North Carolina Newspapers

8 The Daily Tar Heel Wednesday. February David Stacks, Editor Michel e Mecke, Managing Editor Michael Wade, Associate Editor Gary Terpening, Associate Editor Martha Waggoner, News Editor Eddie Marks, University ' Editor Carol Hanneb, City Editor Kathy Curry, State and National Editor Reid Tuvim, Sports Editor Susan Ladd, Features Editor Laura Elliott, Arts Editor Andy James, Photography Editor Dinita James, Weekender Editor For RHA, Leight Of the decisions voters will make on Feb. 13, one of the most important for the more than 7,000 students who live on campus will be choosing the president of the Residence Hall Association. It is no secret that many of the perplexing issues the University will face in coming years are directly related to housing and on-campus students. RHA leadership, therefore, will be a critical factor in the way the University reacts to a wide variety of problems. The new RHA president will face complex, seemingly insoluble questions affecting student life not only in dormitories but across campus. Visitation, energy conservation, telephone-rate increases, communication with Student Government and The Daily Tar Heel these are only some of the issues RHA leadership must come to grips with. We believe that Peggy Leight is qualified to lead RHA as it attempts to deal with these issues. Her experience as governor of Henderson Resident College provides an unquestionably sound foundation. Her ideas promise to be fresh, perceptive and innovative. And she has demonstrated that she can remain calm, clear-thinking and devoted under pressure a requisite for a student officer who has to deal not only with peers but also with University administrators. Leight's opponent, Janis Francis, also has impressive credentials. Her platform and general theory of what RHA is all about are very similar to Leight's. Francis, who was lieutenant governor of Henderson last year, accurately recognizes that student awareness is perhaps the most pressing issue for RHA, and that improved communication with other student organizations is an essential first step in promoting awareness. And Francis' experience with the RHA programming committee, the academic committee for Morehead Confederation and the national conference of residence hall associations leaves her well-prepared to assume the RHA presidency. Leight and Francis are remarkably similar. But for reasons of experience, demonstrated leadership ability and the enthusiasm that surround a superbly qualified candidate, we endorse Leight for RHA president. A vital distinction . I 'i. ' North'GarolinaV primary election is still three months away, but politics surrounding the gubernatorial race already are in full swing, with candidates slugging it out in the press almost daily. The latest controversy, which surfaced last week, involves agents in the administration of Gov. Jim Hunt. Mather H. Slaughter, a state employee in the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, wrote confidential memorandums last year addressed to the governor concerning the political loyalty of sheriffs and other important officials across North Carolina. Slaughter apparently gathered the information while performing his duties as a state employee. Hunt, responding to the furor aroused by Slaughter's actions, quickly labeled them improper and promised apologies to the sheriffs, although the governor maintains that he never saw the memos. Adding to Hunt's embarrassment was Slaughter's terrible grammar, coupled with derogatory comments about sheriffs who did not "fit in with the governor's program." The issue raises several questions about Hunt's administration, his campaign efforts and how they relate to each other. Hunt has been criticized in the past for running a political machine, and incidents like these don't help to dispel that image. It is evident that Slaughter, as a minor state official, did not act on his own and that pressure was coming from somewhere up the line. Given the campaign atmosphere of an election year, he might have been caught up in the -excitement and become confused as to whether he was working for Hunt the governor or Hunt the candidate. The distinction is an important one. As the race becomes more intense in coming months, it is essential that state employees be free to decide their political stance. Three of the officials mentioned in the memos either lost their jobs or were transferred. Whether Slaughter's comments had a direct bearing on the job shakeups is open to question, but the incident is not comforting to those state officials who do not support the governor. If Hunt hopes to maintain credibility with the voters, he will have to make certain that his official actions, and those of his administration, stay detached from his re-election campaign. The Daily Assistant Managing Editors: Pam Kelley, Amy Sharpe Ombudsman: Alice Treanor Distribution Manager: Jaci Hughes Editorial Assistants: James Alexander. Jr., William Durham, Jim Hummel News Desk: Gelareh Asayesh, Ted Avery, Karen Barber, Chris Burntt, Lynn Casey, Penelope Cox, Peggy Gladstone, Lucy Hood, George Jeter, Lou Ann Jones, Joni King, Susan Leahy. Kathehne Long, Cheri Lovell, Susan Mauney. Kathy Miller, Kenneth Mingis, Peggy Nowak, Robie Patterson. Susan Pruett. Edwina Ralston, Chris Redmond. Suzctte Roach, Sue Ross, Evelyn