McElveen is a sensible choice for School Board

TO THE EDITOR:One of our votes in the school board election will proudly go to our friend and former neighbor Greg McElveen. As one currently serving on the board, he has demonstrated the qualities required to make our great district even better. His active involvement in the Parent Teacher Student Association Board and the District Strategic Planning Committee are just a few of his efforts. Greg is committed to bringing about excellence for all students. We encourage voters to go to his Web site, www.mcelveenforschoolboard.org, and learn more about Greg.

School Board needs to address achievement gap

TO THE EDITOR:I was wondering if the following could be asked of those running for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools school board?Currently, there is a lot of focus on helping struggling students to close the achievement gap, especially African-American, Latino and low-income students. What experience or ideas do the candidates have with the issues surrounding this group of students, and how do you plan to help the district close the achievement gap and help all students be successful?Julie Davis Chapel Hill

Gene Pease will be a solid member of Town Council

TO THE EDITOR:I am writing to encourage Chapel Hill voters to elect Gene Pease to the Town Council. His knowledge of the town’s budgeting process combined with his experience as a successful business CEO will provide a valuable new perspective on the council. In addition, I believe his proposals on a sustainable tax base and responsible government, strengthening our commercial tax base, establishing a budget and finance committee, and limiting benefits for council and staff members will assist in controlling wasteful spending and lowering tax bills.Joe Patterson

Pease has the experience, qualities for Town Council

TO THE EDITOR:I encourage all readers to vote for Gene Pease for Chapel Hill Town Council. As a former Town Council member, I have observed that Gene has precisely the qualities necessary to work with other council members to assure the right fiscal balance as the town continues to mature. Taxes are on folks’ minds, and Gene’s experience several years ago as head of the Citizen’s Budget Advisory Committee appointed by the council demonstrated Gene’s understanding of budgetary matters based on his experience as the CEO of his company.

Czajkowski is the most capable for town mayor

TO THE EDITOR:For more than 20 years I was privileged to own and operate Swensen’s Ice Cream Shop in University Square on West Franklin Street. During that time, I watched our town grow and change. Chapel Hill is still growing and changing and needs strong leadership to make sure we successfully continue positively in these very demanding times.

Governor’s School alumni should work for inclusivity

TO THE EDITOR:The article dealing with the new tuition charge for the Governor’s School summer program (“Governor’s School fee deters few,” Oct. 6) raised a lot of issues for me. As a Governor’s School alumna, I believe in the power of Governor’s School to transform lives. I also think this article focused on a narrow population that would not be affected by the tuition — students from the relatively wealthy area that feeds into East Chapel Hill High.

Now hiring: provost

The search for a new provost is well under way. In choosing a replacement for Bernadette Gray-Little, the University needs to select a candidate with extensive administrative experience who at the same time is in touch with the classroom. The provost is the second-highest ranking position on campus — below only the chancellor. The provost is also the chief academic officer of the University and has oversight responsibilities for budget and planning.

Students, residents should come to mayoral forum

TO THE EDITOR:In 2008, UNC was one of the most politically active college campuses in the country as students turned out to vote in state and national elections. This year, we have local elections, including the election of Chapel Hill’s next mayor, and these elections are no less important.Local elections are the ones that decide how Franklin Street is developed, how bus service works, where landfills are placed and even how our Halloween celebrations are handled. These are issues that impact our daily lives as students at UNC and residents of Chapel Hill.

Turning a blind eye to inequality

Greenbridge has thrown our environmentally minded town into an existential crisis.For many, the 10-story monolith jutting out of the Chapel Hill skyline promises a death sentence to the historically black neighborhood in its shadow, Northside, and the black-owned businesses that have thrived there for generations.It is part of the inevitable tide of progress for some — and the green-washed froth of gentrification for others. We hear a lot about that dreaded “g” word, but not a lot about how it works.

Czajkowski for mayor is right choice in Chapel Hill

TO THE EDITOR:I support Councilman Matt Czajkowski for mayor. I admire his lone stand against lifetime health insurance benefits for Town Council members — a majority of one. He is the son of immigrants. He served his country for four years in the U.S. Navy. He went on to graduate from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. A former investment banker, Matt has an understanding of money and finance which is sorely needed on any town board. Matt is the sensible choice. I urge you to vote for Matt Czajkowski for mayor of Chapel Hill.

