14
Thursday, November 16,1995
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Thanass* Cimbaiue EDITOR
Justin Sckeef managing editor
Justin Williams STAFF DEVELOPMENT
World Wide Web Electronic Edition:
I all http://www.unc.edu/dlh
Established 1893
BMO 102 Years of Editorial Freedom
BOARD EDITORIALS
Listening Is Important to Speakout
I With the shock of Phi Gamma Delta’s rush letter fading from the
University psyche, today’s speakout is the perfect opportunity to begin
preventive maintenance —but only if it’s done right.
The initial fervor over Phi Gamma Delta’s
much-ballyhooed rush letter is beginning to sub
side. The University is no longer in shock over
its existence and is entering the most important
stage of learning why it existed, what it means
and what should be done to ensure that this kind
of “humor” ceases to be taken as a joke.
Today’s forum to discuss the attitude of the
letter is an important first step in promoting
dialogue that is needed to resolve the situation,
but only if it is done right.
When members of the University community
gather at 3:30 p.m. in 100 Hamilton Hall, they
should be prepared to listen and not just lash out
against Phi Gam, the Greek system or a misogy
nist society. Explanation, apology and accep
tance need to be as much a part of the discussion
as outrage.
However, dialogue cannot exist without more
than one side of the story presenting its point of
view.
This is the perfect chance for members of Phi
Gam to explain their point ofview instead of just
High Turnout and High Confusion
When 1,500 students showed up to vote on
Tuesday they were presented with a poorly writ
ten ballot. The first referendum, asking for the
striking or replacing of a title in the student code,
was so confusing that even the members of the
elections board had difficulty explaining it. Ous
ters of students were gathered together at polishes
trying to help each other understand what ex
actly they were supposed to vote for or against.
The original proposals for all of the referenda
which went straight from congress to Annie
Shuart, elections board chairwoman, were less
confusing, but did not give students the back
ground knowledge they needed to vote on the
referendum.
The other referenda, including the U-bus fee
and the STV allocation of fees, were just as
confusing. All of a sudden a mysterious trans
Surf the ’Net, Fill Out the Survey
There was an unfortunate time when women,
like children, were meant to be seen and not
heard. No longer.
The Chancellor’s Task Force on Women is
sponsoring a computer survey to gauge UNC’s
atmosphere toward women. This survey can be
accessed at any computer connected to the world
wide web and should be completed by all of
UNC’s faculty and students.
Participation does take little effort. Go to any
computer lab, and look for the bright pink papers
on how to access the survey. It can be done
through your e-mail account, Netscape or any
connection to the world wide web at: http://
www.unc.edu/staff/survey.
The survey has 20 multiple-choice questions
and a space for additional comments. It takes
only a few minutes to complete, yet it will
provide a wealth of information to build upon.
The survey was not designed only for women
or even for one type of woman, the stereotypical
feminist. Everyone’s opinions are integral to
discovering exactly how women fare at UNC.
People will have different views depending on
their situation, and for a survey such as this one
only to contain one particular type of view will
<*ljO I _ X" '
r* J fra a :,e Y *
Ryan Thornburg editorial page editor
Bronra Clark university editor
James Lewis university EDITOR
Wendy Goodman CITY editor
Robyn Tomlin Hackley state i national editor
Robbi Piekeral SPORTS EDITOR
Greg Kalis* features editor
Dean Hair ARTS/DIVERSIONS editor
Marissa Jones special assignments editor
Jenny Heinien COPY DESK EDITOR
Cbrissy Sweeney COPY DESK EDITOR
Marc McCollum design editor
M Perel photography editor
Chris Kirkman graphics editor
Michael Webb EDITORIAL CARTOON EDITOR
James Whitfield sportsaturday editor
hurling obscenities at protesters from the fortress
of their house, as they did Tuesday night.
This is also the perfect chance for people who
oppose the implications of the letter to show that
expecting women to be treated as human beings
is not a radical goal.
It is the chance for fraternity members to
explain why they elected one of the letter’s au
thors to a leadership position on the Interfrater
nity Council and a chance for members of Pi
Beta Phi sorority to explain why they brought
Phi Gam brothers wine and flowers to express
their sympathy.
