14
Thursday, September 12,1996
!a% (Far HM
Jeanne Fugate EDITOR
Office Honrs, 2-3 p.m. Fridays
Graham Brink managing editor
World Wide Web Electronic Edition
r \ http://www.unc.edu/dth
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BOARD EDITORIALS
Hooked on cleanup
When Chancellor Michael Hooker and Stu
dent Body President Aaron Nelson made the
decision to cancel classes unilaterally for a “day
of action” on Wednesday afternoon, they over
looked the message they were sending: the ap
pearance of the campus is more important than
the value of education—a value students know
is marked by thousands of tuition dollars that
pay for professors and classes.
While everybody laments the wreckage litter
ing our campus, was the most effective way to
clean it up to cancel classes, cross fingers and
hope that 10,000 students with nothing else to
do on a damp afternoon would pitch in and
help? Of course not.
The desire to promote community spirit is
always welcome, but not at the expense of class
time. Few students attend classes solidly from
noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. If students
wanted to aid in the cleanup, they could have
selected an hour or two out of their own sched
ules rather than have the University carve it out
of their class time. Campus organizations, as
well, could have taken a hint from fraternities
and sororities and helped out in the name of
community service, notto mention service hours.
Hooker’s rash executive decision has met
with criticism from faculty and students. In his
typically abrupt fashion, did not even bother to
While the Coalition for Economic Justice
gained campuswide attention with colorful post
ers equating privatization to racism, they might
have overlooked the possibility that such a move
could harm their cause in the long ran.
One of the posters reveals, in boldface, a
tasteless quote by Don Follmer, former press
secretary for N.C. House Speaker Harold
Brubaker. The other poster accuses Chancellor
Michael Hooker and the Outsourcing Steering
Committee Chairman Brace Runberg of cover
ing up privatization information.
According to coalition member Robin Ellis,
the red and yellow fliers were intended to draw
attention to two things: the University’s consid
eration of privatizing campus services, namely
housekeeping, and the Sept. 23 lawsuit charging
the University with discrimination against UNC
housekeepers.
Rather than calling separate attention to the
two issues, the coalition overlapped them, mak
ing it appear that racial discrimination and
privatization are one and the same. By calling
the privatization investigation a racist act, the
coalition sets the stage for illegitimizing house
keepers’ discrimination claims.
BAROMETER
Friends in need
4 Special thanks to The Durham Herald
> -,'g± Sun for printing The Daily Tar Heel last
“ week when our printer lost power due
* to Fran's fury.
Service winner
4 Despite widespread concerns and
> heated debate, students, faculty and
“ staff teamed up to clean up our
campus yesterday. Now there's only
one problem left to solve: which Greek
organization is going to make the T
shirts?
contact the Chairwoman of the Faculty Council
to gauge possible reactions. These bold actions,
necessary in a state of emergency, came two days
too late.
Many classes were held despite the cancella
tion. The dilemma puts pressure on students and
faculty alike. A semester’s worth of material
must be covered, one way or another.
If it really was necessary to cancel classes to
clean up the campus, they ought to have been
canceled on Monday, when Chapel Hill was still
in a state of emergency. Chapel Hill Mayor
Rosemary Waldorf had asked people to stay off
the roads, and out of the repair crews’ way.
Thousands of staff and students lacked electric
ity and clean water, and the University’s water
was undrinkable. Gov. Jim Hunt even asked
nonessential state employees to stay home on
Monday and help clean up their communities.
Though the thinking behind canceling
yesterday’s afternoon classes was confined and
misguided, we cannot overlook the fact that
droves of students, as well as the chancellor, took
advantage of the opportunity for lending a hand.
Yesterday will be remembered as a day in which
“action,” though beneficial, overtook the
University’s mission to educate, and faculty were
dealt a hand without having a say in the rules of
the game.
Warning signs
Because racism is a sensitive issue, it deserves
discretion in accusations of groups or organiza
tions. Abusing the term only minimizes its seri
ousness, turning it into a common phrase for
whenever ethnic groups disagree. Asa result,
groups who actually do experience racism have
a harder time proving it, even when it blatantly
exists.
According to coalition members, their efforts
at effective communication with administrators
have been frustrated, leaving them little choice
but to use the issue of racism to get attention. If
that is the case, the idea of the eye-catching fliers
was a smooth move. Grassroots movements are
historically rooted in recruiting support by giv
ing the issue an emotional, spirited frame.
Ideally, all discussion on issues as important
as these would take place in a responsible, re
spectful and credible manner. Unfortunately cir
cumstances seem to have necessitated the new,
more aggressive, measures of the coalition. As
coalition leaders practice their rightto free speech
and pursue their goals, hopefully they will not
suffer too great a setback for having directly
linked racism to privatization, and clouded up
what is already a foggy issue.
;Dios mio!
i By banning the Macarena from physical
education classes, Wake County
schools have disrupted a veritable
social phenomenon. Thank goodness
they've still got dodgeball.
