Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Oct. 25, 1983, edition 1 / Page 4
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i 4 4The Daily Tar HeelTuesday, October 25, 1983 mi? iatlg (Har mni 91st year of editorial freedom Kerry DeRochi, Editor ALISON DAVIS, Managing Editor JEFF HlDAY, Associate Editor LISA PULLEN, University Editor Christine Manuel, State and National Editor MICHAEL DESlSTI, Sports Editor Melissa Moore, News Editor John Conway, City Editor KAREN FlSHER, Features Editor Jeff Grove, Arts Editor CHARLES W. LEDFORD, Photography Editor Irretrievable losses By now, most of us have learned of the Sunday bombing in Beirut. Of the red pickup truck that had crashed into the airport building, detonating its 2,000 pound load of bombs.-And, of the bulldozers that since then have worked steadily to uncover the debris and the bodies of the dead Marines. At least 191 U.S. Marines and Navy men were killed in the blast; a number large enough to force us to realize both the threat of the Lebanon conflict and the inadequacies of present U.S. policy there. President Reagan's aggressive reaction belied the complexity of the situation. In a Monday press conference, he maintained that more Marines would be positioned in Beirut because the United States could not be "intimidated by terrorists." He glibly used the words such as "mission" and "national interest" but stumbled in their definition. His speech, while certifying the need for stabilization in Lebanon, rang hollow because it made no provisions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Without such provisions, Reagan was able to dodge the central issue that of defining the United States' role in the conflict. The speech was merely a continuation of the Reagan administration's ability to twist the Lebanon conflict into a war of invasion by the Soviet backed Syrians and the concerned Israelis. Officials justified the U.S. peacekeeping force by pointing to the need of supporting the shaky Amin Gemayel government against these invading forces. They virtually ignored that the fighting became that of a country torn by factional disputes, sectarian hatred. It was now a brawl between the Shiites, Druze, Phalangists, Syrians and Israelis. Sunday's bomb, alleged to be the work of Iranians, only added another faction to that list. The U.S. forces, though starting as a peacekeeping mission, were drawn into the country's civil war. In 1982, Reagan dispatched the Marines with the objective of supporting the central government and allowing for the departure of the Palestine Liberation Organization. But these short ideals were soon lost as the Gemayel government was unable to holdjhe splintering country. Since then, calls that the Marines' posi tion was vital to the national interest were drowned in the mortar fire that killed six Marines in the days before this weekend's bombing. The United States was caught in the complexity of trying to play peacemaker or world policeman. It was a role that had created the Viet nam in the 1960s, as well as the El Salvador and Nicaragua of today. In each case government officials allowed the country to be drawn into a war, while they grappled with questions such as, when can a country bent on bringing peace draw the line and withdraw? Are U.S. lives worth sacrificing for the continuance of a peacekeeping mission? Do the deaths in themselves defy the role of such a mission? Reagan and Congress have not come up with the answers. They've delayed any consideration of the questions for 18 months, long after the 1984 elections. The delay postpones the need for congressmen to define what would be a suitable victory in Lebanon. It's the same question that was never adequately answered regarding Vietnam, the question that when unanswered leads to unjustified war. Sunday's bombing must tell Reagan and Congress that this 18-month delay is no longer an option. They must now establish an immediate date for withdrawal and work to establish peace by that time. At that point, U.S. troops can be withdrawn with the knowledge that even if peace has not yet been achieved, then the avenues have been established. Only by forcing the issue of Lebanon now will it ever be resolved, and the U.S. troops brought safely home. Vote today Graduate students will be voting today to fill five Campus Governing Council seats. Unlike undergraduate representatives, graduate CGC members are chosen from academic rather than residential areas. Unfor tunately, graduate student apathy toward the CGC is so high that only two of those five seats have official if unopposed candidates. A third seat has one announced write-in candidate. The apathy toward Student Government is little more than an exten sion of a general lack of interest on the part of graduate students. Grads have been set apart either of their own accord