10
Friday, November 18,1994
(Hr? Satly (Ear Hrrl
Keßt Rju editor
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ait Established 1893
101 Years of Editorial Freedom
Take A Look Around You
After a week of examining human rights,
abroad and nationally, we might forget about
loss of human rights here in our own commu
nity. As Human Rights Week ends, we can turn
our thoughts to what human rights mean in our
own life, in our own community.
The struggle for human rights isn’t just a
vague foreign policy
question or a matter for
politicians. Human
rights the “inalien
able rights” referred to
in the U.S. Declaration
of Independence do
not take a solid or easy
definition. It’s easier to
define human rights by
MrtMHM tW state of
Himm Rights
their absence than by the actual form they take.
In this town, we don’t have all the dignity
suggested by America’s smug pride in its free
dom.
Women aren’t safe walking streets alone at
night, and often not even during the day. All
people live under the threat of violence just
look at the number of assaults reported down
town and on campus this year alone.
In the eternal quest to make America more
inclusive of its minorities, the federal govern
ment released a 271-page curriculum guide re
cently that details exactly what students from
grades five through 12 should know about United
States history and the role of minorities and
women.
Great idea; horrible approach!
While the government’s effort to put the his
torical spotlight on personalities typically shafted
in public education is laudable, the mandatory
approach is all wrong. Curriculum decisions
belong at the local and state level, not with the
folks on Capitol Hill.
If the Congress that voted on Goals 2000 (a
program designed to improve students’ knowl
edge of core subjects) wanted to change the way
history texts present the achievements of mi
norities and women, let them do it through
recommended guidelines, not top-down require
ments.
We all know the arguments for change.
History books typically cover dead white men
Tar UteiQuotables
“I have to support five children. I’ve worked
here for four years. I put in for 13 promotions
and was denied 13 times. Yes, I threatened
my supervisor. I was angry. I cursed. But I
need my job.”
ERIC BNOWNING, fired UNC housekeeper
At a rally in the Pit on Wednesday calling for his
reinstatement and anew grievance system for
University employees.
“So many times, people have written things
that are absolutely absurd, like that a politi
cian who just lost in the elections was being
considered for chancellor. People just don’t
understand the need for confidentiality in
selecting candidates.”
JOHNNY HARRIS, chancellor search committee chairman
On the need for secrecy around the selection process.
“Advertisers tried to say that advertising for
beer is no worse than other products. But if
other products were gateway drugs and played
a part in 90 percent of date rapes on campus,
then they wouldn’t be allowed on the air.”
DEAN SMITH, basketball coach
On his campaign to eliminate alcohol ads during
televised ACC sporting events.
“The truth helps to set the captives free.
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Children aren’t always safe in daycares, from
their parents, from family friends or in their
homes.
Employees at the University, like the house
keepers, balance sub-poverty level Wages with
the effort to raise families in expensive Orange
County.
Blacks, whites and members of all ethnicities
are often trapped in their skin color, unable to
live a life on its merits because of the definitions
and roles forced upon them by society’s preju
dices.
Suspicion and bitterness often arise when we
consider how many of our rights are abridged.
People begin to mistrust each other, their gov
ernment and passers-by on the street.
But alienation is not the solution to our basic
human rights that are nibbled at every day. In
our communities, on a one-on-one human level,
we redress some of the wrongs.
People of opposite persuasions, liberals and
conservatives, activists and observers alike can
agree that we all want our community to be a
better place to live. Each of us can work in our
own way to make our lives safer, more comfort
able more free.
Your History
and relegate the accomplishments of women,
blacks and other minorities to the back pages of
special sections. In addition, curricula place more
emphasis onnamesand dates and less on general
historical movements.
Proponents argue that under the National
Standards curriculum guide students would bet
ter understand the diverse reality of American
history, not just the glamorous battles and fore
fathers usually presented.
Which is all well and good and definitely
needed except for the part about the federal
government deciding.
While the guide is presently backed by both
the American Federation of Teachers and the
National Education Association, ithas also been
criticized for its reverse emphasis.
While Harriet Tubman is mentioned six times,
for example, the Gettysburg address is men
tioned only once.
