8
Monday, August 30, 1993
ttlty Hatty ®arlM
Yi-Hrin Chang editor
Jennifer Talheim associate editor
Established 1893
A A century of editorial freedom
It’s easy to see why many UNC housekeepers
are frustrated with their jobs. Most housekeep
ers cannot afford to live in Chapel Hill and thus
have to commute from places such as Durham
or Hillsborough. Those who clean the class
room buildings have to be at work at 3:50 a.m.,
and many have to work another job after putting
in eight hours at the University just to pay their
bills.
Changes need to be made to improve pay,
working conditions and advancement opportu
nities for housekeepers, but writing nasty letters
to Chancellor Paul Hardin is not the way to
bring about these changes.
Several members of the Housekeepers Asso
ciation Steering Committee sent an open letter
to Hardin last week comparing their situations
with the chancellor’s and those of other employ
ees on campus.
They addressed Hardin as “Paul” and justi
fied it by saying that members of the administra
tion call housekeepers by their first names all the
time.
The housekeepers then blame Hardin for,
among other things, driving up the cost of living
in Chapel Hill by paying faculty and upper-level
staff high salaries.
They also accuse Hardin of taking a vacation
and playing golf while the housekeepers were
The University’s efforts to increase environ
mental awareness and recycling programs keep
getting bigger and better.
Although UNC is far from becoming a clean,
green campus, Carolina Dining Services and the
TAr Heel Recycling Program have taken some
measures to reduce waste in the campus dining
halls.
CDS hopes to make styrofoam less attractive
to students by providing more glasses instead of
styrofoam cups and by making styrofoam take
out boxes less accessible.
In addition, Pizza Hut has designed a take
out box that uses 23 percent less paper than the
one currently being used.
And now, for a trial period, students will
receive their pizzas on plates, not in boxes.
Based on the students’ response to the change,
CDS will decide whether such efforts are worth
while.
CDS also has been training its staff to recycle
the steel cans and glass jars that hold the food
products it uses. It also has pledged to recycle
Editor's Note
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"SCJEET CAROLINE”
Business and advertising: Kevin Schwartz.
duectof/general manager. Bob Bates, advertising
director. Leslie Humphrey, classified ad manager.
Gina Berardmo. business manager. Jeff Kilman.
advertising manager
Business staff. Holy Aldridge, assistant manager.
Joanna Hutchins. Jenny Schwartz and Jen Talheim.
Assistant editors: Wendy Mitchell, arts and
entertainment Jay Davis, copy Zachary Albert
Jacson Lowe and Carter Toole, sports. Adam Davis.
James Whitfield. Sport Saturday Andrea Jones and
Stephanie Greet.state and national. James Lewis.
Steve Robblee and Holly Stepp .university
Arts and entertainment Jennifer Brett Kevin
Kruse. Alex Frew McMillan. Stuart Nichols. Tina
Piter. Mark Prmdle. Jon Rich. Sally Stryker. Kristi
Tumbaugh and lan Williams
Cartoon: Mary Brutzman. Sterling Chen. Kas
The editorials are approved by the majonty of the editorial board, which is composed of the editor, editorial page editor and five editorial writers
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Changing Tactics
busy cleaning his house and office when the
chancellor had scheduled his vacations to have
cataract surgery on his eyes.
The confrontational tone of the housekeep
ers’ letter was unproductive and uncalled for.
Members of the Housekeepers Association
should not waste their energies writing a letter
that is a personal attack on the chancellor and
only antagonizes him and does not offer ideas or
solutions for the many problems the housekeep
ers face.
The steering committee instead should estab
lish a cordial working relationship with Hardin,
one in which the chancellor would address them
by courtesy titles just as they would address him
by his title, one in which they can work together
to improve working conditions for the house
keepers.
The University made some progress this sum
mer when all state employees were granted a 2-
percent raise plus a one-time, 1-percent bonus.
The General Assembly also set wage floors for
the state’s lowest-paid employees, which includes
UNC housekeepers.
More can and should be done to improve pay
and working conditions for UNC housekeepers.
The Housekeepers Association should work with
Hardin rather than against him to effect those
changes.
Clean and Green
glass bottles that are left on trays.
Along with CDS’s efforts, the Residence Hall
Association, Student Environmental Action
Coalition and the Office of Student Body Presi
dent are sponsoring the UNC Green Games, in
which groups of residence halls will compete to
see which area can recycle the most products and
conserve the most energy.
