12
Wednesday, September 13, 2000
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Kelli Boutin
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
Kim Minugh
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Ginny Sciabbanasi
CITY EDITOR
Board Editorials
Campus (In) convenience
Campus facilities' hours of operation must be changed
to accommodate students' unconventional schedules.
The University is not a 9-to-5, go-to-bed
after-dinner kind of place. Students keep
strange hours, and that fact should be reflect
ed in the availability of University facilities
and services.
Instead of cutting back on hours of oper
ation for facilities such as computer labs and
laundry rooms, as is happening on South
Campus, officials should be looking for ways
to increase them to accommodate students’
unusual schedules.
Ehringhaus Area Director Ross Bryan said
that area offices in his region are closing two
hours earlier than last year’s schedule during
the week because of the lack of student traf
fic. In many of those residence halls, when
the area office closes at midnight, so do the
facilities.
While it might not cause much inconve
nience for a resident who goes downstairs to
check out a broom or a movie to find the
office closed, when that same student goes
downstairs to print out a paper or do a load
of laundry, he has good reason to be frus
trated.
Many residents choose to use residence
hall facilities at odd times because they are
simply too crowded during “normal” times.
Therefore, it makes no sense to reduce their
hours of operation. *
Do the math. With hundreds of people liv
ing in each South Campus residence hall,
keeping facilities open for fewer hours will
Playing It Safe
The tragic deaths of two high school football players last week
showed that safety measures for young athletes must be improved.
When most people think of high school
football, they have fond memories of crisp
autumn Friday nights. Sadly, for the families
and friends of two regional high school ath
letes, scholastic football will be linked forev
er with the loss of loved ones.
This past week, the tragic deaths of Edgar
William Johnson of Harrells Academy and
Anthony Craig Lobrano of Richmond (Va.)
Varina High School serve as somber
reminders that sometimes high school ath
letics are more than just fun and games. The
deaths are just the latest in a series of
tragedies that have occurred on the playing
field, signaling that even greater precaution
must be taken to protect athletes, specifically
football players, at the high school level.
To begin with, the proper fundamentals of
blocking and tackling must be emphasized
by the coaches of these football teams. Last
year alone, six high school football deaths
were attributed to improper tackling and
blocking techniques nationwide, The News &
Observer reported Sunday.
In the case of Johnson’s death this past
Friday, he was struck in the chest by a ball
carrier’s helmet while making a tackle, prob
ably causing a cardiac concussion. Although
the practice of lowering one’s head while
running a football is common among ath
letes, and sometimes even wrongly encour
aged by coaches as hard-nosed, it is simply
dangerous.
While proper technique is essential, many
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Office Hours Friday 2 p.m. -3 p.m.
increase the number of students trying to use
them at any given time, exacerbating the
original problem.
Area offices could avoid this problem by
assigning student employees to on-call
nights. That way, the facilities could stay
open longer because there would be some
one responsible for making sure everything
goes smoothly.
Although facility hours in residence halls
are the most recent examples, facility hours
not quite matching student schedules is not a
new problem on campus.
At this time of year, perhaps the most
noticeable example is Lenoir Dining Hall,
which serves dinner in its all-you-can-eat
facility from 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Monday
through Thursday, leaving thousands of stu
dents a mere two hours and 30 minutes to
fight the crowds and grab a bite to eat.
To reiterate, many students do not adhere
to what people in the “real world” would
consider a normal schedule, so it is com
pletely illogical that a student dining hall
would have such limited hours.
The best main campus option “after
hours” is Ram Cafe, but for hungry students,
coffee, pastries and salads don’t quite suffice.
Computer labs, laundry rooms, dining
halls and other campus facilities are there to
serve students. But it is useless to provide a
service that people cannot use when they
need it.
of the football deaths that occur nationwide
aren’t even a result of actually participating
in a game. In these instances, the deaths
occur as a result of problems that has been
undetected in preseason physicals.
This is thought to be the case in Lobrano’s
death, as he died of heat stroke during a
practice Sept. 5.
Lobrano’s passing is particularly disturbing
because it occurred on a relatively mild 77-
degree day, when his team had already taken
two water breaks within 30 minutes.
Although it is inconclusive whether a more
extensive physical could have prevented this
tragedy, there is no doubt that most physicals
given to high school athletes are barely ade
quate at best. This must be changed for future
instances such as this one to be prevented.
