10The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, February 4, 1988
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afar MmI
95th year of editorial freedom
Look outside for the answers
The truth is
often hard to hear,
and criticism, espe
cially from an out
board
opinion
side source, can
too easily produce defensiveness
instead of receptiveness.
On Monday, the Board of Trustees
chancellor search committee released
a management audit of UNC that pulls
no punches in its conclusions.
.Yet the report also enumerates a
number of things the University is
doing well, and attempts to provide
a -well-balanced, honest appraisal of
future problems. As a result, it is
worthy of serious consideration, and
should be seen as a potential impetus
for lasting improvement. To dismiss
it as the work of outsiders and to
pajade UNC as a paragon of academic
virtue, as certain administration
officials have done, would be to forgo
a yery real opportunity.
'A team of six national educators,
none of whom are connected with
UNC, compiled the 107-page report.
Based upon a series of more than 130
interviews within the state, the audit
draws a portrait based upon a variety
of viewpoints. While noting strengths
and weaknesses among students and
faculty, it criticizes the administration
for shying away from important issues
facing the University.
The report also cautions that the
With God as their co-pilot
Those following the 1988 presiden
tial race are familiar with Super
Tuesday. But how many know that
Jan. 31 was, according to the Rev.
Jesse Jackson, "Super Sunday?"
About 500 churches across the
nation, including about 150 in North
Carolina, that day received posters
urging churchgoers to pass the plate
for the Jackson campaign.
Some churches agreed to take up
collection, but they shouldn't have
been approached in the first place. A
church is a tax-exempt organization.
If has no business organizing cam
paign fund raising, or wheeling and
dealing in the political arena.
: Jackson's move further obscures the
fading line between church and state.
Churches of all denominations were
contacted those that agreed to raise
money effectively endorsed his
candidacy.
r'i Incredibly, Jackson caught no flak
tor recruiting God as his finance
chairman. Any other Democrat would
Save faced a barrage of questions from
reporters. But the minister escapes
notice because he is the religious
Candidate. The Republicans have a
similar phenomenon in former tele
vangelist Marion "Pat" Robertson.
4hon sequitur
iBance with flowers of Andalusia
The boy sat on the banks of the Cam,
t watching the flat-bottomed boats go by, and
'he wished that she was here and that they
'were out punting on the river, for what
y could be more romantic than punting on
; the Cam on as glorious a day as this, when
the sky has shrugged away the clouds, and
the sun is not intrusive, only warm, but
he realizes that he did not wish then, for
he did not really know her then, had hot
l suddenly recognized her beauty in a
! moment that, when he thought about it
later, tightened his chest, and so he sat on
J 'the soft grass, reading of Shem and Shaun
I'and Anna Livia, and watched an old man
Jjfishing without a reel, who turned to the
i' young girl at his side, to his daughter, whose
! blond hair fell into her eyes and whose skin
- was newly-skimmed cream, and the young
- girl reached into a red coffee jar and gave
the old man a worm, and the boy looked
,! for the young girl and thought he saw her,
k but was unsure, so now he thinks of her,
; and remembers that her smile is graceful,
C that her eyes, though they are so clear, still
; they envelop him and do not reflect him,
that in her eyes there are worlds he fears
- to explore, pathways he wishes to walk, and
j" at her heart, a compassion he needs to
' embrace, and that is why he thinks she was
-. there, if only he had known where to look,
C but he didn't know, and instead he stood
C; up and walked through the twisting streets,
Jill Gerber, Editor
Amy Hamilton, Managing Editor
SALLY PEARSALL, News Editor
KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor
KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor
SHARON KEBSCHULL, State and National Editor
Leigh ann Mcdonald, oty Editor
MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor
FEUSA NEUR1NGER, Business Editor
HANNAH DRUM, Features Editor
Elizabeth Ellen, Am Editor
CHARLOTTE CANNON, Photography Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
UNC-system president has too often
encroached upon the authority of the
UNC-CH chancellor, and recom
mends that the president's residence be
moved off campus. That conclusion
should have an important impact on
the search for UNC-CH's new
chancellor.
