10
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2006
JBf
LATOYA EVANS
KEEPING IT HEEL
LaToya Evans is a junior majoring in
journalism and minoring in English.
E-MAIL: LSEVANS@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
Success
doesn’t
require
your soul
There were about 60 of us
who attended the screening
of “The Devil Wears Prada”
one evening.
We went as a large group of
current and aspiring magazine
editors.
And even though 1 had read
the book, which was different
from the movie, I came out with
a perspective I never expected to
have. I came out of the movie with
several things on my mind, and
it evoked some serious thinking
about my opinions of conformity
and Corporate America.
There was one line that I
remembered most: “You sold your
soul to the devil when you put on
your first pair of
Jimmy Choos.”
That was said
LIFESTYLE
COLUMNIST
to Andy, one of the movie’s main
characters. (She’s second assistant
to the movie’s villain, the editor
in chief of the fictitious Runway
Magazine.)
Andy swears not to sell her
soul, to be true to herself and. to
uot conform to the world she
chose to work in. But with one
disapproving look from her boss,
she quickly traded her orthopedic
mules for a pair of designer shoes.
But does conforming to your
work environment make you a
corporate sellout?
These questions are coming up
more in a society where literally
everything about you is at your
potential employer’s fingertips.
Recruiters are checking Facebook
profiles, searching on blogs and
doing Google searches to look
past the perfectly edited resume
you sent in.
In response, Facebook groups
fill with students who pledge to
never change their profiles or
views to fit a potential employer.
Meanwhile, University Career
Services sends out messages
reminding students that everyr
thing is fair game when it comes
to checking out what type of
person you really are behind the
cover letter.
Since many companies now
do these expanded background
checks, people are more conscious
about the moves they make pretty
early on. College students who
were once active protesters have
their mouths drop open when they
use a search engine to find out that
the buzz about them isn’t 100 per
cent positive.
Now students are more likely
to censor themselves before they
even buy a suit and tie. Our soci
ety is producing so-called sell
outs before they can even hold a
degree in hand.
I can relate. There was once a
time when I would do anything
to get a job or internship, even
if that included changing my
Facebook profile, dieting until I
was 15 pounds lighter and wearing
designer clothes all summer. I sim
ply didn’t care; all I knew was that
I liked the glass ceiling and wanted
to be near the top of it someday.
Now, things are different.
That was before I realized you
can’t gain life at the expense of
your soul. Being tme to yourself
is more important than getting
ahead in the corporate world.
But in order to get ahead, do
you have to conform? Will the
people who choose to be them
selves be left behind?
There are a thousand anecdotes
to support both sides of the argu-'
ment. I know talented people who
haven’t made it to the top of their
companies because they placed
their values first. I also know inno
vative, edgy creative types who
have made it all the way to the
top and have attempted to change
things for the better.
Sadly, there are more of the
former than the latter. It’s much
easier to get left behind when you
were never on the bandwagon.
With that being said, it’s OK to
want to mesh with a world that’s
unfamiliar to you, to want to be a
part of something that you think is
a completely different league.
But there is a fine line between
that desire and conformity. You
should never lose sight of what you
want and who you are when you
enter that world.
EDITORIAL CARTOON By David Huyck, dh@unc.edu
VOTE OR LOSE
Here are some issues that should get you to the polls
Get out the dead horse;
it is time for another
beating. Yes, friends, it
is time for another editorial on
your favorite topic: voting.
This summer’s short session
of the N.C. General Assembly
saw issues arise that will affect
students’ lives at Carolina.
These issues were resolved by
elected representatives who
have little reason to cater to
student concerns because we
don’t vote.
Meanwhile, laws are being
made, and policies are being
set.
Because of the General
Assembly, the University’s
budget won’t be cut for the
first time in more than five
years making it more likely
that Carolina can offer some
of those classes that you read
about in the Undergraduate
Bulletin but that never seem
to actually exist
Because of the General
Our blue heaven
An editorial from another reality
Based on an analysis of
local statistical data
and the methodology
of the American City Business
Journals, Chapel Hill is the
smartest town in the United
States.
Duh.
Just by looking around our
bit of paradise on Earth, any
one can see that Chapel Hill is
as close to perfect as possible.
With a population of the best
and the brightest, our town
has conquered all of the major
social issues of the last decade.
Some cities handle home
lessness by pushing individu
als to the margins of society
and the municipality. They are
ignored and forgotten.
Chapel Hill has erased
homelessness by spurning
economic growth so much
that our unemployment level
is less than 0.1 percent.
Coupled with an aggressive
campaign to make Chapel Hill
a community with affordable
housing for all, none in our
humble little burg struggle
on without their basic needs
being met.
Please bleed
Students ought to step up and give blood
People of Orange County,
take note; It’s time
to shed some of your
blood.
That’s because, as The
Daily Tar Heel’s Gray Caldwell
reported last week, the county
faces its worst blood shortage
in three years.
