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(Efjp Saihj (Jar Heel When Voting for a Progressive Candidate, Skip Gore The Student Environmental Action Coalition recently voted to endorse Ralph Nader for pres ident, despite that tired argument that “a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush,” something we’ve been hearing a lot of in The Daily Tar Heel lately. But vot r ing for Nader means voting against the ; two-party system, Republicans and | Democrats, and all the issues they ! agree on, especially the sellout of our ; democracy and our rights to corporate interests. Matt Jones argued in last Monday’s DTH that progressives should vote for Gore, not Nader, mosdy out of fear of ■ a Bush presidency. The Beat-Bush Campaign is telling you that you can’t i vote for the party that best represents your values, that your vote can be held hostage by a Democratic party mas querading as “progressive.” Instead of I a campaign of fear, progressives should ; -and have - put together a political party that actually addresses progres sive values. Progressives who vote for Ralph Nader are not necessarily voting ; for his victory as president (but then neither is a Gore voter in a key Republican state like North Carolina Examining Both Viewpoints On Higher Education Bond Education has always opened the doors of opportunity in North Carolina. For generation after generation, our 16 UNC cam puses and 59 community colleges have provided the ticket to a better life. Each and every week, I hear these heartfelt accounts in communities all across North Carolina. The economic return on the state’s investment in its ■ MOLLY BROAD PRO public institutions has been nothing short of remarkable. But now overcrowding and outdated facilities threaten our ability to keep pace with growing student demand and the shift to a global knowledge economy. As confirmed by the recent State of the South report, if we are to sustain a competitive edge for future generations, North Carolinians must invest again in the classrooms and modem laboratories needed to prepare graduates for 21st century jobs. Without such investment, we will be unable to serve thousands of qualified students, and the doors of opportunity will slam shut. Over the next decade, the number of students graduat ing from North Carolina’s high schools will jump by over 30 percent, the third greatest increase in the nation. Fueled by these graduates and adults seeking updated job skills, UNC and community college enrollment will swell by about 100,000 students during this period. But already, many campuses - UNC-Chapel Hill included - are burst ing at the seams. Some students must extend their college stay because they cannot get in the required courses to complete their academic majors on time. On campus after campus, faculty are trying to teach cut ting-edge science and engineering in hot, cramped class rooms and antiquated laboratories such as Venable Hall. On Nov. 7, the voters’ action on a $3.1 billion higher education bond referendum will set the future course of public higher education in North Carolina. These bonds will help ensure access while keeping quality high. They will upgrade every UNC and community college campus and finance federally mandated improvements to UNC-TV. State Treasurer Harlan Boyles says state taxes will not need to be raised to repay these bonds. The N.C. Association of County Commissioners says that counties will not be required to raise local taxes. And an indepen dent committee created by the legislature will monitor the construction to ensure full accountability. This bond referendum is about more than bricks and mortar. It is about keeping the doors of opportunity open for the children already in our middle schools and high schools. And it is about ensuring that North Carolina has the capacity to produce the highly trained work force needed to remain competitive in a fast-changing, global economy. Molly Corbett Broad is president of the 16-campus UNC system. Readers' Forum Sen. Ellie Kinnaird Gives Endorsement To Rep. Verla Insko TO THE EDITOR: Asa four-year member of the Orange County legislative delegation, I have been continually impressed with the contributions and effectiveness of Rep. Verla Insko. Rep. Insko has been a vigorous advocate for all aspects of the University - students, staff and faculty. She has been especially outspoken in her support for keeping tuition low and affordable for all students. She points out in every forum and legislative com mittee related to education that the N.C. Constitution guarantees a free educa tion as much as possible for all citizens. Rep. Insko worked for a meaningful salary schedule for University workers this session. She is a strong supporter of the bonds. In addition to her support of the University community, Rep. Insko is an advocate for the mentally ill, serving as co-chairwoman for the Oversight where Bush is sure to get all the elec toral votes). We are voting for a real plural-party system where voters can find a true representative for their beliefs, values, and vision for our future -and vote for her (or him). Progressive implies progress, and progress calls for a sustained, long-term movement. So why would an environmental group like SEAC endorse Nader over Gore? Here are some of the main dif ferences between Nader and Gore when it comes to the environment: Nuclear Power: While residents of the Triangle are fighting to prevent Carolina Power & Light from building the nation’s largest high-level nuclear waste dump in Wake County, the fed eral government actively promotes our dependence on nuclear power, despite the threat it presents to our health and well-being. Nader seeks an end to nuclear power in the United States because of its unacceptable risk to human health. Clean Energy: Nader promotes a federal energy policy based on safe, affordable and sustainable energy sources. Federal policy has only pro moted dependence on fossil fuels and The $3.1 billion higher education bond has been pro moted as the means of taking care of two problems - the bad condition of some university buildings and the supposed need to expand in order to accommodate thousands of additional students. 