How we pick them

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.

Coming together, we can help Haiti

Two nights ago, my heart stopped. Maybe you’re like me — a habitual news reader, constantly refreshing various news sites, Twitter and Facebook. Even my voracious consumption of news had ill prepared me for the Haitian earthquake, for the steady photo stream of children trapped in the rubble and reports of United Nations buildings completely obliterated.

Cartoon for Jan. 14

Cartoon for Jan. 14

No band-aids for graduation

Temporary steps to accommodate seniors who are struggling to fill the upper-level fine arts requirement need to be followed by a comprehensive solution.Four years into the new curriculum, the supplemental education fine arts requirement has proven to be especially onerous for students.

No band-aids for graduation

Temporary steps to accommodate seniors who are struggling to fill the upper-level fine arts requirement need to be followed by a comprehensive solution.Four years into the new curriculum, the supplemental education fine arts requirement has proven to be especially onerous for students.

Don't move trial

A change of venue for the federal trial of Demario James Atwater, one of the men charged with killing former Student Body President Eve Carson, should not be granted.Atwater’s federal defense attorneys are attempting to move the trial out of North Carolina, claiming their client won’t get a fair trial if it remains in the state.

Drink specials at 5? Not in N.C.

It was a typical Thursday afternoon in D.C., and I was, as usual, relaxing at a bar after work. She was a lovely young woman with vibrant brown eyes — probably an intern, like myself. Summer is intern season in D.C.; the bars flood with them at happy hour, especially at the Hawk ’n’ Dove. I shoot her back a smile, and she starts walking toward me.

Cartoon for Jan. 13

Dialogue on gender issues still needed

When asked to return for a second semester of column writing for The Daily Tar Heel, I considered whether the campus still needed a voice on women and gender issues. Had everything already been said? Was it time for different voices and different issues?

Democracy ignored

The Chapel Hill Town Council’s decision to appoint Donna Bell to fill Bill Strom’s vacated seat is undemocratic and wrong.Bell, who is black, was not a candidate in this fall’s election and was appointed for the purpose of easing the concerns of some residents who were worried about maintaining a voice for the black community.

Secrecy protects

Defense attorneys for Demario James Atwater and Lawrence Alvin Lovette Jr., the two men charged for Eve Carson’s murder, are putting a nationwide crime-fighting network at risk.

Blissful exemption

State lawmakers should revise the new state smoking ban to exempt hookah bars since similar businesses such as cigar bars and country clubs have already received a pass. If no solution is found, the popular Chapel Hill establishment Hookah Bliss might have to close its doors.

Cartoon for Dec. 9

Tar Heel of the year: Joseph DeSimone

10:33 a.m. Dec 9 - Due to an editing error, this story's original online headline misspelled Joseph DeSimone's name. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.This article was published in the 2009 Year in Review issue of The Daily Tar Heel.

Don’t buy in to the hype on tuition

This article was published in the 2009 Year in Review issue of The Daily Tar Heel.

Cartoon for Dec. 8

Get the vaccine

Apart from its ridiculous nickname, H1N1 isn’t a joke. Neither is the vaccine.Every flu season has the potential to cause a lot of illness, doctors’ visits, hospitalizations and deaths. The new H1N1 flu virus could result in a particularly severe 2009-10 flu season. Vaccination is the best protection we have against both of these viruses.

Release SBI report

It’s in the public’s interest for the State Bureau of Investigation to release its report examining the shooting death of junior Courtland Smith and the events surrounding it.The public should be able to draw its own conclusions about whether Smith’s shooting was justified. We shouldn’t have to rely solely on statements of elected officials.

Come on! Give me a (longer) break

Winter break is all I have. I don’t know about you, but this has been one of the hardest semesters of my college career. I have spent way too many Friday nights in front of my computer, in a library or in a lab, and I’m sick of it.But around this time of year, no matter how many carpal tunnel scares I have, I get through it.