
Ethnocentrism has nothing to
do with hatred of another group.
It simply means that one’s pri
mary loyalty is to his or her own
family race or ethnic origin.'The
dynamics of ethnocentrism pro
vides insight to our situation as
Africans in America.
Unfortunately people of African
descent are the one group in
America that manifests the oppo
site of ethnocentrism; exocen-
tism. 'This is the characteristic of
denigrating one’s self and hold
ing groups outside of one’s own
ethnic, racial or national origin
as being superior.’This explains
why black and brown-skiimed
people of Afidcan descent have
pictures of depigmented
Europeans hanging in their
churches and homes. It explains
why black folks send their chil
dren to “white” schools and pay
big money to see motion pictures
and videos where relatively few
of the performers and actors or
black.
'Tragically, even at this late
date many black children still
prefer to play with dolls that look
nothing like themselves. It
explains the bizarre pattern of a
people with a collective dispos
able income of over $400 bilhon a
year consciously not patronizing
or supporting their own busi
nesses, professionals, cultural or
charitable causes. 'This explains
why black communities have so
little economic pulse and vitality
and why foreign entrepreneurs
do. booming business in our
neighborhoods. The one great -
thing about human beings is that
we each have the capacity and
wherewithal to change, to
mature and become wiser. Social
change begins with the individ
ual.
We will change our situation
only when enough individuals
change their self-image, priori
ties and values. We will change
when individuals and families
make it a priority to buy black
art and decorate their surroimd-
ings with images that reflect our
selves.
JUNIOUS RICARDO STAN
TON is a National Newspaper
Publishers Association colum
nist.