Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / June 4, 1974, edition 1 / Page 4
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i m ' I r a f Letters to the editor I. 52nd Kecr o Editorial Freedom . EKiott Warnock, Editor All unrliJ editorials ere the opinion of the editor. Letters nd ct!::r.ir.s represent the opinions of others. Fc' ri try 23, 1C33 Tuesday, June 4, 1974 te-. t ? TO f' aJ I f j Sorn -times in the course of human events, it becomes inevitable that even editors have trouble . thh'cm up ideas for editorials. In those rare but unusually uncomfortable times, one source of comment never runs dry, no matter the time or situation: somebody v.?.!'.: in 3 down the street. The casual passer-by is always willing to make comment on the world's present status. So naturally I thought it best to take another drink at the ever flowing stream of consciousness and asked somebody what they thought was a good subject to write about. . Without much hesitation the person threw back their long, black hair, stroked their three-day old beard and said, "Black-white relations. 1 thought the stream had finally run dry. That seemed like a subject which had run its course in the late 35, or at the very latest the early 70's. But the person went on, telling the reason why black-white relations hd taken the forefront in his mind. "I was over in Carrboro watching a kaus softball came," he said, "and 1 cot stoned. I don't mean stone stoned, I mpan rock-like stoned." ' He stared out the window while his expressions took on a blank sort cf look and continued. "1 just happened to be driving by so I decided to stop by and take a look. ? "V ft ! I know you're out there. It won't do you any good at all to try and hide today, in fact, it's probably the worst thing you can do. Unless I'm really off the mark, t oday is Tuesday, June 4, and that rr.:ans it is the date of the North Carolina run-off election. A lot of local races are going to be decided t:fore the niht is over, and a lot of kcues will be decided along with those races,, issues like zoning,. Interstate 40, county planning beards, Duke Power's rate increase 1 Tim Sims 77aF H 111 1 -fa fl C KS 14, t . XJ J L i vo te ''in runoff o: j Recent campaigning for office in our state often witnessed various slogans and promises stated with this cliche: "for all t!.e pecph of North Carolina. Different candidates put it different ways, but always, it seemed, in whatever pitch was tzlz offered at the moment, that phrase reoccurred. We v;;r 2 assured that candidate X would have the interest of all the people at heart. For some candidates, it was a way of saying (without sayir.2 explicitly or too loudly, either) that they wanted the blick vote. For "a-hundred-dollars-a-hundred'-Morgan it rr.jant the tobacco industry and farmers. Political personages as different as George Wallace and Eugene McCarthy have designated themselves as ipoltzizzn for the American people. History has seen many who claimed to speak or act for "the people," perhaps the most recent group being the SLA. Touting themselves as revolutionaries for "the people," th:y bjc;an their trek towards oblivion, though it was "the r :cpb" whose money they robbed from the bank, whose property they shot up, and whose cars they stole. It was a few ir.r.octnt by-standing people whom Donald DeFreeze so cisually that down at the robbery it was one of "the psopb" a poor black woman who turned them in to police in L.A., and if any of them ever go to trial, it will be "Tl:: People vs. SLA." If anyone should be thought suspicious, in fact, it should L ; t.:::t person or group who propose to speak for the people, includias North Carolina politicians. It may sound good in th:ary or rhetoric, but in practical terms, there is just no such l.:r.z as "the people," as that term is normally meant. Cpiakb cf "the people" presupposes a host of things v.hleh arc impossible to determine.' ; All cf us like to think we have a good world-view, that we ; ;:;;iv2 fairly accurately the conditions which exist, that we c :n t::9 our way to the heart of the problem(s), and that, on tssb cf cur reflection on all this, we have some pretty Eul consider for a moment the problems involved in n:::rt;hr!3 whit "the people" arc thinking: vv v . w- n As I got out of the car I heard a few honkies from some of the kids; it didn't much bother me because I thought it would stop but they just kept right up; I kept hearing 'honky. I guess that's what it's like for a black kid when he hears 'nigger' all the time. "So I tried to ignore it and watch the game. Then I heard these rocks landing nearby. I knew they couldn't be throwing them at me so I just kept watching the game... until a rock hit my foot. Those kids were, like, throwing rocks at me... you know... real rocks and stones. I decided I wouldn't say anything smart to them; I'd just go back to the car. And they kept saying 4honky.' So I got in the car, started off, rolled down the window because I couldn't help myself and said something real clever like 'man you don't know half the jive that goes on in this world.' I don't know why I said it; I couldn't do anything else. Those kids were about 70 feet in back of my car just screaming 'honky . . . honky. It was pretty strange." Yeah . . it was pretty strange. I sat there and watched the fellow; the incident hadn't scarred him for life or anything, but it definitely had an effect on him. The only problem was I didn't