Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 5, 1998, edition 1 / Page 14
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14 Thursday, February 5, 1998 She iatlg Oar Erie* Bohan edctob Office Horn, 12-1 p.. Fridays Uun Godwin and Leslie Wilkinson managing editors f World Wide Web Electronic Edition i / | I http://www.unc.edu/dth I JL Established 1893 104 Years of Editorial Freedom BOARD EDITORIALS Cohn/McCrossin for CAA The Daily Tar Heel endorses Hunter McCrossin and David Cohn for the co-presi dency of the Carolina Athletic Association. McCrossin and Cohn are open to student input. They admit that they may not know the best solution to every problem that the CAA has faced in past years. They are, however, will ing to listen to everyone’s opinion on important issues. McCrossin and Cohn are not only con cerned with the continual basketball ticket dis tribution mess but are also interested in other aspects of the CAA. One of their more impor tant goals is to increase student participation during Homecoming Week. They also wish to promote student support of all sports teams on campus not just the ones that earn substantial revenue for the University. Though McCrossin, Cohn, Jeff Stencel and Jeff Pierce all have experience in leadership positions, McCrossin and Cohn will be able to accomplish more. At the candidate forums they showed the ability to get their ideas across clear ly and motivate students. McCrossin thinks quickly and has the char acteristics of a strong leader; he knows which leadership methods work best for different peo ple. Cohn will balance the presidency well as Jernigan for RHA The Daily Tar Heel endorses David Jemigan for the office of Residence Hall Association president. Jemigan is running unopposed, but he has the experience and the dedication that the job dictates and merits the endorsement. Jemigan has demonstrated his skills in resi dence hall government. He has served as a floor representative and is currently area governor of Morrison Residence Hall. He was recognized as RHA Student of the Month and nominated for RHA Student of the Year. In addition, Jernigan has implemented a campaign to improve the residence halls of South Campus, for which he has garnered the support of numerous students documented in the form of petitions. Jemigan’s platforms indicates that he is con cerned about unwarranted criticism of the spending of the $9.25 housing fee. In fact, he seemed defensive when questioned at a candi date forum. But he must remember that the fee, unlike other student fees, is paid directly to the orga nization that spends it. It is completely under- Kennedy for GPSF The Daily Tar Heel endorses Bryan Kennedy for president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation. Kennedy has put forth a platform of impor tant issues. It is clear he will keep the position of GPSF president strong. Students can feel confident that Kennedy will represent their interests well. Kennedy’s intention to continue the dedi cated efforts of current president Katherine Kraft is commendable. Kraft has completely altered the significance of the office during her two-year term. Her efforts at fighting tuition hikes, extend ing remissions and expanding benefits to teach ing assistants are outstanding. Her essential contribution was to make the position of GPSF president meaningful. We hope that Kennedy’s praise for Kraft means he will not allow her accomplishments to be undone. Kennedy seems a fine successor to Kraft, who is graduating. Kennedy understands the needs of graduate and professional students. His platform calls for tuition waivers, childcare subsidies and Student Union renovation. He wants to link loan caps with the cost-of-living, and he supports affirmative action. A note about the endorsement process The Daily Tar Heel's process for endorsement of Graduate and Professional Student Federation president, Residence Hall Association president and Carolina Athletic Association co-president can didates was based on an interview with each can- Ken Dwyer mum. rage eotor NaU Tooa umversity editor Sbarif Dmtuuns unwbtstty EOT* Job Ostendorff city editor Rob Nelson cm- editor Jonathan Cox state s national editor Vicky Eekenrode swe a national editor .Laron Beard SPORTS EDITOR Too; Mean SEECTAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR Mary-Kathryn Craft features editor Jim Martin ARTS & DIVERSIONS EDITOR April Simon copy desk editor Carolyn Haynes COPY DESK editor Cara Briekman photography editor Jennifer Gnthrie PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Katie Mnrehiion DESIGN EDITOR MiebeOe LaFierre DESIGN EDITOR Jake Zarnegar graphics oxtor Robin KoUi EDtTORAL CARTOON EDITOR John Sweeney writing coach the indi vid u a 1 behind the scenes. Though not as articulate as his part ner, Cohn no doubt will provide innovative ideas and the personal ity that will make every member of the CAA and every other student feel that he or she can approach him with comments and concerns. Stencel and Pierce do not have the same bal ance and charisma as their opponents. Because both running mates are outspoken, progress may be hindered as both try to dominate the position. Their ideas are relevant, but their abil ity