Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Oct. 15, 1982, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
8The Daily Tar HeelFriday. October 15. 1932 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 90th year of editorial freedom JOHN DRSCHER. Editor ANN PETERS. Managing Editor KERRY DeROCHI, Associate Editor Rachel Perry. iMmiiy Editor ALAN CHAPPLE, City Editor JIM WRINN, State and National Editor Linda Robertson, sports Editor . LAURA SOFERT, News Editor Mob mentality To the students who rushed Carmichael Auditorium Wednesday: Enjoy the 50-yard-line seats. Your shoving left at least one fellow stu dent injured. Your elbowing bruised a number of others. And your ac tions showed that the ticket distribution policy should be changed and students should think about the importance of those "ideal" football seats. The lines for Saturday's N.C. State game started as early as last weekend. By Wednesday, when tickets were distributed, students were wet, tired and short-tempered. When the lights were turned on at 5 a.m., students became anxious. Just one hour later, the lines had turned into large mobs. Students shoved against each other and hit each other in the face. . - Psychologists call it "the mob mentality." It's the ruthless mindset that overzealous fans get in before a game. Their actions are self centered and threaten the welfare of others. Since Wednesday's fiasco, Perry Morrison, president of the Carolina Athletic Association, has met with other ticket officials to discuss changing the distribution policy. Already they have ordered numbered cards for the Maryland game. Although no final plans have been made, Morrison said students probably will have to take a number when they line up at Carmichael for tickets. Whether a new policy is adopted or not, students need to alter their perspective on the games themselves. Football tickets are a privilege paid in part by the athletic fee. The team is good; the games are ex citing. But no football game should cause an obsession for good seats that disregards the rights of others. Besides, there are other ways of showing support. Yell extra loudly at the games. Wear Carolina Blue. And buy a football program. But keep the UNC football season in perspective. Unless the participants re-evaluate Wednesday's mob scene, changes in ticket distribution will be ineffective. A ticket policy is only as good as the students who abide by it. -1 " r"' B" ; . Thorpe, the greatest "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world," said Sweden's King Gustav. "Thanks, king," said Jim Thorpe. There was no question Jim Thorpe was the greatest athlete in the world when King Gustav spoke to Thorpe at the 1912 Olympic games in Sweden. Thorpe had just won two gold medals for record-breaking victories in the decathlon and the pentathlon. 'Thorpe's -athletic career did not end at the Olympic games. It was just beginning. But in many ways it was clouded by the fact that Thorpe, was stripped of his gold medals a year later by Olympic game officials. On Wednesday the International Olympic Committee took action it should have taken long ago when it reinstated Thorpe's gold medals, 29 years after his death. The AAU ruled that because Thorpe had accepted money when he was in college for playing semi-professional baseball in North Carolina, he forfeited his. amateur status and was not eligible for the Olympics. Thorpe, a Sac and Fox Indian, was paid about $2 per game when he played for teams in Rocky Mount and Fayetteville in 1909 and 1910. It was not unusual then for college layers to play semi-pro baseball during the summer, but most cljapgecl their names in order to protect their amateur status. Thorpe did not. "I did not play for the money," Thorpe said. "I was not very wise to the ways of the world and did not realize this was wrong. I hope I will be partly excused by the fact I was simply an Indian schoolboy and did not know I was doing wrong, because I was doing what many other college men had done." Thorpe was not excused; he was made to be an example. The hypocrisy of that has become more apparent as the athletes that perform in Olym pic games have become more and more professional. In many Eastern bloc countries, so-called amateur athletes play their sports for their liveli hood. Today the International Olympic Committee says that amateur athletes can accept money for food, lodging, transportation, pocket money, clothes, equipment, medical bills and specialized coaching. There's no doubt today's amateur athletes are far more professional than Thorpe was when he was competing in the Olympics. Thorpe went on to play both major league baseball and professional football. In 1950 he was voted the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century. On the 50th birthday of the National Football League, he was named to the league's all-time all-pro team. But always Thorpe has been associated with the gold medals that were taken away from him in 1913. Now Jim Thorpe can rightly take the place in Olympic history that he deserves. Football ain't all By PA UL GARDNER Troubles still abound in the talks be tween the National Football League players and owners, causing breakoffs in the meetings and pushing the current season, what little that has been played, to the brink of oblivion. Years from now, fans will look back on 1982 and sec that an astounding