12
Monday, November 8, 1999
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Scott Hicks
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
Katie Abel
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Jacob McConnico
CfTY EDITOR
Board Editorials
Mr. & Ms. Out-of-Date
Homecoming has become an outdated and useless tradition.
Let's get rid of it.
Toto, I don’t think we’re in high school
anymore.
This being the case, we ought to abandon
shallow high school practices - like, say, the
UNC Homecoming elections that foster
racial division more them school spirit.
In our younger years, the selections of
homecoming kings and queens were in most
cases litde more than popularity contests.
At least with student bodies that usually
totaled no more than 2,000 students, popu
larity was something that could actually be
judged.
But with nearly 25,000 students at this
University, no one holds that sort of notori
ety. The candidates for Mr. and Ms. UNC
remain largely unknown to most students
until their names appear on the ballot, which
might explain the traditionally nonexistent
voter turnout.
In short, the few folks who do vote are
either voting for their pals or taking a shot in
the dark - or maybe they’re taking advice
from munchkins and scarecrows.
Indeed, the heart, courage and brains of
the candidates are rarely considered by vot
ers in these contests.
Even worse, the yellow-brick roads of
UNC have forked in recent years with the
contest becoming a racial issue.
Last year’s debacle, for example, springs
to mind faster than you can click your heels
three times.
In a whirlwind of troubles that ranged
from minor campaign violations to allega
tions of students voting multiple times, the
Keep On Rollin’
Rosemary Waldorf's re-election as mayor of Chapel Hill means that
a state group keeps one of its biggest defenders of public transit.
Public transit advocates in North Carolina
should be thankful to the voters of Chapel
Hill. Not only did local residents keep a solid
supporter of mass transit in the mayor’s
office, their votes made sure a state coalition
kept one of its most vocal leaders.
Incumbent Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary
Waldorf defeated challenger Susan Franklin
4,429 to 2,795. By remaining in office as a
public official, Waldorf was able to accept a
recent nomination to become vice president
of the N.C. Coalition for Public
Transportation.
The coalition is made up of elected offi
cials representing different municipalities
with public transportation systems. The
group lobbies state lawmakers to increase
binding for local transit systems. With
Waldorf in a position of leadership, the coali
tion aims to promote sidewalks, transit stops
and parks.
That has to be a hard-sell in North
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event finally melted into death threats against
CEirolina Athletic Association officials.
The Black Student Movement flew to the
center of the controversy, charging The
Daily Tar Heel with racism after the news
paper reported that the contest’s winners for
the past 10 years have been black.
Let’s be crystal clear, however. The candi
dates and winners of the election are no
doubt outstanding individuals with nothing
but good intentions. Their enthusiasm should
be applauded.
Furthermore, the BSM, whose nominees
have a habit of winning, is also in the clear. If
students have a gripe with the track record of
the races, they can only blame themselves for
not voting differently.
But electing a Mr. and Ms. UNC is about
as ridiculous as the sashes and crowns they
wear. At a school that prides itself for its
diversity, how can we possibly crown anyone
as the “ideal” student?
So while it’s fine to acknowledge that
there’s no place like home, let’s grow up a lit
tle. The institution of Mr. and Ms. UNC is an
absolute farce and should be dropped faster
than a Kory Bailey punt return.
Homecoming should celebrate alumni
and school spirit, neither of which are pro
moted by these silly elections.
It’s about time we woke up from this child
ish dream.
The opinion in this editorial was deter
mined before Saturday's announcement
of Mr. and Ms. UNC.
Carolina, where road-building projects often
outstrip education funding.
State Department of Transportation poli
cies make sure that road construction takes
precedence over mass transit. Chapel Hill
officials, for example, have long tried to con
vince the DOT to allow it to put its money
into mass transit - something many locals
support - rather than new highways.
If public transit ever hopes to overthrow
King Highway, it’ll take articulate, impas
sioned and well-informed people like
Waldorf to get it done. With her experience
in regional transportation issues - she and
Durham Mayor Nick Tennyson recently vis
ited Ottawa, Canada, to explore its bus sys
tem - she shows she understands what it
takes to drum up support and cooperation
for mass transit across city lines.
