16The Daily Tar HeelThursday, April 27, 1939
97th year of editorial freedom
Sharon Kebschull, Editor
WlLLlAMT AGG ART, ManagingEditor
LOUIS BlSSETTE, Editorial Page Editor MARY Jo DUNNINGTON, Editorial Page Editor
JUSTIN McGuiRE, University Editor JENNY CLONINGER, University Editor
TAMMY BLACK ARD, State and National Editor CHARLES BRITTAIN, City Editor
ERIK DALE FLIPPO, Business Editor DAVE GLENN, Sports Editor
CAR A BONNETT, Arts and Features Editor JAMES BENTON, Omnibus Editor
JULIA COON, News Editor DAVID SUROYilECKl, Photography Editor
Kelly Thompson, Design Editor
Pay now or suffer more later
board
opinion
The value of a
UNC diploma is in
serious danger of
plummeting. As a
DTH series this
week showed, the University is. losing
distinguished faculty and experiencing
difficulty recruiting new faculty
members because of the relatively poor
pay and benefits. Unless the N.C.
General Assembly acts quickly to
improve faculty compensation pack
ages, UNC will lose its reputation as
a premier university.
The statistics make the point pain
fully clear. UCLA and the universities
of Wisconsin, Virginia and Michigan,
comparable to UNC in size and
reputation, all have significantly
higher faculty salaries, especially when
benefits are included. Benefits such as
day care and family health plans are
especially lacking at UNC. Since
spouses and dependents are not
covered by the University, employees
pay thousands of dollars each year
. providing family coverage.
The fringe benefits the University
offers to faculty today are largely the
same benefits which were offered 40
years ago. For example, a system of
faculty leave was established only last
year. In order to remain a progressive
academic institution, UNC must be
progressive not only in research, but
in providing faculty benefits as well.
State must invest in future
The (market for professors is no
different from any other employment
market. Qualified professors are going
to teach at the school that offers the
best financial package. If UNC does
not begin immediately to compete
economically with other research
institutions, the consequences are all
too clear.
So an investment in UNC's faculty
must be made now, and it must be
made by the legislature. By their
complacency, legislators make the
University unable to attract new
faculty and force it to lose its estab
lished professors.
Professors and students have com
plained and taken action through
petition drives and brochure cam
paigns to educate students on the
problems. The administration has
voiced its concern as well, but it is
paralyzed by a lack of support from
the state.
According to a study by the Board
of Visitors, giving the University
control of job descriptions, which is
now in the hands of the state, would
allow UNC officials to make maxi
mum use of their personnel dollars.
The requirement forcing the Univer
sity to return any unspent budget
money eliminates autonomy over
long-term planning. All of the funds
the school receives from tuition plus
35 percent of grant money must also
be paid to the state. Comparable
institutions such as the University of
Virginia and the University of Texas,
however, are allowed to retain all this
money.
Of course, untying the University's
hands on its budget will be difficult
right now because of the state's recent
budget cuts. Obviously, this is a tight
time for money, but that does not
absolve the state of its duty to remedy
this dilemma. If the state had dealt
with this problem before it became so
severe, adjusting faculty salaries
accordingly so as to remain compet
itive, the situation would not be as dire
as it is.
But the state can keep the problem
from progressing, and now the General
Assembly must realize the need for
increased fiscal autonomy for the UNC
system. Mention of tuition or tax
increases sends politicians into hiding,
but if the state is unwilling to loosen
its strangling control of system funds,
one of these increases must be con
sidered if the legislators want the
system to remain competitive and even
solvent.
Researchers seek higher salaries
Research Triangle Park aptly dem
onstrates the strong pull for quality
researchers that universities can create.
But too often, researchers leave the
University to work for private firms.
For the state to continue growing, the
prestige of the University must
increase the state must provide
money to attract and retain presti
gious, qualified faculty for both
research and teaching purposes.
UNC has become known as a
"raidable" school, where the faculty
are lured away by higher salaries and
a better working environment. Several
top professors, including Southern
politics expert Merle Black, have been
recruited from the University or left
for better offers.
The University can still attract
quality teachers, as shown by the
recent controversy surrounding his
tory professors Jim Leloudis and Gary
Freeze, who are both considered
excellent in the classroom. And
English professor Reid Barbour chose
to come to UNC despite a better offer
from Vanderbilt, but his decision was
based largely on personal reasons. The
University cannot count on these
personal ties when recruiting profes
sors. At least in the eyes of students
and faculty, this problem is simple to
solve. If compensation is not compet
itive with the top schools in the nation,
neither will the school be competitive.
