If 4 9 Opinions of The Daily Tar Heel are expressed on its editorial p3ge. All unsigned editorials are the opinions of the editor. Letters and columns represent only the opinions of the individual contributors. Harry Bryan, Editor Saturday, April 17, 1971 Awards of the The Scuttle The 'Butt' Award-to Tom Shetley, general manager of the Student Stores, who Thursday advised that the Scuttlebutt be scuttled. The Mellow Yellow Award-to George Blackburn's column in the DTH which said in part: "Thus, the Student Body, dependent upon the DTH for its information, fell prey once more to the rhetoric of the yellow press." However, Blackburn will write a weekly column for the DTH. Thanks for coming down to our level, George. Have a banana. The Choppy Phrasing of the Week-to the wire story paragraph: "The Senate recently AXED a bill that would have permitted a woman to have an abortion on request." The "You Pays Your Money and You Takes Your Chance" 3 fje Satlg alar tied 79 Years oj 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. . : . . News Editor . . Associate Ed. . . Associate Ed. . . Sports Editor . Feature Editor .Natl. News Ed. . . Photo Editor . . .Night Editor Bob Wilson Business Mgr. Janet Bernstein ...... Adv. Mgr. Ken Ripley oial Food. A group of boys were sitting around in the dorm lounge late one night last week, while I sat off to the side studying. They were gathered around the television set, and as the last inspirational program went off the air, they began to ta'k about many things ... the war, peace, what it means to be moral. Then the conversation turned to religion -and argument. What does it mean, they wen; debating, to be a Christian? Christians were those people who go lo church and belong to the institution, one boy said. But the others disagreed. "You don't have lo believe in God and all that stuff." one boy said. "I don't, but I'm a Christian. I believe in Christian morality, and I live my life according lo Christian principles. That makes me as Christian as anyone." Alter a while, as they began lo drift into other subjects, 'they agreed that being a Christian 'means living as one not necessarily believing anything special. Their conclusions were tempting. Certainly. Christianity is not a grand assortment of rituals and church buildings, nor is it the exclusive property of any institution. Being a. Christian 'is also not just a matter of pietistic h e a d -k n o w 1 e d g e or abstract theology - being a Christian does mean, in a practical everyday sense, living as one. "lie who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me," Christ did tell his disciples. The idea that we are Christians by our behavior and not by our beliefs is tempting because then we can dismiss the wee. Award-to the DTH ad, "Your aoonion is no louery. 1 - The "You Really Bug Us" Award-to John Roach, South Carolina basketball fighter, who was imitated by no less than three Ugly Man on Campus contestants. The Yu-Kon Not Get Me To Be An Eskimo Award-to the person advertising in the DTH for "ambitious men of various trades" to work in Alaska. The New York Times Best Seller of the Week to Peanuts' Miss Helen Sweetstory and her latest epic 'The Six Bunnie-Wunnies and Their Waterbed." The "Build a Better Mouse Trip" ... Award-to the UNC pharmacologist who has been injecting lab mice . with doses of marijuana. It kills the little buggers, but they don't seem to mind. The Fu Manchu Wants You Award to the U.S. ping pong player who may stay in Red China. The Bus Bust Award to the Chapel Hill Mass Transit System,. which is rapidly losing money. Improvisation of the Week to DTH columnist Howie Carr, whose coat fell apart last week. Undaunted, Howie grabbed a staple gun and mended his garb. The Cents It's For A . Good Cause Award to the ZBT fraternity, for sponsoring a mile-long stretch of pennies on Franklin Street today. All proceeds go to the Campus Chest. The Not Worth It's SALT Award to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which went into a second year of negotiations Friday. Last month, however, a national magazine reported the U.S. still has enough power to destroy the earth two-and-one-half times more effectively than the Russians. lie o o whole knotty problem of faith. After all, why should a man be judged for his beliefs if his actions are exemplary? Isn't it easier to v break down all the religious distinctions and get on with the business of loving people? It would be easier, if only we could separate belief from actions. But we can't. Actions do not generally take place in a void; we act on the basis of our beliefs. I react to someone else on the basis of what I know and believe about that person. We form our conceptions of the world, and our actions derive from them. More importantly, the quality of our actions often follows directly from what we believe. Some of the worst events in history have followed from misguided beliefs and motive's." On campus, the person who believes in hedonism is going to do things that will gain him pleasure. The person who is filled with hate will act in hate. The person who believes in self-sacrificing love will do his best to be loving. And none of this need be religious, just human psychology at work. But religious beliefs do make a difference, Ivcause just like any other beliefs, the quality of a person's religious nature will determine how he thinks and acts. Christ recognized this when he told his disciples. "You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? "So. every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad Iree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit . . . Thus you will know them by I heir fruits." Rod Waldorf Buns system Both rumor and official word seem to agree-the still-infant Chapel Hiil-Carrboro bus system is suffering, seriously and this is unfortunate. News stories reported recently that after two full weeks of operation, the average daily passenger level of the bus system is about one third of the level anticipated during the planning sessions. Suggestions have been made to improve the situation-route changes for example and village politicos left over from the last mayoral race who have supported the idea in the past are now seeking subtly to torn it into an anti-Lee