10
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2005
SHOW SOME LOVE
A proposed neighborhood conservation district for Mason Farm Road
would do too much to shut students out of housing near the University.
Attention, students: You are not welcome in the
Mason Farm neighborhood.
The Mason Farm Neighborhood
Association, which represents town residents near
the southernmost part of campus, wants the Chapel
Hill Town Council to make the area a neighborhood
conservation district. This would allow the commu
nity to levy all kinds of specifically tailored ordinance
on property owners in the neighborhood which is
also antithetical to the idea of being able to do what
you want with your own property.
The stated idea behind the Mason Farm petition
is that the University is building more and more on
the southern edge of campus —and that will make
the neighborhood attractive to students.
The rationale is sound. And it’s silly to suggest that
the small-neighborhood feel of Mason Farm hasn’t
been changed, perhaps even dramatically, by the
equally dramatic University expansion in the area.
But that's not a good enough reason to discriminate
against students.
Sure, students are more likely as a whole to be
loud, obnoxious or any other number of things. But
A FAILURE UP TOP
By failing to act after students messed up Student Congress elections,
Student Body President Seth Dearmin has failed his constituents.
Silence. That and inaction are all Student Body
President Seth Dearmin have given students in
the aftermath of an embarrassing and scandal
plagued election.
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised; Dearmin,
though he’s had his successes, also has demonstrated
a surprising and disappointing unwillingness to act
on important issues.
At a time when student elections have been com
promised and parts of student government have
demonstrated an alarming lack of competence,
there has been no visible leadership from the execu
tive branch.
Despite the fact that they bungled the recent
Student Congress elections, Dearmin has neither
asked for the resignations of members of the Board of
Elections, nor has he began the process of removing
them. After all the incompetence shown, especially
by BOE Chairman Nick Mosley and Vice Chairman
Jim Brewer (the group’s unofficial spokesman), it
seems obvious they should be gone or at the very
least reprimanded strongly. Yet they will be oversee
ing today’s elections.
And if Dearmin does believe that Mosley and Brewer
A FAMILY REUNION
A policy that would allow faculty more say in University donations will
do much to tighten the bonds between professors and administrators.
When, last year, a philanthropic group that
once gave seed money to a conservative
think tank offered money to UNC, it seemed
in some quarters that the sky was falling.
It wasn’t, of course. But the controversy caused
by a proposed curriculum in Western studies that
would have been funded by the John William Pope
Foundation showed a serious need for the University
to respond strongly to the concerns of its faculty.
Administrators squared off with dozens of faculty
members who thought the foundation would provide
dirty money, dragging UNC’s name— and millions
of dollars through the mud. Ultimately, the Pope
Foundation withdrew its proposal, with students as
the ultimate losers.
Thankfully, the foundation has come back to UNC
with an alternate proposal to expand already existing
programs in Western studies. But it still might not
have ended that way making anew proposal that
would allow faculty to appeal a University decision on
fundraising a good idea.
Based on an Emory University policy, the move could
bridge the gap between faculty and administrators. If it
were in place during the Pope Foundation controversy
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.
PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS STAFF
Business and Advertising: Kevin
Schwartz, director/general manager;
Megan Gilchrist, advertising director;
Lisa Reichle, business manager, Ellen
Withrow, business assistant; Amy
Fuschino, retail sales manager.
Customer Service: Emma Burgin,
Spencer Gipple, Erin Mulfinger,
Ashley Mullins, Kate Polichnowski
and Laura Youngs, representatives.
Display Advertising: Megan
Barber, Emily Brown, Katie Bynum,
Assistant Editors: Ben Pittard and
Tanner Slayden, arts & entertain
ment, Meghan Davis and Jake
Potter, city; Lindsay Naylor and Leila
Watkins, copy; Rachel Ferguson and
Fred Lamed, design; Julia Furlong,
features; Bobby Sweatt, graphics;
Kurt Gentry, multimedia; Clint
Johnson, online; Chris Cameron,
opinion; Ricky Leung and Alison
Yin, photography Derek Howies,
Alicia Jones ana Al Killeffer, sports;
Amy Eagleburger, Erin Gibson and
Eric Johnson, state & national; Katie
Hoffmann, Lindsay Michel and Jenny
Ruby, university.
