North Carolina Newspapers

1 yilil 10The Daily Tar Heel Friday, February 12, 1988 I pll-H, in,, . pnnil ymiyp piTyj mi y. I y y ylr!,! i.lip.. iatly alar Bil 95i f ar of editorial freedom JILL GERBER, Editor Amy Hamilton, Managing Editor Sally Pearsall, nx Eitfor KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor SHARON KEBSCHULL, State and National Editor Leigh ann Mcdonald, aty Editor MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor FELISA NEURINGER, Business Editor HANNAH DRUM, Features Editor Elizabeth Ellen, Arts Editor Charlotte Cannon, Photography Editor CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor Cobb for RHA president The housing department has the potential to squash student concerns more frequently, more whimsically and more permanently than any other University department. And some of the campus's hottest topics are housing-related: race relations, gua ranteed sophomore housing, dorm air conditioning and renovations and the special concerns of South Campus residents, to name a few. Protecting these student concerns is the raison d'etre of the Residence Hall Association. The RHA president must be prepared to guard students from the occasionally uninformed policies of the housing department and to present Wayne Kuncl, director of housing, with the student view. Of three capable candidates for RHA president, Barry Cobb is the most impressive. His experience with housing is extensive: executive assist ant governor and governor of Hinton James Residence Hall; and delegate to the South Atlantic Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls. He has also worked on the guaranteed sophomore housing committee and on the Faculty Fellows committee. Cobb is familiar with the workings of RHA and the housing department. He is realistic about the office's severe limitations its recommendations are often ignored yet he is optimistic and willing to work for students. His plan to add cultural events to dorm programming, such as perfor mances by the Lab Theatre and the Black Student Movement's perform ing groups, is truly refreshing. Such shows could complement UNC's free thinking liberal education, and, more importantly, would be fun for resi dents. Pimp and prostitute mixers or Hawaiian-theme parties only go so far. Despite his strengths, Cobb could still benefit from listening to rival Paula Zellmer's call for more student involvement in RHA. As she has noted, most dormitory and hall representatives aren't even aware they're part of RHA. As RHA president, Cobb could draw upon his experience to effectively champion student causes. A myriad of housing issues will be dealt with in the coming months: Students need a representative who can work with housing before policies are set in stone, not after. Tepper, Adams for senior class Predictably, candidates for senior class president and vice president have called vaguely for more unity and communication among the class. But Steve Tepper and Dave Adams talk specifics. Although some of their suggestions are questionable, most show more planning and research than -tthose of the other candidates. : By focusing most of their efforts on a simple, basic goal making it easier : for seniors to find jobs Tepper and Adams improve their chances of success. Z A directory of UNC alumni would provide seniors with contacts in the business world, and workshops would aid seniors in resume writing and job interviewing. Tepper and Adams hope I to follow the lead of this year's officers, Anne Davidson and Dave Brown, who have worked closely with University 5; Career Planning and Placement. 5 This singularity of purpose is a definite plus. Because they won't get bogged down in committees and hokey social programs, Tepper and Adams l increase their chances of succeeding in their endeavors. l But they also have a few question- able ideas. A 24-hour senior hotline would provide information on career opportunities and social events. The senior newsletter would remain the same, but if anything, it should be improved it's the only tie many seniors have as a class. Tepper and Adams also want to institute theme-oriented senior semin ars, small classes on interesting sub jects. While implementing such a program would be beyond their reach, their ingenuity and creativity should be commended. If elected, Tepper and Adams could borrow from their rivals: an awards banquet at graduation, greater recog nition of December graduates and a graduate school fair (like the career fair) are all worthy aims. One social event Tepper and Adams should concentrate on is a bicentennial celebration. The class of 1989 will be the 200th to graduate from UNC. Sadly, few of the candidates have acknowledged this circumstance. While all the candidates display energy and enthusiasm, Tepper and Adams stand out for their focused efforts and careful research. With a clear vision of what they want to do, they're more likely to accomplish their goals. For this reason, they deserve the consideration of the rising senior class on Feb. 16. iGeer for CAA president i r. When Carol Geer was elected from a field of qualified candidates last year, she promised to improve the awkward ticket distribution system, to put out a booklet on UNC athletics for freshmen and to channel students' partying energy into support for UNC sports. As president of the Carolina Athletic Association, Geer has come Qirough. Her enthusiasm shows in her work. Building on the ideas of Mark Pavao, her predecessor, she made Homecoming more of a campus event through huge balloon chains in the Pit, a float parade and a band party after the game. She founded Carolina Fever, which has increased fan excite ment and support at football and basketball games. And the new ticket system has kept grumbling to a minimum, which is probably the best that can be done. Building on these programs, Geer has promised to step up the Fever's participation in non-revenue sports and to expand Homecoming celebra tions including holding an all-night band party the night before the game. She has proposed more pre-game pep rallies, and says she will investigate building additional weight rooms and exercise facilities, to supplement ailing Fetzer Gym. Judging by her past, Geer can be counted on to follow through with these promises. Although running unopposed, her campaign shows careful thought and research. Not content to simply rest on her achieve ments, Geer has approached the