8 The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, October 12. 1978
Lou Bilionis, Editor
Chuck Alston, Managing Editor
Don Woodard, Associate Editor
David McKixnon; Associate Editor
Bernie Ransbottom, University Editor
Mary Anne Rhyne, City Editor
Da vi d Stacks, State and National Editor
Richard Barron, Sews lulitor.
V- -
Betsy Flagler, Features Editor-
Mark Scandling, Arts Editor
Lee Pace, Sports Editor
Allen Jernigan, Photography Editor
Satin,
86th rear of editorial freedom
Suspicious silence
lave my job. J love the University. And I care for the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. ,
Hayden B. Renwick
Nearly a month has passed since Hayden B. Renwick, associate dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences, first publicly charged that UNC has been less than
forward in its commitment to increase black enrollment. It has been almost 30
days since Renwick first told the people of North Carolina that UNC has denied
admission to qualified black applicants while granting, admission to less
qualified whites all in the face of repeated pledges to step up minority
enrollment and repeated complaints that the pool of qualified minority
applicants is too small to meet the goal. And still, Renwick's peers in the
administration have remained quiet, offering no substantive rebuttal to his
serious accusations. 1
Last week, the University issued its only meaningful counter to Renwick's
damning charges. Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor released the 1978-79
enrollment statistics a few weeks early in the wake of the admissions
controversy, and they indicate a 30 percent increase in the number of blacks in
the freshman class. Yet even that response, while interesting, was a
smokescreen. It served to muddle and almost bury the issue, as did the
administration's refusal to allow Renwick his customary access to certain
admissions files and documents. A 30 percent increase is laudable, but not if a
40, 50, 60 or even 100 percent increase were possible. That is the crux of
Renwick's arguments, and it has been ignored altogether by the University.
The strange and suspicious silence in South Building, however, .may break
soon. According to Anthony Strickland, assistant director of undergraduate
admissions, the administration is studying Renwick's accusations and plans to
issue a statement that should answer the troubling questions about UNC
admissions that are sweeping across the state.
Given the University's past performance in the still young Renwick
controversy, this period set aside for. study of the charges and drafting of
statements could just as well be the ample time needed to formulate and
memorize a consistent, safe and utterly deceiving party line.
The University's commitment to minority students is serious business
something never to be resolved in a day. But it is also serious enough to warrant
immediate frankness and truthfulness from the administration; thus far, the
University has not met that need. If the administration cares for the University
as much as Dean Renwick does, and puts the University above all-other
concerns as Renwick has, then UNC can get down to the business of
evaluating and perhaps revising its commitments. -
Misplaced labels
A great deal of attention has been focused lately upon.UNC's Greek system.
Judging from the barrage of letters and columns that have appeared on this
page recently, fraternities and sororities are taking quite a beating. Citing the
fact that the Greek community is but a subculture of the campus as a whole,
opinions have been rampant from both within and without the unit's periphery.
-m Negative criticism towards fraternities stems largely from the practicalitybf
stereotyping: similar interests are likely to attract similar people. Under the
threat of conformity, so the argument goes, the individual within the system
stands to lose his personal identity. Parallel ideas and dress seem to be the
norm.
Even if these observations are legitimate, such concerns regard the harmless
aspects of Greek life. Most stabs taken at the system are satirical in nature,
touching on the often easily recognizable but hardly threatening
commonalities.
On the other hand, the positive contributions made by fraternities more
directly affect our community. Sigma Chi's Derby Day, ZBTs Mile of Pennies
and KKG's Dance-a-thon to name but three donate hundreds of hours
labor and raise thousands of dollars for charitable causes. These activities
indicate a strong sense of responsibility within the moral character of the
participants. .
A misplaced label of pure conformity will accompany fraternities and
sororities throughout theii existence. From their official inception at UNC in
1851, Greek organizations had to contend with both objective and subjective
criticism. History has shown that they have overcome critical adversity to
remain at their current . role: sources of alternative lifestyle and unselfish
contribution to the community.
The Bottom Line
A friend in Spiritual Poverty
writes:
Having been at this University for
some time now and in the minds of
some, quite a bit longer than is either
desirable or even remotely
defensible we have been fortunate
enough to have had our share of the
lighter moments which make this
existence both preferable to the
logical alternative and quite a bit .
better than the prospects proferred
by, say, central South Carolina.
Perhaps more thanour share; those
same parties, after all, who might
question our need for being here at all
would doubtless be among the first, if
one were to ask them, to agree that
our sense of the ridiculous is at once
bizarre and virtually all
encompassing. , Not that this propensity for being
bent double with mirth literally at the
drop of a hat and indeed the sight
of several thousand Naval Academy
midshipmen tossing their caps into
the air simultaneously in reaction to a
touchdown once cause us to begin to
hemmorrhage is all the yuks you
might think it would be.
