10
FRIDAY. JANUARY 25. 2008
SAM PERKINS
THAT'S WHAT HE SAID
Sam Perkins is an environmental
studies and journalism double major
E-MAIL SSPERKIN@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
Students
playing
real-life
Frogger
Everyone is sick and tired of
it. Everyone on both sides is
part of the problem. There
isn't enough room on campus for
both pedestrians and motorists.
Other campuses don't have this
problem (at least not this bad)
thanks to much more intelligent
planning. Go to the University of
Florida or N.C. State University
or most any urban campus
—and you find tunnels routing
pedestrians under roads.
At UNC, however, our dense
campus makes for dense traflic
of both pedestrians and vehicles.
The Yield to Heels campaign has
mostly been a joke, obviously not
changing the issue.
It’s because, at
tills point, there
is a fundamental
UNIVERSITY
COLUMNIST
conflict between the number of
pedestrians and motorists crossing
the same spaces on campus.
In this land of chivalrous
Southern hospitality, it’s amazing
that pedestrians anti motorists
refuse to coexist peaceful])'. The
situation is so bitter, it’s close to
an all-out war. each day and class
change a battle. I w ouldn't be
surprised to walk out one day and
see lihxxl and sweat mixed with oil
and gasoline in a mad littered with
bodies and chassis, limbs and tires
and flesh and glass.
Both sides have legitimate
claims to the end-all right of way.
Pedestrians are Ixmefiting the
environment as well as their own
health by getting exercise. Walking
also eliminates the need for and
congestion of parking.
But motorists have legitimate
claims, too. Many of them do not
live near the University or even
in the city because of expensive
housing. Some motorists carpool.
Others need vehicles for transport
ing things a single person could
not carry for a distance.
But like Jekvil and Hyde, we
support the side we are momen
tarilv a part of. Driving to campus,
you wish you could plow through
eveiy arrogant or aloof person
crossing Cameron Avenue. But
once you park and start to walk,
you wish you could toss cars out of
vour wav like Hot Wheels.
Ultimately, you have to side
with motorists. Especially at cross
walks. t<x) many students expect
any car to come to a screeching
halt even if going 20 mph and
just 15 feet away so that a stu
dent does not have to break stride.
Other times, students carelessly
hold up traffic. Remember that
you're crossing the street cars
aren't crossing the sidewalk.
Finally, there are students who
treat the street like a sidewalk.
Anyone on Church Street knows
there are many stubborn souls ask
ing to get hit by walking down the
right side of the street often in
the dark while wearing dark cloth
ing when there is a perfectly
good sidewalk 10 feet away.
Perhaps the network of pipes
under the roads would not permit
tunnels under roads. Nonetheless,
something needs to be done. It is
just as scan to nearly hit someone
as it Is to nearly be hit and at some
point soon on campus someone is
going to get NAILED.
It will be one of those things
someone waiting for a bus will
see coming from a mile away:
Someone with an iPod earbud in
one ear and a cell phone in the
other Is strolling up to Cameron
between Old West and the Old
Well, walking straight ahead as
though they are entitled to the
next 100-pius feet in front of them.
Meanwhile, a car accelerates from
the stop sign in front of New East
The paths of both parties will
meet in both time and place, and
the campus will have a tragedy
(hopefully) a cathartic tragedy.
Such an incident has not yet
happened in the heart of campus,
but it is bound to occur.
Were a preventative measure
ever needed, this would be it
Don't just hand out pamphlets or
jaywalking tickets (unless it is to
those who seem to be intention
ally trying to exit the gene pool).
Make a fundamental change. If the
University fails to do so, the blood
will be on its hands.
EDITORIAL CARTOON By Alex Lee, lobinOemail.unc.edu
' ' m ' : * ■“•
Social insecurity
Increasing elderly workers signals need for reform
The labor pool is getting
a little more crowded
these days.
