10The Daily Tar Heel Wednesday, April 12, 1989
97i year of editorial freedom
Sharon Kebschull, Editor
William Taggart, Managing Editor
LOUIS BlSSETTE, Editorial Page Editor MARY Jo DUNNINGTON, Editorial Page Editor
JUSTIN McGlJIRE, University Editor JENNY Q.ONINGER, University Editor
TAMMY BLACKARD, 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 TAWlDSVROmi.CKl, Photography Editor
Kelly Thompson, Design Editor
When a majority is a minority
Stephanie Bass, a former aide to
former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt,
recalled a strategy meeting during
Hunt's 1984 Senate campaign, in
which the governor turned to Bass
the only woman in the room and
asked, "What do women think?"
This quote represents the attitude
of many male politicians toward
women in politics, and women are
tired of it. They are especially tired
of being treated like a special interest
group in North Carolina, because
women are a majority of the popu
lation in this state.
This is why women in the state
legislature, primarily Democrats, are
so vocally protesting their low status
in the party. When state party Chair
man Lawrence Davis suggested earlier
this year that the party reconsider its
stance on abortion, more than 50
women marched to state party head
quarters to show their disagreement.
And last Saturday, they urged that the
party's executive council ensure that
women are on statewide tickets in 1990
and 1992.
North Carolina is one of only three
states in this country that has never
elected a woman to a statewide
executive office or to a full term in
Congress. Even Virginia, that last
great bastion of white male supremacy,
elected a black man as lieutenant
governor and a white woman as
attorney general in 1986.
The state Democratic Party must
bear the brunt of the conflict because
the current dearth of women office
holders is largely its responsibility.
Republican women, oddly enough,
have a better chance of being nom
inated for statewide office than Demo
crats because their party is the chal
lenger and has less to lose by putting
female candidates on the ticket.
Several female candidates from both
parties have run successful campaigns
for seats in the state legislature, but
not for statewide offices.
For women to be able to run and
win, they must first run and lose. But
each party's hold on the state is so
tenuous right now that neither is
willing to offer seats to women
candidates sacrificial lambs, if you
will to lose for the greater good.
But they must. It is entirely possible
that there are more than a few men
and women living in this state-who
believe women have no place in politics
that they only belong at home in
the proverbial kitchen. Those people
are wrong. There can be no doubt
about it.
Perhaps these sexist beliefs can only
be expected from a state that is
represented by Jesse Helms, a state
where it is still legal for a man to rape
his wife. But it's hard to believe that
a state with a female majority is unable
even to take a stab at fairly repres
enting that majority among its elected
officials. Both parties must accept their
obligation to change this, and change
it by 1990 the next election.
Kimberly Edens
Dealing with a sticky subject
Telling UNC cashiers where to park it
The state Senate Judiciary Commit
tee passed a bill which would give
lawmakers the power to ban bumper
stickers they consider indecent. When
the bill comes before the full Senate,
it must be opposed because it would
blatantly infringe on North Carolin
ians' right to free speech.
Sen. Aaron Plyler, D-Union, wants
all profanity removed from bumper
stickers, saying they are in bad taste
and can adversely influence minors.
The bill would ban stickers containing
"indecent words describing sexual acts,
excretory functions, or parts of the
human body or a visual depiction
which is harmful to minors." Senate
leaders have said the bill will probably
pass because the public feels strongly
about it.
There are undoubtedly many
bumper stickers which are offensive
and obnoxious, and it would be nice
if people would exercise good taste
when displaying bumper stickers. But
the bill clearly violates First Amend
ment rights and sets a dangerous
precedent. The state has no right to
legislate taste or decide what slogans
on bumper stickers are harmful to
minors. Suggested amendments to the
bill include judging obscenity based on
"prevailing community standards"
among adults, but who determines
what the prevailing standards are?
In this age of Rambo and violent
television, bumper stickers are not
likely to seriously affect minors. And
impressionable children will not read
an indecent bumper sticker outside the
presence of an adult, since most
stickers are seen while in the car. If
questions arise, parents should be able
to answer them.
If the bill passes, the legislature
would have the jurisdiction to deter
mine what is in good taste and what
is decent. Under these conditions,
bumper stickers which simply express
radical ideas or criticisms of the
government could be banned because
they were deemed harmful to minors.
The law could also likely be extended
to censor items such as T-shirts and
hats. States would have a hard time
deciding where the intervention would
stop. Censorship may seem innocuous,
but its implications can be huge.
Unfortunately, people will choose to
display "indecent" expressions in
public, and even if it seems unpleasant,
the right to free speech must be
protected, even in extreme cases.
