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N.C. State
To Probe
Salary Gap
On an average day female and
male faculty members work
side-by-side at universities -
giving lectures, grading assignments
and meeting with students during their
office hours.
But that’s
where the simi
larities end.
Despite simi
lar workloads,
female faculty
earn significantly
less than their
male counter
parts, sparking
debates about
gender inequity
at campuses
nationwide.
But one
APRIL BETHEA
STATE & *
NATIONAL
COLUMNIST
UNC-system school is looking to elim
inate the salary gap on its campus and,
one hopes, others will follow in its
place.
N.C. State University Provost Stuart
Cooper announced last month that the
university will comprehensively exam
ine the salaries of all of its female facul
ty and make salary adjustments if there
is a discrepancy between their pay and
that of men in similar positions.
The move follows a yearlong study
at the university where the salaries of
1,581 faculty members were examined,
and it was found that on average,
female faculty earned about SI,OOO less
than white men in the same positions.
The study also found discrepancies
of about $2,000 between the salaries of
minority men and white men.
N.C. State officials estimate that 237
of its 371 women and 134 of its 161
minority men might be eligible for pay
increases to offset the gender and race
salary gaps. In all, the university could
spend $600,000 in salary adjustments
according to a campus bulletin.
In working to remove the salary gaps,
N.C. State is moving away from an
alarming trend at colleges nationwide.
According to the National
Education Association’s 2001 Almanac
of Higher Education, female faculty at
public universities earned $10,301 less
than their male counterparts during
the 1999-2000 academic year.
NEA officials cited a lack of women
in top faculty positions as a possible
reason for the salary gaps. For exam
ple, 55 percent of campus lecturers
nationwide are female, but only 24
percent of professor positions are held
by women.
On many campuses, like N.C. State,
university officials are working to elim
inate the gap in hopes of improving
the morale of female faculty on their
campuses. But there are other benefits
of raising salaries.
By closing the salary gap, universities
would be taking a bold step toward pro
moting equal pay for equal work. The
workload for a professor or lecturer does
not decrease simply because the posi
tion’s holder happens to be a woman. So
the pay should not be any lower. Also,
since all faculty are required to meet the
same qualifications to be hired the pay
should be the same as well.
Eliminating the gender salary gap
also will help university officials diver
sify their faculties. For years, UNC
system chancellors have counted
increasing female and minority faculty
as one of their top goals.
But if there is a pay discrepancy,
potential applicants might be swayed
to other universities. Thus, salary
adjustments might make the UNC sys
tem more competitive in attracting the
best people to the state.
Any skeptics needing proof that
eliminating the salary gap is possible
or that it helps in recruitment need
only look at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
In 1992, Madison officials increased
the salaries of about 86 percent of the
university’s female faculty after discov
ering significant gaps between the pay
of male and female faculty.
Seven years later, the university
reported that gaps between men’s and
women’s salaries had almost been elim
inated and that in at least two depart
ments, women earned more than men.
The salary adjustments were part of a
campuswide initiative to improve the
status of women on the UW campus. To
date, efforts have increased the presence
of female faculty with women holding
22.9 percent of all faculty positions in
1999 compared to 16.3 percent in 1988.
In acknowledging the presence of a
gender gap and working to overcome
it, N.C. State could potentially see a
boost in faculty morale and an
increase of female applicants to the
university, just like UW-Madison.
Other UNC-system campuses could
see the same results. They just have to
be willing to conduct surveys of their
faculty salaries and demand that any
inequities be removed.
Columnist April Bethea can be
reached at adbethea@email.unc.edu.
Stahl Lectures on Impact of Images in Media
Bv Meredith Nicholson
Staff Writer
Lesley Stahl, co-editor of the CBS
News program “60 Minutes,” told mem
bers of the University community
Thursday that television has a “pro
found and insidious” effect on the
nation’s view of politics.
Stahl, winner of several Emmys and
the Edward R. Murrow Award for
Overall Excellence in Television,
addressed a packed house at Memorial
Hall as part of the Earl Wynn
Distinguished Lecture Series.
Stahl said that often what Americans
see on television about politicians is not
real because the images are manufac
tured. “Pictures, and the way we watch
them, can be very deceptive," she said.
Stahl said reporters must be careful
when using pictures to illustrate a point.
Stahl used an expose she conducted
about then-President Ronald Reagan
during the 1984 election as an example.
She said the four-minute piece ran hard
hitting commentary over images of
;
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imt-jEssiCA'VfoortN
Nine-year-old Jessica Parnell carves a jack-o'-lantern Wednesday night in the Pit. The Residence Hall Association co-hosted
events with Olde Campus Upper Quad in the Student Union as an alternative to Franklin Street.
