10 Monday, February 21, 2000 Concerns or comments about our coverage? Contact the ombudsman at buchnanC>\inc.edu or call 605-2790. Scott Hicks EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Katie Abel UNIVERSITY EDITOR Jacob McConnico CITY EDITOR Board Editorials Face to Face Tonight is students' last chance to hear directly from one of two students who will be the next student body president, At 10 p.m. Sunday, after dozens of phone calls, powwows with campaign staffers and questions about the minutiae of the format, Brad Matthews finally agreed to face chal lenger Erica Smiley in a debate at 9:30 p.m. in 111 Carroll Hall, spon sored by The Daily Tar Heel. Students should grab a late-night snack, take a seat and watch a debate that should get hotter than Hinton James in the summertime -and get a healthy dose of informa tion to take into the polls Tuesday. That’s when Brad Matthews students cast the final vote for the next stu dent body president, either Matthews or Smiley. Obviously, this late at night is not con ducive to drawing the large crowds, but tonight’s debate will be the last chance for students to hear right from the horses’ mouths. This time of year, candidates are forced to make an appearance at a host of forums - every group from the Black Student Ship of Fools Year in, year out, the Elections Board finds some way to screw up elections. Voting by computer would help end that losing streak. The only thing reliable about the UNC student government Elections Board is that every year it’ll mess something up. Last year, it was about how it counted graduate students’ votes. Three years ago, it took about 72 hours to count Student Congress votes because the board’s only Scantron machine broke. This year the data base supporting the Scantron machine that counts ballots failed. Candidates and their campaign staffs fumed, slept, played cards and finally head ed to Franklin Street watering holes. Only later did the Elections Board realize that Student Congress had redrawn voting dis tricts and that the new districts had never been entered into the computers. That’s 0-for-3 if you’re keeping score. Obviously, the Elections Board needs to get it together. Humans, apparently especial ly if they’re Elections Board members, are bound to make mistakes. They should leave as little room for human error as possible and give most of the job to computers. If we can register for classes online, we can vote online as well. The Elections Board -with some help from Academic Technologies & Networks, of course - could use the Student Central Web site as a starting point, because it already con tains students’ addresses and class standing. With one swipe of the UNC ONE Card at a campus poll site, a student’s voting choic- tEbe Satlg (Ear Heel Business and Advertising: Janet Cassel, director/general manager; Chrissy Beck, director of marketing; Laurie Morton, dassified/customer service manager, lisa Reichle, business manag er; Jennifer Mackey, assistant business manager; Elizabeth Martin, retail sales manager. Marketing Group: Cindy Rice, specialist; Carrie Davis, Ben Hartmere, David Huffines and Assistant Editors: Ashley Atkinson and Danielle Eubanks, arts Si enter tainment, Ginny Sciabbarrasi, Jason Owens and Kathleen Wirth, city; Allison Boone and Meredith Werner, copy; Adrienne Coppernoll and Caroline Hupfer, design; Kelli Boutin, editorial page; Rachel Carter, fea tures; Dana Craig and Saleem Reshamwala, graphics; Josh Williams, online, Sefton Ipock and Jeff Pouland, photography; Will Kimmey, Mike Ogle and Bret Strelow, sports; Lucas Fenske. Kathleen Hunter and Cheri Melfi, stare Wer 50ti*.tt>Aes rroW <\Cao(€n\iOc cw\ ,„\tv co\\e \ \eoirr\ek aWt* v#M. bting bird|pMe.'amioqiS,N*Avte privilege, V AiScahnßcM -■.Wptfrtwi jz****!l w. \ ■We. j f \ J AtifutiKQ, ft f'H Stuff. \ " * \ a~’~ "Ni Ati . £&? I _ ... \\ Stems- \iY I ~.QPe, you, f'tn or? so in fa** , , rv V lV ‘ . V SoaeV-t bq ofi y m 3 j possible w* V W prt it... V^ ! V* ? •fepic. Politicians Should Go to Bed Early Don’t bother checking your mail today. You won’t have any - not even an offer for a credit card with a 50 per cent interest rate. Those companies don’t real ly give us much credit, do they? Nope, there’ll be no mail today because we are celebrating Presidents’ Day in honor of Presidents Washington and Lincoln, who con veniently both have birthdays in February. But there’s another reason to celebrate this evening: “The official late-night talk show of the millennium” will air tonight with its host, David Letterman, back in action after under going bypass surgery in January. But along with the humor that will return with him, a disheartening trend will also resume - elected officials appearing on enter tainment programs. Indeed, public service is not a joke. Admittedly, Letterman’s return comes not a moment too soon. The show had been lining up guest hosts to substitute for the 16-year late-night veteran, and Regis Philbin was high on the CBS wish list. Regis, you’re a nice guy, but back off. You can’t be on every show. Not that the alternative is any better. Letterman will be returning only on a limited basis. Other hosts will appear this week, including the one person worse than Regis - Kathie Lee Gifford. Letterman’s return has been much antici pated by viewers who enjoy his comedy and feared by politicians who hate it. Before his hiatus, Letterman had a daily segment titled “Campaign 2000” in addition to the usual monologue jokes about George W. Bush’s drug habit and A1 Gore’s personality. Letterman used the segment to pressure can didates to appear on his program. “If you want to win in New York, you have to come on this show, sit in this chair and see the big man,” Letterman announced to Hillary Clinton. After weeks of badgering the first lady, who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat in New York, Letterman finally forced her to appear. In a Readers' Forum Bus Rider Goes Public With Why He Filed Gripe About Driver TO THE EDITOR: I am responding to your editorial “I Am Somebody” dated Jan. 24 in which issue is taken with an individ ual who “complained” to Chapel Hill Transit regarding bus driver Robert Moore’s use of the