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ill H l e p a h C n i y t n i a t er c n U ana : n o i t on Mariju i s t s h g n u o a h tT n Tr i • Studen n y c w li o o P T lt A Assau C Sexual UN nship • io t la e R t n eside Student-R
CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR
THE STUDENT-RESIDENT RELATIONSHIP
SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY CHANGE STUDENT THOUGHTS ON MARIJUANA
Dear Readers, Chapel Hill never has fit the classic stereotype of the static, quiet down. It is a dynamic place, constantly in flux, adapting to its own needs and adapting to the changing times. Anyone familiar with Chapel Hill will be familiar with its continual infrastructural changes, its progressive township, and of course its ever-vocal body of college students. The town and the university within it are growing. But with growth comes the inevitable growing pains. Recently we have seen clashes between students and townspeople over where the college ends and the town begins. We have seen the socioeconomic disparities that come with a focus on more expensive housing. We’ve seen violence in the college community that cries out for policy reform. In this issue, we examine these problems and other current events occurring in this town in flux, and what they mean for the future.
Be a Part! The Fight for Gay Rights No Honeymoon for Obama A Town in Transition Affordable Housing The Bus Advertising Controversy
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3 The Student-Resident Relationship Sexual Assault Policy Change 4 Chaos in the Congo 6 Defense Funding 8 Academic Doping 10 Student Thoughts on Marijuana 11
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STAFF carey hanlin editor-in-chief molly hrudka assistant editor sarah edwards, wilson parker, troy homesley managing editors anna sturkey creative director audrey ann lavallee blog and multimedia editor
travis crayton social media director tyler tran photo editor cynthia betubiza, michael dickson, carey hanlin, troy homesley, wilson hood, molly hrudka, audrey ann levallee, jen nowicki, wilson parker, kyle ann marie sebastian, luda shtessel, grace tatter, neha verma, peter vogel, ina kosova, lily clarke, gayatri surendranathan, sarah edwards staff writers janie sircey, paige warmus, katie coleman, sophie bergmann designers
tyler tran, renee sullender, janie sircey, katie coleman, caitlin graham, gihani dis-
Happy reading!
sanayake photographers wilson hood, anne brenneman, michael dickson, kyle ann sebastian, peter vogel
Carey Hanlin Editor-in-Chief
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copy editors
jeremy hollenbeck treasurer jennifer nowicki public relations director
On the Cover: “Lily Incarnate” by Asia Morris
Love Chapel Hill? Have a passion for politics? Be a part of the journey. Email Carey Hanlin at chanlin@live.unc.edu. to apply to Campus BluePrint today!
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Human Rights
The 2012
Fight for Gay Rights in North Carolina KYLE ANN SEBASTIAN
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fter a year or inspiring highs and debilitating lows, Dickens’ iconic phrase has an especially strong resonance with supporters of marriage equality and LGBTQ rights in North Carolina, said Scott Campbell, executive director of Equality N.C., a non-profit advocacy organization that lobbies on behalf of the LGBTQ community of North Carolina. In his “State of Equality” address at the 2012 Equality N.C. Foundation Conference and Gala, Campbell discussed the victories and losses sustained by the LGBTQ community and their allies in 2012. Prominent among the victories mentioned were the re-election of President Obama – whom Campbell called “the most pro-gay president in our nation’s history,” – the election of Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., as the first openly gay senator and openly bisexual Congresswoman and the election of the first openly gay non-white person to the U.S. House of Representatives, Mark Takano, D-Calif. While successes for marriage equality in Maine, Maryland and Washington – where same-sex marriage was legalized by popular vote – and the defeat of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota were celebrated, they also served as a painful reminder of North Carolina’s own struggle for marriage equality. 4 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
