The Commentators

He held the hand of a little girl, I assumed his daughter, as they walked down the long corridor of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union. An unsophisticated freshman from North Wilkesboro opened the door of the Student Union in the fall of 1988 on his way to the Daily Tar

It doesn’t take long for the GOP’s true colors to come out. And even longer to see the true results of the actions of last year’s long session. The message from legislators is: We value the experience of our own employees. We just don’t value your experience in our schools. Last year, state lawmakers removed the longevity bonus pay for veteran teachers and rolled it into their base salary. At the same time, they unveiled a new pay scale that boosted the pay of newer teachers in an attempt to be viewed to balance out the low pay raises of the long term teachers. Others in state government, including state legislative staffers, kept their bonus pay as well as a raise of $1,000, plus five extra vacation days. Lawmakers also raised the pay by 5 to 6 percent for newer members of the Highway Patrol, but they did not take away longevity pay for the troopers, which is the same as what most state employees receive.

Why we need a holistic approach to bring businesses back to Chapel Hill. 

UNC’s failure to forfeit the games involving players who maintained eligibility by taking fake classes is further evidence that Big Time revenue sports harm universities. The university’s motto, lux et libertas (“light and...

Here in North Carolina, one of our most cherished rights is in jeopardy of being denied citizens of our state.

In 20 years of living in South Florida, I was able to witness what overdevelopment does to a community. I saw miles of beautiful beachfront turn into a canyon of high-rise buildings blocking the sun. From the Atlantic Ocean to the Everglades, row upon row of concrete driveways and backyard swimming pools replaced palm trees and open space. And when the space ran out, mountains of sand were dumped to create more land, so we could build farther out into the Everglades.

Recently, ESPN published a heartwarming and extraordinary story about Paul Quinn College. The tiny school, with an enrollment of about 220, serves primarily African-American and Hispanic students in Dallas, Texas. About 5 years ago, the college’s president, Michael Sorrell, encouraged the creation of an organic farm on campus. He was motivated by two factors. The college is located in a 95% minority, low income neighborhood, officially designated a “food desert”, because there is no convenient access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other nutritious foods. Second, he had personally experienced the consequences of working in a food desert by gaining a lot of weight from eating at the fast food restaurants and convenience stores that were accessible to the college.

As you drive or stroll along Franklin and Rosemary streets and crane your neck to view the upper stories of the high-rise buildings that seem to have been transplanted here from Charlotte or Atlanta, you may wonder, why are we doing this?