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16 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 BOARD RDI7ORIAI&S NOT A BAD GAMBLE The way in which the N.C. Senate passed a lottery was despicable, but the game itself if managed correctly will be good for the state. After years of debate, the issue of bringing a lottery to the Tar Heel State came to an end Tuesday as the N.C. Senate passed the North Carolina State Lottery Act. And in the end, it was a mixed bag. The numbers game passed under questionable circumstances, and the leadership of the Senate including Majority Leader Tony Rand and President Pro Tern Marc Basnight should be ashamed of their manipulation and abuse of power. But the lottery itself presents an opportunity to dramatically increase much-needed funding for edu cation in North Carolina —and with it, a responsibil ity to ensure that the money is spent correctly. The Senate passed the lottery bill after Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue broke a 24-24 tie vote. And that’s OK; Democrats control the chamber, so Perdue, also a Democrat, has every right to break a stalemate on controversial issues. But the reason there were only 24 “no” votes is that two lottery opponents Republican Sens. John Garwood of Wilkes County and Harry Brown of Onslow County were absent. Garwood was at home recovering from a leg infection, and Brown was on his honeymoon. They were gone because the Senate was told last week that it was going to adjourn for the year. The public, at least, didn’t hear otherwise until Basnight announced Friday that the Senate would return to consider “unresolved business.” Apparently, “business” meant “taking advantage of senators in absentia.” The democratic process is not about holding last minute, strategic votes to yield desired results. Even if Basnight did exercise all due diligence in recalling the Senate and making sure there would be a fair vote, the lottery still will be tainted by the stink of impropriety. It is shameful that the Senate leadership would be so manipulative. That said, a lottery is good for North Carolina. THEY’RE BUSTIN’ CAPS A provision that will give in-state status to some out-of-state students will crowd classes —and it’s an unfair way to subvert enrollment limits. A few weeks ago, while The Daily Tar Heel was on its summer break, the state legislature decided to allow UNC-system schools to treat out-of-state students with full scholarships as in-state students. That means scholarship athletes, as well as people such as Morehead and Robertson scholars, will be charged cheaper, in-state rates for tuition and other expenses. The decision was short-sighted then, and it’s short-sighted now. At first glance, the proposal seems harmless. It’s aimed at easing pressure on UNC’s Rams Club, the Morehead Foundation and other organizations that fund out-of-state students’ scholarships groups that could use a break. But look further, and the provision has two key problems. First, it subsidizes nonresidents at the expense of in-staters. And second, it will lead to higher enrollment throwing UNC-Chapel Hill off its long-term plans and adding bodies to already crowded courses. Yes, lower costs will mean more scholarships to go around. And giving scholarships to qualified stu dents is a noble goal. But in-state tuition does not cover the full cost of an education at UNC-CH, subsidized as it is by state funds. By admitting more students at a loss, the campus will lose a substantial sum of money —one that must be replaced by another source. The good news is that North Carolina law states that taxpayers’ money can’t fill the gap. So —as Jerry Lucido, UNC-CH’s vice provost for enrollment policy and management, told the DTH this week the campus likely will be forced to enroll more students than it otherwise would have planned. This will leave more students fighting for the same number of often-scarce class spots. And who wants to see that? 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 four board members, the associate opinion editor, the opinion editor and the DTH editor, the 2005-06 DTH editor decided not to vote on the board and not to write board editorials. RBlHiiitS* FORUM Robertson was within his rights in call to kill Chavez TO THE EDITOR: In regards to the letter to the editor concering Pat Robertson (“Robertson’s comment was an argu ment for separation,” DTH, Aug. 30), there are definitely some truths and some flaws in the argument. Yes, Jesus did not support assas sinations, execution or torture. But he also did not support abortion or homosexuality. Pat Robertson’s comments are the words of a private citizen. The First Amendment protects Robertson’s right to free speech, allowing him to speak his mind without fear of supression. It