That’s the kind of knowledge the N.C.
General Assembly takes seriously, and it’ll
help public transit’s future in the state.
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Bank Cheapens UNC’s Integrity
Do you ever see a cluster of gray-haired
alumni strolling through campus, shak
ing their heads disapprovingly at a
new building where a quaint patch of woods
once was?
Do you hear them mumbling about how
much finer Carolina used to be, how much
more pleasant and purer it was when they
were here?
I’ve always vowed not to grumble about
such things when I come back. After all,
progress is inevitable. But lately I get the feel
ing I might eat those words some day.
I doubt I’ll loathe new classroom buildings
or residence halls, as long the new structures
don’t resemble anything currently on South
Campus.
Instead, I fear what these future buildings
might be named.
Sometimes in my nightmares I dream
about returning to campus only to find the
Comfort Inn Residence Hall. Or the
Amazon.com Undergraduate Library. Or the
Phil Knight Student Recreation Center.
It’s too bad that the University these days •
isn’t solely in the business of educating stu
dents. It is in business, period.
This school has become an institution will
ing to sell its soul to any corporation as long
as the price is right. UNC shamelessly hawks
everything from credit cards to Coke to class
rings.
The latest example of this commercializa
tion will appear soon after Thanksgiving in
the form of a Wachovia minibranch on the
edge of the Pit.
The University agreed to enclose an over
hang on the Union side of Student Stores and
let the bank set up shop. Campus administra
tors say the branch will be a “service center”
to meet students’ financial needs.
In truth, the branch will be there to help
meet the school’s financial needs. In return for
such a sweet location, Wachovia will pay the
University $48,000 a year, plus $1 for each
new account opened by students and $lO for
each account opened by employees.
And according to a six-year contract signed
in July, Wachovia also will chip in a one-time
Readers' Forum
Athletics Department
Already Holds Players
To Higher Standards
TO THE EDITOR:
It’s certainly debatable whether or
not student-athletes should be held to
a higher standard than others simply
because they represent the University
in athletic competition. What is not
debatable is the fact that UNC’s stu
dent-athletes are held to a very high
standard by the University, the
Department of Athletics and, indeed,
the student-athletes themselves.
There are more than 700 student
athletes on this campus, many of
them on full scholarships; most of
them, however, are on partial grant
in-aids or receive no athletic aid at all.
Contrary to what your editorial
board wrote Friday, they do not
receive academic leniency. They earn
their degrees like anyone else. When
The Sporting News ranked us the No.
2 sports program in the nation, it did
so in large measure because of
UNC’s academic integrity. Annually,
Carolina’s student-athletes rank
among the top schools in the confer
ence in the ACC Honor Roll, which
Vicky Eckenrode & Courtney Weill
MANAGING EDITORS
Miller Pearsall
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Thomas Ausman
DESIGN EDITOR
Megan Sharkey
GRAPHICS EDITOR
BRADY DENNIS
BREAD & BUTTA
fee of $25,000, another $40,000 each year for
in-kind marketing and promotional services
and $50,000 for initial giveaways and direct
mailings. And soon, UNC ONE Cards will
double as Wachovia bank cards.
What a sweet sight it promises to be in the
Pit: the Clef Hangers humming a tune, the
Hare Krishnas beating drums, Gary Birdsong
preaching his heart out... and Chet the
Wachovia representative blathering about
mutual funds.
Don’t get me wrong; the University needs
all the financial help it can muster. But selling
its good name for an occasional wad of cash
compromises the school’s integrity.
Catering to a corporation is an insult to the
academic mission of the place. It’s bad policy.
What’s worse, the Wachovia deal isn’t the
first time that UNC has sold itself like a cheap
whore.
It seems like everyone from the intramural
badminton team to philosophy graduate stu
dents sport Nike logos on every article of
clothing.
The University pays Bill Guthridge a base
salary of $155,000 a year and a $25,000
expense allowance; Nike pays him roughly
triple that figure. You tell me, who does he
work for?
