Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 30, 1981, edition 1 / Page 7
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0 Tha Daily Ter HeelFriday, January 30. 1981 ! 1 ; : t 5 It ft! it v t, - t f EJ Natoikto jf HaAl) Kutsovc, Associate Editor Pam Kl.!.M.Y, Associate lldiwr Amy Sharps. Production Editor tl v V u X u - n .'7i 1 M I! tl si 88th year of editorial freedom Karkn Rowley. Navs Editor Linda Brown, University Editor Ann Small wood', City Editor Marx Murrell, State atul National Editor David Poole, Sports Editor James Alexander, Features Editor Tom Moore, Arts Editor Scott Sharpe, Photography Editor Ann Peters, Weekender Editor Cacophony. '.. . . .. ' ; ' : . Chapel Hill's noise ordinance has become a campus campaign issue, end almost everyone involved has an idea about how it should be revised. Sadly, the .candidates are still quite a way from agreement with the townspeople, with the students lobbying for a woofer of an ordinance and the rest of the town preferring a tweeter. The noise ordinance first became controversial last fall when police, shut down several parties at fraternity houses and students' homes. A new, tougher ordinance was proposed which would require a $5 permit for all sources' of outdoor amplified noise. Such permits would have to be obtained two days in advance, and city officials could require an extra $75 cleanup deposit in case the party permitted caused litter. The intent of the ordinance was to discourage parties, particularly ' large, noisy, messy ones. However, it also made illegal the kind of put-the-speaker-on-the-porch-and-drink-a-beer kind of gatherings many students enjoy on a weekend. Since fraternities are among the principal targets of the revised ordi nance, particularly the clean-ug deposit clause, Inter-Fraternity Coun cil representatives wanted to know what kind of compromise law can didates for student body president, would work toward if elected. Predictably, they disagreed while agreeing. Candidate Tim Smith felt that both the $5 fee and the two-day waiting period should not be 'required, since they would rule out spontaneous parties. Scott Norberg said the fee should be less and suggested that police should enforce the ordinance only after receiving a complaint and not at their own whim. Joe Buckner, who later received the IFC endorsement, said the $5 fee might be acceptable but that the $75 cleanup fee should be dropped. Mark Bozymski, who had not declared his candidacy at the time of the IFC forum, said later that he didn't see "how anyone could be arrested for just making noise." Bozymski, apparently, has not yet grasped the intracacies of the noise ordinance. Most of the candidates' proposals make sense, but the proposal that will matter is the one the Chapel Hill Town Council will accept. Council' members Joe Straley and Joe Herzenberg are working on amendments to the ordinance that will be acceptable to both sides. Such amendments should set a maximum level for outdoor noise without a permit, and the $5 filing fee should be discarded. What is needed more, of course, is restraint by both the town and students, so that $75 deposits aren't needed and decibel limits are adhered to. The rest is just noise. By MELANIE SILL There are dogs and there are dogs. And then there is Duke. Duke is a great dog. He has a face that could make the AyatoIIah Khomeini laugh. He has more charm than most human be ings, and some sav he is the most charis matic dog since Lassie. Lynn got Duke from the Orange County Animal Shelter last November. He was a lonely collie-labrador puppy without a home and she was a student who needed a friend. It was a match made in heaven. The animal shelter didn't let Lynn drive off with Duke immediately. As it does with all animal adoptions, the staff made sure Lynn understood the obliga tions and expenses involved in having a pet. Food, immunization and veterinarian costs, time commitments and love add up to a bill of responsibility too hefty for some. Also, Lynn had to sign a legal con tract saying that she would have Duke neutered when he was old enough. . fortunately for Duke, Lynn was will-. ing to undertake the duties of being a pet owner. Even better, she won't decide she's had enough of him and move away without her friend. , Jane Hutton, manager , of the animal shelter, says that between 250 and 550 animals are brought in to the shelter each month an annual total of about 4,000 cats and dogs. Of these, 70 to 80 percent must be euthanized. "A few animals have to be euthanized