Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 11, 1992, edition 1 / Page 8
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8The Daily Tar HeelFriday, September 1 1 , 1 992 I Established in 1893 JOOth year of editorial freedom PETER WaLLSTEN, Editor Office hours: Fridays 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ANNA GRIFFIN, University Editor ASHLEY FOGLE, Editorial Page Editor Dana Pope, City Editor REBECAH MOORE, State and National Editor Yl-HsiN CHANG, Features Editor WARREN Hynes, Sports Editor ERIN RANDALL, Photography Editor DAVID J. KUPSTAS, SportSaturday Editor Amy SEELEY, Copy Desk Editor DAVID COUNTS, Layout Editor ALEX De GRAND, Cartoon Editor VlCKI HYMAN, Omnibus Editor JOHN CASERTA, Graphics Editor Free the fees Breaking with more than 20 years of precedent, the N.C. General Assembly decided to apply its notori ous financial prowess to the issue of student fees. During the summer, the self-declared fiscal con servatives in the legislature mandated an arbitrary cap on all fees across the 16 UNC-system campuses. The individual campuses then were left to struggle with inadequate resources, out-of-date technology and starving programs. UNC-CH must watch as the APPLES program faces another year of fiscal uncertainty, the computer labs suffer from increasingly archaic technology and the roof of the Student Union grows ever needier of repairs just another year in which the University slips in rankings of national competitiveness. Regardless, the fee moratorium is a reality. The UNC Board of Governors is now charged with devel oping reasonable guidelines for student fees in an effort to pacify the General Assembly. Whatever fee scheme emerges from BOG discus sions must not deviate from one central principle: Each campus can best dictate its specific needs. Unlike tuition increases that fuel the entire UNC system, student fees levied by a campus remain to improve the quality of education on that campus. Although they all fall under the umbrella of the UNC system, the 16 system campuses differ in fundamental respects. Any arbitrary cap on fees would stifle the necessary discretion each campus should exercise when evaluating its economic needs. Each campus must be called upon to be fair and open stewards of its financial treasure chest. A pro cess should be established in which the consumers the students are consulted on any prospective fee increase. Via election referenda, advisory commit tees or any other mechanism to tap student input, the university's financial managers must prove that they've sampled student sentiment before proposing an increase. Student support then becomes a crucial criteria when attempting to solve the calculus of student fees Once all players are consulted and considered, a comprehensive report prepared by the vice chancel lor for business and finance would outline the pur pose and application of any prospective fee. Members of the UNC community must convince the state legislature that they are reasonable and responsible enough to manage their assets. Univer sity administrators should spend time lobbying indi vidual legislators with articulate and comprehensive explanations of student fees and their purpose. We've spent yet another summer playing the po litical game in which university funds are used as electoral weapons and budget-balancing tools. The BOG could begin the process of reconciliation at its meeting today by setting in motion a plan for student fee approval that would center around vigorous de bate, student input and comprehensive presentation. Once the BOG articulates a new fee scheme, the University will be free to ask our valiant fiscal watchdogs in Raleigh to stop strangling us with their purse strings. 'Round the calendar The glorious, three-month-long summer vacations most of us grew up with soon might become a thing of the past for school children in Orange and Wake counties in the interest of quality education. Orange County school administrators are consid ering a multi-track, year-round school system to cut down on the overcrowding that's been plaguing schools especially in Chapel Hill-Carrboro in recent years. The year-round calendar would involve dividing students into four groups, each of which would go on a three-week vacation every nine weeks, thereby reducing the number of students in school at any time by one-fourth. Although this system would put an end to summer camps, lengthy internship experiences and vacation flexibility in family schedules, the change is an excellent solution to the overcrowding that severely is debilitating the already questionable quality of education in the state. During the 1991-92 school year, six