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2The Daily Tar HeelFriday, April 26, 1991 escriptions of handicapped should stress people, not M I I at Editor's note: This is the last of a four-part series examining the rise of "noliticallx correct" thinkinp. By Dawn Wilson Staff Writer ' If it's not important, don't even men tion it. writing stories involving people with disabilities. ' The AP Sty lebook also warns against the use of offensive phrases such as ' "wheelchair-bound." Primarily, the AP Stylebook says if the disability is not relevant to the story, it should not even be mentioned. i ennino 02 v useu 10 auDi v 10 ueouie with disabilities is another facet of the growing "politically correct" ideology. One of the main goals of P.C. is to promote multiculturalism and equality through prescribing "correct" attitudes and terminology toward race, sex, sexual orientation, culture and ecology. TanerSeref, the president of the Caro lina Handicappers for Equal Opportu CD J rr j v r bol Tropical Suits 2 fer $398 Reg. $435 each Hie deals a any BETTER! iHtlfrm's dldtljmg 3 v lUttptoaro 163 E. Franklin St., Downtown Chapel Hill Hours Mon-Sat 10-6:30, Sun: 1-5 Phone 968-4408 S73 4 my "' - ySg - 2rar Sals! 1MU I AND A CHANCE TO) Wm I T0 WIN f0R UNC STUDENT STORES April 30 - May 3 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM May 4, 5 & 6 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM May 5 1 :00 PM - 6:00 PM nity, said, "Personally, I think the prob lem with the term handicapped or dis abled is that it appl ies to a diverse group: those with mobility problems, blind people and all sorts of disabilities," he said. "These terms mean different things to different people." One common phrase considered of fensive is "wheelchair-bound" or "con fined to a wheelchair." This presents the wheelchair as a confinement and not as a mobility tool. The politically cor rect phrase is "a person who uses a wheelchair." "If you refer to an individual as "con fined to a wheelchair,' that can be of fensive to some, even if it is true," Seref said. Don Evans, a news editor at the Chapel Hill Newspaper, said the paper followed AP Style when addressing people with disabilities. First, the dis ability is not even mentioned unless it has relevant news value to the article, and all derogatory terms are avoided. Some consider articles or praise con cerning how someone has overcome a disability to be patronizing. In order to avoid this, Evans suggests letting the SUMMER WORK Work available... Weekly pay Visit one of our offices and learn of the opportu nities awaiting you. Skills needed: TYPISTS SECRETARIES WPDATA ENTRY ENGINEERS DRAFTERS WAREHOUSE MANPOWER TEMPORARY SERVICES Stop by one of our offices in: Raliegh Cary Durham Chapel Hill Oxford Rocky Mount Kinston Greenville Laurinburg Wilmington Fayetteville RTP 'U U 0 '''yi' - i'y - SELL YOUR ,vrrf Y f , i I a A rZ3 ri r i y tVtKY BOOK vou SELL! And get a coupon good for 25 off any clothing or gift item at the Student store! You may receive a ROADTRIP USA gamecard and official rules by mailing a self-addressed, first-class-stamped business envelope to be received by July 1, 1991, to: Follett GamecardRules, P.O. Box 8603, Elmhurst, IL 60126-8603. Limit 1 gamecardrules per stamped request. person with the disability write the ar ticle in his own words. Jon Ham, managing editor of the Durham Herald-Sun said although care should be taken to avoid offensive terms, it was impossible to have one blanket term that covered all applications. "Our policy is not to offend, but we don't fall for thexphysically challenged' euphemism, and we are not in the busi ness of creating euphemisms," Ham said. Ham does not agree with the growing ideology of political correctness. "For somebody who marched in the '60s, I guess people wonder why it (P.C.) of fends me. The same tyranny we found back then people telling us how to think is the same tyranny now, on the fl ip side of the coin," he said. "It may be considered the great debate of the '90s." Mary Elizabeth Kias, a freshman his tory major from Winston-Salem said, "If it's P.C. or not, I don't care. If I think something's important, I'm going to agree with it." A 1988 article, "Unhandicapping Our Language," by author and historian Paul Longmore and syndicated columnist Dianne Piastro, lists several other terms and phrases that should be avoided when addressing handicapped people. Objectionable terms include "the dis abled," "the deaf and "the blind'These terms categorize people in terms of their disabilities. The preferred terms are .v Late Shows, Friday & Saturday at Midnight MISERY Out for Justice! 