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8The Daily Tar Heel Tuesday, October 6, 1987
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Buy now, or pay more later
Students can
vote today in a
referendum that is
one of the most
important of any
board
opinion
in recent memory.
The University registrar's office has
had no luck so far funding a telephonic
registration system. Now the office has
turned to students in a last-ditch effort
to find the money.
A vote in favor of the referendum
will raise Student Activity Fees by $5.
But the increase will pay for a system
that could resolve many of students'
long-held grievances with the present
drop-add process, while adding other
valuable services.
The advantages of telephonic reg
istration are numerous:
a Students will know immediately
if they are registered for a class.
n Students can call toll-free from
home using an "800" number.
b It will save the time of physically
going to drop-add and eliminate
parking and traffic problems.
b If other University departments
are interested, the system could allow
students to pay bills, make reserva
tions for special events and receive
administrative and academic
information.
a The system is so secure that the
Put that pistol
With Florida's recent law allowing
just about anybody to carry a con
cealed weapon, state gun fanciers can
brandish their steel-gray revolvers with
renewed zeal.
The law, which took effect Thurs
day, calls for a statewide system for
concealed weapons permits. Although
it originally contained a provision
allowing people to carry weapons
openly, public outrage forced legisla
tors to put that part of the bill on hold.
The threat to public safety is
staggering. Literally, any Floridian of
age who is not a convicted felon or
incapacitated can apply for a permit.
Officials expect 60,000 people to be
licensed eventually. Many of the
applicants so far have been from Dade
County, where crime-ridden Miami is
located.
Predictably, the three million
member National Rifle Association
was the force behind the bill, the latest
legislative victory in the organization's
116-year history.
Last year, the House voted over
whelmingly in favor of allowing
interstate mail-order sales of rifles,
shotguns and handgun ammunition.
rnonsequitur
Keeping court with the King
"The B.K. Lounge." We all know it and
love it.
Burger King is one of the fastest growing
boxed-food restaurants in the nation,
according to polls by some guy who asked
all of his friends where they like to eat.
But despite Burger King's vaunted
success, there are things about it that you
have to laugh at.
For example:
"Uh, 111 have a large fries, Whopper with
cheese, and a large Coke."
And the cashier asks,"Pepsi OK?"
It's not even a complete sentence any
more. "Will Pepsi be OK? We dont carry
Coke," has been replaced by "Pepsi OK?"
Even if you don't understand them, they
don't explain. They refuse to break down
and say the whole sentence, but just repeat
themselves and wait for your slow sorry
brain to catch up. "Pespi OK?"
"Excuse me?"
"Pepsi OK?"
"Huh?"
"Pepsi OK?"
If this gets your toes up, you should
probably order a Mountain Dew in the
future.
Of course, there's another obvious
response. The next time you are asked,
"Pepsi OK?" try yelling something like this:
JlLLGERBER, Etoor
DEIRDRE FALLON, Afofwgmg Editor
Sally Pearsall, nx aor
JEAN LUTES, University Editor
DONNA LEINWAND, State and National Editor
JEANNIE FARIS, City Editor
JAMES SUROWIECKI, Sports Editor
FELISA NEURINGER, Business Editor
JULIE BRASWELL, Features Editor
Elizabeth Ellen, Arts Editor
Charlotte Cannon, Photography Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
IRS uses a similar one for access to
its records.
a A student having trouble with the
system can dial for help.
It sounds like a student's dream, but
it won't become a reality unless
students get out and vote for it.
If less than 10 percent of the student
body votes, the referendum will fail,
even if a majority of those who vote
are in favor.
Not only would the referendum's
failure indefinitely delay improve
ments to drop-add, the price held
at a bargain level by the system's
supplier for 18 months could as
much as double. And the higher cost
could eventually be passed on to
students.
Such a significant improvement in
the quality of student life should have
been funded by the N.C. General
Assembly. When the state refused,
UNC General Administration should
have agreed to levy a registration fee.
Since the University chose to pass
the cost on to students, it was respon
sible for publicizing the referendum.
But the registrar's office did a poor
job of getting the word out.
Now it is up to students to dem
onstrate their dissatisfaction with the
inefficiency of drop-add by approving
the funding for telephonic registration.
down
Even when such sales were illegal, the
NRA ensured that its members got
around the law under the guise of being
gun collectors.
