14
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2004
BOARD EDITORIALS
KTNNATRD FOR SENATE
Despite her faults, Ellie Kinnaird’s ability to speak out strongly for
her beliefs and her detailed ideas make her deserving of re-election.
The N.C. Senate race for the District 23 seat has
presented voters with two candidates, incum
bent Ellie Kinnaird and challenger Robert
Whitfield, with substantially different philosophies.
The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Board endorses
Kinnaird —with some notable reservations.
Her experience and strong support for education,
health care, the environment, a death penalty mora
torium and other initiatives help to make her the best
candidate for the job.
She is very opinionated, even when compared to
her fellow politicians in Raleigh, and she has made
almost every effort to back up her views when spon
soring or discussing bills in the state Senate.
Both Kinnaird and Whitfield support the strength
ening of the state’s community college system to train
North Carolinians to adapt to a changing workforce.
But on the whole, Kinnaird’s education policies have
the funding plans to back them up.
Whitfield’s fiscal prescription for North Carolina
cutting various taxes and not creating new ones
isn’t a good idea for a state that still is trying to
find its way out of deep fiscal deficits. Tax cuts at this
time could very well create brand new financial prob
lems for state legislators to struggle with, and they
could imperil government services on which North
Carolinians rely.
Kinnaird’s pro-tax mind-set might not be popular,
but it is responsible —and her tax proposals are by
no means haphazard. For example, she supports a
proposed 75-cent cigarette tax.
Seeing as how the U.S. Congress just passed legis
lation including provisions for a tobacco quota buy
out, it seems to be the most opportune time for N.C.
lawmakers to tap into this revenue source.
Also, Whitfield’s claim that there are too many
environmental regulations in place that hinder
businesses is somewhat disquieting, especially as he
gives little support for his assertions. Environmental
regulations are in place to protect the resources that
FRANKLIN AND CAREY
Moses Careys experience and Artie Franklin’s ideas for restructuring
the Orange County Board of Commissioners’ makeup fit the county.
Artie Franklin, Libertarian candidate for
Orange County commissioner, is a potential
ally of students and rural county voters, and
he could prove helpful in remedying unnecessary dif
ficulties for student voters.
He’s an underdog —but he’s also a serious can
didate with good ideas, and voters should consider
breaking with the straight ticket to support him on
the ballot. His knowledge of county issues and the
relevant background is extensive and impressive,
s? Tbe Daily Tkr Heel Editorial Board endorses Franklin
and incumbent Moses Carey for the two open seats on
thetDrange County Board of Commissioners.
Carey, who has served on the board since 1984,
brings an invaluable amount of experience and a
strong record to the table. He knows the county and
the issues that it is facing.
Although Carey’s pursuit of a merger of Chapel
Hill-Carrboro City and Orange County schools has
been somewhat reckless at times, he has legitimate
concerns about the discrepancy of funding between
the systems: City schools receive about $l,lOO more
funding per pupil than schools in the county system.
Furthermore, Carey has softened his rhetoric and has
shown that he is willing to work toward a compromise
to equalize funding.
Franklin has run a campaign consistent with the
theme ofbringing in different perspectives, and his two
major platform planks reflect that priority. He wants to
bring in the views of rural county residents.
He also seeks to hold a referendum on a poten
tial merger to ensure that any decision reflects the
interests of residents and not just the perspectives
of commissioners.
In order to diversify the perspectives commission
ers bring to the board, Franklin also plans to work
toward representation reform. Orange County voters
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 six board members, the editorial page associate editor, the editorial page editor and the DTH editor. The 2004-05 DTH editor
decided not to vote on the board and not to write board editorials.
READERS FORUM
University is threatening
AlO's evangelical mission
TO THE EDITOR:
It’s true that this great uni
versity is a place of diversity and
acceptance, and it should and will
remain that way in many respects
—but the situation surrounding
Alpha lota Omega, the three-mem
ber Christian fraternity, should be
reconsidered.
Like all fraternities and Christian
fellowships, brotherhood is a core
characteristic.
