Opinion - The Daily Tar Heel

Employees shouldn’t have to make up the two hours

By Letter to the Editor | Sep. 1, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:I write in response to the forced shortened workday Oct. 22 to accommodate the TV coverage of the Florida State football game.Coming hard on the heels of UNC-system President (Erskine) Bowles’ statement that The (Raleigh) News & Observer coverage of the extensive administrative expansion of many UNC-system schools was an embarrassment, UNC-Chapel Hill is forcing employees to reschedule two hours of their time to accommodate football game traffic!

Lasting friendships can be made outside Greek life

By Letter to the Editor | Sep. 1, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:Mike Collins truly missed the UNC college experience, not to mention the general college experience (“Column missed the point of Greek life on campus,” Aug. 31). College friendships are made on two individuals’ accord, not because a Greek system exists. I agree with Collins that the Greek system offers an opportunity to network and make contacts; however, so do many other prominent organizations on campus.

Nutritious options sparse on campus

By Jessica Lynn Wolfe | Aug. 31, 2009

Even after ten years as a professor, I look forward to returning to school every autumn. The biannual ritual of buying new books, reuniting with friends after a summer away — these are the Circadian rhythms of the academic. But there is one thing that makes me less than excited about the prospect of returning to UNC: the food.

All signs point to dirty: Mayoral candidate Cho needs to clean his highway

By Editorial Board | Aug. 31, 2009

After adopting a stretch of a Chapel Hill highway, mayoral candidate Augustus Cho isn’t holding up his end of the bargain. Chapel Hill political candidates aren’t allowed to post campaign signs until Sept. 20. But Cho found a clever alternative to boost name recognition: Around the time he declared his candidacy, he adopted a mile of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and had his name posted under the “Adopt-a-Highway” sign. Cho certainly gets kudos for finding a convenient loophole to get his name out, especially because it involves community service.

Cut it out: Administrative cuts at UNC-system schools are important ?nancially and organizationally

By Editorial Board | Aug. 31, 2009

It looks like some administrators in the UNC system are going home. In fact, about 900 of them are.But these are necessary cuts.They’ve been a long time coming, according to UNC-system President Erskine Bowles. Bowles stated in an e-mail to UNC-system chancellors on Aug. 17 that universities in the North Carolina system would need to focus more on thinning the herd at the top of the ladder. Our university is indicative of the types of cuts needed.

Get off the ?nancing fence: Chapel Hill should require candidates to use public ?nancing or scrap the program all together

By Editorial Board | Aug. 31, 2009

Chapel Hill needs to make up its mind. The town should either have mandatory publicly financed campaigns or campaigns that rely on private fundraising. Straddling these two options simply wastes money.Chapel Hill’s Voter-Owned Elections program is the first to try publicly financed municipal campaigns in North Carolina history.But so far the program has only attracted two participants. The program isn’t mandatory — candidates can opt-in if they choose to.

Mandated insurance for students not worth cost

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 31, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:I disagree with the Board of Governors’ decision requiring all students to purchase health coverage. The simple fact is that many students simply do not need health insurance. Rarely does a student suffer from a catastrophic injury or debilitating illness (for example, despite thousands of people who attended the riotous NCAA championship celebration last year, only a few needed medical treatment due to injury).

Sending University staff home early makes sense

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 31, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:Seriously, you write an editorial claiming that sending staff home two hours early on the day of a Thursday night game is an inconvenience to them? (“Major inconvenience,” Aug. 31) You claim leaving early would cause problems with “families, carpools or anything with a consistent schedule.” But did you even consider the repercussions of them staying?

Join student government to help implement change

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 31, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:Each year, student government appoints many students to important University committees that cover topics ranging from academic advising to safety. First-years have a unique opportunity to get involved with student government specifically, but not exclusively, through the student advisory committee to the chancellor. This committee consists of 12 students who work directly with Chancellor Holden Thorp on major university issues. It has previously addressed gap-year policies, international student life, safety, and academic freedom.

