14A
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006
mm
JEFF SMITH
OPINION EDITOR
Jeff Smith is a junior political science
and classics major from Surf City, N.C.
E-MAIL: JEFFSMITH@UNC.EDU
Welcome
to the
opinion
page
I didn’t really expect to have
this job, to be honest.
I certainly don’t have the
normal qualifications for it; I’ve
only been on the editorial board
for two semesters, I haven’t met
either mayor, and I just met
the Chancellor for the first time
Monday. I’m not a journalism
major, and I’ll be joining the
freshmen recruits for basic report
er training this semester.
So when I applied, it wasn’t
because I thought I’d end up writ
ing this column. I was more con
cerned with using my application
to influence the future opinion
editor’s approach to the editorial
board. I was concerned that the
many positive
changes my pre
decessor, Chris
OPINION
EDITOR
Cameron, made to the day-to-day
functioning of the editorial board
would be lost if I didn’t make an
argument for keeping them.
When Joe Schwartz wrote me
to tell me I had gotten the job, I
thought he had sent the wrong
e-mail.
But here I am. And as long as
I’m here which, admittedly,
may be not be for very long given
the average lifespan of a DTH
opinion editor l’m going to do
tbe best I can to make reading
this page worth your time.
So what can you expect? Well,
most things will say the same, but
a few things will change:
■ I have a firm belief that
the editorial board has a higher
purpose than telling people what
seven college students think about
the news. This year’s board edito
rials will be better informed. Our
goal is to make strong, convincing
arguments for the best course
of action. You might not always
agree with us, but we hope to get
you thinking.
■ There will be four columns
this semester; the Wednesday
space will be left open for guest
columns. Anyone can submit one:
Just e-mail 500 words to us and
we’ll print the best submissions.
■ Letters to the editor will
continue as always, but we’ll
be replacing the normal letters
column on Friday with anew
feature that allows you to vent.
You can e-mail one or two sen
tences about anything you want
to editdesk@unc.edu and we’ll
run it in the paper. You can sign
it, or we can run it anonymously
... it’s your choice. We just want to
give people a chance to get things
off their chest without having to
write a 200-word letter. Tell us
whatever’s on your mind, no mat
ter how trivial.
■ Viewpoints will now run
every other Friday. On the Sunday
nights following the Viewpoints
issues, Schwartz will be hosting
a radio talk show from 5 p.m. to
5:30 p.m. on WYXC, 89.3 on the
FM dial. I’ll be there along with
the two guest writers to discuss
the issue and take your calls.
■ The vast majority of you will
remember that we hajd some ...
controversy... last year. In fact,
between the Jillian Bandes affair
and the Muhammad cartoon,
some would argue that the back
page earned a reputation for
being downright inflammatory.
Will we do it again this year?
I don’t know, honestly. I’m not
looking to oftend anyone, but I
support the columnists’ and car
toonists’ right to have opinions. If
the opinion serves some purpose
beyond merely inciting anger,
even if I completely disagree with
it, I will print it.
That said, I will also offer those
with opposing opinions every
opportunity to respond.
■ Finally, a plea: We need more
cartoonists. So if you have a talent
for drawing your opinions, draw
up a sample cartoon and e-mail it
to us or drop it off at the office.
That’s what I have so far; if you
have any concerns about the opin
ion page now or at any time in the
future, feel free to e-mail me.
This is your opinion page.
Between letters, guest columns,
viewpoints and the radio show,
there are plenty of ways to make
your voice heard.
So get writing.
KNOW YOUR
EDIT BOARD
JOSEPH SCHWARTZ
EDITOR IN CHIEF
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
SENIOR,
JOURNALISM
joseph_schwartz@unc.edu
As DTH editor, Joseph Schwartz
has a seat on the board but has
chosen to waive his right to
vote. He will sit in on editorial
board meetings to better inform
the board and act
as a resource for members.
SCOTT SPILLMAN
BOARD MEMBER
TUCKER, GA.
JUNIOR,
ENGLISH/HISTORY
sspillma@email.unc.edu
Scott Spillman is serving
his second semester on the
editorial board. In addition to
being a Robertson Scholar, he is
also a former copy co-editor.
DTH needs your input to serve as campus advocate
I never really knew what a pub
lic editor was, and I should
have known better than
anyone. I used to write letters to
the editor like it was my job, and
now it sort of is. As public edi
tor I am separate from the rest
of the staff, and I’m a reader just
like you. It is my job to simply
take the thoughts and critiques
of the readers and bring them to
the newspaper staff members,
enabling them to better satisfy
their audience.
