The Tar Heel Thursday, June 9, 198817
i i
Opinion
Housing's
This is an open letter to Wayne
Kuncl, director of the Depart
ment of University Housing:
I write in response to the very
recent events concerning Teague
Dormitory. To clarify my position,
I have no desire to address that over
which I have no ultimate control.
Therefore, I do not presume to judge
which Teague residents were at fault
or what action should have been (or
should be) taken in response.
What compels me to allow myself
to be categorized as simply another
reactionary, self-serving student are
the logic and methods through which
the decision to make Teague coed
ucational was arrived at. As you so
directly stated in The Tar Heel
("Student leaders frustrated by lack
of input," May 26) I, as a student
government representative, do not
"have a role in the final decision
because (you) do not have to ask (me)
Young friendship lost
to unfriendly silence
I have a friend named Reeves. He's
going to be in the I Oth grade this
year, and he has learning disabil
ities, but I really like him.
He goes to private schools out-of-state,
but he always initiates
communication.
I met Reeves two years ago while
I was dating his sister. I'd heard all
about this "wild, uncontrollable boy,"
and his "antisocial demeanor." I was
ready.
I gripped his hand firmly, but he
didn't grip back. He looked deter
mined, but his eyes merely pleaded,
"Don't take away my sister."
I told her that I liked him, and from
then on she talked about how she was
his "protector and nurturer" even
though he was hundreds of miles
away. I asked if he had ever opened
up to her. "No," she said.
I couldn't figure out why he wasn't
at home. His disabilities were min
imal, and his demeanor was crying
out for love and attention, not
delinquent.
Besides, his mother seemed to be
the perfect authoritarian. A brilliant
businesswoman, she humbles anyone
in her way. The war between us over
her "baby girl" stands in infamy.
Reeves and Mommie Dearest were
different. She asked him to do
something, and he mimicked her in
a Donald Duck voice and laughed.
I closed my eyes and waited for the
shrapnel, but none came. I peeked
and there was mom teeth clenched,
eyes flashing, smoke wafting slowly
out of her ears, but saying nothing.
Letters policy
The Tar Heel welcomes all reader
comment. In exchange for access to
the Reader's Forum, we ask that you
follow a few simple rules:
All letters and columns must by
typed and double-spaced for ease of
editing.
All letters and columns must be
attitude leaves students out in
Robert Ferris
Guest Writer
about administrative problems." In
an institution of higher learning such
as UNC-CH, which prides itself on
its liberal arts education and its strong
tradition of a university "commun
ity," this myopic viewpoint seems
glaringly out of place.
It is ironic that such a horrific
utterance comes from one whose title
is that of director of housing and
residential education, the most basic
part of student life. Is this the type
of education that is meant to be
learned here at Carolina: to act
according to one's own beliefs and
desires regardless of those whom
one's actions would affect? Is this how
the students of this university can
Bill Hildebolt
Staff Columnist
It all fell in place. Reeves wasn't
in another state for learning prob
lems, or for delinquency. There was
only one person who couldn't control
him, and that was the person who
bought his plane tickets.
I noticed more. This kid who had
grown up alone loved his family
brutally. He was miserable and
desperately wanted to belong to the
family who took him skiing, only to
wave good-bye from the concourse.
He tried to fit in. He made childish
jokes, seemingly wanting to be so
funny that they'd keep him around
for laughs.
Finally, we got closer. Every young
boy picks someone to emulate, and
Reeves saw me as having what he
wanted. (Our friendship was viewed
with mixed emotions by the rest of
the clan.) Finally, he asked me about,
you know . . . sex.
I did my best to convince him to
hold off because that one special girl
(just look at sis and me) was worth
waiting for.
He understood, and told me that
he wished I was his brother and how
happy he was that sis and I would
always be together.
Unrealistic expectations rarely
come true, and I got left with a
shattered dream, and Reeves got left
with shattered advice.
signed by the author(s), with a limit
of two signatures per letter or column.