Letter’s take on gender relations was distressing

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 31, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:Kudos to Jake Fraser for his creative interpretation of women’s empowerment (“Project Dinah’s definition of rape puzzling, shocking,” Aug. 31). I’m sure Betty Friedan would be thrilled to know that drunken hookups now fall under the banner of “progressive gender relations.”

Invest in a new friend today

By Reed Watson | Aug. 30, 2009

In Chapel Hill, the most important period of the “friend-making year” has just begun with the start of the fall semester. Everyone is riding the wave of new possibilities for connection. You should be too.

Racial diversity criticism of DTH is off the mark

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 30, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:I wish I could say that I was shocked to see the Daily Tar Heel publish something as obnoxiously racist as Wendy Sease’s Friday Letter to the Editor (“DTH newsroom could be aided by some diversity,” Aug. 28) concerning the color of the student writers, but such views are becoming frighteningly common.

Something about Mary

By Editorial Board | Aug. 30, 2009

Mary Easley should step down from her position at North Carolina State University.But system administrators need to take responsibility for the situation and their inability to foresee former Gov. Mike Easley’s involvement in his wife’s hiring.The onus was on UNC-system leaders to prevent Mary Easley from receiving an unreasonable raise. It is now clear that they failed to do so.A recent report by State Auditor Beth Wood found that Mary Easley was overpaid by $91,000.

Healthy decision

By Editorial Board | Aug. 30, 2009

The Board of Governors made the right decision when it mandated that every undergraduate student in the UNC system have health insurance by fall 2010.Though conservatives might disagree ideologically with the mandate, ultimately the program is a way to extend health insurance to students who can’t afford it while not placing a large burden on the state.Starting next fall, the UNC system will offer lower-cost coverage for students who currently don’t have health insurance. Those who are already covered will be unaffected.

Column missed the point of Greek life on campus

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 30, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:Abbey Caldwell’s column, (“Greeks provide us one week of bliss,” Aug. 28) was a delightful exercise in self-centeredness.We all love some quiet time with unimpeded access to the couch and DVR.However, as the president of the alumni association for Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, I can tell you that Caldwell misses the point of why her housemates are involved in the Greek experience in the first place.

Major inconvenience

By Editorial Board | Aug. 30, 2009

UNC officials should remember that our University does not exist purely for entertainment. That’s an idea that was apparently forgotten when officials scheduled a football game for Oct. 22 against Florida State.On that day — the Thursday of Fall Break — the UNC football team will play the Florida State Seminoles at 8 p.m. here in Chapel Hill. Thousands of employees leaving the University while fans are arriving would bring traffic to a standstill.

Project Dinah’s definition of rape puzzling, shocking

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 30, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:I was somewhat shocked to read the letter to the editor from Project Dinah’s co-chairwomen in The Daily Tar Heel (“Tucker Max’s movie should not be shown here at UNC,” Aug. 23). Not because they were displeased with Tucker Max, who is a pretty unpleasant person, but instead because of the bizarre logic they used to support their argument.

Community should choose to celebrate Smith’s life

By Letter to the Editor | Aug. 30, 2009

TO THE EDITOR:Courtland Smith was so much more than a student, friend or fraternity president. He was a driving force for the betterment of the entire Chapel Hill community. Smith found countless ways to use his position as president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon house to promote worthy causes. I especially remember his efforts on behalf of Habitat for Humanity.

Viewpoints: Tuition law is a sound investment

Aug. 28, 2009

THE ISSUE: A 2005 state law allows UNC-system schools to count out-of-state students on full scholarship — athletes or merit scholars — as in-state students. This allows organizations that support these scholarships to pay the university in-state tuition for these students, a difference of $17,888 per student per year. Is this law fair? Charging these particular out-of-state students as in-state ones is a sound investment that keeps the University competitive with its peer institutions.

Viewpoints: Tuition status is unfair

By Editorial Board | Aug. 28, 2009

THE ISSUE: A 2005 state law allows UNC-system schools to count out-of-state students on full scholarship — athletes or merit scholars — as in-state students. This allows organizations that support these scholarships to pay the university in-state tuition for these students, a difference of $17,888 per student per year. Is this law fair? This law gives an unjust subsidy to the groups that need it least.