14
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2004
BOARD EDITORIALS
PROMOTING HONOR
Overall, leaders in the judicial branch have done an admirable job of
publicizing the Honor Code and strengthening the honor system.
Former Student Attorney General Jonathan
Slain worked vigorously to improve the rela
tionship between the judicial branch of student
government and UNC administrators and to educate
die student body on the Honor Code’s meaning.
The year has been marked with many highlights
by the judicial branch and its yearlong Honor
Carolina program, but it kicked off with Honor and
Integrity Week, which was a publicity success.
Honor Week got the attention of students, facul
ty members and other members of the campus com
munity, and the judicial branch offered many pro
grams for students to learn more.
The beginning of Slain’s tenure also saw the
implementation of the newly rewritten Honor Code.
He has done much to repair the branch’s reputa
tion with administrators, after the 2000 computer
science cases. IVventy-four students were accused by
a professor of sharing information, and in the ensu
ing chaos several students’ rights were violated by
the court. Many of the cases were dismissed as a
result of the poor handling by the judicial branch.
In the wake of the reformed Honor Code, Slain has
done much to repair the institution’s tarnished image.
He challenged his office to take on a lot of extra
effort. It’s especially impressive that the judicial
branch managed not only to do its regular work, but
also to improve upon last year’s progress. The stu
dent attorney general’s office faces the enormous
task of dealing with Honor Code violations at UNC
—a duty held by administrators at most schools.
Slain oversaw the successful completion of those
duties, and under his leadership, the branch also
took steps toward making a measurable improve
ment in the amount of time it takes to process cases.
In March, The Daily Tar Heel reported that fac
ulty-student resolutions, which the honor system
implemented this year, account for 31 percent of all
guilty pleas in academic cases.
The new system allows students and their profes
sors to submit their own proposal for punishment
subject to the approval of a 3-member panel.
By the end of the year, student infractions of the
DISAPPOINTING SHOW
Decrying the investigation of a possible bias on campus is one thing,
but some students drove their protest outside the bounds of civility.
fT'jhe Pit was host to one of the most remarkably
I immature events of the year Monday. The
JL Committee for a Queerer Carolina held a mock
investigation of the debacle stemming from English
instructor Elyse Crystall’s inflammatory e-mail lam
basting one of her students.
In principle, it is entirely worthwhile to protest
the foolhardy federal investigation that now IS loom
ing over the University.
But it is an embarrassment to UNC that students
would so brazenly mock the beliefs and lifestyle of
one of their peers.
Chase Foster, one of the event’s organizers, fool
ishly remarked that Crystall’s attack on student Tim
Mertes’ classroom comments could not possibly be
discrimination, given his status as “a white hetero
sexual male.”
Members of the Committee for a Queerer
Carolina like all members of the UNC communi
ty have every right to express their disapproval of
Mertes’ beliefs in whatever way they choose.
But the belittling manner in which they did so was
not at all tasteful, and further undermined their
arguments.
Foster took the role of Mertes in the mock inves
tigation, acting out an immature, unnecessarily
insulting parody of the classroom incident.
It is one thing to disagree with the views of a per
son, party or institution in a civil manner. But insult
ing the opposition deflates the University’s vibrant
intellectual exchange.
Furthermore, statements that Mertes’ perspective
and speech should be disallowed from the classroom
are just dead wrong.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The above editorials are the opinions of solely The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board, and were reached after open debate. The
board consists of seven board members, the editorial page associate editor, the editorial page editor and the DTH editor. The 2003-04 DTH
editor decided not to vote on the board and not to write board editorials.
READERS*FORUM
Yusko departure loss for
the University community
TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing to express concern
over the recent loss of Mark Yusko
as chief investment officer of the
University’s endowment.
I currently work for a hedge
fund in New York of the type in
which Yusko would place the
school’s money. Hedge funds are
innovative investment vehicles
that offer not only higher market
returns for investors but also
higher fees for the fund’s man
agers.
Due to the higher pay that
hedge fund managing positions
receive, they tend to attract the
most intelligent, diligent and
innovative people on Wall Street.
Using this superior management,
they add value to the investors
they serve.
What concerns me is that the
University, by not retaining superi
or personnel such as Yusko, com
promises not only its future finan
cial situation but also the students
it seeks to serve.
Yusko’s salary is high by public
employee standards. But the task
that he oversees managing over
$1 billion in assets makes the
returns he provides to the
University maybe one of the best
values around.
Yusko has proven himself a
leader in innovation of school
endowment management. He has
Honor Code had been processed in an average of 30
days which matches the goal set by Amanda
Stokes, who was attorney general last year.
However, Slain’s progress with the judicial branch
should be continued next year, and there remains
much to be done.
This year’s attorney general’s office most notably
lacked a solicitor general, who would have had an
instrumental role to play during this year’s student
elections. Slain did the job, interpreting the Student
Code for the Board of Elections.
The empty position, however, is no fault of Slain’s.
The position should have been filled by last year’s exec
utive branch, which decided that the student attorney
general could perform both functions adequately.
