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TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2004
BOARD EDITORIALS
THINGS TO D0...
With today’s inauguration, new student government officers will be
taking over, and The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board has some pointers.
Obviously, student government is led each year
by people who have styles of operating that
are different from those of their predecessors.
There are many ways in which student leaders can
get things done and multiple paths they can take to
reach their goals, but here are a few tidbits our elect
ed representatives should remember.
Stand your ground
New Student Body President Matt Calabria
shouldn’t put off other members of the University’s
Board of Trustees with an overly aggressive approach.
But he also shouldn’t let other trustees steamroll
over his opinions and contributions to board dis
cussion. During BOT meetings and especially dur
ing any future tuition debates, it is imperative that
the student trustee hold his own.
Know the code
This semester exposed numerous flaws in the
Student Code and interpretation of the code occa
sionally has been suspect.
It’s up to officials to make sure that they under
stand the language and nuances of student govern
ment’s written law.
They should take it upon themselves to fix mis
takes in the code and bring it closer to perfection.
Keep the drive alive
One of the highlights of the most recent admin
istration was its devotion to a voter registration drive
on campus.
Voting is a crucial piece of the democratic puzzle,
so new officers should recognize the importance of
continuing and improving on past efforts to prepare
students for participation in elections.
... AND NOT TO DO
With the above list of objectives comes an equally long list of items
student government officials should attempt to avoid like the plague.
f ■ are many initiatives and ideas that stu-
I dent government officials should embrace. At
JL the same time, there are many things to avoid
actions and attitudes alike. Student leaders might
want to pay heed to the following list of don’ts.
Don't blink at outside ideas
Calabria’s platform was the best all-around list of
proposals among this year’s student body president
candidates, but other platforms included fantastic
points that he would be remiss to disregard. Calabria
should consider such possibilities as Lily West’s
Center for Creative Student Leadership and Matt
Compton’s Students’ Speaker Bureau.
Don’t ignore the newbies
Freshmen are relatively green when it comes to
campus affairs, but that shouldn’t stop leaders from
calling on first-year students eager to prove them
selves as student government officials. Calabria
already has taken this cue, having chosen freshman
Bernard Holloway to be student body secretary.
Don't let the office get too cliquish
It doesn’t help the student body when student
government effectively becomes an in-crowd.
Various officials and groups from each of the three
branches should be receptive to all students. New
leaders should avoid tabbing friends to fill minor
positions within student government.
Don't get too 'buddy-buddy 1
Systems of checks and balances exist for a reason.
While those officials in charge of the three separate
EDITOR'S NOTE: The above editorials are the opinions of solely The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board, and were reached after open debate. The
board consists of seven board members, the editorial page associate editor, the editorial page editor and the DTH editor. The 2003-04 DTH
editor decided not to vote on the board and not to write board editorials.
READERS’ FORUM
Relay for Life, cancer battle
deserved coverage in DTH
TO THE EDITOR:
I was very disappointed to find
no mention in The Daily Tar Heel
of the past weekend’s Relay for Life
events.
Relay for Life is the American
Cancer Society’s signature fund
raising activity, allowing commu
nities to come together in order to
raise money for research and edu
cation to fight cancer and to
remember and honor loved ones.
Many of us have watched friends
or someone in our family battle
cancer, and it is important for us to
lend our support and encourage
ment in as many ways as we can,
including recognition of events
such as Relay for Life.
Ashley Jewel!
Junior
Biology
CAPS ducked responsibility,
pushed student on others
TO THE EDITOR:
After seeing Friday’s article, I
would like to relate my experience
with lack of support from CAPS.
In the spring of 2003,1 had an
unfortunate incident where com
ments I made while drunk were
misconstrued as suicidal.
I was sent to the N.C.
Neurosciences Hospital and told I
could speak to a doctor in the morn-
Lay the groundwork
A student candidacy in the 2003 Chapel Hill
Town Council elections floundered, to say the least.
Student government officials should look ahead to
the 2005 municipal election by researching the
issues, increasing campus awareness and preparing
to back at least one student candidate.
Lobby for students
The state and, therefore, the UNC system is still
in financial dire straits.
Last summer, N.C. legislators made serious cuts
in the system’s budget, and more cuts might come in
the future. Officers need to pool their resources and
find ways to keep students in lawmakers’ minds.
Student government leaders will have ample
opportunity during the summer to establish new
contacts and lobby for the University.
Hit the ground running
Calabria has until April 2005 to fulfill his platform’s
promises. Outgoing Student Body President Matt
Tepper set a strong example by completing most of his
platform before students dispersed for the winter hol
idays; with such an extensive list of ideas, Calabria
would be wise to follow his predecessor’s lead.
Act like a trustee
In the presence of BOT members, decorum is key.
