Letters to the editor
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Opinions of The Daily Tar Heel are expressed on its editorial pae.
All unsigned editorials are the opinions of the editor. Letters and
columns represent only the opinions of the individual contributors.
Harry Bryan, Editor
Friday, April 16, 1971
Ytf ar dleattlis rise
hut. nobody cares
Administration officials
announced Thursday that
battlefield deaths since 1961 in the
war in Indochina have passed
900,000, according to United Press
International wire reports.
That figure includes 733,546
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese,
110 cs- c- u A A QIC
Americans and 4,464 men in units
sent in by other SBATO nations.
However, that figure does not
include Americans and Vietnamese
who were killed prior to 1961 or
the thousands and thousands of
civilian deaths caused by bombing
raids, napalm, booby traps, land
mines and "mistakes."
The number of deaths not
counted in the "official" figures
would probably send the total
deaths attributable to the war to
around one million.
The lives of one million human
beings, wasted in a worthless
war yet nobody seems to care.
Last spring it was fashionable to
care. . ,
And everybody worked to end
the war.
Six students' died protesting on
college campuses.
79 Years of Editorial Freedom
Harry Bryan, Editor
Mike Parnell .
Lou Bonds . .
Rod Waldorf
Glenn Brank .
Mark Whicker
Ken Ripley . .
Bob Chapman
John Gellman
Terry Cheek .
.... Managing Ed.
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Business Mgr.
. . . Adv. Mgr.
George Blackburn
Debate
In the funeral oration delivered by
Pericles and recounted by Thucydides,
the first - citizen of Athens muses upon
those qualities which distinguish
Athenian democracy. Pericles tells his
fellow citizens that "instead of looking
on discussion as a stumbling-block in the
way of action, we think it an
indispensable preliminary to any wise
action at all.". And yet, the moment of
the funeral speech is heavily weighted
with a sense of transitory greatness. Soon
the democracy will fall prey to those who
bury discussion beneath the rubble of
ifk'toric, who cater to the baser instincts
of the people and convert citizens from
thinking individuals into mindless cattle.
' Several years .ago, the Provost of the
University addressed the Literary
Societies on the value of debate and its
place in the University. .Dr. Purks
remarked: "There is implied in - your
debate forum a rather deep-seated
divergence from usual contemporary
practices. For it is inherent in the very
existence and nature of your society that
issues are considered debatable. Colleges
in earlier days provided for such forums.
Now such things are too often left to
chance. The "affirmative" has a right to
be heard - to be-sure. But if we leave the
presentation of the negative to chance we
But this spring nobody seems to
care. The anti-war movement is
again trying to gain student
support, but this year it is failing.
Thousands attended a student
body meeting last year over
Cambodia. But less than 600
attended an address by anti-war
activist David Dellinger Monday
night, and even fewer students
attended the Peace Celebration
Wednesday.
Americans opposed to the war
are making what may be a last ditch
effort in the next few weeks to end
it.
Marches and demonstrations in
Washington, D.C. will begin April
24 and will probably continue to
May 5. '
Students must show strong
support for the anti-war movement,
or it will slowly fade as other
popular movements have in the
past.
President Nixon has said he no
longer thinks the war will be an
issue in 1972, and . possibly he is
right.
If he is, even the gradual
de-escalation of the war will stop,
and by 1981 the death toll will
have risen to two million. -
Mike Parnell
The Pope has done it again.
A UPI report from Vatican City
informs us that pressure is being exerted
by the Vatican to change the wedding
ceremonies of good Roman Catholics.
It seems the Vatican is offended with
girls coming down the aisle to "Here
Comes the Bride," the playing of "Ave
Maria" after the exchange of vows and
the couple leaving the church to the tune
of iMendelssohn's Wedding March.
'These pieces properly belong in a
theater, not a church," explains a Vatican
spokesman. .However, the decision to ban
these songs is not " binding as the
spokesman allowed such "profane" music
could be played although it would be
frowned upon.
