10
Tuesday, February 9, 1999
Nahal Toosi
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
DeVona Brown ft Ashley Stephenson
UNIVERSITY EDITORS
Jon Ostendorff
OTY EDITOR
Board Editorials
DTH Endorsements
Whether you agree with The Daily Tar
Heel’s endorsements or not, get out and vote.
Brad Morrison for SBP
Unlike the other con
tenders for student body
president, Brad Morrison
will stand with students,
not administrators.
He has promised to
force UNC officials to
rethink the Carolina
Computing Initiative and
to bring Student Stores
under greater scrutiny.
With Morrison at the
Brad Morrison
helm, student government won’t just submit
quiedy to administrators’ whims. He has the
experience to make it happen, having served
as Speaker of Student Congress, on the
Association of Student Governments and on
several key committees.
The new year will bring challenges of all
sorts, from the Master Plan to enrollment
growth. Morrison has the pragmatic leader
ship and knowledge to make sure it all hap
pens with students at the forefront.
Ledford/Alston for Senior Class
President and Vice President
Danya Ledford and
Will Alston have solid
plans for giving the class
of 2000 a healthy dose of
excitement. They’re run
ning unopposed, but
they’ve shown them
selves competent and up
to the job.
They pledge to ensure
that students have a
voice in the commence
ment speaker selection
process and that the
annual gift is fitting of the
class of 2000.
Just as importantly,
though, their senior card
and Pit party ideas will
inject some much-need
ed frivolity and enthusi
asm into the senior year
experience.
jSI
Danya Ledford
rs
Tee Pruitt for CAA President
Tee Pruitt’s experience
in the Carolina Athletic
Association make him
the best choice for CAA
president. He survived
the 1998 Homecoming
fiasco, and he learned
how to prevent it from
happening again.
By keeping this year’s
basketball ticket distribu
tion system, he can act
on other goals, such as playing the Blue-
White game in Carmichael Auditorium.
Write In Candidate for RHA
Officials plan to add 1,000 beds to UNC
by 2001 and at least 3,750 more by 2008, and
the Master Plan calls for a radical demolition
and reconstruction of South Campus.
Unfortunately, Jermain Reeves, the only
Don’t Vote, Don’t Bitch
If the past is an accurate prediction,
approximately 2,500 students out of more
than 24,000 will actually cast a ballot in
today’s campuswide election.
Even if a record-breaking one-fifth of the
campus turns out to vote at the polls, the win
ner can hardly claim to speak for all students.
So don’t expect Chancellor Michael
Hooker or the Board of Trustees to listen to a
student who hasn’t the support of his or her
own residence hall, much less the entire stu
dent body.
Don't expect a clear student mandate for
administrators on the Master Plan or
Carolina Computing Initiative, in which stu
dents have a huge financial stake.
Don’t expect effective lobbying of the
N.C. General Assembly for low tuition.
Don’t expect a fairer, better Homecoming.
Don’t expect officials to grant demands for
more student tickets in the Smith Center.
Don’t expect a greater amount of graduate
students’ fees to revert to the Graduate and
Professional Student Federation.
Instead of knowing that the winning can
didate’s platform represents students’ desires,
Sharif Durhams
EDITOR
Office Hours Friday 2 p.m. -3 p.m.
official candidate for the post, has failed to
show the foresight for such huge changes.
Fortunately, a write-in candidate has put
his hat in the ring. Though the DTH does not
endorse Reeves for RHA president, we rec
ommend writing in a competent student.
Lee Conner for GPSF President
Already, Lee Conner
has graduated from
UNC, worked for a Wall
Street investment firm
and helped N.C. Senate
President Pro Tern Marc
Basnight, D-Dare, crunch
the data behind the bill
that OK’d graduate stu
dent tuition remissions.
In a word, Conner has
experience. It’s why the
DTH has endorsed him, and it will serve him
well as he lobbies for GPSF concerns.
Student Congress
■ District 1 (two seats) - Douglas Hatch
and Mark Kleinschmidt.
■ District 6 (one seat) - David Rudell.
■ District 9 (two seats) - Patrick Link.
■ District 10 (one seat) - Cianti Stewart-
Reid.
■ District 11 (one seat) - Abi Sommer.
■ District 13 (one seat) - Phil Mauck.
■ District 15 (two seats) - Deidre Green.
■ District 16 (three seats) - Bharath
Parthasarathy and Erica Smiley.
■ District 17 (two seats) - Elizabeth
Gardner.
■ District 19 (three seats) - Alexandra
Bell, Emily Howell and Matthew Todd Jones.
■ District 20 (one seat) - Dan Rearick.
