12
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2005
LET’S GET IT STARTED
Students still have time to get involved in this fall’s municipal elections
and add their unique views to towns that could use the variety of ideas.
Last Thursday’s candidates forum, held by
The Daily Tar Heel for hopefuls in this fall’s
municipal elections, could have been a fine
way for students to learn about the issues and the
candidates.
Too bad only a few dozen people showed up.
Sure, it was raining, and yes, organizers didn’t
offer any free pizza. But those are poor excuses for
students’ apathy toward local politics.
Until students get in the game, they’re never going to
have as much clout as the town residents who, despite
being as busy as those on campus, work hard for Chapel
Hill and Carrboro. And that’s the way it ought to be.
Though local politicians do a fine job of responding
to student concerns, a lot of their time is taken up by
things such as neighborhood concerns which, while
important, are often tangentially related to campus.
To be honest, it was downright embarrassing to
have candidates come out in the rain to talk to
students only to find that there were very few
students for them to talk to.
Discussion, furthermore, centered on issues that
are important to students: Affordable housing,
THE GREATER GOOD
Faculty are right to be wary of the Pope Foundation, but the money the
philanthropic group could provide would greatly benefit the University.
It’s quite understandable that faculty members
at UNC feared last year’s discussion between the
University and the Pope Foundation, a Raleigh
based philanthropic group, that would have led to
the creation of a curriculum in Western studies.
After all, the group ostensibly nonpartisan
provided seed money that helped start the Pope
Center for Higher Education Policy, a decidedly
partisan, conservative group that often attacks what
it sees as UNC’s place in liberal academia.
But UNC still would have been better off with
the millions of dollars the Popes offered to start the
Western studies curriculum. Now that the talks have
started again, the Pope Foundation should give UNC
another chance to spend its money.
A revised proposal calls for the University to get
about $3.9 million in order to expand programs that
already deal with Western culture, such as first-year
seminars and study abroad programs. Unlike last
year’s plan, it does not call for the formation of a
separate curriculum.
Some will scrutinize the plan —and they should.
But at first glance, it appears to be an offer that will
keep intact the University’s integrity while appealing
A CHASE FOR SPACE
Changes to some of Chapel Hill’s parking fines are welcome moves that
will foster civic responsibility and give the town an added revenue source.
Drivers who park illegally should beware,
because Chapel Hill is tightening its grip on
parking-spot predators.
And not without due reason.
Monday night, the Town Council took the step of
increasing four fines for illegal parking. The biggest
increase is a SIOO hike in the amount people must
pay if they park illegally in a handicapped space;
drivers will need to fork over S2OO if they do so.
In addition, those who park at expired meters can
be fined every two hours instead of just once. The fee
for parking on sidewalks and bus lanes will go from
S4O to SSO. Cars that are “booted” also will face a
higher ransom of $55 —as opposed to the old S3O
price tag to become free once again.
The changes —most of which are meant to make
the town’s laws more in step with the University’s
work for three reasons.
First, efforts to make parking ordinances in the
town and campus more regular are positive moves.
It doesn’t make much sense that someone parked
in a handicapped spot along Raleigh Street can get
slapped for $250 while a driver who did the same
thing on Franklin Street used to face a ticket for
EDITOR'S NOTE: the above editorials are the opinions solely of The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board and were reached after open debate. The
board consists of four board members, the associate opinion editor, the opinion editor and the DTH editor. The 2005-06 DTH editor decided
not to vote on the board and not to write board editorials. Address concerns to Public Editor Elliott Dube at dubeeOemail.unc.edu.
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Carolina North, transportation, the environment
and social justice all came up during the two hours
in which the local candidates kindly graced us with
their presence. It’s clear that students care about at
least some of these issues the number of people
on campus involved with groups such as Habitat
for Humanity, the Black Student Moment and the
Student Environmental Action Coalition proves it.
The self-marginalizing actually hurts Chapel
Hill and Carrboro as well. Students represent a
wide range of political and social beliefs perhaps
a wider range than in local politics, where being a
Republican is a serious handicap to winning office.
