12
Monday, September 18, 2000
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Kelli Boutin
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
Kim Minugh
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Ginny Sciabbanasi
CITY EDITOR
Board Editorials
Vouching for Education
The state should help parents
send their kids to better schools.
By Jon Harris
Within the public school system there
exists a wide range of performance levels.
Some schools perform at an excellent level,
others adequately and others poorly.
Parents should have the right to choose
whatever school is best for their child.
Gubernatorial candidate Richard Vinroot
has a plan that would make parental choice
possible through vouchers.
His proposed voucher plan would mirror
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s “A” Plus Education
Plan. Every child in a public school that fails
state standards for two years in a row may
attend a better school at state expense.
Although these vouchers would be given
to any parents who would want their child
out of a consistently failing school, this plan
would gready benefit low-income families.
Often, bad schools are located within big
city districts, where many poor families live.
Because these families cannot afford to send
there children elsewhere, their children are
stuck in bad schools. A voucher program
would give low-income parents the option of
sending their children to a better school.
This type of voucher plan has proved
effective in Florida. In the year of its incep
tion, there were 58 schools that did not meet
state standards. Parents who wanted their
children to attend a better school were given
vouchers to facilitate this move. Within the
next year, all 58 of the poorly performing
schools lifted their performance.
Those who oppose a voucher system
claim that vouchers are simply a short-term
fix. But a voucher system is accompanied by
an increased financial commitment to public
schools so that substandard schools can catch
up to other well-performing schools.
No child should have to be subjected to an
inadequate education while school board or
state government officials drag their feet.
Another long-term effect of the program
can be inferred from the results in Florida.
Competition will arise among both public
schools and private schools, which in turn
will induce failing public schools to improve.
If states already are paying for the mised
ucation of children in a few public schools,
there is no reason why state politicians
should object to giving parents the money
that would go to their children so they can
choose another school.
Parents have the right and responsibility
to send their children wherever they will
receive the best education. However, poor
families lack the financial means to do so. A
voucher plan would give these families the
means to take their children out of failing
schools and place them into better ones.
For the Record
The headline of field hockey coach Karen Shelton’s Sept. 15 letter incorrectly indicated the letter
writer was referring to a lacrosse match. It should have read “Students Encouraged to Cheer Field
Hockey Team This Weekend."
The Sept. 15 editorial “User Glitch” incorrectly stated that the phone number for Academic
Technology & Networks’ IT Response Center is 928-HELP. The actual number is 962- HELP.
The Daily Tar Heel regrets the errors.
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A voucher program would take
funds away from public schools.
By Mark Slagle
Education has been the dominant theme
of this year’s gubernatorial race, with Mike
Easley and Richard Vinroot both seeking to
realize Gov. Hunt’s dream of making North
Carolina first in the nation.
But whereas Easley wants to do so by
shrinking class size, raising teacher pay and
investing in preschool programs, Vinroot
thinks he can achieve the goal with, among
other things, a limited voucher program.
Although Vinroot’s program is much
more modest in scope than other voucher
plans touted by politicians, it is nevertheless
a step in the wrong direction for North
Carolina’s schools.
The program would use public funds to
partially cover private school tuition for
lower-income families whose children attend
schools that consistendy fail to meet account
ability standards. Vinroot argues that it is a
matter of giving parents a choice about
where they send their children to school.
Yet very few schools are classified as
chronically failing under the state’s current
grading system, according to The News &
Observer. Those that do are mosdy charter
schools, which both Vinroot and Easley sup
port. Only a tiny minority of students in the
public school system, therefore, would be
able to benefit from the vouchers.
Those that do would still have to chip in
a pretty penny for tuition. The vouchers do
not cover the full expense of most private
schools’ tuition, only part of it. Families hop
ing to send their children to a first-rate pri
vate school will either have to make up the
difference or send their children, to a cheap
er private school that might be worse than
the public school they are fleeing.
More troubling, even a limited voucher
program would siphon badly needed funds
from public schools. Despite the gains made
in education during Hunt’s administration,
North Carolina’s schools still lag behind the
national averages in several key categories.
Many classes are too large, and there is a
desperate shortage of qualified teachers
throughout the state. Taxpayers’ money
should go toward fixing these problems
rather than allowing a few families to pay for
private schools.
