Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 22, 1995, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
6 Wednesday, November 22,1995 lath} ©ar Uniusas Camkanis EDITOR Justin Scheef managing EDITOR Justin Williams STAFF DEVELOPMENT World Wide Web Electronic Edition: / http://ww.unc.edu/dth I 1 ) I Kelly Jo Gamer ELECTRONIC EDITOR JL Established 1893 102 Years of Editorial Freedom BOARD EDITORIALS Hey, What Are You Still Doing Here? I On your long drive, flight or walk home for the last holiday of the semester, remember that even the little gifts in life deserve thanks. “Love to eat turkey ’cause it’s good, love to eat turkey like a good boy should ...” We’re on our way boys and girls, on our way to platefuls of turkish delight, biscuits dripping with butter and multiple morsels swimming in gravy. So grab your DTH, check your mail one last time, fashion a suave new message for your answering machine and let Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving Song take you home for the holi day. But please, by all means, set aside a moment or two to be thankful. Crack DTH sources have reported vicious rumors circulating around cam pus. The rumors, we’re told, point to an air of apathetic abandonment of the Thanksgiving motif. In an effort to salvage the integrity of this Protest of Fraternity Was Hypocritical and Useless Editor's Note: The author is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. TO THE EDITOR: I have a few things to voice in response to the protest involving many of the mem bers of the co-ed fraternity St. Anthony Hall. Having friends and acquaintances in the fraternity, I can safely say that nearly every protester present is a member of St. Anthony’s. Their protest in front of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house was coun terproductive as well as hypocritical. How ever, I do not intend simply to bash the tact of the co-ed fraternity, but to point out that there are more productive ways for the entire community to deal with the issue at hand. First of all, St. Anthony’s Hall has been the sole sponsor and host of a rush party entitled the “Dress to Get Screwed” party. In my tenure at UNC, I’ve attended one of the parties and been well aware of another. If this type of information was well known to the campus community, surely it would offend more than a few young women in the same manner as Phi Gamma Delta had done so. It does seem a bit hypocritical to endorse such an event, then for the same organization to so adamantly protest the letter which we are all so familiar with. This brings me to my second point. This entire community is quite familiar with the issue concerning Phi Gamma Delta. It is obvious that the general consensus is that Phi Gamma Delta was morally wrong, and many are offended. My question for St. Anthony’s is this: What purpose are you serving by reiterating condemnation for what the community has already con demned for a week and a half? It doesn’t seem that one could possibly make the community any more aware of the issue. All in all, a protest just does not seem to accomplish much. However, I am not blam ing St. Anthony’s, as I do believe strongly that actions must be taken in response to the issue. What I propose is that we re channel our energies into more productive means of dealing with the issue. For instance, set up some sort of rape awareness presentation or alcohol abuse program to present to the community’s many organizations. These are the types of actions the Greek community has the means to accomplish and are best known for. In this manner, the problem can be dealt with, and hopefully attitudes can change—not by pointing fingers and yell ing at a house. Troy Hendrick SOPHOMORE UNDECIDED Fliers Did Show Campus Y Approval of ADC Exhibit TO THE EDITOR: Campus Y Co-President Emily Roth says that the Arab American Anti-Dis crimination Council’s exhibit was not ap proved by her organization. Can someone please explain the program fliers that were distributed for Human Rights Week that specifically says that ADC’s exhibit is on “Human Rights violations against Pales tinians”? Tina Dahir JUNIOR JOURNALISM Offense of Exhibit Not as Important as Discussion Editor's Note: The author is copresident of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Council. TO THE EDITOR: The Arab American Anti-Discrimina tion Council’s exhibit seems to have of fended some and even embarrassed others. My apologies to those who are offended and who are not able to accept the truth that injustices are still occurring in the Rtu Thornburg editorial page editor Bronwen Clark university editor James Lewis university editor Wendy Goodman CITY EDITOR Robyn Tomlin Haekley state i national editor Robbi Puberal SPORTS EDITOR Greg kali's features editor Dean Hair arts/diversions editor Marissa Jones special assignments editor Jenny Heinaen copy desk editor Cbrissy Sweeney COPY DESK EDITOR Mart MeCoDum design editor Erik Perel photography editor Chris Kirkman graphics editor Michael Webb editorial cartoon editor holiday, we at the DTH have taken it upon ourselves to provide 10 marvelous reasons why every UNC student should be thankful. 1. Ross and Rachel kissed. 2. A fresh new fountain beside Haymakers Theater. 3. Carolina Quarterly absolutely free! 4. Four days without SIDEWALK CLOSED signs. 