Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 15, 1996, edition 1 / Page 12
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
12 Thursday, February 15,1996 Ehe Saihj ®ar ~l\nl Huumm Gunburi* EDTTOfi Mire McCollum MANAGING EDITOR Peter Roybal managing editor World Wide Web Electronic Edition: http://www.unc.edu/dth Ia 1 KeHy Jo Garner electronic editor I Established 1893 102 Years of Editorial Freedom BOARD EDITORIALS A Kiss Before Dying Hollywood can kiss Duke University goodbye. Last week Duke turned down the opportu nity to see its campus on the silver screen and make money when officials decided not to allow Paramount to film “Kiss the Girls,” a movie based on a James Patterson thriller about two serial killers targeting women in the Triangle. Even in today’s world ofbudget-slashing and belt-tightening in higher education, it’s reassur ing to see universities with the dignity to turn down extra cash. Even though Paramount has reportedly toned down the film version, it prom ises plenty of gratuitous violence toward women. Why would anybody want to make money off senselessly violent acts? Though censorship in any form is unconscionable, one wonders what drives people to spend money on mindless debasement. Duke refused “Animal House," a picture arguably more tolerable than “Kiss the Girls. ”In contrast, Duke allowed meritorious films such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” —a film EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK Chris Yates Wrong Way to Write Right When Howard Brubaker left his post as fac ulty adviser to the Carolina Review, he commu nicated thegrowingsentimentthatUNC’s “con servative voice” is no longer speaking responsi bly or effectively. Brubaker’s resignation came as the culmina tion of a three-and-a-half week period that saw the publication of four Carolina Review issues. Each issue accelerated the sensationalist pulse of the the others, finally launching a controver sial attack on Aaron Nelson in the Feb. 14 edition. Now, with an anti-semitic frame around their name and a collapsing internal structure, it’s time for the leaders of the Review to initiate a period of self-evaluation. While the Review is entitled to free speech rights just like any other publication, it fails to act on this freedom in a responsible or construc tive manner. Admittedly, it is difficult to find means of injecting conservative thought into a university as liberal as ours; but publishing a misleading, distracting and intentionally divi sive magazine hardly creates a representative forum. UNC’s thoughtful conservatives are alien ated by a magazine purporting to be their voice. Conservative opinions become helplessly linked BAROMETER Professional Generosity Former Tar Heel lineman Harris Barton donated SIOO,OOO to the University, the largest gift given by a professional athlete, and it's not for athletic scholarships, but for the School of Social Work. i Sen. Methuselah? Sen. Strom Thurmond has decided to run again. While it's good aging citizens will have a representative on Capitol Hill, one has to wonder how strong that voice will be. a# Buainess and Advertising: Kevin Schwartz. director/general manager Chrissy Mennrtt advertising director Leslie Humphrey, classified ed manager Tetsuo Matsuda, business manager Ashley Widis, edverlising manager. Buaineu tuff: Lisa Reichle. assistant to the general manager Grace Consacro. assistant manager. ClaaaMed Advertising: Michelle Byrd, assistant manager Wendy Holmes and Rachel Lomasz sales Assistant Editors: Melissa Mhos. arts/diversions: Laura Godwin and Suzanne Wood, arryr Lily Thayer and Kety Thomas, copy, Jim Wehto, design; Chris Yates, editorial page; Marshall Benbow end Melissa Steele, features; Daniel Niblodc. graphics; Jason KM and Kathleen Oehler. photo: Todd Graff. Alec Morrison and Joe Rolison. sports; Erica Beshears. stale and national; Jamie Griswold and Jay Moya, unhotaUf. Arts/Diversions: Todd Gilchrist music editor Wendy Mitchell and Nicole Quenelle, senior writers. Jennifer Ahari, Jen AshlocK. Kristin Eaton. Steven Ferrara. Alicia Hawley. Jonathan Howie, Aziz Hup, Claire Jairis. Kacey Kinard. Dan Kois. Brent Simon. Bany Summerlin. Lily Thayer and Brian Truitt Cartoon: Jason Brown. Jay Hardy. Brian Kahn, Robin Unehan and Joel Tesch. CHy: Luther Caldwell. Amy CappieHo. Mary Kathryn Craft Todd Darling, Jennifer Fuller. Vic Hendrickson. Leslie Kendrick. Matt Mesmer. Megan Montgomery. Angela Moore. Gibson Pate. Alex Podlogar. David Simoneaux and Jennifer Zahren. Copy: Jennifer Ahari. Sara Bidgood. Catherine Blair. Jorfe Cook. Lorelei Costa. Courtney Everett M Feldstein, Elizabeth Gardner. Claiborne Hancock. Victor Hendrickson. Dory Jenkins. Michael Kanarak. Korsy Karnes. Scott