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12 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005 BOARD EDITORIALS SHARE THE WEALTH The UNC Board of Governors didn’t think it through when awarding huge raises to UNC-system chancellors while cutting rank-and-file pay. Running a major public university is no small task. With the joys come headaches, and for that, our UNC-system chancellors deserve proper compensation. But the recent 8 to 16 percent pay increase granted to chancellors in a year in which state employees took a pay cut in terms of their buying power sends the message of just who the state values more. It’s not that leaders of North Carolina’s public insti tutions don’t deserve a thank you. However, when state employees saw a measly 2 percent increase in pay, it’s simply poor form. If chancellors get 8 to 16 percent, why shouldn’t employees? Look at it this way: A state employee looking at the higher end of about $40,000 a year will get just SBOO more. With inflation rising at an average of 3 percent each year, that’s technically a pay cut, and that doesn’t count the troubling health care costs and choking gas prices. And it’s not that the several hundred thousand dollars that these raises will cost would make a large difference if spread across the thousands of state employees. FOOD FOR THOUGHT Students should enjoy a night out on the town because RSWP Day ensures that many eateries donate 10 percent of proceeds to fight hunger. Eat out tonight. Go hog wild. It’ll be good for you, good for business and— tonight good for those in the Triangle who aren’t so fortunate as to be able to fill their bellies to the point of bursting. Restaurants Sharing V/5 + V/5 Percent Day comes once a year. It’s a day when a whole slew of Chapel Hill and Carrboro eateries from Akai Hana to Zorba’s donate 10 percent of their proceeds to local kitchens and food banks. And that makes tonight a perfect excuse to take your significant other out to a nice meal at 411 West, hang out with your friends at Pita Pit or make a late night food run to Hector’s. You get to eat all that wonderful food. And after all, who doesn’t like food? Tonight, chowing down on a snack at a local eatery can make all the difference in the world to someone who relies on a soup kitchen for his daily bread. Of course, you could always just make a donation directly to the Inter-Faith Council, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina or the Urban Ministries of Durham Community Kitchen. They always need volunteers and financial support from the communities they serve. CHAPEL HELLIONS This years mens basketball team looked good out on the court in their exhibition games and likely will provide an exciting season of victories. It might be impossible to top last year’s basket ball season. After all, the team bringing home the NCAA Basketball National Championship doesn’t happen everyday. But fret not basketball fans, there is hope. This year’s team already shows promise for an exciting season. Frankly, there are very few sports moments that could top watching the men’s basketball team beat Illinois in the title game last April. But if the exhibi tion games are any indication, this year’s team will be anything but a disappointment. Granted, the exhibition games weren’t against the most formidable of opponents, but just the thrill of watching Tyler Hansbrough steal the ball for a break away then fly over the heads of defenders for a dunk is enough to get any fan pumped for the season. Fans filled the lower decks of the Smith Center for these games, and should come out in even greater num bers to support the team as we move into winter. The shoes of May, McCants, Felton, Manuel and the Williams’ are indeed large shoes to fill, but the new recruits bode well for the program’s future. This year’s incoming class is packed with talent ed players that only will play better as the season 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 three 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 Carolina needs new tunes to cheer Tar Heels on with TO THE EDITOR: I’m a junior and I’ve been lis tening to the same songs from the “Pride of the ACC” all three years. Our school’s reputation rests on its tradition, but I think it’s time to update the band’s play list. Let us not forget that last year we had to endure a halftime show with an Elvis impersonator that luckily was overshadowed by the biggest win in Carolina football history. Thanks to Connor Barth for let ting us forget what an awful half time show we had to sit through when we were all so nervous we couldn’t leave our seats. I’m not asking much. For “Hark the Sound,” “Here Comes Carolina,” and “Carolina Victory,” play them at will but no more “Take on Me.” I know the Carolina dance team has a sexy, well choreographed dance for it, but it’s time to let it go. It’s not hard, just look into more genres of music. I know last year the band directors thought they were doing us a favor when they added a fragment of “Lean Back,” but it was just a tease. Play what the kids are listen ing to. If you want us to be loud at football games, play music that the students will get excited about not another rendition of “Malaga” from It’s more about the message it sends. A state employee earning minimal pay could only look at it as a slap in the face. While it’s vital that the UNC sys tem remain competitive in salaries, it’s also impor tant to take care of the people who keep this system running. Based on the math, Chancellor Moeser will receive $35,100, on top of the $309,897 he already makes. A few years ago, Moeser donated the money from a $25,000 bonus to improve workplace conditions for UNC-Chapel Hill employees. And not long after the UNC-system Board of Governors decided to approve the increases in administrator salaries last week, UNC-Wilmington Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo donated most of her $14,663 raise to two student scholarship funds. One fund goes toward financial aid for staff members and their family. More chancellors should follow this lead. No one is asking they relinquish all of the money or take a pay cut. However, the heads of such major state insti tutions ought to show leadership and prove they have their priorities in order since the BOG has not. But RSWP Day has provided a way for students and other citizens to treat their taste buds and fill their stomachs while helping out since 1989. A 17- year tradition, RSWP has expanded to include more than 100 restaurants in Chapel Hill and Carrboro this year. With all those options, it’s hard to claim that you can’t make it out. Maybe your wallet’s a bit light? Well, there are options that range from the inexpensive all the way up to Aurora and The Lantern. So no matter if your budget is $5 or SIOO, this is an excellent chance to enjoy a night out on the town and know that while you’re indulging in your favorite food, 10 percent of everything you spend not just profits, but gross income for the day will go to help feed the hungry in the area. For a complete list of participating res taurants, visit rswp.org. Sometimes it’s hard to find a time in our busy schedules to help out around the community. Promises to volunteer go unfulfilled and that good intention to write a check to a local charity just never comes to fruition. But RSWP Day is a chance to help out by doing something we all enjoy eating. rolls forward. Already, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard and Hansbrough have brought intense energy to the games. Be sure to pay atten tion to these players; in a few years, they may be the new champions. And as new players flood the court with fresh tal ent, seasoned Tar Heels have stepped up to fill lead ership positions. It’s reassuring to know that there is still experience out on the court in the form of Wes Miller, David Noel, Byron Sanders, Reyshawn Terry and Quentin Thomas. The four will no doubt be steadying forces on this year’s team. The Carolina basketball tradition is surely alive and kicking and this year’s talented slew of players is evidence to that fact. (And that’s not even consider ing next year’s highly touted class). We may not see another National Championship this year, but the men’s basketball team is still worth the support and excitement of fans. And anyway, it doesn’t really matter how many titles or games we win this year; what’s really impor tant is that until April 2006, we are still the reigning national champs. the Spanish flamenco culture. I know I’m not the only one who would like to hear “Nolia Clap” blasted by the Tar Heel brass section before the defense hits the field. If that’s too much of a stretch then I know my true dream of a breakdown following the “typical” halftime extravaganza is out of the question. That’s right, if halftime is fol lowed by a breakdown that gets the stadium up and singing “Let’s Go!” I’d be happy. Is that really too much to ask? Cameron Navy Junior Biology Thank you for honoring our veterans on the front page TO THE EDITOR: I was in Chapel Hill to attend the UNC-Maryland game on Saturday and got to pick up a copy of The Daily Tar Heel. I was very pleased to see the headline, “Honoring Veterans Day”, standing out with a picture of some young vets. My son, Mike, is currently fly ing missions with the Marines in Iraq. He and I were commis sioned Marine officers through the NROTC program at UNC. Opinion Veterans Day is every day at my house, and it is great to know the day is remembered on campus by way of The Daily Tar Heel. I only wish the UNC admin istration would rescind its plan to demolish the Naval Armory that has stood as a symbol of our military on this campus ever since World War 11. To destroy the his tory and the many memories asso ciated with the ROTC building is just unwarranted. No so-called “Master Plan” by the University should destroy a lone building that has produced so much sacrifice by so many for our nation, the state, and the University. Thank you again for recognizing veterans on Veterans Day. Alan V Monette Class of 1965 Diversity was celebrated in spite of tasteless gay jokes TO THE EDITOR: I would like to applaud every one involved in this weekend’s 13th annual Journey into Asia. Unfortunately, much of their efforts were soiled by the distaste fill humor of comedian Kevin Shea. His offensive remarks about homo sexuals were especially disturbing. Journey into Asia is an event that celebrates the culture and FROM THE DAY S NEWS “The ceremony is a time to honor those that have fallen in the past, now and in the future” GYSGT HOGANCAMP, ASSISTANT marine ofticea instructor, at the ROTC VETERANS DAT ceremony EDITORIAL CARTOON dogwood. t' r 'T r v;j WWZZZZEmZZZT: WRKR.TRM. V fWWUT'S WXmU J COMMENTARY NCSU columnist’s vaginal discomfort based on fear Daniel Underwood has a problem with vaginas. One could practically hear the hesitant cringe in his fin gertips as he hacked out the word in his Friday column for N.C. State’s student newspaper, The Technician. With the sweaty des peration of a vaginally tormented Paul Revere, he issued a 700- word warning that Eve Ensler was coming. I doubt the pun was intended. Calling “The Vagina Monologues,” Ensler’s celebrated book and play, “one of the most ferocious attacks against the dignity of female sexuality” Underwood deemed the work an exploitation of women and chil dren, removing the “reverence” with which sexuality should be approached. Apparently the domestic vio lence, rape, pedophilia and sex trafficking that Ensler sought to abolish with her efforts were rev erence enough for Underwood. The problem that he and like minded individuals have with “The Vagina Monologues” goes far deeper than a glossed-over generalization of lost innocence. Ensler’s portrayal of women’s atti tudes of their