Pope Paul has done more for
HERO OF THE WEEK: Actor George
Scott, who said he would refuse to accept
the Oscar as Best Actor during the
Academy Awards Presentation. What will
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do the listener a disservice, and of even
greater hazard, we, by our lassitude, can
make possible the unthinking band-wagon
movements which from time to time
surge in. irresponsible fashion. '
In the Student Legislature two years
ago, speakers who sought to debate a bill
would rise to face an audience of little
politicians who were wholly indifferent
to whatever might be said. Those who
spoke could not but be aware that the
audience had settled the issue before it
ever entered the hall. After several vain
attempts to debate the bill, the
representative from Granville Towers
would wander to the rostrum noisily
crumpling whatever bill -was under
consideration. Tossing the wad of paper
to the side, he would stare humorously at
the body, and ask hadn't we heard
enough bull , and wasn't it time to act,
and when were we going to stand up and
do something. Beard bristling, eyes
flashing the signal of his utter contempt,
Hirsch summed up the prevailing
conviction that discussion was an
unconscionahle stumbling block to
sincere action. Our duty was clear: we
must hang the last administrator in the
entrails of the last trustee.
This impatience with debate is not
limited to-Student Government. In her
esse
GOpo 5
To the editor:
Well kiddies! Now that Mr. Dickey has
laid the final word on us, I suppose we
have no recourse of action but to step
into our Weejuns and groove on over to
Pitt's Place G")ubilee weekend. There we
can punch in our favorite big group
sounds on the Pi Lambda Phi jukebox.
. For $12.98 we can deck out his hall in
some typical Senior Prom motif and relax
to the soothing melodies which made
"our high school days" so complete. Will
the Tarns suffice? And with the money
left over weJ buy our poor host a
pacifier.
Frankly I can't see who Kir. Dickey is
trying to kid with all his tripe about
"heavy" groups. Certainly I am - no
afficionado of the artists playing at
Jubilee, but I have heard them. I feel
rather safe in assuming Mr. Dickey has
issued forth judgment before listening by
the very nature of his letter. ,
I will admit that widespread notoriety
clearly was not the criteria for selecting
these groups, however, one needs only to
look back a year to last year's Jubilee.
Nearly all of the groups which performed
then have rocketed to "super" group
status. Time magazine hadn't heard of
James Taylor; Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
hadn't recorded "Are You Ready?"; and
"Closer to Home" hadn't been cut. These
groups are now demanding phenomenal
fees for each engagement. Money is
oftentimes a problem, Mr. Dickey,
especially when spread over three days of
FREE entertainment. I feel that last
year's Jubilee Planning Committee should
be commended for sits foresight whether
fluke prognostication or not.
As for this year, surely Chuck Berry
rates as much top billing as Joe Cocker
solely for the distinction he holds as one
of the founding fathers of rock and roll,
the spiritual progenitor of such greats as
The Beatles and Elvis Presley. In his
diatribe, .Mr. Dickey ignored to mention
Tom Rush. He shouldn't be
ignored-Tom Rush that is.
Muddy Waters?? Bob Jones
University??? Come on Mr. Dickey! Has
your pristine existence swallowed you so
wholly? Segregation exists . . . sshhhhh!
I have a solution, Mr. Dickey, if you
are so discontented with the lineup for
the upcoming festivities. Living in such a
closed group as you do, you and your
brothers should get together to pay your
amid piece
he do with the Oscar if he does win, CBS
asked Scott. "Send it back to them, I
guess," replied the actor.
Twyford, England has a phantom
stripper and can't do a thing about it.
AP reports the stripper is causing
traffic jams at 3 a.m. in the tiny lanes
around the country village. The stripper is
a "curvaceous mystery teenager who
disrobes by moonlight and poses for
passing motorists," according to a
Twyford citizen. .
The stripper has appeared three times
and has worn only boots while carrying a
red umbrella. Now eager "nude-watchers"
are jamming Twyford to catch a glimpse.
What nave town. officials done about
the problem?
"Even if we catch her we don't know
what to charge her with," said a Twyford
police officer. "We can't call it indecent
exposure because under the law 'here a
person has to expose himself or
herself with intent to insult a female. So
far the phantom stripper has shown
Mia.
to
article of April 7, Lana Starnes proposed
a compulsorily funded trust for abortions
here at the University. She maintained
that "There need not be any arguments
over the morality of abortion, whether
one personally feels it is morally right or
wrong. The truth of the matter is that
college women are seeking abortions."
Miss Starnes evidently subscribes to the
rather primitive philosophy that whatever
is is right, that matters of human behavior
are facts not issues.
What is missing is not merely the
practice of debate but, more importantly,
the spirit of debate, the appreciation of
complexity in issues. Needless to say,
where such a sensibility is not developed
debate is merely talk and there is no
possibility of education.
