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12 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2006 GINNY FRANKS A TENDENCY TO START FIRES Ginny Franks is a senior communications major. E-MAIL: GINNY.FRANKS@GMAIL.COM Bowles brings Tar Heel pedigree North Carolina is wary of outsiders. That’s why today we thank former President Molly Broad for her service to the UNC system and the higher education bond, and we welcome President Erskine Bowles back home. We grow up by fields of tobac co, wisps of cotton and major research institutions. We are embroiled in a culture in which arguing regional barbecue and fishing holes is tantamount to arguing policy and crooked poli ticians. That’s how we like it. North Carolina has its own peculiar character, and our pol itics are a combination of quot- ing statistics and dealing in basketball UNIVERSITY COLUMNIST tickets. We are more impressed by an ability to locate Cabarrus or Catawba counties on a map than a lengthy curriculum vitae. It’s not that folks hated Broad, though some did. And it’s not that she wasn’t qualified to be president of the UNC system. We believe in hospitality, but we prefer our leaders homegrown or at least folks who understand the strange ways things work here. Broad never had the opportunity to steer her ship because she was constantly reassuring the state that she belonged. She under stood clearly the stakes: North Carolina, she said, must invest in our universities if we are to pros per in the years ahead. But she stood as a Cassandra in front of the legislature. We wanted someone dyed in vinegar sauce and raised on sweet tea. Someone who under stands the culture, the legacy and the qualifications. Bowles is a former White House chief of staff, a proven fundraiser and a corporate suc cess; he is equally at home jok ing with students over dinner and forgets his title as he stands, fists shaking, at Tar Heel bas ketball games. He is steeped in North Carolina. Bowles is heir to the tradi tion of heroes such as former President Frank Porter Graham, former Governor Terry Sanford and former President Bill Friday. Those North Carolinians, and others, stand as icons in education. Their faults fade as the years go on, and their political failures are attributed to an unfortunate diagnosis of untimely and uncommon char acter. Bowles is acutely aware of the footsteps he follows in, but he must chart his own path. He must establish his vision for the system and each cam pus as a unique contribution to North Carolina. Bowles will be forced to confront the issues of a student population that is changing to include not only eager teenagers but also displaced agricultural workers embracing the new economy. He will have to fight for fund ing from the legislature, coax investment from corporations, prod private donors while main taining a tradition of indepen dence. Bowles will have to tend to the U.S. News & World Report rankings for our top campuses, while fostering community part nerships between lower-tiered schools and community colleges to serve their unique populations. Bowles will need to confront diversity, introduce innova tion into textbook pricing and protect our academic climate. He should stand with student protesters demanding that the General Assembly live up to its constitutional promises to our state and be first in line at student call-ins asking federal legislators to protect national student aid programs. We are a diverse collection of 16 schools, where doctors are trained and mothers earn a degree for better wages. We are divided by issues of class, race, region and education but unit ed behind a vision of one North Carolina. Bowles joins our 200- year tradition as he proudly jokes, “So I finally got a job.” EDITORIAL CARTOON By Doug Marlette, Tribune Media Services eflli A I ! tfv. mol, OFFER FOR FREEDOM Even middle school students deserve a free press Freedom of the press. It’s something that’s near and dear to the hearts of most Americans. Well, apparently not every American. Last month admin istrators at Smith Middle School decided to confiscate the school’s newspaper because a student who was charged with assault during a school bus ride found his name in print. But now the school’s admin istrators have the chance to HOW IT WENT DOWN The event: A 14-year-old student is charged with assault from an incident on a school bus. The coverage: The Smith Middle School "Cyclone Scoop" writes its article on the charges. The mistake: Assistant Principal David Lyons seizes all copies of the paper and halts distribution on grounds that they violate confidentiality. Start of Bowles’ reign We want a few things to come out of Bowles’ tenure Today will be filled with bubbly champagne and gala events for Erskine Bowles as he is sworn in as the new UNC-system president. But the honeymoon will end, and he’ll have to get to work. There are plenty of issues to work on, and Bowles has a full plate not to mention that filling his predecessor’s fash ionable shoes will not be easy. But before Bowles gets inau gurated and then gets down, the Daily Tar Heel editorial board would like to rain on his parade by recommending some priori ties for the administration: 'Blockbuster* books The costs of books are emptying our wallets slowly especially if you’re studying a physical science. Appalachian State University has a textbook-rental system that definitely has helped stu dents save a few greenbacks. Exporting that program throughout the system so every student could save some money would be pretty freakin’ sweet. Rising to the top The School of Medicine is nationally recognized We all know that UNC’s medical school is one of the best in the nation. The 2006 U.S. News & World Report rankings offer just a lit tle more proof to back up