6
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2008
Smlij ®ar Uteri
Established 1893,
115 years
of editorial freedom
Cfi
ANTHONY MAGLIONE
HEDGEHOG IN THE FOG.
Senior psychology major from
Lenoir.
E-MAIL: AMAG@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
Why is the
University
censoring
its own?
Collective bargaining I
didn’t know what that term
meant for the first three
years of my college experience.
I didn’t know that it applied
to workers’ right to collectively
organize and bargain with their
employers, that North Carolina
is the only state
that prohibits
collective bar
gaining by state
COMMUNITY
COLUMNIST
employees, and that the ban
implemented in the 1950 s— is one
of the last remaining pieces of leg
islation from the Jim Crow era.
And I certainly didn’t know
that collective bargaining
had anything to do with our
University’s relationship with the
workers it employs.
Maybe my prior ignorance over
the subject was not an accident
In July 2007 the UNC
Employee Forum planned to
publish an article on collective
bargaining in the InTouch news
letter which is inserted in the
University Gazette, the faculty and
staff publication.
The article was originally
rejected on the grounds that it
was an “opinion piece” and that
the Gazette does not allow opin
ion pieces.
When the Gazette created new
rationales for its decision, the
Employee Forum contacted the
American Civil Liberties Union
of North Carolina to assess the
legality of an action it considered
censorship.
On Aug. 8, the ACLU sent
UNC Vice Chancellor and General
Counsel Leslie Strohm a letter
rejecting the University’s rationales
for not printing the article.
The letter concluded that the
July article was not an opinion
piece. In addition, it noted that
opinion pieces and stories pre
senting one side of an issue had
previously been published in the
Gazette without concern.
For example, a May 21 article
(“Moeser wants to put labor groups
on notice”) concerning collective
bargaining focused solely on the
statements of then-Chancellor
James Moeser.
Just weeks prior to its publica
tion, a coalition of student groups,
faculty, labor unions, politicians
and community members voiced
their support of a student-led
16-day sit-in pressuring Moeser
to adopt the Designated Suppliers
Program. The program would
provide a process to ensure that
the University and its clothing
licensees, such as Nike and Russell,
are complying with the labor codes
of conduct UNC adopted in 1999-
These codes mandate that workers
who make our logoed apparel have
freedom of association and the
right to collective bargaining, but
they have not been upheld since
their inception.
The May 21 Gazette article was
one-sided and was printed, while
the July article was not
The censorship issue represents
a larger pattern of statewide closed
dialogue on collective bargaining.
We see the same closed-dia
logue pattern in the UNC house
keepers’ current struggle with the
University concerning unpaid
overtime work —a dispute that
has yet to be addressed.
The ACLU asked for a
response to its Aug. 8 letter by
last Friday. The University failed
to follow up in that time frame,
but Vice Chancellor Strohm
wrote that she expects to send
a response by this Friday. Patty
Courtright, editor of the Gazette,
declined comment
lb enforce the University’s
stated values, the Chapel Hill com
munity should organize to ensure
that UNC workers have their
voices heard and get the rights
they deserve.
ALLISON NICHOLS
EDITOR, 962-4086
NALUSON@EMAILUNC.EDU
OFFICE HOURS:
MON., WED. 2-3 P.M.
ERIC JOHNSON
PUBLIC EDITOR
ERIOOHNSONOUNC.EDU
EDITORIAL CARTOON By Alex Herrington, achcttsl ©email.unc.edu
T. M,
Open house opportunity
Students should attend forum, share interests and
concerns with Chancellor Thorp
Chancellor Holden Thorp is holding his first open house 4:30 p.m. today in the fishbowl lounge
upstairs in the Student Union.
This forum is an opportunity for students and other members of the University community
to hear from the chancellor in an intimate setting and then ask him questions.
About 70 people turned out for Chancellor Emeritus James Moeser’s last open house in March.
Considering the 28,000 students, 3,200 faculty and 11,500 staff that comprise the University
community, 70 isn’t a huge number. Take some time tomorrow afternoon to meet our 10th chancel
lor, hear what he has to say and ask him questions about things that are priorities for you.
In case you’re not really sure what the chancellor does, here’s an idea of how he affects your life.
It's the money, stupid
One of the chancellor’s main
jobs is fundraising.
Securing the financial
resources necessary to accom
plish the University’s vision is
one of the main priorities of
the chancellor, as established
by the chancellor search com
mittee prior to recommending
Thorp for the top job.
Fundraising affects every
thing from the quality of pro
fessors the administration
is able to hire to construc
tion as the physical campus
expands.
Eve-inclusive
Junior-year scholarship should reflect spirit of service,
not just conventional leadership roles
The Eve Marie Carson
Scholarship, to be
awarded to a UNC
junior for the first time this
spring, is a fitting tribute to its
namesake.
