March 2014

S U P M A C 2014 MARCH

le g n a i r T y e h T Ambiguit n , i s ic s m e e d Aca Athletics, • Challeng e c a R ight

n Faces T a g a H r o t Sena rham • u D in y t tali Police Bru

CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Readers, A common theme of our liberal arts educations has been to embrace ambiguity, which is easy enough when you’re writing a reflection in class, and more difficult when you’re questioning the integrity of your beloved university and community.

Originally, we were wary to address the controversy around Mary Willingham’s findings on literacy and the Athletics Department, aware that the ambiguities of the situation are too intricate to clear up in a four-page article. Despite interviews with Willingham, football players, and (canceled, rescheduled, and canceled again) interviews with UNC provost James Dean, we could offer few concrete answers. But, to quote Rilke (thank you, Gen Ed requirements), sometimes we must “love the questions themselves.” We realized that important discussions can take root in questions without answers. We feel that the discussion about the intersection between sports and schools is vitally important at a University where both mean so much.

Other stories are also imbued with ambiguity. But we hope that you’ll entertain the questions posed, and that they provoke valuable thought.

Happy reading!

Grace Tatter Editor-in-Chief 2 • MARCH 2014

POLICE BRUTALITY IN DURHAM

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SENATOR HAGAN FACES TIGHT RACE

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ATHLETICS, ACADEMICS, AMBIGUITY

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From the Blog Southern Politics ASA Academic Boycott A New Home for Hser Ku Police Brutality in Durham

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Studying, Sick and Now Safe 14 Senator Hagan Faces Tight Race 16 Atheletics Academics Ambiguity 18 The Female Atheist 23 A Hidden Problem 25

STAFF grace tatter editor-in-chief troy homesley executive editor ina kosova, lindsey kellogg managing editors kyle ann marie sebastian executive editor, campusblueprint.com

gayatri surendranathan managing editor, campusblueprint.com

norman archer assistant editor, campusbluepring.com

sophie bergmann creative director matt keenan public relations and social media director

hannah nemer photo editor carey hanlin, cole wilhelmi, joe calder, samantha mccormick, norman archer, matt keenan, anita simha, lindsey kellogg, claire peterman, layla quran, tony hongliu, wilson sink, thomas gooding, hannah stein-eichner, caroline woronoff, jennifer waldkirch staff writers

sophie bergmann, christopher phompraseut, grace tatter, claire peterman, delaney mcguire, nan copeland designers

tony liu, anisha padma, natalie curnes, ariana lutterman photographers blake burgess treasurer

On the Cover: “The Pink Door House” by Lily Clarke

FROM

G O L E B TH

Campus BluePrint publishes blog posts daily. Here are some of the best from the blog since our last print issue. To read the whole posts, visit us at campusblueprint.com.

Carolina by changing, literally, the face of the University. I’ve never once talked to Christy Lambden, and yet I can recognize him almost immediately if I see him around campus. The student body president is Carolina, chosen by the Carolina’s students. We tend to pick the person who is most interesting, likeable, and eloquent, so naturally, we spot them fairly easily around campus. We tend to pick the person who has the most interesting story to tell…

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Election day. These two words conjure images of frantic candidates milling around their headquarters, and stressed staffers rushing this way and that. Everything seems so dramatic, and time, for the campaigns, seems to drag slowly on. For the rest of us, Election Day presents a chance to break the monotonous cycle of class, homework, and broken Keurigs by clicking around on a website we don’t frequently visit. Each year a few candidates make promises to change certain things around campus, but most of their promises are not met. Thus, the only difference from year to year seems to be the candidates themselves.

The student body president changes

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TROY HOMESLEY

Campus BluePrint and HKonJ

Matt Keenan, Election Day, Feb. 11.

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Lindsey Kellogg, Coal Ash Spill Devastates Nearyby Dan River, Feb. 13.

etary context. According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Data released by the FBI in October 2012, police in the United States arrested an individual for marijuana possession every 42 seconds. The Marijuana Arrest Research Project (MARP) most recently in its “Marijuana Possession Arrests in Colorado, 1986-2010” report, utilized past FBI reports in an attempt to look at the racial disparities that exist in these arrests. According to the findings of that study, Latinos in Colorado were arrested at a 50 percent higher rate than whites and African Americans at three times the rate of whites.

Ina Kosova, It’s More Than Just Pot, Feb. 7.

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President Obama has a pot problem and no, it’s not due to his oft-repeated admittance that he smoked marijuana as a teenager. [...]

So while President Obama may not have changed his opposition to the legalization of marijuana at the federal level, this may have more to do with politics than with anything else. The justice department has not gone after states that have legalized medical marijuana and they have not gone after Colorado or D.C., where pot for non-medical purposes is now legal. By keeping himself out of the political debate on pot, President Obama is facilitating an important and necessary step: a state-by-state remedy of the negative externalities of the War on Drugs, specifically the discriminatory application of its laws.

The enforcement of the federal policy on marijuana has reaped significant costs for the public, costs not merely restricted to the mon-

phasized in a statement that his administration “is the first in North Carolina history to take legal action against the utility regarding coal ash ponds,” and assured that “our top priorities are ensuring the health and safety of the public as well as the wildlife in the Dan River vicinity and the river itself.” Governor McCrory worked for Duke Energy for decades before entering politics.

Ten days after the spill, North Carolina officials released warnings telling people not to swim in or eat fish from the Dan River.”

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“...Though the Dan River is not in the same watershed as Chapel Hill, the spill could affect up to six North Carolina counties and up to five in southern Virginia.

Last year, the state of North Carolina filed several lawsuits against Duke Energy, in order to make the utility deal with groundwater and wastewater violations at fourteen sites that had burnt coal. Environmental advocates state that a major issue across the state is waste like coal ash being stored so close to water sources. Governor Pat McCrory, who has been criticized as holding back from regulation, em-

to “Women will decide this election” and “Schools are not factories”. There was an unsaid understanding that thousands of people around us had all been impacted in some way by the legislation, and were there to change what it means to live in our state.

A common saying for HKonJ is that it is “a movement, not a moment”. After 13 Moral Mondays, nearly 1,000 civil disobedience arrests, and 24 local moral Monday demonstrations across the state, HkonJ was a culmination of the efforts of North Carolinians all over to create a more democratic, more just state.

Speakers at HKonJ included public educators, doctors, religious leaders, and a former UNC student. Reverend Dr. William Barber, head of the North Carolina NAACP, called for affordable healthcare, the expansion of voting rights, support for quality public education, and an end to discrimination in the criminal justice system. Reverend Barber ended his speech by saying, “This is not about Democrats vs. Republicans. This is not about liberals vs. conservatives. It’s about right vs. wrong.”

One public educator said, “It’s not about how hard you are hit. It’s about how hard you are hit and keep moving forward.”

Forward together, not one step back.

Layla Quran, Moral March Brings Thousands to Jones Street, Feb. 10.

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I spent last Saturday morning with tens of thousands of my favorite people in the state.

Last Saturday, I and over 200 other UNC students attended the 8th annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ). The march was organized by the North Carolina NAACP, with this year’s march intended to speak out against legislation passed last year in the North Carolina General Assembly, including cuts to medicaid, increase in student tuition, and drastic voter suppression laws. The march takes place each year on the second Saturday in February, and includes partnerships with 150 groups representing students, teachers, religious groups, and civil rights organizations.

UNC students from organizations including Students for a Democratic Society, the Campus Y, the UNC NAACP, and many others gathered at the Davis ATMs at 8am on Saturday morning. We filled two buses and several cars with students, and began the short trek to Raleigh for the march.

We gathered at Shaw University in Raleigh at 9:30am and headed down Fayetteville Street to gather in front of the General Assembly building. Thousands of North Carolinians culminated in a march over 6 blocks long, with estimates ranging from 80,000 up to 100,000 people.

According to The Nation, ”It was the largest civil rights rally in the South since tens of thousands of voting rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery in support of the Voting Rights Act.” There was an immediate sense of solidarity as we marched with signs around us ranging from “Say no to to the new Jim Crow”

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SOUTHERN POLITICS

When red meets blue

TROY HOMESLEY t is difficult to succinctly define the Perhaps the new definition of the South South. In the 1860’s, the South de- is “dynamic.” Conceptions of the South have changed cided to secede many times from the UnitOne hundred and throughout the ed States in fifty-two Congressregion’s history. order to create men represent 13 Republican polan independiticians can no ent country, Southern states, from longer count on and the South West Virginia to Texas, the South, as it was known as and of those 152 repundergoes dea place of reresentatives, 109 (72 mographic and bellion, reckpercent) of them are cultural shifts. lessness, and An underlying slavery.

Even Republican. Southern c h aracteristic after slavery Republicans make up of the South was abolished, almost half of the toduring all eras the South maintal Republicans in the is political contained its repuHouse of Representaservatism.

