10
Monday, October 8, 2001
Opinion
(Flip laiUj (Far Hrrl
Established 1893 • 108 Yean of Editorial Freedom
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Halloween For Dummies (and Pirates)
It has recendy come to my
attention that people are
actually reading my column.
Before, I was almost positive
that my only readers were my
suitemates (I force them) and
my parents (they have to). So, it
was a delightful surprise to dis
cover that people were actually
reading voluntarily. In light of
this fact, I’m going to attempt to
improve the quality of the col
umn so my readers have some-
thing a little more serious and educational
to adorn the bottom of their Editorial
Pages. On that note:
It is already October and I don’t know what
I should be for Halloween! I want something
really good for this year, because last year was a
flop. Do you have any ideas?H.G.
I know midterms have been foremost
on everyone’s mind lately, but as soon as
they finish up, the next big thing on the
agenda is Chapel Hill’s favorite holiday.
For those of you who don’t know (or
don’t remember), Halloween is a hallowed
tradition (read: Bacchanalian festival) here
at Blue Heaven. So, of course, everyone is
wondering what they should wear to the
year’s biggest party. Here are some sugges
Board Editorials
This year's senior class officers need to recognize the importance of the class gift
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this
week, seniors are urged to log on and vote
for the senior class gift.
They are also urged to e-mail senior class
officers with suggestions for a graduation
speaker. Just recently, senior class officers
have been very vocal through e-mail and in
person to get both of these items squared
away.
However, attaining a graduation speaker
and organizing the senior class gift are
probably the most important responsibili
ties of the senior class officers.
Senior class officers have been working
hard on both of these items, but the falling
out of Bill Cosby as a graduation speaker
-of a prior commitment to another
school- only showed that senior class offi
cers may be a little behind.
Oftentimes, the senior class gift is high
ly criticized by seniors, and this year has
proved to be no different - there are always
those who take an active role and those
who really don’t care.
Cruel, but All Too Usual
Georgia outlawed the electric chair when will it outlaw the death penalty itself?
It seems Georgia is moving up on the
evolutionary scale, if slowly. On Friday, the
Peach State’s Supreme Court eliminated
the use of the electric chair as Georgia’s
sole instrument of execution. The state will
now turn to lethal injection to rid its prisons
of death row inmates.
Georgia’s dissension means
only Alabama and Nebraska
now equate electrocution with
justice. The 38 other states
that practice execution - including North
Carolina - use lethal injection, as Georgia
now intends to do, or they allow the inmate
to choose his method of death.
In the majority opinion written by Justice
Carol W. Hunstein, the court held that
“death by electrocution, with its specter of
excruciating pain and its certainty of
cooked brains and blistered bodies,”
exceeded modem-day standards of moral
decency. The court even cited a U.S.
Supreme Court precedent that prohibits
tions:
The Pirate: All you really
need for this costume is an eye
patch, a scowl and a terrible
brigand accent. It’s cheap and
easy (much like the Pirates who
were here this weekend). And to
complete the outfit, stash a flask
of rum, a pirate’s favorite drink.
The Devil: It’s funny how a
set of red horns turns a girl into
an instant sex symbol. You don’t
even need the rest of the getup
ADAM SHUPE
FI
(though you can throw in the tail if you
want to be kinky). Just don’t do it in blue.
You ought to know better.
The Oompa-Loompa: Ok, so this one
takes a little bit of work. But dammit, some
guys pulled it off perfectly last year, and so
can you. All you really need is some green
hair dye, some orange costume makeup,
white overalls and white gloves. You could
do more, but everyone will get the point.
By the way, it helps if you are a midget.
The Hooker/Pimp Combo: For some
reason, this duo gets the most play out of
every other costume (no pun intended). I
mean, a short skirt, tube top and fishnet
hose is enough for a cheap hooker. It’s the
pimp getup that takes a lot of work. But it’s
Giving Something Back
Three ideas have been posed to seniors
-one, an Unsung Founders memorial that
would symbolize those people of color who
built the University; two, a marquee at
Memorial Hall to publicize events; and last
ly a need-based scholarship for a fellow stu
dent preparing for senior year at Carolina.
There wasn’t as much discussion about
the senior class gift as some would have
liked -and for officers who ran on a plat
form emphasizing student input, it seems
strange that there wasn’t a place on the
Class of 2002 Web site to make suggestions.
This could’ve been a technical problem,
but it still doesn’t change the fact that
options might have gone unheard.
There are clear merits to the gift options
-a memorial to those forgotten people
who built our University is unprecedented,
and the marquee would be dedicated in
memory to late Chancellor Michael
Hooker, as is appropriate for the last class
to have him as chancellor.