know just what sort of effect it was. request, the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and the list goes on and on, right over the horizon of route 54 and on towards Raleigh. There are a lot of good, hard working and diligent people running for various offices; the students of UNC and the residents of Chapel Hill can be confident that it is within their power to elect qualified representatives for the offices in .question. ..if the people of this town and University would just get out of bed and use their power to vote. lW(UV(SlfSV po Iff!!? 1 mM1 Knimti&nep biulv7 SCAU 1 huES SI Summertime and the living is easy! Summertime also means that it is insect and food poisoning season. Here are. some tips from the Student Consumer Action Union on dealing with these two seasonal annoyances. For protection from pests, check your kitchen first. This area is the most prolific breeding ground for a host Of bugs. Cleanliness is the first rule to remember. Store foods like cereals, flours and breads in air-tight containers such as empty plastic margerine and whipped topping containers. The area under the sink is dark, cool, and damp. In other words, prime conditions for some bug family. Check in this vicinity for cracks and crevasses, and then plug them up. The simplest way to accomplish this is to buy a calking compound from your hardware store. You can also use chrome stripping and make your kitchen fancy as well as bug proof. As for the rest of the house, obviously screens are a must for every windowand door. Check to make sure that every door fits snugly in its jamb. A mouse only needs a quarter of an inch to crawl under. Produce from the grocery store often provides roaches and other pests an easy access to your. home. Check your groceries before putting them away. In a year's time one female roach may be responsible for producing a population of 9,000 roaches. If you are building a home, make sure that it is well sealed.' If you already have a pest problem, call a licensed exterminator. In North Carolina under XL 1 . Who are "the people"? a-the majority? b-the poor? c-the leaders, the rich, the powerful? d-each and every individual? 2. How do you know the thoughts and feelings of "the people"? a-by written essays? b-by elections on every pertinent issue? c-by talking to each one of them personally? d-by studying statistical surveys and polls? 3. What do you do about differences of opinion among "the people"? a -determine that the majority is correct? (study the history of oppression) b-delegate all those who disagree with you as "not people"? (Hello Lenin, Stalin, Hitler.) 4. What do you do when "the people" or part of "the people" change their minds? How do you know when they have done so? How will you find out? Outside, of having a giant central computer into which each person in the society speaks almost continuously from his own walkie-talkie, by which all input can be catalogued and printed out immediately, there is just no way to know what "the people" are thinking. No one that I know of in the history of the world (including Karl Marx) ever employed such an apparatus to determine the will of "the people." Let's get this straight: External theories do not speak for the people. No one can ever speak for the people unless something like the computer I was describing above can be set up, or we all become telepathic. World-views are myths, constructed out of conscious or unconcsious astronomical arrogance or ignorance when they propose to delineate the condition or desire of "the people." It is idiocy (in the technical sense of that word: the state of no communication) to talk about representing the people or speaking for.the people. Ultimately, perhaps, the only one any of us can speak for is himself. A person, at best, may speak for his (necessarily small) group. At worst, he speaks for his own petty interests. Beware of spokesmen for "the people." Despots, dictators and Jesse Helms come from such stock. And do not cry for the SLA. Their violence alone did not speak for any people I know, but if they spoke for you, good luck oh your journey of. arrogance toward oblivion. Ts 7i r To the editor. I would like to attempt to clear up a misunderstanding created by a story published in Friday's Tar Heel concerning action by the Summer School Governing Council. The action in question was a resolution passed by the SSGS notifying student publications that, under present law, they would not be able to retain their budget surpluses, if any, at the end of the school term. The Tar Heel story on this action was written and headlined as if this resolution . actually changed the law to prevent these, organizations from retaining their surpluses. It did not. It simply notified these publications, including The Tar Heel, that there was an already existing provision of the student constitution which requires that all funds unspent during the school term, except those going to the Student Union, must revert to the General Surplus. The outcry concerning this resolution, then, is pointless. The resolution, as I have itated, did not change any law. Whatever :radition has existed concerning surplus funds, it is irrelevant in the face of a constitutional provision stating jnambiguously that surplus funds must revert to the General Surplus to be reappropriated. I do not approve of this provision in its nidi Ibesistts the Department of Agriculture, an exterminator must be examined