8
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2005
A NECESSARY DEBATE
If Student Congress is to hold a referendum on the issue of stipends for
student leaders, it should come in February not in a couple of weeks.
Sometimes, the simplest questions have the
hardest answers.
That’ll be the case at tomorrow’s Student
Congress meeting, where representatives will vote on
whether to put the issue of stipends for student govern
ment leaders on a referendum before the student body.
The fundamental question is simple: Should people
such as the student body president receive a few hun
dred dollars per month as payment for all their work?
But the debate about stipends has turned out to
be more divisive than expected for the campus,
for the Congress and for The Daily Tar Heel edito
rial board —and the campus needs a full debate to
put this matter to rest. Representatives ought to vote
down this proposal —and back one that calls for a
referendum in February’s campus elections.
In an Oct. 4 editorial, this page came out against
a referendum on stipends. And we still have major
reservations about putting a rather obscure issue
before an uninformed student body.
But the issue has proven more contentious than
we originally believed. Student groups, columnists
and Student Body President Seth Dearmin all have
GETTING IT DONE
The campus community’s response to the crisis in Sudan is a good
example of what can happen when students favor action over talk.
It s not often that a student group gets enough
support —and has enough dedication to effect
real change.
But it appears that Students United for Darfur
Awareness Now, one of UNC’s fastest growing
groups, is doing just that by bringing attention to an
issue that otherwise might have escaped students’
consciousness. It deserves accolades.
The group has taken it upon itself to make UNC
more aware of a situation that former Secretary of
State Colin Powell described as “genocide” the
mass murders in the Darfur region of Sudan that
too eerily echo similar killing sprees in Cambodia,
Kosovo and Rwanda. But it deserves real credit for
not stopping there —and recognizing that in some
cases, awareness just isn’t enough.
For example, the group recently held a fast in
which hundreds of students participated. But that’s
just symbolism which is why the “Stand for Sudan”
event ended with 300 phone calls for the U.S. State
Department calling for action in Darfur. No matter
how much students talk about ending genocide or
no matter how many average citizens watched last
year’s stunning “Hotel Rwanda,” a film about that
DON’T EVEN WORRY
The most important day of the year for students just passed —jmd
Late Night With Roy showed the basketball team will be just finer
If you took to Franklin Street on April 5 to toast
a national championship —and who among us
didn’t? —then you already know that the men’s*
basketball squad season officially kicked off its 2005-
06 season this weekend.
It should be a heel of a time.
We say that even as we know things could get a little
testy in Tar Heel nation this year. As Late Night With
Roy demonstrated, there’s a lot of talent on this year’s
squad, but any team that lost its top seven scorers
and that includes more freshmen than upperclassmen
could be in for a rough ride.
We say that even as we grow giddy about next
year’s recruiting class, which now includes the No.
1 point guard, shooting guard and power forward in
the high school class of 2006 —as well as the No. 3
and No. 13 centers.
We say that even as Coach K’s Dookies get picked
No. 1 in almost every preseason roundup.
We say that, you see, because Tar Heel basketball
returned this April —and it’s not going anywhere
anytime soon.
Say what you will about this year’s freshman-laden,
squad; it’s still led by Roy Williams, the man who
EDITOR S NOTE: The above editorials are the opinions solely of 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. Address concerns to Public Editor Elliott Dube at dubee@email.unc.edu.
READERS’ FORUM
Ticket distribution shouldn't
overlap with registration
TO THE EDITOR:
Sophomores who are looking
forward to the first basketball
games of the season might need to
adjust their enthusiasm.
The first ticket distribution for
this year’s men’s basketball games is
at 7 a.m. on Oct. 29. Unfortunately,
registration for sophomores also
falls on Oct. 29 only three hours
later, at 10 a.m.
Sophomores will be forced to
decide between more than calculus
or physics that Saturday. They will
be forced to choose: basketball or
registration.
To some people, this decision is
clear. But to the rest of us, it is not
so easy.
Standing in line for tickets
means getting the chance to see
our team at the start of what will
hopefully be a successful season.
It means seeing our five freshmen
in their first games and seeing our
other five players show off their
leadership.
It means watching UNC take on
Illinois, again.
If Justin Johnson, president of
the Carolina Athletic Association,
can change the date of the Duke
ticket distribution for seniors
because it fell on Super Bowl
Sunday, he certainly should be able
to change the first distribution for
taken strong stands on the issue.
The fierce debate helped assuage one of our major
concerns that students would not be informed
about an issue they don’t think about on a daily, or
even yearly, basis. If the campus debates an issue,
that will serve to inform students, who then should
be able to make a good decision on the issue.
That won’t happen, however, if Congress gets its
way and puts the issue to a vote Nov. 1. It’s simply too
short a period to have the debate this campus needs
in order to wisely pass judgment on the issue.
