The Daily Tar Heel Monday, February 20, 19891 1 r
Opinion
tademit irec centos To tfiflimd 00 mot to found?
A chance to provide for future
I he Carolina Athletic Associa
tion has the responsibility of
11 responding to student athletic
concerns and complaints. One of our
most frequently heard complaints has
been that there are inadequate Nau
tilusweight facilities for student use
on our campus. Many students have
also complained that aerobics classes
and fitness facilities in general are
crowded and open during limited
hours or at inconvenient times.
After working on the situation for
about a year, we found that there is
really no place to expand in the
Woollen-Fetzer complex its space
is used very efficiently all day for
basketball games, physical education
classes and intramurals. -We also
looked into the possibility of creating
weight facilities in the individual
residence halls. However, we found
that very few dorms have either the
money or the appropriate space and
supervision for such a facility. More
importantly, off-campus residents
would be left out of this solution.
After about six months of calling
and visiting universities such as N.C.
State, Appalachian State, Indiana,
Purdue and others, we found that
they were meeting their students
fitness needs by building new recrea-
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DTH editorial board
TTT"evin Sisson is neither delib
.5 erately misleading students
JJLll.nor laboring under a vastly
distorted view of his role as student
body president, as the DTH editorial
board stated on Feb. 17("Brien Lewis
for SBP").
I have repeatedly clarified my
position on the Carolina Gay and
Lesbian Association at forums, in my
platform and in interviews. Anyone
who has followed my campaign will
realize that my platform is based on
representing the wishes of the major
ity of students on this campus. A
leader is not a true leader unless he
can get things accomplished. In
dealing with the issue of CGLA
funding I intend to use influence, the
influence of the title of student body
president, to work toward defunding
this controversial group. By present
ing facts about the CGLA to Student
Congress and sitting down with each
Doim'tt blame an alcoholic for his illness
Around the table a group of
men sat, talking, smoking
cigarettes and listening to Joe
talk about Doug. Doug had left the
house sick, Joe said, still hung over,
and then died the next day, alone and
drunk. All the men knew Doug and
were sorry to hear the story. A young
man who had worked for Doug
listened to the others talk.
Though I'm gone from there now,
the halfway house remains an impor
tant place. Although the stories of my
friends there often seem a lifetime
apart from the classes, basketball
games and research papers that are
an undergraduate's life in Chapel
Hill, the lessons learned and expe
riences shared at the halfway house
keep me alive.
In the parlance of the health
professional, the halfway house I
lived in is called a resident facility.
At any one time, 10 to 20 alcoholics
live there. They work, pay rent, attend
house meetings and participate in a
self-help support group for alcohol
ics. The house was originally an old
church education building that
belonged to the Presbyterians; when
Geer Martin
Guest Writers
tional facilities financed by student
fees.
Given that background, we have
come up with a plan for the building
of an addition to the Woollen-Fetzer
complex. This new facility would
house Nautilus circuits made for both
men and women, universal weight
sets, an extensive free weight area,
exercise bikes, rowing machines,
treadmills, sit-up and push-up sta
tions, etc. The first level of the
building might include an indoor
track and a climbing wall. The second
floor would be a large room with a
hard spring floor, for use in activities
such as aerobics, dance, martial arts,
etc. This two-story addition would
also include a place to house the
Wellness Center. Trained profession
als at the center could help students
assess their levels of physical fitness
and set up workout plans. This would
be the only recreational facility open
for student use at all times.
