Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 29, 2003, edition 1 / Page 12
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12 Wednesday, January 29, 2003 Board Editorials Moeser on the Move Chancellor James Moeser's proposed tour of North Carolina takes an important first step in reaching out to state residents and showing the value of the University. Chancellorjames Moeser could be coining soon to a city near you. Moeser announced his intentions to tour the entire state before the summer during last week’s meeting of the UNC Board of Trustees. The chancellor said the tour would help to push the image of the state’s flagship university to its res idents and leaders in the business and political communities. “I think we have to re-engage ourselves in that process so we are perceived as a university that reaches from the far west to the east,” Moeser said at the meeting. The news could not come at a better time. With the University embarking on several important goals - including a multibillion dollar fund-raising campaign - it is important that cam pus officials don’t lose sight of the fact that UNC instills a major source of pride and confidence to many in the state. That public faith was tested last fall following two hody debated events involving the University. In August, the campus became the center of a national debate when incoming freshmen were assigned to read “Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations” which contained 35 suras, or short passages, of the Islamic holy book. Then, Moeser raised eyebrows in November when he agreed to pay Susan Ehringhaus, former vice chancellor and general counsel, almost $380,000 for two years, only one of which would be spent working for UNC. Moeser told The Daily Tar Heel last month that plans for the state tour were under way before news of the Ehringhaus deal hit the press. In reaching out to the public, Moeser could help to alleviate any concerns that the University is Passing the Gavel State legislators need to wrap up the speaker controversy as soon as possible and get to work on crafting a bipartisan solution to the state's budget problems. After a brief recess to lick campaign wounds and to recover from last year’s lengthy meetings, state legislators will descend on Raleigh today when the General Assembly convenes at noon. And all eyes will be focused on the race for speaker of an evenly divided N.C. House -a hard fought contest that has all the trappings of a trashy television soap opera. Democratic and Republican leaders have been busy fighting for party loyalty while trying to encour age members on the other side of the aisle to defect The Republicans are taking the issue so seriously that they formed a Nixon-esque group, “Republicans Watching Republicans,” to ensure voting uniformity. Despite, or perhaps because of, the Big Brother mentality, Rep. Michael Decker, D-Forsyth, switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat on Friday morning and announced that he intends to endorse Democratic speaker candi date Jim Black of Mecklenburg County. Decker was greeted with open arms by his new colleagues, while his former Republican allies called him everything from a traitor to a political whore. The party switch managed to intensify the already antagonistic nature of the speaker race ten fold, with Republicans alleging that Democrats “sold” Decker a leadership position and their souls in exchange for switching parties. This partisan push bodes poorly for the legisla tors’ ability to work together. Given the tie between the Democrats and the Republicans in the House, whoever is elected speaker must put bipartisanship at the top of the agenda if he hopes to accomplish anything. Only by ladling out a balanced number of lead ership positions can the eventual speaker hope to EDITOR’S NOTEiThe above editorials are the opinions of solely The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board, which were reached after open debate. The board consists of eight board members, the assistant editorial page editor, the editorial page edi tor and the DTH editor. The 2002-03 DTH editor decided not to vote on the board and not to write board editorials. Candidate Plans to Make Games More Fun Athletics are so ingrained in our campus culture at Carolina that it affects every single student. Many of us have attended events like soccer matches, basketball games and foot ball games during our precious years at UNC. We fail to realize, however, how blessed we are to walk, cele brate and sometimes play on the same fields as former Tar Heels like Marion Jones, Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Amos Lawrence, Davis Love 111 and Phil Ford. Our sporting facilities are among the best in the nation -with Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center consistently being rated among the top venues to watch sport in all of college athletics. Our teams are successful on the field and in the classroom, yielding ACC championships in women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, tennis, track and field, field hockey, wresding and swimming and diving in the last four years. Nearly every year we finish in the top five of the Sears Cup - which ranks the over all worth and excellence of a sports program. Despite the history, the facilities and the success there is still an aura of apathy toward the Department of Athletics and the support of our accomplished athletes on this campus. It seems as if an excitement, a spark and a fer stuck in its own bubble and not in tune with the needs and wants of the state. The tour would also help to boost Moeser’s image to a statewide audience. Several critics ques tioned Moeser’s appointment as the University’s ninth chancellor in 2000 because of his lack of ties to North Carolina. In proposing the tour, Moeser would help to continue a tradition started by his predecessor, the late Michael Hooker. Hooker visited all 100 N.C. counties from 1996- 97 to examine the state’s economy and education systems. He also helped to launch the Tar Heel Bus Tour, which sends new faculty and administrators on a weeklong