4 The Daily Tar Heel Tuesday. February 7.
Greg Porter
Editor
Ben Cornelius, Managing Editor
Ed Rankin, Associate Editor
Elliott Potter, Associate Editor
Laura Scism, University Editor
Keith Hollar, City Editor
Tony Gunn, State and National Editor
Reid Tuvtm, News Editor
Sara Bullard, Features Editor
Chip Ensslin, Arts Editor
Gene Upchukch, Sports Editor
Ali en Jernigan, Photography Editor
Pieces of Harrier puzzle
falling apart without notice
The story of the trials and the tribulations of the Harrier jet would be a
boring one if it were not so tragic. Th vertical take-off aircraft once was
hailed as a spectacular innovation because of its capability of operating like
a conventional jet or flying like a helicopter, U is ftow being dubbed a death
machine. . .
The latest incident involving a Harrier occurred Wednesday. The engine
of a Harrier on a training mission in Nevada suddenly stopped in mid-air.
The pilot was unable to restart it and, fortunately, bailed out before the
plane crashed. There were no injuries.
- The Harrier was the 29th of its kind to crash since the Marine Corps
purchased 100 of the planes from Great Britain in 1971. For the past two
years, 1 1 arrier eras hes have become common, almost expected, news events. ,
fen Marine pilots have been killed in Harrier accidents, and property losses
are approaching S 1 00 million. Four pilots were killed in 1977 the year the
controversial jet logged the worst accident rate in modern aviation history
with 6.31 crashes per 10,000 flight hours.
The attrition rate of the Harrier has soared past that of the F-8 Crusader
a jet considered so dangerous it is being phased out of military
operations. The Marine Corps, which is the only branch of the armed
services that uses Harriers, has grounded the fleet several times, but on each
occasion the planes were later cleared for flight.
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Harrier jet a tragic story
Why has the corps maintained operations? The commander of the three
squadrons of the jets located at Cherry Point, N.C., says the Harriers are too
strategically important to remain on the runway. "This aircraft has the
capability we need a great deal of versatility," Maj. Gen. Richard E.
Carey said at a June press conference. It has the ability to provide close air
support to the front in much less time than any other aircraft."
The Marines also have said that the pilot, not the machine, has been at
fault in nearly three out of every four Harrier crashes. That statistic has
raised questions about the training and the selection process of the pilots.
Originally, pilots for the unconventional jet, which can hover, land and
take-off vertically, were selected from pilots experienced in flying one-seater
conventional jets. Harrier pilots are now selected from recent graduates of
flight school. Under the present system, a trainee's first solo flight might be
in a Harrier, which officials have admitted is a "different type of plane to
fly."
The selection process was changed In 1975. That year the accident rate
jumped steeply to 3.06 crashes per 10,000 flight hours from the safe .92 crash
rate recorded in 1974. The Marines said the selection process was changed to
boost the morale of young pilots and to alleviate an elitist attitude that could
develop among specially selected Harrier pilots.
The boost in morale unfortunately has been paired with a boost in the
accident rate. It's time to realize that the controversy surrounding Harriers
no longer concerns morale; it now focuses on safety.
The spiraling accident rate of the Harrier must be checked. The jet and the
selection process for its pilots should be studied by both the military and
Congress. A comprehensive investigation by a Congressional committee
should go far toward solving the Harrier mystery. The pu.zle must be pieced
together before all the pieces have fallen apart.
The Daily Tar Heel
News: Laura Alexander, Mark Andrews, Karen Barber, Richard Barron, Rachel Brown, Carver
Camp, Leslie Chilton, Mike Coyne, Meredith Crews, Bruce Ellis. Betsy Flagler, Grant Hamill,
Carol Manner, Lou Harned, Stephen Harris, Kathy Hart, Steve Huettel, Jaci Hughes, Terri
Hunt, Jay Jennings. George Jeter, Ramona Jones, Will Jones, Pam Kelley. Susan Ladd, Eddie
Marks, Amy McRary, Michcle Mecke, Elizabeth Messick, Beverly Mills, Vann Mills, Diane
Norman, Bernie Ransbottom, Evelyn Sahr, George Shadtoui, Barry Smith, David Stacks,
Mclinda Stovull, Robert Thomason, Howard! roxlcr. Michael Wade, Martha Waggoner and Ed
Williams.
News Dek: Frank Moore and Nancy Oliver, assistant managing editors. Copy editors: Carla
Bagley, Richaid Barron, Carlie Bunch, Amy Colgan, Katliy Curry, Dinita James. Michcle
Mecke. Lisa M. Nicman, Leslie Seism, Carol Scott, MelanieSill, Melanie Topp, Sarah West and
Bryan Wirwicz.