The concern of most students, we
realize, is the proposed $13 per
Kevin Sisson
Guest Writer
representative individually, I believe
the CGLA can be defunded. I will
explain that the CGLA is the only
group funded by student fees that has
confidential membership lists. In
addition, the valuable educational
material the CGLA distributes is
given to them free of charge, and 12.5
percent of its members do not even
attend this University. However, the
most important fact I will present is
that the majority of the students on
this campus do not want their student
fees going to the CGLA. Hopefully,
after being presented with these facts
and talked to individually by the
elected leader of the entire student
body, Student Congress will do what
Chris Hood
Guest Writer
the church moved out to the highway,
they gave the building to a non-profit
group interested in alcoholism treat
ment. That's how it became a home
for those who wanted a chance at
staying sober. Two more churches are
still there, standing on either side of
the halfway house. To the left are the
Pentecostals, and to the right is a
Church of Christ congregation. The
first congregation calls on the Spirit,
the second sings; the alcoholics in the
middle just pray not to drink.
I lived two years at the house,
finding out about the potentially
lethal course of alcoholism. Knowing
treatment for alcoholism is as impor
tant as knowing CPR or the Heimlich
maneuver. No other killer not
heart attacks, choking, AIDS, car
accidents, even cancer outstrips
alcoholism.
Unfortunately, many don't know
how to stop alcoholism's deadly
students
semester student fee increase to pay
for the new facility. We do not like
the idea of raising student fees;
however, it appears that this is the
best way to finance the building. N.C.
State just opened a new student
recreational facility paid for with a
student fee increase of $32; they say
their students claim it's the best spent
$32 theyVe paid. Using student fees
ensures that the administration will
always be responsive to our needs in
this facility because we paid for it.
Because the building will probably be
completed in three years, most of us
will never get to use it, but we also
will not have to pay for it.
We would like to provide afford
able fitness facilities for everyone. So
please think about the problem. We
need to fix it. We have researched
the possibilities well and have come
up with a practical, feasible solution.
We have the opportunity to make
student life better for future students,
and we ought to do it.
Carol Geer, CAA president, is a
senior psychology major from New
York. Kevin Martin, student body
president, is a senior political science
major from Weddington.
ignorant
students want. If the other candidates
do not feel they can influence Student
Congress to act according to student
opinion, how can they even conceive
of the possibility of being able to have
an effect on the administration? I am
confident that I can successfully deal
with both groups.
To the average, uninformed reader
of The Daily Tar Heel, it would
appear that my platform contains one
issue: defunding the CGLA. How
ever, to the open-minded individual
who has followed my campaign
(obviously the DTH does not fall into
this category) I stand for far more
than defunding the CGLA. Yes, I also
want to see current student govern
ment projects completed, the expan
sion of SAFE Escort, improvements
to campus lighting and security and
a more efficient student government.
In addition, I am striving for better
food service on campus, higher buy-
progression, and that ignorance leads
to sad, even absurd, conclusions.
Who would accuse a heart attack
victim of killing himself if he didn't
keep a regimented diet and quit
smoking? Few would blame the heart
attack on moral weakness or call the
victim a bum. Fewer still would say
he got what he deserved. Contrast this
to the way many people view a'dying
alcoholic. Doug died, and the men
sitting around the table at the halfway
house knew why: the disease alcoh
olism killed him.
But if alcoholism is simply a disease
and not a moral issue, why isn't a
practical treatment available, such as
medication or surgery? Because no
one yet has found a pill or surgery,
short of lobotomy, to make an
alcoholic not want a drink. Doctors
call it a mental obsession for the
euphoric effect of alcohol: the first
drink sends the alcoholic reeling for
another. Morbidity again, the
professional's parlance occurs over
a long time. Cirrhosis gets some,
internal bleeding others, accidents
many more; for those who survive
years of anguish and despair from
A sham of democracy and fairness
I hanks to the hard work of
Carolina Athletic Association
JLL President Carol Geer and
other CAA members, students will
have the chance to vote on Feb. 21
for a $13 a semester increase in
student fees to finance an elaborate
athletic facility known as the "Student
Recreation Center." This rec center
will expand the present weight-lifting
and exercise facilities available to
students here at Carolina. While
Geer's good will in this matter is not
questioned, the fairness of this
proposed fee increase bears closer
attention.