The merit-based scholar
ship, originally a key aspect of
Carson’s platform as student
body president, is the first of
its kind in many respects and
properly extols the unique
vision she brought to the
University.
The scholarship committee
will look for candidates who
demonstrate a commitment to
leadership and service at UNC
fitting, as Carson exempli
fied that commitment.
As it refines the criteria, the
committee should employ a
broad, creative and inclusive
(Sorry) youVe got Webmail!
University should replace Webmail system with
more user-friendly e-mail provider
Webmail should
be Deleted. Then
Expunged.
UNC is finally looking to
outsource its e-mail sendee to
an Internet provider such as
Google or Hotmail.
Here, Here!
The Webmail system as it
stands is unrelentingly plain, and
by plain we mean prehistoric.
Webmail may be the last remain
ing artifact of the University’s
early days during the era of the
original Hinton James.
But University students may
soon be able to utilize features
Opinion
AISHA SAAD
OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750
SAAD@UNC.EDU
DAVID GIANCASPRO
ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR, 962-0750
GIANCASP@UNC.EDU
Shmoozing the bigwigs
The chancellor is responsible
for advocating for UNC in a vari
ety of venues. Under the direc
tion of UNC-system President
Erskine Bowles, he establishes
relationships with members of
the N.C. General Assembly.
He also is responsible;for col
laboration with town officials on
projects such as UNC’s satellite
campus, Carolina North. The
success of that town-gown rela
tionship could indirectly affect
your relationship with your
Chapel Hill neighbors and how
the community views students.
perspective when evaluating
applicants.
Carson firmly believed that
“inclusion, involvement, diver
sity and acceptance,” are fun
damental to the Carolina way,
as she articulated in an e-mail
to student government leaders
last year.
Her boundless enthusiasm
inspired many of us, and her
commitment to UNC went well
beyond her job title.
A scholarship in Carson’s
honor should recognize this
attitude-driven rather than
activities-based approach
to service in selecting for
involvement that extends
beyond conventional leader
ship roles.
Selecting for the scholarship
in a way that engages UNC stu
at the cutting edge of e-mail
technology.
Yes, we’re referring to the
elusive ability to save “sent
mail” without expertise in
HTML programming.
The ability to search message
text, check e-mail efficiently and
maintain e-mail addresses after
graduation is anxiously awaited
by University students.
Dare we even dream of view
ing more than 15 messages per
page?
Soon, students may be able
to download attachments with
out setting aside a full hour in
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
USAANDRUKONIS
YANIV BARZILAI
BEN BUCK
HARRISON JOBE
GREG MARGOLIS
ANDREW STILES
SARAH WHITWORTH
Setting our future course
Because the chancellor is
such an important figurehead
for the University, the priorities
he articulates will be the priori
ties that the rest of the commu
nity, state and nation associate
with UNC.
So that means if you think
the chancellor should pri
oritize finding funding for a
Latino center on campus or
more rehearsal space for your
performance arts group, let
him know that your priorities
should be his priorities. It’s
your open house. Use it.
dents with the spirit and enthu
siasm that Carson embodied
and shared will ensure that her
legacy remains an active part
of our community’s collective
memory long after this year’s
juniors have graduated.
The scholarship committee
will hold a second meeting on
Wednesday for those inter
ested in getting involved with
the process. The committee is
student-led, making the mer
it-based award the only UNC
scholarship to be given to stu
dents by students.
We hope the committee will
continue to reach out to involve
a wide spectrum of campus in
the process and solicit applica
tions from a diverse cross-sec
tion of juniors, this year and in
the future.
their schedules to accommo
date such an extensive project
as saving a picture.
Many complain that
Webmail is unreliable. It
moves at a crawling pace and
is clogged with spam.
Many students have aban
doned the feat altogether. A
new system would maintain
the UNC domain but operate
under an alternate service
provider.
We fully advocate an out
source of e-mail systems to
Google or Hotmail. We’ll even
take AOL.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"I want to come out and just have
this mentality of killing an ant
with a sledgehammer.”
GREG LITTLE, UNC RUNNING BACK
FEATURED ONLINE READER COMMENT:
“The University administration is
just trying to inhibitfree speech....
The veneer of liberalism is mighty
thin in Chapel Hill.”
ON PIT EVANGEUSTS NOW FACE NEW, STRICTER UNION POLICY
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Graded system allows
transition to adulthood
TO THE EDITOR:
Our national drinking age
serves several purposes to the
benefit of society. Our state has
embraced the concept of a grad
ed driver’s license where the
license holder gains more and
more responsibilities as they get
older. We can drive at 16, smoke
and sign a contract at 18 and
drink at 21.