does not protect an individual’s right to be offended by what is said. Robertson’s call for the assassi nation of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is not an example of why there should be a separation of church and state. His comments had nothing to do with the separa tion issue. He is a citizen who used his First Amendment rights. The phrase “separation of church and state” is not even in the Constitution. But that is an issue for another day. Andrew Hogan Senior Political Science Finally, hundreds of millions of dollars will stop flowing into neighboring states —and Tar Heels’ money will stop building schools for Tennesseans, Virginians and South Carolinians. Once the lottery gets established, it could provide S3OO million a year to supplement public education. Opponents argue that the lottery is a “poor tax” that feeds on addiction. But the lottery is a game for those who choose to play; there is nothing manda tory about it. These people also forget that the lottery’s profits are slated to go toward improving public education something that particularly benefits the poor. Those who choose to participate, as well as those who don’t, will see better schools and better opportunities for their children. Opponents also forget that the lottery will be sub jected to constant review by a Lottery Commission, which will set advertising limits. Of course, now that the General Assembly has cre ated a game, it also has an obligation to ensure that the profits are spent correctly. In other states, lottery funds have replaced money already slated for education. In some cases, they’ve gone to legislative pet projects. In North Carolina, we must keep lottery profits as a supplement to the budget. To do otherwise would be dishonest, not to mention bad public policy. Last April, this page suggested —and now reas serts that 50 percent of lottery profits should go toward public school construction; 25 percent should go to college scholarships; and 25 percent should be spent on the More at Four pre-K program and on reducing K-12 class sizes. These allocations would aid the real education needs of North Carolina. And nobody needs more help than our children. Whether legislators take advantage of the chance they’ve provided themselves will ultimately deter mine the lottery’s success. The second major problem with the General Assembly’s decision is that the out-of-state scholars will not count against the 18 percent enrollment cap on nonresidents. Two years ago, when the UNC-system Board of Governors considered a change to that cap, the public outcry was so strong that the proposal never even got a vote. This year’s move was a backhanded way to get around the limits yet because it came from the General Assembly in the midst of budget season, hard ly anybody made a peep. That’s bad government. The scholarship provision does call for universities to admit the same number of North Carolinians that they have in the past. But no matter how you cut it, private foundations are being granted special favors over the backs of North Carolinians. It’s important to note that this provision doesn’t affect the scholarship recipients. After all, the price of school is the same for them either way nothing. So this legislation smacks of several lobbying inter ests in the General Assembly. The Morehead Foundation has wanted to give more students its awards for years. And the Rams Club will have the opportunity to fully fund athletic awards something it hasn’t been able to do in recent years. Again, that’s good, until you consider how it’s being done. Throw in the fact that UNC-CH administrators have tried before to get the out-of-state enrollment cap raised, and you quickly realize that a powerful mix of academic special interests is fighting against students’ everyday interests. Surely a more creative solution to our foundations’ problems can be found than allowing some folks to leech off the system. And if you’re as upset as we are, give the Rams Club a call at 843-2000. They probably wouldn’t mind hearing from you. Students and town should collaborate on local issues TO THE EDITOR: While I certainly agree with Jeff Kim’s column Wednesday that student involvement in the town election process is critical, I take issue with the adversarial attitude of dividing Chapel Hill into “us” and “them.” UNC students should educate themselves on the issues, and they should turn out to the polls this November, but not to keep “town residents (from) dominat(ing) town politics.” To paint University students as anything but town residents is to miss the big picture. We’re all in this together, and in order for us to have our views taken seriously, we need to acknowledge that we’re not just students, but members of a larger community. Kim’s mention of