The ECHO, March 2024

OPINIONS
ECHO
Our Staff
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Graham Jones
Avery Tortora
Staff Writers
Juman Alyousif
Samantha Benton
Grayson Casey
Gabe Deel
Mischa Dorn
Evan Elk
Suna Erdim
William Helser
Jordan Huang
Linda Li
Camden Lauver
Keira McArthur
Clara Mast
Cornelia Nisbet
Elise Owre
Jackson Polish
Clara Wolfe
Hannah Wright
Adviser
Neal Morgan
ntmorgan@chccs.k12.nc.us
Our Address
500 Weaver Dairy Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-969-2482 ext. 27260
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Advice: Don't say bye to Felicia
By Avery Tortora
Co-Editor-in-Chief
“Hey Avery, it's the
same guy who was called
‘Fluffy Cheeks.’ I have
gotten myself into a bit of
a pickle. There’s a girl I
like at a different school
(let’s call her Felicia) but I
don't know how to ask her
to prom. Our conversation
has been limited, but I
think she likes that I play
basketball. What do I do?
I don’t want to end up
saying, ‘Bye, Felicia.’”
Hi there again, I see
you’ve run into a common
problem. Striking up a
meaningful conversation
can be hard, especially if
you don’t go to the same
By Jordan Huang
Staff Writer
On Friday, Feb. 2, the Chapel
Hill Youth Council (CHYC)
held a small, casual forum with
a handful of the recently elected
Town Council members. For
an hour and a half, I sat in a
circle of 20 attendees, directing
questions to three individuals:
Theodore Nollert and Melissa
McCullough, first-year council
members, and Amy Ryan, a
veteran council member serving
as Mayor Pro Tem. Despite
the casual setting and youthful
audience, each council member
expressed a strong passion for
Chapel Hill’s future and left me
with several valuable insights.
Our discussion began on the
subject of the town’s budget,
specifically, the areas that the
school. I would suggest
inviting her over to watch
a movie before popping
the question. “Sharks of
the Corn” is a great first
date movie. What’s more
interesting than great white
sharks swimming in a corn
field eating up unsuspecting
victims? You’re right.
Nothing. She’ll be taken
aback (in the best way
possible) by this movie and
its complex and interesting
plot of a cult attempting to
revive a Shark Goddess
via a connection from
Stonehenge. After you
guys watch (and love)
the movie, you’ll take
her out to go show her
how amazing you are at
basketball. That’s when
five of your friends come
Photo courtesy of Gizmodo
out dressed as basketballs
holding up letters that spell
“PROM?” It’s guaranteed
to work, and trust me,
nobody will be saying:
“Bye, Felicia.”
“A boy asked me out,
but he's a GINGER! He's
been a close friend for the
past few years, but I can't
imagine ever going out
with a GINGER! Please
help ASAP!
Sincerely,
Gingers on my Mind”
I’m so sorry I couldn’t
get to this urgent matter
sooner. I would urge you
to go to page 10 of the
ECHO’s last issue, and
read my “Top Ten Gingers
of All Time” piece. Maybe
that will convince you
of all the amazing things
gingers have done for our
society. Try to focus less on
the color of their hair, but
instead the color of their
soul. Or the color of their
heart. Or maybe even the
color of their blood. I don’t
know what that means, but
it sounds deep. Hope this
helps.
Town council mini-forum takeaways
Town Council was planning
to bolster through increased
funding. Although they said
that the council had not yet
come to a final consensus, they
touched on a broad range of
subjects, including sustainable
development, environmental
stewardship, parks and
recreation, and educational
initiatives. However, when I
asked about potential areas for
cuts, all three council members
exchanged glances before Amy
Ryan responded,
“In all of my time here, I don’t
believe we’ve ever had to make
budget cuts,” Ryan said. “You
have to understand, Chapel Hill
is very wealthy.”
They explained that property
tax rates are determined by
assessed property values,
and because of Chapel Hill’s
continually rising housing costs,
the town has consistently seen
an increase in property taxes.
According to Redfin, our town
has experienced a 27.5 percent
year-over-year rise in the median
sale price of its single-family
homes over the past five years,
which bodes well for the town’s
What do you think?
February student survey results from
127 responses:
40
30
20
10
How would you rate East on a scale of 1-10?
1 = horrible, 10 = amazing)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Is Gypsy Rose an icon?
Other
5.2%
Who is Gypsy
Rose?
41%
I don't care
18.9%
No
15.6%
budget.
Another thing I learned
was that the taxes paid by
Chapel Hill’s residents are the
result of separate rates set by
each of NC’s three levels of
government. For example,
the final property tax rate is
determined by a combination
of the municipal property tax
rate, county property tax rate,
and state property tax rate.
Further, the county and state
are both of higher precedence
than the town, as they have a
larger burden of responsibilities.
Because the town primarily
focuses on local management
activities it, commands a smaller
share of taxes.
“Some people get mad when
they see that their taxes are higher
than the previous year, but that
often isn’t because of [the Town
Council],” McCullough said.
Nollert echoed this sentiment:
“There’s nothing we can do
about county or state tax hikes,
but that’s not worth explaining
to most people. All they see is
a bigger number,” he said. “We
always field a number of angry
emails when taxes increase.”
Yes
18.9%
Beyond taxes, a significant
portion of our discussion
revolved around ongoing debates
concerning the most effective
approach to development.
McCullough was particularly
passionate about the subject,
being the former director of the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Sustainable and
Healthy Communities Research
Program. Expressing strong
opposition to sprawl-based
development, she advocated for
creating additional affordable
housing options, building
upward rather than outward to
encourage density, and reducing
the necessity for long commutes.
“I’m an empty nester. I don’t
need a big, single-family home
anymore, but it’s hard to find
other options like townhomes,
condos, or co-ops in Chapel
Hill unless they’re full of college
students,” McCullough said.
She also shared a desire
for walkability, likening the
construction of additional roads
to alleviate traffic congestion to
“using a band-aid for a bullet
hole,” and emphasizing that
the largest cause of pollution
What's the
best dinosaur?
- “Stegosaurus”
- “Velociraptor”
- “T-rex”
- “Brontosaurus”
- “Barney”
was fossil fuel emissions from
automobiles.
Both Nollert and Ryan
shared McCullough’s general
philosophy, and Ryan said that
the biggest opponent to sciencebased
sustainable development
was the Chapel Hill Alliance for
a Livable Town, or CHALT. She
also mentioned that only one out
of the five candidates they put on
the ballot was elected.
The topic shifted when
a member of the CHYC
inquired about the day-to-day
responsibilities of council
members, revealing a multitude
of engagements beyond their
standard meeting schedule.
These included attending
conferences, participating in
professional development,
conducting constituent outreach,
and more. Despite this, Nollert
said that their positions were
considered part-time, so council
members receive only a modest
annual salary of $25,000. To me,
this illustrated that those who
serve on the town council do so
out of genuine care for our town
and community—my biggest
takeaway from the evening.