Although Congress has been
responsible for yielding to NRA
pressure, the Supreme Court set the
precedent for the Florida law. In 1983,
the court refused to review a Morton
Grove, 111., ordinance banning the sale
and possession of handguns. By
leaving the issue to the states, the court
contributed to the nation's patchwork
quilt of gun control laws.
Ironically, NRA member President
Reagan was a victim of this inconsis
tency. In 1981, he was shot by John
Hinckley in Washington, D.C., which
has strict gun control laws. Hinckley
bought the two pistols he used in
Dallas, which had weak gun control
measures.
Each year, thousands of deaths
result from handguns. The violence
will continue as long as legislators
sucumb to pressure from the militant
NRA. Florida officials should rescind
the law that casts a shadow over the
Sunshine State. Jill Gerber
"Pepsi? What, you don't have Coke?
Well, just forget it! Cancel my order. Who
ever heard of a restaurant without Coke?
It's un-American! You bunch of Commie
pinko liberals, this place is a joke, a farce
While the poor crew member is cowering
behind the counter, you can storm out of
the restaurant feeling good about yourself.
And if the whole Pepsi-Coke scene
doesn't make you want to scream, what
about Burger King advertising campaigns?
Remember when the Burger King was
actually a little man in a red robe, and kids
could get paper crowns to wear on their
birthdays?
Remember, "Hold the pickles hold the
lettuce, special orders don't upset us, all we
ask is let us, serve it your way!"
And what about Herb? Talk about a sad
waste of money on advertising. Whatever
happened to him anyway? No doubt the
B.K. executives were so embarrassed, they
just decided to let him die away quietly.
If Herb's claim to fame was that he had
never tried a Whopper, then why hire the
guy to work for "the Home of the
Whopper?" Didn't he get free food like the
rest of the crew members, and if he did,
dont you think he would have tried a
Whopper by now?
A Ibold soMtioe to Vilaras seelim
dward Rondthaler graduated from
the University of North Carolina at
-a time when students still received
report cards and the Old Well was known
simply as The Well. He is the author of
several books, including "Life with Let
ters," a personal history of typography. In
the early 1930s he did pioneering work as
an engineer which led to the invention of
the Rutherford Phototypesetter, the first
machine to use photographic negatives to
set type.
More recently Rondthaler, 82, has been
a passionate advocate for a reformed
"American" spelling system. The following
interview was transcribed by Rondthaler's
American spelling computer program into
his proposed orthography:
Q: U sae th iedeea of a nue "American"
speling isn't hoely yuurz. Tel me about th
historical development of th moovemnt.
A: Ben Franklin was aul for speling
reform. Mark Twain. Theodore Roosevelt.
Eeven Noah Webster. U didn' no they wer
speling reformerz? Shuur. But thae gaev
it up becauz in thair dae it ment that adults
had to go bak to skool and lurn a nue
wae to riet. And of cors, no wun hoo has
lurnd to spel th hard wae wonts to chaenj.
That's OK. Oenly thoez hoo ar having trubl
or prefur to uez a simpler speling wil do
so. U, of cors, wil be perfectly aebl to reed
whut thae riet. Ul fiend it a litl aukward
for th furst qorter of an our. After that
Ul be aebl to reed it prity wel. After a
week Ul reed it verry wel.-,
Th thing that Franklin didn't hav, nor
Theodore Roosevelt, nor Mark Twain, was
a compueter to do th translaeting when
and whair it's wonted. Todae our printed
mater sum of it or aul of it cuud
be set automaticaly in a reguelariezd,
simplified speling just bi reproegraming
our tiepseting masheenz and without re-
Get some sleep,
sorority girls
To the editor:
"Oh, gee," I repeat to myself,
in utter disgust for the third
time. It is now 1:52 a.m., and
I am being kept awake by
outbursts of laughter and
chanting. This is not the first
time, but a continuation of
something that has been going
on for four weeks now: sorority
rush.
I am very happy for all the
girls who were accepted into
sororities. I am pleased that
you have made new friends.
However, you need to be aware
that you are also making ene
mies. Your nightly noise is
getting ridiculous. It was tol
erable for a few weeks only
because other people were
sympathetic to your cause. Our
kindness was not an invitation
to continue with your chants
and other midnight games. It
is time that you utilize your
houses. Make noise where you
pay rent.