that notion our medical school is ranked second in primary care. It’s good to see the medical school be shown a little love. It often gets overlooked on the main campus due to the iso lated nature of its geographic location and social limita tions on its students due to the nature of the workload. The School of Medicine has been training doctors to serve the state of North Carolina since 1879. In that time it has grown from a three-member faculty Opinion right their wrong. The Daily Tar Heel is offering to print the article in question on the front page. In addition, the DTH will print and distrib ute this month’s issue of the middle school’s newspaper. Schools are not just about academic knowledge though getting some beginning experi ence in an extracurricular is a good thing. Schools are in the business of producing good citizens. It sends the wrong message to students when part of the First Amendment is thrown out the window because administrators want to play PC police. The concern was that the students named in the story did not know their names would appear in the paper. But according to the journalism teacher at Smith, one of the kids, who was on the newspa per staff, even wanted to write UNC-system rift Apparently our 15 sister schools in the system find UNC- Chapel Hill to be— well, less than modest. We don’t know what they’re talking about, we just keep it real. But as president, you must put aside that you’re a UNC CH alumnus and work for the good of all 16 schools. That will mean repairing the rift and making sure UNC-CH plays well with others. Increased research More research means more money, period. UNC-CH and N.C. State are leading the way on research, but the rest of the system should be getting on the bandwagon, too. Research means more money for not just the universities but for the whole state, particularly with jobs. Nothing would fulfill our mis sion more than ensuring each school had some field to con duct research in. Contributions to knowledge lead to contribu- tea more than 1,200-strong staff. Yes, that’s right. There are 1,200 professional staff mem bers looking out for you and the rest of the state’s health, and that’s just here at UNC. They’re even training more people to help with that mission. While the rankings aren’t perfect if they were, we’d be first all can rest assured that their health will be guarded by doctors trained to the highest standard and up-to-date with the best knowledge in the med ical field. Sure, it’s still not a great idea to clog your veins with barbe cue three times a day, but at least you’ll be a little better off than someone pigging out in another state. the piece himself. With the dubious argument administrators provide for the confiscation, they also send the message to students that it is acceptable to silence criticism whenever it strikes a chord. Here at our big-kid school, we know the importance of uncensored information sourc es, be they the DTH, Carolina Review, Carolina Week or any other campus media outlet. That’s why it’s important to lend a hand to those who will follow our footsteps here years from now. To those at Smith: Meet us halfway on this compromise and allow your students to publish their work. Everyone else, take a moment to appreciate what we enjoy as legal adults and remember what it felt like to be told you weren’t as important as a grown-up’s comfort level. tions to school coffers. Stable tuition And then there’s tuition the issue that visits every year like some sort of evil Santa Claus. The Board of Governors has been reasonable about in-state tuition increases, but it needs to stay that way. You also can put in a good word for out-of-state students subsidizing in-state tuition is nice, but it shouldn’t be the impetus for more hikes. In fact, it might be a good idea for school trustees to have to pay tuition, too. Sure, they’re all rich, but at least they would be a little less trigger-happy and pay for another scholarship or three. Mr. Bowles, as you prepare to dismiss our uniformed sug gestions, the board would like to remind you that we stuck behind you even after being rejected by voters twice. As such, you owe us. Think about our suggestions, and please move them up the agen da. Top schools 1. University of Washington 2. University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill 3. Oregon Health and Science University 4. MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine 4. University of Massachusetts- Worcester 6. Duke University 6. ECU (Brody) 6. University of Colorado-Denver and Health Sciences Center ®. University of Wisconsin- Madison 10. University of California-San Francisco SOURCE: U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Local music is definitely, definitely a better draw ” LAMONT GREENE, W.B. YEATS MANAGER, ON THE SELECTION OF LIVE PERFORMERS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Due to space constants, letters are sometimes cut. Read the full-lenth versions online at the letters blog, or post your own response to a letter. VISIT// apps.dailytarheel.com/wpblogs/archives/category/letters Come out to Players and get down for Keith Smith TO THE EDITOR: The Keith Shawn Smith Memorial Fund will be hosting a benefit at Players at 10 p.m. Thursday. All funds collected before 11:30 p.m. will be donated to the fund. The Keith Shawn Smith Memorial Fund was established on UNC’s campus in the after math of the tragic death of the late Keith Shawn Smith. Our purpose is to raise money to help pay any medical or funer al expenses that the Smith fam ily accrued. Next year there are plans to establish a scholarship in honor of Keith Shawn Smith. The theme of our group is to “keep it movin,’” a phrase often used by Smith. So if you don’t have plans Thursday night, stop