Sahr. Betsi Simmons. Shelly Spiegel. Debbi Sykes, Frank Wells, Annette Wilkerson and Wendell Wood. Melanie Sill, assistant Weekender editor. John Royster, wire editor. Pam Hildebran, projects editor News: Kitty Adair, Melodce Alves. Karen Barber. Stephanie Bircher, RoAnn Bishop. Cindy Bowers. Shannon Brennan, Julie Britt, Linda Brown. Chuck Burns, Lynn Casey. Debbie DanieL Elizabeth Daniel. Kerry DcRochi, Angie Dorman, Anne-Marie Downey, John Dusenbury, Murphy Evans. Pat Flannery. Charles Herndon. Joey Holleman. Dale Jenkins. George Jeter. Sharon Kester, Joni King. Karen Komegay, Pete Kuehne, Marcia Makepeace. Susan Mauney, Annette Miller. Kathy Morrill. Jonathan Rich, Beverly Shepard. Betsi Simmons, Mary Beth Starr, David Teague, Nancy Thorne, Rand Tucker. Jeff Whisenant, Nora Wilkinson and Carolyn Worsley. Sports: Bill Fields, assistant editor; Cliff Barnes. Norman Cannada, Chip Karnes. Geoffrey Mock. Scott Peterson. David Poole. Marjo Rankin. Linda Robertson. Mark Tayloe. Scott Whisnant and Bert Woodard. Features: Gelareh Asayesh. Deborah Baker. Buddy Burniske, Shannon Burroughs. Lee Creech. Dawn Dixon. Virginia Greer. Kim Kleman, Cathy McJunkin, Lori Morrison. Ann Peters, Susan Pruett. Diane Veto. Tom Weber. Phil Wells. Elliott Warnock. Sarah West and David Wilson. Arts: Sharon Anton, John Behm. Bill Burton, Gregory Clay. Jere Link. Kathy McAdams. Rob Monath. Tom Moore, Jonathan Mudd. Bobby Parker, Dorothy Rompabke. Bob Royalty, Evelyn Sahr. Anthony Scideman, Ann Smallwood, Donna Tompkins. Jac Verstecg and Donna WhiUker. Graphic Arts: John Boone, Dan Brady. Greg Calibey. Ann Emery, Bob Fulghum, G. Douglas Gov us, Danny Harrell. Kathy Harris. Sandy Sakata. Lawrence Turner and Steve Werk. artists; Matt Cooper. Arden Dowdy, David Earnhardt. Jay Hyman. Will Owens, Randy Sharpe. and Scott Sharpe photographers. Business: Grant Duers, business manager; Linda L. Allred, secretary receptionist; Shannon Brennan. classifieds manager; Bill Price and Brooks Wicker, accountants; Jim Hummel and Karen NewelL office assistants. Advertising: Nancy McKenzie. advertising manager. Paula Brewer, advertising coordinator. Arlenc Aycock, John Bchm, Buddy Burniske. Sally liamrick. M&rk Ransom. Gena Shreve. Judy Van Beuren and Tina Ve ruble. Ombudsman's Staff: Susan Brady, Patricia Jackson. Lucy McCauley. Mary Ann Rkkcrt and Valerie Van Gordon. Composition: UNC Printing Department. Printing: Hinton Press Inc. of Mebane. 6. 1S80 latlg Oiar tin 87 th year of editorial freedom Tar Heel letters to the editor Women q To the editor: I must express my awe and disbelief at the lack of support for women's athletics at UNC, as manifested in the lack of promotion of the women's basketball games. Since November, I have made multiple attempts to obtain basic information when are the home games? I went to Carmichael Auditorium in November to pick up a schedule, only to discover (from the ticket office) that none were available. There was neither a schedule nor any information about women's basketball posted anywhere in the gym. Since then, I have telephoned several times and visited Carmichael in search of information about the women's games, but to no avail. " y Last Sunday, Jan. 27, WXYC;Uhe campus radio station, announced that the women would play Old Dominion "either tonight or tomorrow night." Old Dominion is the No. 1 women's team in the nation, and that is the promotion it gets! 1 finally called the director of women's athletics at her home Sunday afternoon to find out when this game would be played. She gave me the correct information that the game would be at neither of those times, but on Wednesday night, 1 am not faulting WXYC. 1 suspect they may have had as much difficulty getting information about the women's schedule as I have. This lack of information (it can't even be labeled "promotion"), coupled with the recent refusal of the athletic department to send the women's team to London (until the women "begged" two thirds of the money needed) are blatant statements of the University's current policy on women's athletics. Yet, the University claims to comply with Title IX, which mandates equality of educational opportunity for men and women, including, and specifically, athletics. In closing, 1 am proud to say that the Carmichael . ticket office gave me a schedule of the women's games when 1 requested it on Jan. 29, just in time to catch the last three home games of the season. Next year, I expect to see such schedules printed and distributed at practically every shop, service station, and restaurant in the area at the beginning of the season, as are the schedules for the men's games. (Why not print the women's schedule on the back of the men's?) Sandy Davis 863 Shadylawn Road Women less capable To the editor: In reference to the letter to the editor on women's basketball ("Women players don't have what it takes," DTH, Jan. 24) we would like to make the following response: Fan support for women's sports has increased in the past and will continue to do so along with the recruiting of better talent. Women's basketball has just begun to get into the flow of the men's rules. As for being boring, the State vs. Carolina women's game has one of the noisiest and most enthusiastic crowds we have seen for a bunch of supposedly bored people. In that letter, it was written as though the women players are