issues as if she were the underdog in a field of candidates. Geer should win not because she's the only person running, but because she's well-qualified for the job. The experience and continuity she will bring to the office can only be an asset. Endorsement policy The Daily Tar Heel endorsements, which reflect the majority opinion of all editors and editorial writers, are based on candidate interviews conducted Feb. 5. Elections Foramm ;RHA platforms presented. For diversity, revive programming board ITTaving been involved in dorm government since my freshman .11. year as an executive assistant, floor senator, area governor, delegate to the South Atlantic Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls and member of the Residence Hall Association Govern ing Board, I have learned a great deal about how RHA has worked in the past and developed many ideas about how it can work in the future. During my time in dorm government, RHA has come a long way toward becoming a significant voice for the residents in campus housing issues. In focusing on this representative function, however, we have begun to lose sight of another important function of dorm government: providing a broad variety of quality programming for the residents. To address this issue, I propose the revival and reorganization of the RHA Programming Board. This board was eliminated several years ago because it was trying to put on all-campus events, when RHA has traditionally had much stronger programming at the dorm and area level. The revived board, which would be composed of the Social and Academic Lieutenant Governors from each area, would serve as a support system for the dorm and area governments. Barry Cobb The programming board's role would encompass two aspects. First, it would set a broad campus-wide agenda of important issues that need to be addressed in programming. There are many such issues, including the effects of the change in the drinking age on social programming, the lack of programming directed toward minority students and how to best imple ment the Faculty Fellows programs. Second, the board would gather and disseminate information about opportun ities for original programming not being taken advantage of, such as the use of the Black Student Movement performing groups and the many groups and organ izations housed in the Student Union. The board members could share their experien ces about what does and does not work, helping events run more smoothly for everyone. There are still many representation issues to be faced by RHA, and we are in a unique position to confront them. At their most basic level, dorm governments have the smallest constituencies of any group on campus. This means that if we take advantage of the network of area governors, dorm and floor presidents, floor senators and hall representatives already in place, we can gather the best possible information about the wants and needs of the on-campus students. Such information is important for representing resident concerns to the housing department, and can be helpful to other Student Govern ment organizations as well. As RHA president, I would work to bring these ideas up from the hall representative or floor senator all the way to the Governing Board so that we would be better representing those concerns. With my experience at every level of dorm government, I could bring a great deal to the office of RHA president. I realize what RHA has needed in the past and what it needs for the future. With proper direction, RHA could be the most effective governing body at UNC, but it will take strong leadership to give that direction. I believe I can provide that leadership. Barry Cobb is a political science and administration of justice major from Merry Hill. Give residents greater say in housing issues As a candidate for president of the Residence Hall Association, my chief concern is bringing the residents back into the Residence Hall Association. I am troubled by the grave lack of communication between the RHA Governing Board and the individual residents that it claims to represent. After three years of active service on the Avery House Council, as a floor senator, vice, president and president, I am very much in touch with what we, the residents, want and need, both from dorm government (RHA) and the Department of University Housing. In order to ensure that these needs are met, RHA must become stronger at its most fundamental and potentially effective level the individual residence halls. I intend to establish a group similar to the Council of Dorm Presidents estab lished two years ago by Ray Jones. This council would bring together the dorm presidents (or their equivalents) from the entire campus on a biweekly basis in an attempt not only to bridge the commun ication gap between the upper levels of the existing RHA hierarchy and their individ- jimmy Randolph ual constituents, but also to evaluate the structure and effectiveness of the govern ment within each residence hall. I also intend to revamp the program ming board, which has been allowed to lapse into disuse in the last few years. By drawing not only upon the ideas and successes of Social Lieutenant Governors from each area, but the Academic Lieu tenant Governors as well, we can provide the kind of well-rounded, quality program ming that we, the residents, take interest in and will attend. Through this sort of successful programming we can send a message to the housing department that we would prefer our rent dollar to be spent to maintain and improve the physical environment in which we live, rather than on the funding of a student development plan composed of the kind of programs in which we have little interest or input. I do not want to conflict with residence assistants and their programming respon sibilities. Instead, I want to cooperate with them in the planning and preparation of programming that the residents want and care about. If RHA can prove itself by meeting the everyday needs and concerns of the residents, it can then gain the broad base of input and support that is necessary to deal effectively with such campus-wide concerns as the site of the proposed Alumni Center, a fair and just method for dealing with vandalism and discipline problems within the residence halls, the ongoing renovations on North Campus and the problems of uniting North Campus and South Campus. By concentrating on strengthening the individual