For alas, one of the most amusing
of this life's phenomena to us is the
misuse of language. Nothing, it
seems, is so sublimely gut-busting as
the inane vagueries, the hapless
gibberings, of the linguistical
pygmies we inevitably" encounter.
.What tends to dampen our
hilarity, however, is the stunning
frequency with which they have come
to our attention in recent weeks. We
are only human, after all; we can only
take so much. v
And we are not to be ranked with
those weak souls who sag and fold up
like Hunger Hut french fries on first
catching sight of a brutalized syntax
or a Technicolor metaphor. Heck, we
read the sports pages of the Durham
By CRAIG BROWN
The choice of Andy Griffith as keynote speaker
fof Chapel Hill's !85th University Day would seem
at first notice appropriate, even felicitous.
Griffith's down-to-earth talent, his unpretentious
accomplishments seem to epitomize a University
with deep and valuable roots in red clay, whose
branches nevertheless reach out boldly beyond its
state lines. Griffith's talents, like those of Thomas
Wolfe, Paul Green, Vermont Royster and many
others, were nurtured in four valuable years here
and later embraced by the nation at large.
But as we near the completion of two centuries
of University history; we must wonder if the
University is still committed to producing young
Griffiths or Wolfes any longer. We must wonder if
Griffith's presence at the podium today will be an
appropriate symbol or rather a cruel and ironic
joke. For Andy Griffith will be honored by the
University which has de-emphasized the very
curriculum that helped prepare him for his
accomplishments as an actor.
Thus, Griffith , will be honored in the same
paradoxical way Paul Green was recently
honored. Green had a building named for him, but
that building will not be used to carry on the
amateur theater tradition (according to some the
oldest in the nation) which gave Wolfe, Green and
other raw talent a creative outlet and an
opportunity to develop a sense of the theater. None
letters to the editor
Morning Herald. We have a
subscription to Newsweek. We work
for the DTH, for chrissakes.
But we had not reckoned with
empiricism.
We had not reckoned with, it,
because we had not been exposed to
it for many years, having been driven
from it at an early age. Ironically, we
had been driven from it because we
had felt that it was too much
concerned with precision.
Imagine then, if you will, our
surprise and indeed our
pronounced discomfort at being
forcibly returned to it now, in the
twilight of our academic career, only
to find its profession taken over by a
distractingly, in fact killingly, funny
group of people. v .
- Are we, for example, supposed to
maintain the decorum expected of us
in class when superbly straight-faced
professors go through terms like
" 'snarl' words" or "utility
maximization" like so many potato
chips? Worse still, what is to be made
of a term like "group processes"
except belly cramps and blue-faced
gasping? .
We do not despair of a Resolution
of our Conflict Situation, however.
Indeed, we Prognosticate a Partial or
perhaps even Total Enculturation of
Intellectualizational Parameters,
.Perceptional Awarenesses, and
Behavioral and Emotional
Orientations which, coupled with the
Ongoing Development of a
Functional Motivational
Immunization to the Dynamic
Processes of Value-Realization,
could well result in Self
Actualization of - both Personality
Priorities and Learned-Response
, Potentialities.
We may even land a Management
Position.
And that's the Bottom Line.
of the playwnting classes so highly touted by
Green and other successful writers will be taught in
the new building or any other.
Does it make any sense?
What does it mean when the University honors
its distinguished alumni, yet makes no effort to
maintain the traditions it has begun? In a larger
sensp, what does it mean when the University
abandons some of the liberal principles which have
set it apart from similar institutions across the
country? What does it mean when the University is
merely content to preserve the status quo, rather
than strive for something better?
Today, in case you're wondering what all the
self-satisfied commotion is about, marks the 185th
anniversary of the University of North Carolina's
existence. Bands will play, colorful processions
will march, speeches will be made. The annual
demonstration of the Black Student Movement
may take place to remind us that things aren't quite
as rosy as we're led to believe. If nothing else, the
average student will have a couple of classes
cancelled.
University Day, 1978. Today, speeches will
affirm the University's role as a leading
educational institution in the South, as aliberal
oasis in a conservative state, as a great national
university. All of these statements have a ring of
truth in them. Reality, however, falls far short of
these ideals. For the University, we contend, has
lost sight of its original visions. Once emboldened
by a liberal purpose and leading by example, it has
slid into the mediocre mainstream of American
higher education. '
The flame that once lit the South is flickering.