Arts & Entertainment: Becca ,
Moore, John Coggin, senior writers;
Jacky Brammer, Andrew Chan, Jens
Cromer, Beth Dozier, Morgan Ellis,
William Fonvielle, Alan M. Hayes,
Whitney Isenhower, Harry Kaplowitz,
Stanton Kidd, Beth Mechum, Marta
Ostrowski, Blair Raynor, Bryan Reed,
Rachel Richey, Orr Shtuhl, Mike
Sullivan Sean Vonlembke and Adam
Wright.
City: Meredith Miller, senior writer;
Jabeen Ahmad, Leyla Ballantyne,
Chase Beck, Kyle Billings, Natalie
Blackburn, Kayla Carrick, Kathy
Cho, Alexa Dixon, Shatarra Gibson,
Spencer Gipple, Melody Guyton,
Anne Hillman, Nicki Jhabvala, Daniel
Johnson, M. Owais Khan, Aaron
Kremer, Allison Miller, Laura Oleniacz,
Jessica Schonberg, Trevor Thornton,
Michael Todd, Rachel Ullrich, Antonio
Velarde and Daniel Walker.
Copy: Katie Schwing, senior copy
editor; David Ely, sports copy; Mary
Blaine, Eliza Coleman, Anna Dean,
Chrissy Edwards, Jen Kling, David
Lonmer, Caitlin McLean, Andy
McNulty, Ashley Sedlak, Brittany
Spencer, Emily Stockin, Kimberly Taft
and Kayla Tausche.
Design: Sulhve Bang, Elisabeth
Cordell, Amy Dombrower, Nicole
Eure, Ginny Hendrix, Molly Jamison,
Abby Jeffers, Gina Lambert, Jillian
Nadell and Nikki Roberson.
Graphics & Multimedia: Aline
Alexanian, Eleanor Gould, Eric
Shepherd Martin, Callie McLean,
Gregg Punger and Allie Wassum.
Features: Shannan Bowen, Jacque
Brill, Linda Shen, senior writers; Emily
Fisher, Ali Gray, Carolyn Gray, Natalie
Hammel, Clint Johnson. Lean Konen,
Sapna Maheshwari, Adam Rodman,
Desiree Shoe, Julie Turkewitz and
Sarah Wetenhall.
Opinion: Jessica Seism, Jeff Smith,
Joseph Starnes and Laura Youngs,
editorial board, Sara Boatright, Emma
Burgin, Jeff Kim, Matt Liles and Amy
Rossi, columnists, Philip McFee and
The editorials are approved by the majority of the editorial board, which comprises the editor,
editorial page editor, the associate editorial page editor and seven editorial writers. The Daily Tar
Heel is published by the DTH Publishing Corp., a nonprofit North Carolina corporation, Monday-
Friday, according to the University calendar. Callers with questions about billing or display adver
tising should call 962-1163 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Classified ads can be reached at 962-
0252. Editorial questions should be directed to 962-0245. isn #10709436
OFFICE: Suite 2409 Carolina Union
CAMPUS MAIL ADDRESS: CB# 5210, Carolina Union BM Bk
U.S. MAIL ADDRESS: P.O. Box 3257,
Chapel Hill. NC 27515-3257
that doesn’t justify targeting them. If the neighbor
hood association had said that it didn’t want minor
ities to move to its area because they are statistically
more likely to be involved in crime or tend to lower
property values, there would be a huge public out
cry. But students don’t have the lobbying power in
the town to cry foul.
Creating a neighborhood conservation district
also would place limitations on who property own
ers could sell to. Who are Mason Farm residents to
try to tell their neighbors who they can and cannot
sell their land to? No one likes a subdivision going
up next door, but that doesn’t mean you can pull all
kinds of shenanigans to make it hard on them. At
the end of the day, you didn’t pay for the land your
neighbor did.
That doesn’t mean NCDs are a bad idea across
town, just that the Town Council should make sure
they’re absolutely necessary. And in this case, there’s
not a compelling enough argument. If students have
the money to rent or buy a house in Mason Farm,
they have a right to do just that without the interfer
ence that an NCD would promote.
should stay at the helm of the BOE, an incorrect but not
impossible position, then he should have made a public
statement to that end.
Anything would have been better than nothing, but
nothing is all Dearmin has given the student body.
