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8 Friday, February 8, 2002 Opinion <% SaiUj alar Brrl Established 1893 • 108 Year, of Editorial Freedom ww ibilurtwdajfn Katie Hunter Editor Office Hours Friday 2 p.m. • 3 p.m. Kim Minugh MANAGING EDITOR Russ Lane SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Kate Hartig EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Lizzie Breyer UNIVERSITY EDITOR Kellie Dixon CITY EDITOR Alex Kaplun STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR lan Gordon ' SPORTS EDITOR Sarah Sanders FEATURES EDITOR Sarah Kucharski ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Terri Rupar COPY DESK EDITOR Kara Arndt PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Beth Buchholz DESIGN EDITOR Cobi Edelson GRAPHICS EDITOR Jonathan Miller ONLINE EDITOR Michael Flynn OMBUDSMAN Concerns or comments about our coverage? Contact the ombudsman at mlflynnfeiemaU.unc.edu or by phone at 843-5794 Readers' Forum Former Candidate Urges Impartiality In Elections Coverage TO THE EDITOR: Having run in a student body elec tion in the past, I have learned that The Daily Tar Heel has overwhelming influence over the results of each race. This is due to the simple fact that we learn about the candidates through the DTH’s coverage of their plat forms, debates and endorsements. And while it seems as though this task should be one that enables the stu dents to make an informed decision on election day, the truth is that the DTH’s coverage is entirely too slant ed and incomplete for any student to trust what they read. I have been to several forums on campus, and what I learn at each forum is entirely different from what the DTH reports. For example, at the Black Student Movement forum, Jen Daum spoke volumes about her qual ifications and her unique perspective. In spite of every intelligent thing that came out of her mouth, the only thing a DTH reporter could quote was her saying “I’m about as white as they Wm HBSsj pP ' pHH |h Board Editorials Vote Willett for CAA President Kris Willett has the experience and knowledge to make a difference as CAA president The race for Carolina Athletic Association president has two candidates. One candidate has better ideas for improv ing Homecoming, intramural and recre ational sports, basketball ticket distribution and the Carolina fan experience. That candidate is Kris Willett. While her opponent, Chris Gore, has ample enthusiasm for the job, he has nei ther taken enough initiative nor done enough research to confirm the feasibility of his ideas. This shortcoming is most apparent in the candidate’s basketball ticket distribution plans. Gore wants to move line check-in time to 9 a.m., as opposed to the current time of 6 a.m. And most students would wholeheartedly agree with him. But what most students and Gore don’t know is that network traffic gets increas ingly busy as the day goes on. Therefore, if ticket distribution was moved to the later time, students would spend more time wait ing in line (waiting for their UNC ONE Vote Jordan for RHA President Joanna Jordan's commitment to RHA makes her the obvious choice for president Joanna Jordan’s zeal distinguishes her from many Residence Hall Association president candidates of years past. Although she is the sole contender, Jordan is far from apathetic about her candidacy for RHA president. History shows that the influence of UNC’s RHA directly corresponds to the quality of its president. In the past, enthu siastic RHA leaders have accomplished much for campus residents by increasing publicity, advocating student interests and building a sense of community through innovative programming. Jordan promises to revive enthusiasm for the RHA, and under her leadership, it just might grow into a formidable force for stu dent activism and campuswide change. She has shown her devotion to University residents and their issues through three years of work with the RHA. More than a resume builder, the RHA is a cause Jordan truly believes in, and she is come.” This was not simply a refer ence to the obvious, but it was a start ing point for her demonstration that she has the brains and the passion to incorporate all students’ needs into her platform. Furthermore, the DTH has fea tured front-page articles on the endorsements coming from the BSM and Young Democrats. However, I just learned that Jen Daum received the Blue & White endorsement, and yet I failed to read a single article indi cating such in the DTH. Could it be that the DTH has their favorites and they only report what is favorable to their preferences? Or is just that the DTH and the Blue & White are rivals, and they don’t want to give press to their competition? Both of these options remind me of third-grade antics. The DTH’s talent for distorted journalism can further be seen every year on election day. The highly cov eted DTH endorsement for student body president always runs on this pivotal day. This is clearly the DTH’s last grand gesture to influence what we the stu dents think and subsequently how we vote. Cards to clear) than they do now when they get up at 6 a.m. Willett, on the other hand, already has preliminary approval to add another com puter to the ticket distribution office. This addition will allow line check to begin at 7 a.m. without running the risk of turning dis tribution into an all-day event. She has also arranged for support from the ONE Card Office to troubleshoot any problems. As for intramural and recreational sports, Willett will work to improve the conditions of campus recreation facilities. These facil ities include practice fields, as well as out door tennis, basketball and volleyball courts - not to mention that she will create an Internet site and a Cabinet position for someone to oversee these improvements to intramural and recreational sports. Gore mentions intramural sports only once in his platform. He wants to cover them in a weekly publication that would cost CAA more money than it needs to be spending. more than prepared to take on the position of president. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Jordan’s platform is her pledge to pursue RHA’s original mission and to steer the organization back toward its intended role. According to the original mission state ment, “The Residence Hall Association will serve the residents of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a student organi zation focusing on fostering diversity, build ing leadership skills, enhancing residents’ lives, creating community service opportu nities and honoring residents and staff mem bers for outstanding contributions to resi dence hall communities.” Jordan has not only the experience but also the vision and practicality to help RHA fulfill its mission. The personal connections she formed with both students and administrators as a resident assistant will put her in good stead as RHA president. In addition, Jordan is familiar with the I remind the students of two facts: 1) The DTH endorsement is the prod uct of about 10 people’s opinions; and 2) For as long as I can remember (at least five years), the person that the DTH endorses has never won. I challenge the DTH to commence respectable, complete, and unbiased journalism. And I further challenge the stu dents to keep Mark Twain’s very important words in mind throughout the remainder of this election, “Half of what you read is not true; this other half is a lie.” Annie Peirce Senior English The length rule was waived. Editor’s Note Today is the deadline to submit endorsement letters to The Daily Tar Heel. All letters must be received by no later than 5 p.m. Letters for all races and referen dums will be accepted. Publication is not guaranteed. Questions? Contact Editorial Page Editor Kate Hartig at khartig@email.unc.edu. An exciting part of Willett’s platform is “Answer the Bell with Bunting,” which is a takeoff of “Midnight with the Heels.” Willett recognizes the growing importance of football on campus, and a fan kickoff such as this would represent a proper beginning to football season. Lastly, Willett has a viable plan to get more students and student groups involved with Homecoming. She will revamp the process for king and queen selection, make the selection criteria available earlier and advocate for a bigger Homecoming con cert. Furthermore, her experience as this year’s CAA Homecoming director will allow her to know the limits on what CAA can or cannot plan for Homecoming. Kris Willett has the best potential for continuing the remarkable changes CAA has gone though this year. Her practical ideas coupled with her experience make Kris Willett the candidate students should support for CAA president. process of achieving goals through gover nance as a result of her prior experience with RHA. Jordan is not content to let RHA stagnate and outlined several tangible proposals for progress, including integrating the new South Campus buildings into the RHA sys tem, facilitating communication about con struction concerns and working with other campus organizations. Intent on proactivity, Jordan has already contacted administrators and construction representatives to plant the seeds of the Construction Committee she envisions in her platform. She has also initiated dia logues with specific campus organizations such the Carolina Athletic Association and Student Congress to achieve some of her programming goals, thereby producing the greatest benefits for students. Jordan’s experience, passion and com mitment make her the right choice for RHA president. p I^l The Daily Tar Heel wel comes reader comments and criticism. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 300 words and must be typed, dou ble-spaced, dated and signed by no more than two people. Students should include their year, major and phone num ber. Faculty and staff should include their title, department and phone number. The DTH reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vul garity. Publication is not guaranteed. Bring letters to the DTH office at Suite 104, Carolina Union, mail them to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 or e-mail forum to: editdesk@unc.edu. Barometer was issued as part of the government's effort to scare the holy beejezus out of all Americans. conducted by the No-Shit-Sherlock Foundation. Tar Heel Quotables “I deeply value student input.” Chancellor James Moeser In an e-mail sent to students last week. The seven students who believed him expressed their delight and then went back to work on their letters to Santa Claus. “We’re going to do everything humanly possible that there are no cuts in the classroom.” Gov. Mike Easlev Describing his strategy for dealing with the budget crisis. Starting next week, all N.C. residents will pay an air tax. I Didn't Mean To Pee In the Dating Pool lam constantly reminded