Some progress, to be sure, has been made. The
Carolina Union is attracting some big-name rock
groups to campus. New buildings are springing up
everywhere. "Carolina Fever" has struck the
football team, resulting in a 1-3 record.
Progress?
Pageantry aside, University Day should
represent a time of critical self-examination..What
better time, then, to begin discussing the
University's weaknesses as well as its strengths?
Just how good a job is the University doing m
educating its students? Do present course
requirements, especially in the General College,
provide a coherent education? Do administrative
policies match the principles that administrators
voice?
The list of possible questions is almost endless.
We will examine these questions, and others, in
a series of articles, and suggest possible reforms
and improvements. The University has been
content to live on its laurels from the past. We will
challenge it the administration, the faculty, and
the students to reject the complacency of recent
years, and to embrace once again the tradition of
excellence that has made the University what it is
today.
Craig Brown is a senior political science and
history major from Iowa City, Iowa..
Don't puss up chance to meet with trustees
To the editor: v x
Ralph Stray horn, Walter Tucker and
Walter Davis (not Sweet D) most
students probably don't have any idea
who these people are. They don't teach
any courses around here. You won't see
them coaching any Carolina athletic
teams from the sidelines. It's even
doubtful that you'll find their signatures
on one of the many forms which you fill
out for University purposes. Yet these
men and their positions with the
U niversity are well worth knowing about.
These are members of the Board of
Trustees of the University.
It is this board, made up of 12
prominent North Carolinians, and your
student body president that are
responsible for many of the decisions
which affect not only the long-range
plans of the University, but its day-to-day
existence as well. To make these decisions
"responsibly, the trustees must know the
attitudes, problems and needs of the
students on this campus. By the same
token, if students are to improve their
situation around here, they must know
the correct channels to go through if they
are to bring about change.
In hopes that this exchange can
become more open and produce positive
results, Student Government is
sponsoring an open ; meeting with the
Board of Trustees. At 9 tonight in rooms
202-204 of the Union, the members of the
Board of Trustees will make themselves
available to listen to students and their
complaints, concerns, or praises
regarding the University. This is a golden
opportunity for the students to make
themselves heard. Do NOT miss it. '
Jim Phillips
Student body president
Apology to Cohen
To the editor: ,
This is a formal letter of apology in
reference to my pFevious letter
("Hogwash," DTH, Oct. 11). In that
letter I made a statement about Chapel
Hill Alderman Gerry Cohen that I now
realize was false. I accused Mr. Cohen of
blaming Jesse Helms because Mr. Cohen
was not always in his office.
HOGWASH! Mr. Cohen is not only a
very hard working individual, but he
didn't even make that statement, as he
made clear to " me. I misunderstood
Gerry's statement on the radio. What he
did say was that Jesse Helms is just one of
the things that Chapel H ill residents have
to complain about. 1 obviously wasn't
listening as well as I thought I was, and 1
humbly apologize. I still stand by the rest
of my letter, but to the. editors, the
students and especially Mr. Cohen, I
IDONTSEEH0W
THECfOSEIMTD
WJERE'5 THEIR
offer my heartfelt apology for my obvious
error. ' ' ,
Richard Rand
212 Graham
Pass the SALT
To the editor: '
I am compelled to ask, with regard to
Tuesday's editorial ("Nuclear madness,"
DTH, Oct. 10), "Why waste newspaper
space?" It seems, unfortunately, fairly
representative of this year's editorials as a
whole. The best that .can be said for it is
that it is certainly non-controversial.
Who can help but agree, for surely none
of us is against world peace or for "instant
incineration." The SALT talks offer
excellent material for a really thought
provoking editorial, some of which was at
least mentioned Tuesday.
For instance, has the . new SALT
agreement been watered down to the
point where it will be nothing but a
political victory for President Carter?
This is a valid and important question,
when one considers what the new
agreement will not mention. It is reported
that the new SALT accord will allow (a)
the United States to develop a new
"penetration" bomber equivalent to the
Soviet "Backfire" bomber; (b) both sides
to continue to deploy new submarine
systems (the Trident, in the case of the
United States); (c) both sides to continue
development on new missile systems. In
this area, the United States is developing,
the MX mobile missile and considering
other ideas such as the MAP (multiple
aim-point) system, which does not use
any new missiles, but is just as disturbing
in its implications for deterrence and
treaty verification. The Soviets are
developing, and perhaps have finished, a
mobile missile system of their own.
I n the face of these omissions (so-called
"compromises"), can any SALT
agreement give us any real safeguards
against a nuclear exchange, or really be
termed disarmament?