to tackle the issues is questionable. The DTH hopes that McCrossin and Cohn will use their skills to make the CAA better and to avoid the mishaps of the past. The co-presidency of the CAA is a difficult job, especially because of the controversy sur rounding each year. McCrossin and Cohn have the ability to turn their frustrations into pro gresses that will make the CAA an organization of which UNC can be proud. standable that students won der where their money goes. It will be Jemigan’s chal lenge to answer them. Although Jemigan seemed offended by this crit icism, his platform is dedi cated to making students more aware of the programs and even branching out beyond social events. It is especially admirable that he is open to suggestions and plans to survey residents on the issue. In this way, Jemigan is addressing the spending issue. His plan to improve the scope of RHA pro gramming includes better organization within the area governments. He also wants to keep communication open between the governors and himself and implement Regional Programming Coordinators. He wants to open better communication lines between student government and RHA, especially in decisions regarding residents. Jemigan has both the vision and experience to do the job of RHA president well. Asa second-term repre sentative to Student Congress, Kennedy has been active in sponsoring impor tant legislation. A bill initi ated by Kennedy made the office he is seeking impeach able and thus added an important check on execu tive power. Kennedy’s will- ingness to pursue such legislation shows a high level of integrity and maturity. This is not a sur prise because Kennedy is a doctoral candidate with a varied background and works daily as a teaching assistant. Kennedy’s qualifications notwithstanding, we regret that he is running unopposed. Graduate and professional students deserve a choice when electing a president, and the com petition engendered by a second candidate could only increase the standards needed to attain the office. We encourage more graduate and professional students to become involved in student government. That is the way to produce more Katherine Krafts and Bryan Kennedys. Meanwhile, we enthusiastically endorse Bryan Kennedy for GPSF president. didate, the candidate's platforms and performance at candidate forums. No members of the editorial board felt it neces sary to abstain from voting because of conflicts of interests. EDITORIAL Community must take action, help children learn When I first decided to become a columnist, I promised myself that I would avoid most serious subjects. With my best intentions tossed aside I find myself picking up the entrails of a heated topic and sending my writing out of the sem iniferous tubules of a mere bantering colum nist and into the acidity of a real issue. It is not the path I intended to follow, but it is the road that I find myself on nonetheless. My goal today is not to become another columnist babbling on about affirmative action and racism from a white male view point I attended an affirmative action debate Monday, sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild. For the most part the debate was infor mative and controlled. There were a few too many lawyers hanging around, but I suppose that was to be expected. I have never been an advocate of affirma tive action in academics although I am sure I have benefited from it In principle one would expect a 5-foot-9-inch feminist like myself to be pro-affirmative action. I am a woman although I refuse to be defined simply by that fact because I will never allow myself to be placed on such a low standard. I am more than just my sex. I am instead defined by what I have accomplished and I have overcome to succeed. Affirmative action undermines my achievements by placing them on a level of substandardness. My mother always told me while I was growing up that I would have to work twice as hard to be considered half as good. I think that is true for all women regardless of race. In part, wt have ourselves to blame for this because we as a collective group have bought into the notion that we needed help from an outside source to compete in a male-domi nated world. Once we begin to lean on the crutch of affirmative action, all our other accomplishments, whether gained indepen dently or not, will still bear the scarlet red “A” Safety concerns paramount; UNC provides many options TO THE EDITOR: As safety and security coordinator for stu dent government, I am responsible for dis seminating safety information to campus. I know that safety is a major issue and should therefore be included in campaign platforms. Some of the information in this year’s student body president platforms, however, is incor rect, and I feel responsible for dispelling this misinformation, to ensure students can make election decisions accurately. Furthermore, it’s essential for students to know what safety services are available and which are not feasible. Point-to-Point: P2P is already available (and always has been) to transport students to and from the Student Health Service. As for expanding P2P with more drivers or to off campus locations, these ideas are just not fea sible. The program doesn’t have