Aside from a great deal of attention, nothing really
has changed since the election two weeks ago. How
can students be expected to have faith in student elec
tions when nothing has changed and nothing has been
said? Why should we expect today’s election to be dif
ferent from the last?
Perhaps the BOE has learned from its mistakes.
Even so, if today’s election does go awry, will stu
dent government have a solicitor general ready for
any disputes about the interpretation of the Student
Code? No. And has anyone even been nominated?
No. This was inexcusable two weeks ago, and it still
is. Dearmin might refuse to comment on government
failures, but he should at least make an effort to fill
empty positions in student government.
Silence might be golden, but not when it comes
to leading and governance. And when it comes to
the task of helping to provide fair elections, Dearmin
appears to have been struck dumb.
last year, such a policy likely would have quelled faculty
fears, avoiding the media frenzy that quickly arrived.
But it’s not just the potential for good PR that
makes the move a solid one. There’s also the fact
that faculty simply deserve more of a voice in UNC’s
affairs; they often provide a different perspective
than the officials who make the major decisions, and
if the University is to accept money that could affect
professors’ teaching, those faculty should be able to
say their piece.
The development task force’s ideas also reflect
that principle of fairness. It rightfully calls for more
transparency in the way UNC conducts its business
with donors, including more upfront talk between
faculty and administrators.
The relative lack of outcry about the Pope
Foundation’s new Western studies proposal shows
that the great majority of people at UNC are willing
to be reasonable, provided that their concerns are
heard. The task force on development ought to be
applauded for recognizing that —and for coming to
see that, as much as possible, the University ought
to consider donations in public.
Sometimes, it’s good to be afraid of the dark.
©tjp loilg Oar MM
Ryan Cook, Lizzy Fitzgerald, Jorie
Giipman, Mary Kincheloe, Emily
Mcknight, Jennie See, Katie Slusser,
account executives.
Advertising Production: Penny
Persons, manager, Cindy Huntley, ad
EDITORIAL STAFF
Evann Strathern, cartoonists.
Photography: Brandon Smith,
senior photographer; Steve
Andrawes, Julia Barker, Larry Baum,
Kat Bolles, Gillian Bolsover, Shane
Brogan, Craig Carter, Galen Clarke,
Anna Dorn, Beth Ely, Chris Fields,
Kate Hanley, Kathryn Hughes,
Gvoung You I Jeong, Blake Kimball,
Alan Kneidel, Samantha Levy, Sara
Lewkowicz, Kate Lord, Brandon
Maynard, Scarlett Miller, Alexandra
Monfealegre, Perry Myrick, Brady
Nash, Emily Oxford, Ellen Penninger,
Logan Price, Isaac Sandlin, Nick Scott
and Crystal Street.
Sports: Brlana Gorman,
Sport Saturday editor; Sam Shepard,
assistant Sport Saturday editor;
Jacob Karabell, Brian MacPherson,
David Moses, Brandon Parker, senior
writers, Matt Estreich, columnist
Jesse Baumgartner, Joanne Catmell,
Jonathan Carl, Amelia Druckenbtod,
Gregg Found, Kristin Pratt, Gaby
Remington, Sam Rosenthal and
Brandon Staton.
State & National: Megan
McSwain, senior writer; Nick
Anderson, Matt Bowles, Kyle
Chorpening, Ashley Christian, Richard
M. Coe 111, Elizabeth DeOrnellas, Erin
France, Paul Kiernan, Matt Knepper,
Samuel Lau, Caitlin Legacki, Stephen
READERS* FORUM
Students need to put up or shut up Go
to games before asking for more tickets
TO THE EDITOR:
I was disheartened today to read in Justin
Johnson’s letter that 1,000 student tickets remain
for the defending National Champion North
Carolina Tar Heels’ rematch of April’s title game
with Illinois. I and many other students have been
huge advocates for increased and better student
seating in the Smith Center, but this has caused me
to rethink my position.
We’re the defending national champions and yet
our student body leaves 1,000 tickets on the table?
I understand that the recent Saturday distribution
conflicted with the registration schedule for sopho
mores, but one does not have to stay at distribution
the entire time.
You show up for line check, and if you’re a low
number in line, stay and get your tickets if you’re
a high number, stay until you can determine the pace
of distribution then go to a campus computer lab to
register and come back in time to hear your number
called.
