North Carolina Newspapers

10 Wednesday, September 15,1993 Daily ©arlM Yi-HmQung EDTTOR Jennifer TtDielm associate editor Established 1893 A century of editorial freedom Put Words Into Practice Given its weight—26 pages plus an appendix —and the general tone of its subject matter, one might expect the UNC Board of Governors’ report on tenure and teaching released Friday to be anything but an exciting read. In this respect, the old adage about not judg ing a book—or report, as the case may be —by its cover seems to hold true. The report, drafted by the BOG Committee on Personnel and Tenure and the Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs, rightly emphasizes the importance of teaching. It states that “while neither teaching nor ser vice is the sole measure of a faculty member’s competence and contribution at any UNC insti tution, teaching should be the first consideration at all of the UNC institutions.” By recognizing the importance of teaching, the BOG re-emphasizes that the 16-campus system’s primary mission is to teach students, that even research universities such as UNC-CH and N.C. State University should remember the Serving the Future It has been quite a week for Washington: Israel and Palestine shaking hands on the lawn, A1 Gore appearing on David Letterman, anew Surgeon General sworn in. And, almost lost amid the hullabaloo, the first of Clinton’s proposed reform programs actually was passed by Congress. The National Service Initiative is a welcome and ground-breaking piece of legislation that supports both higher education and volunteer service and reaffirms Clinton’s pledge to make higher education accessible to everyone. Over the next three years, the program has pledged $1.5 billion toward educational grants, volunteer stipends and school-based commu nity service efforts. About 100,000 students will be able to earn up to $9,450 towards college over a two-year period of full-time local volunteer ing. Theprogram also includes a $7,400 cost-of living stipend for up to two years. Not since the GI Bill has the government taken such a positive step on behalf of higher education. The grant wili enable students to combine internship and scholarship to better serve both themselves and their communities. It also gives students who are unwilling or unable to join the military a chance to serve their coun try in the way each is best suited to do so. Part of the beauty of the plan is that it provides money to previously existing state and local charity organizations. Rather than adding to the Invaluable Access Librarians across the country have been up in-arms for the past few weeks and for good reason. This summer, a U.S. Department of Educa tion official ruled that libraries could not allow access to master’s and doctoral dissertations without the author’s written permission. He said such documents fell under the Family Educa tional Rights and Privacy Art, which protects a student’s records from external scrutiny. Thankfully, the government bowed to pres sure from the nation’s archivists and eased the restrictions. Education department officials de cided a student’s enrollment in a class that re quired writing a research paper was equivalent to a formal signature of approval forpublication. The victory for higher education cannot be underscored. The earlier version of the ruling would have forced librarians to clear the shelves of research papers while attempting the impos sible task of locating the works’ authors for their permission to keep their papers public. Universities are places of learning. If such valuable teaching tools as dissertations were WHAT AftE YOt/fIST =i~iigg iJ A soldier , SIR. 5^ A. iPf AND WHAT IS A SOLDIERiF^ ”7/MAN THAT SLEEPS WITH, SHOWERS 4^ T 0t A GAY mS ° THER HEN \’ jJl S j j j \ Dim Pope EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Michel Workman university editor Kelly Ryan city editor Jason Richardson STATE S NATIONAL EDITOR StCTC Potiti SPORTS EDITOR Amy L Seeley features editor Kim CosteDo arts S entertainment editor Marty Minehin special assignments editor Robin Cagle COPY DESK EDITOR Justin Warns PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Justin Scheef graphics editor Erin Lyon LAYOUT EDITOR Bridget Busch cartoon editor John C. Manuel SPORTSATURDAY EDITOR importance of quality teaching. The BOG report is good news for students as well as professors who always have placed teach ing first, who always have kept students in mind first. Now administrators chancellors, school deans and department chairmen at all UNC campuses should take the BOG directive and make sure that teaching is the first consideration in making tenure and promotion decisions. By placing greater weight on peer and student review in the tenure evaluation process as the BOG recommends, professors who are good teachers will be recognized and get the tenured positions they deserve. And by establishing more teaching awards systemwide and at individual institutions, UNC will recognize excellence in teaching. The BOG is leading the way in re-emphasiz ing the importance of teaching on the UNC campuses. Now the universities only have to follow. bureaucracy that Clinton is trying to cut and creating potentially political service organiza tions, the grants will go directly to the grass-roots level. A program like this is long overdue. Many European nations have policies requiring man datory community or military service. These programs not only provide valuable learning experiences and keep government costs down but also add an increased sense of national iden tity and responsibility. A program like this only will help participants maximize their personal and academic potential. Some might say this program, which already has been trimmed from a proposed $ 10.8 billion, is an unnecessary expense in a time of belt tightening and deficits. They should view it in stead as an investment in America that will improve the quality of life for not only the volun teers, but everyone who is touched by the ser vices they perform. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., praised the bill as a decentralization effort that would em power people to take local initiatives. “We will be using the government in an effective way to rekindle the ideals that have always been the hallmark of America at its best,” he said. America at its best is pretty impressive. If this legislation comes even close to its potential, Washington actually might have a hand in con tributing to the country’s promising future. unavailable, students and professors alike would lack the knowledge and insight provided by such comprehensive scholarly works. Most graduate students understand the value of their theses and are proud of their work. Few would want to hide their dissertations behind the shield of a privacy law. They themselves prob ably employed other theses for guidance and thus understand the need for access to these bodies of knowledge. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Art was meant to protect sensitive school docu ments such as grades and classroom reports. Master’s theses and doctoral dissertations fall outside this realm. Potentially embarrassing documents such as criminal records already are a matter of public record. Placing restrictions on the use ofresearch papers is absurd and unjustified. The education department has made the right decision in leaving dissertations on library shelves. Now it is up to America’s universities to continue to provide access to a valuable research tool. EDITORIALS Fair Terms Necessary to Achieve Gender Equality The Political Correctness movement came and left with lightning speed. Reason: It was ridiculed too easily. The PC language revision began sensibly. We were retrained to say “Native American” instead of the inaccurate term “Indian.” Words like “WASP” and “JAP” became conspicu ously absent from our vocabularies. But the movement crashed and burned when folks took the lingo changes too far. Who can seriously call a bald person “coif fure deficient?” And calling vegetarians “car nivorously challenged” just never took off. However, the PC language craze did heighten awareness of a crucial language flaw—gender insensitivity. Many of our everyday words and actions reinforce the inequality of the sexes so subtly that we might not even take note. This injustice of the English language has become so institutionalized that the Random House Col lege Dictionary on my bookshelf defines the words “chick” and “babe” as acceptable slang meaning “a girl or woman.” “What is the big deal?” you might ask. “They are only slang words. They are terms of endear ment.” Unfortunately, they also imply a di minutive status for women. To refer to women by words that originally were meant for human infants and newborn poultry suggests that women, like babies, are simple-minded and un sophisticated. In considering this argument, one might also assert that men are victimized by this type of terminology. Men usually are not belittled by commonly used terms, but they might be ha- Safety Is a Partnership Between Students, Police Editor's note: The author is chief of University Police. Welcome back, or if this is your first semes ter here, welcome to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Your time here can be educational, enjoyable and safe. Safety is a partnership between citizens and their government, particularly those agencies charged with enforcing the law. While the De partment of Public Safety can contribute signifi cantly to the overall climate of safety in our campus community, it cannot guarantee that you will not become a victim of a crime. Recent media coverage of a tragic random killing and other crimes against persons in the town of Chapel Hill underscores the need for awareness of the potential for crime to strike anywhere in the community without warning and with no apparent logic. While awareness is important, it also is important not to let other wise valid concern for individual and commu nity safety turn into anxious and hasty responses that fail to address effectively the real problems that underlie crime. There are too many factors that contribute to crime for us to deal with here, but we can give you some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. Some of the things you can do that will enhance your safety are: ■ Be alert to your surroundings. This in cludes staying up-to-date on what is happening in your community, being aware of your imme- Pope's Attitude About Blacks Displays Need for BCC TO THE EDITOR: This is in response to Gene Godbold’s letter on Sept. 10 entitled “Individuals Defined by Accomplishments, Not Race.” To answer Mr. Godbold’s question“which particular people of paleness has (one) met that ludicrously assert thatblackhistoiy is entirely separate from Ameri can and had no influence on it whatsoever?” I can name at least one such person—John Pope. For those of you who do not know, Mr. Pope recently stepped down from UNC’s Board of Trustees on which he served two terms. He also has major holdings in True Value Hardware Stores. Pope is of the opinion that “we need to teach our children about the cultures of the people who are trading with us and who are more important to them than the black people... I’d say that the black race has been almost insignificant as to global commerce” (The Her ald-Sun, Aug. 5). Pope apparently bases human worth on how well they trade. I must say that (1) Pope has failed to realize that, historically, blacks (then called slaves) built the foundation of America’s commerce, and (2) Pope’s attitude about black people that of worthlessness because they do not frequent Wall Street is skewed. Pope explicitly states that blacks historically are unworthy of attention, rassed by unbecom ing names. For ex ample, the words “hunk” and “stud” conjure images of men as chunks of meat and horses, re spectively (or rather, (/irrespectively). It follows that if college men are go ing out to “meet girls,” they must be frequenting elemen- GERRI BAER FEELING GRAVITY'S PULL tary schools. Legal adults in this country (and many others) are defined as people over the age of 18. Thus, most female students at UNC are