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THE DECREE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1982
EDITORIAL
Mgnting Crime in America
The Wesleyan Scholar
By Chris Bragg
Editor
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s
essay “American Scholar”
was written and delivered to
graduates of Harvard in 1837.
An essay written almost 150
years ago could hardly be
relevant in today’s modern
world of atomic energy and
high compter technology, but
nothing is further from the
truth. Emerson writes that
“the office of the scholar is to
cheer, to raise, and guide men
by showing them facts admist
appearances.” Each and
everyone of us at Wesleyan
are scholars or potential
scholars. And as scholars we
have a responsibility to our
fellow man.
But why are most of us
here? Why does anyone go to
college today? Are we here to
educate ourselves, to become
scholars and leaders of our
country and world, or are we
using college as a means to
make money in future years?
In a world that is filled
with political strife, wars,
terrorism, economic
recession, depression and a
nuclear arms race that
threatens the extinction of our
planet, don’t we have a
responsibility to our fellow
man if not at least to
ourselves? The four or more
years of education following
high school make us special.
We have an opportunity
here at Wesleyan to gain a
greater understanding of
ourselves and the world we
live in. I said an opportunity
because its just that. Just
because you walk across that
stage and get your diploma
doesn’t mean you learned a
thing. By receiving a diploma,
all you’re doing is fulfilling
requirements set down by the
college. It doesn’t say
anywhere in the handbook or
catalogue that you have to
retain or practice what you
learn in college. All you have
to do is pass that course, get
them hours, and you’re out of
here.
But when you walk across
that stage on a May morning
and accept that diploma, will
you be ready to accept the
GLAMOUR’S
Top Ten
N.C. Wesleyan co-eds are
invited to participate in
GLAMOUR magazine’s 1983
Top Ten College Women
Competition.
Young women from
colleges and universities
throughout the country will
compete in GLAMOUR’S
search for ten outstanding
students. A panel of
GLAMOUR editors will select
the winners on the basis of
their solid records of
achievement in academic
studies and-or in
extracurricular activities on
campus or in the community
The 1983 Top Ten College
Women will be featured in
GLAMOUR’S August College
Issue. The ten winners will
receive a $1,000 cash prize.
Anyone who is interested
in entering the search should
contact Nancy Smith in the
Student Life Office for more
information or for an
application.
The deadline for
submitting an application to
GLAMOUR is December 1,
1982.
responsibilities of the
scholar? The majority of us
have grown up in the 70’s, the
decade of the self. Following
the revolutionary and
reactionary 60’s and early
70’s, it seems everybody
dropped public concerns and
turned inward. There were
thousands of books written on
how to learn more about
yourself. Transcendental
Meditation was seen as a way
of getting “into” yourself.
Only a handful of people were
protesting for nuclear
disarmament in the 70’s.
Under Presidents Ford
and Carter our country drifted
with no aim or goal in mind.
We as a society were only
looking out for ourselves. Well
my friends, it’s time to wake
up. Look around you. See
those people in your classes,
the cafeteria, the dorms? The
time has come for us to take
control. By 1986 over 50
percent of the U.S. population
will be over 65 or will be
becoming aware of reaching
retirement age. Who is left to
run this country? We are! We
are now of age to begin
influencing and changing the
world we live in.
Our generation is
responsible for cleaning up
the mess we are now in. As
future scholars it is our
responsibility to be prepared
to lead our country and world.
We must use our college days
wisely and prepare ourselves
for the coming years. We must
not only be prepared to lead,
but we have to actively seek
out responsibility and
leadership positions. Why
couldn’t someone from
Wesleyan become a senator, a
general, a Supreme Court
member, or even President?
They can because someone
has to lead our country, and as
scholars we should be able
leaders. Emerson’s words
from 1837 are relevant even
today, but we must put his
words into practice before
there is no tomorrow.
By Congressman
L. H. Fountain
WASHINGTON, D.C. - No
one needs to be reminded that
crime in America has reached
an alarming rate. We all know
that. From the President of
the United States on down,
crime affects everyone, no
one is immune.
According to the Bureau
of Justice Statistics (an arm
of the Justice Department),
almost 25 million American
households were touched by
crime in 1981. That alarming
rate means that 30 percent of
all family households were hit
by crime last year, the same
unacceptably high rate as in
1980.
In fact, the Justice
Department says that today’s
American family is more
likely to have a son or
daughter, a mother or father,
attacked in a serious, violent
crime-a crime like rape,
robbery, or aggravated
assault-than to have a fire in
the home or have a family
member hurt in a car
accident.
There is no easy victory in
the war against crime. But,
there is a strong feeling
shared by many Americans
that for too long criminals in
this country have been
excessively coddled at the
expense of law-abiding
citizens in general and at the
expense of the victims of
crime in particular.
In the Congress, there are
several pending bills aimed at
deterring crime and
protecting innocent citizens
from those who have no
respect for the law.
From mandatory
sentencing for the use of a
firearm in the commission of
a Federal felony, to tightening
of prosecution and control of
violent and dangerous youth
offendrs, to the strengthening
of Federal arson
investigations, to tougher
narcotics law enforcement, to
creacking down on organized
crime, to reforming the
present bail system, to the
newly introduced Victim and
Witness Protection Act, the
Congress is continuing to
search for responsible
solutions on a number of
fronts.
