12 The Daily Tar Heel Monday, November 14,
r latlg
96th year of editorial freedom
Karen Bell, News Editor
MATT BlVENS, Associate Editor
KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor
JON K. RUST, Managing Editor
Will Lingo, cuy Editor
Kelly Rhodes, Am Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
SHELLEY ERBLAND, Design Editor
At the top of academic affairs
The University has finally made it
official. Dennis O'Connor is no longer
the acting provost; he's the real thing.
The Board of Governors approved
Chancellor Paul Hardin's appoint
ment of O'Connor as provost at its
regular meeting Friday. Before July,
O'Connor had served as vice chancel
lor of research and dean of the
Graduate School.
The appointment was no surprise.
O'Connor has been filling the post
since July, when former provost
Samuel Williamson left to become
president of the University of the
South in Sewanee, Tenn.
The appointment should be of great
interest to students, because the office
of the provost is ultimately responsible
for the quality of education within the
University's Division of Academic
Affairs. Students are greatly affected
by the provost's actions. The title
sounds important enough, but it's hard
to appreciate the scope of the provost's
administrative powers. The position,
created in the mid-1960s as a replace
ment for the Dean of Faculty, brings
together the concerns and conflicts of
all aspects of the academic affairs,
from allocating funds to overseeing the
hiring process for faculty. The provost
controls the mechanism for gaining
recognition for new programs,
expanding old programs and meeting
the demands of current ones.
As the University will never have
enough resources to give all programs
all the funds they deserve, the provost
Vets deserve more than a day
Veterans Day came and went Friday
with little fanfare. A brief ceremony
took place on campus in front of what
at best could be called a sparse crowd.
The traditional Veterans Day parade
in New York City drew fewer spec
tators than its 500 participants. These
incidents demonstrate an attitude that
is evident across the nation Amer
icans seem to be trying to forget the
wars of the past and turning their
attention elsewhere.
It can be argued that this attitude
is not such a bad thing. America, which
has avoided military involvement in
a significant conflict for nearly 15
years, appears to have realized that
limited warfare is ineffective, and that
war in contemporary superpower
relations is an inconceivable option.
Economic might is rapidly replacing
military force as the most effective tool
of influence in the world; perhaps
people are simply responding to this
development.
But America's apparent lack of
concern for her veterans is particularly
troubling. The psychological effects of
past wars are still evident in society
today. The best example is the state
of the Vietnam veteran.
Some Vietnam veterans and their
In February 1987, an irate student fired
off a letter to the editor, in which he labeled
the DTH staff a "communist-sympathizing,
leftist-Marxist, neo-hippie, limp-wristed,
terrorist-supporting horde of pseudo
journalists.' Some would say we proved ourselves just
that with our editorial coverage of the recent
elections. After all, we endorsed a straight
Democratic ticket (it was a nice gesture,
for all the good it did) and we definitely
ran more opinion pieces supporting Duka
kis than Bush.
But things are not always as they seem.
Our endorsements did lean to the left, but
our editorial board voted only 4-3 to
endorse Michael Dukakis and 4-3 to
reluctantly endorse Bob Jordan. That
makes us the most conservative DTH edit
board in quite a while.
Those who charge that we ran more pro
Dukakis letters than pro-Bush are abso
lutely right. We did. But what our readers
couldn't realize is that we ran almost every
pro-Bush (or anti-Dukakis) letter we
received. Unfortunately, we received about
10 Dukakis endorsements for every one
Bush endorsement. In fact, we had so few
Republican pieces for the Monday before
the election that we found ourselves holding
the entire page so Bill Taylor, president of
the College Republicans, could offer his
Bush endorsTt. We even called him
1988
ffiar Intel
Jean Lutes, Editor
KAARIN TlSUE, News Editor
LAURA PEARLMAN, Associate Editor
KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor
SHARON KEBSCHULL, State and National Editor
MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor
LEIGH ANN McDONALD, Features Editor
DAVID MlNTON, Photography Editor
Kelly Thompson, Design Editor
faces many difficult choices. And
O'Connor's decisions set the tone for
the success or failure of UNC's
academic endeavors.
Students should be encouraged by
this appointment. In his short time at
the University, O'Connor has demon
strated an ability to relate to students.
