A damn shame times two: Senate 2 override and UNC-CH probation

It’s a shame, no, it’s a damn shame that the North Carolina House of Representatives voted Thursday to override a veto of Senate Bill 2 that makes it okay for religious zealots to shirk lawful responsibilities they were hired and swore an oath to uphold. Because of the veto, magistrates in North Carolina who don’t want to perform same-sex marriages can opt out. And, registers of deeds are allowed to not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples just because they have religious differences with civil laws.

The legislators who introduced the legislation in the Senate and the members of the Senate and House who voted for the bill and then to override a veto by Gov. Pat McCrory are shallow thinkers at best. Legislation will not stop same-sex marriage, and it will cost North Carolina taxpayers lots of money to defend the statue in court. Eventually, the law will be turned out after several years in court. Members of the General Assembly who are there to legislate on behalf of religious and social issues need to concentrate on economic realities and other law that will boost NC not tear it down.

It’s also a shame that UNC-Chapel Hill has been slapped with 12 months of probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The sanction is a result of mischievous activities related to athletics and academic courses set up to usher athletes through college academically unscathed and without a real education. In setting up bogus classes for the athletes, the University did harm to non-athletes who were sucked into those classes.

UNC-CH is supposedly the “flagship” of the 17 University of North Carolina campuses, but its reputation across the academic spectrum has diminished greatly over the past several years as the Chapel Hill campus tries to sort out the horrid affair. Probation is just one step above having its accreditation revoked which would have results in a loss of federal funds which has led to some colleges shutting down. If its accreditation had been revoked, it is doubtful UNC-CH would have closed its doors, but it would have been detrimental to the entire system.

In all of this, don’t fault the students or the athletes who parade as students. Blame the athletics administrators and coaches who try to protect their jobs with the win-at-all-costs attitude and point fingers at the faculty and staff members who are jock sniffers and want to win more than the coaches. If something needs to be revoked, it’s time to revoke the “flagship” moniker from UNC-CH. None of the other 16 institutions in the UNC system want to follow a sinking ship.

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Dictionary.com word of the day

cavort (verb) [kuh-vawrt] to prance or caper about