Although such efforts taken by various Uni
versity organizations are encouraging, it is up to
the students to make sure such programs are kept
in check.
Students need to make sure that CDS doesn’t
fall short on its promises to recycle and reduce
waste and that the Green Games are here to stay.
Students also should make sure these pro
grams are successful by taking an active part in
the recycling efforts —in the dining halls, in their
rooms or apartments and around campus.
After all, it is the individual students not
CDS or RHA who ultimately will make the
difference in making UNC a greener and cleaner
place.
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
Business & Advertising Staff
receptionists
Classified advertising: Jen Pilla. Lisa Reichle and
Christi Thomas, representatives; Kevin Brennan.
production assistant
Display advertising: Ashleigh Heath, special
projects manager. Ryan Bolick. Shannon Edge.
Lynelle Hovamec. Yoon Kim. Tiffany Krueger. Lisa
Editorial Staff
DeCarvalho. Brian Kahn and Jake Mac Nelly
City: Bill Blocker. Vicki Cheng, Dan Feldman.
Rochelle Klaskin, Kristen Laney and Katy Wurth
Editorial: Rama Kayyali
Features: Clark Alyea. Angelique Bartlett Kristi
Daughtndge. Jon Goldberg, Deepa Perumallu. Robin
Rodes. LeAnn Spradling, Amy Swan. Ross Taylor
and Emma Williams
Photography: Jayson Singe. Erin Randall. Debbie
Stengel and Katrina Wittkamp
Sports: John Manuel, senior writer; Corey Brown.
Dana Pope editorial page editor
Thanassif tamtams UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Kell) Ryan CITY EDITOR
Jason Richardson STATE 8 NATIONAL EDITOR
Steve Politi SPORTS EDITOR
.Amy L Seeley features editor
I Kim Costello ARTS 8 ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Marty Minchin special assignments editor
Robin Cade COPY DESK EDITOR
Justin Williams photography editor
Justin Scheef graphics editor
Erin Lyon LAYOUT EDITOR
Bridget Busch cartoon editor
McMinn, Allison Sherrill. Kathy Trent Jon Tuck and
Ashley Widis. account executives; Jay DaKoriya,
Kelly Doyle and Andrew Wong, assistant account
executives
Advertising production: Bill Leslie, manager/
system administrator Stephanie Brodsky and John
Mims, assistant.
Rodney Cline. Brian Edmonds. Mark Franklin. Jon
Goldberg, Alison Lawrence. Brad Short Ethan Treistman
and Jill West
State and national: Adam Bianchi. Greg Ray. Alia
Smith. Allison Taylor and Brad Williams.
University: CaseHa Foster. Phuong Ly. Lisa Robbins.
Shakti Routray and Shakti Routray
Editorial Production: Stacy Wynn, manager.
Printing: The Chapel Hill News
Distribution: Triangle Circulation Services.
EDITORIALS
Covering All Topics Makes Most Interesting Columns
I’ve read enough columns to know what a
columnist is, but before I started writing I had
wanted to check the dictionary just in case my
conception of my job happened to be incorrect.
“Columnist: the writer of a regular newspa
per feature” (Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictio
nary).
No, I was right. Nowhere in the dictionary
did the words “singular viewpoint,” “necessary
controversy, ” or “write with fury about the same
topic every week” come up. Phew.
When I first told my friends about the col
umn, most of them asked me what my angle, or
dominant viewpoint, would be. When I an
swered that I didn’t have one I was greeted with
suspicious glances and gentle pats on the back
seemingly suggesting that I would find one, and
soon.
I was questioned just as much about column
topics. Would I stir controversy? Incite the cam
pus? Create feuding factions that would eventu
ally destroy each other in desperate on-campus
skirmishes for student funds? Nope, not that
either.
In fact I realized that I would do just the
opposite of what everyone seemed to expect of
me.
I can’t write from one angle because I’m not
singularly faceted. I’m not just Chinese. I’m not
just a woman. I’m not just a political science
major. I’m not just a “Yankee.”
It’s true that these characteristics are very
much a part of who I am, but to say that any one
of them defines me more than another would be
faulty reasoning.
