Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Aug. 25, 1981, edition 1 / Page 6
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6Tha Daily Tar HeelHuesday, August 25. 1981 Jim Hummel, eMm Pro -f mm Susan Mauney, Mw- Editor Mark Murrell. ,4ivi- ata Jonathan Rich. ao . Edwina Ralston. umvmuy Editor JOHN ROYSTER, City Editor CHARLES HERNDON. Stale and National Editor EETH BURRELL. News Editor Clifton Barnes. Spom Editor TOMOORE, Arts Editor Keith King, Fww Editor SCOTT SHARPE. Photography Editor ANN PETERS. Weekender Editor Chuck James, Ombudsman Too much time The prospect of attending a university with more than 20,000 other people can be a little overwhelming for some students even those who caught Carolina Fever at an early age or who may have visited Chapel Hill before coming to UNC. As a result, the University has developed a comprehensive orientation program for new students to help them adjust to the many facts of Carolina living. It is one of the best-run programs in the nation and the success of this year's orientation proved once again that there were many people willing to come back to school early and devote a great deal of time and energy to help freshmen and junior transfers settle in. Before planning next year's program, however, the Orientation Commission should consider shortening orientation events from eight days to four or five days as it was before the program expanded three years ago. In 1978 several groups, including the General College, pushed for the longer orientation, arguing that it would allow them more time to process placement tests and other administrative details that had to be handled the first week students come to UNC. But it is becoming evident that eight days is just too long to have new students waiting for classes to start. Both the administration and commission have tried to play down the "party aspect" of the first week, but the fart remains that many students get a false sense of what academic life is like here by having a great deal of free time during orientation. Before orientation expanded, new students arrived on Saturday, and classes started the following Thursday or Friday. Now, freshmen and junior transfers must wait an additional three days to get a taste of what their courses will be like. If the University should return to the previous orientation schedule, it also might relieve some pressure from the 700 Orientation Counselors who are subject to burn out during the current eight-day period. In order to process placement tests for the vast number of freshmen who are accepted every year, UNC could hold separate, smaller orientations over the summer, as many other state universities do. This plan would allow the tests to be administered to new students, many of whom are from North Carolina and could attend the sessions. Anybody unable to attend the sum mer sessions could take the tests during regular orientation in August. , Returning to the shorter schedule would take pressure off nearly everyone - from the OC to the freshman and ensure that the orientation program contin ues to serve as a valuable introduction to the more than 4,000 new students who choose to come to UNC every year. Up in arms The Reagan administration's recent decision to end a two-month suspension of jet deliveries to Israel has cleared the way for immediate shipment of 16 more, warplanes to America's troublesome ally in the Middle East. Then, without first resoLYing.thccontrpyersy responsihle. foi- the suspension, thedecisiori does not safeguard against further disputes arid embarrassmentiover the use of U.Sfwea pons by Israel. Deliveries of F-16 fighter aircraft to Israel had been suspended since early June, when U.S.-built Israeli fighters bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor. The sus pension was expanded and continued after a July 17 Israeli raid on Beirut in which 300 civilians were killed. As both air raids clearly violated U.S. military assistance laws that forbid the use of U.S. equipment for offensive purposes, it is encouraging that Reagan has modified his policy of unilateral support of Israel to one that at least considers the complaints and goals of all sides. The temporary suspension of fighters served to warn Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin that aggressive Israeli action will not go unchallenged, while indicating a new willingness on the American side to consider the Arab position. Secretary of State Alexander Haig has said that a major factor influencing the resumption of arms deliveries was the successful cease-fire in Lebanon agreed to July 24 by Israel and the PLO. Although the tentative peace is a hopeful sign, the administration has still not resolved the delicate"issue of arming Israel with the United States' most sophisticated fighters. This country has a firm commitment to the security of Israel, and it is one that should be continued with whatever political and military support is necessary. America's traditional alliance should not, however, supercede our other allies and interests in the region. Every time Israel uses U.S. weapons in an