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Mike O'Neal
University daunts grad students daily
In mid May. tucked away in a
basement room of Peabody Hall, 27
grad u are students and an equal
complement of general and service
oriented University administrators sat
down to an all day discussion.
The peaceful confrontation of sorts,
initiated in part by the efforts of the
Campus M inistry. was auspiciously
billed as an exploration of the needs,
concerns and problems of graduate
students.
The singular complaint that emerged
from the conference was one that made
most administrators understandably
uncomfortable - intimidation.
Outright, unmitigated and uncalled for
abuse of power by the University
academic community came under
intense fire from the graduates.
Although graduate students were
seated ironically on one side of the large
conference room and administrators on
the other, the unity of the graduate
students was quite remarkable. After
all, most of the graduate students
present had never actually met one
another before. The political
representatives, such as myself, were a
distinct minority compared to the
academic representatives of the various
departments.
While some of the graduate academic
deans struggled defensively to explain
the various judicial and appellate
academic channels available, one
graduate student after another
condemned the process as worthless in
preventing retribution by professors
against individual students.
Throughout the discussion I
remained an observer, quietly admiring
my compatriots for their courage in
daring to make the assembled
establishment uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, most of the graduate
students had never been involved in the
reverse side of the coin namely
student government politics. Had they
been, only one more step was then
needed to draw the natural analogy that
the same abuse of power is a daily
reality there too.
The artificiality of the graduate and
undergraduate distinctions became
evident. The problems we were
discussing were not confined by class
barriers but in reality permeated the
entire University structure.
While one administrator cynically
dismissed the presence of intimidation
as a reality that extends far beyond the
borders of this campus. Associate Dean
of Student Life Fred Schroeder offered
the day's most appropriate comment.
"I can only urge you when you run
into a wall not to beat yourselves into a
bloody pulp," Schroeder said. Instead
he urged the graduates to try alternate
methods or positions from which to
work. Whereupon one minister
spiritually added. "Don't let them pick
you off one at a time."
Having been allowed to vent their
frustrations, the students turned back
to more mundane concerns revolving
around the level of services to graduate
students and the availability of
information on those aids.
Dean of Student Affairs Donald
Boulton. somewhat aloof from the
day's proceedings, jumped into the
discussion and promised commitment
plus action from himself and his
department. A similar commitment, he
added, would have to be forthcoming
from the graduates as welL
Several graduate students hurriedly
whispered. "Who's he?" Upon learning
it was Boulton. most seemed favorably
impressed.
- In the meantime, the complaints of
intimidation seem to have taken a back
burner. However, a future meeting of
the graduate academic deans and the,
graduate students is promised. Initial
response from the Graduate
Department Office has been
encouraging.
In the months ahead, maybe the
academic deans can provide a valuable
example to their brethren in the general
and service administration. We can
only hope the wait isn't a long one.
Mike O'Neal is a graduate student in
journalism and was recently appointed
Student Body treasurer.
Michael Fawcett
(a)Terry (h)Ted (a)is (b) is not?
We journalists have a special responsibility to the
many foreigners visiting our country to let them know
the meaning of certain strange political events. These
events seem obvious, and make perfect sense, if you're
a seasoned American observer; but the Japanese or
Briton is thoroughly lost unless we give him a hand.
So, as a public service, here is a sensible explanation
of two startling occurrences of last week.
THE EVENT: Duke University President Terry
Sanford announces for President of the U nited States.
This raises key questions in the puzzled foreigner's
mind: Why does Sanford think he can be elected when
(a) the last time he served in a public office was over 10
years ago; and (b) he was - beaten by Alabama
Governor George Wallace in the72 N.C. primary and
would surely have to face Wallace again next year? Is
Sanford a sado-masochist?
THE EXPLANATION: Sanford is relying on two
phenomena to get himself either the Presidential or
Vice-Presidential nomination of the Democrats. The
first is the Nixon Amnesia Syndrome (Goldwater
Corollary). (NAS-GC), which is stated as follows: "If
a politico stays out of the public eye long enough,
people forget he is a politico and start thinking he's a
statesman." Richard Nixon himself was elected
President eight years after he had failed by making use
of this principle. Barry Goldwater. on the other hand,
is a respected elder statesman despite having
engineered the worst GOP defeat (in 1 964) since 1936.
Forgetting the fact that both of these men were
Republicans. Terry is engaged in Wishful Thinking
Politics (WTP). A similar motive explains Sanford's
other axiom, the Agnew-Eagleton Running Mate
Principle (AERMP). Since nobody knew these men
outside their home states when they were nominated
for Vice-President, and few know Sanford outside
North Carolina now. Terry thinks it's good for him.
too. But Agnew and Eagleton weren't proven losers in
their home states, either! And this is not despite their
unfortunate fates after nomination (and Agnew's
election).
THE EVENT: Senator Edward Kennedy of
Massachusetts told the whole country and world -back
in September that he is not running for
President. Yet many foreigners have been startled to
see a Newsweek magazine with Kennedy's picture and
the caption, "Ready for Teddy?" How can EMK be
running, when he told us he was not running?
THE EXPLANATION: Kennedy wants to start a
so-called "draft" movement. (No relation to the
military this is the politicos draft.) Then nobody
will say he ruthlessly sought the nomination, as they
said of his late brother Robert. Just one problem,
though. The last draft movement that worked at a
convention was in 1940 (Wendell Willkie). It didn't
work in November. Some say D wight Eisenhower
was drafted, but he was a special case. Kennedy is
counting on the Camelot Return Mechanism (CRM)
to gain victory the nostalgia for 1961-63 will be so
great among Democrats that they will literally beg
Teddy to come and bring back the good old days.
Otherwise, he can sit around just as he is doing now.
He may be sitting around quite a while.
Jerry Ford is a centrist, just as John Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson were. The bankruptcy of the Old
Liberalism (OL) combined with the familiar Status
Quo-Apathy Connection (incumbents usually win
because apathy and desire for the s.q. are enough to
re-elect them) should keep the White House in GOP
hands until 1980. when it'll all be up for grabs again.
Michael Fawcett is a senior journalism major from
Charlotte.
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