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9
Editorial
mm
Opinions of The Daily Tar Heel are expressed on its editorial page. AH
unsigned editorials are the opinions'of the editor and the staff. Letters and
columns represent only th opinions of the individual contributors.
Thursday, March 11. 1971
Tom Gooding. Editor
colons reiiise
due credit to students
Two years ago the N.C. General
Assembly killed a bill which would
have made student body presidents
ex-officio members of the
Consolidated University Board of
Trustees.
The Legislators, when faced with
the bill, immediately saw Trustee
meetings disrupted by long-haired,
bearded students who berated the
other members of the Board with
loud, obscene shouting.
J The bill was introduced by
Senator L.P. McLendon Jr., and,
although it received wide attention
throughout the state, it was
rejected almost immediately.
Several senators took great
delight in defeating the bill One
introduced a rider which would
have required student
representatives to wear coats and
ties and to keep their hair trimmed
to a certain length.
Reflections on student integrity
were crystal-clear and without
provocation. These actions were an
insult to every responsible college
student and student leader in the
state.
" Now Senator McClendon has
re-introduced his proposal, almost
an exact duplicate of the original
measure, which he says may be
considered more seriously.
"In the last two years voting
rights for young people have been
Abortion reform needed
A bill is before the North
Carolina State Senate to amend the
current abortion laws.
The amended bill would allow
woman to obtain an abortion
during the first 12 weeks of
pregnancy. The abortion decision
could be made by the individual
woman and her doctor and, where
indicated in the law, with
concurrence of close family
members.
The proposed amendment
provides that abortions could be
done only by state-licensed doctors
in hospitals and clinics licensed by
the Medical Care Commission.
Doctors and hospitals would not be
forced to perform abortions against
their will.
It is estimated that for a routine
abortion, which would be medically
safe and reliable, should cost no
more than $200 compared to the
present cost of approximately
$500.
1 During the past few weeks
arguments have been made that
ibdrtion is murder, a battle
between sexes, a means of
population control and the ultimate
form of contraception.
However this is not what the
abortion controversy is all about.
The question at hand is: Does the
state have a legitimate right and
Sit? iatlg 3Jar Strri
79 Years of Editorial Freedom
Tom Gooding, Editor
Rod Waldorf . .
Mike Parnell . .
Rick Gray ....
Chris Cobbs ..
Frank Parrish .
Ken Ripley . . .
John Gellman .
Terry Cheek . .
Managing Ed.
News Editor
.....Associate Ed.
Sports Editor
Feature Editor
. National News Ed.
Photo Editor
'. Night Editor
j Robert Wilson Business Mgr.
I : Janet Bernstein ........ - Adv. Mgr.
13
1
to give
changed for federal elections and
may be for state and local
elections," he explained to
newsmen last Thursday.
"The trend is in this direction
and has already been put into effect
at Duke and Wake Forest," he
added. "I hope this bill is more
timely this year than in the past."
This news is both depressing and
encouraging: Depressing because
state legislators have refused to
open channels of communication
with students until threatened by
the possibility of answering for
their views at the polls; encouraging
since such action may be an initial
step toward greater legislative voice
for the University community.
In any case, Senator McClendon
and his 15 co-signers are to be
commended for their progressive
stance and proven concern for the
welfare of higher education.
It is unfortunate that their
fellow legislators, based on past
performances, have not given
students any indication of
co-operation and understanding as
exemplified in the "coat and tie"
rider.
If these men are genuinely
concerned with educating mature
and responsible citizens, perhaps
they should set better personal
examples. , ..
interest in forcing a woman to have
a child she does not want?
Unless a woman is among the
approximate one per cent who have
the qualifications necessary to
obtain an abortion the existing laws
give her no alternative. The basic
justice and constitutionality of the
laws is in question
There are an estimated
1,500,000 abortions each year in
the United States with only 40,000
classified as legal. . !
Under the existing laws ; a
situation comparable to the one of
Prohibition exists. By retaining the
present abortion legislation, the
government is supporting the
third-largest criminal operation in
the country. Illegal abortions net
$350,000,000 each year for the
Mafia and are superceded only by
gambling and drugs as a source of
income.
