10
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2008
(Eljr Satly (Ear Mrri
Established 1893,
115 years
of editorialfreedom
JUSTIN R. CROWDER
A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT FULL OF SOUND
AND FURY
Sophomore biology major from
Greensboro.
E-MAIL: JRCROWDE@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
Spanish
language
section is
valuable
Two weeks ago Yatin Shastri
wrote a letter to the edi
tor advocating that The
Daily Tar Heel no longer pub
lish the monthly special section
La Colina. He said he was not
against publication of La Colina
but would prefer to see it in a
separate publi
cation.
La Colina
appears once a
UNIVERSITY
COLUMNIST
month in the DTH on the back
page and has a variety of articles
including opinions, community
spotlights and Spanish-language
pieces. Following the focus of
The Daily Tar Heel, La Colina
focuses upon the University and
the surrounding community.
But in the letter to the editor
Shastri says that although he has
"nothing against immigration,”
publication of La Colina “repre
sents the movement of catering
to our neighbors to the south.”
I find it a bit hard to understand
how a once monthly section in a
college-centric newspaper caters to
our neighbors to the south.
According to the Spanish
department here at UNC, there
are more than 350 million native
Spanish speakers in 21 countries.
In fact, Spanish is the second
most used language for interna
tional communications and is a
recognized language of the United
Nations. It is often quipped that
English is the language of money,
but Spanish cannot be far behind.
The letter also questioned why
such languages as Mandarin and
Hindi are not included in the
same way as Spanish. While it is
true that these groups do make
up a significant portion of the
population of the country, North
Carolina has many more native
Spanish speakers.
Asa Spanish minor, lam
quite biased on this issue. I look
forward to the publication of La
Colina near the end of the month
and read all of the articles no mat
ter the subject as a means of prac
ticing my Spanish. I can assure
you that I am not alone in using
La Colina to help my Spanish
comprehension. Numerous
students here at Carolina take
Spanish classes beyond the
requirements for their majors and
many pursue a Spanish major.
Issues of immigration and its
legality aside, learning and utiliz
ing Spanish is becoming more
and more of an asset in our coun
try. No matter how our govern
ment eventually rules of the issue
of Hispanic immigration to our
country, we have to realize that
this is the next step in the evolu
tion of our country. It seems that
more and more signs proclaim
ing “Se habla espanol” on busi
nesses that realize that there is
much to be gained by catering to
a Spanish-speaking population.
America has always been a
melting pot and the mixture of
ethnicities is one of its greatest
strengths. After the election of the
first nonwhite president, how can
we maintain that we should pre
serve our supposed homogeneity?
Mr. Shastri ought to take a
more sensitive view on diversity
issues at the University. With
our population of Hispanic and
Spanish-speaking students, fac
ulty and employees, an overarch
ing need for the acceptance of
a diverse population should be
one of our paramount concerns.
When such a narrow-minded and
inflammatory statement comes
from a person in a position such
as this, it does not speak well for
the image of our University.
As humans it is our duty to
reach out to each other across
racial, linguistic and ethnic
boundaries. I look forward to
reading La Colina at the end of
the month and hope it continues
to gamer the support it deserves.
ALLISON NICHOLS
EDITOR, 962-4086
NALLISON@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
OFFICE HOURS:
MON., WED. 2-3 P.M.
ERIC JOHNSON
PUBLIC EDITOR
ERICJOHNSON@UNC.EDU
EDITORIAL CARTOON By Don Wright, The Palm Beach Post
(o'
: ..
New board needed
Violations of Student Code, state law cannot continue
Cases now before the
Student Supreme Court
are textbook examples for
why student government bodies
need to operate in the open.
Juniors Ashley Klein and
Matt Wohlford, possible can
didates for student body presi
dent, were each fined S4O by
the Board of Elections for cam
paign violations.
Neither student knew the
Board of Elections was even
conducting an investigation.
(According to the Student
Code the chairman of the
Board of Elections is required
Sustainability a must
UNC has made another
gesture indicating its
support of environmen
tal sustainablity, but it must
continue to take concrete steps
to illustrate this commitment.
UNC has recently signed
on to a resolution with a long
term goal to become a carbon
neutral campus, joining 600
other colleges and universities
nationwide.
Not only is this initiative
beneficial to the environment,
but it will also lead to cost sav
ings for the University through
a reduction in energy costs.
Small. Ignorant. Cowards.
The hateful, racist mes
sages scrawled in the
“Free Expression T\innel”
at N.C. State University just
hours after Barack Obama was
elected the first black president
in our nation’s history are an
unfortunate reminder that igno
rance and bigotry still exist.
The four individuals who
confessed responsibility for the
messages are an embarrassment
to their fellow students and to all
of us as Americans.
That being said, I am disap
pointed by the overblown rheto
ric surrounding this incident and
concerned about the future of
free speech on college campuses.