before he is licensed. Training for the examination includes a . degree in entomology or some related field or two years practical experience with a licensed exterminator. Most commercially sold bug sprays are not strong enough to eliminate nests, eggs and colonics. The strong chemicals can only be used by a licensed exterminator. Since most of our area pest control companies give free inspections and estimates of pest problems, it is wise to call them in order to determine if your problem is a do-it-yourself size job or one that requires a professional. Bugs carry all kinds of diseases and contaminate food. Don't just try to live with them. Because of warm weather in the summertime, foods spoil much more easily. Also restaurants may have bug problems can lead to certain types of food poisoning. Make sure your refrigerated foods stay refrigerated. If packing a picnic, freeze the sandwiches the night before. Wrap them in foil and then in newspaper for insulation the next day. Keep them in the shade until ready to eat. By then, the sandwiches should be thawed but not contaminated by the overheating which breeds bacteria. If the restaurant you eat at destroys your appetite by its lack of sanitation, or if you find yourself ill from the meal, contact the Orange County Public Health Department at 942-4168 on Old Fraternity Row within 24 hours. You must notify the Health Department within 24 hours because food supplies change at the beginning of each week. Also any necessary medical tests will not show traces of food poisoning after 24 hours. The Health Department will send one of its inspectors to check out the restaurant's food supply and sanitation conditions. These inspectors are trained . to inspect restaurants and give them sanitation ratings according to city and state regulations. In addition to restaurants, the Public Health Officials can be notified about grocery stores and swimming pools conditions. There are ways to avoid seasonal pests and discomforts. Contact the community agencies and businesses mentioned above or call us. Our phone number is 933-8313 in Suite B of the Carolina Union. We hope you enjoy your summer. Jsnie Clark tTHE ENGLISH 'DPrT CRR0CBT, ?Hft&sr&3H... incRSDisie HULK entirety. In my opinion, campus publications should be allowed to retain their surpluses, to promote responsible spending and progress toward financial independence on their part. Accordingly, I support the holding of a constitutional referendum this fall to change the constitution in order to allow publications to retain their surpluses. 1 suggest that whoever eke is dissatisfied with this provision join in an effort to change it, rather than illegally ignoring it. I must assume that the writer and editors responsible for the story which appeared in Friday's Tar Heel misunderstood the intent and effect cf the resolution passed by the SSGC. To have understood it and deliberately misrepresented it would have been an act of irresponsible journalism. Dan Besse CGC representative, on-campus undergraduate district VIII Box 3 Oxbow, Rt. 2 Chapel Hill Editor's' Note The writer and editors jully understood the intent and effects of CGCs resolution. The story made no attempt to castigate CGC for its resolution, it simply showed what effect the resolution will have on the publications involved. Blaming the media for the message they carry is an easy mistake to make. The summer Tar Heel not only jij welcomes, but urges the expression of all points of view on the editorial page S: j-i": through the letters to the editor, w Although the newspaper reserves the g: right to edit all letters for libelous X ; statements and good taste, we urge & i you to write us, whatever your : problem, point of view or comment. Letters should be limited to 300 &: words and must include the name, :: address and phone number of the : writer. We will not print a letter :j: without knowing the writer's name, jig Type letters on a 60 space line. Submit : j!;! them to the Tar Heel office .in the Studmt Union, :& Mender smacks Big Mac system To the editor After reading Alan Bisbort's article on Big Macs vs Health Food Gurus I rushed down and ordered myself a Big Mac, one large ' order of grease fries, and a 15e coke and two. extra Ketchups. The Ronald McDonald helper c-uivered in her clown shoes and said that they weren't allowed to give but one . Ketchup per customer. I told her I'd be glad to pay for them; just name the price: a penny, a d ime, a nickel, a quarter! ! For 1 8 ounce of Ketchup! The Ronette told me she still couldn't give me the Ketchup: she was Seth iron Influence The Patricia Hearst kidnapping raises serious questions about the moral fiber of the United States. The willingness of people to turn to mindless violence for what has no clear purpose is a constant dilemma to anyone observing .the saga of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). But an even more basic question surfaces in all the shooting, hunting and murder. When the SLA was holed up in a small suburban Los Angeles house and the FBI and L. A. police laid siege to the place, there seemed to. be a total disregard for the basic rights of the humans inside. The law enforcement officials felt pressured to stage a dramatic and forceful show cf power that would give the SLA and the press the message that the FBI is not to be taunted. And further, they would not tolerate the SLA's continued lawlessness. Granted, a show of force might