total of six teams finished the season undefeated. A little asterisk, however, will reveal to the fan that the season end ed two weeks after it began. He might also note that no one died because of the strike and that , the rift between the players and owners was no great distur bance to the "ways of the world." That is why I find it silly that a reporter, at President Reagan's latest news conference, would ask the leader of our country what he thought about the strike. . There are more important things in this country, and in this world, than the NFL season. Believe it or not, there are things even more important than the Super Bowl. True, the NFL does provide some good entertainment, but its loss is not so KEN MlNGIS, Associate Editor ELAINE McCLATCHEY, Projects Editor SUSAN HUDSON, Features Editor Leah Talley, Efiwr Teres a Curry, weekend Editor AL STEELE, Photography Editor precipitous as a middle-aged Palestinian's loss of her family in a refugee camp massacre that left 400 peo s pie dead last month. The loss of the NFL season is not so great as the loss suffered by millions of Americans who find themselves unemployed and are barely able to feed their families, let alone worry about who is leading the American Conference's eastern division. There is nothing wrong with keeping an eye on the talks and hoping for the Players' Association and owners to reach an agreement. We do, however, need to get our priorities straight and show more concern for some of the true problems on this planet. It is silly that we would worry whether or not the Super Bowl will be played when a Polish woman in War saw is living under the constant fear of martial law and its implications. So next week while you're kicking your television set and complaining that, again, there is no football, think about someone's real troubles and then com pare it to yours. That game is not all that important after all, is it? Paul Gardner, a freshman journalism major from MocksvMe, is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel. eft: h grades not the real problem i nig To the editor: The article by Chip Wilson and Cheryl Anderson, "An A is a grade of many shades" (DTH, Oct. 11), refers to a con troversy based on two theories of grading held by faculty and administration members. One theory, stated loosely, is that attributes such as intelligence, ability and effort naturally occur in differing amounts among the student population. Thus, in any given class, the achievement level of the majority of the students, by definition, would be average and only a specific percent of students would be ex pected to do excellent work. The second theory, again, in general, terms, might be stated that a student should come out of a class with a certain level of knowledge in order to be con sidered .competent in that field. A cor ollary to that is that the professor or in . solictor's job is to make that knowledge available to the student in a way which facilitates his or her learning it (with the understanding, of course, that the student must exert as much effort as he or she has to or wants to, in order to do the learning). . One of the problems with the first theory is that it is based on occurrence of an attribute within a total population and random samples from that population. A university is not the total population, nor . even a representative sample of the 18- to 22-year-old age group, and a particular class or department is not a random sam ple of the University population. Thus there is no excuse for a professor to penalize a whole class of students who make generally high marks on a test by forcing their achieved scores into a "nor mal" bell-shaped distribution. This en courages needless competition among students when cooperation would often result in more students learning more material. Those who criticize the second theory often imply that it leads to "inflated grades." However, there is no reason why following the second theory should lead to lowered standards and levels of achieve ment, as is often implied in that criticism. The two positions can be reconciled. If professors and instructors decided what specifically, they wanted students to know upon completion of the course and set strict, explicit criteria which must be met for successful completion, students would know what was expected of them. Then if there truly is a distribution of talents, students would master the requirements by differing degrees. The higher the stan dards, the fewer would be able to master them completely. But these criteria (and thus grades) would be decided by the pro fessor or instructor, and would reflect what a student competent in that field should have mastered, rather than a statistical division having little to do with necessary levels of performance. The fundamental problem with any system which rewards performance above minimum standards is that in a society which is based on competition and gives rewards Gobs, promotions, professional training) to only the most outstanding on the particular yardstick used (i.e. grades), those who attain "average" levels of com petence do not go very far. Thus a C has come to mean, not competence, but a lack Solidarity By JOSEPH OLINICK Frustrated with its efforts to control Solidarity, the Polish Government of Wojciech Jaruzelski had to outlaw the labor union last week. Martial law was apparently not enough