MacDonald. Beverly Morgan. Christine Nicoiette. Anna Pond and Katlvyn Sharer. The editorials are approved by the majority of the editorial board, which is composed of the editor, editorial page editor and seven editorial writers. The Daily Tar Heel is published by the DTH Publishing Corp.. a nonprofit North Carolina corporation. Mondayfriday. according to the Univorsiiy calendar. Celers with questions about billing or display advertising should dial 962-11(3 between 8:30 am and S p.m. Classified ads can be reached at 9620252. Editorial questions should be directed to 962-0245/0246. critical of a futuristic society’s treatment of women to be shot on campus. It would be hypocritical for an institution of higher learning to allow this movie to be filmed on campus. Universities should help alleviate the sicknesses of society, not glamorously reflect them on the big screen for money. If producers of “Kiss the Girls” come calling at UNC, adminis trators should show them the door. Duke was not quite a moral paragon. Officials requested that Paramount incorporate students in the filming. While they were striving for something educational, they could have refused outright. The ethical dilemma outweighs any pragmatic concern. While we can hope for a sensitive treatment of women and a positive message, we cannot risk selling out the women of Triangle academic institutions. Associating any university with “Kiss the Girls” would severely hinder the school’s intellectual mission. to the seemingly tabloid overtones of the Re view, and the campus is left with a notable void of sound conservative reason. “We have always based our criticisms of the left on policy, and not personal attacks,” the editors write in the Feb. 14 issue. At times there have been thought-provoking stories meeting these guidelines. But c’mon guys: Are we really to assume the cover sketch of Aaron Nelson with devil horns and a pitchfork is rooted in a policy critique? Such pathetic inconsistencies typify the magazine’s obtuse conceptual framework. Rather than fostering a course of thoughtful debate and genuine criticism, the conservative compass spins madly insearch ofits next victim. Theresultisan intermittent and ineffective social/political probe of issues. The Carolina Review has the opportunity to be an exemplary leader of conservative ideology on this campus. I believe, just as firmly as any one, this University should extend its passion for “diversity” to include conservative dogma. But such a move requires maturity on both sides, and kidnapping the name of conservatism for petty, attention-getting services is no place to begin. It seems Mr. Brubaker feels the same way. Let the Voters Decide $ ;Jsz m Some People Won’t Even Vote Once THE DAILYTAR HEEL Business & Advertising Staff representatives. Customer Service: Dodie Brodsky, Angela Caruso, Tamara Deloatch, Melanie Feliciano, Melissa Levine, Rachel Lomasz, Jen Pilla and Julie Robertson, representatives. Display Advertising: Brendan Biamon, Bain Calmon, Aaron Henderiite, Eileen Hintz. Shannon Hrdlicka. Gidget Lamb, Traci Langdon, Megan Stephenson and Danielle Whalen, account executives; Bee Auger, Megan Boyle, Henry Jay, Editorial Stiff Design: Josh Brannon, Stephanie Burge. Jessica Burstain. Jason Gloega. Greg Kaliss, Andrea Kuhn, Callia McCraw. Shyam Fatal, Amy Quattlebaum, Leslie Wilkinson. Bany Wyner and Alkisti Yiannibas. Editorial: Jenny BlasdeK Georg Buehler. Baker Burleson. Joanna Howell, Alison Roxby and Tadd WHson. Feature*: Tom Adtelli. Elizabeth Arnold. Scott Bekew. Matthew Boyatl Lane Dilg. Stephanie Dunlap. Angela Eagle, Melanie Feliciano, Carole Geiger, Austin Gelder. Emily Gorman. Tejan Hichkad. Jaima Kowoy. Mark Unebargar. Jtnna Uppi, Jennifer Maloney, Olivia Page. Louis Rutigliano. David Silverstain. Cristina Smith, Leslie Ann Teseniar, Julia Twadman, Dana Wind and Mary Cameron Vn Graafeiland. Graphics: Mover Mm. Heather Lewis, Laurie Parkis, Anne Riley, Arika Slack. Alana Smith. Mark Weissman, Liz Welchman and KimShala Wilson. Photography: Suzanne Autray. Ashley Broome, Katherine Brown, Kelly Brown, Juke Hudnell. Celeste Joye. Simone Lueck, Ryan Matthes. Erik Perel and Robin Whitaker. Special Assignments: Ellen Raipoohler and Adam Gusman, senior writers Kari Cohen. Erica Luetzow. Sandra Moses. Ha Nguyen. Colby Schwartz, Kathryn Taylor and Sarah Yousaef. Sports; Aaron Beard. David Boyd. Soth Brown. Brian gpr NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ISSN #IO7O-9436 Office Suite 104 Caroline Union Campus mal address: CM 5210 Box 49. Carolina Union U.S. Mail addroat: P.O. Box 3257, Chapel HHI, NC 27515-3257 Jeanae Fugate EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Bronwen Qark university editor Nancy Fonti university