out of nine schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system were overcrowded. Seawell Elementary School the worst of the bunch had an enrollment of 108 students more than its state-determined capacity of 500. And this year's enrollment in Chapel Hill and Carrboro is up by an additional 400 students. By the year 2000, enrollment is expected to exceed the present capacity by 1,986 students. Pending the $52 billion bond referendum in No vember, two new schools are scheduled to open by 1994-95andl 996-97, increasing student capacity by a total of approximately 1,740 students. But these new schools will not alleviate all overcrowding at the middle and high school levels and will do nothing to rn aid elementary schools now operating at 98-percent capacity. Having 25 percent of the student body absent from the schools at any one time will have obvious effects on class size and student-teacher ratios. It also will increase the amount of time students can spend in special resource rooms such as computer labs, sci ence labs and gymnasiums and put an end to stag gered meal breaks that force some students to eat lunch at 10 a.m. And perhaps our educational system will be more efficient if teachers aren't forced to review for sev eral weeks everything the students forgot during what is usually a three-month period of mental inac tivity. The extended school year will force the state to increase teacher salaries, but teachers will benefit by no longer having to find demeaning part-time jobs to feed their families during the summer months. And the increased salaries will amount to a great deal less than paying for even more new schools. There are other alternatives to decreasing the num ber of students in schools. Many schools have mobile classrooms, but there is limited space on school properties, and the trailers don't solve the numbers problem in gyms, cafeterias, etc. Another suggestion is double shifts holding school all day with half of the students attending in the morning, the other half in the afternoon, but these cause limited course offerings, shorter school days and decreased after school activities. A year-round school calendar will require some adjustments by our whole society, but it is the most inexpensive way to decrease overcrowding and en sure quality education. rAR Heel quotable "We want (Hardin) to understand that he is not in power now the students are." Black Awareness Council member Tim Smith after Thursday's march on South Building. "Anybody who looks at our name can tell that we accept anybody and everybody." Bisexuals, Gay Men, Lesbians and Allies for Di versity co-chair DougFerguson on the former CGLA 's name change. "Billy is a landmark like the (Old) Well and the Bell Tower. I'll miss him." Student Body President fohn Moody on Billy Penny's decision to leave Time-Out. 1 really think a great deal has been made over a very small thing." Chapel Hill Town Council mem ber Joe Herzenberg about his presence on town finance committees. Business mil advertising: Kevin Schwartz, directorgeneral manager, Bob Bates, advertising director;UsieHumphiey, classified ad managenMicMIe Gray, business manager. Buiineis Hall: Gina Berardlno, assistant manager. Classified advertising: Kristen Costello, Tina Habash, Leah Richards, Christi Thomas and Steve Vetter, representatives; Chad Campbell, production assistant. Display advertising: Ashleigh Heath, advertising manager; Milton Artis, marketing director; Marcie Bailey, Laurie Baron, Michelle Buckner, Jennifer Danich, Will Davis, Shannon Edge, Pam Horkan, Jeff Kilman and Maria Miller, account executives; Sherri Cockrum, creative director. Advertising production: Bill Leslie, managersystem administrator, Stephanie Brodsky, assistant. Assistant editors: Jackie Hershkowte and Keyy Ryan, city; Beth Tatum, Mures; Eric David, John C. Manuel, Steve Politi and Bryan Strickland, sports; Jason Richardson, slate and national; Marty Minchin and Jennifer Talhelm, university. Newsclerfc Kevin Brennan. Editorial writers: Jacqueline Charles, Karen Dietrich, Alan Martin, Charles Overbeck, Lee Richardson and Dacia Toll. University: Daniel Aldrich, Ivan Arlington, Alan Avers, Michael Bradley, Megan Brown, Thanassis Cambanis, Joyce Clark, Shannon Crownover, Melissa Dewey, Casella Foster, Teesha Holladay, Kristen Huffman, Katheleen Keener, Gautam Khandelwal, James Lewis, Bill Lickert, Babita Persaud, Steve Robblee, Gary Rosenzweig, Justin Scheet, Brad Short, Holly Stepp, Marcy Walsh and Mike Workman. City: I many Asnnurst. John Ashley. Nathan Bishop. Andrea Bruce. Leah Campbell. Mark carpenter, wade casstevens, Dale castle, Karen ciark, Hicnard uatton. Andrew Greer, April