Bash Offers Wholesome Alternative
By Jeff Silver
Staff Writer
Chapel Hill’s famous Halloween celebration
was not confined to Franklin Street on
Wednesday night.
Costumed UNC students came together dur
ing the first-ever Halloween Bash at the Student
Union for a night of listening to music, snack
ing, storytelling and pumpkin carving.
Although the estimated turnout of 100 peo
ple was slightly lower than the 300 that they
had projected, organizers said they were satis
fied with the event.
“There were 40 pizzas gone in an hour and
45 minutes. That’s always a good thing,” said
David Cooper, Residence Hall Association
president.
RHA planned the party with Olde Campus
Upper Quad, which is the governing body for
North Campus residence halls, UNC Rotaract
and Chi Alpha Omega. Carolina After Dark, a
group that funds and encourages nighttime cam
pus events, also provided money for the event.
Nikki Binz from RHA and CAD said the
groups got a considerable discount from
Carolina Dining Service for the food provided
at the event.
In addition, a costumed dance in the Great
Stephens Unites Cultures, Races With 'One Love'
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DTHKATIE RIGGAN
Gregory Stephens works for the University Center for International
Studies exploring the cultural influence of Spanish-speaking immigrants.
Reagan on the campaign trail.
Reagan advisers later thanked her for
the publicity, saying, “Nobody heard
what you said in that piece.”
She later aired the piece for a focus
group, and less than one-fourth of them
heard what she said. Most believed the
piece was a campaign ad for Reagan or
a positive news story about him.
“When the pictures are powerful and
they conflict with what you are saying,
the pictures drown you out,” she said.
Stahl also said television has changed
journalism by making more news avail
able faster. “We are now in a time ...
where we have 24-hour news stations on
one story all the time,” Stahl said.
“Reporters are hungry for any morsel of
news, and the government complies.”
There has been a renewed interest in
hard news in broadcasting since the
Sept. 11 attacks, she said. “For so many
years we have been covering such silly
little stories. ... This is what we came
into the business to do,” she said.
But with information being dissemi
nated to the public as soon as it is
Hall in the Student Union, sponsored by the
Black Graduate Students Association, attracted
students to the event.
Participants said they enjoyed the wide range
of activities offered at the bash.
Renee Pelletier, a freshman dressed as a bug,
took advantage of free bowling offered at the
Union Underground. “If you don’t want to be
rubbing elbows with
50,000 people, it’s a nice
alternative.”
She added, though, that
she was planning on going
to Franklin Street later
with friends.
Many disguised UNC
students gathered in the
Union Cabaret to hear
bands Back Beat and Sub
Ether jam the night away.
Others preferred to eat, relax and converse
with fellow attendees.
Snacking on free cookies, freshman Kevin
White, costumed as a woman, said he and his
friends decided to stop by the Union on their
way to Franklin Street.
“I love free food, and I don’t drink,” he said
as he stroked the shoulder-length black wig on
his head.
News
received, Stahl said, there is less time for
the media to be thoughtful about the news
they are reporting. A quickened news
pace also can lead to government officials
feeding reporters incomplete or bad infor
mation. “It can’t be healthy to have (a
government official) coming before us
when he’s only had two hours himself to
be brought up to speed,” Stahl said.
Some students in the audience said it
was exciting to see a television face in per
son. “I grew up with CBS, and I love ‘6O
Minutes,’” said freshman Nidhi Thapar.
“She was so honest - about the presidents
and about herself and her failures.”
Senior Joe Disney, a journalism major,
said listening to someone already estab
lished in his future career field gave him
guidance. “The cool thing about these
kinds of speeches is they show us how the
media works, and she tells you how she
feels,” he said. “It’s nice to see these peo
ple are excited, and they are not cold like
some of the images of newspeople.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
Roommates Ama Boaten, from Ghana, and
Noriko Satake, originally from Japan,
exchanged traditional garb from their home
countries for their costumes. They said they
wanted to check out the dance before going to
Franklin Street.
CAD member Brian Gallagher said he had
already received positive feedback about story-
“If you don’t want
to be rubbing elbows with
50,000 people, it’s a
nice alternative. ”
Renee Pelletier
Freshman
munication among the
groups and some plans fell through.
Binz said she hoped the bash will become an
annual event on UNC’s campus.
Gallagher went a step further, saying,
“Halloween can be as big as Fall Fest. It can be
done.”
