Below are a few tips to help you write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of UNC capital financing initiative:

• The most effective strategy to ensure getting a letter to the editor published is to be a regular reader of the newspaper and to respond quickly to a specific story.
• Look for any article to which you can draw a link to the issue.
• Your letter may be edited by the newspaper staff. Be sure to be concise, to the point, and clear in your statement.
• If responding to an article, include a few comments about why you agree or disagree with the article.
• Your letter should:
  • mention the article or a newsworthy issue to which you are responding.
  • refer to a local figure connected with the University or your particular campus.
  • provided data on the issue from a reliable source or responsible person.
• Keep letters to the editor less than 250 words.
• As in other opportunities for communicating your position, state your case through positive, not argumentative, language.
• Proofread, then proofread again.
• Find out the preferred method (fax, e-mail, or mail) for submitting a letter to the editor.
• Address the letter to "letters to the editor" at the address of the paper's main office, unless the editorial page directions specify otherwise.
• Be sure to include your name, address, home and business phone numbers and sign the letter. Papers will verify with you that you sent the letter before running it.
• Watch the paper for approximately 2-3 weeks to see if your letter gets printed. If it does, please send us a copy: UNC Public Affairs and University Advancement, P.O. Box 2699, Chapel Hill, NC 27515.
• Don't be discouraged if your letter is not printed. Not all letters are accepted. And don't be afraid to submit another letter to the same newspaper.
• Get others to write about the same issue. The more a paper hears from people on an issue, the more likely it is they will print a response.