Hagwood, Matthew Henry, William Huffman, Rama Kayyali, Chad Merritt, Stiakti Routray, Robert Strader, Suzanne Wuelfing and Kathleen Wurth. state am) National: trie Lusk. senior writer; Anna Burdeshaw, Tim Burrows. Tara Duncan. Heather tain, stepnanie Greer, bteven Hams, bcon Hon, Hansaan Johnson, Andrea Jones. Alex Kirk, Leila Maybodi, Jerry McElreath, Beth McNichol, Kenneth Medlin, Adrienne Parker, Kurt Raatzs, Bruce Robinson, Alia Smith and Allison Taylor. Arts: Hanui Mehta, coordinator; Kathleen r-iynn, waynette Gladden, Alex McMillan, Jonathan Hicti, Nancy Hiley, cara I nomisser, tmma Williams and Duncan Young Features: Stephanie Lyn Beck, Elena Bourgoin, Monica Brown, John Davies, Maria DiGiano, Erlka Helm, Fred Henderson, Thomas King, Kristin Leight, Ted Lotchin, Deepa Permumallu, Aullca Lin Rutland, LeAnn Spradling, Howard Thompson, Scott Tilled, Lloyd Whittington, Christa Williams and Andrea Young.. Sports: David J. Kupstas. seniorwrrten Zacharv Albert. Kimberiv Dunbar. Jennifer DunlaD. Marc Franklin. Brian Gould. Dave Heiser. Stephen Higdon. Diana Koval. Mary Utterly, Alison Lawrence, Jacson Lowe, Amy McCaffrey, Marty McGee, Brian McJunkin, Jeff McKinley, Kirk Medlin, David Monroe, Pete Simpkinson, Jay Stroble, Carter Toole, Pilip Weickert, James Whitfield, Michael Workman and Pete Zifchak. Photography: Jayson Singh. Copy Editors: Andy Bechtel, Tiffany Cook, Amy Cummins, Mohak Dave, Michael Gaudio, Kyle Hooper, Rama Kayyali, Jennifer Kurfees, Mara Lee, Marty McGee, Vikkl Mercer. Jennifer Reid, John Staton, Jacqueline Torok, Rick Twomey, Kenyatta Upchurch, Sara Watson, Amy Waller and Nancy West. Graphics: Justin Scheef. Cartoonists: Mandy Brame, Mary Brutzman, Lent Butter, Carolyn Flanders and Jeff Maxim. Editorial Production: Stacy Wynn, manager; Lisa Reichle, assistant Distribution and Printing: Village Printing Company The Daily Tar Heel is published by the OTH Publishing Corp., a non-profit North Carolina corporation, Monday-Friday, according to the University calendar. Callers with questions about billing or display advertising should dial 962-1 163 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Classified ads can be reached at 962-0252. Editorial questions should be directed to 962-02450246. Campos mall address: CB 521 Q feu 49, Carolina Union Office: Satto 104 Carolina Union U.S. Mall address: P.O. Boi 3257. Chapol Hill, NC 27515-3257 CROP DUSTER. Toying around with the meaning of existence I've been thinking a lot about the concept of existence this week. Am I doing it right? Could I do it faster, so that I might be able to cram in an extra hour or two'of shut-eye each day? Or could I at least find some way to do it so it wouldn't chafe so much? I really don't know. My lack of any answers to my musings began to disturb me, so I turned to the great minds of history. Channel nine, I believe. Sadly, "Who's the Boss" wasn't on, so I was forced to drag out my old copy of Descartes' "Discourse on Method," which meant that I had to find a cinder block for the right rear axle of the '62 Valiant I keep on my lawn. I read that Descartes found that the only way he could begin to know any thing was if he first came to the conclu sion that he knew absolutely nothing. For some reason, perhaps because of the small amount of work and extra reading it would entail, this solution seemed perfect to me. I came to the conclusion that I knew nothing. This was really quite easy to do, and I had the benefit of being able to support my new minds with quotes from letters from my mom. Two days later I was forced to aban don my newfound perspective because not only did it take me 14 hours to figure out how to operate the doorknob, but I was about to starve, and though my house was well stocked with food and three roommates who knew how to make it yummy, I had no concept of how to get it into my system. As I was cramming some hamburger meat into my ear, I realized that perhaps what worked for Descartes would not work for me, such as this method of knowing nothing or signing my checks Rene Descartes. I began to try to think of an alternate track to clarify my existence, but my brain, realizing that I had been thinking complex, serious thoughts for more than a half hour, seized up in some sort of biological safety mechanism and im mediately caused me to think only of - H j Jason jM Torchinsky; Turn Your Head and Cough trivial things, suchasWeebles and other ran dom toys. Now I'm sure even the clam miest of us had Weeblestoplay with when we were kids. I even think I had , one, which is surprising, as my parents didn't really believe in toys. In fact, all I had to play with until I was about 7 were some old slices of