TO THE EDITOR:
Monday's editorial lampooning last week's protest against unfair budget cuts (Don't waste trustees' time" March 30) amounts to an unwarranted and supercilious temper tantrum.
Thursday, concerned groups of UNC students, faculty and staff marched to The Carolina Inn to express serious concerns regarding how the impending budget cuts will affect those who aren't lucky enough to make Chancellor Thorp's $420,000 salary.
The Editorial Board labels these efforts as utterly misguided"" cantankerous"" and ""bird-brained."" After this name-calling worthy of a four-year-old"" the board has the audacity to chastise the protesters for supposedly displaying ""juvenile"" behavior.
In between bouts of ad hominem and pouting" the editorial offers an argument to justify its disdain. The argument states that because the N.C. General Assembly controls the amount that will be cut from the University's budget there is no reason to place pressure on the Board of Trustees. This point is simply wrong.
The protest's main goal was not to stop the budget cuts. It was to further the idea that any cuts mandated by the General Assembly should come from the salaries of those who can afford to pay a little extra. Many lower- paid employees cannot afford to miss a paycheck" much less get laid off.
The board's own bylaws state that they ""shall appoint"" promote and set the compensation"" for almost all University employees. Clearly the protesters were not ""ill-informed.""
Jim Gulledge
First-year
Philosophy
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
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