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16 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 Sh? Saily (Tar MM Established 1893, 115 years ofeditorialfreedom jBL jjsfli PABLO FRIEDMANN THE BRIGHT LINE Senior international studies major from Newton, Mass. E-MAIL: PABLOF@EMAILUNC.EDU UNC right to divest funds from Darfur Standing on the tarmac of the Kigali airport in Rwanda 15 years ago, former President Bill Clinton famously said never again. His remarks were in reference to the brutal genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people. The sad real ity is that we have failed to learn our les- AT-LARGE COLUMNIST sons. Genocide of unprecedented proportions is taking place half a world away in southern Sudan. It’s caused then Senators John McCain and Barack Obama to issue an unprecedented, joint statement in late May demand ing that the genocide in Darfur be brought to an end. As noted journalist and schol ar, Samantha Power, chronicles in her book, “A Problem from Hell,” we fail to rationalize the inhuman act of genocide and too often repeat the phrase “never again.” It is a phrase that we can not allow another elected official to say again. With an economy in the tank and two wars raging, it’s unlikely that President-elect Obama will have much time to bring the genocide to an end. All hope, however, is not lost. A movement based in large part on the success of the 1980s divestment campaigns against apartheid South Africa has been afloat across college campuses in the last few years. Financial pressures two decades ago helped cause a democratic transition in South Africa in the early 19905. Nowadays, the goal is to force college endowments to divest from companies complicit in the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Specifically, the movement is targeting companies, such as the China National Petroleum Company and Petronas, which are the biggest players in Sudan’s oil industry. The goal is to convince people to sell stocks of these blacklisted firms and cause the stock’s price to tank. As they feel financial pain, these firms will pull out of Sudan and deprive the government of funds. During the last few months, Students United for Darfur Awareness Now and others have been asking if our endowment is invested in companies com plicit in the Darfur genocide. Fortunately, the answer to that question is no. A while back the board of directors of the investment fund passed a resolution stating that our endowment would not direct ly hold interest in any entity iden tified as “highest offenders” by the Sudan Divestment task force. The president of the UNC Management Company, Jonathon King, has publicly stated that UNC-Chapel Hill’s endowment does not currently maintain positions, through investments in funds that it directly oversees or can influence. Our endowment’s commitment to this issue does not end with a simple statement It periodically sends letters on a quarterly and semiannual basis to managers whose stock purchases it can influ ence. Our endowment asks these individuals to consider not invest ing in companies complicit in the Darfur genocide. We even send letters to fund managers whom we have no chance of influencing. Talk about taking the lead on an issue of critical importance to this University and the global community we live in. Three cheers to the board of directors of the UNC-Chapel Hill Endowment Fund for deciding to take the moral high ground on this issue. For this, they deserve our sincere thanks and apprecia tion. ALLISON NICHOLS EDITOR, 962-4086 NALLISON@EMAIL.UNC.EDU OFFICE HOURS: MON., WED. 2-3 P.M. ERIC JOHNSON PUBLIC EDITOR ERICJOHNSONOUNC.EDU EDITORIAL CARTOON By Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner Change death penalty law Ban on capital punishment in North Carolina should come from state law, not N.C. Medical Board policy The status of capital punishment in North Carolina shouldn’t hinge on ethics determinations of the N.C. Medical Board. Unfortunately, it does. Capital punishment should ultimately be banned in North Carolina, but this decision should be based solely upon state law. The N.C. Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments relating to this issue because of a de facto moratorium on executions in the state. State law requires the Department of Corrections to have a doctor present for exe cutions. But the N.C. Medical Board has effectively suspended exe cutions with a January 2007 statement that said doctor participation in executions is unethical. Props to Dance Marathon This year’s Dance Marathon committee deserves much praise for its efforts last week to recruit dancers to raise money for the N.C. Children’s Hospital. By the end of last week’s push, recruiters had managed to get 1,828 students to sign up to participate in Dance Marathon next February. That’s a 50 percent increase from last year, and it means that even if each dancer only raises the SIOO minimum that QuickHitsc^ Pump, baby, pump! Well, not so fast. Cheap gas prices (just more than $2 per gal lon on average in North Carolina) fib offer some much-needed relief in a poor economy. But this is an addiction we need to kick in the long run. Tasing After a student was Tased repeatedly last week for "acting strangely," we thought: Single