But most importantly, it is time for everyone
to realize this is an issue which does not pit
Greeks against non-Greeks, but one that pits
opponents of sexist behavior against those people
who condone it.
Blame and punishment are not as important
as a simple but firm understanding that this
letter, taken even as casual remarks, promotes an
atmosphere of sexual violence that can no longer
be tolerated.
portation fee appeared on the ballot, and many
students had no idea what that was or why they
should vote for it. If student groups are going to
ask the student body for money, they need to be
more clear in the future and not pass the blame
on to someone else if the ballot is misleading.
The blame for this ballot debacle was passed
from the executive branch to the Elections Board
and then to the Student Congress. No one knows
what happened to any of the proposals on the
way from one branch of student government to
another. In the future these student groups need
to get their act together so that it doesn’t appear
as if they are trying to hoodwink students. De
mocracy relies on an understanding ofthe issues,
and when those issues are presented in an un
clear manner, democracy becomes less self-gov
ernance and more second guessing.
skew the results.
If you are a woman, complete this survey and
educate the University about your needs, so that
it will better be able to meet your needs and those
of the women who follow.
If you are a man, take the survey to show the
male perspective, and keep in mind that this
survey can affect your women friends, your
sisters, your mothers and even possibly your
daughters.
This survey is important and will be on-line
until Nov. 22, so you still have a week to make it
through the waiting lines in computer labs before
Thanksgiving Break.
Every person on campus whether woman
or man, faculty member or student, feminist or
not must participate in this survey to provide
the University with as accurate a picture of
women’s issues as possible.
#
BAROMETER
This is a news flash! Thanksgiving 1995 has been
canceled under the assumption that all the turkeys
will be in Washington, still trying to work out a
budget deal.
EDITORIAL
With AIDS, Healing Only Began With Sharing
Editor's note: The following column is the second
installment of a three-part series that will culminate
on Nov. 30 -one day before World AIDS Day.
If there was a good place to find out about my
HIV status, Provincetown, Mass., was it.
Although the tourism office likes to tout
Provincetown as a Portuguese fishing village
and as the first landing site of the Pilgrims (that’s
right... it wasn’t Plymouth Rock), the town is
now a haven for artists and other creative types.
And—as is so often the case—where the artists
go, the gay folk soon follow. Or am I being
redundant?
Like a Key West of the North, Provincetown
is now no more a Portuguese fishing village than
is Las Vegas. It’s a thriving gay resort, a small
town where it is acceptable for gay couples to
walk hand-in-hand down Commercial Street.
Although most of you may take holding hands
in public for granted, for us gay folk, it’s the most
liberating feeling in the world. That’s what makes
Provincetown unique it’s more wide open
than the Castro.
But like the inner cities, where gay folk form
mini-ghettoes to find strength and safety in num
bers, Provincetown has been hit hard by the
AIDS virus. Even before I found out about my
HIV status, 1 had watched friends die in that
little town. I also knew of several HIV positive
folks living there, including my roommate. So,
when I found out I was HIV positive, there was
a natural support system already in place. That’s
why I dreaded going back to Chapel Hill.
For three months, I had lived in the gay
version ofDisney World. But once August rolled
around, it was time for me to return to Helms
country —the gay version of Hell. Don’t get me
wrong, Chapel Hill isn’t like the rest of state.
There is a tight-knit gay community here, and I
knew that once I returned, I wouldn’t face my
struggle alone. But Chapel Hill is no
Provincetown, and I secretly wondered how I
would hold up without the expansive support
Myths, Medicine and Marijuana Misconceptions
Friday has been dedicatedby UNC’s chapter
of the National Organization for the Re
form of Marijuana Laws and Duke’s chap
ter of the Cannabis Action Network as Medical
Marijuana Day, devoted to truth, justice and
public enlightenment of the medical uses of
marijuana. CAN’S traveling hemp museum
should be unfolding in the Pit by mid-morning,
placed there for the education and enjoyment of
the student body and providing for us a forum
from which to dispel the controversy and speak
the truth about the medical uses of the drug.