The student elections debacle showed that there
is a need for an officer whose sole duty is interpret
ing the Student Code on behalf of student govern
ment. And since the position will be filled next year,
judicial branch officers should work with the solici
tor general to apply outreach funds to the enigma
that is the Student Supreme Court.
Students and organizations should have the
resources and understanding to use the court when
they feel the Student Code has bpen interpreted
poorly. The past set of elections is evidence enough
that the system is far too unknown, and the supreme
court might be far more utilized if the student body
knew it existed or understood its function.
Given the ineffectual presence of the Independent
Defense Counsel, new Student Attorney General
Carolina Chavez should work to implement a bar
exam, so that students are competent to represent
individuals brought before Honor Court charges.
While the DTH editorial board has, at times, dis
agreed with the politics coming from the judicial
branch, Slain’s efforts have been remarkable. Much
work must still be done, but the branch has seen a
great deal of progress.
The honor campaign slogan was undeniably cheesy
and it’s debatable whether one can really “smell the
honor” on campus —but its presence is noticeable.
The effort should be sustained.
It is especially hypocritical for the Committee for
a Queerer Carolina and its members to espouse that
an individual should not have the right to express his
or her beliefs.
Thirty years ago, the perspective coming from the
Committee for a Queerer Carolina would not have
been accepted so readily on this campus.
So the implication that only individuals on the
comtltittee’s side of the ideological spectrum should
be allowed to voice their beliefs in die classroom is
as ironic as it is disturbing.
This University is supposed to present a setting in
which individuals may be exposed to ideas that they
had not previously considered. Some of those ideas
will be palatable, and some will not.
But it is the duty of the University to encourage
the exchange of those ideas, nounatter how much
people on either side of the ideological divide hate
them.
The mockery put on display in the Pit on
Monday stifled that exchange, rather than con
tributing to it.
It is equally ironic that the Committee for a
Queerer Carolina would send a petition to
Chancellor James Moeser asking him to prevent the
federal investigation from having have have ill effects
on speech in the classroom.
They have missed the point entirely. Speech in
the classroom was restricted the moment Crystall
lampooned her student for expressing a basic,
moral conviction no matter how misguided the
conviction.
Hopefully the future of this debate will not feature
such ill-conceived buffoonery.
achieved superior returns for the
school, the alumni and the state of
North Carolina. The University
missed an opportunity to promote
the future of the university by not
rewarding Yusko for his dedication
and intelligence.
I doubt UNC’s search for anew
manager will be easy.
Many people are launching their
own funds and the financial indus
try is hiring. The University’s
endowment likely will be the big
loser unless the management com
pany board can begin to think
more like Yusko.
UNC officials must recognize
that stifling creativity and risk-tak
ing and not rewarding their key
employees will mute the returns
they receive.
Jonathan Liggett
Class of2ool
Murphy mischaracterizes
AOPA defense of airport
TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing in response to RC.
Murphy’s April 20 letter to the edi
tor. Asa UNC senior, instrument
rated private pilot and member of
the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association, I feel it is my duty to
set the facts straight regarding the
Horace Williams Airport and the
author’s disparaging remarks
about AOPA. I also would like to
commend The Daily Tar Heel on
its unbiased article about commu-
Opinion
nity pressure to keep the airport
open.
According to the UNC Med Air
Web site, Med Air has been operat
ing out of the Horace Williams
Airport since 1968 and currently
operates a fleet of six aircraft.
Contrary to Murphy’s letter, the
article did not inflate Med Air daily
flight figures; rather, AHEC typi
cally flies between five and seven
flights per day to locations
throughout NC. They fulfill a vital
service for the state of North
Carolina and represent a truly
unique aspect of our university.
This is something we should all be
proud of.
It is true that Horace Williams
Airport is a taxpayer-funded air
port; however, so are 73 other air
ports in the state.
The airports are there to be used
by the public. Anyone who wishes
to go through the required training
can earn their pilot’s certificate as
well as the ability to utilize these
services provided by the govern
ment.
Most pilots are not especially
wealthy. In 1 fact, most live very
modest lives. They fly because it is
useful, efficient and because they
enjoy it.
The federal and state govern
ments recognize this, and in the
interest of safety for everyone, pro
vide services and facilities for
them.
Someone who commuted by
bike and did not drive a car would
ON THE DAY'S NEWS
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good
deed in a naughty world ”
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, PLAYWRIGHT
EDITORIAL CARTOON By Andrew Stevens, crazyaj@email.unc.edu
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Terror, marriage, guns and
others have been hot topics
As my time at Carolina
comes to an end, I am sad
dened that I was only able
to write a limited number of
columns over the course of the
semester.
’fruthfully, there are hundreds
of other issues I believe warrant
discourse, yet only a few were dis
cussed. That being true, let me just
share with you some final thoughts
about issues not readily discussed.
2004 Gubernatorial race
I am watching with much
anticipation the upcoming guber
natorial race. While it is safe to
say the incumbent, Mike Easley,
will represent the Democratic
Party, it is still unclear who will
represent the Republican Party
come November.
