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'10The Daily Tar HeelThursday, June 7, 1990 Sty platly afar 98th year of editorial freedom ' Kelly Thompson, Editor Cameron Tew, Assistan t Editor ' Brandon Poe, Copy Editor GRANT Halverson, Photography Editor Staff Writers: Randy Basinger, Paul Boyd, Gigi Branch, Laura Brown, Heidi Fisher, Lora Gay, Jim Greenhill, Grant Halverson, Andre Hauser, Thomas Healy, Devon Hyde, Wendy Joyce, Sonya McCarter, Marissa Mills, Katherine Perry, Sherry Shaw, Brian Springer, John Von Cannon, Eric Wagnon, Beverley White and Nancy Wykle Photographer: DAWN DelVECCHIO Cartoonists: ALEX DeGrAND AND DAVID EsTOYE 200 years at risk UNC placed in jeopardy by shortage of funds The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was first conceptualized in 1776 in the state's consti tution. The General As sembly met in Fayetteville in 1789 to make that goal a reality. UNC's purpose was stated in its charter's pre amble: "it is the indispensable duty of every Legislature to consult the happiness of a rising generation, and endeavour to fit them for an honourable discharge of the social duties of life, by paying the strictest attention to their education: ... an university supported by permanent funds and well endowed, would have the most direct ten dency to answer the above purpose." On Oct. 12, 1793, the trustees laid the corner stone to Old East, establishing the first state university in the nation. The idea of a university run by the government for its citizens was revolution ary in its day, and this institution has con tinued at the forefront of the national edu cation movement. But those two proud traditions, both of educating the citizens of North Carolina and of leading the scholars of this nation, are at risk. The future of this University will live or die with the budget ary decisions made by the General Assem bly this summer. In a way, it is fitting that the direction for the next century of higher education at UNC, and in North Carolina as a whole, should be determined on the eve of its Bicentennial. In another way, it is quite horrifying that this focus may be estab lished at the expense of this state's roads, prisons and social programs. Yet this fact is one we all must face: continuing North Carolina's commitment to quality univer sities is going to be painful over the nexi five years, but it must continue. Higher education in this state is in such dire straits because it was already troubled before the budget crisis hit. Our libraries have faced a continual decline in buying power since 1985. Our faculty have been approached with job offers by many public and private universities because the sala ries and benefits they receive simply do not match their abilities. And some full-time members of our staff have not even earned enough to clear the federal poverty level. When added to these complex and deep rooted problems, recent budget shortfalls have been disastrous. How can an institu tion expect to stay among the top 25 uni versities in the nation when it cannot even A deadly combination Combined budget cuts hurt poor In a period of large budget shortfalls and increasing financial demands, North Carolina officials are facing a serious cri sis. But if recent decisions concerning family programs are implemented, the state will force the people who are the most financially and physically vulnerable underprivileged women, infants and young children to bear too heavy a burden in balancing the budget. The N.C. House Appropriations Com mittee, acting on Gov. Jim Martin's pro posed budget, voted Friday to slash fund ing for abortions by 75 percent. The cuts may have been prompted by political mo tivations instead of budgetary ones, con sidering they compensate for less than 1 percent of the budget shortfall. Whatever the reasoning, the state is placing its troubles on those least able to afford them. According to the N.C. Department of Human Resources, state-funded abortions are available to only the most underprivi leged; the income limit for a woman in a four-person household is $8,126 per year. The department reported 1,901 state-funded abortions in 1989-90. If the state cuts the program by three-fourths, is it willing to accept responsibility if some women try less safe, less expensive methods? Is it willing to provide for 1,400 babies? If another government decision is any indication, the politicians have no inten tion of paying. Federal funds for the Spe cial Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) can not feed as many recipients as they did last year because of a 10 percent rise in food prices. But instead of using state money to distribute copies of final exam questions to students? When professors are forced to pay for copies of class handouts out of their own pockets? When the libraries must rely on donations just to stay open full time during finals? Or when the possibility of lay-offs is lurking around the corner? And really, how can an institution expect to provide even an adequate