5. Five-foot pythons behind your refrigerator. 6. Hooker headlines. 7. An active government. 8. Still two months until SBP elections. 9. A four-day break from the illustrious opin ions of the DTH Editorial Board. 10. “...’cause it’s turkey, to eat, so good.” Happy Thanksgiving everyone! West Bank. It is easy to assume that there is peace in this debated region because the media seems to focus on the peace and neglects the human rights violations that are still occurring. This exhibit had one intention and that is to create awareness that there are still human violations, even in areas with proposed peace. HanaAlkhaldi JUNIOR CHEMISTRY Chancellor Should Drop Thoughts of Privatization Editor's Note: This letter is in the form of a poem written by a former UNC housekeeper. TO THE EDITOR: With your study of privatization You turn back the pages of this great nation. With all the things we’ve done to make things right, You continue to try to prolong our plight. We want you to acknowledge your fail ures of the past, For your continued oppression of good and decent people surely will not last. We’vetriedforover2ooyearstogetyou to put things in perspective And not try so hard to keep us from our honorable and deserved objective. That is, decent wages for very hard working and decent people. It is time for you to drop this pretense of a study of privatization and treat them not as a lower class because they clean, but as your equal. Asa former member of the housekeep ers scene, And my friends in the HKA know what I mean, I know some of the things that have happened in the housekeeping division. As we in this profession try to make things better for us to live, I am appalled by your decision. Why conduct and pay money for a study of privatization if you’re not consid ering it? So to call it just a study—pardon me for being so bold and crass —but that is a lot ofbullshit. So tell the truth and stop lying to good and decent people, creating an ugly and degrading scene, And give and show them what a decent wage for the work they do and decent real opportunities to advance really mean. So Chancellor Hooker as you take up the UNC leadership reign, Please don’t do as our former Chancel lor Mr. Hardin did, show you care. So drop privatization as an option so we won’t have to treat you with the same disdain. Chris Smith FORMER HOUSEKEEPER Society Needs to Become Accountable for the Insane TO THE EDITOR: I hate to poke a hole in Richard Rand Jr.’s banner of “traditional values" (Reader’s Forum, Nov. 10), but his reason ing is in error. Despite what Mr. Rand implies, the verdict in the Wendell Williamson trial was not a case of jury nullification by bleeding heart Chapel Hill residents. The jury found Mr. Williamson “not guilty” based upon the evidence they heard, because that is what our criminal law requires. Moreover, this requirement is rooted in principles dating back to an cient Hebraic civilizations. Any law student leams that the funda mental principle of criminal law is that, before the government can deprive a citi zen of life or liberty, the government must prove the accused committed a bad act (actus reus) and had a guilty mind (mens rea) while committing the act. An accused who suffers from a mental disease or defect so profound that the accused did not know what he or she was doing, or did not know EDITORIAL rbaderPorum 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. that the act was wrong, cannot be found guilty, because there was no dens rea. The Chapel Hill jury was instructed that this was the American criminal law, and they followed the instructions. It was hardly a case of their condoning “abnormal behav ior” as “freedom of expression.” Asa former prosecutor, I know too well the anguish of crime victims and their families, particularly when they believe the defendant got a way with it. But it might help to keep in mind that Mr. Williamson was not released but was sent to a mental institution. He will remain in state custody until he proves he satisfies the legal re quirements for release. Given his violent behavior and his prolonged and increasing illness, that is extremely unlikely. People like Mr. Rand, who use this verdict to attack the “excess tolerance” of our society, need to understand that a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict is not some new liberal concoction designed to allow every citizen to follow his or her destructive urges with impunity. Instead, it is based on the belief that it is not fair or just to punish children, the insane or the de mented when they do not know right from wrong. Don’t blame those 12 jurors for doing their civic duty and following estab lished legal principles. Ifyou wantto change the entire moral framework of our judicial system, pressure your legislators to do so. Christine Ryan GRADUATE STUDENT SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY Insecure Women Willingly Condone Sexist Attitude TO THE EDITOR: Perhaps the most disgusting thing about the infamous Phi Gamma Delta memo is not the memo itself but the troth it speaks. Asa member of the sorority system at UNC, I did not find the rush letter shock ing at all, because many girls I know have been willing participants in this sexism. We are not victims (as every women’s rights group likes to label us) but just plain insecure. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a girl intoxicated at a fraternity party, looking around the room for poten tial “hook-ups. ” Some guy she barely knows begins to flirt with her and she leaves with him in a group to go to “late night. ” This is where everyone couples off and dances together. A girl looks up at her dance partner through her drunken haze and he begins to look attractive and the more she thinks about it the more she doesn’t want to be alone tonight. I don’t think I need to go into the rest, but the end result is that she wakes up with a headache and a lifeless body beside her. Why do girls let themselves get into these situations? I can’t tell you that, but I do know that perhaps we should spend less time chastising Phi Gamma Delta and more time examining why we are willing victims. Our livelihood shouldn’t depend on men. Our most memorable nights should not be the ones which left us sleeping next to a stranger. We need to change as women, and there is no easy way to do this. The only thing I can think of to address this problem is a saying my grandmother uses. The difference between being alone and loneliness is self-confidence. If we could apply that to our lives, Phi Gamm wouldn’t have anything to write about. Shepard Rose FRESHMAN JOURNALISM Rape Is a Crime, Simply Being Offended Is Not TO THE EDITOR: Well, perhaps now I have seen it all: On the front page of the Nov. 15 Daily Tar Heel, a photo of a group of women holding a placard which proclaims, “WE ARE OFFENDED.” Excuse me? Offended? Since when it is a crime to offend some one? Rape, now there’s a crime. Molesta tion, abuse, harassment all criminal. But it’s still perfectly legal to offend some one or even hurt their feelings. What apparently isn’t legal is the stating of facts. That frat memo was offensive, certainly, and encouraged behaviors which quickly cross over into illegal, but as far as I know the memo simply described what is a reality for many fraternity and sorority members. Why join a fraternity or soror ity? For the connections, perhaps? For the friendship? For the prestige? To meet mem bers of the opposite sex? Yes. And what is the well-rehearsed Chapel Hill mating ritual, easily observable on any weekend night in any Greek house, bar or on the street? Dress up, go out, get drunk, hook up and maybe get laid. Maybe not the optimal in social interaction, but effective at least if your idea of relationships resembles something like a pinball game. Don’t like it? Don’t do it. Don’t like memos written about it? Don’t do it. Don’t want to perpetuate criminal attitudes and behav iors toward women? Women, don’t do it. When the party is thrown, simply don’t show up. No one is forcing you. Rape, molestation, abuse, harassment —these often occur in settings in which the victim could never have predicted the pos sibility of their occurrence. What I see in Greek houses and bars across Chapel Hill are settings specifically created to induce interactions such as "stumbling around” drunk, blah blah blah. I don’t like it, so I don’t do it. There are plenty of other, less offensive ways to get laid. And if I have offended you, get over it. Sarah Louise Woods SENIOR AMERICAN STUDIES Rush Letter Displayed Male Need to Be Accepted TO THE EDITOR: I’m somewhat surprised that, in all the discussion surrounding the letter distrib uted by the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity during rush, no one has mentioned the violence that this sort of thing does to men. In general, men in our society first leam about sexuality in the inflated terms of male bravado, leading them to be deeply confused about their own needs as they attempt to move toward sexual maturity. Discussing violent male attitudes toward sex as the outgrowth of an inherent charac ter flaw in an individual or group of indi viduals rather than an outgrowth of our collective notions of masculinity leads to ward a type of condemnation that, in real ity, does very little. Part of the difficulty in changing these attitudes is that they are deeply intertwined with the human need to be both loved and accepted, making it almost impossible to understand where an individual ceases to be directly seeking involvement with an other and begins to be trying to act out a role as lover. Similarly, it is difficult, especially once one is inside of this mindset, to recognize the difference between unhealthy repres sion and respect for oneself and others. If we are to take this letter as an example of a greater problem, then we must see it as both cause and effect of that problem, part of a cycle of violent attitudes between men that involves violent attitudes toward women but does not ultimately originate from a lack of respect toward women. If we do not do so, I doubt we will be capable of enacting any long-term solutions. Jonathan Farmer SENIOR ENGUSH Insanity Verdict Desrves Rage More Than Letter TO THE EDITOR: While I do not approve of the recent pledge letter by Phi Gamma Delta, I can not figure out why many people have re acted so strongly to this while showing minimal rage over the recent Wendell Williamson verdict. Williamson killed two people and got away with it due to his supposed insanity. In my mind, the term insanity is specifi cally designed to let