As Dr. Purks noted, the significance of
this situation is not limited to the speaker
or writer. The audience pays when .
rhetoric is. substituted for debate Let us
consider, for instance, last1 week's
controversy over administrative funding
of cultural organizations. Had the
Chancellor not written to notify the DTH
he did not possess the fiscal authority
-attributed to him by the campus press,
students would still be laboring under one
of the many mistaken impressions about
the administration which are fostered by
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way to the Myrtle Beach Pavilion where I
am almost sure Doug Clark and the Hot
Nuts will be playing. And if I have
misjudged your tastes, I have still another
suggestion. Fly on up to the Fillmore and
dig one of your "heavy" groups. Have a
good time. The rest of us will just have to
struggle to grin and bear our little "j"
Jubilee.
I refuse to divulge my present
location. Should knit-picking Pitt Dickey
happen to be-bop down my way, I would
fear for the safety of my stereo.
Alexander Taylor
Gat lover begs
tight leash laws
Dear Sir:
My five-month-old cat's neck was
broken three feet from my door
yesterday. She died. Several months ago a
neighbor's cat was severely mangled and
they barely managed to put the pieces
together. 'There are approximately 20
dogs most with collars living within a
one block radius of my house. They come
through my yard at all hours terrorizing
my cats. As a result, the cats must be
confined in the house if they hope to see
old age. The dogs run loose in packs
twenty-four hours a day.
Ironically, a cat would not and could
not kill a dog, though I am sure they
must sometimes want to. Apparently,
every dog is a potential killer when it
comes to cats. The dogs are dangerous,
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rom ftlke mew
herself only to males and they haven't
complained."
Enough said.
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Give to your favorite UMOC (Ugly
Man on Campus). The money goes to the
Campus Chest Fund and from there to
scholarship programs and other deserving
organizations which are non-profit
making. ,
We notice Muhummad Ali is having a
$20,000 automobile specially made for
him by General Motors. The car includes
a gold-plated radio-telephone.
One thing about Ali: he never was very
middle-class.
TOP EVENT OF THE WEEK: We
apologize to Dave Dellinger, all the peace
celebration freaks and all rabid Easter Egg
- the press. Chancellor Sitterson pointed
out all monies in the University are
distributed by the state in a line-item
budget with the sole exception of a
discretionary fund (hardly adequate to
finance the activities in question.) Only
the state can change those
appropriations-a point which totally
escaped the editor of the DTH who, the
next day, proposed the Chancellor begin
monkeying with the funds of the Athletic
Department in order to finance cultural
groups. The editor ignored his
responsibility to present a reasoned
analysis in order to sustain the black and
white moral division (so apparent to any
thinking man) which distinguishes South
from the Student Union. Thus, the
Student Body, dependent upon the DTH
for its information, fell prey once more
to the rhetoric of a yellow press.
Superficial interpretations of issues
such as this are more often the result of
simple-mindedness than of political
calculation. The editors of the Tar Heel,
who rarely attend classes; the successive
presidents of the Student Government,
whose opinions about the University are
more likely derived from the Tar Heel
than from a consideration of Newman's
lectures and similarly thoughtful
presentations of conflicting viewpoints;
the denizens of the Union, whose time is
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yet the cats must be confined. It is
impossible to fence in a yard to keep in a
cat -they can easily climb out. Not so
with dogs. It is rather difficult to walk a
cat on a leash. Not nearly so difficult
with dogs.
It is bad enough that there are so
many dogs without owners running loose
in this town. But the people who own
dogs (and Chapel Hill owners seem to
favor the mammoth type) are totally
unconcerned about the kind of damage
their dogs do while running about. There
is obviously no way they can be held
, responsible, even if it would make up for
the loss. It is amazing how many
"some-dog-tore-my-cat-apart" stories you
can hear when you tell people your cat
was destroyed.
There has apparently been talk of a
leash law for some time. Perhaps
something should be done finally.
Margaret Bruckner
14 Justice Street
Pat Boone fan
blasts columnist
To the editor:
In Howie Carr's recent article in the
DTH, "The 50's: warmed over pancake
batter," he speaks of the "depressing
comeback" of Pat Boone in 'The Cross
and the Switchblade." Mr. Carr. states
that "any resemblance to reality is purely
coincidental." A close friend of mine has
FOR EXAMPLE,
My appearances
TNP TO P
ERRATIC, SINCE
THE CONTRACT
DoESmV (JUAKANT
A MINIMUM.
