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When Access is Threatened, Students Must Shout
A friend asked me the
other day,
“Retroactive tuition
increase? Is that legal?
That’s like going to Best
Buy, buying a TV, and then
two months later they tell
you that you have to pay an
extra $200!” That’s exacdy
what is going on in the N.C.
Senate and House of
Representatives.
Over the summer, mem
bers of student government
and the student body have gone over
to Raleigh to convey our concerns with
the budget situation.
First they proposed a 9 percent
across-the-board tuition increase, then
they proposed a 15 percent increase for
out-of-state students. And, finally they
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When Sports and Commerce
Collide on the Playing Field
A week before I arrived in Chapel
Hill, I sat in the tightly erected
seats at Fenway Park - the
home of the Boston Red Sox. With my
father to the left of me,
my mother to the
right, it seemed pic
turesque. The summer
time rays put us at
ease, the company of
Jon Hoffman
Point of View
the two people who truly loved me
created a sense of euphoria, and
despite being a adamant Yankee fan, I
knew that Fenway Park is a national
landmark - similar to Bunker Hill,
Mount Rushmore, and Hinton James.
However, the building that houses
baseball immortals soon will be
replaced by an elaborate corporate
extravaganza that will knock the Sox
off (pardon the pun) the competition.
Soon one might see Polaroid Park
sprawled across the outfield facade. As
much as I hate to admit it, the sports
world has changed.
I am a sports purist and I enjoy see
ing a stadium remain unaffected. My
father saw Ebbetts Field as his second
home, entering the Boston Garden was
a religious experience, and Lambeau
Field stills holds the feistiest home field
advantage in the NFL. Where is my
generation supposed to go for those
memories? Safeco Field, QualCom,
and Continental Arena?
It’s clear as a Chapel Hill sky that
the sports world has sold out for valu
able cash and prizes. It’s something so
simple and subliminal that one proba
bly missed the transition. One of the
true behind-the-scenes legends of the
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are back to square one with
the Senate awaiting the
House’s approval of a 5 per
cent increase in addition to
the 4 percent that we’ve
already paid from the Board
of Governors.
Most of this decision
making has been taking
place behind a lot of smoke
and mirrors. Closed meet
ings, or “open meetings” -
where those attending aren’t
allowed to speak - throws
JUSTIN YOUNG
GUEST
COLUMNIST
access to higher education out the win
dow. In addition, some of these meet
ings were scheduled on summer holi
days when many constituents were
sunning at the beach.
Where is the opportunity for voters
in this state to get involved in those
NFL was Jack Kent Cooke of the
Washington Redskins. In 1961, Kent
Cooke bought a 25 percent share of
the team and became the majority
owner of Redskins by
1969.
Upon his death, Kent
Cooke’s will stipulated that
the team be sold and the
proceeds donated to chari-
ty, and so it was, with Daniel Snyder
becoming the new owner. Upon assum
ing control of the team, Snyder made it
his business to strike Cooke’s name
from the field, renaming it Redskins
Stadium until he could find a sponsor
ship deal. Now, what was once Jack
Kent Cooke Stadium is now FedEx
Park, and Snyder is SSOO million richer.
And this stadium-naming syndrome
is not foreign to us. The Entertainment
and Sports Arena has placed “This
Space for Rent” sign on its front door -
seeking out the highest bidder.
Charlotte plans to erect a brand
new basketball complex that will sting
any visitor with excitement, but it too
seeks corporate sponsorship.
As much as I hate to declare, there
are some benefits to sponsorship.
Particularly in baseball, where there is
no salary cap or revenue sharing,
medium-market teams like San
Francisco, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh
need new stadiums to stay competitive
and profitable. Milwaukee’s new
retractable-dome stadium keeps fans
coming even when the weather is hor
rible, as it often is, and the sponsor
could hardly be better connected to
the team.