■ District 23 (one seat) - Rebecca
Gumbiner.
For all open seats, the DTH recommends
writing in a responsible candidate.
Majors on Diplomas: Vote Yes
Putting students’ majors on their diplomas
is the least University officials can do to rec
ognize academic achievement.
Optional Cable: Vote No
Optional cable in residence halls would
create more problems than it would solve.
There’s no way to keep roommates from
stealing cable, and Student Congress hasn’t
done its homework on potential costs.
Student Fees Increase: Vote Yes
Demand for student fees has outstripped
the supply. The proposed hike would go far
in easing the crunch, but the UNC trustees
shouldn’t raise graduate students’ fees until
more of that money goes back to them.
Suffrage on the BOG: Vote Yes
Enfranchising the student member of the
UNC-system Board of Governors would
empower all students. A strong “yes” vote
might help state lawmakers say the same.
GPSF Recognition: Vote No
Just putting the name of the GPSF in Title
I of the Student Code doesn’t do anything to
mend student government and GPSF divi
sion. It’s better to do something effective
than mess around with the code.
Will Alston
Tee Pruitt
administrators will know that students don’t
care or they aren’t willing to act if they do.
It isn’t as if students don’t have ample
notice of the election. Candidates’ posters
have covered campus for a week. Forums
have taken place, and student groups have
endorsed their candidates. Today, it’s impos
sible to walk through the Pit without being
handed a flier or accosted by someone urg
ing students to turn out and vote.
And unlike elections outside UNC, stu
dents don’t have to register to vote for the
presidents of the student body, the Carolina
Athletic Association or the GPSF. Students
just walk into a polling site and vote - in
theory.
Many students say they can’t be bothered,
though, to walk into the Great Hall or
Granville Towers’ cafeteria or into any of the
other campus polling sites.
Whether they haven’t the time or haven’t
the concern, “apathy” is the official explana
tion.
Apathy, on one of the 10 most activist
campuses in {he country.
Isn’t it ironic?
Wht !a% (Mr Mrrl
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Only Students Can Improve Safety
One of the valuable things about cam
pus elections is that once a year, mun
dane but important issues such as
campus safety get brought to the forefront
Most of the students running for student
body president and some running for Student
Congress devoted parts of their platforms to
possible solutions for campus crime. As in
past years, the candidates mostly focused on
improving lighting on and around campus,
although some had plans to expand the Rape
Aggression Defense training program and set
up an e-mail alert system.
As good as some of these ideas are, they
won’t attack the root of the problem. The
large majority of students on this campus are
not just apathetic about their safety, but down
right ignorant of how to protect themselves.
Chapel Hill may be the great cultural oasis
of North Carolina, but contrary to popular
belief, this town is not immune to the ravages
of crime. Although we generally do not expe
rience the same crime problems as urban
areas, we still suffer from a significant number
of incidents of vandalism, assault, theft, etc.,
every year. Yet many students refuse to take
even the most basic safety precautions.
Please don’t get me wrong. No one, no
matter how careless they are, deserves to be
the victim of crime. However, many of the
crimes that occur here on campus are pre
ventable if one uses a little common sense.
Last week, I had a student come to the
front desk of Carmichael Residence Hall
where I work and complain that a stranger
was trying to sell magazine subscriptions door
to door on the second floor. I was pleased as
punch, not because I had the opportunity to
go kick out an annoying salesman, but
because one of our residents had actually
bothered to report the incident.
The salesman presented a potentially seri
ous security risk to the students living in the
hall. He could have been a thief or a rapist or
Readers' Forum
Graduation Speaker
Should Call Audience
To Change World
TO THE EDITOR:
Is commencement supposed to be
fun, “a day of celebration” as The
Daily Tar Heel editorial board would
have it (“Unpreachy Speeches,” Jan.
29)? Or could it be a joyous yet
solemn day to mark the transition
from school to professional life?
If it’s the former, then by all means
usher Jay Leno up to the commence
ment microphone. If the latter, I’d
rather hear from someone who can
say something well-researched and
articulate about how we can move on
and work to change our world.
The DTH’s conviction that Robin
Williams, Oprah Winfrey and
Michael Jordan would be better than
Marian Wright Edelman implies that
the ideal candidate isn’t non-preachy.
(Ever watched Oprah? The last half
dozen Robin Williams films?)
No, they want a feel-good preach
er, someone who won’t tell them
about the “depressing,” problem-rid
den world they’re graduating into.
Someone “who can give them hope.”
Rob Nelson k Leslie Wilkinson
MANAGING EDITORS
Cara Brickman
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Josh Brannon
DESIGN EDITOR
Brad Christensen
CARTOON EDTOR
MELINDA MANNING
LOSING MY MANNERS
simply a con artist. Either way, he didn’t need
to be in the residence hall and by identifying
him and asking him to leave, a potential crime
might have been averted.
