12
/The Daily Tar Heel/Monday, January 11, 1993
(p EMOM in 1893
MB iOOth year of editorial freedom
PETER WallsTEN, Editor Office hours: Fridays 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Anna Griffin, University Editor
Jackie Hershkowitz, City Editor
Yl-HsiN CHANG, Features Editor
ERIN Randall, Photography Editor
Samantha Falke, Copy Desk Editor
John CaSERTA, Graphics Editor
Alex De Grand, Cartoon Editor
Closing the state s intellectual borders
Tuition to attend UNC will increase dramatically
if the General Assembly implements a performance
audit subcommittee’s recommendations, but stu
dents shouldn’t respond with a knee jerk. At least not
yet.
The subcommittee has recommended raising in
state tuition from about 10.5 percent of the cost of
education to about one-quarter the cost. It also has
suggested increasing graduate students’ tuition by
50 percent and charging out-of-state students the full
cost of their education (about SB,BOO per year).
The suggestions for graduate and out-of-state stu
dents are excessive and would denigrate UNC’s
national attractiveness to top students across the
country. The General Assembly must not forget that
many graduate students attend the University to
learn, teach and research, and many remain living
here for years after earning their degrees (thus ben
efiting both the economy and social stability of the
entire state).
Nevertheless, the subcommittee did show some
sense in its recommendations that demonstrate a step
forward for the University: Consultants said addi
tional revenue generated by the tuition increases
should return to the UNC-system schools for librar
ies, financial aid and faculty salaries three of the
most needy areas in the system.
It’s crucial, though, that the tuition revenues stay
BCC: Be all you can be
With the declaration that “I support a free-standing
black cultural center,” Chancellor Paul Hardin con
ceded victory to the students struggling for anew
BCC. Hardin relented, and supporters celebrated.
But that victory will remain only a symbolic one
until the new BCC takes the shape of bricks and
mortar. It will remain only a shallow one until the
new BCC fulfills its mission of service to future
students.
The administrators, students and faculty charged
with developing a BCC blueprint are the architects of
this mission. By deciding what to include and what
to exclude, they will shape the purpose and direction
of the new center.
They sit now around an informal negotiating table,
searching for the crucial components that will con
tribute to the success of the new BCC. Waiting
eagerly on the sidelines are angry alumni and cynical
students who fear that the proposed plans will be for
little more than a black student union.
But the new BCC has the potential to be much
more. With careful planning, UNC could boast a top
caliber research facility dedicated to the exploration
and study of black culture.
This campus, this state and this country are in
desperate need of a comprehensive institute for Af
rican-American studies. For too long, black culture
and contributions have inspired more rhetoric than
recognition. The new BCC could focus the attention
of all students on black accomplishments, black
Tobacco myths go up in smoke
The Environmental Protection Agency is crusad
ing to extinguish smokers’ prerogative to light up in
public.
The EPA has released results from its most recent
studies of the effects of environmental tobacco smoke
that confirmed what many experts and non-experts
knew all along second-hand smoke is not only
smelly and gag-inducing, it is a serious health hazard
to everyone, especially children.
The EPA estimates that each year, 3,000 people
die of lung cancer caused by environmental tobacco
smoke, or second-hand smoke. This classifies sec
ond-hand smoke as a human carcinogen, in the same
group with benzene, asbestos and radon. No one
would dispute banning the discharging of those chemi
cals in public.
Regulation is required at this juncture to eliminate
The Daily Tar Heel
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ALAN Martin, Editorial Page Editor
REBECAH Moore, State and National Editor
Steve Politi, Sports Editor
David Counts, Layout Editor
David Lindsay, Copy Desk Editor
Amber Nimocks, Omnibus Editor
JENNIFER Pilla, Centennial Edition Editor
at home. For example, a tuition increase at UNC-
Chapel Hill should benefit only the libraries in Chapel
Hill. It would be irresponsible for the General As
sembly to mandate that students attending one of the
nation’s premier state schools should pay more tu
ition to fund a library in Elizabeth City or Boone.