to quell its ac tivities. Still, the determined workers of Poland continue their struggle. In Gdansk, when workers went on strike in the Lenin shipyard, demanding restoration of Solidarity, fierce street bat tles broke out between, workers and police. The martial-law . government reacted by militarizing the shipyard, which means the workers become soldiers subject to military orders and discipline. ; For going on strike, they could be court martialed or shot. " , . The Associated Press reported that the Polish government said that 10 percent to 13 percent of workers were on strike.: Solidarity workers, however, stated 80 percent were out on strike. The workers' figures seem to be. more credible, judging from most reports. Strikes in nearby Gydnia have also been reported, but not substantiated. Despite martial law and the banning of Solidarity, workers have taken to the streets, marching on Communist Party headquarters in Warsaw. In a show of force, they were attacked by the regime's police and military, forces with tear gas, water cannon and smoke bombs.. Still, the workers were determined.. Even as police dispersed the crowd, workers would later regroup and continue fighting. Solidarity is now seeking the release of between 450 and 600 Solidarity leaders still in prison or interned. Since those arrests, including the internment of the labor union's leader Lech Walesa, Solidarity has had a leadership problem. The workers and the Poles have been calling for the release of Walesa, now under house arrest. He has been detained by Jaruzelski's regime since martial law began in Poland last December. In reaction to the ban on Solidarity, Pope John Paul II emotionally called the move a violation of the fundamental rights of man. President Reagan with drew Poland's most favored nation trade status last week. As a result, U.S. tariffs on Polish goods will likely rise substan tially. The Soviet Union said Reagan's action would severely hurt .the Polish people, and Tass, the Soviet news agency, ac cused the president of trying to aggravate of valuable skills (intelligence, in dustriousness, etc.). . 4 Grade inflation seems to stem from the desires of professors and instructors not to penalize their competent students in the competitive world. The competition can only get worse as jobs and educational funding become more, and more scarce. University officials need not worry, however, that a high number of As and Bs necessarily dilutes the importance of those grades. If more professors and instructors examine their course material, set explicit standards of performance, and teach with the attitude that students should learn in their classes, then a good record from Carolina will still mean that a student is well prepared in his or her field. Nancy DartnaU Psychology Dept. ERA won't go away To the editor: I appreciate The Daily Tar HeePs ar ticles on reactions to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment "When ERA died. . ." (DTH, Oct. 14) because they il lustrated the diverse opinions on the significance of such action. Undoubtedly the ERA symbolizes far more in the public's mind than it may or may not accomplish in practice to protect the legal rights of all people. Unfortunately, people like Carol Lind say continue to confuse what they believe the ERA symbolizes with what its passage would actually require. By stating, "The current debate on ways of self-fulfillment . and meaningful contributions to society depends on the assumption that men and women are identical," Lindsay shows . failure to understand both the meaning and the purpose of the ERA. Protecting basic legal rights under the proposal allows anyone to pursue his or her course of self-fulfillment free from discrimination based only on sex. One can choose to contribute through traditional roles or through new avenues depending on one's individual circumstances. The ERA does not put a value judgment on one person's choice to perform firefighting over against another's decision to work as a housespouse. Nor does it regulate society into a unisex mass of indistinguishable people. On the contrary, the ERA and the prin ciples supporting it promote individuality among a society of equal human beings. Fortunately, most people understand that protecting the rights of each person regardless of sex will continue to be a live issue even after the temporary and disap pointing setback last June. I , Katherine M. Allen Chapel Hill Mediocre pinnacle To the editor: Mediocrity in reporting reached its pin nacle in The Daily Tar HeePs Sports page undaunted the situation in Poland. Reagan responded by affirming that the efforts by churches and humanitarian groups in the United States would continue. In another incident related to the Polish situation, Reagan's ban on the sale of U.S.-made or U.S.-licensed equipment to the Soviets for the European pipeline seems to have had little effect. America's allies have not joined in the boycott and are supplying the Soviets with pipeline parts. THE WEEK Hostages killed in Raleigh In Raleigh, Mario Navas is being held in Central Prison's hospital without bond, charged with kidnapping and mur der. Navas kept police, state and federal authorities at bay for 70 hours as he held three hostages in the compartment of an Amtrak train at the Raleigh Amtrak Sta tion. He surrendered to authorities Mon day after killing his sister and allowing her 8-month-old son, Juan, to die of dehydration. Zulie Ramirez, 3, who was also in the compartment with Navas, was in good condition at Wake County. Medical Center after the incident. Throughout the hostage crisis, Navas, of Bucaramanga, Columbia, acted in an irrational manner and the authorities had an extremely hard time dealing with him. 