Although the rec center is sup
posedly for the use of all students,
making the fee increase fair in the
eyes of Geer, some thought on the
matter reveals otherwise. There are
many beautiful people on campus
who obviously have time to work out
regularly, and certainly the proposed
rec center will appeal to them espe
cially. For every one of these people,
however, there are several who either
don't work out, or who work out in
other ways, such as running, biking
or swimming. It is certainly a great
injustice to make all of these students
pay for the few who want to work
out with University facilities. The very
off facts
back prices for used texts, improve
ments in town-campus relations,
additional courtesy phones on cam
pus and an improvement in race
relations that would start with the
building of a multicultural center.
Yes, the CGLA funding question
is an issue in my campaign, but a
minor one at that. It falls under my
overall goal of seeing that the students
are represented according to their
beliefs and opinions. I am aware of
the role of a student body president,
and I have not deliberately misled any
student. In closing I plead with the
misguided, misinformed DTH editor
ial board to open their eyes, their ears
and, most importantly, their minds,
before opening their mouths.
Kevin Sisson is a junior business
major from Deer Park, N.Y.
uncontrollable drunkenness, suicide
often provides a final out.
So prayer and the support of others
trying to stay sober are left. Those
steps work, too, and these are the only
treatments for the disease. Although
not strictly scientific like CPR or
insulin injections, the treatments
available for alcoholism are effective:
millions of recovering victims prove
the point.
Medical professionals from doc
tors to mental health counselors will
tell you alcoholism is a disease.
Geneticists will cite the hereditary
evidence. Brain researchers will offer
clear, if sophisticated, judgments
about how an alcoholic becomes
physically and psychologically
addicted. The psychiatrists add to the
knowledge by examining how alcoh
olism works to destroy mental and
emotional health. The professionals,
then like the men around the table
at the halfway house don't blame
Doug.
Chris Hood is a junior interdisci
plinary studies major from Pinehurst.
Anthony Woodliefl
Guest Writer
The threat in
this instance is
in the way the
CAA is trying to
push this pro
posal through.
reason the rec center will "only" cost
$13 a semester per student is because
the cost is being spread over the entire
student population, rather than just
over those who would use the facility.
It is a very naive person who thinks
that if every fees-paying student at
this University chose to exercise his
or her right to the use of the rec center,
Disregard ffor
students hurts
UNC s reputation
recently returned from the final
public forum addressing a park-
XLing proposal recently submitted
to the chancellor. Although I could
make a number of specific comments
about some of its recommendations
such as the net loss of 850 student
parking spaces next year and a $2
fee to park on campus at night (only
applied to students) I won't. I
believe that the student body's con
cerns have already been eloquently
and adequately expressed. To me they
seem obvious.
! I wouldilike to confront the larger
issue.' It became quite clear to me at
the forum that students at UNC do
not have a lot of clout in decisions
such as parking allocation, because
every single one of us will probably
not remain in the University com
munity for more than four or five
years. Therefore, administrators can
smile politely and nod their heads
"Yes, we hear your concerns" and
eventually the ones complaining
literally go away.
This attitude infuriates me, because
even though I will wave good-bye to
Chapel Hill in May, students have
been here for 200 years, and this
University could hot exist without
them. The University of North
Carolina was founded to bring
educated citizens to this state. Stu
dents eventually pay the taxes and
provide the leadership that fuel
progress, yet they are consistently'
regarded as the lowest common
denominator at the University
Parkin
endanger
" realize that parking is a problem
on this campus. I've lived here for
JLLtwo years and have spent nights
'camping out with my brother in the
dead of winter trying to get a parking
space. The ad hoc committee has
come up with some very interesting
solutions for this problem, some of
with which I do not agree.