Progressivism is a proud local tradition, but it would
only be made better by students even those who
don’t always agree with town leaders.
It’s not too late to learn about the candidates in this
fall’s elections. The DTH has an elections link off its
main Web site, and the Chapel Hill Herald is running
a series of discussions with everyone involved.
Starting Oct. 24, when the Morehead Planetarium
& Science Center will open for early voting, students
should put what they learn to good use.
to the Pope Foundation’s desire for more study of
Western culture on campus.
That’s because this year’s plan calls for almost $1
million less in funding and allows the Pope Foundation
even less of a role in determining what wifi be taught.
If the University has sole discretion in the expansion
of Western studies, that should alleviate most con
cerns about UNC’s sovereignty in the matter.
Certainly, administrators could face pressure
when it comes to expanding these programs. The
Popes are powerful folks.
But at some point, it’s worth biting the bullet to
realize a crucial truth: In all but the most extreme
cases, North Carolina’s educators ought to accept
any money that will help them teach tomorrow’s
future leaders. As long as UNC gets to determine
what it teaches and doesn’t let itself get bogged
down by partisan politics, it has an obligation to
fulfill that mission even if it comes with its fair
share of controversy.
UNC has provided itself with a good opportunity
that, when put into place, doesn’t seem likely to have
any strings attached. Now, it’s the Pope Foundation’s
job to take the bait.
only SIOO. It’s the sort of discrepancy that confuses
residents and angers visitors.
More importantly, however, the increased fines
should serve as a deterrent for people who want to
park illegally.
Granted, not all the hikes will have the end effect
of hurting people who callously park in places such
as handicapped spots. Jacking up costs for people
whose meters happen to run out, for example, likely
won’t serve that purpose.
But people who leave their vehicles in bus lanes
or handicapped spots harm other residents by,
respectively, disrupting traffic and making life
hard for people who really need to park in reserved
spots. The town’s policies should dissuade people
from doing so.
Finally, the increases should bring about $37,000
to the town every year. That’s not a huge chunk of
money, but neither is it chump change, and the town
likely will find a creative use for it that contributes to
our already high quality of life.
All in all, this is an excellent opportunity to dissuade
people from poor parking etiquette —and help take a
little bit of the burden off residential taxpayers.
(% flatly (Ear HM
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Opinion
READERS’ FORUM
Poker is a game of skill, not merely
luck of the draw as columnist states
TO THE EDITOR:
If Sports Editor Daniel Malloy doesn’t want
to watch poker on television, he can simply
change the channel.
Poker is becoming a staple of American cul
ture, and it is here to stay. Your comparison of
high-stakes poker to competitive tiddlywinks is
ludicrous.
Perhaps you should actually do some research
into what you are going to write on before you
make these off the wall accusations.
“The reality is that poker is 90 percent luck.”
This could possibly be the dumbest thing I’ve
heard in quite some time.
If you really think poker is 90 percent luck,
then how can people make a living playing?
Wouldn’t they all be broke? Are the people
who play high-stakes poker just incredibly
blessed with being the luckiest people in the
world?
Big-name poker pros make final tables and
win all the time. Why?
Poker is a skill game, and they are better than
most everyone else.
I could continue my dissection of your col
umn, but I’m trying to keep this around 300
words.
Hopefully, this is enough to inspire you to
actually research a topic before you decide to
write about it.
Then next time I read one of your pieces, I
won’t have wasted five minutes of my day.
Marc Trovero
Senior
Economics
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FROM THE DAY S NEWS
“I spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, kept in
the dark. ... Why the hell would I want to do that all aver again?”
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, quoted by the new york daily news, on why he wouldn’t accept the vice presidency
EDITORIAL CARTOON
JL.. —Mg' QUICkTRAILV ' -
COMMENTARY
"Activist’ groups too often
put artifice above injustice
Roughly four times a year,
with the banality of the
changing seasons, opposing
activist groups clash on campus in
a veritable Charity Death Match.
There are religious fanatics and
atheists, war supporters and decri
ers, pro-lifers and pro-choicers.
