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8 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007 mm JAMES EDWARD DILLARD THERE IS A LIGHT AND IT NEVER GOES OUT James Edward Dillard is a senior economics major from Pittsburgh. E-MAIL: JDILLARD@EMAIL.UNC.EDU Why I’m a racist and you might be one too Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make. I’m a racist. Until a couple of nights ago, such a thought had never entered my mind. My white pillowcase doesn’t have any eyeholes; I’ve never burnt a cross or tied a noose. More than that, I like black people. Not just the ones I know, either. I was excited when my hometown Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as its first black head coach because it meant a step toward equality in Pittsburgh. And I considered myself enlightened. I’d seen “Crash.” I knew about white privilege. I was smart enough to know racists still exist, but surely I wasn’t one of them. COMMUNITY COLUMNIST So imagine my surprise when I found out I was wrong. Allow me to explain. On Sunday night, after having dinner at Franklin Street Pizza and Pasta, my buddy Duncan and I were walking back to campus when a black man approached us. He was bald and wearing a coat. In his left hand was a Styrofoam cup. As he walked passed us, he extended his arm and said, “Wassup man?” Immediately, without thinking, I stuck my hands into my pockets and shrugged my shoulders. “Sorry sir, I don't have any change,” I said. Problem is he wasn’t panhan dling. When he made this clear, I begged forgiveness. Fortunately for me, he was kind and accepted my apology. I couldn’t have blamed him had he punched me in the face. But that’s not the point. The point is that in my mind “black guy” plus “cup in hand” plus “Franklin Street” equaled “panhandler.” Does this make me a racist? I think it does. At the very 7 least, I’m guilty of racial stereotyping. Such stereotyping seems innocent at first after all, most panhandlers downtown are black men —but this “harmless" stereotyping can be particularly corrosive. Have a black friend? Ask them if they've ever been pulled over for DWB driving while black. And it gets even more subtle from there. Consider the 2004 study “Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal?” by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan. Fake resumes were sent to potential employers, some with traditionally white names and oth ers with traditionally black names. What they found was shocking. During the course of the study, resumes with traditionally white names received 50 percent more callbacks for interviews than black names, illustrating a perception that white people are typically bet ter employees than black people. Even if my original stereotype was of the innocent variety —a racist faux pas roughly equivalent to asking a woman how far along she is, only to find out she’s not pregnant the sum total of these stereotypes is racism. When conglomerated, these perceptions have a powerfully negative impact on black people. Whether or not we like it, the gen eral stereotype is that black people are less educated, less refined and more likely to be involved in illegal activity, among other things. Identifying a stereotype isn’t enough we must call racial stereotypes and their effects what they are: racism. This is what makes diversity initiatives so important But solv ing this problem is about more than quotas and programs. We as a community especially white people need to deal with our racial stereotypes and be prepared for when they come creeping up. And when they do (believe me, they will) we need to be willing to apologize for them. We must realize that our perceptions are hurtful, not just to the person in front of us, but to everyone with that color of skin. With that in mind, I’d like to apologize to tH$ members of the black community for my mistakes. I’m trying to do better. EDITORIAL CARTOON By Louis Coppola, The Pitt News ■scientists diagram the NEWLY discovered" “QfTMStt” SECTION QF THE ML,. RELAX. GLOBAL WARNING 1 15 just a 'thing: 14 A WAR? ON TERRORISM? j SOUNDS PLAUSIBLE, J THAT GIRL IS TOTALLY IN MY LEAGUE. More than guidelines Water restrictions need to be enforced in order to work In light of the seemingly endless statewide drought, Raleigh and Durham have banned outdoor watering. A drought management plan in the area is crucial, and because outdoor watering accounts for about one-third of water con sumption in the two cities, cut ting off the sprinklers seems like a swell idea. But there’s a slight problem: Raleigh and Durham are not enforcing their rules. There is no point in imple menting a set of rules if there are no consequences for those who break them. It seems there are some peo ple out there who are complying with the regulations. Officials in the two cities reported that since water regulations tightened, water consumption decreased by about 20 percent. But officials also admitted enforcing regulations isn’t at the top of their priorities. Durham had yet to send written notice of Kind of not a big deal Edwards campaign making a mountain of a molehill It’s rare, but sometimes more press is worse than no press at all. John Edwards’ campaign is finding out just what that means after it asked UNC jour nalism graduate student Carla Babb to remove her video on Edwards’ campaign headquar ters from You Tube. Edwards’ campaign head quarters is based in the upscale Chapel Hill subdivision of Southern Village. Some see this location as a contradiction of his central cam paign message championing the needs of the poor. That charge was the focus of the piece. We really don’t see what Edwards was so upset about, other than a bit of bad press, which is just part of running a presidential campaign. Someone on the Edwards campaign obviously missed a class on how to handle the media. By asking for the video to be removed, the campaign has brought far more publicity to the story than it would have garnered