Trustees are more likely to respect students who con
duct themselves in a professional manner, present
both opinions and facts with confidence and dress the
part of a person representing an entire campus pop
ulation. Many trustees have backgrounds in business,
so professionalism carries weight with them.
branches of student government should maintain
relationships marked by respect and cooperation, it
would be improper for them to become too friendly
with each other. Respectful distances between lead
ers are necessary if students are to be served best.
Don't forget your veto
The student body president does, in fact, have the
veto. While Jen Daum turned to her veto power in an
unwise —and ultimately unsuccessful effort to nix
a Student Congress allocation to the Independent
Defense Counsel, Tepper never used it.
Calabria shouldn’t veto a bill just to flex his polit
ical muscle, but he should consider it an option if he
disagrees with something Congress sends him.
Don't accept shoddy returns
The Association of Student Governments, funded
by UNC-system students, solely represents the sys
tem’s student population.
UNC-Chapel Hill student officials should hold
ASG more accountable. While UNC-CH needs to
respect the other 15 UNC-system schools, a similar
degree of respect should extend from the rest of the
system to the Chapel Hill campus.
Don’t let talent leave early
Campus elections will take place in February, but
campaigns will start rolling well before then. Some
student government officials undoubtedly will join
campaigns, and officers will ask for their resignations
to sidestep possible conflicts of interest. However,
student leaders would be advised not to jump the gun
in releasing aspiring campaign workers, who can
serve students deep into the fall semester.
ing. At 8 a.m. I explained my situa
tion to a doctor, who set up a meet
ing with “Dr. X” from CAPS at noon.
After explaining my situation, I
expected to be released with the
condition of receiving counseling
from CAPS.
Instead, I was informed I would
remain at the hospital until I could
find residence off-campus, since I
was no longer a student or dorm
resident until my case was
reviewed, and that CAPS “did not
have the resources” to deal with my
situation and I would have to find
counseling off-campus.
I missed a week of classes
between time at the hospital and at
home 160 miles away. Afterward, I
was allowed to return to classes,
dependent upon private counsel
ing sessions at my own expense.
After three sessions my coun
selor determined I was well and
needed no further counseling.
Upon hearing this, “Dr. X” told me
to continue counseling throughout
the summer and the fall semester.
I left his office, never returned, and
have been fine ever since.
I find it insulting this doctor
would tell me I still needed help
when he never helped to begin
with.
My private counselor got to real
ly know who I was as a person. “Dr.
X” only seemed interested in giving
me generic orders to cover himself
in case something happened to me.
I hope the new changes help;
CAPS should help the student
Opinion
body, not point out problems and
pass the buck to someone else.
Dustin Clarke
Senior
School of Dentistry
Fundamental changes must
be made to CAPS program
TO THE EDITOR:
In response to the CAPS article,
“Edgerly said that while the cam
pus psychological service refers
students to outside medical
resources when long-term help is
required, the eight-session cap on
treatment is a myth.
“CAPS would never kick a stu
dent out of service who is in need
of a service.”
Manning says: “We fully support
students who decide that they need
to take a medical leave.”
These are both examples of why
students at UNC are not getting
the help they need. I know from
personal experience neither of
these statements are true.
I sought out CAPS in August of
my sophomore year after going
through severe depression my
entire freshman year.
After my intake evaluation my
doctors realized that I would
require long-term care, but I was
told specifically that they could
only see me eight times (the intake
appointment counted as one of
those times).
Asa result, I was forced to bring
ON THE DAY’S NEWS
“Many receive advice; only the wise profit from it.”
PUBLILIUS SYRUS, ROMAN MIMOGRAPHER
EDITORIAL CARTOON
■.
"VCHcRS SEEMTO PREFER BIKHAS QUARTERBACK,BOT WAS iWONt#MORNIN6-
QUARTERBACK'"
COMMENTARY
Everyone has an example
of tragically lost potential
Everybody knows a Dean
Moriarty. I’m talking about
the character in Jack
Kerouac’s “On The Road.”
They’re a rare breed, but
almost everybody knows one. And
whenever you bring them up,
people light up in the eyes and
fondly remember those times
when we could benefit from the
circus that followed them around.
I knew a Dean Moriarty once.
It was a friend whose talent
was so incredible that he could
sing “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the
center of campus, and every per
son within a mile could hear that
booming baritone voice that
dripped with youth and happi
ness and recognize him.
Re could turn every evening
into a circus and a classic rock ‘n’
roll song.
He could dance like he wrote
every song himself, so effortlessly
did he move with the little off
beats in the song that you can’t
hear unless you’re special, grab
bing up a girl and twisting her
until her hair flailed around her
and making her into a good
dancer whether she had ever
danced a moment in her life or
not.
