8 The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, January 10, 1980
David Stacks, liditor
m
MiCHELE Mecke, Managing Editor
Michael Wade, Associate Editor
Gary Terpening, Associate Editor
Martha Waggoner, News Editor
Eddie Marks, University Editor
Carol Hanner, City Editor
Kathy Curry, State and National Editor
Reid Tuvim, Sports Editor
Susan Ladd, Features Editor
Laura Elliott, Arts Editor
Andy James, Photography Editor
Dinita James, Weekender Editor
She
.hey don9! make Mne jeans like they used to
Hatlg
ar Mm
87 th year of editorial freedom
Creative planning
It's still too early to make predictions about Chapel Hill's recently
installed municipal government. But there are some early indications
that Mayor Joe Nassif and the eight members of the Town Council have
committed themselves to giving the town a new sense of direction. The
signs are encouraging, because the myriad problems this community
faces from sticky parking and transportation issues to citizen apathy
about town government will require a good measure of sure-footed
leadership.
Nassif s plan to remove some of the confusion from the often tangled
process of compiling the town's annual budget is one of those
encouraging signs. In past years, Chapel Hill often has fallen into the
same budget-making trap that plagues local governments all over the
country. That is, town officials have taken too long to get started on the
tedious task of appropriating funds to the many government
departments, and the inevitable result has been a last-minute scurry to
get the budget wrapped up before the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Deadline budgeting is not necessarily bad, of course, and it is a time
honored tradition. But Nassif plans to try a couple of innovations that
could make the fiscal 1981 budget one of the most thoughtful ever for
Chapel Hill.
Nassif plans to ask the heads of all the town's departments to submit a
report to the Town Council describing exactly how the departments
work. Then the council, in a series of intense work sessions, will come up
with a set of goals for each department, and will ask the department
heads to come up with budget requests to meet them.
Revamping the budgeting process was one of Nassif s major
campaign themes, and he appears to have put a good deal of thought
into implementing his promise. If Nassif and the eight other members of
the council can manage to agree on goals to be met in the budget,
perhaps hasty, ill-considered decisions can be avoided. If Nassif can
carry out his plans, all the council members should be able to vote on a
budget with full knowledge of where the taxpayers' money is going.
Since a sizable tax increase seems virtually unavoidable, that is a
comforting notion.
We hope Nassif and company will demonstrate as much dedication
and foresight when dealing with the other issues they face. The
downtown parking crunch, as well as the increasing demand on the bus
system and the dilemmas of open space land, city-county planning and
human services funding, will require similar creative thinking.
The first 25 years
UNC-TV's live Tuesday night broadcast of the North Carolina
Symphony was a fit and touching start for the year-long celebration of
the state public television network's silver anniversary. On Jan. 8, 1955,
UNC-TV signed on as the nation's 10th educational television station
with a live performance of music and dance from Women's College in
Greensboro.
The last 25 years have brought many changes. Women's College is
now called UNC-G, and the tiny, one-transmitter station which reached
only 38 percent of North Carolina now telecasts on eight channels and
reaches 96 percent of the state. Early programming was entirely live and
included music, church services, sports and educational broadcasts.
Today, UNC-TV's offerings have expanded to include such diverse
topics as crafts and folklore, economics and the environment, and
drama and history. There's a little something for everybody in North
Carolina, from the rabid Atlantic Coast Conference basketball viewer
to those interested in learning about lap-quilting and woodworking.
And to celebrate its 25 years of service to the state the year-long
celebration has been dubbed "UNC-TV Celebrates North Carolina"
UNC-TV has several special programs in store for its viewers. Perhaps
the most notable of these special productions is The Flight Brothers!, a
musical drama scheduled for Feb. 13 which depicts the story of North
Carolina's pioneer aviators, Wilbur and Orville Wright. Other specials
include a behind-the-scenes series beginning Jan. 21 which examines the
Julliard Opera School and an eight-part series hosted by UNC President
William C. Friday titled Great Decisions, which begins on Jan. 20.
UNC-TV had humble beginnings in an era when television was
considered by many to be nothing more than an ephemeral
technological fad. There was no color TV then, and the state had only
two commercial stations. Now, 25 years later, the station is a vital part of
the ever-growing Public Broadcasting Service and plans to cover the
entire state by 1982 through the addition of four new transmitters.
UNC-TV's history has been one of growth and service to North
Carolina, and the next 25 years promise to be even more rewarding for
the station's many devoted viewers.