The commitment made 200 years
ago to excellence at UNC has carried
the University to the top of the higher
education community. But that stand
ing is threatened by complacency on
the part of legislators who are not
supportive of efforts to improve
faculty compensation. Unless they
take action now, the 200 years of work
to establish UNC as one of the best
public universities in the nation could
be lost.
Some final thoughts while still searching
the last word
We finally did it.
When you get back to the first paper Aug.
31, there'll be one very pleasant change in
the format of The Daily Tar Heel. Ml have
Calvin and Hobbes.
I used to think Calvin and Hobbes was
stupid. I'm not sure when I changed my
mind, but I eventually came to love the
humor of the strip, so much so that I
promised in my campaign for editor that
I'd do everything possible to get it. Because
The Chapel Hill Newspaper has the cartoon
already, we had to get their permission to
run it. We got that this week, thanks to
Bill Taggart, the DTH's managing editor.
That thank-you is really what this last
word is about. The editors who put together
this 18-page paper and Omnibus deserve
a thank-you for their hard work throughout
the semester. Calvin and Hobbes is just one
example of all that the editors have
accomplished, such as a weekly, graphically
pleasing business page, a Monday city news
page, more arts coverage and a Friday
features page.
The editors work makes this paper
award-winning, and this week we received
news that the DTH won the top honor
rating of "All American" from the Asso
ciated Collegiate Press, based on five issues
of the paper and two editions of Omnibus
from fall semester. The paper won marks
of distinction for coverage and content,
writing and editing, opinion content, and
photography, art and graphics. The stories
"indicate a broad range and are in-depth,"
and the "numerous editorials give vent to
excellent comments on the most pertinent
issues," the award said.
That makes us all pretty darn happy, and
it gives editors something to think about
at 1 a.m. when they're wishing they could
be anywhere but here. It's their hard work
that gets this paper out, all 18 pages of it,
and tomorrow, even while they're falling
asleep in class, theyll have that to be proud
of. Thanks, guys.
And that's all for this semester. We have
to revert back to our student mode for
exams, so the DTH will not be available
for insightful news and crossword puzzles.
Good luck and have a fantastic summer.
Sharon Kebschull
ran into a fellow senior the other day,'
and after discussing our future plans,
XLshe turned to me and said, "I hope you
find what you're looking for." It startled
me. Had I told her I was looking for
something? No, I hadn't mentioned any
search at all. Then I began to think maybe
she meant more in the broader scope of
things. What was I looking for? Had my
whole my college career been a never
ending quest for truth and knowledge, or
had I spent the last four years looking for
nothing more than change for a dollar?
The whole piece is going to be a
sentimental remembrance thing, so if you'd
like to start humming "Nadia's Theme,"
it might enhance it.
My roommate my freshman year was
a local drug czar named Cheech. He was
convinced my dad was an undercover
narcotics agent and took 'to shooting at
my parents' car every time they came up.
It made for an awkwardness between us
that never really went away.
I was without a major and decided to
join the ROTC, pronounced by students
" as "Rotzie." I started off in Triple "Rotzie,"
but when I didnt make the Word division,
I got out of it. I wasnl looking for much
my freshman year, with the exception of
.323 Phillips, which I never found and
consequently received an F in the course.
My sophomore year, I began to look
for love. I thought it was in this intriguing,
long-legged she-devil named Roxy in my
Hindu class. She had little command of
the English language and spoke using no
verbs at all. She was a blithering idiot but
had hips that'd make you sing the Dutch
National Anthem in your sleep.
But I had no nerve, so I contacted the
ghost of Vishnu through the aid of our
textbook (he was the god of war and
approach lines). After class one day, I
finally spoke to her. I told her I had some
really good karma back in my room.
"You go to hell," she said.
I told her we wouldn't learn how to do
that until chapter 12, though she didn't
listen. I may not have learned how to look
within the souls of my fellow classmates,
David Rowell
Pardon Me
but I was able to see right through that
white blouse of hers every time she wore
it. I was young and immature. It took little
to make me happy.
With my junior year came a deeper,
more philosophical approach to things and
a fetish for knock-knock jokes. My grades
went up and my academic probation
officer got me off with only having to do
community service. I was lonely, though.
I had the love life of a number two pencil
and my circle of friends was reduced to
an arc. I became moody and depressed and
contemplated courses in Slavic Humor.
