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Thursday, July 27,1995
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TTunassis Cunhini* EDITOR
WUI Safer associate editor
World Wide Web Electronic Edition:
| j ] 1 http://www.unc.edu/dth
I Established 1893
102 Years of Editorial Freedom
BOARD EDITORIALS
California Nightmare
■ The University of California’s decision to eliminate race as a criteria
for admissions and hiring. UNC should not follow suit.
The UNC system must ignore the recent
decision by the University of California Board of
Regents to halt affirmative action policies affect
ing admissions and hiring.
While some argue that affirmative action
merely replaces one injustice with another, we
have to question this idea.
First of all, the affirmative action policies in
California as well as those at UNC do not set our
quotas. Rather, race is considered a determining
factor, along with other important factors such
as GPA, hometown, class rank and extracur
ricular activities. Therefore, no one is either
granted or denied admission solely because of
their race.
In addition, no one has a more legitimate
reason for promoting diversity than the leaders
of an educational institution. Although it has
not always been the case, the ideal purpose of a
university should be to bring together a wide
variety of people, with myriad interests and
backgrounds, in order to learn from one other.
This variety cannot be achieved by looking at
grades and standardized scores alone. Other
Time to Heal Old Wounds
Everybody’s heard about Keith Edwards, the
embattled University Police officer. About how
she has fought the University in court for eight
years, winning at almost every turn, and then
facing another appeal. The University, with a
new face in the chancellor’s office and perhaps
new perspective in the legal de
partment, can settle this blight
on the University’s record once
and for all this week.
Edwards’ case is set to go to
trial in Orange County Supe
rior Court, yet again, July 31.
The 21-year veteran of die University Police
force was passed up for promotion in 1987. She
alleges that she was discriminated against be
cause she is black.
Enough courts have agreed with her that we
see now as the time for the state to stop reaching
into its deep pockets to continue fighting her for
eternity.
Shady Dealings in Grad School?
■ The timing of official sanctions against a graduate group raises questions
about whether the University wants students to have health insurance options.
Political wrangling—and perhaps impropri
ety shouldn’t eliminate the chance for gradu
ate students to have access to more and better
health insurance plans.
Steve Hoffmann ended his tenure as presi
dent of the Graduate and Professional Student
Federation amidst argument over his student
status and his legitimacy as the organization’s
head. University officials flexed their muscle to
boot Hoffmann at a curious time. Hoffmann
received his diploma May 15. Officials in the
graduate school knew that Hoffmann had gradu
ated, but they continued to let him act as GPSF
president until June 28.
Suddenly, just as the GPSF was finalizing a
health insurance plan that would have provided
an alternative to die plan available through Stu
dent Health Services, UNC officials wielded
their axe and issued an ultimatum: Hoffmann
must go, or the GPSF loses its student group
status.
Hoffmann surely made a mistake when he
decided to stay on as GPSF president after
graduating without first checking to see ifhe was
acting within the rules. But what is at question
now is not Hoffmann’s conduct, which seems,
at the very worst, well-intentioned however
misguided.
* ~
mitigating factors and differences must also be
considered. Diversity among classmates and fac
ulty is not necessary to leam the basic General
College perspectives, but the entire university
experience involves more than what goes on in
lecture halls. The experience entails communi
cating with others in and out of the classroom
who can bring different perspectives, based on
their own unique experiences.
There is more to education than diversity
among students and faculty. However, the Uni
versity of California Board of Regents has made
a grievous mistake by no longer considering race
in admissions decisions. It appears haphazard to
give a person greater leeway for his ability to
shoot a three-pointer or for the size of his home
town while disregarding entirely the person’s
race.
Race affects one’s view of the world as much
as whether one is from Charlotte or Podunk,
NC. Obviously, UNC will miss out if it no longer
attempts to maintain geographic diversity among
its students. Similarly, UNC will suffer an even
greater loss if it no longer ensures racial diversity.
Under former Chancellor Paul Hardin, the
University offered Edwards settlements —UNC
would pay up if Edwards would leave and shut
up.