Sports: I.cc face, assistant editor. I van Appcl, Dede Biles, B;ll Fields, Dinita James. Deborah
Johnson, Keith Jones, I'ete Mitchell. David I'oole, Ken Roberts, Rick Scoppe, and Will Wilson.
Features: Bill Allen, Beth Blake, Jelf Brady, 7ap Brueckner, Amy Colgan, Tracie Cone, David
Craft, Meredith Crews, Peter Hapke, Susan Jurgelski, Etta Lee, Nell Lee, Eddie Lyons, Tony
Mace, Kimbcrly McGuue, Michcle Mecke, Debbie Moose, Stuart Phillips, and Lynn Willil'ord.
Arts and Kntertiiinrm-n(: Melanie Modlm, assistant editor; Hank Baker, Becky Burchain, Pat
Green. Marianne Hansen. I.ihhy I ewis. Ann Smalluood and Valerie Van Arsdale.
Graphic Arts: Artists Dan Bradv. Allen Edwards, Cliff Marley, Jocelyn Pettibonc, Lee Poole
and John Tomlinson. Photogiapheis: Nancy Gol, Andy James, Scott Johnston. Billy Newman
and Michael Sneed.
Business: Chine Buglcy. business tnanagei. Miehele Mitchell, assistant business manager. Linda
James, secretary tcicptionist. I i Hikcv. Mike Neville, Kim Painter. David Squires and
How aid Iroxtcr. Circulation manager- Bill B.igley.
Advertising: Dan Collins, manager. David Smith, assistant to the manager. Arje Brow n.
classified'- Sales Stall Wciuiv Haukoek. Chip Highsmilh. Beth Hoggutd. Dee Joyce. Neal
Kimball, I ynlbia I e- i-. Bakv RoMmtv Melissa Swicegood.
C oiiis!tioii ami NUkrup: I M' l'!iiau;e Dept. Robert Jasinkicwic. supervisor. Robcil
Streetei. Grain? NS-'-l !lar. I ah l.'n'ai. B'l'v l eieliee ( aioiwi kuhn. D.ivid Patkei. .loju
!'-... S:,-.e u. !i ,, i I :.! , S;j!V.,:n
1978
Dathj
85th year of editorial freedom
letters to the editor
Organization for hatred merits no
To the editor:
The Daily Tar Heel Feb. 2 carried an
announcement in the Campus Calendar
under Upcoming Events to the effect that a
meeting of the local Klavern of the Ku Klux
Klan would take place on Friday in the
Forestry Building. This letter is in response
to that announcement.
U ndoubtedly we are all somewhat familiar
with the dark history of this organization. At
one time the Klan had spread over the
Southeast like a chancre. The word of the
Klan was the law, and their doctrine of white
supremacy sprinkled with Christianity and
respect for Southern womanhood influenced
the thinking of many Southern men and
women. It is possible that the slow pace of
civil rights in the South was due in no small
part to the subtle influence of decades of
Klan teaching. Fortunately, the Klan no
longer occupies a strong position of
influence.
As to the emergence of this local Klan
Klavern 1 can only register dismay. I
sincerely hope that the Forestry .Building is
not owned by the University, for an
organization that teaches hatred of blacks,
atheists, gays, Jewish people, Roman
Catholics, Communists and liberal thinkers
in general should not be recognized by a
modern college administration. It is unlikely
that HEW would consider five orange pips
and a burning cross a show of "good faith."
George Batten
705-C Hibbard Drive
Envy artist
To the editor:
This is just a short note of appreciation
and admiration for the mind, not to mention
the nimble fingers, of cartoonist Lee Poole.
His cartoons are like all bad puns we
groan with envy at his having been the one to
think of them. You at the Daily Tar Heel
should be thankful that your pool of talent is
so deep.
Laura Krebill
David Weil
Medical Research Wing
Millenial sex the
UNO's Myopic Prophet sees an end in sight
By JOEL CHERNOFF
There is a time in every
undergraduate's life that he or she
realizes that there is an end in sight. As
an aspiring, inspiring and occasionally
perspiring prophet, this revelation is
much more acute. Beads of sweat trickle
down the hollowed but not yet hallowed
lines of my brow. Nerve ends twitch in
anxious elation, sort of a joyous fit of
epilepsy. Free at last, we shall sovn be
free at last. Finished, it's finished, it's
nearly finished, it must be nearly
finished.