According to a study done
recently by Cyril Means Jr. the sole
purpose of the statutes was to
preserve the health and life of a
pregnant woman under the surgical
conditions of 440 years ago. The
purpose has long since vanished.
In the case of Baker v. Carr the
Supreme Court cited a previous
decision stated by Justice Brandeis:
"A statute valid when enacted may
become invalid by change in the
conditions to which it is applied."
The conditions have changed. A
legal clinical abortion is only
one-fourth as dangerous as a normal
childbirth. A criminal abortion on
the other hand presents a woman
with a 60 chance of infection and
pelvic damage.
In another case, Griswold v.
Connecticut, the courts stated that,
"The fundamental right of the
women to choose whether to bear
children follows from the Supreme
Court's and this court's repeated
acknowledgment of a 'riit of
privacy' or 'liberty in matters
relating to marriage, family and
sex."
The question is not one of
morality but of an individual's right
to choose whether or not she wants
to bear unwanted children.
Attempts to legislate morality
often create greater problems. This
is the case in the restrictive
abortion laws in North Carolina.
The Senate can rectify these
injustices by passing the abortion
reform bill.
Harry Bryan
Next year is a critical year for the
Daily Tar HeeL
The newspaper is much improved over
last year, and the staff, composed of both
journalism and non-journalism majors,
has more depth and experience than in
previous years. However, more
improvements are necessary.
Kews pages should be more objective
and provide a more comprehensive
coverage of the campus so that no
segment of the student body is ignored.
DTH editorial pages should become a
forum for debate for UNC students, and
columnists should be chosen so that they
provide a greater diversity in opinions for
the editorial page.
One of the most important things to
be done next year should be putting The
Daily Tar Heel on its way to financial
independence. If the DTH can become
independent in the near future, then
more than $30,000 that comes from
student fees to subsidize the newspaper,
can be rechanneled into other student
organizations.
Also, if the paper is independent, it
will be free from any threat of financial
censorship from the administration.
Many students have suggested a
subscription plan for making the DTH
independent. However, I feel that such a
plan could not possibly work.
A forced subscription plan would only
add to fees that are too high in the first
place. And a voluntary subscription plan
would limit the number of students
reading the paper.
The Daily Tar Heel has been a student
newspaper for the past 79 years, and
because of this, it should always be free
to students and not be kept from a
student solely because he doesn't have
the money to buy a subscription.
The way to financial independence,
then, is through advertising. If the DTH
can gradually pick up its advertising, it
can expand to bigger issues with eight to
ten pages and possibly even bigger papers
in the near future.
WMmA
SP split
(Editor's note: This is the third in a
four-part series giving a brief history of
campus politics from the mid-60s through
last spring Today's article is one the
1968 presidential race between Jed Dietz
and George Krichbaum for the Student
Party nomination and between Dietz and
Ken Day after the nominations. )
by Rick Gray
Associate Editor
From the beginning it was Jed Dietz
against George Krichbaum for the
Student Party nomination.
The University Party had been ruled
out. As the question in 1971 is "Are the
parties dead?" the question in 1968 was
"Is the University Party dead?"
It certainly looked as if it might just
be. All attention was focused on the
Dietz-Krichbaum fight for the SP
nomination, and speculation was that if
the UP nominated anyone it would be
either Charlie Mercer or Dick Levy, two
old-time party politicos who had been
running for every office in sight since
they got on campus.
Both would eventually be on the
ballot, however Mercer for vice president
on the UP slate and Levy for editor of
The Daily Tar Heel for the second year in
a row, for president as an independent
and for National Student Association
This would not only move the
newspaper closer to financial
independence; it would also provide more
space for news to provide a more
comprehensive coverage of the campus.
However, before The Daily Tar Heel
can pick up enough advertising to become
financially indfpendent, it must improve
its circulation so that every student is
guaranteed of getting a paper every day.
The number of papers printed e3ch
day should be increased from 1 3,000 to
18,000. And circulation should be
improved so that more papers are
delivered to each floor of high rise dorms,
every fraternity and sorority, large
apartment complexes and centralized
points on campus.
