Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / April 16, 1980, edition 1 / Page 5
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6 The Daily Tar Heel Wednesday. April 16, 1980 George Shadroui, Editor Dinita James, Managing Editor Brad Kutrow, Associate Editor Thomas Jessiman. Associate Editor Martha Waggoner, News Editor Pam Kelley, University Editor Anne-Marie Downey, City Editor' Jim Hummel, State and National Editor Bill Fields, Sports Editor " Mark Murrell, Features Editor Laura Elliott, Arts Editor Andy James, Photography Editor Melanie Sill, Weekender Editor latlu 88 th year of editorial freedom Bedtime for Bonzo It is almost a certainty now that Ronald Reagan will be the Republican nominee for the president of this country. The message that comes through loud and clear from Reagan's success is that Americans like the candidate who manages to antagonize the fewest. Reagan has run a remarkably uncontroversial and bland campaign, frequently citing problems but rarely suggesting any real solutions. Much of Reagan's support has come from blue-collar workers, and he has a wide national base across the country of people disillusioned with rising inflation and the stalemate in Iran. Rightly, people are tiring of President Carter's ineffectiveness. But if the race in November does come down to Carter and Reagan, a vote against the president for the sake of change will only bring about a worse situation. Because of his avoidance and ignorance of the issues, Ronald Reagan should not be considered a viable alternative. Recently, perhaps too late to prevent Reagan's Republican nomination, the press has been paying closer attention to the inconsistencies and glaring errors in Reagan's speeches. He has come under fire for catering to the emotions of the crowd at the expense of speaking the truth. He claims his 30 percent tax cut plan is the same cut President John F. Kennedy asked for in 1963, and the crowd cheers. He does this despite being told repeatedly that JFK only asked for an 18 percent cut. He portrays himself as a miraculous tax cutter. He loves to say that as governor he rebated $5.7 billion to Californians, but he somehow neglects to mention those rebates were the result of his increasing taxes by $21 billion. He likes to say it costs the Department of Health, Education and Welfare $3 for each dollar it provides the needy. HEW says it costs just 12 cents. The people are left wondering where the man gets his facts. Reagan loves to talk a "tough" foreign policy and his hawkishness has come into vogue again in Washington, but he avoids specifics. He says the MX missile system cannot be completed until the end of the decade and demands a "faster remedy" to protect American land-based missiles, but when pressed for the remedy he has no comment. It was difficult to keep count of the times he changed his mind over boycotting the Olympics. First he supported the boycott, then he opposed it and by the time the United States Olympic Committee voted he was thought to be somewhere in the middle. Before it was explained to him how intrinsically the Soviets link politics to sport, Reagan backed the boycott. "Since we are going to be the only ones (to boycott the games) I find myself worrying about the young people who trained so long. I don't like withholding visas. Leave it to the athletes." Reagan simply did not understand that a few individual American athletes journeying to the Games would be a terrible embarrassment to our whole country arid his statements that the government was planning on "withholding visas" and would be alone in boycotting the Olympics were just plain wrong. Reagan claims that the press is picking on him and that his generalities and evasions of the issues are no worse than any other candidates. After he was corrected recently for claiming that Vietnam veterans are denied Gl Bill benefits, he called all the stories criticizing his inaccuracies "journalistic incest." His charges that other candidates have been equally vague hold no water when he is compared to Illinois Congressman John Anderson, who has not been afraid to make his stands clear. Reagan now leads Carter in the polls, those self-perpetuating evils, and there is talk that if nominated he could win in November. Such a thought is exceedingly distressing considering Reagan's tendency to skirt issues and distort facts. He has yet to make a significant economic or foreign policy speech or to clarify a number of his positions. It is demoralizing that the American public has placed Reagan in a position of such importance when he has done so little to deserve the honor. When Reagan was still in Hollywood, he starred in a series of movies with a chimp named Bonzo. One of the movies was titled Bedtime for Bonzo. Oh, if only Ronnie would heed that calling. v. w m .. ww nr jsw w m p m Tkjr- m i 6KBKSEW GMWGEOUT V ?.m regulation! violates First Amendment Br RAND TUC KIM The recent publicity concerning so-called pornography which depicts various acts degrading women raises once again the fundamental issue of the irst Amendment and freedom of expression. There appears to exist a sentiment that there should be a legal resolution of this issue, and the