12
Wednesday, April 12,1995
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World Wide Web Electronic Edition;
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jwl Established 1893
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Make a First Impression
All the promises have been made. The good
will handshakes have been shaken. Committees
have met and issued reports.
Let the real games begin.
This week, town-gown relations face the big
gest test in several years, with a Michigan-based
consulting firm in to wn to meet with Chapel Hill
and Carrboro residents and UNC faculty and
administrators about the future of UNC’s outly
ing properties.
When this preliminary meeting ends,
Johnson, Johnson & Roy will go back to Michi
gan with an almost complete long-range plan for
the Horace Williams and Mason Farm tracts.
Those two pieces of land alone—all 2,200 acres
are UNC’s future.
Don’t let the consultants take off without
putting them to a rigorous test.
UNC has the leverage to forge a truly produc
tive relationship with the town by not just en
couraging open debate about development but
actively soliciting input from all interested par
ties.
So far, UNC officials have made strides in the
Take a Bite Outta Education
In the recent tide of new legislation originat
ing in the newly Republican U.S. Congress and
N.C. Senate, tax cuts have been a key issue.
Tax cuts are, in theory, agoodidea, ifusedthe
right way. But it is a good idea for our governing
bodies to slow down and take a look at what they
are affecting, and quite possibly unnecessarily
damaging, in achieving their mission.
The most glaring impending disaster involv
ing the N.C. General Assembly is a cut in fund
ing to the UNC system. Does anybody deny that
this state has reaped the benefits of UNC for
more than two centuries now? Yet how can a
state unanimously recommend that funding for
one of its most steadfast resources be signifi
cantly reduced? Likewise, how can a Congress
that sees an economic upswing propose to deny
crucial scholarship funds for college students?
It is time for our legislators to rethink their
strategies for reducing taxes. And it is time for
Landfill: To Recycle or to Complain
“A day late and a dollar short” may be only a
cliche to some people, but to anyone in Orange
County who might soon have a landfill near his
or her community, these are words to live by.
With the date on which the Landfill Search
Committee will release the recommended site
for the new landfill approaching, residents of
these areas are clamoring to protest.
However, many people seem to be missing an
important underlying message here. If everyone
was doing all that was possible to be conscien
tious recyclers, the location of new landfills
wouldn’t be such a pressing issue because there
wouldn’t have to be as many new landfills.
The present recycling systems in Chapel Hill
and in Carrboro might not be as extensive as or
effective as some people would like. However,
Wanted: Opinions
Got something to say? Applications are
now available for fall editorial board members
and summer and fall columnists. Applications
are in The Daily Tar Heel office, Union Suite
104.
The editorial board comprises seven or nine
members, including the editor and the edito
rial page editor, and is responsible for writing
the unsigned pieces that appear on the left side
Tart Semtris editorial page editor
Adam Gasman university editor
Ryan fisomhurf CITY EDITOR
Jenny Heimen state 1 national editor
Justin Sc beef SPORTS EDITOR
Jon Goldberg FEATURES EDITOR
Alison Maxwell arts/diversions editor
Peter Roybal special assignments editor
Kathryn Sberer copy desk editor
Amy Ferguson DESIGN EDITOR
Craig Jones PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Chris Anderson GRAPHICS EDITOR
Michael Tebb EDITORIAL CARTOON EDITOR
right direction. The energy can’t stop now but
must continue throughout the land-use study.
In 1991, the University learned its lesson—it
can’t operate in a vacuum. With only shadows
remaining of the South Loop Road debate in
which UNC officials wanted to build a road that
would have routed traffic through Odum Village
residents must be outspoken now so that the
plans get off on the right track.
The number of public forums on development
already far surpasses the 1991 fiasco in effective
communication. But the participation must work
both ways.
University and town leaders are on the same
side —both want the best, most attractive use of
the space on the satellite properties.
Take advantage of the University’s hindsight
and attend one of the open forums that will be
key in shaping UNC’s growth objectives.
■ Public meeting: 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to
day in Friday Center’s Redbud Room
■ Open campus forum: 12:30 p.m. to 1:45
p.m. Thursday in 1301 McGavran-Greenberg
Building
us, in turn, to take responsibility for opposing
such misuse of responsibility.
