8The Daily Tar HeelWednesday, January 22, 1992
98th year of editorial freedom
Jennifer Wing, Editor
STEVE Poun, University Editor
CUUEN FERGUSON, Editorial Page Editor
NEIL AMATO, Sports Editor
Christina Nifong, Features Editor
ALEX De GRAND, Cartoon Editor
MlTCH Kokai, Copy Desk Editor
GRANT HALVERSON, Photography Editor
Amber Nimocks. Citv Editor
ERIC Lusk, State and National Editor
MONDY LAMB, Omnibus Editor
Jennifer Dickens, Layout Editor
JoAnn RODAK, Managing Editor
AMY Seeley, Copy Desk Editor
Kathy Michel, Photography Editor
Overstepping their bounds
Common sense prevailed in the N.C.
General Assembly last week when legisla
tors decided not to grant the legislature
direct control of student fees at the UNC
system schools. However, they have passed
a bill giving the UNC Board of Governors
authority to oversee student fees set annu
ally by each school's board of trustees.
Student fees are allocated to fund stu
dent services such as the Student Health
Service, Intramural Sports Program, Stu
dent Union, telephonic registration and
some student organizations on campus;
and to pay back debts incurred during the
construction of various student facilities.
Does the BOG, responsible for all 16
schools in the UNC system, really have
sufficient knowledge about each campus
to decide how much money should be
allocated to the various organizations? Sure,
they could do the necessary math to figure
out how much money it would take to retire
the debt from the construction of Lenoir
Hall, but what does the BOG know about
the amount of money needed to fund
a.p.p.l.e.s. or SAFE Escort?
The General Assembly 's goal for the bill
to ensure that students would not be
charged unnecessarily with debts fromcam
pus construction and to remain competi
tive with other states' university systems
certainly is valid; however, with only
one student Mark Bibbs from UNC-CH
representing student interests for all 16
schools, the BOG is too far removed from
the respective student organizations to de
termine the allocation of funds adequately.
Mark Bibbs opposed granting the Gen
eral Assembly the power to oversee stu
dent fees but said he favored BOG over
sight of the trustees' suggested fees. Bibbs
said the BOG Committee on Budget and
Finance had a comprehensive list and a
good understanding of all respective fees,
He cited the past summer's UNC-CH BOT
$200 technology fee proposal as an ex
ample of unnecessary fees prevented by
the BOG.
This technology fee, however, was not
solely opposed and discarded by the BOG.
Student leaders and University officials
clearly opposed the fee and exerted enough
influence upon the BOT to have accom
plished the goal for which Mark Bibbs
gives the BOG credit.
Student Body President Matt Heyd would
like to see the fee-setting power remain in
the BOT's hands. According to Heyd, the
BOG always has had ultimate power over
the BOT, but this is the first time the UNC
system board has tried to interfere with the
assessment of each school's needs. Chapel
Hill students have more power upon fee
setting than any other UNC-system stu
dents; it's a cooperative process between
faculty, staff and students, and it ought to
stay that way, Heyd said.
Our Board of Trustees is closer to and
more knowledgeable about this school and
its needs than the BOG, and with continu
ing student, faculty and staff interest in the
fee-setting process the BOT can protect
students' budgets and school competitive
ness without BOG interference.
AIDS: Hitting close to home
Only a few months after former pro
basketball star Magic Johnson announced
that he had the HIV virus and one month
after musician Freddie Mercury died be
cause of AIDS, UNC students are con
fronted again with the tragedies that can
accompany unsafe or casual sex: Former
Carolina Gay and Lesbian Association Co
chairman Greg Johnson, of the class of
1987, died last week after a struggle with
the AIDS virus.
Greg Johnson's death should give both
homosexual and heterosexual UNC stu
dents a sad but vivid reminder that AIDS is
not just a disease that happens to "that other
guy." And it should be a very clear warning
about the perils that accompany unsafe or
casual sex.