Aftation as a hotter slavery was bed of racism tives, no surprise since abolished, racfor decades. the southern brand ism continued Now, we know of conservatism has to run rampant the South as the existed for 100 years. in Southern polland of deepitics for decades, fried meals, country music, and sweet summertime. all because of Southerners’ resistance

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to change. These Southerners wanted things to stay the way they were, and were perfectly content to let the Washington bigwigs stay in Washington.

Thus, a special homegrown brand of conservatism took root in the South, and it thrives to this day.

One hundred and fifty-two Congressmen represent 13 Southern states, from West Virginia to Texas, and of those 152 representatives, 109 (72 percent) of them are Republican. Southern Republicans make up almost half of the total Republicans in the House of Representatives, no surprise since the southern brand of conservatism has existed for 100 years. Though the Republican Party is currently strong in the South, recent elections show that a problem looms on the horizon for the party.

A Change of the Guard Ferrel Guillory, expert on Southern politics and professor of the practice of Journalism at UNC (and Campus BluePrint’s faculty advisor), sees a split de-

veloping in the South. “I don’t think you supported the Republican candidate. can talk about Southern politics as one The Inner South, which includes West unit anymore,” Guillory says. A division Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennesis growing between the “Outer South” see, Arkansas, and Mississippi, has reand the “Inner South.” The Outer South, mained solidly conservative, even as its composed of the states along the east- neighbors have become more liberal. ern seaboard like Virginia, North Caroli- Still, the eventual Republican presina, and Florida, has shown an increase dential nominee will have to campaign in Democratic voter turnout in recent hard to win the region. elections. Guillory attributes this shift to population growth and metropoli- New Purple tanization. From 2000-2010, the averBarack Obama carried three Southern age percentage in population growth states in 2008, and using North Carolifor the United States was almost ten na as an example, it is fairly easy to see percent. North Carolina’s population how he was able to do so. Though Mcgrew by 18.5 percent, Virginia’s grew by Cain won much more surface area than 13 percent, and Obama, Obama Florida’s grew carried nine out by 17.6 percent. of the ten most I don’t think you can Each one of populous cittalk about Southern these states ies in the state, politics as one unit grew more than which allowed anymore. A division is the national avhim to win the erage, and they state.

Florida growing between the all voted blue in and Virginia tell ‘Outer South’ and the the 2008 eleca similar story.

‘Inner South.’ tion, suggesting In Florida, Obathere was an ma won in very - Ferrel Guillory, influx of Demopopulous areas cratic voters. like Miami, Fort professor Barack ObaLauderdale, Tamma won North pa, and Orlando.

Carolina in 2008. The last time a Dem- Like in North Carolina, McCain won more ocratic candidate won North Carolina surface area, but Obama won more happened in 1976 when Jimmy Carter populous areas. As in North Carolina was on the ballot. Beyond Jimmy Carter and Florida, Obama won the more popis the period of the Solid South, when ulous areas in Virginia, which included Southern Democrats were conservative the area surrounding Washington, D.C., and racist. Thus, only two liberal Dem- Charlottesville, Richmond, and Norfolk. ocrats have won North Carolina since Metropolitanization works against the 1960. Fifty-four years; this is the legacy Republican Party, because people are of Southern Conservatism. willing to spend money on public pro“A Republican candidate can’t reach jects in their city. Also, there tend to the White House without first going be a greater number of impoverished through the South,” Guillory says. That voters, who tend to vote Democrat. The seems easy enough, given that North South is changing, and if 2008 and 2012 Carolina has elected only two liberal were any indication, there may be much candidates since JFK, and that most of more purple in play come 2016.

North Carolina and Virginia, like Florthe Southern states have consistently

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ida, are now swing states. Yes, Mitt Romney won North Carolina in 2012, but by less than 100,000 votes. Virginia and Florida were about as close as North Carolina, except that they swung to Barack Obama. Regardless, the important takeaway from recent elections is that presidential races in the South have never been closer than 100,000 votes. The metropolitan areas of the Outer South have begun to embrace new, innovative ideas for progress, and the population growth of these states favors those ideas. North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida have become active purple states because of Southern Republicans’ refusal to accept ideas that even their fellow party members accept. Republicans in other regions are more willing to adapt to the cultural norms of the next generation, while Southern Republicans refuse to budge on issues like gay rights and immigration. That could be their death knell.

When people live in larger cities like Charlotte or Raleigh, they tend to have more progressive values, and they want to have nice public facilities and parks for their children. They also want to have well-maintained roads in the suburbs. Facilities and roads cost money, money that Democrats are more likely to spend than Republicans. More people in certain areas means more voters, and more voters means that a candidate will win. Southern politics has now taken on the form of the larger national political sphere. In order to win, candidates of both parties have to focus on larger, electorally valuable population centers.

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ASA ACADEMIC BOYCOTT LAYLA QURAN he American Studies Association, following precedent from the Association of Asian American Studies and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, voted to pass a resolution last December in support of boycotting Israeli higher academic institutions.

Over winter break, UNC chancellor Carol Folt and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost James Dean, Jr. released a statement against the academic boycott. The letter also called on other ASA member institutions to oppose the academic boycott and stated that the ASA resolution would reduce intellectual collaborations between scholars here and abroad. The letter stated: “Our position is very clear. For more than 220 years, UNC-Chapel Hill has nurtured and promulgated the concept of open access to higher education. As a leading public research university, the faculty and students at Carolina have built long-term relationships around our nation and world, including a rich array of scholarly and academic collaborations with both Israeli and Palestinian faculty members and Universities.”

But despite the official statement, professors at UNC hardly take a unified stance on the boycott. Neel Ahuja, a professor in postcolonial studies in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at UNC, and an active member of the American Studies Association, is a vocal advocate of the boycott. Ahuja sees the boycott as necessary in the political context of the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli state and the unconditional support of the US in the Israeli occupation.

The United States has provided over 200 billion dollars in military aid to Isra-

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el in the past six decades, and Congress recently introduced a bill that would punish US universities in support of the academic boycott of Israel by decreasing funding to the university.

“Palestinian civic organizations, in this context of not having any voice, where they live or internationally, have decided that the only way to get recognition for the abuses they are facing is to seek international solidarity through a boycott, which South Africans have done before them, which Indian anti-colonial activists did before them, which the activists at the Montgomery bus boycott and Greensboro, North Carolina have employed in other contexts,” Ahuja says. “So, a boycott happens because other political alternatives are exhausted, and the tactic then is used in a targeted way to get a restoration of a political process.”

What is BDS? The academic boycott is part of the larger BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, launched in 2005 and endorsed by a majority of Palestinian civil society unions, organizations and political parties. BDS calls for ending three main injustices Israel commits against the Palestinian people: Israel’s racial discrimination against its Palestinian citizens, the 1967 military occupation of Gaza, the West bank, and East Jerusalem, and an end to Israel’s denial of the UN-sanctioned rights of all Palestinian refugees. Largely inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, the BDS movement rejects all forms of racism, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Along with cultural and economic boycotts, the academic boycott is a main component of the BDS

movement.

Individual faculty members of the American studies department at UNC varied on their stance concerning the boycott. Joy Kasson, a professor in UNC’s American Studies department, is opposed to the boycott. “I’m really concerned about the idea that an academic institution would close down discussion rather than opening it up,” Kasson said, “And to me boycotting any particular group of individuals who might have something to say is not a way forward and is contradictory to what a university or a scholarly society should be doing.”

“Just turn it around and imagine that some religiously oriented college or university refuses to hire or accept students of some other religion or some other ethnicity — African Americans or something — I could imagine some organization engaging in some true discriminatory practice where cutting off their funds would be an appropriate thing to do,” she said.

However, proponents of the the academic boycott of Israel say it is a direct response to the discrimination and lack of academic freedom faced by Palestinian students in the occupied territories and Israel. According to a 2001 Human Rights Watch report, “the hurdles Palestinian Arab students face from kindergarten to university function like a series of sieves with sequentially finer holes. At each stage, the education system filters out a higher proportion of Palestinian Arab students.”

The Palestinian Education System Nathan Swanson is a PhD candidate in the Geography Department at UNC-Chapel Hill recently returned from

three semesters of dissertation fieldwork in Jerusalem. Swanson commented on what he observed in terms of academic freedom for Palestinians during his time in Jerusalem. “There is a major issue with disproportionate funding between Palestinian schools and Israeli schools, and this is a broader reflection of other social services in Jerusalem as well,” he said.

“In recent months, there have also been raids by Israeli soldiers on Al Quds University, which is a major Palestinian University in East Jerusalem. Just a couple of weeks ago it was raided by occupation forces who took up positions on the gates and started checking IDs, and then when a crowd gathered, they were eventually tear gassed out of the university.”

