10
Thursday, June 13,1996
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Jeanne Fugate editor
OFFICE HOURS THORS, Ji PM
World Wide Web Electronic Edition:
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BOARD EDITORIALS
Budging the Legislature
I University leaders have fought conceitedly against unfriendly budget
allocations from Raleigh. But at what expense of academic integrity?
In the tragic air surrounding UNC, one trag
edy has been almost —but not quite over
looked.
The N.C. House budget scrapped Gov. Jim
Hunt’s University-friendly budget. Instead, they
emptied UNC’s pockets for $6 million in aca
demic affairs throughout the UNC system and
S2O million from UNC Hospitals.
Despite the shock of losing Hunt’s favorable,
SIOO million increase, UNC leaders are coming
together productively.
They will hopefully make headway against
the legislature’s stubborn refusal to spend a cache
of almost S4OO million.
Student government has done an admirable
job, despite lack of preparation for the battle.
Although Student Body President Aaron
Nelson had not planned on spending two weeks
mustering forces, he and other members of stu
dent government have worked to organize and
to educate students on this campus and on oth
ers.
The administration also has worked hard on
different fronts to make the cuts sting less.
In Chancellor Michael Hooker’s fight for a
seven percent increase in staff salaries rather
than the three percent approved by the House —
he has not forgotten a second, integral set of
constituents.
Hooker has said that the second item on his
agenda is seeing that any money leftover after
faculty raises will go toward graduate student
You can lead a longtime Republican senator
to a television camera, but you can’t make him
debate.
Many North Carolinians marvel at how Sen.
Jesse Helms, R-N.C. has remained in office so
long. But even long-time Helms supporters must
be wary of Helms’ decision not to debate his
opponent, former Charlotte Mayor Harvey
Gantt, and reluctance to participate in the “Y our
Voice, Your Vote” coverage by a large group of
North Carolina newspapers and television sta
tions.
How can people cast an educated vote for
Helms if he refuses to stand up to his competi
tion, much less the press?
The 1990 senate election —with the same
opponents going head to head —was marked by
bitter advertisements and acrimonious relations
between Helms and Gantt.
Controversy swelled on election day when it
was discovered that post cards containing erro
neous information were sent to residents in
predominantly black voting districts. Many con
strued this event as an effort to keep minority
voters at home.
The rematch between Helms and Gantt should
not evolve into the name-calling and finger
pointing of the last campaign.
Nobody wins when an election is tainted by
such antics.
A sure way to avoid past embarrassments is to
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health insurance. Graduate student health insur
ance, a necessary lure for UNC to attract and
keep the best and brightest graduate students,
was also slashed in the House budget.
Hooker’s backing provides a symbolic sup
port that all students should appreciate, even
though there probably will not be enough left
over discretionary funds to cover full health
insurance.
What comes first —as it should is the
quality of education, augmented by supporting
our educators.
Hooker has also lead the charge in politicizing
a normally quiescent campus.
UNC administrators, professors and students
have met in closed door sessions with University
allies in the N.C. Senate to plan strategies in a
campaign for a more favorable budget.
UNC has jumped out of the ivory tower and
into the morass of political intrigue.
This leap could help the University’s cause,
but it could also tie the University’s interests a
little too closely with those of politicians.
As always, the more distance that an institu
tion of higher learning not of higher syco
phancy —can keep from tawdry political games,
the better.
Tough times call for tough measures. But let’s
hope the means justify the ends once the N.C.
Senate draws up their budget allocations.
And there is a lot of justification in SIOO
million for better education.
At the Helm
encourage open discussion. Helms, however, is
not cooperating.
In response to the suggestions of a televised
debate with Gantt, Helms replied, “I think they
(the public) resent having their programs pre
empted.”
Such a comment is in insult to all North
Carolinians. Helms’ Capitol Hill experience has
not allowed him to be so in touch with citizens of
the Old North- State as to know whether they
prefer summer reruns of “ER” to a highly charged
political debate for one of the state’s highest
offices.
There is even less of an excuse for Helms’
refusal to participate in the “Your Voice, Your
Vote” coverage.
During primaries, Helms cited senate busi
ness and the lack of a primary opponent.
Now Helms has decided he will not partici
pate because none of the media participating
asked for his input when originally planning the
coverage.
Instead he has invited the local press to travel
to Washington, D.C. to cover his platform.
Helms’ 24 years in the Senate does not make him
a resident of Washington, D.C.
He is a representative of the people of North
Carolina and ought to act like it.
Pulling a prima donna act with his competi
tion and hometown media will not win him
many friends, nor should it win him votes.
THE DAILYTAR HEEL
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EDITORIALS
Wedding Bells Won’t Be Binging If New Bills Pass
Imagine that the big day is finally here. It’s
your wedding day. You stand with the person
you love. The person that you have decided
that you want to spend the rest of your life with.
You feel so deeply for this person that you’re
willing to make this tremendous commitment.
