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The Daily Tar Heel



The Daily Tar Heel

A clean slate for ASG: ASG needs a clear vision guided by student interests in order to serve its membership

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The new academic year offers a fresh start for the University of North Carolina’s Association of Student Governments. We hope the opportunity for initiative is not wasted. We welcome Student Body President Hogan Medlin’s clear vision for working with ASG. In developing Jasmin Jones’ concept of a trained student lobbying group, Medlin envisions ASG coordinating structured lobbying efforts. He sees ASG representing a strong, united UNC-system student body to the legislature and university leadership. And he has concrete objectives for tuition, health care and partner benefits for UNC employees. At a time of instability ­­— with a new system president, and financial uncertainty — a clear voice on behalf of students is crucial. But we are not convinced that Medlin’s vision is sufficiently driven by students. Student contributions fund ASG — every student at a UNC-system school contributes $1 toward the association. For this contribution, students have a right to have their interests represented. And that puts the onus on Medlin and his administration to provide students regular opportunities for engagement. The Jones administration last year tackled this challenge by organizing a petition-signing drive in her ASG efforts. This was a simple way to ensure student buy-in. As Medlin works to create “student lobbyists,” it is even more important to minimize any disconnect between students and their representatives. Students are not necessarily opposed to Medlin’s ideas; tuition concerns are on everyone’s radar. But especially in more narrow areas — partner benefits for UNC employees, for example — he must justify it as the best use of student contributions. Finally, the size of salaries paid to ASG officers must remain an ongoing concern. ASG can be an efficient force for the interests of UNC students.


The Daily Tar Heel

The birthright of a generation

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What does it mean to be a citizen? As the immigration debate heated up this summer, some Republican lawmakers proposed denying babies born of undocumented parents their birthright citizenship, a dangerous idea considering what it could mean for the civil liberties of all Americans. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states “All persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”



The Daily Tar Heel

Summer Lost and Found... and Lost

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Summer is a valuable time for those of us in academia. It’s like our halftime. We can game plan or — for the more realistic, modern athletic parallel — tweet. But sometimes, you lose summers and just have to get what you can out of them, striving for at least a Pyrrhic victory. In early June, I wondered how much money I could get offering for someone to shoot me. With a bullet. I’ve always been a bit curious; you know you’ve wondered, too, in that ‘just-for-a-second’ mindset.



The Daily Tar Heel

A chance for the Greek system to repair its image

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Over the past year, this campus has seen the Greek system turned upside down by investigations, increased scrutiny, and negativity. The failures of the Greek system have been on display and the positives have been overshadowed. But in the midst of these negative occurrences, we as members of the Greek system have a unique opportunity to remember why we are here. This is a chance for us to revert to the values of friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood and philanthropy that define the creeds and mantras we teach.






The Daily Tar Heel

Information on sexual assault should be reviewed

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Project Dinah thanks the DTH for Tuesday’s coverage of a crucial issue facing all students, not just incoming first-years: sexual assault at Carolina. In our community, men and women of all gender identities have survived sexual and interpersonal violence. Bottom line: violence affects us all.


The Daily Tar Heel

Abortion coverage should be included in UNC plan

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In response to the editorial “Explain abortion money” (Aug. 31), where’s the choice in the abortion exemption? The real choice is when a woman has the peace of mind knowing she has access to all of her options — abortion with coverage or carrying the pregnancy to term — when in a difficult situation.



The Daily Tar Heel

One shirt, two shirt, red shirt, blue shirt

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I have enough T-shirts. Long-sleeve, short-sleeve. White tee, tall tee. Turtleneck, V-neck. You name it, I’ve got it in at least one color. I definitely do not need any more. And this is why I’m tired of the charity 5k races. Is there really no other way to galvanize the support of a group of people toward a specific cause? I’ve got to think there is.





The Daily Tar Heel

ConnectCarolina is a new system and will improve

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ConnectCarolina’s “inaugural season” has provided both benefits and challenges for the campus community. ConnectCarolina is a mammoth project both in scope and effort. On the positive side, students can now apply to Carolina, register for classes, receive financial aid and pay tuition online all in one place. The system has brought about major improvements including packaging financial aid faster than ever before, even with the last-minute tuition change, and providing convenient and efficient online bill payment.