12 Monday, February 28, 2000 Concerns or comments about ouicwerage? Contact the ombudsman at budmantmnc.edu or call 605-2790. Scott Hicks EDITORIAL PAGE EDTTOR Katie Abel UNIVERSITY EDITOR Jacob McConnico CITY EDITOR Board Editorials Fair Move Increasing voter turnout in student elec tions is a good thing - except when the loca tions of certain poll sites make it easier for one group of students to vote and, as a result, possibly give one candidate an unfair advan tage over the rest of the field. Student Congress should make voting fair er to all students by closing the polls at Chase Hall and Granville Towers. Instead, Congress should continue to offer ballots in the Student Union but add more academic building poll sites. That way, no one’s voice counts more than anyone else’s and more people might decide to speak up. The problem is that hosting poll sites in Granville Towers’ cafeteria and Chase Hall gives undergraduate residents - especially those closest to those sites -a louder voice than the rest of campus. That’s unfair to grad uate students and to the 17,000 other students who live off campus. The unfairness is especially striking at Granville, where its residents are primarily freshmen and sophomores, predominantly white and largely upper class - not fully rep resentative of UNC’s student body. The Chase Hall site - which serves the roughly 3,000 residents of South Campus - isn’t fair to most graduate students or off campus residents, though at least it’s indis putably more representative. The numbers prove that the problem is Prior Conviction UNC’s administrators could learn a lot about justice from another Triangle university. On Tuesday, a grand jury recommended indicting five men, one of whom is Tyrone DeAngelo Hoy, a Shaw University student, on involuntary manslaughter charges in con nection with the death of Antwan Merritt, an 18-year-old Shaw freshman. On Wednesday, university officials said they would not suspend Hoy before his trial. University President Talbert Shaw told the News & Observer, “We will not be judge and jury before this case goes to court.” And innocent until proven guilty is the way it should be. Unfortunately, UNC officials don’t feel the same way. The same weekend Merritt died, police arrested UNC junior Daniel Sarrell and charged him with first-degree arson in con nection with at least one fire in Morrison Residence Hall. Sarrell’s suitemate and close friend Austin Hollar told The Daily Tar Heel on Sunday that before Sarrell was even indicted, the University suspended him. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Sue Kitchen confirmed that Sarrell was no longer enrolled but would not comment on what precise actions the University had taken. It is ridiculous for UNC to suspend some one for simply being accused of committing a crime regardless of what that crime might have been. aim Bailg ®ar Heel Business and Advertising: Janet Cassel. director/general manager; Chnssy Beck, director of marketing; Laune Morton, classified/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 Moua, Adria Mueller, James Pharr. Zach Warkentin, David Watson, lim Williams and Michael Wlodek, City: Robert Albright, Tricia Barrios, Sarah Brier, Walter Herz, Sabina Hirschauer, Kevin Krasnow, Kathryn Mclamb and Jenny Rosser Copy: Uni Harac, Stacey Hartley, Melissa Lentz, Laura Mayhew, Phil Perry, Terri Rupar, Susan Willetts and Katie Young, Design: Denise Barnes, Beth Buchholz, Jamie Davis, Cobi fdelson, Catherine lamison, August Jenkins, Lisa Kopkind, Brianne Stethers and Karen Williams. Editorial: Brandon Briscoe, Jonathan Chaney, Nora El-Khouri, Brian Frederick, Erin Mendell, Cameron Mitchell, Joseph Monaco, Amol Naik, Tara Robbins, Mark Slagle, Jennifer Smith, Jenny Stepp, Laura Stoehr and Jonathan Trager. Features: Megan Butler, lermaine Caldwell, Eleanor Cameron, Stuart Crampton, Erika Detmer, Kim Droznek, Rudy Kleysteuber, Sherifa Assistant Editors: Ashley Atkinson and Danielle Eubanks, arts & 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, state & national; Lauren Beal, Kim Minugh and Alex Molaire, university Arts & Entertainment: Jim Martin and Erin Wyma, senior writers, Shindy Chen, Jeremy Hurtz, Carl Jacobs, Russ Lane, Josh Love, Matt Mansfield, Ferris Morrison, Joanna Pearson, David Povill, Alison Rost, Justin Winters, Carmen Woodruff and Lindsey Zuckerman. Cartoon: Suzanne Buchanan, Teng The