With their strong evangelical
mission in mind, the brothers of
AIO wish to use personal strengths
and group strengths to lead others
to Christ.
Asa group, they wouldn’t have
the same strength if they were
unable to share the same religious
foundation.
This type of foundation is new
to the variety of fraternities and
sororities that currently enrich our
campus.
Current foundations, based on a
specific interest, range from a par
ticular philanthropy to an ethnic
group.
Unlike other areas, I personally
believe it is very difficult to share
any religion with people of differ
ent beliefs unless you are strong in
your own faith.
For example, as an Asian-
American Christian, I feel that
I can bring awareness to the
oppressed minority groups in
Sudan or the struggles of a single
North Carolinians need and the land that surrounds
them eliminating or diminishing the power of
environmental guidelines isn’t the answer.
Kinnaird has shown a much greater tendency to
look out for the environment.
But she hasn’t displayed as reasonable a stance
when it comes to bringing in business. Kinnaird is
not a fan of state lawmakers offering tax incentives to
companies that are thinking about establishing new
operations somewhere in North Carolina. She makes
a strong point that improved educational opportuni
ties both will help workers and will attract compa
nies to the state.
But in the short term, the state needs more jobs.
Corporate welfare might be disagreeable to some
lawmakers, but they should consider it a necessary
evil.
If they don’t use business-friendly tools to attract
companies, certain communities —and the entire
state’s economy will suffer because of the lost
opportunity for more jobs.
Like Kinnaird, Whitfield stays true to his convic
tions he is a passionate conservative with deeply
religious beliefs. And he has exhibited a great will
ingness to listen to people who don’t share his views
and to compromise.
Kinnaird should be careful to avoid a hometown
bias.
Although the residents of Chapel Hill and
Carrboro combined make up a large portion of the
district’s population, there are many thousands of
constituents in her district who live outside the two
towns. If she is re-elected, Kinnaird should work to
show a greater commitment to the people of north
ern Orange County and Person County.
Both candidates have significant pluses and
minuses.
But in the end, Kinnaird’s experience and her
more detailed plans regarding some of the district’s
most important issues render her the best choice.
currently elect all five commissioners at large —a
setup that can effectively drown out the voices of peo
ple who live outside of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
Because 55 percent of the county’s population is
composed of Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents, the
towns tend to dominate discussion that should relate
to the entire county. Franklin promises to work to set
up a districting system that would guarantee rural
residents control of at least one seat on the board.
And Franklin’s plans for reforming representation
make him a potential ally for students interested in
making voting easier on campus. Although h'efSaflf
he was unaware of efforts to create a consolidated
campus precinct, he expressed a willingness to help
students reach that god.
UNC’s campus is split into six polling precincts.
The different polling sites —most of which are off
campus leave many students confused as to where
they should go to cast their ballots.
The precinct setup is a cumbersome system that
doesn’t make sense —and it’s one that Franklin might
be able to help fix. He said students make a logical
constituency in need of its own polling places.
This election features four strong candidates.
Valerie Foushee, who opposes a merger, arguably has
the education ideas she came up through the local
school system, further solidifying her perspective.
Jamie Daniel, another merger opponent, has
expressed interesting ideas about dealing with pro
spective companies, increasing broadband support
in the county and funding the local rescue squad.
It’s because of Franklin’s spirit of inclusion that
voters should pick him in the election.
He would leave the merger decision up to voters,
and he would reach out to all county residents.
At the same time, despite his merger stance, Moses
Carey’s expertise is too great for voters to ignore.
Hispanic mother, but I would be
unable to properly share with
another about the intricacies of
Buddhism.
In the case of the Inter Varsity
Christian Fellowship, UNC’s
administration allowed the group
to choose their leaders, the peo
ple responsible for spreading the
word.
This case should be an example
for the AIO case because all initi
ated brothers will be sharing God’s
words on campus, which sets them
apart as leaders.
