An evaluation
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Jerry C. Cashion has taught in the
UNC history department for the
past year after teaching in the
Evening College for the past 10
years. Cashion was hired by the
former chairman of the UNC history
department, Dr. James Godfrey, on
the recommendation of Prof. Hugh
Lefler, the man Cashion was
replacing, a Kenan professor and a
giant in the field of North Carolina
history.
Despite Cashion's lack of an M. A.
or a Ph.D. degree (which he hopes to
get late next fall) he was hired as an
instructor in recent N.C. history.
Mr. Cashion has been a graduate
student for the past 1 1 years and has
completed everything but his
dissertation, entitled "Cherokee
Indians and North Carolina 1754
1838." On Friday, April 12, Cashion was
invited to become one of the 75
members of the Historical
Association of North Carolina.
Cashion is a very popular teacher
and communicates well with
students. He is known as "Pop"
Cashion by many and teaches one of
the heavier loads at UNC.about 600
students. Roughly a third of these
are in a freshman survey course. The
rest are in two sections of North
Carolina History II (1835-1974),
which are the only two sections of
recent N.C. history taught at UNC.
Attendance is stressed in all
Cashion's classes and course
material covers one-half of the
Lefler textbook (300 pages) plus
1,500 pages of suggested outside
reading. There are two midterms
and a final, all relying heavily on
factual information. Cashion is
flexible about arranging convenient
dates for these tests.
On March 8, Cashion received a
Re id Mure hi son
Project Independence, Nixon's answer to
the energy problem, sounds good and noble,
but it is a hasty, short sighted response to the
present crisis. In the long-run, Nixon's
Project Independence may prove to be a
destructive mess.
President Nixon's plan consists of rapidly
increasing domestic energy production so
that the U.S. may be independent of foreign
fuel supplies by 1980. Offshore drilling and
coal mining will be vastly expanded. Shale
oil will be developed and the Alaskan oil
fields will be tapped with the completion of
the Alaskan pipeline. Nuclear energy
capacity will be greatly increased.
However, long-term U.S. energy needs
Gary Fulton
Gone with the whim
Premiering this week at the University of North Carolina is the new hit regulation
from the University Traffic Office, "What Ever Happened to Parking Permits?," the
latest release from that office known for its shockers.
You've heard everyone talking about it, and now you can see for yourself the
reasons why this regulation has raised a storm of controversy in every facet of
University life. You'll be amazed at the unheard of proposals, the improper
suggestions and the sinister inferences. Every viewer will be shocked and horrified
as the helpless student body is gang-raped by a brutal Administration, and you'll sit
in stunned silence while heartless officials and sadistic bureaucrats perform weird
ritss on the faculty and students alike.
See the heartbreak and pathos as countless love affairs between students and their
cars are broken up by unfeeling clauses. See the normal life styles of untold
thousands shattered by exotic quotas and perverted games of chance. Watch the
terror of deprived underclassmen and the agony of commuters as they are forced to
submit to cruel and unusual punishments. See large sums of money extorted for
dubious "privileges."
This new extravaganza has a star-studded cast, including many of your all-time
favorites. You'll see Claiborne S. Jones as a villainous administrator, forcing his evil
will on innocent students. You'll see Associate Dean of Student Affairs James
Cansler as a well-meaning but bumbling bureaucrat and RHA Chairman Mike
O'Neal as a babbling idiot.
The supporting cast features the Board of Trustees, playing a group of
submissive rubber-stamp fetishists and the Campus Governing Council as a gang of
morons, with thousands of student extras for the spectacular wholesale-screwing
scene. .
Yes, folks, this is the one you've all been waiting for, and those who expected a
script of unbelievable incompetency and stupendous stupidity will not be
disappointed. It will leave you exhausted and incredulous with its profound
implications and pervasive perversity.
Here are just a few comments from people who have viewed this mysterious
masterpiece:
"This one really takes you for a ride." a student
"It keeps you spellbound, because you never know what will happen next."
faculty member
"It took my breath away." a secretary
"1 threw up my lunch when 1 saw it." commuter
"Not to be believed." staff member
"Goes far beyond any previous effort in its class." grad student
"I laughed till 1 cried." a professor
"An exercise in. unadulterated terror and uncensored brutality." resident
advisor
You won't want to miss "What Ever Happened to Parking Permits," destined to
bz the most talked about release in University history.