Chris Landgraff .
The Daily Tar Heel
Editorial Writers: Kimberly Edcns, Chris Landgraff and David Stames.
Assistant Editors: Jessica Yates, arts; Jessica Lanning, city; Myrna Miller, features; Staci Cox, managing;
Anne Isenhower and Steve Wilson, news; Ellen Thornton .Omnibus; Andrew Podolsky, Jay Reed and Jamie
Rosenberg, sports; Karen Dunn, state and national; James Burroughs and Amy Wajda, university.
News: Craig Allen, Kari Barlow, Maria Batista, Crystal Bernstein, Victor Blue, Sarah Cagle, Brenda
Campbell, James Coblin, LD. Curie, JoAnna Davis, Blake Dickinson, Jeff Eckard, Karen Entriken, Deirdre
Fallon, Mark Folk, Lynn Goswick, Jada K. Harris, Joey Hill, Susan Holdsclaw, Jennifer Johnston, Jason Kelly,
Lloyd Lagos, Tracy Lawson, Rheta Logan, Dana Clinton Lumsdcn, Jeff Lutrell, Kimberly Maxwell, Helle
Nielsen, Glenn O'Neal, Simone Pam, Tom Parks, Jannetie Pippin, Elizabeth Sherrod, Sonserae Smith, Will
Spears, Larry Stone, Laura Taylor, Kelly Thompson, Kathryne Tovo, Stephanie von Isenburg, Gertie Walker,
Sandy Wall, Sherry Waters, Chuck Williams, Fred Williams, Jennifer Wing, Katie Wolfe, Nancy Wykle and
Faith Wynn.
Sports: Mike Berardino, senior writer. Neil Amato, Mark Anderson, Jason Bates, John Bland, Christina
Frohock, Scott Gold, Doug Hoogervorst, David Kupstas, Bethany Litton, Bobby McCroskey, Natalie Sekicky,
Dave Surowiecki and Eric Wagnon.
Arts and Features: Kelly Rhodes, senior writer. Cheryl Alien, Lisa Antonucci, Randy Basinger, Clark
Benbow, Adam Benolett, Roderick Cameron, Ashley Campbell, Pam Emerson, Diana Florence. Laura
Francis, Jacki Greenberg, Andrew Lawler, Elizabeth Murray, Julie Olson, Lynn Phillips, Leigh Pressley, Kim
Stallings and Anna Turnage.
Photography: Thomas Clark, Evan Eile, Chuck Ellison, Steven Exum, Regina Holder, Sheila Johnston,
Tracey Langhome, David Minton and Todd Scott.
Copy Editors: Karen BeU, B Buckberry, Michelle Casale, Joy Golden, Bert Hackney, Kathleen Hand, Angela
Hill, Susan Holdsclaw, Karen Jackson, Janet McGirt, Angelia Poteat and Clare Wcickert.
Editorial Assistants: Mark Chilton. Amy Dickinson, letter typist.
Design Assistants: Kim Avetta, Mclanie Black, Del Lancaster, Nicole Luter, Bill Phillips and Susan Wallace.
Cartoonists: Jeff Christian, Adam Cohen, Pete Corson, Bryan Donnell, Trey Entwistle, David Estoye, Greg
Humphreys and Mike Sutton.
Business and Advertising: Kevin Schwartz, director; Patricia Glance, advertising director; Joan Worth,
classified manager; Stephanie Chesson, assistant classified manager; Chrissy Mennitt, advertising manager;
Sabrina Goodson, business manager; Dawn Dunning, Beth Harding, Sarah Hoskins, Amy McGuirt, Maureen
Mclntyre, Denise Neely, Tina Perry, Pam Strickland, Amanda Tilley and Joye Wiley, display advertising
representatives; Leisa Hawley, creative director; Dan Raasch, marketing director; Genevieve Halkelt,
Camille Philyaw, Tammy Sheldon and Angela Spivey, classified advertising representatives; Jeff Carlson,
office manager and Allison Ashworth, secretary.
Subscriptions: Ken Murphy, manager.
Distribution: David Econopouly, manager; Newton Carpenter, assistant.
Production: Bill Leslie and Stacy Wynn, managers; Tammy Sheldon, assistant manager; Anita Bentley,
Stephanie Locklear and Leslie Sapp, assistants.
Printing: The Village Companies.
riirst of all, I'd like to know who peed
H in the Fruit Loops of the folks in
JJL charge of UNC parking this week.
Did anybody see what I saw Monday?