Events held by AIO, like the
ones held by Inter Varsity, would
be open to everyone without any
discrimination in fact, people of
all walks of life would be encour
aged to attend.
But all members of AIO serve
as leaders. Without the freedom
of choice in selecting the hosts for
these events, Alpha lota Omega’s
evangelical mission is severely
threatened.
Monica Ma
Sophomore
Biology
Columnist used a racial slur
that is based on stereotype
TO THE EDITOR:
I usually enjoy Meg Austin’s
columns, but her last column
(“Halloween on Franklin Street
would be great campaign stop”)
was shameful. I can’t believe The
Daily Tar Heel decided to print
Opinion
such a racial slur “Bangkok
ladies”?
lam from Bangkok I have
lived there for most of my life
so I’m well aware of the Asian
stereotypes that some people
like Meg Austin just love to roll
off their tongues, or in this case,
their pen.
I assume that she’s talking about
the illegal prostitution industry in
Bangkok, where young girls are
often kidnapped or forced into
sexual slavery.
It survives through corruption
and powerful crime bosses the
“Bangkok ladies” stereotype is
spread through movies and people
such as Meg Austin.
Thanks for making me think
twice before I can tell people where
I’m from.
Thanks for making Thai and
international students feel that
much more alienated.
Jinda Wedel
Junior
English
Students can do something
about land-mine concerns
TO THE EDITOR:
Although broken brick paths
make walking around campus a
daily hazard, it is not likely that
you worry about stepping on a
land mine while on your way to
class.
For more than 80 countries
worldwide from Angola to Bosnia
ON THE DAY'S NEWS
“Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are
elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests ”
EARL WARREN, FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
EDITORIAL CARTOON
HOW TO OVERCOME ELECTION
K fled
COMMENTARY
Election worries might lead
to post-Halloween frights
Tbday might be the scariest
day of the year. It’s been 28
years since we had but a sin
gle day wedged between Halloween
and a presidential election day.
I don’t know about you, but I’m
a bit frightened. We’ve been primed
to fear quite a lot lately, with cam
paign attack ads, the latest Bin
Laden videotape, and fiendish cos
tumes parading on Franklin Street.
In his first inaugural address,
President Franklin Roosevelt cast
a few famous words in this direc
tion: “The only thing we have to
fear is fear itself.” Roosevelt meant
well. Actually, what he meant
to do was to rally Americans to
overcome the sorrows of the Great
Depression and Herbert Hoover’s
botched economic policies. Still, I
think he got it wrong about fear.
There are somfi
ought to fear. 'I natswlrywe teacn
toddlers not to grab red-hot burn
ers on the stove and try to convince
these same kids not to drive drunk
15 years later. A healthy dose of
fear at times can do some good.
So what am I worried about
today? I’m worried about what
tricks or treats might lie in store
for tomorrow’s election. The his
tory of suffrage in the United
States once appeared to me to
be a veritable march of progress:
from a privilege granted to land
holding elites to the post-Civil
War extensions to all men voting,
regardless of race. The 1920 rati
fication of the 19th Amendment
finally granted women across the
country the right to cast their bal
lots, and the Voting Rights Act of
1965 helped defend against con
tinued racial discrimination.
That laudable, if slow, progres
sion stumbled when the rancor
ous mess spilled across Florida in
November 2000. Thousands of
ballots were discounted in Florida
four years ago, a fact that made
to Iraq the horrible remnants of
war are a dangerous reality.
Land mines are relatively
cheap to produce —as little as
$3 apiece. But they can cost thou
sands of dollars to remove, dol
lars that war-torn countries do
not have.
Asa result, every 22 minutes
an innocent man, woman or child
loses a leg, an arm or their life to a
land mine.
What can you do? In January,
buy a ticket to attend the Night of
a Thousand Dinners, an evening of
food and entertainment sponsored
by Project Landmine, a Campus Y
special project.
One hundred percent of ticket
sales will go to land-mine clean-up
efforts overseas.
But don’t wait until January to
do something about land mines.
You can visit http://www.ban
minesusa.org/petition/sign.html.
