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8 MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008 r~wi JeL ANTHONY MAGLIONE GUEST COLUMNIST Anthony Maglione is a junior psychology major from Lenoir. E-MAIL AMAGOEMAIL.UNC.EDU Its time to find our Tar Heel spirit U T 'T'nfortunatelv, vou I HAVE NOT been randomly selected in the lottery to receive student tickets..." Last school year, 1 read that line time and time again. I started to doubt that anyone in the Carolina Athletic Association thought it was “unfortunate" that I wasn't going to the games. But they made up for it this basketball season; and perhaps all for the better, since this year we are mak ing our first Final Four appear ance since the 2005 National Championship team. 1 got tickets to almost every home conference game even against Duke. I had never been to a game in the GUEST COLUMNIST rivalry before. In the upper level, I could feel the arena tremble from students jumping in the risers. By the end of the night, my voice was gone. Unfortunately, so was a piece of my heart. After the game a mob of Carolina blue moved quietly out of the arena. Before I made it to the exit, a group of students who had been sitting near me during the game approached. They told me that I was best fan they ever cheered alongside. 1 was happy to receive the compliment, but it didn't change the score. For me. the highlight of the night was the realization that I was part of an assembly of thou sands who were all passionately united around a single purpose: to support our team. But it was more than that. We wanted to be part of the team to contribute to it in whatever way possible. .And it showed. Now that is what I call school spirit. The next morning I was relieved to find that my voice had recovered. I also found out that a man had verbally and sexually assaulted a friend of mine the night before. It was difficult to digest. Something of such magni tude dwarfs just about anything else, be it a basketball game or an upcoming exam. These things appear trivial in the face of such an attack. None of us wants to see a per son targeted or harmed, whether the victim is a close friend, a member of the Carolina com munity or a complete stranger. I can only imagine that none of us would stand by and w atch a per son assault someone else. Apparently, my imagination has run wild. I forgot to mention that the man who assaulted my friend was a fan at the Duke game. He was a UNC student and he hurt my friend in plain view of other fans. Students stood by and watched as a man initially groped and then cursed at my friend. He belittled her for being a woman with words I don't want to repeat here. He threatened her throughout the remaining minutes of the game. I understand that we might hesitate to intervene out of fear. We worry about making the situation w'orse and instigating physical retaliation. But no one had to intervene in that way. At any point during the attacker's verbal tirade, someone could have left and found a security guard. That didn't happen. We the students, the fans were frozen in place. We said nothing. We did nothing. And my friend suffered for it. What if the guy was from Duke rather than UNC? Would a male student from UNC have stepped in to “defend" his schoolmate from our rival? Would someone have left to get a security guard? We don't know. There's a paradox here. Thousands of students are capa ble of coalescing with utmost fer vor around our team in the name of school unity; yet when an event of true consequence and severity befalls a member of our united community of Tar Heels, we tac itly approve of it by doing noth ing. Is this what school spirit has become? Or has it always been there, hidden in our cheers? EDITORIAL CARTOON By Mason Phillips, mphi!@email unc.edu Lights out DPS should evaluate use and repair of blue lights A recent investigation by The Daily Tar Heel indi cates that areas of cam pus with more blue lights have had less crime since 2005. It also revealed, how’ever, that the blue light system doesn’t necessarily work as well as authorities insist it does. Given the current concerns for safety on and around campus, the Department of Public Safety needs to determine whether it’s beneficial to add or repair blue lights before doing so. According to the DTH inves tigation, larceny, burglary, rob bery, car theft, assault and rape crimes are most highly con centrated on North Campus, where there are fewer properly functioning blue lights than on South Campus. The correlation between these two factors seems to strongly encourage the more widespread use of the 9-foot-tall, strobe light-bearing security devices. The waiting game BOE should take over RHA elections when ITS allows One would assume that the job of the Board of Elections would be to administer student elections. But that’s not true in all cases. Unfortunately, with elec tions for the Residence Hall Association’s community’ gov ernors, the BOE is hands-off —but it’s because Information Technology Services doesn’t want to rework the election system. It’s clear that the board should take over the community gover nor elections. Since it apparently can’t be done now, the BOE and RHA need to push for it to be included in the new system, and when the time comes. Student Congress should amend the Student Code accordingly. Should the BOE administer For the public good Public policy think tank is a good idea if nonpartisan The UNC system is in talks to create the Center for Public Policy, a think tank that would tap professors’ ideas and research about issues directly concerning the state. Using academic research to guide public policy is an excellent idea, but there are certain inher ent dangers in policy centers that must carefully be addressed before going forward. Creating an organization for contributing academic research to the General Assembly will benefit researchers, students and the state. Ifinstituted correctly, a UNC system think tank could mean increased research opportuni ties for professors, job place ment for students and more efficient responses to problems directly concerning