14
THURSDAY. APRIL 10. 2008
H
.JFI
SARAH HODGES
FROM MY WORD PROCESSOR TO YOUR EARS
Sarah Hodges is a senior psychology
major from Durham.
E-MAIL: SEHODGES@EMAIL.UNC EDU
Comics
not just
for geeks
anymore
Many of as expect to leave
college "ell versed in
classics like “Moby Dick,"
“The Odyssey" and “King Lear."
Blit there is a very versatile, oft
overlooked genre that shakes up
the traditional view of literature
and makes for a marvelous teach
ing tool: graphic novels.
I’ll admit the phrase “comic
lxx>k" used to make me cringe.
I vowed never to become one of
the weekly visitors to the comic
hook store. 1 thought it was all
crime-fighting superheroes, spe
cial superhero powers and people
at Comic-Con dressed up as
superheroes.
All right, so there an 1 a lot of
superheroes, but
they make com
ics interesting,
not to mention
AT-LARGE
COLUMNIST
easily adaptable into a movie.
Many comic books are action
based, dense with dialogue and
practically pre-storyboarded for
the convenience of the illustrator.
The superhero obsession has
become so expansive that televi
sion shows like “1 ieroes" have
grown out of the phenomenon
rather than a pre-existing charac
ter. The show even launched its
own webcomic and graphic novel
to satisfy viewer interest.
And not all superhero plots are
BANG! POYV! WHAM! action all
the time. Some take a critical look
at our culture through an alterna
tive universe.
“Watchmen" is a classic dat
ing back to 1986 about a now
defunct group of superheroes.
It holds its own among more
traditional literary works; Time
Magazine ranked it in the too
greatest English-language novels
between 1923 and 2005. Anil yes.
the movie is set to Ik- released in
March 2009.
Nor is the medium constrained
to the realm of fiction. I took
a course about graphic novels
through the English department
last semester and most of the nov
els vw read were nonfiction pieces.
Art Spiegelman tackles the
1 loloeaust in “Mails," which
won a Pulitzer in 1992. Jix-
Sacco’s “Palestine" highlights the
Palestinian opinion of the conflict
with Israel and Marjanc Satrapi’s
"Perscpolis" (the film adaptation of
which was recently released in the
aters) is the story of a girl living in
Iran during the Islamic revolution.
I’m not a fan of history and usu
ally shy away from the subject I
view as memorization of dates and
events, but I was intrigued by how
art enhances the personal stories
in these nonfiction pieces, and I
learned a lot of things about poli
tics and history that 1 never would
have looked into before.
Teachers in Europe are trying
to harness the eye-catching power
of comic lxx>ks for the classroom,
as well.
Students in Germany, Poland
and Hungary are part of a test
program using comic book “The
Search," a fictionalized account of
the Holix-aust. in their curriculum.
The Netherlands is already using
the book in schools.
While some people criticize
the genre as inappropriate for the
subject matter, it is actually very
fitting. The brxik will get children
interested in a tafxxi subject and.
when coupled with historical data
and outside references, will lx? a
great learning tool.
In fact, comic books are a great
teaching device for jast about any
subject The use of both images
and dialogue bring the subject
alive for those of a younger age or
shorter attention span. Ami depict
ing actual people (or animals, as
Spiegelman does in “Maus") allows
readers to relate to the characters
better than a distant individual
glossed over in a textbook.
Best of all, they are fun to read.
Don’t get me wrong: 1 love a goixl
Orwell story when I'm in the
mood, but pictures always seem to
make the treat a little sweeter. So
between skimming 30-page court
decisions and analyzing Canadian
poetry during this exam season.
I’m reading “The Sandman"
series. And. let me tell you. I can't
wait for the movie.
EDITORIAL CARTOON By Mason Phillips, mphilOemail.unc.edu
Delayed reaction
Levine should have stopped seeing patients in 2005
We don’t know wheth
er Dr. Melvin Levine
molested pubescent
boys, and we don’t want to con
vict the UNC Medical School
pediatrician in the press, but
he should have been asked to
stop seeing patients a couple of
years ago. when new allegations
of abuse first surfaced in 2005.
At the time, Levine w-as
one of the stars of the UNC
Medical School. One of his
books topped the best-seller
chart in June 2002; Oprah
Winfrey interviewed him; and
Newsweek wrote about him.
His theory that terms such as
attention deficit disorder and
drugs such as Ritalin should be
supplanted by individualized
medical care made him popular
with the press and the public.
He even founded his own
institute. All Kinds of Minds,
with Charles R. Schwab, a man
who routinely ranks in the top
quarter of Forbes Magazine’s list
of the 400 richest Americans.
The first lawsuit was filed in
1988 and dismissed that year.
No new allegations surfaced
until 2005, when another suit
Best value chancellor
UNC shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for next chancellor
Like Jem Maguire, it's like
ly that our next chancellor
will want UNC to show
him the money.
But in the face of rising chan
cellor salaries nationwide, UNC
should try to buck the upward
trend as much as possible.