N.C. State is in the process
of determining an appropriate
punishment for the students,
whose names haven’t been
released because authorities
determined that their actions
didn’t constitute a crime.
State leaders of the
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
want the university to expel
the students and enact a “hate
speech” policy to severely punish
similar acts in the future.
I am not particularly concerned
about the academic futures of
these four students. But I do
worry any time I hear talk of uni
versity “speech codes” that would
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Applications are due at 5 p.m. Nov. 24. Contact Editor Allison Nichols at allisoncnichols@gmail.com with questions.
Opinion
HARRISON JOBE
OPINION CO-EDITOR
HJOBE@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
GREG MARGOUS
OPINION CO-EDITOR
MARGOLIS.GREG@GMAIL.COM
to notify the accused of the
investigation within 24 hours
after the commencement of
investigation, and no deci
sion may be issued until the
defendant has been given an
opportunity to respond to the
accusations.)
Further, the Board of Elections
made the decision to hand down
the fines in a closed meeting.
The meeting was closed in
clear violation of N.C. Open
Meetings Law, which estab
lishes only a few specific rea
sons that governing bodies can
operate behind closed doors.
The University’s first step
should be to explore ways exist
ing buildings can become more
energy efficient.
Already, all 33 residence halls
have low-flow water fixtures and
efficient lighting. Future renova
tions to other campus buildings
should include these features,
but they should also implement
more advanced features such as
the addition of solar panels and
gray-water recycling.
And all new construction
projects should strive for car
bon neutrality from the onset.
In addition, the University
m i
-
ANDREW STILES
Editorial board member from
Charlotte.
E-MAIL: AJSTILES@EMAIL.UNC.EDU
restrict free speech on campus.
N.C. State should tread lightly
in this case, not least because
the law is firmly opposed to
restrictive speech codes.
Ruth Walden, mass com
munication law professor in the
School of Journalism and Mass
Communication at UNC, says it is
important to distinguish speech
that is morally reprehensible from
what is legally acceptable.
“The outrage that the NCSU
community feels about the racist
messages in the free speech tun
nel is totally understandable,”
Walden says. “But law presents a
different issue than morality.”
The U.S. Supreme Court, as
well as state courts in California,
Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin,
have consistently ruled that hate
speech codes on college campus
are unconstitutional.
Public bodies, the Supreme
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
LISAANDRUKONIS
BEN BUCK
JAMES DING
MICHAEL LEWIS
ANDREW STILES
SARAH WHITWORTH
Now, as part of the evidence
Wohlford needs for his supreme
court case against the Board of
Elections, subpoenas have been
issued for every member of the
board to find out what exactly
happened at that meeting.
Seems a little unnecessary.
If the board had only
obeyed the law in the first
place there would be no need
for subpoenas.
This case start-to-finish dem
onstrates the Board of Election’s
lack of respect for either the
Student Code or N.C. law. It’s
time for anew board.
should solicit input from exist
ing student groups who have
been advocating for more sus
tainable practices for years.
This is a perfect opportunity
for UNC to implement some
of the innovative ideas con
ceived by the many students
passionate about environmen
tal justice.
By affirming it's commit
ment in sustainability though
the goal of carbon neutrality,
UNC’s efforts will not only help
the environment but encour
age students to adopt a socially
responsibility lifestyle as well.
Court has ruled, cannot impose
“special prohibitions on those
speakers who express views on
the disfavored subjects of‘race,
color, creed, religion or gender.’”
So here’s what I propose: Let
the students remain in school—
without punishment under
one condition. That they simply
come forward and take “credit”
for their actions.
Anyone who posts such
inflammatory comments in a
public place should be willing to
stand by their words.
My guess is these students
won’t. They’re cowards. They
won’t come forward because they
live in a society that has learned
to reject such overt bigotry.
Let’s imagine these individu
als explaining their actions at
job interviews, on grad school
applications or even to their fel
low students.
And I can’t help but smile
thinking about them squirming
in their seats while U.S. Secret
Service agents searched their
rooms and computers.
I don’t think racism will ever
cease to be an issue in this coun
try. But before we go rewriting
the rules regarding what stu
dents can or cannot say, let’s take
a step back and see these four
individuals for what they really
are: Small. Ignorant. Cowards.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“I want ns to go for the gold. I can’t
believe we’re still protesting this.”
RITA HERNANDEZ, RALEIGH RESIDENT, ON PROTESTING
C.A. AMENDMENT BANNING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
FEATURED ONLINE READER COMMENT:
“When the tunnel is called the \Free
Expression Tunnel,’ one should be
able to freely express whatever they
want with no consequences.”
ON LETTER TO THE EDITOR "FIRST AMENDMENT SHOULD
NOT BE USED AS A SHIELD"
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Condom advertisement
was offensive and crude
TO THE EDITOR:
The content of last week’s one
page Durex advertisement was
unsettling: “Major in sex and you
could score $25,000, and a $2 lift
for your‘studies.’”
