Opinion
PAGE 4 • MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015
TECHNICIAN
BOG decisions threaten academic freedom
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he Board of Governors voted Friday to terminate the Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law, the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change at NC Central University and the Center for Biodiversity at East Carolina University. The board had slated a list of 240 centers across the UNC-System for extensive review and, after months of deliberation, decided to close three centers. The three receive zero dollars of direct government funding, but challenged the ideas pushed by a Republican legislature and a Republican governor in office. All three centers closed by the board had one end goal: to aid the citizens of North Carolina and empower both they and its lawmakers to make better informed decisions. Unfortunately, members of the
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board saw setime the NC The unsigned editorial is the opinion of the members of Technician’s rious conflicts Republicans editorial board and is the w it h t hose proved their responsibility of the editor-in-chief. goals. ignorance over Gene Nichol, serious envia law professor at to increase the community’s level ronmental issues. UNC and director of the Poverty and quality of participation in civic In 2014 the state played a starring center, has been among the most affairs and, thus, its efficacy in ad- role on The Colbert Report after the vocal of Gov. Pat McCrory and his dressing racial, gender, economic, Republican legislature reclassified a allies in the state House and Senate, and other social injustices. 39-inch rise in water level as an eightand in one 2013 letter, compared We’re sure that you all remember inch rise during the last 100 years by McCrory to segregationist Southern North Carolina’s moment in the na- banning the use of accepted climate governors during the 1960s because tional spotlight after pushing draco- models when considering legislation, of his advocacy for tougher election nian Voter ID laws in 2013. as the law made it so that it “shall not laws which made it harder for miPart of the mission statement of include scenarios of accelerated rates nority voters to cast their ballot. the Center for Biodiversity at ECU of sea-level rise.” However, the Poverty center isn’t reads that it is “designed to engage The blowback from the legislation the only center that studies some- citizens in issues related to the con- prompted the headline, “North Carthing the Republican Party finds servation of biodiversity and its rel- olina has outlawed sea-level rise,” disagreeable. evance to human health and quality among many national publications. According to the NC Central In- of life.” Jim Holmes, the chairman of the stitute for Civic Engagement and Ignoring the importance of fos- working group that conducted the Social Change, “The institute seeks tering biodiversity is not the first center review, said the process was in
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Devan Riley’s SG Endorsement Tonight at 8 p.m., voting for your next group of elected student leaders will begin, and I sincerely hope that you all will take the initiative to exercise this right. Voting for your student leaders should be important to you because of the student fees in which they are entrusted to appropriate and spend. Next year, you will all give upwards of $14 in Student Government fees, and those who you elect will be in charge of allocating this money back to you. If you vote tonight, you will have had your say in who is most qualified to do this. If you don’t, you will have missed your only opportunity to do so; however, you will still pay your fees in August. Over the past few years, student leaders have been discouraged from endorsing candidates on the grounds that it provides for an unfair election. To those discouragers I ask this: Who knows better the needs of the office than those who are in it currently? I echo this sentiment to you all with this letter. No one can better endorse candidates for the executive offices of Student Government’s tomorrow than those who serve today. Furthermore, as your Student Body Vice President, I feel it is my duty to share with you my opinion on the future of Student Government, as you elected me to do my best for the organization, and part
Kelley Wheeler, sophomore in art studies
Will net neutrality really forge an open environment for Internet users? O
n Thursday the Federal Communications Commission approved one of the most intrusive and expansive regulations in the agency’s history—to treat net neutrality as a public utility. To avoid the obstacle of readi ng t h roug h dense legal and Ziyi Mai technical mateStaff Columnist rial, the jargon used here needs a clarification. According to the FCC, net neutrality is referred to as “the principle of Open Internet,” in which consumers can make their own choices about what applications and services to use and are free to decide what lawful content they want to access, create or share with others. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the Internet should be representative of one’s right to freedom of speech, but many disagree as to how the principle can be achieved. When people surf the Internet, depending on how much they pay for the speed to their Internet Service Provider, or “ISP,” they generally think that every website they access has the same speed. But things don’t work that way. Different sites use different access speeds; though, the difference is small to such a degree that most people can’t tell the difference. Almost all ISPs discriminate websites in accordance to the related traffic and charge higher rates for higher speed. In 2010, the FCC issued a reg-
ulatory order that was intended to prevent broadband ISPs from blocking or interfering with traffic on the Web. Originally, the FCC’s rules prohibited wired ISPs from blocking and discriminating against content, while allowing wireless ISPs to discriminate against but not block websites. However, In January 2014, the court ruled against the FCC’s ability to enforce net neutrality because the legal framework was considered to be questionable and ambiguous. The FCC might face the lawsuits again this time as the new rules have sparkled fierce opposition from several wireless giants. Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC from 2001 to 2005, told CNET that consumers would not see much difference in terms of quality and prices in the short run. But as the new rules go into effect, Powell said consumers are likely to see “higher bills from new taxes and fees and expenses related to regulatory compliance.” The FCC’s vote last week will allow it to regulate rates, set terms and conditions of business relationships, granting federal and state governments to impose taxes and fees on consumer bills. The cost of regulation will end up placing a burden on consumers. But are consumers willing to pay the extra cost? Certainly, not all of them. But the new rules push the cost to a higher level for all wireless users. Some consumers will have no choice but to pay it eventually. From an economic point of view, it is not difficult to see
why ISPs discriminate websites based on traffic. ISPs have the technology to transform scarce resources into Internet services for consumers. But different websites have different frequency of visits. Popular social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter and news websites such as CNN have millions of visitors every day, whereas sites that specialize in smaller areas have fewer visitors per day. This frequency of visits can be seen as the force of demand. ISPs are motivated to put more resources and speed to support websites that attract more visitors than those with fewer visitors per day. The FCC’s rules place constraints on an ISP’s ability to make decisions based on the data that it is more familiar with. Net neutrality ensures that ISPs treat all websites equally in terms of speeds, but doesn’t make efficient use of resources when considering websites that receive less traffic. These idle resources could have been used in websites where traffic is significantly greater. The increased cost will be transferred to consumers’ due to the monopolistic nature of the industry. Besides, the more extensive a regulation becomes, the more difficult to implement and comply. The FCC rules give the agency substantial power and leave huge room for lobbying and distorting terms.