Chancellor James Moeser
brings home 5390.835 a year.
Surprisingly , this is only about
half of what many of our peer
institutions are paying their top
dogs. Several universities now
pay their chancellor or president
more than $700,000 a year.
Based on this fact, it is a
veritable certainty that the next
chancellor will have to be paid
more than Moeser. but the ques
tion is just how much.
We hope the chancellor search
committee takes into account
Patience is a virtue
UNC athletics should wait on Kenan renovation
Imagine that you own a
restaurant with a maxi
mum seating capacity of
50 tables, but on average you
are able to fill just 40 of these
tables at one time, reaching
capacity only on rare occasions.
It doesn't take a degree in eco
nomics to realize that expan
sion in this situation does not
make much sense.
But that is essentially what
the Department of Athletics
and the Facilities Planning
and Construction department
are planning to do with Kenan
Stadium.
Plans are to add a number
of seats in the east end zone as
part of a project that will include
a larger academic support cen
ter for athletes and the restora
tion of the surrounding forest.
It also will round out the horse
shoe-shaped stadium into a fish
bowl
In 2006. average game atten
dance at Kenan Stadium hov
Opinion
was filed. Then another was
filed in 2006. Then a second
one that same year.
And then, March 31, yet
another lawsuit was filed.
After the latest suit University
officials began talking with
Irvine immediately, and later
that week it was agreed that
Levine w-ould stop seeing
patients until the allegations
which are from patients he saw
when he worked for Harvard
University at Children’s Hospital
in Boston are resolved.
On Friday, Levine asked the
state medical board to place his
license on inactive status.
We think the University’s
response to the most recent
lawsuit has been textbook.
Our society and our University
choose to presume innocence
rather than guilt, so it is under
standable, even laudable, that
one allegation in 1988 was not
enough to sink a distinguished
career.
But the action the University
took so well this week should
have been taken when the
2005 suit was filed, at the first
sign that 1988 might not have
the idea that the most qualified
person is not necessarily the one
who will require the most money
to bring to UNC.
The position of chancellor is
exceptionally important because
he is the face of the University,
he guides the direction it takes,
he has a heavy influence on the
draw for high-profile faculty
and he can make or break fund
raising campaigns.
But we have to ask if it is
really acceptable to pay a chan
cellor more than three times
the amount the average faculty
member makes —and nearly
18.5 times the salary of a house
keeper on campus in addition
to the house and the car that our
chancellor receives as part of the
benefits package.
We understand the unfor
ered just below 50,000, leaving
close to 10,000 seats unoccupied
at almost each game.
Since Kenan Stadium was
built in 1927, game attendance
has reached or exceeded capac
ity only rarely, with a matchup
against Florida State in 1997
drawing the largest crowd in
the stadiums history at 62,000
people. In the 1997 season the
team boasted an 11-1 record.
In 2006 the team closed out
the season with a 3-9 record.
Although last year's record of
4-8 is an improvement, it would
be wise for the powers that be to
wait a few years to ensure that
the team will continue to get
better and that ticket sales will
increase in the coming seasons
before spending millions of dol
lars on expanding seating.
One of the reasons that UNC
Athletics Director Dick Baddour
gave for expanding the stadium
is the enhancement of its beau
ty. However, one of the most
been an anomaly.
No rush to judgment should
have been made, nor should one
be made now. Levine should
have been told politely that
pending lawsuits for molesta
tion are a serious problem and
that until he resolved them they
should be his sole focus.
Now the Boston lawyer who
is representing the plaintiffs in
the recent lawsuits, along with
a colleague in Raleigh, has said
more potential victims have
been calling them with allega
tions of abuse, some of which
relate to Levine s time in North
Carolina, one as recent as 15
months ago.
We understand this man
has his own motives, but the
University needs to heed his
call for an independent inves
tigation into these allegations.
We also hope that students
won’t have to bear the burden
of paying off any judgment
against the University, but
mostly we hope that the truth
comes out and that if anyone
was hurt at the University of
the people, they get justice and
whatever help they need.
tunate truth behind the peer
institution argument. The best
administrators expect to be paid
according to their ability- and
competitively with their peers.
However, w-e’d like to think
that there are quality chancel
lor candidates out there who
wouldn't bleed UNC’s wallet in
exchange for their services.
If money is the deciding fac
tor between a candidate taking
the job here versus somewhere
else, perhaps that’s a sign that
they’re not the person for the job.
We are looking for the qualified
person who truly wants to be the
chancellor of UNC.
The new chancellor is likely
to be chosen before July. We
are certain that one of the many
candidates being considered is
quality- and affordable.
aesthetically pleasing views on
campus is from the Rams Head
walkway overlooking the field
with the Bell Tower in the back
ground, a vista that would be
blocked by the new seating.
Also, as we said before, we
cannot expect these additional
seats to be filled if the stadi
um is rarely full at its current
capacity. More empty seats will
certainly have a detrimental
effect on the beauty of the sta
dium on game day.