unnecessary or "non-defensive" move, this country is directly implicated. If the United States is to succeed in implementing an independent policy for Middle East peace and sta bility, it must find a way to curb Israeli military activity. The recent controversy over Israel highlights a larger issue the problem of a U.S. foreign policy that is based on the barter of arms as much as anything else. In addition to arming Israel, the United States is conducting massive arms sales to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the latter to the tune of $11 billion over the last two years. One can hardly criticize Israel for demanding more jets when its traditional enemies are being armed to the teeth with the latest in U.S. technology. Before this country becomes too deeply involved through military sales and commitments, it needs to define a clear policy for the Middle East. Hopefully it will be one that looks beyond arms sales as a source of international influence. The Bottom Line Homesick? Freshmen at UNC aren't the only folks homesick right now. A doctor in Turin, Italy, has certified that an in dustrial worker in northern Italy has been away from his job because he's sick with misery. The man, Filippo Alessi, works . for a chemical company. The com pany claims Alessi is putting them on. Both sides have applied to a labor judge to decide the question if homesickness can be considered an actual disease or if missing 150 days a year merits dismissal. The controversy began on the eve of the traditional mid-August holidays when the 42-year-old Alessi handed his employer a medical cer tificate stating he was suffering from a "syndrome of melancholy." The doctor prescribed 20 days of rest for Alessi in his hometown 850 miles away. Unfortunately, freshmen probably won't be able to find a doctor who will recommend that they spend 20 days resting in their hometown. But fear not, kids. If you're lucky enough to live within driving distance . . , lath Star .Jforf year of editorial freedom of Chapel Hill, this weekend is only three days away. A penny saved ...? If you're a penny saver and you're willing to travel to Little Rock, Ark., your day has come. Worthen Bank and Trust Co. has promised to pay $1.10 this week for every 100 pennies brought in. The bank said the Federal Reserve had been unable to meet the demands for pennies lately, and they've decided to take matters into their own hands. In two hours Monday, the bank was swamped with 27 1 ,000 pennies delivered by people ranging in age from 4 to 90. One person brought in 12,000 pennies and took home a $12 profit. Patrick O'Sullivan, assistant vice president for marketing at the bank, said that if the weather had been nicer, the response might have been more than they could have handled. Meanwhile, it appears the old say ing may have to be changed to: MA penny saved is 1.1 pennies earned." And that, penny hoarders, is the bottom line. By JOHN DRESCHER Like married people sometimes change spouses, politicians sometimes change parties. State Rep. Mary Pegg, R-Forsyth, a married politician, is doing both. Pegg, often called one of the legisla ture's staunchest pro-family advocates, said recently she was living part-time in Goldsboro and planned to marry Rep. Richard Grady, D-Wayne, as soon as all divorce proceedings from both of their marriages are final. Pegg, 43, separated from her husband in January and wilrbe legally divorced on Dec. 31. Grady, and his wife filed for legal separation July 30 and could be divorced in a year. Just as Pegg's name will change, her party affiliation will also. She has an nounced that she is resigning her seat in the House and will join the Democratic Party because "politics is like religion." "A couple should have the same religion and go to the same church," Pegg, ob viously an expert on family life, told the Winston-Salem Journal. "I'll be coming into Richard's territory, and when I come, I should join his party." Obviously, mar riages with partners of different religions and different political affiliations cannot survive. Funny, though. Seems Reps. Pegg and Grady managed to put aside partisan politics and get along quite well as mem bers of different parties. . "And I thought they were supposed to be up there (in Raleigh) making laws," Grady's wife of 33 years, Lee, said. Oh, well. You've heard of working together closely on the issues, right? Speaking of the issues, the whole affair, so to speak, becomes even more ironic when one recalls Pegg's campaign for re election to office as champion of the . "pro-family" cause. In the House, she has opposed sex education in public schools, state fundings of abortions for poor women and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. As one can see, she's been a real crusader for the moral way of living. She also has been one of the lead ing opponents of the New Generation Act of 1979, which set up state and local com mittees to coordinate services to children. Grady, known as a conservative Demo crat, is a farmer who has served three terms in the House, and knows when to keep his mouth shut, which is right