2The Daily Tar HeelThursday, September 10, 1992 r jCemgorehip of twdent programs, books on the rise in N.C. schools By Anna Burdeshaw 1 A dramatic increase in censorship fcfforts throughout the nation was re ported last week by the People for the American Way, a left-wing civil lib erties organization.""1' I Lastyear,229attemptstobanques ,tionabIe material from schools were Reported. This year, that number rose ;to376. N.C. statistics paralleled national figures Hcensorshipreqtiestswere made during the past school year, compared to only three during the J1990-91 school year. According to PFAW, the materials jdrawing complaints are changing as well. ! "(Censorship) is expanding. More Jand more people are challenging li brary books, not just required read ling," said Cathy Stuart, executive di Jrector of People for the American ;Way in North Carolina, j Stuart said the censorship requests were not limited to books. Games, classroom curricula and specific AIDS, sex and drug education pro (grams are also targets for censorship. Several N.C. school districts have been forced to deal with parental con fcerns about the material being pre HE'S NOT HERE on the Village Green presents REGGAE SENIOR NIGHT TONIGHT! 8-11 pm Seniors FREE with Senior Class T-Shirt or Registration Card Everyone Else - $2.M Dou Clark & the Hot Nuts Friday, Sepf . 1 1 Scrapyard Saturday, Sept. 12 Don't Forget our Tuesday Night Specials $1.75 Blue Clips 042-7939 A When you prep for the LSAT, do you want to master questions that are on the LSAT? Or questions that u.h-c) to he on the LSAT? In 1991, an entire question format disappeared from the LSAT. This question format used to be found in every section of the test. At Kaplan, we caught the change. Not by accident, but because we have a team of professionals dedicated to studying the LSAT. And we changed our course materials accordingly. There otujhla be a law: When you are paying to prepare for the LSAT, you should study question formats that are on the LSAT. We re sure that our competitors agree. So why does LSAT Intensive Review contin ue to prep students for an obsolete question format? Does Princeton Review think the LSAT is a history exam? Are they too busy trying to hype their course to notice the change in the test? sented to their children. In the Wake County school system, one parent complained that a book was causing his child to have nightmares. The issue was taken to the Wake County school board, which recom mended that the book only be available to students who were in at least the fourth grade. Jean Johnson, director of media ser vices for Wake County Schools, said this particular case was unusual since previous complaints were resolved be fore they reached the school board. "There are other requests by parents, but ... they have always accepted the decision of the (media advisory) com mittee," Johnson said. In Macon County, some parents voiced complaints about the contents of a sex education program and the age groups it targeted. The parents also argued that they had little control over the materials and in formation their children received in school. "The parents wanted more of an abstinence-based program. The program was reviewed, and ... we cleared up the way the parents could review the infor mation," said Gene Young, associate superintendent of Macon County Schools. School officials aLsochanged the age ajV ;M fc level of students in the program to ac commodate parents' wishes, Young said. "We had gone down to the fifth (grade),' Young said. "It was taken out of the fifth." SomeN.C. school districts are imple menting specific policies concerning censorship requests, and they also are establishing committees to handle com plaints, Stuart said. However, a recent PFAW survey showed many parents were unaware of these new developments. "Alotofpeoplearen'tinforrnedabout (school district) policies," Stuart said. While the challenged programs are changing to suit demands, so are the people who are making the demands. Historically, right-wing groups have been the instigators of censorship cam paigns. But Stuart said parents now have a strongerrole in pressuring schools to ban certain materials. ; Mary Renck Jalongo, professor of educaoonat Indiana University ofPenn sylvania, agreed."Most people think it's strictly the moral majority (advo cating censorship), but it's also from the liberal side," she said. Paul Hetrick, vice president of Focus on the Family, said that the PFAW was ; a"left-wing,progressivewatchdog"and : claimed that past reports by the organi Pope wants stricter sex crime penalties The Associated Press RALEIGH Art