education, let alone a superior one, to its citizens under these conditions? It is time to face these facts head on, and to make some difficult decisions. In an election year, many politicians are reluctant to do so, but this cannot be put off. To start with, the General Assembly must realize that maintaining funding at current levels will not maintain quality at current levels it will cause a drastic, quick decline at UNC. Without new funds now, we cannot correct the long-term problems this insti tution faces. Second, our legislators must consider restructuring the state financial system to give universities more control over their funds. Both the UNC system and the state budget office have recommended ways to cut red tape, and our chancellor has pleaded for more managerial and financial flexibility. Extra bureaucracy and extra paperwork are things we cannot afford. The General Assembly should also change its attitude toward tuition hikes. If a rise in tuition occurs, students must have a year to prepare before it goes into effect. And any tuition increase should bring with it a responsibility to increase financial aid. Even if the General Assembly decides that national prominence is no longer a priority, it still has an obligation to educate the members of this state. There are no easy answers, and members of the University community will also have to face unpleasant decisions. The adminis tration must decide if it is right to be build ing new facilities when the ones we have now are falling apart, when we are losing the faculty who teach in them and when enrollment is expected to drop. Students will probably be called upon to do their part as well. We can only hope that the sacri fices we make will be part of a genuine effort to correct the problems of the Uni versity instead of a makeshift attempt to tide things over until it's more convenient for the politicians. Two hundred years of quality tradition are depending on it. The Summer Tar Heel editorial board consists of Cameron Tew, Kelly Thompson and Nancy Wykle. maintain the program (let alone expand it if state abortion funds were slashed), the state has decided to cut 10,000 mothers and children out of WIC by September. That may not cost anything now, but it will in the future. WIC gives vouchers for milk, cheese, cereal, juice, eggs, beans, peas and baby formula to expectant and new mothers and young children. It is one of the most popular welfare programs because studies show every dollar spent saves $3 in health care costs for children. Limiting underprivi leged women' s ability to have safe abortions and their ability to care for their babies at the same time is poor public policy, to put it mildly. If the studies of WIC are any indication, it is poor fiscal policy as well. The health of these children and women should not depend on budgets. If govern ment officials want to reduce the number of state-funded abortions because they be lieve abortion is morally wrong, they have every right to try. But they should not hide behind financial difficulties to do so. And they should never restrict state-funded abortions if they are not willing to support the additional children. Simultaneously cutting abortion fund ing and the number of WIC recipients has created an issue that goes beyond abortion and welfare debates. It is now a question of making underprivileged children and women pay for our budget shortfalls with their health and, considering high infant mortality rates and the risks of unlicensed abortions, possibly their lives. Next to that, a few traffic jams or a few cents tax are pleasant alternatives. Kelly Thompson l-900-Hot-Date Editor's note: We received this column via cassette from Broughton Mental Hospital where our Wild Side columnist is undergoing psy chiatric evaluation following his arrest and alleged theft of a car, a VCR and an array of merchandise K-mart would be proud of. I'M INNOCENT! I SWEAR! WRITE YOUR SENATOR, CONGRESSMAN, THE PRESIDENT! ALL I DID WAS CALL A FEW STUPID NUMBERS THAT FLASHED ON MY TV SCREEN. HONEST! "Oh, no, they're coming with sedatives again. Get that needle away from...." (A few oblivious, tranquilized hours later Ed.) They want to keep me wrapped up in these stupid dinner jackets with the arms sewn on backwards, but this story is the truth, I swear. It started last Friday night as a joke, some buddies of mine (I won't mention any names to protect Jeff and John's identities!!) dared me to call that 1-900-HOT-DATE number when we saw the commercial in between reruns of Silver Spoons and Good Times. "Triple-Dog-Dare you to call up and ask for that girl with the Mexican shaky things!" "The Mexican shaky things?" "Yeah." Not to be daunted by my friend's dare and for the benefit of all the Wild Side fans who called the number, but chickened out at the last second and hung up the phone, I said with my best Clint Eastwood impression, "Pass me the touchtone." Friend number two (John) passed me the phone and I called. "Hello," a soft, innocent voice