editorials are approved by the majority of the editorial board, which is composed of the editor, editorial page editor, assistant editorial page editor, cartoon editor and seven editorial writers The Daily Tar Heel is published by the DTH Publishing Corp, a non profit North Carolina corporation, Monday-Fnday, according to the University calendar Callers with questions about billing or display advertising should call 962-1163 between 8:30 am. and 5 p m Classified ads can be reached at 962 0252 Editorial questions should be directed to 962 0245 Rob Nelson EDITOR Office Tours Friday 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. real. In Tuesday’s runoff election, Student Body President-elect Brad Matthews nar rowly edged Erica Smiley by only about a 4- 3 margin at the Student Union and the cam pus’ five academic building sites. At Chase, though, Matthews defeated Smiley 2 1. But Matthews’ margin of victory at Granville is the real kicker. There, he blew out his challenger by a whopping 7-1 margin. Although Matthews won at all polling sites, the Granville bloc overwhelmingly tipped the scales in favor of him, proving that these voters can make or break a candidate in a way that no other group can. No one constituency should have such political clout. The solution is simple: Limit poll sites only to academic buildings and the central ized Student Union. Every student has to come to campus for class or lab, and students would be more likely to vote if there were a polling site on the way there. According to the Student Code, it’s Student Congress’ job to set poll sites. Congress should forbid residential-based poll sites now to make sure next year's elections are fairer than in years past. More centralized voting sites might incon venience some students but would ultimate ly make for a fairer and balanced electoral process. That’s the best of both worlds. It’s fine for the University to start building a case against Sarrell before he goes to trial. After all, that’s how courts operate. But it’s not fine for administrators to actually sus pend him before a court has determined whether he is actually guilty. According to Orange County Clerk’s Office records, Sarrell’s trial has been set for March 7 in Superior Court in Hillsborough. The University’s treatment of Sarrell sets a dangerous precedent that could impact other students’ futures. For example, a student could be suspended or expelled if someone didn’t like him or her and falsely accused the student of cheating. That seems impossible, but it’s no different from administrators expelling Sarrell without giving him a chance to defend himself. Soon after police arrested Sarrell, Morrison residents received an e-mail about the arrest indicating that responsibility for the fires lay with Sarrell. Hollar said students began walking by his suite shouting and throwing things into the suite. The situation escalated to the point that a security official had to stand outside the locked suite, only allowing the suite’s resi dents to enter. It was wrong of University officials to assume an arrest meant a convic tion. Not only is it unfair to Sarrell; it will also make the University look pretty irresponsi ble if a jury finds him not guilty. Or maybe it’s all for the best. If Sarrell is found innocent, he should have a pretty lucrative lawsuit on his hands. Professional and Business Staff Ashley Ryneska, associates. Customer Service: Holly Herweyei, Locoya Hill, Courtnee Poole, Kelly Russell and Ashley Ryneska, representatives. Display Advertising: Julie Roper, Andrea Van Hoever and Catherine Wilkins, senior account executives; Katie Bawden, Katelyn Bottoms, Jackie House, Kelly McKellogg, Skye Nunnery Editorial Staff Meguid, Alicia Peters, Moira Vanderhoof, Jennifer White and 1 Patricia Wright. Graphics: Jason Cooper, Dan Heiias, Hannah Hollar, T Jay Richards and Heather Todd. Online: Alison Burns, Adaam Hukins and Catherine Liao. Photography: Cara Brickman, senior photographer; Elan Dassani, Alison Domnas, Katherine taker, Laura Giovanelli, Martha Hoelzer, Meredith Lee, Kate Mellnik, Kaarin Moore, Christine Nguyen, Casey Quillen, Emily Schnure, Marqaret Southern, Gregory Wolf and Asta Ytre. Special Assignments: Geoffrey Graybeal, Kaitlin Gurney, Chris Hostetler, Couftney Weill and Warren Wilson. Sports: Evan Markfield, Brian Murphy and Hugh Pressley, senior writers; Brad Broders, loe Disney, James Giza, lan Gordon, Adam Hill, Roland Hoffman, Ted Keith, Kelly Lusk, Adam Pohl, Matt Terry, Umur isn 0709436 Office: Suite 104 Carolina Union Campus Mail Address: CB# $2lO Box 49, Carolina Union U S. MaH Address: P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 3257 altr Hath} " / Nt>F +o wveYvV-'voA A |lj| Vi'J “•-" T ■ !