New UNC Israeli-Palestinian conflict class shows promise of scrutinized program | Opinion

Thank you for Korie Dean’s Dec. 26 story about UNC Chapel Hill’s upcoming class on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The class will be offered by the university’s pioneering School of Civic Life and Leadership, a pro-democracy program conceived and developed by Carolina administrators and faculty over the past seven years.

As the story noted, SCiLL received heavy public attention in early 2023 after trustees endorsed the administration’s proposal for the school and urged its acceleration. Then-Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz explained to the university’s accreditor that “the work regarding the curriculum expansion for the Program for Public Discourse derives from planning, conversations, discussions with faculty leaders, and site visits dating back to February 2018.” Guskiewicz told faculty “This is not something that dropped out of the sky. I’m excited about the opportunities that I believe it presents.”

Guskiewicz’s excitement was well-justified. As the new Israeli-Palestinian course demonstrates, SCiLL is off to a terrific start under his successor, Chancellor Lee Roberts, and the faculty running the program.

Matthew Eisley, Raleigh

Working with Carter

As the former director of the Johnston County Habitat for Humanity, it was my good fortune to have a connection to our former president, Jimmy Carter. In contrast to our president elect, Donald Trump, Carter was a man of deep religious faith and a man whose entire life reflected love for his country and his God.

Due to my connections in Cuba, Carter agreed in a telephone conversation to write a letter to Cuba’s then-president, Fidel Castro, on behalf of the Johnston County Habitat for Humanity, to work with a Cuban Baptist church in constructing a home in the city of Matanzas, Cuba. I have carefully preserved a copy of that historic letter.

Rest in Peace, Mr. President. I cannot even begin to imagine having a conversation with Trump as I had with Carter and having Trump willing to facilitate an effort for Habitat to enter Cuba to assist Cuban families having a decent place to live.

Edward Walsh, Princeton

Biden was a success

It is hard to fathom how a Republican pundit on a cable news program could say President Joe Biden is leaving his office in disgrace. In addition to bringing the country out of COVID and restoring the nation’s economy to become first in the western world, he produced bi-partisan legislation at a time when almost no one worked across the aisle. His domestic policies produced more benefit to millions of Americans since the Great Society of the 1960s.

Karen Schellhorn, Chapel Hill

Griffin’s challenge

In the Dec. 18 article “Republican Griffin asks NC Supreme Court to intervene in his challenge of 60,000 ballots,” Mr. Jefferson Griffin says “At bottom, this case presents a fundamental question: who decides our election laws? Is it the people and their elected representatives, or the unelected bureaucrats sitting on the State Board of Elections?”

Given that the people elected the representatives who created the election laws and the Board of Elections and gave that board certain powers, his argument rings a little hollow.

Robert Harrison, Durham

White House mortgage

Hope FEMA and DHHS have plenty of cash to cover the storms and pandemics to come. Donald Trump is proposing reducing taxes for his cronies and lifting the national debt limit. Your great grandkids will still be paying for this boondoggle. We’ll probably will have to take a second mortgage on the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.

George Garcia, Rolesville

Carter was the best

I went to President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1977, when he held several “people’s balls,” and we were fortunate to be invited to one.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I expect our news media to be educating us for an entire week, with coverage of everything he ever did before, during and after his presidency. I remember him as the best president in my lifetime.

I remember the interminable funeral of Ronald Reagan. I expect more for Jimmy Carter.

Ellen Canavan, Cary

This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.