His goal of unifying the campus proves
that he understands the need for
improving communication within the
University bureaucracy, and his inter
est in implementing research and
computing services to link UNC's
schools and departments is commen
dable. He also recognizes the need to
improve faculty salaries and benefits
and to actively recruit more minority
faculty.
O'Connor's task is not an easy one.
The ominous words of the 1988
management audit, which concluded
that the University is falling behind
while coasting on its former glory, still
echo in many minds. Wooing top
flight academicians from other col
leges and universities requires constant
vigilance and more money than is
readily available to this state institu
tion. Hiring more minority faculty is
easy to promise but difficult to
accomplish. And balancing the need
for strong research with the need for
strong teaching is a near-impossible
task. But with support from Chancel
lor Hardin's office and continued
openness to new ideas, O'Connor can
help the University move into its
bicentennial with renewed academic
commitment and hope. Jean Lutes
families experience unusual difficulty
in coping with everyday situations. It
is not uncommon for veterans to
harbor feelings of frustration and
resentment. Many suffer from depres
sion and marital and drinking prob
lems. The way America received these
veterans upon their return from
fighting contributed to their plight.
The Vietnam conflict was undoubt
edly a controversial event in this
nation's history, and to many it was
an unjustifiable one. But the solemn
fact remains: 58,000 Americans lost
their lives in the fighting, and countless
others still are affected by the painful
memories. These individuals gave
greatly of themselves some will
ingly, others unwillingly when the
country called. And yet, upon their
return, they were received in disgrace.
Veterans Day is simply a designated
time for Americans to show their
patriotism and pride for veterans. It
is important to be aware of the
sacrifices that have been made so that
Americans and others can experience
democracy. Regardless of one's opin
ion of U.S. foreign policy, America's
veterans deserve respect and admira
tion. Let's not forget about them.
Louis Bissette
the last word-
back and asked him to make it longer!
Perhaps the campus Republicans felt
secure with Bush's lead after all, pundits
and polls declared the race over two weeks
before the Election Day.
Or perhaps the Bush supporters felt that
a horde of neo-hippie pseudo-journalists
would choose to suppress opposing views.
I sincerely hope this wasn't the case.
We gladly run letters and columns which
disagree with our editorial stances or
question our news coverage. It's only fair
that we provide equal time for opposing
viewpoints. We are committed to free
debate of the issues, and it would be
hypocritical to avoid criticism of ourselves
while finding fault with everyone else.
So far, IVe only discussed our editorial
coverage of the campaigns. Our news
coverage is a completely different area
we take special pains to keep news and
opinion separate.
State and National Editor Sharon
Kebschull could devote an entire Last Word
to our news coverage of the elections. But
since we're out of time, suffice to say that
our state and national writers worked
overtime to provide the campus with
extensive, professional and objective
coverage. It's unfortunate that our editorial
page stances force the rest of the staff to
face charges of unfair bias in their reporting.
Matt Bivens
o time for
A s I sat in the Pit last Thursday, I
A wondered if I might some day
jLjXmarry one or more of the exquisite
female students who walked by. I thought,
however, that this would be exceedingly
unlikely considering the difficulty I was
having even finding a date for the weekend.
While I pondered making today's column
a plea to 60 percent of this campus, a friend
of mine joined me in the Pit. He suggested
that I write about student apathy. I told
him I didn't think anyone would care about
that, and he nodded his head in mournful
agreement.
Such a situation is tragic and I'm
not just talking about this particular
columnist's woefully inadequate love life.
College campuses have traditionally been
crucibles of change and students the
instigators of progress.
Each of us has something we'd like to
see improved. It may be a personal
grievance or one that affects many others
but it's there. But there are several
critical situations on campus which
warrant the concern and action of
us all.
The quality of our education is inex
tricably tied to the quality of our instruc
tors. Yet we are losing many professors
because of low salaries. According to a
report by the Special Action Committee
of Student Government, almost 30 percent
of the professors who left UNC in 1986
87 did so because of the low pay. The Board
of Governors proposed to increase faculty
salaries by raising out-of-state tuition. Yet
in North Carolina, raising tuition to UNC
system schools only increases revenues for
the entire state budget. These revenues do
not necessarily return to the institutions.
We must make sure that the increase has
its intended results, and other avenues for
faculty pay raises should be explored,
including private-sector financing, alumni
contributions and an optional student fee.
