Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 26, 2007, edition 1 / Page 10
Part of University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page 10 ITic Blue Banner- Semng the University of North Carolina at AshevdUe since 1982 Thursday, April 26 ^ 2007 Nnt Abortion law takes away female rights L 1 The intact dilation and extrac- does not include a pregn; By Emily Pomeranz - — . u.. i fr>r woman who is COncempH i Political Science STUDeNT for censorship Allie 1 laake hiditorin (]hief As a reader of this newspaper, you may not agree with the people we quote in our news stories or the pictures we print on our pages. You may not have the same feel ings as some of the opinion writers on our staff. You may even demand we throw out certain articles ba.sed solely on the particu lar story’s topic or opinion. However, The Blue Banner editorial board does not censor topics or opinions ba.sed on a certain moral or religious agen da. Instead, we strive to present our read ers with a balanced and complete array of opinions and topics to represent the variety of ideas and situations of our community, nation and world. In an anonymous letter, a “very disappointed, even disgusted, parent expressed feelings of shock over certain things published in The Blue Banner. „ . “1 was extraordinarily disappointed with that newspaper, said the par ent. “1 hope parents and prosj^ctive students who were visiting the cam pus last weekend did not see it.” While we receive and value the comments of all our readers, we take our rights to express our opinions and those of others very seriously. The “marketplace of ideas” theorizes that, by allowing unrestricted expres sion of opinion, we arrive closer to determining the truth. The First Amendment of our Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The editorial board of a newspaper serves its public best by withhold ing personal judgments and opinions. In this way, we are truly standing by the promise to be a designated public forum, a place created by the government to be used for expressive activities, among other things, according to authors of Mass Media Law, Don Pember and Clay Calvert. An example of a designated public forum, according to the authors, is a student newspaper intended to be open for use by all students. The parent, apparently disturbed by our choice to publish Emily Pomeranz’s article, “Anti-drug plan stifles Asheville creativity,” writes, “Placing this story at the top of the editorial page appears to give it greater validity than it deserves.” It is not the goal of The Blue Banner to provide readers with stories of a certain belief system. As journalists, our objective is to provide an unbiased place for writers to present news topic of value and a platform for individuals to express their opinion. We do not censor the content of our newspaper unless it includes something libelous or obscene. “Legalizing drugs should not be a priority of the university,” the par ent wrote. As a completely student-run newspaper,The Blue Banner does not rep resent the views of the university or administration. We stand by our goqls as journalists to be objective, which means sometimes we print articles that go against the actions or opinions of the administration. At other times, the stories in The Blue Banner highlight or coincide with actions or opinions of the administration respectively. Either way, the beliefs of individual writers on the opinion page in no way directly rep resent the views of UNC Asheville. “Although university newspapers should be written for students, they still have an obligation to represent universal standards and values,” the parent said. Because all our readers have different beliefs and opinions, we feel that it is biased for us to assume or represent any “universal” standard or value. Because the editorial board does not reject articles based on per sonal opinion, we will continue to receive feedback about published arti cles, and we will continue to print this feedback. Also, last week, the company that prints The Blue Banner refused to print unless we removed a painting that won second-place in the Juried Student Art Show because, the printers said, they do not print nudity. Because of deadlines, we cropped the nude portions of the photo and were only able to print about one-eighth of the original painting. While we do uphold certain standards, including excluding pornographic and libelous material from the paper, the photograph did not fall into either of these categories and was newsworthy content. The Blue Banner welcomes comments and criticism of all types about anything published in the newspaper, and we want to publish any signed letter fitting the requirements stated under our masthead; however, we will not censor the opinions of some in fear of offending others. The Blue Banner Editorial Board Spring 2007 Karpen Hall 019 828.251.6586 banner@unca.edu Allie Haake Editor-in-Chief Kristen Marshall News Editor lisaV. Gille^ie Managing Editor Melissa Deckert Features Editor Adam Hillberry Entertainment Editor Ben Smith Sports Editor PennieLeas Photo Editor Emily Sigmon Business Editor Suzanne Edwards Business Manager Wally Hosn Advertising Director Sara Champagne Michad Gouge Online Editor Faculty