The faculty and the BOT members
have been generally positive in their
response to the audit. Nevertheless,
UNC-system President CD. Spangler
seems to have dismissed the report as
irrelevant, and others have criticized
it for being written by people who do
not really "know" UNC.
This type of reaction is exactly what
the University does not need.
Although the audit was conducted by
outsiders, it is based on interviews with
people who do know the school. The
objectivity of the audit team adds to,
rather than detracts from, the report's
credibility.
This is not to say that the audit's
recommendations should be adopted
immediately. But the report offers
substantial food for thought and
exposes flaws within the University
that need to be corrected. The audit
represents a unique chance to identify
and solve problems at UNC, and the
school must take advantage of it to
maintain its status among the nation's
best.
Neither of these candidates is ever
given the scrutiny he deserves. When
Robertson forges his marriage license,
or says on television that only Chris
tians are fit to hold office, no one cares.
When Jackson ignores the evidence
and claims to have cradled Martin
Luther King in his arms immediately
after King's assassination, or when he
calls New York "hymie town" because
of its Jewish population, no one
notices.
Political observers brush off Jack
son and Robertson, saying neither
candidate has a prayer. But for months
Jackson was the Democratic front
runner. And Robertson is second only
to Bush in fund raising; people are
obviously sending him money, and
those people have been turning out
religiously at the primaries and
caucuses.
It's a mistake to assume people are
informed enough on the antics of
Robertson and Jackson. The press,
along with the other presidential
candidates, should hold them accoun
table for their actions. Otherwise, the
public could be fooled by the surface
charisma and magnetism that both
men undoubtedly possess. Matt
Bivens
past the bookstores, so charming in their
seriousness, and the soundtrack to his
wanderings was Coltrane's "Spiritual,"
what else, and he could hear the dancing
sax, all-knowing, all-telling, and now in his
memory he looks for her but cannot find
her, and he walked through the lawns of
King's and Trinity as Virginia Woolf could
not, to arrive at the library, because he just
wanted to see it one more time, and then
he turned around looking for the park
again as the sax rushed into his head, and
then he was in the park, walking along the
river that moved so slow, and he sat down
again, and it's only now that he feels the
void inside, and he is surprised because her
absence often thrills him more than her
presence, as the boy watched the fisherman,
still casting in vain as the little girl dangled
her feet in the water, and then the old man
pulled the line from the water and there
was a fish on the end, and all the old man
did was smile, but the little girl clapped
twice, before the man opened a brown paper
bag and took out a sandwich to share with
his daughter, and now the boy understands
that she was there, that she was there in
her beauty and her tenderness all along,
though only now does he see her, only now
does he realize that the song is right, that
nothing matters in this whole wide world,
not when you're in love with a Jersey girl.
Even if she isn't from Jersey.
Homing shouild seek student ihput
Editor's note: The author is president
of the Residence Hall Association.
Oi
utside of the classroom, perhaps no
I other university entity has greater
potential to affect the student than
the Department of University Housing.
But if the housing department wishes to
have a positive role in the educational
process, it should take a long, hard look
at itself. Education cannot occur in a
dictatorial atmosphere.
There seems to be a disturbing pattern
of disregard for the concerns and interests
of residence hall students, and the housing
department seems content on conveying a
take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
This is recently evident in the 1988-89
housing contract book, which does not list
rent rates. The housing department is
asking residents to sign a contract without
knowing what the room rent will be.
Common sense suggests that it is not
advisable to sign a contract when the price
to be paid is yet to be determined. The
problem is compounded. When the price
is finally determined, the signer of the
contract has no input or bargaining power
whatsoever.
So what's a resident to do? Refuse to
sign? Move off campus?
The choices: Take it or leave it.
Immediately before the Christmas
vacation, a proposal to place air condi
tioners in several residence halls was
presented to area representatives in Scott
and Henderson residence colleges.
Those representatives were told by Dr.