funding, staff or vans to expand the service. Additionally, if we extend service to apartment complexes and Greek houses with the current resources, the wait at stops would at least double and thus decrease safety. U-Bus: It has already been planned to of affirmative action, as one of Monday’s panelists so accurately described. I would rather fail on my own merit than succeed because I was given opportu nities I didn’t deserve. Although in principle it was designed to help fight discrimina- LAURIE SCHUITZ ONE CHICAGO GIRL 100 MANY tion and sexism, affirmative action has failed in its application to be anything more than reverse racism. I cannot agree with the use of affirmative action in college acceptance pro cedures. When we allow affirmative action to flourish as a means of discrimination, we as a society hurt not only the students being unjustly discriminated against but also the stu dents who seem to gain in the short term by stigmatizing them in the long run. I was not accepted into this school because I am a woman. Instead, I earned the right to attend this University because I met the academic criteria for admission. My first friend at UNC was Victor, a Cuban-American from Miami. Victor is one of the most intellectually impressive people I have ever met and has been named to the Dean’s List every semester he’s attended here. Victor has also earned his place at this University by his own merits not because he checked the Hispanic-nonwhite box on his application. Affirmative action breeds inferiority. It low ers the standards of Universities by admitting students who are not as able to compete into schools that would not normally accept them if they were not minorities. Many believe that if affirmative action was 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 space, clarity and vulgari ty. 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. extend the free U-Bus route to serve both directions. Without complications, this will be implemented this fall. SAFE Escort: SAFE Escort receives 65 cents of the student safety and security fee, equaling just more than $13,000 a year. The majority of this ($12,000) pays the drivers; the ®)e Bail}} iar Heel abolished it would lead to a decrease in the number of minorities and women in the aca demic world. Initially I believe we would see this trend at schools, such as UNC, although we would also see a rise in minority and women students in schools that are less aca demically challenging. Thus, overall the num ber of minorities and women students would stay the same, and these students would be in an environment better equipped for their suc cess. Affirmative action is a downward spiral that undermines the real problems in our soci ety. More than that I feel there is an overall trend by proponents of affirmative action to use it as the end-all cure for many of the social problems minorities face. My mother works as a first-grade teacher in one of Chicago’s low-income inner city ele mentary schools. Her class is made up entire ly of black children. Even at the first-grade level many of the children have difficulty learning basic skills. This lack of learning is not because of their inability to learn but instead is because of the lack of positive par ent-child educational interaction. Many of my mother’s students see books and are read to for the first time in her class room. These children have not yet been exposed to educational activities, and thus, by the time they are barely 5 years old, they are already at a disadvantage to children whose parents have made the effort to expose them to education. Affirmative action cannot change or cor rect this phenomenon. Minority communities must take the initiative to push their children toward education and learning. This would help improve their confidence and education al level far more than lowering admission standards ever could. Laurie Schultz is a senior biology major from Chicago. remainder is spent on gas, maintenance and other expenses. There are 4 carts available, which are used on a rotating basis for main tenance purposes. Their budget is already maxed out, and it would be impossible to extend the service to more facilities, unless the safety fee increased. Furthermore, I’d be inter ested to know what other locations would be more beneficial than the libraries. Lighting: We are currently in the process of taking more lighting tours, including one of bus and P2P stops and one at 2 a.m. (after building lights are out). To report lights out on campus, call 962-8100; to suggest more light locations, call the Physical Plant. Crime Prevention Officer: The University employs Crime Prevention Officer (not cam pus safety officer) Lt. Angela Carmon and gives her adequate funding. She performs Rape Aggression Defense classes to any group who requests them and periodically throughout the year, open to all students. To set up a class for your organization, call Carmon at 966-3230. As always, feel free to contact me at home or in Suite C with any safety concerns or problems. Thank you. Karen Schuller SENIOR HISTORY/POUTICAL SCIENCE
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 5, 1998, edition 1
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