1 GEORGE C. LEEF CON undertake an expansion of UNC when students have so many other options. If the proposal were defeated, we could undoubtedly come up with a fairer, more economical plan. Some UNC buildings definitely are in poor condition as a result of years of neglect. They should be fixed. Many of the buildings slated for renovation, though, are not in crisis and there is no reason to borrow and spend millions on them immediately. The bond proponents maintain that an expected enroll ment surge in the future requires a huge expansion of the UNC system, of which the bond would finance the first phase. It’s true that there will be more people seeking post-high school studies in the future, but it doesn’t follow that the UNC system must provide places for all of them. There is a national market for higher education encom passing the 37 independent colleges and universities in North Carolina, the rapidly-growing phenomenon of online education, for-profit schools like the University of Phoenix and institutions across the rest of the country. Students who want college courses but cannot find places in UNC will be able to turn to other alternatives in the market. The UNC system is one of the most heavily subsidized in the country, yet the proposed means for meeting its “needs” places the whole burden on the taxpayers. An alternative way of obtaining funds for the system would be to increase tuition. The late Chancellor Michael Hooker criticized the “reverse Robin Hood effect” of low tuition for students from well-to-do families. Another source of money, especially for expansion, is contributions from donors and businesses. If the bond doesn’t pass, UNC can still grow, but only at the rate that its officials can persuade people to donate to it. The choice is not between supporting the bond and doing nothing. It is between the extravagant package favored by the higher education establishment that loads the entire cost on taxpayers, and the prospect of a more frugal future plan that at least might more fairly apportion the cost. George C. Leef represents the Pope Center. Reach him at georgeleef@popecenter.org. Committee reviewing all mental health services in our state. Rep. Insko feels that good health care is a right of all North Carolina citizens and is working to make that a reality. She has in addi tion worked for the environment and is a progressive lawmaker who will serve us well. Rep. Insko deserves our unqualified support, and I urge everyone who goes to the polls to cast a vote for continued progressive government with a vote for Rep. Insko. Ellie Kinnaird N.C. State Senator Carrboro On Election Day, Vote Barbara Howe For N.C. Governor TO THE EDITOR: We endorse Libertarian Barbara Howe for North Carolina governor. Barbara Howe has a vision of a state that does not kill its citizens. She is the Viewpoints Elections 2000 nuclear power, which hurt human health and the envi ronment. Clinton/Gore’s flir tation with cleaner energy amounts to a ■ KIT LECKERLING FAWN PATTISON POINT OF VIEW huge corporate subsidy to American auto makers, who have done nothing to increase fuel efficiency standards, while ever-larger gas guzzling SUVs are brought to the market instead. Sprawl: Sprawl hurts the urban and rural poor most of all, yet the Clinton- Gore administration has hardly addressed the sources of sprawl that gobble up our farmland and open spaces. Ralph Nader wants to rapidly increase funds for public transit, sup port local initiatives to fight sprawl, build more affordable housing and invest in the renewal of urban neigh borhoods. Logging on Public Lands: Nader advocates the immediate halt of com mercial logging on U.S. public lands and the end of road-building through out the National Forest system. Gore considers our national forests to be an But the propos al costs far more than necessary to solve the first problem, and there is no need to only gubernatorial candidate opposed to die death penalty. Barbara Howe has a vision of a state that lets severely ill patients make their own medical decisions. She is the only gubernatorial candi date who supports decriminalizing med ical marijuana. She has a vision of a state that allows all children to receive a quality educa tion. Her “Taxpayers Choice Scholarship Plan” is a novel idea to res cue our schools that neither throws more money at the failing public school system nor takes voucher money away just to appease a privileged few. Visit www.votehowe.org, and you will understand why the major party candidates feared and blocked her entry into the gubernatorial debates. Krista Stone Senior Education Kellen Cox Freshman Undecided acceptable source of commercial tim ber. Genetic Engineering: Clinton-Gore has actively promoted the msh of genetically engineered organisms to the world market with lit tle or no safety testing. Nader puts human health and the environment above corporate profit and advocates stopping the release of genetically altered plants until rigorous safety testing has been undertaken, as well as the immediate labeling of all GE products currendy on the market Global Wanning: Despite Gore’s authorship of “Earth in the Balance,” the United States has only increased its fossil fuel emissions since 1990. The United States never ratified the watered-down Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions, and global warming is proceeding at an ever-faster rate. Nader calls for immediate action to meet and exceed the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. The World Trade Organization: The WTO has created a free-for-all for cor- Contrary to Popular Belief, Gore, Bush Polar Opposites Tomorrow, Americans will cast ballots in the most important election in decades. Every aspect of American life is up for grabs, so extremely divergent is the choice. A small, sleepwalking percentage of voters still say they cannot choose sides in the political war. (They probably didn’t even know a war was on.) But some of us chose sides long ago, and here’s what the better half of us will remember in the voting booth: Democrat A1 Gore is fully prepared to be President of the United States, possessing the intellect, the facts, the counter arguments and the vision required of a new-millennium leader. Republican George W. Bush makes jokes, and even boasts, of his empty headedness. He makes it plain that a Bush administration will be run by proxy with his daddy and oil execu tives and military men behind a cur tain, running the show. Some Bush supporters recognize this and actually support Bush for that very reason, which is traitorous to