answered. "Yes, I'd like to talk with the girl in your commercial with the Mexican shaky things," I said, looking stupidly at my name-withheld-to- Students do not knov the bargain they get To the editors: As a life-long citizen and em ployee of the state of North Caro lina, I am proud of the educational opportunit ies available through the University of North Carolina sys tem and of the state's belief in education which is backed up by a constitutional calling for "educa tion at the lowest possible cost." But before organizing support against a tuition increase I would like to suggest that some further thought and investigation is called for. The problem we are facing now is not a new one but a delayed one. For years we have been barely holding on by our teeth under in creased student load and continu ally diminishing resources. We simply cannot continue to operate under the meager budgetary situ ation we currently find and provide you with the level of education you deserve. I challenge you to compare our tuition rate with those institutions of equal repute. I strongly recom mend that your reporters spend some time with faculty and staff of academic and support departments in order to get a real picture of what is involved with providing students with a quality educational experience. I would welcome such a discussion. You may be surprised at what a bargain you are currently getting. PEGGY BERRYHILL Administrative Assistant Summer student fees to be spent in summer Editor's note: Matt Heyd is Speaker of Student Congress. To the editor: Student Activity Fees: everyone saw them on their summer school tuition bill. But where do they go puts 'Wild Side' Randy Basinger J ,"5 J , ' j S f 1 -Vi I i 4 i S 1 ' ' i s A f I 4 M i i it t i I I 4 i protect-the-innocent friend (Jeff). "Oh, you mean Carmen." I was in shock she actually knew who I was talking about! I guessed this happened a lot. A momentary pause and then the receiver was turned into a bullhorn with the voice of what sounded like a member of the East Ger man weightlifting team thundering into my right ear, causing permanent decibel damage. "What do you want?" the gruffy, male hormonal voice asked. "A date?" my voice cracked like a thirteen-year-ojd in the throes of puberty. "Meet me at the mall at 7:30, and you better have a Porsche." "Right," I gulped. SLAM! CLICK! "She wants me to pick her up at the mall and I have to have a Porsche." "No problem, dude," my friend (Jeff) said, "There's another of those numbers, 1 -900-HOT-CARS. You can get tubular cars for about a hundred bucks." The plan flew into action, Jeff (I mean friend number one) called for the car. John (Oops, friend number two) called 1 -900-HOT-VCRS so I could show movies. Me, I called 1-900-HOT-FOOD for a pizza, flown direct from Rome. It was perfect....then I picked her up. Carmen WAS three hundred pounds of pure woman, a "before" to one of those Slim Fast commercials, who used all the money she made from those commercials to gorge herself. That, however, wasn't going to stop me because friend number one had gotten me a Porsche 9 1 1 READERS' FORMRl during the summer? Simply put: back to you. Several years ago, the Student Congress worked out an agreement so that the Daily Tar Heel, WXYC and the Carolina Union would receive the majority of the summer funds to go for direct services. Additionally, the Carolina Union receives a larger percentage of fees (53.3) than it does during the regular academic year to go for summer Union programming. The remainder of the activities go for the Daily Tar Heel (16 first ses sion and 12 second session), WXYC (4) and an allocatable funds category which is adminis tered by the Student Congress itself. Graduate and professional students also pay $.22 each for the Gradu ate and Professional Students Federation (GPSF). The annual budget process in the spring in large part allocates your money for use by student groups. But most student groups are not as active during the summer, so giving most of the money to the Union, the DTH and WXYC gives you more direct access to your fees. If you have any questions, about summer fees or any other aspect of UNC Student Congress, please call (962-5201 ) or drop by the student government offices in Suite C of the Carolina Union. MATT HEYD Junior History Rams Club donates money to academics To the editor: I feel it is necessary to correct some of the errors in David McCollum's letter to the editor in the DTH last week regarding the Educational Foundation. His first mistake is confusing the Educational Foundation with the General Alumni Association. The General Alumni Assocaition built the Alumni Center. The Edu cational Foundation did not. His second mistake is confusing the Educational Foundation with the Athletic Department and the Chancellor's Office. The Chancellor's Office and the Ath letic Department terminated Dick Crum's contract. They then re quested the Educational Founda tion to fund the settlement because as a state university UNC could not do so. His