You need to put yourselves
in the shoes of people who may
be studying for mid-terms, or
who want to hear their televi
sions and radios, or who may
simply may want a decent
night's sleep!
I find your behavior very
uncouth for young ladies, and
I am also beginning to wonder
about your maturity. Redeem
yourselves by showing some
respect to the people who have
shown it to you.
LATONYA BROOME
Junior
Political Science
Speech Communcatiohs
Make your
vote count
To the editor:
Today, the Elections Board
will conduct an election to fill
12 vacant seats in the 29
member Student Congress and
to decide the future of the
registration process at UNC.
Currently, three-quarters of
offcampus students are unre
in
University offers help for drug problems
To the editor:
As chancellor of the University, I have
an especial interest in the well-being,
development, future success and happiness
of our students. I want all of you to find
fulfillment and joy in life, and I am hopeful
that the University plays a significantly
positive role in making that possible.
As you know, the tradition of this
institution is that students are privileged
to have an extraordinary amount of
freedom and responsibility. Students here
are free to choose with whom they will
associate, how they will spend their time,
what they will consume, and, in essence,
how they will live. It is ironic that one
of the foremost freedom-depriving influ
ences in our society today is alcohol and
drug addiction. Becoming dependent on
those substances sacrifices one's personal
freedom as surely as a jail cell.
' -
I write to express the fervent hope that
you will not let that happen to you. Our
Sean Rowe
Staff Columnist
traening eny keebord operaetor.
Q: Tel me about yuur American speling
proegram for compueterz.
A: We'r stil refiening it. But whut it
amounts to is this: U can tiep in tradishunal
English on th keebord and it cumz out
American.
Q: In yuur July 13 esae in U.S. News
& World Report U taukt about yuur feer
that in th fuecher thair wil be an eleet groop
of literets hoo wil controel guvernment,
biznes, comuenicaeshunz, etc. Do U wont
jurnalists hoo wurk in th print meedia to
adopt yuur American orthografy?
A: I don't no. I'm not redy to sae that.
It wuud be catastrofic if aul of a suden
U chaenjd th Daily Tar Heel to American
speling. No, I think whut wil hapen is
diferent. Thingz liek IBM's nue "Writing
to Read" proegram teechez yungsterz in
kindergarten to riet foneticaly. Then th
teecherz sloely swich them into tradishunal
speling. But eeven when th children swich
to tradishunal rieting they wil hav had a
guud foundaeshun in foenetic speling and
can see th foolishnes of th tradishunal wae.
Q: In liet of th fact that th metric sistem ,
has bin this cuntry'z ofishal sistem of
mezherment for a hundred yeerz and reealy
hasn't caut on, how wil U instituet an
American orthografy? How wil it be
establisht?
A: Thair is no compatibility between
metric and our sistem of mezherment, but
thair is graet compatibility between English
and American speling. Automatic com
pueter translaeshun is a big part of th anser.
Teeching children fonetics is anuther part.
presented in Student Congress.
Each off-campus undergradu
ate can vote for at least one
representative, since no off
campus district is adequately
represented.
About five out of nine grad
uate students are unrepresented
as well. For graduates who are
unsure whether they are repres
ented, the poll tenders will be
glad to help. The residents of
Ehringhaus Residence Hall are
also unrepresented in
Congress.
While the majority of on
campus students are repres
ented in Student Congress,
there is one issue on the ballot
that affects us all. The issue is
telephonic registration.
The registrar's office has
proposed replacing the current
drop-add system with one
conducted almost entirely over
a touchtone phone. This would
radically alter the current sys
tem in several ways: when
registering, students would
know immediately, via the
phone, if they had been admit
ted to the course; the drop-add
process would be conducted
entirely over any touchtone
phone rather than in
Woollen Gym at the Universi
ty's convenience; and students
could reduce the chance that
their registration is delayed by
a parking ticket.
Of course, it is not without
cost. If the students vote to
implement the system, Student
Activity Fees would increase by
$5 a semester, beginning in fall
of 1989. The system would
become operational shortly
thereafter. Other sources of
funding were sought by the
registrar's office without suc
cess. While this fee increase
could be requested again at
some later time, the cost of the
system, which has remained
fixed for over a year, would
increase dramatically.