Therefore, writing from one viewpoint just
doesn’t make any sense. Anyway, it would be
downright boring for me to write about and for
U.S. Should Drop Sanctions
Against South Africa
TO THE EDITOR:
The recent incident in South Africa that left a
U.S. citizen dead has led me to one conclusion:
the United States, as well as the rest of the world,
should drop all existing sanctions against the
South African government, as well as withdraw
ing any aid they may be giving to black separatist
groups.
The cold, senseless murder of Amy Biehl no
doubt enraged many throughout the world. It is
time we do something about it.
Ms. Biehl was in South Africa working to
help achieve freedom and end apartheid. What
happened? She was killed by the very people she
tried to help.
Members of a militant separatist group, the
Pan Africanist Congress, killed Amy Biehl. They
dragged her out of her car, slammed a brick in
her face and stabbed her repeatedly until after
they were sure she was dead.
When one of Ms. Biehl’s friends asked a
criminal why he did it, he replied, “Because she
is a settler (white person).”
It is obvious that the black community in
South Africa does not want our help in overturn
ing apartheid since they killed a person who was
trying to do just that.
They killed her simply because she was white.
If they don’t want help, fine.
Let’srescindthesanctions, welcome the South
African government back into all world agen
cies, and turn the clock back to 1959. Then we’ll
see how life in South Africa is for its black
citizens.
I firmly believe in punishing those respon
sible for this. Executing the murderers, how
ever, is not enough.
When I first read about this story, my initial
response was, “Let’s just nuke them and get it
over with.”
Of course, that’s not a very practical solution.
Dropping the sanctions and aid, however, is
very much an appropriate response.
Jonathan Hart
FRESHMAN
JOURNALISM
Town Should Recall Officals
Who Violate Trust, Law
TO THE EDITOR:
Asa very interested observer of local politics,
I view the current recall effort on Mr. Herzenberg
with much curiosity. Mr. Herzenberg states that
he has “done a good job” and is a “good council
member.” He says he merely made a “mistake. ”
Other supporters say that his conviction for
tax evasion was merely a misdemeanor and
should be forgiven.
But what is it really? One could question the
“good job” statement at once.
After all, Herzenberg’s primary job was to
uphold the laws of the state, a task at which he
you to read about
the same issue ev
ery week.
As for contro
versy, I won’t pur
posely shy away
from it, but what’s
the use of writing
with the sole pur
pose of causing it?
That would only
take away from the
validity of the writ
ing. Although the
idea of inciting riots
"--■sxstZ-
MONDAY'S ANODYNE
does sound kind of exciting....
Speaking of riots, when I first heard about the
Lorena and John Bobbitt case, I thought, what a
riot! If you haven’t heard, earlier this summer,
Lorena Bobbitt used a 12-inch kitchen filet knife
to remove her husband’s penis while he slum
bered. She then drove off with it and threw it out
her car window on a deserted stretch ofhighway.
So as not to be too evil, she called the police
from a pay phone and told them where the
crucial body part might be found. When the
police located the penis, they wrapped it in ice
and a team of doctors reattached it to John
Bobbitt in a nine-and-a-half hour operation.
It’s enough to make you laugh and then shud
der. And shudder hard because Lorena Bobbitt’s
motivation for her violent act is nothing to poke
fun at. John Bobbitt allegedly raped his wife and
physically abused her. He now faces charges of
marital sexual assault and goes on trial next
month.
Lorena Bobbitt’s actions and the outcome of
the trial therefore prove to be monumental in
HEADERS’FORUM
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader comments and
critcism. Letters to the editor should be no longer
than 400 words and must be typed, double-spaced,
dated and signed by no more than two people.
Students should include their year, major and phone
number. Faculty and staff should include their title,
department and phone number. The DTH reserves
the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vulgarity.
failed miserably. Then any person who buys into
the “mistake” business is simply ignoring the
facts.
Remember, we are talking about 14 years of
studied, deliberate, calculated and repetitive
criminal behavior.
Something like that stretches the definition of
mistake past the break point and cannot be
passed off so simply. It is in fact indicative of a
deep moral defect.
Then Herzenberg appears to be using the
three-year statute of limitations to avoid pay
ment of taxes for 11 of the 14 years. But that is
beside the point.
The point is that the foundation of democracy
is trust. The voters must trust their elected offi
cial, and the elected official must honor that
trust.
In this case, there has been a profound failure
on the part of the official.
At a time when the town is showing so much
concern about crime and its effect upon youth
consider the example being set by Mr.
Herzenberg.
