WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
GET IN OUR BELLIES
Campus officials should open Lenoir Dining Hall for Sunday brunch.
Keeping it closed is unfair to North Campus students with meal plans.
A fter studying to the sounds of bulldozers, saws
and hammers, residents of South Campus last
L JLyear were greeted by a multistory complex years
in the making: the Ramshead Center.
But with such sprawling grounds came a pitfall
for the rest of campus: Lenoir Dining Hall cut back
on its hours big time. As this board wrote at the
time, the move was a major inconvenience for stu
dents who live or work on North Campus.
So the news that dining officials have decided to
reopen UNC’s central dining hall for Sunday evening
meals is a welcome one. Students ought to be served
with more options when they’re in search of food on
the weekends. But one Sunday meal does not satisfy
students.
Ira Simon, director of food services at UNC, said
officials decided to reopen Lenoir on Sunday nights
when they realized what students found out a long
time ago: Handling the night’s large crowds is too
much work for just one location.
That’s good. But the issue isn’t just crowded
hallways. It’s convenience.
Dining officials say Ramshead is open instead of
A THEATRICAL FLOP
The town isn’t to blame for the failure of a movie theater in Village Plaza,
but it should work with those involved to find an acceptable alternative.
It’s no secret that our area is blessed with good movie
theaters. The closing of the Carolina was a sad hit
to the scene, but between the Chelsea, the Varsity,
the Lumina and Timberlyne, Chapel Hill gets a good
taste of both mainstream flicks and more arty fare.
But the town and the county are still losing busi
ness to Durham’s Streets at Southpoint mall, whose
theater is just a short jaunt away on Interstate 40.
That’s why it’s so disappointing that infighting
between business owners and a developer led to the
sad end of a years-long attempt to bring anew movie
theater to the Village Plaza.
And now, everyone involved should work to bring
a different business to the area —one that will fill the
same sort of gap a theater would have.
Here’s the back story:
Village Plaza, located down Franklin Street near
U.S. 15-501, housed a small theater for many years
before developer Eastern Federal decided to build a
bigger, better facility at its site.
That decision drew complaints'from nearby business
owners, who said anew 10-screen facility would snarl
traffic and hog the shopping center’s parking spots.
The Town Council approved the theater in January
IT’S YOUR CONGRESS
The petty squabbling and irrelevance that marred Student Congress last
year must change. Students can hold their representatives accountable.
Tuesday marked the first meeting of the 87th
Student Congress this fall. This Congress
would be well served to avoid the many vices
of the previous Congress —and to focus on its job of
serving students.
Last year’s Congress was plagued by incivility, weak
leadership, partisanship, trivial resolutions, disconnect
and meetings that went far longer than was necessary.
Its one, and only, shining moment was when former
Speaker Charlie Anderson was able to swiftly pass a
resolution condemning tuition and fee increases.
But anew year brings anew Student Congress.
Thankfully, Speaker Luke Farley has proposed some
measures that promise to improve this year’s group
and enable it to be a better voice for students.
It’s not yet clear whether these measures will work.
But they’re a step in the right direction.
Last week, Congress held a retreat that was sup
posed to build better relations between members
and, ideally, improve decorum. Hopefully, a social
setting will remind representatives that they’re all
on the same side: the students’.
Farley also saw to the creation of a Calendar
Committee that will set time limits on debate so as
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.
SlftßEKS'’ FORUM
DTH overlooked seniors in
some of its recent coverage
TO THE EDITOR:
With the ringing in of the new
school year, innumerable clubs and
organizations are incessantly host
ing a myriad of programs catering
to both new and old students alike.
From Week of Welcome to Fall Fest,
there is far from a shortage of events
for The Daily Tar Heel to cover. That
said, the DTH has, in my opinion,
simply dropped the ball.
Throughout the duration of the
last week, the class of 2006 has
been part of an undertaking never
before attempted by any of the pre
vious 213 senior classes to gradu
ate from Chapel Hill. Welcome
Seniors, a weeldong series of events
hosted by the class to welcome back
its members, was an undeniable
success and an incredible catalyst
for bonding at the debut of our last
year at UNC.
Why, then, despite turnouts
of hundreds at several of our six
events, was there not so much as a
mention of this ambitious program
in the DTH? The class of ’O6 has
already proven that we are unques
tionably capable just let us know
what it’s gonna take to make it into
your newspaper.
Jason Warner
Chief Senior Marshal
Lenoir because it’s bigger and because UNC’s leaders
want to emphasize the campus’ southern shift.
But that neglects the good number of students
who live north of South Road —and the fact that
Ramshead, for everything campus leaders say, is
not yet the center of campus.
Right now, that center is situated near Student
Stores —and many upperclassmen live even further
north, about a 15- to 20-minute walk to Ramshead.