Proponents and opponents of the boycott agree that professional dynamics both within Israel and abroad are important to consider. Kasson says another reason she is against the boycott is because it hurts collaboration efforts between Israeli scholars and scholars in the US, some of whom could be at UNC. However, the ASA resolution explicitly states, “It is also resolved that the ASA supports the protected rights of students and scholars everywhere to engage in research and public speaking about Israel-Palestine.” The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel does not call for a boycott of individuals, but rather an institutional boycott of Israel culturally and academically, and of Israeli higher institutions like Haifa University which reportedly discriminate against Palestinian students.

An example of discrimination at Haifa occured in 2005, when the university hosted a conference entitled “The Demographic Problem and Demographic Unity in Israel,” featuring academics and political analysts known for advocating ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, includ-

ing Arnon Sofer. A scholar in geostrategy at Haifa University in Israel, Sofer is known for openly taking credit for the route of the Israeli occupation wall which weaves into the West bank encapsulating Palestinian land, and which the International Court of Justice in the Hague declared illegal in July 2004.

Hebrew University, an institution UNC has a study abroad program with — although Palestinian students at UNC are prohibited from joining because of their denial from areas in Israel — also built a large part of its campus on land in the West Bank confiscated from Palestinians in 1968. Palestinian families living on the land in East Jerusalem (recognized by several UN resolutions as part of the occupied Palestinian territories) were forced to evacuate their homes to allow Israeli staff and students to live on the land. This move violates the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which states that “the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”

Furthermore, during Israel’s bombing of Gaza in the 2012 ‘Operation Pillar of Defense’, Palestinian students at Haifa University were banned from any future protests after students gathered for a moment of silence after the bombing of Gaza. Proponents of the academic boycott of Israel cite these examples and others as the main reason for boycotting Israeli institutions of higher knowledge.

There are, however, scholars in Israel who are open about their support for the boycott. In a statement released by Israeli scholars from Tel-Aviv University, they called upon Israeli institutions and the government to halt practices that openly discriminate against Palestinians: “We, past and present members of academic staff of Israeli universities, express great concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of the system of high-

er education in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We protest against the policy of our government which is causing restrictions of freedom of movement, study and instruction, and we call upon the government to allow students and lecturers free access to all the campuses in the Territories, and to allow lecturers and students who hold foreign passports to teach and study without being threatened with withdrawal of residence visas. To leave the situation as it is will cause serious harm to freedom of movement, study and instruction – harm to the foundation of academic freedom, to which we are committed.”

In 1985, UNC-Chapel Hill students formed the Anti-Apartheid Support Group to pressure the University Endowment Board to end all economic and academic ties with South Africa.

Two years later, the University ended all ties with the apartheid state, and divested from South African companies. Today, students across the United States, from Columbia to UCLA have called on their Universities to boycott Israeli higher institutions that discriminate against Palestinian students.

“A boycott says, I have to disengage with certain types of activities which I would normally do...I have to stop doing that because there is a pressing ethical issue where if I accept the everyday status quo, then I’m implicated in the violence” Ahuja says.

“On a very basic level, the word boycott is important but the word solidarity is important too because you have to have this ethical orientation where you understand there is another person or group of people out in the world with whom I have shared interests, desires, needs, and I want to recognize those through my daily actions” Ahuja continued.

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO REFUGEE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

A NEW HOME FOR HSER KU

Karen refugees for Burma do crafts at the Family Literacy Project, which is hosted by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Refugee Community Parntership.

After 14 years in a refugee camp, a Karen immigrant from Burma makes her home in Carrboro THOMAS GOODING ser Ku leaned against a wall of tightly lashed bamboo, waiting.

Her younger sister, Tay Nay, was awake, too, listening to the early morning rain.

Both sisters wished they could go back to sleep, but they knew they’d regret missing the long walk to the well.

“If you didn’t get up early, you wouldn’t get any water because there so much people,” Hser said. “Everyone wants water.” They didn’t have an alternative—possibly “NGO water,” but it tasted strange, too much chlorine, they said.

By the time they reached the well, a

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long line had formed. They would wait, just like every morning.

Such is life in Mae La, a refugee camp in western Thailand, home to approximately 45,000 refugees from Burma, now officially Myanmar. In 1994, when Hser was only an infant, her parents fled Burma due to government-led genocide against the Karen people, a predominantly Christian ethnic minority.

“I was only four months old when my parents moved to the refugee camp,” Hser recalled. “They said the Burmese military take over their land.” During

the dangerous journey to Thailand, her parents, Aung Oo and Mi Htoo, had to pretend to be Buddhist, Hser said, or else they might have been killed.

Danger did not subside once the family reached Mae La refugee camp. Poor medical facilities, limited educational opportunities, scarce resources, and overcrowding significantly inhibited life and posed serious threats to health.

“So much mosquitoes,” Hser recalled, commenting on the persistent threat of malaria. But, perhaps even worse, the health clinics only offered limited care and sometimes exacerbated illnesses.

Hser’s aunt was a victim of poor medi- time, a caseworker was not available to Schools.

“I like living here better than the cal treatment. After contracting what support the family.

None of Hser’s family members could camp,” Hser said. “We have more opwas most likely dysentery, she was given outdated medication and died. speak English. They didn’t know how portunity. We have enough food, and “I was only five years old,” Hser said. “I to pay bills or read school forms. They my parents have a better job.”

One of the organizations that has supcouldn’t apply for a job or speak to a still remember.”

Medical treatment outside of Mae doctor in case of a medical problem. ported Hser’s family is the Refugee ComLa was out of reach. Military units sur- Overcome by culture shock, Hser’s fam- munity Partnership (RCP), a nonprofit rounded the refugee camp and restrict- ily had to navigate a challenging, unfa- focused on providing refugee families with resources and care through coned movement, which limited much miliar environment—nearly alone. nections to But with excepmore than medical options for refugees. businesses, le“People were sneaking out to try to find tional resiliency, In 1994, when Hser gal agencies, a job, to send their children to school, determination, was only an infant, her and UNC stuto buy food or clothes,” Hser said. “If the and two helpful parents fled Burma dent organizamilitary catch them, they will be sent to UNC students, tions. Founded the transition Burma or put in jail or killed.” due to governmentin 2011, the orAs a result, the refugees had to sur- process was a led genocide against ganization has vive on what they were given. For indi- success. the Karen people. already made a “They were viduals age seven and older, internavisible impact tional relief organizations provided 20 nice and always pounds of food per month—less than helpful,” Hser said, referring to the vol- on the community but continues to a pound of food per day per person. unteers. “They did math teaching and seek greater volunteer involvement.

“There is always a need,” said Andrea Some families were able to grow vege- taught me how to make brownies and Eisen, a member of the RCP Board of tables in small spaces between homes, spaghetti.”

Hser said that some of the most Directors. “There’s always another child but otherwise food was scarce.

“There are no jobs in the camp,” Hser memorable experiences were trips to who needs homework help. It’s just said. “For me, there are no toys, no play- the park or to Franklin Street with the never-ending.”

In addition to RCP, Transplanting Travolunteers. Indeed, the relationship ground, no teddy bear, no games.”

For nearly 14 years, Mae La was Hser’s they built enabled her family to better ditions Community Farm plays a sighome. But in 2007, everything changed. acquaint themselves with American nificant role in supporting refugees in Through a refugee resettlement pro- culture and feel comfortable in a new the area. The nonprofit provides leadership development and agricultural gram, Hser’s family was able to immi- setting.

Ultimately, with workshops for local refugee families. grate to the the guidance of Kelly Owensby, project director, also exUnited States, After traveling more social workers, presses the importance of volunteer inwhere a casethan 20 hours from Hser’s parents volvement. “ESL teachers are extremely worker would were able to ac- important,” she said. “I see many teachhelp the family hailand to Japan to quire jobs in Cha- ers who do much more than just teach become accusChicago to Raleigh, pel Hill. Aung, her their students English but go above and tomed to livHser’s family arrived father, currently beyond to help students in other ways.” ing in the new in Carrboro — their Without a doubt, a strong support works as a custoenvironment. resettlement location dian at the UNC network of committed volunteers is exAfter travelSchool of Dentist- ceptionally helpful for refugee families. ing more than and new home.

“It would be really hard if we didn’t ry, and Mi Htoo, 20 hours from her mother, works have them,” Hser said. “Because of Thailand to Japan to Chicago to Raleigh, Hser’s family at Rams Head Cafeteria. In addition, them, we gain strength and learn a lot. arrived in Carrboro—their resettlement Hser currently attends Alamance Com- We feel homesick when we first come munity College and all of her siblings here, but we feel like they are family, location and new home.

However, for most of the transition are enrolled in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City and that gives us hope.”

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POLICE BRUTALITY IN DURHAM Three people died in police custody in Durham last year.

One of them was a teenager. Is that justice?