campaign issue. But the mayor has said, and continues to say, that the mass transit system recently put into operation on an TLCt upon cCtims, EVEN THREATeNEP fjJM k 1 I Letters to the editor President Nixoris To the Editor: Richard Nixon has been able to reduce -the weekly American casualty totals, in Indo-China, he has revised the draft system so that it no longer hangs over the head of American college students quite so ominously, and he has talked a "lot about creating an all-volunteer army. At the same time he has widened the war considerably, showing no sign of backing down from our original objectives in Indo-China, and he is causing innocent civilians to die in greater and greater numbers. ftlhe iartlti A person is not just a bundle of actions, Christ emphasized. The kind of person he is, good or bad, will determine his actions. One of the claims of Christianity is that it works not just to change people's behavior, but to change people. Christianity assumes that real change must come from the source of human behavior, theperson. Part of the "good news" of the Gospel is that those who respond to the claims and promises of Jesus Christ, or Christians, are beginning that process of inner change. "If anyone is in Christ," the Bible says, "he is a new creation." In this claim of inner change, religious' belief very much makes a difference. Christ himself noted that his change and growth must be based, around him, a foundation that demands belief and faith. "I am the vine, you are the branches," he said. "He who abides in me and I in him.' he it is that bears much fruit: for apart from me you can do nothing." Early Christians were defined not by their behavior, but by their faith the way they made Christ the center of their lives. The distinction of a Christian as being a "follower of Christ" is still very real today. But the problem of actions versus belief is as old as the first letter of James, when he faced the same question. "But some one will say. 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith." What does it mean to be a Christian? A Christian should live his faith, of course. But that which makes him Christian must always be the faith he has. TV" f experimental basis is "a service which must be provided to the citizens of a community and underwritten by the taxes." Whether this attitude is purely political is really not that important at this point, since the committment on the part of the towns has already been made. And to see this idea thrown into the political arena is as unfortunate as the apparent need for a "miracle" to save the system. Of course Mayor Lee is going to stand behind the bus system in the present campaign. And of course his opponents, both past and present, are going to point out the inadequacies of the mayor's mass transit baby, while the people affected will wind up with the final say at the polls. How they vote depends largely on 4 MADS FUM OF .V.&Y &OPY, V7M HMGLF. tfl P 121T (0 f NOTE. THE. CURIOUS WAV Mi MOtK, Cogs UP m fRONl) Bur instbao op feeung, uiury Me JU?T LAUGHeb 3AV 1415 lAuqMreg. 5QUHPep A But MfcfcVoU'j I Clearly Mr.. Nixon intends to continue the war while relieving domestic pressure from young people. The strategy is skillful and it is cynical and treacherous in the extreme. The plan is fully worthy of the man who took Helen Douglas's Congressional seat. - Will the scheme work? A few jnonths ago I would have said no. Our young people know too much and care too much to let it happen, I-thought. As the frustration rises, as the evidence of U.S. ' genocide in Asia mounts, I expected the student demonstrations to become more and more intense. Yesterday I observed the meager attendance at the rally for the People's Peace Treaty and today I read the absolutely sickening and disheartening article by Glenn Brank of The, Daily Tar Heel staff, and now I'm not so sure. Here is the way Brank characterizes the only, ones who seem to give a damn any more: 'There are those who are sincere in their beliefs, and consequently back up every grape, apple, and watermelon boycott. This is a hard-core movement, and it is small." Here is how he sees the war and the students' reaction to their colleagues' desperate attempts to do something about it: "Tomorrow's chemistry test is very real. It is also very present and very urgent. The Peace Celebration is not. The human race will be in conflict until it exterminates itself." (One wonders why they bother to study at all if they are so sure we're doomed.) We can excuse the Silent Majority because many of them are too busy providing for their families and honestly don't know what is going on. We can also understand the screaming, bomb-'em-back-to-the-Stone Age boys. They are born that way. But what about Glenn Brank? What about the masses of students who have, in Brank's words, "heard the speeches-over and over again," and are now, if they resemble Brank and those he describes, not just apathetic but downright proud of their apathy? Can ' a nation long survive when its traditionally most idealistic element has come to this? . - Gary D. Martin N.C. Veterans for Peace Gumming should have ink stolen To the edildr: Re: Mr. Nixon's letter about Bryan C'umming. Right On. Cumming. the frustrated politico (two-time candidate for Lditor of The Daily Tar Heel) and unimaginative be T who is the most convincing during the debate. But those voting need to think this thing out carefully. Yes, the bus system at this moment is costing more money than it was expected to cost. Why? Low patronage. But is two weeks or so an adequate trial period? No. The proposed possibility for improvement has been route changes. But there are other factors to be considered. First, and perhaps most significant, is the apparent lack of acceptance of a mass transit system on the part of the people of this community. But this is the South, and people in the South, especially the rural South-a category into which this area fits very well are just not scheme is cartoonist, is to liberalism as a Nixon is to responsive leadership. Both should be done away with, hidden from the public eye. Nixon should be forced to shave three times a day, and Cumming should have all of his India ink stolen. Robert Stinson Davie Circle Jubilee