because they are sick, old, wild or untam able, but most are put to sleep simply because there are no homes for them," - Hutton says. National statistics estimate that between 17 million and 90 million idogs and cats are born each year in the United States. An estimated 13.5 million dogs and cats must be euthanized each year. "There are only about 43 million fam ilies in the United States, so there are not enough homes for all the animals," Hutton says. "The birth rate for animals is between five times and 25 times the human birth rate." Hutton and her staff caution prospec tive pet owners before letting animals leave the shelter, but they do not intend to discourage those who sincerely want pets. At L 4j" "Our philosophy here is to provide people with as much information as we can about what the responsibilities are financial or otherwise before they adopt .an animal," she says. Problems often arise when people move and decide to leave their animals behind. Many animals are abandoned. . "The (national) Humane Society studies show that animals who are aban doned usually live from five to seven days, and they live physically and emo tionally miserable lives until they die," Hutton says. "They scavenge for food and end up in people's garbage cans or get shot by irate citizens. "Many are poisoned or get caught in traps ... we've had dogs brought in with legs half amputated by traps," Hutton says. "The few animals that do live beyond that first week become wild and then become a social problem." When a pet is adopted by someone -who lives with a group of people, other problems also can arise. "We want them to consider things like where does the animal go during breaks and what happens if the animal is injured, whether they share the expenses and what Du!;a, cn orphan who hes found a hemo and knows how to use his charm to keep it OTH Scott Sharp happens to the animal when they go sep arate ways," Hutton says. "It's not just students who have to think about these things. I'd tell a group of working people living together the same thing." Some of the animals brought into the animal shelter are "surrendered" by owners who for some reason are unable to keep their pets any longer. "People surrender animals for many different reasons," Hutton says. "Many, are moving and can't take their pets with them. Another reason in Chapel Hill is the housing situation ... so many land lords don't allow pets. "But the No. 1 reason people surrender animals is that they let their own female 'cat or dog have a litter of kittens or puppies," Hutton says. Duke has thrived under Lynn's care. He's even gotten rather brash, carrying his supper dish to Lynn's roommates to be filled and acting cocky around his puppy friends. His main job is to be Lynn's buddy, and he does that job well. Adopting him was a good idea all the way around. Millions of animals all over America are not as lucky, though. Maybe people who are enthralled with cute puppies and kittens but less taken with grown animals should take a little more time and thought with their pets. The odds are stacked against the animals so they need all the breaks they can get. Melanie Sill, a senior journalism major from Waipahu, Hawaii, is cn editorial assistant for The Daily Tar Heel. JpQUiwPpr0GGUTre cmsing highway problem By JOHN DRESCHER No man's land A mild-mannered student was on her way to class, making her way .across campus, when suddenly, outside Phillips Hall, she realized she was no longer in the Southern Part of Heaven. She was walking in a muddy mire, surrounded on three sides by barbed wire. The ground nearby was scarred, probably the result of heavy bombing. She dropped to the ground and began crawling army style, a reflex that had been conditioned into her by all those Combat episodes she had watched on television as a child. It was no man's land. OK, so maybe the construction on campus isn't quite as bad as all that. But it's close. . Many of us consoled ourselves earlier this fall when construction workers bricked up the last holes made in the area around the Pit. The worst was over. That's what we .thought. The latest obstacle course constructed near Phillips Hall gives new meaning to the word "obstruction." The large hole isn't that bad. We're getting used to holes. Even the muddy clay can be dealt with. It's that huge John Deere tractor that's the killer. But University officials assure us that the tractor, too, shall pass and the area between Phillips and Carroll will once again become safe for human habitation. r' ri