Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Oct. 3, 2008, edition 1 / Page 14
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14 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2008 Sb? Satlg (Ear Urrl Established 1893, 115 years of editorialfreedom ANDREA LUDTKE THE BLUNT BLONDE Sophomore journalism major from Weston, Fla. E-MAIL: ANDREALB@EMAIL.UNC.EDU From the diary of a nutty gym rat Ah, the gym. The place I go to work off guilt from taking the all-you-can-eat mantra of the dining halls literally. And of course, all those Alpine bagels. Although I love the Rams Head Recreation Center dearly my only ally against the lurking Freshman 15 it does have its drawbacks. And to a gym junkie AT-LARGE COLUMNIST like me, after a while the little things become major annoyances. First of all, I must say I love the indoor track. It’s just high enough above the court to escape the hoot ing and hollering of the men below in the fight-to-the-death basketball game. But not too high from where I can’t gaze down and enjoy the view. I often find a few favorites... While I’m running around the track man-watching, it’s a near miss by the time I notice the walk er in front of me. To avoid this dilemma, I suggest dividing the three lanes into walk, jog and run. That way, the poor girl I crashed into last week (I’m sorry) can walk in peace, and the rest of us can man-watch carefree. Speaking of men, in the spirit of equality I’ve managed to garner their experience at the gym. But, it took some deciphering of their complex language of grunts and snorts. My sources grunt of exces sively long lines at the weight machines. The ones that spoke English voiced their concern about the lack of enforcement in cleaning the machines after use. This crime is often committed by their snorting counterparts. I even heard that the boys’ lock er room always smells like some thing recently died. And no, gym faculty, I don’t think plugging a Febreze NOTlCEables into every outlet is going to do the trick with this one. Girls, you know the smell of one sweaty man is often enough to make you lose your balance (and not in the hot Dirty Dancing Patrick Swayze kind of way). A whole enclosed area dedi cated to housing the stench of these sweat-drenched creatures may actually require some elbow grease to clean ... and ventilation. I do lose my balance on the treadmill when I get a whiff of that nauseating industrial strength pink cleaning spray. It hits me like a truck and I’m over whelmed with the memory of a nose-pinching medicine I dreaded taking as a kid. I beg of you, this is the 21st century, they can even make cat litter smell good. My biggest complaint is how overcrowded the gym is most of the time. On a campus this large, two gyms aren’t going to cut it. I know demanding another facil ity won’t produce any instant results, but how about actually purchasing machines according to the law of supply and demand? Supply: a ridiculous number of bike machines and stair-steppers, an adequate amount of tread mills, and a meager supply of the golden ellipticals. Demand: No one is ever on more than one or two of the bikes, there’s usually at least one treadmill open, but getting an elliptical requires signing up half an hour in advance and giving up your first-born child. And don’t forget the evil eye doled out by competing girls if you go even 2 minutes over your 30 minute limit While I applaud the smiling, helpful employees that run the Rams Head Recreation Center, there’s always room for improvement in the gym itself. Bottom line: Stock up on ellip ticals, dump the bikes. Ihr Heels, this is a crucial step in ensuring that our Carolina girls are truly “best in the.world.” Or at least hotter than what the Duke boys call girls. ALLISON NICHOLS EDITOR, 962-4086 NALUSON@EMAIL.UNC.EDU OFFICE HOURS: MON., WED. 2-3 P.M. ERIC JOHNSON PUBLIC EDITOR ERICJOHNSON@UNC.EDU EDITORIAL CARTOON By Alex Herrington, achcttsl@email.unc.edu / BJEKi ‘RME THES SAY \ something swid ) 7 rk \ ONTO s \ f~ it oufcsecDND n. ■ QUESTION^ THE TmtfSS Of "SHE M? JSEBftrE READER FEEDBACK: Publish rejected column, with editor's rationale TO THE EDITOR: I regret the decision of Danny Randolph to resign as opinions columnist of The Daily Tar Heel because of the editorial decision to deny publication of one of his columns. The column, which I have read, regrets that the campus at large, including the coverage in The Daily Tar Heel, often tends to overlook or downplay larger and pressing social issues beyond the borders of our self-contained and tranquil campus. He cites, in particular, the newspaper’s retrained coverage of the recent crisis in the coun try’s financial markets with its looming implications for all of us. Though the tone of the col umn is measured and reflective, it does contain a criticism of the paper in which the column was destined to appear. The decision to deny publi cation has all the appearances, therefore, of an attempt to sup press public criticism. Why not publish the column and encourage the editor to pub lic beside it her own reasons for rejecting it? In that way, instead of arrest ing the free exchange of differ ing opinions, the newspaper can allow its readers to form their own opinions in the very tradi tion that the masthead of the editorial page indicates, “115 years of editorial freedom.” George Leasing Mann Family Professor of English and Comparative Literature Director, Office of Distinguished Scholarships Refusal to run column has undermined reputation TO THE EDITOR: Some Chapel Hill residents may not be aware that Danny Randolph, a former columnist for The Daily Tar Heel, wrote a column for the paper entitled “Beware the Chapel Hill Bubble” discussing the faltering