I went home on weekends and twice on
weekdays. Then, just as everything seemed
hopeless, a voice came to me. It said,
"Write." I later found out the voice came
from my next door neighbor. He and his
girlfriend were making love like trapeze
artists, and the sound was actually,
"Aaaaaauuugh," but through the walls it
came out as a "write" sound. '
I began to write poetry and fiction,
columns and bad checks. I couldn't stop.
I had found purpose and meaning in life.
Over the summer I started my book,
"Paperweights, and Why They're Nifty."
It's still unfinished.
I came into my senior year with a
positive outlook. I joined the Big Buddy
program and to my surprise, my little
buddy was 62" and repeating fifth grade
for the seventh time. We get along, but
it's an uncomfortable feeling when you
have a little buddy who can beat you up.
IVe spent a good deal of my last year
here trying to make career decisions. I want
to be in an environment conducive to my
talents, a place that will allow me to grow
intellectually, and where I would never
utter the words, "We don't have Mountain
Dew. We have Sprite." But actually
locating these places hasn't been easy, and
IVe had to compromise my career goals
greatly.
Just the other day I was in an interview
(I refuse to name the organization or Jhe
position I was applying for) and all I coufd
think was, "What if I do get this? Is tjis
what I want to be doing?" To give y3u
an idea of how far I have strayed away
from my original career goals, the inter
viewer stopped me and asked, "Gee, what
size would you take in a helmet?"
I can usually tell what to expect from
a company by what kind of questions. I
have to fill out on their information sheet
Some ask very relevant questions abpiit
your personal and educational back
ground, while others seem less pertinerfy
I had a lot to say when I was answering
why I felt I was qualified for the job, but
when I got to the last question I became
less enthused. It read: "If you had to pick
a peanut that best represented your
personality, which would it be? Why?" Vm
still searching.
Anyone who has ever read this column
knows I'm still looking for the answers to
love. Are they undefinable and without
measure, or are they simply located in the
back of the book? After four years "'of
college life, I'm no closer to understanding
the concept than my cousin Beuford,
whose philosophy on women is summed
up by a plaque inside his mobile home.
It says, "I don't date girls who use four
letter words . . . like dont,' 'stop,' or
quit.' "
Anyway, I tried to call this girl to tell
her she was right for assuming I was
looking for something, but she wasn't in.,'
So in the end I didn't get the girl. Life
goes on. And I didnt get the perfect jol?
, offer. Hey, pardon me. IVe had some fun
along the way. Isn't that what life is about
setting your goals and having fun trying
to reach them? Somewhere between Uf
and death there is love and happiness. You.
just have to look for it. Everything else
is worth a laugh.
David Rowell is a senior R TV MP major
Jrom rayetteville.
.
j
Readers9 Forum
Club didnt call
for "Shoe Day"
To the editor:
I am writing in regard to the
"Heterosexual Awareness
Day" announcement which has
appeared in the DTH; the
announcement is directly
linked to Sharon Sentelle's
April 21 letter, "Homosexuality
a violation of natural laws."
The UNC College Republicans'
"encouragement" for participa
tion in such an event is simply
fabricated and far from truth,
and it should be recognized as
such.
I am a serving member of the
club's executive board, which
is supposed to guide the club
in its decisions. Neither myself
nor several other executive
board members heard about
Ms. Sentelle's childish idea
until it appeared in the DTH.
The idea is no more than a self
proclaimed Shoe Day, demon
strating some shallow thinking
on Ms. Sentelle's part. For
someone who claims to have
intentions of improving the
UNC College Republicans'
image, Ms. Sentelie, as its
leader, is putting forth her
efforts in the wrong vein. If
anything, Ms. Sentelie has
actually contributed to worsen
ing any impression anyone had
about the club.
It is an embarrassment to be
even remotely associated with
Ms. Sentelie after her improper
abuse of her authority. Perhaps
better judgment in selecting
officers would help to improve
the club's image. Ms. Sentelie
can rest assured that this will
not be the last she will hear
about this.
BENJAMIN BARKER
Freshman
Business administration
Plan your own
entertainment
To the editor:
In her April 24 letter ("Enter
tainment excludes blacks"),
Sharon Taylor writes, "It seems
that the only freedom blacks
have on this campus is the
music they provide for them
selves." Taylor wants the Uni
versity to "stop making excuses
for itself and provide entertain
ment for all students blacks
includedr It seems Taylor is
the one making excuses,
because the University does not
"provide" Beach Blast or other
entertainment events stu
dents do.