The day would be perfect except for the fact
that the person that you feel so deeply for just
happens to be the same sex as you, and you’ve
been told that you aren’t allowed to be legally
married.
This is the very situation that gays and lesbi
ans face today.
You might argue that marriage —as per
formed in a church would naturally have to
fall under the power of years of religious zeal
otry.
But this is not a matter of religion. Homo
sexuals are currently not allowed a legal mar
riage even in the office of the justice of the
peace —with all of the rights that come with it.
That means that the very laws that are supposed
to protect us equally discriminate against people
for loving someone with the “wrong” genitalia.
However, this in no way diminishes the com
mitment that gay and lesbian couples feel. Many
couples have lived together as partners for years,
and now they deserve the benefits, such as health
insurance, pension plans and inheritance rights,
that married couples enjoy.
This issue has only recently been fully thrust
into the national spotlight due to a court case in
Hawaii. In 1993, the Hawaiian supreme court
ruled that the state could deny marriage licenses
to homosexual couples. The case then went to
the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent it back to
the trial court and ordered it to show that the
state has a compelling interest in having the ban.
It is unlikely that the court will be able to find
such an interest, and the ban on homosexual
marriages will almost certainly be lifted in Ha
waii. Under the U.S. Constitution, any mar
riages performed in Hawaii will have to be
recognized in all 50 states.
The possibility of this outcome has sent the
national government, along with many states,
scrambling. More than two thirds of the states
'a MARAIAfrE Of IDE N T * CARS '
RErtl threat to NOATHCAROMKA.
Greek Affairs to Organize
Groups for Safety Fact-Finding
TO THE EDITOR:
In the aftermath of the Phi Gamma Delta fire,
the Office of Greek Affairs and the Chancellor’s
Committee on Greek Affairs are forming advi
sory subcommittees on topics related to fire
safety in chapter houses. Faculty, staff and stu
dents are invited to serve on these short-term
committees. It is not necessary to be in a frater
nity or sorority. The subcommittees are as fol
lows: Education will develop education pro
grams about safety. Compartmentalization will
discuss structural modifications that can help
contain fires. Detection/Waming will study
what kinds of sprinklers and fire, smoke and
heat detectors would best suit the needs of the
chapter houses. Protection/Fund-Raising will
deal with the ever-important issue of how to pay
for suggested changes. Enforcement will con
sider new policies that may be needed to prevent
future fires, i. e., whether no-smoking rules should
be implemented in chapter houses. Interior Fin
ishes will investigate upgrading the fire resis
tance of finishes, wall coverings and furniture.
Committees will meet once or twice before
August 11, when they will make recommenda
tions to the Chancellor’s Committee and to
house corporation officers (owners of houses).
We are very interested in having input from
all of the UNC community as we consider how
to improve our members’ safety. If you have
further questions, or if you would like to volun
teer for one or more committees, please call the
Office of Greek Affairs at 966-4041.
Ron Binder
DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF GREEK AFFAIRS
N.C. House Minority Leader:
Education Must Come First
TO THE EDITOR:
A report recently released by the National
Association for Educators announced that the
average public school teacher’s salary in North
Carolina has fallen from 40th to 42nd in the
nation. Even in the face of such alarming news,
the N.C. House Republicans have refused to
listen to the taxpayers’ mandate for better educa
tion and continue to take a negative attitude
towards education in this state. Their irresponsi
bility and negligence in the preparation of the
considered passing
legislation banning
same-sex marriage.
Eleven states actually
passed such legisla
tion, while 17 were
actually forward
thinking enough to
refuse to do so.
Meanwhile, in
Washington, the ab
horrently named
“Defense of Mar
riage Act” is wind
ing its way through
[michael kanarek!
GUEST COLUMNIST
Congress. This bill would allow states to pass
legislation refusing to recognize same-sex mar
riages performed in other states. The same people
that have been claiming for years that homo
sexuals are too promiscuous now want to ban
gays and lesbians from getting married. It’s called
hypocrisy folks, get a dictionary and look it up.
Not surprisingly, the N.C. Senate is trying to
pass just such a bill. And worse yet, they’re
forcing it through in Short Session so they can
get it passed with as little protest as possible.
The whole furor over same-sex marriage has
made me do a lot of thinking lately, especially
about my own homosexuality. I feel like it’s time
to speak out and get people to open their minds.
Most people that I know, with the exception
of the few people that I’ve told, don’t know that
I’m gay. I’ve never altered my personality in any
way to make anyone think that I’m not, but I
don’t really exhibit what most people consider
stereotypically “gay” behavior.
Last year, one of the people I did tell con
ducted an impromptu poll among some of the
guys living in and around the suite that I lived in.
After asking them to rate, using this strange
percentage system, their degree of certainty
whether I was gay or not, one of them gave a
higher percentage based on “the music I listen to
and the way I talk,” whatever that means.
