12
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008
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SARAH HODGES
I AM LEGEND. HEAR ME ROAR
Sarah Hodges is a senior psychology
major from Durham.
E-MAIL: SEHOOGESOEMAIL.UNC.EDU
The line
between
artist and
amateur
Advances in technology
have caused the rampant
creation of all kinds of art
This flood of creativity leases the
consumer wading through pages
of their next door neighbor’s con
crete imaginings. Is every sketch
or snapshot bom out of inspired
efforts really art? If the answer is
■yes’, it's time to rethink what we
call art
Photographers have fought long
and hard for their craft to be seen
as an art form on par with draw
ing, painting and sculpture. Now
that it has finally gained some
credit in the art community, the
advent of digital methods seems
poised to steal away that newfound
recognition.
The digital
age of photog-
AT-LARGE
COLUMNIST
raphy is making both creating and
viewing this medium much easier.
Teenagers, for example, are knock
ing off snapshots on their digital
cameras like they did crayon draw -
ings of their dogs when they were
younger, fostering an interest in
the medium at an early age.
Anyone can showcase their
talent (or lack thereof) online
nowadays, from the professionals
Web site that helps advertise his
work to the average person with a
Facebook album. The Internet has
become supersaturated with imag
es of birthdays, holidays, snow
days and just any old everydays.
Some sites let us live out our
dreams of rewriting a famous
book or film by hosting fan fic
tion about “Star Wars" or “Harry
Potter.” Others let us show off our
Photoshop alterations to famous
pieces of art
Of course, the sheer number of
sites like these means that unless
you advertise it on your business
card or beef up the number of
visits yourself to push it up in the
search engine ranks, it is unlikely
that anyone will ever see your
work. This is probably a good thing
for the struggling non-existent art
ist in most of us.
Granted, not everyone needs a
degree to be an artist. There are
plenty of self-taught people with
raw talent but we are not all des
tined to become the next Henri
Rousseau or Andy Warhol.
Even those who are both talent
ed and lucky enough to profit from
their art should not rely too heavily
on the Internet to present it as
there is something to be said about
physically interacting with a work.
The power of something as large
as the ceiling of the Sistine Grape),
for instance, cannot be conveyed in
photos, and I would argue that no
amount of pictures from any and
every angle can replace the feeling
of walking around the “Venus de
Milo" in the Ancient Greek gallery
of the Louvre.
Some sites, like Threadless.com,
do their part to alleviate this lack
of interaction by giving the artist
and admirer a more tangible satis
faction. Here people vote for their
favorite artwork and buy T-shirts
with the winning submissions
printed on the front, which appeals
to the college-age crowd and
allows our generation to consume
art like never before.
Still, it might be possible that
art becomes less inspiring when
we are overloaded with everyone's
attempt at it
We don’t all have to stick to our
day jobs. It is OK to let the creative
juices flow, but not everything we
produce is worthy of being called
“art" The ever-changing defini
tion has already been modified to
indude photography , and it is time
to redefine the word yet again.
While visiting an art museum
in Asheville with a friend, he very
seriously told me that he asked
himself two questions when decid
ing if something was art: “Can I
tell what it’s supposed to be?* and
“Could I have done it myself?’
This led him to the conclusion that
many of the past-modem Jackson
Pollock-esque pieces we saw were
erroneously hung in the museum.
This definition might beabit
too narrow, but I think my friend
is on to something. It’s time we
pulled out our charcoal or pastels
and drew the line between what is
art and what is... we 11... just lines.
EDITORIAL CARTOON By Mason Phillips, mphilOemail .unc.edu
BUMPER STICKERS
f, fLI |l| First in your Heart
W H Third in the Polls
EDWARDS Strong to the finich! W
mi MIKE
jS GRAVEL
2 ' Put Tomorrow on a Sandwich!
Dazed and confused
Old audit system should have been left up for seniors
Trying to graduate —and
do so on time is hard
enough as it is, what with
convoluted requirements and a
lack of class availability', and the
University isn’t doing juniors
and seniors any favors.
The automated degree audit,
a Student Central feature that
allowed students to check their
remaining graduation require
ments, was taken offline this
semester.
Academic advising and the
University Registrar should have
done everything in their power
to keep that system online for at
least the next two years.
The old online tool was
replaced by one that only works
for the new curriculum, leaving
the classes of 2008 and 2009
out in the cold.
The main reason cited for
the system’s removal was that
student information had to be
updated manually by advisers,
so it wasn’t necessarily always
A taxing problem
Gas tax increase not solution to infrastructure issues
Things fall apart.
Recently, this has
become increasingly true
of our nation's infrastructure, as
evidenced by the bridge collapse
in Minneapolis last summer.
That disaster, which killed 13
people and injured nearly 150
others, highlighted the need to
ensure the rest of the country's
roads and bridges aren’t poised
for a similar catastrophe.
But as much as our roads
need help, raising the gas tax by
up to 40 cents over five years,
as a government commission
suggested, isn’t quite the way
to do it
According to a report released
by the American Society of Civil
Engineers in 2005, U.S. infra
structure is in bad shape.
