Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 15, 1988, edition 1 / Page 8
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8The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, September 15, 1988 Sailg afar Ifeel Don't drill holes in Alaska's wild emess 9(5i rar of editorial freedom Karen Bell, News Editor MATT BlVENS, Associate Editor KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor JON K. RUST, Managing Editor Will Lingo, aty Editor Kelly Rhodes, Arts Editor CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor Jean Lutes, Editor KAARIN TlSUE, News Editor rLAJRAPEARlMAN, Associate Editor KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor SHARON KEBSCHULL, State and National Editor MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor LEIGH ANN McDONALD, Features Editor KlM DONEHOWER, Design Editor DAVID MINTON, Photography Editor It can (and did) happen here Last Saturday at about 6 p.m., a female student was assaulted in front of Manning Hall. After struggling with the attacker, the girl bit his arm and' escaped. When she went to the police to report the attack, she apparently misunderstood an officer when he told her of other incidents that occurred on campus over the summer. The woman told her friends not only about her assault, but also that police said three women had been raped on campus. The story of. the alleged crimes spread quickly through the campus grapevine, and soon fright ened women were calling campus police, University officials and even the newspaper office, trying to find out what was going on. The woman did the right thing in warning her friends of what she saw as a potentially hazardous situation. Even though the other assaults were separate occurrences, they still serve to warn women of the dangers in Chapel Hill. It's ironic that during this week of spreading rumors, the campus prob ably has been safer than usual, since women were less likely to walk alone or take unnecessary risks. Because it's often difficult to find out about the crimes that occur on campus and in Chapel Hill, women must help each other. Even if what people hear isn't true, if the story makes them conscious of a potential threat, a service has been performed. Some people treat Chapel Hill like a boarding house, but we are not one big happy Tar Heel family here. Even in Chapel Hill, there are criminals who will rape and rob. This town is not as small as people think. Consider what happened in front of Carmichael Residence Hall early Tuesday morning when two women were robbed of $160 worth of property at gunpoint. They were walking together through a lighted parking lot when a man approached them carrying a revolver. : Carmichael is right in the middle of campus. It didn't happen on the Kenan Stadium path and it didn't happen in the Arboretum it happened in the middle of campus. If the publicity about the mugging and the assault make just one female student on this campus take precau tions to avoid being a victim, then progress is being made in the fight against crime in Chapel Hill. It's just a shame that someone had to be hurt to make people aware. Laura Pearlman Day care needs growing room After World War II, many former soldiers returned to school through the GI Bill and other initiatives. Many of these veterans had families and felt a need for some sort of child care. Taking matters into their own hands, several students founded the Victory Village Day Care Center. Located in what was once a soldiers' barracks on campus, the center celebrates its 35th birthday this month. While the veterans of the GI Bill have moved on, the need for quality child care at UNC has continued to grow. But the day-care facilities haven't kept pace with the need, and Victory Village must be given space to expand. Hemmed in on all sides by parking lots and health science buildings on South Campus, the center has little room to grow. It has a waiting list of 130 families and an enrollment of 64. "Lifestyles have changed whether it's for better or worse, they've changed," said Mary Bridgers, the center's director. "Kids need a place to stay while all this is going on. Young families used to have grandma around the corner. Now they don't." The center serves students first, then faculty and staff. To continue this tradition effectively, the center must remain on campus. Many parents take comfort in working or studying so near to their children, and some take advantage of the center's proximity to visit their children during their lunch breaks.. "A lot of parents feel more com fortable if their kids are fairly close to where they work, in case something happens," Bridgers said. Even if the center could be effective elsewhere, zoning rules and the pro hibitively high cost of land in Chapel Hill stand in the way of off-campus expansion. In addition to providing a support service for the family, the center works with many of UNC's departments and schools. Students in the dental and medical schools and in the depart ments of education, psychology and public health often observe children at the center as part of their research. Day care