Old wounds from the passage of Amendment One were reopened on election night, Campbell said, when “the party that put Amendment One on the ballot in the first place solidified their control of the General Assembly and the Governor’s Mansion.” Republicans achieved a supermajority in both chambers and maintained a 4-3 conservative majority in the North Carolina state Supreme Court with the re-election of Justice Paul Newby. These election results have serious implications for advocates of LGBTQ rights. Repealing Amendment One can take two forms: a legislative effort to repeal the amendment or a legal challenge in the court system. Passing legislation repealing Amendment One would require the support of three-fifths of both chambers of the General Assembly, and would then be put to a popular vote in the next election. Given the current Republican majority in the General Assembly, this method would require building bipartisan coalitions and support for marriage equality. Even if this succeeded, legislation would still face the challenge of building popular support among the electorate, a task that proved overwhelmingly difficult this past year. The other option is a court case. This method would require a substantial investment of time and money – potentially years and millions of dollar
– without a guarantee of a positive return, as the current N.C. Supreme Court makeup, with a 4-3 conservative majority, does not suggest a favorable ruling. Dr. Maxine Eichner, a professor at the UNC School of Law, said a legal challenge to Amendment One would most likely rely on the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which says that “no state shall…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Equal Protection clause was invoked by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when it ruled California’s Proposition 8, defining marriage between a man and a woman, unconstitutional in Perry v. Brown this past February. Eichner says this precedent does not mean much for North Carolina, as the court’s ruling was based on the fact that Proposition 8 differentiates between same-sex and heterosexual unions in name only, which the court ruled created “a second-class status for same-sex relationships.” Amendment One went so far as to ban civil unions in North Carolina. With the election behind them, Equality N.C. is looking forward. In their sights are parental rights and employment non-discrimination policies. Second-parent adoption is currently illegal in North Carolina, which has serious implications for same-sex couples and their children, especially in the worst
PHOTOS COURTESY OF EQUALITY NC
case scenario of the death of a parent. Equality N.C. has also set the goal of making non-discrimination policies the norm in North Carolina, protecting individuals from being fired due to their sexual orientation. They argue that non-discrimination policies are as much an economic issue as a civil rights one; in order to entice the next generation of employers and employees to North Carolina, the state needs to adopt progressive non-discrimination policies. Equality N.C. has set the goal of identifying two to three localities each year in which to concentrate efforts to establish employment nondiscrimination policies or expand existing ones. Coalitions are a key part of Equality N.C.’s strategy moving forward. “Because of Amendment One, we have created incredible partnerships statewide, and now we need to do the same thing
on the local level,” Campbell said in his address. Most notably, the struggle surrounding Amendment One resulted in a coalition with the North Carolina NAACP. The president of the North Carolina NAACP, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, delivered a keynote address at the gala, in which he called for increased coalition building across progressive issues, and “a 21st century fusion politics where we stand together – not sometimes but all the time.” Student groups such as SAGA, UNC’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance, is eager to begin building its own coalitions after sending several representatives to Equality N.C.’s conference this year. SAGA was heavily involved in campaigning against Amendment One on campus and intends to continue working in support of Equality N.C.’s goals. Josh Aristy, SAGA’s new co-president, says the organization hopes to work
with other campus groups, including minority groups such as BSM and CHispA, as well as political organizations, to bring speakers to campus and promote the discussion of LGBTQ issues on campus. Equality N.C. recognizes the need for bipartisan coalitions, stating a desire to recruit republicans as allies in efforts to promote LGBTQ issues. As part of this effort, Equality N.C. seeks to support LGBT community members and allies interested in running for office, regardless of political party affiliation. Campbell also called on the LGBTQ community to “step up and be heard,” to maintain visibility, to hold politicians accountable and remind them that the LGBTQ community in North Carolina is “organized, committed, and royally pissed off.” •
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PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
National
NO HONEYMOON?
So what.