Wal-Mart is actually a great example of this. The proposed Wal-Mart in north ern Chatham County is raising so many concerns here in Orange County because it affects us nearly as much as it will our neighbors to the south. We will likely get almost as much of the crime, environmen tal problems, traffic issues, horrible wages and everything else that seems to follow big-box retailers as Chatham County will —with no Opinion economic benefit to us. There is already a Wal-Mart just over our border in Durham. I know, because it’s biking distance from my apartment, just like campus is. To ignore serious issues just to get one more giant shopping outlet for a minor increase in convenience is irresponsible, student or not. Jason Baker Junior Political Science (Editor's note: Baker is a candidate in this fall's Town Council elections.) Columnist's words were funny, filled with truth TO THE EDITOR: I loved Jillian Bandes’ recent column, “Words of wisdom from the mouth of a Greek expatriate” (DTH, Aug. 30); it was timely, brave and riotous. I spent several years as a Granville resident assistant during my time at UNC, and every year I watched as hordes of incoming girls (and guys, for that matter) blindly marched off to buy into a group of friends. By spring, the faces in the cafeteria merged into one big, blond blur. Bandes’ column was fantastic, and though I’m sure she knew she was signing up for a swirl of con FROM THE BAT’S HEWS When you see what’s going on in the country and what’s going on in the Southeast, we needed to get this behind us.” MARC BASNIGHT, n.c. senate president pro tem, on Tuesday's lottery vote editorial cartoon V*. I te/JJ ■ >l^'" l COMMENTARY ‘UNC’ stands for more than our campus in Chapel Hill On principle, I don’t walk out of movies before the credits roll. I read horrible books until the very last page. I listen to a whole CD before I chuck it into the trash pile. I put myself through all that torture because I am absolutely convinced that everything has a redeeming factor, some glimpse however small —of genius. That’s a lofty claim, but it’s the one I’m making. (Perhaps the hardest testa ment was this May’s “Kingdom of Heaven,” which redeemed itself with what seemed like a 1970s soft-core pom interlude halfway through the movie). The point here is that there’s beauty in everything. That’s not hard for us to believe here in Chapel Hill. We enjoy playing Frisbee in the quad under Carolina-blue skies. We win nation al championships and frolic (albeit drunkenly) on Franklin Street. But, I mean, what is N.C. State other than a pile of bricks? East Carolina’s hometown of Greenville seems to flood almost annually. And where the hell is Cullowhee anyway? UNC-Chapel Hill has argu ably the most beautiful campus in North Carolina And we are per haps the best institution of higher learning in the state. But we are not the only one. Nor can we ever start thinking like we are. There are 15 other campuses in the UNC system. And together we make up one of the most revered higher educa tion systems in the country. We’re affordable; we’re accessible. There truly is a University of North Carolina for everyone, whether it’s amid the mountains of Boone or near the coast of Wilmington. But thanks to the Democratic leadership in the state Senate, we at Chapel Hill came dangerously close to leaving those other 15 troversy, she did the student body no small service in writing it. It should be reprinted during the first week of classes for years to come, and given an editor with enough courage to back her, it (or something very near to it) just might. Ryan Lovin Class of 'OS Writer has little knowledge of the groups she insulted TO THE EDITOR: Jillian Bandes’ column attempt ed to dissuade impressionable young girls from making the mis take of rushing sororities and giv ing up their identity. But the scathing comments and irrational insults made only one thing clear: She knows very little about these “country clubs” she goes out of her way to affront. I am not in a sorority and must admit that I’ve laughed at the Ugg boots in May and the shallow nature of rush. But most people stop before they go on vindictive rants accusing an entire group of being interested in nothing more than sleeping around and spend ing Daddy’s money. Teri Dombrowski Senior Biology H|VT^ mf £ v > Wm i EMMA BURGIN IT’S A GLAMOROUS LIFE campuses behind. As soon as students left campus for summer break, state legisla tors revealed a budget provision that would have let UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University set their own tuition rates. The thinking was that these research universities had spe cial needs that could only be addressed by tuition revenue. This simply is not true. “We can’t raise tuition fast enough and high enough