Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Dec. 2, 1982, edition 1 / Page 2
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EDITORIALS & COMMENTS The Video Game Paradox A recent study by the Cali fornia State Department of Edu cation shows that school age youth who are fairly heavy tele vision viewers - six or more hours daily - tend to be low achievers and are affected by a new conditioning to their learn ing process. Such announce ments are not anything new, in fact, they have been so frequent that the television industry has now researched a study of its own which concludes that child ren’s reading skills and test scores are centered primarily in “socioeconomic factors.” The TV industry’s research found that “an hour or so” daily of “good television viewing” properly monitored by parents is actually better than no television at all. This viewpoint has been supported by some anti-TV edu cators who themselves admit that there is no evidence to support the claim that TV watching has a negative impact upon school performance. In this regard, University of • Massachusetts professor Dr. Daniel R. Anderson said he believes children who are heavy television watchers have at least not become “slaves to the video monster.” Dr. Anderson’s state ment implies-and correctly so— that low-keyed penny arcades with photo booths and pinball machines have been replaced by the computer age explosive, electronic video arcade. Educational consultant Carol Cantu has said, “artistically created and computer-generated video games have transformed these arcades into space-age galleries. They have robotic cha racters that dance, march, and burst onto television like screens.” However, beneath what ap pears to be good, clean, whole some fun are concerns far be yond issues related to a passing fad. The principal concern centers around reports that video games are addictive. In fact, Tim Skelly, a video game designer, states in an interview for “Video Games’’ magazine that graphics in the games are planned to be addictive. The hard evidence of the in creasing amount of time and money that young people are spending on and with video games is evidence of the games’ addictive nature. More signifi cantly, game players are said to experience high levels of stress, experience twitching and shiver ing while playing, and one fatal heart attack has been reported to be related to video game play. On the positive side, in addi tion to freeing some youth from the near-addiction of TV watch ing, are reports that video games are healthy for vision. In fact good video game players are believed to have a high level of visual ability. In fact, seven activities that an optometrist might require in an exercise of visual training are normally practiced by a video game player. Furthermore, video games introduce players to the world of computer technology. If sufficiently motivated, a player can program his own games on his home or personal computer. This will expand the players’ mental skills and result in in creased efficiency in related abilities such as math and sci entific reasoning. Thus, the video game para dox. Young people and older people too who are into the video game habit need to keep their game activities and interest in proper perspective with other areas of their lives. If we can achieve success on this point video games will be no threat to our sanity, or family life, our communities and most of all to ourselves. Public Schools Under Attack? In a speech to 500 North Carolina school board members convened in Charlotte for a three-day conference recently, Congresswoman (D-NY) Shirley Chisholm told the school policy makers that public education is under attack by three major forces - Reaganomics, television and private schools. We find no cause to disagree with Mrs. Chisholm’s comment as it relates to Reaganomics and partly to television. President Reagan’s economic policies have tended to redistribute the na tion’s wealth so that the rich and business interest are getting richer and the poor and middle class are getting poorer. Along with this, considerably less federal money is available to support needed public education programs. In addition, the quality of American television, especially for school-aged children, has deteriorated to an alarming level with the growing empha sis on sex, drugs and violence. The pre-occupation with TV has sharply reduced youth reading skills and interests. Neverthe less, when used as a construc tive educational teaching aid, television can be, and has been, a powerful learning device. However, we do not agree with Mrs. Chisholm’s statement as it relates to private schools as a threat to public education. Her statement that many people believe “we need separate schools for all Catholics...Bap tists... Irish... Black Americans... dog lovers....or those who write with their left hand” was pure ly rhetoric and not based on facts. THE CHARLOTTE POST Second Class Postage No. 965500 “THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. Subscription Rate $15.60 Per Year Send All 3579’s To: 1524 West Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephone 704-376-0496 Circulation 10,433 104 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor, Publisher Bernard Reeves General Manager Fran Farrer Advertising Director Dannette Gaither Office Manager Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid At Charlotte, North Carolina Under the Act of March 3,1878 Member, National Newspaper Publishers’ Association North Carolina Black Publishers Association Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m. Monday. All photos and copy submitted become the property of The Post and will not be returned National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 2100 S Michigan \ve. 45 W 45th St.. Suite 1493 Chicago. Ill 6061* New York. New York 10036 ( olumet 3-0200 212 180 1220 From (xipilol Hill 97th Congress Scores Zero On Civil Rights Issues Alfreda Madison Special To The Post The leadership Confer ence on Civil Rights, which is composed of a coalition of 160 major national