| ira4sOTl ? - - r r- - G.__ 31 -G—' UNC Gymnasts Win With Class Looking back on their college careers, most students will remember a handful of classes that stand out as being particu larly intriguing and inspiring - the ones that made all the others worthwhile. For some it will be a challenging philosophy class, for oth ers an eye-opening art class. For me, one of those college-defining class es will be gymnastics, which I look under the false assumption that in a semester I could learn to perform a tumbling pass of hand springs and flips. Even now, not a day goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars that I didn't break my neck. Back handsprings were particularly bad for me. There’s a limited number of times you can land on your head before something important breaks. Indeed, hardheaded persis tence took me dangerously close to that limit in a number of events before I realized that the parallel bars weren’t going to break before my arms would. It turns out, successful gymnasts start when they’re about 3 years old and practice every day afterward. If only I had known. When I was 3, 1 took the oft-traveled baseball road, and that certainly has made all the difference, at least in my gymnastics career. In fact, despite a heroic and patient effort by my instructor, about the only thing I could do with any success in the class was the warm up jogging and maybe bouncing off the vault springboard. But I did learn to value my intact neck and the skills of real gymnasts. So it’s with great joy and admiration that I join the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies today in celebrating “Brooke Wilson Day” as declared by DiPhi. Wilson is the star of the UNC gymnastics team, which will try Friday to win its third consecutive home meet this year. I'he societies, which rank as the oldest organizations on campus with their 1795 ori gin, are debate and literary groups. Historically they’re a prestigious lot around here, boasting alumni like President James Readers' Forum APPLES Fee Increase Worth It to Continue Worthwhile Program TO THE EDITOR: On Feb. 15, The Daily far Heel told students to “Vote No” to APPLES funding. My stomach dropped. 1 could not believe the DTH would not support this group. APPLES, Assisting People in Planning Learning Experiences in Service, is one of the best programs UNC has to offer. APPLES not only provides internships, alternative Spring Breaks and service-learning classes to students, but more impor tantly, it allows the University to give back to the community. APPLES opens doors to the pub lic sector and encourages students to actively volunteer in their community. As the volunteer coordinator for Volunteer Orange!, the volunteer center of Orange County, 1 current ly have three APPLES interns. I am the only staff person at this agency, working a mere 35-plus hours week. What would I do without this chance to increase my staff and resources? Without these interns, we couldn’t coordinate countywide vol- Vicky Eckenrode & Cate Doty MANAGING EDITORS Thomas Ausman DESIGN EDITOR Megan Sharkey GRAPHICS EDITOR William Hill ONLINE EDHOR ■ BRANDON BRISCOE VOICE OF REASON Polk, author Thomas Wolfe and a host of state and national leaders. Precursors of today’s stu dent government, honor court and library were handled by DiPhi. For Wilson’s part, she has been nothing short of outstanding this year on the gymnas tics floor. Her name is all over the UNC record books; and she has performed several rare tumbling passes, including one Friday that has been performed only twice before in NCAA competition. After her performances she has to explain patiently to dumfounded reporters exactly what she did because they can’t tell how many flips, spins and twists she does - it’s incredible what these athletes can do. Wilson has easily been the team’s top per former this year. Indeed, it helps the team’s score when one gymnast finishes first in all four of a meet’s events, as Wilson did Friday. Unquestionably, she and the entire UNC gymnastics team deserve more credit than they have