Wayne Kuncl, director of housing, that no
decisions would be made until the begin
ning of the spring semester. This would
The homeless
aren't alike
To the editor
Pia McKay wrote an editor
ial piece in The Washington
Post on Dec. 27, 1987, entitled,
"We bag ladies aren't all alike."
McKay wrote: "In my view,
the big mistake people make in
trying to help the homeless is
that they expect, or hope, that
one single solution will solve
the problems of us all. Gener
ally we, the homeless, are
viewed as strands on the same
gray mop. Some people say
that we are all crazy; some that
we are all lazy; some that we
are all poor; some that we are
all drunks or drug addicts;
some that we are all ordinary
people fallen on hard times."
As soon as we view the
homeless as all "this" or "that,"
we assume we can find one
grand solution that will solve
their plight. Then, we are only
feeding the problem with the
same poison that created it.
Our society's refusal (or failure)
to treat its members as individ
uals must be acknowledged as
one of the most powerful forces
generating homelessness, along
with individuals' apathy
toward the forced economic
and spiritual disparity between
them and the man, woman or
child on the street.
We must accept one basic
fact: The homeless are not all
from the cities, nor are they all
in the cities. They are from
every state of our country and
every county of our states. They
are our neighbors, our brothers
and our sisters. I sometimes
wonder why so many of the
homeless gravitate toward
large cities. Often it must
simply be for the guaranteed
shelter in a large municipal
Philosophy
Oi
ver-enrollment in philosophy
classes must end! During the
registration and drop-add penod,
I witnessed a tragedy that has affected
literally . thousands of UNC
undergraduates.
Before registration even began, all of the
philosophy classes that fulfill either the
General College or upper level require
ments were closed out. Students had to
scramble to consult their advisers, jumble
their schedules and beg for permission to
enroll in philosophy classes.
One class, bioethics, has been in high
demand over the past few years. Many
graduating seniors have waited four years
for the opportunity to take this class, and
they have been frustrated by the system.
Their plight is especially tragic since the
issues in bioethics are some of the most
important and burning issues of our time.
No student who sincerely wishes to enroll
in a class and pays good money to attend
a college should be denied the opportunity
to take that class.
The philosophy department experienced
the same kind of over-enrollment last
semester, the semester before and the
semester before that. Students, faculty and
administrators have voiced objections to
this system, yet no has done anything
(Headers' Foramni
Kelly Clark
Guest Writer
give the governments time to properly
review and respond to the proposal.
However, a purchase order for the air
conditioners was signed in mid-December.
The decision was made to place air
conditioning in Avery, Teague, Parker,
Winston, Connor, Alexander, Alderman
and Mclver residence halls. This decision
was made before Kuncl had even met with
the representatives of Spencer Triad Old
Well (STOW) residence college, of which
Alderman and Mclver are members. Now,
many of these representatives feel that their
concerns are simply going to be smoothed
over.
What if a resident can't afford the extra
cost of air conditioning? Move to another
room? Move to another residence hall?
Move to another part of campus? Move
off campus?
The choice, it appears: Take it or leave
it.
Kenan residents recently received a letter
from an assistant area director informing
them of the disappearance of two lamps
and a table from a Kenan lounge. "Unless
the furniture reappears, the cost of
replacing the items will be divided among
the residents of Kenan," the letter reads.
Winston residents faced the same situation
last semester after vandalism on a hall.
It appears that the housing department
conveniently assigns guilt where there is
a great possibility of innocence. The
housing contract book, on Page 14, says
that the replacement or repair costs are
the responsibilities of residents of a floor,
suite, wing or entire hall when responsi
p 1
building. They come to the city
for shelter, yet the city is the
one place where they can be
guaranteed to meet the forces
that will keep them homeless
and hungry.
We must accept one more
basic fact: Until the city govern
ments and institutions restruc
ture their attitudes and forms
of care for the homeless, their
greatest hope can be found in
smaller towns. Only here can
the homeless get individual
attention, and only here can
small shelters attempt to meet
their diverse needs under a
single roof. v
One more thing: Our town
does have a shelter, and it needs
your help.