Far too often, the patrons of Chapel Hill
bars and partygoers give in to the moment,
paying more attention to their urges than to
their better judgment. But the lamentable
truth is that a lapse in judgment can be a
fatal mistake, not a correctable error.
Many UNC students have the "not me"
approach to sex, going from partner to
partner with little concern. However, in
1992, such behavior is not only unwise
it is also foolish. Students don't want to
believe that there are people walking around
this campus and frequenting Chapel Hill
bars and restaurants every night who are
HIV-positive.
But there are and casual, unsafe sex
with multiple partners is no safer than a
game of Russian roulette. There are HIV
positive people in Chapel Hill, and sooner
or later those who pnactice unsafe sex are
going to pull the trigger when the bullet is
in the chamber.
While Magic Johnson's retirement serves
as a significant reminder that anyone
homosexual or heterosexual can con
tract the virus, Mercury's death reminds us
of the destruction the disease causes in the
homosexual community. But Greg
Johnson's death hits a little closer to home;
it points out to UNC students that Chapel
Hill is not unlike the rest of the world.
While some may consider it the "south
ern part of heaven," Chapel Hill is not a
disease-less Camelot. The AIDS virus is a
threat to everyone, even UNC students.
The opportunities for casual and unsafe sex
in Chapel Hill are many; if better judgment
prevails, such opportunities will become
more sparse.
Those who die of AIDS-related illnesses
often never publicly admit they have the
disease. But Greg Johnson requested that
the true cause of his death be revealed,
hoping that others would learn from his
example that unsafe sex can be as fatal as it
is enticing. UNC students would do well to
learn from this example and cease playing
Russian roulette.
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os WSfcr fiODV PRESIDENT???
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involve his FpOtyMAfB,
Tim Moort.
PLEASE HELP ill We nWs
Current office. ff,P"ef
Justice, foae- it: I
Move over Oprah; David Ball has all the answers
Wen, 1 don t Know aoout tne rest or you
Democrats, but after watching the New
Hampshire debates I've decided that
I'm voting for Cokie Roberts in 1992. Other
than that, what else has been going on recently?
I trust that you all had great breaks, that you're
geared up for the grueling spring semester
ahead a'nd that we're all prepared for the com
ing months, which hold a variety of good and
bad things.
On the bad side of the ledger, there s a season
of Dick Paparo and Dick Vitale (first names are
merely a coincidence), schizophrenic weather
and student elections. On the good side, there's
Spring Break, the "Wayne's World" movie and
the new column format.
Yes, that's right. Beginning this week, I will
be running your lives and providing you with
your sole source of information, at least those
of you who can tear yourselves away from
Oprah. It's a sign of a sick society that people
with personal problems turn to a complete
stranger who makes his or her money from
them and that millions of other people read
about it. Therefore, it makes sense that a sick
person should be running the whole show.
I became interested in the field of problem-
solving journalism after I had consumed sev
eral bottles of Polish vodka on New Year's Eve
and had become incredibly philosophical. Since
I was in New Orleans, I looked around Bourbon
Street at all the Florida fans wearing their "Piss
on Notre Dame" buttons and asked, "Why?"
This opened up a flood of other questions.
Why were we celebrating a holiday based on
two human inventions, the clock and the calen
dar? If we were all having so much fun, why
didn't we celebrate midnight every night or just
have daylong years?
But, even deeper than that, people want to
know answers to other questions. If Robert
Stempel, chief executive officer of General
David Ball
All You
Can Ask
Motors, wants to save money, why doesn't he
cut some of his $2.4 million salary instead of
firing 70,000 assembly line workers? What did
President Bush eat in Japan? Why don't we do
the "C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A" cheer anymore, and
who thought of the "U-N-C" cheer anyway?
There are questions out there, people, and they
are just waiting to be asked and answered. Drop
yours off at the DTH office care of "All You
Can Ask," and I'll see what I can do. In the
meantime, here are some of the letters I got
during the holidays.
