10The Daily Tar HeelMonday, February 25, 1991
Sty? lath ar 3HM
95i year of editorial freedom
Jennifer
Stephanie Johnston, University Editor
CULLEN D. FERGUSON, Editorial Page Editor
Mark Anderson, Sports Editor
CHRISTINA NlFONG, Features Editor
NATALIE SekicKY, News Editor
GRANT HalversON, Photography Editor
Jeff Workman, Layout Editor
AlJ&X De GRAND, Cartoon Editor
WlNG, Editor
MATTHEW ElSLEY, University Editor
Peter F. WALLSTEN, City Editor
Wendy BOUNDS, State and National Editor
Devon Hyde, Omnibus Editor
JoAnn RODAK, News Editor
KATHY MICHEL, Photography Editor
Christy CONROY, Layout Editor
Johanna Henderson, Managing Editor
uvp How
FOR My
HtXT tric
Increase could save system
"Every student has felt the repercussions
of" Severe budget cuts made by the General
Assembly. UNC's library system is quickly
losing its national prestige, competing
universities have lured faculty members
away with lucrative offers and graduate
students are finding it increasingly difficult
to'afford an education on paltry teaching
assistant salaries. Amid this financial dif
ficulty, Gov. James G. Martin's proposal
to give the UNC system autonomy over
tuition rates may be the one solution to save
the university system from complete ruin.
Although concerns that increasing tuition
may prevent some students from applying
tov certain universities are valid, the pre
dicted $28 million generated from such an
increase would better serve the system.
Critics fear Martin's plan will create
financial barriers for students who wish to
attend universities such as UNC and N.C.
State. The Board of Governors (BOG) and
UNC-system President CD. Spanglerhave
suggested that the proposal will eliminate
diversity within the universities by at
tracting mainly white, wealthy applicants.
fBut the proposal addresses these con
cerns by requiring that 25 percent of rev
enue generated from tuition increases be
given to financial aid. Furthermore, the
belief held by Spangler and the BOG that
low tuition contributes to diversity indicates
a definite lack of knowledge about how to
recruit and retain minority students.
Many students choose UNC for its
"bargain" deal, but even more do so for its
reputation as a nationally respected aca
demic institution, a status quickly disap
pearing with every budget slashing. Mi
nority students, likewise, choose UNC for
both its savings and its quality of education.
Instead of assuming that low costs will
maintain diversity, Spangler and the BOG
should examine how the individual univer
sities are trying to respond to minority
concerns. By focusing on multi-cultural
studies, promoting the African-American
curriculum to department status, searching
for more minority professors and making
progress on a cultural center, these critics
may realize that diversity does not neces
sarily come via low tuition but rather
through sensitivity to minority concerns.
Giving individual boards of trustees
(BOTs) the power to adjust tuition rates
would assure that the needs of each school
are met. Under Martin's plan, each BOT
can evaluate the financial problems at its
respective university. By having this con
trol, the BOT at UNC could respond directly
to the University's financial woes.
But the UNC system should remain
cautious about the proposal. The General
Assembly may feel justified in substituting
the revenue generated from tuition increases
for the funding it gives system schools.
However, the withdrawal of funds would
place the system back into financial diffi
culties, and the loosened economic control
could lead to the privatization of the uni
versities. The UNC system's purpose is to
provide a state-funded education at a rea
sonable price. If the BOTs will maintain
reasonable prices, the General Assembly
should promise to continue its funding and
even to restore pre-budget-cut levels.
North Carolina is staring at a possible
$900 million to $1.4 billion budget gap.
Based on this huge deficit, Gov. Martin has
proposed what may be the only salvation
for a rapidly declining university system.
President Spangler says it's in the system's
best interest to keep tuition low, but if the
system continues to decline as it has in past
years, nobody will care how little it costs to
attend a lousy university.
Jingoism backs some war support
.'.The flag-waving fervor accompanying
the Gulf War has revealed a basic misun
derstanding of the English language.
-According to Webster's New World
Dictionary:
TP Jingoism is the "chauvinistic advo
cacy of an aggressive, warlike policy."