Finally, even the best coaching and expert
medical attention cannot prevent fatalities or
injuries if common sense isn’t used. It is of
great importEmce that players keep their
trainers informed of any medical conditions.
Hiding an injury or illness isn’t something
that should be applauded as “taking one for
the team,” but instead shunned as the dan
gerous practice that it is.
Although nothing will bring back the
young men who have been lost, it is time to
improve the playing conditions surrounding
high school athletics to prevent more need
less deaths. Perhaps then the only news com
ing from the football field will be that of grid
iron glory.
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Compared to Reality, College OK
Believe it or not, college won’t last forev
er. For those of you, who, like me, like
to keep your GPA higher than your
blood alcohol content, getting an education
can be like dragging a ball and chain through
quicksand.
And now as a senior, I am faced with giv
ing an Academy Award-worthy performance
that could match our president’s any day.
Lying through my teeth on job interviews
about how much I “want to work” is not
something I look forward to. So my dad’s
favorite phrase is still, “Maybe you’ll decide
to go to law school.” And maybe I’ll decide to
become an astronaut.
The only way dear old Daddyskins is going
to see me in graduate school is if the working
world really sucks. My objective in life is to be
retired by 28. People always ask me what I
want to do. I don’t want to “do” anything. I’m
just waiting for the job offer that has “chill”
listed as a skill requirement.
After my first semester at UNC, I was
bored. We did the same thing every day of
every week of every year.
Monotony is the cornerstone of mediocrity.
And yes, I thought that one up myself.
By my junior year, I thought about drop
ping out of college, but what do you do when
you have a Ph.D. father and a master’s degree
mother, both of whom paid for every penny
of their schooling? What would they have said
to everyone if I hadn’t finished college?
“Here’s our slacker Generation Y daughter
who’s decided to skip the whole education
thing and retire with us.”
I came to college because it was the natural
progression, not because I had some intellec
tual thirst. I did, however, want the respect
that this litde piece of paper represents.
I could’ve majored in anything, but I chose
business because I like to make myself miser
able. During my high school prison sentence,
Something Lost in CCl’s Translation
If you trust your Reuters wire reports, usu
ally a safe bet, a gaffe at last week’s United
Nations Millennium Summit proved that
technology still has its limits - an important
lesson for UNC students blindly leaping into
the technological future with bold plans like
the Carolina Computing Initiative.
According to the report, numerous world
leaders listened Friday through their high-tech
earpieces to interpreters’ versions of a speech
delivered in Arabic by the president of Sudan.
Things were going fine until the real-time
translation system went afoul.
If you were Presiderft Clinton or anyone else
important enough to have an earpiece tuned to
the English station, you heard something like
this as the translator struggled to keep pace
with the fast-talking Sudanese president:
“We in Sudan shall spare no effort to
achieve these noble goals and to cooperate
with all member states on the basis of the
principles 0f... oh f—!”
Most folks trying to lead the world, save
George W. Bush, would avoid such turns of
phrase. Something was lost in the translation.
And it’s similar technological mistranslations
that plague us here at UNC, the CCI spring
ing rapidly to mind.
Laptop computers for everyone! The idea
screams “future” and “possibility” and “cut
ting-edge.” But it whispers, “cost.”
Translation: “Oh f—!"
One advantage heralded by the initiative’s
supporters is the “deal” through which stu
dents can save big bucks on IBM computers.
Cate Doty & Lauren Beal
MANAGING EDITORS
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PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
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DESIGN EDITOR
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GRAPHICS EDITOR
i ' %
T
■
ANNE MARIE TEAGUE
GLAMOROUS TRASH
I listened to my mother like a bad song on
repeat saying, “Major in something you can
get a job in.” To put it nicely, that meant pre
med, pre-law or business school. Apparently
Mommie knew with my taste for Gucci and
Tiffany’s, being a starving artist wouldn’t quite
cut it.
UNC isn’t such an outstanding place for
academics, although that’s what all of the
administrators would like you to think. Going
to college has been one of the best experiences
of my life, because in this vastly imperfect envi
ronment, I found my ideas and myself chal
lenged. But please let me pour more syrup all
over this mushy display of sentiment
Being at UNC made my convictions
stronger. Universities are runways to spread
your wings. And the best part is, in our weird
little town there are a million avenues to take
off of.