'tOWR A PMK Cf AJ V VP : m tjf 6' VT vS .... v.-.' 4 i 1 r-v 0 Good Work! To the editor: May we compliment you on your recent journalistic triumph? The photograph of Alan Haig (front page, DTH, Oct. 4) is precisely the sort of thing we need to help us remember that the truly important things are neither money nor morality, nor any of the mundane preoccupations of today. Beauty is what we all long for, and the young Haig fills this bill to perfection. Dare we hope to see more? May we expect to be so thoroughlyjsatisfied with the beginning of our day again? Do please say the constant diet of depressing reports on break. Give us the sublime. Give us something that makes us feel that continuing is worth the effort. How can we begin to describe our ecstasy? Let a most sincere thank you suffice. Keep up the good work. Our most especial congratulations to Al Steele. (By the way, Al, was it as good in the flesh as it is on film?) Do forgive us our fatuousness, but we never really expected this. Walter Blanche Chapel Hill on Oct. 12, 1982. In anticipation of being updated as to 1 "activities around the world and,oh campus 2 Tuesday, I secured a DTJi, purchased my coffee and began reading with enthusiasm. All was going well until page 5, whereupon I read with interest the article about the women's soccer team's drive toward a sec ond straight national championship. Being a female, I was proud to hear of the team's success. Unfortunately, the DTH either fails to by military In the train compartment where Navas held the hostages, $5,000 was found. Navas had been convicted of selling nar cotics in the past, and police speculated that he was intending to go back into the illegal drug business. Navas now faces charges of two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping. Swedish submarines In the waters off Sweden, the situation might be called one of cat and mouse. IN REVIEW The Swedish Navy, the cat, has been sear ching for a submarine, the mouse, which "strayed" into its waters almost two weeks ago. The sub, which probably calls the Soviet Union home, seems like a repeat of another sub incident in Sweden recently. Then, a Soviet sub ran aground while ap parently spying on the country's navy. But the Soviets learned nothing and may have sent in the second submarine. It was spotted near a top-secret naval installation before the Swedish Navy ap parently hemmed the sub into Hors Bay with submarine nets. The Navy reported that a second sub was just outside the bay apparently in an effort to aid the trapped submariner- The Swedes tried depth charges with no result. Then, a mine went off in Mysingen GMVtiON &:7tOMCCO&ai WIZARDS,.. - Ham yes! We are insatiable. We are fatigued by the myriad failings of our species. Give us a' adequately cover the female events and cannot prpyide photos of these events or ; Ben Abell of the men's team is plaWingftp try out for the. womeh'slteam." j cannot comprehend what other reason the DTH may have for providing photo coverage, of a men's event when the women's team was obviously the feature story. Melanie Wilson 208 Wesley Foundation Bay, giving the Swedish Navy a lead. A distress buoy, the type used on sub marines, was found,"tiut, they could not find any concrete evidence of the sub in the mine field. PCB cleanup complete The state cleaned up the last of the PCB-contaminated soil from along N.C. highways Tuesday. When the PCB-laderi soil from Fort Bragg is taken to Warren County, the landfill will be capped. Protestors at the landfill in Warren County were firm in their demand that the landfill must go. They arrived outside Raleigh Monday night after marching from Warren County to protest the land fill. The protestors were hindered by diffi culties as they made their way to Raleigh when their N.C Highway Patrol escort was reassigned. Next, they were told they could not walk on the side of the road. Some of the protestors have filed a complaint with the State Highway Patrol, alleging a state trooper nearly ran them over. Last weekend, Gov. Jim Hunt told the protestors the dumping of PCB laden soil would be completed, but he promised to take measures to ensure the facility did not become a health hazard. Moreover, he said he would block any future measures to put toxic dumps in Warren County. Cat kidnappers In an unusual court case, two N.C, women were sentenced to prison Monday in a courtroom in Beaufort for "cat napping." . Ava Williams, 21, was sentenced to 18 months in jail and Sherri Styron, 19, got 12 months in the pen. The women, both of Harkers Island, N.C. pleaded guilty to extortion and breaking and entering. Cry Baby, the cat of Raymond and Charles Guthrie, was taken from its owner's home by the two women who then wanted $18,000 from the owners for the cat's safe return. The cat did not make a courtroom ap pearance. Joseph Olinick, a junior journalism and political science major from Durham, is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 15, 1982, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75