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
By Kristen Williams
Staff Writer
Gregory Stephens is a bit of a
Renaissance man.
He is a writer, teacher, public speak
er, disc jockey, activist and Rockefeller
Fellow. While he spreads himself
over a wide range of occupa- pjVV
tions, Stephens’ roots are in '.QAA
journalism and writing. ©*TV
Stephens uses many ere- 3*l
ative mediums to spread his k|BV|J
own philosophies and those of £
Bob Marley.
He stares intently with his blue eyes,
his chair creaking beneath him, as he
discusses Marley, culture and the three
R’s - race, Rasta and writing.
Stephens works in the University
Center for International Studies as a vis
iting scholar in the “Creating the
Transnational South” program, studying
the cultural influence of Spanish-speak-
DTH- PATTY BRENEMAN
Lesley Stahl, co-editor of "60 Minutes," speaks about the effects of
television on public perception in Memorial Hall on Thursday afternoon.
Residents Protest
Widening Plans
For Weaver Dairy
The expansion could widen Weaver Dairy
Road to four lanes, but residents fear the
effects on pedestrians and the environment.
By Adrienne Clark
Staff Writer
More than 90 Chapel Hill residents met Thursday to protest
the proposed widening of Weaver Dairy Road and to hear opin
ions from Chapel Hill mayoral and Town Council candidates.
The protest, organized by Chapel Hill resident Burwell
Ware, was held outside East Chapel Hill High School. Ware
said the residents wanted to let officials at the N.C.
Department of Transportation know that they oppose the pro
posed expansion of die road.
“I want to send a message to the (NCDOT),” Ware said.
“We can’t be a neighborhood divided by a giant highway.”
In January, the Chapel Hill Town Council voted to expand
Weaver Dairy Road to three lanes instead of four, as the NCDOT
requested. The NCDOT responded to the town’s decision with
the statement that the construction of the three-lane project would
See PROTEST, Page 4
Dueling Proposals
Seek to Limit Visas
For Foreign Students
The Enhanced Border Security Act would
track visa holders, while another bill
would reject applicants from rogue nations.
By Allison Lewis
Staff Writer
teller Terry Rollins, the
pumpkin carving and
especially the apple cider.
“I’m excited about dif
ferent aspects of Carolina
coming together,”
Gallagher said.
He said the organiza
tions learned a lot from this
year’s bash. He said there
were problems with com-
Two proposals in the U.S. Senate might create more strin
gent restrictions for foreign students attempting to study in the
United States.
Under both bills, the Immigration and Naturalization
Services would receive extra federal funding to enforce cur
rent limits on student visas.
The Enhanced Border Security Act, proposed Thursday by
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-
Kan., states that visa applications from citizens of nations that
sponsor terrorism should be highly scrutinized by government
officials.
It also mandates that student visa holders be tracked while
in the United States, although officials have not yet decided
how to do so.
An Oct. 15 press release from Kennedy’s office stated that
See STUDENT VISA, Page 4
ing immigrants.
He is an expert on Marley and has writ
ten numerous articles about him, includ
ing the 1999 book “On Racial Frontiers:
The New Culture of Frederick Douglass,
Ralph Ellison, and Bob Marley.”
In early October, he gave a presenta
tion for students entitled “Bob Marley:
v... Real Revolutionary," which highlight
(Ll ed Marley’s attitude on being biracial
U|k the Rastas and more.
■sOSC “There was a great recep-
Jclfjßtion to the Marley presenta
tion," he said. “The youths
,■ \ here are hungry, I feel, for an
N-i education that represents the
world they’re going to live in.
“Marley is the starting point - he
brings a wide diversity of people togeth
er to talk about their commonalities and
differences."
Stephens speaks passionately about
Marley and the Jamaican culture. He,
like tile Rastafarians, said he believes the
Friday, November 2, 2001
idea of “one blood.”
“The Rastas - this culture that Bob
came out of- they put it in these terms,
they talked about one blood,” Stephens
said. “They weren’t hung up on who
you can date, who you can’t date. They
were focused on the question of what is
your culture, and on what unites us as
human beings, which is one blood, unit
ed through our African roots.”
This message of “one blood,” of not
letting racial boundaries and “mental
slavery” bind people, is why Stephens
has kept Marley in his writings.
“I love his music, but when I go
beyond the music I think that Bob is an
interesting figure who challenges us to
rethink a lot of things,” he said. “Above
all he calls on us to judge each other
without regard to race.”
Marley is an artist whose music has
impacted the world then and now. Time
See STEPHENS, Page 4
3