Let the guide serve as just that —a guide that
would recommend how textbooks are written
and how teachers present history.
Tyrants hate the truth, fear the truth; they
deny the truth.”
WILLIAM SCHULZ,
executive director of Amnesty Inters ational
Defining what Amnesty International sees as the heart
of its vision
“Human rights is not a static business of
setting and accomplishing objectives.”
RANDALL RORINSON, founder Htd director of TmsAhica
Explaining that a great deal still must be done to
improve human rights all over the world
“Senator Helms’ foreign policy is totally out of
mainstream U.S. policy. Helms is the worst
kind of isolationist because he feels that any
kind of money we spend abroad is a waste.”
ERKMLYN
assistant professor of political science at UNC
On the prospect of Helms' chairmanship of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee
“Wall climbing trains your mind. You have to
keep calm and focused while going through
physical torment.”
TRENT MCDEVm
climbing will coordinator at tbo
Ctißpti Hill Cantor
On the merits of wall climbing, a sport McDevitt says is
safer than basketball
HiaiUHM Cunbantt EDITORIAL PAGE EDTTOR
AmjPbuk UNIVERSITY EDITOR
ChruNichol* city editor
Jean; Heimen STATE I NATIONAL EDITOR
Jmlm Sckeef sports editor
Jon Goldberg FEATURES EDITOR
Wendy MitebeD arts/diversions editor
Holly Stepp special assignments editor
Kathryn Sberer COPY DESK EDITOR
Jennifer Neekyfirow COPY desk editor
Katie Cannon PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Robert Anderson graphics editor
Jake HaeNeDy editorial cartoon editor
EDITORIAL
f
Find Me A Woman Who Knows What A Man Wants
Dearest” M.,
Though when I say “dearest,” I mean
it in the most perfunctory sense of the
word, with no connotation of value or love. If
you really want the correct interpretation of the
word, imagine Oscar Wilde curling it around his
biting wit, or better yet, Sid Vicious spitting it in
your face and then following it with a fist.
Oh, I am told by the indigenous folk here that
we English are tight-lipped and tight-assed, that
we wouldn’t scream even if you shoved a red
hot poker up our collective ass. Ha! As if they,
with their fabled “Southern Hospitality,” are
any better. How is the leisurely drawl of wel
come any deeper than the frosty gazes that greet
you on the streets of London? How would a
good Southern belle react if, to her dainty morn
ing greeting of “How y’all doin’?” one were to
reply, “Like Shit,” or, “I think I’m going to kill
myself.” Well, at least Brits are sincere in our
spite.
Or most of us are.
There are some who would lead a man on, let
him send letter after letter (and I know that
you’re getting them, I do know!), and not once!
Not once reply! If only to tell me that I was
still am wasting my time!
But you’re too dainty forthat. Ablue-blooded
English woman would never sully her hands
with such menial tasks. Sure, you don’t have
slaves, but all those immigrants from the ’6os—
they’re nearly as good!
This would never have happened if you were
a man because men sit down and talk things out,
looking at each other squarely in the eye and
telling each other exactly what the other thinks
Women are a mystery. There is no man, alive or
having ever lived, who has understood women,
seen past their alabaster-smooth skin and seen
into their alligator hearts (which is indeed pre
suming that they have the aforementioned or-
Finance Committee’s Investigation Wholly Legitimate
I wish to address the uninformed
statements made in a Nov. 15 editorial, “A
Court of Fools.” Asa member of the finance
committee, I question how the committee’s in
vestigation is “a petty, unethical and politically
motivated abuse of power” as the editorial sug
gests.
The Student Government Code delegates the
power to Student Congress to require reports
from "... organizations receiving funds from
Student Government” (94 SGC 1.1.1.4.0) and
presents the responsibility to “receive and con
sider reports on behalf of the Congress” to the
committees (94 SGC 11.1.V.1.E). The Code also
states that the committees “shall conduct hear
ings ... as they deem necessary on matters within
their respective areas of competence” and “shall
subpoena students to testify by majority vote
such witnesses as are necessary ...” to accom
plish the purposes of the hearings (94 SGC
11.1.V.1.A-B).