or by factors beyond their control from the rest of the student body. Perhaps they don't feel as much a part of the student populace and therefore feel uneasy about getting involved in predominantly "undergrad" extracurricular activities. Regardless of their interests, graduate students, like all students, have fees levied upon them which are then redistributed to campus organiza tions. As custodians of the students' money, CGC members play the greatest role in determining what amount, if any, each student organiza tion applying for funds will receive. If the CGC did nothing more than allocate funds and the office has a great deal more potential for positive action outside this single responsibility then it merits student concern. And graduate students, who comprise about one-third of all CGC seats, have a responsibility to themselves and to all students to care about the stewardship of our fees. Graduate students cannot ignore CGC elections today. They must exercise one of the few privileges that gives them some voice over campus affairs. Their votes will be a step toward not only a greater representation of the diverse student body within the CGC, but also an improved in teraction between graduate and undergraduate students at the University. The Bottom Line Biffy Bradley pulled the key out of his knapsack. It had been a long day three midterms. All he'd done over Fall Break was study. Now all he wanted to do was just sit back and relax. He threw his books up onto his side of the loft and opened the fridge. Only one Coors left. Later, he'd have to run down to Ken's and pick up another 12. He stretched out on the sofa and reached for the TV's remote control box. Channel 5, All My Children . . .nothing new there, everyone already knew Monique was in hot water for ratting on Lars to Palmer. . .and Jenny would be a fool if she married Tony. He switched the channel. "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street " Sesame Street! Biffy hadn't seen' Sesame Street since he was four and mummy left him home with the nurse for the day. What a joke, he thought They used to have a letter for the day and a number . . . and Oscar was really cool ... he didn't take any of the naive mess off of Big Bird. Biffy watched as Big 3ird wan dered onto the screen accompanied by . . . what? ... a deaf librarian? Biffy didn't remember a deaf librarian. He watched a while longer. Suddenly, a group of children appeared on the screen. . .but they were different too. Some were black, Puerto Rican, Chinese. . .and some were handi capped. This was a different show than the one Biffy had watched as a child. Biffy watched a while longer before he switched off the set. After 15 years of programming, the show was still going strong. And it appealed to everyone. They even taught Spanish words, and showed scenes from other countries. How much more Biffy still could learn from Sesame Street even as a freshman at Carolina. And that's the bottom line. A dead man can't err By MATT MAGGIO Jeff Hiday's recent column concerning the death penalty ("Revenge of passion," DTH, Oct. 24) examined only one of the four traditional theories used to justify all punishments imposed for criminal acts. While concentrating on retribution, he ignored restraint, deter rence and rehabilitation. Whether or not Hiday's message that retribution should be left back in the cave is correct, most of us would agree that the death penalty does not rehabilitate; it does not prepare the of fender to re-enter society as a law abiding contributor. Capital punish ment's lack of any rehabilitative poten tial is the only factor that distinguishes it from other sanctions for criminal behavior within the theoretical frame work. This failure, however, is counter balanced by the death penalty's effective ness as viewed under the other three con cepts. As retribution, an execution is directly in line with the Bible's teaching that the -punishment fit the crime andor crimi nal; its historical use in our country has been reserved for serious felonies murder, kidnapping, forcible rape, trea son and arson or burglary of occupied premises. The Supreme Court has limited its current use to first-degree murder; no more fitting punishment for this crime could be devised. If capital punishment does not deter, why imprison? If death cannot deter potential criminals, fines and jail terms cannot. If capital punishment does not deter, such a failure derives from its uncertainty; each year, hundreds are sent to death rows and less than half a dozen are executed. That criminals fear execution is readily seen by their efforts and those of their lawyers to keep them out of the gas chamber. Drops in robbery rates in Birmingham, Ala., following that city's decision to teach pharmacists the law of self-defense and how to shoot, show that felons fear death