editor Tendy Goodman city editor Robyn Tomlin Hackley STATE 5 NATIONAL EDITOR James Lewis special assignments editor Robin Pickeral sports editor Michelle Crampton features editor Dean Hair ARTS/DIVERSIONS EDITOR dame LaGon copy desk editor Conrtney Rver copy desk editor Kristin Rohan design editor Candi Lang photography editor dris Kirkman graphics editor Michael Webb editorial cartoon editor Amy Piniak writing COACH Justin Williams STAFF DEVELOPMENT Carrboro Alderman Alex Zaffron has decided not to resign in the wake of his recall petition. Now voters, rather than a special interest group, must make the decision. Six people were recently discov ered to have voted multiple times in November's special elections. Why didn't they just motivate one of the 20,000 slack students who didn't bother to show up? Robin Knight Tamara Reynolds and Jonri Scott Leslie Stephenson, Amy Waller and Barry Wyner, assistant account executives. Brendan Biamon, office assistant. Advertising Production: Beth Meinig, coordinator, Richard D. Allen, Cindy Henley and Jody Matthews, assistants. Newsderic Melanie Feliciano. Hamilton, Jonathan Kollar, Kimberly McCudden, Erin Parrish, Reuben Sack, Heidi C. Schmitt Jay Stone, Tate Sullivan, Lee Taft Kurt Tondorf, Frank Wang and Lisa Zaranek. Staff Development: Robin Berholz. Jen Fiumara, Sara Frisch, Mandy Hitchcock and Ty Johnson. State and National: josh Ahn, Graham Brink. Lee Carmody, Amy Cook. Milena Fischer, Eric Flack. Erin Guill, Tricia Johnson Jaime Kowey, Jennifer LangeH, Andrew Park. Paige Maxwell, Megan McLaughlin, Jay Murrie, James Palmer, Walter Palmer, Dawn Prince, Nicole Quenelle, Monika Ruef, Christina Smith, LeAnn Spradling, Renee Toy, Stephanie Willett, Jennifer Wilson and Karri Zaremba. University: Ruth Borland, Jennifer Burleson, Lillie Craton, Sharif Durhams, Molly Felmet Marissa Ferguson, Susan Hazeldean, Marva Hinton, Daira Jarrell, J.C. Johnson, Kerri Laz, Matt Ledercq. Erika Meyers, Joseph Miller, Natalie Neiman, Arunima Panda, David Park. John Patterson, Sharron Scott. Dave Snell, John Sweeney and Katie Tyson. Editorial Production: Stacy Wynn, manager. DIM Online: Eddie Beiles, Steven Palmatier and Jason Purdy. Printing: Village Printing. Distribution: Martin Durrence. EDITORIAL FoUMMC AaFM NUsoU's lANDSUDt S.&f VtCMV, Runoff CMHM7gs ATM’rrs'ADorrw mt/Fcsrwn&r- UNC Must Ensure Equitable Salaries for Professors For many years now in determining faculty salary increases, the University appears to have operated, uncritically, on the assump tion that it can be committed to the principle of salary equity, or “equal pay for equal merit,” only at die cost of the institution’s ability to compete successfully for faculty in the academic marketplace. The result is known as “salaiy compression-inversion.” This complex term covers a simple practice: in order to attract and finance new faculty appointments at going mar ket prices, the administration holds back or “compresses” the salaries of productive and meritorious faculty members already here. This practice inverts the normal salary struc ture, such that new faculty are often paid as much or even more than more meritorious cam pus colleagues. In effect, faculty are being penal ized in their pocketbooks for their loyalty and length of service to the University. According to a recent study conducted by the University’s Office of Institutional Research, a full professor in the College of Arts and Sciences loses by compression about $1,300 per year of service. Mien directly confronted with the problem of faculty salary inequity, administrators have typically responded by citing salary compres sion-inversion as though it were an inexorable law of academic survival instead of a conven tional policy to conduct the University’s busi ness in a certain fashion. To be sure, market demands hold nationally and cannot be dis counted. But if they are privileged without re gard to the principle of fairness, then a crisis of legitimacy will ensue. Why is it so difficult for the University to strikeareasonablebalance between market forces and salaiy equity, even if resources are short when it is simply a matter of attending judi ciously, over time, to principle as well as to expedience? Furthermore, itdoesn’ttakearocket scientist to see that failure to attend to fairness amounts to sacrificing “internal” excellence on the altar of “external” promise; and insofar as its victims are not consulted, this salary-setting ritual is ethically unacceptable. Indeed, under such conditions, salary compression-inversion appears to be nothing but a euphemism for exploiting faculty. The central point here bears on accountabil ity. Had the administrators responsible for sal- Write Smut on Internet To Fight for First