tour of the state. Moeser announced at the BOT meeting that he has made several stops on the tour since the Winter Break, mostly in the central region of the state. The chancellor said he also has met with 15 state legislators and hopes to meet with more in the near future. The talks could prove crucial in the coming months when lawmakers begin to debate the state’s budget. But while it is important for Moeser to push University causes before members of the General Assembly, it is equally important to reach out to everyday citizens. Moeser’s itinerary should be sure to include locations representing the state’s vast economic, social and political diversities. Whether he’s having lunch with school teachers on the coast, chatting it up with banking leaders from Charlotte or visiting laid-off textile workers in the western portion of the state, Moeser should take the time to examine the wide array issues affecting the millions of people who call this state home. erase the partisan baggage that has accumulated over the years and by Decker’s defection. This spirit of openness and cooperation will enable legislators to address the most pressing problem facing the state and the issue that likely will dominate their discussions for the foreseeable future -a budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year estimated from $1.3 billion to $2 billion. This budget deficit, the latest in a string dating back to 2001, has turned into a recurring problem because legislators from both parties are unwilling to take the necessary steps to solve it. For the past two years, legislators have relied too often on accounting tricks and on cutbacks to state agencies to plug the budget holes. Now it’s up to legislators to take a more proac tive solution to get the state’s economy humming again rather than turn again to the tried-and-failed solutions of the past. Gov. Mike Easley has asked legislators to extend several tax measures that are slated to be phased out later this year. The measures included raising the state’s sales taxes and increasing the amount of income tax paid by the state’s richest residents. Apart from meeting Easley’s challenge, legisla tors should increase taxes on alcohol and cigarettes as a way to boost revenue. State agencies, which have been slashed to the bone by wave after wave of budget cuts, are on the edge. The state’s poor economy has increased the demand for state services - requiring the legisla ture spend more money, not less, to help hungry, cold and unemployed families out of this crisis. That burden can only be lifted by Democrats and Republicans in the House putting their differ ences aside and working together. vent unequivocal support for our team has somewhere become unpopular and simply not fun. Building upon the programs developed by the current CAA and introducing the new ideas men tioned in the platform, we hope to bring back fun and pride to Carolina athletics. By planning in advance, working tirelessly, contacting those in authori ty positions and advocating the stu- Sherrell McMillan dent viewpoint, Sherrell McMillan for CAA president will attempt to bring back what seems to be the key ingredient in athletics - fun. ■ Reinstate Carolina Fan Focus Groups to provide student input on enhancing the foot ball game day experience at UNC through dialogue with coaches, UNC bands and the athletic department. ■ In the same spirit, initiating the inclusion of student-chosen music in Kenan Stadium before games. Students would vote among a group of songs chosen by the football players themselves, thereby creating a bond between the athletes and their fellow students. ■ In order to foster better communication between students and event security, create a student security panel for discussion and understanding of each group’s goals and expectations. Editorial Page ahr irnltj aar liM Established 1893 ■ 109 Years of Editorial Freedom www.dailytarheel.com Kim Minugh Alex Kaplun Lizzie Breyer EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR PROJECTS EDITOR Office Hours Noon-2 Friday Lucas Fenske Daniel Thigpen John Frank ■ Elyse Ashbum EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR UNIVERSITY EDITOR CITY EDITOR STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR Aaron Fitt Brian Cassella Addie Sluder Nick Parker SPORTS EDITOR PHOTO EDITOR FEATURES EDITOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Terri Rupar Beth Buchholz & Tiffany Pease Josh Stafford Adam Shupe COPY EDITOR DESIGN EDITORS GRAPHICS EDITOR ONLINE EDITOR Brian Millikin Eric Gautschi WRITING COACH OMBUDSMAN If you have any concerns or comments about our coverage, please contact Ombudsman Eric Gautschi at eg@agentse.com or by phone at 843-5794. M&Jgk v\ |lfga &T N ‘ GIVES TRIBUTE TO TWISTED SISTER'S "I WANT TO ROCK" IN HIS STATE OF It UNION SPEECH Military Action More Humane Than Allowing Iraqis to Suffer Anti-war activists should be ashamed of themselves. Their campaign against American mili tary action, specifically in Iraq, warrants our strongest condemnation. Although anti-war activists purport to stand for one thing, their actions have the exact opposite effect. Peaceniks have a problem with making moral judgements. Their mantra of, “Sure, their living situation’s different, but who am I to judge?” should make anyone with common sense nauseous. What are these different but acceptable ways of living that they speak of, exacdy? Could they be talking about Iraq, where a brutal tyrant has gassed, tortured and otherwise subju gated the citizenry for more than 25 years? Or perhaps they mean North Korea, where, after decades of communist rule, people have to eat moss to survive? As the world’s most powerful country and as its beacon of freedom, we have a duty to destroy any totalitarian ideology that threatens the world and our way of life. Last I checked, negotiation didn’t work very well with despots. In fact, deci sive military victories such as World War II have led to positive and lasting change, while half-hearted efforts like the Vietnam War lead to more suffering, especially for the people living under the tyranny. Now that