That evening, at 7 p.m. in 106 Carroll Hall,
gospel will be spread through the medium of
rock and roll as local bands unite to raise money
for NORML, to continue the fight for legaliza
tion. Tickets will be sold in the Pit up until
Friday afternoon; all are encouraged to come to
both events ... because if you do, you might
learn a few things. In important decisions such
as these (To Smoke, Or Not To Smoke, in this
case), knowing the facts about both sides of the
issue is always desirable, because then one can
rest a little easier, knowing they can make a
more informed decision than before. And that’s
what becoming an adult is all about, right?
Making informed decisions?
And yet in this case, it’s a sad fact that the
majority of Americans don’t generally make
informed decisions when the question of
TSONTS arises —and lam thinking not so
much of the people who smoke it for the wrong
reasons, but rather the ones who don’t, also for
the wrong reasons. Much of today’s public op
position to marijuana can be traced to govern
mental attempts (dating back to the 19305, be-
Arab Display Has No Place
In UNC Human Rights Week
TO THE EDITOR:
On behalf of the Campus Y, I would like to
apologize to the UNC community for the inclu
sion of the Arab display in our Human Rights
Week events. This program was not approved
by the Campus Y leadership and is uncharacter
istic of our typical programming.
The Campus Y strives to educate the campus
about social injustices committed throughout
the world in a fair, thoughtful manner. We have
always encouraged dialogue between Israeli and
Palestinian supporters in forums that present all
sides of the complicated relations in the Middle
East.
In light of the recent peace talks and the
assassination of Prime Minister Rabin, this ex
hibit is especially troubling to us. We feel the
exhibit is biased and outdated. Again, I apolo
gize for this oversight.
Emily Roth
CAMPUS Y COPRESIDENT
ft
NO REGRETS
system I had grown
accustomed to in that
little resort.
Times were tough
when I returned I
suffered in relative
silence for seveial
months, sharing the
news about my HIV
status with only one
or two people. And
although they tried to
be understanding,
even my gay friends
down here didn’t
know how to treat the information. Most folks
who die from AIDS in the South do so quietly.
Too often, they slip away in silent shame, so that
even the gay community doesn’t know where
they’ve gone. Their obituaries share in the sub
terfuge, “He passed away after struggling with
cancer ... pneumonia ... a long illness.” For
most of my friends, I was the first person they
knew with HIV.
As my spirits fell, so did my grades. Law
school is a very competitive environment, where
any form of weakness can result in a quick
decline. And as the semester drew to a close, it
became more and more difficult for me to escape
confronting the virus that consumed me. The
first exam I took that December was in Trusts &
Estates. The first question on the exam dealt
with a gay man’s inheritance difficulties after his
life partner died from AIDS I stared at the
question for what must have been an hour before
I struggled through it and the rest of the exam. It
was the lowest grade I have ever received.
I went home for Christmas determined to
keep a smile on my face. I had yet to tell my
family about my status, and I wanted this to be
our last holiday together without the pall of HIV
hanging over our heads. But as we sat together,
holding candles at a Christmas Eve service, I
wasn’t able to sing the words of “Silent Night”
fore Prohibition be
gan) to distort and
demonize the drug as
R.J. BEATTY
GUEST COLUMNIST
a powerful hallucinogen, creating a public hyste
ria that allowed certain high officials to force
their own morality play (the 1937 Marijuana
Tax Act) on this country.
Besides outlawing one of the most useful
plants found in nature, a consequence of the law
was the free reign given to the government to
control the majority of drug information pub
licly released. A population thus controlled is a
population that doesn’t ask questions. With a
deluge of government reports vilifying the drug,
calling for tougher penalties for dealers, it isn’t
surprising that many Americans never think to
question the lies and distortions they’ve held as
gospel all their lives. And sometimes it takes an
event like a Medical Marijuana Day to get people
out of that mental shell and into really thinking
for a change; those of you who didn’t read the
last column I wrote for the DTH (which would
be just about all of you, since the DTH never ran
it) may never have considered that there may be
human rights involved.
If you can, put aside for a moment that mari
juana is less harmful to the body than nicotine or
alcohol, that not one person has ever died from
an overdose, that scientific theories exist that a
moderate amount of drug use can, in fact, be
good for the body. Put aside your prejudices and
think. Are you really going to let big government
say what you can and can’t put into your body?
Aren’t you responsible enough to decide for
yourself?