There certainly lies no evil in the idea of
creating middle-class tax breaks. The question
remains though: How much will quick-fix tax
breaks help the middle class, or all classes, if they
come at the cost of childrens’ education? In the
long term, which will produce the greatest ben
efit to this country?
Obviously our representatives prefer the short
term solution to re-election. These cuts are
being pushed for in the N.C. General Assembly,
and (more arguably) in Congress. But it is time
for this country to consider what we lose in quick
and thoughtless cuts of government funding for
all levels of education. Student action is needed
to help curtail this disregard of education. Now
at issue are not just the usual controversial topics
of welfare, defense spending, etc., but the future
of many of America’s students.
residents are obviously not doing their part to
help the system. Of recyclable materials such as
paper, plastic and organic waste, almost 52,000
tonswere dumped in 1995. With 128,500tonsof
material dumped, almost 40 percent of what was
dumped could have been recycled. The perva
sive, apathetic attitude toward recycling is re
sponsible for the resource shortages we are expe
riencing today.
Take the time to put newspapers and alumi
num cans in the recycling bins. Remember to
return plastic grocery bags where they can be
recycled. These things might not seem important
or significant, but they do add up, and will add
up —to landfill No. 3. With more action and less
whining, the community as a whole can alleviate
this problem in the future.
of the opinion page.
Each week, the editorial board meets Sun
day, Tuesday and Thursday nights for about
an hour and a half.
Columnists write the signed pieces on the
right side of the editorial page that appear
every week of the semester.
Questions? Call Editor-select Thanassis
Cambanis at 962-0245.
EDITORIAL
"m.PUL, THE Jon'S You I'm BACK THE HH-i Would
f(AV£ Givem foO 2.0 Bocks Foe that ”
True Political Oratory Lost to die Snappy Soundbite
Like it or not, the end ofNewt Gingrich’s 100
Days on Friday was one of the most impor
tant moments in contemporary American
politics. And befitting the occasion, politicians
of all stripes were on hand to capture the mo
ment in rhetoric. How did they fare? Newt
Gingrich opined: “We must restore freedom by
ending bureaucratic micromanagement here in
Washington." Not exactly Churchillian. And
President Clinton’s vision? “Grow the middle
class, shrink the upper class and speed up the
opportunities for entrepreneurs.” Stirs the blood
doesn’t it?
The conclusion? Political oratory is dead.
Stone dead. You don’t believe me? Here is a
single sentence from a Churchill speech in 1940:
“History with its flickering lamp stumbles along
the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its
scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale
gleams the passions of former days.”
You say it’s unfair to compare Newt or Bill
with one of the greatest orators since
Demosthenes? Tme. But recall, Churchill was
considered the last of the Victorian orators by his
contemporaries, but not necessarily the best. He
was only one of many orators who created the
late- 18th and 19th century classical age of En
glish oratory. Pitt, Chatham, Disraeli, Gladstone,
Chamberlain, Burke; the list is impressive and
lengthy.
In those days, open air oratory was the most
efficient means of mass communication. Lord
Chatham’s voice was so resonant, that his
speeches could be heard unamplified mind
you on the streets in front of the House of
Commons, several hundred feet away. People
complained during the 1930s that the boom of
Churchill’s voice heard over the radio could
topple dishes from the table. On the hustings in
1879, William Gladstone spoke for two or three
hours at a time to thousands of people on issues
as complicated as what to do about the Balkans.
And people listened. Prior to the modem TV
age, political oratory, and political attack, was a
rare and respected art form. Let’s consider what
we’re missing.
Here are my Top 10 Highlights from the Age
of Oratory (with thanks to Greg Knight’s collec
tion “Honourable Insults”).
10. “If a traveler was informed that such a
man was Leader of the House of Commons, he
might begin to comprehend how the Egyptians
worshipped an insect. ” Benjamin Disraeli on a
rival, Lord John Russell.
9. “And as anything less than liberty is inad
equate to Ireland, so is it dangerous to Great
Britain. We are too near the British nation, we
are too conversant with her history, we are too
Local Jihad, Round 3: Nation
of Islam Is Not Truly Muslim
TO THE EDITOR:
Incredible how, sometimes, a religion uses
the name of another to describe itself. Those
who read Friday’s Reader’s Forum know what
I’m talking about.