ham. Then I got some blocks. Well, not really blocks. They were irregulars; my dad got them cheap from the outlet store, and they were all these random polygonal shapes that were impossible to stack even one on the other. I used to build lots of sacked cities. But I'm getting off track I'm talk ing about Weebles, or as some people who like to use surnames call them, Weeble Wobbles. I don't really under stand why Weebles were so much fun and were so popular think about the basic concept: Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down. Little egg-shaped figu rines that could only remain for any length of time on their vertical axis. Sure, I had fun with them, but why? I don't think the concept of some thing I couldn't knock over was that appealing in itself. In fact, I think the opposite was true, as things which nor mally weren't fun suddenly became fun when knocked over. Like glassware. Odd. Maybe it was because their naturally aerodynamic shape made them ideal for putting in your mouth and then shooting them out at your sister. This was fun, but I wouldn't recommend it now for two reasons: One, new Weebles, I'm told, are much bigger and cannot be crammed into a human mouth; and two, my sister is now 23 and is more likely to press charges. I'm also told that there is a new generation of Legos for little kids that utilizes huge blocks unfit for placing in an oral cavity. This strikes me as sad, as I recall one of the great joys of playing with Legos was keeping a few in your mouth. Hell, I used to be able to cram about $30 worth of Legos in my mouth at one time! My Lego box was like a huge petri dish for mouth-borne bacte ria, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I believe Legos were the apex of building toys, and Lincoln Logs the worst. Why? Well, disembodied voice, I'll tell you. With Legos, there was no limit on what you could create, be it organic, mechanical, sentient, smelly, anything that could take hold of a toddler's brain, like a big claw. But with Lincoln Logs, your building options were ... log cabins. That's it. Ever try building a spaceship out of Lincoln Logs? Forget it. I don't care how imaginative a child might be, you just can't pretend you're exploring ex otic planets when your armada looks like downtown Philadelphia circa 1688. Yeah, toys are great. Now that I'm in college, however, I have to have more sophisticated toys. What this means is that they have to be slightly dangerous, like a sports car or a crossbow or some thing. Or a boomerang. Which brings me to my next point: If anybody finds a natural wood boomer ang with red tips in the quad, it's mine, so don't hock it. I got it stuck up in that tree on the right side of the quad, the tree that's in front of whatever that building right behind Bingham is called. Any way, it's mine, and I want it back. If you somehow get it and you want to really be nice, bring it by the DTH office and I'll put your name in the column and maybe even buy you a nice piece of cheese or something. Really. Solidarity. Jason Torchinsky is a senior art his tory major from Greensboro who has swallowed one too many Legos in his day. Hardin shares BCC supprters concerns Editor's note: The following letter was addressed to Edward Hanes and Thomas Scott. Dear Mr. Hanes and Mr. Scott: I respect your sincerity and your free dom to express your views, however harshly. We regret and despise many of the same failures in our society, and you and I both believe in the legitimacy of the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center. I hope to see our visions come to gether in results soon! PAUL HARDIN Chancellor UNC administration not divided on BCC issue To the editor: Although I appreciate the confidence in me that was expressed in Thursday's DTH editorial on the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center (An Offer That Can't Be Refused), I regret the unmerited contrast which you have drawn between me and Chancellor Paul Hardin on this issue. As you correctly observed at the out set of the editorial. Chancellor Hardin repeatedly has expressed a strong de sire to work with supporters of the BCC in finding a way to enlarge and expand that facility. He has sought to meet again with the students, he has offered the services of the University architects in drawing up plans for the BCC with out prior restraint on the form it would take, and he has expressed the hope that the University community can appeal in unison to donors who may be willing to fund the BCC. At least four members of the Univer sity administration, including Chancel lor Hardin himself, Vice Chancellors Harold Wallace and Donald Boulton, and I, actively are