Student Congress has stu
died this issue and elected to
pass it on to the voters. We,
as representatives, endorse this
system without reservation and
ask that you vote yes.
Under Student Government
laws governing elections, 10
percent of the student body
must vote in favor of a refer
endum for it to pass. For this
reason, it is imperative that all
students vote in the election.
There are 18 polling sites,
and all students can vote in the
Union, Davis Library, the
Campus Y, Chase Hall and
Lenoir Hall. A student I.D. is
all that is needed to vote. Please
society has become increasingly concerned
about the problems associated with
substance abuse. You are aware of efforts
by federal and state governments, private
organizations such as MADD (Mothers
Against Drunk Driving) and SADD
(Students Against Drunk Driving). You
may also know that much research is being
done on this campus with respect to the
fetal alcohol syndrome and other aspects
of the problem.
Let me suggest how I hope you will
exercise your freedom and responsibility
with regard to this matter. First, I ask you
to avoid completely the use of cocaine or
other illicit and dangerous drugs. Second,
I ask you to exercise good judgment if you
choose to use certain legal drugs, such as
alcohol. You should be aware that the
minimum age in which a person may
legally consume alcohol in North Carolina
is 21.
Individuals who choose to violate that
law are subject to fines, criminal penalties
If we can get wun of th dicshunerryz to
replaes thair pronunsyaeshun noetaeshun
with American spelingz, that wil help stil
mor. I don't no how Ul fienaly do it. That's
yuur jeneraeshun's job (lafs).
U see, th oenly peepl hoo can ever bring
this thing about ar th edjucaeted peepl,
and thae'r th wunz hoo ar leest interested
in it. TV gets throo to peepl hoo ar not
literet. It gets sum of them into th remeedial
clasez such as Laubach, Literacy Volun
teers and aul th rest of them. Th teecherz
of iliterets swet it out trieing to teech our
craezy, ilojical speling. But thae'r loozing
ground aul th tiem. Just a fue yeerz ago
thair wer oenly 23 millyon iliterets. Now
it's 27 millyon. Aul th remeedial proegramz
in th cuntry arn't begining to turn out
literets that fast. Eeven if thae wer, whut
we need is to cuer th problem at its root,
not just pach it up. We must giv peepl
th saem braek that uther langgwejez do.
In evry uther langgwej eeven in French
wuns U lurn th coed th speling is lojical:
"eaux" is alwaez "oe" in French. It's never
enything els. English is dredfuly iireguelar.
We spel our 42 soundz in oever 400 diferent
waez! That's whi we'r in 40th plaes, th
loeest in literasy of aul industrial naeshunz! '
Q: U atribuet that directly to th
orthografic dificultyz of English?
A: I do, yes. That's not th oenly reezon.
But it's th cheef wun. It's at th root of
it aul. Thair ar uther thingz of cors, liek
poverty. Perhaps U liv in Harlem and hav
pairents hoo can't reed and riet, so th
children can't reed and riet. But ask
yuurself whi th pairents cant reed and riet.
Craezy, ilojical, 18th senchery English
speling. That's th vilan.
Sean Rowe is a senior journalism major
from Douglas, Ga.
take the time and make the
effort.
NEIL RIEMANN
Junior
Political Science Math
STUART HATHAWAY
Sophomore
Political Science
Letters policy
The Daily Tar Heel
welcomes reader comments,
ideas and criticisms. We ask
only that you follow a few
simple guidelines in
exchange for access to this
unique public forum:
n When submitting
letters or columns, students
should include the
following: name, year in
school, major, phone
number and the date
submitted. Other members
of the University
community should give
similar information.
a The DTH reserves the
right to edit for clarity,
vulgarity, disparity and
verbosity.
and possible loss of driving privileges. But
far more than just observing the law, as
important as that is, the use of alcohol
involves serious health risks, especially the
risk of dependence on alcohol, a form of
addiction and slavery.
I am very glad that you have chosen
to be a student at this University. I think
it is an outstanding institution with a
multitude of opportunities for you to grow
as a person and to learn to enjoy life in
a healthful and satisfying way.
Should you ever need information or
assistance in dealing with a drug problem,
please seek it from residence hall staff
members, faculty advisers, Student Health
Service and the Office of Student Affairs.
We are all interested in you, and wish you
every good fortune in your lives.
CHRISTOPHER
FORDHAM
Chancellor
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