Supreme Court is still asserting that pornography can and should be legally regulated. In a society which professes to place a high premium on freedom, however, if the First Amendment is going to mean anything at all, it must permit the publication of things which some find distasteful. The first argument always heard in support of censorship is that pornography, in this case violent pornography, inspires various sordid types to commit crimes; this ignores the fact that there is no credible or irrefutable evidence that such is the case. On a more profound level, those who advocate some form of censorship suggest that pornography in some way corrupts moral standards and character. This invocation of morality prompts a digression of sorts concerning its nature. The concept of morality as a defense of censorship ignores the perhaps unpleasant idea that morality is a human invention and. like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. People rarely, in fact, act in w:iv thev find wrong. The role of law In a civilied letters to the editor society is to prevent one man's freedom from infringing upon another's; that is, to prevent a man from engaging in acts which his sense of morality does not prohibit but which are nevertheless detrimental to others. Beyond that, for a government to try to impose its set of morals or the morals of a given religion upon its citizens is so inappropriate as to be ludicrous. Imposing the morals ol the majority upon everyone else is an abuse of power by the majority. Government has no right to prohibit a man from engaging in a so-called "victimless" crime, and that includes looking at . pictures which others consider disgusting. Proponents of censorship suggest that society has a right to work to preserve its values and moral standards. If a government is going to attempt toshape attitudes by restricting the freedom of the press, then it is engaging in idea control. In any event, if it is justified in censoring material because of its effects on public attitudes, then logically it also has a responsibility to control ideas. Furthermore, those who argue that society is justified in trying to preserve its values would presumably have the government working not only to preserve the prevailing sexual values, but the religious, political, and economic ones as well. In any event, if the values of a society are threatened by forces from within it. then the government is hindering the progress or evolution of that society by attempting to preserve those values. There are those who suggest that v iolent pornography should be regulated because it is degrading humanity. I find no less degrading, and perhaps more disturbing, the murders w hich are depicted graphically as common fare on movie screens and which permeate television in the evening hours. I do not believe, however, that I have, or the government has. a right to prevent individuals from viewingsuch things if they want to. If the acts engaged in are performed and viewed voluntarily, then the government is unjustifiably inhibiting freedom of expression and placing restrictions on one's avenues of entertainment. To suggest that pornography should have no legal protection because it possesses no redeeming social value is to place in serious jeopardy the legal protection afforded television situation comedies, comic strips, or, for that matter. any thing which has no loftier ambition than to entertain. What is at stake is the surv ival of the autonomy ol the individual. Censorship presupposes that government has a right to attempt to determine the life ol an individual. Such a notion is one with dangerous implications. Finally, I should say that I find the thought of pictures of women being physically and sexually abused utterly disgusting, and I have no desire to see them. Still, I adamantly believe that the right to publish and v iew such materials must be protected il the phrase "freedom of expression" is to be any thing more than a hollow cliche. Rand Tucker, a sophomore history major from Goldsboro. is a stall writer lor The Daily Tar Heel. Council to consider elections amendment To the editor: The Campus Governing Council has recently taken the brunt ol a great deal of criticism concerning its past legislation in regard to elections. I will be the first to admit that the election laws, as well as the constitution and bylaws of the Student Government are sorely in need of clarification; however, I believe that the reasoning behind many of the criticisms of the CGC is not entirely in order. Just as a community does not enact a leash law until dogs have proved to be a nuisance, neither should any legislative body pass legislation completely a priori. The CGC would be foolish to second guess and enact legislation for the sake of legislation. If we begin such procedures, we will soon find ourselves mired down in as much bureaucracy as the federal government has sunken to. Naturally, responsible organizations should take as many precautionary measures as are necessary to avoid problems and should consider the far reaching implications of their bills; however, it is totally unrealistic to expect Student Government or any other legislative body to foresee