If we give ourselves until February, we will have
time to have a full, healthy talk about the issue —one
that includes all students, as well as those who would
like to lead student government next year. The DTH
likely would give the issue more front-page play,
according to Editor Ryan Tuck. Advocates on both
sides would use the time to preach their messages to
passers-by in the Pit and to put fliers on campus.
Our Oct. 4 editorial supported stipends, and we’re
sticking by that stance. But we don’t want to jam that
down anybody’s throat now; we just want to be part
of a good debate. Let’s not end it prematurely.
country’s mass executions the real change comes
through action.
The trick is for SUDAN to continue raising a call
to action, particularly because the outside world has
done little to address the problem.
The United Nations needs to do more to provide
both relief and security for refugee camps. As the
world’s pre-eminent humanitarian organization,
the U.N. mustn’t repeat past mistakes that allowed
bureaucracy to trump human life.
Our own government has been sitting idle as well.
And with military forces engaged in a series of wars, it
will take a strong public outcry to make stopping the
Darfur atrocities a priority.
You can provide that outcry. Rep. David Price has
a Raleigh office with a local number: 859-5999. Sen.
Elizabeth Dole can be reached at 856-4630. Call Sen.
Richard Burr at (800) 685-8916.
Sure, we can’t all fly a plane full of relief aid
to refugees or drop a bomb on marauders raping
and killing their way through western Sudan. But
SUDAN’S efforts reflect a truth: We can all take two
minutes out of our lives to do something about the
horrible plight of our fellow human beings.
coached last year’s team to the national title everyone
expected when Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants
and Sean May first arrived in Blue Heaven.
It has players such as Reyshawn Terry and Quentin
Thomas who still are realizing their potential. It has a
leader —and a sick dunker in senior David Noel, the
former walk-on whose turn it is to shine. And it has five
freshmen, including three McDonald’s All-Americans,
who Coach Williams will have ready for the spotlight.
Make no mistake about it: Bobby Frasor is not
Brian Morrison. Tyler Hansbrough is not Neil
Fingleton. Nobody on this team is Brian Bersticker.
And even if they were, Williams would have them
ready to play beyond their potential.
Nobody expects this team to win the national
championship. But that doesn’t mean it won’t try,
and we feel safe in saying that students, faculty, staff
and all of Chapel Hill will fall in love with the squad
the first time it shows some heart and knocks off a
much-favored opponent.
When the Tar Heels hoisted the trophy in St. Louis
this April, UNC basketball returned to the glory of the
Dean Smith days. And regardless of who’s on his roster,
Williams will make sure the program stays there.
sophomores. The Super Bowl will
begin at least six hours after distri
bution begins for seniors at noon.
Registration will begin just three
hours after distribution begins at
7 a.m.
I don’t aim to be just another
annoying critic of the CAA, but if
Johnson, a senior, aims to virtually
exclude one-fourth of the under
graduate population at UNC-CH,
then I might just have to be.
Clare Merlin
Sophomore
Psychology
Potential gifts were unduly
criticized by editorial board
TO THE EDITOR:
Each year, the senior class presi
dent, vice president and marshals
are charged with defining their class
and leaving a legacy at the University.
The class of 2006 marshals, with a
lot of time and dedication, came up
with three very good ideas. The criti
cism of these ideas, with no sugges
tions of better ones, undermines the
work the students have done.
Divided into committees, the
marshals of the fundraising com
mittee spent the spring and sum
mer researching ideas for the
class gift.
This included meeting with fac
ulty and staff across the campus,
considering and examining each
Opinion
gift idea and making sure the idea
fell within the monetary realms
of what the class could raise. Asa
whole, the class marshals selected
from 10 choices the three that are
up for a vote.
The criticism of the gift selec
tions proves that maybe the class
needs to be educated, not only
about the decision process but
also about the gifts as well. For
those who missed the gift expo
detailing the gifts, here is what
was presented.
The welcome sign off of Franklin
Street is not “superfluous” but a
needed and welcomed addition to
campus. And much like the entry
way on Cameron Avenue the
class gift 0f1999 it would add to
the beauty of the campus.
The advising endowment to
help train faculty advisers is not
“throwing money at a problem”
but is investing money in an area
that is in need of help. There is no
magic bullet to solve the problems
of advising, but understand that a
major “overhaul” can begin with a
simple endowment.
And finally, the mural idea is one
that would allow the class to have
a say in what is depicted. It would
be a piece of art that is original and
creative and give the class a chance
to leave its legacy here at Carolina.
The class of 2006 marshals did
a very good job in selecting gifts to
present to the class, and I hope that
Students need to think about what the towns around them
look and feel like. ...All of that is influenced by voting”
JACQUELYN GIST, carrboro alderman
JUttV. lUEU CLEAR 1
A referendum on stipends
is just a dirty political trick
I originally made a rule not to
delve into the weekly business
of Student Congress in this
column. I probably spent more
time there than I should have as
an undergraduate, so since I left I
have tried to stay out of it.