is also an important fringe benefit for employees, and the Uni versity needs all the perks it can muster when battling for new faculty. In a survey of women faculty last year, 57 percent of the respondents rated day care as one of the three issues most important to them, and 16 percent rated it their number one concern. Campus real estate is at a premium in these days of gridlock parking and alumni centers. But with all the benefits Victory Village offers the' University community, space must be found for its expansion. Ignoring the center's request simply because space is difficult to find would be like . . . throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Matt Bivens The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Writers: Sandy Dimsdalc and Dave Hall. Assistant Editors: Jenny Cloningcr and Justin McGuire, university. Staci Cox, state and national. " Andrew Podolsky and Chris Spencer, sports. Felisa Neuringer and Clay Thorp, managing. News: Lynn Ainsworth, Kari Barlow, Jeanna Baxter, Crystal Bell, James Benton, Tammy Blackard, Brenda Campbell, Lacy Churchill, Daniel Conover, Karen Dunn, Laura Francis, Eric Gribbin, Susan Holdsclaw, Kyle Hudson, Helen Jones, Chris Landgraff, Bethany Litton, Brian McCollum, Samantha Newman, Helle Nielsen, Susan Odenkirchen, Laura Peay, Beth Rhea, Cedric Ricks, Michael Spinas and William Taggart. Peter Lineberry, wire typist. Sports: Robert D'Arruda, John Bland, Dave Glenn, Brendan Mathews, Jay Reed, Dave Surowiecki and Langston Wertz. Features: Jo Lee Credle, Hart Miles, Myrna Miller, Leigh Pressley and Ellen Thornton. Arts: Cara Bonnett, Beth Buffington, Elizabeth Ellen and Julie Olson. Photography: Brian Foley, David Foster and Belinda Morris. Copy Editors: Cara Bonnett, Yvette Cook, Julia Coon, Whitney Cork, Bert Hackney, Susan Holdsclaw, Anne Isenhower and Angelia Poteat. Cartoonists: Bill Brown, Jeff Christian, Adam Cohen, Pete Corson, Trey Entwistle, Luis Hernandez and Greg Humphreys. Business and Advertising: Kevin Schwartz, director; Patricia Glance, advertising director; Joan Worth, advertising coordinator; Chrissy Mennitt, advertising manager; Sheila Baker, business manager; Michelle Harris, Sarah Hoskins, Amy McGuirt, Maureen Mclntyre, Denise Neely, Tina Perry, Lesley Renwrick, Amanda Tilley and Joye Wiley, display advertising representatives; Leisa Hawley, creative director; Dan Raasch, marketing director; Diane Quatrecasas, sales assistant; Diane Cheek and Stephanie Chesson classified advertising representatives; and Jeff Carlson, secretary. Subscriptions: Cody McKinney, manager. . Distribution: David Econopouly, manager; Cindy Cowan, assistant. Production: Bill Leslie and Stacy Wynn, coordinators. Leslie Humphrey and Leslie Sapp, assistants. Printing: The Village Companies. clearly remember discussing the issue of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge JjLwith Mr. Higi ("Oil development aids Alaskans," Sept. 9) in the Pit dunng the past spring semester, although it's obvious we still disagree on whether or not the refuge should be opened for oil explora tion. The problem with Mr. Higi's argu ment is his undocumented information and outright misstatements on the issue. To begin with, he misconstrues the issue by stating that "scattered plants and animals inhabit thousands of square miles. The specific area of the North Slope in question is a 125-mile coastline known as the "1002 area" (pronounced ten-oh-two), not "thousands of square miles." There's no place in the Northern Hemis- phere with a comparably productive arctic area. It has been called the American, Serengeti because of the amount of biological activity which occurs there. The wildlife that migrates to or through the 1002 area includes two to three million birds (of 107 different species), grizzly and polar bears, muskox, Dall sheep, golden eagles and 180,000 porcupine caribou, who migrate to this specific region for calving. With the abundant wildlife migrating through this region, one should carefully question the track record and need of any proposal for industrial development. The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) does not have figures on the Alaskan oil industry's environmen tal record, as Higi mentions, but it is far from clean. In other parts of the North Slope, such as Prudhoe Bay, the Depart ment of Interior cites the oil industry for responsibility in more than 17,000 spills since 1973, This is an estimated 2.5 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the arctic environment. Oil and gas facilities emit Donald Whittier Guest Writer 9,000 to 27,000 tons of nitrogen oxides a year (a major component of acid rain), or roughly the amount emitted annually by Washington. D.C. . Higi should re-evaluate his data before declaring that "Oil platforms and support ing structures coexist peacefully with the sparse wildlife," unless he believes that wildlife really can "coexist peacefully" with crude oil and acid rain. There are a few other fundamental problems with Higi's assumption that oil development in this region is "good." The first is that such exploration would