every potential weak spot in its structures. II a difficulty does arise, the organization should then take measures to rectify the situation; this is exactly what the CGC is doing concerning its laws. The project of reviewing and revising the laws governing the student body is the top priority of the Rules and Judiciary Committee upon completion of the budgetary process. It is not a procedure that can be accomplished at the snap of the Supreme Court's fingers; it is a difficult and time-consuming task which is compounded by the lack of continuity between legislatures. CGC member Wayne Rackoff, who has been very vocal in his criticisms of past legislation, has already submitted a proposal which is presently being reviewed by the Rules" and Judiciary Committee. It would be a great service to the CGC and the Student Body if others who see fit to criticize would make recommendations, not just issue vague complaints and lambast the CGC. We intend to do a thorough and accurate job of amending our laws, and we are fully open to suggestion. . Anne Middleton Chairman of the Rules and Judiciary Committee Campus Governing Council Preregistration blues The line at Hanes Hall is likely to be long this afternoon; today is the last day of preregistration for the fall semester, and UNC students always seem to wait for the last day. To make a sad story sadder, the courses students scratch into all those tiny blue blocks generally bear only the faintest resemblance to the ones that wind up on their class schedules. Closed-out courses are an unfortunate fact of life at a University so large with so many requirements and so few slides. ' The whole preregistration process serves to raise a couple of questions about the manner in which academics are handled at this University. Class scheduling might go more smoothly and fewer problems would crop up during Drop-Add if a better advising system were dev ised. For most students, advising in the General College and many departments is little more than a smile and a signature on an already-prepared preregistration form. One should be grateful, we suppose, for the smile. The difficulty of scheduling electives around course requirements may be compounded by the new requirements suggested in the Thornton Curriculum Committee Report, particularly for those students in bachelor of science programs and business administration. The Thornton proposal could make a Carolina education more comprehensive, but a stricter curriculum L net necessarily a bettei curriculum. A lengthened list of degree rcquiicmettts combined wall an inadequate advising system could make preregistration even more frustrating than it is now, and that is frustrating indeed. vi mm wt think i ums iHmffiVK.oow l uusr seem to get 3st AiN& By w) ' Evening College To the editor: 1 have been an employee of UNC for six years, and for six years have been frustrated. I have a bachelor of arts degree and have planned for years to go back to school to further my education to enable me to move on to a better job. During these six years 1 could have successfully completed a masters degree program in any of several areas on a part time basis, if only this University offered something, substantial in the Evening College. If you do not need undergraduate courses the Evening College has nothing to offer you. People who must work for a living have almost no way of earning an advanced degree at UNC. University employees may take one free course each fall and spring semester, but work schedules must be rearranged to make up for work time spent in class. This definitely precludes taking more than one course per semester, since nothing substantial is offered at night. Another obstacle is the amount of time and red tape involved in registering for a free course. This also cuts into the work schedule, since it takes about a half day to accomplish. Apart from the lack of night courses and difficulty in registering for a free day course, there is the problem of finding a department or program which will admit part-time students. From vvhat I have learned, from programs in which I have had some interest, there are almost none. I find it hard to understand why a university of this caliber, which has so much to offer, refuses to offer it to such a large number of people. 1 always believed that state universities were supposed to serve the people ol the state. Most universities do. l.vnn Buckley Administrative Secretary APO carnival To the editor: I he puiposc ot the Alpha IMii Omega sen ice fraternity is to provide service to the community as well as to the campus. In the spring. AI'O's Campus Chest raises money to support the local charities. 