Newspapers should also be delivered to
Franklin Street to get the paper out into
the community and further encourage
advertisers to buy more space in the
newspaper.
Another means of obtaining funds
besides through advertising could be
through the sale of a Sunday monthly
color supplement that would be
distributed all over the state.
The Daily Tar Heel, should definitely
explore thy possibility of setting up such
a supplement because if "easible, it could
bring in the added revenue to make The
Daily Tar Heel independent in one year.
And not only would it bring in more
revenue; it would also would also improve
the students' and the University's
relations with the taxpayers in North
Carolina.
As I said, next year will be a critical
year for The Daily Tar Heel, and I am
asking the student body for the
opportunity to continue the
improvements that began this year.
I feel that if I am elected, I can recruit
a staff of experienced and dedicated
individuals to work for the improvement
of The Daily Tar HeeL And if given the
chance I will give the students a more
readable, more comprehensive and more
objective newspaper.
gave election
delegate, not to mention the "Ugly Man
on Campus" contest.
Dietz and Krichbaum traded attacks in
Legislature all year Dietz from the
speaker's chair and Krichbaum as
mamajority floor leader. Dave Kiel, as
parliamentarian, was the referee.
Feeding the fires against Dietz behind
the scenes was Student Body President
Bob Travis himself. Travis was a moderate
Georgian who liked to work in
semi-obscurity. His style clashed sharply
with the Kennedy-like image Dietz
presented and worked hard to keep.
As it came down to the convention the
race was the classic political toss-up.
Krichbaum brought all of his supporters
from the quads and the fraternities, and
Dietz brought delegates from South
Campus and some of the less
conventional fraternity and sorority
houses.
Speeches were made, and questions
were asked, including one from the
venerable party man Arthur Hays who
wanted to know if the loser would remain
faithful to the party.
Krichbaum said he would not run as
an independent if he was defeated. Dietz,
however, said, in effect, that ideals meant
more than party, hinting at a possible
independent bid if he lost thy
convention.
The convention took three hours.
Joe Waldo
When I announced as a canidaie for
editor of The Daily Tar Heel I stated that
I was running as an independent without
Publication Board Endorsement, and that
I was not a journalism major. Too many
of us forget that The Daily Tar Heel
belongs to all of us (after all we foot the
bill) and not to any particular segment of
the student body.
I have charged that the "machine"
made up of journalism majors now
controls the DTH, A few people have
misinterpreted my accusation to mean
that I would like to remove the
journalism majors from the paper. This
would be ridiculous! They do a great job;
we need them; we've got to have them,
but what we need at the same time is to
encourage more people from all phases of
campus life to write for the DTH even if
they can contribute only an article every
other month.
The Tar Heel is insensitive to many of
the students needs and as examples I cite
these occurances
Carolina has the number one college
choir in the Southeast, but you probably
wouldn't know it from reading the DTH
for it has not recieved its fair share of
coverage It is the duty of The Daily Tar
Heel to give all campus groups their fair
share of coverage be it the Freshman
Soccer Team, the marching band, or the
women's althletic teams. Almost every
night several hundred DTH copies sit on
the table at the north door of the student
union which are never used. When
presently there axe not enough papers
printed for each student it becomes
increasingly important to utilize all we
have. I use this example not as' an issue
but to point out that the DTH is indeed
insensitive to students for almost SA of
the year has passed, and there are still
many problems with the circulation that
have not been worked out.
I would like to see the Tar Heel
establish as one of its major goals a
XljYtt rrr i nQ
to Ken Day
including three counts of the vote before
the chair announced the reesults Dietz,
373, and Krichbaum 321.
But despite all the talk of party unity,
the SP was hopelessly split, and the UP
was in the perfect position to play upon
that split.
They uncovered a candidate that was
strong at the one point Dietz was
we ak administration. Ken Day,
executive secretary to Travis and chief
justice of the supreme court, was picked
to run against Dietz.
Two independents entered the
race Levy and Daily Tar Heel cartoonist
Bruce Strauch.
