10The Daily Tar HeelWednesday, March 22, 1989
Ift la tig OJar ' 111
97th year of editorial freedom
Sharon KEBSCHULL,aifor
YJ ILIA AM T AG G ART, Managing Editor
LOUIS BlSSETTE, Editorial Page Editor MARY Jo DUNNINGTON, Editorial Page Editor
JUSTIN McGuiRE, University Editor JENNY Q.ONINGER, University Editor
TAMMY BLACK ARC, State and National Editor CHARLES BrITTAIN, City Editor
ERIK DALE FLIPPO, Business Editor DAVE GLENN, Sports Editor
CARA BoNNETT, Arts and Features Editor JAMES BENTON, Omnibus Editor
JULIA COON, News Editor DAVID SimomtCKI, Photography Editor
Kelly Thompson, Design Edtor
Demand quality responsibly
For the past
month, students
have been circulat- board
Sppff "a PiniQn
visiting history lec
turer who was not given a permanent
professorship. The students are pro
testing the loss of an excellent teacher
who is an expert on the history of
North Carolina. While it is worthwhile
to stand up for excellence in teaching,
the protest comes as too little, too late,
and it only serves to further alienate
administrators with its irresponsible
methods.
Junior Gene Davis began the peti
tion campaign, which has netted over
750 signatures so far. Davis told
lecturer Gary Freeze he was going to
gather signatures, but he never dis
cussed his concerns or the reasons
behind the decision with the chairman
of the history department. Davis says
that was unnecessary, because he felt
he could predict what Chairman Colin
Palmer would say.
That attitude, however, practically
forces administrators to not respect
student concerns. If students are going
to protest, they must do so responsibly:
they must research all angles of an
issue before they campaign against it, .
rather than reacting rashly.
At this point, Freeze has another
job at Erskine College, so students
should protest the problems behind the
decision by offering constructive
criticism. Students should demand
more input during the search commit
tee's interviews of applicants, who
often speak to classes as guest lecturers
for a day. Although Palmer says
students could have done that last
March, while the decision was being
made, and then offered suggestions to
the committee, students should request
a formal way to offer suggestions. The
department should ask classes, or at
least some students within the classes,
to fill out evaluation forms of the
applicants.
In addition, administrators should
realize from this protest that what is
important to undergraduates is excel
lent teaching. Undergraduates are not
interested in who does the best
research that's not why they're here.
Obviously, research is important for
professors to keep up with the latest
developments in their field, but with
out strong teaching skills, their
research is meaningless in the
classroom.
" We cannot debate whether Freeze
was the best candidate for the position.
Certainly Jim Leloudis, the doctoral
student who was chosen for the
position, has a strong record of
teaching and research. This protest is
not a criticism of the search commit
tee's choice so much as it is ah
expression of disappointment that an
excellent teacher is slipping away from
the University. The issue is larger than
one professor. It is the continuing
problem of a lack of student input on
the matters that affect students the
most.
Unfortunately, students were unable
to express their disappointment in a
more responsible and effective
manner. In spite of this, administrators
should understand the reasons behind
the protest and work from now on to
involve students in the selection
process from the beginning. After all,
quality teaching is what students are
paying for, and they have a right to
demand it.
Children going to the chair
Coming home to Jamaican dysentery
Detectives in Broward County, Fla.,
were stumped by the death of a 2-year-old
boy for two days, until an autopsy
uncovered the cause of death as
asphyxiation.
Then they realized that the boy's 1 1-year-old
stepsister had strangled him.
The girl appeared before a circuit
court judge on Friday, her 12th
birthday, and became one of the
youngest people in south Florida ever
to be charged with murder. If a grand
jury decides to try her as an adult, she
could receive the death penalty.
The case could become a nationwide
example of the travesty of the death
penalty and its use in Florida. The
state's affinity for the death penalty
is well-known and well-publicized
after the recent execution of Ted
Bundy. But to even consider a 12-year-old
girl a threat to society and to place
her in a judicial situation where there
is even a remote possibility that she
could receive the death penalty is
preposterous.