1 his week culminates the spring's activities with the Nth annual Campus Chest Carnival from 7 p.m. to midnight Thursday, April 17. Booths will be sponsored by UNC fraternitilcs, sororities and residence halls. Entertainment will be provided as well as 50 tree kegs from Harris Distributors of Dutham. A raffle and beer chug contest can be entered by any team of four members, and applications are available at the AI'O complex in the basement of the Smith Building. An entry fee of 510 will be charged All proceeds from the beer thug, laflle and carnival will go to Campus Chest chanties. Please show your support for these charities by attending the catnival. I he B rot In. i hood of Alpha Phi Omega 'Yackety Yack' coverage of Macks debated To the editor: I was greatly disturbed by Stella Jones' charges of "covert racism" on the Yackety Yack staff "79 'Yack' presents harmful image of blacks." (DTH). April II. Throughout the year one of our major concerns was the lack of progress which the University has made in terms of race relations and meeting the needs of the black community on this campus (see "A Plea for Affirmative Action," pages 242-247, 1979 Yackety Yack). Jones claimed that, "If one were to look through the Yack one would find that it is permeated with slanted images of black people; images that are not an accurate account of black life here at UNC." She proceeded to cite two passages w hich were addressed by Trey Monroe in his letter, "'79 'Yack' coverage of blacks fair, complete," (DTll. April 14). However. Jones also neglects to notice the coverage given to the Black Arts Festival and Black Student Movement (including the Opevo Dancers. Ebony Readers, Gospel Choir). More importantly, however, our photographers made a conscious effort to be unbiased in their coverage to portray people and events as they saw them on campus -so that our coverage would not only be fair, but would somehow touch the lives of everyone w ho was a part of Chapel Hill. This is a University of amaing diversity, and we probably don't do justice to any one of the hundreds of organizations on this campus. We are limited by a number of factors; financial resources, the quality of the photographs we receive, and time constraints all restrict the extent to which we can cover a given organization. In response to Jones suggestion that one of our staff members join the BSM. I can only say that one of the five members of the central editorial staff was black, and there are more blacks on the Yack staff than there are in most other organiations on campus. I might also point out that of the 1,200 blacks on campus, only 200 are members of the BSM. I agree with Jones that "the black community is as diverse and exciting as the rest of the campus," but the BSM is not the "complete picture" of blacks here. If you look through the 79 Yack, you will find pictures of blacks as individuals and as members of organiations. If these photographs do not present an accurate picture of Carolina, then perhaps those blacks who are "most representative" were not the most visible. Our staff didn't want to paint pretty pink-and-blue pictures of Chapel Hill; we portrayed it as we saw it. and perhaps the truth was not always pleasant. To show Chapel Hill as the scat of liberalism once again would have been dishonest in many respects. Instead, we merely presented what we discovered as supportive but critical observers. Chris.inn Ohler editor. 1979 Yai ken A To the editor: What Stella Jones said about the 1979 Yacketv Yack in her letter. "'Yackety Yack' presents hannlul image of blacks." ( DTll. April I I ) was true. Black people on this campus were not fairly represented in the uatbook. While skimming through the Yack I wondered where the black organiations and Greek were, aside from the Black Student Movement and Omega Psi Phi fratcrnitv. Alter reading Trey Monroe's rebuttal to Jonc's letter. 'Yatk coverage of blacks fair. ft 0S.1 cismonilrsilon et South Building ..'Yack' coverage of organizations questioned complete." ( Dill. April 14) one ol his statements stuck with me. " I he black communitv's organicd functions received more thorough coverage than an other segment of the student bod." wrote Monroe. Well, if all the black o! g.iniatioris were in the '79 Yat k I'd like to know where the) put them I was happ to sec the BSM, BSM Gospel Choir and the Omega Psi Phi fraternity in the Yaikriv Yack. However. I remember seeing all the predominate!) white organiations. fraternities and sororities well represented in the Yackety Ycuk. I here arc two other predominately black fraternities besides tbc Omega Psi Phi fiatcrmt): the Kappa Alpha Psi fratcrnitv and the Alpha Phi Alpha f rater rut). I here arc also three predominate! black sororities; the Delta Sifrrna I Kcta snnt). the Alpha K appa Alpha sorority, and the eta Phi Beta sorority , I here arc aUo other black groups on this campus which were not mcnttorcd cither but arc University chartered . groups, with one or to exception t lliniufi James dormitory wav implied by ) a k photos to he a "ghetto" on Campus because of the larj'c number of black resident James was ahttosl the 'only area pictured in the ycarhiok wlKre one s.ia member of Use bl.uk lomrnumtv I here arc white who Uo vtay in James, juxt a tfK-rc are black 1 he fact that M.uk live there doesn't make tin: dnn an less vuitabic for lcidcis'C As a matter ol fa.t, it just rnik-'lit make U the U'si dorm on c ampu St. Ha Jones' Utter wa riot looking for racial sluts tn tfic N?y )ui(i Yatk Anyone who can sec and read Could sec the slurs Iihimuiui tocovcr M he lie I.. I honu lxtf Hmton Jamc
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 16, 1980, edition 1
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