The report was highly criti
cal, giving the nation an overall
D, with roads receiving a grade
of D and bridges a C, illustrat
ing the poor condition of our
infrastructure even before the
bridge collapse.
A study released Tuesday
by the National Surface
Transportation Policy and
Revenue Study Commission,
Mind your own business
Congress has more pressing issues to worry about
Congressmen write bills.
Major League Baseball
managers write lineup
cards. Congressmen pass legis
lation. MLB players pass gum
around the dugout Congressmen
argue budgets and poverty. MLB
players argue balls and strikes.
Despite the fact that Congress
is leagues away from the MLB,
it has still chosen to spend its
time tangled up in MLB’s mess
of a steroid problem.
Enlisting the House Oversight
and Government Reform
Committee to umpire the MLB
steroid dilemma is a misguid
ed use of government yanked
straight out of left field —and
it’s the second time Congress has
wasted its time on the issue.
After 13 years of strikeouts
in leadership and accountabil
Opinion
up to date and accurate.
And yet many seniors have
said they wish the system
was still up. It has apparently
worked well enough up to this
point, and after running it for
so long, an extra year and a half
is certainly feasible.
And as for the advisers’
reduced workload?
We can only hope they’re
spending their newfound free
time making themselves more
knowledgeable about require
ments and classes unless,
of course, their time is now
completely filled seeing stu
dents who otherwise would
have utilized the audit system
for getting answers.
The sad truth is that a com
puterized system might have
known more about the require
ments than both the advisers
and the students.
A tool like that is invaluable
when faced with the tangled
web that is UNC’s graduation
created by Congress in 2005
to study the nation’s ground
transportation systems, pro
posed several solutions to alle
viate the crisis that would entail
spending 5225 billion each
year for the next 50 years.
As its main recommendation,
the commission argued that tne
federal gas tax be raised by up to
8 cents per gallon per year over
the next five years, for a total of
up to 40 cents, to pay for the
needed improvements.
The current federal gas tax is
18.4 cents per gallon, set in 1993.
Each 8-cent annual increase in
the gas tax would bring in about
$15.2 billion in additional reve
nue to help fix the nation’s crum
bling infrastructure.
Unfortunately, there are
significant problems with this
proposed increase.
In the past, politicians have
been unable to restrain them
selves from spending the addi
tional revenues from gas taxes for
measures completely unrelated
to infrastructure improvement,
instead funding pet projects like
Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere*.
While some of the revenues
ity on the steroids issue, MLB
Commissioner Bud Selig and
Player’s Association Executive
Director Donald Fehr finally
admitted Tuesday to their
responsibility in the prepon
derance of steroid use.
Fehr fought fiercely for the
rights of players against invasion
of privacy while his counterpart,
Selig, could never muster enough
strength to stand up and imple
ment stricter drug testing. Both
men share the burden of guilt
for the rise in juicing among
MLB players and both bear the
burden of fixing the problem.
As disheartening as these
trends are, Congress must
realize that America’s pastime
is one American issue they
should stay out of.
After all, asking Congress
requirements.
After all, who would imag
ine that a class on pre-1600
practices of taxidermy east
of the Southern Hemisphere
would count for the non-U.S.-
European African-Asiatic zoo
logical preservation and life
time diversity requirement?
That makes about as
much sense as parts of the
Undergraduate Bulletin.
The sudden inflationary
course numbering system also
hasn’t made it any easier on the
classes of 2008 and 2009.
With courses taken before the
change still showing up under
their old numbers on students’
transcripts, not only does it
require finding what require
ment each class fills, it also
mandates figuring out the new
number for the course.
In the meantime, you had
better go schedule that aca
demic advising appointment
before all the slots fill up.
from the tax increase will
undoubtedly be used for its
intended purposes, much of it
likely will be siphoned off for
other things.
Another problem with the tax
increase is that it is simply too
steep. An increase of 40 cents
per gallon in taxes will be a strain
on many consumers, especially
those with lower incomes.
And with fears of the U.S.
economy sliding into a reces
sion abounding, increasing
consumers’ expenditures on
gas would certainly limit con
sumption in other areas.
In addition, many Americans
lack access to public transpor
tation and use their car as their
primary means of travel. Before
tripling the gas tax, we should
make sure alternatives to driv
ing are widely available.
A better solution for fixing
our infrastructure would be to
use a smaller increase in the
federal gas tax to help reduce
the costs of maintenance and
improvement and rely on pri
vate investment for the remain
der. Although it’s not the perfect
fix, it’s certainly a fairer one.
to pick up the slack for a pri
vate organization’s leadership
problem is sort of like sum
moning Tom DeLay to lead a
Congressional ethics seminar.
Professional football has it
figured out how to deal with
steroids; the MLB can too.
It could take a page from
the International Olympic
Committee, which stripped
former UNC star Marion Jones
of five medals after she admit
ted to using steroids.