The author of the letter “Members of Nation
of Islam Do Practice True Islam” seems to have
a confused concept of what true Islam is. Tme
Islam is what was established hundreds of years
before Elijah Muhammad. It doesn’t change.
The Nation’s members call themselves Mus
lims. The author of Friday’s letter states, “Most
Muslims do not draw upon the Bible for guid
ance.” Muslims most certainly do not draw
upon the Bible for guidance. Why not? Because
Muslims already have a book. It’s called the
Koran. A Muslim would never start drawing
upon the Bible for guidance just because they’re
in America and deal with black Christians, as
stated in a conversation of mine with the author.
The author also states, “It should be obvious
that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a Mes
senger for the people of Arabia and not us,
because we speak English, not Arabic.” Prophet
Muhammad’s message, according to tme Mus
lims, was for all ofhumanity. No Muslim would
believe that black Americans needed another
messenger; why didn’t anyone else get one?
No one should doubt the accomplishments of
the Nation. Louis Farrakhan is definitely a leader
forblack people. Unfortunately, this hardly quali
fies him as a leader for Muslims. What has
Farrakhan done forthe vast majority of nonblack
Muslims? I’m Pakistani; how is he a leader for
Pakistani Muslims? No one in Pakistan has even
heard of Louis Farrakhan.
I do not wish to continue this debate; I feel
that I have said what I needed to, and hopefully
enough people have read my words and under
stood the distinction between the Nation and
Islam. My point remains the same since my
much fired by her ex
ample, to be anything
less than her equal;
SCOTTSYFERT
GUEST COLUMNIST
anything less, [and] we should be her bitterest
enemies... ” Henry Grattanfghting abolition of
the Irish House of Commons, April 1780.
8. “I remember when I was a child being taken
to Bamum's circus. The exhibit which I most
desired to see was one described as the "Boneless
Wonder.” My parents judged that the spectacle
would be too revolting for my youthfiil eyes.
And so I have waited 50 years to see the Boneless
Wonder sitting on the Treasury Bench. ” Win
ston Churchill on depression era Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald.
1. “The mediocrity of his thinking is con
cealed by the majesty of his language ... He
refers to a defeat as a disaster as though it came
from God, but to a victory as though it came
from himself.” Aneurin Bevin, on Winston
Churchill
6. “Mr. Hastings guarantees to the allies of the
company their prosperity and his protection; the
former he secures by sending an army to plunder
them of their wealth and to desolate their soil.
The latter produces the misery and the min of the
protected. His is the protection which the vulture
gives to the lamb, which covers while it devours
its prey; which stretching its baleful pinions and
hovering in mid-air, disperses the kites and lesser
birdsofprey,andsavesthe innocent and helpless
victim from all talons but its own.” Richard
Brinsley Sheridan, prosecuting Warren Hastings
in the House of Lords for corruption and abuse
of authority as Governor-General of India.
5. “War, with all its evils, is better than a
peace in which there is nothing to be seen but
usurpation and injustice, dwelling with savage
delight on the humble, prostrate condition of
some timid suppliant people. And therefore I
say, that until die aspect of that mighty mass of
iniquity and folly is entirely changed;—until the
character of the government is totally reversed;
until, by the common consent of the general
voice of all men France is no longer terrible for
her contempt of the rights of every other nation
until in the situation of France we have
exhibited to us those feature of a wise, a just, and
a liberal policy, I cannot treat with her.” Prime
Minister William Pitt refusing to negotiate with
Napoleonic France, June 1799.
4. “Thegovemmenthastumeditsbackonthe
country and now has the temerity to say the
county is behind it” F.E. Smith, First Lord
Birkenhead.
3. “A Conservative government is an orga
nized hypocrisy.”—Future Conservative Prime
Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
reamotjm
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader comments and
criticism. 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.
Send e-mail forum to: dth@unc.edu.
letter last week (“Members of Nation of Islam
Not Truly Muslim,” April 3): the Nation of
Islam is a religion and worthy of respect just like
any other; it’s just wrongly named. It is not
Islam, it is Fairakhanism.