Why force students who have paid for a meal plan
to make a decision between a long walk or takeout,
especially if the weather’s bad?
Not all students want to eat on Franklin Street when
they’ve forked over the cash for a meal plan. And a
hearty meal at Alpine Bagel Cafe is just as expensive.
For years, students living on South Campus had to
trek up to Lenoir for certain meals on the weekends,
but at least Chase Hall and Subway were open most
of the time for residents.
Officials were short-sighted in limiting most
weekend meals to South Campus. They should take
steps to remedy the problem.
Give us Sunday brunch at Lenoir.
2003 on the condition that Eastern Federal widen a
driveway into the site. But it was later discovered that
the developer didn’t own that driveway —and Ginn &
Cos., which does, refused to allow the work to be done.
If that story sounds ridiculous, well, it is. The
shame is that the townsfolk who could’ve had a the
ater in their back yard now won’t. (And let’s not even
mention all the business that could have come down
that stretch of road.)
To be fair, it isn’t Eastern Federal that no lon
ger wants to build a multiplex in Chapel Hill. It’s
Regal Entertainment Group, which recently bought
Eastern’s theater division.
And make no mistake about it: The blame here
does not lie with the town, which eventually removed
the driveway provision from Eastern’s special-use
permit, or with Regal. It’s with the business owners
who couldn’t play nice.
Let’s hope Regal, which has final say in any new
development, works with the Town Council and
community members to find a unique, progressive
solution to the problem.
Not that it would be hard. They can’t really mess
things up any more.
to keep meetings focused and efficient. He also is
encouraging informal caucuses and other measures
that encourage members of Student Congress to read
and discuss bills before formal meetings.
That’s good. When Congress runs past a certain time,
even The Daily Tar Heel’s reporters have to leave to
make their deadlines. Sometimes, enough is enough.
There also are plans to have more “meet your rep
resentative” days in the Pit and to produce brochures
for students so they know who their representatives
are and what they do.
All of this sounds promising, and Farley does have
enthusiasm for the job.
But representatives should keep in mind that it is
in no one’s interest to see a Congress that is caught up
in frivolous legislation, acting like a political club gone
awry; students deserve better representation.
Students should to do their part to keep Congress in
line. Contact Farley, Speaker Pro Tem Kris Gould, or
your district representatives if you have a question or
comment. The Congress Web site, http://congress.unc.
edu/, has the contact information you need.
Remember that representatives work for you.
They are your Student Congress.
Group will lend a helping
hand to Katrina victims
TO THE EDITOR:
For those interested in helping
those who have been affected by
Hurricane Katrina:
Yes You Can is anew student
group that will be sending down
much-needed supplies to Biloxi,
Miss., this coming weekend. We
have come across several 18-wheel
ers that will be used to transport
goods to an area where the survi
vors have nothing.
What we need are the thousands
of items the hurricane victims will
be lacking until someone from
outside can bring them in. Several
students from UNC, including me,
will be accompanying the goods
down to the Mississippi Gulf
Shores this weekend where we
will be handing them out at a com
munity building.
We will be collecting items this
week in the quad on Wednesday
and Thursday between 12 noon and
5 p.m. Please bring bottled water,
Powerßars, soap, canned food
with pop tops, shampoo, razors or
other nonperishable foods and toi
letries to the quad Wednesday and
Thursday.
This is a great opportunity to
directly help the people we have
seen on TV and hurt for. The
essentials you give will reach needy
Opinion
hands this weekend. Please help us
bring hope to the hopeless.
Madison Perry
Senior
Political Science/Spanish
DTH cartoons should be
considerate of others' losses
TO THE EDITOR:
I was under the impression that
editorial cartoons were set aside for
students to create, but it seems that
Doug Marlette is a common person
to go to when there maybe isn’t one
available or ready. Fair enough.
Sure, he’s well known, and sure,
he’s successful, but the problem
with his “combative, thought-pro
voking” cartoons is, well, they’re
not funny.
I’m usually not one to com
plain about black humor, but the
Aug. 31 cartoon was. completely
in bad taste. I get it, I understand
his point, haha, but'it definitely
wasn’t an “oh, look at how clever
and strong-willed said cartoonist is
in the face of tragedy” moment: In
fact, it made me pretty much sick
to read it when I was in the process
of trying to find out if my uncle and
his family in Hattiesburg, Miss.,
were still alive or not.
I found it really odd that you
would rally the troops around the
cause and then stick that little barb
FROM THE HAY’S NEWS
“Right now, it seems that there’s a disconnect with the
constituents and the representatives.”
LUKE FARLEY, speaker, student congress
EDITORIAL CARTOON
" 800K5?...N0, IT'S W.V WET BAR !"
COMMENTARY
There are creative solutions
to the county’s election crisis
When it comes to electing
county commissioners
in an at-large system,
rural voters in Orange County get
screwed. It’s a rarely disputed fact.
