10 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/15/10 4:44am)
As the student body election season heats up, so too does The Daily Tar Heel’s editorial board. The next month is the most important period for the opinion page and a time in which we have the opportunity to make the most impact on the student body.Hundreds of students are heavily invested in these campaigns. Many have spent countless hours working on platforms, developing strategies or campaigning.And the greater student body, even though they might not be intimately involved in the election process, will be directly affected by the outcome of these races — from basketball ticket policies to the location of senior bar nights.Therefore, as in years past, the DTH’s editorial board will be endorsing candidates for Residence Hall Association president, senior class officers, Carolina Athletic Association president and student body president.These endorsements will run on the opinion page during the last week of campaigning, ending with our student body president selection on election day.We will not be running any letters to the editor endorsing any particular student for any office. Giving one candidate more publicity than another would not be fair.We will also serve as the public watchdog for these candidacies, ensuring that they follow election law as outlined in the Student Code and the Board of Elections, which is charged with enforcing these election laws. All candidates will receive a questionnaire from the editorial board to be returned for our endorsement process. The questionnaire will be publicly posted, and each candidate’s answers will be posted to the DTH’s Web site.All candidates will also be interviewed by the editorial board. Candidates for RHA president, senior class officers and CAA president will receive 30-minute interviews. Student body president candidates will receive one-hour interviews. Candidates are allowed to bring one member of their campaign, but he or she will not be permitted to participate in the interview.We look forward to participating in this year’s election.
(11/02/09 4:33am)
Recently there has been some controversy involving a Daily Tar Heel columnist.Last week, The Carolina Review released Facebook photos that showed several people, including columnist Domenic R.A. Powell, painting a room with the floor covered in dozens of its issues.The date of the photos coincides with the disappearance of a sizable number of issues of the conservative magazine.Bryan Weynand, editor of The Carolina Review, told the DTH that as many as 400 issues went missing at a cost of $100 to $200.In light of these revelations, Powell will no longer write a column for the DTH.While no guilt has been admitted, the photos clearly show that Powell is involved in this controversy.It’s unfortunate to lose such an excellent writer, but continuing to run his column on race relations would be antithetical to the values of the DTH. The DTH has consistently elucidated our commitment to free press and free speech.The editorial board regularly defends UNC’s controversial Youth for Western Civilization for their right to speak on campus.And the DTH itself is a frequent target of theft and vandalism.In 2006, members of Sigma Chi fraternity stole 10,000 copies of our newspaper to avoid negative coverage. Just this year, many of our papers were blanketed with a “Special Anti-Racist Issue.” And in September, several members of the women’s swimming team stole a number of issues.While we do not always agree with The Carolina Review’s opinions, we stand with them in opposing censorship in all its forms.
(08/23/09 7:05pm)
The opinion page of the Daily Tar Heel plays a distinct role in the life of the University.It’s not our job to be objective (we’ll leave that up to the newsroom). It’s our job to opine on issues and events affecting the campus community.The editorial board researches and writes several unsigned editorials each day that represent its collective opinion.We’ve added a few more slots to the board this year to bring in even more perspectives to the page.Ten columnists will write semiweekly columns, focusing on everything from women and gender issues to studying abroad. The diversity in opinions and topics this year should certainly spice the page up. Guest columnists will be solicited when a particularly complicated or controversial issue arises on campus. The editorial board will also be endorsing a candidate in the Chapel Hill mayoral election and in the spring campus elections, including the student body president.And of course, we will continue to publish letters to the editor. Letters to the editor are your space. This is your chance to share your opinion with the campus community.So keep them coming!There are some issues that we know will continue to dominate the headlines — the effects of budget cuts and further discussion of Carolina North, among others. And we’ll be there to provide insightful commentary on these issues.But the unexpected events are what I’m most looking forward to discussing on this page. Controversial issues last year made the opinion page ground zero for dialogue about sensitive issues such as abortion and immigration rights.And the campus community was actively involved in these conversations through letters to the editor, comments online and guest columns.Of course, we’ll continue to publish the venerable kvetching board on Fridays and QuickHits on Wednesdays. But we’re also going to be trying out some new things this semester.We’re bringing back “Viewpoints,” in which an issue is debated from two different perspectives, as opposed to a single unsigned editorial taking a single stance.We’ll also be expanding our online presence with the launch of the new dailytarheel.com.The new Web site will make it easier for you to submit letters to the editor and comment on stories. And it will allow us to better connect with readers. The columnists will have a blog in which they will update regularly. And the opinion page will update a Twitter account with editorials and columnists. Check out the Web site soon to check out video introductions of the editorial members and columnists and for a more thorough explanation of the functioning of the editorial board.Looking forward to another great year!