Hunt proved that intelligent allocation of
financial resources can improve public
schools. Will it require work? Yes. Is it worth
it? Absolutely.
Vinroot’s goal - making North Carolina a
template for success in education - is laud
able, but his plan is flawed. If he’s truly inter
ested in choice, he should choose to repair
schools instead of abandoning them.
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THE CLEAN-AND-JERK THE CLEAN-AND-GET ~
TERKED-AROUND
Females, Don’t Sweat ‘The Ratio’
John Stockton had a 3:1 assist-to-tumover
ratio in ’B9. The PE ratio of Wall Street
Darling Sun Microsystems is 96. UNC is
ranked no. 25 by U.S. News & World Report.
Michael Dell’s estate is valued at $17.08 bil
lion. Estimated population of Baltimore-
Washington in 1998: 7.3 million.
Wait. I have another stat...
What does 65:35 mean to you? Don’t play
dumb, ’cause you know what I’m talking
about.
With all the women on campus sweatin’
this stat and crying about no men at The Hill
we’re all arrogant/we’re all fake
playas/we’re nothing - you can’t hide from
“The Ratio."
Sweetheart, so what if there are about two
girls to every guy. You can live with these cir
cumstances.
Ladies, here is some advice. Pay attention,
because you know I keep it real.
To begin, make sure your head is on
straight out here.
Handle your business before it handles
you.
Don’t sacrifice anything to get a man.
Recognize that you’re too good to get toyed
with.
Don’t take any junk, because that’s how
you get in trouble.
Don’t let anybody disrespect you, spread
rumors about you or cheat and get away with
it.
People have ways of knowing your busi
ness. If it’s obvious that you have a high toler
ance for b.s., you’ll become a target to be
played.
I don’t have to tell you about the stakeouts
at every locale on this campus. Spies in
unmarked vans stay on the creep.
I bumped into Eddie Torres on Stadium
Drive last night. Torres didn’t hesitate to
report all “suspicious activity" on every bal
cony between Teague and Hinton.
Straight up New York Undercover out
here. There are plenty of fake MalikYoba cats
trying to play thatJ.C. investigator role.
Don’t forget about the C.I.A. (Cuties in
Action).Your jealous so-called “best
friend”/roomie loves to talk. No doubt she’s
gonna tell her boo about your maneuvers.
Readers' Forum
Contrary to Column,
Mainstream Choices
Hardly ‘Fresh’
TO THE EDITOR:
Cameron Mitchell’s Sept. 11 col
umn “Gore Offers Voters ‘Fresh’
Choice” seemed more concerned
with raunchy rhetoric and dismal
attempts at vulgarity than having any
substantial political message.
Of course, it is hard to discuss
either of the two mainstream presi
dential choices in political terms, as
neither have a coherent or substantial
policy proposal. Mitchell is correct in
suggesting that there are “plenty 0f...
reasons to do whatever you can to
keep (Bush) out of the White House,”
but he hardly makes a case as to why
Gore should be voted in.
Bush and Gore both have records
that possess a similarity: both are
sons of powerful Washington insid
ers, both are graduates of Ivy League
schools, both are in the wealthiest 1
percent of our nation. Furthermore,
there are more than 60 corporations
Sefton Ipock
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Cobi Edelson
DESIGN EDITOR
Saleem Reshamwala
GRAPHICS EDITOR
KOFI BOFAH
PHILOSOPHY .22
Next, Colombo informs his crew on The Yard
about The Case, and it’s lights out, baby.
With that in mind, stay on the do-10. Get
caught slippin’ and everybody will know the
deal.
Really, I disagree with the status quo. It’s
okay to do your thing, but for your own sake,
don’t let somebody with a big mouth catch
wind of it It’s a fact: The Double Standard is
another circumstance that females have to live
with.
Once you get labeled, you’ll never get any
respect or a man.
Yup. Kojak and Sipowicz confirmed all sus
picions. The duo works the late-night beat on
South Campus. Nokia 8290 cellies are always
within reach.
The detectives reported to headquarters
last night: “We have a 7-11 in progress at
Manning and Ridge.”