Senior year only happens one time, and
“the infliction of unnecessary pain in the
execution of the death sentence.”
I wonder if Georgia’s 129 death row
inmates, watching their clocks while wait
ing for the warden to flip the switch, now
feel any better about their fates. I would bet
Cate Doty
Editorial Notebook
tice system into the 21st century.
The court did not overturn Georgia’s use
of the death penalty, which some death
penalty advocates, including the state’s
attorney general, had feared. It simply
struck struck down an exceedingly archaic,
barbaric way to carry out what the state has
determined is justice.
It took 77 years and 441 electrocutions
for the state to re-examine its method of
execution. In 1924 Georgia switched from
hanging to electrocution, and last year the
not like you can’t just use the one you nor
mally wear. Buy anew hat and a couple
more chains and you will be good as new.
The UNC Mascot: Now I know what
you are saying: We see the mascot all the
time. Well, I’m suggesting a more anatomi
cally correct mascot If anyone has ever
seen the real UNC ram, you know exactly
what I’m talking about. I think there is a
disease associated with that kind of thing.
Testicular elephantitis, maybe?
The Curry/Durant Doppelganger:
This one is a Halloween 2001 original. All
you have to do is get a Ronald Curry jer
sey with his number one on the front.
Then, depending on how many ones the
Halloween revelers are seeing on your
shirt, that’s who you are. It’s just like a real
football game!
These are all pretty quick and easy to
put together (and cheap!). But just remem
ber the most important thing: Don’t stress
about your costume too much, because no
one is going to remember what you wore
in the morning anyway.
Adam Shupe believes he failed his reform
attempt with flying colors. Send your
questions, comments or costume ideas to
him at shupe@email.unc.edu.
not. While it does recognize
that even convicted murder
ers have some civil rights, the
court’s 4-3 ruling is only a step
toward bringing the state’s jus-
it makes it even more important to make a
mark, as well as embrace and remember
Carolina.
However, for seniors, this year is no ordi
nary year for many reasons.
Seniors also will remember their last
year in college as the time when the great
est act of terrorism in American history
occurred.
Giving back has a whole different mean
ing for people, including seniors. Senior
class officers need to be mindful of that fact.
There has been a real change in the way
students feel about things they might have
felt strongly about before. In one way or
another, each senior has been affected by
this tragedy, some more seriously than oth
ers, financially and emotionally.
The senior class gift is meant to give
something back to the University. It also is
meant to represent its class of students.
Seniors and senior officers, let’s not do this
hastily, and recognize the importance of the
times.
state’s legislature created anew law making
lethal injection the method of execution for
anyone sentenced to death for murders
committed after May 1,2000.
So while Georgia is taking steps to make
its execution system more humane, it has
neglected to examine what is most central
to the death penalty debate. A prisoner’s
right to life - even that of someone who has
admittedly taken the life of someone else -
hasn’t entered the picture so far.
Georgia’s attorney general, Thurmont
Baker, said Friday that “the effect of the
majority’s decision is to substitute their per
sonal opinions for the will of the people of
Georgia.” Let’s hope that the court’s opin
ions do reflect those of the people of
Georgia and not those held by the switch
happy Mr. Baker. And let’s hope that it
doesn’t take another three quarters of a cen
tury for Georgia -and its fellow 38 states -
to eradicate die practice of legalized mur
der. Enough is enough.
Readers' Forum =
Letter Writer Berates
Fans for Booing Curry,
Sends Best Wishes
TO THE EDITOR:
I was very disappointed by the boo
ing that some of our fans did when
Ronald Curry entered in the second half
of the ECU game. No fans should ever
boo one of their own players, especial
ly a player who has given so much to his
football team and school like Curry has
done the previous three years. I under
stand people will argue that Darian
Durant has added a much-needed spark
to our offense this season. However, 1
also realize that Curry has done the
same thing throughout his career and
will continue to do so if given the
chance. Curry can lead our team to vic
tory, as evident by his gutsy perfor
mance in the fourth quarter of the ECU
game when he led our team to crucial
first down conversions that helped seal
the game. Now that our team is winning
once again, I believe that Curry along
with Durant deserve our full support
and not even one boo from fans.
Especially since many of those same
booing fans started cheering less than a
minute later when Curry was scram
The Daily Tar Heel wel
comes reader comments
and criticism. Letters to
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longer than 300 words
and must be typed, dou
ble-spaced, dated and
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guaranteed. Bring letters
to the DTH office at Suite
104, Carolina Union, mail
them to P.O. Box 3257,
Chapel Hill, NC 27515 or
e-mail forum to:
editdesk@unc.edu.
