Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Oct. 23, 1992, edition 1 / Page 3
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OCTOBER 23,1992 — THE DECREE — PAGE 3 Student interest in politics growing as election nears ALL HE COULD EAT — David O’NeiU gives it his best shot during the third annual Pizza Eating contest in the Student Activites Center during Homecoming Week but to no avail — the contest was won by Pete Widel and Rudy Jauregui. (Photo by Beth Sherrard.) Lecturier defends veracity of diary By DAN MOYNfflAN Dr. David J. Bamouw held a group of students and faculty en tranced Oct. 5 as he defended the veracity of the diary of Anne Frank and the existence of the Holocaust against attacks by neo- Nazi and fascist groups who are trying to discredit the Holocaust in general and the diary in par ticular. Having studied political sci ence and modem history at the University of AmsterdSj^ Bamouw has been a researchq: and staff member at the^^Qr- lands State Institute for War Documentation for the last de cade. The Institute deals with World War II and the German occupation of the Netherlands. Barnouw began his lecture with background information on Holland, where Anne Frank lived, during World War II through the present Bamouw explained how Nazi Germany invaded and con quered Holland, then began their ruthless persecution of the Jew ish people who lived there. First, the Germans merely made the Jews fifth class citizens, then on Oct. 15, 1942, the Jews in the Netherlands were outlawed, rounded up, and sent to concen tration camps where many of them died. After remaining in a “secret annex” unobserved by the Nazis for a couple of years, the Franks and their hiding companions were discovered, arrested, and deported to concentration camps. Anne died about seven months later in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15. Her diary was written during her stay in the annex in the Netherlands. Her fa ther, Otto, was the only survivor ' of the Holocaust from the annex. Late in 1980 after Otto Frank’s death, the Institute became the new owner of the diary. In 1986, Bamouw published The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition with two colleagues in the Neth erlands. This edition, which sold 20,000 in the first year, was trans lated intp German, English, and French. After its publication, Barnouw gave lectures in the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States. Although the diary has been under neo-Nazi criticism since 1957, the attacks on it have been increasing dramatically in the last decade.,Bamouw.s^d the xeason people are working so hard to dis credit the book is that this diary is many young people’s first ex perience with Nazism. Critics hope that if the book can be proved fiaudulent, perhaps people will more likely believe the Ho locaust never happened. Bamouw also explained how in modem Germany, neo-Nazis are being arrested and jailed for passing out pamphlets and other literature that implies or explic itly states that the Holocaust is a hoax. In Holland, usually a lib eral nation when it comes to im prisonment (a life sentence typi cally means about 10 years be fore release). World War n Nazi war criminals are still in jffison.’ By JOHN WILLIAMS With just a few weeks until the presidential election, student interest in the race between Presi dent Bush and Democratic con tender Bill Clinton is keen, po litical observers said, belying the notion that young people don’t care about government. “There is more interested in this election than we’ve probably seen in the last three elections,” said Ralph Baker, a political sci ence professor at Ball State Uni versity in Muncie, Ind. With the economy in the dol drums and issues such as abor tion and the environment in the forefront of the campaign, this year’s presidential election has capture the interest of thousands of colleges and university stu dents, activists say, pointing to the number of young people who have registered to vote. ’’Smart politicians are refocus ing efforts on campus, especially to bring in a new and empowered electorate,” said Mike Dolan, field director for California-based Rock the Vote, a non-profit, non partisan organization that orga nized student voter registration drives nationwide. “The thematic reason is that the youth vote has become a target, a real opporm- nity for change.” The opportunity to register to vote for the Nov. 3 election is over in most states. However, rep resentatives of several organiza tions that held voter registration Flowers joins state council Dr. Linda Flowers, professor of English and chair of the De partment of English at North Carolina Wesleyan College, has been elected to a three-year term on the North Carolina Humani ties Council (NCHC). The NCHC is composed of 23 citizen volunteers and maintains an office in Greensboro. Through financial and technical assistance, the Council enables North Caro linians to develop public humani ties programs in their own com munities. The Council also con ducts statewide projects. All pro grams sponsored by the Council offer an arena for dialogue which leads toward a great awareness of what it means to-be human... drives said they registered hun dreds of thousands of students in time for the election, indicating that interest in the election is high. Rock the Vote has registered 225,000 students as voters, Dolan said. Rock the Vote, based in Beverly Hills, was founded in 1990 by leading record labels and musicians in response to per ceived threats to artistic expres sion. It was broadened to include registering the youth and getting them out to vote. "Something is percolating on college campuses among the vot ers,” Dolan said. “Young people are ready and eager to take back the system fi-om the politics as usual.” The Center for Policy Alter natives and the National Civil League held a voter registration drive Oct. 1 at 44 colleges, com munity colleges, and universities. Although a final count hasn’t been tabulated, some of the results in cluded registering 4,300 students at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, 2,000 at the University of New Mexico, and 900 at the University of Colorado at Boul der, said Burck Smith, a program assistant for the center. “I think there is a resurgence of youth interest in politics again. The issues are imposing,” he said. “All the talk about the national debt weighs on our nation’s youth. They look at the job mar ket and there’s not much avail able. College students say the en vironment and other issues are starting to hit home.” According to the latest Cen sus Bureau figures available, 26 million men and women in the 18-24 age group are eligible to vote, and about 40 percent of this group is registered. In contrast, there are 40.7 million people ages 25 to 44 years, and 58 percent are registered to vote. The highest percentage of those registered to vote — 76 percent — are those age 65 years old and older. “Students are less cynical, less than in the last four to eight years,” Baker said. ‘They talk of change, but maybe they’re put ting too much hope in change. Maybe they are tired of the same people running the country.” The next step is to get regis- tCTed voters to the polls, Dolan and Smith said. An ad hoc coali tion made up of Rock the Vote, the Center for Policy Alternatives, the United States Student Asso ciation, the Americans for Demo cratic Action, and the Campus Green Vote is working on a plan to get out the vote. Tony Zagotta, president of the College Republicans, said his group’s registration drive was a success. College Republicans reg istered 10,000 students at Texas A&M, 500 students at Memphis State University in Tennessee, and 3,000 young people in Colo rado. “Both campaigns are reaching out to young people. There is anxiety about the future of our country,” he said. “America is in a transitional period. This elec tion will decide what path the U.S. will take into the 21st century.” The College Democrats have also registered thousands of stu dents. NCCD $ QUICK? $$$$$$$$«$$$$ WESTEEN UNnON MONEY TIRANSFEE "The Fastest Way to Send Money" • It couldn’t be easier. 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