Legions upon legions of tow trucks
descended upon the town like the ancient
armies of Rome, thousands of guys in
polyester jumpsuits with the name Elmo
embroidered on the front pocket on a
college Children's Crusade to convert the
heathens to the eternal truth of UNC
parking regulations. And of course, all
their trusty devil's apprentices, the student
parking lot lizards in their day-glo orange
Red Lobster bibs, were out in full force
flocking like flourescent ants that carry
twice their body weight in carbon parking
tickets a banner day for the forces of
good over evil!
Ironically, Monday was one of the few
days this year when I didn't get a ticket,
but that was probably because the chal
lenge for them was gone. Either that, or
they were still awash in the glow of the
stunt they pulled last week when I parked
in a "State Owned Service Vehicles Only
until 7:00" spot at 6:50. 1 had put my hazard
lights on since I was only going to be a
few minutes, and since I knew how anal
those parking lot lizards can be but they
had completely outdone themselves when
I returned. Some hodad wearing the bib
was crouched over my Volkswagen,
furiously writing on his carbon clipboard
like he was composing my automotive
requiem, cackling with fire in his eyes.
"Now wait a minute," I said. "I was only
gone for three minutes and I had my
blinkers on."
"Tell it to th' judge," he said. God, I
hate it when people say that.
"Look, I realize that this is your job and
all, and I'm sure that you pay for your
meal plan and your botany textbook with
all the money you rake in from making
other people's lives miserable, but it is a
scant few minutes away from seven o'clock,
and I think you could spare ..."
"Th tow truck's already comin'."
"'What? Have you got a Cellular One
on your bicycle, for god's sake?"
MYer parked in a North Carolina Official
Space," he announced pompously. "By
law, I have to keep you from obstructin'
state officials." '
"What, in case Jim Martin has to use
the Union potty real bad?"
Ian Williams
Wednesday's Child
"Plus," he went on, unamused, "you are
what we call a Repeat Offender. So you're
just gonna have to wait here for the tow
trucks to come."
"Yeah, right. And could you drive
bamboo shoots underneath my fingernails
while I'm waiting too? Forget it!"
So, before I left, he kindly explained to
me how I was going to get a citation for
being a repeat offender and for the tow
truck no matter what; which basically
means I got hosed thrice I got a ticket,
a ticket for getting a ticket, and I paid
for a tow truck that existed only hypo
thetically. And ya know, I sure learned my
lesson, and gosh if I'm not liable to think
twice about messing with that megalith of
power and entertainment that all the kids
at home call the UNC parking department.
Ha!
What is it about this school that
encourages that kind of petty bureaucracy?
Are we students such bad little brats that
we are going to have to sit at an emotional
kiddie table for the rest of our college
existence?
The worst example of this sort of feudal
oppression is made painfully obvious in
the wild preregistration process on the
savannahs of Chapel Hill. It seems you
can't take a whiz during preregistration
unless the College of Arts and Sciences
approves it, and even then they'll act like
they're doing you a favor by even getting
your folder.
I stood in the rain, and then I stood
in the humid, slime-soaked stairwell of
Hanes Hall awaiting my redemption at the
pearly gates of the "Cashier Clearance"
table for an hour and a half like a Dickens
character begging for gruel. When I finally
got to the front of the line, the lady filled
me with interpersonal joy and warmth by
calling me by my social security number.
"It seems you owe the cashier a little
money," she said in a voice that sounded
like a chain saw going through a metal
pipe, "You're going to have to go to Bynum
and get this straightened out."
"You mean I just waited in line to find
out I have to wait in line?"
"Well," she tittered, "if you want to put
it that way ..."
So I slogged across the quad to BynunY
through the drizzly tundra that has been
this Carolina spring, and as I opened the
doors to the cashier building, I was
surrounded by the sights and moans of
what looked like a L.L. Bean leper colony.
Hundreds of kids with raingear dragging
from their waists formed a single file line
that wound its way in a labyrinth up and
down staircases, around corridors and
through janitorial spaces. All of the people
looked at me with hollow-eyed despair, too
drained to speak, mustering up the strength
to advance six inches every five minutes.
I found my spot at the end of the line,
under a shelf holding a vat of ammonia
in a work closet on the second floor.
An hour and three-quarters later, I was
reading the subscription information in my
Psychology Today magazine for the fifth
time, when suddenly I advanced my next
few inches and actually saw the light of
my financial Messiah Bynum basement,
Carolina cash central! With the last of my
strength, I stumbled into the office where
there were two, count 'em, two cashiers
serving the financial obligations of 22,000
students. Walking up to Agnes, I called
myself by my social security number.
"Ah yes, Mr. Williams, that will be five
dollars."