Bravely, Edwards said no dice. Since she
began her suit, she has worked for three different
Chancellor Michael Hooker
doesn’t carry the same old
pride and baggage into the
Edwards case.
could carry a better reputation out of it. Hooker
can simply order Edwards promoted, and give
her back pay and attorney’s fees. The cost is
negligible when compared to the legal fees the
University continues to amass in their futile
attempt to beat Edwards.
The new chancellor can do the right thing,
quickly and simply.
The University officials who precipitated
Hoffmann’s quick fall from grace also put a
quick stop to the health insurance plan GPSF
members had been pushing for more than two
years.
Former GPSF President Ramesh Krishnaraj
began planning for a cheaper health insurance
alternative for graduate students in 1993. The
alternative the graduate students found had some
drawbacks that the officially sponsored plan did
not. But the new plan would have had one major
benefit: it was much cheaper.
While the plan was not perfect, some gradu
ate students who cannot presently afford health
insurance would have been able to obtain some
type of coverage.
University officials invalidated the new plan
by essentially invalidating Hoffmann’s last two
months in office.
The Graduate School has two basic options
before it. Officials can oppose any alternative
health insurance plan, and it will forever seem
that they booted Hoffmann because he almost
infringed on a SHS monopoly.
Or they can support alternative health insur
ance plans, including those proposed by stu
dents, and prove that their actions regarding
Hoffmann had no ulterior motives.
Brouwen Clark university editor
Wendy Goodman city editor
Robbi Pickerel SPORTS EDITOR
Dean Hair arts & features editor
Dan Kois arts 6 features editor
Ingrid Brener COPY DESK EDITOR
Erik Perel photography editor
Amy Ferguson DESIGN EDITOR
Jnstin Seheef graphics editor
chiefs. The chancellor who re
fused to settle her suit when it
began is now gone.
Chancellor Michael Hooker
doesn’t carry the same old pride
and baggage into the Edwards
case that Hardin did. And he
EDITORIALS
Local Tuition Hike Would Actually Benefit Campus
Students support the recent tuition expan
sion proposal because students are willing
to pay a little more in order to graduate with
a more valuable degree. Some of the proposal’s
facts have been misreported.
Two weeks ago the N.C. Senate voted to
adopt a proposal that allows our Board of Trust
ees to raise tuition up to an additional SSOO per
year for both in-state and out-of-state students.
(The plan calls for a potential s3,oooincrease for
out-of-state students in select professional de
gree programs.) The plan earmarks 35 percent of
added revenue for need-based financial aid and
directs the balance to the libraries and faculty
salaries. This plan is good for many reasons.
First, if fully actualized, the plan generates an
additional $4.3 million for need-based financial
aid. For the 7,076 students who received need
based financial aid in 1993-94, this increase is
off-set. For others at or near the need-based cut
off, the plan means new aid. (This new aid is
particularly important as the federal govern
ment cuts the interest to aid exemption for fed
eral loans.) The Constitution ofNorth Carolina
mandates that the “benefits ... as far as practi
cable, be extended to the people of the State free
of expense. ” The N.C. Senate proposal expands
our current low tuition and or financial aid
structure to the new need-based claims of those
who really cannot pay. Furthermore, even with
the increase the University will remain the cheap
est “best-buy” in Money Magazine’s annual
ranking of schools that provide a high quality
education at a bargain price for in-state and
out-of-state students. Our low price is one of our
greatest assets. The Senate plan maintains a
realistic balance between low cost and our na
tionally recognized, high-quality degree.
Second, our libraries face a most daunting
challenge. We are on the verge of a revolution,
brought on by expanded use of information
technologies, that puts our already strapped
libraries at a competitive disadvantage. Over the
next decade, bound volumes and periodicals
will be transferred to an electronic medium. In
the mean time, we cannot stop purchasing new
volumes and periodicals. To meet this crucial
change we must focus new resources on the
Former GPSF President:
Transition Misunderstood
Editor's Note: The author was president of the
Graduate and Professional Student Federation until
last month.