KYLE ANN SEBASTIAN & TROY HOMESLEY n a recent Saturday evening, Cam- community and the Durham Police Depus BluePrint writer Troy Homesley partment.” This mistrust gap has led to joined a Durham police officer for a ride. greater public scrutiny of police actions What brought Troy into a squad car and adherence to the department’s use wasn’t any criminal violations, but in- of force policy. terest in the circumstances surrounding the death of Jesus Huerta, 17. Huerta The Ride-Along died while in police custody in NovemTroy found the police officer he accomber, and his death has become a flash- panied was unable to identify how she point for existing community concerns decides when to escalate to a new level about police brutality and racism. of force, and more importantly, how she The Huerta family joins a growing decides which point on the continuum list of residents accusing the Durham to elevate to when certain levels must Police of misconduct. Huerta was one be skipped. of three police related deaths in 2013.

She provided the example of a susIn January 2013, Cpl. Brian Schnee was pect with a knife: “If you run across a forced to resign from the police force suspect with a knife, you aren’t going after assaulting Stephanie Nickerson, to use hard hands to pursue them, you 25, who refused Schnee entry without a aren’t going to get into a fist fight with warrant. A North that person.”

Carolina Court of Troy asked her Appeals is curwhat she would Deciding how much rently evaluatdo in such a situforce to use, and what ing the constituation. “It’s all detionality of the pendent on the type of force to use, is Durham Police circumstances much more of an art Department’s -- are there mulexcessive use of tiple suspects?” than a science. Unforce policy folshe said. “Has like most forms of art, the suspect lowing the use however, it is a form committed a vioof a taser on an lent crime prior unarmed citizen whose principal media to pursuit?” in 2009. is human beings, inPolice officers Irving Joyner, face a range of the chair of the nocent civilians and situations, and North Carolina criminals alike. so a protocol is NAACP’s legal only useful in a redress comgeneral manner. mittee, has criticized Durham’s City Council for fail- Deciding how much force to use, and ing to hold the Police Department ac- what type of force to use, is much more countable for actions that have created of an art than a science. Like all forms “a mistrust gap between the Durham of art, it is certainly subject to critical

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analysis. Unlike most forms of art, however, it is a form whose principal media is human beings, innocent civilians and criminals alike. Increasingly, police departments have been under scrutiny for misapplying force.

A Child “At Risk” When the Huerta family called the Durham police just after 2 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2013, they were desperate for help.

Jesus Huerta, 17, had run away after his mother found him using drugs. By 2:48 a.m., police officers Duncan and Beck had found Huerta and his friend, Jaime Perez, taken them into custody, and were on en route to pick up an outstanding warrant for Huerta for second degree trespassing. By 2:55 a.m.

Jesus Huerta was dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

An internal investigation by Durham Police Department concluded that Huerta died “of a self inflicted gunshot wound” to the face. The patrol car was inspected before Huerta was picked up, suggesting that Huerta had the .45 caliber handgun with him when he was arrested. Gunshot residue was found on Huerta’s gloves. The report notes “that this does not eliminate the possibility that the subject [Duncan] could have fired a gun,” although no residue was found on Duncan. At the time of his death, Huerta’s hands were restrained by handcuffs behind his back. Although the patrol car was equipped with a video recording system, the camera turned off after 1 a.m. when the patrol car was left idle, and never turned back on.

The Durham Police Department failed the Huerta family, who only wanted Jesus brought home safely. The arresting

Police Force on the Rise 2013 saw the Durham Police Department involved in the deaths of three young men of color. Derek Deandre Walker, 26, was shot by police after a standoff in CCB plaza. Friends of Walker suggest he had become suicidal after losing custody of his sons. Jose Adan Cruz Ocampo, 33, was shot four times, including a fatal gunshot to the head, in July of 2013, when police responded to a non-fatal stabbing. The DPD main-

PHOTO PROVIDED BY FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

officer “missed” the gun during Huerta’s patdown according to Deputy Police Chief Anthony Marsh in a statement to the press. According to the police report the responding officers were told that Huerta did not “have any medical or mental conditions” and should not be considered “at risk,” even though Huerta’s family had informed the 911 operator of a previous suicide attempt and drug use. The mishandling of the case has provoked criticism and protest from the Huerta family and the wider Durham community.

A protest shortly after Huerta’s death, on Nov. 22, escalated when protesters damaged a police vehicle, broke windows, and threw flares and firecrackers.

A month later, a vigil to mark the one month anniversary of Huerta’s death was met with riot gear and tear gas by the Durham police. An estimated 150 to 200 people gathered in CCB Plaza in downtown Durham and marched to the police station. After crowds refused to disperse, riot police moved in, breaking up the crowd with batons and making arrests. Community members, including City Councillor Eddie Davis, have criticized the use of tear gas as an extreme response. Police Chief Jose Lopez stated that the arrests and use of tear gas were in response to rocks and bottles thrown by protesters.

A third vigil for Huerta on Jan. 19 also ended with a vandalized patrol car, broken substation windows, and arrests.

This protest came on the heels of a Jan. 10 decision by the Durham District Attorney’s Office not to file criminal charges in Huerta’s death. The investigation has since been reopened following new evidence and remains open. As of this writing, no charges have been filed.

tains that Ocampo ignored orders to put down a knife. Attorney Scott Holmes, who is representing the Ocampo family, disputes this claim, stating that eyewitnesses saw Ocampo attempt to hand the officers the knife, handle first. Originally from Honduras, Ocampo did not speak English and may not have understood the officer’s commands.

The negative press produced by these high profile deaths has overshadowed evidence that the Durham Police Department has reduced use of force by officers. The department has seen a steady decrease of incidents involving the use of force since 2011, reaching a four year low in 2013, with 95 reported incidents. Roughly half of these incidents involved the use an Electronic Impulse Device, or taser. The proportion of incidents involving tasers has decreased steadily since 2010, although the use of physical force appears to have increased. The Durham police use high levels of force slightly less frequently than the Greensboro Police Department but more frequently than the Chapel Hill Police Department. In 2013, 46 percent of use of force incidents in Durham involved taser use, compared to 60 percent in Greensboro and 12 percent in Chapel Hill. Firearm discharges among DPD officers in 2013 were also at a four year low in 2013, with only two incidents, compared to nine in 2012, and fifteen in 2011.

As the high profile cases have kept the DPD under public scrutiny, adherence to the department’s use of force policy has become more important than ever.

Officers within the department follow a specific use-of-force continuum, which they use to decide when and how to employ force in order to maintain control over a range of situations. The Durham Police Department and the City of Durham, have taken steps to ensure that police actions do not violate citizens legal rights. The district attorney of Durham remains on call for all police officers, at any time of the day or night, so that he may advise on specific situations to ensure that the rights of suspects and regular citizens are not violated. Putting these protocols in place is the first step in ensuring that police can successfully complete their principal duties: to protect and serve the citizens of the community.

But while a use of force continuum is a useful guideline, it may be less practical in application. Officers must decide for themselves when to escalate to a new level of force, which may be arbitrary or worse, influenced by adrenaline, fear, or prejudice.

MARCH 2014

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STUDYING, SICK, AND NOW

SAFE For UNC students covered by the school health insurance plan, Affordable Care Act provides unprecedented protection.

HANNAH EICHNER iscussions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, have largely centered around the exchanges where people can buy new insurance plans. However, the ACA provides added protection to everyone with health insurance, including students who are on the UNC System’s Student Health Insurance Plan. Now, UNC students can rest assured that if they have a serious illness or injury, their insurance won’t refuse to cover the treatment they need due to arbitrary spending caps, lack of coverage for organ transplants, or pre-existing condition exclusions.

Since 2010, the UNC system has mandated that all students have health insurance. Most students decide to stay on their parents’ plan, but more than 5,000 students at UNC-Chapel Hill are enrolled in a plan organized by the UNC System. UNC-Chapel Hill used to offer their own optional plan that had comprehensive coverage, but the UNC system plan that launched in 2010 had several elements that posed problems for people who developed serious illnesses or injuries, or who had pre-existing conditions.

D

14 • MARCH 2014

Previously, the UNC System plan would not pay more than $100,000 a year per student. While $100,000 probably sounds astronomical to most college students, a severe illness or injury could easily hit that cap. For example, the University of Alabama puts the average cost of a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia (leg paralysis) at $508,904 for the first year after injury— more than

five times UNC’s cap. As of this year, the ACA has eliminated the cap.

New Protection What would have happened if a student experienced a catastrophic illness or injury? Dr. Mary Covington, the executive director of UNC’s Campus Health, says that in the past, students with extensive medical costs might have found themselves in dire straits. “I’m not sure

The Cost of the UNC-System Student Health Insurance The Affordable Care Act caused UNC student insurance to increase in the 2012-2013 school year but the cost decreased this year. Prices shown are per semester.

SOURCE: CNN, UNC.EDU, HHS.GOV

2012-2013

$709

2013-2014

$688

2011-2012 2010-2011

$362

$460 2014: The Affordable Care Act now eliminates annual limits and ensures coverage for clinical trials.

2010: The Affordable Care Act was passed and the UNC system made health insurance mandatory.

PHOTO BY ANISHA PADMA

what would have happened,” she says.