No vandals
need apply
Editor's note: The authors
are vice president and treasurer
of Sigma Chi fraternity,
respectively.
To the editor:
In the story "Three UNC
students arrested for painting
N.C. State tower" (Feb. 1), the
DTH found the students' mem
bership in Sigma Chi fraternity
newsworthy. The implication is
that Sigma Chi is connected
with an act of vandalism. It is
an implication the DTH does
not have the prerogative to
make. The paint was taken
from the Sigma Chi house, but
possession of paint is not
unique to this fraternity or
fraternities in general.
Parties and the availability of
PAUL HIGGINS
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
class: the rare animal
David Resnik
Guest Writer
about it.
To solve the problem of over
enrollment, we must first identify its cause.
It has resulted from the policy that requires
undergraduates to pass an introductory
and an upper level philosophy class to
graduate, but the philosophy department
does not offer enough of these classes (or
enough spaces in these classes). The
problem with bioethics has resulted from
a high demand for this course and not
enough instructors to teach it.
How might the University solve these
problems? These are four possible options:
D Drop one or both philosophy require
ments. This would solve the problem of
over-enrollment in required courses, but
it would not solve the bioethics problem.
That class would be in demand regardless
of any philosophy requirements. This
option is not one the administration should
seriously consider, as long as the University
regards itself as providing a strong liberal
arts education. Socrates (and Horace
Williams, for that matter) would roll over
in his grave if UNC chose this option.
bility cannot be determined.
Area directors are responsible for
assigning the charges. Appeals are enter
tained by the associate director for
administration. But if the responsibility
and charges are assigned subjectively, often
without a semblance of evidence, on what
basis can appeals be seriously considered?
What does the resident do? Refuse to
pay the charge and be prohibited from
preregistering or graduating?
Again, the choices: Take it or leave it.
Can the situation be improved? It must
be. It will x be only when the housing
department actively seeks and receives
student input, and allows that input to have
impact upon decision and policy making.
There is an organization from which the
housing department can seek this input.
It is the Residence Hall Association
(RHA). RHA often presents residents'
concerns to the housing department. But
this should be a reciprocal relationship."
When the housing department does come
to RHA, it is often immediately prior to,
or even after, decision making. It's as if
housing is saying: "The only thing we need
now is a little bit of student approval. After
all, we know what's best for them."
Residents do not ask for input and
impact out of some search for self-worth,
and civic responsibility. They ask for it:
because they care about where they live.
And who can honestly suggest that they
inherently and unquestionably know
what's best for residents without first
seeking and accepting the advice of those
residents in good faith.
Kelly Clark is a senior journalism major
from Asheboro.
alcohol are also not exclusive
to fraternities. The students'
fraternity membership had no
bearing on their actions
which are not condoned by
Sigma Chi and therefore,
not newsworthy. The only
membership worth reporting
was that they are UNC
students.
The fraternity disassociates
itself from the actions which
caused the arrests of these three
members. Therefore, it is our
desire that the DTH print an
apology to Sigma Chi and to
the UNC Greek system.
WINSTON LLOYD
Junior
Economics RTVMP
JOHN TREVATHAN
Junior
Economics
B Hire more philosophy department
faculty. This option could solve both
problems, but it would cost the University
a lot of precious money. After all, why
should we spend money to hire more
overpaid academics? The money could be
better spent building more bleachers for
Kenan Stadium, laying more bricks on
campus or chopping down more trees.
a Expand the graduate program by
providing more money for teaching
fellowships. This option could solve both
problems, and it would be relatively cheap.
At $6,000 to $7,000 a year, graduate
students are a steal. They work hard, dont
ask for tenure and don't demand inves
tigations of the athletic program. This
option also has the advantage of giving
the department a chance to improve its
national image by being able to offer plenty
of teaching fellowships.
D Combine options two and three. I
prefer this option, but my opinion might
be slighi'y biased.
Well, there you have it. It's time we end
this crisis and stop the needless suffering
by undergraduates.
David Resnik is a graduate student in
philosophy from Chapel Hill.