By the way, this release has been rated X for X-cessive, and is not recommended
for ths easily impressionable, the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. No' one
admitted after April 26.
letter from the chairman of the
history department informing him
his contract would not be renewed.
If Cashion had been retained by the
department he would have been
promoted to assistant professor next
year under department rules. The
chairman of the history department
had every right to make his decision
and is under no obligation to divulge
details of his decision. Cashion will
probably not go back to his job at
the Evening College next year.
The situation is unfortunate for
several reasons. He is a popular
teacher, perhaps popular enough to
win a teaching award. And good
teaching should be stressed far more
than it is today in evaluating
professors on campus (see the
accompanying editorial). And if
Cashion is an unworthy scholar, it is
too bad the department had him
teach so many students. But most
important of all, it is hard for the
friend of so many students to leave
the University.
We support, however, the history
department's decision for the
following reasons and with the
following reservations.
With today's glut on the Ph.D.
market it is unfair not to hire a man
who has both credentials and
teaching ability.
. It is the prerogative of the
department chairman to make
policy decisions, and while students
must have a voice in the decisions,
the chairman must have ultimate
control of his department. In the
Cashion decision, the chairman was
backed by the majority of his
department.
The department's concern for
teaching ability and credentials has
been shown in their wise delay in
hiring a replacement. More
waitei
will not be satisfied simply by forsaking oil
imports, declaring our courageous self
reliance and then rapidly developing and
consuming every conceivable source of
energy in our own country. Energy ,
independence involves staggering costs. In
our drive toward self-sufficiency, we may
destroy both the environment and the
economy.
It is urgent that the U.S. begins to
develop , sound long-range energy policies.
The energy crisis is not just a momentary
matter of gas lines, reduced car sales, and
cancelled vacations. With every additional
kilowatt hour consumed the crisis becomes
more critical.
The Daily Tar Heel
All unsigned editorials are the opinion of the editors. Letters and
columns represent the opinions of individuals.
Founded February 23, 1893
qualified people are available for the
job and the department is finding the
best qualified person for the job.
Popularity is important for a
good teacher but should not be
allowed to completely outweigh
scholarship. Cashion's predecessor
has written 15 books on N.C. history
and is the outstanding authority in
the field. William Powell, the history
department specialist in early North
Carolina history, is also an accepted
authority in the field.
The large number of students in
Cashion's charge is more a function
of his role in the department than his
appeal as a teacher, even though he
is popular. Of his 600 students one
third are freshmen (and thus have
little say what division they are in)
and the other two-thirds are enrolled
in courses on which Mr. Cashion
now has a monopoly.
Cashion's incomplete thesis
ends on the date which begins the
period on which he is supposed to be
expert.
He has delayed so long in
completing his degree requirements
that other, faster scholars should be
given the chance for his job. Cashion
will not be able to meet the August
deadline which had been set for him
earlier.
To be completely fair, students
should complain about bad teachers
who are retained as well as popular
ones who are fired. Cashion has
Me mnnt
Energy sources are finite; future energy
demand is infinite. If future energy supplies
are to meet future demand, either
tremendous supply increases must be
generated or future demand must be limited.
Analysis of Energy Consumption
U,S. energy consumption growth rate
averaged 3.4 per cent per year between 1950
and 1972. And recent growth rates have been
increasing. Even at the conservative rate of
3.4 per cent per year, energy consumption in
the year 2000 will be two and one-half times
present use. "Energy consumption could
grow from 75 quadrillion BTU (British
Thermal Units) in 1973 to about 95 in 1980,
115 in 1985 and 185 quadrillion BTU in
2,000," according to a report prepared by the
Ford Foundation's Energy Policy Project.
To meet the spiraling demand,
development of gas and oil will be escalated,
coal strip mining will increase, and nuclear
capacity will be multiplied 40 to 60 times by
the year 2000.
Cost of Aggressive Development
A healthy environment would be
expended in favor of increased supplies.