Tasing? Fine. But 9 after that? Don't Tase me, bro! JOIN US: The Daily Tar Heel is hiring for the spring semester. We’re looking for about eight columnists who wW produce hard-hitting, insightful, well-written and well-researched columns with local relevance centered around a theme of Iheir own choosing on a biweekly basis. We're looking for about eight to 10 board members who w 8 write unsigned editorials on behalf of the DTH. Members must attend a one-hour meeting on Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday each week to brainstorm and , pitch ideas. Each board member can expect to write at feast three editorials a week. We’re looking for cartoonists who wi produce creative, original editorial cartoons weekly. Submit three work samples to apply. Please visit Union 2409 or www.DaflyTarHeel.com under ‘About us* for an application. Applications are due at 5 pm. Nov. 24. Contact Editor Allison Nichols at aKsonaiicholsOgmail.com with questions. Opinion HARRISON JOBE OPINION CO-EDITOR HJOBE@EMAILUNC.EDU GREG MARGOUS OPINION CO-EDITOR MARGOLIS.GREG@GMAIL.COM Now the Department of Corrections can’t find doctors to be present at executions because they are worried about repercussions from the medi cal board. Because the death penalty is an unjust measure of punish ment for criminals, it is under standable that the medical board finds doctor participa tion unethical. Doctors should not be coerced into serving as an arm of the state. But the medical board should not inhibit doctors from cooperating with the law, either. Capital punishment simply shouldn’t be up to the medical board. In March 2007, a supe rior court judge said state law trumps the medical board’s opposition; the board has is assigned, the N.C. Children’s Hospital will receive almost $200,000 from UNC students. The recruiters’ constant enthusiasm and eagerness to get people to sign up made it hard not to want to participate. “I think the combination of 24 extremely enthusiastic peo ple and new creative methods of getting the word out really helped,” junior morale commit tee member Erica Ludi said. But it wasn’t just the recruit ers that made this year’s turnout Scholarship gift UNC alumna and librar- ian Jane Iris Crutchfield's gift of more than $1 mil lion to the School of Information 4 and Library Science is the largest in that school's his tory. Who knew librarians made bank? Snow If it's going to be so miser- ably cold, it might as well snow. But next time we'd like more than a tiny flurry for 15 min- 4 utes. Oh winter, you're such a tease. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS LISAANDRUKONIS BEN BUCK JAMES DING MICHAEL LEWIS ANDREW STILES SARAH WHITWORTH appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court, which is now hearing arguments in the case. No matter what the N.C. Supreme Court finds, it is unacceptable that such a critical issue as capital pun ishment be contingent on the policies of the N.C. Medical Board. The Supreme Court must clarify the meaning of the law requiring doctors’ presence at executions to end the de facto moratorium to determine a permanent policy in North Carolina. Hopefully, in the future, the. state will outlaw capital pun ishment all together. But the decision should be based on an authorita tive state law, not legal dis putes between the medical board and the Department of Corrections. so high these numbers show a lot about the character of UNC as a whole. We’re impressed by the nearly 2,000 of you who committed to raising money for Dance Marathon. The recruiters worked hard last week, and their efforts clearly paid off. If everyone involved in the event can keep up an enthusiastic atmosphere like this, Dance Marathon will certainly raise even more money than last year, thanks to the higher participation. Post-election gun sales Gun dealers across the coun- try have reported a sharp increase in sales after the pres idential election. We're not too big 9 on guns, so to keep ourselves safe, we'll go trendy and opt for Tasers perhaps DPS can lend us theirs. Airport protestors Residents voiced concerns about the proposed Orange County Airport. They prob ably didn't fly pri vate jets to the 4 protest unlike most people who will use the new airport. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I sat down and had a chat mth myself. I said, ‘Look, you’re like Grandpa. You’re welcome at some times hut when they go out drinking they don’t want Grandpa there.” JAKE PHILLIPS, 74-YEAR-OLD GRANVILLE TOWERS RESIDENT FEATURED ONLINE READER COMMENT: “I don’t understand why the DTH decided to even write this piece.” ON "VETTING PROCESS DRAWS CRITICISM" LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Ashley Judd shouldn't have gotten a good seat TO THE EDITOR: Can someone please explain to me why we are giving Ashley Judd one of the few decent student seats that exist in the Smith Center? First off, she is NOT a student Second, she is an ardent Kentucky fan. Many actual students go through their tenure at UNC without ever getting riser seats. Someone told me it was because she made a bet that if President elect Obama won North Carolina, she would sit there. Well that sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me hey if you do something I want you to do, I get front row seats