There Eire pamphlets and para
noia, crosses and coat hangers,
peace signs and politics. There
is dogma seeping like fetid fund
raiser wine from every brick of the
vicinity.
Elsewhere, there are crumbling
communities, war-tom families
Eind confused, pregnant women
with swollen feet and sore ears.
This is not to say that visual
demonstrations are unwarranted;
America was undeniably built
on them. There are few images
more moving than the poignant,
resolved faces of civil rights
marchers, and there is nothing
more exhilarating than a revolu
tion bom of rally cries.
But a problem —and even an
injustice arises when move
ments are all rally and no revolu
tion. There are countless “aware
ness” campaigns in full swing at
any given moment, and most of
them are little more than mastur
batory self-righteousness.
The vast majority of Americans
are “aware” of poverty, war,
workers’ issues and reproductive
rights. It’s time to stop shouting
and start sweating.
The Live 8 concerts, including
the Sept. 30 version on campus,
epitomize the exhibitionistic ten
dencies that protests have unfor
tunately begun to assume. For
all the emotional chords that the
musicians struck, and for all the
heart-wrenching images flashed
across giEint projection screens,
there was no direct solicitation
for donations, no concrete call to
action and no tangible solution to
the heavily advertised problem.
Heightened awareness is
invaluable. But I very seriously
SARA BOATRIGHT
KEEP 'EM ON THEIR TOES
doubt that a single mother of six
in a Third World country woke up
one morning and thought, “What
I really need today is for Pink
Floyd to reunite for a live set.”
Contrast Live 8 with Katrina
relief efforts and the difference
between “awareness” and true
activism becomes obvious.
Most national, local and cam
pus groups opted for minimum
advertising and maximum aid.
Habitat for Humanity immedi
ately began registering volunteers
for future rebuilding, and cam
pus organizations united for a
decisively successful fundraising
effort. Hurricane relief campaigns
traded the gloss for the grind,
and in doing so, they promoted
communal progress rather than
reunion tours.
The innate human need to
help others suggests a sincerity
that demands sanctity, and the
bombastic noise of self-inter
ested interest groups is slowly
destroying that grace. A worthy
cause demands far more exer
tion than exhibition, and when
activists do more screaming
than serving, they deflect atten
tion unjustly from their causes
to themselves.
Protest and charity have begun
to don a cloak of romanticism,
whip-stitched into an awkward
patchwork of image and inten
tion. American culture has
become inundated with over
blown, black-and-white visions
of half-hearted fundraising and
activism overcome by ego.
Among the most perplexing is
the smattering of “benefits” from
Spssk Out
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By Doug Marlette, Tribune Media Services
Hollywood to Hillsborough, heav
ily publicized events in which the
local elite discuss poverty and
AIDS over champagne and cru
dites. Far more might be accom
plished if everyone would just go
home and open their checkbooks.
Unfortunately, activism in
many circles has become less
about charity and more about
campaigning. Politicians handle
such issues as Roe v. Wade as
if they were Molotov cocktails,
ready to incinerate their careers
the moment they place a pinkie
toe on one side of the controver
sial fence.
But all the hedging speeches
and picket lines leave little time for
mutually beneficial policymaking.
Anger and avoidance have taken
the place of open dialogue.
In matters of religion and war
as well, personal ideology trumps
the societal ideal. I wonder who
among those espousing their phi
losophy in the Pit, whether exalt
ing or denouncing the doctrine at
hand, has spent a day in a home
less shelter.
Moreover, I wonder whether
the white knuckles clasping pro
pagandists posters have held the
hand of a pregnant 15-year-old. I
wonder whether the voices strain
ing to deliver haughty convictions
have counseled the hopeless.
I wonder whether the pristine
ivory backs draped in benefit
night satin have bent beneath the
weight of hostile stares and hun
gry children.
I wonder whether the faces
behind today’s cries of opposition
have looked upon the suffer
ing from which their “activism”
siphons action.
And if they have, I wonder why
they’re only exerting their voices
when there is still so much work
to be done.
Contact Sara Boatright,
a junior public relations major,
at scb4l9@email.uncedu.
www.dailytaiheelxonn
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