(01/12/09 5:00am)
In contrast to the anxiety felt at the beginning of the school year there is a definite feeling of excitement for the New Year and the new semester. I'm not sure I've ever seen UNC's campus more bustling than I did while walking around campus yesterday — as students rushed to class and caught up with friends after an excessively long winter break.The new semester also offers those of us who didn't do as well as we had hoped last semester a chance to start anew with the disillusionment that somehow we'll manage to wake up in time for our 8 a.m. classes.But with this chance to start anew also brings a sense of anticipation for the unexpected. What does 2009 have in store for us? What will be the overarching theme of the new year?The election cycle dominated the news of 2008 which culminated with the historic election of Barack Obama. And sadly with his victory also came the demise of priceless impersonations that we have come to love over the course of the year although Sarah Palin has yet to completely depart from the airwaves.The faltering economy also dominated the headlines in the last few months of 2008 and will continue to affect University policy. There have always been battles over tuition increases but in this current economic downturn the calls to minimize the size of the tuition increases will certainly be stronger than ever. Budgetary gaps will surely bring renewed controversy in a new year.Indeed the editorial board has weighed in on its share of controversies last year including the push to build a new airport and the vandalism of N.C. State University's Free Speech Tunnel. And let's not forget Carolina Students for Life's graphic abortion display at the heart of campus.The good news is that all of these episodes have prepared us to continue to offer astute opinions on the potential controversies in 2009 at UNC.It has especially prepared us to closely follow the student government campaign season. Although campaigning only officially begins today we've already dealt with several contentious issues involving potential Student Body President candidates and the Board of Elections. And controversy is rarely absent from student government elections.We'll continue to critically monitor the election process as we prepare to offer the editorial board's endorsements. We also look forward to grading this year's elected officials later in the semester to continue to keep our student government officials accountable to their constituents.On our own editorial board we've added several new board members. Their diverse opinions and perspectives will better allow the editorial board to offer pertinent insight on the issues.We've also shaken up our columnist structure. By increasing the number of our columnists we'll now be having biweekly contributions. This new arrangement will allow the columns to focus more specifically on a particular topic of interest to the columnist.I'm certainly going to miss working with my former opinion co-editor Greg Margolis who is studying abroad this semester in South America. But I'm confident that opinion's new associate editor James Ding will bring a fresh approach to the opinion page.Although the composition has changed significantly from last semester the goals of this page haven't. The opinion page is the University's forum for debate a place to hold people accountable and offer informed solutions to difficult problems. Our editorials will continue to boast the same level of clarity and accuracy as last semester's. And as always if you don't like our opinion write a letter to the editor and let us know.There's no turning back happy 2009.
(10/01/08 4:00am)
This co-column was tough to write for two reasons. First because we have such different writing styles and personalities. Yet we overcame this because we share a common vision for where the page needs to go and are excited about the changes we have in store. Secondly it was difficult in light of all the controversy surrounding the opinion page in recent weeks; part of this turmoil led us to step up as editors.As we transition into our new roles we hope we can overcome the difficulties this page has faced.In order to do this it's important to address some issues at the heart of the controversy and also lay out our mission.We believe the opinion page is separate from the newsroom. Individual reporters' opinions on any given event should not influence a particular editorial and opinion writers should not be influencing how a reporter writes a specific story. But we also need to represent The Daily Tar Heel in a broad philosophical sense. If the editorials in the opinion section undermine reporters' ability to do their job we would not be doing ours.More than any other organization on campus the newsroom has a pulse on the community. That's why we're going to increase communication between the two bodies.That said it's important to understand that we are an autonomous body and we ultimately make decisions independently of the newsroom. One of the editorial board's most important roles is to hold people accountable. Doing this job well means being accurate. No fact errors ambiguities or misstatements.We want our editorials to be well-researched insightful and fully informed. This is a major responsibility that comes with publishing under the banner of The Daily Tar Heel.While the facts should never be in dispute the opinions certainly should be. And that's where you come in. Don't agree with our opinion on the ticket policy for campus concerts? Write a letter to the editor.Have a unique perspective of campus life? Write a guest column. This is your page if you want it — you have a soapbox that can reach 40000 people. Use it!We take our responsibility very seriously to be a forum for debate on campus and we hope that you as the reader do as well. Your letters don't even have to be 500 words. Just take a few minutes and participate in the discussion. At the very least you can see your name in print!Over the next few months we're going to try some new things on the opinion page and give it more variety while still keeping in mind our mission of autonomy accountability and accuracy.We're going to include more graphic elements. These will help present opinions in a creative and expressive way — something that can't necessarily be done in writing. And we know that when you pick up the paper before your 8 a.m. class you don't always want to read 300-word editorials.While there has been a change on the masthead you should continue to expect the same high-quality content on the editorial page. We look forward to serving you and embracing the important role that the editorial board plays in our community.