loudspeaker to express his feelings and ideas. The individual was described as a “cold-hearted commuter” and a “pes simist” who “silenced a positive voice.” I am that “cold-hearted com muter,” and I am offering an expla nation as to the motivation for my actions. In the American legal system there is a term called “invasion of privacy.” I think most people are familiar with this concept. No individual is permit ted to enter another’s home without invitation, and most do not consider this a controversial issue. Vicky Eckenrode & Cate Doty MANAGING EDITORS Thomas Ausman DESIGN EDITOR Megan Sharkey GRAPHICS EDITOR William Hill ONLINE EDITOR JpllMP'' 1 JnfthfcL, 1 BRANDON BRISCOE VOICE OF REASON tightly scripted interview, Hillary swapped jokes with Letterman and offered her own top 10 list, much to viewer’s delight. There being “no ‘off position on the genius switch,” as Letterman often notes, the Late Show continued the “Campaign 2000” run ning joke by challenging George W. Bush to appear on the show next. A Bush appearance might prove that some folks don’t even have a genius switch. And Letterman is not the only late-night comedian drawing on this year’s elections for material. Jay Leno has used John McCain in a skit; and Vice President A1 Gore appeared on Leno’s show recently, despite the barrage of jokes made at his expense over the years. “Jay, do you know what we do at home for fun?” Gore asked. Good question, Al. “We gather in the living room in the evenings and tell jokes about you.” Rest assured, Al did not write that line, although there’s no evidence that he is capa ble of even that little humor. As much as politicians worry about the nightly beatings they receive on TV, the pro grams are equally interested in appeasing the politicos enough to book them as guests. Letterman was clearly nervous and worried about Hillary’s feelings when she appeared on his show, and Leno could be seen after his interview with Gore to whisper, “Was that OK?” Although highly entertaining, all of this is a bit unsettling. The first lady of the United States of America should not appear on a tele vision program just after they clear off the What happens, however, if some one enters your consciousness with out invitation? Is that a civil offense? Certainly not in any courts in this world. In effect this is what Mr. Moore is saying when he begins his monologues: “I do not care what any of you people on the bus are doing right now. If you are in meditation or prayer or contemplation or having a conversation or taking a nap or studying for an exam, it matters not to me for I have a message to deliver. Stop whatever you are doing and lis ten! My message takes precedence over your internal dialogues, your conversations, whatever, and I require your complete attention!” This is “invasion of consciousness” or “invasion of attention,” and I con sider this a crime in a manner of speaking. No individual has the right to “push” their opinions upon anoth er without permission. Granted, we as individuals are bombarded from cradle to grave by those who wish to influence us to see the world as they Terry Wimmer OMBUDSMAN stage from the “Stupid Pet Tricks” routine. And the vice president’s appearance on Leno’s show is no better. The line is murkier for candidates not in office, but even they should have some respect for the office they’re seeking. Thankfully, President Clinton declined Paul Shaffer’s invitation to join the CBS Orchestra with his saxophone during Hillary’s appear ance, although Clinton could hardly disgrace his office more than he already has. It’s an understandably difficult problem for politicians. The shows offer oodles of free publicity, and it’s a sure bet that the hosts will ease up the scathing humor for a week or so after meeting the candidate on the show. In the presidential race or a close contest like the Senate race in New York, a week can make a big difference. What’s more, Letterman’s approach is especially devilish. By challenging guests to appear, he makes them look scared if they refuse or ignore his requests. Hillary tried to stall when her spokesman chatted with Letterman during one show. The poor fella tried some humor of his own, but he was no match for the mighty wit of Letterman, who placed the man on hold and scored with the audience, saying, “Apparently this loser doesn’t get it - I’m the one telling the jokes around here.” But with the privilege of power comes the possibility of bad press. Politicians know they’re playing with fire, and they ought to maintain the dignity of their office by limiting their TV appearances to serious news pro grams. Good politicians, who understand the extreme importance and responsibility of their office, earn themselves a national holi day. Brandon Briscoe is a junior journalism and mass communication major from New Orleans. Send your tips and Late Show invitations to brandon_briscoe@unc.edu. see it. Yet, we can’t always control all the subtle influences which come our way. In the case of Mr. Moore, how ever, his aggressive and unfair approach to influence his riders goes too far in my humble opinion. Please note that I have not taken issue with the actual message which Mr. Moore is attempting to convey to his “audience.” It appears that Mr. Moore has been greatly inspired by some charismatic individual or some social, political or religious doctrine. I appreciate and understand how won derful it feels to be inspired, and sometimes one cannot contain them selves and need to give form and sub stance to a powerful inner feeling. This is an admirable state of con sciousness; however, there is a time and place. Steve Friedman Cast Technician Department of Orthopaedics The length rule was waived. (Efip Satlg (Ear -Hppl p The Daily Tar Heel wel comes reader comments 1 and criticism. Letters to the editor should be no longer •> than 300 words. Students J should include their year, * major and phone number. ;, Faculty and staff should .; include their title, depart ment and phone number. The DTH reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vulgarity. Publication is not guaran teed. 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: , editdesk@unc.edu. - ,