Change the culture; Administration needs to view transparency as an asset

The culture of closed processes in selecting administrators needs to change.Recent searches by the University to fill key administrative positions have shown half-hearted efforts at transparency. They indicate a sentiment that open records and open meetings requirements are an obstacle rather than an asset.

Never too late to plan ahead and study abroad

TO THE EDITOR:Although the application deadline for summer and fall 2010 study abroad programs has passed, as class registration approaches, I want to encourage all students to consider study abroad and to plan their courses accordingly.

Cartoon for March 24, 2010

Preaching prosperity gospel not Christian

A crowd of more than 9,000 gathered last August for a Christian conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Those headlining the conference focused on teaching the “prosperity gospel,” a doctrine that promises abundant financial blessings from God in exchange for your own generous giving to a pastor or ministry.

One card easier: Catalog merge between libraries will increase effciency

A proposed catalog merge between the Orange County and Chapel Hill town library systems will make library use more convenient and efficient for Orange County residents.Currently, residents who frequent both Orange County public libraries and Chapel Hill town libraries need two cards to check out books.

Moving on up: Single user interface for messaging and calendar at UNC will help with effciency, collaboration

The move to Microsoft Exchange for faculty and staff will bring messaging and calendaring management for UNC employees into the 21st century.The current system is inefficient and utilizes disparate systems that are difficult to sync with devices.

Tuition safeguards for all: Tuition increase cap for out-of-state students should be included in new UNC-system tuition plan

When the UNC Board of Governors reviews the 2006 tuition plan, it must ensure that tuition protections are awarded to all students within the system. The protection should come in the form of a commitment to a percentage ceiling for tuition increases for all students — regardless of residency.

Education more than what is ‘practical’

In our current economic crisis, college students are more concerned than ever about their degrees’ value in a competitive job market. It takes a sort of stubbornness these days to decide to be an English, history or romance languages major, as students in these fields are forced ad nauseam to answer the elusive question “What will you do with that?”

Cartoon for March 23, 2010

QuickHits for March 23, 2010

SpringThumbs upIt was a cold and dark winter. But we braved through it and now, as of March 20, spring is officially here. Now we just have to get through six weeks of an inappropriate amount of upper man-thigh.  Time WarnerThumbs down

Hands off our publications; Student Congress shouldn’t tell campus print publications where to produce their content

Student Congress has no business altering the behaviors of campus publications. But a proposed bill in Congress would do just that.Congress members should vote down bill 91-125, “A Bill to Incentivize Web Publishing.”

Better borrowing; New student loan rules will save billions for the federal government and help students get more aid

As the U.S. House of Representatives passed what is being touted as a historic landmark for health insurance reform Sunday, another reform was included that will have a far larger benefit for college students.

Cartoon for March 22, 2010

Expert on Russian relations to speak

Relations between the United States and Russia have been rocky since the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War and the opening of Eastern Europe to democracy and regime change.

Freedom to choose: UNC should follow Duke in exploring gender-neutral housing; state law is draconian, unconstitutional

It is a rare occasion when Duke should be supported. But their students’ efforts to provide gender-neutral rooming are a laudable attempt against antiquated policies.

Pass the bills, please: Student Congress’ reform of the budgeting process will be bene?cial; fee bill should also be supported

Student Congress produced some well-written bills this legislative cycle.While we’re not on board with all of them, there are two bills Congress members should definitely pass Tuesday.

Rogers Road still suffers: Wells in low-income area do not meet EPA standard

Correction ( March 22 11:41 p.m.): Due to an editing error in this editorial, the editorial board incorrectly states that more than a quarter of the wells were malfunctioning. A quarter of the septic tanks were malfunctioning. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

Get some face time; eliminate Facebook

My senior year of college, the student newspaper announced that a new Web site called “thefacebook.com” was open to our campus community.With a few clicks of a mouse, I became part of the first 50,000 users — now only a small drop in the 400 million-person networking tsunami that exists today.

This makes census: Filling out census forms will bene?t everyone; student should ignore the baseless attacks

Get counted. Census Day is April 1, and students who live off campus need to fill out their census questionnaires.Students who live on campus don’t need to worry about filling out census questionnaires. Rick Bradley, an assistant director at the Department of Housing and Residential Education, said the housing department takes care of the census data for on-campus students.

Bidding to better N.C.: Allowing North Carolina companies to match bids from out-of-state ?rms on contracts will provide a boost

Gov. Bev Perdue’s initiative to support North Carolina-based businesses by giving them an advantage when bidding on state government contracts is a great way to sustain a positive rate of growth, particularly during trying economic times.