The girl, whose name has not been
released, evidently snapped under the
pressure of having to take care of her
stepbrother and 15-month-old stepsis
ter. Her mother, a nursing assistant,
worked extra hours because she
needed the money and left the girl in
charge of her siblings.
According to her teachers, the girl
was a good student and a responsible
child. Obviously, she needs psycholog
ical help, but it's hard to believe she
would commit a similar crime if the
pressure of caring for young children
before she's even in her teens is
removed.
If the girl were a delinquent with
past examples of dangerous or erratic
behavior, perhaps her prosecution
would be more understandable. But
the authorities are treating her as any
common criminal. For now, she is
being held in a juvenile detention
center for 21 days while defense
attorneys prepare their case, rather
than being released into the custody
of her mother, who said she forgives
the girl. It is incredible that the case
has gotten this far. To continue any
further with it is a clear example of
cruel and unusual punishment.
The use of the death penalty is
founded on the dual principles of
punishment and rehabilitation. When
society begins punishing children as
adults without considering counseling,
the system itself demands to be
questioned. Kimberly Edens
9.
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And a big hip howdy-doo to all of
you out there in magical happy DTH
land I trust and pray that each
and every one of you had a delightful spring
break and that your March has indeed
entered like a lion and is exiting like a lamb.
Personally, my March entered like a tree
sloth and is exiting rather like a tree sloth,
but I suppose that comes with the territory
of being an angst-filled back-page writer.
I'm sure deep down everyone is excru
ciatingly disinterested in what everyone else
did for spring break; as long as everyone
comes back with the first stages of skin
cancer and a few good tales of a Floridian
sexual alcohol fantasyland, then even the
most inquisitive folks will leave well enough
alone. And God knows the last thing I want
is to be Wednesday's Whiner, but I feel
compelled to explain my Spring Break From
. Heck if for no other reason than to do my
part to stir things up over at the Jamaican
tourist board.
On Thursday, before anybody had left,
Chapel Hill was a worst-of-both-worlds
nightmare. The morning, like every other
morning for the last two months, was black,
drizzly and cold. After pencilling in night
marishly wrong answers to my religion
midterm, I walked outside to a bright, warm
blue sky that sent waves of pleasure down
everyone's spine and also sent sharp shards
of melted icicles plummeting from the trees
onto everyone's skulls.
"That's okay," I thought, "Soon I shall
be in a Caribbean paradise, with nary a care
in the world . . ." and sure enough, a few
hours later, there I was staring out at the
azure blue Jamaican sea from the back of
the airport van. Soon, however, the beauty
of the island coast gave way to the highway
carnage reality of the van driver, as he
attempted speed-o'-sound blind passing on
hills and little Jamaican kiddie dodging in
the villages.
By the time we reached the town of Negril,
night had fallen. Because I had failed to sign
up in time for a package spring break deal,
I had to come down two days earlier than
everyone else and was forced to find my
own place to stay. Fortunately, the jail-like
10 feet by 10 feet room to which I was
directed was spared the latest hurricane and
was run by a very nice old lady; unfortu
nately, there was no hot water within a 7
mile radius and telephones were as rare as
a good Taco Bell.
When day broke, things at least seemed
Ian Williams
Wednesday's Child
better; the hot sun was high in the sky, and
the beautiful waves crashed violently against
the cliffs as I laid out on the deck. After
a few Jamaican meals and a day along the
shore, however, every native in the entire
town knew that some college kids with fresh
American money were roosting in their nest.
They .planned their attack.
This one dude in a rastafarian tank top
followed me along the dirt road that night
and placed in my hand a good solid 3-pound
branch of marijuana, and said it was mine
for thirty U.S. dollars. After recovering from
the shock that I was holding in my hand
enough reefer to keep my entire religion
seminar in the troposphere for three months,
I hastily slapped it back to his chest and
told him I didn't have any American money.
"Dat's okay, mon I take Jamaican
dollar."
"No, you see, I don't have any money
it's all back at my room."
"You get it all wrong," he said. "First I
say 30, then you say 20, then I say 25 and
we make a deal, it work like dat ..."
"No, but your little scenario is based on
the fact that I want marijuana at all."
"Oh! You want coke? I got dat too ..."