The county should deal with its
representation problem quickly.
But commissioners: Please don’t
take creative solutions off of the
table for the sake of expedience.
The debate presents a unique
opportunity for democratic
experimentation the kind that
would make amateur political sci
entists salivate, if only we hadn’t
wasted our glands on that rocket
launcher in “Halo.”
An innovative solution like
proportional or cumulative vot
ing could put to rest fears about
gerrymandering and racial under
representation. It could serve as
a model for democratic reform in
the U. S. and in the South. And
it would be the first of its kind in
North Carolina.
Such a solution would be well
worth a fight in the state legislature.
The context
Voters outside the major towns
in this county argue that they are
disenfranchised in the at-large
system because their ballots are
drowned out by Chapel Hill and
Carrboro, which include a sub
stantial majority of the county’s
population.
Each of the commissioners is
subject to a vote by all of Orange
County in the current at-large sys
tem of representation. So despite
making up a sizeable minority of
the population, rural residents
rarely get an appropriate percent
age of the representation because
commissioners can get by without
catering to them.
And the interests of the urban
ites are substantially different from
those who live out in the county.
Development, for example, is a
major issue. N.C. Rep. Bill Faison,
a Democrat representing Orange
in there. For what? To show that
sentimentality doesn’t run ram
pant at the Daily Tar Heel? Stick
to student cartoons, no matter how
unrefined they are.
I assume theirs might at least
be in the wide, wide boundaries
of what I find good taste, or even
fimny.
Wil Donegan
Sophomore
English
Creative ways to save fuel
needed in gas consumption
TO THE EDITOR:
To really make a difference sav
ing gas, we need to change how we
live and plan better. Don’t drive to
the store just to get milk; maybe
take the bus to University Mall or
Franklin Street to shop.
If the towns, business commu
nity and the University want to
really make a difference, consider
other options, such as increased
use of four-day work weeks, tele
commuting, carpooling, alternate
fuels, adding bike/walking paths
to South Columbia Street and
Greensboro Street, and so forth.
Just my opinion.
Dale Poole
Employee
Purchasing Services
JEFF KIM
NO LONGER A VILLAGE
County put it well when he told
The Daily Tar Heel that rural
residents disagree with many of
the county’s land-use regulations.
They’re popular with Chapel Hill
residents, who like their land beau
tifiil, but they lock up rural resi
dents’ decision-making ability.
“A lot of them (invest in) farms,
as distinct from the stock market,”
Faison said in March. “They don’t
see themselves as a bike path.”
Proportionate response
Whether the system is broke
ain’t the question no more. About
1,200 county residents got together
last year and signed a petition ask
ing the commissioners to take up
the issues, and the county has held
two hearings in the last two weeks
to address the situation.
Implementing a preference or
cumulative voting system —as
has been suggested by bloggers on
OrangePolitics.org, a local political
site would strengthen the rural
voice while avoiding the inevitable
problems with district mapping.
In a cumulative system, voters
are given “points” (or some other
weight) to give to one or many
candidates. If you were given
three votes, you could vote for one
candidate three times or for three
separate candidates.
In preference voting, voters rank
their choices. If no candidate has a
majority the last-place finisher is
eliminated, and the votes that went
to that person go instead to the vot
ers’ second-ranked candidate. And
so on until there is a winner.
Either of these systems would
Speak Out
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(Eh? Sailij (Tor Uppl
By Doug Marlette, Tribune Media Services
be a good alternative to a district
based scheme. Maps in a district
system would have to be redrawn
regularly to meet legitimate goals,
such as ensuring that each district
has about the same number of
people. They are subject to politi
cal manipulation.
Furthermore, a preference or
cumulative system would help
give rural voters a voice without
stifling the voice of the black com
munity, since no one would be
stuck in a district where their voice
is “drowned out.” Commissioners
Chairman Moses Carey raised that
point recently, and he’s right on.
Such a system would have to be
approved by the state legislature
—a task that could prove difficult.
Faison even told The Herald-Sun
that such a plan is not viable.
But the same thing has been said
about efforts to consolidate a cam
pus voting precinct. And although
the “superprecinct” bill that passed
in General Assembly this sum
mer was a long time in coming,
it showed that innovation can be
achieved if you fight for it
The race card?
Finally, I’m tired of hearing
white people lob accusations at
Carey and other black politicians
for working on behalf of their
communities.
The debate about representation
came up because rural residents
thought they’re “drowned out.”
Haven’t racial minorities blacks
in particular also had to deal
with things that might make them
worried about losing their voice?
Carey should step out of his
protective shell, I agree. But his
concerns are nonetheless valid.
I wish local residents would
play the “race card” more spar
ingly, because it’s not a bluff.
Contact Jeff Kim,
a senior economics major,
atjongdae@email.unc.edu.
www.dailytaiheeLcom
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