Racial & Economic Justice
The Leadership Advisory Committee on Carolina North had an interesting discussion about housing as a part of Carolina North this afternoon.
Here are some prepared comments that I presented as a way of launching the discussion:
The housing problem at Carolina North is, in short, that the new workers at Carolina North will either live at Carolina North or they will live elsewhere and need to commute to the campus. There is not a great deal of vacant housing currently available within the Chapel Hill Transit service area (although there is some), so new employees will either have to occupy housing that is to be built in the Chapel Hill Transit service area, or they will have to live outside that service area and commute. Let's take a look at the scale of the problem:
The Ayers/Saint/Gross Development Plan commissioned by the University proposed to build the following:
Guest Post by Yonni Chapman
I want to make sure everyone knows about the panel/debate/discussion on UNC's Unsung Founders Memorial this Wednesday, Hanes Art Center 121, 5-7pm.
Criticism has now pushed to the surface and gained momentum along the same lines that was noted here on OrangePolitics and elsewhere at the time of the dedication--the memorial to slaves is long overdue and welcome, but the implementation is pathetic. It pacifies and "midgitizes" the contribution of black workers. The biggest problem is that, once again, white people spoke for black people, and got it wrong. The descendants--actual and figurative (black campus workers)--were not consulted during the planning process. One or two black students were involved, but everyone else was a white professional. Diversity at UNC is quite superficial.
While I appreciate the effort to address this growing problem, this policy seems destined to not have much impact besides affirming for teenagers that gangs are really cool. Why else would The Man be trying to shut 'em down?
The Board of Education is slated to discuss -- but not vote on -- the policy during a 7 p.m. meeting Thursday at Lincoln Center in Chapel Hill. ...
Chapel Hill-Carrboro's proposed policy, however, lays out some possible consequences in instances where students are "suspected of displaying gang affiliation."
The steps include a verbal or written warning, photographs, the removal or covering of gang-related clothing or markings, and the removal of any identifying signs of belonging to a gang.
- heraldsun.com: Schools consider new policy on gangs
I'd like to see some policies that try to better understand and validate student voices and do more to let students air the frustrations that make them consider violence and violent culture.
For those of you following media politics, it has not been a good couple of weeks here in NC or in DC. The NC House moved a bill to the floor that would allow phone and cable companies to roll over communities and consumers and soon the NC Senate will do the same. Meanwhile, Congress passed a similar bill, The COPE Act, which would destroy community access television and turn the internet into a "whoever pays most, is seen most" commercial model. The death of community television and the internet? Could it get any worse?
Well, yes.
The FCC, under the leadership of Kevin Marin, from our good state, are about to change the rules about media ownership limits. Remember a couple of years ago when everyone from the NRA to Move On pulled together and stopped them? Seems they didn't hear us loud enough last time.
The News and Observer reports that the United Way of Chatham County has abruptly cut their funding to El Vinculo Hispano (The Hispanic Liaison). The United Way says that their move is because the organization has an overly high percentage of their budget dedicated to administrative costs. However, there seems to be ample evidence that the move is also motivated by a backlash to EVH's successful organization of immigrants rights rallies and advocacy in Siler City and Chatham County.
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