on its own. Babb originally filmed the Creatively challenged Some costume ideas for all the procrastinators out there If you were that guy who showed up on Franklin Street last year looking like a Hot Pocket or waited until the last minute and went to that Halloween party dressed as a ghost, then this editorial is for you. It’s Tuesday and you still don’t have a costume. In theory, if you’re of the feminine persua sion, you’re in luck about 90 percent of UNC women dress up as a variation of the exact same persona. If you are a man or don’t fall into the majority of women, don’t stress too much over fig uring out something clever. Even if your costume stinks, things on Franklin Street will commence just as normal. But just so you don’t feel Opinion the ban last week, and residents said they got no response when they called to report problems. No one doubts that the drought is a problem, but it’s a tragedy of the commons. When your wilting garden is begging for a drink, it’s easy enough to dismiss the rules surely every one else is following them and no one will notice if you water your plants just this once. But enforcing drought man agement rules isn’t just a prob lem in Raleigh and Durham the tragedy of the commons occurs at UNC, too. The University sent out a mass e-mail in October asking that students limit their show ers to four minutes, turn off the water while brushing teeth and use water from showers and washing dishes to water plants. But nothing was ever done to ensure students did any of these things, and we doubt that very many four-minute showers were video for “Carolina Week” but also submitted it to an MTV reporting contest meaning, had the campaign not inter vened, it’s likely that only a small number of people would have seen the video. But instead, the story has been covered by The New York Times, as well as other national news outlets. And to top it off, as of Sunday night, the video had been viewed 147,680 times on You Tube. The Edwards campaign should have taken a deep breath before reacting to the video; had they said noth ing or simply released a statement, the video would not have become a national issue. Instead, stories are whirling around that the campaign said the situation could jeopardize Edwards’ relationship with the University, yet more bad press for the campaign. The piece interviewed a source from each side: an Edwards campaign volunteer and UNC student to defend the decision and a Daily Tar Heel completely out of place wander ing with the masses, here are a couple of last-minute ideas. ■ Eve Carson. Wear a blond wig and a UNC sweatshirt, and walk around forming the stu dent Halloween costume advi sory committees (whew, that was a long title!). ■ Roy Williams. Spray paint your hair white, grab a suit and head down to Julian’s. When you get there, purchase the ugliest tie they have. Now you’re ready. ■ Tyler Hansbrough. A No. 50 Carolina jersey and the abil ity to dominate ACC basket ball is all you really need, but the key to selling it is to not blink. (Note: If Roy and Tyler go together, they can stop every hour or so, drop to the ground taken after the e-mail was sent No doubt, regulating water use is a hard task. Officials can’t just cite the greenest lawns in the Triangle; they have to catch the elusive waterers red-hand ed. And at UNC, it would take nothing less than a bathroom monitor to ensure that students are flushing the toilets correctly and showering at super speed. But this doesn’t mean the problem is hopeless. There is definitely more that can be done to make sure that drought man agement rules across the board are being enforced. Officials in Raleigh and Durham need to be on constant patrol and respond quickly when they get reports of restriction violations. Still, we can’t leave it all up to the people enforcing the rules. As students and residents, we need to take it upon ourselves to follow the rules for our own good, not just because we’re afraid of getting caught. columnist to criticize it. In addition, both sides received about equal air time. In the two-and-a-half-minute video, by our estimates, about 55 seconds are devoted to the source from Edwards’ cam paign, a minute goes to the DTH columnist and about 35 seconds are narrated by Babb. Babb’s comments don’t sway to either side; she only paraphrases arguments her sources made or points out the obvious. Journalism professors also said that the video is fair and unbiased, despite the fact the angle of the video might have changed during the creation of the story —a point that is irrelevant either way because journalists aren’t obligated to reveal the angle of a story to a source. After a monumental over reaction, hundreds of thou sands of people are forming opinions on Edwards’ cam paign headquarters and, for that matter, the Edwards campaign. Way to go. and look for Tyler’s contact). ■ A Board of Trustees mem ber. More of an action than a costume. Basically, find every out-of-stater on Franklin Street and take their money. ■ A Blackwater USA employee. That way you can do whatever you want and get away with it. ■ A Duke cheerleader. Note: This costume will work only if you are a man. ■ Dennis Kucinich. Just dust off that leprechaun cos tume you wore last year. We hope that one of these suggestions will help you out in finding a last-minute costume. But if all else fails, just go as an average college student At least that way you will have an excuse for getting sloppy drunk. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When I saw the house I just assumed. ... I knew hy looking at it that nobody was going to be alive” NICK CAIN, APO PRESIDENT-ELECT, ON OCEAN ISLE FIRE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To read the full-length versions VISIT http://dailytarheelpublic.wordpress.com Post your own response to a letter, editorial or story online. VISIT www.dailytarheel.com/feedback Dan Coleman supports our rights and civil liberties TO THE EDITOR: Asa founder of the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee, I pay close atten tion to elected officials’ support for civil liberties and civil rights for all persons. Particularly in this time when the federal gov ernment is chipping away at our rights, we need local leaders who are sensitive to safeguarding the rights of all in the community. Carrboro Alderman Dan Coleman is such a leader, one who can be counted on to advocate for and act to protect our rights and liberties. Please join me in voting for Alderman Dan Coleman on Nov. 6. Margaret Misch Carrboro resident Sharon Cook will make an excellent addition to Board TO THE EDITOR: Please join me on Nov. 6, and vote Sharon Cook for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. Sharon has been an active member of this community for over a decade. She’s served as a volunteer in our schools, church es and social service agencies. As your alderman, Sharon will continue to work to increase our commercial tax base to relieve Carrboro residents from the burden of paying the highest municipal taxes in the state. Sharon serves on the town plan ning board and is an advocate for assuring that new developments do not negatively impact our existing neighborhoods. Deanna Ravenscraft Carrboro resident Dan Coleman should be re-elected as alderman TO THE EDITOR: Please consider voting for Dan Coleman for Carrboro alderman. I support Dan primarily because of his respect and sup port for community-initiated projects such as the Carrboro Community Garden, Carrboro Greenspace, the ReCyclery and the Really Really Free Market. Dan makes a habit of actively engaging with people involved such projects. I also support Dan because he grounds his commitment to building the local economy not only in locally owned businesses but in locally particular interests and needs. He has a strong interest in cre ative approaches to local economic planning, such as those articulated through the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and has the energy, focus and responsive ness to move forward with such approaches. Dan stands out as the most receptive, most responsive and most thoughtful representative currently on the board. His concern for Carrboro’s future is evident in his remark able attention to details in pro posed developments and in his commitment to hearing and understanding residents’ diverse perspectives. Please join me in supporting Dan Coleman for another term. Vinci Daro Carrboro resident SPEAK OUT WRITING GUIDELINES: ► Please type: Handwritten letters will not be accepted. ► 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. Limit letters to 250 words. 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: Columns* cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Daily Tar Heel or its staff. Editorials are the opinions solely of The Daily Tar Heel editorial board. The board consists of six board members, the associate opinion editor, the opinion editor and the editor. The 2007-08 editor decided not to vote on the board. Ulfjp Hath} ®ar Iteri Cam Hill will best serve the people of Chapel Hill TO THE EDITOR: I urge you to support Cam Hill for Chapel Hill Town Council. Development in Chapel Hill is accelerating and is making much of my hometown indistinguish able from any other town. Finding the balance between inevitable growth and preserving the special character of our town is our biggest challenge. Over the last four years, Cam has shown that he is a hardwork ing, well informed and sensible leader. Please vote for Cam Hill. Jim Vernon Chapel Hill resident Chapel Hill incumbents deserve to be re-elected TO THE EDITOR: Leadership, vision and expe rience these qualities define Mayor Foy and council members Strom, Ward, Greene and Hill. Their accomplishments testify to their ability to focus on shared visions rather than individual proclamations. In them, our environment has ardent champions and our neighborhoods are protected. This mayor and council are always open to input from the people that matter most— the citizens of Chapel Hill. There are many important issues on the horizon. Carolina North is closer to becoming a reality, and we can benefit only by having knowledgeable and experienced negotiators. Let’s vote for Chapel Hill by re-electing Kevin Foy, Bill Strom, Jim Ward, Sally Greene and Cam Hill. Del Snow Chapel Hill resident Gary Wallach for election to the Board of Education TO THE EDITOR: Gary Wallach will make an outstanding advocate for all of our children. Any complex institution such as the CHCCS or the Exceptional Children’s Department encoun ters breakdowns. Over the past two years, I have accompanied Gary to a half-dozen meetings he initi ated with Superintendent Neil Pedersen. Following the spot light Gary directed to issues of concern, steps toward improve ment emerged, in the form of solutions that are applicable elsewhere. As always, the long-term out come is only as good as the fol low-up, whether for the special needs community, or for the gen eral population. In the four years I have worked with him, I have observed in Gary a rare level of persistence and determination to pursue the right thing for our children. On Nov. 6, please vote for Gary, so he can apply that determina tion on behalf of your child. John Huff Chapel Hill resident (Thf SaiUj ©ar Established 1893, 114 years of editorialfreedom ERIN ZUREICK EDITOR, 962-4086 ZUREICK@EMAIL.UNC.EDU OFFICE HOURS: MON., WED., ERL 1 -2 P.M. ADAM STORCK OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750 APSTORCK@UNC.EDU JONATHAN TUGMAN ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750 TUGMAN@UNC.EDU ANDREW JONES PUBLIC EDITOR JONESAW@EMAIL.UNC.EDU EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS JESSICA SCISM CHRIS BUCHHEIT SARAH WHITWORTH KATHRYN ARDIZZONE SARAH LETRENT KATHRYN PARENT
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 30, 2007, edition 1
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