“People could have bake sales, or some sort of community event to raise money.” Of course, raising $400,000 through bake sales to pay for rehabilitation for a spinal cord injury is probably near impossible. In addition, dealing with a serious illness or injury is difficult enough without the added stress of trying to raise tremendous sums of money.

Thankfully, in the past few years no student on the UNC System’s plan has hit the $100,000 dollar cap. However, not hitting the cap was essentially a gamble. Students are typically healthy, so the odds of needing a high amount of medical care were very low. But the point of insurance isn’t really to cover everyday issues healthy people encounter; those could be paid for out of pocket for less than the cost of insurance. Instead, insurance is designed to insure people against the risk of higher medical expenses than they can pay for on their own. When the cap was in effect, it was essentially voiding the insurance for those with catastrophic illnesses and injuries—the very people who needed their insurance most.

Compared to other schools, the $100,000 cap was actually fairly robust.

“In the history of student insurance plans, there have been other plans that had much lower limits,” Dr. Covington said. “Ten thousand, twenty thousand, forty thousand dollars.” Caps that low would have been even easier to hit, potentially after just a few days in the hospital. The ACA will also be a huge help to students at those schools.

Another previous limitation of the UNC System plan was that the policy stated there was “no organ transplant benefit.” Bone marrow transplants for blood diseases like leukemia were covered, but if a student needed something like a heart or a liver they were essentially out of luck. Even bake sales likely wouldn’t make a difference. According

to a report by the Wall Street Journal, organ transplant centers typically require insurance coverage to qualify for an organ transplant, even if the patient is willing to pay out of pocket. As the argument goes, organs for transplant are a scarce resource. Therefore, hospitals have the responsibility to allocate them to those who will definitely be able to pay for a lifetime of expensive immunosuppressant medications. The ACA considers organ transplants an essential health benefit, so insurance plans (including the UNC System plan) must cover them.

The UNC System plan also used to pose an enormous problem for some students with pre-existing conditions.

If a student had more than a 63-day gap in insurance before enrolling in the UNC plan, for the first year the insurance would not pay for anything related to a pre-existing condition. UNC Insurance Associate Sharon Moseley says that some students had the UNC insurance refuse to cover care because of this policy, particularly “students that had diabetes, and some students that were on and off of Medicaid.” Those students had to pay for their care (which probably wasn’t cheap) out-of-pocket, or go without. But, “of course, that doesn’t

mean you couldn’t get coverage for any non-related issues,” Moseley said.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, “all that went away on Jan. 1,” added UNC Insurance Associate Vicki Warwick.

Low Costs for Big Results Some people may worry that these additional protections pose an unsustainable financial burden on students.

However, in the past year UNC System insurance premiums have actually gone down $42 a year, from $1,418 a year to $1,376 a year. In the same time period UNC switched insurance carriers from Pearce & Pearce to Blue Cross Blue Shield, so it is difficult to ascertain the exact effect of the plan changes on premiums, but it has clearly not caused premiums to skyrocket.

These changes are invisible to many. “I had no idea,” said Kescia Jo Hall, a sophomore who is on the student insurance plan. Most students are healthy, and probably don’t spend their time dwelling on what their insurance would pay for should something terrible happen. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, though, they are covered if disaster strikes.

MARCH 2014

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SENATOR HAGAN FACES PHOTO BY TONY LIU

TIGHT RACE CAROLINE WORNOFF

F

or the first time in 144 years, the Grand Old Party controls both the executive and legislative branches of North Carolina’s government. GOP candidate Pat McCrory won the governorship in 2012, putting an end to the Democrats’ long hold on the office. Since the Republican party has secured control over both branches of the state government, North Carolina has restricted access to abortions, enacted voting laws that many say are the most severe voting restrictions in the country, and taken away salary increases for teachers with graduate degrees. Amidst this political environment, North Carolina heads into its senate election for Democrat junior US Senator Kay Hagan's seat.

North Carolina’s current US senators are Kay Hagan and Richard Burr. Burr is a Republican, and Hagan a Democrat.

Hagan is up for re-election this November. According to The Cook Political Report, an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President, as well as American political trends, North Carolina is leans Democratic. That means the race is considered to be competitive, but at this juncture, ten months before the election, the incumbent Democrat has an advantage. Since the 1996 elections, Cook Report has correctly predicted the win-

16 • MARCH 2014

ner in the “lean” Democratic category with 90 percent accuracy, with one exception in 2002 when they had an 83.3 percent accuracy.

One factor that is currently working against Hagan is a recent poll by Public Policy Polling, a liberal-leaning polling firm, in which 49 percent of people disapprove of the job she is doing compared to only 44 percent of people who approve. Many blame her fall in the polls on Obamacare. Sixty-nine percent of people polled by PPP said the Affordable Care Act’s implementation has been unsuccessful.

This is a huge problem for Hagan.

She has voted with Obama 96 percent of the time during her six years in Congress, so if people disapprove of Obama’ s policies then they tend to disapprove of Hagan. Republicans campaigning against Hagan throw out the 96 percent statistic frequently. However, the statistic is misleading. While Hagan voted with Obama 96 percent of the time, she separated herself from Obama’s views more times than all but three other Democrats in the Senate, according to Roll Call News. In fact, the National Journal ranked Hagan as the nation’s most moderate Senator. The Journal ranked her the 51st most liberal senator and the 49th most conservative. Heading forward, Hagan is trying to downplay her strong Democratic

relationships in order to attract more moderate voters. Additionally, Hagan is campaigning hard with farmers and veterans. These groups typically both vote conservatively. Hagan’s website lists only six political issues, two of which are agriculture and veterans.

Presently, there are five Republicans seeking the nomination from the GOP. The hopeful nominees include physician Greg Brannon, Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives Thom Tillis, Baptist Pastor Mark Harris, retired physician Edward Kryn, and Heather Grant, a nurse practitioner. They will face off in a primary on Tuesday, May 14. Some election observers believe a closely contested Republican primary may work to Hagan’s advantage. As the incumbent, she will get to conserve campaign funds, and not suffer as many political attacks as those participating in a contested primary.

The Hagan campaign is most concerned about Thom Tillis. Hagan and Tillis do not agree on much. Tillis believes government is too big and that the economy will recover with help from the private sector, not the public. For this reason, he wants to get rid of what he considers to be government handouts. He is pro-life and has played a big role in restricting abortion laws in North Carolina. He is against same-sex marriage as well. Tillis has been a leader in

balancing the state budget in the past two years, which has reduced the state debt. Going forward, he would plan to implement policies that cut spending now, cap spending in the future, and require a balanced budget every year.

On the Affordable Care Act, Tillis plans to devise private sector solutions to reduce healthcare costs instead of having the government pay for healthcare.

Tillis wants lower taxes because he believes this will help the economy grow.

He led the effort in North Carolina to lower taxes for citizens of all economic backgrounds.

Although Hagan is the “most moderate” senator, her positions are often counter to Tillis’s. The first bill she cosponsored was the Lilly Ledbetter Act eliminating gender biases in salaries.

The Lilly Ledbetter Act was the first bill that President Obama signed into law, and a Supreme Court case and an earlier version of the bill had not been able to accomplish what the Lilly Ledbetter Act did. She co-sponsored a bill that required contraceptives to be covered on health care plans, and she supports a woman’s right to choose. She backs same-sex marriage, and she made her opinion especially clear after North Carolina citizens voted to add Amendment One to the State Constitution, making same-sex marriage illegal. On education, Hagan has worked to improve schools that are not succeeding in the classroom, to keep the state’s public universities accessible to students from all economic backgrounds, to make preschool available to children from poor economic situations, and to support the state’s historically black colleges and universities. One of her campaign promises in 2008 was to work to increase the minimum wage. She voted for the stimulus package, and she supports tax cuts for the middle class instead of the top one percent.

The one area that Tillis and Hagan

agree on -- and that makes Hagan stand apart from her party -- is that people have a right to bear arms. In her term as Senator, Hagan voted against the ban on high capacity magazines, against the ban on assault weapons, and for the expansion of gun rights to veterans. She explained her votes in a statement by saying she wants to “ensure our communities our safe while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners.” Not surprisingly, all three of these votes were against the Democratic majority and Obama’s opinions.

She did, however, agree with her party and vote to expand background checks for gun purchases. Her opponents plan to exploit this vote heavily on the campaign trail.

Off-year elections in the second term of a lame duck president generally work to the advantage of the party that does not hold the White House, which bodes well for the eventual Republican nominee. The electorate in midterm elections also tends to skew older and whiter than presidential years, another boon for the Republicans. Mitch Beasley, the North Carolina Democratic Party Press Secretary knows that the Hagan campaign has a few things in its favor as well. Whichever Republican candidate is nominated will have to find some way to defend what the party has been responsible for in Raleigh including “a dismal record of gutting education spending which has increased tuition and classroom sizes across North Carolina” and they have “made it harder for students to vote.” Will either of the trends affect the North Carolina Senate race, and cause Hagan’s ouster? Will recently enacted conservative policies of the North Carolina legislature motivate registered democrats to turn out? What remains to be seen is if such efforts will be enough. Whichever way it goes, it will be a tight race.