Pope, the Repub lican candidate for lieutenant governor, says he will push for tougher penalties for marital rape, required AIDS testing for rapists and televised testimony by children in child-abuse trials. Pope, at a series of news conferences around the state Wednesday, said the state should repeal a law that blocks a woman from charging her husband with rape if they are living together. "Rape is rape regardless of who com mits it," said Pope, who faces Democrat ' mum . . : jinmmi wftiK A t n If ' .: , " hyXJ' ,s - Attention all LSAT test-takers. The Roman Numerals question format, sometimes called Triple TrueFalse, has not appeared on the LSAT since February 1991. This is not an isolated incident: The LSAT is a continually evolving exam. Be sure you're studying with the prep course that uncovers changes as they happen, and prepare.' you for the te.it you will take. The rest is history. h'or information on Conlcmporarv LSAT prep, call: 493-5000 zation have contained incorrect and misleading information. Although he has not seen this year's report, Hetrick said it was possible that the PFAW again misconstrued the facts. Focus on the Family is one of the conservative groups that the PFAW lists as constantly advocating censor ship of specific material. Bat Hetrick said Focus on the Fam ily advocates censure, the monitoring of material already implemented in schools, iastead of censorship. Hetrick also said the organization never challenged any curricula until it received parental complaints. ; "We are a sounding board for con cerned parents who feel they have no one else to go to." he said. "We're getting about 10,000 letters a day from concerned parents." Focus on the Family also claims that past PFAW reports incorrectly have portrayed them as an anti-classics, anti-sex education organization, Hetrick said. The organization does not oppose classic literature unless it has been altered. And Hetrick claims that we are not against sex education as long as it is sex education ... (but) what bills itself as sex education is actually sex propaganda." Dennis Wicker in November. "The cur rent law should be repealed, no ifs, ands or buts." The fears of rape have been com pounded by the spread of acquired im mune deficiency syndrome, he said. "Rape victims should at least be given the peace of mind of having the accused rapist tested for AIDS," Pope said. "If the accused has indeed been arrested for a sex offense, then there is sufficient probable cause to require the accused to submit to an AIDS test without violat ing his constitutional rights." , Bush, Clinton race stalls most federal judge confirmations By Eric Lusk Senior Writer Banking on a Bill Clinton presiden tial victory in November, Democrats in the Senate have put a hold on confirma tion hearings for many of President Bush's judicial nominees. While the Senate confirmed Edward Carnes, the controversial Alabama as sistant attorney general, to the bench Wednesday, his acceptance will likely be one of the last until the presidential duel ends in November. Cames, who will take a seat on the 1 1th Circuit Court of Appeals in At lanta, was confirmed by a vote of 62-36, despite charges that he was biased against blacks in death penalty cases. , While Clinton's firm lead in the polls has brought more attention to the future of the federal court system, most ob servers suggest that typical election year politics dictates a slowdown in confirmation hearings. "It's not at all unusual for the Senate to want to slow things down as a presi dential election approaches," said Wil liam Grimes, a professor at Southwest ern University School of Law in Los Angeles. "If we look back to the 1988 election, some of this probably went on even though Michael Dukakis was trail ing. Politics is not new in this area." Presently, 50 of Bush's nominees to federal courts await hearings with the Senate Judicial Committee, the last step before the entire Senate decides whether to approve an appointee to the bench. Almost half of the nominees have been waiting for more than seven months to be scheduled for hearings, said Frank Shults, acting public affairs director with the U.S. Department of Justice. "That's a long time to go without a hearing," Shults said. "These positions Senior Class Notes y Reggae Band 8 p.m. Thursday He's Not Here Free Admission with senior ID or senior class T-shirt; or pay $2 : at the door. Graduate School Seminar 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday Murpheylll Conducted by Robert Kirkpatrick. Corrections In the Sept. 8 article "Egyptian medical experts tour UNC," Tereza Faragalla's quote