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8The Daily Tar HeelMonday, October 9, 1989
97th year of editorial freedom
Sharon Kebschull, Editor
WILLIAM TaCGART, Managing Editor
MARY Jo DUNNINGTON, Editorial Page Editor
JUSTIN McGuiRE, University Editor
KAREN DUNN, Stale and National Editor
TOM PARKS, Business Editor
Dave Glenn, Sports Editor
MELANIE BLACK, Design Editor
TAMMY BLACKARD, Editorial Page Editor
JENNY CLONINGER, University Editor
Jessica Lanning, City Editor
CARA BONNETT, Arts and Features Editor
Kelly Thompson, Omnibus Editor
DAVID SurOWIECKI, Photography Editor
Julia Coon, News Editor
We endorse
Vote yes on Tuesday's referendums
board
opinion
Students have the -opportunity
to vote
on a series of referen
dums Tuesday ap-
proved for a student-wide vote by the
Student Congress. The DTH editorial board
endorses the following:
Probably the most important
referendum on Tuesday's ballot
calls for separate referendums on
future student fee increases that do not
affect both graduate and undergraduate
students. Student Congress graduate rep
resentative Jurgen Buchienau (Dist. 3) pro
posed this referendum to protect the rights
and interests of both groups. Under this
referendum, if a fee increase is proposed
that affects only undergraduates, then only
undergraduates would vote and be affected.
The same applies to graduate students.
If the referendum passes, the Student
Constitution's voting policies would be
altered, but the amount of fees paid by both
undergraduates and graduates would not
change because only future fee increases
would fall under this amendment.
While some members of Student Con
gress say the referendum would produce
Vrt:o-? '.'! T'-ess, it simply is a
uaei uiLic:.,-..j tuovefor both inter
ests involved. Last semester's vote by both
graduates and undergraduates to fund an
undergraduate teaching award showed how
unnecessary it was for both to vote on a bill
affecting only a certain interest. Although
they didn't, undergraduates could have
protested the graduates' vote to raise fees.
The board also endorses the
referendum which would change
I the eight instances of "he" in the
Student Code to "he or she." Congress
member Jeffrey Beall (Dist. 7) proposed
this referendum because he said the pres
ent wording reflects sexism in the Student
Constitution. Although there is no evi
dence that sexism has resulted from the
"he" references in the congress, the change
would make a symbolic attempt to battle
sexism.
Feminists argue that language plays an
integral role in equality. As long as the
Student Constitution defines student be
havior, it should show by example how
students should regard each other as equals.
The editorial board approves
of this referendum to synchro
nize the DTH bylaws with the
Student Constitution, which is the organ
izing document of the DTH. The referen
dum is a simple legal move necessary as
the DTH moves toward incorporation.
Once the student newspaper is incorpo
rated, it will alleviate the University of the
DTH's tax burdens on the University.
The vote would officially enlarge the
Board of Directors by five members. Once
this alteration is approved, the constitution
and the bylaws will correspond and the
bylaws can be sent to the IRS for approval.
None of these referendums are earth
shattering, but they and the two empty po
sitions in Student Congress demand stu
dent input. Take the time Tuesday to vote.
An image problem
Registration key to improved relations
Today is the last day to register to vote in the the Chapel Hill and Carrboro town boards were
upcoming Orange County elections. On Nov. good first steps toward increasing the under-
7, candidates from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and standing between the town and University stu-
Hillsborough will be placing their political dents, but more must be done.
futures in the hands of the registered voters.
University students should take this opportu
nity to dispel the myths of the "apathetic"
college student.
To register to vote,, people must go to one of the candidates for Chapel Hill Town Council
the five Orange County Board of Election sites, This kind of dialogue should be encouragedto
show their driver's license and give their name, prove that students are interested in problems
age, place of birth, date n
The External Affairs Committee of student
government's executive branch has tentatively
scheduled a forum for Oct. 19 to allow students
the opportunity to discuss major concerns with
fpSS Students are too often
seen as Animal House
stereotypes with little
party preference.
These registration
sites are listed on
today's page 3.
It is a simple proc
ess that takes about five
minutes and would be
time well spent, espe- ""b
cially for University students.
Orange County residents too often know
college students only as Animal House stere
otypes with little concern for local issues or
problems. University students are thought of as
temporary residents who take over the town by
clogging the streets and disturbing the peace.
It's time for this image to change.