KAY HAGAN IN OFFICE

96 Hagan voted with Obama

percent

of her time in office

But the National Journal ranked Hagan as the nation’s

MOST moderate SENATOR

Hagan was ranked:

51st most liberal 49th most conservative Public Policy Polling poll on how people feel about Kay Hagan’s job in the Senate:

49%

44%

disapprove

approve

MARCH 2014

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ATHLETICS

ACADEMICS AMBIGUITY

In January, UNC’s Mary Willingham ignited a nationwide scandal when she joined with CNN to expose low literacy rates among college athletes. She also jump started a campus conversation on transparency and academic integrity.

Campus BluePrint spoke with her, administrators, and athletes to explore the implications of Willingham’s report.

By: Ina Kosova, Norman Archer, and Wilson Sink 18 • MARCH 2014

Hartlyn-Andrews and Martin Report Due to suspicions raised about noshow or nonexistent classes in the AfroAmerican Studies department in 2010, an investigation was launched that eventually determined the need for a formal internal investigation. This was conducted by Jonathan Hartlyn and William Andrews, senior associate deans in the College of Arts and Sciences and accumulated into a report published on May 2, 2012. This report, after taking a look at courses offered from Summer Session I 2007 through Summer Session II 2011, identified 54 courses as “academic anomalies.” These included “aberrant” courses where “students completed written work in these courses, submitted it to the department and received grades,” but with no evidence

of a faculty member presiding over the by UNC, Lyn Johnson, began adminiscourse or grading the work. tering the Scholastic Abilities Test for In an attempt to address additional Adults (SATA) to student-athletes in orconcerns, primarily about the extent of der to screen for potential learning disthese academic anomalies, an indepen- abilities, such as LD and ADHD. The SATA dent review was initiated and led by for- is a one page, twenty-five question, ten mer North Carolina governor James G. minute long test with the directions: Martin and Baker Tilley, a higher educa- “read the four words and identify one tion consulting firm. This independent of three possible relations among the review expanded the timeline of the words.” As part of that screening, Willinquiry so that it covered Fall 1994 to ingham, in an interview with Campus the 2012 Summer term and took a look Blueprint, explained that she had acat 172,580 course sections and 118,611 cess to information relaying these athstudents. The Martin report found 216 letes’ “academic achievement in readcourse sections with “proven or poten- ing, writing, and math,” in addition to tial anomalies” and a total of 454 “sus- their SAT and ACT scores, “and then, over pected unauthorized grade changes.” time, we looked at their GPA, what their However, Martin firmly stated: “This majors were, and how they did at Uniwas not an athletic scandal. It was an versity.” academic scandal, which is worse; but In 2004, Willingham and Johnson an isolated one.” When Governor Mar- decided to take the data they had gathtin presented his findings to the Board ered in the University’s Academic Supof Governors, there was explicit criti- port Program for Student Athletes and cism of the conclusions, primarily those turn it into the basis of their research centered on student-athletes. While en- on student-athletes at Carolina. Willingrollment in these anomalous courses ham applied to UNC’s IRB board for IRB was sometimes made up of 40 percent approval as the primary investigator student athletes, the Martin report dis- and the IRB determined, based upon missed this as her application, irrelevant since that the research “the probabilwould encomThis was not an athity exists that pass secondary letic scandal. It was there would be data analysis. an academic scandal, some classes Daniel K. Nelwhich is worse; but an with a majorson, Director of isolated one. the Office of Huity of athletes, man Research and some with Ethics and the none…” And yet, - James G. Martin, IRB board at Mary Willingformer North Carolina UNC explained ham’s research Governor the decision of would seem to corroborate the the IRB: “Based idea of collusion between academics on the information provided, most and athletics. importantly the certification that she and other researchers would be working solely with de-identified data, we Mary Willingham’s determined that her proposed activity Conclusions In 2000, Mary Willingham and a cog- did not involve human subjects,” which nitive psychologist privately contracted meant that no further IRB approval was

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O

n Jan. 5, 2014, the University of North Carolina made national news. This time, the topic was not the upcoming Duke-UNC game or the legend of the rivalry, nor was the venue a segment of ESPN. Rather, it was CNN who published a piece based upon the research of UNC faculty member Mary Willingham, implicating the University in the academic negligence of its student-athletes.

CNN, with a team of educational specialists, established a threshold for college literacy at a minimum SAT or writing score of 400 or a minimum ACT score of 16. Citing Willingham’s data, it was determined that 125-128 of the 183 student athletes in revenue generating sports studied between 2004 and 2012 read at either an eighth grade level, or lower. These numbers, shocking on their own, play into a larger narrative of academic scandal at UNC, particularly with reference to unorthodox academic practices in the Afro-American Studies department led

by Professor Julius Nyang’oro.

MARCH 2014

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19

MARY WILLINGHAM’S FINDINGS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES GENERATING REVENUE 2004-2012

College literacy according to CNN: 400

SAT 0

16

ACT 800

0

36

at least

68% student athletes read at an 8th grade level or lower

at least

student athletes read above an 8th grade level.

necessary for Willingham to conduct her research. Willingham applied for IRB approval every couple of years as the nature of data gathered changed and, she explains, “It was part of my performance review, I mean it was out in the open, it wasn’t anything we were doing secretly or anything like that.”

Willingham emailed Provost Jim Dean on July 18, 2013 with a summary of her dataset, hoping to make the new Folt administration aware of her findings. In this email, given to Campus BluePrint by Willingham, Willingham outlines for the Provost the conclusions she and Johnson had reached in their research. After reviewing the academic data for 183 athletes admitted to UNC between 2004 and 2012, 85 percent from men’s football and basketball, Willingham and Johnson found 60 percent of the students to have reading scores below the 50 percent range, which “constitutes 4th-8th grade reading levels.”

20 • MARCH 2014

The Administration’s Conclusions

On Jan. 17, 2014, at the meeting of the Faculty Council and General Facstudent athletes ulty, Chancellor Folt and Provost Dean are non-readers. directly addressed Willingham’s data.

Stephen Farmer, the Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admisstudent athletes read at a 4th-8th sions, did a comparison between Willgrade level ingham’s numbers and those in the Admissions office. According to Farmer, all 154 student athletes admitted in 2013 met the threshold for college lit8 to 10 percent of the students were eracy, as defined by CNN. Furthermore, found to be non-readers with a 39 per- between 2004 and 2012, 97 percent of cent instance of student-athletes LD and ADHD. met this threshAccording to Jay Provost old.

Jim Dean After Vice ProSmith, a professor in responded to vost Farmer’s UNC’s History DepartWillingham’s presentation, ment and one of the email that Provost Dean main proponents for same day with challenged Willreform in the wake of the statement: ingham’s re“Thanks Mary… search methods, the AFAM academic Athletics is primarily her use scandal, ‘Mary ultivery much on of the SATA to demately spoke to CNN my mind, and termine reading because she could I will be in levels. According not get people on our touch as my to Provost Dean, plans evolve.” the results of campus to speak with Attempts were the SATA reporther... She was remade to speak ed in the databuffed at every turn.’ with the Provost set were stanbut all attempts dard scores but

by Campus BluePrint to set up an “scores used to make allegations were interview were denied. It would appear reported as if they were grade equiva-

8%

32%

a very limited amount of attention was paid to Willingham’s dataset by the administration until the January piece published by CNN. According to Jay Smith, a professor in UNC’s History Department and one of the main proponents for reform in the wake of the AFAM academic scandal, “Mary ultimately spoke to CNN because she could not get people on our campus to speak with her… She was rebuffed at every turn.”

60%

PHOTO BY ALEX CLAYTON

lents.” It was due to the inability to re- interview with the Campus BluePrint, port SATA scores as grade level equiv- Willingham challenged the Provost’s alents that the Provost concluded in dismissal of her data. “Call Accessibility that faculty meeting that “claims made Resources, because they also hold the files for many based on this of the students. dataset are virThe raw scores tually meaningIt was due to the inwere not on that less and grossly ability to report SATA spreadsheet unfair to our stuscores as grade level so I’m not sure dents and to the equivalents that the how they arrived university that Provost concluded in at grade levels. admitted them.”

But the way they Willingham, that faculty meeting said I arrived in statements “clams made based on at grade levels to the News and this dataset are virtuwas incorrect.

Observer, rejects ally meaningless and The raw scores this interpretagrossly unfair to our are sitting with tion of her data, the educational claiming that students and to the psychologist .” she not only university that admitThe educational used the SATA ted them.” psychologist reading test, but Willingham is also the SATA writing test as well as the SAT and ACT referring to is Lyn Johnson, her co-invesscores that she had access to. In an tigator who also has access to data but

who has refused to speak to media on the subject and who is no longer employed by the University.