But it doesn’t stop with the Swoosh. In
August, UNC signed a five-year contract with
Classic Food Services of Durham, an indepen
dent Coca-Cola bottler and distributor. The
deal guarantees the University $695,000
annually for campus rights.
But in return, campus dining halls serve
only Coke. Pepsi is absent from campus vend-
requires a 3.0 grade point average.
Student-athletes from all sports on
this campus participate in charitable
and outreach programs that hardly
get a mention in The Daily Tar Heel.
When a student-athlete makes a mis
take, legal or academic, it’s front
page. If they raise money in a chari
table walkathon or donate clothing in
flood relief efforts or visit the chil
dren’s ward at UNC Hospitals, it gets
a paragraph in the back of the paper,
if at all.
The “perks” they might receive,
like athletic equipment and apparel,
are within NCAA rules and regula
tions. Often, you hear that student
athletes should be treated just like
every other student. But, if they do
make mistakes, it is important that
the consequences should be fair and
comparable to those that would be
handed out to nonstudent-athletes.
However, the editorial argues they
should be held to a higher standard.
Well, guess what? They are already
held to a higher standard.
They are the ones on this campus
who get drug tested, whose academic
failures get reported in the press,
whose class attendance is monitored,
who have mandatory evening study
William Hill
ONLINE EDITOR
Whitney Moore
WRITING COACH
Terry Wimmer
OMBUDSMAN
ing machines, too, and Coke occupies 60 per
cent of shelf space in campus snack bars. I
don’t know about you, but I certainly enjoy
the prestige of having Coke as the official soft
drink of UNC.
Let’s all have a Coke and a smile.
Back in August, the General Alumni
Association mailed letters to thousand of
alumni, announcing its new “alliance” with
the Liberty Mutual insurance company.
Granted, it was sweet of the University to
look out for its alumni insurance needs. But it
doesn’t hurt that the GAA got about $20,000
from Liberty Mutual.
In addition, some professors’ job titles have
become corporate billboards. We have the
Wachovia Professorship in Banking, the
Glaxo Distinguished Professor of
Management, the Arthur Andersen
Distinguished Tax Scholar, the Ernst and
Young Professorship in Accounting and the
Nationsßank Honors Professorship to name a
few.
And apparently we’ve added the Bell South
Chancellorship this year.
To be sure, UNC isn’t the only school to
bow down to corporate money.
Nearly 600 companies, for example, are
licensed to use Indiana University’s logo.
Hundreds of other public universities are
doing the same thing.
But that doesn’t make it right.
I know we are strapped for cash. An impor
tant bond issue died in the N.C. House of
Representatives last summer, and a chunk of
this year’s state funds will go to Hurricane
Floyd victims.
But in a world of shameless commercial
ism, institutions of higher learning should be
immune. Call me old-fashioned, but it seems
to me like a simple matter of integrity.
With each new corporate label that pops up
on campus, a little more of that integrity dis
appears. I just hope there is some left when I
come back gray-headed and grumbling.
Brady Dennis is a senior journalism and
mass communication and history major from
Hickory. Reach him at bdennis@email.unc.edu.
halls after a three-hour practice,
whose social behavior is monitored
24/7 and gossiped about in Internet
chat rooms and who are occasionally
booed for their athletic performance.
There is no question that student
athletes are role models. At UNC,
that is a measure of respect our stu
dent-athletes have earned over the
years. And a few off-the-field mistakes
aside, our student-athletes have mea
sured up quite well through the years.
Steve Kirschner
Director of Media Relations
for Football and Men's Basketball
Department of Athletics
The length rule on letters was
waived.
Stay Tuned...
It’s that time of year again, when
The Daily Tar Heel invites readers to
apply to become spring 2000 colum
nists.
Applications will be available
Wednesday in the DTH office.They’H
be due Friday, Nov. 19. Columnists
will be notified before Thanksgiving.
For more information, call Editorial
Page Editor Scott Hicks at 962-0245.
Shi 1 lailii (Tar Hppl ; -
I®
A
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