And maybe someday we'll even miss the construction. After 20 years, when w.e're back here visiting the campus as alumni, we'll look around with a twinge of regret and remark that since they put all the grass back, things just don't look the same. One of the best aspects of U.S. government is that we elect many of our officials. It's also one of the worst. The same people who vote a-politician into office-one election can vote him out the next. That's good, but what politicians will do to stay in office often isn't. State Gov. James Hunt and the N.C. General Assem bly know about the rules of politics. The question of increasing North Carolina's gasoline tax is one of those controversial issues that can determine if an official is returned to office. Hunt and mem bers of the House and Senate have tried to avoid the problem by hoping it will go away. Unfortu nately, it will not. The cause of the problem is a steadily declining Highway Fund, which is supported mostly by the state fuel tax. Money from the Highway Fund sup ports highway maintenance, road construction and the N.C. Highway Patrol. With the onslaught of fuel price increases, motorists are driving less and are driving more fuel-efficient cars. Fuel sales are down, and consequently, gasoline tax revenue is too. Hunt recognized the problem long ago; he appointed a blue ribbon study commission headed by former Gov. Dan. K. Moore that looked at the North Carolina highway upkeep crisis for more than a year. Moore recommended to Hunt that the Legislature consider several solutions, including raising the gasoline tax 5 cents or imposing a 4 percent sales tax per gallon at the wholesale level. Apparently, no one has listened because the issue has remained stagnant. The governor appears to be the natural person to get the ball rolling, but Hunt, a skilled politician if there ever was one, realizes that this is potentially the stickiest situation he'll see as governor. Most North Carolinians simply don't want to pay more for their fuel, especially in light of the Reagan decontrols that promise to jack the price of fuel even higher. So Hunt, with visions of the 1984 U.S, Senate race dancing in his head, has passed the problem to the Legislature. He did this by proposing a budget that cuts $342 million from the state's road construction program. That would require the layoff of 2,000 to 3,000 state transportation employees. Hunt clearly wants the General Assembly to handle the problem. "The responsibility to prevent that (highway deterioration) is yours as members of the General Assembly," he said, neatly passing the buck. Now the Assembly has a problem it doesn't want. A tax on gasoline appears to be the only way to cover expenses without cutting into the General Fund that finances many worthwhile and neces sary programs. North Carolina legislators are caught in the classic political dilemma: Do they do what they feel is best for the people of North Carolina, or what they feel will get them re elected? Critics say many legislators are too concerned with their political welfare. "I guess that determines when voting for the gas tax is politically suicidal," said Rep. Patricia Hunt, D-Orange. "Most assemblymen want to get re elected, so they want to do what their constitu ents want." The politics of the situation didn't begin recently. Several Democratic legislators have said that many of their colleagues committed them selves in the 19S0 campaign to oppose a gas tax increase because it might give Republican opponents art advantage if they didn't. The timing of a solution, said Rep. Hunt, is going to be crucial. Apparently, Gov. Hunt and the Assembly are waiting for the "proper" political climate. Rep. Hunt thinks the time is near. She also is one who feels that Gov. Hunt has not dumped the problem on the Legislature and run. "He's really been waiting to see if there's other alternatives. I think he's hoping there's some other answer." There isn't an easy answer. It's time to quit playing politics and address the issue. Saddled with the problem, the General Assembly now is returning to Gov. Hunt for help. "It's going to take the leadership of the governor," Rep. Hunt said. So there they stand, a governor and a legisla-. ture, each eyeing the other, each apparently caught in between the political present and their political futures. Let's hope they have the guts to do what's best for North Carolina and not just what's best for themselves. John Drescher, a junior journalism major from Raleigh, is an editorial assistant