economy and the bubble The Daily Tar Heel creates by not mentioning such issues. Mr. Randolph’s column was denied by the editor, and he resigned. I am, quite frankly, extremely disappointed at your decision not to publish Mr. Randolph’s column. Mr. Randolph raises an excel lent point, one that has frus trated me many times with The Daily Tar Heel, that being the lack of national news coverage, even when it has extensive local consequences. I understand that The Daily READER-SUBMITTED CARTOON By Angela Tchou, tchou@email.unc.edu St.. Opinion HARRISON JOBE OPINION CO-EDITOR HJOBEOEMAILUNC.EDU GREG MARGOUS OPINION CO-EDITOR MARGOUSGREGOGMAIL.COM Tar Heel is a local paper, intend ed to deal with local issues, but surely an event with astound ing implications for every citi zen, especially those about to enter the job market as we are, deserves mention in the paper. The fact that two dead deer is front-page news, while our imploding economy (which affects the entire Chapel Hill community) is barely mentioned, worries me. Regardless of what The Daily Tar Heel chooses to cover, I am angered that you refused to pub lish a legitimate presentation of an issue Chapel Hill residents should be aware of. Mr. Randolph eloquently reminded Chapel Hill to keep in mind its position in this world, something that needs reiterat ing. It was also an opinion col umn, thereby not representative of the views of The Daily Tar Heel. By refusing to publish this column, you have undermined your position as a reputable paper to me and have brought to light the serious lack of cover age of national issues with local impact. I would very much like to see a letter from the editor explain ing her decision, and the original “Beware the Chapel Hill Bubble” column published in The Daily Tar Heel this week. Keith Grose Sophomore Mathematics/Economics Common sense that crisis affects campus, students TO THE EDITOR: I am thrilled that Allison Nichols is thinking of her dim readers when considering col umns. When Ms. Nichols turned away Danny Randolph’s column she cited a fear that the “column might confuse readers about The Daily Tar Heel’s purpose.” Asa faithful reader I think have a pretty good sense of the DTH’s purpose to inform the community and serve as a forum for discussion. Ms. Nichols wants to stay local and that is respectable. What is not respectable is censorship under the guise of editing for rel evancy. If Ms. Nichols is concerned with keeping the paper’s coverage strictly local then this year’s edi tion on 9/11 would be complete hypocrisy. But it isn’t hypocrisy because the events of 9/11 went beyond their immediate locations and had a tremendous impact on our whole nation. It should be common sense for Ms. Nichols that the recent finan cial events go beyond Wall Street and affect the whole nation, even idyllic Chapel Hill. Wachovia’s solvency, student EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS LISAANDRUKONIS YANIV BARZILAI BEN BUCK ANDREW STILES SARAH WHITWORTH loans and credit difficulties are all issues that affect the local readers of this local paper. Throughout the semester Danny Randolph has written thoughtful and eloquent col umns. His strength of content has been head and shoulders above the other columnists and his censored column is no excep tion. If Ms. Nichols is truly con cerned about the strength of con tent or relevancy then there is a particular column on MTV I’d like to discuss. Caroline Moakley Junior History Nichols must explain her new expanded role better TO THE EDITOR: Eric Johnson told us Wednesday that editor Allison Nichols was defending “higher journalistic standards” in her regulation and oversight regard ing the opinion content of the DTH. Presumably it was these same journalistic standards which have now allowed her to redefine the structure of the Daily Tar Heel such that the former system in which the editor-in-chief was merely a nonvoting member of the Editorial Board no longer seems to apply. I call on Allison Nichols to publicly define this “new role” she sees for the DTH which justifies what she does. At the moment, all it seems is that the Opinion desk is being censured such that it may not in any way question how the editor envisions The Daily Tar Heel, and that Ms. Nichols effec tively can silence any opinion by attacking the quality of the writing. What next? A student body presidential candidate criticizes the direc tion of the DTH, and the opin ion may reach only one conclu sion, that of opposition to the candidate? Eric Johnson’s column was certainly enlightening, but what seems more telling is the fact that such an article need come out under a named author; is the new editorial board sufficiently weakened that it may not, itself, criticise Nichols? Nine months ago, when cam paigning for role of editor, Nichols was quoted saying, “One of the things I want to do is to start a public forum when something about the DTH coverage sparks controversy”. Where is this forum? And what power do we have to chal lenge her? Mark Laichena UNC Student Abroad Political Science QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The same thing Navy Seals do a 60-year-old grandmother can do; we just alter the intensity” DARRYL PIERCE, TRAINER, ON CROSSFIT BOOT CAMP FEATURED ONLINE READER COMMENT: “How can someone focus when you have anywhere from 30 to 300 people in a quiet room jamming on keyboards?” ON SECUREXAM ON "BLUE BOOKS, BIG PROBLEMS" SPEAK OUT WRITING GUIDELINES: > Plot* 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/staff: Include your ONLINE COMMENTS: Editor’s note: These comments have been edited for length and style. To read and respond to the full com ments, please visit dailytarheel.com and