Amendment TO THE EDITOR; It’s time to break the law. The First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech [my emphasis], or of the press, or the right of the people peace ably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Claiming First Amendment rights may seem knee-jerk, but the First Amendment guarantees our right as Americans to free speech. The Tele communications Reform Act, which prohibits “offensive descriptions of sexual activities or organs on the Internet” (“Internet Indecency Could Cost UNC,” Feb. 12), is censorship, the electronic equivalent of book burning. Don’t let your government censor your speech. Even if it is something you would nor mally never do, I encourage you to write e-mail in violation of this act —describe your genitals, describe Saturday night. Send it to Washington, D.C., to your friends at other universities. En courage them to do the same. The Internet is a brilliant democracy of information, and con trary to political claims, THERE IS NO DAN GER IN INFORMATION. Danger is repre sented by those who would seek to suppress information. Write smut to right this wrong. ‘Cause you know what they say about the First Amendment use it or lose it. Sarah Louise Woods SENIOR AMERICAN STUDIES Candidates Cannot Both Have Experience and Be Outsiders TO THE EDITOR: IwasmisquotedinThe Daily Tar Heel (“Char acter, Not Issues, May Decide SBP Race, Feb. 13). I neither said nor believe that the perception of a fresh perspective can make a candidate look more like an advocate for student ideas. I told the reporter a candidate should not make a claim to be both an outsider and have ary decisions been routinely accountable to the faculty mem- TERRY EVENS GUEST COLUMNIST bers affected by the decisions, the salary-setting practice would long since have been changed to ensure fairness on the basis of merit. In other words, it is the lack of real accountability on the part of the administrators to the faculty, rather than any iron law of salary compression, that must be counted as the effective condition of the unrestrained practice of short-changing merito rious faculty members. The consequences of inadequate accountabil ity are not confined to the routine gouging of salaries of professors who serve with distinction. They extend to the distribution of other rewards: teaching awards, distinguished professorships, paid leaves, administrative appointments and supplements and even teaching resources. Be cause many of these decisions also remain closed and unaccountable, they appear—by no means always, but often enough—to be made without due consideration of merit. In our complex bureaucratic order, the pres sures on individual administrators to make allo cation decisions according to inappropriate cri teria (favoritism, politics, etc.) are legion. With out effective, routine accountability to faculty, these pressures remain relatively unchecked. As aresult, it becomes too easy for administrators to proceed or give the appearance of proceeding, however good their intentions, capriciously or worse. The well-publicized example of former En glish professor James Williams, who recently resigned from the University under a cloud, serves as a case in point of what happens at UNC in the absence of adequate accountability. He was granted, by his chair and the administration, a very handsome raise to counter an offer from a much less prestigious institution. But based on their routine review of Williams, his departmen tal colleagues found his professional accom plishments insufficient to merit promotion to full professor. Asa result of these actions, though he remained an associate professor, his salary vaulted above the salaries of many more accom plished, full professors in his department. Scandalous? Perhaps. But consider also the following case. Stephen Birdsall, dean of Arts and Sciences, declined last year to abide by an RBADEMMM The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader comments and criticism. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 400 words and must be typed, doublespaced, 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 email forum to dth@unc.edu. necessary student government experience. MarkShelboume GRADUATE STUDENT LAW AND PLANNING Honor Code Needed to Serve As Best Model of Integrity TO THE EDITOR; I am writing in response to John Phillippe’s discussion of reforms to the Honor Court, Honor Code and Student Code (“Honor Court Not So Rosy; Three Refoims Necessary,” Feb. 12). I disagree strongly that the Student Code should be “scrapped” in favor of a code which applies only to “cheating, lying and stealing." If Mr. Phillippe believes that avoidance of violations is the sole responsibility of “men and women