when it is reasonably certain or at least not predictably subject to years of delay on the routine appeals now ac corded all condemned prisoners. "Restraint" means that a punishment will keep those subjected to it from further crime for at least a specified time. In this, capital punishment is unbeatable. One recent "victim" of the death penalty Jimmy Lee Gray was executed for the kidnap, rape and murder of a three-year-old; he committed this offense after release from prison in another state where he had been imprisoned for another rape and murder. If he had been executed for the first killing, that inno cent child would probably be alive now. Our courts routinely balance the rights of conflicting parties; why should a con victed rapist and killer's rights take priority over those of potential victims? Life sentences without parole are not an effective alternative; such punishment creates a CTiminal with literally nothing to lose by escape attempts or the murder, rape, etc., of guards or of relatively safe inmates. It is worth remembering that practically all inmates eventually are re leased. Many who decry the "cruelty" of executions are the same individuals who argue that money spent on the armed services is money stolen from the poor by the diminution of welfare spending. Is not the cost of keeping a convicted killer alive for 50 years at a cost of $25,000 an nually also money that would have been better spent elsewhere, whether for defense or for welfare? Opponents of capital punishment argue that the current appeals process makes life sentences cheaper than executions. If so, the answer is to reduce the appeals to the one sensible question did the convict com mit the crime for which he has been sen tenced? Peaceniks griping about the costs of weapons should consider how much could be saved by the enactment of a constitutional amendment allowing the states the right to execute any violent felon committing the offense historically punished by death in early 20th century America. Hiday was right about one thing; those cowboys understood that the best cure for recidivism is a tall tree and a shorter rope. Where he erred is in considering our state courts no more capable of rational justice than a frontier lynch mob was. Matt Maggio is a second-year law stu dent from Burlington. Burning out at the starting gate By CHARLES E. GIBBS There is a type of disease which pervades every college campus. Its symptoms vary with each individual. They range from a change in sleep habits to constant fatigue to a decline in academic performance and a lack of satisfac tion with anything one does. Fortunately, freshman burnout is one of the most curable of diseases once it is identified. It is not just limited to freshmen; upperclassmen burn out also. But the majority of people who experience this are freshmen, particularly those freshmen who were very active and successful in high school. Freshman burnout stems from the fact that the freshman is suddenly thrust into an environment with thousands of other "high achievers" whose credentials got them into Carolina in the first place. He is also placed with upperclassmen. He is known more by his social security number than his name. With the myriad clubs and organizations and offerings of the University, a sense of de-personalization occurs. I used high school standards for what I was doing at UNC. That's where I made my mistake, because college is a whole new ball game when compared with high school. The study is more demanding and requires more time. There is also a noticeable difference in the line of extracur ricular activities. In high school it was all right to join the various clubs that were offered. There weren't that many to choose from. But college is a different story. With more than 200 clubs and organizations to choose from, I had the tendency to join more groups than I had the time for. With the combination of classes, clubs and study, I found little time for myself. I had committed all of my time. When my studies weren't turning out as well as they should, I simply borrowed a few hours from sleep time in order to counteract it. This served only to create fatigue, which lasted as long as my normal sleep pattern was disturbed. It was a rarity to go to bed at a normal time. The fatigue countered the benefit that I got from the extra study. to avoid it; I just sat down and decided what my priorities were. Why was I here at the University in the first place? What do I want to do while I am here? Once I determined my priorities, I made out a list put ting them in order from most important to least impor tant. I made sure to place an item for myself on the list. My health and well-being are very important. To preserve it, I came up with a few simple ways to cure freshman burnout. The best thing for the perplexed freshman is to just