With a little thought and maybe even
some research (heaven forbid!), the DTH
editorial writer could have used this" or
any of a number of salient points dealing
with SALT and arms policy and written
an interesting and timely editorial (andx
with luck, displaced "The Bottom Line").
Instead, we get a brief, general pile of
mishmash that anyone who reads
Newsweek every other issue could have
written. As with the SALT talks. 1 will
hold out hope for improvement in the
future. . ' ;
Christopher Holoman
Carrboro
Pedestrian primacy
To the editor.
The waters of fraternal primacy are
murky and deep, indeed. Friends, let us
not weary ourselves with the pedestrian
dispute of primacy; let us get to the point.
Where would the "top-notch" rushee of
April, 1885 have pledged up? With what
fledgling house would Silent Sam, for
example, or Davie Poplar have cast his
allegiance? More pertinent: where did
the Delta Kaps sit during the 1885
football season? Was the Fiji jukebox
louder indeed during that initial rush?
Did the Fiji wear Ray-Bans back then?
These questions, and more like them,
plague us even today. Where does the
DKE parking lot end, and the Phi Gam
lot begin? .
Gentlemen, a call for
resolution: these sort 'of questions need
not be debated on the back page of the
Daily Tar Heel, a forum that is truly
democratic. Come forth. Phi and Di. This
debate belongs in the exalted halls of
rhetoric.
E. Mann
Carrboro Civic Center
B
oony everybody gets em
By ALLEN JERNIGAN
It could happen anywhere.
Anytime.
In your own driveway, in the
Union parking lot, even on Fall
Break weekend.
If s kind of like when you wait in
line an hour and a half at the Hunger
Hut, only to emerge and find there's
no place to sit and wrestle with your
still-breathing meal.
v Yeah boy, it does happen. I bet it
even happens to Bill Friday. It seems
to happen to Dick Crum every
Saturday. I'm talking about that sick"
sort of feeling you get that tells you
your" arm's too short to box with
HEW or Miami of Ohio to say
nothing of God.
Like when your car breaks down in
Ramseur, N.C. u
Ramseur is about the only place
this side of Duke that is about as
close as you can get to nowhere and
still claim to be somewhere. If for
some reason you're driving from
Pittsboro to. Asheboro on U.S. 64,
K you'll know you've gone through
' Ramseur, unless you blink your eyes.
;. It's not that the friendly folks down
V that away won't lend a helping hand,
but you suddenly realize how far you.
are from friends, fraternity and
Franklin Street when your car dies
somewhere other than the Hill.
And it's not that you can't find a
good mechanic either, but the
chances are that he's setting up the
police chiefs brother-in-law's second
cousin's 396 Chevy for the big drag
race next weekend. If not, he's slow
as molasses anyway, and can't get to
: it until next week.
But you're not sunk. The obvious
solution is to fix it yourself. After all,
you've got a screw driver, a crescent
wrench and a pair of pliers in the
trunk. The only thing to do is
remember the three rules for home
style auto mechanics:
L it you can't fix it, at least don't
mess it up worse than it already is.
2. .Trace the fire and the gas. If
you're missing one or the other (or
both), and you know which one,
you're well on the road to repair.
3. If it's getting gas and fire, then
throw up your hands and go drink a
cold one, 'cause you got problems.
You know what gas is and you
know what fire is, but how they get
through all that garbage under the
hood to make the car run is at best
unclear. Between all the wires and
hoses and whatchamacallits, you
can't even find the motor.
Give up?
Hey, where's that spirit that got
you through English I, and even
worse, English II? After all, you
could call the service station. But that
costs money, plus a towing fee. And
you know about towing fees from
that time you were a freshman and
parked in the fire lane behind
Morrison.
But you can always call Big City,
that's B.C. for short, and see if he'll
cut Nutrition 50 for the 10th time and
come bail you out. Like the time you
almost waited in the drop add line at
Woollen until he led you downtown,
bought you ,beer and asked you
what your problem was. Or the time
he distracted .the lifeguard who
thought you were drowning at the
swimming test, thereby entitling you
to the little blue card that certifies
that it takes you longer than 5
minutes to drown.
No, we'll hold on B.C. After all,
Fall Break is coming up, and this
could have happened on the way to
Ocracoke. And if you think Ramseur
is the boonies, just remember it's
between high places in the swamps
away down east. m
So you call the "service station, and
a good oY boy comes over wearing a
CAT hat and a skeptical grin. He
charges you $5 to put enough gas in
your car to get it to the station, and
' never says a word, until you leave.
Yah boy, it happens to
everybody. Ocracoke, here I come.
Allen Jernigan, a junior English
major from Raleigh, is photography
editor for the Daily Tar H eel.