TO THE EDITOR:
No, I am not the President of the Graduate
and Professional Student Federation and I’m
not trying to regain that title. If anyone has ever
fully deciphered any student government docu
ment, the Student Code or even the GPSF Con
stitution, I applaud you. Even my five years in
GPSF and Student Congress leave it quite am
biguous. I simply thought that I was supposed to
remain President until the Fall semester when
our senate met, or until our Constitution de
cided our succession—my hopes being to shore
up any programs we had started and provide a
smooth transition. Whether pouring through
N.C. General Assembly budgets or providing a
GPSF perspective on campus issues, I thought I
was doing my job. I was not forced from any
thing, I graduated, what a terrible thing huh?
To try to resolve the current “controversies”;
1) The GPSF has had two vice presidents for
four years. Our Constitution was only properly
changed last year to deal with different duties
and succession. Conflicting Constitutions are
mainly a result of no provisions for GPSF legis
lation to go immediately to student affairs or the
archives, as congress’ legislation must. I hope
that someone remedies that in the future. There
fore, the proper people are in their rightful place
or will be when the GPSF senate approves new
people at the first fall meeting. For die five years
that I have been a senator, vice president or
president, the GPSF officers have always oper
ated as a cooperative executive board sharing
most duties. We are usually happy to have
people involved and willing to forgo some time
for committees or other appointments; 2) the
alternative health insurance plan was NEVER
designed to be a competitive plan in opposition
to the current University plan. As far as health
insurance goes, the Graduate School and Stu
dent Health Services have always been open and
cooperative to the concerns of GPSF, as has
Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s underwriter, Hill
and Chesson Associates. Regardless, too many
students choose to forgo health insurance be
cause they simply cannot afford it. This plan,
even with its limited benefits, addresses many
graduate concerns and is better than choosing to
PRESIDENT
libraries. Except for
some one-time out
lays from the state in
the summer of 1993,
we would have had
to freeze book acqui
sitions this last year
the costs of peri
odicals necessary for
research have be
come so high. Fur
thermore, if we do
not buy a volume
when it is first issued,
the chances of getting
the book in subsequent years falls to one in ten.
Our libraries have fallen in rankings against our
peers —a fact noted in the infamous but widely
read US News and World Report’s ranking of
institutions of higher learning. The poor support
of our libraries (and faculty salaries) has contrib
uted to a fall from the “Top 25.” Additional
support from the tuition plan is badly needed.
Third, faculty salaries have been and con
tinue to be one of the greatest weaknesses of our
institution. Unlike other schools in the UNC
system, UNC-CH competes nationally for top
quality faculty. Additionally, higher faculty sala
ries help bring down more matching federal
funds that are applied to pay teaching and re
search assistant stipends. Fifteen years ago, the
University’s average faculty salaries ranked in
the top quintile against our peer Research I
institutions (this includes Michigan, Berkeley,
Virginia, Yale, etc.). Since, our salaries have
fallen to the third and forth quintiles in the
categories of professor and assistant professor.
The result: a brain drain that has resulted in the
loss of faculty and the inability to hire top-notch
new faculty. Students have long supported the
faculty in their drive for competitive pay. As
faculty salaries have fallen out of the top quintile
versus our peer Research I institutions, students
have rallied to the challenge. In 1988, we created
the undergraduate teaching awards to reward
outstanding undergraduate instruction through
student fees. The next year the Senior Class gift
campaign set as its goal a $500,000 endowed
readlPorcm
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 length, clarity and
vulgarity. Bring letters to the DTH office at Suite 104,
Carolina Union, mail them to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel
Hill, NC 27515 or e-mail forum to dth@unc.edu.
risk no insurance. However, future meetings and
cooperative efforts by all parties will be taking
place to ensure the best for all students.
Their have been and will to continue to be
good people with proven records that are cur
rently involved with GPSF and who, bottom
line, care about students. I hope many others will
get involved. Disputes and misunderstandings
are part of the deal, but I am sure that those in the
future will find the administration, especially
our sponsors in the Graduate School, eager for
interaction and listening to graduate and profes
sional concerns. I personally thank those of you
who have supported many of my efforts, and I
encourage all to use the GPSF for the service,
information and guidance we all have worked
for it to provide.