Department officials should
focus primarily on other facets
of the renovation, particularly
the refurbishment of the forest
around the stadium and the con
struction of a larger academic
support center to help the grow
ing number of student athletes.
Perhaps by the time these
other improvements have been
completed, officials will have
a better idea of whether the
University wiD benefit from more
seating at Kenan Stadium.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Today has been so tiring There
ain't gonna he no celebration, ... There
will be a celebmtion with my bed
LATOYA PRINGLE, UNC FORWARD, WNBA DRAFT PICK
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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response to a letter, editorial or story online.
VISIT www.daifytarheel.com/feedback
Two branches of student
government collaborating
TO THE EDITOR:
This year will begin anew
tradition of collaboration and
cooperation between the legis
lative and executive branches.
Fortunately, both branches are
eager to set anew precedent by
w orking together.
We want to make sure that
any changes that we introduce to
the Student Code are supported
by the students and the informed
experience of student govern
ment. Working with everyone
involved, we decided that chang
es to the selection process of the
student body vice president were
part of a discussion that needed
to go further.
We want to make sure that
any changes we make to the
Student Code are informed,
researched and fully under
stood. Thus we decided that
both the executive and leg
islative branches of student
government needed to further
investigate the bill in order to
uncover the best solution.
We want to reassure students
that this issue is being fully
researched and the best decision
will be made following extensive
discussion. We want to make
sure that all decisions we make
take into account students’ best
interest.
At the end of the day, our
mission as student govern
ment is to serve the students.
We understand that the best
way to do this is through col
laboration.
We're really excited about a
new tradition of student govern
ment that involves collaboration
between these two branches,
and we’re very thankful that
the new leadership of student
government is willing to work
on this together for a better
Carolina.
J.J. Raynor
Student Body President
Tim Nichols
Speaker
Student Congress
'Racial injustice' doesn't
justify affirmative action
TO THE EDITOR:
In reference to Camille
Archie’s letter “Affirmative
action is still needed to combat
injustice" on April 8, she states
that, “Affirmative action is about
giving individuals an opportu
nity to correct the years of racial
injustice that still run rampant
in today’s society.’
I’ll agree that there is racial
injustice still running through
todays society; however, think
about who committed those
injustices against the individu
als benefiting from affirmative
action.
I am an Asian student, my
parents moved here from Hong
Kong, (and) I am 100 percent
sure that they never committed
any “racial injustices" that you
are referring to. So why should
my parents or 1 be subject to
affirmative action?
Affirmative action affects
everyone. Everyone makes mis
takes, just learn from them; for
give and forget.
Just something to think
about
Stephen J. Fu
Graduate Student
School of Pharmacy
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Uhr Bailti ear Hrrl
Columnist was incorrect;
season wasn't a waste
TO THE EDITOR:
Charles Dahan's column
(“Sports columnists should stick
to facts." April 8) was on target.
Caulton Tudor is what he is, brain
dead. Then you have Billy Packer
at CBS announcing that “this
game is over" halfway through
the first 20 minutes of the game.
There are far more level-head
ed people in this country who see
Tudor and Packer for who they
are than there are those who
agree with their typical off-the
cuff remarks, lose to Kansas, yes,
we did: a wasted season, no way.
We watched fine young gentle
man play with energy and deter
mination all season long. Forget
the score, the wins and the losses,
and look to these men for how
they represented their team, their
school and themselves. Not only
were they unselfish on the floor
and off, tbey were examples for us
all, giving credit to everyone else
and taking responsibility, person
ally, for everything else.
Thanks, guys, for all you do
and the fine young men you are.
You make us all very proud. Now
if only Tudor and Packer were
half the fine men you all are ...
No, that is only wishful thinking.
Bruce J. Stoen
Durham
We don't have a duty to
support small businesses
TO THE EDITOR:
I can understand where Nathan
Nyanjom was coming from when
he wrote about how small busi
nesses need our patronage to sur
vive (“Mom and Pop need your
help everywhere," April 9).
What I don't understand is
why I should help them. Yes,
I know that they are trying to
make a living, but so is every
body. If these businesses are
selling something of value to me,
then you bet I'll buy from them.
However. I won’t buy from a
business jast because nobody else
will. In fact, lack of other custom
ers is probably a good sign that I
do not want to buy from them.
Not all small businesses fail
because people choose to shop
at large retail chains instead. In
fact, most small business failure
is due to various inadequacies of
the business or its managers.
I would easily wager that the
reason Schoolkids and Nathans
Lemonade Stand went under is
that the location was wrong for
the market. People don’t buy
beverages on suburban street
comers, and people are rapidly
choosing not to buy music in
physical stores at all.
Lamenting the fate of the failed
small business is an American
pastime, but the truth is that
competition makes consumers
(Le. you) better off. There is room
for both when each knows who
they are selling to and what they
are selling. But purchasing from
a small store just because it is
small is not good enough reason
to use up my cash. If they aren’t
selling what I’m buying, then
they aren’t selling to me.
Tom VanAntxcerp
Sophomore
Business, Economics
ahr Daily (Tar Brel
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