What are the implications?

According to Willingham, the results of her research, disputed as they may be, go beyond the 183 students she and Johnson studied between 2004 and 2012. And, more importantly, the implications of this research are by no means limited to the athletic program at the University of North Carolina; instead, this is a broader problem in the culture of high caliber athletics at the collegiate level. “We all have the same problem,” Willingham says. “We’re all recruiting from the same pool of athletes and the fact of the matter is that the NCAA is setting the bar so low and universities go right along with it so they can have winning teams…”

Jay Smith, in his evaluation of the athletic/academic relationship in major universities, points to a disconnect MARCH 2014

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between the two: “Athletics seem to very formal, very standardized,” Cham- has worked in an academic institution operate in a parallel world. They are, pagne said, “there is a level field, aca- for many years,” Provost Dean said, “I in effect, an autonomous component demically everybody is the same.” know you understand that a hallmark When asked about Willingham’s of the University.” This disconnect was of academic research is peer review and certainly made obvious in the Martin research on student-athlete literacy, that sharing research data and methodreport on the Nyang’oro scandal, with a Champagne described the project as ology is key to that review.”

But neither Willingham nor the adfraudulent system of classes that goes “weak,” attributing it to a publicity stunt.

“Athletes create publicity,” Chamministration has allowed this research back to 1994 and that, despite the large proportion of student-athletes in these pagne said, “Bad publicity affects the to be peer reviewed. Willingham claims she can no longer legally release the anomalous courses, went undetected academically and beyond.”

Despite ensuing controversies, spreadsheet since it is under IRB reby the large team of academic tutors Champagne ar- view and the administration claims it and counselors gued that stu- has handed this data to a third party in the athletic dents, athletes, for review, though administrators have department.

We all have the same and the univer- not made the identity of the third party It is the domiproblem. We’re all sity as a whole public. It was Chancellor Folt who, at nance of athletrecruiting from the need to “trust the the beginning of her term, called for ics in universisame pool of athsystem”. In terms transparency, asking the student body, ties like UNC letes and the fact of of constructing “How do we deal with issues that are that Willinga reliable and troubling when we want to be transparham believes the matter is that the a c c o u n t a b l e ent?” allows for NCAA is setting the system free of The University has taken a step in what she has bar so low and univerfuture controver- the right direction. In an address to the claimed to be sities go right along sies, Champagne UNC Board of Trustees, Folt accepted “a the acceptance with it so they can looked to Athlet- failure in academic oversight for years” of athletes unic Director Bubba that permitted the existence of the prepared to have winning teams..

Cunningham as AFAM anomalous courses. But this is face the acathe “man to do not enough. UNC has the opportunity demic challengMary Willingham, it”. to lead the very real national dialogue es of a college UNC faculty member And Bubba on the pressures placed by the NCAA on career.

Cunningham, in student-athletes, pressures that someBut studentan interview with times prioritize athletics and cheat athletes have hit back. Junior Allen Champagne, who Campus Blueprint, corroborated Cham- athletes out of the college education is both a Morehead-Cain scholar and pagne’s remarks, deeming the oppor- promised to them. Willingham’s data who played on the Varsity Football tunity to participate in inter-collegiate must be released as de-identified, pubteam for three years, knows what it athletics “an incredible privilege.” Cun- lic information so that it may be peer remeans to be a student-athlete. “Failure ningham, when asked about Willing- viewed in a transparent manner. If the is unacceptable, on the field or in class- ham’s data, also seemed to dismiss it, data says what the University claims it es,” Champagne said. “When it comes explaining: “I’m not equipped to evalu- says, then Carolina has nothing to lose down to the classroom, everyone takes ate that but I can say that we only ad- in practicing transparency. And even if it the same classes and has the same ex- mit students to the University that can doesn’t, then, at the very least, Carolina graduate.” students have the right to know. pectations.”

Although Champagne is not playing on the team next year, he insisted that Call for Transparency in his experience, he chose all of his In an email to Willingham on Jan. classes. Additionally, Champagne noted 12, 2014, Provost Jim Dean asked Willthat whether a student played football ingham for her identified spreadsheet, or fenced, everyone got the same tu- fully under his authority as the Chief tors. “When I played, everything was Academic Officer. “As someone who

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22 • MARCH 2014

THE FEMALE

ATHEIST PHOTO PROVIDED BY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

JENNIFER WALDKIRCH

I

n the last few decades, religious community. A study by the Pew Cen- Dawkins, Watson reported to have reskeptics have become an increasingly ter found that women are somewhat ceived a flood of “rape ‘jokes,’ threats, visible minority within America, espe- more likely than men to be religiously objectifying insults, and slurs,” from the affiliated. Even online atheist community. While secucially on college Within the population as the religious larism may be increasingly relevant to campuses. As right in America American women, it seems secular fea generation of the United States, wages its “War males are still struggling to find safety that grew up the demographic of on Women,” lim- and acceptance. alongside the those who declare Fortunately, many college age women iting birth conbirth of New themselves athiests trol options and are beginning to break down the barAtheism, college and agnostics is about restricting repro- riers of the secular world. At UNC, the students today ductive rights, Secular Student Alliance, a campus are less afraid of 64 percent male and women have organization “devoted to creating a backlash when 36 percent female. struggled to community for secular students of all they declare connect with the religious backgrounds,” has seen a sigthemselves atheists, agnostics, skeptics, secular- New Atheist movement. Female skep- nificant increase in female participation ists, or any other identity under the um- tics have spoken out against what they in the past academic year. Recently I sat down with brella of religiously unaffiliated. With see as a gender SSA president, the popularity of books like The End of bias at even Jenna Marvin, highest Faith (2004), The God Delusion (2006), the At UNC, the Secular and five other and God is Not Great (2007), men like levels of comStudent Alliance, a women from the Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and the munity leadercampus organization club to discuss Richard late Christopher Hitchens, have argu- ship. “devoted to creating a the intersection ably become household names. That, Dawkins, one of their genhowever, may be the trouble. The vast of the world’s community for secuder and secular promimajority of prominent atheists have most lar students of all regidentities. Withbeen males, a sign that secularism may nent critics of lious backgrounds,” in this group of was not be so immune to the gendered religion, has seen a significant women, there chalhierarchy endemic to some religious recently increase in female were a variety lenged in 2011 communities. of beliefs and Within the population of the United for telling atheparticipation in the backgrounds, States, the demographic of those who ist female activpast academic year. yet they all acdeclare themselves atheists and agnos- ist and blogger, knowledged a Wattics is about 64 percent male and 36 per- Rebecca cent female. While women make up a son, to “stop whining, will you” about unified commitment to reason and inlarger percentage of the US population, an incident of sexual harassment at tellectualism.

For sophomore Julia Rickard, coming they are underrepresented within this an atheist conference. Since criticizing MARCH 2014

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telling people you’re an atheist, I feel atheist it would crush her,” said one like you would be taken more serious- member who wished to remain anonyly.” Many spoke of situations in which mous. For some parents, “it’s not about sharing their secular identity with men the morality of your decision to be atheprovoked the response of “that’s cute” ist, but the fear of the way society will or “that’s hot.” Often in society, non- view you.”

While, in some secular circles, women religious women are perceived by men are still strugto be more progling for recogmiscuous simnition, SSA at ply because Often in society, nonUNC has come they may not be religious women are a long way toguided by reliperceived by men to wards creating gious principles be more promiscuous an accessible enof sexual purity. vironment for all Sami Jackson simply because they its members. As protested the inmay not be guided by president of the sinuation “that religious principles of club, Jenna Maryou’re an athesexual purity. vin has strugist somehow gled to increase means you are a inclusivity and sexual deviant.”

The stigmatization of secularism has raise the visibility of SSA’s female mema greater weight on how women are bers. According to her, “People have a viewed, simply because of their gender. perception of us as an “atheist” club, For this reason, some female members but we pride ourselves on diversity and avoid advertising their beliefs publicly a variety of opinions. Who wants to or even confessing them to parents. “I sit around in a room of people that all know if I were to tell my mother I’m an agree with one another?”

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JENNA WALDKIRCH

to SSA was a powerful outlet to express her ideas with like-minded peers.

Growing up in a small town, she felt identifying herself as a skeptic was not something she could voice “out loud with a proud feeling.” Finding a commonality with fellow non-believers has been integral to her college experience.

For first year Anna Henderson, discovering that bond with other women was especially useful, saying “I didn’t know other people didn’t have religion until well into high school. When I did, however, the only people who shared my opinions were white males. My roommate was the first female outside of my family who had the same beliefs.”