the office of the presidency and to the nation. These Bush supporters, when accused of trea son and indifference to America, do not deny the charge. They are forth rightly out for themselves. Democrat Gore’s Supreme Court appointments would champion privacy rights, including a woman’s right to safe, legal abortion. Republican Bush’s appointments would cleave to “strict constructionism,” recognizing no right to privacy, let alone abortion. Democrat Gore would protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from development Republican Bush would turn his oil buddies loose to pilfer that shared national treasure. Democrat Gore opposed the Vietnam War but volunteered his ser vice on the ground in that foreign land anyway. Republican Bush favored the war but avoided service in Vietnam by remaining stateside in the National Guard- and Bush can not, or will not, even account for his whereabouts dur ing all of his Guard service. That any military veteran could support Bush’s candidacy is nothing short of porate interests to scrap existing U.S. environmental & labor laws, including the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, dolphin protection and others. Nader wants to oudaw the WTO; Gore is a WTO supporter. Of course there are many other pro gressive issues that divide Nader and Gore. One that has received much attention lately in the DTH is women’s rights. Matt Jones and others suggest that Gore would protect a woman’s right to choose and Bush would appoint Supreme Court justices that would overturn Roe v. Wade. But Sen. A1 Gore and senate Democrats voted to approve ultraconservative anti-choice justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia! When it comes to women’s issues, Gore and Bush rely on focus groups rather than even consider a female running mate. Nader’s running mate, Wynona LaDuke, represents Ralph Nader’s consciousness that no one person can have all the answers for women’s and minorities’ interests. A1 Gore is just not a progressive candidate. He is pro-death penalty, pro-WTO, I CLIFF NELSON POINT OF VIEW appalling. Democrat Gore understands the dif ference between affirmative action and racial quotas. Republican Bush makes no distinction between affirmative action and quotas and gives no sign that he’s ever thought deeply about that distinction. Democrat Gore favors anti-discrimi nation laws for gays. Republican Bush calls such laws “special rights,” at least when applied to gays. Democrat Gore would fight for a federal hate-crimes law branding gay bashing a criminal disgrace, no less so than racist attacks. Republican Bush sees no need for such a law, though he boasts of a Texas hate-crimes law that ignores gays - and even that law was passed without Bush’s blessing or signature. Democrat Gore favors bolstering our public schools because he knows they fortify nationhood. Republican Bush favors voucher programs, tax money diverted from public schools and into religious and private hands, a move that will even further weaken public schools and lead to still more cuts. Republicans were always dubious in their commitment to pubhc educa tion, when they were not openly hos tile to it Now, through vouchers, Republicans hope to bleed pubhc edu cation to death on the sly. Democrat Gore would stride the world stage, not as a “humble” player (the stance Bush would prefer; he said so), but confidendy, as the world’s most powerful statesman. Gore under stands why, more than fifty years after World War 11, American troops remain in Germany, Japan and Korea. Gore knows that America’s commitment of peacekeeping troops is only as perma nent as America’s world leadership itself. The vice president knows the proven value of “nation building” to create world markets and wealth, and he understands what will happen to Monday, November 6, 2000 pro-trade with China, pays little atten tion to fair labor and gives nothing more than lip service to campaign finance reform, gay rights, women’s rights and the poor, Nader and LaDuke’s names will not appear on the ballot in North Carolina. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to vote for them, or any other candidate you choose - Libertarian, Socialist, Reform, whatever. This election can be the starting point for a recognized Green Party in North Carolina, and the United States voting for a third-party candidate is the only way to change the fossilized and unfair system we’re dealing with today. It’s also the only way to get alternative candidates onto the ballot and into the debates in 2004 -and that is a progres sive goal. Kit Leckerling is a sophomore anthro pology major. Send questions or com ments to kleck@email.unc.edu. Fawn Pattison is a 2nd year graduate student in germanic languages. Reach her at fawn@email.unc.edu. Both are members of the Student Environmental Action Coalition. markets and wealth the instant America withdraws from the stage and allows ancient hatreds to run amok. Not so Republican Bush. The Texas governor recently said he would pull American peacekeepers out of the Balkans and leave our NATO allies in the lurch. Bush’s ill-advised pro nouncement on European affairs comes at an especially bad time because fall elections are under way in the Balkans, too. Now, thanks to Bush, the nastiest genocidal elements in Europe’s backwater can rest assured that soon Bush may come to power and abandon the Balkan killing fields. So not only does American Republicanism give safe harbor to our haters here at home, it inspires hope in Balkan war criminals. That’s some ret inue. The differences between Democrat Gore and Republican Bush are obvi ous, basic and even more striking than this litany conveys. No one can deny the differences, and few try. To the three or four “undecideds” who read this far: I hope you will take sides on Election Day. I invite you to side with civilization, nationhood and shared destiny, not with dog-eat-dog, gated neighborhoods and misplaced Clinton-hate. Vote Democratic. Your parents might not like it, but you’ll love your self come Wednesday morning. And next year, too. Cliff Nelson is a graduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Reach him at vor tex@interpath.com. urEii iimii. She Mg (Ear Seri welcomes reader submissions. Their opinions do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the DTH or its editors. 13
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