Debate, public speaking skills are vital on campus

TO THE EDITOR: Meredith Engelen’s column (“Bring on the debate,” Oct. 7) did a good job highlighting the importance of debate on college campuses. While it’s true that many UNC students actively engage in valuable dialectic conversations, many do not because of fear of public speaking. Because debate is a means of “discovering truth” and a powerful tool for convincing others, public speaking is a skill all students should be interested in developing.

Honors program prides itself on access to many

TO THE EDITOR:In a recent column, (“No great ‘honor’ in Carolina program,” Oct. 5) Hannah Thurman noted that Carolina’s Honors Program is neither exclusive nor set apart from the rest of the University. We’re proud of that fact; it’s the reason The Fiske Guide has praised the program as one of the nation’s best and most accessible.

Patel can deny it, but YWC is hate-based organization

TO THE EDITOR:While it is laudable that Mr. Patel seeks to encourage and defend free speech on campus, he is either incredibly naive or disingenuous when he asserts that Youth for Western Civilization is simply a misunderstood “conservative” organization (“An unlikely leader,” Oct. 8). As he points out, YWC rails against the imagined dangers of “radical multiculturalism” and demands total assimilation of immigrant populations within their notion of what proper “culture” is.

Pay for your choices: Higher insurance for smokers, obese makes sense

North Carolina is weighing in on the fatty cost of state employee health insurance.This month, the state notified all its employees that if they are obese or if they smoke, they will pay more for health insurance in the near future.This is a good move. Taxpayers who lead a healthy lifestyle should not be forced to pay for those state workers who do not.State employees who use tobacco or have a body mass index above a specified level and don’t quit smoking or lose weight will be placed in an insurance plan that pays 70 percent of claims.

No board needed: Incident isn’t enough to warrant civilian review board

The town of Chapel Hill does not need a civilian review board. And the NAACP should cease its demands that the town establish one in the wake of the Charles Brown incident, when a black local business owner was stopped by police, who were searching for someone else. Brown’s detainment June 1 was a mistake.But the evidence is clear that the man police were searching for — Cumun Fearrington — shares similar facial features with Brown.

Take the air out of grades: Faculty should take ?rm stand on grade in?ation

The Faculty Council doesn’t seem to agree on what letter grades mean — one of the underlying problems causing grade inflation at the University. The council needs to come to a consensus and act to cap grade inflation.At Friday’s meeting, members of the council voiced their differing views on grade inflation. The council passed a resolution to further study and discuss this problem. That’s a tepid start. Every council member needs to realize that they must act to cap grade inflation when the study and conversations on the matter are finished.

Cartoon for Oct. 12

President Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize. For me, that still isn’t enough motivation to trade positions with him. Here in Chapel Hill, we have the luxury of being able to sit and complain about the problems that Obama actually has to get up in the morning and solve. Think about that. There are people out there, President Obama included, who are charged with the task of ending global warming, famine and poverty.

Cartoon for Oct. 12

Cartoon for Oct. 9

Kvetching board for Oct. 9

kvetch: v.1 (Yiddish) to complainTo the macho guy on the flag football team that killed us in playoffs but not before getting his pants ripped off: Pink boxer-briefs … really?To the girl in my English class that talks about everyone else: The fact that you can’t spell words that my 7-year-old sister uses every day says that you should probably build your vocabulary before picking on people smarter than you.Yo Yates, you’re great, and I’mma let you finish, but I just wanna say you should try winning a game.

Bonfires can pose danger, student input is needed

TO THE EDITOR:In response to Monday’s article, “Leaders are not anti-bonfire,” (Oct. 5) we would like to point out the original intent of the partnership between the Jones Administration, the Carolina Athletic Association and Carolina Fever.All three administrations are working together to enact a safer celebration policy, intended to provide enhanced alternative forms of celebrating UNC wins on Franklin Street.

Stalkers, lost dogs — what’s going on?

I love North Carolina basketball. I just want to say that before I start.But although the 2009 team will live in my heart forever, something must be said about this new AT&T commercial starring Tyler Hansbrough.Many somethings must be said.The commercial chronicles the journey of a sweet little girl who has lost her dog. Through a string of text messages that seems to be held together by a giant game of six-degrees-of-Tyler-Hansbrough, the national champion ends up returning the dog to the child.How sweet.

No apathy here: Enthusiasm for local politics a good sign in ’09

Tuesday night’s mayoral candidate debate, sponsored by the Young Democrats and College Republicans, proved that UNC students are eager to participate in local government. Municipal elections tend to focus less on the partisanship and core beliefs that are promoted during national campaigns.The Young Democrats and College Republicans put their convictions aside to bring the four candidates to campus to discuss issues facing Chapel Hill — most of which greatly impact the town’s student population.

BOE should cut its bloat: N.C. BOE does good work but has become overstaffed

The N.C. Board of Elections employs 65 people to run its day-to-day operations. This is up exponentially from the 1990s, when there were only six. The number of employees increased by almost 1,100 percent in fewer than two decades. This is both unnecessary and excessive.Much of the increase in so-called “elections technicians” was probably due to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which requires states receiving federal funding for elections to maintain a set of nondiscrimination standards.However, that does not tell the whole story.

Getting hyped for Skype: Admissions uses students, technology effectively

The admissions department continues to make strides in using technology to more effectively reach prospective students in tough economic times. A recruitment event was recently held at Fredericksburg Academy in Virginia — via Skype. This new strategy is an excellent use of new technology and a great way to save money on recruitment trips in the face of a roughly 10 percent cut in admissions funds. A tech-savvy admissions office gives us an added edge. And the evolution of recruitment hasn’t stopped there.

Rams Club shouldn’t share burden in tough times

TO THE EDITOR:Regarding the article, “Stadium plans ignore reality,” (Oct. 7): The only priorities of the Rams Club that have been distorted are those presented in The Daily Tar Heel. It is one thing to question the spending and budget decisions of the University, since it is, first and foremost, responsible for the education of its students. However, chastising the Rams Club for using part of its $260 million to refurbish Kenan Stadium is an egregious overstepping of bounds.

QuickHits for Oct. 8

Highest IQThumbs upThe Daily Beast, a reporting and opinion Web site, recently did a study of the intelligence of major U.S. metropolitan areas. Raleigh-Durham came out on top. Guess they didn’t take Duke into account … 

Bonfires are not ‘innocent fun,’ should be banned

TO THE EDITOR: In response to the “Leaders not anti-bonfire” (Oct. 5) article: I believe someone needs to express how ridiculous the position of the Carolina Athletic Association and Carolina Fever on this issue really is. The idea that the bonfires are an act by consenting adults, who accept risk of harm, is mistaken.One, it ignores the chance, the likelihood really, that someone not involved in the bonfires can be harmed.

Government the problem in the demise of Northside

TO THE EDITOR:Leave it to a Daily Tar Heel columnist to turn a clear-cut case of government injustice into a racial issue when none exists.Although Domenic Powell himself spells out the cause of the demise of the Northside community (“Turning a blind eye to inequality,” Oct. 6) he is too blinded by ideology to recognize it. Powell correctly points out that when tax assessors determine that a property has increased in market value the government then levies higher taxes on the owners.

Inclusiveness is great thing about honors program

TO THE EDITOR: Hannah Thurman greatly misconstrued the purpose of the Honors Program at Carolina in “No great ‘honor’ in Carolina program” (Oct. 5). The program aims to promote a stimulating academic environment campus-wide, not just in a small elite population that hides out in special honors dorms and only socializes with honors students. The beauty of it is that anyone can participate.