for The Daily Tar Heel. '(DUSlUdDF S1U)(QF6 il Carolina ff anno otill ctaeer vAtih claoo By DAVID POOLE '. Last week when North Carolina's basketball team went into Winston-Salem Coliseum and waxed previously undefeated Wake Forest 74-C0, a lot of the home team's fans weren't pleased with how things went. Thsse fans showed their consternation by heaving piper cups, ice, straws and other ob jects onto the floor and by making obscene End racial comments about the UNC players and coaches and about the officials. And nobody was surprised. Rowdy, abusive and obnoxious behavior at college basketball gzrr.es is no longer rare. Fsr.s &U over the nation, convinced that it's up to them to make their team's heme floor as difficult a r-!oce to win ts posble, have declared war cn visiting teams. Dcs pi: e the scrr.ew fut -tecs-thn-u ann prcet ;n the Tzt Heds t: &t other gyms, Carolina tas letl;.'l (in hive r.ar.ccd to refrain from act ins like they've loit til sense of responsib ility tr.J decency zl fccActfc-tl games. Around the ACC it Is &ccfp:ed that though C&rrr.khae! Auditorium is cn extremely toujh pUce to win, it's net iuch a l :J f ce to f t I r-l in, "I think C of m zl the University sre extremity proud cf the manner in ufckh our ilu'tzis e.nd the crovd$ zx Camichacl lave c: - .tf J t : Director cf Athkiies J 1 -i h . M.VrJ 2. t Vk coo4 ipcmmen. i ',i I - si ... : a t. .1 Mi UNCsr.i I think t: tkar" eufi .: t f w hat this Ur-ker tl'y r . S t." Swofford said that he is frequently asked by other ACC athletic directors what UNC does to keep fans at its basketball games from turning into an unruly mob like those found elsewhere. Swofford tells the ADs that he doesn't have to do anything. "I don't know that we've ever done anything in and of itself (about crowd control)," Swof ford said. "I think the conduct of the crowds is indicative of the kind of people we have in the student body and connected with the University. It has become a very positive tr: .jr.: 1 cally Traditions at other places aren't so positive. Duke is tnfamous for the behavior of the stu dents who sit .11 the way crcund the court &l Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Duke fans have been critiefced by the schoci's own athletic officials for their obscenity tnd their tendency to hurl objects well t$ insults at opposes players. Duke AD Tarn Cutters sc.: J last season that UNC "puts Duke to shame" end com mended Tar Heel fans for their "class way to respond' to vhiiir.3 teams. Other rlacts are ju-t as tr J. Gene H-r.Ls cf Duke said list season that Maryland fans at Cc!e Held House In Ccikre Park made feuhs about the Duke players moihrrs and accused the Tcrps of puttir the row. dltU students riht behind the visitors bench. The moM Wii example this w titer l;:s seen came at Wke Terra list week. The Denacn fans chanted "Dean Smith Sucks, called Jimmy Black "Clack Jimmy," repeatedly called zi least three Tar Heel players mothers "whores" and held up oversize sunglasses, a cane and an eye chart when they disagreed with calls by officials. Several of the fans directly behind press row were clearly drunk and the game was stopped several times so debris thrown from the stands could be cleaned from the floor. The problem is not limited to the ACC. Earlier this week the floor at a Florida fame was nearly covered with debris after an official called two technical fouls on Gator coach Norm Sloan. Sloan, a former N.C. Slate coach, took the public address system micro phone and bested his fans to stop, but play was halted for more than 15 minutes. . The naughty doin-s ehewhere have UNC .officials concerned that Tax Heel fans r.':'.t get the idea they're bc4 bcu-.j supportive enough because they're riot aiming mob violence at opposing teams. "We'd just Lie to let the students know how appreciative everyone is in the aihktk depart ment of how our crowds have been," Sucfford said. "We'd Lis to encourage them to keep U up." "The tradition we have In basketball is cne of the healthiest we have. It is a credit to cur student body, our bind, cur cheerleeieri and to Coach Dean Smith, who his timely not let such behavior get started. It fives a pc:l:he and first class impttr-brt tni is cne ! certainty b.-ewi3 continue" ;,J A1: -V. & l. --.-rj, ::rr. i r t f;C "t C : c, v rr ' 'cTl:D.'tyl rll h S i 1- i . V 7Z() t V! -r. 3:r sr ' y, . ; , . . . Js . : J. y ' y s s , 4 v . fe . 4 s r ,
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 30, 1981, edition 1
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