Several students have put an effort into
bridging the gap between students and town
officials by taking an active interest in local
issues. These students have shown genuine
concern on many town problems including
traffic congestion, development and the home
less. The establishment of student liaisons to
other than how they are
going to get their next
beer.
By getting more
students to participate
in the Nov. 7 elections,
students can ensure
their voice is heard. Too
concern for local issues.
ernments is the Univer
sity administration's. As registered voters in
Orange County, students could be assured they
are being represented by electing candidates
who will represent student needs.
There are about 45,000 permanent resi
dents in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. About 23,000
students attend UNC and most of these people
live in Chapel Hill or Carrboro. The failure of
a group this large to participate in local elec
tions would be a waste, and students should see
voter registration as a step toward a better
understanding between town officials, residents
and students. It's sure to be one of the most
productive ways to spend an afternoon.
Charles Brittain
the last word i
Those of us who work at The Daily Tar Heel
spend a lot of time finding ideas for stories
every day it's part of our job. Nothing
frustrates us more than missing a story.
The worst part of that frustration is when we
find out about a story a week, or a day, or even
an hour too late to do anything about it and still
keep our coverage up-to-date. An old story,
even only a few days old, is outdated, and we
have to move on to more timely topics.
For the University desk, this happens often
with student organizations, which is ironic. As
a student newspaper, we're interested most in
covering issues that concern students. B ut when
a group calls and tells us they're having a really
interesting speaker who's starting in 30 min
utes, we can rarely give them coverage.
This mostly happens because of our dead
lines. News desk editors assign stories to their
writers at night. Writers begin work early the
following day, and by 3 p.m., their editors have
an idea of how long their stories will be. At 3:30
p.m. every day, editors go to budget, a meeting
to discuss the stories they have. The design
editor finds out how long each story is and goes
back to the office after the meeting to begin
drawing the paper's layout. At this point, the
content of the next day's paper is essentially
finalized.
After budget, the staff has until about 7 p.m.
at the very latest to finish writing and editing
stories. If sources call back later that evening,
writers have left and it's difficult for editors to
add to the story. Copy editors and the produc
tion staff take over later in the evening, turning
the loose stories into the finished paper our
readers pick up the next morning.
This three-day schedule requires that we
know about things at least that far in advance.
In the past, campus groups may have been left
with the incorrect assumption that we don't
want to give them coverage, when in reality,
we just didn't have time.
Ideas from organizations and readers are
always welcome. Space and staff limitations
sometimes mean we can't always follow up on
an idea someone gives us. We have to priori
tize our resources, and issues that concern the
largest number of readers get the most atten
tion. But when time is the only reason we can't
cover something, it often means a good story
possibility is wasted. Many events are planned
far in advance. If groups give us a little notice,
the organization gains publicity and DTH read
ers gain an interesting, timely story. Jenny
Cloninger
I KENAN ) C .
PARKING PECK fT,j - 7
u Aupay m ( A Question, y
) of Pnrties
Readers9 For em
Beall's crusades only
to get him attention
To the editor:
As a typical run-of-the-mill
freshman here at UNC, Jeffrey
Beall is the only Student Con
gress member I have heard of. I
bet that makes him happy. It seems
that whenever there is some sort
of controversy he is in the middle
of it. In fact, he is usually the one
that starts all the commotion. He
seems to enjoy publicity a great
deal.
His first great crusade was to
stop the building of the Student
Rec Center (SRC). It seems not
everyone got to vote on it, accord
ing to Beall. True, I didn't vote on
it, but I have no problem trusting
those students who did. It doesn't
seem feasible to re-vote every time
the tuition is raised a dollar or two.
It seems just as impossible to re
vote every semester. After all, isn't
that what he's asking for giv
ing everyone affected a chance to
vote.
What's the big deal anyway?
Beall is the only one I've heard
complain about the project. It's
true, I must admit, that Lisa Frye
is the only one I've heard praise it,
but if the students voted to have it
built, then, by golly, build the
dumb thing.
When that controversy began
to die down, Beall decided that
the congress should make a stand
on abortion. Not a bad idea, al
though I don't really think anyone
cares about our views on abor
tion. More importantly for Beall,
abortion is a controversial topic
that's sure to raise at least a few
eyebrows and stir up an argument
or two.