INA KOSOVA
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t is now 8:00 p.m., Dec. 4, and the back and forth between the Democrats and the Republicans on the fiscal cliff shows no signs of stopping. The Republicans are outraged at the White House’s rejection of the GOP fiscal plan; the Democrats remain stoic and unmoved, pointing at what they consider the GOP’s poorly disguised inability to compromise. But, of course, the main actor here remains President Obama, newly re-elected and riding a wave of popularity back into the White House… or, at least, he’s supposed to be riding a wave of popularity. The after-election effect for the newly elected President is known as the honeymoon period. It places the President into an atmosphere of optimism, the nation having faith in the candidate’s ability to translate his promises into actions and reinvigorated by the prospect 6 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
of the administration’s new policies. the narrow win of the popular vote, at Approval ratings of second-term presi- only 50.8 percent, undermines the argudents should jump an average of six ment of the mandate. percent, according to Gallup Poll findThe Republican Party, led by House ings. But the importance of this hon- Speaker John Boehner, has taken adeymoon period is not really the Presi- vantage of these underwhelming numdent’s likeability; it bers in the polls to President Obama’s hold fast to their has to do with the translation of this conservative fiscal honeymoon pelikeability into poriod, unfortunately plan proposals. The litical clout. When a most recent plan for the Democrats, proposed by the president is elected, seems to be rather GOP, and the one especially re-elected, the idea is that shot down by the miniscule. the nation has given White House, did him a mandate to carry out his policies. propose an increase of $800 billion in President Obama’s honeymoon period, tax revenue; however, this increased unfortunately for the Democrats, seems revenue does not come from an into be rather miniscule. Instead of the creased tax rate but from the removal average six-point jump in job approval of tax deductions for the wealthy and ratings, President Obama garnered only the closing of loopholes. The plan also a two-point jump. This factor, along with seeks to increase the Medicare eligibil-
ity age from 65 to 67, a savings of $200 casions as a sound byte in the media Only this recognition might keep us billion. President Obama gave a very and was a significant point of conten- from plunging off the fiscal cliff. clear justification for his rejection of the tion between the Obama and Romney On Dec. 31, 2012, a series of fiscal plan: “We’re going to have to see the campaigns. When Americans came out measures will automatically come rates on the top two percent go up, and to the polls to vote, into effect, a rewe’re not going to be able to get a deal they had a clear unsult of the failure And if the Presiwithout it.” The question many are ask- derstanding of at of the bipartisan dent is successful ing is, “Can the President afford to be so least this aspect of supercommittee, in this and the Reuncompromising on tax rates?” President Obama’s convened as a publicans refuse to But the question that we should be fiscal policy; when compromise on asking is, “Can the Republican Party af- the results came in, budge, the nation is the debt-ceiling, ford to continue its decades-long refus- a majority had apto reach a deal clear on whom they on spending cuts. al to increase tax rates on the wealthy?” proved it. Had the wish to blame. The answer the nation gave in the 2012 nation felt the ReFalling off the fiselection is an unequivocal, “NO.” The publican’s almost cal cliff will mean President may not have won the popu- slavish following of Grover Norquist’s an end to the Bush tax cuts and an aular vote overwhelmingly, but he still anti-tax pledge justified, we might be tomatic increase on income tax rates managed to gain a majority, and this calling Mitt Romney President or, at the from 35 to 39.6 percent. Increased tax is ignoring his oververy least, Repub- rates associated with the Affordable The answer the whelming margin of licans would have Care Act will also come into effect. victory in the Electorgarnered greater President Obama clearly does not nation gave in al College. The idea the 2012 election numbers in the have the benefits of a honeymoon peof an increased tax House and perhaps riod, which would give him political is an unequivorate for individuals a majority in the clout with Congress. But this is perhaps cal, ‘NO.’ making $250,000 or Senate. The Republi- less a result of President Obama and more annually was cans ran on their fis- more a