While any of the candidates
would do more good for North
Carolina than “Tax Hike Mike,” I
must say that one candidate has
stuck out so far. The GOP candi
dates agree on most of the core
issues, so that wouldn’t be some
thing to differentiate them.
However, their openness and
sincere willingness to connect
with college students does. That
being the case, Bill Cobey has
proven to be the only candidate
who has showed genuine interest
in engaging students. While I
respect the other candidates and
wish them the best of luck, my
support goes to Cobey —a man
with proven conservative values
and the most experience.
Gun rights
If you read Monday’s issue of
The Daily Tar Heel, you saw in the
Readers’ Forum the arguments
concerning the support of the
Assault Weapons Ban 0f1994.
n’t question the need for building
and maintaining the taxpayer
funded interstate highway system
just because they themselves did
not use it.
Murphy’s article paints AOPA
as a dishonest group, which could
not be farther from the truth.
AOPA is the largest, most influen
tial aviation organization in the
world, with a membership over
400,000, meaning that it repre
sents over two thirds of all pilots in
the United States.
While AOPA has taken particu
lar interest in keeping Horace
Williams open, at no point did they
announce plans to stack a legisla
tive study committee. We are
always up front and honest in our
lobbying efforts. Such an accusa
tion is simply untrue.
AOPA is lobbying to keep the
airport open out of the best inter
ests of the public as a whole, who
benefit from the services provided
by AHEC. Murphy claims this is
circumventing the “best interests of
the University and the town.” If
such a claim were to be true, it
would be simply short-sighted,
when considering the state as a
whole.
However, Murphy is simply pro
jecting his own beliefs onto the
town and University. Bill Dunn,
AOPA vice president for regional
affairs, summarized it best: “(The
airport) is a vital aviation trans
portation link for community
members, tourists, alumni and
9
BRENTLEY TANNER
FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN
However, their claims are false.
First of all, the ban was nothing
more than a stunt to win some
political points with voters. As
UNC NRA member Jonathan
Reich put it, the only “differences
between banned firearms and legal
ones are entirely cosmetic.” The
guns covered in the ban are used
more by hunters than by terrorists,
gangsters or habitual felons.
Also, let’s not forget that such
restrictions on guns existed before
tragedies such as Columbine.
Perhaps the killers’ 19 previous
offenses committed before the
tragedy demonstrate that they
should have been appropriately
dealt with beforehand. Perhaps
they can start a commission on
that to show the Clinton adminis
tration’s failure?
Lastly, gum. don’t kill people,
dangerous people do, regardless
of any weapon bans. And believe
me, they’ll be “packed.” You
should be as well.
War on Terrorism and 9-11
This topic really gets me going.
For anyone who may have forgot
ten what happened, Islamic fun
damentalists flew airplanes into
our buildings, ripping families
apart and forever changing our
foreign policy.
Granted, you won’t see any
more footage of the attacks
because it is apparently too much
for the media to show historical
university guests, and it is ideally
situated to support the AHEC pro
gram, which provides medical
services to rural areas.” This repre
sents the interests of everyone.
In closing, the airport in Chapel
Hill doesn’t have to be the alba
tross around the university’s neck
that it’s being made out to be. I
feel that it represents a great
untapped opportunity for the
University.
Having an airport owned and
operated by the University close to
campus is something that distin
guishes UNC from most other uni
versities, so it should be taken
advantage of, rather than fought
against. The sky is the limit, if only
it were to be given a chance.
Lee Smith
Senior
Computer science
The length rule was waived.
TO SUBMIT A LETTER: The Daily Tar
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Letters to the editor should be no longer
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Publication is not guaranteed. Bring let
ters to the DTH office at Suite 104,
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3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 or e-mail
them to editdesk@unc.edu.
(Eljp iaily ®ar MM
truth. Instead, they sugarcoat
everything to ensure political cor
rectness.
Also, you may be the anti-war
type, but you still should support
our troops instead of burning
flags. Nothing does more disserv
ice to the troops’ morale than to
commit such acts. It’s because of
our brave soldiers that you are
free. If only Democrats were more
like Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., the
world would be a better place.
“The ones who want to argue
and assess and appease, and the
ones who want to carry this fight
to our enemies and kill him them
before they kill us,” Miller said.
“And, in case you haven’t figured it
out, I proudly belong to the latter.”
Me too, sir.
Gay Marriage
I emphatically support the
Defense of Marriage Act. I don’t
hate homosexual people, but that
doesn’t mean I have to support
their lifestyle. If that bothers you,
just blame it on my white, homo
phobic, heterosexist, Christian
privilege. We know some others
namely Elyse Crystall and the
community that defends her
who would, at least.
Chancellor James Moeser
Thition increases every year I
have been at UNC. Constant
debacles with the summer reading
program. Susan Ehringhaus’ nice
retirement package and wasteful
spending of overhead receipts.
God knows all the other mishaps
you have bestowed on UNC. Too
bad Donald Thimp isn’t your boss.
I think he’d say, “You’re fired!”
Contact Brentley Tanner
at gtanner@email.unc.edu.
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