Until we as students can actually pick up all of our
allotted tickets, particularly to games of the magni
tude of the Illinois one, we simply do not deserve
more or better seating in the Dean Dome. I know
I will be at the Smith Center cheering on a young,
hard-working Tar Heel basketball team every game
possible this year, just like I did as a freshman in
2002-03 to see a young Felton, McCants and May
grow up before my eyes on their path to becoming
champions.
Will you be there?
Brian Strang
Senior
Political Sdence/PWAD
production coordinator; Beth O'Brien,
assistant; Mktielle Riel, assistant;
Debbie Rosen, assistant.
Moore, Mason Moseley, Lindsey
Naylor, Justin Ortiz, Seth Peavey,
Laura Phelps, Kristen Pope, Kristin
Pratt, Brett Sturm, Petsis Swift.
Alexander Hal Tilemann, Sarah Wiest
and John Wulsin.
University: Kelly Ochs. Emily
Steel senior miters; Rachel Aiken,
Kathryn Bales, Kirsten Beattie, Lauren
Berry, Emily Bisker, Kelli Borbet,
Colin Campbell. Don Campbell,
Kerry Cannity, Katie Cline, Shannon
Connell, Megan Dean, Katherine
Evans, Shah Feld, Laura Fried, Jessica
Gibson, Kelly Giedraitis, Nathan
Hewitt, Robin Hilmantel, Katherine
Hollander, Nate Hubbatd, Meredith
King, Whitney Kisling, Lily Kuo,
Roljby Marshall, Courtney Leigh
Millet, Mac Mollison, Deborah Neffa,
Stephanie Newton, Allison Nichols,
Nicole Norfleet, Katie O'Neal, Jenna
Raman, Erica Rafferty, Brandon Reed,
Kathiyn Rowland, Kate Sullivan and
Erin Zureick.
Editorial Production: Stacy Wynn,
manager.
Printing: Triangle Web.
Distribution: Triangle Circulation
Services.
Opinion
FROM THE DAY’S NEWS
“We had people grabbing the microphone.... People were barfing
in the restaurant. Some people even stole hamburgers.”
GREG MITCHEL, former miami subs manager, in a post-halloween 1997 dth interview
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Halloweens ancient customs
are worth respecting today
If you can manage to peel the
vodka-soaked mask off your
face and make sense of the
written word before using this
newspaper as a receptacle for last
night’s candy com and Purple
Jesus, consider this: You’ve just
celebrated a Pagan holiday.
And despite what Jerry Falwell
might have told you, it wasn’t
the devil’s birthday or an excuse
for lesbians and Teletubbies to
cavort about and invite another
hurricane.
It was Samhain Eve, a cer
emonial threshold at the cusp of
the Celtic new year. Long before
undergraduates in polyester cos
tumes roamed Franklin Street,
Celts in Scotland and Ireland
celebrated the last harvest before
winter settled in, making the
preserves and salted meat that in
some American bastardization of
tradition became Jolly Ranchers
and Jell-0 shots.
Granted, the tradition is nearly
as dead as the taboo of Halloween
in Chapel Hill, where the town’s
name strikes a note of irony when
the Bell Tower’s temporary jack
o-lantem glowers down on stum
bling freshmen.
But the national perception of
Halloween’s roots underscores a
lack of understanding that has
too long marred the canvas of
religious cohesion.
Samhain, literally meaning
“summer’s end” in Gaelic, is one of
many ancient Pagan holidays that
have left their mark on mainstream
religious practice. Before there
was Easter there was the Spring
Equinox, a Pagan fertility festival
marked by the birth of farm ani
mals that were later manifested in
the bunnies and eggs that now fill
Hallmark window displays.
And even Mr. Falwell himself
might refer to the Christmas
season as “Yule,” a term which
in actuality describes the Pagan
celebration of the winter solstice.
The logs, wreaths, evergreen trees
KJ
SARA BOATRIGHT
KEEP 'EM ON THEIR TOES
and even the exchange of gifts
have their roots in Halloween’s far
more ancient Celtic counterpart.
I’m not trying to say that we
should revere Christian holidays
any less; if anything, they should
be made richer by their storied
pasts. Yet a misguided modem
interpretation has aligned “Pagan”
with “evil,” equating a term that
simply describes a non-Christian
individual with a so-called
Satanist.
In turn, the delicate intrica
cies that bind Pagan tradition
to Christian origination have
been buried beneath hellfire and
damnation, robbing subsequent
generations of their own magnifi
cently enmeshed history.