result of the times. Partisanship by no means a subtle part of the Obama cal policy and they lost; the Democrats in this country has become ingrained; campaign; it dominated on several oc- ran on their fiscal policy and they won. the 2012 election clearly displayed a nation divided between blue and red. This degree of partisanship does not allow for the traditional rally-around-the-President effect; instead, President Obama will have to be aggressive in his message, taking his proposals to the people. And if the President is successful in this and the Republicans refuse to budge, the nation is clear on whom they wish to blame. According to a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll, when Falling off the fiscal cliff asked who would be to blame if an agreement is not reached, 27 percent will mean an end to the responded “President Obama,” while 53 Bush tax cuts and an autopercent responded with “Republicans matic increase on top in Congress.” And so, who has more to income tax rates from 35 lose? If we fall off the fiscal cliff, President Obama gets the desired increase to 39.6%. in tax rates for the wealthy; the Republicans…well, the Republicans face the nation’s wrath. •
The fiscal cliff
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A TOW N I N
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PHOTO BY TYLER TRAN
T RA N S I T I O N
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN CHAPEL HILL Avoiding gentrification and class division TROY C. HOMESLEY
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ffordable housing is quickly becom- to move away. Rental companies have ing a hot-button issue for the Chapel razed several homes in the historic Hill Town Council and local residents neighborhood. These homes are comalike. In recent years, neighborhoods monly replaced by massive, high rent, surrounding the state-of-the-ar t As property taxes and homes that barely UNC-Chapel Hill campus have witfit on the property rental rates increase, nessed an alarmthey’re assigned. the original residents ing development The substantial of these areas - usu– gentrification. effects of gentriGentrification is fication are being ally lower income, a dynamic profelt by the Chapel long-term residents cess experienced Hill Transit system - are forced out of in poorer urban as well, which has these communities areas by which had to take major restoration, renosteps toward prointo outlying areas. vation and resividing park-anddential shifts lead to increased rental ride lots for lower-income workers who rates and property taxes. travel into downtown Chapel Hill each As property taxes and rental rates in- day to work. These workers previously crease, the original residents of these had the opportunity to rent property areas – usually low-income, long-term closer to their place of employment, residents – are forced out of these com- thus saving them travel costs and, in munities into outlying areas. The avail- some cases, the exorbitant costs assoability of affordable housing becomes ciated with vehicular transportation. limited in these areas and gentrificaAs these homes spring up, property tion progresses exponentially. taxes and rental rates for surrounding Chapel Hill has witnessed this process homes increase and the process repeats of gentrification firsthand. The North- itself. The consequences of gentrificaside community has traditionally been tion are also being felt in the business recognized as a lower-income area for sector. A major redevelopment plan for local residents and their families. How- the University Square area is evidence ever, in recent years, development com- of these consequences. A developer panies and rental agencies have initiat- has submitted plans to the Chapel Hill ed a ruthless process of gentrification. Town Council that include the demoliThroughout the Northside community, tion of University Square as it stands high rental rates and increased prop- today – to be replaced by two 5-story erty taxes have forced local residents buildings and one 11-story building. 10 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