The United States is the only
industrial country besides Russia
that has not yet signed the 1997
Mine Ban Treaty.
Sign your name to the petition
that will be presented to the presi
dent within the first months of the
new term.
Enjoy your walk to class.
Rebecca Rolfe
Member
Project Landmine
Manisha Panjwani
President
Project Landmine
gaiv ® '
■V> .| *, JMj
DAVID HAVLICK
OVER THE HILL
George W. Bush’s final 537-vote
victory margin in that state all the
more questionable in the eyes of
many observers.
What many of us never heard
much about, however, was that
Florida was the rule, not the
exception. Lewis Pitts, head of
North Carolina’s Academy of Trial
Lawyers’ civil rights section, told
The (Raleigh) News & Observer
that more than 100,000 votes for
nreiitoaanQftwerc out
because of voting system problems.
Not surprisingly, battles have
been raging in federal courts for
months now to determine just
whose ballots should count in this
year’s election. Last week, the 6th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals effec
tively ruled that provisional ballots
in Ohio and Michigan marked by
voters in the wrong precinct —but
cast in the right city by eligible citi
zens could not be counted. One
person, one vote? Not if you move
across town and forget to update
your registration.
A spokeswoman for Michigan’s
secretary of state, a Republican,
defended the ruling by noting,
“It’s a relief that we don’t have to
implement new procedures just
before the election.” Regardless of
party affiliation, we should find
it troubling at the very least to
consider that tens of thousands of
our fellow U.S. citizens might lose
their electoral voice due to what
amounts to clerical inconvenience
which has been anticipated
for several years. In comparison,
Attention
The Daily Tar Heel is soliciting
letters of endorsement for candi
dates in the local, state and presi
dential elections. A selection of these
letters will be printed Tuesday.
Although the presidential race
is garnering the most prominent
headlines, readers are advised to
contemplate all contests that per
tain to local and state residents and
UNC students. Submissions con
cerning local and state races will be
given just as much consideration as
presidential endorsements.
The same rules that apply to reg
ular letters to the editor will apply to
endorsements. Publication won’t be
guaranteed, and the DTH reserves
the right to edit submitted material
for space, clarity and vulgarity.
Writers should e-mail their let
ters to editdesk@unc.edu or deliv
er them today to the DTH front
office in Suite 2409 of the Student
Union.
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 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 vulgarity. Publication is
not guaranteed. Bring letters to the DTH
office at Suite 2409, Carolina Union, mail
them to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC
27515 or e-mail them to editdesk@unc.
edu.
©l* Sattg (Ear Utri
states such as Minnesota and
Wisconsin offer election-day voter
registration, and North Dakota
doesn’t even have voter registra
tion. These systems have prob
lems as well, but it shouldn’t be
that tough to assure that citizens’
votes get counted fairly.
Disenfranchisement is but
one of a number of concerns that
might haunt Election Day 2004.
The conversion in many states to
paperless, touch-screen voting
could wreak havoc if the results
are close. In the critical swing
state of Ohio, Republicans have
challenged 35,000 voters for
alleged improprieties with their
new registrations.
In other words, this Halloween
season could bring plenty more
trickeiy our way. The treats?
Anyone who witnessed the surge
of early voters to locations across
North Carolina couldn’t possibly
help but feel inspired. Election offi
cials estimate that about 30 percent
of the total number of registered
voters in both Durham and Orange
counties have already voted.
For those who go to the polls
Tuesday, there wifi be more than
1,000 official observers from
the U.S. Department of Justice,
along with tens of thousands of
trained citizen volunteers across
the country working to keep
the election safe and fair. If you
encounter any problems directly,
you can call voter hotlines such as
1-866-OURVOTE.
For what it’s worth, the last time
we had a presidential election this
close to Halloween, an incumbent
Republican president who had not
been duly elected to office went
down in defeat. Jimmy Carter
ousted Gerald Ford 297 to 240 in
the final electoral college tally.
Contact David Havlick
at havlick@email.unc.edu.
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