.p Patriotism, on the other hand, is the
love and zealous support of one's country.
An argument being waged about the war
is whether or not it is possible to support
U.S. troops without supporting the war
itself. But the underlying assumption of
this argument is that, in order to be con
sidered patriotic, one must support at least
ope aspect of the war: the troops.
This is not to say that all supporters of the
war are jingoists, but the swelling patrio
tism of the last month is overtly aggressive,
including a disturbing rejuvenation of the
phrase "Love it or leave it."
An example of this aggressive patriotism
was played out recently, when Italian bas
ketball player Marko Lokar, a member of
tHp Seton Hall squad, was booed by his fans
because he refused to wear the American
flag on his uniform. The discouraged player,
who did not support the war, quit the team.
An. ugly reality of the incident is that many
of the fans who booed Lokar were probably
xenophobes who cheered his athletic
prowess despite the likelihood they would
not associate with him socially. Others of
those fans would most likely trumpet the
ideal of freedom of expression. But ag
gressive patriotism is stronger than ideal
ism, more powerful than racism.
And the problem is being institutionally
reinforced, from miniature flags distributed
to fans at the superbowl and in the Dean E.
Smith Center to college sports teams
wearing flags. Hollywood is jumping on
the bandwagon, producing patriotic videos
and television extravaganzas. There is no
active campaign maligning people who do
not wear flags or stick patriotic bumper
stickers on their cars, but the pressure is on
to fall in line, to express patriotic opinions.
Dissent is healthy in a republic striving
for democracy. Many of the leaders of the
peace movement during World War II now
admit they were wrong, that the war on
Hitler's Third Reich was a necessary evil.
But their opinions were still important and
their purpose was completely patriotic: to
prevent the needless loss of American lives.
War inspires heated emotions, but moral
and logical considerations are also involved.
Each of us has the right to formulate an
opinion according to our own beliefs, but
we all have the responsibility to listen, as
well. The well thought-out opinion and the
willingness to listen are far more patriotic
than prominently displayed symbols.
lite W& IBP 'MI
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Letter's writer knows
nothing about racism
To the editor:
Excuse me, Mr. Moss ("Van
dalism, incidents wrongly labeled
racism," Feb. 2 1 ), but what the hell
do you know about racism or the
ways that it manifests itself in so
ciety? These acts of "good business
practice" and "vandalism" are
blatant acts of deep-seated racism.
If theft is a problem at Rite Aid,
then why not move all of the hair
care products to the front of the
store? Why single out the products
of the African-Americans? A
Malcolm X poster has as much
right to hang undamaged as a David
Duke poster would. Can you not
see that these acts single out the
African-American as the object of
their discrimination? In so doing,
they become acts of racism.
The Daily Tar Heel is a part of
the media, and the media vows to
present the truth. It is not "A Cur
rent Affair," and nothing is being
sensationalized. It is the ignorant
students, such as yourself, that keep
the disease of racism spreading on
our campus. By refusing to admit
that there is aproblem, you support
racism through pacifism.
The African-American students
have come together through the
Black Student Movement. There is
strength in numbers, and together
we stand taller and prouder. Are
you faulting us for this? No one
hinders the white students from
following suit and organizing.
Lastly, Mr. Moss, if they moved
a product called "Shampoo for
Whitey," I would protest. Why?
Because that would be discrimi
nation, and discrimination of any
people is wrong. By protesting for
you, I would better myself. And by
bettering myself, I would have
more to offer this world. So, Mr.
Moss, maybe you need to wake up.
These "simple and meaningless"
events might scare the hell out of
you.
SHURONIA J. FLOOD
Freshman
Political Science
Article assumes war
supporters are ignorant
To the editor:
I noted Greg Gangi's conde
scending little article ("Govern
ment does not deserve blind faith
from citizens") in the Feb. 1 8 Daily
Tar Heel with some interest.
How easy it is to fall into the trap
of assuming that anyone who dis
agrees with our views is unin
formed, stupid or suffering from
some mental aberration! I assure
Mr. Gangi that supporters of
President George Bush and the
present war are not the blind, ig
norant people he so sanctimo
niously has pronounced them to
be, nor are the Greens the font of all
knowledge on the planet.