now. Letters to the editor rmmtive uctiou m To the editor: ' "An idealist," wrote Mencken, "is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup." Liberals are incurable idealists and their schemes for social re form are like the rose in Mencken's aphor ism: lovely in appearance, but bitter to the taste and hard to digest. President Reagan, elected by a nation choking on liberal porridge, has promised and de livered more nourishing fare. Alas, tastes change more slowly, in Chapel Hill. Notice, for example, an arti cle published in the final edition of the summer Tar Heel, written by Lynne, Thomson ("Segregation at UNC," The Tar Heel, Aug. 6). The article concerns housing at the Uni versity. Thomson, citing a report prepared by the Housing Office, notes that most minority students live in four dormitories on South Campus. She acknowledges that the Housing Office assigns rooms without regard to race, but argues that the result contributes to racial isolation and thus "denies students a valuable learning and growing experience," Thomson observes, correctly, that the key to racial harmony is "for people to see each other as simply people; as indi viduals, not as races." And how do we. move , closer to this goal? According to Thomson, the University should house people ... according to race! The arrogance of her proposal fairly takes one's breath away. The existing housing pattern is the result of random As the couple-to-be wait for their di-; vorces to become final, political analysts . have the unique chance to study what could become a new trend in political re alignment, which is defined by the experts as a durable change in patterns of politi cal behavior. Lately many experts have been predicting that the nation maybe is undergoing its first realignment since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal turned this nation Democratic in the 1930s. In . order to fight that realignment, Democrats are busy scheming up plans to keep current Democrats in their party and maybe steal a few Republicans while they're at it. Now, it hasn't been determined if the Grady-Pegg hookup is part of an overall Democratic plan to capture Republicans, but if Grady and Pegg get married, the marriage lasts and Pegg changes parties, it'd be safe to say that would be a "dur able change" in her political behavior. However, in order to be, a true political realignment, the change in parties must invoke a great number of voters, as the experts say it currently is. It is clear to see then that Democrats have their work cut out for them; If they want to make a real dent in the rising number of Republicans, they're going to have to do a whole lot of nonpartisan lobbying and close caucusing, or, as Mrs. Grady said, whatever they do when they're supposed to be making laws. Of course, it's expected the Republicans will attempt to meet this party-raiding with an effort of their own. The next elections aren't that far off, and no one wants to lose because a bunch of people once in your political party got up with some" sweet-talking members of the opposite party. The situation gets more confusing when third-party candidates run (heaven knows how many marriages John Ander son broke up), and thank goodness biga my is illegal or we'd really have mass po1 litical and domestic confusion. Anyway, rest assured that the Congres sional Club will soon put its computerized mailing list in effect to search for eligible Democrats to woo. Or, better yet, rumor has it the Club is preparing an expensive advertising blitz that will tout a new po litical datingservice and blast Reps. Grady and Pegg for cronyism and trading politi cal favors for, well, uh, other favors. Meanwhile, Mrs. Grady has not de clared if she is changing party affiliation but she did say she discussed the situation with Pegg. selection by the Housing Office and indi vidual choice by, students, both black and white. To deprive students of this right is not only ah unwarranted intrusion on their freedom; it is an affront to their intelligence. Blacks, especially, should be insulted by this new racism. Thomson admits that many blacks prefer to live in dorms where they are not so conspicuously in the mi nority. This is a perfectly reasonable atti tude for any minority group; all of us, from time to time, need the understand ing and support peer groups can provide. Thomson finds this argument "not good enough." In other words, blacks are in capable of knowing what is best for them. Thomson argues that mingling between blacks and whites promotes greater under standing and thus reduces tension. I agree. We need more interaction at every level. The problem is coercion. Forcing blacks and whites to room together might pro duce good results. But might it not also have the opposite effect? Separating friends and depriving people of the right to choose might exacerbate, not soothe, racial tension. Forced busing, another liberal enthusiasm, had precisely this effect. . Race is America's oldest, most anguish ing problem. We have made great progress over the last few decades in combatting racial discrimination and moving