Clearly the matters being investigated, con
sidering they pertain to student fees allocated to
student groups, fall well within the finance
committee’s area of competence.
If any criticism of the finance committee is
legitimate, it is that the committee has been
negligent in the past in requiring groups to be
held accountable for the ways in which they
acquire and spend student fees. Now that mem
bers of the student body have expressed con
cerns as to how their money is spent, the com
mittee has decided to accept the burden of their
duties and investigate these matters.
I wonder if this publication is suggesting the
finance committee should avoid their responsi
bilities and ignore the voices ofthe students who
elected them. Having established the legitimacy
of the investigation, I wish to provide a factual
account of the committee’s proceedings to dis
pel any myths expressed by the editorial. I did
not want to compare the finance committee’s
investigation with Mr. Battle’s investigation,
Homophobes, Beware!
TO THE EDITOR:
This letter is in response to the “WHITE” flag
hanging in the Pit titled, “Republican Coming
Out Day.” Careful, you might just get what
you’re asking for. Asa matter of feet, I know
several Republicans in the closet. Would you
like me to name a few? Moreover, why don’t I
just get a “WHITE” flag, put all of their names
on it, and hang it in the Pit? Nevertheless, have
your two years of glory. I repeat, two years! You
will be given two years again to make complete
asses of yourselves with 19th-century antics.
Republicans now may have control over the
House and the Senate, but Mr. Clinton is still in
the biggest seat smoking a cigar (I wish a blunt),
gans). Homer
warned us against
woman. So did
Milton. They both
wrote beautiful po
etry, and even then
we failed to listen to
them! Despite your
perfidy, there is one
object, one set of
lines and volumes
that will keep man
entranced, at bay
AZIZ HIJQ
LEGAL ALIEN
and on a leash forever and a day. One woman
who grabs on to our balls and squeezes them ’til
they pop through the roof of our mouth.
And who is my ill-starred object of desire?
You ... as if there were ever any question!
The ill-fated dead end of all my enquiries is
you. No matter what train of thought I ever
follow, it’s your face in the light at the end of the
tunnel.
The summer softness of your breasts. The
autumnal fall of your neck I wonder if I ever
will be able to forget them.
It wasn’t my fault getting into this situation,
you know. “Fault” would imply that I had
“choice” somewhere along the line —as if any
thing could be further from the truth! Rather like
a Democratic candidate, my end was sealed
from the very beginning. Besides, what kind of
fool would willingly plunge into a long-distance
relationship, the pleasures of which are very
similar to those of Catholic confession pla
cebo comforts?
Anyone with even a mote of intelligence
could have seen how this was going to end, with
me as the Robinson Crusoe of the story, ship
wrecked on an island of gun-toting, pill-pop
ping, historically challenged savages, whose idea
of a good time ranges from “cow tipping” to
because they are un
related, but your edi
torial left me with no
[111.11: (IASPI'RIN'I |
GUEST COLUMNIST
choice. Not only is the finance committee’s
investigation more expressly warranted by the
Code, its organization is more defined than Mr.
Battle’s committee.
As for being an “independent panel,” Mr.
Battle’s investigation committee includes four of
his own appointees out of five committee mem
bers. All fee members of the finance committee,
in comparison, were elected by the student body
long before the investigation began. In other
words, the makeup of the committee was not
established for the sole purpose of investigation
by one President Battle.
Now, ask yourself which committee seems to
be a politically motivated abuse of power. It also
should be noted that the finance committee is
proceeding most cautiously to ensure that they
do not repeat the mistakes made by what your
newspaper called a “Slack Investigation” by the
Battle administration.
Each of the criticisms your paper had to offer
on the Battle investigation have been addressed
by this committee.
In feet, the finance committee has established
guidelines for conduct to be followed for the
entire investigatory process. These guidelines
have allowed for a secretary to formulate official
minutes and require that testimony be recorded.
The committee is seeking a faculty adviser from
the law school and has appointed Kevin Hunter
as legal adviser.
