It’s a simple lesson taught in most introductory writing classes: “Show, don’t tell.” I remember my fifth grade teacher explaining it to us: If two characters are angry at each other, don’t write, “He was mad at her.” Describe cold glares or one character rolling her eyes at another.
It’s a pretty easy lesson to understand, but more difficult to put into practice. Members of the UNC Board of Governors probably learned it in grade school, but a review is clearly needed.
In an op-ed for The Charlotte Observer published Wednesday, Board of Governors Chairman John C. Fennebresque said he and the rest of the BOG are committed to ensuring that the UNC system is the “best public university system in America.”
He goes on to say that the BOG’s recommendation that the poverty center be closed doesn’t change its commitment to battling poverty in North Carolina.
“Let me emphasize the board strongly believes reducing poverty is a crucial need in North Carolina,” he wrote. “We believe the University must remain actively engaged in creating jobs and opportunity for everyone.”
I want to remind John of another lesson — one most of us learned in math class. Show your work. I remember that rule distinctly — it was frequently scrawled in red on my homework assignments.
Saying you want to ensure the UNC system remains among the best in the country is easy. But actually showing you believe that the UNC system should be protected and nurtured takes courage. Showing that you care about public, financially accessible education takes compromise. Showing that you care about more than just profits requires proof that you’ve taken seriously the concerns of students, faculty and staff.
And then there’s the inexplicable closing of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity — not to mention Tom Ross’ shady sacking. The BOG knows that folks all across the UNC system are angry, and Fennebresque is responding by telling us the BOG agrees that reducing poverty is a crucial need for our state.