State officials are justified in wanting to raise in
state tuition, but they should keep it low.
As for out-of-state tuition, lawmakers should use
restraint, or the nation’s best students will choose to
attend other, more affordable schools (thus ending
the state’s opportunity to benefit from their talents).
Graduate-student tuition also should remain as
low as possible. Many graduate students just barely
make more than the limit to qualify for food stamps,
and some can’t afford health care. As it is, UNC is
losing qualified graduate students to other top schools
that can afford to give them a better education.
It is commendable and altogether proper that rev
enues from a tuition increase should return to the
respective universities. The legislature must follow
this course if it raises tuitions. But the possibility is
all too real that Raleigh lawmakers might yield to the
temptation of depositing students’ money in the
General Fund rather than the universities’ coffers.
Such a lamentable decision wouldn’t solve the state’s
budget woes and would keep top-notch students at
arms length year after year.
leaders and the wealth of knowledge inadequately
dubbed black culture.
To do this, the new building must create a support
ive umbrella for a variety of endeavors specifically
focused on the importance of black issues. Commu
nity services, student support and academic excel
lence could be weaved together to foster the develop
ment of a premier facility.
The new center should house a paramount re
search library, a sizable showcase for African art and
the core of the curriculum in African and Afro-
American studies.
But personal rivalries and professional concerns
have prevented the union of die curriculum and the
BCC.
Without a doubt, legitimate problems need to be
addressed before entering into any marriage. Pre
serving the autonomy of both the academic curricu
lum and the community services is certainly impor
tant but shouldn’t serve as a barrier to their mutual
support of a common interest.
Faculty, students and administrators could serve
together on a BCC Advisory Board and jointly ad
minister the functions of the center. No one aspect
needs to be subjugated to the will of another.
Together, the students and the curriculum can
offer the promise of a paramount research facility
that will contribute to the pursuit of black history and
heritage. We can only hope to receive an invitation to
the wedding reception.
the so-called “right” of smokers to pollute the air in
public places. Many cities across the United States,
including Raleigh, have begun limiting or forbidding
smoking in restaurants, government buildings and
businesses. This trend should gather momentum and
clean air everywhere.
The old civil liberty argument that smokers have
used for years has gone up in puffs of smoke. The
majority of Americans do not smoke, and they have
the right to breathe clean, non-carcinogenic air and to
stay healthy.
Smokers only should have the right to smoke
where they will not damage the health of the people
around them in their homes (away from children)
and outside.
It is time for America to step up efforts to stomp out
hazardous environmental tobacco smoke.
7 /To
Hope for the future among unused resumes
WASHINGTON —My feet were
killing me.
I looked down at my brand
new wing tips as my taxi pulled away
from the curb. Two days of pounding
the pavement had already left their mark.
The once shiny black shoes were now
scarred on the toes.
“My dad always did tell me to pick
up my feet when I walk,” I said, forget
ting for the moment that I wasn’t alone.
The driver just stared at me through
the rearview mirror. “Oh great,” I
thought. “Now he thinks I’m a loon.”
“Can you take me to 1120 Vermont?”
I asked, trying to salvage some dignity.
The driver nodded, and we sped off
through the frantic streets of Washing
ton, D.C.
I wasn’t sure of the address, but I
didn’t really care. It might as well have
been the bottom of the Potomac River
for the luck I’d been having. I had made
30 copies of my resume at Kinko’s the
day before, anticipating a chance to
give out all of them.
The only offer I’d gotten so far was
from a female prostitute on the Metro.
Ah, the irony of it all.
Now I was off on one last wild-goose
chase before I hit the road for Chapel
Hill. I had just left a reception for Mel
Watt and Eva Clayton, the two House
representatives from our state’s newly
created districts. I was there in hopes of
getting a chance to speak with them
about my “qualifications.”
What I got was a bad case of indiges
tion from too many Diet Cokes and
meatballs.