DTH belittles
Holocaust
To the editor:
I must respond to Dave
Hall's "The lessons of the
Holocaust" printed in the Nov.
11 DTH. Comparing Israeli
treatment of the Palestinian
uprising with the Nazi's exter
mination of Jews during World
War II is not only a weak
analogy, but belittles the Holo
caust. In the former, 300 stone
throwing, car-bombing protes
ters have been killed in one
year. In the latter, 6 million
passive, innocent people were
killed for no reason at all.
Even worse than this feeble
analogy is Hall's use of the
word "race." Hall says, "isnl it
amazing that a race of people
(Jews) who only 40 years ago
had no homeland, is among the
most powerful nations on
earth." While calling Israel one
of the "most powerful nations
on earth" is merely ridiculous,
calling Jews a race is
dangerous.
Before the Nazis came to.
power, no one called Jews a
distinct race. The Nazis created
this myth. They were the
Aryans or "master race" and
the Jews were a lesser, weaker
race. Someone writing about
"the lessons of the Holocaust"
should know this. Moreover,
saying "the Palestinians were
there first" completely ignores
the history of the area. If Hall
wants to know about the truth,
he should read a history text
and not Palestinian
propaganda.
MICHAEL SHERMAN
Graduate
Statistics
N
Winners losers and rhetorical musings
7 think someone who would do that
has got to be kind of sick. " Frederick
Schroeder, dean of students, on the recent
death threats against members of the
Chapel Hill Coalition for Freedom to
Dissent.
ODD
"It is very hard to walk around campus
and the law school and the grocery store
worrying about someone blowing my
brains out. " Law student and campus
acivist Joel Segal, on his response to the
death threats he recieved.
BAD
" We can now speak the most magnif
icent words in politics: The people have
spoken. " President-elect George Bush,
on his victory in the election.
DBA
"There's no time for anger and no time
for bitterness . . . we all agree North
Carolina comes first." Bob Jordan
following his unsuccessful bid for gover
nor. Jordan was defeated by Republican
incumbent Jim Martin.
DBS
"Sometimes students are interested and
sometimes they're not. " Virginia Julian,
apathy we've got trouble
Stuart Hathaway
I Spy
Alumni play a big role at UNC, as
anybody who has ever sat in the upper
level at the SAC can attest. The Educa
tional Foundation Rams Club provides a
valuable service to the University, through
scholarships for about 800 student
athletes. But its great resources need to
be expanded to include the educational
pursuits of the entire University. A
matching-donations policy, whereby con
tributions to the athletic department are
accompanied by an equal gift to the
University, is a method employed at other
universities to distribute the resources and
to check the influence of alumni organ
izations. Revenue sports must not cater to
the whims of sports-crazed alumni, nor
prostitute UNC to professional sports.
They must always remain subordinate to
the primary role of UNC: education.
Another problem for this campus is race
relations, highlighted by the issue of the
Black Cultural Center. The lack of an
official BCC at UNC has caused the black
population here to create one by using
South Campus housing. The result of this
has been a loss of racial interaction, racist
nicknames and misunderstood, minority
needs. A fully-supported BCC would allow
blacks to maintain a support system, as
well as provide the entire campus with
opportunities for racial interaction. And
the BCC issue has so overshadowed the
campus racial agenda that the welfare of
other minority groups at UNC is often
neglected. UNC itself is too often one big
White Cultural Center. What too often
passes for tolerance is really ignorance.
America and UNC should not be
a melting pot. We should strive for what
Readers9 Foraim
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POLITBURO
Wall graffiti
to be expected
To the editor:
I was appalled at the graffiti
vandalism some over-zealous
Bush supporters had scrawled
on the temporary wall erected
for the remodeling of the Stu
dent Stores. I thought to myself
what an immature, spiteful and
offensive act this was and how
it is not in the true spirit of
politics in America. But then
I realized something. This
cheap attempt at savoring the
Republican presidential victory
was actually quite representa
tive of the way the Reublican
party, namely" Mr. George
Bush, chose to go about run
ning for office.