Beach Blast started when a
few students had the idea of a
beach music concert and took
the initiative to arrange the
event. It was not conceived by
the University, nor is it run by
the University. And we cer
tainly have no special privileges
as white students which enable
us to put on an event. Anyone
can organize something as big
or bigger.
We are sorry Taylor does not
like the music played at Beach
Blast (though the event is n)t
intended for whites only; mariy
blacks attended, and the
members of the headlining
band are themselves black). It
would be great for the Univer
sity to put on the events she
would like, but if it won't, the
means are there for her to make
it happen personally. l
MIKE SULLIVAN
Senior
Industrial relations
DONALD TRULf. j
Sophomore
Englisji i
Don't criticize R.E.M. for concert style
To the editor:
Following Saturday night's R.E.M.
concert, I walked out of the Smith Center,
past the "unofficial" T-shirt vendors and
into the balmy April evening with some
pretty varied impressions of a band in
transition. Most of these differ distinctly
from those proffered by concert reviewer
Mike Berardino ("R.E.M. able to import
success from intimate setting to arena") in
the April 24 DTH. For those fans not
fortunate enough to have seen the concert,
I would like to add a few observations to
complete the picture perfunctorily painted
by Mr. Berardino.
While simultaneously increasing the
accessibility of its lyrics (making them
intelligible) and decreasing the intimacy of
its live shows (playing larger venues),
R.E.M. has apparently arrived at a
communicative crossroads. On stage, the
band may seem distant at times, but this
is hardly surprising in halls like the SAC,
which do (by their very size) physically
distance a major portion of the audience.
Importantly, the members of R.E.M.-are
trying to explore novel ways of relating
to their live audiences (video images, etc.).
The main message of Saturday's show,
however, seemed to be that the key to
enjoying this group live does not lie in
telling its members to "shut up and sing
my favorite song."
From my seat on the floor, Michael
Stipe's by-now-famous remark ("We don't
take requests, and I hate that song") was
not "shot back" in response to polite
requests from the good-natured "group up
front," as the reviewer suggests, but rather
in response to recurring rude interruptions
from a group of concert-goers in the lower
level diagonal to the stage. Far from
presenting an "entirely disagreeable tone,"
Stipe's comeback to this unwarranted
heckling was not only to-the-point and
necessary, but also welcomed and
applauded.
Fellow DTH reviewer Ron Crawford
pointed out in his Monday review of the
Violent Femmes show ("Meaningful act
pleases crowd") that "rock-and-roll audien
ces tend to be composed of young fans
out to have a good time," not interested
in any "heavy stuff or serious messages
that may creep in. To whatever extent this
may or may not be true, it is still troubling
to note that such an interest in current
events and political causes (like preserva
tion of the environment) is equated, in the
reviewer's mind, to "pandering." Others
may define it as concern, the first step
toward enacting change.
Whether you see Stipe's eccentric refusal
to compromise in general and his remark
in particular as "cynical," as the reviewer
chose to do, is a matter of personal choice.
However, it should be noted that to set
up a good-guy bad-guy dichotomy with
the audience portrayed as innocent victim
and Stipe as a sarcastic bully (as the
reviewer does) is misleading. The reader
himself falls prey to the sarcastic barb of
Berardino's pen more than once in the
course of the article, as Mike Berardino
propagates the very sarcasm he finds so
reproachable in the other Michael (Stipe).
I did not go to the show merely for "sonie
quirky stage antics ... some political
panderings ... and a healthy dose of
sarcasm." I went primarily for the music.
I suspect other fans did, too. Unfortu
nately, this is an aspect of the show which
is neglected by the review. While choosing
to concentrate on said "quirky" antics, th$
reviewer loses sight of the goal of the
review, confronting (aside from dutifully
listing song titles) the subject of the actual
music a total of once in his article. The
adjectives he does use to describe songs
range from "inane" on the one hand al
the way over to "passable" on the positive
end of the spectrum. Yet the criteria he
uses to attach these labels are not elabf
orated upon nor are the, reasons fof
which, despite this, he gives the concert
itself an overall "thumbs up." (Could it
have been the "hip" thing to do?) ;
By this point, my biases are probably
as clear as the reviewer's. But every story
has (at least) two sides . . . My suggestion
is to go see a show and make up yout
mind about R.E.M. for yourself. Stipej
might say something interesting then;
again, he might not. Just give him ano)
R.E.M. the chance to if they so desire. l
would be a shame to lose any serious;
message or art there may be to be founcj
in R.E.M.'s music let's hope that, tq
use Crawford's words again, this is not "thq
price of fame." " j
BRUCE BENNETT;
Senior
French