statues and do not mix up the plays. Well, either someone hasn't been to many women's games, hasn't paid attention when they did go or simply doesn't understand the game. State has filled Reynolds Coliseum more than once for their women's basketball games. When Old Dominion played the Soviet women's squad in Virginia this season, that event attracted an overwhelmingly sized crowd. Need we keep citing examples? What fans need to realize is that women's and men's basketball are played MM A needs to be active, not reactive By J A NIS FRA NCIS The Residence Hall Association is a unifying force for the. more than 7,000 on campus students at UNC. It should be used to bring the whole campus together, through programming, policy decisions and follow-up programming. We all need to be informed on decisions made concerning us as students. We need to know about housing lotteries, fee increases, visitation policies and the Southern Bell Telephone Co. rate increase not just that they are happening, but why they are happening. For RHA to be effective, it must be able to work well with other campus organizations, like The Daily Tar Heel, Student Government, the Carolina Athletic Association and the Graduate and Professional Student Federation. These organizations are all powerful and respected on campus and should be able to work in conjunction not in competition with each other. A close link between the Department of Housing and RHA should be maintained. Both should continue being able to use each other as resource reference guides for ideas and information. Area governors and presidents should be able to be used as liaisons between the housing department, RHA and their areas and also used to keep residents informed about the housing situation, lottery procedures. athletics need better publicity from two different perspectives. Because of a woman's lower center of gravity and lessened jumping capabilities, the women's game is played below the rim while the men's game is played above it. It's a good thing that not everyone feels this way about women's physical capabilities in sports as compared to the men's. Jamee Houk Terri Wallace 248 Ehringhaus Women's Center To the editor: Contrary to your coverage of our Jan. 24 meeting, the Orange County Women's Center is alive and well. We wish to correct the inaccurate information and impressions conveyed by "Plans for center suffer," (DTH. Jan. 28). This meeting was only the second organizational meeting of the Women's Center. Earlier that evening, the current seven-member board of directors, acting upon the recommendations of the membership and board committees (which were composed of women present at the first public meeting in late N ove.V be voted ; to cfeate-v a voting membership and enlarge the board of directors to 21 members. These two actions were instituted minutes later at the general meeting. Attendance at this meeting was as high as at the November meeting; more than 35 women came to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas about the center. Their interest, energy and commitment have given impetus to an idea that soon will be a reality. The article's failure to report on this spirit of cooperati6n and interest in a common goal is regrettable. The Orange County Women's Center will house not only the Women's Health Counseling Service, the Rape Crisis Center and the Coalition for Battered Women, but also will be a focal point for meetings, programs and workshops for women living or working in Orange County. The Women's Center needs support, through participation as well as donations which are tax-deductible. We want all women to feel they belong to the women's center. They can do this by registering at A Woman's Place, 110 ? v I Janis Francis and what to do if closed out. As the situation stands now, most residents know about tripling and getting closed out, but do they all understand? I see visitation as a major concern for RHA in the coming year. I believe people in each individual building or area should be able to vote on what type visitation policies their area should have. I believe the RHA should be active, not reactive. We as campus residents need to work for the betterment of our living areas and residence-hall life as a whole. RHA is presently working for this through its involvement in the National Association of College and University Residence Halls by hosting the 1980 NACURH Conference here in Chapel Hill. Through this I hope to share ideas with people from other RH As across the United States and possibly implement some of these ideas at Carolina. Janis Francis, a junior psychology and recreation major from Rutherfordton. is a candidate for president of the Residence Hall Association in student body ebrtiorvr next rek. ' Henderson St., the Commission for Women office in Hillsborough, 131 Court St., or by sending their name, address and phone number to The Orange County Women's Center, Box 871, Chapel Hill. We also are encouraging women to consider nominating themselves or other qualified women to serve on the board of directors. There are 12 openings available. To date, we have more than 1 5 nominees, but we wish to have more. J ust send the above information plus a brief description about why you want to be on the board to the same address. Both voter registration and nominations will close on Feb. 15. Each