in your basketball stadium. Maybe Mrs. Judd should con centrate more on Kentucky since Sen. McCain and VMI are the only ones pulling out victories there. It’s bad enough students are woefully under-represented in the front rows of the Smith Center. Now the few seats we have are given to rich and famous fans of the opposition. Carolina basket ball shouldn’t cater to celebrity fans of the other team. I guess my only solace is looking forward to peering into the risers and seeing John Tesh all decked out in red when State comes to town. Dan Conrad Graduate Student Law School Silent Sam helps inspire us to move past racism TO THE EDITOR: I, for one, see Sam as a remind er of our University’s dark history, and as a symbol I desperately wish to prove wrong. In a weird way, he ends up being an inspiration. On the night of Sen. Obama’s victory, I wanted to run up to Sam and tell him how I really felt. Expletives would have been directed at the monument, I’m sure. I stopped myself when I realized that he’s just an inani mate object, but I took immense joy in the fact that Sam’s cred ibility had taken a fatal blow. His presence symbolizes a marked past, and a sin so engraved in our history and our culture that makes it impossible to forget Tearing down Silent Sam won’t heal us of our racial problems. There are still plenty of divides permeating our campus, but his departure might make us forget how far we have come, and how much further we still need to go. Chris Clayman Sophomore Political Science Valiant soldiers are rightly honored by Silent Sam TO THE EDITOR: (In response to the letter “Silent Sam memorializes racists, should not exist” Nov. 19). I recommend that the writer take a history course. The Union Army did not CORRECTION: Due to a source error, Wednesday’s editorial “Court must be vetted,” incor rectly states that the General Alumni Association helps fund Homecoming king and queen service projects. The GAA does not contribute funds. The Daily Tar Heel regrets the error. SPEAK OUT WRITING GUIDELINES: ► Please type: Handwritten tetters will not be accepted. > Sign and date: No more than two people should sign tetters. > Students: Include your year, major and phone number. ► Faculty/staff: Include your 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. lailg ular Mwl come to North Carolina to “sup press a rebellion”, but to forcefully prevent a secession. The original 13 colonies in 1776 seceded from the British Empire, which made war to try to prevent the secession. Fortunately, they were unsuccess ful. In 1860-61, the Southern states tried to secede from an oppressive “empire,” but were unsuccessful. I challenge Mr. Lasky, or anyone else, to show us in what part of the Constitution, or in what pre-1860 law, secession is forbidden. The Founding Fathers decided not to put such a provision in the Constitution for fear that some states would not join the Union. Silent Sam represents North Carolinians who fought to defend their homeland against aggres sors. I am prepared to fight to keep Silent Sam where he stands. J. Edgar Williams Class of 1950 Letters serve important function, are not trivial TO THE EDITOR: Ironically, Mr. Bloemeke him self overdramatized the letters to the DTH that he used as examples of triviality (“Students shouldn’t care so much about trivialities,” Nov. 18). The people who com plained about DTH coverage of football, condom advertisements and so on did not call these issues “abhorrent injustices.” They had viewpoints they cared enough about to share in the DTH. While I might not share those, I still read the letters and support their publi cation, because the free exchange of opinions, regardless of subject matter, is what UNC is all about Everyone.l know at this University cares about something. It is what characterizes us. While I doubt anyone’s greatest passion is pushing for more football cov erage in the DTH, the expression of such opinions is indicative of an atmosphere where students care and are not scared to share. Mr. Bloemeke interprets recent letters to the'editor as evidence of a student body that gets angry “about the stupidest things,” but his own letter showed that he thought about and responded to those things. Doesn’t that prove their effectiveness? Sapna Maheshwari Senior Journalism, Political Science Bring back wristbands for men's basketball tickets TO THE EDITOR: When my student lottery tickets arrived for the men’s bas ketball game vs. Kentucky, the e-mail clearly stated, “There is no benefit to arriying prior to your Phase’s entry time.” But I soon found out that this was ridiculously untrue. When I arrived five minutes before my scheduled entry time, I was shuf fled into the natatorium where 150 other students were already seated ahead of me. At my phase’s sched uled entry time, we were led to the Smith Center entrance in the order of our arrival. Clearly there WAS great benefit to arriving prior to my phase’s entry time. This is just one more reason why I miss the wristbands and 6 a.m. line checks! Peggy Trygstad Graduate Student School of Education 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-mail: to editdesk@unc.edu ► Send: to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NX.. 27515.
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