women, and most male students are men. (Of course an occasional 17-year-old student or child prodigy on campus does exist.) Likewise, women might wave to the little boys on the school bus, but they probably will not date them. There exists an additional class of terms that are more obviously derogatory. The sound of these words makes me tremble with rage. Their mere existence is testimony to the lack of respect between the genders. Men who call women “ho,” “hoochie,” “heifer,” or “bitch” not only insult the particular woman in reference, they insult approximately half of the earth’s popula tion. Similar terms for men exist, but their usage is less widespread. The language we use reflects trends in our society. Violent sex crimes are on the rise, as is diate surroundings and what is happen ing at the moment. ■ Park in well lighted areas when ever possible. ■ Use the Point to-Point shuttle or call S.A.F.E. Escort at night. ■ Do not accept rides from strangers. ■ Do not walk alone or in secluded places. ALANA ENNIS GUEST COLUMNIST ■ Never prop open outside doors to build ings. ■ Do not let strangers into locked buildings. ■ Lock your doors when you leave. This includes your residence, office and car. ■ Do not leave purses, book bags or other valuables where someone can take them. ■ If you are being followed, go to a well-lit populated area and call police. ■ When going out with anew acquaintance, tell someone you trust who you will be with, where you are going and when you will return. Ask them to check on you. ■ Realize that alcohol and drugs affect your judgment and ability to react. ■ Look for the emergency call boxes on cam pus and use them to summon help if you need it. READERS’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. although Pope’s Value Center’s clientele signifi cantly is black. Mr. Godbold, the mission of the black cul tural center is to enlighten the community as a whole about black culture so that they can appre ciate the contributions of blacks in America. From Pope’s comments, we see that the current BCC facility is too small to adequately inform the populous of the African-American contribu tion. Mr. Pope is representative of a greater number of UNC affiliates who fail to empathize with minorities, thus blindly believing that ultfp Daily (Uar Bppl sexual abuse. The beauty myth is thriving. Women are told by Cosmopolitan and commer cials that unless they look like Cindy, they are insignificant. The occurrence of eating disorders is skyrocketing. You have not come such a long way, baby. More women may be in Congress than ever have been in the past, but some men still look at a voluptuous woman and say, “There’s a breeder.” Is this equality? Such language is not only not funny, it also is destructive. If men and women cannot speak of each other on fair and equal terms, how can they possibly work to gether on fair and equal terms? Changing our language is relatively easy. All it takes is a sense of awareness on the parts of both men and women to filter the dirt out of everyday conversations. Remembering to call men men instead of boys and to call women women may take practice, but after a few tries it should roll off your tongue. A concerted effort on the part of women and men to purge their language of disrespectful terms will lead to a decrease in disrespectful acts. The more we say something, the more we will believe it. One warning, though. Do not let gender sen sitivity go askew as did the rest of the PC lan guage fad—l do not desire to be called a testoster one-deficient human. Nor will I call my male friends andro-humans. Gerri Baer is a junior nutrition major from Fayetteville who would like to wish the Jewish community a sweet and peaceful new year. Following these tips can reduce significantly the chances of you becoming a victim of a crime. Nothing and no one can give you a guarantee that it will not happen to you. If you observe any activity that you think may be criminal, or if you believe you have been or might be the victim of a criminal act, call us. Do not wait or be embar rassed to call the police. You contribute to your own safety and that of the entire community by notifying police of crimes or the possibility of a crime taking place. The Department ofPublic Safety provides full law enforcement services to the University com munity. We provide preventive police patrols, including the Student Police Patrol, building security, criminal and accident investigations, emergency communications, and crime preven tion information and education programs. We rely on you, the citizens of the campus community, to assist in the job of keeping the community safe by developing safe habits and practices such as those we have outlined and by providing us with the information and feedback we need to be more effective in the community. The Department ofPublic Safety is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Most of you will never need us, but if you do, call us immediately. EMERGENCY: 962-6565 INVESTIGATIONS: 966-2120 ROUTINE CALLS: 962-0574 CRIME PREVENTION: 966-3230 America is the land of equality. Sadly, it is not. Only by learning about other cultures can we appreciate them. I have learned about your cul ture in school, Mr. Godbold, and have learned to appreciate it. In an act of fairness, I ask that you afford yourself and other whites the same oppor tunity to learn of a significant races and its accomplishments. Support the free-standing Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center. Latarsha Chambers SOPHOMORE UNDECIDED Everett's Gender Not Relative To Her Accomplishments TO THE EDITOR: Why did you refer to Kathrine R. Everett in your editorial on Sept. 13 as “one ofUNC’s most accomplished female graduates”? Her name is certainly enough to alert the reader that she, in fact, is female. What your phraseology does is imply that her accomplishments should be viewed only in re gard to those of other women, without being able to be compared to those of men; this, as I gather from the editorial, is not actually the case. BethCalamia GRADUATE STUDENT CLASSICS