These are all responsibilities
and such a graded system allows
teenagers who are becoming
adults to gradually gain more
and more responsibility as they
grow older. Such a concept also
works for other responsibilities
in life. Having a uniform national
drinking age keeps cross-border
liquor shops from being opened,
as would certainly happen if the
drinking age were lower in some
states than in others.
The 21-year drinking age cre
ates college campuses where
people under and over 21 live
together in close proximity,
making enforcement difficult.
The simple solution, and one
that has proven effective at cer
tain private schools, is to simply
declare the entire campus dry
and ban the possession or con
sumption of alcohol on campus.
Of course, many university presi
dents would fear to take such a
move, fearing a decrease in the
number of applicants more than
the health and wellness of their
students.
Thousands of individuals
are killed each year in alcohol
related traffic accidents. We
have high rates of alcohol abuse
by young drinkers. This nation
needs more restrictions on the
sale, marketing and consump
tion of alcohol, not less.
Christopher Jones
Sophomore
History, Curriculm in Peace,
War and Defense
Nurse urges Chancellor
Thorp to promote safety
TO THE EDITOR:
This morning my daughter
started her first day of high
school. I limited myself to a
few pictures, told her not to
worry and waved goodbye. She
is worried about hard teachers,
managing her time wisely and
dreams of attending UNC. In
some ways, high school will the
same for her as it was for me 30
years ago.
But in one important respect,
it will be different. When I
was in high school, the legal
drinking age was 18 years old.
And by the time I started my
junior year, one classmate was
paralyzed and another severely
injured in separate alcohol
related incidents. Such stories
were commonplace throughout
North Carolina due to the low
legal drinking age of 18.
Asa trauma nurse, I have seen
firsthand the decrease in sexual
assaults, injuries, and deaths
among young people since the
drinking age was raised. I rec
ognize that it will not prevent all
minors from obtaining alcohol.
But clearly the legal limit of 21
for alcohol purchase has been an
effective public health strategy.
While I appreciate the frus
tration of university presidents
who have had limited success
SPEAK OUT
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily represent the ooininm
of The Daily Tar Heel or its staff. Editorials reflect the opinions of The Daily Tar Heel edito
rial board. The board consists of seven board members, the associate opinion editor thp
opinion editor and the editor.
Baiiy (Ear HtA
in addressing binge drinking, I
believe the aims of the Amethyst
Initiative are misguided. I urge
Chancellor Thorp and other uni
versity presidents to renew their
effort to promote safe behaviors
on campus, rather than lower
ing the drinking age. This is an
experiment that has already been
tried and failed.
Claire Curran, RN
UNC Hospitals
Certificate Student, UNC
School of Public Health
Campus Health Services
welcomes back students
TO THE EDITOR:
The beginning of the new
academic year is always exciting
because of a sense of endless pos
sibilities, especially in forming
new relationships.
A study of undergraduates
at four universities published
in 2005 shows how college stu
dents’ perceptions of their peers’
sexual activity can be overesti
mated. The study, by Scholly,
Katz, Gascoigne and Hoick,
asked questions about various
“sexual behaviors,” (and) shows
that while 80 percent of students
had zero or one sexual partner
during the preceding year, only
22 percent of those students
believed their fellow students
had one or fewer partners.
Students in this study thought
that fellow students were more
sexually active than they actually
were. In fact, 59 percent of stu
dents reported having no sexual
activity within the past 30 days.
Similar findings were reported
in the 2002 National College
Health Assessments. Seventy
one percent of participants had
one or fewer sexual partners dur
ing the previous year.
However, the common belief
among respondents was that
their peers had at least three
partners during the previous
year.
Campus Health Services
invites you to be aware and to
utilize the multiple services we
offer to students.
Carolina Health Education
Counselors for Sexuality
(CHECS) provide nonjudgmen
tal, risk-reduction conversa
tions and accurate sexual health
information at no cost to you. In
addition, counselors are avail
able at Counseling and Wellness
Services to offer counsel on
navigating human relationships
and medical providers are avail
able at Campus Health Services
to provide medical advice and
treatment in a caring and com
passionate manner.
For specific detailed infor
mation about Campus Health
Services with respect to all
aspects of health, includ
ing sexual, find us online at
campusheadth.unc.edu. For an
appointment with a CHECS
counselor or medical provider,
call Campus Health Services
general information and
appointment at 966-2281. If you
want to see a counselor, walk
in to Counseling and Wellness
Services on the third floor of the
James Taylor Health Services
Building between 9 a.m. and
3:30 p.m. We are here to help.
Carol Kozel, BSN, RN
Director of Nursing Services
and Performance Improvement
Coordinator
Campus Health Services
department and phone number,
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