According to a report recently
released by the federal Bureau
of Labor Statistics, the number
of people 75 years and older
currently employed in North
Carolina has risen to almost
58,000, a number that appears
likely to increase in the future.
The 2,000 extra workers from
this demographic every year
draw attention to several grow
ing needs in U.S. domestic poli
cy, including, most importantly,
a revamping of Social Security.
Although 58,000 might seem
trivial for a state with a popula
tion of almost 9 million, it’s not
In fact, it's nearly 10,000 more
people titan the town of Chapel
Hill had in the last census.
Clearly, problems with health
insurance and Social Security are
contributing to the increase in
the number of people employed
who are elderly.
Follow the rules
NAACP can’t deny federal law in redistricting suit
Let s make a list of things
that the rest of the nation
associates with North
Carolina outside of her sweet
borders. Tobacco? Check.
Basketball? Absolutely. The
partying habits of Duke lacrosse
players? Yeah. Gerrymandering?
Most definitely.
A suit filed by Bob Hunter, for
mer chairman of the state Board
of Elections, claims the Tar Heel
State's General Assembly elec
toral districts are about as legit
imate as Jesse Jacksons babies
and should be redrawn before
the 2008 election.
But the issue here is not the
suit. North Carolina has been
there and done that a dozen
times in the past decade.
The issue here is the National
Association for the Advancement
of Colored People’s protest of the
suit, asserting that redrawing
the districts in accordance with
federal law will weaken black
voting power.
The NAACP claims that
enforcing the Voting Rights Act
0f1965 in this instance will cause
under-representation of minori
ties in state government
High-class environment
N.C. needs balance between business and other interests
"Torth Carolina might be
failing when it comes
w to anti-smoking regu
lations at least according to
the American Lung Association
—but it’s top-notch in other
areas, and we don’t mean just
basketball.
Chief Executive magazine
ranked North Carolina the
third-best state in the U.S. for
business.
While that’s certainly good
news for the state, it’s impor
tant to strike a balance between
attracting businesses and meet
ing the needs of the populace.
The magazine polled 605 top
business executives who rated
states based on a variety of cri
teria, including taxation and
regulation, workforce quality
and living environment
Opinion
Asa nation, we spend more
than 15 percent of our gross
domestic product on health care,
or about $6,500 per person.
For many older people, who
are more likely to have health
problems than younger gen
erations, such costs cannot be
covered without supplement
ing their income by working.
Unfortunately, at a time
when funds for Social Security
benefits are beginning to run
dry, the system is coming
under greater strain than ever
before. The first baby boomers
began collecting Social Security
this year, and as more of their
counterparts begin to retire,
the stress will only worsen.
In addition, the Social Security
crunch creates added uncertain
ty regarding the fate of the fund.
People are unsure what kind
of benefits they will have a few
years down the road because the
retirement age could increase or,
worse, the fund could be wiped
The group's solution? Ignore
the Voting Rights Act.
Unfortunately for the NAACP,
the state Supreme Court has
already found the districts to be
in violation of the federal law.
They’ll have to be redrawn, pref
erably so they’re less convoluted
this time around.
Gerrymandering is the prac
tice of redrawing a voting district
for political gain. The bad habit
started in Massachusetts in 1812
and has since migrated south.
North Carolina's infamous
12th U.S. Congressional District
is an example of the metamor
phic powers of redistricting.
There’s a running joke that if
you were to drive down the I
-85 corridor with the car doors
open, you would kill everyone
in the 12th District.
All that unites the 12th District
is an abundance of off ramps and
irritable state troopers.
But the NAACP claims that
while the districts are oddly
designed, they ensure that
minority votes are represented
in the GA. It claims that by
redistricting, legislators would
end up ‘black-packing' the vote
This survey just goes to show
that North Carolina has a lot
going for it in terms of busi
ness, a lesson certain Chapel
Hill officials should heed.