ASo youW
NOTICE
hunters but the top event on campus this
week has to be the Fine Arts Festival.
With a top-notch lineup of talent, the
Festival has been well worth everyone's
time. Congratulations to Art Williams and
everybody who helped make the Festival
what it is.
The Carolina Union's Easter Egg hunt
certainly . deserves some comment,
though. Although Jim Rast won the
contest by finding 177 eggs (why would
anyone spend three hours one morning
looking for Easter Eggs?) we feel that
DTH Editor Harry Bryan should be
recognized for finishing a close last.
Bryan came into the DTH office
Monday and promptly sat behind his
typewriter to commence writing his
editorial. A funny pecking sound resulted
as the keys failed to move more than an
inch. As Bryan looked into the carriage
he found the trouble. A purple Easter
Egg.
Kinda scrambled his thoughts.
consumed by the printing business, the
refrigerator enterprise, and other
intellectually stimulating pursuits; our
"leaders" have cut themselves off from
the central experiences of the University
and identified themselves as penny-ante
entrepreneurs rather than students.
Failing to avail themselves of the
opportunity to cultivate their human
sensibilities, lacking any profound sense
of the complexity of issues, and above all
lacking the ability to discriminate
between what is central and what is
merely peripheral to the University
experience, the sum of their efforts is
little more than tripe-peddling.
Mr. . Roger Foushee, who used to be
president of the Philanthropic Society
and now is Chairman of the local
Democratic Party, recounted to me an
after dinner address once delivered by
Mrs. Alfred North Whitehead. In the
address, Mrs., Whitehead attributed
modern superficiality to our lack of
appreciation of the Greek concept of
irony or the Hebraic idea of patience.
These two ideas are examples of an
intellectual-existential paradigm of
debate, a tension in which man perceives
the paradox of his insignificance and
grandeur, a dynamic balance between the
universal indifference we face and the
human heroism that indifference
L
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had the privilege of working for a short
time in Brooklyn with Rev. David
Wilkerson, the character portrayed by Pat
Boone, and he assured me that Rev.
WCkerson's concern for and success with
the gangs and drug addicts in New York is
real. Nicky Cruz, one of the converted
gang leaders of "The Cross and the
Switchblade," has given his testimony on
television and has written several books
including "Run, Baby, Run."
Perhaps if Mr. Carr would read Nicky
Cruz's books or would get in touch with
him in Raleigh, N.C., he might be
convinced that Pat Boone's comeback
indeed represents reality that is far from
depressing.
Beverly BaHingsr
232 Parker
Facism invades
via cartoonist
To the editor:
All year long I have been sitting back
and saying nothing about the fascism
which is slowly creeping into the pages of
The Daily Tar Heel. Today (Tuesday) it
reached its peak.
Bryan Cumming, if that is his real
name and I doubt anyone in his right
mind would sign his real name to the
cartoons, is an insult to the tradition of
The Daily Tar Heel.
I call upon you to fire dimming, for
he is an insult to the paper, to the
intelligensia of this campus and to the
liberal tradition of our founder, Dr.
Frank Porter Graham.
Leo Mixon
United Front Against Fascism
tAt sometimes
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PAGE JU5T DCESsM
QUITE GWC fAE
ENOUGH ROOM.
IN tact;
AS 'J WAS SAY 1 HQ,
TIA i 5 JOB IS FULL
OF SURPRISES.
."..."....."...'
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Mom
conspires to reveal. This opposition
between our inability to "control our
own lives" (as those who argue for
independent Student Government express
it) and the heroic achievements enacted
in that context poses the existential
debate of conscious man, the search for
purpose.
How can one expect those who waste
their own time in the mindless pursuit of
goods and services, who dominate the
public consciousness with ceaseless
bickering over who p3ved Cameron
Avenue, how to circumvent the Umstead
Act, how to prevent the Administration
from transferring funds to the Trust Fund
Office-and never concern themselves
with why-how can one expect these
people to shoulder the tradition of
editorial freedom and not make a
superficial travesty of it? How can one
expect such people to understand our
interests as those of the student and not
the consumer?
Until such time as the University
educates these people, until they cannot
slide through the University in superficial
disciplines like political science or
psychology or journalism and never
encounter the existential paradigm of
debate, the sense of complexity, until
that time we must be content to suffer
being trampled to death by geese.
TV
QUITE GWC fAE
Jffp U ENOUGH ROOM.
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