However, the Chapel Hill Town Council is beginning to stand up for affordable housing. The Town Council, along with Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, has made it clear that the development plan will not be approved until the developer shows that it is willing to guarantee aid for the affordable housing initiative in Chapel Hill. Community organizations have also mobilized to protect affordable housing – defined as homes where costs do not exceed 30 percent of household income. The locally based Community Home Trust aims to protect affordable housing by ensuring permanent affordability and inclusionary housing. The Community Home Trust manages homes deemed by development companies as “affordable housing.” The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro have initiated regulations that require developers to set aside a certain percentage of homes for this very reason. The Community Home Trust now manages nearly 200 homes for families with an average household income of 50 percent. Initiatives by groups such as these, in conjunction with local governments, provide hope for affordable housing and the residents that need it. However, ensuring affordable housing will require constant vigilance amongst students, governmental bodies and developers to ensure that our communities do not become segregated by income or gentrified beyond repair. •
IF YOU CAN’T HIDE THE HATE,
DROWN IT OUT
MICHAEL DICKSON
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he Chapel Hill Town Council has finally made a decision on the town’s bus advertising policy, ruling to allow political ads and marking the conflict as a victory for freedom of expression and the public marketplace of ideas. Expression of all opinions are allowed, except that ads cannot be false, misleading, deceptive or disrespectful. This is noble, but chances are, it probably won’t last. These new restrictions almost definitely rule out the American Freedom Defense Initiative’s strongly worded pro-Israel ad, but AFDI director Pamela Geller has already demonstrated that she won’t give up easily. “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel; defeat Jihad,” reads the AFDI’s ad. The ad comes across as dehumanizing and incredibly demeaning toward the entire nation of Palestine, and Geller has made it clear she will sue the town if she isn’t allowed to run the ad in response to an ad she claims is anti-Semitic. Based on common interpretation of the First Amendment and precedents set in other states, Geller will probably get her way. Chapel Hill local govern-
ment and the media seem oblivious to Jews, but no one has seen fit to menthis same battle taking place outside tion that the ad was produced with inNorth Carolina, but the AFDI ad has put from a wide interfaith community, already been prominently featured on including local organization Jews for a public transportation in Washington, Just Peace NC. D.C., San Francisco, and New York City. “Join with us,” said the ad that startGeller had to take legal action to run ed the controversy. “Build peace with it in New York and Washington D.C., but justice and equality; end U.S. military the courts did not stop her. If she does aid to Israel.” The ad shows Israeli Jeff the same here, as she has said she will, Halper and Palestinian Salim Shawamthen Chapel Hill’s rule against “disre- reh, each holding their children. The ad spectful” ads will likely be brushed could be construed as offering a potenaside as a well-meaning but unconsti- tially callous decision to a complicated tutional attempt at maintaining civil conflict, but to see it as anti-Semitic is discourse. simply irrational, especially considering So where do we go from there? Must the real story behind the ad. divisive and “disreHalper, an Israeli spectful” perspecJew and Nobel Must divisive and tives simply be Peace Prize nomi‘disrespectful’ pertolerated? Should nee, is the founder the bus advertising spectives simply be of the Israeli Compolicy be modified mittee Against tolerated? yet again, removHouse Demoliing political speech tions, which works from buses and sheltering citizens from to preserve and rebuild Palestinian opinions they might not agree with? houses in the occupied territories after The community should take this op- they’ve been taken down by Israeli forcportunity to participate in the public es. Halper and his organization have forum that’s been created. More orga- rebuilt Salim Shawamreh’s house five nizations should take a stand and let times already, and they plan to continGeller and the local community know ue doing so until it remains untouched. what they believe in. Just like Halper and Jews for a Just One portion of the community that Peace NC, we should all seize this opespecially needs to make itself heard portunity to join with the Church of Recis the Jewish community. When the onciliation and send an overwhelming first ad was put on buses by the local message of peace, drowning out Geller Church of Reconciliation, it was treated and the AFDI’s hateful and one-sided as if it was uniformly offensive to all rhetoric. • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
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“When I think about the university” she said bluntly “I think about parties, trash, reckless disregard for neighbors and a sense of entitlement.”