Students and faculty fought to
get and keep a minor in Sexuality
Studies. Making fun of “majoring”
in sex derides healthy sexuality
and the study of it
Further, we don’t need to send
the message that women are
always available for sex, even in
professional roles. Such images
don’t cause sexual harassment or
rape, but they feed an environ
ment in which both exist
The “diagram” of a “threesome”
in the back seat of a car depicts
a heterosexual male fantasy in
which women are present only for
men’s pleasure. That’s the message
of the heterosexual pornography
industry. And of the ad that ran in
the DTH.
Freedom of the press means
that you are free to choose any ad
you wish. It also means that you
are free to tell companies that
you’d prefer ads that aren’t juve
nile or sexist Your readers deserve
better.
Matthew Ezzell
Graduate Student, Sociology
Campaign far a Safer
Carolina
Sherryl Kleinman
Professor, Sociology
Faculty Advisor, Campaign
for a Safer Carolina
'Gayble' article presented
a stereotypical portrait
TO THE EDITOR:
The “gayble” story (“A seat at
the table,” Nov. 13) was nothing
but a reduction of the queer com
munity to a group of friends who
think they run it. I am queer and
have never heard of this group
until this coverage and still have
no desire to supposedly cement
my inclusion into the community
by stopping by there.
You can find queers anywhere
you look, and they are not happy
with this coverage. We are vibrant
people that come from all different
backgrounds and occupy all posi
tions on this campus. Many of us
have groundbreaking stories that
would actually near you to the true
and not so utopian world of many
queers. Even with saying that, they
cannot represent us all, and the
DTH should not make it appear
as they can.
Ryan Jones
Senior
Photojournalism
DTH should cover football
as much as basketball
TO THE EDITOR:
Why is it the day after Miami
beats Virginia Tech and the day
before Carolina faced Maryland
all we Carolina football fans read
in the DTH is an article about
the football game and basketball
game being at the same time?
There were more articles in the
DTH last year about football,
and we were losing games. Why
does basketball get an article for
a meaningless game?
To make this even worse there
wasn’t even an online exclusive
previewing any aspect of the foot
ball game. I understand that bas
SPEAK OUT
WRITING GUIDELINES:
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two people should sign letters.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily represent the opin
ions of The Daily Tar Heel or its staff. Editorials reflect the opinions of The Daily Tar Heel
editorial board. The board consists of six board members, two opinion co-editors and the
editor-in-chief.
Utyp laily (Tar Heel
ketball is the prominent sport here
at Carolina and always will be. but
when it comes down to what was
more important this weekend, it
was the football game.
Students here need to leam that
there are other things than people
named Tyler Hansbrough and an
orange ball.
Alex Rhodes
Sophomore
Exercise and Sports Science
Singing of alma mater
should be classy, not rude
TO THE EDITOR:
Those fans dedicated enough
to remain past the final buzzer
of basketball games will sing
the alma mater and fight song
well, our version at least.
The original fight song ends
with “Rah! Rah! Rah!” We
have replaced it with “Go to
hell, Duke.”
This classlessness really irks
me. We should not wish for our
opponent’s failure, but rather
our success. Amending the
alma mater and fight song in
this way does not insult Duke
but tarnishes the Carolina way
we all aspire to uphold. Is hate
so central to our campus iden
tity that we would sacrifice our
virtue?
Thomas Hopper
Senior
English, Classics
Eve Carson Memorial 5k
was an amazing success
TO THE EDITOR:
Thank you, Carolina! Thanks
to the 2,191 people who registered
to run or walk in the inaugural Eve
Marie Carson Memorial sk, mak
ing it an amazing success.
We would also like to say a huge
thank you to the members of Phi
Delta Theta and Pi Beta Phi who
hosted this event and worked tire
lessly to ensure its success.
Thank you to the Students for
the Carolina Way. With more than
200 volunteers from their respec
tive organizations, they made this
5k an unprecedented event.
The Eve Marie Carson
Scholarship was born of an idea
Eve had during her campaign for
student body president. Upon
her tragic death in March, the
University decided to name the
scholarship for Eve as a living
memorial. The selection com
mittee will award the scholarship
to between one and five deserv
ing students. The application is
available at www.unc.edu/eve for
juniors and is due this Friday at
5 p.m.
The 5k on Saturday was the
largest fundraiser thus far to ben
efit the scholarship. Gathering
on the quad on Saturday, the
Carolina community remem
bered Eve and her definition of
the Carolina way.
While we wait for the final
numbers to be tallied and dollars
counted, please know how grate
ful we are to the University com
munity for helping raise the nec
essary funds to make Eve’s dream
of a junior-year merit scholarship
a reality.
Caroline Thore
Outreach Coordinator
Andy Woods
Scholarship Director
Eve Marie Carson
Scholarship
department and phone number.
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Limit letters to 250 words.
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