Unfortunately, too few students bother to
report suspicious persons. Out of Southern
politeness or utter stupidity, we hold open
doors for strangers to enter residence halls.
We leave our car and room doors unlocked.
We leave our backpacks and purses unattend
ed in the library and the Student Recreation
Center. We walk home alone after dark or
while intoxicated. We turn the other way
when we see someone vandalize a campus
building. We are seldom willing to help when
we see our fellow student in a potentially dan
gerous situation.
(By the way, guys, campus safety is not just
a female issue. You too can be mugged,
assaulted or even raped. The fact that you
have a penis does not make you immune.)
Part of the responsibility for campus safety
also lies with the administration. Too often,
student safety is sacrificed for the lure of the
Benjamins. I was appalled this summer when
the crew of “Patch Adams” was allowed to
remove lights and call boxes from Polk Place.
Some crew members were allowed to set up
trailers and sleep in the Sitterson parking lot.
Add all this to the fact that services such as
Point-2-Point and SAFE Escort are routinely
not available in the summer. The arguably
A celebrity entertainer who did the
ultimate, get famous. Hurray, I grad
uated! Don’t wreck my party by men
tioning poverty, war and injustice!
I didn’t hear Edelman’s speech,
but I’m willing to bet the moral was
n’t “life sucks, you’re responsible,” as
the alleged “guilty and depressed”
student responses might suggest.
And I have to wonder why a news
paper, of all organizations, would
have an interest in advocating inspi
ration over realism. Journalists capa
ble of promoting banal boosterism
over substantive inquiry should have
a bright future at People Magazine.
Marya DeVoto
Graduate Student
Department of English
Cartoon Illustrates
Importance of Center
For Black Culture
TO THE EDITOR:
Much respect to Rajeev Dassani
for his editorial cartoon in the Feb. 3
Daily Tar Heel. His cartoon brings to
light a sensitive issue on this campus;
indeed, many students undoubtedly
Kyle Hanlin
ONLINE EDITOR
Amy Cappiello
WRITING COACH
John Sweeney
OMBUDSMAN
mediocre movie may have brought great pub
licity to UNC, but its filming exposed sum
mer school students and others to unjustified
security risks.
As an employee, I can say with great hon
esty that the Department of University
Housing desperately needs to devote more
resources to ensuring the safety of our approx
imately 7,000 residents. We need to get over
our current silly obsession with incense burn
ing and instead focus our attentions on securi
ty improvements such as installing more
alarm doors and reinforced screens on first
floor windows. We need to enforce our anti
solicitation policy aggressively and work to
ensure that residents escort all their guests in
the building.
It’s true that safety measures can be costly,
in terms of both time and money. Yet a little
“inconvenience” can prevent many crimes
from ever occurring.
Whoever gets elected today and in the run
offs next week, I sincerely hope you keep
your promises. Don’t let your vow to improve
campus safety turn out to be just meaningless
campaign talk calculated to win more female
votes. Push for more lighting, increased hours
for SAFE Escort and more police patrols.
Encourage your constituents to educate them
selves on date and acquaintance rape and to
take self-defense classes. Sponsor and support
safety awareness events on campus such as
the “Take Back the Night” march. Work with
the Chapel Hill Town Council and the
Carrboro Board of Aldermen to pressure
landlords to provide adequate security mea
sures in off-campus housing.
It’s a mad, mad world out there.
Melinda Manning is a second-year law
student who enjoys belly dancing and wants
to remind everyone to go vote! You can reach
her with questions and comments at
manning@email.unc.edu.
feel that efforts to build a freestanding
black cultural center are separatist
and unnecessary. Asa white male, I
recognize how unconscious white
male “objectivity” clouds the vision of
many UNC students. It is difficult to
understand how society is structured
according to Eurocentric standards
and how this plays out in education.
I applaud Dassani for bringing a
much needed perspective to our col
lective table. All too often, black his
tory month loses its value as we
indulge in ritual icon celebration and
sedate ourselves with feel good phras
es and superficial promises of racial
harmony. The cartoon represents the
kind of genuine political awareness
that must serve as the foundation for
any meaningful dialogue aimed at
collective societal improvement.
I hope Dassani’s cartoon will spark
dialogue between people of all races
and political orientations. The black
cultural center is a big deal worthy of
our discussion. Whether you support
the BCC or not, I challenge you to
refine your perspective.
Dave Beal
Senior
African-American Studies
(Ebr iatly Sar Hppl
0
A
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