voting member will receive a newsletter listing the nominees and inviting her to come to A Woman's Place, Feb. 26 for a pot luck dinner and a chance to talk with the nominees and cast her vote. Elaine Barney Orange County Women's Center Mistaken identity To the editor: I would like to express my gratitude to the person who wrote in support of the Olympic boycott and then signed it in myj name ("Support the boycott," DTH, Feb. 4). Whoever it was, came close to expressing my exact thoughts: "I am proud to attend a school where athletes are so respectful and supportive of our nation's leaders." However, I am not outraged by Ken Ireland's comment, nor do I call it "atrocious" because I feel everyone has the right to express his view when striving to make a point. As for being a former swimmer in the Carolina athletic program, I was privileged enough to begin the first three weeks of training with our world-class swimmers. Under the expertise of coach Frank Comfort and his staff, I received a taste of rigorous training that our athletes go through. With all their conditioning and work toward achieving the Olympic goal, I know most, if not all, would be greatly disappointed in not going to Moscow this summer. Therefore, I truly "commend the views expressed by most of the Carolina athletes and coaches in your article ("Olympic hopes dim for local athletes." DTH, Jan. 31)." As the author of "my" letter lacks the guts to even sign his own written opinion. RHA sees to interests of residents By PEGGY LEIGHT My name is Peggy Leight. and I am a candidate for Residence Hall Association president. I have decided to marshal my resources and seek this office in order to address several important issues. My first concern is to increase student awareness of RHA and its functions. RHA consists of more than 7,000 students that's everyone livingcampus. Area representatives and governors affect policy for those residents, seeing to their interests, and students need to be aware of how RHA can serve their needs in residence life. Among the issues taken up by RHA in the interest of the students have been the proposed rate increases made by Southern Bell Telephone Co. For the past two years. Southern Bell has attempted to raise telephone installation fees to $73 per . year. RHA and Student Government ' actively and successfully have fought this move. As a member of the governing board. I worked hard on this project and will continue to do so as president. Students simply cannot alford this increase, because it would have to be repaid each year, while other tovn residents pay just once. Another issue relevant to our resident is the visitation policy. I plan to publicize the proposed options and solicit residents opinions on the subject. Student input on tht top; essential. he will most certainly lack the courage to apologize to Ken and others for any misunderstanding the letter may have caused. Therefore, 1 do so for him. To the "author," 1 have nothing to say except that his joke is in extremely poor taste. Frank E. Covington 1308 Granville West Good show To the editor. Lee Greene and the cast and crew of last Saturday's performance of Down Home deserve much recognition from the black and white community on campus. Even if short of the standards of professional theater, the play brought a great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment both to the audience and to those involved in the production. The purpose of Down Home was not to create a spotless product. Rather, it was to allow all those who wanted to participate a chance to express themselves on stage. Its goal was to render enjoyment to those who put it together and to let them learn something about themselves in the process. If the audience enjoyed it, too, which it o'bvteusiy1 'did,1 so much the better. v' Greene deserves many thanks for making available the opportunity to share and to learn in a way all too uncommon on this campus. His work and energy extend outside the classroom, helping students learn in the most important of ways. Boyd Gilman 404 Hillsborough Road Carrboro Columns? The Daily Tar Heel welcomes columns and letters to the editor. For prompt publication, submissions must be typed triple spaced, typed on a 60-space line and signed. The writer's address should be included and each column should be accompanied by the writer's year, major and hometown. r ( r i r 'mm --km 4 Peggy Leight and 1 will push for an opportunity foi students to vote for their own choice. In these days of dwindling natural resources, energy conservation it an essential step at all levels of life even here at UNC. RHA is sponsoring Energy Consciousness Month to change students' attitudes about conserving. Students can help save water and electricity especially. It is my hope that RHA can help change attitudes year round and not for just one month. Input and communication are vital to any organization. I will stress open lines for the exchange of ideas and information between all student organizations. Because the RHA Governing Board is a representative assembly, it i evvental that students take their area elections seriously and use the representative and governor to make their oe heard. fegg I right, a junior zoologr major from Walker to n. u a candidate for president of the Re idem Hall Ai.iotJtitt ui student bod) tkitiont next eek.