Hassan Ahmad
JUNIOR
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
There Is More Than One
Academic 'Hero' on This Hill
TO THE EDITOR:
We are writing in regards to your April 7th
article (“Taking the Fast Track to Academic
Success”) about Shep Dunlevie’s “Hero on the
Hill.” This is not a letter to put Dunlevie’s
accomplishments down, but we want to ask that
next time you put someone on the front page of
the DTH and label them “hero, ” please do more
research.
We aren’t the type to write letters of com
plaint to the editor, but we couldn’t let this pass
®ljp Daily ®ar Mml
2. “Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the
truest wisdom; and a great empire and little
minds go ill together.” Edmund Burke on
reconciling with the American colonies.
1. “And do not suppose that this is the end.
This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This
is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter
cup which will be proffered to us year by year
unless by a supreme recovery of moral health
and martial vigor, we arise again and take our
stand for freedom as in the olden time.”
Winston Churchill, summing up Britain’s pre
dicament after the 1938 Munich sellout.
The brilliance of the great orators was not
only their ability to capture the quiddity of high
ideals, but also their ability to attack their oppo
nents with rapier-like thrusts. Imagine, for ex
ample, you are John Foster Dulles. How on
earth do you counter the progression, “Dull.
Duller. Dulles.” (Coined by Churchill?) Or (of
Clement Attlee) “a sheep in sheep’s clothing?”
Or, on hearing it said of John Bright that he was
a self-made man, Disraeli replied: “I know he is.
And he adores his maker. ” Can you imagine any
contemporary politician coming up with any
thing so witty?
But more importantly, why has oratory de
generated? Several reasons, more or less inter
connected. First, less attention is paid to the
Congressional or Parliamentary speech. In the
1880s, fully three-quarters ofthe frontpage ofthe
London Times was devoted to transcripts of
debates. Politics was entertainment. The growth
of mass entertainment movies, mass media
undercut politics as a key form of entertainment.
With it, the piquancy of the spoken word de
clined.
At roughly the same time, speaking to mass
audiences, which fostered high oratory, became
a secondary form of political dialogue. TV be
came a much more efficient way to reach broad
audiences than public speaking. Press releases
can be faxed within seconds to express an opin
ion on any breaking topic; a riveting speech, by
contrast, cannot be thrown together by a college
age volunteer.
More crucially, television rewards speed; it
will cover the “sound bite,” but not the full text
of an hour address. (Except on C-Span, which
may yet help revive die spoken word.) For tele
vision purposes, a coherent and complicated
argument, such as Burke created, consummated
by a fiery peroration, is far less important than a
pithyphrase.JudgingbytheresultsoflastFriday’s
celebration, we are the worse for it.
Scott Syfert is a first-year UNC law student from
Charlotte.
us by. The article had good intentions and was
well written on a well-qualified person, but not as
qualified when compared to other UNC stu
dents. Our roommate, Hunter Cherwek, has also
gone through his entire UNC academic career
with nothing less than an A (not even an A
minus). He’s a junior, graduating in three and a
halfyears with a B.S. in biology. What is interest
ing is that Hunter is on track to triple major in
biology, chemistry, and psychology, but under
University policy only one B.S. is allowed.
Yet, Hunter (also a Phi Beta Kappa) has much
more than just a perfect academic record. He has
helped save numerous lives while volunteering
12-hour shifts on the EMT Orange County Res
cue Squad. He also volunteers once a week at
Duke Hospital’s pediatric ward to help children
with AIDS. He is actively involved with the
Order of the Bell Tower which gets alumni in
volved with many different University activities.
He participates as a member of the Chi Psi
fraternity and St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
He is involved in intramural sports and recently
won an expense-paid fellowship to Africa for an
anthropological study. Last summer, while in
England, he also helped several research scien
tists study anew strain of AIDS. These are just a
few ofHunter’s extracurricular activities. On top
of all this, he has kept a flawless academic record.
This isnotwritten to brag onHunter Cherwek,
but rather to use him as an example to prove a
point. If you are going to put a “hero” on the
front page of the DTH, pick four or five, or none
at all. Because when you single one person out of
the crowd, there is always another person more
qualified and more deserving of the title “Hero
on the Hill.”
Louis Pelsang
JUNIOR
COMMUNICATIONS
Jason Driggers
JUNIOR
BIOLOGY