I was very surprised to learn of the
proposed parking idea which would
require students to pay a "nighttime
parking fee" as mentioned by Chris
topher Bannon ("Pay for parking
luxury") in his Feb. 7 letter to the
editor. What surprised and infuriated
me even more was the fact that he
actually supported the idea. He says
that, "It is only fitting that those who
use the libraries, computers, book
store, theater, Cabaret and snackbar
after normal business hours should
pay a price for that luxury." First of
all, I do not consider using the library
a luxury. My parents invest money
in my education, Mr. Bannon, and
in doing so guarantee me the right
to use the library. You are a student,
Mr. Bannon. You should know that
not everyone can sit in their room
or apartment and study, especially at
exam time. In addition, although I'm
sure that some students might use the
lots to park their cars when they go
"uptown," many of us use the lots
to park our cars so that we may study.
And, if they do "wear out the asphalt
while the rest of us sleep" it is not
because they are partying, it is
because they are studying.
As a result of this policy, many
students might decide to walk to the
that the proposed complex would be
able to meet such a demand..
The threat in this instance is in the
way the CAA is trying to push this
proposal through. By using our
student fees to print posters urging11
students to vote "yes" for the rec
center proposal (someone apparently
forgot to mention the $13 a semester
fee. increase when designing the
posters), and by promising that no
one will have to pay until the center
is built, Geer has an intelligent
strategy. She mobilizes the supporters;
of the rec center to vote yes, but
ensures that those who don't want the'
rec center will not vote on Feb. 21,'
because their fees aren't threatened.!
The people who will have to pay for
the rec center aren't even at the,
University yet they are the future.
Carolina students. I never thought V
would do this, but I urge students'
to recognize the rec center proposal)
as the pretense at fairness andi
democracy that it is and vote no on,
Feb. 21.
Anthony Woodlief is a junior
political science major from Winston
Salem. ,'
Sandy Rierson
Guest Writer
whether it's a question of basketball
seats, parking spaces, or something
as broad as the value of teaching vs.
research.
,'4
Of course students can be ignored,
brushed aside, or even pacified in the'
short term. In the long run, however,
they can not.- The quality iQfLthel
. University. ? of Nrth-; Carolina at,
; Chapel Hill ultimately relieRdOn, the,
caliber of its student body. Students!
who leave Chapel Hill feeling frus-!
trated and cynical will not tell their t
talented and intelligent siblings and!
friends to apply to this school. Never;
underestimate the power of thet
grapevine. '
Cheap tuition alone will not per-
suade a person to choose UNC over
Harvard or Yale, and anyone who
believes it will is sorely mistaken. I
believe that in the past the crucial
difference between UNC and "the.
Ivies" has been in the perceived higher;
quality of life here. If we continue'
to tamper with this factor, the lines
at the admissions office will not be
so long in the future.
Sandy Rierson is a senior history and
political science major from Summer-field.
proposals
students
Kelly Anderson
Guest Writer
library rather than pay the $2 fee, thus
increasing the number of assaults and
rapes. Mr. Bannon says, "Make the
students pay." We do pay. We pay
for our education and our parking
stickers. And, if this policy were tQ
be passed, we would pay in other
ways with our safety and security.
Your argument lacks in another area
also. I agree that faculty should have
spaces available to them when they1
stay late and come in on weekends
to catch up on work. But, in reality,
many of the faculty go home at 5
p.m. and do not return until the next
business day. The parking lot behind
Cobb and Joyner is usually empty ai
of 5:30 in the afternoon and remains
that way until the next day, If this
is true, why shouldn't students use
the lot to go to the library which you
mistakenly labeled a "luxury?"
You were an undergraduate stu-4
dent at one time. Surely, you must'
remember the hours and hours voir"
put into studying for the next day
of classes or an exam. If this policy
is enacted, many students may reach
the conclusion that it isnt worth it,
to pay to study every night and risk"
their safety by walking to campus tor
use the "luxury of the library." ')
, ; :1
Kelly Anderson is a sophomore
history major from Wilmington. . . '