If your publication objects to this appoint
ment, the committee would welcome a sugges
tion of any member of the student body more
qualified to serve in this capacity than Hunter,
who has served in two administrations as the
student body treasurer and the chief legal coun
sel, and one term on Student Congress.
In addition, it is absolutely “preposterous” to
suggest that this committee has attempted to
READERS’FORUM
and he is inhaling. Your victory will be short
lived, and long-laughed for us. Do us all a favor,
and stay in the closet!
JohnPatterm
CLASS OF 1994
CARRBORO
(Eljr Saihj (Ear Hrrl
smoking crack on a Saturday night! It's no won
der that the English feel adrift in America. Not
only is the land too big, but the ideas are, too
“LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF
HAPPINESS” you can hear them booming
out halfway across the world in the echo from the
Marine’s rifle, in the crack of the peasant’s head
splitting open. BOOM ... all big, hollow prin
ciples which hide nothing but a history of geno
cide and a future of exploitation.
How could you leave me alone here, an emo
tional paraplegic in the land of the morally blind?
So, this is to be my last letter to you. Some
would call me stupid for wasting all this time,
expending all this quality wit, which could have
earned me a position writing for the daytime
soaps, and erudition, which might even get me a
degree eventually, if another woman doesn’t get
in the way. Asa parting gift, something to show
you that I am not in the least bit bitter...
Let me evoke a well-known bit of folk wis
dom, a piece of sentiment often spoken but rarely
anthologized and ever eloquent. It’s a sentiment
that has passed my lips and yours many a time
(and might even be the only thing that they have
in common); one which is hardly original, but
everyone knows that there’s nothing original to
say in the post-modem epoch. To you, my dis
tant, silent reader, the perpetual listener, the one
who braves no words, I have only two words,
two words of three and four letters that may
indeed sum up not only my feelings but every
current ofeivilisationthathasgonebefore us and
will follow in our traces. For you, M., I have to
say:
f— you,
just
f-- you
Yours sincerely,
etc., etc.
closeitsmeetings to thepublic.Forit was Battle’s
investigation that discouraged students from at
tending its meetings.
The only reason the N. C. Open Meetings
Law was studied was to ensure that the commit
tee did not infringe on the rights of individuals
subpoenaed to testify. In fact, the committee
wholeheartedly welcomes the public to attend
the entire investigatory proceedings in order to
procure the troth.
Furthermore, if this publication is so con
cerned that the members of the student body be
present at these proceedings, then why the objec
tion to three mentioned students doing just that?
Let us not forget that it was Mr. Battle’s investi
gation that sought the testimony of Mr. Allen,
Mr. Jordan and other “has-beens.”
It is also false that Finance Committee Chair
Lyon neglected to inform Battle officially of the
investigation. In fact, Mr. Battle did receive a
written notice of the proceedings weeks before
the printing of your editorial. It is ironic, how
ever, that members of the finance committee
never were notified of the investigation into their
conduct by the Battle administration.
In defense of Tom Lyon’s credibility, I would
have to agree with many other members of Stu
dent Congress that Representative Lyon has
proven his abilities as an effective leader of this
committee. Lyon has insisted that every aspect
of these proceedings be approved by a majority
of the committee. Therefore, any question of his
personal motives should be moot.
Finally, I question why this publication sends
three members of its staff to each meeting to
cover an investigation it claims to be “ a kangaroo
court.” In light of the suggestion offered by the
editorial, I would suggest that the editorial board
of this paper represent professional journalism or
stop writing.
Julie Gasperini is District 14 representative to Student
Congress.
Columnists Wanted
The DaityTar Heel editorial page is looking for weekly
columnists to write next semester. Were looking for
talented writers with a unique or interesting perspective
to offer the campus community. Columnists can bring
any persuasion to this page, political, editorial or other
wise. We welcome all applicants.
Applications will be available at the DTH office in
Union Suite 104 today and at the Union Desk Monday.
Completed applications will be due at the DTH by 5
pm Nov. 29. Finalists will be notified by telephone and
will be interviewed by the editorial page editor and the
editor.
Direct any questions to Thanassis Cambanis, edito
rial page editor, at 962-0245.