should have read "We are working toward that in Egypt." The delegation is a group of nurs ing professionals from Egypt touring U.S. nursing educational centers. The UNC tour was hosted by UNC School of Nursing. Another Sept. 8 article, "Student Congress leaders consider new redis ricting," incorrectly stated why Rep. Ruffin Poole, Dist. 24, withdrew his plan for congressional redistricting. The bills were withdrawn because Poole thought he could not get the necessary 10-percent voter turnout. The DTH regrets the errors. CLASS OF 1993 1 k Item, HhA CmLh r TONIGHT ftlsitis Soccer Gust Csirolins FetzerField jjjlffjli are extremely critical." Cames' nomination had been pend-, ing in the Senate since January. U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boil of Elizabeth City is the only pend-. ing N.C. nominee. Boil has been ap-. pointed to fill a vacancy on the 4th . Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. He could not be reached for comment. Although the Senate has slowed the , r. . ...... ....,.u,. U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Judicial Committee from Delaware, has . saidhewouldcontinueprocessingnomi- ; nations to fill imnortant vacancies. "Senator Biden has made it clear he . will hold nomination hearings as late into the vear as oossible." said a Biden press representative, who requested that ; his name remain anonvmous. "So far thic war uA haiy, hplH f( hparinoc - L,.,o ;vui, "- . which is a record in an election year.It's ,. very inaccurate to say Biden is holding up nominations." David Sellers, a public information officer with the Administrative Office of the Courts in Washington, said 108 empty seats needed to be filled within . the federal court system. Bruce Ledewitz, a law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa., said Republicans also were to blame for . the slowdown in filling vacancies. "We've had an inability to fill our district court in western Pennsylvania . ; for years now," Ledewitz said. "The White House under Bush and Reagan has been slow to nominate. The nomi nations here in Pennsylvania have just, been sitting there for years." Although the president plays a pow erful role in determining the future of . the federal judicial system by appoint ing judges for life terms, a Clinton vie- -tory would not revolutionize the courts, Grimes said. "It' s a gradual process to name people to the judiciary," hesaid. "If Clinton . were president, he would give more . interest to women and minorities. Dur ing a four-year term, he'll be lucky to appoint two or three justices to the Su preme Court, and that's not a majority." '. Campus Calendar THURSDAY , yi, NOON: CAA Chut with the Coch: Mack Brown will answer questions in the Pit. 3:30 p.m. University Career Services will offer' basic information on how to use the UCS office for seniors and graduate students in 2 1 0 Hanes. Study Abroad will have an information session on a spring program in Maastricht, Netherlands, of inter- ' est to business students in T5 New Carroll. 4 p.m. BCC Communlverjlly Volunteer Train-, Ing Workshop will welcome Safisia Madhubuti, professor of education at Northwestern University and founder of the Institute of Positive Education. 5 p.m. American Advertising Federation will have an organizational meeting in 203 Howell. TAr Heel Recycling Program will meet at Co-' lumbia Street Coffeehouse. UNC Sailing Club will have its fall organizational meeting in 226 Union. $12 cash for dues is required. 5:30 p.m. Black Interdenominational Student -Association will hold a Bible study upstairs in Chase.. Lutheran Campus Ministry will have a commun ion service with a fellowship meal at 6:15 p.m. 6 p.m. Lutheran Campus Ministry will have graduate student discussion of Bonhoeffer's "Life Together." ; "Brothers," a discussion group for and about African-American male students, will meet in the first- ' floor loungeofHintonlames. Information: 962-2175. Presbyterian Student Center will have a student fellowship dinner and program on Habitat for Hu manity. Information: 967-23 1 1 . 7 p.m. Leadership Development will have an orientation session in 101 Greenlaw. Women's Club Tennis will have a meeting and pizza party in 2 1 0 Union. Delta Sigma Theta will hold a discussion on campus safety tips in the Sonja Hanes Stone Black. Cultural Center office. Carolina Fever will have a meeting in 100 Hamilton. UNC Outing Club will meet in 205-206 Union. 8 p.m. La Casa Espanola: Ven a! segundo piso de ' Carmichael para charlar con nosotros. V 2 V EC a P L A EM Th answer to the test question.

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view