talk with someone his own age or J just sat down and decided what my priorities were. Why was I here at the University in the first place? What do I want to do while I am here? In the later stages of freshman burnout, I lost all satisfaction from going to my club meetings. I might as well not have gone, which became the case until just recently. My academic performance was well below what I was capable of. I flunked tests that I should have been able to pass. I was constantly tired, and it showed. It was a constant battle to keep from falling asleep in my classes at times. The pity of it is that it didn't have to happen. It was nice being Superman in high school, but if I tried to transfer what I did to college life, an early grave would be my eventual reward. Don't get me wrong. Hard work and diligence will still be richly rewarded, but overwork and overindulgence will not. I found that the remedy for a burnout victim is the same as that for a person who hasn't experienced burnout someone he trusts; the resident assistant in the dorm is a good person to talk with first. In addition, there are various types of services that the University offers to help the student in any way that it can. But remember, by all means, talk to someone if the symptoms of burnout ap pear. Don't let it fester inside. Charles E. Gibbs, a freshman RTVMP major from Sanford, is a staff writer for The Daily Tar HeeL He is also involved with WXYC, the Cellar Door, Combined Forces, The Videotape Committee of the Carolina Union, the Model United Nations Club, The Baptist Student Union, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, College Republicans, Young Democrats, Legion IV, and hopes to be involved with the student television station. WHEN CAN AMERICANS CELEBRATE A J1S5EHEU4S HOUPAY? runrrj NOVEMBER LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Today we cry To the editor: We must ask our government today if we would be grieving over the deaths of 191 Americans if they had not interfered with the Israeli invasion into Lebanon over a year ago. Was it not evident to all of us what kind of horrors Israelis in nor thern Israel were experiencing? How does anyone make peace or even conceive of cease-fires with terrorists? Night after night television viewers were bombarded with the horrors perpetuated by the Israeli army against murderers. Can't we see that today? Nobody was taught the righteousness of Israel's task, freeing Lebanon of ter rorists and Syrian occupiers. The State Department and the president condemn ed Israel. The public, in turn, condemned Israel. Today we cry. American's foreign policy lost the war for Israel, lost the war for Lebanon, and is now losing the war for American lives. Avi Rocklin Royal Park Apts. mmintu A i -i . - THE Daily Crossword by Evelyn Benshoof ACROSS 1 Washington mansion 6 Bandy words 10 Squabble 14 Bird of prey 15 Instance 16 Mallet game 17 Put off 18 "Trinity" author 19 Pig or cast 20 Trite 22 Descartes 23 Tailless amphibian 24 Tarried 26 Concocted beverages 30 Brilliance of success 32 Off one's rocker 33 Station: Fr. 35 Roofing material 39 Cut short 41 Ballplayer 43 Lawyer Melvin 44 Asian river 46 Spore clusters on ferns 47 Spanish armada nemesis 49 Asphyxiated 51 Stare with anger 54 Minute quantity 56 Matured Yesterday's Puzzle Solved: riAisii iFnciAiBr isiEiAiMn SI Rl ACE fiT L D I E loTessJg"reenland an ! 3c. he e r i 03u0 V TTn DUE Z D R E S S Y Zj 1 E E OljP E A tToryidi narTIebbs AWE D liiG Ei.EE R eId Otic OPE 51 IN U DE OHplllFOE-J bTaTc K E R I B A R B ff 0RRnC00LESTjEl I ii AC KM AIL "HE L VI SEPAL "FfiA GGJLiR usieIrIeUsIeInUmioIsIslj 102513 57 Tiresomely uniform 63 Pilaster 64 Catholic booklet 65 Fire to action 66 Legal equal 67 Bobbin 68 Useful item 69 Whirlpool 70 Time past 71 English city DOWN 1 Defeat 2 Strip of wood 3 Icecream ingredient 4 -et-Vilaine, Fr. 5 Tell 6 Diving device 7 One on the march 8 Saudi Arabia district 9 Close tightly again 10 Apathetic 11 Meditated (over) 12 Isolated 13 down (muted) 21 Evade 25 Sport fish 26 Prattle 27 Caftan 28 Branch of bio. 29 Bored 31 Philippine island 34 Part of the Aleutians 36 Bible prophet 37 Weight allowance 38 Oklahoma . city 40 Exasperate 42 Idiom 45 Wander 48 Military building 50 Lacking principles 51 Wine fruit 52 Applied eye makeup 53 Chose 55 Actor Peter O' 58 Mountain: comb, form 59 Proboscis 60 English river 61 Exploited 62 Matched pairs 1 p p p p f 16 p p IS 110 111 112 113 75 75 71 " 77 -j ' To"" If "57" . - 26Tj2728p!T" " " """" IS 31" " " 32 W VT " 35 363r",t3T" 33 " " 40" " 7T" 42 " " " " - - -J- 45 "" 47 " 48 " " """"" 43 50 " " " " 51 1 52 153 " 54 55 " " "56 " "" 57 58 5r606T62 73 " "gg IT '. TT To 71 1983 Tribune Company Syndicate, Inc. All Rights Reserved 102583
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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