"Dear Dave: Who solves disputes between
Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren?" As
many of you may or may not know, these two
pioneers of the advice column are twin sisters.
You wouldn't guess because they have differ
ent last names, but apparently two men out
there actually wanted to be henpecked for the
rest of their lives and to be addressed as "Dear
Wants-to-know-where-the-dry-cleaning-is"
and "Dear Pass-the-butter-please."
Based on my knowledge of the journalism
field, I've deduced that their personal problems
are solved by baseball radio broadcasters. Those
of you who have listened to baseball on the
radio know that these guys only use the play-by-play
as an excuse for stopping the gaps in
their conversations, which consist of gossiping
about personal lives, especially their own. You
hear about grandchildren more than you hear
about the count, and, if the two sisters ever did
get into any problems, which seems unlikely
given their vast knowledge of the right thing to
do in any situation, they'd be solved before the
seventh-inning stretch.
"Dear Dave: Why is popcorn so expensive
in movie theaters and so cheap everywhere
else?" To tell you the truth, I'm not sure, but I
think it has something to do with Cuban revo
lutionaries, Oliver Stone and the assassination
of JFK. I've often wondered myself about movie
concession-stand prices. I usually purchase the
best by-volume deal, which inevitably means
that I buy twice the amount of food I want for
three times the amount I want to spend.
Of course, I was only suckered into doing
this once thisChristmas vacation, but the movie
I saw gave me indigestion anyway. Can some
one out there explain why someone thought a
film version of a TV show ('The Addams
Family") would be a good idea and why they
picked (M.C.) Hammer to write the song if they
knew he was going to include lyrics like, "Kick
and they slap a friend?"
"Dear Dave: Are we obligated to drink from
the push button-timed water fountains at Davis
until the water stops flowing, even if we're not
that thirsty?" Of course you are. We all know
there's a water shortage going on, and we
shouldn't let it go to waste. Of course, drinking
excess water inevitably uses up more water
later on, unless you're a male standing next to
a bush, and it's dark and there's no one else
around. My suggestion is to begin a study
terrarium to take with you on your trips to
Davis, and use the extra water to keep those
plants (or newts or whatever) moist and healthy.
So, write in next week and address your
entries to, "All You Can Ask," The Daily Tar
Heel, CB 5210 Box 49, Carolina Union, or
drop them off at the office.
David Ball is a senior history major from
Atlanta.
L
1
Teachers not only ones
who foster stereotypes
To the editor:
I am writing in response to Holly
Dunton's letter ('Teachers, soci
ety should destroy myths about
weak female intellect, Jan. 8).
Although she is correct that one of
our society's flaws is that it holds
many generalizations as incontest
able truths, Ms. Dunton identifies
herself with this very flaw by be
lieving the inaccurate generaliza
tion that all stereotypes begin in
the classroom.
Even though the title of her ar
ticle suggests she wants to point a
finger at society as well as teach
ers, she never does so. As a future
teacher, I am furious with the atti
tude that a teacher is somehow
superhuman. It is far above and
beyond the stretch of human kind
ness that teachers spend their day
with young children trying to pre
pare them for the real world (not an
easy task, I assure you). Above
that, they also sacrifice any chance
of having a social life in order to
grade papers, design tests and les
son plans and be adviser for count
less extra-curricular activities.
Teachers should be regularly
praised for their generosity. Instead,
society also expects them- to be
singly and completely responsible
for molding a student's life.
It is true a teacher can have a
profound effect (good or bad) on a
student. It is indeed sad that there
are bad teachers out there who are
in charge of more than 100 stu
dents every day. There are also bad
lawyers, bad doctors, bad
babysitters, bad parents and of
course bad politicians, all of whom
have a huge influence on the soci
ety around them. Teachers are only
human, and they should not be
expected to be anything more than
that.