For vice president, the SP picked Lacy
Reaves, a junior from Raleigh with
considerably experience on the SL
finance committee, and the UP picked
Mercer.
Both races were tight, possibly the
tightest in the history of the University.
Dietz, pegged all year as the biggest
vote-getter in campus political history,
was the front-runner from the beginning,
but he had several large problems to
overcome.
First, he had lost thy SP machinery.
Many of the party workers who had spent
countless hours on the Travis campaign
were gone. They either followed the lead
of Krichbaum and sat out the race or
they went to the UP.to work for Day.
Dietz was left with an organization
campaign for the student and students'
rights. I want to see The Daily Tar Heel
work in as many ways as possible to serve
the student I plan to publish an itemized
list each week in The Daily Tar Heel of
the expenditures of not only the student
legislature but any other roup or
individual that uses money from the
student actively fee. This would be only
one way in many that the DTH could
work to protect the student and his
dollar.
The Daily Tar Heel must work towards
a self supporting role. With a full time
business manager increased advertising
may be the way. Also I would like to see
circulation encreased to a ratio of one
paper to one student and if possible try
to deliver this paper to each student's
door.
Most important I want a paper that
the students can truly identify with; one
that will welcome student sugestions and
criticism not only on the editorial page
but in the office; a paper th3t will turn
the support it gets from the students
around and give it right back to the
students.
Lette
r
Dog slaying
rings attack
To Reed Stevens:
Several days ago I saw your letter in
the paper: "The next dog that steps in
my yard is going to get its head shot off."
It bothered me but I decided that you
were simply one of a few warped
individuals whom I would just have to
live with and dismiss as a blight in my
world.
Now I know that I can't dismiss you;
last night somebody shot my neighbor's
dog. The dog is kept on a chain due to a
Carrboro leash law which is legal and
reasonable (although I personally would
rather see people use fences and houses
rather than chains).
The dog dislikes his chains and
managed to break away during thy night.
Unfortunately, the bullet did not kill the
dog, ii only tore all of the major veins
and arteries in his leg. The dog managed
to crawl home somehow, but if he does
not die from loss of blood, he will either
lose his leg or be crippled for life. ; -
Mr. Stevens, do you understand the
meaning of pain? Have you ever heard a
semiconscious animal scream with fear
and hurt? It's not like on television you
know-that animal will not get up and
walk off of the stage during the
commercial
What is it in American culture that
says, "If you don't like it, kill it"-in
politics, race, war, families and even with
helpless animals who sometimes commit
the ghastly sin of turning over garbage
cans? I have never known a dog to be
born mean or destructive Mr. Stevens.
They are what their environment dictates;
where you find a mean dog you will
usually find a cruel or negligent owner.
I hate to have' to say it, but I will trust
a dog far before I will trust a human.
Never has a dog turned on me when I
needed a friend. Money, status, and hair
length mean very little to that species.
Finally, I would like to ask you, Mr.
Stevens, how you would explain to a nine
year old boy that someone a member of
the human race-shot his dog? Perhaps
you would like to tell him?
LucindaT. Mims
702 Oak Ave.
Carrboro
with less experience and too much
confidence.
Through thy first vote, the race wasn't
really close. The first vote gave Dietz a
600-vote margin, but Strauch pulled 974
independent votes and Levy had another
246. A run-off was necessary.
The Day people had been counting on
the run-off. It has been their only hope of
victory, and they went immediately to
work.
Dietz, on the other hand, and worked
hard for a first round victory, and his
organization completely fell apart.
Dietz himself was tired, and his
charisma was worn thin. Day on the other
hand had not had to work to keep his
organization together. The organization
had done everything for him, and he had
only to campaign.
The final vote was Day 2,481 and
Dietz 2,272. Mercer had won by 44 votes
on the first round, and Sally Spurlock
swamped Betsy Crawford for secretary to
give the UP a clean sweep of the
executive branch.
The SP retained a legislative majority,
but the party had been severely split.
Dietz left campus politics completely,
and many of his followers went with him.
The party was left with no leadership,
many debts and little chance to come
back the next year, or even in two years.