I have broached the subject with many souls
READIKTOUM
Israeli Torture Law Violates
Human Rights, Stops Peace
TO THE EDITOR:
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC) has an exhibit in the Student
Union for Human Rights Week. This display is
an expression of Israeli violations in the West
Bank from the past to the present. Amnesty
International condemned on Oct. 22,1995, abiU
which could legalize torture in Israel and the
West Bank, saying that it is an “outrage which
violates Israel’s treaty obligations."
The "Prohibition on Torture” amendment to
SJjf fatly 3ar
with the rest ofthe congregation. I knew thatmy
trembling voice would have betrayed the fact
that something was wrong. And the next day, as
we tore open presents in the front of the fire, I
made sure my parents got at least a few pictures
of me. I didn’t know how many more Christ
mases we would have together.
I had wanted to be strong formy parents when
I told them. I knew they would need a shoulder
to cry on, and I wanted mine to be steady. I also
wanted them to know that I was doing all I could
to fight the virus, seeing a doctor regularly and
taking care of myself. So I had waited six months
before I felt the time was right. I knew that once
I returned to Chapel Hill in January, I would be
entering the hospital for two weeks to begin an
experimental drug treatment program— and I
knew it would be too difficult to conceal this
from my family. After spending two hours with
my minister, struggling to determine the best
way to tell my parents that they might very well
outlive me, I laid the groundwork for the next
day.
When my parents left for choir practice the
next day, I built a fire in the den. Sitting there
with a friend, I agonized over what was about to
occur. At my church—half-way across town—
my parents were sitting in a room with my
minister, learning that their son had HIV. I had
decided with my ministerthat, although I couldn’t
deliver the punch, I could be there to pick up the
pieces. I couldn’t watch their faces as they first
learned about my condition, but I could be there
to hug them after they got home.
I sent my friend away and waited alone down
stairs for the first sounds of my parents’ arrival.
The front door opened and closed, and soft
footsteps fell upon the stairs. At the first sight of
them, the strength I thought I had quickly left
me, anti I rushed for the embrace of my parent’s
arms. W c had a lot of healing to do.
Doug Feiguson is a third-year student in the School of
Law.
on campus. Have seen the shock on the faces
when I mentioned the “M-word.” Watched the
eyes carefully avoiding mine as they pondered
this question. A popular response seems to be a
general feeling of, “these laws exist for a reason.
They wouldn’t have become law if they didn’t
have the people’s interests at heart.” This line of
reasoning seems to ride on the notion that all
laws are, by definition, noble and just. Right.
Everyone in this town who had to witness the
Williamson verdict last week knows this isn’t
true.
When the values of a society become so dis
torted that letting a killer walk by pleading tem
porary insanity is viewed as law and order, while
use of a mildly intoxicating herb is considered
immoral, then it is the existence of these values
which becomes the real crime. The people who
pass these laws are generally unaware of both
marijuana’s medicinal uses and the smoking
habits of your average pot smoker. But if there’s
one thing I’ve learned in my association with
NORML, it is that no drug, not even marijuana,
is evil. All kinds of people smoke it, and they are
not dangerous, drug-crazed outlaws out to steal
your children, but ordinary people like you and
me.
According to the latest DTH poll, 52 percent
of UNC students have smoked marijuana be
fore, and that’s just the ones who had the courage
to admit it. Reality: it’s probably a lot higher (no
pun intended).
See you on Friday, everyone.
Reginald ’RJ.’ Beatty is a junior American studies
major from Lexington, N.C.
Article 227 ofthe Israeli Penal Law says that any
public servant who tortures or authorizes the
torture of another person is liable for 10 to 20
years in jail. Yet this bill defines torture as "se
vere pain or suffering, whether physical or men
tal, except for pain or suffering inherent in inter
rogation procedures or punishment according to
law.” Article 2 of the United Nations Conven
tion against Torture states that “no exceptional
circumstances whatsoever, whether ... internal
political instability or any other public emer
gency, may be involved as justification of tor
ture.” With the peace talks we thought these
human rights violations would cease. Unfortu
nately, they still exist.
TinaDahir
JUNIOR
JOURNALISM
Time Keeps On Ticking...
That's right, the Nov 21 deadline for columnist
applications is approaching. Pick up your
application in the DTH office by Friday.