TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing to express my disappointment in your publishing the letter to the editor entitled “Nichol sucks value from the University.”
While P.H. Craig is a respected member of the Chapel Hill community and a valued alumnus, his opinions on Gene Nichol and the recent Board of Governors actions were poorly written, and publishing his piece was not an effective way of providing a valid alternative perspective to the events that local news and The Daily Tar Heel have covered somewhat one-sidedly.
I am a supporter of Gene Nichol and believe that the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity is one of the state and University’s most valuable assets, but I have at times been disappointed with the coverage the DTH and the (Raleigh) News & Observer have provided on the matter. There are valid points on the other side of the issue out there, but I have not seen them in The Daily Tar Heel.
If the goal of including Mr. Craig’s response in today’s paper was to dignify a counterargument to other DTH articles, that goal was not achieved. Mr. Craig’s poorly conveyed opinions were written in broken English! Not to mention that referring to the articles Nichol published in the News & Observer illustrating the dismal state of poverty in our state as “hate mail” discredits the objectivity of anything Mr. Craig said in his remarks.
Likewise, calling North Carolina’s most charismatic and widely respected civil rights activist, Rev. William Barber “Bully Bill” likens Mr. Craig to the late Jesse Helms, who was known for publicly referring to Martin Luther King as “Martin Luther Coon.” If the goal of publishing Mr. Craig’s remarks was to further diminish the “other side” of this issue, then you have succeeded.
On the whole, I have found your coverage of the BOG events enriching and valuable, and only ask that you provide some of the more valid counterpoints in future arguments. Consistently demonizing one side numbs people to the issues and has caused some on our campus to discount most of what they read on this matter in the DTH.
Benjamin Sellers
