QuickHits for Nov. 19

Harrison BarnesThumbs UpHarrison Barnes, the top basketball recruit of the 2014 class, has committed to play for the Tar Heels. Now let’s just hope he doesn’t become the top NBA prospect a year later and commit to leave school.  UnfriendThumbs Up

Cartoon for Nov. 18

Bowling a strike

UNC-system President Erskine Bowles deserves credit for standing up for system schools by pressuring the N.C. General Assembly to divert at least a part of a $200 student tax to the universities, not the state.

Retreat from the rights

UNC should toughen its regulations and heighten accountability for administrators granted a full year’s salary when retreating back to a faculty position. Other universities provide less compensation for administrators’ leave, and we should either follow suit or provide a more thorough process.

Rede?ne your idea of what’s wasted

At our school many people will be impressed by the amount of work you have to do and even the extent to which you are worried about completing it.Many people I talk to seem to wear this stress as a badge of honor, and they bask in it even though it’s emotionally draining.

Town’s treatment stinks: Long history of town negligence in Rogers Road

The Rogers Road community has been suffering for too long, and now it’s rightfully getting national attention because of how it has been treated.The town of Chapel Hill placed a solid waste landfill close to the historically low-income, black community in 1972.

Cartoon for Nov. 17

Semester goes by in the blink of an eye

Sometimes time seems to pass incredibly slowly.When you’re sitting in that class that you hate, staring at the clock tick by on the wall for 50, or if you’re really unfortunate, 75 minutes, you feel as if you’re glued to that seat forever.Everybody feels this way sometimes — no matter what your job is or how you spend your time.

Recycling habits garbage: Downtown businesses not recycling like they should

Recycling efforts on Franklin Street must be improved.Since 1992, the Orange County Solid Waste Department has recruited bars and restaurants to recycle better. But many businesses are not meeting county expectations.

Inappropriate in?uence? Questions remain about BCBS health care mailer

It takes guts for politicians to stand up to large corporations. But N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, seems to have the fortitude for it.Kinnaird recently joined the ranks of people calling for BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina to be examined for its campaign against a government insurance option.

Discrimination? Don’t ask. UNC needs to take moral stand against Army policy

The University’s increased collaboration with the U.S. Army flies in the face of UNC’s commitment to non-discriminatory employment practices.The UNC system and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command recently signed a partnership to work together and share resources.

Traveler learns the value of balance

It’s been more than two months now since I arrived in Europe for my semester abroad, and boy, is it different from what I expected.

Put honor back in program: In order to make the Honors Program a more attractive option for students, big changes are needed

Students are leaving the Honors Program because the benefits of membership do not outweigh the cost of its requirements. The program is largely failing to deliver on the unique accessibility to research, faculty collaboration and intellectual development that it purports to offer.

Board of mistakes: Two procedural mistakes by the Board of Elections do not bode well for spring elections

Board of Elections Chairman Pete Gillooly said he didn’t know who was at fault for errors made during the Nov. 5 Student Congress special election.These blunders have led to a Student Supreme Court lawsuit and potentially another special election.

Cartoon for Nov. 16

Follow the leader: UNC Hospitals’ online medical records lead ?eld

UNC Hospitals has done an exemplary job leading the health industry in electronic records and should continue its hard work.In 1991, UNC Hospitals launched a pilot program that is now the Web-based Clinical Information System — WebCIS.It’s an Internet-based program that allows UNC doctors to transfer their paper patient records to electronic records.

A taxing problem: N.C. General Assembly should look to update state’s tax code to re?ect service-based economy

The N.C. General Assembly should continue to look into broadening the state’s tax base to include more service-oriented businesses.The state has not had a major change to its tax code since the Great Depression.However, the commercial landscape of the state has changed considerably, moving from a more manufacturing-based economy to a service-oriented one.

Go low and legal on tuition:Chancellor Thorp should favor proposal that treats students equally regardless of residency status

Of the two proposals the tuition and fee advisory task force recommended to Chancellor Holden Thorp, there is only one clear (and legal) choice: an across-the-board 5.2 percent increase for undergraduate students and 3.7 percent increase for graduate students — regardless of residency.

Abortion funding should be covered

Saturday, the House passed a health care reform bill with a stipulation that no federal money can be used to pay for abortions.

Cartoon for Nov. 13