or ganizations representing Blacks. Hispanics, Asian Americans, American In dians, women, aged, handi capped and religious groups seeks to affect civil rights legislation. ine conference recently released the 97th Congress score card on civil rights Five Senators and 61 Re presentatives had a perfect voting record. Seven Sen ators and 27 Represent atives scored zero Includ ed on the score card were: Voting Rights Act, school desegregation, fair hous ing, food stamps, court stripping, legal services, civil rights appropriations, balanced budget constitu tional amendment, educa tion of the handicapped and immigration reform. The tabulations show that half of the House mem bers scored 50 percent or above, while 52 .Senators scored above 50 percent "Despite the concerted effort by the Radical Right, both in the Reagan Admin istration and on Capitol a ^P'^WE NEED THESE \ " ' YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THEIR <fe IMAGINATION AND INVEHTIVE NESS, THEIR NEW IDEAS AND APPROACHS" -, V ROY HILH INS \ JL-i 1 / h Ti '' Black's Destiny In Own Hands -£ette/i4- 0?o *76e ScUta*.: I People Facing New Crisis Dear Editor: The rising cost of infla tion and the worsening eco nomic situation have af fected many families in Charlotte. People are facing new crises, ques tioning their job security and becoming increasingly frustrated. In times like these there is a special need for Black people to come together and join in to aide one another, Everyday we see on television, read in news papers and hear on the radio people who need help. through volunteering needy people can be helped and problems can be eased or eliminated. One particular situation that is in desparate need of volunteers is child care. Because of budget cuts over 1,000 parents, who are currently employed, will have to stop working. Un able to pay for day care services these parents will be forced to seek public assistance. Does this seem alarming? H Mothers who are trained on jobs receive federal funding now face the pos sibility of their training being halted, due to no funds. Indeed this is a concern for our community. As a concerned mother I have talked to many in reference to the child care situation and they all sense a need to do something about this matter. There should not be mothers or fathers who must stop working due to child care fees when volunteers can help in this responsibility. Volunteering is very im portant. One or two hours per week or month in real ity is the deciding factor whether a parent can hold on to his job. As a volun teer your time can make a difference in many existing conflicts. Now more than ever is the time to shift our at tention from ourselves and focus them on helping others and volunteer time to replace other needed resources. , V > There are many areas in which I’ve volunteered as well as my family. We all have been pleased with the outcome. Many times pa rents have stated, “they have no time.” Try if you can to provide 15 minutes a day. How do you start? As an individual you can be an organizer to aide people of all ages. Become a part of the survival process. As a volunteer for many years I’ve replaced many paid positions. You can also assist where it is need ed the most and there is no better place to start than with day care. Far more valuable than money for each hour you donate you are rewarded with a pleasant feeling, a beautiful smile from a young child, kindness, love and unlimited apprecia tion. Sincerely, Jennifer Payne Hack lVfcn Nnt Dud Oh Hie Past Dear bir: In response to the article, “What Black Women Should Know About Black Men,” published Novem ber 18, 1982, I would like to direct my comments towards the statements made by Robert Wilson. As a black woman in America I have not for gotten where I came from. We, as Black people, must not dwell on the past but think positively and reach for higher goals. I say this in reference to Mr.’ Wilson’s statement about Black women forgetting where they came from. He also stated that “often she (the Black woman) is ready ta leave when the going gets tough.” Any person, man or woman, can give but so much of himself to another. Just because he or she decides to leave doesn’t mean that he or she loved that person any more or any less. We, Black women love our Black men and we need them as much as they need us. I hope wou will write an article on what Black men should know about Black women. sincerely, T. D. Woods Voice Your Concern Voicing an opinion will get others talking and eventually solve problems. Write: Dear Editor: P. O. Box 30144, Charlotte, N.C. 28230. small1 business " r NEWS 4s 'VIEWS Maintenance Contracting One, of the ea^jLq^y Dusinesses to start today is a building maintenance contract ing service. A building service contractor provides janitorial services including win dow cleaning, carpet shampooing, floor and wall maintenance and outside lawn care on a contract basis. This service can als^ provide lighting maintenance, pest contro* parking lot maintenance apd security ser vices. The majority of building service contractors perform their service by nego tiating for an account, but some accounts are obtained through the bidding process. The building service contractor must be able to estimate the labor time involved in cleaning the building to the client’s specifi cations. The labor costs will be the largest cost component for the contractor. The total labor costs can be up to 70 percent of the total contract price of the job. These costs include taxes, unemployment and work man’s compensation and other fringe bene fits. You will also have to consider other costs such as the cost of equipment and cleaning supplies, your overhead including office costs and transportation, plus adding in your contractor’s profit. The capital investment required for en tering the building service contracting industry is fairly low compared to other businesses. You will! have to buy office supplies and cleaning equipment. The most commonly used major equipment includes floor buffers, carpet shampooers, industrial vacuum cleaners, and wet-dry