Firing range
fiM k Despite so-called U.S. deterrents, Iraqi
JpF military forces have felt free to fire
upon U.S. warplanes. Fortunately, their
aim is about as clear as President
Clinton's policy.
Quit Ylta EDfTORIAL PAGE EDITOR
Jamie Griswold UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Lain Godwin city editor
Erica Beahears STATE 4 NATIONAL EDITOR
Andrew Park special assignments editor
Robhi Picked sports editor
Joseph Robson sportsaturoay editor
Jessica Banov features EDITOR
Melissa Mibos ARTS/DIVERSIONS EDITOR
Juba Corbin copy desk editor
Michael Kanarek CORY desk editor
Am; Qnattlebanm DESIGN EDITOR
Philip Molaro GRAPHICS EDITOR
Robin Linefaan editorial cartoon editor
Robin Berholi staff development
EDITORIAL
Saddam attempt* do sttr opposition to tte US, by
perfbftnioj the much-hated American dance craze,
Aftowh as "The Macerena".
Looking back through the kaleidoscope of life
An old friend of mine turns 21 this
week. Unfortunately, she’s not at UNC
for me to celebrate with. She trans
ferred two years ago, just wasn’t happy here. I
never thought it was my fault she left, but
sometimes I think it’s my fault she didn’t stay,
meaning I should have made things better
somehow.
As I was thinking about her birthday, I
realized something I’ve been longing to ad
dress for five long years now. Way back then,
this birthday girl co-wrote a play for our youth
group’s state convention. The convention’s
theme was the “Kaleidoscope of Life.” The
play was part of the talent show finale. I was
cast as the lead.
The play portrayed a teenager contemplat
ing suicide. It was about rejection and pres
sure, about being turned down by girls, being
cut by the baseball team, being overlooked by
parents. As the drama climaxed, I moved to
the stage’s front edge, which for our purposes
was a steep cliff. I stood silently, the lights
dimmed, and my character’s best friend ap
peared in the shadows, representing the
thoughts moving through my mind.
As I stared over the audience’s heads be
low, my character’s best friend recounted child
hood joys. “When we were young, the world
was like a kaleidoscope, ” she said. “It was our
kaleidoscope, not the kids’ at school, not the
baseball team’s. It was bright and wonderful
and belonged only to you and me."
I remember seeing tears sneaking out of
someone’s eyes in the front row as she said
this. But with the next line, things fell apart.
“We turned that kaleidoscope, not them.”
In what should have been a dramatic pause,
a faceless voice rose from the back of the
auditorium. “She turned his kaleidoscope,”
the voice rang out slowly, like Beavis or
Butthead or something worse. Suddenly, the
Public service vs. classroom:
Hooker's difficult decision
TO THE EDITOR:
When I first heard Student Body President
Aaron Nelson talk about a campuswide action
day to help clean up the campus in the after
math of Hurricane Fran, I knew it was a good
thing to do.
Not because it echoes my own message of
public service, but because I knew it would
give all of us—faculty, students and staff —a
chance to come together as a community. In
the face of so much destruction and personal
hardship, that sense of community is more
important now than ever.
We chose Wednesday afternoon for the
effort in order to give us enough time to get the
word out about the cleanup, yet still get much
of the work done this week.
I understand this works hardship on faculty
who teach on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays, who already have lost a day of teach
ing to Hurricane Fran.
I regret that the cancellation detracts from
our primary mission of education, but I be
lieve that this unique circumstance warrants
extraordinary response.
Several faculty felt that we should have
encouraged participation in the cleanup, but
left the scheduled classes intact. We could
have done that, but it would have required
faculty and students to make the choice be
tween public service and the classroom.
Both are important, and the latter is pri
mary, but in the incredible aftermath of Hur
ricane Fran, when examples of public
spiritedness abound, I felt canceling classes on
Wednesday afternoon and evening was the
only way to say clearly, both to faculty and
students, “Community and public service truly
are important, and we will not force you to
choose between the two.
I enjoyed working with those who were
able to volunteer yesterday, and I am proud to
be chancellor of an institution where faculty,
staff and students respond so willingly during
a crisis.
Michael Hooker
CHANCELLOR
pins-and-needles
tension in the air
shifted to roaring
laughter.
Every line that
followed became a
victim of sexual in
nuendo. The mes
sage was lost. The
plot fell off a cliff.
As the play came to
a close, I was sup
posed to freeze and
let the lights fade out
RICHARD RAY
HOBSON'S CHOICE
on me. That’s what I should have done. But I
panicked. I fell onto the laughing side of the
fence, and I melodramatically jumped off the
stage’s edge. Oh well, I thought. I didn’t real
ize that the rest of my youth group was back
stage in tears. Many, in fact, would cry for
several hours. For them, this play meant infi
nitely more than just a crappy exhibition of my
below-par acting abilities.