7:009:15 Nightly (R) wtit w ami mat fawviat) " ' SJ bleeping with the tnemy 7:309:45 Nightly (R) Sat & Sun Mat 2:304:30 v NO PASSES OR COUPONS J Oscar 7:309:45 Nightly (PG) Sat. & Sun. Mat. 2:304:30 3 BOOKS AT: $g00 I! r 1 ..mm2i&jmsmL.ir " s 3 I 1 I 1 V-J I '1 I j SOUTH CAMPUSSCUTTLEBUTT AREA April 30 - May 7 Monday Thru Friday Only 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM THRU EXAMS ONLY!!! "people with disabilities," "deaf citi zens" and "blind people." The article also warns against identi fying people with disabilities as vic tims. This term connotes helplessness and pity. Instead, state the facts of the situation, the article says. Write, for example, "Franklin Roosevelt had po lio," instead of "FDR was a polio vic tim." Care should be taken to avoid identi fying someone as "arthritic" or "stricken with." These terms call attention to the disability and away from the person. The person with the disability should not be defined as that disability. For example, "John had epilepsy," instead of "John was an epileptic." Seref said, "People want to be iden tified as persons, not by their physical problem." The term "deaf and dumb" should also be avoided because it associates mental capability with a physical dis ability. The term should be replaced with "hearing-impaired" and "speech impaired." Sherry Dennis, a senior psychology Judge declares mistrial in case of HIV-infected brothers The Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. A federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of three hemophiliac brothers whose parents blame two blood-products com panies for their sons' infection with the AIDS virus. A six-member jury deliberated 13 Audit State University, as well as UNC-CH, he said. Billings said the audit would cost the state about 2,000 hours of work at $30 an hour, or $60,000. "This is a small audit compared to others." The schools will not have to pay any of the costs, he said. UNC-system schools are not being audited because of the state budget cuts, Billings said. "This is no implication of impropriety. This is all a normal routine in state government." After the audit, the number of faculty members could be increased or de creased, Billings said. The state planned to audit system universities last spring, but decided to postpone it because it was "a bad time for universities," he said. Richardson said he was not worried about the audit. "I just don't know how major and member of the Carolina Handicappers for Equal Opportunity, said, "One of the things that bothers me is when people associate mental capac ity with physical capability. "Just because someone's not able to walk, people assume that they're not smart," she said. "As a result, not much is expected, and you're not given a chance." Longmore and Piastre said the terms "mentally ill," "insane" and "retard" were outdated and demeaning. These terms may be replaced by "mental dis ability" or "emotional disability." "Unhandicapping Our Language" said the debate over the use of handi capped versus disabled had not been settled and no preference was given. However, Dennis said she preferred the term "disabled." "I think I like the term disabled bet ter, but I don't think there will ever be any nice word. Every one has negative connotations. Disabled sounds less negative," she said. Heather Mehling, a first-year Evening College student, said she wished all hours over three days and twice told the judge it was deadlocked about whether the pharmaceutical companies were neg ligent in failing to warn customers of the risk of contracting AIDS. The suit was filed by Clifford and Louise Ray, parents of Ricky, 14, Rob ert, 13, and Randy, 11. it can be done in such a short time." But he is concerned that conducting an audit this late in the academic year is not an ideal time because faculty mem bers are preparing to leave for the sum mer, Richardson said. Billings said the state probably would look at school records in conducting the audit. Targeted areas include 1989-90 policies and procedures and how a uni versity monitors its day-to-day perfor mance, he said. Campus Calendar FRIDAY Noon: "What Sells Papers: Front Page Charac teristics on Single Copy Sales of USA Today" Gary Gaddy, IRSS, will discuss this topic in 02 Manning until 1 pjn. The Lesbian Lunch will be today in the Union. Check the desk for the room number. 