Considerable air pollution would result. The
character of many rural, oceanfront and
sparsely populated parts of the country
would be drastically changed.
Nuclear energy involves immense possible
danger to human life and the environment.
According to Atomic Energy Commission
data, the release of one-tenth of the
radioactive poison from one nuclear power
plant could cause the following results:
evacuation of cities, and the countryside
perhaps for years, outdoor activities
restricted for millions of people, food and
water supplies ruined in an area as big as
California, massive unemployment and
economic disaster, 3,000 to 500,000 people
killed by acute radiation exposure and
thousands more killed years later by
radiation-induced diseases.
Already, experts doubt that there will be
enough uranium ore, the fuel used by nuclear
reactors, to power nuclear plants long
enough for utilities to regain investments.
One expert maintains that even at 5 times the
current cost, U.S. uranium reserves will
produce no more energy than that normally
obtained from coal during a five year period.
The public will bear the burden of unwise
development.
Energy conservation would be
subordinated in favor of increased supply.
For every unit of energy consumed in the
The
Daily
Tar Heel
IS
Wednesday, April 17, 1974
become a cause celebre when real
(and more numerous) cases of
departmental mismanagement seem
to escape their notice. There is
injustice both in departments which
keep poor teachers (often using
credentials as a justification) and in
students who single out
insubstantial cases to support their
strong arguments for popular
teachers.
In the future, we' would
recommend that department
chairmen release as much
information as possible about their
work, while retaining the
prerogative of silence in certain
cases. A complete solution for the
problem is impossible to find (other
than hiring perfect teachers to begin
with) but the current system puts
both' the employer and the employe
in a difficult and unfair position.
Also, perhaps there is a place for a
Cashion-type history course outside
the history department. While few of
his students will admit that it is an
easy course, no one would agree that
it is terribly difficult. There are many
non-history majors on campus who
are from North Carolina and would
like a popular course which dealt
generally with recent state history.
But in a history department of
national stature, professors must be
popular and impeccably qualified.
And it is the duty of the department
chairman to maintain that calibre.
cease
near future, there will be one unit less to
consume in the more-distant future. The
faster energy supplies are developed, the
sooner energy supplies will run out.
Demand Must Be Limited
Energy costs must be weighed against
energy benefits before the nation becomes
committed to an energy policy which loses
more than it gains.
Continued growth of energy consumption
will be suicidal. We can not afford the price
of an "abundance - today poverty
tomorrow" policy. It is not worth the
destruction of the environment, the
shattering of the economy and the risk to
human life.
Therefore, fuel must be conserved and
future demand must be limited if we are to .
avoid self-destruction. Through a reordering
of priorities and the systematic application
of energy-saving technology, we can limit
and supply future demand; we can escape
devastating costs and we can maintain a high
quality of life.
Our wanton use of energy must cease. We
must adapt a wise public policy of fuel
conservation.
Durability, rather than disposability must
become industry's goal. The American ethic
that "more is better" must give way to the
ethic that "enough is best."
Through technical advances, including a
systematic program to build smaller cars,
increase aircraft efficiency and utilize more
efficient railroads and trucks, the energy use
growth rate could be substantially slowed.
According to the Ford Foundation's report,
"the total possible savings (the year)
200...are about 65 quadrillion BTU per
year."
In addition, "really revolutionary energy
saving committments" could be permantly
stabilize energy consumption. Such
commitments include redesigning entire
communities, overhauling industries to
maximize efficient energy use, rejuvinating
city core, making mass transit a vehicle for
the masses, and producing cars that last for
20 years.
Alternatives to self-destruction are
available. We must rearrange our priorities
and employ the technology we possess if we
are to provide for our long-range energy
needs.
Self-sufficiency is not worth self
annihilation. Energy at. the xost of all else
is energy not worth having.
Jim Cooper, Grog Turossk
Editors
Kevin McCarthy, Menacing Editor
Michcel Davis, Associata Editor
Jean Swallow, Associats Editor
Ken Alien, Hsws Editor
Hsrriet Sugsr, Fcsturo Editor
EClott Vcrnock, C ports Editor
Tom Randolph, Photo Editor
Oob Jaclnkbwicz, flight Editor
The decision not to renew the
contract of Jerry Cashion as an
instructor in the history department
has raised one recurring question in
the minds of many students: Where
does my opinion on matters come
in?