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PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
And so, beer cans lay strewn on porches and cars clog driveways because, for most 20 or 21 year olds like me, this is inherent to an all-American college life. The town does try to put its foot down on some basic miscommunications, like parking, that arise between students and residents. Lee Storrow explained that “Especially in the Northside, 4-8 cars will be at a house, which can take up space in the road. We’re talking about new ways to address this, because it’s not enforced. We need to invest some time in education, because I don’t want students to sign leases unaware of these stipulations,” he said. As another example, the famous Franklin Street Halloween celebration – which most students consider a college rite of passage, even though it doesn’t take place on campus – was, for a long time, the prime example of how quickly the town can become monopolized by chaos. In the past few years, though, that’s changed as the town has tried to put an emphasis on a more “homegrown Halloween”. According to Lee, most residents seem happy about this
“de-escalation of Halloween.” “College is not a transitional freeHeather acknowledges that not all for-all where you can do whatever you students are characterized by Friday want on the way to real life. You are night behavior, nor smack-dab in the by the occasional middle of other College is not a tran- people’s noise violations a real few parties might lives. Every day sitional free-for-all get. “I know that’s that you wake up where you can do not the reality is real life.” whatever you want across the board – What is it like I know these are to live in a colon the way to real not the things that lege town? A lot life. You are smackreadily define who of things, and not dab in the middle of all are bad. Not the students are, other people’s real but those are the every resident has loudest [realities].” negative assolives. Every day that What would it ciations with stuyou wake up is real take for a better redents, just as not life. lationship to begin all students are irbetween residents responsible party and students? Knowing your trash day animals. But certainly, that other quesfor pickup is one thing; gracefully bridg- tion is worth asking: what does it mean ing that odd ellipsis between student to be a college student, one occupying and community member is a much the real-life space of other people? harder task. No one wants to be piA little more softly, these were Heathgeonholed as a partier, nor as a 20-year er’s parting words in the interview. old with a sense of entitlement. And “These are the gift years…be aware of Heather has a point. what is around you.” • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
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UNC’S NEW SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY FAILS TO ADDRESS SURVIVOR’S CONCERNS JENN NOWICKI
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ver the summer of 2012, while cation’s Office for Civil Rights in early most students were away from December. campus pursuing miscellaneous sumThe changes to the sexual assault mer opportunities, a group of four policy at UNC stemmed from a Dear UNC administrators quietly met to Colleague letter issued by the Office revise the university’s sexual assault for Civil Rights, reminding the Univerpolicy. The stated purpose of the sity of its responsibility as a federally committee was to ensure not only funded institution to adhere to Title the university’s compliance with Title IX regulations and to prevent sexual IX, but also to make campus a safer violence. and more supportive place for survi“Title IX protects students from vors of sexual violence. sexual harassment in a school’s eduBut no uncation programs dergraduate or and activities,” Prior to this letter, graduate students the letter stat– the people died. “If a school UNC had handled rectly affected by sexual assault cases knows or reathese changes sonably should the way they han– were invited to know about studled stealing or pla- dent-on-student join the committee, nor were any giarism infractions - harassment that survivors or camcreates a hostile recommending they environment, Tipus administrabe heard by the tors or directors tle IX requires the who specialized school to take student-run Honor in interpersonal immediate action Court. violence prevento eliminate the tion, despite mulharassment, pretiple requests from representatives vent its recurrence, and address its of these groups. Concerns about the effects.” new policy began to surface almost Prior to this letter, UNC had hanimmediately along with allegations dled sexual assault cases the same that the university was treating vic- way they handled stealing or platims unjustly, culminating in three giarism infractions – recommending survivors filing a complaint against they be heard by the student-run UNC with the U.S. Department of Edu- Honor Court. But sexual violence 14 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
cases are much more complicated and difficult to sift through than the usual cheating allegations and most Honor Court students lacked sufficient training to adjudicate them. “ The original thinking was, since our student honor system is handling these other kinds of cases, then they should also handle sexual assault,” Melinda Manning, Assistant Dean of students at UNC, told Inside Higher Ed in April 2012. “It’s after going through all these cases that then we realized, maybe it wasn’t for the best.” Dean Manning declined to be interviewed for this article due to her impending resignation. Under the new policy, a specialized grievances committee composed of twelve members – six trained faculty and six trained students – will hear sexual assault cases. The faculty members will remain constant, but each year the student body president will appoint six new students to serve on the committee. Another concern with UNC’s old policy was that it required evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” in order for a conviction of the accused, a standard often too difficult to achieve because of the extremely sensitive nature of sexual violence, which often boils down to a “he-said she-said” standoff. The new policy requires a much less substantial requirement, a
PHOTO BY TYLER TRAN The Courage Project’s installment in the Student Union, documenting the stories of sexual assault survivors.
“preponderance of evidence”, meaning that the accused may be convicted if the committee determines there is a strong likelihood that the accused is guilty. A third significant change calls for a Title IX officer to oversee the implementation and regulation of the new policy. A committee was formed in August 2012 to consider candidates for the position. It includes Andrea Pino, one graduate student, Bob Pleasants (Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator), as well as a few representatives from TPS, Student Affairs, and Counseling and Wellness. The committee also includes two of the four original administrators who wrote the policy: Ann Penn and Kara Simmons, meaning that a portion of the committee consists of members who are picking an officer to supervise their own policy, presenting a possible conflict of interest. There are several other glaring problems with the new policy. One concern is how the grievances committee will be appointed – there are no rules regulating how the student body president should fill the student seats, what qualifications the candidates should have, or if there will be
any oversight regarding this process. Furthermore, the annual change of the committee’s composition will effectively result in a guinea pig trial at the start of every year, as new members take time to settle into their roles and become accustomed to proceedings. Another concern is ‘mandatory reporting’ under the new policy, which requires any university employee who is made aware of a sexual assault to report it, regardless of the victim’s wishes. Andrea Pino, co-chair of Project Dinah and co-founder of The Courage Project, believes mandatory reporting wrests control away from survivors. “It’s detrimental to the power of survivors because it doesn’t give them their own agenda, and they have to follow this policy checklist and the investigative process that they may not be ready for,” Pino said. “There are many challenges that come with reporting a complaint… particularly in cases of trauma, which affects survivors as a whole, especially if it’s recent.” Complicating matters further, in early December formal accusations were levied against the university regarding the treatment of survivors.