2 p.m. UNC College Republicans will hold the final Executive Board Meeting in the Frank Porter Graham Lounge in the Union. Plans for summer and next year as well as committee chairmanships will be discussed. 6:30 p.m. Join FOCUS for a free dinner and subsequent discussion of "Christian Abiding in Unity: Forgiveness and Reconciliation" at the Brock's home, 413 Granville Road, Chapel Hill. Call 933-6687 for more information or a ride. FOCUS is the graduate chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. ITEMS OF INTEREST International StudentScholar Orientation Counselor applications are available at the Interna tional Center. Undergraduate and graduate students who are willing to return to Chapel Hill on Wednes day, August 14 and who would like to assist new foreign students in their orientation and adjustment to UNC should apply. The International Center is lo cated in the Union next to Great Hall. Anyone interested in singing in the UNC Opera UP Order Now! No Payments "Till August iV' ff ii 2 ti II A RICA KVED COLLEGE JEWELRY April 29, 30 & May 1 Mom. - Wed. W am - 3 pirn $20 Deposit Special Payment Plans Available disabilities groups could come together under the term "American" instead of providing labels. Seref said one of his personal percep tions was that people were not comfort able around those who were disabled, and as a result, many have a tendency to avoid them. "Stereotypes are always there," Seref said. "Obviously, with different groups of disabled, there are different prob lems and stereotypes differ. Society has ahardertime understanding, which leads to ignorance," he said. Seref said some may be scared or intimidated by disabled persons. "I don 't think there's any reason to be scared," he said. Although some people may not wish to talk about their disability, Denni said it did not bother her. "I tend to know when someone wants to ask a question and they don't. "People are fearful that I'll get up set," she said. "It bothers me when someone wants to ask a question and they don't. The best way to learn about something is to ask questions." The Rays claimed Cutter Laborato ries and Armour Pharmaceutical Co. were negligent for not putting warnings on the blood-clotting products used by their sons. "What I'm hoping for is that there's not another family that has to go through this," Mrs. Ray said. from page 1 Richardson said he also was con cerned that although the audit would concentrate on printed reports, no printed material would show how fac ulty members spent their unpaid time. "I hope they will supplement it with a lot of narrative about the things they can't measure," he said. "We are certain that if the auditor reviews the full scope of faculty activities, including nights, weekends and holidays, we have noth ing to fear from a fair review." Theatre Workshop, next semester, autumn, 1991, should contact director Terry Rhodes immediately. Casting decisions for the fall production (with orches tra) will be made before the end of this semester. Call 962-2270, 962-1039 or 933-8806. Witness something powerful in the Pit (Friday at 12:30.) The Ebony Readers will present a preview of their Spring Production. Beware! The content may blow your mind into the 21st century! The Ebony Readers Onyx Theatre will present their Spring Concert Dramatic Production on April 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. in the Cabaret. Admission is free. Beware... the subject matter is something powerful! All Big Buddies!! Come by the Campus Y and Till out either a Returning Big Buddy form or a Program Evaluation Form by April 26. This is mandatory!! Seniors and Graduate Students who have ac cepted jobs are requested to complete a UCPPS Em ployment Survey form, available in 2 1 I Hanes, Those still seeking jobs may make an appointment to see a UCPPS counselor (call 962-6507) and may call the Job Hot-Line (962-CPPS) to hear current job open ings. Tar Heel Recycling Program, TARP, announces permanent drop-off sites at Hinton-James.Ehringhaus, and Graham dorms and between FLOB and Lineberger building. The mobile drop-off site for today is be tween Connor and Alexander dorms for newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. TO Stadlenut Stores VISA JESSSK
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 26, 1991, edition 1
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