I did, however, meet one young guy
who seemed to offer a ray of hope. He
had known Watt ’ s son at Yale, and both
were now working for the Clinton tran
sition team. He said he would show me
around transition headquarters if 1 met
him there in 30 minutes.
It was worth a shot.
So after a harrowing jaunt the wrong
way up a one-way street, my cab finally
pulled onto Vermont and up to an 11-
story building. I paid the driver—prob
ably tipping him too much— and
stepped out onto the busy sidewalk.
This was definitely the place.
I followed a group of young people
inside, acting as if I knew exactly where
DTHs liberal coverage
fails majority of students
To the editor:
Reading the DTH today, we were
quite surprised by the letter from Mr.
Bart Willis (“DTH overdoes it with
homosexual coverage” Dec. 7). We were
shocked that someone had finally real
ized the need to speak up against the
homosexual coverage by the DTH and
that the DTH printed the letter. These
articles do not drive people to talk about
the plight of homosexuals at Carolina.
Rather, they drive us to wonder what
are the purposes of these articles and is
the DTH really accomplishing them.
The large percentage of these articles
seem to be based on two ideals. The first
is the continuation of forced liberal ideas
on a majority that is receptive and more
accepting than any other college cam
pus to this rhetoric (up to a point). The
second is the exploitation of incidents
that do not involve a majority of the
student body for the purpose of creating
an atmosphere that oppresses the open
expression of dissenting opinions.
We believed that the college atmo
sphere should promote the open ex
change of ideas. This is not what we
have experienced in our years at Chapel
Hill. Instead we have found a majority
of the students are forced to feel guilty
for not sympathizing with every cause
the DTH feels imperative. We are tired
of feeling guilty every time we pick up
this “politically correct” publication and
do not agree with its rhetoric.
One would think that everyone at
UNC-CH was concerned with the ho
mosexual lifestyle. For the most part,
the subject of homosexuality is champi
oned by a very small percentage of die
student body. The rest of us are forced
to read about the trials and tribulations
of Mr. Doug Ferguson and his life as a
homosexual. His personal life really
does not appeal to us, nor does it appeal
to any of the people with whom we have
I was going. Of
course, I failed
to notice that
they all had
magnetic key
cards hanging
on chains from
their lapels. Un
daunted, I
stepped onto el
evator with
them.
No problem
so far.
Doug
Ferguson
To A
Different Beat
I couldn’t believe the size of this
place! I don’t know why I had expected
to find a tiny, crammed office at 1120
Vermont, but I had. I guess I hadn’t
really thought about the fact that
Clinton’s transition team was really a
gigantic bureaucracy in the making.
After all, his transition team would
in just two short weeks—be governing
one of the largest nations in the world.
Wow.
I picked a floor at random to make
my exit. The Yale grad had said that he
worked in domestic policy and that I
could meet him there. So when a rather
large security guard glowered at me
from behind his desk and a metal detec
tor, I cleared my throat and asked meekly
for directions.
“Well, domestic is on eleven,” he
barked, “but you’ll have to report to the
visitor’s center first. Visitors are not
permitted without an escort.”
Luckily for me, the visitor’s center
was also on eleven, so I slinked back
onto the elevator, praying for the doors
to close quickly. When I got to the
visitor’s center, a bored-looking atten
dant asked me who I was there to see.
That’s when I realized I probably wasn’t
cut out to be a politician.
You see, I couldn’t remember the
Yale guy’s last name.
“It’s William ... something,” I said,
embarrassed. “He’s a Yale grad.”
She stared blankly at me.
“A tall, sharp-looking black guy,” I
elaborated. “He works on this floor in
domestic.” She continued to stare.
“Do you know how many Williams
we have working here?” she asked, irri
tated. “Do you know how many Yale
graduates we have working here? Do
READERS' FORUM
spoken. If Mr. Ferguson would talk
about things that would help us sympa
thize with homosexuals and their plights,
then maybe an occasional column deal
ing with specific issues, such as legisla
tion, would be of help. However, we
tire of reading about his social life. If
we wanted to hear about someone’s
problems, we’d read Dear Abby.