vacuums. N|i addition, you will need mops, buckets, brushes, and assorted floor finishes and cleaners. Your initial capital should include suffi cient reserves to provide cash to cover the first few months payroll. There will often be a time lag between paying your employees and receiving payment from your accounts. This means you will have to pay your employees initially out of your cash re serves. A trend has developed in this business to bill at thej beginning of the month rather than! the and of the month of service. .This advance^ billing should improve your cash flow Situation. A study by the Building Services Con tractor Association International indicated that a firm needs $350,0^0 in total sales of building maintenance services to net $10,000 after taxes. The 110,000 aet income figure does not include jthe owner’s salary. The owner’s salary is inducted as one of the firm’s expenses. > Entering the building maintenance busi ness is fairly easy, but the industry has a high rate of business failure. Many small biuilding maintenance con tractors sell theft* services through person al contacts. Yofi will also need a sate brochure for potential customes, or to useTn a direct mail capipaign. Many contractors also advertise ip the yellow pages of the telephone directory. Advertising can also be accomplished by using an attractive com pany letterhead and placing‘the firm’s insignia on trucks and uniforms! For additional! information, contact the Economic Development Division, Center for Improving Mountain Living, Western Carolina University, CuDowhee, North Carolina, 704-227-7492 Hill, the record of the 97th Congress on civil rights issues, thus far, has been generally good,” said Ralph Neas, Executive Director of the Conference. Civil rights successes are attributable to, first, they confirm that the 1980 elec tions were not a mandate to weaken or repeal civil rights laws Second, strong congressional bipartisan support has arisen. Third, there have been massive coalition efforts to defend the constitution All these gains give appearance that the Radical Right has reached its zenith with respect for representation in Congress. Their consti tutional assaults continue and allied with the Rea gan Administration, they are still threatening an other reconstruction. All of these call for continued vigilance to preserve long ago fought battles and for complete eradication of all inequities and injustices for all people The 25 year Voting Rights Act extension re sulted in the untiring strong cohesiveness of the leadership Conference on Civil Rights together with the vigilance and coopera Alfreda L. Madison lion 01 some memoers 01 both Houses of Congress In the House passage of this very strong Act was led by Representative Don Ed wards of California, Chair man of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Law, who is a very strong and diligent leader in the civil rights fights Opposition fight was led by Representative Henry Hyde of Illinois. Se veral weakening House amendments had to be defeated; Caldwell Butler of Virginia introduced an amendment that would have transferred bail-out suits from Federal District Courts to local federal courts; McClory of Illinois introduced an amendment to repeal bilingual provi sions; and Carroll Camp bell's amendment, permit ting states to bail out, even though some counties in the state did not meet the bail-out requirements. The Senate Voting Rghts Act passage was led by Senator Joseph Biden, ranking minority leader. Senator John East of North Carolina proposed more than ten weakening Voting Rights amendments, as did Senators Hatch, Denton and Hayakawa. All of these were overwhelmingly de feated. The Doles compro mise which was the Ma thias Kennedy-Dole bill rejected IS weakening amendments In reference to seniority of Senators Mathias and Kennedy, Sen ator Biden relinquished floor management of the Act to them. Senator Weicker of Con necticut led the fight against the Helms-John ston busing amendment. He was aided in the ten weeks filibuster by Senator Monohan. Senator Weicker also succeeded in getting Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi's amendment tabled which would have gutted the Legal Service program. , Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, an ex treme Conservative (light est who got his busing amendment passed ^y the Senate, only to lie dormant in the House is finding his strength somewhat weak ening. His Immigration amendment suffered defeat; his attempt to strip the federal courts of their jurisdiction over sdhool prayer and his abortion rider to an appropriation's bill were defeated. l^gal authorities becarile a strong backlash to Jesse Helms. High courts of all so states called the Helms court system assaults "a hazardous experiment." Even Attorney Geifcral William French Smitf) had misgivings about ctourt restraints These Helms' attempts had an imp let on the 60 Senators \yh i are lawyers. His ab< rtion amendment went dowh to a 33-60 defeat. John Shat tuck of American Cilil Li berties Union, said, ’ Sen ators began to see i| as a real crisis for the dbnsti tution." % One method used by this Administration to return to pose reconstruction days, is divide and conquer A splendid example of this was demonstrated by At torney General Smith. In June a civil rights dele gation had set up a meeting with the Attorney General He had demanded that the Blacks and Hispanics meet separately. The group entered Mr. Smith’s office, Elaine Jones of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said, "Antonia Hermandez was not invited to this mating, but she agreed toveome anyway If she leaves, we all do ” Naturally the shocked Attorney General had no alternative but to acquiesce to the groups' wishes ricrta Oiapter The Elect* Chapter No 174 Order of'the Eastern Star is having a benefit fish fry on Saturday, Decern ber 4, beginning at 12 noon until. The address is 504 West 24th Street. r-——■ ■ _
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 2, 1982, edition 1
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