(06/26/08 4:00am)
Due to a reporting error, Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Harold Ford was misidentified in this story. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
On Saturday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, participated in a Senatorial forum hosted by the N.C. Bar Association in New Bern. This marks the first time that the two U.S. Senate candidates have debated each other.
"I am running because Washington is broken," Hagan said in her introduction.
Hagan also called for better health care, more affordable college and new energy policy plans.
(10/30/07 4:00am)
DURHAM - Self-Help, a community development lender and real-estate developer in low-income markets, celebrated the groundbreaking of a new energy-efficient home Monday on Kent Street.
The construction of the new home is based on a design developed by five N.C. State University students who won the 2007 N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition.
The competition is in its 10th year, said Tracy Dixon, project manager for Advanced Energy, a Raleigh-based nonprofit providing innovative solutions to energy issues.
"This year we are focusing on sustainability and affordability and how the two are connected and can be connected," Dixon said. "It's a great opportunity to try out all sorts of new construction techniques in one house."
Those include installing better insulation and sealing the windows and crawl space more efficiently.
Dixon said they projected about $550 a year in reductions of heating and cooling costs in the new construction.
Heating and cooling costs represent about half of most families' utility bill, Self-Help Project Manager Dan Levine said. After receiving energy-efficient certification from Advanced Energy, the nonprofit guarantees the price of heating and cooling bills for the family at about $30 per month, he said.
The finished house will cost about $100,000.
David Beck, policy director for Self-Help, said he hopes Self-Help can become a leader in discovering practical ways of conserving energy and improving the quality of life for lower-income families.
"The more you look into environmental impact," Beck said. "The more you see that the negative impacts fall disproportionately on low-income families."
Miguel Rubiera, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Durham, said he agreed that efficiency more immediately benefits low-income families.
"As far as energy efficiency, I think we are pioneers," he said of lower-income residents.
Dawn Bland, the owner of a recently completed Self-Help energy-efficient home, said she is appreciative of the projected financial savings in utility bills.
"It was only after that we had started dealing with them that we found out they were doing energy-efficient-type housing that we just really fell in love with them," Bland said. "It was a deal sealer for us."
Durham Mayor Bill Bell noted at the event other needs for change in the wake of global warming and regional drought.
"Conservation becomes the rule rather the exception," he said.
Dorcas Bradley, chairwoman of the Southwest Central Durham Quality of Life Project, said the community was benefiting from the several new homes constructed by Self-Help.
"We really wanted to do something totally green," Bradley said. "We're helping to empower them, speak up, do all those kinds of things that will be good for the community."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/16/07 4:00am)
They call him Silly Nelson.
His jovial demeanor, combined with long, graying hair and a red bandana, make N.C. State Fair worker Charles Phillips a dead ringer for the famous songwriter.
"I've got all the fame, and he's got all the fortune," Phillips joked from the shade of the "Italian and Polish Sausage" trailer, where he cooks for patrons when he's not maintaining carnival rides.
He said a lot has changed in the 37 years he's been working at fairgrounds throughout the country.
"It's gotten pretty commercialized," Phillips said. "A lot of moms and pops got put out of business. A lot of little shows are going out of business."
Phillips started in the amusement industry as a truck driver hauling carnival equipment.
Now he paints carnival rides, a gig he stumbled onto when a fellow carnival worker discovered Phillips walking home paint-stained from his job working with cars. "A guy wanted to know if I could do some signs for him," he recalled. "I said, 'Sure,' and been doing it ever since."
Phillips quickly progressed from painting signs to painting carnival rides and airbrushing T-shirts.
During almost 40 years working on fairgrounds, Phillips has seen his share of excitement. He's witnessed a gang shootout in Miami, as well as the grisly death of a Raleigh fairgoer, who he said was chopped in half after trying to retrieve a dropped cell phone from a pirate ship ride.
"That thing came down and hit him and smattered him all over that Midway over there."
But it's not all guts and gore for Phillips. "That's the kind of stuff we don't like to see," he said. "But there's a lot of good out here."
The very definition of a carnival is temporary fun, he said. "It's just like Forrest Gump; you don't know what you're gonna get out here."
When not out at the fair, Phillips resides in Gibsonton, Fla., the original "carnie town," where he raised some of his eight children and 20 grandchildren.
Holding out his camera phone, he showed off a picture of a country singer with one of his daughters, who had just returned from active combat in Iraq.
His daughter, now pregnant with Phillips' 21st grandchild, is engaged to a fellow soldier who just got back from his own Iraq tour five days ago.
Phillips' obvious pride in his daughter is all the more striking when he tells the story of their 30-year separation.
He and his ex-wife separated when his daughter and her twin brother were about a year old. After that, he said, their mother and her boyfriend signed adoption papers for his children behind his back.