sexuality is at once opportunity for liberation and fodder for fear-driven criticism. In this admonishment, ironically enough, lies the final hurdle to the “reverence” that Underwood so tirelessly aspires to. Ensler undoubtedly presents images capable of unsettling an audience. Women describe what their vaginas look like, smell like, even sound like. Young girls unravel their first intricate inklings of solitary intimacy. Elderly women reveal lingering desire, a professional dominatrix displays unapologetic delight at her clients’ moans and a lesbian provides a graphic glimmer of same-sex insight. diversity that Asian Americans bring to the UNC campus. It also identifies many stereotypes that Asian Americans must deal with. Shea’s remarks were not only very out of place, but they weren’t even funny. Jokes that target ethnic minori ties make people laugh because they have a degree of truth to them. As an Asian American, I will read ily admit this. But Shea’s comments about another minority group, homosexuals, were simply hate ful and tarnished the efforts of the performers who preceded him. The performances of Journey into Asia embraced the open mindedness that has helped America become the unique blend of cultures that it is. All the more reason why I was shocked to hear Shea’s closed-minded “jokes” and disturbed to hear others laughing. Genie Ko Junior Asian Studies/Political Science CORRECTION: In Thursday’s editorial “Take a closer look,” it was incorrectly stated that five ihmates have been declared innocent after execution. To date, no inmates have been clearly exonerated post mortem. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error. SARA BOATRIGHT KEEP 'EM ON THEIR TOES Shocking, perhaps. But it is the shock that drives the shame, and the shame that drives the violence. By trying with subtle valiance to move her audience to sexual understanding, Ensler is inch by inch removing the hair trigger of sexually driven crime. We have long since left the fleeting decades when silence and humility would suffice for true reverence. Underwood’s puri tanical interpretation of the word suggests we button up our collars, shush our daughters and let our own power wilt like crumpling versions of Georgia O’Keefe’s vaginal flowers. Yet he, to my knowledge, has neither a daughter nor a vagina. It is difficult to grasp Ensler’s point unless you’ve been pinned beneath it at one point or another, a weak victim of your own anatomy. And I will grant the Underwood-esque detractors a reprieve, because perhaps they have never been raped, molested, abused or harassed. Perhaps they have never walked away from the fount of “reverence” with bruises and scars that refuse to fade. And perhaps they have never tasted the intoxicatingly open strato sphere into which Ensler’s words fling them, as blind and as brave as emergent sparrows. But for those of us who have, reverence must concede to ret ribution. Women who are too shameful or frightened to talk about or even acknowledge their own sexuality are not “regaining respect for sexuality itself” as Underwood suggests. They are Speak Oat 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. Bailg (Ear Hrrl Established 1893 112 years of editorialfreedom RYAN C. TUCK EDITOR, 962-4086 RCTUCKOEMAII.UNC.EDU OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY, THURSDAY 1-2 P.M. PIT SIT: FRIDAY 12-1 P.M. JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR, 962-0750 10SEPH_SCHWARTZOUNC.EDU REBECCA WILHELM DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, 962-0750 BECCAO7OEMAIL.UNC.EDU CHRIS CAMERON OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750 EDITDESKOUNC.EDU BRIAN HUDSON UNIVERSITY EDITOR, 962-0372 UDESKOUNC.EDU BRIANNA BISHOP TED STRONG CITY CO-EDITORS, 962-4209 CITYDESKOUNC.EDU KAVITA PILLAI STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR, 962-4103 STNTDESKOUNC.EDU (Th? ioilg (Ear Urri By Philip McFee, pip@email.unc.edu prolonging the painful repres sion that steadily will erupt into future generations of unexpressed anguish. To be a victim of sexual vio lence is to be robbed of one’s own body. But to talk about it, to express it, to unfurl it in all its colorful imperfection and taboo connotation is to reclaim it with a victorious vengeance. And that is what “The Vagina Monologues” is trying to do, at least for those who listen. Underwood, like so many uneducated critics before him, lumps Ensler’s piece into a cat egory with pornography and sexualized advertisements, “bom barding a nation with sexually provocative images.” If Ensler can make even the smallest audience aware of the unwavering line between sexual self-awareness and sexual exploi tation, then we are miles closer to any semblance of “reverence.” Underwood’s oft-repeated word is in fact nothing if not the embodiment of respectful awe, and one cannot respect something that remains cloaked in the abra sive wool of shameful mystery. Our culture has for decades tried to combat sexual violence with a set jaw and a grim scowl, and nothing has changed save for the steady ascension of statistics. The only viable alternative is the unyielding ownership of one’s own body and its expression, regardless of age, ideology or sex ual preference. If that expression prompts bewilderment, we can only hope that the “Monologues” will become a dialogue capable of producing an answer to the confusion, and that dissenters will come to the conversation with more than just dictionaries and disgust. Contact Sara Boatright, a junior public relations major, at scb4l9@email.unc.edu. www.dailytaiheel.com DANIEL MALLOY SPORTS EDITOR, 962-4710 SPORTS@UNC.EDU TORRYE JONES FEATURES EDITOR, 962-4214 FEATURESffIUNC.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 ELLIOn DUBE PUBLIC EDITOR, 260-9084 DUBEE@EMAII.UNC.EDU
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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