benefit the Alaskan economy. The reason for the faltering Alaskan oil economy is not due to a lack of oil-rich areas but to the over abundance of oil, which is responsible for its low price. The total acreage presently available to the oil industry for oil and gas development in arctic Alaska is more than 55 , million acres the 1002 area would amount to a mere three percent of that total. Exploratory work has disco vered oil reserves at Seal Island, Point Thompson, Colville and Sandpiper field. Higi implies that the Arctic Refuge is the last hope for oil on the North Slope's coastal plain. When oil prices inevitably rise these reserves will become economi cally feasible to develop. The issues of substance abuse and high suicide rates are complex ones. I would like to point out that economic develop ment has been as detrimental for native Alaskans as it has been for native Amer icans; alcoholism is the obvious negative result. Inupiat Eskimos who do support development through the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation have seen capital projects of astonishing cost built in their villages from oil . and gas tax revenues. Their communities have also suffered from other "developments" dramatic increase in alcoholism, drug abuse and mental illness during this period of accelerated cultural change. J Higi is correct in arguing that non- . Alaskans , are incapable of determining what is and is not best for this state. However? he is looking at the refuge as solely an Alaskan resource as opposed to a national resource, be it for oil or for its natural beauty. Utilizing the geothermal energy at Yellowstone National Park and damming the Grand Canyon could open two of the country's largest energy sources, but we have placed greater value on their natural character than their economic potential. To desecrate the unique wilder ness value of the Arctic Refuge for a few months of oil production would be unwise and unnecessary. The recent rollback of auto industry efficiency standards will cost the nation 400,000 barrels of oil every day, 110,000 barrels more than the refuge could ever produce daily. Plundering a national treasure for such a small gain is hot the ' way to meet America's long term energy needs. Alleviating the present energy related problems, such as the degradation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, requires a serious federal policy that will encourage research, development and implementation of energy efficiency and alternate energy sources. Donald Whittier is a junior interdisci plinary studies major from Chapel Hill. ; : ; 1 " ; " : ; ' ! : 1 Readers9 Foramni Hypocrites are everywhere To the editor: George Markham's column printed in the Sept. 12 issue of the DTH was right on the money: hypocrites are coming out of the , woodwork every where, and I cannot help but wonder from which dark cre vice he emerged. The strong emphasis on a particular statement led me to reread his unwavering position on neither supporting nor advocating censorship. How ever, the sentence immediately following this admirable decla ration proves his point at the expense of his entire argument; Markham's call that "all hypo critical editorials and commen taries should be barred from publication in the DTH" places him in the same category of the "confused and deranged" peo ple against which he speaks so vehemently. Though the irony of this self evident observation stands clear, there is more to the situation. I am prone to believe that Markham considers the UNC student body incapable of recognizing hypocrisy. There fore, he believes that students must be shielded from this personal expression lest they misinterpret it as fact. Obviously, Markham per ceives this possibility as a serious danger, and thus takes it upon himself to provide an excellent model of hypocrisy with his column. Although I find his assertions annoying, I can only chuckle at his inad vertent manner of proving a point: hypocrites are everywhere. - DENISE CHAI Sophomore Anthropology Religious Studies Professors can walk, too To the editor: We are writing in response to the Traffic and Parking Advisory Committee (TP AC) meeting of Sept. 8. We are ... AtlbVftEtf THE OKFTURE CofAES I BELIEVE I WLL BE TAKetJ AYJAV FRofA ,7fTRRIBLTrWS T-TTT3 3 representative of the type of person at this University that is being affected by the com mittee's actions, that is, resident students. The TP AC is proposing the complete elimination of sopho more and, possibly, junior parking next year. They seem to have the opinion that these added spaces will serve the faculty and staff of the Univer sity better than they could serve the students. We believe that they are wrong. The TP AC is being influ enced daily by opinions of people such as Sidney Smith (chairman of the Germanic Language Department), who" believes that, "A great leap would be made if more ade quate faculty parking is made a higher priority than students' desire to park near their dorms. Of course students would howl and rage if they are denied this parking, but it is time to get started on this change. Future