dorm governments, providing more effective programming and improv ing the communication between RHA and the housing department, a Jimmy Randolph-led RHA will strive to meet the everyday needs of each resident while maintaining its role as an advocate for residents' concerns campuswide. Jimmy Randolph is a junior political science major from Johnsonville. Increase communication on every level As president of the Residence Hall Association, I would make two issues my top priority. I would work to ensure student input on building improvements. With the number of pro jects being undertaken by the Department of University Housing, such as air con ditioning renovations, chilled water lines and parking policies, it's imperative that student concerns be heard. If mistakes in changes such as these are made now, in the future our problems will only multiply. Increasing student interaction between area governments would be my second goal as RHA president. By bringing together all elected RHA representatives at the beginning of each semester, from area governors down to individual floor hall representatives, we would accomplish several things: Establish contacts in all residence halls in a single day. At the beginning of each year dorm programming has a slow start because of the time it takes for each president to meet the presidents in his area, let alone meet the presidents in other areas. By bringing everyone together, as well as Paula Zellmer adding extensive phone lists to the dorm government manual, we'd cut this time lag down dramatically. Encourage the exchange of sficcessful programming ideas, and allow the RHA Governing Board to present other organ izations, such as the Carolina Union Activities Board, the Lab Theatre, the Black Student Movement performing groups and the faculty as potential sources of new programming. B Increase student awareness of what RHA is, who is in it, and what it can do for each student living on campus. Many students don't realize they are a part of RHA and as such remain uninvolved. When elected president of a dorm, you are handed a dorm government manual and told to go to it. By getting everyone together at one time we could explain where they stand in the government hierarchy and who to go to in times of trouble; also, we could bring them up to date on housing issues, and, as a result, generate excitement within the whole organization. B Unify students into an effective force for dealing with on-campus housing issues. In addition to the two aforementioned issues, as RHA president I would be addressing the results of the Student Needs Assessment conducted by RHA last year. The results of the survey said students wanted permanent summer storage facil ities, cable television and short-term, as well as long-term, improvements in residence halls (i.e., painting and carpeting suites and hallways). Working in the RHA office as an executive assistant has taught me how to identify the issues affecting on-campus residents and how to implement effective and practical solutions to these problems. Vote for experienced dorm government on Feb. 16. Paula Zellmer is a junior business major from Winston-Salem. CAA platform presented. Continue innovation, interest in athletics The role of the Carolina Athletic Association president is to represent the students on athletic issues. Areas of concern include varsity sports, intra murals and club sports. Careful attention must also be paid to the recreational facilities and opportunities available here. I have found, over the past year, the CAA president has three major responsibilities: First, the CAA president must ensure that students are aware of the athletic opportunities available to them. In the past year, we published the first edition of "UNC Sports Outlook," which outlines the University's athletic resources. The CAA is also responsible for the new Non-revenue Sports Board, a glass case mounted on the wall outside Lenoir Hall. It will be used to publicize the times and locations of non revenue sporting events. Our publicity committee has also expanded, bringing students thousands of fliers on CAA sponsored events, large, colorful posters for Homecoming, individual Homecoming invitations for all students living on campus and banners in the Pit encouraging participation and spirit at revenue and non revenue sports. Carol Geer Second, it is my responsibility to represent and protect the student body, through opposition to policies and changes that could affect students' athletic oppor tunities negaHively, and support the instigation of changes necessary to meet student needs. With . University and community growth, the protection of student resources is a large concern. Last spring and fall it was necessary to protect the tennis courts behind Hinton James Residence Hall. The tennis courts might again be in need of defense this semester; it will be my responsibility to resist the loss of these courts. Finally, I feel that I not only must maintain the organization, but I must also initiate new and innovative programming to reach a diverse range of students. This year the CAA started a new group, the Carolina Fever, to try to battle the long standing problem of poor school spirit. Although the group is not perfect, it has, after less than a year, over 350 working members who construct balloon arches and put out pompons at football games, hold pep rallies and travel to ACC soccer tournaments. We also have added new events during basketball season, such as the dunk contest at halftime during the N.C. State game. We expanded our programming during Homecoming as well. By adding the Black Greek Council step show, more Pit activities, an all-campus band party on Ehringhaus Field and a pep rally the morning of the game, I feel we reached the student body. Students finally realized that, yes, Oct. 6 was Homecoming. The CAA has been very productive this year. I have enjoyed the job, but I still see many more things that need to be done. The Carolina Fever must be strengthened and solidified as a UNC entity, Homecom ing must be brought still one level higher and improvements must be made on the weight facilities. My experience working with the administration and the organiza tion, combined with an easy transition within the CAA, will allow us to continue to be progressive, innovative and make the improvements we have planned. Carol Geer is a junior psychology major from New York.