"Two years ago, I get a call in the middle of the night," Phillips said as his voice began to shake. "It was her. She found me. She looked for me. And we've been close ever since."
Watching people and developing long-distance friendships are the best parts about working in the fair industry, he said.
"I got friends from all over the country - we know each other for two weeks out of the year," he said. "You never see 'em, you never associate with them no more than those two weeks, and you've been friends for 30 or 40 years."
This is his first year working at the state fair's "Italian and Polish Sausage" stand.
When asked if he had any Polish or Italian heritage, Phillips responded resoundingly:
"Oh no, I'm American."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/12/07 4:00am)
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited with children from Camp Challenge, a summer camp for low-resource middle school students, Thursday at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Powell spoke to the children during a brief stop at the airport's private terminal and then allowed several to ask questions.
A few of the questions were politically charged. One girl asked whether a Palestinian state was necessary for peace in the Middle East. A boy asked why Osama bin Laden hadn't yet been captured, prompting laughter from the audience.
Powell has been involved in children's issues throughout his career. He helped found America's Promise
Alliance, a children's advocate group, in 1997.
Camp Challenge was established with the goals of America's Promise Alliance in mind, said Thad Woodard, president and CEO of the N.C. Bankers Association, which funds much of the program.
The camp, which hosts 600 to 700 middle-school-aged children each summer in the Saura Mountains, exposes the students to recreational and educational opportunities they might not otherwise encounter.
"This is one of those situations where truly everybody wins," Woodard said. "(Powell) is very supportive of what is being accomplished at Camp Challenge."
Powell encouraged the children to use failure constructively. "Take achievement with humility; take failure solely with the purpose of understanding what you did wrong."
Ezekiel Holder, a sixth-grader from Franklinton, said he was excited and nervous to ask Powell a question.
Holder, 11, attended Camp Challenge last summer for the first time and said he hopes to return again, speaking of the camp in high regard. "I learned how to work with horses and how to work together and not fuss and be friends."
Jessica McDade, a youth development professional at the Wake Forest Boys and Girls Club, recommended the camp to Holder.
"We recommend kids that we know need to be exposed to the outdoors and kids that have stood out to us as being strong role models within the club," she said.
Located just north of Winston-Salem, the camp provides educational programs designed to improve public speaking, conflict resolution and financial literacy for high-achieving youth in a traditional summer camp setting.
Powell told the audience that education is important in today's global economy.
"We are only 300 million. There are billions also trying to get ahead," he said. "We need everyone to work their hardest - we need you desperately."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/28/07 4:00am)
A deadly incident in Iraq involving the N.C.-based private military contractor Blackwater USA has intensified concerns about the privatization of warfare.
Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," spoke about that ongoing controversy at N.C. Central University on Thursday night.
This problem is "not just about a rouge company or a few bad apples," Scahill said, but a general pattern of violence involving private contractors.
"With 170,000 U.S. troops and 180,000 private contractors in Iraq, the U.S. military has become the junior partner in this coalition," he said.
The recent debate stems from a Sept. 16 incident in which at least 11 Iraqi civilians were killed by Blackwater personnel while defending a convoy of U.S. State Department vehicles.
Although Blackwater has maintained that its actions were defensive, the Iraqi government immediately revoked Blackwater's license to operate inside the country. However, Blackwater was back on duty less than a week later.
It is unclear what authority the Iraqi government has to regulate private contractors, Scahill said, as they operate in a "legal gray area" and have been granted immunity from Iraqi law by the U.S. military.
The increased use of private contractors is not just in response to a deficit of volunteer troops, Scahill argues, but is part of a broader privatization agenda. For example, 70 percent of the U.S. intelligence budget is farmed out to private companies.
Blackwater is based in Moyock, in Currituck County of eastern North Carolina, and draws heavily from the state's military-oriented workforce. Scahill said that relationship could reflect poorly on the state in international circles.
Scahill said he's also wary of Blackwater's strong ties with the GOP. Founder Erik Prince has contributed more than $200,000 to the GOP, while vice-chairman Cofer Black is serving as senior adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"Billions are paid to private companies that can funnel that money back into candidacies," Scahill says, "The democratic process has been radically subverted."
Blackwater is the largest of the U.S. State Department's three no-bid contracts.
Scahill said some military officials agree that private security contractors are indeed encouraging insurgency and damaging U.S. credibility through events such as the Sept. 16 incident - he compared that fallout to the Abu Ghraib scandal of about three years ago.
Although Blackwater has been very effective contractually, ensuring the safety of every military and diplomatic official it was assigned to protect, Scahill said those success numbers ignore the bigger picture.
"The price has been a dramatic escalation in violence in Iraq."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.