And now, he has decided that
the DTH editor is incompetent
and unfit despite numerous years
of journalism experience. (He
probably feels that he isn't getting
enough coverage.) I guess Jeffrey
knows best. Hey, why not go ahead
and overturn all student votes that
took place last year. Wouldn't that
be easier?
Sure, Playboy ads are pretty
offensive to some people, but why
the big fuss? Maybe next Beall
will attempt to oust the University
official which permits students to
put Playboy, as well as Playgirl,
on their meal card. What would
mom and dad say if they knew
about that?
I have no idea what his next
shocking move will be, nor do I
have any clue as to where Beall's
District 7 is (after all, I did say I
was a freshman). I can say, how
ever, that if Lewis dorm is any
where near his district and he
continues his publicity-craving
antics, then maybe I'll decide to
start a petition to get rid of him.
How do you think he would like
that? He'd probably just claim I
was doing it for the publicity and
try to kick me out of the Univer
sity. I can only hope his petition to
oust the DTH editor is a miserable
failure. In the meantime, I'll just
wait to see what Beall's next fight
will be.
ROBERT BROWN
- Freshman
Journalism
Representative has
too much free time
To the editor:
Amazingly enough, at long last
there is someone more publicity
hungry than Dale McKinley!!!!
Go Jeffrey Beall it's nice to see
someone who has enough free time
on his hands to worry about the
injustice wrought upon the stu
dent body by the oversight of
yesterday's soccer scores. Yes,
the Student Recreation Center, the
Daily Tar Heel and the Supreme
Court are the root of all evil
recall them all. Better yet, instead
of having a recall for the position
of DTH editor, have a recall of
Student Congress! Maybe Jeff can
issue another one of his infamous
press releases revealing the pur
pose of this illustrious body.
GARY GILLIS
Senior
Accounting
Controversy at bar
reveals societal flaw
To the editor:
The recent controversy sur
rounding the local club On The
Hill reflects a disturbing fact about
our society. Despite the
management's futile denials, the
fact remains that their now-defunct
door policy was begun, in
part, to prevent On The Hill from
were to be excluded, denied
admission into a public gathering
place. This is shocking behavior
in a town like Chapel Hill; a town
which prides itself on tolerance
and progressiveness. Unfortu
nately, discriminatory attacks on
homosexuals are only too com
mon. This was merely one ex
ample. Homosexuals are perhaps
the last minority against which
bigots can openly practice their
prejudice and discrimination.
This behavior is based on the
absurd notion that homosexuals
are morally sick or evil people.
That is patently untrue. Homo
sexuality is a normal expression
of affection, love and sexual de
sire for a significant portion of our
population. Gays are present in all
walks of life, in every profession.
Contrary to popular belief, the
vast majority of homosexuals are
not easily identifiable by superfi
cial characteristics. Most gay men
and lesbians are forced to hide the
true nature of their sexuality to
avoid discrimination. Examples
may include everything from los
ing jobs to being denied needed
medical care or housing. All be
cause they feel an attraction to
members of their own sex that, for
them, is as natural as breathing.
Anti-gay discrimination is as
deplorable as discrimination
against blacks, Hispanics, Jews or
any other minority. Discrimina
tion and prejudice against homo
sexuals are assaults on the human
dignity of everyone, gay and
straight alike.
I urge everyone to seriously
question the reasons why they hold
the prejudices they do. Seek out
information. You will find that
homophobia is as irrational and
morally wrong as any other preju
dice. All human beings hold the
inalienable rights of life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness, no matter
what sexuality.
NEAL BLEVINS
Junior
RTVMP.
South Carolina
pride only for rich
To the editor:
I'm glad Alecia Cole and C,
Glenn Wallace have such pride in
South Carolina ("Insults to south
ern state are getting old" and
"Columnist's words were way offr
base," Oct. 4), but.I can't see why,
If you have enough money, any
where in the state can be nice
(Kiawah Island, for example). If
you're in the middle class, though,
it's horrible. I lived on Hilton Heacj
Island, S.C., for four years, and if
you can ignore blatant racism, inept
and violent public schools, high
prices, overdevelopment, elitism
and people with an over-inflated
pride in ugly property, then it's not
a bad place to live. I, on the other
hand, would not live in South Caro
lina again for anything in the world,
unless I ever make enough money
to live in one of the many exclusive,
self-serving neighborhoods that can
afford to put up with how bad South
Carolina is.
NICK ACKERMAN
Senior
RTVMP
Letters policy
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes
reader comments and criticisms.