The Bottom Line
Kitty Who?
The wily Soviets have been
confounded yet again by the devious
Americans. The American aircraft carrier
Kitty Hawk was recently languishing in
the Indian Ocean in response to the crisis
in Iran. Another Kitty Hawk, perhaps
better known, resides on the coast of
North Carolina.
The Soviets now know the difference.
According to the Navy, an American
ship and a Soviet ship were floating near
each other in the Indian Ocean when the
Soviet vessel flashed a query about an
aircraft carrier.
"Where is the Kitty Hawk?" the Soviets
asked.
The Navy's response:
"It's a small town in North Carolina."
In the event that tempers flare around
the Persian Gulf, it might be wise for the
residents of this balmy Atlantic coast
town to keep their eyes on the horizon.
Feathered fallout
Clouds of noisome black feathered
beasts have begun once again to invade
the town of Rich Square. I he usually
crisp air has grown rank with a foul odor
and violent screeches.
The blackbirds are back.
These starlings and grackles have
become the target of quite a few dirty-
Bv HARRIET McLEOD
A not her good thing has done gone on.
John Hartford
It's always a singular thrill to get new
jeans. Or it used to be back when getting
new jeans, didn't happen very often
about once every three years or so.
Remember how stiff and clean they felt,
with no wrinkles or sags? It was difficult
to walk or sit down they were like
boards on your legs. You took your new
jeans off and stood them in the corner
where, in the morning, they waited to be
jumped into again. A few wears, a few
washes, and you had them molded to
your legs. They were your jeans.
There was a cycle to their life. Those of
us who remember Levis for $6.99 have
gone through the cycle many times. After
successive shrinkings and stretchings, the
knees would buckle, the waist would
stretch and the jeans would ride down
around your hips like a gunslingers's
holster. The bottoms would fray; the belt
loops would fray. Tiny white streaks
would appear in the denim; the seams and
the thighs would begin to change color.
But good fading took a long time. Since
$6.99 and even $ 10.99 jeans were thick, it
could be years before your knees broke
through. No problem. Patch 'em up.
Embroider flowers, mushrooms or an
upside-down flag.
By the time they were finally done for,
yours jeans were part of your life: "Oh
man, I've had those jeans for five years' I
can't throw them away now!"
You can't get all-cotton jeans anymore.
Around 1977, Levis became 64 cotton
and 36 polyester. Polyester!?? it ruined
the cycle completely. And it became
harder and harder to find jeans that
weren't prewashed. They cost $20 now
(unless you buy designer jeans for $40 or
so), and you need a new pair every 8
months, at least.
Other things came and went in the
1970s. Participation for one thing.
Worrying for another.
Those of us who started college in 1970
feh, for a w hile, as if we had arrived at trie
street after the parade had gone by.
Nevertheless, we listened to Leon Russell
and Bob Dylan, Jethro Tull and the
Allman Brothers, and marched against
the War and for Earth Day and women's
rights. And. we took so much speed our
skin turned green and our hair stood on
end.
The '60s had begun with JFK's
assassination in 1963 and really didn't
end until Nixon resigned in 1974. Then
the ignoble decade began and soon settled
down- like a plague. The Ford years
were boring, and we settled into a lifestyle
of complacency.
For many, the path was religion of
sorts. Be here now. Namaskar. Hare
Krishna. Don't worry. Work on yourself. '
It's all part of the plan. Someday we'll all
understand. All things must pass.
For others, it was kicking back. Take it
easy, be mellow. Working hard or hardly
working?
Earlier "in the decade, you could
overhear things like: "Let's do this
mescaline and go watch people at the 7
II. Then let's come back and put some
stars on the bathroom ceiling and Fill up
the tub with Mazola oil. Tomorrow we'll
eat some pancakes and drink some
tequila and go walk in the woods." Now
it's: "Let's do this Quaalude and mellow
out."
Social critic Randy Newman put it
best: "Wanting to be mellow is like
wanting to be senile."
For still others, the 1970s have been a
time of rampant consumerism. Despite
Jimmy Carter's politics of austerity and
dire prospects of sacrifice, we bought a lot
of neat things.
It looks like the 1970s might have been
a short decade 74 to'80. Why can't we
continue the "malaise"? Well, there's
Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, nukes,
gasoline, OPEC and so forth. Worrying is
back in style.
Sacrifice looms large.
Harriet McLeod is a graduate student in
journalism from Sullivan's Island, S.C.
Nr, nMy
mm 1
A
7
WM To
R
emember these?