The recently introduced
Comprehensive Victim and
Witness Protection and
Assistance Act of 1982, for
example, is designed to
address the overlooked needs
of crime victims and
witnesses.
I am an original co
sponsor of a bill which
addresses the key concerns of
crime victims and witnesses-
especially their personal
safety, fair treatment, and
restitution.
It’s an unfortunate fact of
life that victims of crime and
those who testify against
criminals are often
intimidated and threatened by
criminals. If enacted into law,
the Victim and Witness
Protection Act will strength
Federal prohibition of the use
of force against victims of
crime and against witnesses
to crime. The bill would also
tighten the rules against
nonviolent harassment.
Additionally, this
legislation would provide that
crime victims and witnesses
receive better treatment from
the Federal justice system
itself. For example, before
sentencing a convicted
defendant, it will require that
a Federal judge receive full
information about the impact
of the crime on the victim.
Finally, the bill would
encourage financial
restitution to the victim. Too
often, victims of serious crime
have been badly neglected
and treated as second class
citizens. And, where
appropriate, this bill would
require the convicted criminal
(not the government) to repay
or otherwise compensate his
victim.
Furthermore, this
legislation directs the
Attorney General of the
United States to report to the
Congress on the need for
legislation to prevent a
Federal felon from deriving
profits from books, movies, or
stories about his crimes.
Clearly, the time has long
since come to show the
criminal for what he really is,
an enemy of society, not a
movie or television attraction.
No one bill or method of
approach will solve our crime
problem. In fact, we can only
begin to adequately handle
this problem when every
concerned citizen cooperates
with local, state, and Federal
law enforcement officials to
effectively enforce the laws
already on the books.
Laws are meaningless
unless our people in general
take an active-even fearless-
interest in seeking responsible
enforcement.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The
Comprehensive Victim and
Witness Protection was signed
into law by President Reagan
earlier this month.
Resisters See Registration Failing
Draft registration isn’t
working, according to some of
the non-registrants
undergoing or awaiting
prosecution. “The
Government... can’t possibly
prosecute us all,” said
Benjamin H. Sasway of Vista,
Calif. Sasway was the first
indicted for non-registration,
and the second to be
prosecuted.
“The trials are just a
onyour
Nothing could be easier. Within
a month of your 18th birthday,
go to the nearest US. Post Office.
Pick up the simple registration
form and fill it out. Then hand it
to the postal clerk. That's all
there is to it.
It’s quick.
It’s easy. And it’s the law.
National Headquarters,
Selective Service System, Washingtoa D.C. 20435
desperate move to intimidate
people into turning
themselves in and
compromising their moral
and religious beliefs,” said
Riissell Martin, another draft
resister, who was registered
against his will by a U.S.
attorney in Iowa. “A few
people are being crucified by
an agency that refuses to
admit defeat.”
The General Accounting
Office’s latest figures show
over 700,000 non-registrants.
This is more than 20 times the
entire population of Federal
prisons. The overall
compliance rate with
registration is 93 percent,
according to Selective
Service. This is well below the
98 percent Selective Service
officials have said must be
reached for the system to be
considered fair and effective.
Even at the height of the
Vietnam war, compliance
with draft registration never
fell below 98 percent.
The current prosecutions
will raise the issue of illegal
selective prosecution, said
Martin. “I’m going to be
prosecuted not because I
didn’t register for the draft,
but because I publicly pointed
out the failure of the program
and the aggressive foreign
policy behind it,” he said.
Martin was re-elcted this
spring as student body
president of the University of
Northern Iowa, in Cedar
Falls.
“(Draft registration) is a
political law designed to force
people into supporting policies
that they would not support
otherwise. It has nothing to do
with national security,” said
Martin. “Non-registrtion
forces a debate on foreign
policy.”
Other non-registrants
agree. For them, non
registration is an act of
conscience. ‘‘Draft
registration is preparation for
war,” said Russell F. Ford,
who was imprisoned before
his trial when he refused bail.
“I am not willing to sign my
life over to the Gk)vernment
that brought us Vietnam,
Watergate and the Trident
submarine. I am not willing to
withhold my protest . . . until
the nuclear arms race has
reached its logical conclusion
in a nuclear holocaust... I am
defending a view that wars,
like poverty and prison, are
neither necessary nor
inevitable. They transgress
the human spirit and ought to
be abolished,” he said.
The Internal Revenue
Service is helping Selective
Service to - enforce
registration. In mid-August,
IRS mailed warning letters to
an initial 33,000 suspected non
registrants born in 1963, said
Roscoe L. Egger Jr.,
Commissioner of Internal
Revenue. These names were
drawn from a list of 250,000
names IRS found by checking
its files with Selective Service
lists of non-registrants. Egger
said IRS planned to mail
notices to the others, and later
provide up to 200 names to
Selective Service. These, he
said, “will be selected on a
random basis” from those
who fail to register after
receiving warnings mailed by
IRS.
In late August, an
amendment sponsored by Sen.
Hayakawa (R-CA) and Rep.
Solomon (R-NY) to the
Defense Authorization Bill
had passed both houses of
Congress and was before
President Reagan. The bill
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