When writing letters to the editor
please follow these guidelines: ,
All letters must be dated ana
signed by the author(s), with a limit
of two signatures per letter. ,
All letters must be typed and
double-spaced, for ease of editing.
Column on congress unfair to members
To the editor:
I would like to address Matt Bivens' col
umn On Oct. 5 ("Student Congress: Time for
Change"). In disputing certain arguments in
this column, I would like to offer a different
perspective of Student Congress: that of a
newly-arrived freshman who is already in
volved in student government and has ob
served Student Congress from behind the
scenes. 1
First of all, I must say that I agree with
certain points in the column. Student Con
gress should concentrate solely oh campus
issues, and occasional political actions have
no place there. Yet, the entire congress can't
be criticized for the political actions of an
individual.
But where are the "silly games" that Mr.
Bivens cites? They have completely eluded
me. Every Student Congress representative
I've met is a truly dedicated and hard-working
student whose sole purpose is to serve the
student body and the University.
For any reader who knows little about the
congress and who after having read Mr.
Bivens' column starts to envision congress as
a good-ole-boy spoils system of pork-barrel
politics, let me tell you that there isn't any
thing further from the truth. The Student
Congress members I've met deserve respect
and admiration for their hard work and will
ingness to serve. I know from personal expe
rience that any student who shares this desire
to serve his fellow students can get involved in
student government through congressional
sub-committees (which any student can serve
on), being a legislative assistant or by just
making it a point to talk to your district repre
sentative and telling him what's on your mind.
(They are there for you despite the cynical
remarks that certain student journalists make.)
Student Congress is anything but "the black
sheep of student government."
Then Mr. Bivens says that "congress
members aren't really representative of any
one because few people ever vote."This makes
no sense. Does a member of the House of
Representatives cease to represent his con
stituency because of a low-turnout election
year? Bad point. If you don't vote in an elec
tion, whose fault is that? Voter apathy cannot
be blamed on the congress members.
Furthermore, Student Congress does more
than just set and administer student fees. The
congress also passes resolutions, which can
be very effective in representing campus opin
ion on relevant campus issues, and uses refer
endums, voted on by the student body, to learn
how the students feel on various issues. Con
gress also works with other campus organiza
tions to deal with campus concerns. Congress
has also initiated very effective programs,
such as campus patrol and the Data and Infor
mation Student Cooperative. Someone who
has observed Student Congress for three years
should knbw this; someone who's observed it
for one and one-half months already does.
Now, the last thing congress has become is
"an embarrassment." Observing the hard work
that goes on in the student government office,
I see only personal pride and satisfaction in
the fact that congress members are getting
things done. It seems lately that the only time
Student Congress gets any attention is when
an occasional controversial action takes place.
You'll never see a column or an editorial
praising Student Congress for the good things
it does. The only reason the "politics of Stu
dent Congress overshadow their good work"
is because the only thing the DTH seems to
emphasize are the occasional "politicos" that
occur. To have fair, unbiased reporting, the
things Student Congress accomplishes should
also be emphasized.
Mr. Bivens' assumptions about the represenr
tative process are also false. Any reasonably
intelligent student can understand the way reprer
sentatives are elected. It is precisely the my-vote-matters-so-1
ittle, therefore-I-shouldn't-vote1
attitude that is at the root of voter apathy and can
undermine the effectiveness of any representa
tive government. It is each student's responsibil
ity to voice his or her opinion. The representative
system makes it easier to do this. I argue that thQ
representative system allows the students to
affect Student Congress more, not less. It's up to
the students to take full advantage of this repre
sentative system. - ,
Dissolving any organization of students whose
genuine concern is to serve the student body
could only seriously hurt the student body. Mr.
Bivens concludes with the absurd comment that
Student Congress should be "ditched" entirely.
Since he bases this conclusion on false assump-i
tions and false statements, this idea is com-!
pletely unfounded and would be highly detri4
mental to the University. ',
i
We must remember that whenever you have
elections of any type, some politics will come
into play. That's merely the nature of elections
However, every single congress member I'vej
ever met is there for the right reasons and is!
sincerely serving his fellow students. Occasion-!
ally, people make mistakes or fail to use good
judgment. It's human nature, and it happens td
everyone. Remember that time when The Daily;
Tar Heel ran a Playboy advertisement? . j
MICHAEL CALDWELL
Freshman Political scienceeconomics
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