received. You ought to swing by Carmichael Auditorium this Friday for the team’s final home meet of the season. You’ll surely be impressed. If the promise of incredible acrobatics doesn’t appeal to you, we’re matched up against Yale University- it’s always fun to beat up on a pompous Ivy Leaguer. One enticement of a gymnastics meet is the audience’s proximity to the action. In fact, the protective padding extends into the unteer projects such as Make A Difference Day and Youth Service Day. Without these interns, we could n’t hold office hours for students at the Campus Y. Without APPLES, I wouldn’t have this job. 1 interned at Volunteer Orange! as a UNC undergrad. When 1 graduated, I was offered this posi tion. 1 enjoy my job and give thanks for APPLES. APPLES provides non profit agencies throughout the coun ty an opportunity for motivated and professional student interns at a little cost to our tight budgets. In addition, students gain real world experience and have the abili ty to produce materials and programs for these agencies. Please do not be bitter about the fee increase. APPLES deserves your support. APPLE/S extends beyond the walls of McCorkle Place. It impacts community agencies, allow ing us to expand programs, increase publicity and improve efficiency. APPLES volunteers and interns help us effectively serve our target populations. And we owe the best to all citizens of our community. Betsy Alley Volunteer Coordinator Volunteer Orange! , uJljp lathj (Ear Mrrl Terry Wimmer OMBUDSMAN Carmichael bleachers to save out-of-control gymnasts. Presumably, any stray gymnast caught by a spectator in the bleachers must be returned. Interestingly enough, there is no men’s gymnastics team. So if the Department of Athletics should decide it needs anew job for Coach Bill Guthridge or Coach Carl Torbush, there's one waiting to be created. Imagine the possibilities if the players on those teams learned gymnastics. If you think a behind-the-back dribble is impressive, just wait until you see Joseph Forte’s new front-handspring dribble or Brian Bersticker’s back-tuck dunk. Defend that, Duke. Indeed it’s a shame that thousands of peo ple turned out to watch the basketball and football teams struggle this year while groups like the gymnastics team quietly meet with success. Maybe if they’d start allowing specta- , tors to keep run away gymnasts ... But not only do the gymnasts and other athletes like them go about their business qui etly, they also do it with class. After Friday’s victory, there was no rest for the weary. The gymnasts appeared at the UNC Dance Marathon to lend their support to a worthy cause. And when the James Madison University team visited for a gymnastics meet a few weeks ago, the “Fighting Presidents” cheered for their team as if they were 10-year-olds and they could score points for cheering. The Tar Heels performed with more dignity, offering appropriate congratulations when it was due without creating a silly spectacle. So put an extra bounce in your step today, remembering that you’re walking amid hun dreds of people like Brooke Wilson who make this place so great. Just watch the landing. Brandon Briscoe is a junior journalism and mass communication major from New Orleans, La. You can send him tips and scores out of 10 at brandon_briscoe@unc.edu. Professors Should Praise, Not Belittle, Students' Grades TO THE EDITOR: Since when have students been punished for earning high grades? Most students, or at least the ones I know, are generally praised and rewarded for high grades. UNC is, by national standards (whether you believe the magazine polls or not), an above-average uni versity. We are an above-average uni versity because the caliber of students and faculty are likewise above average. If only the top students are admit ted into the University, then should n’t they be capable of making top grades on their own merit? ' Students at UNC work hard to earn their grades. Teachers and professors should praise us for our commitments to our studies, rather than belittling our aca demic achievements. Please Dr. Turchi, give us the cred it that we deserve. Stacy Sinclair Sophomore Journalism and Mass Communication (S> A The Daily Tar Heel wel comes reader comments and criticism. Letters to the editor should be no longer' than 300 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 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.