Burning draft cards
Burning bras
Hand saws
Penny bubblegum
The global village
Black beauties
MDA
Purple microdots
$20alid$180apound
Patched bell bottoms
Red dye 2
Bert Parks
32 cents a gallon
The snail darter
Skylab
Shuttle diplomacy
Morris the Cat
The Hustle
The ABA
VW bugs
Detente
Butterfly handlebars
Banana seats
A warm-weather World Series
Desert boots
The Partridge Family
Wheat germ
Spiro Agnew watches
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Expletive deleted
Billy Beer
Future shock
Jimmy w ho?
Richard Brautigan books
Crystal meth
Pintos
Swine flu shots
Idi Amin ,
Streaking
The Beatles
Moon shots
Little Feat
Louis Armstrong
Communes
Earth Day
The 715th home run
The Band
Harriet McLeod
'If this Is the only safe thing we csn
do to get back on the front pages,
then I say let's do It.'
n i
Orientation, visitation remain RHA woes
bird jokes in Rich Square, mostly because
the 2,500 residents of this once attractive
town do not know what else to do about
the feathered invaders.
The Town Council, in a typical frenzy
of bureaucratic activity, has elected to do
nothing at all. As one alert councilman
put it, "There is absolutely nothing we
can do with millions and millions and
millions of birds who refuse to go."
Just how many avian creatures have
graced the town? Although no one knows
for sure, one resident claims to have a
reasonably close estimate.
"I figure them at 6,341,000" said
Frazier Helms. "I count their little feet
and then divide by two."
Top Ranking
New York Mayor Edward I. Koch
Monday rated Bess Myerson an "I I."
Myerson, the consumer advocate and
former Miss America who is expected to
announce her candidacy for the U.S.
Senate next month, served as co
chairman of Koch's mayoral campaign
two years ago.
Asked by a reporter on Monday how
he rated her as a candidate, the mayor
replied, "You mean on a scale of 1-to- 10T
'I hen he grinned impishly and said,
"II
And that's the bottom line.
By MA R THA WA G GONER
When Residence Hall Association governors talk
about the accomplishments of their organization for trie
past fall semester, they usually speak in terms of growth
in residence hall areas and an awareness, by students, of
what RHA does.
Most RHA governors also say that RHA, a campus
governing body and service organization for members
of residence halls, has not failed in any area since they
took office last April.
But some have no comment when asked about the
volatile issues of orientation and visitation, which
RHA's previous administration' brought up for
scrutiny.
Funding of orientation by RHA was cut off last year
and the group since has pushed for an orientation fee.
The group also opposed a lengthened orientation and
has spent many hours preparing a survey of residence
hall and orientation staff. RHA President William
Porterfield said in an interview last semester he has
received a letter from Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor
which stated the length of the orientation period will
remain as it was this year the same length which RHA
opposed. Both Scott College Gov. Mark Brown and
Craige Gov. Herb Garrison say they would prefer not to
talk about the chancellor's decision or who was to blame
for not changing the length of the orientation period.
The group has had a little more success with the
orientation fee. Although there has not been any
definite administrative approval of the fee, the
prospects for approval look better than for shortening
the orientation period. The Orientation Commission
has proposed that freshmen be charged a S 1 5 fee, which
would include a charge for Tar Heel days. However,
Will Owens, representative for Spencer, Triad and Old
Well, said a $1 2.25 fee is more probable, with freshmen
being charged for Tar Heel days only if they sign up for
them.
Another major project for RHA this year has been
the battle to get its visitation proposal approved by the
University's Housing Advisory Board. The RHA
proposal suggested shifting the start of visitation by two
hours from noon to 10 a.m. The housing board
approved this suggestion but did not approve another
part of the RHA plan which proposed 24-hour
visitation on weekends. Instead, the board sent an
option plan which allows students to vote on visitation
hours for their dorm; 24-hour weekend visitation was
one of those options. Henderson Residence College
Gov. Peggy Lcight said she thinks that when changes
are approved by Housing Director James Condie and
Vice chancellor Donald Boulton. that two of the
options will be cut out and the only options left will be
visitation hours as they arc now and the RHA
proposals.
Porterfield said the Housing Advisory Board took
RHA's specific proposal and made it nebulous. "We
knew implementation would be the hardest part to plan
and we worked on that." he said. "The Housing
Advisory Board purposely ignored implementation in
its proposal."