That evening, I began to suspect that
something was biologically very wrong. I felt
like an ancient Greco-Thessalonican war
was being re-enacted in my intestinal tract,
and my forehead started getting so hot that
the tiny room window began to bead with
moisture. By around three in the morning,
I definitely knew that I had stepped in some
sort of viral cow patty and that I might as
well buckle down for the ride. The next day,
I had a temperature of 104 and threw up
everything I and six past generations had
ever eaten. I lay on the bed, bathed in a
cold sweat, writhing and having the worst
hallucinations ever driving cross-country
in an AMC Gremlin with talentless boob
Tiffany singing along with AM country
radio stations; drinking six solid bottles of
Mrs. Butterworth; making the DTH in the
earlier pages: "Columnist Williams is
certainly full of woe tonight in Negril,
Jamaica as he faces 57 consecutive life
sentences for holding three pounds of
cannabis and basically being big, white and
stupid. 4It was as big as a loaf of bread,'
he told reporters, still glassy-eyed and
drooling,? etc. etc. etc . . .
After hearing me enact a few of these day
mares, the locals thought it was time I took
a trip to the hospital. Throwing my wracked
frame into the back of a taxi, they sent me
to the doctor's office down the road. There's
no Student Health in Jamaica, and as I
staggered into the balsa wood doctor's office
on the beach, I longed for the sterile
cinderblock and pamphlets on chlamydia.
The doctor stepped in, a tan, lanky French
dude with greasy hair that looked a little
like a mid-70s European porn star. After
probing my torso and asking unintelligible
questions about my gastro-intestinal system,
he told me that I had dysentery, but with
his accent I couldn't understand him.
"What do you mean, the disease in me
.is disinterested?" I yelped. "I'm not too
psyched about it either"
He didn't get it.
The next day was sheer hell, as the locals
tried to dupe a sick boy out of all his money.
They would charge 15 U.S. dollars for a
three-minute taxi ride to the phone, and I
had to pay them because I couldn't walk".
For three days, I was alone, sick, and
friendless, hounded by marijuana thugs and
avoided by telephone operators that could
book me a flight home. Finally, after lengthy
negotiations, I got a flight out of Kingston
and was free.
I was home. It was Tuesday. I spent all
my money, and my break was over before
some people had left. Now perhaps I'm just
hopelessly provincial and unadventurous, an
absolute slave to the niceties of my cushy
home here in the states . . . and perhaps
that lady that sings that "Come Home to
Jamaica" song will come hunt me down here
in my suburbia, but IH be waiting for her.
When she rounds the corner I shall pelt her
with Hostess Zingers, working telephones
and cold Sprite! I shall stone her with Taco
Bellgrandes and manicured poodles and
hotel massage beds! She shall drown in a
morass of useless American luxuries! Go d
bless this country! .
Ian Williams is a music and psychology
major from Los Angeles who fully acknowl
edges that he used the word "disinterested"
incorrectly both times in this article.
Readers9 Foram
Noise not made
just by sorority
To the editor:
Walston and Stinner asked
to be educated in their letter to
the editor ("Respect goes both
ways," March 20). I pose to
you, do you really want to be
educated? Well, let me take this
opportunity to do so.
Before "going over" (the
completion of the pledge pro
cess), we were stepping in the
Morrison recreation room pre
paring for our spring step show.
In the adjoining lounges the
sounds of U2 muffled our
voices and the tapping of our
feet as we attempted to master
the intricacy of a step. Lo and
behold, after about ten minutes
of practice the assistant area
director paid us a visit to tell
us to quiet down or vacate the
room, for we were preventing
someone from studying; yet the
party next door continued
without a murmur from the
AAD. Henceforth, step prac
tice will be held in the cold
parks of Chapel Hill or (if we
are fortunate enough to secure
a room) in the Student Union.
There are those who protect
your rights; may I ask you, who
protects ours?
In preparing for our final
march as neophytes, my soror
ity sisters and I made a con
scious effort to set the event
before quiet hours. In a tour
around Hinton James at 8 p.m.,
we were drenched with water
from the tenth floor by a white
male. May I ask you, who
protects our rights?
