Yesterday I received a call from a woman who lives in a tent she assembled in the woods east of the railroad tracks near land that Chapel Hill purchased from the estate of Leo Merritt. I have known her for several years and she has been a part of the downtown Carrboro community for a long time. I had mixed emotions about what she had to say. She is moving next month to be with another member of her family in a nearby state. On the one hand, I am happy for her that she will (presumably) have more formal housing arrangements, but on the other hand I will miss seeing her around Carrboro.

The Conference on Race, Class, Gender, and Ethnicity would like to announce its 16^th Annual Conference, “Waking Up from the American Dream: The Sober Reality of Class in America.” On Saturday, February 25th, 2012, academics, community activists, practitioners, and students will come together at the UNC School of Law Rotunda to contribute to the rejuvenation of a discussion of class and inequality. We hope to encourage a heterodox approach grounded in the intersection of an honest exploration of class and the realities of racial, feminist, ethnic, and queer identities and the law. For more information and to register please visit our website, http://studentorgs.law.unc.edu/crcge/conferences/2012/default.aspx.

Panelists:

Lydia Lavelle, Carrboro Alderman and NCCU Professor of "Sexual Identity and the Law"

Ian Palmquist, Director, Equality NC

Yuri Yamamoto, NCSU Professor

What would happen if people were held accountable for their actions? If the laws were written such that the person was responsible for their actions regardless of whether they were drunk or did not know that the gun was loaded. In turn there would be no lower age limit to drive, drugs (including over the counter, prescription, alcohol, and illegal) would not be regulated, guns would not require registration, and so on. But if someone died as a result YOU would be held accountable, not the gun or drug, you would be charged with murder, not manslaughter or accidental motor vehicle homicide, but MURDER, and you would receive a life punishment such as life in prison? Do you think that murder rates would drop?