Last year one of my major
gripes with The Daily Tar Heel
came when then-editor Ryan l\ick
proclaimed that he would print a
middle school newspaper article in
our pages because he thought the
school administrators were depriv
ing the students of their right to a
free press. The article was being
Opinion
MEGHAN MORRIS
BOARD MEMBER
RALEIGH, N.C.
JUNIOR,
ECONOMICS/PUBLIC POLICY
mmm@unc.edu
Meghan Morris is serving her
first semester on the editorial
board. She is the co-chairwoman
of Feminist Students United.
REUBEN BAKER
PUBLIC EDITOR
kept out of the middle school’s
paper to protect the anonymity
of a few students who had been
charged with assault.
This might have been an inter
esting bit of news, but I felt that the
middle school’s article had no busi
ness on my front page taking up
valuable space for a more impor
tant news story. That issue struck a
chord with me, but I didn’t feel like
I could do anything about it
Now I want to be that person
JEFF SMITH
OPINION EDITOR
SURF CITY, N.C.
JUNIOR,
POLITICAL SCIENCE/CLASSICS
* |Hp
jeffsmith@unc.edu
Jeff Smith is serving his third
semester on the editorial board,
and his first semester as opinion
editor. Smith is responsible for
all opinion page content. He is
also a member of the Dialectic
and Philanthropic Societies.
JESSICA JOHNSON
BOARD MEMBER
PINEHURST, N.C.
SOPHOMORE,
JOURNALISM
carolinagirljjj@hotmail.com
Jessica Johnson is serving her
first semester on the editorial
board. She is also a member of
Conservative Women's Voice and
the UNC College Republicans.
MAGGIE RECHEL
BOARD MEMBER
CINCINNATI, OHIO
SENIOR,
SOCIOLOGY/POLITICAL SCIENCE
QHprr
■■
for you no matter your gripe.
My point is that this is our
paper. We should get what we
want. Last year’s paper at times
lost sight of its duty to serve the
readers. But I am assured that
this year will be different.
This year brings an entirely
new newspaper staff. Although
many of them have worked here
before, they are working new
positions and under new lead
ership. And they are ready to
improve The Daily Tar Heel so
that it can once again be the best
university newspaper.
But the paper cannot improve
without two things. First, the
leadership must be open to criti
cism, and see it as their opportu
nity to improve and become an
even better paper. I have talked
to Editor Joe Schwartz extensive
JESSICA SCISM
ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
JUNIOR,
POLITICAL SCIENCE/SPANISH
scism@email.unc.edu
Jessica Seism is serving her
fourth semester on the editorial
board, and her first semester as
associate opinon editor. She aids
Smith in overseeing the staff.
She is also a member of Campus
Crusade for Christ.
BRANDON MAYNARD
BOARD MEMBER
GREENSBORO, N.C.
JUNIOR,
HISTORY
bmaynard@email.unc.edu
Brandon Maynard is serving his
first semester on the editorial
board. He is a member of both
the Dialectic and Philanthropic
Societies and Campus Crusade
for Christ, and he is also a for
mer DTH photographer.
rechel@email.unc.edu
Maggie is serving her first
semester on the editorial
board. She is the chairwoman
of APPLES and a member of
Campus Y and Habitat for
Humanity. She is also a former
DTH summer columnist.
ly and have become familiar with
each desk’s specific mission. They
all have the goal of serving the
readers and giving us what we
want at the top of their list of pri
orities. I will do my best to make
sure the newspaper staff stays on
track and sticks to its goals. And
I will do my best to express the
opinions of the public to the staff
so they can better serve us.
The other thing that is neces
sary is your criticism. No matter
how insignificant you think your
criticism may be, it is important
that the newspaper staff works to
satisfy its readers the best it can
because that’s its job.
I will be doing my best to go
around to different campus orga
nizations to hear their opinions on
the newspaper and on their repre
sentation in it If you feel that the
uifip Saiiy Sar Uppl
paper’s portrayal of your organiza
tion is unfair or your organiza
tion is simply not getting enough
press, let me know. They want to
be accurate and fair, but they can’t
unless they know how you feel.
To give the paper the criti
cism necessary for improvement,
I need to hear from you the
readers. Whether you want to
see more Sudoku, or you want to
know where the Chipotle restau
rant that the paper reported was
coming to town is located, or you
want to see an article about Wes
Miller, tell me. I’ll make sure
your voice is heard.
Contact Reuben Baker, a
junior public policy major at
rcbaker@emaiLunc.edu. He
will write a column on the Jirst
Wednesday of every month.