I would like to extend an
apology for our infringement
upon your rights on March 4
(a Saturday evening) when we
conducted a "sentimental and
sacred" ritual. I offer you my
admiration, for I am sure you
AHGOT'IM
vj! M,
reprimand those who bring
home their cheer from Burnout
and Beach Blast traditions; I
am sure you reprimand those
who show their Carolina spirit
by throwing toilet paper,
breaking beer bottles and yel
ling from balconies after a
victory against an arch-rival;
and I am sure you reprimand
the Clef Hangers and the Lore
lies for singing in the dormi
tories. All of the above have
the tendency to occur after
quiet hours. Yet, not one com
plaint. Why now?
EILEEN CARLTON
Senior
Education
Need for racial
understanding
To the editor:
I like Mia Davis' definition
of "respect" ("Races need mut
ual respect," March 8); she says
it is "due courtesy or tolerance
for things that I may or may
not understand." In my ignor
ance, I associate the Greek rite
"Death March" with wars and
enemies.
When I awaken at 1 a.m.
hearing voices reverberate
within my room and my head,
I think, "Invasion!" If I were
more violent and inexcusably
rude, perhaps I would do
something that would be mis
construed as racism. Or, if I
were more respectful, I might
greet my dorm's visitors
politely and learn the "secrets"
behind Delta Sigma's tradition.
Too lazy and drowsy to do
either, my only reaction is to
plead, "Please, please stop."
Mia Davis and the Black
Greek Council should feel
"furious and disheartened over
the conduct exhibited by sev
eral white UNC students."
However, they cannot support
this march, for which other
students might be arrested,
without giving logical reasons.
This is not a pitched battle (or
is it?). Greek organizations
should not be roused to take
a "stand" against me. Racial
harmony can begin at this
university with education, and
I implore Mia Davis to under
stand my position and help me
understand hers.
DAVID ISRAEL
Sophomore
Physics
Letters policy
D Students should include
name, year in school, major,
phone number and home
town. Other members of the
University community should
include similar information.
Students justified in protesting At water
To the editor:
It is obvious that Mr. Skillman ("Howard
protest condemned," March 21) knows little
of Howard University and its current
confusion. He also views Lee Atwater, the
Republican Party and its efforts to approach
the black community with the comfortable
acceptance that does not even attempt to
view the issue from the blacks' point of view.
He does not see that Howard students
and faculty might regard with skepticism
attempts to approach them which can be
viewed as beneficial to the Republican Party.
To suspend that skepticism simply for the
sake of the financial reward that Lee Atwater
would bring the university might be regarded
as lack of character.
Lee Atwater is considered, by many in
Washington both Republican and
Democrat to be partially responsible for
the fortunes of the Republican Party. He
has developed, embraced and been a
proponent of the tactics used by the
Republican Party in the 80s. Most of the
tactics were shrewd; some were manipula
tive. That is the nature of politics.
The "Willie Horton" commercial should
be viewed in the context of the 1980s, when
Republican campaigns in the South were
directed by the Republican National Com
mittee and used every opportunity to exploit
racism. I worked for a Democratic candidate
in 1982 who was the victim of an ad which
showed him seated next to three blacks. The
caption: "Do you want these men running
the country?" The campaign against this
candidate was not run by Lee Atwater, but
it was directed by an individual sent down
by the Republican National Committee.
In addition, the Republican Party in the
80s has the reputation of cutting funding
for many programs that benefit blacks, for
appointing a Civil Rights Commission that
represented a step backwards in civil rights,
and for supporting court cases that attempt
to erase some of the progress made in civil
rights in the past 30 years.
The David Duke affair, proposed by Mr.
Skillman as an example of the Republican
Party's attempt to fight racism, could also
be regarded as a part of the Republican
strategy to approach blacks. But more
simply, David Duke is an embarrassment
to the Republican Party, and he was
opposed for this reason.
The protest at Howard has brought
positive results because it has raised
questions that needed to be asked: what is
the direction of the university, and has the
current president of Howard been irrespon
sible in his leadership of the university? If
Howard University can successfully deal
with the question of its direction for the
future, it will be much better off than it
would have been without asking questions
and receiving the monetary benefits that Lee
Atwater would have brought.
COURT WALTERS
First year
Medicine