third mistake was assuming that the Educational Foundation has turned a blind eye to the growing needs of our libraries in the face of stringent budgetary constraints. Perhaps McColIum missed all the local press (about five weeks ago) on the Educational Foundation's $50,000 donation to the libraries. Chancellor Hardin referred to the gift as "enl ightened." I refer to it as critical. According to James Govan, UNC-CH chief li brarian, the gift meant the libraries "could rehire employees to work during both periods and summer sessions." Without the gift, "I ibrary hours would have been cut sig nificantly." (News & Observer) McColIum also must have missed another $50,000 donation this time to Wilson Library to purchase a rare book collection. As a post script Moyer G. Smith, executive vice president of the Educational Foundation, the man who McColIum pinpoints, also devotes his time to fundraising for the li braries as a board member of the Friends of the Library, which has created an endowment to supple ment state appropriations to the library system. I won't even begin to mention other gifts from the Foundation to the education at this University such as donations to the senior class and Carolina Athletic Association ($5,000 per year), the debate team or their $2,000,000 commitment to help build a new parking deck. A fourth consideration is the Educational Foundation's role in in the slammer with a whale tail. I shoved every ounce of cellulite into the dwarfish passenger seat and squeezed the door shut. Carmen screamed something about her lower thigh being caught in the door, but I jumped into the driver's seat and accelerated home. I was going to make the most of this evening since it was costing $ 1 .95 for the first minute and $.99 for each additional one. The meter was running. I pulled up to Kenan Dorm and was met by a six-foot Italian holding a pizza box. I grabbed the cardboard with ROMA stamped on top as Carmen oozed from the car and we went up to my room. My friends had set it all up. Boy had they set me up!! The cops were there telling me they had received an anonymous tip about large quanti ties of merchandise being unloaded and that the serial numbers on the VCR matched those stolen from a Virginia home, as did the stereo, TV, CD player, etc. It hit me like a Tyson right hook I had been able to get all the great stuff by calling all those 1 -900-HOT-WHATEVER numbers because the merchandise really was "hot", stolen, lifted, thefted, and it was all in my room. Another cop came in and informed everyone that my car was "hot" as well. So that's why it had Iowa plates! "But all I did was call a few numbers. Tell them, Carmen," I said, but she wasn't there. She had quietly lurched down the stairs and away from the scene of the crime. "I only called one number, two at the most, Officer." "Sure, kid," The officer said, and he cuffed me, took me to the station, and booked me. Now, everyone thinks I'm nuts and I've spent two drug-hazed nights with Morganton 's finest. Please, give me a chance to reap revenge on my "friends," a chance to break up the 1 -900-HOT-STUFF theft-ring. Get me outta here! ! ! I can't take another night of Demerol-treated potatoes. the revenue we receive from trade mark licensing. At the last Board of Trustees meeting the Athletic Department very generously spoke in favor of a resolution that will help students significantly. That resolution (which passed) freezes the amount of money the Athletic Department recevies from trade mark royalties (royalties we receive from companies using the UNC logo) at $250,000 and allow the rest to be funneled into student financial aid. Within the next few years this revenue is projected to reach approximately $1,000,000, which means our financial aid will benefit to the thune of $750,000 in a very short time. The gift from the Athletic Department was kind, and for that we are thankful. But per haps we should really thank the Educational Foundation because they are the ones that helped make this gesture possible. The Athletic Department uses its trademark revenue to pay for some of its scholarships. All other scholarships (which are quite significant) are made possible by grants from the Educational Foundation. So one can see that it is in part due to the Foundation's generosity that we the students will benefit. GRANT VINIK Junior Political Science Letter policy The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader comments and criticisms. When writing letters, please fol low these guidelines: All letters must be dated and signed by the author(s), with a limit of two signatures per letter. All letters must be typed and double-spaced, for ease of editing. Letters should include the author's year, major, phone num ber and hometown. The DTH reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vulgarity.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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June 7, 1990, edition 1
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