His message is this: Crime is OK if you make
money at it even if you get caught; see, I’m still
in office, and I don’t have to answer to anyone
about my taxes.
Is there anyone who thinks that Mr.
Herzenberg would be paying his taxes now if he
had not been apprehended?
So this recall effort is going to be a real litmus
test of the resolve of the voters in Chapel Hill.
The question is this: Will they insist upon quality
officials, or is that an issue any more?
LaMotteH. Akin
CHAPEL HILL
Meat Legislation Protects
Diners From E-coli Diarrhea
TO THE EDITOR:
The article written by Alan Martin in the
Aug. 26 Daily Tar Heel describes his frustration
with being restricted by North Carolina regula
tions from ordering a rare hamburger in a restau
rant (“Lawmakers Can’t Decide How to Cook
(Thp Saily ular llppl
importance. Furious with her husband's alleged
violations, Lorena Bobbitt took matters into her
own hands. For the thousands of women who
have been silently raped by their husbands,
Lorena Bobbitt’s actions are viewed positively.
For women who have been violated, Lorena
Bobbitt has become an overnight idol, legend,
example. She already has received letters and
phone calls of support from women across the
country. In fact, as you read this column, Lorena
Bobbitt depeniculus societies are probably spring
ing up across the country as women everywhere
revel in the ultimate justice of her actions.
At the same time, it is the idea of Lorena
Bobbitt acting as an example that scares me. As
with many extraordinary crimes, there will be
emulators: women who are frustrated with the
often unjust legal system which many times
places the blame and stigma of rape on the
female victim.
But it is also important to remember that our
legal system, while often faulty, is the only one
we have, and any actions to go above the law will
eventually lead to problems. Violations of the
legal system will lead to further violations, thereby
invalidating the law and all it stands for.
Changing the law through legal means may
be a slow process and an understandably unac
ceptable one by those who ha ve been let down by
it, but in the long run, it’s the most effective and
safe method of action. Case in poiritr the N;C.
General Assembly recently overturned legisla
tion which allowed marital rape to be legal.
And as for John Bobbitt, who has sold his
story to television, I hope he gets lousy ratings.
Shirliey Fung is a political science and economics
major from Mansfield, Mass.
Burgers”).
His misleading statements suggest that he did
not do adequate background research before
writing this diatribe.
Mr. Martin states that he should have the right
to decide how his meat is cooked and that he
should not be restricted by public health
regulations.
Furthermore, Mr. Martin writes that “there
has been no epidemic of ground beef food poi
soning.”
Unfortunately, this is not accurate. Outbreaks
of E. coli-associated diarrhea secondary to
undercooked hamburgers have been well-de
scribed by the news media in recent years.
These outbreaks have resulted in a disorder
known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome which
may occur secondary to one form of E. coli
diarrhea.
Hospitalization rates have been 40 to 45 per
cent, and deaths have occurred in sto 10 percent
of infant and 80 percent of the elderly with this
disorder.
To imply that this is a liberal-conservative
issue is to totally miss the point of public health
measures.
This regulation is no different than protecting
the public by requiring immunizations before
entering elementary school or requiring food
care workers to wash their hands to prevent the
spread of hepatitis.
How Mr. Martin eats his hamburgers in his
own home is his own business, but to suggest that
a sound public health measure is an imposition
on his freedom seems dangerous and unreason
able.
Mr. Martin believes that the risk of eating his
meat rare is to increase his chances of eventually
developing colon cancer.
He believes that it is the government’s fear of
having to pay for treatment of colon cancer that
has led to this regulation. In fact, “red meats” is
a generic term for certain meats (primarily beef)
and does not imply how completely the meat has
been cooked.
The association of a diet high in “red meats”
with colon cancer is meant to imply the variety of
meat, not the redness after cooking.
There is sound epidemiologic evidence of an
association of red meats in diet (alcohol as well)
with a somewhat increased risk of colon cancer,
and individuals can decide forthemselves whether
they wish to take this small risk.
In the situation described by Mr. Martin,
public health measures were meant to prevent
the innocent bystander or those who prefer to
ignore the facts concerning the contraction of
E.coli-associated diarrhea with its potential risk
of death.
We do not believe this is an excessive restric
tion of one’s personal rights.
Martin H. Ulshen, M.D.
PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AND NUTRITION
J. Marc Rhodes, M.D.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS
PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY