The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

Opinion


Opinion

Our endorsement for Student Council

We are pleased that more Student Council races are contested this year, and hope this signifies more student interest in what our governing body does. We are confident the combination of Axler, Carré and Winsky will serve our student body well over the next year.


Opinion

GORMAN: GOP flunks on higher education

Essentially, the Republican Party identified every student enrolled in a public university as a dependent thinker, and they labeled every university as a factory that exclusively produces liberals. But what if the majority of college students are liberal because they want to be?


Opinion

RUSSO: The dangers of social media in student elections

There is nothing inherently wrong with using social media. However, when the number of attendees on a Facebook event becomes the primary indicator of who is to win an election, we should be concerned. At a certain point we should question whom social media campaigns are reaching.


Opinion

MARTIN: Honor referendum three is a step backward

I will vote no for the third referendum for the above reasons, and because I think there is much more progress the Committee can make next year without spending the majority of their time considering a multiple sanction system. After nearly a year on the Committee, I believe we can improve the Informed Retraction.


Opinion

Our endorsement for Honor

While student candidates naturally have a quality of idealism, we sought those whose idealism would not overwhelm their pragmatism. The honor system’s ability to maintain relevancy to our student body can only stem from concrete reforms, and Committee members will only have a year to implement such reforms. We think these candidates have the drive and initiative to take on this challenge.


Opinion

EVANS: Honor referenda signal progress

Although the referenda do not directly propose a multi-sanction model, to join the conversation is to realize that single sanction serves as a disincentive in encouraging students to honor the system. After all, the fates of accused cheaters and liars should not be determined by a moral code that was instituted following the slaughter of a professor back in 1840.


Opinion

JACKSON: The importance of being code literate

Not every person needs to be a master coder. Coding is not the only technical skill that develops mental focus, enhances problem-solving capabilities and hones creativity. However, I do agree with Obama that coding is a new literacy that must be acquired so that all people can understand computer science basics and communicate effectively to programmers who have the capacity to make their ideas a reality.


Opinion

SPINKS: What should we consider real news?

The BBG had a budget of $731 million in fiscal year 2014, which means it has the resources to do a lot of good — or a significant amount of harm. From a solely idealistic standpoint, we can all get behind the mission of the BBG, which involves protecting free speech and providing news that is “accurate, objective, and comprehensive” to countries that often do not have access to a free press.


Opinion

ALJASSAR: The consequences of the GA’s mental health legislation

As legal adults, students have a right to mental health privacy. For students who do not want their mental health information shared with their parents, SB 1122 is especially concerning. And according to Davis, CAPS would have to report concerning student behavior to campus threat assessment teams, as University counseling centers would not be exempt from HB 1715.


Opinion

WHISNANT: So long, Stewart

When I found out Stewart was retiring, my first reaction was a pang of nostalgia for what felt like an exciting political innocence before the cynicism of the late Obama years. When I gave it a bit more thought, my next reaction was one of relief. “The Daily Show” was once a vibrant oasis in a desert of craven television personalities, but in 2015, the American left is better off leaving Jon Stewart and his brand of satire behind.


Opinion

PATEL: The faulty logic of King v. Burwell

The mechanism for the potential demise of Obamacare can be found in ambiguous wording in the original law. The claim by the plaintiffs is that the IRS illegally provided subsidies to individuals who purchased coverage through exchanges set up by the federal government. This is because the original act specified that the subsidies would be provided only for insurance bought through the state.


Opinion

Jackie, FERPA and your right to privacy

This process took a dark turn following the Rolling Stone article, but reveals the problems with privacy flagging directories in general: should a student wish to make her information private years into her University career — which she is able to do — the information that was previously made available will still be available. With online directories, the chance of such information remaining public is obviously heightened.


Opinion

DOYLE: Why Modi should scare you

Perhaps the most frightening fact about Modi is that he is a Hindu nationalist leading a government made of Hindu nationalists. Hindu nationalism has been on the rise in the last few decades in response to political mobilizations by the lower classes in India. Note that this in not Indian nationalism, but Hindu nationalism.


Opinion

MINK: Make textbooks affordable

Almost every University student has experienced the shock of going to buy textbooks at the University bookstore and realizing the text needed for one three credit course costs upwards of $200. With prices for a single course that high, when multiplied by several courses and stretching over eight semesters of school textbooks can add a tremendous amount of money to an already substantial final bill for college.


Opinion

ADAMES: Hispanic is not a race

Hispanics should repudiate being construed as a racial identity because this identification privileges the white identity and ignores other identities. For example, although they may share similar struggles on account of being Hispanic, many white (or white-passing) Hispanics will be immune to certain forms of discrimination based on race and complexion.


Opinion

BROOM: Aim for full disclosure

Maintaining balance in news coverage is critical for making sure those Opinion pieces and endorsements carry weight. Allegations of bias are raised in virtually every article with political content, it seems. Most of those allegations are entirely off base.


Opinion

Standing with UNC

In the coming weeks, months and perhaps even years, the UNC community will likely see its history as a division between before and after these murders. The job of reporting on these events will fall to the dedicated students who put together The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s student newspaper. Staffers have already gone to task reporting on the triple homicide, providing excellent coverage, both news and editorial.

Puzzles
Hoos Spelling

Latest Podcast

The University’s Orientation and Transition programs are vital to supporting first year and transfer students throughout their entire transition to college. But much of their work goes into planning summer orientation sessions. Funlola Fagbohun, associate director of the first year experience, describes her experience working with OTP and how she strives to create a welcoming environment for first-years during orientation and beyond. Along with her role as associate director, summer Orientation leaders and OTP staff work continually to provide a safe and memorable experience for incoming students.