The students who scribbled
the graffiti (and signed their
initials and their class only)
chose to make derogatory
remarks about the Democratic
ticket instead of highlighting
the victory of the Republican
candidates. This made no sense
to me, but I guess to a Repub
lican mind it did. This is just
how Mr. Bush (dare I use the
term "president elect?") chose
to run his campaign from the
very beginning; it was in keep
ing with the proven Republican
tactics of libel and slander
which permeated the entire
race.
So I guess this was the
reaction I should have expected
from the opposition: to con
tinue using the cheap and
backhanded - tactics that got
them into office. I don't know
why I expected the College
Republican to have an attrac
tive, respectable banner flying
over the Pit congratulating
their victors. I dorit know why
I expected victory to transform
the Republican party into
Week in Quotes
a voter registrar in Orange County, on the
unpredictability of student voters.
HDD
"I keep reading about voter apathy in
this year's election, but I've seen more
excitement around the headquarters this
year than I've ever seen. " David
Lineberger, acting chairman of the Orange
County Republican Party, on projected
Voter turnout.
ODD
"All of the students in the future will
pay for any mistakes the committee makes
now. " Board of Trustees chairman Bob
Eubanks on the drawn-out search for a
permanent Black Cultural Center.
ODD
"The hammer of the gods what do
you think that is?" A rhetorical musing
pondered by Robert Plant during his
concert at the Smith Center.
HDD
"It is a time for Jews to sit back and
think about their Judaism and the impor
tance of this event in their history."
x Jesse Jackson calls a quilt, with each race,"
religion and sex enjoying not only partic-.;
ipation, but understanding.
The management of UNC's facilities and
space is an ongoing crisis in which students
can play a crucial role. For example, we;
have to recognize that not everyone
wanting to park on campus can do so.
While a parking deck is an option, park-and-ride
lots and improved shuttle service
are also part of the answer. Here students
must not only work with faculty, admin
istrators and alumni, but the town as well.'
At the same time, the campus food
service is losing money. The University
contracts several agents to supply different .
aspects of the campus' food needs, and the
space in Lenoir and Chase which Marriot
has is not enough to fill the demand. The
results are long lines and high prices to
make up for lost business. Students were
instrumental in forcing the former food'
service, ARA, to leave campus. And while
alumni may not be so keen in having a v
parking deck or a cafeteria named after '
them for their generosity, they may still'
be persuaded of the need.
Undergraduate and graduate, this'
student body has within it the power to
create change. We took the Speaker Ban'
Law to court in the '60s, fought for our'
right to distribute student fees in the 70s,-
and helped reform the curriculum in the '
Os and every time we were successful.-'
Students are inescapably a transient'
group. But while we are here we can do
many things. With responsible judgment!
and action, we can improve the entire
University community now and for pos'
terity. As has been written long ago, the '
only limit we students have is our own.'
initiative.
Stuart Hathaway is a junior political
science and history major from Charlotte..'
3i mm
7
I, OCT J 9M
General i
LA
FOF
ALDER
1U SOVIET UNION
something I would consider
attractive and respectable.
But dont get me wrong,
guys. You all made me exceed
ingly proud proud to be a.
member of the . Democratic
party.
DAVE DOWNING
"' . Graduate
English
Letters policy
TUa rtsit'7i TVt Vaal
AUG ASUUjr 1 Ul iitci
welcomes reader comments
and, criticisms. When writing
letters to the editor, please
follow these guidelines:,
Students should include
name, year in school, major, r
phone number and home.
town. Other members of thf
University community should
include similar information, f
Lauren Stone, director of the UNC Hillel
on the fiftieth commemoration of "Kris-,-tallnacht."
Kristallnacht, or i the night o,
the broken glass, is considered the first.,
event in the Holocaust which claimed thex.
lives of 6 million people.
IBB
"We are always recommending to deans :
and chairs of departments to look out for.'
minority faculty members at other cam
puses." Dennis O'Connor, newly-:
appointed provost, on the efforts to draw:
more minority faculty and administrators
to the University.
B B B
"I do plan to take this to tne fullest extent ,
of our rights. It's public defamation.
Black Student Movement president Kenny
Perry, on the Carolina Critic's demand that
the BSM be defunded.
"Charges of racism are the last resort
for people who have no other more valid
argument. " John Hood, editor of the
Carolina Critic, in defense of his publi
cation's call for the BSM to be defunded.
- Compiled by associate editor Laura
Pearlman.
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