What I seemed to have forgotten —and
what the audience never knew—was that the
play was inspired by actual pain and loss.
Months before, a 14-year-old boy died in his
garage at the back of our neighborhood. After
being caught joyriding with friends, this boy
got a piece of rope, looped it over the frame of
his automatic garage door and tied a noose. He
stood in a folding lawn chair and put the rope
around his neck. The chair broke, leaving his
body hanging in midair.
He was still alive when his mother found
him, but never regained consciousness. Many
believe he only wanted to scare his parents
because of the trouble he faced, that he died
accidentally.
The painful reality is that we’ll never know
for sure. Everyone was shocked when the
news spread through the halls at school. I
READEMJROM
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 space, 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.
Career Exploration Series
provides insights, free food
TO THE EDITOR:
The Senior Marshals for the Class of 1997
cordially invite all seniors and other interested
students to the Fall Career Exploration Series.
Designed to give students who are thinking
about their future plans some valuable in
sights, this series consists of career panels and
a casual, relaxed atmosphere.
Featured at Spanky’s, the panels have been
created to allow students to freely ask ques
tions and develop relationships with other
students who may be interested in similar
career paths. All of the sessions are on Thurs
day nights at 7 p.m. at Spanky’s. The first
panel is on Sept. 12 and will be comprised of
graduate students who will share their insights
with you on graduate school.
The next one, on Oct. 3, will be a group of
professionals in health-related fields, and on
Nov. 3 the panel will be made up of business
related professionals. Other panels may be
scheduled later in the year, so please look out
for further announcements. This is a fun, use
ful opportunity so come on out and gain some
valuable insights on your career while meeting
SJljp Saily (Ear Jttel
remember feeling completely nauseous. Extra
guidance counselors were shipped in for the
week. The school emptied on the day of his
funeral. We all dressed up and crammed into
the church. We rode in a long dark parade to
the cemetery.
I wanted desperately to believe it was an
accident. I still do. But even so, the event
grabbed me by the throat and forced me to
think about suicide. We were all so naive then.
Why not just run away, start somewhere new,
I thought? I couldn’t see that people sometimes
get tired, tired of just living at all. Many who
think about suicide don’t feel the energy to
start again, not by themselves.
Occasionally I go back in time, reliving
momentsthewaytheyshouldhavegone. When
I go back to that convention, I stand firm on the
stage. I stay until the audience grows silent and
I take the microphone. Then I tell them about
our friend, our neighbor, our classmate
dead at age 14.1 tell ‘em the room is probably
full of people who think dying is easier than
living. And I tell them that our junior high
yearbook has a photo of our dead friend in his
football uniform. He will always be 14 years
old.
It’s part of human nature to move past
tragedy. We think about the bad less and less
with time. Life goes on for the living. In the last
five years, we’ve all grown tremendously. This
year’s freshmen are already acclimated to this
lifestyle we call college. But our old friend is
still 14 years old. That’s not the way it should
have been. This year, he’d have been a fresh
man, too. He’d likely be here with you and me.
To my former neighbor, housemate and
basketball partner, happy 21 st birthday, Shan
non.
Richard Ray is a senior journalism and creative
writing major from Greenville, N.C.
interesting people and eating some great food
for free.
Leena Pendharkar
SENIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY/ ENGUSH
Column represents misguided
sensationalism, moronic logic
TO THE EDITOR:
Whatever respect I had for Richard Harris’
opinion vanished with the first paragraph of
his latest column (“In matters of capital pun
ishment, kill ‘em all," Sept. 10). The problem
with the justice system is the type of misguided
sensationalism and brutal vindictiveness used
by those who would justify state murder of
individuals.l found the imagery disgusting, the
suggestions deplorable and the argument mo
ronic. Petty revenge is not why the penal sys
tem exists. Joining murderers and rapists in die
gutter is not society’s mission. One wonders
what happened to the concepts of rehabilita
tion and humanity. Harris’ disgusting focus on
the “spectacle” of murder by the state plays to
the same base instincts that the Nazis and the
Ku Klux Klan warped to their ends. This entire
editorial tramples humanity into the ground.
Would Harris like to be the professional
rapist who metes out the punishment to “ fit the
crime exactly" when someone is convicted of
rape? Then, suddenly, he’s squeamish about
prison rape. Why worry about humane condi
tions for those who no longer deserve human
ity? I do agree with him on one point. Why
bother arguing the merits of lethal injection
compared to lethal gas? Remember, humane
ness doesn’t matter to him. Why not have them
summarily shot in the courtroom the instant
sentence is passed? There’s spectacle for you.
Steven Boussios
SOPHOMORE
JOURNALISM
Still time
The deadline for applications for The Daily Tar
Heel editorial board has been extended to Friday at
4 p.m. Direct questions or concerns to Editorial Page
Editor Chris Yates at 962-4086.