Stem C. Hoffmann
CARRBORO
Guns Don't Stop Violence,
Contrary to American Belief
TO THE EDITOR:
There is a growing fervor in the United States,
both among citizens and policy-makers, to at
tempt to combat the increase in violence by
distributing more weapons. Examples of this in
our own backyard are the bills currently before
the North Carolina legislature that would annul
any existing local gun control measures and
£hr Daily QJar Hppl
“star” professorship. Last summer, I helped the
faculty successfully lobby for a “competitive”
faculty salary increase for the system’s two re
search universities above the increase given for
all other state employees. The move generated
some resentment that the University and State
get special attention and the General Assembly is
not likely to repeat. The new tuition plan recog
nizes our competitive needs as a premier re
search institution by arming us with the tools
necessary to meet these needs and keeps all of the
money on our campus—not transferring it to the
North Carolina general fund as is current prac
tice.
The arguments for the senate’s tuition plan
are many and I could elaborate if column space
permitted. The plan has support among much of
the N.C. House’s new leadership though not
all. Some are concerned (as is the Raleigh News
& Observer) that tuition should not be linked to
faculty salary increases. What then, I ask, is
necessary to convince the General Assembly
that the University faculty must have higher
salaries in order to compete? The plan arms our
institution to make that determination for itself.
If we want to have nationally competitive de
grees, are we willing to pay for them? Student
supported tuition fee increases to fund strapped
public institutions are not uncommon. In 1992,
Trenton State College students (New Jersey)
voted themselves a SSOO increase to student fees
to help fund the school for the next year. Further,
a 1993 student government Front Line poll
showed that three out of four students here sup
port raising fees to pay for more financial aid and
for library support; more than half support higher
fees for better faculty salaries. The senate’s new
tuition plan represents an idea whose time has
come and we should support it. Increases under
the plan will not be affected for this year. We will
not hang ourselves with a last minute tuition
increase. Instead, we must faze the increases in
over time so that students can budget for the
change and so that we can realize the full benefits
of the plan.
Calvin Cunningham is a senior political science and
philosophy major from Lexington.
would allow any “sane” citizen not convicted of
a felony to cany a concealed weapon. While the
measure appears to make sense (e.g., take the
guns out of criminals’ hands and put them into
law-abiding citizens’ purses) the facts show that
it promises only more innocent deaths without a
significant decrease in crime. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention recently reported
that in one year (1992) there were 38,000 gun
shot-related deaths in the United States. It esti
mated that 99,025 people were treated for fire
arm-related injuries from June 1, 1992 to May
31, 1993. The more guns out there the higher
those numbers will rise.
Americans still fervently cling to a frontier
mentality. The truth is that violent incidents
happen so suddenly that the average person with
a handgun, untrained in combat tactics, would
not be able to react quickly enough to be effec
tive. Were we a society that valued personal
expertise, that trained students from day one in
firearm safety, marksmanship, and mechanics,
and then required every citizen to serve two years
in the armed forces, concealed weapons would
threaten criminals. Then we could walk safely in
our streets, knowing that we could react with
efficient and deadly force at a moment’s notice.
But the training requirements suggested by
our legislators are not sufficient. I have received
more firearm training than what the bills before
the legislature deem adequate, yet I know a
holstered hangun does not provide adequate
protection against crime.
My family owns several pistols. We keep
them all locked up and stored separate from their
ammunition, just like you’re supposed to. Yet,
despite these efforts, we have had one stolen.
Now, this perfectly legal and registered nine-shot
revolver belongs to someone who slipped into
our house and sneaked it out or to someone to
whom it was sold on the black market. We can
never be sure of who among us are the criminals
and who are the “good guys.” The only surefire
way to decrease the numbers of violent offenders
is to increase spending on programs designed to
help the impoverished help themselves. Crimi
nals are made when crime becomes the most
lucrative form of income distribution. If we as a
society canendowallofour children with enough
knowledge, self-esteem, and respect for others,
then and only then will crime decrease. We have
to make the future a priority; it’s the only way.
Culley Holdeifield
SENIOR
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND HISTORY