Of course, blind support for the
president or any leader is wrong. I
have spent many hours on picket
lines during the Kennedy and
Johnson administrations opposed
to their pol icies, but support for the
president when he is doing 100
percent what you want is not blind
allegiance. 1
Mr. Gangi may indeed know
more about the Middle East than I
(I've only been there once and only
delivered my first lecture to a col
lege class on the subject in 1973);
Mr. Gangi may indeed be more
moral than I (although I try to live
a good life); Mr. Gangi may indeed
be more intelligent than I (I only
have one Ph.D.); but, I assure you
that I and most others who support
the military option against Iraq do
spend a "few minutes each day to
stay abreast of local and world
news" and do understand the "is
sues that underlie the crisis" and
most definitely have not "abro
gated moral judgment to the
president."
Those opposed to the military
action should have been silenced
by the facts: even with more than
five months of the embargo,
Saddam still has the military might
to wage war (the sanctions would
have been borne by the people, not
the military, of Iraq); Iraq invaded
and annexedKuwait because Iraq's
gross national product has declined
some 20 percent in the last three
years, and Saddam could not afford
to repay the loans he took out in
order to fight Iran; the so-called
"Palestinian" issue had nothing to
do with the invasion (how the
"Palestinians" were to gain by
Saddam taking Kuwait is unclear
even to them); and many who know
Saddam best (the Saudis, Turks,
and Kuwaitis who have supported
or bankrolled him for years, as
well as the Israelis and Iranians
who have hated him for years) all
agree that Saddam is a threat to the
Middle East and the world.
It seems that to disagree with
Mr. Gangi is to be a "misguided"
patriot. An interesting concept.
R. EVERETT LANGFORD
Graduate
School of Public Health
Cartoon misrepresents
Irish Republican Army
To the editor:
I am writing in response to the
cartoon entitled "Irish Scud"
printed in the Feb. 2 edition of The
Daily Tar Heel. To get directly to
the point, even to suggest a com
parison between the Irish Repub
lican Army and the Iraqi army is a
paramount example of insensitiv
ity and ignorance. The ignorance
is to some degree understandable,
considering that the British army's
occupation of Ulster (Northern
Ireland) has been and continues to
be backed by the most successful
propaganda effort in modern his
tory. The insensitivity, however,
is not so easily dismissed.
While it is generally accepted
that British policy in Eire (Ireland)
has historically been extremely
harsh, it is not so well known that
the Irish have been subjected to the
same sort of racism in the "British"
Isles as African-Americans have
in the United States. The same
derogatory comments have been
applied to each in their respective
areas, and a remarkable parallelism
is evident. Both have been inac
curately portrayed by oppressors
as being ape-like, unintelligent, ill
mannered, etc., and the depiction
of the Irishman in "Irish Scud"
exemplifies this attitude.
Moreover, it is to me beyond
comprehension that anyone could
compare the armies of Saddam
Hussein to the IRA. Consider one
fundamental difference: the Irish
have had their country invaded
and conquered by a foreign army,
and they have spent the past few
centuries, without the help or
concern of the world, trying to
regain their independence. On the
other hand, the Iraqis have done
the. invading and occupying of a
foreign nation. Thus, even if you
don't agree with the use of violence
by the Irish, the comparison of
their response to Hussein's
unprovoked missile attacks on Is
rael and Saudi Arabia is still in
sultingly ignorant. To quote the
English musician Billy Bragg: "the
war in Ireland (is) the war we send
our soldiers to fight in and then
wonder why our cities get
bombed." English cities are
bombed and will continue to be
bombed until their army leaves
Ulster, just as Iraqi cities will be
bombed until their army leaves
Kuwait.
To explain the EnglishIrish
conflict would be a task well be
yond the scope of this letter; it
would require going all the way
back to the Celtic past of the islands
and the cultural strife that devel
oped through the ages to the po
litical face that the conflict takes
on today. I can only urge the readers
of this letter to educate themselves
with Irish, and not only British,
appraisals of the situation.
