Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Aug. 25, 1980, edition 1 / Page 53
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r" j abr iatitf mx ilrrl 1 r Editorial Commentary Analysis f 1 pi T! rngiiiTrris DyPAMKELLEY l he legal jargon that has been associated with the University cf North Carolina v. Department of Education desegregation case has been repeated so often it has become cliche to anyone who has followed the controversy. We've heard about increased minority matriculation, elimination of duplication of programs and the enhancement of black schools until the terms have lost any meaning they may have had initially. Dut for practical purposes, all that bureaucratic terminology is meaningless anyway. Even if UNC fulfills every government demand, our campus won't be integrated. We could desegregate according to government specifications until doomsday and still not be integrated. Desegregation and integration are two very different things. Desegregation can be done with plans and money and a lot of administrators who recruit minorities and bureaucrats who figure percentages. It's not easy, but it's possible. And compared to integration, it's a snap. Integration isn't accomplished by juggling programs and .increasing percentages. It means changing attitudes, breaking with tradition, eliminating ignorance. Try to find a bureaucrat who can do that. Blacks have been attending UNC Chapcl Hill for 29 years, and it's still embarrassingly evident that black-white relations here are nowhere near ideal. For example, according to Department of University Housing estimates, of the 1,012 black students who lived on campus last year, ESO of them lived in the four dorms on South Campus. The Greek system is integrated no better. There are three black sororities and 12 white ones, and none have broken racial barriers. Only a handful of black men ever have belonged to the 27 predominantly white fraternities, and no white men have belonged to ths thrcs black 'fraternities.' '"-"".' "' Many black students participate in the Black Student Movement, a campus organization that functions as a special interest group addressing the problems and demands of black students. They also publish their own newspaper, Black Ink and organize their own cultural activities, such as the Opeyo Dancers, the BSM Gospel Choir and the Ebony ReadersOnyx Theater. Blacks even hold a black orientation before the main Orientation period, because they say that the main Orientation period doesn't provide Information black freshmen need. On the surface, it might seem that black students are perpetuating segregation by insisting on holding onto activities and organizations exclusively for them. Other campus organizations are open to them, after all. Why don't they just participate in those? But both black and white leaders on this campus are quick to point out that the banding together of bbek students Pam Kelley, a senior journalism major from Hamilton, Ohio, is University editor for The Daily Tar Heel. here in the form of black student organizations and activities is necessary. If predominantly white groups offered something that interested blacks, if white students took some time to understand and accept the lifestyles and heritage of black students, we wouldn't need special black activities, they say. But that just is not the way it is. Legal barriers for blacks at this University have been destroyed. But other, less well defined, barriers continue to thrive. "The major hurdle we have to jump over is ignorance," BSM President Mark Canady says. "Not enough whites know enough about blacks. That's what prejudice and racism stem from just lack of exposure. It's only natural. We tend to stay away from things we don't know about." Student Body President Bob Saunders agrees. "We're fighting institutional segregation what we have to change -now are attitudes, customs, traditions," he says. "The problem is the groups are. quietly ignoring each other. There's no confrontation scenes. That's so much harder to correct than an angry emotional scene. There's no recognition that there's a problem." Canady says fear of being alone amidst students with different values and lifestyles is probably the reason many black students who live in campus housing choose to live on South Campus. "They feel they have a bigger voice if they're together. If we're spread thin we're easier to assimilate." And since blacks make up only 7.5 percent of the campus population anyway, it wouldn't be too hard to spread them thin. It's not likely the Greek system is going to change much either, at least not in the near future. Canady says the reason is pretty obvious: a man or woman enters a fraternity or sorority to be with people like himself or herself. Blacks and whites on this campus don't have much in common, so there's no . desire on the part of either race to spend a lot of time with the other. t .'Hayde n; jlenwick,; associate-dean -of the College of Arts and Sciences, says there's a simple reason that blacks and whites still don't have much in common. "Whites are totally ignorant of the values and lifestyles of blacks. Blacks have adopted some values from whites. Why can't whites adopt some from blacks?" He says blacks are indoctrinated to the white world throughout school. But most whites' knowledge of black culture extends no further than George Washington Carver. "Blacks are very suspicious of you,", he says. "Why shouldnt they be? Blacks were reaching out asking to be integrated for years. They've finally said 'the hell with it. Now whites are going to have to reach out and ask blacks to participate, and it might take a while for blacks to respond." Canady and Saunders agree that if real integration, not just desegregation, ever is to be achieved, it'll take a conscious effort from whites. They're going to have to seek out blacks to Sea