to solve the resource issues for either Carolina or State or any of the other 14,” Brad Wilson, chair man of the UNC-system Board of Governors, told The Daily Tar Heel this week. While the past five years or so have been hard on higher educa tion in this state, there is no way tuition can supplement the 72 percent of system revenue that comes from taxpayer dollars. State residents pay taxes with the knowledge that they are investing in the education of their sons and daughters. You can look at it as a subsidy. It costs $15,626 to educate the average college student, accord ing to February numbers from the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Because UNC is a state-funded system, North Carolina residents get a discounted price of $3,205 to attend classes at Chapel Hill. To be honest, the tuition auton omy measure wouldn’t affect my family despite the fact that both my sister and I attend Chapel Hill (and I’m in my fifth year). Both of Speak Out We welcome letters to the editor and aim to publish as many as possible. In writ ing, please follow these simple guidelines: Keep letters under 300 words. Type them. Date them. Sign them; make sure they're signed by no more than two peo ple. If you’re a student, include your year, major and phone number. Faculty and staff: Give us your department and phone number. The DTH edits for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity. Bring letters to our office at Suite 2409 in the Student Union, e-mail them to editdesk@unc.edu, or send them to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27515. All letters also will appear in our blogs section. Wift oottg (Ear Mrrl Established 1893112 years of editorialfreedom RYAN C. TUCK EDITOR, 962-4086 RCTUCKOEMAIL.UNC.EDU OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY, THURSDAY 1-2 P.M. PIT SIT: FRIDAY, 12 TO 1 P.M. JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR, 962-0750 JOSEPH_SCHWARTZOUNC.EDU REBECCA WILHELM DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, 962-0750 BECCAO7OEMAIL.UNC.EDU CHRIS COLETTA OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750 EDITDESKOUNC.EDU BRIAN HUDSON UNIVERSITY EDITOR, 962-0372 UDESKOUNC.EDU TED STRONG CITY EDITOR, 962-4209 CITYDESKOUNC.EDU KAVITA PILLAI STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR, 962-4103 STNTDESKOUNC.EDU DANIEL MALLOY SPORTS EDITOR, 962-4710 SPORTSOUNC.EDU Slip Sattg Oar Hrri By Philip McFee, pip@email.unc.edu us attend this University without any help from financial aid or scholarships. But if the past four years have taught me anything, they’ve taught me how to look at the big ger picture. Not only would autonomy hike the tuition for those working to pay for their own education, but it also would knock UNC-Chapel Hill out of the team mind-set. We would no longer be the leaders of the UNC system; we’d be our own entity, a very incom plete picture of what used to be a great school system. That, to me, isn’t good enough. The General Assembly created the system in 1971 for the very pur pose of halting what used to be an sums race for resources. And there is nothing better than being a positive influence for other schools, and I think this University’s administration and alumni sometimes forget that. In fact, some of them seem never to care for much except rankings and basketball cham pionships. While the latter was a highlight of my lifetime as a Tar Heel, neither are in any way definitive of going to school in North Carolina. So what is? How about a week end road trip? Drive down to the beaches at Wilmington, hike near Asheville or attend a performance in Winston-Salem. Each of these cities hosts a system school. Visiting other schools, you will learn why it is such an honor for Chapel Hill to be the leading uni versity for this great system. This year, I dare you to become a student of the entire system. I did, and all I did was look at a map and learn how to spell Cullowhee. Contact Emma Burgin, a senior majoring in dramatic arts, at emmaline@email.unc.edu. WMrw.did!|rtatliNfiii,c{im TORRYE JONES FEATURES EDITOR, 962-4214 FEATURESOUNC.EDU JIM WALSH ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, 962-4214 ARTSDESKOUNC.EDU SCOn SPILLMAN CO-COPY EDITOR, 962-4103 CATHERINE WILLIAMS CO-COPY EDITOR, 962-4103 WHITNEY SHEFTE PHOTO EDITOR, 962-0750 JEN ALLIET CO-DESIGN EDITOR, 962-0750 DANIEL BEDEN CO-DESIGN EDITOR, 962-0750 FEILDING CAGE GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA EDITOR, 962-0246 CHRIS JOHNSON ONLINE EDITOR, 962-0750 ONLINEOUNC.EDU KELLY OCHS WRITER'S COACH, 962-0372 EMILY STEEL WRITER'S COACH, 962-0372 ELLIOn DUBE PUBLIC EDITOR, 260-9084 DUBEEOEMAII.UNC.EDU
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 2005, edition 1
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