Columbus Put
The 'Seas' in
Deadly Disease
How does that rhyming mnemonic phrase go? “Back
in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.... In the
New World he did sneeze, bringing natives to their
knees. ... And if by genetic resistance some were saved,
these healthy natives were soon enslaved.”
I’m not sure if that’s how it went
exactly. Despite my deficient memo
ry, the fact remains that Christopher
Columbus not only sparked Europe’s
westward expansion across the seas,
he also inadvertendy introduced the
world to germ warfare. True, he
might not have consciously intro
duced this agent of genocide, but the
“discoverer of America” also thought
he was in Asia.
Deriding Columbus from a mod
em standpoint is easy, but I do not
plan on criticizing imperialism or bashing the misguided
spirit of early missionaries. Actually, I was hoping to link
today’s observances and holiday blowout furniture sales to
the growing fear of biological terrorism. The same day we
honor the start of several civilizations’ downfalls, we fear
the very slate-clearing plague that ensured European soci
ety’s American conquest.
So how might our nation avoid a widespread epidemic
today? There are two solutions, neither of which is bargain
hunting for gas masks at Sergeant Sam’s Army Surplus
Store. The only way to avoid losing millions of lives is by
either containing the disease and treating its victims or pre
emptively thwarting such an attack
Currently there are 29 National Guard response teams
across the U.S. trained to handle the events following sus
pected biological attacks. One such team was deployed to
ensure the safety of Manhattan’s inhabitants following the
World Trade Center assault.
But what if the terrorists don’t wave a big flag and say
“Hey! We just attacked you!?” Any effective biological
attack will show no clear signs that it has occurred until
many are already dead. If a virus is released clandestinely
into an urban environment, National Guard teams could
fail to quarantine the infected and be forced to rely on hos
pitals to treat most victims.
Unfortunately America’s public health system is unpre
pared to handle the aftermath of bio-terrorism. However, if
funds are diverted to better equip and educate hospital
staff, the problem can be identified sooner, rather than
later. When only subtle differences separate anthrax and flu
symptoms, knowledgeable doctors are essential to our
nation’s health. Fortunately, the United States’ first line of
defense against bio-terrorism was bolstered last week when
Congress approved $6O million of spending to accelerate
the development of an improved smallpox vaccine and
boost vaccine stockpiles.
Pursuing the second option, the U.S. is also looking to
root out bio-terrorists before they can strike. Using a loose
interpretation of language in a 1972 biological weapons
treaty, the Clinton administration launched a germ warfare
research project that included the production of a more
potent form of anthrax. The Bush administration continues
this research as a defense against biological threats.
By building weapons and weapon factories, U.S. intelli
gence can deduce how much funding and materials are
needed to produce these lethal tools. Telltale signs, such as
emissions unique to germ warfare factories, can also be
deciphered and sought out. (The U.S. used harmless
biopesticides when building these bombs and factories. As
for developing the new strain of anthrax, the U.S. knew it
existed elsewhere and only produced it in limited amounts
to test its vaccines.)
I trust America, but why should any other country?
Invoking American logic, Saddam Hussein could claim that
all germ-incubating devices in Iraq exists to defend against
its neighbors. To make this matter of trust more complicat
ed, we cannot subject our nation’s military facilities to the
scrutiny of United Nations inspectors. This would open up
our blueprints to more terrorism from all other nations.
Only by redefining the term “defensive” that is used in
the 1972 treaty can Americans and all other nations
opposed to germ warfare vanquish this unconventional
form of terrorism. We know the capabilities of our terrorist
enemies, a luxury the sixteenth century natives did not
enjoy. By effectively allocating resources between hospital
training and military intelligence, any biological terrorist
attack can be mitigated before another civilization on our
continent is wiped out.
Michael Carlton also would like to wish you a Happy
Canadian Thanksgiving! Come help him carve the tradition
al moose at carlton@email.unc.edu.
bling for first downs. My best wishes are
with the Tar Heels, and especially
Curry, for the rest of the season.
James Colombo
Senior
Communications Studies and
Management and Society
Campus Protesters Are
Asking for More Than
Just Simple ‘Respect’
TO THE EDITOR:
There has been a lot of talk recently
on this campus about respecting differ
ing points of view, particularly in regard
to those who have protested for a non
violent U.S. response to the terrorist
attacks. 1 am afraid, however, that those
who call for this “respect” are actually
asking for something different. They are
asking for acceptance. They should
remember that just as it is their right to
speak freely, so too do we have the right
to consider them fools for what they say,
and, of course, to speak freely about
that.
Matthijs Schoots
Clinical Research Coordinator
Slip imly (Ear MM
MICHAEL
CARLTON
MOJOVIAN V.D.