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Viewpoints
decisions that affect them? Why can’t
we communicate to those that repre
sent us? If you needed to track me
down in my office, or on the phone, or
by e-mail, I would make it a priority to
get back in touch with you. How else
am I supposed to be held accountable
to those I represent? So maybe the
N.C. General Assembly just doesn’t
care about those it represents, or at
least that’s the message being sent to a
lot of frustrated students.
Any tuition increase threatens access
to the University! There are already
students who can’t afford an education
at UNC-Chapel Hill, or at any of the
UNC-system schools. Even worse, a
retroactive increase doesn’t give stu
dents time to prepare for the financial
burden it would present, and it sets a
horrible precedent for future increases.
Unfortunately, there are ways in
which commercialism in sports can
become too disgusting: KFC, for
example, had plans to buy the
Vancouver Grizzlies and move them to
Louisville to become the Kentucky
Colonels, playing in a stadium called
the KFC Bucket The plan has fallen
through, but think of the possibilities.
There are certain lines of
respectability that corporate sponsor
ship, cannot cross, although compro
mises can be reached. The new
Broncos stadium, Invesco Field at Mile
High, is such an example: Invesco is
happy to gain great exposure, the own
ers are happy to have the money to
help build the stadium (which was par
tially funded on a 1/2 cent increase to
state sales tax), and fans are happy to
still call the stadium Mile High.
Purists such as I may not be happy
with the big-money era of sports, but
then again, I must footnote that one of
our favorite ballparks already holds the
name of a gum company (thank you,
Mr. Wrigley). Is there a solution?
Unfortunately I would have to say no.
Although I don’t plan on entertain
ing any offers to travel to see the
cursed Red Sox play, if the obligation
arises I might receive a camera instead
of a scorecard as I enter the gates. No
worries though -1 know my team in
the Bronx is home for good, playing in
the house that Ruth built. Oh wait, I
forgot, George Steinbrenner owns the
Yankees. Shoot.
Reach Jon Hoffman at
jthoff@email.unc.edu.
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In terms of financial aid, careful
consideration needs to be given to
assure that students are given equitable
resources to deal with the increase, as
opposed to financial debt that would
come from loans. In this case, most
will have to apply for loans instead of
grants because money has already
been allocated for the semester. The
University should consider ways to
help soften the blow of the increase
being decided upon. Perhaps we
should put it off until next semester to
give students and their families more
time to better handle the increase.
Basically what I’m trying to say is
that big decisions are being made with
out the student voice being respected.
Communication about our needs can’t
come from me alone. We need every
one to step up and tell the General
Land of the Free? Student
Press Fights to Be Heard
“It can hardly be argued that either students or
teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of
speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. ”
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas,
writing for the majority in Tinker v. Des Moines
Independent School District
Nearly two years ago, as a student in Chuck
Stone’s Censorship class, I read with a
certain degree of skepticism about
instances in which the government - sometimes
acting through public high school or university
administrators-placed restrictions on the First
Amendment rights of students.
An idealistic view of America as a place where the free and
open exchange of ideas is universally heralded made me doubt
tales of students who were punished for starting an under
ground newspaper, wearing a Bart Simpson T-shirt to class or
engaging in some other equally “threatening” behavior.
But one thing I have learned during the last two years is
that my notion that students’ free expression rights are uni
versally accepted was sorely mistaken.
I spent the summer working at the Student Press Law
Center in Arlington, Va. The SPLC is a nonprofit group that
provides free legal advice to student journalists. Specifically,
I wrote stories for the center’s magazine, which monitors
student press issues across the country.
At the SPLC, I discovered that not only are the cases of
censorship that make it into the textbooks true - they only
represent the tip of the iceberg. Although the Supreme
Court established a precedent for applying the First
Amendment’s freedom of expression guarantee to students
in its 1969 Tinker V. Des Moines decision, students nation
wide are presendy being stripped of their free press rights.
While I was reporting for the SPLC’s magazine, I spoke
to a student editor who was suspended after the newspaper
ran an editorial criticizing the administration’s decision to
feature a bikini-clad woman in the college’s recruitment flier.