INTEGRATION on pegs 2 i Former Chancellor N. Ferebe8 Taylor, left, leads Department of Health, Education and Welfare . officials on a tour of the campus in 1979. Above and right, the delays in the negotiations between UNC and federal officials prompted protests by the Black Student Movement and other students at the Chapel Hill campus. esegregation caoe No winner in struggle: over UNC system By JIM HUMMEL On a hot day last month, while the residents of Washington, D.C., were doing their best to beat the heat, an administrative law hearing began in a building just down the street from the center of the city. T-The hearing -.Toonr; didtmotrseent tot reflect the importance of the case. It was in the basement of a federal office building around the corner from George Washington University. There was just enough room for all the lawyers, several dozen spectators and camera crews who came to view the proceedings. But the decision that will be handed down after all the evidence is presented could influence the future of higher education, not only in North Carolina, but also in the nation. The hearings began in July after the University failed to reach an agreement with the federal government on plans to desegregate the 16-campus UNC system. The Department of Education is attempting to cut off an estimated $90 million that it gives the University annually. The battle has been going on since the NAACP Legal Defense Fund brought a lawsuit against the government 10 years ago in hopes of getting it to enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It charged UNC with not moving quickly enough to desegregate its .11 predominantly white and five predominantly black campuses. A final decision on the matter is still a long way off, but whatever the outcome, one thing is certain: The case has educational, economic and political stakes that increase each day the dispute drags on. Jim Hummel, a junior journalism major from Grafton, Mass., is state and national editor for The Daily Tar Heel. . No winners During the past decade the focus of the negotiations has changed and people involved in the case have come and goijie, but after viewing each side's position one thing seems clear: No matter which side is declared victorious, nobody is going to win in this dispute. Many people have tried to label the conflict as a 'tate.'strjghts.issue,,a. simple.. case jof North .Carolina telling the government that it should not try to dictate how the "Our state runs its university system, position is not racial, but deals with institutional control," UNC President William C. Friday said in an interview last week. "The government wants to see if it can prescribe the program a school has to offer. It's so disappointing to see the government in an adversary role. Universities do best when governed least." ! But the problem goes deeper than that. Even if the government were to lose the case tomorrow it still would have a great deal of control over the direction individual faculty research takes. Conversely, if North Carolina fails to win, the UNC administration still will be the dominating force, determining which programs go to what schools regardless of how much federal money is pumped into the system. Either way, the longer the case continues the more it hurts the system and UNC-Chapel Hill in particular. ' Vherever I go, my colleagues in other states say, 'Oh yeah, you guys from North Carolina are the ones with the racial problem.'" one professor said. "And the reputation (of UNC-Chapel Hill) keeps dropping." UNC ia control Despite the government's efforts to get the UNC administration to put key programs at the black schools, it appears the University has had the final say on jthe matter. The Department of Education has not haa much influence with the system and probably won't even if it wins the case. The changes will have to corjie from within if UNC wants one of the black schpols to become a major research institution. there is a paradox in the government's attempt to cut off UNC funding because if the system loses its federal aid, the black schools are likely to be hurt the -most. "I have never, seen an exact breakdown cf the money we receive from the government, but if it were cut off it would hurt us substantially," said Charles Lyons Jr., chancellor of predominantly black Fayetteville State University. "You are talking about close to half a million dollars a year." But the possibility of a total cutoff is slim, because of a ruling by former secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph Califano. He said only programs that directly led to segregation would be terminated, a total of ipproximately $15 to $20 million. Other states However, because North Carolina is a leading system in the South, the results of its case could determine how the government handles other states. UNC is not alone in its battle, although it is the chief contestant. The Louisiana system also has had problems in its negotiation with the government, but its. case is not as advanced and has a few different twists to it. "We were the only state that never submitted a (desegregation) plan," Paul Ferlita, Louisiana assistant attorney general said in a telephone interview recently. "As it turned out the universities that did are still See UNC SYSTEM on page 2 K fD ID rnQboro trim mmmemmmmm Interest focnoeo on IOan9-Nasio9 -Gommiinioto rather than caoe By MELANIE SILL In Guilford County Superior Court in Greensboro, a trial is under way that has drawn rational attention and publicity, little of it favorable, to the city and to the state cf North Ccrcllr.a's judicial system. On trial ere six members cf the ICu Klux IChn r. J the American Nazi Pciiy. They are charged with first-degree murder and felony rioting in the Nov. 3, 1979, deaths of five members cf the Communist Workers Party at a "Death to the VJm" rally in Greensboro. From the cutset, the trial his been complicated, confusing and grueling for fell l?:!;r:l! Si.'l, a scrJcr Journalism mzjor from Yc!: zhu, jv. -,7. b Wcebcnder editor for The Dolly Tar Heel. SA r'vi cover ihi trial cs a r .