wronged by letter writer To the Editor: Pitt Dickey, who wrote the imaginative letter concerning the correlation between the upcoming Jubilee slate and his conception of Middle American values, is not giving the groups involved or the Jubilee sponsors much of a chance. Since when does the 'Taylor Clan, Inc." identify with the values of Middle America? Does "Love Story" necessarily espouse establishment of middle-of-the-road ideals? Are there not many members of the radical right and left who sympathize with Lt. Calley and the handling of his conviction and sentencing? For that matter, Mr. Dickey, what is Middle America? If you disagree with this Middle America and the values you associate with it, then what are you? Who, by the way, would you have for Jubilee considering, of course, the money available? It's funny, but I had never thought of myself as being very much a part of Middle America until I read your letter. I wonder how many other UNC students felt the same way. Charles W. Houseworth, Jr. 237 Ehringhaus Dorm Jubilee's good despite protests To the editor: Re: Pitt Dickey in response to his letter to the editor on Jubilee: I admit that it would be nice to have Duke's Joe College slate for Jubilee. (The Grateful Dead, Paul Bulterfield, The Beach Boys) but I don't think the people we are having will be a let-down. I know little of Spirit and Cowboy and therefore don't know what to expect . from them. Chuck Berry, however, has long been a favorite of mine and has influenced, to varying degrees, almost every successful rock band. Because so many people have acknowledged and used his style, there's just no getting around the fact that Chuck Berry is truly great. Muddy Waters has also influenced . many of today's musicians. He shares il q I ..--' I ' . I r THAT , accustomed to or even barely acquainted with the concept of mass trasnportaiion. It never even occurs to most people, when faced with the problem of getting across town, to take the bus. The nearest thing to mass transportation Chips! Hili-Carrboro has ever seen is hitch-hiking. It will take time for the idea of readily available transportation to sink in. Another problem, as expected to be sure, is the price. A quarter is tolerable, perhaps, but that extra dime for transfer is a bit much on the average cross-town commuter who may need to change more than once. And why should a person spend fifty to sixty cents a day just to come uptown when the extra expense to drive his car is more than worth the added convenience of having the means to go exactly where you wish to go at exactly the moment you wish to get there, without having to wait for a slow, lumbering bus to make its rounds, then getting off, transfer to another, and go on your destination. This idea of having one's own automobile at his fingertips is a big factor against the bus system and the University's passing of a rule to cutdown on the number of student cars is not the answer. How long would it take the repair shops and gas stations to stop that idea? Another problem which probably faces bus officials, although there have been no figures published to this effect, is the operating expense of the large buses now in use. If the passenger load were what it was expected to be, then of course these large vehicles would be in order. But, if the past couple of weeks is a true barometer, then these buses are not what our system needs. Smaller jitney buses, much like those used in beach areas, may be the solution. They don't seat very many, granted, but their operating expense would, more likely than not, be small enough to better compensate for the light passenger load exhibited in this system. At any rate, the bus system is invaluable to this area and should be preserved. The mayor and his commission may have lost the first battle, but this doesn't call for surrender. Instead, it demands a change in strategy and a strong second effort. workin with Chuck waht music is all about, feeling and delivery. The J. Geils Band is one of the tightest blues rock bands around. I sincerely hope they do a number with Muddy Waters. If this happens, it will surely put true blues fans into a swoon. The Allman Brothers, whom you did not even mention, are bound to be really good. Duane Allman played with Eric Clapton on his highly successful album, "Layla." If he's good enough for Clapton . . . need I say more? Maybe the above mentioned artists don't play your kind of music; that's okay. You are only showing your ignorance, however, when you say they aren't "heavy." I heard rumors that we could have gotten Grand Funk and Santana. Doesn't that tick you off? - John Pike 729 James Ecology program is everyone's To the Editor: The UNC faculty in the natural sciences is at present witnessing the development of an undergrad program in ecology. But there are those, especially in the social sciences, who are skeptical, and there is also a huge group on this campus (called the students) that is unaware of such plans, and which has little say, if any, in the shaping of its education in this critical area. Such a major is fine, but for whom? At this point in time there is no reason whatsoever to limit ecological training to those seeking a biologically oriented career. But that is as far as our academicians apparently can see. It should be obvious by now that our relationship to the rest of the environment, and ultimately the quality of life, will be determined mainly by the foresight and judgment of planners, engineers, politicians, lawyers, businessmen, journalists, health officials, etc. Students preparing for these positions need, desire, and have a right to the study of ecology just as does a biologist, for instance. A core of well-planned courses constituting a minor in ecology should be available for those students from any discipline who are concerned about what is happening to; our environment. If wise decisions are going to be made, a sound basis , (biological and social) from which to interpret and understand environmental issues must become more widespread in our society. Ecology is everyone's science, lt is one thing to call il "interdisciplinary," and another to mean it. Tony Povilitis Environmental Sciences

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view