Shortages are common in
summer. Students leave town,
the pace of life slows and giving
blood just isn’t high on most
people’s lists of ways to have
fun in the sun.
Unfortunately, the need for
blood doesn’t dwindle along
with the number of willing
providers. Debbie Estes, who
works with the Carolinas
Blood Services Region of the
American Red Cross, said the
region is in severe need of blood
Opinion
Assembly, the minimum wage
was raised to $6.15 per hour
meaning that students who
work as resident advisers and at
the front desk of dorms will have
a little more spending money.
Because of the General
Assembly, the UNC system’s
faculty saw a 6 percent pay
increase meaning that your
favorite professor might not
bolt for greener pastures.
Because of the General
Assembly, UNC-system employ
ees will get to take more classes
for free —a major step toward
treating workers fairly.
And because of the General
Assembly, a foolish plan that
would have required back
ground checks for all system
students was quietly put down
preserving students’ privacy.
But as long as we sit on the
sidelines of the democratic
process, we’ll be depending
on good fortune for continued
legislative victories. And who
Some cities have deteriorat
ing downtowns that perpetuate
downward cycles of poverty.
Just look at Durham, whose
downtown is best described as
a crack supermarket. If only
they had a first-rate university
to partner with.
But in Chapel Hill, Franklin
Street is a hub of commerce
without comparison in North
Carolina. Every store front is
full of Earth-friendly goods
to meet any and every desire.
Fine vegetarian dining is never
more than 20 feet away, and
all of it is a smoke-free envi
ronment.
Some say it is the amble
and cheap parking; others
credit the wireless network
that forms an information
umbrella across all of Chapel
Hill; some even say it is the
tax incentives that have cre
ated the vast stretch of com
mercial success that marks
Franklin Street.
Whatever it is, it has cer
tainly brought a great deal of
prosperity to the Hill.
It is hard to pick the one
thing that has made Chapel
of type O-negative, O-positve,
B-negative and B-positive.
“We do typically experience a
shortage in the summer months,
but this one tends to be a little
more severe,” Estes told the
DTH. “It seems to be lasting a
little longer.”
That’s where you, the readers,
come in.
Not everyone can give blood,
of course. But those who are
physically capable of doing so
would be doing the area a big
favor.
Sure, it takes a little \yhile. It
can hurt, and it can make you
woozy.
But— especially' with classes
coming to an end for almost a
month, freeing up precious
time for many on campus
now is as good of a time as any
wants to rely on a bunch of old,
fickle politicians to treat young
people the way they want to be
treated?
In a few short months, it will
be time to register to vote and
then to elect members of the
General Assembly. Campus
groups will be harassing you to
care, and you won’t want to.
But instead of ignoring Vote
Carolina and the politicos, get
interested and vote for those
who will watch your backs in
Raleigh.
Vote so you can get what you
deserve —and not get served.
Who represents you
In the House:
Bill Faison (D)
Joe Hackney (D)
Verla Insko (D)
In the Senate:
Eleanor Kinnaird (D)
Hill the mecca of triumph over
social ills for the New South.
Certainly, though, the strong
bond between residents and
students has led to a partner
ship that can conquer all.
A lot of other towns find
themselves too caught up in
the things that can divide and
tear apart a community and
do not focus on common con
cerns. Neighborhoods segre
gate themselves and are pitted
against one another. Instead
of welcoming new neighbors,
folks try to get them banned.
Those who should be friends
are foes.
In Chapel Hill divergent
groups of all sorts have come
together to fight the social ills
of our time. We’ve conquered
economic woes and became
a model of prosperity for the
country.
We took our intelligence and
dedicated ourselves to better
ing our community. It took
hard work, it took putting aside
petty, personal interests, but we
got it done.
We made Chapel Hill into
our blue heaven.
to take a needle for the team.
In case you don’t know, in
order to donate blood, you
must be healthy (meaning
that you feel OK and can per
form your daily activities). You
must be at least 17 and weigh at
least 110 pounds. And you can’t
have donated in the last eight
weeks.
If you meet those criteria,
consider donating. Folks out
there need your help.
How you can give:
Make an appointment
with the Orange County
Red Cross to donate
blood by calling...
1-800-491-2113
Or by going to ...
www.givelife.org
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“If your mouth ain't having a
party, then the food ain't no good”
LEROY PERALTA, RESTAURANT PROPRIETOR,
TO HIS CUSTOMERS ON THE DINING EXPERIENCE.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Due to space constants, letters are sometimes cut Read the
full-length versions online or post your own response to a letter.
VISIT: www.dtetytarheel.com
New ticket systems take
the heart out of process
TO THE EDITOR:
Who can say the new basket
ball distribution process will be
better for the UNC community?
Why was this new system
implemented without the con
sent of the student body?
What have we lost in mak
ing life during basketball season
easier for those in the Carolina
Athletic Association?