Adviser Copy Editors: Christa Chappelle, Ashley Home, Maddie Hayes, Mary Ball and Brenda Weigel The abortion debate has now switched from women’s rights to fetus rights, and women should take note. The Supreme Court upheld the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 with a 5-4 vote last week. The act bans the med ical procedure known as “intact dilation and extraction,” which means removing the fetus from the uterus as a whole instead of aborting it while it is still inside. This procedure is used starting from the 12th week of pregnancy, a fact that stirs up pro-life advo cates. Pro-choice advocates are Emily Pomeranz Political Science Student a - ?? Pro-choice advocates are outraged and scared, as they should be. outraged and scared, as they should be. Abortion is a sensitive issue for everyone because it fundamental ly demands a line to be drawn on where life begins. It does not seem right that a room full of eight men and one woman have the right, or knowledge, to decide what women everywhere can and cannot do with their bodies. This most recent decision should be an eye-opener to women every where. These people are taking away our rights. The partial-birth abortion method that was banned is extremely controversial, especial ly among religious groups and social conservatives. These groups claim it is the cruelest of abortion practices and display gross, graphic pictures to con vince others of their opinions. Another argument against the procedure states it is unnecessary and women choosing to abort a fetus that late in a pregnancy are only doing it for selfish reasons. These people are incorrect. The intact dilation and extrac tion method has been used for various reasons, including saving the mother’s health and removing a fetus that is not going to live after birth. Making this procedure illegal will have tremendous effects on women, and yet, only one woman had a say in the deci sion and she voted against the ban. Shouldn’t women have more 01 a say on what they can and cannot do concerning their bodies? Women have completely different health issues than men, and they need to be addressed by fellow women. President Bush’s “culture of life” extends only to fetuses, cor- U Making this procedure ille gal will have tremendous ejfects on women, and yet, only one woman had a say in the decision, and she voted against the ban. rupt politicians, oil companies and evangelicals. It does not include the soldier who died in combat or the poor child who died from malnutrition. It does not include the elderly who can’t afford prescriptions and now, it does not include a pregnaji woman who is concerned for he, life. Hypocrisy runs rampant j 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and it has spread to the Supreme Conn Roe v. Wade was a landmait decision for women’s rights ami the right to privacy. Now 24 yean later, we have regressed as a soci- ety and conformed to the conser- vative and bigoted opinions of five chosen judges who use theii positions to advocate religion convictions. Why isn’t this country in aj uproar? News about Anna Nicolt Smith and Britney Spears migli be more interesting and entertaia- ing, but this decision will affect j lot of women, perhaps even y® or someone you know. The decision made last weel will only further the plans of Bush and other social and cultiir. al conservatives to completelj eliminate all types of abortioi and leave women with jo options. Old, white men havt nothing to lose from the decisioj they made. They are satisfied and confideu in taking away the rights of' women. They are content wi/ overturning one of the mos important court decisions of tk 20th century. Who knows wlij right will be taken away next? 7 7 by ft" ed (he co- sec sot II fee OCI tin Administration should announce threats immediately! kic tra wa cic in K By Trevor Worden Staff Writer After UNC Asheville experi enced a potential threat to campus security Thursday, administration did not alert students of the situa tion until it had been controlled and the police detained the indi vidual. A resident of The Grove Apartments called a local broad casting station and said he wanted to die and made references to the shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School. “The student said something to the effect of he admired the Virginia Tech shootings, and this alerted campus authorities due to 66 Waiting to alert students until the situation was under control made students vulner able to other attacks. the proximity of The Grove to UNC Asheville,” said Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Bill Haggard. A few days earlier, Virginia Tech experienced two shootings two hours apart. Public information officers at the university felt as though the first shooting was too minimal to alert students or for classes to be cancelled. This simple mistake made stu dents vulnerable to other attacks. Campus police excused their actions by saying they were going to alert students after the first sit uation was under control. Obviously we did not learn from other’s mistakes. Campus Police only notified UNC Asheville students after the situa tion was under control. This sort of censoring could have led to another Virginia Tech catastro phe. We know that after