a killer go free. No one is ever convicted of raping or robbing some one due to insanity, and many people who commit these acts are as mentally ill as Williamson. Certainly, those women who walked outside the fraternity would not have bought an insanity defense if a men tally ill frat boy were to rape a woman. How many people must lose their lives before people stop buy ing into this insanity defense, which allows people to kill law abiding citizens and get away with it? Since when has a lewd memo been more offen sive to people than witnessing a man get away with murder? Peter Wells SENIOR GEOGRAPHY Fugate Column Did More To Offend Than Anything Editor's Note: The Daily Tar Heel has not received student fees since 1992. TO THE EDITOR: I am writing to express how offended I was by the Nov. 6 article, “When Your Price Turns Out to Bea Toad..." I under stand the imperative need for people to be more open and honest about the travesty of “date rape, ” especially during Rape Aware ness Week. Asa woman, 1 encourage more women to be open about this tragic occur rence that seems to be an ever-increasing event on campuses everywhere, but I feel the way in which Ms. Fugate chose to write about it was the epitome of irrespon sible journalism. If syndicated newspapers such as The New York Times and the Washington Post are not allowed to print such vulgar language in their respective newspapers, why does The Daily Tar Heel feel it is justified in our newspaper? OUR newspa per because, unlike The New York Times and The Washington Post, we as UNC students do not have the option of choos ing to purchase the DTH; we are required to pay for its daily publication through our student fees. I certainly do not appreciate being made to pay for a newspaper that so casually allows profanity to be printed. In order to send a letter to the editor like this one, “The DTH reserves the right to edit letters... for vulgarity.” It seems to me the DTH needs to spend less time editing their letters and more time paying atten tion to their own articles. And to Ms. Fugate, your immature attempt to address Saily ®ar Hppl the issue of date rape turned it into an “us against them” name-calling contest in which the filthiest mouth wins. Congratu lations! I guess you were the winner, but the next time you try to help women, why don’t you try to write something that is supportive and educational and that might actually legitimize women’s claims instead of something that offends people so much they don’t want to even listen to your message? Clinton Healey JUNIOR POLITICAL SCIENCE Ousted Council Member Thankful For Opportunity Editor's Note: The author is a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council. TO THE EDITOR: Only in the days following my loss in the election have I come to fully appreciate what a privilege it has been to represent the people of Chapel Hill. To those who have supported me, I am so very grateful. To those who are glad to see me gone, well done! Chapel Hill is more alive today because we joined the debate. To anyone whom I have wronged, please accept my deepest apologies. It is never my intention to be hurtful. To my business partners and co-workers at FGI, your amazing tolerance and support for me serving on the Council made it all workable. Thankyou. To my family, I love you, and I hope you will get used to having me around the house. To my dear, dear friends on the Town Council: I will forever cherish the opportu nity I’ve had to know and work with you. And, finally, to the gracious citizens of Chapel Hill, thank you. God bless you all! Jim Protzman CHAPEL HILL No Coincidence That Fountain Is Near Cashier TO THE EDITOR: OK, maybe it’s just me, or did the Uni versity do it on purpose? Has anyone else noticed the beautifiil, expensive-looking, new fountain they have built? What was the reasoning behind strategically placing this extravagant feature of our campus directly in front of the cashier’s office? Maybe the planners were thinking, “Hey, why don’t we show off to these kids, who are trudging their way to receive their refund checks from federal aid and loans, that we have so much money in silly places, we can build a fountain in the midst of November!"! sincerely do not understand how the University has this kind of money to spend and still has to have a S4OO tuition increase. Certainly the fountain is pretty. I appreciate the fact that the University is trying to make this campus even more beautiful than it already is, but if someone could please explain to me why this money isn’t going to the needs of this university, instead of the wants, I would be forever grateful. Jenny Johnson SOPHOMORE RECREATION ADMINISTRATION Calling All Pontificators The editorial board of The Daily Tar Heel is looking to fill its ranks for the spring semester. If this sounds like you, please come by the DTH office in Suite 104 of the Student Union and pick up an application. They will be available in the front office until Nov. 29, when they are due back in the office. Members will be selected by Dec. 4 and begin work when classes resume in January. All questions should be directed to Editorial Page Editor-select Jeanne Fugate at 962- 0486.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 22, 1995, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75