Further investigations revealed an intricate
web of deceit. Your suitemate told her cousin,
who told his Chemistry 11 study group, which
testified to The Judge in “The H Chamber”
(Hamilton 100), that your boyfriend back in
Greensboro was forever getting a busy signal.
Supposedly you were tampering with the tele
phone connections to get your freak on.
That was off the hook.
The prosecution adds some embellishment,
and it’s been determined that about five dudes
had y’open 24-7.
It’s obvious that the jury of Dan-0 plus
UNC gendemen are going to throw the book
at you. GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNO
CENT of Case 7-11.
Dag. That’s a sentence of no respect in the
vicinity of Chapel Hill for four years. That’s
some hard time for a crime you probably did-
that have donated more than SSO mil
lion to BOTH Bush and to Gore.
A “fresh choice” would be a candi
date outside this plutocracy -one
who represents people, not corpora
tions. Unfortunately, these candidates
are systematically marginalized by
the Commission on Presidential
Debates and the corporate media, but
this needn’t be continued or encour
aged by a student paper. I would
encourage the public and the editori
al staff of the DTH to look beyond the
unsubstantial mainstream candidates,
and remember the true “fresh choic
es” - third party candidates who
believe in change, not party rhetoric.
Gwenn Frisbie-Fulton
Senior
Sociology
When You Order
Dinner, Don’t Forget
To Tip Driver
TO THE EDITOR:
Asa delivery driver for one of the
Cate Doty & Lauren Beal
MANAGING EDITORS
josh Williams
ONLINE EDITOR
Brian Frederick
OMBUDSMAN
n’t commit. c
Ted Koppel was covering the story, and
word on the street is that you can’t be t jned
into a housewife.
That ain’t good.
Sweetheart, before we move on, let me
summarize the basics: With “The Ratio” plus
peoples’ big mouths, you have to be on point.
Maintain the right attitude. Have enough conr
fidence in yourself that you aren’t going to put
up with any half-stepping. Secondly, recog
nize the importance of being on the down
low. •,,
Now it’s time to make moves.
Stay fresh. Stay up to date with the latest
fashions. Even if you’re notorious for rocking
the Davis gear on the regular (sweats+pony
tail+hat+huge backpack), show the fellas a lil’
somethin’ now and then.
You stick to this info, and there are gonna
be about a million dudes trying to see what’s
up with you. @#s°/o*&! “The Ratio!”
Be certain not to violate Rule 342-13, Part
B, Section 11, of the manual. This rule is so
obvious, I don’t understand why it’s in fine
print. (It shouldbe the first sentence of the
guide so more females would follow it)
Don’t give your number to some loser that has tiro
chance with you.
That’s just stupid. Givin’ up those digits ini-'
tiates a waste of time for both sides. Being
honest is not being conceited. Saying “no, I’m
not interested” takes a quick 1.6 seconds, yet ~
saves a semester of ducking into Greenlaw,
hiding on the U-Bus and peeping the Caller
ID each time the phone rings.
On the other hand, you meet a dude and
you know he’s trying to holla and you know
you’re trying to do something ... ~*
Don’t play any games. Girls that play harcL
to get don’t get got.
Be straight up. It’s all about being real in
Y2K.
I’m out. You can take it from here.
The .22 cycle of grays. Hint: Separation
Hope Circumstances Ascension
Accolades Negativity Conclusion
back to Separation. The endless cycle. Hit up
the Silver Spring, Md., business administration
major at bofah26@email.unc.edu.
various food establishments around
campus whose primary clientele is
the students, it has come to my unfor
tunate attention that many customers
need to be reminded and prompted
of a common, but lost, etiquette called
“tipping.”
Tipping is payment above and
beyond the cost of the food and bev
erage.
It is an outward appreciation of
good service received.
There are obvious instances where
the service is deplorable, and a full
refund to the paying customer is
more appropriate, but these are few
and far between.
A guaranteed way of receiving
your food order in a timely fashion is
to be a generous tipper - few enjoy
cold pizza.
We relatively menial delivery dri
vers will surely appreciate any
deserved fiscal generosity this
reminder might induce.
Andrew Rundquist
* Junior
Economics
QJfyp Satly alar Hrri
j?
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