Almost.
One more semester, 15 lousy credit
hours. Graduation looms upon the
horizon like the sun after the 40 days
and nights of rain.
I was trying to explain this to Buff
Rose, my feminist friend who has taken
up residence on my couch.
"Don't you see, Buff? Graduation is
like the millenium. It's the peak of
ecstasy, the culmination of 16 years'
hard labor. It's like having sex for the
first time."
"Millenial sex? Sounds like
immaculate conception to me: no
touching, but you still get fucked in the
end."
"Buff, you have to conceive of
graduation as a religious event when
time and place no longer exist in a
historical sense but as if you were in
another world."
"Kenan Stadium?"
"Laugh if you will. I'm waiting for
deliverance."
"The only thing you will be delivered
is a kick in the butt. They don't like you
too much around here," Buff said sotto
voce.
"They?" 1 was caught in a temporary
panic. "Which they?"
"Wouldn't you like to know. Let's just
say that I have it on good word that
certain elements exist in this University
who would be overjoyed to see you
leave."
"I would be greatly indebted to them
if they could speed up the process.
Chapel Hill is a drag."
"Joel, w hat's wrong wit h vou? Chapel
Hill is a great place to be. I love it so
much I returned to it."
"1 know, I know," 1 moaned.
"Look, 1 can leave any time. Just say
so."
"Leave my couch? I wouldn't think of
it. I hat couch was made for you."
"Chcrnoff. 1 can take a hint. I'm
packing my knapsack and going where
I'm appreciated."
"Wait. wait, wait! I'm sorry Bull. I'm
I List titcd nl school, and Chapel Hill
happens to be uheie school is located
Stop superhighway
I o the editor:
I am writing in order to inform concerned
people about the grave possibilities of a four
lane superhighway being built in or around
the Nantahala Gorge in the Southern
Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.
The Appalachian Highway, which stretches
from Asheville to Atlanta, is complete all but
through the Nantahala Mountains, and the
N.C. Department of Transportation has
been planning for a long time to finish this
last section through the Nantahalas.
Unfortunately, a great problem lies in how to
lay down a sound four-lane highway through
steep mountains, narrow valleys and
ecologically delicate wilderness land. I don't
know how many of you have seen the vast
destruction caused by the construction of
Interstate 40 over Black Mountain near
Asheville, but it's ugly and sad and is a
perfect example of what a four-lane
superhighway could make the beautiful
Nantahala Gorge and mountains look like
some day.
Right now. Environmental Impact
Statements are being put together for each of
the eight proposed routes, and it appears
that each route has its particular draw backs.
They range from engineering problems and
incredible high costs to destruction of
mountain communities and the threatening
of endangered w ildlife species and the scenic
quality of the area. It is for these reasons that
such environmental groups as the Sierra
Club, National Wildlife Federation and the
Appalachian Trail Conference have recently
gotten together and resolved, in general, that
they oppose all of the eight alternate routes
for a four-lane highway and support the
upgrading of the existing roads in the area.
For sure, a transportation problem does
exist out there. Key bridges are too narrow,
main roads need repair and widening to
three lanes in areas where congestion is
frequent. The mountain' folks need better
roads to boost their economic prosperity.
But the best way to solve the problem is
through sound management and wise use of
existing structures, not a new $150-million
four-lane highway that's too much. A
answer?
"Joel, you'll never be tired of school.
By the time you're out of here for one
month, you'll be applying to graduate
school."
"I am not going to graduate school."
"Then law school."
"I am not going to law school."
"Then journalism school."
"1 am not going to journalism
school."
"Then what are you going to do with
yourself?"
"I'm going to become a prophet."
"Jesus, here we go again."
"Who are you to doubt? You, who
called a sex strike for Pueblo women?"
"Graduation is like the millenium. . .It's
like having sex for the first time."
"Joel, 1 may be an agitator, but I'm no
fool. So what are you going to do, go to
prophet school?"
"You miss the entire point. There is a
world out there beyond the confines of
the university. Every day somebody
asks me if I'm going to graduate school
or law school next year. The possibility
that I might not continue school at all is
apparently beyond a student or
professor's comprehension. A better
world exists beyond Chapel Hill."