-""r f:r IT ? C- 1 a Bfeeri.' I i - .... " involved. Jury selection, which began June 16, lasted nearly six weeks. About 2,250 Guilford County residents had to be summoned before a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates could be selected. Unfortunately, the method of jury selection used and the structure of the legal system may have given the defendants a slight edge before ectueJ presentation cf evidence bejan. The jury is all white, with six men and six women on the primary panel. The absence of blacks is a serious deficiency in any jury, especially in the Khn-Nazi case. One cf the five killed Nov. 3 was black. A tzd process The process Itself, however, is probably to bhrne for the homogeneous jury chosen tn the Two prosecutors, outnumbered by the six full time defense attorneys working cn the case, questioned prospective jurors first throughout the selection process, an unusual practice in a criminal ce.se. In most trills, proiecuuon and defense teams tile turns screening jpctentbl jurors first. Each i:d: is t"ou ei a jpecified number cf peerr.r'.cry dlsmttt-ls, in h;;h attorneys can reject a juror tuthcut hiving to demenstratj cr state a resson for d.srss;sscJ. Also, tr.':.T.iteJ r.u.-.Ver cf 1!..t.1. :!& use ti:o:-;J (:t c.vr.e, if cn cttorr.ey sbo-A$ D :cv; c, :.:!::.:.-- tl.it a j-.rcr hsi r-i c ?.:! v.: ,M r:l t l.i.et ur.:tte to f ive .';!. ?r s a f-:r triJ. In the Greensboro trial, prosecutors weeded out most jurors who had overriding prejudices against the Klan, Nazis or CWP. The state also used preemptory dismissals for persons who seemed more opposed to the CWP than to the other groups. Because many jurors seemed to see the CWP as the worst of the three organizations, though, the state ran cut of preemptory dismissals long before the defense team. The result was that, toward the end of the six weeks, jurors with strong anti-Communist feelings and neutral or positive views cf the Klan and Nazis were approved by the state and later by the defense. Defense lawyers quickly got rid of jurors strongly opposed to Klan or Nazi members or ideology, including all the blacks approved by the t - Not all the blacks rejected expressed bias toward the two white-supremacy groups; some said they knew tittle about either group cr about the Nov. 3 shootings. Many . quickly p'-sscd "ln:urrne;-;s:;b!e, prejudices that wculi nuke them too tics: J to be fcir jurors. Others jumped on a band on cf sorts after prosecutors asked standard questions about their f;:! r;s cn the d:zth prr;::!:y, a pcssiMe punishment tn any first-degree murder conviction. As rr.s-.y cs r.'.r.e j.:.v:j u a sir, e r ' " -l f H v, ,-re d' .: . - H w . c i! ; y r . 1 V :y ! . i t. 1 cr r;'. . js t .'...f Jr. I V..: d,:h pr.;!:y. Though many jurors undoubtedly did hold such beliefs, it was obvious that to some the capital-punishment excuse was simply a way to escape jury service. Prosecution and defense attorneys seemed to look for persons who had heard cr read relatively little about the shootings through the news media. The state approved most who said they had no bias that would rule cut a fair verdict. Rejected for no cause were some w ho said they thought the IClan stood "for a stronger America" and ethers who viewed it as a religious group. Defense attorneys approved jurors who seemed to have traditional, conservative Southern values, had relatively few yean cf form.il education, and who gave favorable cr impartial impressions cf the Klan and Nazis and who opposed V W tiU t t itt i The issue that should have stood s. most important the death cf five human lc;ns was lest in a mishmash cf pclitlcal !eanin;s, sense based cn inaccurate perceptions cf the groups involved, ethers formed cathet -sis cf act! on i ty J.i;e J;:s M. tc?z, a careful cr.J lerperarf fjr.e tl rc -the rrc.?:.! r;,, re-. .1;J j jrr.rs, t:orre)i and ce ,n c cf i) e r.-?t cf rri-nary ir;vMar..: v..m r e f;!i t e t.-urs-v. rre I :'rr L'-.-ff J. I cr ! I.js liken c:..e cs.h ite? cf t: e way in the lK,ft3f; Ho the Inter c ttl-tihtJ.t I -.a la h f :.'.;t tj a-.s. ' I e r .' " i t t a f :i...l(f the overturning of a verdict cn appeal. In one instance. Long refused to go against a law he said he fell was unfair and someday would be changed. The law ruled cut the use cf photos or film foot2ge as evidence in its own right, rather than merely as illustrations cf a witness's te!.timony. "The case will come when a jud;e, in the interests cf justice, will have to change the law," Long said. "I don't believe this is the case." Lcng may have made a major error in judgment, however, in deciding net to sequester the jury. News of the trial is in ail local sr. J most state media daily, and the case is a prime topic cf conversation for many in Guilford County. An ur.sequestercd jury had easy access to media information about the trial; thus the possibility cf a mhtrail is increased. Another complication ztcs when it was reported in a July 14 Cfccnicro fceccrd story that an F CI c:cr.i hid inf.'.trated the Klan and kr.e cf plans to attend the Nov. 3 r; . Though the g-ent, Uernard LV.kovich. had r.oi tc!J pchee cf ths group's plan to carry weapons to the rally, the question cf iuppres,::.n cf evidence arose tca-te of liutkcvkh's ir.vcl'.emcr.r. It was revealed that the s-er.i t S iJ .-r.ltted a report to Guilford County D..:r Attorney M.chael !khlvtf then! afiet the sheet in ;s. Schh'S'.cr later wi crdered ly Icnj to turn otr any pan cf the rep! that uU 1 1 favora! I: to j J.J. f f fv , r -, T r 1 f. ! f" n n " ?
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 25, 1980, edition 1
53
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