My mouth hung open. I started to shake.
"Fi . . . five dollars?"
"That's right," she gently intoned.
"'Five dollars? Do you mean to tell me
I have waited all afternoon to pay UNC
the amount of a kiddie meal at Shoney's?
I can 't graduate unless I give UNC enough
to send Dean Boulton to a movie?"
"Well," she smiled, "if you put it that
way ..."
"Just tell me," I said , "please tell me what
is that I'm paying for."
"Let's see five dollars . . . UNC
parking. It seems you stopped your car
in a No Parking spot in front of a State
Owned Service Vehicle Only space."
I aged three years that day.
Ian Williams is a music and psychology
major from Los Angeles who got a ticket
while typing this damn column into the
computer.
Readers9 Foram
Letter proved
cartoon's point
To the editor:
I am writing to comment on
Tanya Person's response
("Comic strip in poor taste,"
April 7) to the April 3 comic
strip "Herschel," in which he
labors over a potential strip
about black sororities. Ms.
Person proceeded to blast the
strip's author, Adam Cohen,
claiming that he "indirectly"
ridiculed the black Greek sys
tem, especially black sororities.
Not only did she misunder
stand Mr. Cohen's comic strip,
but she also blew it entirely out
of proportion.
If you would come out from
behind your defensive wall, Ms.
Person, you might realize that
Mr. Cohen was only trying to
make a non-specific statement:
when a DTH cartoonist or
editorialist simply mentions
any campus organization, (s)he
will undoubtedly see a negative
response shortly thereafter. The
comic strip would have meant
the same if he had mentioned
white sororities, the marching
band, or the men's water polo
club (now I'll probably get a
letter from one of each). Thus,
by writing your unnecessary
letter, you even helped to prove
Mr. Cohen's point. He prob
ably appreciates that.
Please don't misunderstand
me, also. I do not oppose any
particular campus group - or
organization, including some
thing "so sacred as Greekdom"
(nice word coinage), which Ms.
Person glorifies and defends to
the death. But I wonder how
it can be so sacred if she feels
obligated to defend it so vehe
mently. Her letter alone sug
gests that this .Greek system
may not be as sacred as she
thinks. Then again, no topic is
sacred as far as I'm concerned.
So thanks, Ms. Person, for
submitting your letter. In doing
so, you made Mr. Cohen's
comic strip funnier than it was
in the first place. Yes, that's
right, I was laughing, and I'm
sure a lot of other people were,
too.
CHRIS BOWMAN
Junior
Psychology pre-dental .
These locks not
key to safety
To the editor:
After learning in an April 7
Daily Tar Heel article of the
housing department's tentative
plans to install keyed bathroom
locks in dorms all over campus,
we'd like to encourage director
Wayne Kuncl not to waste the
money.
As residents of STOW, we
I'
are particularly affected by the
new locks recently placed on
our bathroom doors to
"increase the level of safety,"
according to Kuncl. We agree
wholeheartedly that STOW
residents need better security,
but locking our bathrooms is
not the way to achieve it.
It's true that a majority of
females in STOW supported
the idea before fall break. But
the show of hands was taken
at the end of long, mandatory
security meetings, which fright
ened many residents with hor
ror stories about dorm crimes
around the United States.
We agree that sometimes we
need to be scared for our own
good. But most dorm crimes
are thefts from a person's room.
The point of the seminars was
to encourage residents not to
prop open doors to the build
ings or to leave their rooms
unlocked so that strangers
might enter. Keying the
bathroom doors has little to do
with this.
In addition, the doors may
have locks on them, but they
are not used very often. Res
idents find fiddling with a key
to use the bathroom so incon
venient that someone nearly
always props the door open.
We dont know the cost of
keying STOW's bathroom
doors, but money which pays
for something so seldom used
is not wisely spent. Does this
remind anyone of our
peepholes?
Now, we are not attempting .
to discourage the housing
department from trying other .
means to increase security.
Resident safety is a very real
need, especially for STOW,
with its location in the corner
of campus. But please don't
waste the money locking
bathrooms all over campus.
Start with securing the outside
of the buildings. Lock the
strangers out of our dorms, not
residents out of our bathrooms!
ASHLEY ARMSTRONG
Sophomore
English
speech communication
. LOR I RAY
Sophomore
Physical therapy
Letters policy
B All letters must be signed
by the author(s), with a limit
of two signatures per letter.
fl Place letters in the box
marked "Letters to the Editor"
outside the DTH office in the
Student Union.
f,w r
V ANYMORE WORD
Ohi HOW THOSE FUSION )