reports are surfacing that ■ Advocate the creation of more intramur al field space to bring UNC to the same level as our peer institutions. Also work for extend ed hours in campus recreational facilities such as Woollen and Fetzer gyms and the SRC ■ In conjunction with the Sports Marketing Department and the Department of Public Safety, explore the possibility of moving the Homecoming Parade to Saturday morning to inspire more participation, interest and excitement. ■ Establish broader planning and encour age more student organization participation during Homecoming and the activities therein. ■ Work with the University registrar to ensure more accurate student loads, lessening inaccurate scans at distributions. ■ Open dialogue with the Ticket and UNC ONE Card offices to begin ideas con cerning the modernization of ticket distribu tions. ■ With the support of the ONE Card office, encourage the purchase and installation of wireless card scanners for use at conces sions of Olympic sporting events, to check stu dent eligibility at intramural events and any other applicable locations. ■ Continue dialogue with UNC bands to encourage the inclusion of more contempo rary music that appeals to the student body during games. might link Iraq directly to al-Qaida, the danger is only growing. Knowing this, “peace activists” who hold demonstra tions aimed at weakening our morale or determination are acting downright traitorously, just as their predecessors did during the Vietnam War, and their actions could again help lead to misery and death for mil lions. Whatever rhetoric they hide behind, what many of these people actually fear is that America will win decisively and that we’ll expand our global influence. Somehow FELIX LURYE LET FREEDOM RING they dislike what America stands for. The reality, of course, is that the first people to benefit from an American victory would be those oppressed by the Iraqi regime. On our campus, this warped “peace” mentality is embraced by people like Catherine Lutz, an anthropology profes sor who has spoken out against crushing Hussein and has given a presentation at a teach-in designed to “humanize” the war. So she shows starving Iraqi children. Is she really misguided enough to believe that it’s not Hussein that causes the pain and suffering of his people? Even the United Nations, hardly a pro- American organization, has repeatedly reported that the Iraqi standard of living and health care has not fallen but rather risen in the last few years, partly because Readers' Forum Editor’s Note: Monday’s Viewpoints page is set aside for the platforms of candidates running for student body president. The Feb. 10 Viewpoints page, however, is set aside for the student body to write endorsement letters for candidates or ballot referendums. Endorsement letters need to adhere to The Daily Tar Heel’s regular policy regarding letters to the editor. Letters not printed in the paper will be pub lished on the DTH’s Web site. Senior Class Officers Welcomes University Community to Kick-Off of Gift Campaign TO THE EDITOR: Carolina students and faculty, on behalf of the senior marshals of the class of 2003, we would like to invite you to the kick-off of our class gift fund-raising efforts today. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., we will be outside the Undergraduate Library celebrating one of Carolina’s oldest and finest traditions with 2,003 free Krispy Kreme doughnuts, hot chocolate, guest speakers and student per formance groups. Last semester, the seniors voted to endow the Undergraduate Library as their class gift. This endowment aims to keep our new library ... well, new. The interest accrued will go towards maintaining and keeping up its beautiful new renovations. Seniors will also be able to choose quotes that will be placed on the benches outside the Undergrad further honoring our gift. We hope that you will come by today to grab a doughnut and learn more about this gift and our upcoming fund-raising efforts. Love your library. Liz Scanlon Fund-Raising Chairwoman Senior Marshals Paymon Rouhanifard Senior Class President F The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader comments. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 300 words and must be typed, double spaced, dated and signed by no more than two people. Students should include their year, major and phone number. Faculty and staff should include their title, department and phone number. The DTH reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vulgarity. Publication is not guaran teed. 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. (Hhp iailij iHar MM of the “Oil for Food” program. And Iraq is not a poor country. For example, a tour of one of Hussein’s many palaces revealed eight walls of an entrance hall decorated with poetry in praise of him - all in solid gold. How much food and medicine could that amount of gold buy, I wonder? Although Lutz has experience in anthro pology, she obviously should expand her understanding of history. Perhaps she’s try ing to take a page from the book of Hanoi Jane (the nickname given to Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War), who partied with the Viet Cong in Hanoi while real American heroes were languishing in POW camps. Fonda also served as an excellent mouth piece for Viet Cong propaganda, and her actions indirectly led to the torture and deaths of a number of our soldiers. My suggestion for Ms. Lutz and others like her is to have a chat with the relatives of the millions of Vietnamese sent to labor camps and massacred by the Viet Cong or some North Korean refugees who have managed to escape their country. They should ask those people how they feel about the United States pulling out before the job was finished -and then maybe they should go live under Hussein’s rule, since they fight so hard to protect it. As for the rest of us, let’s not cater to short-sighted radicals by repeat ing the mistakes of the past. Reach Felix Lurye at flurye@email.unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 29, 2003, edition 1
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