Buy you a drank

The state of North Carolina should put the sale and distribution of liquor in the hands of the private sector. North Carolina is one of 18 “control states,” jurisdictions that directly control the sale and distribution of alcohol. In North Carolina, local Alcoholic Beverage Control boards manage the production and sale of liquor within the state.

For the new year, focus on getting ?t

You might have gone to the gym on the first day after Winter Break. If you did, then we probably bumped into one another on the track. It was packed in there. When I got to Rams Head Recreation Center, I was sure that I had actually stumbled onto the set of a National Geographic special.

Quick Hit that lampooned UNC’s value missed point

TO THE EDITOR:Is Eeyore the new executive editor of The Daily Tar Heel? Our school gets ranked No. 1 in the nation for “best value in public colleges,” yet you still complain about the cost and quality of the education. I don’t see the DTH reporting about the regular season losses after we won the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball championship. Why do it for this?

Cartoon about graduation was crass and tasteless

TO THE EDITOR:I don’t usually pick up The Daily Tar Heel because the level of vulgarity and obscenity only seems to get worse every time I do. That is why I sorely regretted viewing the paper on Jan. 13 in which Angela Tchou’s cartoon on academic advising blatantly reflected my preexisting sentiments toward our school paper.

UNC students urged to get involved in Haiti relief

TO THE EDITOR:Today at 5 p.m. in the Campus Y, please join a coordinated effort of the UNC campus community for a united response to the tragic earthquake that has struck Haiti. This monumental disaster requires cooperation among us all and a coalition of student leaders is working to coordinate UNC’s efforts for donations.

Outside insight

Board of Trustees Chairman Bob Winston’s decision to tap Jordan Whichard to examine the UNC administration’s interaction with the Greek system is a necessary move to ensure a sustainable partnership between the two parties.

Revision gets it right

The new revisions to the leave policy for former UNC-system presidents and chancellors are a welcome and needed change — for now.Benefits and pay given to administrators returning to faculty positions were doled out without accountability and were a bit excessive.

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.