by Players and get your groove on for Keith Shawn Smith and a good cause. Emerson Evans Treasurer Memorialfund DTH's Clarke took a 'great' example of a news photo TO THE EDITOR: We are flooded daily by hun dreds of pictures, making it very easy for the truly exceptional pho tograph to go unappreciated. The photo that ran on page three in the April 4 Daily Tar Heel by Galen Clarke showing a woman grieving the attack in Durham was just such an excep tional photograph. I was about to turn the page, then did the proverbial double take. This incredible photo has every element photographers strive to include in a news photo: distinctive composition, facial expression of subject that says, “I know you’re taking a photo, and that’s fine,” perfect timing and incredible light all leading to a dramatic photograph. Even if the story had slipped off the front page, I submit that this photo deserved to be shown on page one. The DTH and the photogra pher ought to enter this photo in every photo competition there is this is a great news photo. I am saving it to show my stu dents when they ask me what makes a news photo great. My hat’s off to photographer Galen Clarke. Sonia Katchian Chapel Hill resident Aldermen should get on ball about connector roads TO THE EDITOR: Asa resident of Lloyd Street, I am in complete agreement with the Monday editorial titled “From place to place.” Currently the traffic situa tion is atrocious because people heading to the interstate, middle school or residential areas off Greensboro Street are tunneled through the same areas as those going to Weaver Street Market, Car Mill Mall, Jones Ferry Road and N.C. 54 toward Graham. The Lloyd Street connector will siphon off traffic that will con tinue on Greensboro past Harris Teeter and bypass the Main Street-Weaver Street merge. In addition to the benefits the editorial pointed out, the con nector will have a positive envi ronmental impact by reducing SPEAK OUT WRITING GUIDELINES: ► Please type: no written letters and stay under 300 words. > Sign and date: no more than two people should sign letters. ► Students: include your year, major and phone number. > Faculty/staff: include your department and phone number. > Edit: the DTH edits for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity. SUBMISSION: ► Drop-off: at our office at Suite 2409 in the Student Union. > E-mail: to editdesk@unc.edu ► Send: to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27515. EDITOR'S NOTE: Editorials are the opinions solely of The Daily Tar Heel editorial board. The board consists of five board members, the associate opinion editor, the opinion edi tor and the DTH editor. The 2005-06 DTH editor decided not to vote on the board. Mg (Tar Uml traffic and will help to keep buses on schedule. The complexities of traffic pat tern adjustment are numerous and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen were correct in claiming that more information was needed before they can act on the issue. However, considering how long this issue has been in limbo, there must be public comment on the subject in order for offi cials to take notice. This is the same town that quickly acted upon symbolic, but very public, issues in which they had no real power, like gay marriage. I hope the board takes a similar approach to this con nector and speedily analyzes the effect on businesses like Fitch Lumber and the railroad operator. Furthermore, I commend The Daily Tar Heel on bringing up such an issue, as it is likely that freshmen and sophomores who know nothing about the situation will be the ones reap ing the benefits of the connector once they move off-campus or paying the price because of the aldermen’s lethargic response to a dire problem. Kunal Choksi Junior Economics, Political Science Possible connector road would not be necessary TO THE EDITOR: The editorial, “From place to place” was written from the automobile-centric viewpoint and framed the street connec tion argument on improved emergency response times. There are other perspectives and consequences regarding the connection of Lloyd Street and Greensboro Street that should be considered. The tone of the editorial was one of driver mobility. Street connectivity is important for the motorized and non-motorized traffic to access destinations, but the purpose of connecting streets is not necessarily to increase mobility. The main rational the edi tor cites for needing the street connection is that putting in a connector would make down town safer by potentially help ing emergency vehicle response time. One assumption the edi tor makes is that this area is constantly congested, which is an untested assumption. The roadways where Weaver Street and Main Street intersect Greensboro Street are congest ed with automobile traffic dur ing the morning and evening “rush hour.” Will people still want the connection if in the end neither people nor emergency vehicles can get around Carr Mill Mall any quicker? I believe the Board of Aldermen is serving the people. To imply these public servants are not serving the public is a misrepresentation. Austin Brown Graduate student Reg. Planning, Public Health % lathi ®ar Established 1893, 113 years of editorialfreedom RYAN C. TUCK EDITOR, 962-4086 RCTUCK@EMAIL.UNC.EDU OFFICE HOURS: MON.. WEDS., FRI. 2-3 P.M. CHRIS CAMERON OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750 CCAMERON@UNC.EDU JOSEPH STARNES ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750 STARNESJOUNC.EDU ELIZABETH GREGORY PUBLIC EDITOR, (919) 612-6020 EUZAGRE@EMAIL.UNC.EDU EDIT BOARD MEMBERS JESSICA SCISM JEFF SMITH SCOfr SPILLMAN JORDAN STONE LAURA YOUNGS
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 12, 2006, edition 1
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