Students should include name,
year in school, major, phone number
and home town. Other members of
the University community should
include similar information.
The Tar Heel reserves the right
to edit for space, clarity and vulgarity.
Letters should be mailed to the
editor or placed in the drop box
outside the Tar Heel office.
expect to be treated and taught when
we will be the leaders of a country
priding itself on fairness and egalit
arianism? I hope not.
During my years at UNC, I have
been fortunate to witness and be a
part of a steady strengthening of the
relationship between the students and
both the University administration
and the town of Chapel Hill. These
strides were accomplished through
cooperation, respect and mutual
understanding.
Since your decision to change
Teague was made to send a message
about housing's desire to control
disobediance of its regulations, you
can surely understand that my writing
this is motivated by a quite analogous
situation. Student Government can
not let this self-perpetuating wedge
be driven between the administration
and the students. We must work
together for our goals, not against
"y
After sis and I broke up, his anger
only deepened her belief that I'd
purposely driven a wedge between
them.
He started writing to me with
letters full of pain he wanted to
be at home. He wrote about how
much he loved his parents and how
he missed the dog that really wasn't
his anymore.
I encouraged him to study, to earn
the right to come home. I told him
that his -parents loved him. But I was
full of pain, since writing to him
brought painful memories flooding to
each each other. Thankfully, most
other University departments actively
recruit and consider student input in
their decision-making processes, and
this is as it should be, if not to an
even greater extent.
As one who is elected to serve the
students' rights, desires and best
interests, I simply cannot let this go
unaddressed. I am reminded of the
situation last Christmas regarding the
installation of air conditioning in
some Scott Residence College dorms,
when a moratorium agreed on with
the area and dorm governments was
practicaly ignored as the decision to
install was made. I would venture to
infer that the housing department
strategically waited until summer to
publicize a decision alredy made,
when students, in their ignorance and
absence, could not mount an active,
united front to defend their personal
rights.
the surface, and it showed.
There was no way, though, that I
was ever going to let him get the
message that 1 had befriended him,
"just because of sis." I felt that the
last thing he needed was someone else
who loved him because they had to.
Then sis reappeared. "Stay away
from him. It's perverted for someone
in college to be friends with a 14-year-old.
You don't understand him, only
I do."
I couldn't deal with that kind of
hatred, so I've stayed away.
But last week someone banged on
Editor Sharon Kebschull
News Editor Julia Coon
Photography Editor David Minton
Design Editor Mandy Spence
Assistant Editor James Benton
Arts Features Editor Beth Buffington
Editorial Writer Bill Hildebolt
Staff Allison Baker, Kari Barlow, Frank Bragg, Bill Brown,
Beth Buffington, Scott Cooper, Tony Deifell, Jeff Eckard,
Shelley Erbland, Mark Evans, Nancy Fister, Robert Genadio,
Dawn Gibson, Susan Holdsclaw, Anne Isenhower, James
Mills, Michael Phillips, Angelia Poteat, Subhash Roy, Chris
Sellers, Chris Sontchi. . ,
the cold
As in the question regarding your
department's legal ability to charge
an entire hall or dorm for vandalism,
the perpetrators of which cannot be
proven, students and their elected
representatives should have an earlier
and greater voice in future decisions.
As the case often seems to be, it
is too late for this decsion to be
reconsidered. On behalf of my con
stituents, however, I ask that timely
enhancement be made in the sensi
tivity of the housing department to
the concerns of the students through
their representatives. Thank you for
your consideration.
Robert Ferris is a junior chemistry
major from Winter Park, Fla. He is
the District 14 (Scott Residence
College) Student Congress
representative.
my parents' back door. It was Reeves,
looking for me. I've heard that my
name is a non-word at his home, and
I guess if he didn't even know I was
in Chapel H '1, that proves it. Any
way, the door was locked, and I
wasn't there.
I wonder if he's gotten the message.
Bill Hildebolt is a sophomore
political science economics major
from Winston-Salem who wonders
every chance he gets.