Kudos on Daily Tar Hell spoof

As a Tar Heel, I would like to thank you for the spoof cover of the Daily Tar Heel. For once, something was funnier than the actual DTH. I’m the former editor in chief of BoUNCe Magazine, the comedy magazine on campus, and we’ve been making fun of the DTH forever and your parody was spot on. I’m probably in the minority here on campus who actually got the joke and laughed about it. Congrats all around!

Sam Morgan

senior, communications, UNC-Chapel Hill

Drinking age at a good point

As an ‘of age’ American, I’ve endured the problems with the drinking age at 21. But with not even new findings in the medical world, I understand why the drinking age is 21. ‘ It’s proven that parts of the human brain are not fully developed until you’re around 24. Alcohol slows that process, especially if consumed regularly from an earlier age.

You may also think that lowering the age will create a bit of maturity in the world. That’s not the case in other places, so why should America be the exception, not the rule, when we still have poverty, homelessness and hunger inside our borders? In Europe, one in every ten deaths is alcohol related. Already, there are reports all across the news about alcohol related deaths on a rise in England and the UK, and it’s only the 28 days into the year.

The legal drinking age is in the right place. If there were some sort of new law or bill that allowed soldiers, strictly those on active military service, to drink alcohol in a bar with their friends, then I can understand. The kind of stress where you see your best friends, brothers and sisters die at the hands of the enemy can be quite a bit.

The problems with alcohol in America cannot be ignored. And people are going to drink underage no matter what. Is it responsible to have the drinking age at 18 when a person can purchase alcohol for a friend in high school who is 14? ‘ The problems would only get bigger.

Andrew Palazzi

junior, accounting

Transportation limited in ways to notify students

I read your letter to the Technician with great interest. ‘ First, let me apologize for the inconvenience generated by the water main break yesterday. ‘ I did want to share our communication efforts and ask for your assistance in identifying any communication channels we’ve missed.

I was advised of the water main break at 7:45 a.m. Thursday morning. ‘ At that time our transit manager had already posted a message on our transit visualization system and was in the process of posting signs on stops that could not be served. ‘ I immediately sent a message via all our listservs, WolfBytes, copied the Technician, TVS announcements, note to the general manager at WKNC, message to the home page, all Building Liaisons and my contact at the College of Engineering, John Royal. Follow-up messages went out at 9:30 a.m. and around 3:30 p.m. (as details were relayed from Facilities).

We cannot send out a broadcast e-mail. ‘ Only Campus Police can do this — and only for a specific emergency. ‘ Is there a way to communicate to Engineering students that it would behoove them to sign up for the Wolfline listserv and check the announcements on TVS?

I agree with you about the full bus situation. ‘ We view reports daily, as well as investigate and respond to all comments. We are attempting to secure more buses for next year and are pretty confident we will be able to add six buses to the current fleet.

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Christine Klein

communications specialist, University Transportation