toward . a biracial society. Even though much re mains to be done, we have learned one valuable lesson; namely, that race relations is a problem too complex to be solved by X GUESS T5 OK I OR,3 GLAD TO BE BACK "I asked her where they were going to live," Mrs. Grady said, "and she said, 'I'm going to live where you're living now, in that yellow house." So, it appears the Republicans will lose a representative, Mrs. Grady will lose a house and Rep. Grady will have a hell of a time not losing his next election. But, dorms culled idealistic simply throwing people together, whether in school buses or in dormitories. Dayi HI lyner Tarheel Manor, Apt. M-5 Carrboro Student involvement vital To the editor: In his Perspective column, "Student commitment key to success" (DTH, Au gust 24), Student Body President Scott, Norberg noted the important impact that Chapel Hill and Carrboro town govern ment has . on University students. From operation of the bus system, which 6,000 students and faculty members use every day, to decisions about outdoor noise, apartment construction, bicycle paths, and police practices, the two city govern ments have an important say over stu dents' lives. When the bus system was started in 1974 student support was essential in pass ing the referendum, and -students also worked heavily in the successful 1980 ref erendum in Carrboro to give a permanent authorization to the bus system there." Most observers say that the Chapel Hill Carrboro bus system provides the best service in the Carolinas. The best way to participate is to vote. The Orange County Board of Elections, supported by a 1979 ruling from the North Carolina Supreme Court, does not dis criminate against students in voter regis tration. Students have just as much right to register as anyone else. . " Your participation as an active citizen none of this whole incident should come as much of a surprise. It just goes to show that, like some wise man once said, all is fair in love, war and that strange combi nation of love and war, politics. John Drescher, a senior journalism and history major from Raleigh, b an editorial writer for The Daily Tar Heel. requires much more than just voting. Reading local news stories in The Daily Tar Heel or other area papers, watching local programs on Cable TV; and support ing student government in its efforts to influence town affairs are all important. Current town officials in Carrboro have been very supportive of all elements of the community, in contrast with the pre 1977 town government which tended to pretend that students did not exist. Led by the Carrboro Community Coalition, a progressive group now holds the Carrboro mayor's office and five of six seats on the board of aldermen. In Chapel Hill a pro gressive majority on the town council in this southern liberal bastion also has ex panded town services to meet the needs of a growing and more urban community. When you get a. voter registration leaf let, a bus schedule or political pamphlet at your door, don't ignore them. To help defeat the likes of Jesse Helms, to keep a progressive majority in local and county government, and to monitor political events takes just a few hours. Even if you'll be in Chapel Hill for just four years, it's an investment that will be well worth it. With many of the local goals students have pushed for during the last few years now accomplished, it's easy to sit back and forget about this fall's elections. But those who opposed the changes made in the 1970s are not asleep. Already, some have said that Chapel Hill should emulate Ronald Reagan and slash services. In a year when money and student aid will be tight because of Reagan budget cuts, it's time to fight back and not give in. Gerry Cohen Chapel Hill Arms sales questioned To the editor: I really feel sorry for the people who are now getting near retirement age. After all, our government is going to feed the sacred cow of national defense come hell or high water and as for the old people, they can just go to hell. However, national defense is important, but as to supplying the Jews with highly classified weapons, that is a different mat ter. I wrote a letter to a man who wrote an editorial to the Charlotte Observer and asked him what he really meant to say be fore the people at the Observer cut the guts out of his letter. Part of what he wrote back was that the Jews in Israel are in cahoots with the Jews in Moscow. I quote: "Most of the Zionists and rulers of Israel are Ashkenazim. They are secret allies of the rulers of the Soviet Union, as is proved by Ephraim Sande's book. Fare well Israel. " I don't think that ours is a fr,ee country if we are all to be taxed and the budget in flated in order to build a trillion dollars worth of weapons. I wonder what the Jews use our weapons for? I suspect that they do to their neighbors what we did to the American Indians and that is foment wars with them so that they can be killed and their land stolen. Bill Bloomer Charlotte, N.C.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 25, 1981, edition 1
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