Many of the female club members are careful to distinguish their decision to attend SSA from a short-lived “rebellion from religious life at home.” For Sami Jackson, who grew up in a nonreligious household, college life has simply been a continued exploration of identity. While she questions organized religion, she chooses to distinguish herself as a “Humanist, with a capital H.” The reason being, as Jackson put it, that Humanism is a “much more positive term than atheist because it describes what you believe in rather than what you don’t.” She believes in “making the world a better place and lessening suffering.” Recently, the club has made a concerted effort to take these ideas into account. Under the leadership of the president, Jenna Marvin, SSA has endeavored to increase service and visibility within the community. Raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, students hope to challenge the notion that philanthropy is only done through religious organizations.

While coming to SSA meetings for a sense of purpose and support, the women also discussed a struggle to be taken seriously by people outside of the club. First year Megan Pugh pointed out that “If you’re a white male

Members of Secular Student Alliance display their “quilt squares” that were made to be representative of their secular identities.

A HIDDEN PROBLEM

PHOTO BY ALEX CLAYTON

Interpersonal Abuse is just as prevalent among LGBTQ couples as straight couples.

So why is no one talking about it?

BY GRACE TATTER

MARCH 2014

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Television offers a host of role models for healthy relationships: The Bradys. The Cleavers. Uncle Jesse and Aunt Rebecca. Cliff and Claire Huxtable.

BTQ couples. According to the the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), gay and bisexual men experience abuse at a comparable rate to that of heterosexual women. The NCADV reports that about half of the lesbian population has experienced or ut not if you don’t identify as will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes.

straight.

And according to the authors of “The That might be one reason for a problem Americans are slowly discovering: Perpetration of Intimate Partner VioMembers of LGBTQ communities the lence among LGBTQ College Youth: The target of violence in the form of hate Role of Minority Stress,” a 2013 study crimes and bad public policy. Just like published in the Journal of Youth and straight, heteronormative couples, Adolescence, 16 percent of college stuthey’re sometimes the target of vio- dents surveyed who were in same-sex relationships experienced psychologilence from their partners, as well. cal violence victimization within their current romantic relationship, and 20 A Widespread Problem Intimate partner violence consists percent reported physical abuse in their of physical, psychological, or sexual current relationship. Another study abuse of a current or former romantic cited in “The Role of Minority Stress” found that 43.5 percent of LGBTQ colpartner. Often, lege students people think of reported dating intimate partner Gay and bisexual men violence perpeviolence being tration within experience abuse at inflicted on a the past year. woman, by her a comparable rate to

B

male partner. In What makes that of heterosexual fact, the original this especially women. Half of the movement that alarming is that raised awarelesbian popular will the same serness of domesvices available experience domestic tic violence and to heterosexual violence in their lifeintimate partner couples are not times. violence in the available to their 1960s and 1970s LGBTQ counterwas called the parts. Despite “battered women’s movement.” “That the magnitude of the problem, doname alone should give you a sense mestic violence and IPV among the LGof where things have been,” says Beth BTQ communities are rarely discussed Posner, the supervising attorney and among service providers or within LGprofessor for the Domestic Violence BTQ communities. And it’s hard to solve Clinic at the UNC School of Law and a a problem without acknowledging its domestic violence attorney with Legal existence. According to a report to be Aid of North Carolina . “Shelter pro- published later this year by the Carsey grams, laws, support groups—all were Institute at the University New Hampdeveloped based on a heterosexual shire, one-third of LGBTQ victims of partmodel.” ner abuse in a national study of college But heterosexual couples do not have students never told anyone about the a lock on abuse. Studies show that in- abuse -- a higher number than among timate partner violence happens at the heterosexual victims. And the authors same, or even higher rates, among LG26 • MARCH 2014

of the “Role of Minority Stress” study found that only nine percent of young LGBTQ victims in their study turned to formal supports such as counselors, medical personnel, or law enforcement after abuse occurred. Even when LGBTQ people do report domestic violence, their claims might not be recognized.

Three states -- Delaware, Montana and South Carolina -- explicitly decline protection to same-sex survivors of domestic violence under criminal laws.

And in North Carolina, survivors of any sexuality or identity have less protection because of Amendment One, a constitutional amendment passed in 2012. The amendment gave special recognition of marriage “between a man and a woman,” but the state’s domestic violence laws address “victims of an established relationship.” Posner and other law experts says the vague wording equates to less protection for anyone who is not married.

Different Pressures So why does violence occur at the same or higher rates among LGBTQ couples?

Abuse happens in LGBTQ relationships for the same reasons it happens in heterosexual relationships. But people who don’t identify as straight face a lot of extra pressures because of their minority status. They have to worry about the threat of physically violent hate crimes, about the way their employers, friends and families might perceive them, and about a considerable lack of access to basic rights that straight people do not worry about. Their pool of potential partners is small. Studies have found that these pressures might make people more vulnerable to victimization, and more prone to perpetrating violence against their partners.

“The experiences of discrimination--of hate crimes and things like this---or the general environment of always being surrounded by ‘that’s so gay,’ that factors into your internalized perception, those internalized feelings of ‘I’m

Barriers to Protection Posner, who regularly fights for the protection for domestic violence survivors with the Legal Aid of North Carolina, says she rarely represents LGBTQ clients.

“It is hard to say why this is,” she says. “ There are, of course, different—or at least more—barriers to accessing legal services that LGBTQ victims face. “[...]As we see in other minority communities that have experienced oppression, law

enforcement, the courts, and other so- a lack of awareness of the magnitude cial services may be suspect, less than of the problem, even among the most welcoming, or downright hostile.” Many plugged in. shelters won’t take trans women, and “Even in spaces where interpersonal many nonprofits that help survivors of violence is something that we organize violence are religiously based, which around and are supposed to be conmight make someone who doesn’t scious of, people still use their status identify as straight is cisgendered wary. as straight allies or cis-gender allies, Posner says that vague laws regard- which is sort of this nebulous concept ing regarding protection orders, child of not being hostile at the very basic custody, and level, and say property rights that partly bealso discourage cause men’s The danger of asking victims from violence against speaking out. for protection where women is more “The danger of prominent and there may not be any asking for probecause we live under the law and tection where in a patriarchal thereby putting yourthere may not society [the fobe any under cus should be self in more harm, is the law and on male perpereal. thereby putting trators,]” she yourself in more says. “There’s an harm, is very - Beth Posner, unintentional real,” she says. but certainly UNC School of Law On UNC’s camdamaging sipus, the history lencing of not of the movement for survivors’ of inti- only LGBTQ folks who are in the movemate partner violence survivors’ rights ment, but people who have experiis also considered through a hetero- enced assault that does not fit into the normative lens, even by the most well easy rubric of a college man raping a meaning. ONE Act is a student organi- college-aged woman at a University.” zation that trains people in the Carolina community about interpersonal Solutions violence awareness and prevention.

Bryan is currently working with the At the beginning of every training, the UNC-LGBTQ center and several other orstudent administering the training says ganizations to produce an online trainthat most assaults that happen on this ing program about LGBTQ domestic viocampus and in a patriarchal society are lence, and Sylaska says more research perpetrated by men, and so the train- is being done on the topic of LGBTQ ing is focused accordingly; however, the Interpersonal Violence, meaning more program does use the gender-non-spe- awareness of the problem. And trying to cific pronoun “ze” in examples, as well make this research available to practitioas he and she. ners and policy makers is key.

Sarah-Kathryn Bryan, a junior, is ONE Maybe within the next generation, Act certified and took UNC Health Ser- LGBTQ Americans will be able to watch vices faculty member Bob Pleasant’s healthy (cheesy) couples a little more class on Leadership in Violence Pre- like them on TV, have access to their vention. Bryan credits Pleasants class rights, and be able to find protection with ramping up her activism in the from a problem that plagues couples of arena of interpersonal violence within every gender identity and orientation.

LGBTQ communities. But in her activism on campus, she sometimes notices

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less than,’ and help explain the perpetration of partner violence” Kateryna Sylaska said. Sylaska is a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire and author of studies on the topic of LGBTQ Interpersonal Violence, including “The Role of Minority Stress.”

“Our idea was that, if you add in stressors that these individuals experience, it’s putting them at greater risk of perpetrating intimate partner violence.

And some of our other work looks at how these stressors associated with sexual minority status are also related to increased levels of victimization,” Sylaska says. Sylaska’s study, which was co-authored by Professor Katie Edwards at the University of New Hampshire, found that “negative and shameful feelings toward oneself about one’s sexual orientation increased, LGBTQ+ students were more likely to perpetrate intimate partner violence in their current, same-sex relationship.”

Studies have also shown that people who are scared of being “outed” have also been found to be more vulnerable to violence, or, in Sylaska’s study, prone to perpetrate violence. For trans people, violence can include using offensive pronouns like ‘it’ to refer to the transgender partner or denying the transgender partner’s access to medical treatment or hormones or coercing him or her or ze to not pursue medical treatment, or belittling their concerns by saying medication or hormones are making them “crazy.”

And when violence is perpetrated, there are few options for recourse.

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Published with support from: Generation Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress.

Generation Progress works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter.

Learn more at GenerationProgress.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.

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