"Beyond the Southern Part of
Heaven? Have it your own way. But the
question is, do you belong there? And is
the world safe with Joel Chernoff
KiD, Fofi 00 R OWN HEALTH
AS WELL A$ FOR THAT OF
FOTORE GENEfiAnofsKViPVE
CroTTA Get Rid
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HARM, I'M TALKING TO A COUPLS
Of S1W6NT5 RIGHT NOCU, BUTUN
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two-lane highway would be a welcomed
solution, but only when the DOT proposes
it. That is why 1 bring the problem to you
because citizen input through letters and
public hearings is very important to the DOT
when it comes time to make the decision.
This Thursday at 7 p.m. in Room 205 of the
roaming the. streets?"
"A prophet in hand is worth 20 in a
university."
"What makes you think that the
world needs youT
"Somebody must," 1 said. "Mustn't
somebody?"
Buff was silent.
"Oh, Buff. Does nobody need me?"
Another moment of anxious terror.
"Well" Buff said, "as you say,
somebody must."
"Buff, think of the rewards of being a
prophet."
"Do you get your car insurance
discounted?"
"Don't you ever complain that I put
women down after the way you pick on
prophets. And talk about
discriminating against minority
groups."
"First, I was picking on you, not on
prophets. Second, you haven't made a
prediction that even competes with
Jeanne Dixon."
I was crestfallen. "Buff, I am
crestfallen."
"Joel, you take everything too
seriously. You have to smile at yourself
on occasion. Even giggle a little bit."
"But I have to find my mission in life."
"Your mission will come to you."
we'u. Tojt move over here.
N0W)KP,'ME WAY I 5 EE IT, THE
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MOREOVER, I AM MP THAT
MY ARB STUDENTS OF PR. HENRY
KISSINGER, TW FEATURED SPEAK
ER AT TONIGHT'S PNNSR HON-
6EMTUMEN, TEH Jtf kHOH
EARTH ARE YOU WEARING THOSE
MASKS? SORELY YOU'RB NOT
, PROTECTING RELATIVES OR.
LOVED ONES IN
nPMC TUP FMDCFCil
3A.fct
ti
recognition
Union a meeting, sponsored by the Outing
Club, will be held for the public to come hear
the complete explanation of the highway
controversy. I encourage you to come and
act on it.
Jim Bryan
754 James
St. Louis bound?
To the editor:
I appreciate the time and effort Gene
Upchurch must have gone to in order to
supply the readers of his Monday Morning
column with NIT ticket information. I am
sure, however, that Gene knows that he has
wasted his time. See you in St. Louis, Gene.
Catherine Morton
420 Granville Towers East
Union desk raided
To the editor:
We are writing this letter not only as a
reaction but as the only means we know of to
reach the adolescents responsible for the
snowball strike on the Union desk.
The strike came at 12:30 Thursday
afternoon. About 20 guys ran through the
U nion throwing snowballs all over the desk,
yelled interesting things like "anatchy,"
"banzai" and "kill 'em (?)," and scurried out
the opposite door. Since their yells showed
no particular motive, we assume they were
either trying to cover their embarrassment or
heighten the fun.
And what a way to have fun!
We were stunned. How ignorant and petty
can people get? Besides seeing this display as
very juvenile, we also think it was a dump on
us, who are individuals who are just trying to
earn some money. We recognized only a few,
but if we could expose all the participants,
we would gladly do it. So to avoid appearing
trite by only mentioning the few names we
know, we will just write home to their
parents and hope we never see it again.
Bill Steigerwald
Martin Perlmutt
Rita Secrest
"Even women may eventually come
to you. Who knows? Maybe the Red Sea
will part for you. Maybe you'll find a
burning bush."
"I sure hope so. Soon."
"Joel, that's not what I meant."
"Oh. Sorry," I said. "But what if I
don't?"
"But what if you do?" Buff urged.
"Now who sounds optimistic?"
"I couldn't hold out any longer."
"I knew the old sympathy ploy would
work."
"Sympathy? Well, yes, I guess I do
sympathize for you. And what if you do
turn out to be a prophet? I could cash in
on it. Write my memoirs and sell them to
Hollywood."
"Does that mean that you're not
going to sleep on the couch tonight?"
"Joel, Moses had to climb a mountain
to find his burning bush."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I want a stand-in for the
action scenes. Tea and sympathy yes
"And sex?"
"Wait for the millenium."
"Graduation never looked so far
away."
"No, Joel. There is an end in sight."
"But whose?"
Joel Chernoff is looking forward to
graduation and the millenium,
whichever conies first.
MEANWHILE.
FKiseee
TAYucfi
Stays after,
CLftSS To TALK
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by Garry Tructeau
NO, BUT WE'VE
GOT MIP-TERMS
COMING UP, MAN..
WHOA
SAY NO
MORE!
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