While I was growing up, my parents were
fairly neutral as far as gays and lesbians went.
However, it was everything else: movies, TV and
READERS’FORUM
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.
House Republican Budget allowed for less than
half of Gov. Jim Hunt’s recommended salary
increases for teachers in the public schools and
professors, instructors and researchers in the
state-supported university and community col
lege systems.
Along with the drop in the rankings of the
public schools, faculty salaries in the North Caro
lina University System are 40 to 60 percent
below similar institutions in the United States.
Faculty salaries in our community college sys
tem the very people who will educate and
train the work force of the 21 st century—ranked
last among the 15 southern states!
Good pay is vital to recruiting and retaining
the best educators. The best investment North
Carolina can make is to invest wisely in the
education of its people with the resources we
now have available approximately $396 mil
lion remains unused by the House Republicans
in their budget. Education must come first.
Jim Black (D)
MECKLENBURG COUNTY
MINORITY LEADER OF THE N.C, HOUSE
King's Death to Be 'Deeper
Loss'Than UNC Could Know
TO THE EDITOR:
Asa recent alumna of UNC, I find that read
ing The Daily Tar Heel on-line reminds me what
Slip Batly ttar Ifrrl
society in general, that told me what I am is
wrong. The only gay and lesbian images avail
able were stereotypes and caricatures.
"The Celluloid Closet,” a documentary on
ho w gay sand lesbians have been portrayed in the
cinema, gave many great examples. From the
“sissy,” the very effeminate man, who usually
ended up dead by the end of the movie, to
homosexuals (especially lesbian vampires
don’t ask) as predators.
It has only been recently that positive, more
realistic gay and lesbian characters have been
seen in popular entertainment, from movies like
“Philadelphia” and “Jeffrey” to television shows
like “Roseanne” and “Kids in the Hall.”
For me, growing to accept my sexuality was a
long, difficultprocess. I’ve known for a very long
time, but it took a lot before I could be honest
with others, and, most importantly, honest with
myself. I tried to deny it for a long time. In high
school, I even tried to convince myself that I
liked one of my female friends. Luckily, it didn’t
go anywhere, and we’re still friends. Ironically,
she was the first person that I told that I am gay.
As far as same-sex marriage is concerned, I
can understand the perspective of those opposed
to it. For some people, religion is very important,
and same-sex marriage is against their personal
religious beliefs. But, those beliefs are their own.
No matter how strongly they are opposed to
same-sex marriages, it is not within their rights to
force their beliefs on others.
I would like to think that one day I will find the
right person, the person that I’d like to spend the
rest of my life with. While I would not need, or
even really want, a religious wedding ceremony,
I would want a legal marriage to afford my
partner the benefits that married couples enjoy.
In fact, this whole controversy reminds me of
another issue that had plagued the American
legal system. It used to be illegal for a person to
marry a person of the “wrong” race (i.e., one
other than their own). Kind of puts it all into
perspective, doesn’t it?
Michael Kanarek is sophomore journalism and German
major from Jacksonville.
a special place UNC is and how much I enjoyed
myself during my years there. I did not have that
reaction today.
I was shocked and saddened to read about
Brad King’s death. Brad was a student in the first
section of Chemistry 11L that I taught as an
undergraduate. For a teaching assistant, faces
are easy to remember, but I can remember the
full names of only the most remarkable students.
For those that knew Brad, it is probably not a
shock that I remember him well and followed his
many campus involvements through the DTH.
Brad was very bright, energetic and outgoing. I
was never surprised to see his name in the paper
in connection with his many activities. Of course,
I was very surprised to see it today.
Brad was one of those people that you simply
know will go places, do things, be somebody. His
death saddens me not only because I remember
him well, but because he had so much potential.
Until today, I believed that he would realize his
full potential and eventually I would be seeing
his name in more newspapers. His shortened life
is a far deeper loss than we will ever know.
Katherine Campbell Glasgow
CLASS OF 1995
BLOOMINGTON. INDIANA
Money, Not Negligence, at
Heart of OIT Traffic Jam
TO THE EDITOR:
N. Gregory DeWitt’s letter to the editor (“Stu
dents in Traffic Jam on Road to Information
Highway,” May 30) spoke to a problem obvious
to all who try to access the information highway.
I choose to check my e-mail by 8 a.m. daily
because not long after that I encounter gridlock.
I agree that OlT’s current e-mail system is not
meeting the needs of UNC students. However, I
do not believe the problem lies with any form of
mismanagement. The problem, which doesn’t
take outside experts to identify, is money.
DeWitt doesn’t identify the former OIT em
ployee whom he says stated that top manage
ment refuses to call in outside experts. Could it be
that the former employee is “former” because he
saw there just wasn’t enough money to do the job
that needed to be done? Considering the explo
sion in demand for services and the inadequate
funding, OIT has done a fantastic job from top
management to the lowest staff position.
Jim McCulloch
CLASS OF 1961