Ms. Dunton, it is a shame your
ninth grade physical science
teacher was a sexist, antediluvian
creep, but there are plenty more
where he came from, and many of
them are not teachers. (There are
sexist, antediluvian women too,
believe it or not.) We've all had a
bad teacher along the way. Some
of us have been traumatized by
them, just like you were. One day,
my kindergarten teacher put me in
a corner for talking (a crime of
which I was not guilty) and forgot
about me. Finally, after four hours
including lunch and recess, a stu
dent noticed and pointed me out to
her. Covering for herself, she yelled
at me for not reminding her that I
was still in the comer. At that
moment, I switched from a fairly
well-adjusted, extroverted five-year-old
to a shy girl who, even
now, finds it very difficult to face
a new public situation without pre
tending I am someone else until I
am comfortable with my new sur
roundings. It can happen to the
best of us.
One must remember it is easy to
hold onto generalizations when
dealing with strangers or acquain
tances because stereotypes are all
we know. When I was student
teaching (my field is English lit
erature), I caught myself teaching
mainly to the boys in my classes,
because, as you pointed out in you
article, it has been "statistically
proven" women are better at lan
guage skills and creative arts than
men are. In a way, you could say I
was showing reverse discrimina
tion in my classroom, because I
automatically figured men needed
more help with world literature
than women. Of course, this is not
necessarily the case, and I quickly
reconciled the situation.
The School of Education here at
UNC has some brilliant, compe
tent and insightful people going
through its program. They deserve
praise in choosing the teaching
field, for they are the kind of quali
fied people we want teaching our
children. However, many of the
aforementioned brilliant men and
women will leave the field within
four or five years in order to enter
a field that pays better and gets the
respect it deserves. In doing so,
they will be leaving behind the
incompetent teachers to teach your
children.
Let's work on keeping the good
teachers in the field by citing the
strengths of the education system
as often, if not more than, we con
demn the weaknesses. Any psy
chology major (or education ma
jor, for that matter) knows positive
reinforcement is far more construc
tive than a barrage of insults and
complaints.
In short, teachers are not the
only people who shape our lives.
Parents, society, peers and culture
play an even stronger role in whom
each one of us becomes. Until we
stop using a few convenient people
as scapegoats for the problems of
our society as a whole, we will
only compound the problems, and
we will never be able to solve them.
ELIZABETH A. FINDLEY
Senior
Secondary English Education
Harassers have position
of power over victims
To the editor:
Roy Schenk says ("Feminist
leaders seeking superiority for
women", Jan. 14) that feminists
really want "special privilege" or
superiority when they ask for equal
treatment. His main argument is
that feminists think it is wrong for
men to harass women, but they
don't care about the men who are
being harassed by women all the
time.
Schenk's argument relies on a
deep misunderstanding of what
sexual harassment is. If he under
stood that sexual harassment in
volves adifference in power (physi
cal or social) between the harasser
and the victim, he would see that
men are not being sexually ha
rassed by women all the time.
Schenk thinks being sexually ha
rassed is like not having the door
held open for you. He thinks the
victim of sexual harassment has
had her "ladylike sensibilities" of
fended and nothing more.
From my experience as a volun
teer at the Orange County Rape
Crisis Center, I know victims of
sexual harassment feel terribly
threatened, powerless, scared,
sometimes terrified and often
trapped. Because the statistics are
that at least one in 1 2 women will
be raped in her lifetime, when
women are harassed by strangers
in the street, we have to worry that
the harasser will pursue and try to
hurt us. When women are harassed
fcy our bosses, we have to worry
that we will be fired if we protest.
Men who harass women are in
some position of power over the
women they torment. That is why
women are threatened and fright
ened. Of course, it is also wrong for
women who have power over men
to create this fearful experience
for those men. But because it is
usually men who are in positions
of power, this situation does not
happen very often. It is because we
start out in unequal positions in
academe, in the work force and on
the streets that women are vulner
able to men who choose to take
advantage of their power. To en
sure equal treatment, women must
not be subject to this kind of vic
timization. VALERIE TIBERIUS
Graduate
Philosophy
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