Congress should fix health
care or social security, which
are in much more pressing
need of its assistance. Baseball
is just a game and should he
treated as such.
Take a seat in the bleachers,
Congress, and make the game
work things out on its own.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
7 had never spent so much time ,
money and effort buying books I
never wanted in the first place.”
SACHIV SHAH, SOPHOMORE, ON TEXTBOOK SHOPPING
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Student Code is far from
'bureaucratic nonsense'
TO THE EDITOR:
Wednesday the Edit Board
called the Student Code a
“decaying piece of bureaucratic
nonsense" (“Extreme Makeover,"
Jan. 16).
First, I want to invite the Edit
Board publicly, as I have begged
and pleaded countless times pri
vately, to actually come one time
to a Student Congress meeting.
They have not been to a single
meeting all year but yet seem to
have all the answers.
However, the Edit Board is
right that the election rules are
complicated. I would add that the
rules are burdensome, suffocate
free speech and smother the lib
erty of candidates in contradiction
with the First Amendment
The Edit Board is wrong that
we have not addressed online
campaigning on Web sites and
Facebook. I direct their attention
to the Facebook Protection Act
passed by Student Congress and
upheld by the Student Supreme
Court last vear.
Every time a problem has come
up in regards to election law,
Student Congress had met each
challenge with appropriate legis
lation. The 87th Congress already
did a complete overhaul ofTrtle VI
(Election law), Title V (Finance)
and Title VII (Carolina Athletic
Association).
That being said, I do not believe
the Code is decaying or nonsense.
This is a standard mode of attack
when someone simply doesn’t
agree with the Code.
Nevertheless, there is always
room for improvement, and I
respect those who feel the Code
needs to be revised. That is why
earlier this week 1 announced
that Congress will be devoted this
semester to a wholesale revision of
the entire Code.
The Edit Board is surely wel
come to come. Should I hold my
breath?
Tyler Younts
Speaker
Student Congress
Paying for supplies only
adds stress to the process
TO THE EDITOR:
I spend nothing on coffees,
lattes, beer, designer jeans, etc.
I occasionally eat out because
those are my meal options, with
no meal plan.
I’m an English major. This
means I normally have to bring
at least four blue books to each
of my English classes. I’m also
doing my math and science
requirements this semester,
which means I’ll be needing
scantrons as well.
I personally don’t care what
it was like when you went to
Carolina 50 years ago (“An alumna
reminds us how bad it used to be,"
Jan. 16).
I care about the fact that exams
are stressful as heck, and people
will always accidentally forget the
materials they bought ahead of
time and need to wait in line right
before an exam, stressing out even
more to buy their materials neces
sary to taking a test
That is ridiculous.
I’ll take your ‘few" dollars.
You can find my e-mail listed.
Kellye Murphy
Junior
English
SPEAK OUT
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©ir UoiUi (Ear Hwl
It's not the money that
matters; it's the hassle
TO THE EDITOR:
I think (Kathy Morgan)
missed the point entirely (“An
alumna reminds us how bad it
used to be," Jan. 16).
I doubt that any student at
UNC would be struggling to
come up with the spare change
needed to buy a blue book or
scantron sheet. The point is that
it is an unnecessary expense.
Figuring in tuition, the exor
bitant price of books and vari
ous other fees required by the
University, it seems bureaucratic
and unscrupulous to charge stu
dents for testing materials, not
to mention the congestion it will
inevitably cause on exam days.
The image of college students
presented by Ms. Morgan was
really offensive and stereotypi
cal. Ms. Morgan should think
more carefully before making
general statements about a large
and varied group of people.
Oh, and anyone that wants to
pay for my testing materials is
more than welcome. Just drop a
couple of dollars in the mail.
JoieEmerick
Senior
Art History
Consuming doned animals
is not really that scary
TO THE EDITOR:
Many Americans find them
selves in opposition to the cloning
of animals for human consump
tion with very little support for
their beliefs, and (“How do I want
my steak? Not cloned,* Jan. 16)
failed to provide readers with the
data they need to decide if doned
meat is actually dangerous.
Gones are merely twins of a
particularly productive, blue
ribbon cow or sheep. Through
cloning, the original animal’s
DNA can live through another
generation, producing more off
spring with exceptionally high
yields of meat and milk. What
would be sold in the supermarket
would be the naturally birthed
offspring of these clones, not the
clones themselves.
As an alternative to cloning,
(Nathan) Nyanjom recommends
cutting back on consumption,
but for the millions of starving
individuals across the world
that would benefit from meatier
livestock, eating less just isn’t an
option.
By cloning animals who can
bring more food to those in
need, we can improve the nutri
tion and survival of individuals
in third-world countries, while
also lowering food prices here in
America for those who struggle
to put food on the table.
After rigorous scientific test
ing, the last barrier to the accep
tance of cloned food products
will be the American consumer
overcoming a case of the unin
formed heebie-jeebies and
embracing the power of technol
ogy to make our lives better.
Trevor Brothers
Sophomore
Psychology
£hr Saihj alar Rppl
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