catastrophes like Virginia Tech, there are always more people out there who want to catch the wave of idiocy. After 9/11, there were many scares, and the same happened after Columbine and West Paducah High School in Kentucky. The incident dealt with another mentally ill individual who seems to hold some gripe against students. As a university, it should be the administration’s first priority to ensure the safety of students. As soon as there is a verified threat on or near campus, it is important for students to have immediate knowledge of the threat. The sooner students know about potential threats, the sooner they are able to take the right precau tions. The incident at Virginia Tech was a truly horrifying event. We can sympathize with such a loss because this could have been any of us. College campuses are very accessible, making it easy for an Trevor Worden Staff Writer let this happen again. We have to be proactive about these sorts of violent crimes and our first defense is campus police. Administration should notify us 66 ?? It is time we call for a heightened sense of security officers on campus, an active lookout for criminal activity and an intelligent protection of student’s security. 66 99 We can sympathize with such a loss because this could have been any of us. College cam puses are very accessible, making it easy for an attacker to make a move. attacker to make a move. The killings in Virginia affected each of us, and we grieve with everyone affected, but we cannot of safety issues on campus as soon as possible. It is our right to know what threats we could face. Knowledge is the only way to arm ourselves against future threats. Violence is a crime that can only be stopped once people know about it and can act against it, and we cannot wait until a situ ation is under control before the administration e-mails every stu dent. Homicide is ranked as the high est cause of death for the 10 to 24 age range, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Crimes at school affect 73,000 students, according to tkt| National Center for Educatioij Statistics. This is opposed totk' 61,000 students that are affeetd by crimes outside of school ara Teenagers and young adulli experience the highest rate of» lent crimes, according to tk Bureau of Justice Statistics With this sort of knowledge, wi have to be better prepared.! crimes that happened at Virgii Tech are not as rare as we woi like to think. On the contrary, we are target of crime, and we have to prepaii ourselves for this sort of victi® ization. Colleges and high schools ban to take a proactive stance in crint against their students. We haveti act intelligently against sdioii threats or campus violence. It is time we call for a heigk ened sense of security officers of campus, an active lookout (J criminal activity and an i gent protection of student’s rity. This may mean we need m® than one tired, lonely residS assistant sitting in a dorm at -, a.m. keeping watch over an ent® dorm. We may need officers to siltj these spots instead, in order t, ensure our safety. This may ffl' we need more officers on cam] to survey campus buildings suspicious activity. It is time to take a diffe approach against violence campuses. It is time for us to ourselves with knowledge. We will not stand for any nn* random acts of violence ag^ our college campuses. Instead will combat violence and prep® ourselves for the future. It is’®* for change. CLRSSIFIED HDS an th ap ne ou th( 2 Bedroom Apartment for Rent, 8 blocks south of downtown Asheville. Large living room, den, kitchen with refrigerator and stove, deck, off-street parking. One and 1/2 bathrooms. $750/month plus utilities. Available irhmediately but will hold till mid- May. One year lease. Call 502-500-7655. Asheville Sitters & Nannies Needed! Large group of professional parents need child care. Transportation, child care experience, & CPR/BLS recommended. Sporadic care, part time, full time needed. Call or email Vanessa: 828-277-6221 vanessab® avlc vsurgeons .com YOU can have better relationships' We can help! j Relationship Readings using The Cards 0 estiny System with Joseph and Sarah Ehz^ MaUnak. Student rate: $75. 1 Call today to schedule your one-hour sessi 828-645-0999 of ifi be to fr( To post a CLASSIFIED or WANTED AD e-mail: banner@unca.edu The Banner is UNC Asheville’s smdent newspaper. We publish each Thursday except during summer sessions, finals week and holiday breaks. Our office is located in Karpen Hall, 017. The Banner is a designated public forum and welcomes letters to the edi tor and articles, considering them on a basis of interest, space and timeli ness. Letters and articles should be e-mailed to banner@unca.edu and lim ited to 300 words. They should be signed with the writer’s name, followed by the year in school, major or other relationship to UNC Asheville. Include a telephone number to aid in verification. All articles submitted are subject to editing. Texas Roadhouse Asheville 10% off food puchase Call-ahead seating available. 230 Hendersonville Road Across from Biltmore Estate (828)27'4—4311 /vof v'alid with any other offer
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 26, 2007, edition 1
10
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75