It also provides some insight
into what conditions constitute a
business-friendly environment
The state strikes a fine bal
ance between giving businesses
incentives to set up shop in the
state but also guaranteeing the
state receives something in
return by tying those incentives
to performance initiatives.
Business leaders, however,
clearly dislike areas that are
overregulated and overtaxed.
North Carolina as a whole
received a B+ for taxation and
regulation, but individual areas
(read: Chapel Hill and Carrboro)
could use some advice.
out altogether.
Still, the reasons for the
increase in the number of work
ers 75 and older aren’t all bad.
One important factor has
been the increase in the qual
ity and length of lives for
Americans. Indeed, the average
lifespan for Americans has risen
more than 30 years since the
beginning of the 20th century.
Not only are there more
people 75 years and older in
America, but they’re in gen
erally better health, too, thus
helping to explain why more of
them are staying employed even
a decade after they can begin to
draw Social Security benefits.
However, it’s essential to
remember that many are work
ing just to make ends meet.
Fixing Social Security would
go a long way toward mitigat
ing this problem and making
sure that retired people don’t
have to return to work unless
they want to.
in certain population centers.
The claimant. Hunter, asserts
that the effects of the redistrict
ing will do the opposite, giving
minority groups influence in
more local districts.
Sidestepping the underly
ing political intrigue that hides
under this cover of racial equal
ity (16 black legislators' seats
could be put at risk), the fact
is someone cannot advocate
a state government to violate
federal law purposely.
There’s a well-known prece
dent for this concerning South
Carolina it’s called seces
sion. We all know how well that
turned out for them.
Maintaining districts that
violate federal law runs contrary’
to the ideals of federalism.
The NAACP would be bet
ter off dropping the protest for
some quiet time with a poli sci
book. This is one argument it
can’t win.
But with the 2008 election
coming up, we ask just one thing
of the GA: Get it right this time.
Then maybe groups like
the NAACP won’t be forced to
advocate the absurd.
Overregulation is unneces
sary and easy to fix: Cut the
red tape. There’s no reason
to make simple things, like
acquiring a building permit,
overly complex.
Low taxation, while good for
business, puts pressure on the
state to find alternative sources
of revenue or to cut spending.
In fact the CEOs interviewed
criticized the lower quality of
the education and infrastruc
ture systems in low-tax states.
And as Chapel Hill and
Carrboro town leaders well
know, a lack of a commercial
tax base puts a greater tax bur
den on the residents.
It’s important to find the mid
dle ground. But just by looking
at Franklin Street, Chapel Hill
hasn’t done it yet
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“The Carolina First Campaign
isn't just good to great; it's great
to preeminent."
JAMES MOESER, CHANCELLOR, ON FUNDING CAMPAIGN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Go to game barefoot;
donate shoes to charity
TO THE EDITOR:
1 was reminded by a story on
ESPN about how blessed we are
here in America This story was
about Samaritan's Feet (www.
samaritansfeet.org) and basket
ball coach Ron Hunter of IUPUI.
Thursday Hunter coach(ed)
barefoot to raise awareness
about Samaritan's Feet.
Samaritan's Feet works to
bring a message of hope to
impoverished children around
the world through sport-focused
programs and equipping their
feet with shoes.
Hunter (was) hoping not only
to raise awareness about this
cause but also to raise 40,000
pairs of shoes in honor of the
40th anniversary of Martin
Luther King Jr.'s birthday.
I ask all UNC students and
fans in attendance to join me on
Feb. 6 at the Duke-UNC game
bv attending the game barefoot
to help raise awareness about
Samaritan's Feet and to bring an
old pair of shoes to donate.
I ask the University and the
Smith Center, if possible, to pro
vide collection bins at the game.
Working together we should be
able to raise 21,750 pairs of shoes
(one pair per fan) for this cause.