RHA also deals with Southern Bell Telephone Co.
rate increases, sets up guidelines for intramurals, holds
monthly blood drives and is planning a committee to
encourage students to conserve energy. "If RHA hadn't
done something about the (Southern Bel!) rate hikes
going to Raleigh and sending petitions there wouldn't
have been anything done," Owens said.
Leight, Brown and Garrison said they did not think
RHA had failed in anything it has attempted, but Vice
President Ricky Murray said he did have one regret
about what the group has accomplished. "The residents
don't know about everything we've done because we
haven't tackled a really big issue and overcome it," he
said. "But we're headed in the right direction we're
beginning to have a voice on campus."
And that voice is making some student groups and
administrative officials feel uneasy about RHA's
growth, Porterfield said. "We're one of the most
responsive student organizations to students' needs," he
said. "We're an assurance that campus students will
have a voice and be provided with representation.
"The response to our growth by a lot of groups has
been wondering where RHA was going and why it was
pushing so hard," he said. "1 wouldn't say they felt
threatened, but the administration and student
organizations have been alarmed at the rate of growth
of RHA perhaps they aren't alarmed, just surprised."
f
i
?
V'
'We're one of the
most responsive
student
organizations to
students' needs.'
mm t l
William Porterfield
Leight says she believes that at one time, there was
resentment in Student Government toward RHA.
"Now the groups are getting along a lot better," she said.
Morrison Gov. Eddy Camp tays he thinks that
student organizations in general and RHA in particular
are becoming too political. "I don't have any specific
reasons for it. but it's something I see happening,"
Camp said. "RHA is a controversial group because it's a
duplicate of Student Government. Both groups are
suppose to represent the same people and both groups
are fighting for that constituency.
"We (RHA) have to fight for our existence and for
our credibility. Some people think you don't need a
duplicate student government, but we perform
functions that Student Government can't." he said.
But Vice Chancellor Boulton says he does not sec any
resentment about the growth of RHA. "From my
vantage point. I'm pleased RHA has together and
tackled things." he said. "They're playing a role that we
need played. We've needed this kind of action and
energy for a long time."
RHA works more closely with the housing
department than with any other administrative office.
Condie said Carolina's RHA is becoming a leader for
other RHAs across the state. "We have the leading
residence hall association in the state," Condie said. "It's
become a model for other RHAs in the state and across
the southeast. It's a strong, viable, largely responsible
organization."
Some of the problems RHA has encountered arc
within the group, Owens said. "We've had problems
with attendance (at meetings) by a few of the
governors," he said. "This creates a bad situation
because we're not getting representation for 700 or I .(XX)
students at the meetings these governors miss."
Other problems have been hinted at by the governors
and staff members. Many, asking not to be identified,
. said they resent Portcrficld's tactics in dealing with the
governing board. At more than one governing board
meeting, Porterfield lambasted the governors for nM
doing their jobs, for leaving him to write letters to Vie
Daily Tar Heel and to talk with administration officials.
However, Porterfield says the problem is in striking a
balance between his job and the job of the governors.
"I'm trying to project - to the administration -what's
happening, and governors arc trying to protect this to
their areas." he said. " I he governors arc doing a great
job."
On one occasion, when I hringhau Gov. Tom Vitt
considered requesting that the board no into executive
session, he was told by a reporter that hi constituent
UNC students might resent not knowing what their
representatives were doing. Vitt was less than delicate in
his choice of language when he. in effect, told the
reporter he didn't care about any such student
resentment.
Not all RHA board members have this attitude,
however. Many areas Porterfield said. doinggrcat jobs
and arc representing tficir constituents. But other are
chronically absent or display attitude that do not ere
the campus resident. RHA ha taken on some lough
issues; some ot which like the length of orientation -were
pretty much decided by the administration before
RHA began to voice it opposition. And. the group dwJ
receive the bid for the conference of the National
Association of College and University Rcidenec
Halls - the first such national conferrnce to be held at
Carolina.
But divisions within RHA have done more to limit
the group' potential than an outside organization.
The resignations of the national conference chairman
and the head of trie programming committee for that
conference are example of the lack of unity within
RHA.
RHA appear bent on using the national conference
a. the example of thu administration success. But the
group ha the potential to do much more than that. I he
question is whether thr potential tan be reeognied
before Porterfield and the RHA governing board
complete their term of othvc thice month from now.
St or i ha ll'uwnsr. u junior juurnuliuri rnjjor jnun
H'imion-Sulfin. i im eMitr jut I he Daily lar Heel.