of honor,” he is oblivious to the true nature of honor which requires a person to exhibit these qualities in ALL interactions. The Student Code exists as a model of stan dards to assure individuals from diverse back grounds of protection from harassment and big otry, necessary to support and encourage intel lectual pursuits. It is intended as an instrument to address grievances and serves as a model for SI;? Baihj (Ear Heel agreement he had made (in the presence of some 80 faculty members) to circulate for faculty con sideration a salary-refoim proposal generated by a committee he had appointed. Under pressure to honor the agreement, he then distributed the proposal to the departments he administered, though to the chairs rather than directly to the faculty. And in doing so, he attached a second document recording an opinion, solicited by him, apparently condoning neglect of a mandate of the Faculty Code the very mandate from which the reform proposal took its force and legitimacy. Now, whatever his intent, his actions came as a slap in the face to those 80 faculty members who expected him to act faithfully according to his agreement. It is not difficult to cite many examples along similar lines. In this light, the most alarming concern may well be a growing “banality of corruption” in which the neglect of principles is so commonplace that, for reasons of an insidious code of silence, the neglect gets ignored; or, perhaps worse, it simply goes unnoticed as stan dard practice. To be sure, administrators in the University are generally conscientious and concerned with making sound decisions. But the basic problem is not a matter of individual administrators. Rather, it is systemic: because the administration is insuf ficiently accountable to the faculty it adminis ters, the system has grown too insensitive to failures of justice and as a result actually helps give rise to them. It behooves all members of the University community students, staff, faculty and ad ministrators to act to ensure the moral integ rity of the institution. The way to do this is to support practical refoim making the administration effectively and routinely accountable now, while the issue is being debated in the Faculty Council. Fair distribution of faculty salaries is certainly not the only, or even the most important, issue in this regard. But what the University does to establish real accountability in faculty salary decision-making can only help to secure the University’s fundamental commitment to sound ethical practice. Terry Evens is a professor in the Anthropology Department etermining appropriate methods of redress for a violation. Discarding the code could leave stu dents no avenue of redress except the impersonal and unassociated criminal justice system. On a campus where the atmosphere towards women has been described as chilly, where women are not promoted as rapidly as male peers and where dehumanizing attitudes toward women in memos are defended as jokes, we cannot afford to dismantle the code that ad dresses violations ofhuman rights. The existence of problems indicates we haven’t reached the level of mutual respect necessary to simplify our code. We need to encourage understanding of the code that serves as our best model of honor. Katherine Kraft PRESIDENT-ELECT GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENT FEDERATION For Racial Problems, Look to Causes, Not Just Symptoms TO THE EDITOR: David Silverstein introduced us to Marissa Tiamfook and Amy Nelson, who happen to be “different” but are not “incompatible” (“Unitas Pairs Students With Different Outlooks,” Feb. 9). Mr. Silverstein gives us a heart-warming feature about how a “racially mixed, Jewish Brooklyn native” and a “white, devout Christian from Charlotte” are a “good match.” Mr. Silverstein how long ago was it you passed the Pit? I recommend you stand between the two trees and then walk totheUndergraduate Library and stand there. One place is white, the other is black. You might say, “this is exactly the reason why Unitas is valuable and important. ” I agree entirely. And I welcome your conclusion that Unitas is worth an article. I don’t study medicine. But it is not only symptoms and treat ment one notes but also causes. You described the treatment nicely. But why did Ms. Tiamfook think of living with Ms. Nelson as some artificial lexperiment, somewhat similartoapopular MTV series? Why is it exceptional that the two live together? Mr. Silverstein, I may remark that, seen in this light, your article is most superfluous. Adrian Feuerbacher GRADUATE EXCHANGE STUDENT POLITICAL SCIENCE
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 15, 1996, edition 1
12
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75