Geoff Wessel

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Columnist Reflects as Break Nears

By Geoff Wessel | December 3

Welcome to the last week of classes of the fall 2001 semester. Congratulations for making it to the end -- there's a chill in the air (or there would be if not for the signs of global warming that Chapel Hill seems to be experiencing), and after this week it'll be no worries until Jan. 8. Well, aside from the minor matter of final exams, that is. There's always something. But even with the looming threat of the blue-book blues, we are in the home stretch of the semester.

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Changes Are Good, Sometimes

By Geoff Wessel | November 26

You have already heard enough of your friends complaining about it; you yourself have probably turned out a well-expressed phrase or two against it. But in the end, you've come to the conclusion that there's nothing to be done about it. That being the case, why would I want to write a column about construction on campus -- what remains to be said? Well, for one thing, perhaps there is something to be done about it. "Change is good," proclaim the propaganda posters designed to inform the campus community of the status of construction projects.

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Let Moeser Make Qatar Decision

By Geoff Wessel | November 19

I have heard several arguments in the past few weeks stating why opening a satellite campus of the Kenan-Flagler Business School in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar would be bad for UNC. To do so would be selling out. It would bolster an autocratic regime that ignores basic human rights. Qatari students would be able to earn UNC degrees without coming within thousands of miles of Chapel Hill. And students would have too small a voice in the decision to open this satellite campus.

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World Focus Necessary For Campus

By Geoff Wessel | November 12

This is a University that is committed to being a world university," Chancellor James Moeser told guests at a reception for Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar on Friday. "This is a University that seeks to be a global presence, to make a difference in this world." A priority of Moeser's since his first days as chancellor, the expansion of UNC's international presence is one of his most important and advantageous goals for the University.

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Elections Important For Students

By Geoff Wessel | November 5

On Wednesday, Student Congress will hold special elections to fill 11 empty congressional seats. Behind those seats are a total of 10 entire districts that are completely unrepresented in Congress. This is not the first time such elections have been called. In fact, they happen regularly. Speaker Mark Townsend said that in all his time at UNC, the closest we've come to full representation is 31 out of 37 seats. We don't have to look far for the cause of this problem.

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Students Must Fight For Parking

By Geoff Wessel | October 29

If you're getting tired of the same old Polk Place every day, be cheered -- yes, I'm predicting another protest any day now. Students marched in protest with each new chapter in the tuition increase saga of the 1999-2000 academic year. Now they are threatened with the loss, not of more money, but of something almost as precious: parking spaces. Last Wednesday, University officials announced that in the near future, the number of on-campus parking spaces for students living in residence halls will drop from 480 to zero.

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Fall Break Too Short A Vacation

By Geoff Wessel | October 22

Keeping residence halls open during Fall Break was one of the smartest decisions UNC administrators have made recently. Everyone I talked to who stayed on campus for this year's break enjoyed the freedom offered for the first time. I myself was no exception. About this time last year, I scrambled to get on the road for a five-hour drive home, spent most of my three days there asleep, then drove five hours back.

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University Day Links Past, Future

By Geoff Wessel | October 15

The afternoon sun, shining through the gnarled limbs of Davie Poplar, dappled the grass on McCorkle Place. Not far away, the same sun shone brightly on the celebration of the 208th anniversary of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The University Day convocation held Friday afternoon in Memorial Hall drew students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University together in honor of the distinguished heritage that UNC has built in the years since Old East's cornerstone was laid Oct. 12, 1793.

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U.S. Strikes Will Affect Life at UNC

By Geoff Wessel | October 8

The bombs have begun to fall. As you probably know, the U.S. military attacked alleged terrorist camps and Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan on Sunday. President Bush made it clear that these attacks are only the beginning of a massive effort to destroy the infrastructure of terrorist organizations and the Taliban government that supports them. "We are supported by the collective will of the world," Bush said. It seems almost frivolous to ask how this action relates to the UNC campus.

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Microsoft Not UNC's Best Option

By Geoff Wessel | October 1

University officials should seriously consider changing the standard operating system and software on campus computers to something other than Microsoft products. Today, Microsoft Corp. begins a new version of its license and maintenance program under which organizations like businesses and schools can install multiple copies of Microsoft products on their computers.