If the world can be some peo
ple’s oyster, then people were his
oyster. He could charm every one
and delight them with his utter
compulsiveness. No trouble was
too much for him to charm his
way out of, sometimes turning his
month-overdue work into furious
professors who were charmed
into taking the work anyway
because he was clearly a “good kid
at heart.”
He could charm his work man
ager into letting him cart out
boxes and boxes of old candy for
his own incredible appetite. He
could convince you to spend every
my car up from home in Charlotte
and park it off-campus in order to
see a psychiatrist in Durham that
my insurance did not even cover
(the only one accepting new clients
out of a list of about 10 that CAPS
gave me).
I was in need of service and was
kicked out by CAPS.
At one point I decided I wanted
to withdraw from my classes, as I
was about to have a breakdown.
I was told that I would forfeit all
tuition expenses and that the
University might not even let me
back in, because “it looks pretty
bad to withdraw from all your
classes, even if it is for medical pur
poses” (told to me by a dean).
Unfortunately, unless there are
major changes in both CAPS and
the entire administration, students
with mental health problems will
continue to be swept under the rug
or even worse.
Scott Crew
Senior
Psychology
'Best value' does not always
equate to being the best
TO THE EDITOR:
An editorial in The Daily Tar
Heel on April 2 draws a parallel
between UNC’s recent top ranking
as the “Best Value” among colleges
and our goal to be top in The
Associated Press basketball rank
ings, but the comparison doesn’t
BILLY BALL
FOR KIDS WHO CAN'T READ GOOD
cent you had to simply keep him
going and never feel like it was
charity.
But at the same time that he
was so unfailingly youthful and
joyful, he was simultaneously the
saddest person you’ve ever met.
You’ve heard people say in a
voice like a sigh, “What a waste,
phew.” But then you don’t really
understand what they mean until
you meet someone who could be
given such a rare gift but left
deplorably void of the sense that
helps others to blend in and adapt
to the often harsh and incurable
world.
Those individuals could be so
blessed with creative powers but
driven to destroy everything
they’ve touched until they destroy
themselves, too.
That destructive attitude that
makes that same friend of mine
stand on the sixth floor of
Ehringhaus Residence Hall, scale
the balcony rail, grip the column
separating the balcony rails and
swing out over dead space for just
one blank and unending moment
to test how far he’ll push himself.
That legendary bacon pizza
that had rested on the floor of a
filthy residence hall room for
three weeks that he ate, seeming
ly with no concern for his health.
To consume the most danger
ous of drugs until nothing is left
but a shadow of their former
glory, and they spend all of their
creative moments trying to
work.
“Best Value” does not mean best
quality it means that we provide
an acceptable product at rock-bot
tom prices (like T.J. Maxx, Wal-
Mart or Burger King).
The shameful truth is that we
are “best value” because faculty and
staff salaries are far below salaries
at comparable institutions, which
has caused many outstanding fac
ulty and staff to leave UNC.
If we had been seeking a best
value basketball program, we
would have hired a less expensive
coaching staff.
If we seek to be the best universi
ty, we must hire and retain top
quality faculty and staff (Le., the aca
demic equivalents of Roy Williams).
“Best Value” is very different
from “Best.”
Steve Reznick
Professor
Psychology
TO SUBMIT A LETTER: 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 num
ber. The DTH reserves the right to edit
letters for space, clarity and vulgarity.
Publication is not guaranteed. Bring let
ters to the DTH office at Suite 104,
Carolina Union, mail them to P.O. Box
3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 or e-mail
them to editdesk@unc.edu.
2Hp Sattg ®ar Hwl
destroy instead.
In those times, people will tell
you they were driven to follow
those friends through obstacles,
great dance hall scenes, one-night
stands, blazing joints, stolen
goods and finally to the great
jump onto the wrong side of the
tracks that our parents told us
about.
We’d follow them there, but
then we could never quite stom
ach going all the way with them.
We’d eye the jump nervously and
kind of kick at it, but we’d never
actually go across it with them,
and then we’d spend the rest of
our lives wondering exactly what
they encountered when they went
there.
Wouldn’t it be great to get back
with those friends just once and
really learn what they’ve really
learned?
The truth is that it would never
work. That those crazy moments
we remember so fondly probably
will never quite fit us like in the
moments that we did.
And we can never quite grip
anything aside from what we are
right now, we can only try them
on, look in the mirror, realize that
they don’t look so good on us any
more the flab’s starting to show
—and then we take them off and
drop them on the side.
Here’s to those friends who
we’ll probably wonder about for
the rest of our lives, and to the
stories we’ll tell about them
because we’ll never forget them.
And to those friends who we’ll
never quite be able to figure out,
and to those friends who will
always teeter between being the
best and the worst friends that
we’ve ever had.
Contact Billy Ball
at wkball@email.unc.edu.
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