This week, however, I decided
to provide some insight on what
will go on at Congress before it
happens unlike The Daily Tar
Heel, which often reports on what
happened after the fact. (I just
couldn’t help myself.)
Tuesday, Congress will consider
an initiative to eliminate any kind
of student government stipends.
So I thought I would inform you
how lividyou, the student body,
are about Student Body President
Seth Dearmin’s S3OO per month
stipend before others do. Because
ffiat’s what Congress will say.
. affiument ycnr will hear
night
vfijrcenffir on grangrhe people the
chance to decide such an impor
tant issue. Any legislator who
recognizes this legislation for the
farce that it is will then be verbally
berated with charges of snobbery.
These arguments in favor of ref
erenda have become so common
place that they were condensed
into an e-mail and sent across the
College Republicans listserv in
ord6r to trump up this supposed
controversy and convince Congress
of its broad support.
The stipend issue itself is full of
nuanced arguments, an analysis
of which I will leave for another
time. As Congress will hopefully
realize tomorrow night, that is
not the issue before it. The issue is
whether there is a need to put the
issue of stipends on a referendum
before the student body.
The argument will give
Congress members the ability to
grandstand during the debate
Tuesday on this manufactured
issue keeping student groups
waiting for a vote on their funding
needs, probably all night.
the class 0f2006 votes for the idea
that speaks to it.
Katisha Newkirk
Assistant Director of Annual Giving
Carolina Annual Fund
Have some faith in Roy
he knows what he's doing
TO THE EDITOR:
With “Late Night” having hap
pened Friday, and the basketball
buzz finally starting up around
campus again, I have heard far
too many people talking about
another “eight and 20-esque”
season.
I hear people commenting on
how the five freshmen have to
grow up immediately, how Wes
Miller hopefully won’t be another
Brian Morrison and how Quentin
Thomas needs to not this year
resemble a “rabbit on speed” (as
this paper so eloquently put it last
year).
There is a shirt out there that I
think has some pretty sound advice
for the doubters. It says “In Roy We
Trust.”
As we either stay on the ship or
jump off of it, save the criticisms
for that other team eight miles
down the road.
Massie Minor
Sophomore
Undecided
mm
WSEm
MATT LILES
HERE'S TO DOWN HOME
Though direct democracy is
embedded in the foundation of
my political being, I have a hard
time applying it to this case. It is
difficult for me to recognize the
upwelling of grass-roots student
discord when the very petition
that is supposed to indicate it was
started and circulated by some
members of Congress who are try
ing to flaunt their power or settle
childish political scores.
So in the face of an argument
that will quote Jefferson and Plato
about the nature of democracy, I
would like to highlight an argu
ment against putting stipends
on the ballot —and the possible
motives behind Congress mem
bers’ willingness to do so.
Most importantly, there is not
a dire need to amend the student
constitution in order to limit or
negate the stipends of student
leaders because Congress
already can. Article I, Section 4(P)
of the Student Code gives Congress
the power to “establish remunera
tion for all Student Government
officers it deems appropriate.”
At its annual budget meeting
every year, Student Congress
can zero out the line items for
executive branch stipends. So the
question is: Why, in this case, do
we need a referendum?
Basically, the answer lies
in the procedural minutiae of
student government. Currently,
Congress only has the power to
nix stipends for one school year;
in order to get rid of the pay
ments altogether, it must amend
the student constitution. And in
order to do that, it must put the
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(Tlir Mg Oar Uppl
By Philip McFee, pip@email.unc.edu
question before the student body
in a referendum.
The idea is that no incarnation
of Congress, which turns members
over every semester, will be able to
change a central tenet of student
governance such as, for exam
ple, keeping leadership positions
accessible to people no matter
their wealth. By putting a stipends
referendum on the ballot for their
own political purposes, that’s what
Congress members are doing.
A referendum carries a lot of
responsibility, the least of which is
educating the student body about
the issue because everyone
votes, not just the students who
certain members of Congress and
the College Republicans could
scare up. Changing our Student
constitution is serious, and refer
enda to do so should be exercised
with great trepidation.
The proponents of the referen
dum will most likely accuse me of
asserting that the electorate is too
stupid to make this decision. They
will be missing both the point of
this column and referenda.
I am not saying that all referen
da are bad or that the student body
is stupid. I am saying that this
referendum is. A fake controversy
compounded by a loaded referen
dum is a bad idea.
So my point to Student
Congress members is to do the
job you were elected to do: make
tough decisions and not just pass
them on to the electorate. And
my point to students is to get
informed about issues like this
before you sign a petition or end
up voting on them.
Look up your representatives at
http://congress.unc.edu, and tell
them what you think. We should
never let the petty ambition of the
few thwart the future opportunity
of the many.
Contact Matt Liles,
a first-year law student,
at limat@email.unc.edu.
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