the state. The potential benefits are obvious, particularly for UNC, which is slated to be the site of the center. It would provide a means for professors to do prominent research and put it to use in gov ernment, a huge selling point when the University is courting Opinion Regardless of whether cor relation means causality- in this case, it’s clear that campus secu rity must improve to assuage the fears of students on campus. The study exposes a number of deficiencies in the blue light system. Almost one-third of blue lights surv eyed have literally lost their luster, changing from con spicuous bright blue to a faded yellowish tint that blends in with the surrounding environment. And at 58 of the 71 blue lights, the researchers were unable to locate another blue light in sight meaning an endangered caller w'ould have difficulty- maintain ing communication with police while moving from one call box to the next to stay safe. Also problematic, we can’t feasibly check to make sure the communication lines work and the call boxes will actually reach the police when used. That's something DPS should make it the RHA elections, it wouldn't interfere with the board's tradi tional duties because the elec tions are held in April, after other campus elections. Plus, the elections would undoubtedly run better under BOE guidance. That is, after all, the board’s job elections. Governor elections for next year’s RHA were supposed to be administered by the BOE in April, but plans fell through. RHA President Brian Sugg said he and BOE Chairman Mitchell Capriglione agreed last semester that the board would take over the elections in exchange for RHA volun teers working polling sites at dorms for the spring election. Capriglione said that accord ing to ITS, the current system high-profile professors. Also, it would allow UNC students to participate in the research, which would signifi cantly bolster their resumes. And at a price tag of 51.2 million, if each of the systems about 209,000 students puts in an equal amount, it would cost each of us about $5.75 apiece to start. This means the center will cost only a little more per stu dent than the Association of Student Governments does over our four years, and it's guaran teed to be more effective. Plus, the role of the center fits perfectly into the charge that the UNC system has to help enhance, improve and give back to the state. Legislators will now have a clear and centralized place to turn in order to obtain research on the problems that need to be addressed, which will help to formulate more effective and better policy solutions. However, critics have raised some legitimate questionsabout the neutrality of the center. When a public institution takes on such a significant role a point to do regularly itself. There is, how’ever, an over arching philosophical ques tion. With cell phones so wide spread. do people actually use blue lights? Or. alternately, do they act as a crime deterrent? This information might best be garnered by a DPS survey of students. If some, even a small number, of students say that they w-ould use call boxes or that they feel safer around them, then it’s probably worth the time and money to add new’ ones and fix the existing ones. Unfortunately, both adding new call boxes and fixing decrep it ones are difficult problems because there are three separate entities responsible for varying parts of their upkeep. Streamlining the detection and repair process, combined with information regarding use and location, would make blue lights much more effective at keeping students safe. would have to be reworked sig nificantly in order to recognize the various communities. He is, however, pushing for the capability to be included in the new election system, which should arrive along with the new Student Central sometime in 2009. As it stands, Title VI of the Student Code, which specifies how campus elections are to be run, does not state that execution of community governor elections is the BOEXresponsibility. Once the BOE is able to take over, however. Congress should amend Title VI to include the RHA elections. We just hope that a year or two down the road everyone still remembers this needs to be done. in policy making, it’s essential that it abstain from espousing any kind of political slant that represents a portion, rather than the entirety, of its constituents. An advisory board is set to review public research for neu trality before it is submitted to lawmakers. But actually putting togeth er a board that can objectively assess the bias of the research is no easy task. We are confident that struc tures can be put in place to ensure the neutrality of the cen ter, but all questions regarding how this will be achieved must be addressed before the legisla ture agrees to provide funding. We hope that after these kinks get worked out, the legislature does end up funding the center. Legislators should be as informed as possible before making important decisions, especially when they concern issues beyond their realm of expertise. This think tank will be a great way for the University to give back to the state by keep ing legislators informed. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This team has continued to show that when we need to dig deepei' and play better and play harder ...we do!' MARCUS GINYARD, UNC FORWARD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Feel strongly about something that has been printed? Post your own response to a letter, editorial or stoiy online. VISIT www.daitytarheei.com/feedback False information reflects underlying societal racism TO THE EDITOR: At roughly 11 a.m (Friday), a campus safety’ e-mail alert was sent out that said a robbery took place the night before. The alleged suspect supposed ly used a weapon and demanded cash from the victim. The sus pect then struck the victim and ran off into oblivion. Here’s the best part: The suspect was described as black, 5 (foot) 10 (inches tall), in his early 20s and wearing a navy blue sweatshirt and blue jeans. On Saturday- another safety alert e-mail announced that this