students will accept it because it will be (or should be) the new status quo with the profes sors and staff, the people devoting their lives to the University and its students, finally getting a fair shake." This letter goes along with one faculty member who stated at the TPAC meeting that, "I don't think it's fair that students get to park right outside their dorm." Well sir, you seem to ask us to give up our parking so that you can park right outside your place of work, much like many of us do. But you are allowed the luxury of driving home and parking your car conveniently where you may use it if you need to do something, while you ask us to do just the opposite: to go to a bus stop, wait, ride out to a fringe lot, and then worry about returning the vehicle to its "proper" place after the errand is run. I would say if you expect us to do this, then be prepared to make the same sacrifice: leave work, drive to that fringe lot and ride the bus home. It seems to us that faculty has lost sight of the fact that this University 'was designed for students. While I agree that we will have to make sacrifices, we do not believe that we should be made to bear the entire burden. We find it unfortunate that we, the 9,000 resident students, have to remind the faculty and staff that not only is this an institution for higher learning, but .it is also our home. DAVID SMITH Junior Political Science , SCOTT BURKETT Sophomore , . Chemistry We goofed Well, here it is, the new daily feature of The Daily Tar Heel, the "We Goofed." Todays "We Goofed" can be attributed to the bizarre incidents surrounding the Rapture. "Student Congress wants you, " (DTH, Sept. 13) incorrectly reported that petitions for Student Congress candidates are due Sept. 5. That deadline would be difficult to meet, since it has already passed. The petitions are due Sept. 21. Mistakes are getting harder and harder to catch around here since our editor mysteriously, disappeared a few days ago . . . The DTH regrets the error, and earnestly hopes this daily feature will also disappear. Letters policy n Place letters in the box marked "Letters to the Editor" outside the DTH office in the Student Union. a All letters must be typed and double-spaced, for ease of editing. a The DTH reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vulgarity. Ride the bus and set a good example To the editor: I am writing in response to Mark Dendle's opinion page column on Monday, in which he called for student input on the parking problem at UNC. I have been fighting with parking troubles here for three years and have some observations and suggestions to contribute. Competition for limited parking spaces tends to break down into three conflicting ; camps students, faculty and staff. In . this struggle faculty usually comes out on top and students on the bottom, partly because of a lack of student involvement and partly because of the faculty's greater experience at fighting parking battles. Full time employees know how to pull strings to get what they want and how to push measures through committees and past bureaucrats during the summer when students are away. Students: you need to stand up for your rights. Attend the Parking Advisory Committee meetings. Write to the members, the chancellor and The Daily Tar Heel. Be heard. There is also a fundamental conflict of interest within the Department of Transportation and Parking Services. This department brings in an incredible amount of money by issuing parking tickets. For this reason there is little incentive for them to encourage or enforce compliance with the policies they have established. If everyone obeyed the parking rules, the parking "department would lose a substantial amount of money. Next time the lot for which you hold a permit is full and you are forced to park illegally, consider this and get angry. The problem here is the high demand for so few parking spaces. One way to solve that problem is to reduce the demand. An all-encompassing mass transit program needs to be implemented. When buses run often enough from all parts of town at a reasonable cost, the parking problem will disappear. We have to make it advantageous not to drive to campus every day for faculty, staff and students alike. This will save money for all individuals, for UNC and for the town of Chapel Hill in general. It will also reduce congestion on the roads and pollution in the air. Widening roads and building more parking lots (and parking decks) is counter productive. It encourages more people to drive. A solution like this will be very difficult because it will go against the immediate interests of some people, including auto manufacturers, the oil industry, road construction contractors and even local gas station owners. But it must happen: eventually there are just too many ' people here to continue as we are. Maybe '. Chapel Hill can set an example for others . and pave the way for the rest of the country. Maybe not. GEOFF CUNFER 'Senior; History: t
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 15, 1988, edition 1
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