This editorial does not attempt to
make any judgment on the Tightness
or wrongness of the Cashion
decision. Although the history'
department did not divulge the exact
reasons for the failure to re-hire, we
assume that the department felt that
Cashion did not meet the standards
the department had in mind.
It is the history department's
perfect right to come to such a
decision; we do not dispute that the
ultimate power of promotion and
retention rests with the department.
And, what is important is not
whether the editors agree with the
decision of the history department.
What is important is how students
reacted to the decision.
What the reaction shows is this:
students are most concerned that
they may not be heard by those
making the decisions. The Cashion
affair has demonstrated this.
Students are in day-to-day
contact with the professors.
Whatever a professor's
qualifications are on paper, the
results of those qualifications show
up in class. Shouldn't how students
feel and what they have observed in
an everyday manner be important to
those making decision?
Therein lies the importance of the
present pilot project on course
teacher evaluation. The Course
Teacher Evaluation Commission, a
student group, has a $15,000 grant
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Isaiah Quincy
sseimce
Will Shakespeare, in a mellow
moment, let Prince Hamlet of Denmark
ennoble man as "infinite in faculty,"
"express and admirable in action" and
the "the paragon of animals." But also
mad Hamlet turns on his own praise
with the declaration" Man delights me
not."
That was a hasty judgment on the
young prince's part. Yet it is a judgment
that seems in accord with the humor of
our times as well. Many feel that faculty
can be measured by external standards,
that man's admirable actions are lost
among his unexpressible ones, and that
his true relationship to animals is best
seen in locker rooms.
Contemporary commentators seem
to no longer delight in man. Aside from
occasional "human interest" stores, he
is intent on analyzing policies rather
than persons, merchandise rather than
men, fatality statistics rather than
female's.
This orientation ought to be
modified. Man (both he-man and she
man) is indeed a delightful creature to be
studied by all lovers of enlightenment
and the arts. Man's magnificent
ascensions and fearsome flops are to be
watched with a careful, kind, critical,
E
to carry out evaluations this spring
and through the next academic year.
The departments of psychology,
mathematics, chemistry, political
science and English are cooperating
with the Course-Teacher Evaluation
Commission. Next fall, the history,
zoology and sociology departments
will be added to this list.
Currently, the chemistry, English
and political science departments
have past experience in conducting
their own semester evaluations.
The results of this semester's
student project will be printed up in
pamphlet form and distributed free
of charge early next fall. Results will
be in the form of bar graphs so that
good points and bad points are easy
to pick out.
The Board of Trustees recently
passed a resolution which requires
that some student input be
considered in faculty promotion and
tenure decisions.
The results of the evaluations are
the inputs that students must have
because the results show what a
cross-section of students feel about a
teacher's ability in class.
That a pilot project in course
teacher evaluation has finally
started is good. However, to ensure
that all the facts are available to the
departments come decision-time,
the pilot project must remain on as a
permanent project.
Student opinion is by no means
supreme. But it is valuable in
broadening the perspectives and
open-mindedness of decisions made
by the departments about their
faculty members, and must be taken
into consideration.
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loving and impatient eye.
Perhaps only mothers can watch
mankind in this way. It is my interest,
however motherly, to bring to these
pages observations on the children of
this frail earth.
In this attempt I draw my inspiration
from my 18th century British
predecessor, Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq.,
whose insightful "lucubrations" are
often credited with the raising of his
nation to the international stature it
now enjoys Empress of the North Sea
and the Thames, birthplace of the
Queen Elizabeth II and home of
Princess Anne and of the English
muffin.
My subject matter shall be the whole
of human activities; the arts, labor,
scholarship, genteel diversions and
pleasures, affairs of state and whatever
other affairs come to mind. I shall draw
upon the conversations of my friends,
acquaintances and self for the substance
of these commentarie.
Allow me to end this introduction in
order that 1 may begin again soon with
modest observations on Will
Shakespeare's "quintessence of dust."