Allegations range from administrators attempting to discourage survivors from pursuing cases and withholding critical information concerning victim rights, to releasing sensitive documents without the victims’ consent. This led three students – Andrea Pino and two others – to file a complaint against UNC with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights. “We are accusing the UNC administration of violating equal opportunity mandates under Title IX, including but not limited to facilitating a hostile environment around student reporting sexual violence, violating Title VII, which prohibits retaliation as well as discrimination against university employees, and dismissing medically diagnosed and documented mental disabilities during court procedures, thereby violating Title II of the American Disabilities Act,” Pino said. Pino believes that the disappointing new sexual violence policy, coupled with the mishandling of survivor’s reports, became especially troublesome with the announcement that Dean Manning, a longtime advocate for interpersonal violence prevention, was stepping down at the end of the Fall 2012 semester. Pino also stressed that sexual violence is not only a problem at UNC, and that students need to work together to make a fundamental change in how these issues are addressed. “Sexual violence is a critical epidemic… universities are failing to realize the bigger picture of violations of Title IX and interpretations of the Dear Colleague letter; they are treating it as a checklist,” Pino said. “And that’s why I’m not going to stop talking, I’m not going to stop making this something that is deserving of more attention until I see the proper measures being taken into account and the proper attention being given to it.” • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
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International
Chaos in the Congo The M23’s violent offensive and the role of UN peacekeepers MOLLY HRUDKA
Just as the Titanic was considered unsinkable, few thought that Goma, the eastern Congolese city of more than one million inhabitants, could possibly be vulnerable to rebel attack. The capital of the war-torn North Kivu Province, which borders Rwanda along the north shore of Lake Kivu, had not fallen since the end of the Second Congo War in 2003. However, on Nov. 20, U.N. peacekeepers stood aside and the Congolese army fled as a band of a few hundred mutinying Congolese soldiers-turnedrebel-fighters known as the M23 invaded the city. After an 11-day occupation, the M23 handed control of Goma back to the Congolese army, an action mandated by Congolese President Josef Kabila before agreeing to peace talks. Uganda will broker the talks, and the parties will discuss the rebel groups’ demands; the primary one being that the president follow up with promises he made in the 2009 peace accords, which ended the last rebellion. The M23 has threatened to retake the city if its demands are not met. While the late November occupation was relatively tame compared to the war and destruction that have characterized the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the last two decades, 16 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
there remains the potential for major complications. The first issue involves Rwanda, the tiny nation that borders the DRC to the east. According to the U.N. Group of Experts, Rwanda Defense Force soldiers provided direct support to M23 during the occupation. The Experts Group also found that a Rwandan General, Emmanuel Ruvusha, helped lead the Goma offensive. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has repeatedly denied Rwanda’s involvement. The Experts Group has also implicated Uganda in aiding the M23 with “logistics.” The three nations have been entangled in bloody conflict since Hutu perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide fled to neighboring DRC. Despite a formal end to the conflict known as the Second Congo War in 2003, fighting motivated by ethnic differences and resource control has continued between rival groups, and tension between the three nations persists. Even though the rebels have retreated from their position in Goma, the danger has not abated, said Jonny Hogg, a Reuters correspondent in Goma during the occupation. If negotiations in the coming weeks progress poorly, there could arise the potential for another full-scale war, he said, “[which] would
be economically disastrous, politically disastrous, and clearly disastrous from a humanitarian point of view as well.” With Rwanda and Uganda having been implicated in the offensive, the war would inevitably draw those nations in as well. The rebel occupation has also provoked angry discussion about the role of the U.N. peacekeeping force stationed in Goma. While the M23 reportedly destroyed property, abducted women and children, uprooted 100,000 people and effectively cut off access to 30 out of 31 refugee camps in the area, the U.N. troops did not fire a single shot. According to Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian senator and retired lieutenant general who led the UN Mission during the Rwandan Genocide, the U.N. is not doing enough to prevent the DRC from falling into violent disarray. “It can’t continue in this vacuum of political structure that is creating and permitting the anarchy to carry on,” he said. Debates over the role of U.N. peacekeepers are not likely to cease any time soon. Until peace talks between the M23 and Congolese government come to a conclusion, the threat exists that the DRC will descend yet again into utter chaos. •
WINTER 2012 ONLINE PHOTOS BY MOLLY HRUDKA
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Guest Column
PHOTO BY KYLE SWARTZ
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMON SENSE IN DEFENSE FUNDING
Cadet Kyle Swartz stands with an F-16 Fighting Falcon before a familiarization flight at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.