blogs.dailytarheeLcom. “I can’t imagine an issue more pertinent to a local issue than the existence of a local bubble. And I can’t imagine a more pertinent time or place to discuss such an issue than in the opinion section on the eve of a financial catastro phe.” “I’ll continue reading the Opinion page of the DTH, but I will do so with a critical eye. Just as when I watch Bill O’Reilly’s and Lou Dobbs’ rants, I’ll not only look for what is said but also for what may not have been said.” “It is not Danny’s prerogative to choose which column is pub lished. ... Did you not even consid er reworking parts of the column so that it could become a stronger piece? Or did you just think of the word ‘censorship’ first and decide a battle against the DTH would gain you some real notoriety?” “It’s time to grow up, Alii. And when you decide that you want to wear the big-girl pants and accept responsibility for a gross abuse of power, then maybe the readers will respect you again.” “It seems that the justification for this is continually changing, and I find it offensive that Allison Nichols believes UNC students are gullible enough to accept her various, fickle and clearly secondary reasons.” “In short, Mr. Randolph sat down and wrote a note that seems to have come from his disquiet over recent events that was cathar tic. He did no research (as he did in-depth for the smoking column which was published), he shed no new light on anything and he rambled on. If his goal is that the DTH not publish trite and unsub stantial articles, leaving his out of the paper was a good first start.” “Do you think that after the resignation of your opinion editor, several members of your editorial board and your University colum nist, it might be time to turn the mirror onto yourself?” “The DTH is about this cam pus! The rest of you are too lazy to log on to nytimes.com or washingtonpost.com to read about what is going on nationally written by someone who does it better!... Why edit AP articles to bulk up the paper?” “Not publishing an article writ ten by a staff writer is not cen sorship. Every word written by every journalist is not published. Choices need to be made every day.... Editors make these choices based on quality of writing, inter est to the community of readers, timeliness and probably a dozen more criteria. Editing is not cen sorship.” “Alii seems to think that the DTH should cover only local issues, no matter what. Although I understand that the DTH is primarily a local paper, I don’t think this qualification should be absolute. For instance, if another 9/11 happened tomorrow, I would expect it to be on the front page of the DTH.” EDITOR'S NOTE: Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily represent the opinions 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, the opinion editor and the editor. Saily (Bar MM department and phone number. > Edit: The DTH edits for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity. Limit letters to 250 words. SUBMISSION: > Drop-off: at our office at Suite 2409 in the Student Union. > E-mall: to editdesk@unc.edu > Sand: to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27515. Kvetching board kvetch: v.l (Yiddish) to complain To anyone who has waited in line, while feeling like death, at Campus Health Services on a crowded day: How do you feel about universal health care now? Girl in my linguistics class, SHUT UP! Again: 64 degrees is NOT cold enough for those übiquitous North Face fleece jackets! Dear complaining Yankee: it may not be cold compared to the igloo you came from, but you chose to come down here to go to school so shut the hell up about how we dress or just go right on back up North. You're on our turf now. To the girl in the bottom of Lenoir who stole the chicken biscuit... I saw you. To the Ramshead staff: I know I shouldn't expect much when I am forced to eat there, but I can usually count on the cereal to be decent. But it really takes some effort to mix the Golden Grahams with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The stall doors in the UL have needed to be fixed for years. Accidental voyeurism is never fun. To the liberal who called Republicans either selfish or stupid: Thanks for being so eloquent when you gave me another reason to vote Republican. To Sasquatch in the second floor men's bathroom in Graham: When you are done shaving, please hose down the sinks. If you insist on sleeping in the UL, do everyone the favor and stop snoring! Morrison solar panels, can my next shower please be hot? Is Jesus Green? Uhhh ... WHAT? Unfortunately, OUR dorm room isn't a honeymoon suite. I do not care to be a spectator while you and your boyfriend cuddle and kiss and argue. Get a room, but not mine. Stupid freshmen in my commu nity don't know how to turn off an oven, so now I am left with no way to cook my food! I'm sorry, but I learned how to turn a knob before I hit kindergarten. To the writer of the police log, keep it up with the ‘suspicious squirrels'-esque police reports. They keep me laughing at what Chapel Hill's finest have to do. Hey, Carolina Review writers, can we just deport you instead? That'd be great. Thanks. To the girl in my 8 a.m. Lifetime Fitness class, its aerobics at 8 a.m., not a fashion show, put your damn hair up in a pony tail and skip the full face of makeup. Hey DTH, can you guys keep your workplace drama to your selves? Nobody wants to hear it. Thanks. If you enjoyed the '7os night at Lenoir, shame on you! And Mr. DJ don't ask me if I “dug* your music. Send your one-to-two sentence entries to edit desk@unc.edu, subject line 'kvetch.'
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 3, 2008, edition 1
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