So, on Feb. 6 lets all take a
stand for Samaritan's Feet
Brandon McClain
Class 0f2007
Bio- and Agro-Defense
Facility isn't a concern
TO THE EDITOR:
Regarding the letter about the
Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility
(“Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility
raises questions," Jan. 24), I find
it is interesting that there Is even
debate about this.
Bio- and agro-defense is the
subject of my honors thesis and
something I’ve spent the past
year and a half researching. To
address (Jodi) Mills' safety con
cerns, the government has a very
bizarre system for building labs
like this; the more dangerous the
things inside, the safer and more
secure they make the lab.
The odds of anything getting
out of a Level-4 facility are rough
ly the same as you being killed by
aliens two weeks ago. Statistically
they are comparable.
Why does Homeland Security
run it? Well, terrorism, and con
ventional military attacks, are
not always like Hollywood. In
fact, this sort of attack goes back
to the Assyrian Empire, which
used rye ergot to poison wells.
The Department of Agriculture
isn’t running it because this facil
ity specializes in defense. Security
overlaps every aspect of life, and
that's why the DHS is such an
umbrella organization.
The Department of
Agriculture, on the other hand,
is specialized and probably
doesn’t have as many experts on
military-grade biological weap
ons as it does on pigs.
North Carolina is one of the
leading states for food defense,
and this facility- would greatly
enhance that status. I urge every
one to actually take 10 minutes to
research the subject before devolv
ing into unjustified hysterics.
Ryan Jenkins
Senior
Peace, War and Defense
SPEAK OUT
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The Daily Tar Heel or its staff. Editonals arc the opinions solely of The Daily Tar Heel edrto
ri*l board. The board consists of eight board members, the associate opinion editor, the
opinion editor and the edrtor. The 2007-08 editor decided not to vote on the board!
Chr Baily (Ear Hrrl
Kvetching board
kvetch:
v.l (Yiddish) to complain
Back in my day at Carolina, we
didn't have these fancy blue
books. We had to write our
answers in dirt. And we had
to walk seven miles, barefoot
through the snow, uphill both
ways to get it
What with our miserable maie
to-female ratio and the state of
college men in general, it seems
like the chances of finding a
nice, single guy at Carolina are
about the same as getting bas
ketball tickets. So when I give a
'nice guy' BOTH of the ONLY
tickets I’ve gotten and he turns
out to be not so good, where
does thLii leave me?
That noticeable blue sign that
says its ILLEGAL for you to
smoke that thing near my dorm
is not just there for kicks. Please
move; it's the law.
For the love of God, stop telling
everyone about your 'hilarious*
walk of shame this morning.
Bragging about shacking up
with an intoxicated, woman
izing, bow-tie-wearing douche
bag doesn't make you cool it
makes you a dumb skank.
Based on the number of water
conservation fliers posted on
campus, people interested in
conserving water are not so
interested in saving trees.
Thank you ABC for making a
mockery of our fan base by
showing a bunch of fresh
man girls crying after losing to
Maryland. What a bunch of tools.
Why am I having to dry my
clothes for two hours? Honestly,
if you're gonna make me pay $1
for one hour of 'drying' how
about actually working instead
of making me turn my room
into a makeshift clothesline?
Dear ABC, last year, you aired
two of our men’s basket
ball games at 3:30 p.m. on
Saturdays. This year, you have
also aired one of the team's
games at the same time...
we have lost all three games.
Please remove this curse you've
placed on our team. (And
bring back 'Whose Line is It
Anyway?' too!) Thank you.
I am thrilled you love each
other, but there are more inti
mate ways to show your affec
tion than canoodling in Lenoir
using chopsticks to feed each
other french fries.
Why are the only African-
Americans this paper ever
praises on the basketball team?
It might come as a shock that
there are those of us who can't
dribble or dunk —but damn,
DTH, we're newsworthy too.
Send your one-to-two
sentence entries to edit
desk9unc.edu, subject
line ‘kvetch.’
<Tl?r Sa% (Tar Hrrl
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