that I will soon be leaving the Olympic-sized dating pool of college life and diving feet-first into the kiddy pool of singles’ clubs and per sonal ads. Realizing the urgency of this situation, I have been doing my best to wade around the waters and strut my stuff. Judging by the reactions that I have been receiving from women at UNC, however, 1 have somehow managed to metaphorically pee in the pool water. In my defense, sometimes you get so excited splashing around that you don’t even realize that it is coming out, and I feel quite certain that this is the case with me. Being surrounded by thousands of intellectual, attractive women can be a bit overstimulating from time to time. In search of why I found myself surrounded by this metaphorical warm, yellow cloud, I have been asking female friends of mine lately where I could have gone wrong. Unfortunately, I received a quick response from one of my close friends who called me from Florida last week. I was complaining about how I just wasn’t having any luck with women around here, to which she promptly replied, “If you cut your hair you wouldn’t be ugly.” Who said anything about ugly? I was expecting a “be more assertive” or “relax around women a bit more.” Apparently, my problem is a bit more fundamental than that. Somewhat disturbed by this interaction, I decided to talk to a good friend whom 1 dated on and off for a large part of my sophomore and junior years. After I explained the cruel comment that I had just received about my ugliness problem, she readily agreed and added that I also need to focus on “normality” and “personal hygiene.” I count myself very fortunate to have such very good friends who would be honest enough with me to share their true feelings about my shortcomings. All this time I thought that I needed to get in touch with my inner child or something, when in reality what I needed was to get in touch with shampoo and toothpaste. Dating is a rough business. Most people seem to think that all of these women cre ate some sort of Utopia for men at UNC. But when you find yourself writing unsolicited e-mails about “new work out programs” and “fictitious religions” as an excuse to contact girls (sorry Jen, Erica, Brandee, Casey, Kelly, Kennedy), the ratio doesn’t exacdy make you feel good about yourself. I know finding a girlfriend is supposed to be easy pick ings around here, but most the time I just feel like a kid in a candy store with no money. However, I know I am not special. It’s discouraging to help my friends shop for engagement rings while I shop for dates at East Chapel Hill High. I imagine it’s just as tough being a woman at UNC. For instance, you go for a leisurely swim and feel as if you’ve entered a swimsuit competition. All this commotion can make the kiddy pool look a bit more enticing from time to time. So hey, I’m sure there’s a pool break around the corner somewhere, but men and women of UNC, don’t go chang ing yourselves completely. There’s nothing wrong with you; finding a fitting partner just takes time. Trust me, I feel your pain, but no date is worth changing what’s important to you. While it’s vitally important that we be true to ourselves, we need to be open-minded to different people as well. Right now an arranged marriage sounds like it just might be the saving grace I’ve been looking for, but it’s unexpect ed love that makes dating so exciting. All people, male or female, Greek or non-Greek, black or white, normal or strange (like me, apparendy) have something to offer. So, women and men, next time you are with someone and you notice their fatal flaw and feel that warm yellow begin to creep around your legs, you can do one of two things. You can say, “Well that’s gross. I guess I better swim elsewhere.” Or you can let down your guard a bit and pee right back at them. In life, we can pick at what is wrong with each other all day, or we can share in the warmth of each other’s peculiarities. Ben Dickens realizes that recommending that students pee in the UNC dating pool is not without consequences. Send bills for cleaning and additional chlorine to bdickens@email.unc.edu. Duck and Cover Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant received an FBI warning of a possi ble terrorist attack. The warning I'll Drink to That A recent study revealed that students report drinking more alcohol after the first year of college. The study was (Efjp lotltj ®ar Huri Finger-Lickin' Good Police disposed of a skinned fox that was found in a campus bathroom. Somewhere, a State stu- 4% dent laments the loss of a perfectly good meal. I Know Nothing Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling told a congressional committee that he knew nothing about financial mischief at the company. 'W K Ignorance: the hallmark of every successful leader. “At this point, it poses no hazard” Hydrogeologist Eric Rice On low-level radioactive waste buried near Old Mason Farm Road. So we probably shouldn't worry about our hair loss, tooth decay and the curious appearance of five extra nipples, then? “We concluded the distance between the two positions was too far to negotiate” Chancellor James Moeser On the end of the UNC/Qatar relationship. Moeser later called Qatar and asked for his sweater and mix tapes back. BEN DICKENS SHAMPOOING PEOPLE, REPEATEDLY REPORTED
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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