Alex Grindstaff’s endorsement The past few years have shown us that our access to an affordable education isn’t as secure as we thought. Our state government’s support for the UNC System has wavered, forcing tuition and fees to rise at our expense. When our attitude toward these student leaders and their abilities is skeptical, how can we expect Student Government to be effective or expect the university to hear our pleas with respect? You might not be the vote that picks the president of the United States or your U.S. Senator, but you will have a better chance choosing someone who will fight on your behalf for decisions that will affect your college career. You might be thinking that this election isn’t worth your time or that all candidates are the same and won’t be able to get anything done, but please don’t sit out this election. Who are administrators going to consult when they’re considering fee increases or changes to services like transportation? Most likely they’ll consult other administrators and faculty, but when I was a member of the few University Standing Committees, I was the only student in the room. I had to make a decision that would reflect the wishes of over 34,000 students and they were listening. The Student Senator and Student Body Officer you select will be sitting in one of those rooms. One of the reasons SG can be ineffective is because no matter how long we serve, we’re usually replaced each year while administrators remain. Experience and connections with these people are crucial if you want to navigate the university bureaucracy to accomplish anything. Two of the students who surprised me the most were Kelly Elder and Karli Moore. I didn’t know either of them that well but they quickly gained my
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no way political and that the group individually flagged centers objectively with any prejudice. The evidence clearly says otherwise. Of the 32 members currently sitting on the Board, most were appointed by the Republican-Controlled NC House and Senate. However, the real crime here isn’t that the Board of Governors was playing politics, which is still troublesome. The real crime is it has attempted to circumvent the academic freedom of professors and researchers across the UNC System, and in doing so has prioritized its Republican ideology over the welfare of the citizens of North Carolina.
of the job is to ensure a sound future for this government body that does so much for the university. I will no doubt receive backlash for writing the following endorsement; however, I am my own man, and I am following my heart with these words, and I believe that my endorsement is a completion of my job to you as an elected official. If I go down in the books as a malevolent Vice President for endorsing two wonderful candidates, then so be it, as I am slated to be the worst Vice President in NC State’s history already (And the best. It is incredible how being first works). With all this being said, I hereby formally endorse Gavin Harrison for Student Body President and Meredith Mason for Student Body Vice President. I feel these two are a union of experience and innovation. I feel they have the expertise it will take to weed out what Student Government is doing wrong and fix it, but at the same time, they will realize what Student Government is doing right and ensure continuation. Please take this endorsement with you to the polls tonight, and know that I have so endorsed only to fulfill what I feel is my obligation to you, the citizenry. I hold in my heart this university, and I pray you all do the same by voting tonight. With dutiful humility I conclude, Devan F. Riley, Student Body Vice President
trust and I appointed them as chairs of the most important committees in Senate. Each accomplished more in a few months than other student senators and presidents have in their entire careers. Just as I was able to have an impact for LGBT students with the Inclusive Admissions Act last year, these two leaders were able to clean up archaic rules and pass more legislation than I could have hoped for, given how skeptical I was with SG performance in the past. Student leaders like Chris Becker, Kelly Elder, Cody Long, and Kari Moore have been fighting for students this past year whether you realize it or not. They have shown more passion for advocacy and student issues. Each have put in the time and hard work to get to know the administrators, faculty and staff that can aid them and us all to find solutions that benefit NC State. Candidates will make all sorts of flashy promises and slogans to get your attention but if you want a year of honest work and a step toward a Student Government that we can be proud of, then these four individuals need your vote. If you feel that the university overlooks you and that you are a number to them as they go about business, you’re not alone. I met countless students who wanted to make a difference and those with great ideas, but SG was unable to collaborate with the right people. However, the four individuals I mentioned before have more experience than many of the other candidates combined. If you have a concern or an issue with the university, then these four will treat you with the same respect they treated me when I needed them the most. This election is a start, and these four need your help. We’re the Wolfpack, let’s work together. Alex Grindstaff former Student Senate President
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