seeking to have dis cussions with the students and to arrive at a plan for the BCC upon which all can agree. Although the DTH usefully has called upon both sides to talk constructively about this issue, it does no good for your newspaper to suggest that the Univer sity administration is at odds with itself, for it is emphatically not. RICHARD L. MCCORMICK Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater deserve coverage To the editor: On Sept. 3, what little respect I had for our beloved Daily Tar Heel died, for, on that day, the DTH's integrity as a newspaper came into serious ques tion. An article titled, "Student theater groups promote drama variety," by arts coordinator Rahul Mehta, sought to il lustrate to readers the barrage of non professional, student-run theater groups that offer alternatives to the PlayMakers Repertory Company. Featured in the article were all the campus theater groups, the Pauper Players, Lab! The atre, the Theater Alternatives Commit tee, the Campus Theater . . . except one, the Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater, a sub group of the Black Student Movement. The omission of the Ebony Readers Onyx Theater from an article on student theater groups is a clear indication of the author's questionable research prac tices. Had Mr. Mehta done his home work like good journalists do, he would have found that when someone on cam pus seeks a "different" theater experi ence, the Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater is the group that they call. For example, the Homecoming Committee called us for Cross-Cultural Night, Student Tele vision called us for a televised show case of different campus talent, resident assistants call us to do programs, yet Mehta doesn't even call us for a com ment. And Mr. Mehta calls himself an arts coordinator? First of all, if he truly deserved that title, he would have known to include the Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater in his article. It's amazing how the campus at large can know about a particular theater group while the arts coordinator of the DTH, a supposed authority on theater and arts in general, does not. I'm forced to question his competence as a journalist. Mr. Mehta's oversight is the latest in a rash of omissions and misquotes per petrated by the DTH against people and groups associated with the BSM. But this is secondary to the larger issue, the DTH's integrity as a newspaper. I thought newspapers were supposed to be accurate, report all the facts and do thorough research before printing a story. I thought the DTH actively em braced diversity. I thought wrong. (If I were writing an article on the variety of theater groups that exist on campus, the Ebony ReadersOnyx The ater would have been the first I would have mentioned, simply because we are the only African-American performance group on campus. But I guess that could have been the reason we were omitted in the first place.) Perhaps this omission indicates the DTH's and the entire University's slanted, exclusionary, bigoted stance concerning diversity, saying they em brace it, but actually turning their backs on it. Look at the continuing struggle for a BCC and the effort to departmen talize the Afro-American curriculum. One subject that also merits some discussion is the theater group that Mr. Mehta neglected to mention the Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater. The Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater seeks to broaden awareness of the African-American experience through the performance of African-American po etry and prose. Each semester, the en semble presents one major, full-scale production, which, in the past, has in cluded works by Imamu Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and other reputable African American authors. Also the troupe is invited to lend its talents to other orga nizations and special projects both in and outside the University. As president of the Ebony Readers Onyx Theater, I know, firsthand, that we deserve much more than to be ex cluded from recognition as a campus theater group, especially when we try to enlighten and entertain not only the students of the University, but also the people beyond the boundaries of Chapel Hill. Even if it was "just an oversight," it was an oversight that has compro mised not only the integrity of Mehta as a journalist, but also that of the editorial staff of The Daily Tar Heel that allowed such a blatant mistake to pass unno ticed, and worse yet, uncorrected. DELON HOWELL Junior Biology, RTVMP
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 11, 1992, edition 1
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