alleged robbery never took place and that the victim gave the police false information. I found no amusement in this fictitious story. Particularly in light of the bigoted and racist comments going around regard ing the suspects arrested in Eve Carson’s murder. It seems like in our society, if something bad happens, you can just blame a black male and people will believe you. This might sound radical, but I believe people who make false accusations should get the same charges that their supposed attacker would have got. For example, if someone lies about being robbed than they get the same charges as the robber w-ould. If someone intention ally lies about being raped, then they get the same charges that a rapist would. Maybe these types of measures will put an end to these false accusations that promote racism and reinforce stereotypes. Gerard Anthony Senior Communication Studies We all should be helping immigrants to assimilate TO THE EDITOR; In truth, 70 percent to 75 percent of immigrants speak English very well or well. Immigrants who do not speak English are generally low income; nearly two-thirds of low-wage immigrant work ers do not speak English pro ficiently. English lessons cost time and money, two things those with little income cannot afford. If anything, low-wage work ers desperately want to learn English because it will lead to a better paying job. Waitlists for ESL classes indicate the over whelming desire to increase fluency. If we want to emphasize English proficiency, the only option is to make ESL classes more available. Those like Donnie Hill ("Immigrants to America must be able to assimilate’, March 26) who are so fervent about immigrant integration might consider volunteering with one of the many immigrant-orient ed organizations on campus. Integration necessarily involves allowing immigrants to become part of our community bv breaking down the barriers of fear. Responsibility for com munity well-being belongs to everyone. Rachel Craft Junior Spanish, International Studies 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 fstaff: Include your department and phone number. ► Edit: The DTH edits for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity Limit letters to 2SO words. SUBMISSION: ► Drop-off: at our office at Suite 2409 in the Student Union. ► E-mail: to edltdeskOunc edu ► Send: to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27515. EOUOII'S MOTE: Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Daily Tar Heel or its staft Editorials are the opinions solely ot The Daily Tar Heel edito rial board. The board consists of nine board members, the associate opinion editor, the opinion editor and the editor The 2007-08 editor decided not to vote on the board (Thr Daily £ur Hrrl Taping protests is actually to help protect protesters TO THE EDITOR: I think it's a bit of an over statement to say that having ISAAC tape the w-ar protest was a “waste of taxpayer money," as Billie Murray said on March 26 ("Videotaping rally was a waste of taxpayer money”). They videotape events par tially for the purpose of protect ing the protesters in case they’re confronted or attacked by others or if they're accused of damaging something. Having the govern ment videotape vour rally doesn't mean you’re being “considered terrorists,” but that it’s smarter to have a visual record of something in case questions arise later. I recall a similar argument arising from “dash cams" on the dashboards of police cars. They were installed because the govern ment was worried that police were using excessive force and beating suspects. In the end the cameras did explain the origins of most wounds they were self-inflicted by the suspects themselves, done to tiy to claim police brutality. In other words the seemingly apparent purpose of police sur veillance (whether it’s to record war protestors or try to catch cops who beat suspects) is usually not what the video ultimately ends up being used for. Trent McCotter Economics Senior Language should change to reflect change in society TO THE EDITOR: I’d like to address the letter about Gender-neutral language. (“Gender-neutral language won’t solve key problems," March 27). You’re right; language does not change the way we think imme diately, and it won’t solve all the problems of sexism and heterosex ism in our society. But this is not a case of changing language to change minds, it's a case of chang ing language to reflect a change in our society. When the word “freshman" was made up, all the entering students were men. At UNC this meant up until 1963, the year in which women were allowed to attend. “Freshmen" identifies men as the sole attendees, and though it’s unlikely to offend anyone at a per sona] level, it indicates a disturb ing line of thought. Other words like chairman, fireman, mailman, etc. aren't intended as a deroga tory jab at women, but they still identify men as the norm and therefore women as the other. No, changing words to chair person or first-year won't change our society, but the change would reflect the transformation our society is going through in which women arc able to attend college, become head of a company or deliver mail (even if they’re not getting paid the same). The transition to gender-neu tral language is meant as a revela tion of anew way of thinking, not as a politically correct ‘feminiza tion’ of the language. Cameron Manning Junior Women’s Studies, Asian Studies (Thr Daily aar Hrrl Established 1893, 115 years of editorialfreedom ERIN ZUREICK ■ EDITOR, 962-4086 ZUREICKOEMAa.UNC.EDU OfFICE HOURS: MON . WED , FRI. 1-2 PM ADAM STORCK OPINION EDITOR. 962-0750 APSTORCICOUNC.EDU JONATHAN TUGMAN ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR. 962-07S0 TUGMANOUNC.EDU EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS JESSICA SCISM TED STRONG SARAH WHITWORTH KATHRYN ARDIZZONE SARAH LETRENT DUNCAN CARLTON ELYSE MCCOY GRAHAM ROWE DAVID GIANCASPRO
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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March 31, 2008, edition 1
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