Opportunities aren’t in Religion 24 or
Accounting 71 but in the chance to meet peo
ple, chill, take a few interesting classes (and a
lot of miserable ones, in my case) and to trav
el where you might discover and change one
grain of sand in the world for the better.
College isn’t about what you learn, but who
you become from it. I always thought it was for
a piece of paper, but it’s more about a journey.
(Of course, we won’t mention exactly how I
feel about the journey during exam weeks.)
BRANDON BRISCOE
GUEST COLUMNIST
“Lie” seems to be more appropriate than
“mistranslation” in this case, as it’s not diffi
cult to find lower prices for the same IBM
laptops through major online computer out
lets, not to speak of more powerful computers
offered elsewhere at better rates.
Granted, the technical support, warranty
and software packages might be better if you
buy through UNC, but plenty of folks around
here would be happy to lend a technical hand
to fellow Tar Heels.
You can play with the numbers all you like,
but in the end students are not getting much
of a “deal.” And regardless of whether stu
dents buy computers through the University
or another presumably law-abiding retailer,
the little devils are still rather pricey.
It’s a significant cost that ought not be
taken for granted. You’ll likely never hear a
professor claim that the laptops are a waste of
students’ money. After all, the professors
aren’t paying. •
But it will be equally rare to find professors
successfully incorporating the machines into
their teaching styles.
It’s not a question of whether the comput
ers are useful. But the University has invested
heavily in computer labs, and plenty of stu
dents will buy computers without a mandate.
The distinction to make -a $2,000 distinc-
tEljp Hath! Star MM
Josh Williams
ONLINE EDITOR
Brian Frederick
OMBUDSMAN
So Mom, Dad and I made an agreement. I
graduate from one of the best business schools
in the nation, and then I do my own thing.
Being a senior forces me to confront some
thing very scary - taking care of myself.
But an even scarier word for me is “retire
ment.” What? Dad not have salary anymore?Me
not understand!
Now my only option for contemplating this
whole idea of a job a litde longer is to do a
work-study in some exotic, developing coun
try. They have Tiffany’s in Ghana, right?
This past summer I worked at the law
school, and it was a great place to work, but it
was still work. I never realized how beautiful
college life could be until I worked and real
ized just how early 6:45 a.m. really is. And
bills, I’m learning about those, too.
Apparendy electricity isn’t free.
The average salary upon graduation is
something like $36,000. I’m still trying to fig
ure out how I’m going to afford a Porsche, a
Harley and live in a nice two-bedroom condo
beside a pool in L.A. on that. Luckily, I’ve
invested in stocks, but I don’t think even my
superior market-playing skills will turn my
miniscule investment into gold by graduation.
Reality bites.
The closer graduation looms, the more I
realize college hasn’t been such a bad place
after all. (Thank God I’m graduating a semes
ter late.)
And believe it or not, college is a pretty
cool place. One day it will be over, and you’ll
be contemplating how you’re gonna live in
the real world. So enjoy every second of it
now, because I am.
Anne Marie Teague is a senior business
administration major from Lumberton.Anne
Marie’s dad and anyone else can feel free to
reach her with donations to the Porsche
Boxter Fund at teague@email.unc.edu.
tion, that is - is between useful and mandatory.
Though innovative, the program isn’t flaw
less.
And clearly the program is struggling if an
entire recall is under way because folks could
n’t figure out the difference between their
Ethernet and modem ports.
Indeed, handy as laptops might be, it’s like
ly that computer labs will suffice for students’
academic needs for years to come, meaning
many students could save their money.
Student leaders should take a hard look at
the program this year. Ultimately, it will be
students’ responsibility to help future genera
tions if the program is flopping.
Perhaps changes in the implementation
process can make it all worthwhile, but it’s
probably unnecessary to require next year’s
freshmen to kiss away a summer’s worth of
baby-sitting and lawn mowing for a computer.
The day will no doubt come when laptops
are as essential to academic life as books, but
that day lies years down the road. There’s no
sense getting ahead of ourselves and footing
the sizeable bill for it.
Don’t expect administrators to understand
that, however.
They might have grand dreams of the
future, but students are the ones paying the
price of translating those dreams into reality.
Brandon Briscoe is a senior journalism
and mass communication major from
New Orleans, La. Reach him at
Brandon_Briscoe@unc.edu.