I spoke to a college newspaper editor who was removed
from his position after he decided to run candidate endorse
ments during student elections.
I interviewed a student government president who
A History of Hate: The Shameful
Legacy of the Republican Party
Last week, the ugly side of the
Republican Party reared its head
once more. Republican state Rep.
Don Davis of Harnett County circulat-
ed an e-mail throughout
the N.C. General
Assembly which stated
that “Two things made
this country great: white
men and Christianity.”
When asked to apologize
Chris Brook and
Susan Navrro
Guest Columnists
for distributing such hateful comments,
Davis defended the e-mail saying,
“there’s a lot of it that’s truth.” Davis’s
actions underline the fact that the most
consistent stance taken by leaders with
in the Republican Party in the past half
century is that of hate-mongering
against minorities.
This trend began with the furor sur
rounding Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This act, which prohibited employ
ment discrimination based on race,
sex, national origin, or religion, was
uniformly opposed by the Republican
Party. Sen. Jesse Helms referred to this
bill as “the most dangerous piece of
legislation in American history.” Why
was this legislation so dangerous?
Republicans, incapable of grasping the
blatant and widespread discrimination
against minorities and the disadvan
taged, responded that it was unneces
sary government intervention. While
such a response reveals, at best, a party
stunningly out of touch with reality, the
true, racist rationale becomes clear
when placed in perspective of actions
taken by other Republican leaders.
During his administration. President
Richard Nixon taped discussions with
his closest advisers. When these tapes
were made public by the Nixon White
House during the Watergate scandal,
they revealed not only that Nixon had
schemed to steal the 1972 presidential
election but also that he was also an
incredible racist. Throughout the tapes,
Assembly how we feel.
I mean think about it You go and
buy your first car, a nice sport utility
vehicle or trendy Toyota Corolla, and
after you drive it off the lot you get a
call saying, “Yeah, one more thing, I
know you already paid for the car, but
we’re going to have to charge you a lit
tle extra, or just take the car back!"
That’s bad business, and the General
Assembly puts the University in an
awful position when bad decision mak
ing like this takes place within their
chambers. We need to raise legislative
awareness on this campus! We need to
be involved, and I want to help.
Contact your representatives to tell
them that although the state's budget is
not finalized, we, as well as our fami
lies, have already decided on ours; dip
ping into our wallets with an increase
explained to me why he believed it was acceptable
for him to completely eliminate funding for die
campus newspaper after it published an editorial
slamming the student government.
Needless to say, my expenence this summer chal
lenged my idealistic view of America as a place
where all citizens share a common devotion to ensur
ing that no one’s free expression rights are trampled.
But more importandy, hearing the personal
accounts of students who have dealt first-hand
with censorship made me realize how lucky I am
to work at The Daily Tar Heel.
For those of you that don’t know it, the DTH is
KATIE HUNTER
EDITOR
funded completely independently of the University. Since
1993, the paper has not received any money from student fees
and has been supported exclusively by advertising revenue.
Prior to this summer, I took for granted the editorial free
dom that independent funding allows the DTH. Although
we are students, DTH staff members cannot be punished for
writing a critical editorial or a hard-hitting article.
Frankly, we can write whatever the hell we want to.
But I have also realized that with the right to publish as
we see fit comes an immense responsibility to subscribe to
the highest standards of ethical journalism.
During my first week as DTH editor, I have had multi
tudes of conversations with editors where we have discussed
whether we could do a particular story.
But the more important conversations have been about
whether we should do a particular story.
Despite negative perceptions of the media in today’s soci
ety, ethical journalism is something the people who work at
the DTH take seriously. In an era where the sensationalistic
and the scandalous has been thrust into the limelight, mem
bers of the DTH staff realize that it is more important than
ever for student journalists to bring integrity to the field.
Interacting with people whose free press rights have been
restricted has made me even more cognizant of the need for
journalists to set high ethical standards.