have been necessary, but force becomes meaningless when the numbers of guns and people (500 to six) were so lopsided on the side of "truth and justice." The police and FBI demolished the SLA hide-out, burning the place and its contents (including six human beings) to the ground beyond recognition. It is very difficult to have any sympathy for the members of the SLA. They act in a barbarian manner in almost every way possible. Shooting up a sporting goods store for a 49 cent pair of socks isn't anybody s idea of proper social behavior. But still, the action of the SLA, no matter how horrible, does not give the law enforcement agents the justification to retaliate with, the same abominable style. It would be just as easy, and mi'ht not have endangered anymore people, if the police had simply starved the SLA out of the house and forced them to surrender. Even the action of the police in Los Angeles does not have as loud a ring of human indignity than events after the shootings do. en. 3E23S Wxt Tl terrib ly sorry but it was her first day on the job and the girl she had replaced had been fired for giving a friend one extra ketchup. I demanded to speak to the manager!! Fifteen seconds later (about as long as it takes to eat a cheeseburger, nowadays) I was eye-ta-eye with this incredible creature who had a head band on stating that he had personally sold 385,923 Big Macs. I stared at him for about 115 of a second and bolted through the door; accidently breaking the arm of a Boy Scout who was counting his pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters. Michael Rigsby 741 E. Franklin, 6 P.S. I hate to say this but every word is true; except for the Boy Scout: he just had a bad sprain. Reader affirms education faults To the editor: I would like to congratulate Joel Brink ley for his article in your first issue about semi literate people in the School of Education. I, personally, have seen people like he described. I went out with an education major who not only couldn't talk correctly, but literally had to use her fingers to count! It still amazes me that she got into UNC and app.ills me to think that she may one day be teaching my children. I certainly hope the School of Education does something about their problem, because it is the people they graduate who keep North Carolina's schools the worst in the nation. Anthony Lassweller Carrboro Unks and Beach insulted, students To the editor: I was appalled at the recent sexist and pseudo-elite manner in which two education professors, Dr.s Unks and Beach, insulted UNC students who care about education by referring to them as semi-literate North Carolinians. Their comments, thoughtlessly released to the news media, reflect their inssnsitivity ' to students as well as to their families who arduously serve our state's institutions and legislative bodies. The statements were untimely and out of context with UNC's emerging dedication to the nurturance, not the elimination, of students. A gross injustice has been done to UNC, which may complicate further, the ppliticgl and financial controversies now present among our state universities. Dot Koch A-20 Village Green Elizabeth Street of Wealth As soon as the FBI found that Patty Hearst was not among the six charred victims, they called the Hearst family to notify them of Patty's safety. This is a very nice gesture on the part ofthe FBI, helping to ease the anxiety that anyone would feel in place of the Hearst family. But what about the families of the slain SLA members? Did the FBI call Willie Wolfe's father to tell him that his son was killed? Did the FBI call to express their sadness about the event, but explain that it was one of those things that had to be done to protect the safety of the nation? No, the FBI did not have the simple and common decency to call the bereaved parents. What becomes sadly evident in all this is Patty Hearst's life meant more to the FBI than did the lives ofthe other six, or all of the members of the SLA. It is a sour note on everything this nation stands for to see that wealth and power has such a strong relationship to the humane concern people show towards others. Everything about the Patty Hearst caper demonstrates the influence wealth has on the way public services are made available to citizens. The FBI would not spend -much time at all on the case if most other Americans were kidnapped. Just think ofthe number of lives that might have been saved if the police in Houston. Texas had shown the same agressive action in the apprehension of the killer of the small children in that area. Dozens of bodies were dug up for weeks just cutside of Houston, but while the children disappeared slowly, the FBI did nothing. The vanishing of the kids was just one of those unexplainable things. Perhaps if one of the children had been wealthy newspaper heiresses or heirs fewer of them would have teen tortured and killed. The 14th amendment to the Constitution guarantees every American equal protection under the law. Unfortunately in too many instances, America fails to practice what it preaches. Vtleria Jqrdsn Managing Editor Joel Erlnktey ..News Editor jean Gws'Iow .......... Associate Editor C!S1 Kny SportsEcT.tor A!sn nicbert Feitures Editor Jim Gri.-nstey ..Asst. f,!ang. Editor
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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June 4, 1974, edition 1
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