In closing, we are tired of having the
money from our student fees and tuition
going towards the funding of a paper
that covers mostly liberal causes preva
lent to the day including homosexuals’
problems. The DTH needs to recognize
that there are 20,000 students on this
campus, and a majority, albeit silent,
wants to read about more relevant top
ics such as the budget problems, solu
tions to these problems and the rebound
of the economy under Bush.
MORGAN T. FOSTER
Junior
Political Science/ Economics
WILLIAM E. DANSEY
Senior
Business Administration
Editor's note: Currently, student fees
comprise less than 1 percent of the
DTH’s budget. This is the last semester
the DTH will receive any student fees.
Diversity in newspaper
opens closed minds
To the editor:
I am writing this letter in response to
Jennifer Durham’s “Whining Colum
nist” letter (Dec. 9). I am disgusted with
her lack of understanding and her
closemindedness. She says Doug
Ferguson “advocates public responsi
bility for a private problem.” Wake up
Jen—homophobia is everyone’s prob
lem. Every form of ignorant, xenopho
bic behavior and thinking breeds hatred
and misunderstanding in our society as
well as in other countries. It is unfortu
you know how many black men we
have working here?”
Every question made me shrink two
sizes. “I think you’ll have to remember
his last name,” she said.
“It begins with a B,” I guessed. “Is
there a William B ... something work
ing here?” “Nice try,” she said.
I thought about waiting outside the
elevator to see if William hadn’t arrived
yet, but I thought I wouldn’t test her
patience. Dejected, I took the elevator
down to the street.
As I walked out into the evening
chill, I craned my neck to look up at the
top of that tall building. I hadn’t gotten
the chance to meet the movers and shak
ers of our nation’s next administration.
I hadn’t gotten the chance to put in a
good word for myself and to beg for a
job. But for some reason, I was still
excited.
Lights from inside that tall building
spoke of people working late into the
night, planning our nation’s future. In
side, the countless changes promised in
campaign speeches were being tested
out on blackboards and personal com
puters. Who knows? Maybe even Presi
dent-elect Clinton was in there some
where, chomping on a Twinkie and
talking on the phone.
And to think, I was there to see some
of it taking place. Right there in front of
me, our new nation was taking shape.
Even if I couldn’t be a part of it all, I
didn’t leave 1120 Vermont feeling too
badly. As I trudged off to the nearest
Metro station, butterflies danced in my
stomach. And as the train shuttled me
toward Connecticut Avenue and my
waiting car, I wondered what the next
four years would bring.
After all, I barely remember Carter,
and he’s the last Democratic president
we’ve had. I’m a child of Reaganomics;
my attitudes have been shaped by 12
years of Republican rule. Perhaps that’s
why the idea of change is both frighten
ing and exciting for me.
But, you know, I really think I’m
ready for something new. I think this
nation is. And on Jan. 20,1 believe we’ll
get it.
Doug Ferguson is a senior journal
ism major from Charlotte.
nate that we must often wait to witness
this discrimination and unreasonable
hatred of “other” in its extreme
(skinheads in Germany, ethnic intoler
ance in Yugoslavia, etc.) before we
decide to take some responsibility in
forming a solution to the problem.
Complaints like yours are heard about
any type of protest of harassment,
whether about racism, homophobia or
sexism—only showing just how reluc
tant and unwilling people are to try to
understand and sympathize with oth
ers’ experiences.
I appreciate Doug’s openness in his
personal accounts of problems faced by
homosexuals. They are beneficial and
necessary to increase awareness for
everyone. And let’s get one thing
straight. I doubt Doug cares whether or
not you “condone” his sexual orienta
tion. He does not need your permission
or anyone else’s to be a homosexual.
Your tolerance and acceptance might
be nice, though. But as an individual
and a columnist he has the right to write
and express his views in any way that he
damn well pleases or haven’t you
learned that yet in the journalism school?
JENNIFER HANNER
Senior
Chemistry
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