Because if we as student journalists don’t preserve our
own integrity, we play into the hands of those who would
argue that free expression should be a privilege granted by
the government and not a right guaranteed all citizens.
Nixon refers to African-Americans as
“niggers” and in one particularly
notable exchange with a counselor,
Donald Rumsfeld, exclaims that blacks
“are basically just out of
trees." Republican lead
ers, throughout the
years, expressed sorrow
over Nixon’s comments,
but their actions demon
strate their tacit approval
for his conduct. Rumsfeld, who can be
heard expressing his agreement
throughout Nixon’s diatribe against
African-Americans, served as Secretary
of Defense for both President Gerald
Ford and currendy holds the position
under President George W. Bush.
Unfortunately, Republicans’ bigotry
is not reserved exclusively for African-
Americans. Homosexuals are also a fre
quent target of the Republican Party’s
conservative wing. For example, in the
1996 presidential election, Bob Dole
refused to meet with a group of gay
Republican activists by the name of the
Log Cabin Republicans. Even more
notoriously, our great Sen. Helms sent
his condolences to a personal friend
whose son, Mark, had died from AIDS
and wrote, “As for Mark, I wish he had
not played Russian roulette with his
sexual activity.” Such a comment
would not be welcome in the vast
majority of America’s living rooms, yet
Republicans glorifies such intolerance
as “standing by your principles.”
Further, the 2000 presidential elec
tion confirms the rot at the core of the
latest incarnation of Republican leader
ship. In 1999, as George W. Bush’s
campaign for the presidency began in
earnest, word poured forth that Bush
was anew, “compassionate conserva
tive.” The hollowness of this claim
quickly became obvious. Following
John McCain’s shocking upset of Bush
in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, it
Monday, August 27, 2001
imposed during the semester is unfair!
You can contact the General Assembly
through its Web site at http://www.
ncleg.net, or e-mail them through our
Web site at http://www.unc.edu/
student/orgs/studgov/fight. Tell them
how this will affect your paying for a
quality education!
We will be out in the Pit today at
noon to join together to make a state
ment and start our crusade of legisla
tive involvement and awareness.
Through the Carolina Lobby Corps
students can get involved in the issues
and make an impact Please come out
and voice your concerns and join other
students as we begin to fight back and
have our voices heard!
Justin Young can be reached at
jcyoung@email.unc.edu.
was clear that Bush’s road to the White
House had met a serious obstacle.
Bush’s response to this? Bob Jones
University. Bush visited this South
Carolina campus which, at that time,
stood by its claims that Catholicism and
Mormonism were “frightening cults”
and would not allow interracial dating
among students. Caught with his
proverbial compassionate britches
down over the mistake, the Bush cam
paign held its ground and defended its
decision to visit Bob Jones. After all,
Bush folks argued, South Carolina’s
Democratic governor, Jim Hodges, had
visited the campus as well. However,
he had been watching his daughter per
form in a play, not delivering a speech.
When push came to shove, the new,
“compassionate” Bush campaign snug
gled up to the bigotry that has haunted
the leadership of the Republican Party
for the last half century.
The party of Lincoln is now a party
that Lincoln would be embarrassed to
call his own. While there are certainly
many within the ranks of the party
who harbor no ill will towards minori
ties, their more tolerant voices are all
but silenced by the despicable words
and actions of past and present
Republican leadership. Any compas
sionate individual can recognize that
all of America’s hard-working individ
uals, regardless of their creed, sexual
orientation, or color of their skin, have
made this nation great. Unfortunately,
the evidence demonstrates that the
leadership of the Republican Party
refuses to embrace the American ideals
of compassion, empathy, and equality.
Christopher Brook is a senior political
science and history major from Raleigh.
Reach him at cbrook@email.unc.edu.
Susan Navarro is a sophomore political
science major from Winston-Salem.
Reach her at navarro@email.unc.edu.
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