In few places is this more
apparent than in the mission
statements of interfaith minis
tries, including the Interfaith
Alliance of Wake County. The
organization seeks to unite
“Catholic, Protestant, Jewish,
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh,
Jain, Native American and
Unitarian-Universalist religions”
to serve the community.
Its cause is inarguably a just
and commendable one, yet it
overlooks the estimated 770,000
Pagan-identified individuals in
the United States. Perhaps more
significantly, such organizations
suggest in their omission of
Pagans that this minority religion
largely characterized by a wor
ship of multiple gods and god
desses and a connection to nature
is a malevolent one.
In a country founded on freedom
of religion, few implications could
Speak .Out
We welcome letters to the editor and aim to publish as many as possible. In
writing, 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
people. 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.
©Jje Saily ©or Mppl
Established 1893
112 years of editorialfreedom
RYAN C. TUCK
EDITOR, 962 4086
RCTUCK@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY, THURSDAY 1-2 P.M
PIT SIT: FRIDAY, 12-1 P.M.
JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
MANAGING EDITOR, 962-0750
JOSEPH_SCHWARTZ@UNC.EDU
REBECCA WILHELM
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, 962-0750
BECCAO7@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
CHRIS COLETTA
OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750
EDITDESK@UNC.EDU
BRIAN HUDSON
UNIVERSITY EDITOR, 962-0372
UDESK@UNC.EDU
BRIANNA BISHOP
TED STRONG
CITY CO-EDITORS, 962-4209
CITYDESK@UNC.EDU
KAVITA PILLAI
STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR, 962-4103
STNTDESKOUNC.EDU
©Jtp iaihj ©or Hppl
By Philip McFee, pip@email.unc.edu
be more harmful. The Satanic
association is doubly unjust given
that it originated in 1969, when a
high school dropout named Anton
LaVey published “The Satanic
Bible” and used sin upside-down
Pentagram the Pagan symbol of
equilibrium and protection —as its
cover illustration.
Thus, centuries of tradition
were tarnished by a Californian
outcast with an llth-grade educa
tion, and a stigma was bom.
The greatest loss, however, is not
the public perception of Pagan indi
viduals or the lost heritage of main
stream religion, but the missed
opportunity of united public service
and exemplified tolerance.
When a society of organized reli
gions labels a particular brand of
faith as wanton and wicked, it not
only condones an atmosphere of
ignorance but projects the message
that discrimination is acceptable. If
we are welcoming of all races and
genders but closing our doors to
a religion that gave us everything
from Easter eggs to environmental
protection, we are far from the real
ization of true equality.
So today, when under-eye
shadows replace masks and the
University’s best and brightest sip
black coffee to recover from the
revelry, they will be doing so on
the first day of the Celtic year.
Few will know or care that the
newly minted winter, known by
Pagans as the “dark season,” is not a
period of death or depravity but one
of regeneration and unseen growth.
Celtics saw this as a seed
beneath the frozen surface, a
silence that could give birth to
the raucous music of spring. With
any luck, when the last frat boy in
drag has shuffled from the gutter
and the final sterilizing spray has
lent the town a fresh sheen, some
root of tolerance will remain.
Contact Sara Boatright,
a junior public relations major,
at scb4l9@email.U7ic.edu.
www.dfaUytaxheol.coin
DANIEL MALLOY
SPORTS EDITOR, 962-4710
SPORTS@UNC.EDU
TORRYE JONES
FEATURES EDITOR, 962-4214
FEATURES@UNC.EDU
JIM WALSH
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, 962-4214
ARTSDESK@UNC.EDU
SCOn SPILLMAN
CATHERINE WILLIAMS
COPY CO-EDITORS, 962-4103
WHITNEY SHEFTE
PHOTO EDITOR, 962-0750
JEN ALLIET
DANIEL BEDEN
DESIGN CO-EDITORS 962-0750
FEILDING CAGE
GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA EDITOR, 962-0246
CHRIS JOHNSON
ONLINE EDITOR, 962-0750
ONLINE@UNC.EDU
KELLY OCHS
EMILY STEEL
WRITERS' COACHES 962-0372
ELLIOTT DUBE
PUBLIC EDITOR, 260-9084
DUBEE@EMAIL.UNC.EDU