However, I especially urge the
editor of the DTH to educate her
self about this issue, for "Irish
Scud" is yet another example of
the ignorance that surrounds world
opinion on this problem, and I feel
it is the editor's responsibility to
present unbiased and accurate in
formation that is not childishly
insulting. I'm not attacking the
editor's right to her opinion, but I
do ask that before another such
cartoon or article is printed, she
spend a few hours in the library
investigating the issue.
BRYAN CARELLA
Sophomore
EnglishMedieval Studies
PAUL SHEEHAN
Sophomore
Applied Sciences
Senior class library gift
deserves commendation
To the editor
I would like to recognize the
unusual achievement of the senior
class in reaching its pledge goal.
Having selected the library as the
recipient of its class gift, the
members of the class have done an
outstanding job in terms of publi
cizing the campaign, pledging the
necessary support and assuring
their class a role in the library's
future.
I want particularly to mention
the leadership of Andrew Herman
and Bobby Dabal, who have de
voted long hours in conscientious
attention to this project. That pro
duced the success in the campaign.
I know with this leadership that
enhancing the gift and the class'
endowment will be a continuing
enterprise, but clearly, such a
noteworthy achievement requires
the community's recognition.
It is a mark of distinction for the
class of 1991 that they have both
selected the library for their gift
and have successfully met their
pledge goal two milestones that
are virtually unprecedented and
unduplicated among senior classes
across the country.
JAMES F. GO VAN
University Librarian
R.A. s cheated by $400 "
meal plan rescission
To the editor:
As a newly-selected resident
assistant, I would like to express
my response to the rescission of
$400 from my expected job com
pensation. In the letter I was sent to notify
me of my job offer, it was indeed
implied that there had been a change
in the marketed job compensation.
But the true explanation and clar
ity of the matter did not come until
The Daily Tar Heel article ("$400
meal plan credit rescinded for new
resident assistants") Feb. 21. I
empathize with the present budget
situation, and I understand the
University's necessary cutbacks.
However, I do believe the housing
department should have stated
straightforwardly in our notifica- ,
tion letter that the cutback had ;
occurred.
Many students like myself are ;
trying to earn sufficient funds for
schooling, and $400 is a substan-,
tial amount of money to lose. We ;
deserve the simple respect and t
courtesy of being properly in-.,
formed of the entire situation. The
letter simply swept it under the
rug. The futile attempt made in the ,
letter was to leave the $400 meal-
card credit off the list of job com-. f
pensation for new RAs. This was
grossly inadequate and does not',
qualify as a responsible commu-'.
nication.
I will not begin to even comment
on the value judgment of having
the new and old RAs receiving m
unequal pay for equal work.
JO ANNA GODWIN
Psychology
Campus elections
catered to bureaucracy
To the editor:
farce. There were no candidates
for my congressional district, so I
mounted a last-ditch write-in
people voted for me, but results
miuwcu mat uicic was a lit aiuuug
five candidates who each received
one vote. I asked the elections board
what happened and was informed
that perhaps the three bubbles at
the top of the ballot weren't filled
in correctly, and thus the ballots
were rejected by the computer.
Althrtnerh T finH it wru nnliVf1v
that all eight people erred, I see
some logic in this policy. The ex
planation for why the votes
couldn't be counted by hand,
however, was "that was the only
way we can be sure people vote for
what they should be voting for."
nil uas icuuyiiig iiiipiicaiiuiis.
I was told that I couldn't be
shown the ballot because "that
would obscure the electoral pro
cess,", as if it weren't already. I
inquired as to how I could be sure
that someone just didn't want me
on Student Congress and kept me
from being elected because they
had access to the process. My in
quiry was rebuffed: "Well, some
times you just have to trust the
system."
Nonsense! No system is to be
absolutely trusted. I campaigned,
however briefly, on the idea of
keeping non-bureaucrats' check on
the student government. I have not
called for a recount, but I pledge to
the student body to fulfill all my
campaign promises and keep a
check on the bureaucracy.
DAVID GHIRARDELLI
Junior
Geography
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