Cook for Carrboro Board of Alderman is right pick

TO THE EDITOR:We’ve been residents of Carrboro for 22 years and have known Sharon Cook and her family since they moved here 12 years ago.Cook has worn many hats and has always been extremely active in our neighborhood and in a wide range of local civic organizations and groups.As a parent she has been a dedicated volunteer within the Chapel Hill school system, Orange County Girl Scouts and Orange County Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

No plastic accepted: Follow the law: Don’t throw away plastic bottles

Think twice before buying bottled water next time. As of Thursday, it is illegal in North Carolina to throw plastic bottles away.The new law, which was passed in 2005, is the latest in a solid environmental effort by the N.C. General Assembly. The law is going to be difficult to enforce, so North Carolina residents — and especially the University community — should take it upon themselves to comply.From 2007 to 2008, the University — not including UNC Hospitals — generated 5,384 tons of waste for the landfill.

Red ?sh, blue ?sh: New liberal magazine adds to the marketplace of ideas on campus, will bring balance

Kudos go to the Young Democrats of UNC and the Duke Democrats for putting out the first issue of their new publication, Campus BluePrint. The liberal-leaning magazine will fill an important hole in campus media — that of the leftist population at UNC. It’s sort of an ironic hole, considering how overwhelmingly liberal the student body is considered.The magazine will act as an important foil to the Carolina Review, the monthly voice of conservative thought on campus. Every observation from the mainstream to the fringes is essential to the marketplace of ideas.

No great ‘honor’ in Carolina program

Today I celebrated the one-month anniversary of dropping my e-mail address from the honorsinfo3 listserv. And it feels great.For the past two years, the honors program has consistently disappointed me, underwhelmed me and made me question whether our University doesn’t deserve something at least a little better. But it wasn’t always like this. When I got my acceptance letter in 12th grade, I was overjoyed. Not only had I been admitted to the University itself, but with my admission came an invitation to the most elite academic clique, the honors program.

Food for thought: Carolina Dining Services does well in analyzing student needs; fee increases necessary

The planned expansion of the Top of Lenoir and installation of a 24-hour restaurant in the Student Union are welcome improvements to on-campus dining, despite the required $18.25 student fee increase.Fee increases are rarely welcomed by students, but as the University’s enrollment continues to grow, on-campus dining needs to grow with it.Carolina Dining Services, with the help of the consulting firm MarketMatch, has done a good job listening to the requests of students concerning dining options.

Football team should focus on winning, not marketing

TO THE EDITOR:It appears that the time has come for UNC to refocus the direction of its football program. Enough of the glitter such as smoke from the player tunnel, loud music to encourage crowd participation, large and colorful video screens and talk about stadium expansion and improvements.We need to focus on football, not the “production” of and “marketing” of the game and program. UNC has become the poster child for football mediocrity. The recruits will come to a successful program and the crowds will follow. It’s that simple.

Cartoon for Oct. 5

Review was unfair to new album from Avett Brothers

TO THE EDITOR:Jordan Lawrence’s article “New Avetts a ‘major’ bore” (Oct. 1) is not at all a correct representation of the new Avetts album. I can agree that the songs on this album are much slower than many of the previous albums; however, the comment, “The Avetts babble meaninglessly about dreams just out of reach,” is completely repulsive.

Letter misunderstood the idea of rights, residents

TO THE EDITOR:Alex Rhodes’ letter to the editor (“Granting in-state tuition status is highly unfair,” Oct. 1) made me cringe. His arguments seem so ill-thought-out that I didn’t know if I was reading a letter or a compilation of knee-jerk conservative hodgepodge.Rhodes says illegal immigrants should not get in-state tuition because, like out-of-state students, they are not registered residents of the state.

Letter offered no insight to counter in-state status

TO THE EDITOR:In his Oct. 1 letter to the editor (“Granting in-state tuition status is unfair”), Alex Rhodes does an excellent job of bashing Christian Yoder’s stance (“Make ‘access’ meaningful,” Sept. 30) that illegal immigrants should be granted in-state tuition to North Carolina’s community colleges, but offers no insight as to why this shouldn’t be.