T
he largest current threat to United States national security isn’t hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan, plotting another attack on innocent American civilians. This threat isn’t actively pursuing nuclear, biological or chemical weapons for illicit purposes. It isn’t saber-rattling in northern Eurasia, growing increasingly aggressive and bold. The single largest threat to the well-being of this great nation is a domestic problem. The over $16 trillion national debt has been steadily growing, exacerbated by runaway spending in countless areas – military funding included. The armed forces of the United States are fundamentally committed to “preserving the peace and security, and providing for the defense, of the United States” per Title 10 of the United States Code. As stated by retired Navy Admiral Michael Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military has “every responsibility to help eliminate [the] threat” 18 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
of national debt. To accomplish the critical mission of debt reduction, Congress must make significant spending cuts across the board, even targeting the “sacred cow” of the defense budget. Close cooperation between Congress and military leaders has led to great progress in this area in recent times. Already, the defense budget will be cut by over $450 billion over the next ten years. Despite the large cuts in funding, the military has seen no parallel decrease in workload. Each branch is being asked to do more with less on an almost daily basis. To effectively accomplish the mission on a limited budget, we must take a close and critical look at how the military’s precious resources need to be spent. First, innovation and technology must not be sacrificed. For example, the average age of any given aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory is over 23 years. Aging and outdated systems quickly turn into money pits due to increasing maintenance and
operation costs. Systems designed in the 1970s and earlier increasingly run the risk of being irrelevant in modern times. Investing in research and development keeps our military strong, saves lives of servicemen and women, provides jobs to the American people, and frequently results in useful technology for the civilian world (ever wonder where GPS came from? You have the Department of Defense to thank). Second, we must recognize and prepare for realistic future conflicts. The massive land battles of World War II are a thing of the past. Today’s conflicts are asymmetric and dynamic, often pitting conventional US troops against an elusive and cunning enemy who cannot easily be identified. Investing in special operations capabilities, along with improved intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance is a must: these capabilities allow us to fight asymmetric wars and strike with precision, minimizing collateral damage. Finally, we must continue to cultivate partnerships with allied nations to present a unified front against aggression and terrorism across the world. Very few conflicts are won with brute force alone. Only by winning the “hearts and minds” of people everywhere can we promote freedom and security, helping to ensure peace. The opinions in this article are the author’s alone and do not reflect the opinion, policy or endorsement of the Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Air Force ROTC, or anyone else. •
PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Drugs and Alcohol
WINTER 2012 ONLINE
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PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
SHOULD
IT BE LEGAL? I think that we should have it be legal because prosecuting isn’t alleviating the problem. The drug war, I feel is one of the largest wastes economically. -Swati Rayasam, Senior •
The legalization of marijuana opens the door for transparent governmental regulation including new tax revenues. It further decreases unnecessary death, while providing many clear medicinal purposes as well. -Justin Reid , Junior •
I feel like from the day we are born, society has driven into this idea that marijuana is associated with it’s negative “stoner” stereotype. Much like we all are brought up to find it appropriate to drink milk from a cow. We are the only species that drinks the milk of another animal species. And we are the only species that drinks animal milk past childhood. But this is deemed acceptable because society has conditioned us so. The fact that I want this quote to be anonymous is further proof of how my brain has been conditioned by society to view marijuana as something to be frowned upon. -Anonymous • 20 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
Think about it from a logical standpoint! Well-known economics professor Ralph Byrns said it best: it can be produced like bales of hay. Tax revenue benefits the states that vote to legalize. We shift society from its current state of angry and unpredictable drunks and end up with a lot of happy people who want to eat cookie dough ice cream. It just makes sense. -Anonymous, Junior •
In my personal opinion, I would not legalize marijuana, but if it does become legalized it would need to have the same restrictions as alcholol and cigs, as they are just as “bad.” -Anonymous, Junior •
To be honest the legalization of pot actually has no affect on my life. I don’t smoke pot and don’t think I ever will. I think that much like underage drinking, it is something that might not be good for you but people are going to do it anyways. -Anonymous, Sophomore • It seems incongruent to allow the sale of tobacco, a substance responsible for around 1 in every 5 deaths in the US, and alcohol, with its host of potential public health concerns, and at the same time stigmatize and criminalize the use of a much less harmful substance. I think legalization would be a wise decision both in an economic sense and in terms of ending the criminalization of thousands of young people, many of whom are already underprivileged. -Landen Gambill, Sophomore •
I don’t believe that marijuana should be legalized in any states for recreational use. The society that we live in already offers a number of unhealthy substances to fill and consume our bodies with. Recreationally, the use of marijuana does nothing more than put one at higher risk for poor decision making. There are no benefits to smoking marijuana recreationally, and I think that legalizing it will lead to a larger population of drug-addicted Americans. -Sarah Hoehn, Junior • WINTER 2012 ONLINE
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Published with support from: Campus Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress. Campus Progress works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter. Learn more at CampusProgress.org Also paid for in part by student fees.
Campus BluePrint is a non-partisan student publication that aims to provide a forum for open
dialogue on progressive ideals at UNC-Chapel Hill and in the greater community. 22 • WINTER 2012 ONLINE