Where was the widespread
notification of this possible change
back in the spring semester?
In the past, when you took your
seat in the Smith Center or stood
in that incredible spot in the risers,
you had a feeling of accomplish
ment that you belonged.
The excitement that was silent
ly built through our old process
will never be matched by the new.
Getting your bracelet, going to
the magic number drawing with
your fellow classmates in the Pit,
waiting in whatever weather at
the crack of dawn to get tickets
all of this just makes that one
game you go to completely worth
all the effort put in.
Now it has vanished in the
shadows of slackers. It has van
ished because of a lack of effort
by the organization the CAA
that holds a great responsibil
ity to us, the students.
There was appreciation held
for those that worked our old
distribution system. There is no
appreciation now for a decision
that was made without a major
ity vote from students.
So we want to make life at UNC
fair for all? OK: Let’s admit all
undergraduate, graduate school
and transfer applicants. Let us
graduate everyone, no matter
what their grades, if we are going
to be fair in our community.
It should go without say
ing here that life isn’t fair. Duke
University has a ticket tradition
that was already hard enough to
overcome in terms of dedication.
It is also sadly stated that we are
allowing ourselves to fall behind
Wake Forest University in the
student ticket world.
Now we have allowed technol
ogy to cast us into the thicket of
other online, lazy ticket schools
such as N.C. State.
The CAA has just absolute
ly killed a tradition that was
becoming a classic —a tradition
that made it feel a little more
special to say you are a student at
the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.
Brian Sugg
Junior
Math. Decision Sciences
We need solutions to debt
and energy issues from G 8
TO THE EDITOR:
Last summer, Live 8 concerts
and Bono were all the rage. The
music, celebrities and, of course,
the ideals encouraged millions
of people to join the fight to end
global poverty.
That summer, in Gleneagles,
Scotland, G 8 leaders made the
same commitment by promis
ing debt relief to more than three
dozen of the poorest nations in
the world l9 of which have
benefited this year.
This past weekend, the same
leaders met in St. Petersburg,
Russia, to discuss energy security.
Debt cancellation was not a pri
ority on the agenda. Instead, they
adopted a plan of action based on
a definition of energy security that
primarily promotes the expansion
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Editorials are the opinions solely of The Daily Tar Heel editorial board
The board consists of three board members, the associate opinion editor the opinion
editor and the DTH summer editor. The summer editor decided not to vote on the board
Qltyp BaiUj Sar Hwl
of oil production worldwide.
This measure threatens to
undermine last year’s achieve
ments on debt reliefby increasing
worldwide oil dependence and
exacerbating climate change, and
driving these forgotten impover
ished countries deeper into debt
We cannot treat global pov
erty apathetically like last year’s
summer fling.
In the months and years fol
lowing this year’s G 8 summit, we
must demand a comprehensive,
sustainable solution that focuses
on renewable energy and puts
an end to oil dependence- and
crushing debts for the sake of the
world’s poorest people.
Samantha Levy
Intern
Jubilee USA Network
The U.S. government might
be spying on your e-mails
TO THE EDITOR:
I recently read in various
national newspapers about an
egregious violation of privacy on
college campuses.
The U.S. government has been
monitoring the e-mails of students
across the country protesting the
Iraqi war and the military’s “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell” policies concern
ing homosexuals. The government
asserts that those exercising their
right of free speech are somehow
a threat to national security. This
is ludicrous.
Students at UNC need to be
sure that this doesn’t happen
here —and if it has already, that
it is stopped immediately.
Squelching the voices of youth
is reminiscent of totalitarianism
and should not be tolerated in
the land of the free.
Monica Morgan
Senior
Music
REPORT CARDS
* Sufjan Stevens
to play at UNC
* CHECK-PLUS
There are two things that the
Opinion Page likes above all
else: Indie music and taffy, and,
boy, do we like our taffy. And
it doesn’t get more indie than
Sufjan.
We are going to be ready to
feel the Illinoise in Memorial
Hall come Sept. 21.
* Stem cells versus
presidential veto
CHECK
The U.S. Congress has finally
passed a bill that will lead to
more stem-cell research.
However, science could once
again be set back if President
Bush decides to issue the first
veto of his administration.
Apparently, cures can wait.
* The Sun, it bums,
it bums...
CHECK-MINUS
Coast to coast, the United
States is experiencing a heat
wave in the 90s and, in some
places, the 100s.
We would like to take a
moment to curse the Sun and to
give thanks for air conditioning,
the greatest thing ever.
iaily ©ar HM
Established 1893,
113 years
ofeditorialfreedom
CHRIS COLETTA
SUMMER EDITOR. 962-4086
CCOLETTAOEMAILUNC.EDU
JOSEPH M. STARNES
OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750
JMSTARNESOGMAILCOM
JEFF SMITH '
ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750
JEFFSMITHOUNC.EDU
EDIT BOARD MEMBER
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