Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 30, 1983, edition 1 / Page 6
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6The Daily Tar HeelWednesday, November 30, 1983 0J1 iatlg (5ar BM .year 0 editorial freedom Kerry DeRochi, EJiwr Alison Davis, Manage Editor CHARLES ElLMAKFR, Associate Editor Kelly Simmons, University Editor KYLE MARSHALL, State and National Editor Michael DeSisti, Sports Editor Melissa Moore, News Editor FRANK Associate Editor Michael Toole, aty Editor KAREN FiSHER, Features Editor Jeff Grove, Arts Editor CHARLES W. LEDFORD, Photography Editor Making movies In recent years, filmmakers have turned increasingly to location shooting to add authenticity to their work. In doing so, they've con fronted a bit of difficulty; many locales deny producers and directors shooting rights because of the disruption of civilian life that occurs. That is precisely why UNC administrators have greeted director Michael Apted's requests to film Everybody's Ail-American in Chapel Hill with skepticism. While it is expected that administrators take time to think over a decision with such a potential impact on campus life, it can only be hoped that they will recognize the many merits of allowing the filming and reach an affirmative decision. University administrators are wary of the situation for many good reasons. The last time that UNC was approached to be the filming site for a Hollywood production was for the then-untted Animal House, a film that would have examined life at UNC from the steps of a filthy fraternity house. Moreover, administrators argue that the cumbersome process of making a motion picture would last for months and would prove a con tinual distraction to students. As Rollie Tillman Jr., vice chancellor for University relations, said, "We don't mind having the occasional televi sion commercial on campus, but a major film could disrupt things during a major part of the academic year. And educating students has always been our No. 1 priority." The distraction and disruption of filming, however, would not necessarily detract from academic life. Students at UNC have long been held responsible for motivating themselves in the midst of college life's social distractions. Watching segments of the film's production would hardly attract any more students than standing in line for basketball tickets does, and participating in the filming might provide a healthy source of extra income and diversion for Chapel Hill residents. Above all, the big screen, mass media reproduction of UNC's hand some campus would serve as better advertisement for the" University than any number of admissions office pamphlets. There were few of us who, after seeing Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross roam the sidewalks of Berkeley, Calif., in The Graduate, didn't secretly wish to attend the University of California. There is little reason to fear bad publicity from the film. It is a serious look at what the college athlete faces upon graduation. It is being directed by the same man responsible for the memorable Coal Miner's Daughter. It has a budget of $13 million. And it stars Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones. All considered, UNC's best bet is to issue a hearty invitation to Apted, Lange, Jones and company. Nothing doing Congress decided this session that it really didn't have the time to get anything important done or the courage. After all, elections are com ing up soon. Pressing issues such as the ballooning federal budget deficit and the Equal Rights Amendment confronted congressmen, but, not wanting to upset any group of the polity, they knew that actual meddling with the status quo was a political no-no. The -issues did not go unnoticed, however. Without actually ac complishing anything, the political wheels managed to manipulate these top-priority problems to their political advantage. This maneuvering allowed one party to attack the other party's stance on the issue even though the issue itself wasn't and may never be resolved. The largest dilemma facing Congress this session was the stalemate over the federal budget. Tax cuts and spending increases have created a deficit that could run more than $200 billion every year through 1989 unless Congress acts either to curb outlays or to increase collections. But this complicated and imminent threat to the economic well-being of the nation paled next to the deep-set recovery more tangible to the voters. Tampering with the recovery gave congressmen pause an economic setback does not win constituent votes. Solving the budget crisis, therefore, was shielded behind a sea of pointing fingers as Democrats and Republicans accused each other of stalling action on a more balanced budget. The Equal Rights Amendment in principle supported by a majority of Americans also became little more than a political dart. Although many House Democrats have vowed to push a new ERA through Con gress, the recent proposal could not be considered a thoughtful and realistic approach to establishing equal rights in the Constitution. In stead, House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill used his power to restrict all amendments to the bill and limit debate to only 40 minutes. With no chance of passage under these conditions, Democrats were free to vote for the bill while 109 Republicans voted against it. New fuel was added to the Democratic re-election machine, though neither side could boast of real progress. Congressmen are elected to address and solve the nation's problems, not to argue issues for the sake of re-election while accomplishing little. If a similar aura of procrastination pervades the next congressional gather ing, voters themselves may want to pause before re-electing these vocal but lethargic leaders. The Daily Tar Heel Editorial Assistants: Bill Riedy and Gigi Sonner. Assistant Managing Editors: Joel Broadway, Tracy Hilton and Amy Tanner Assistant News Editor: Gary Meek News Desk: Cynthia Brown and Pam Weber News: Tracy Adams, Dick Anderson, Diana Bosniack, Keith Bradsher, Amy Branen, Lisa Brantley, Hope Buffington, Tom Conlon, Kathie Collins, Kate Cooper, Teresa Cox, Lynn Davis, Dennis Dowdy, Chris Edwards, Kathy Farley, Steve Ferguson, Genie French, Kim Gilley, Andy Hodges, Reggie Holley, Sue Kuhn, Thad Ogburn, Beth O'Kelley, Janet Olson, Rosemary Osborne, Heidi Owen, Beth Ownley, Cindy Parker, Donna Pazdan, Ben Perkowski, Frank Proctor, Linda Queen, Sarah Raper, Mary Alice Resch, Cindi Ross, Katherine Schultz, Sharon Sheridan, Deborah Simpkins, Sally Smith, Mark Stinneford, Carrie Szymeczek, Liz Saylor, Amy Tanner, Doug Tate, Wayne Thompson, Vance Trefethen, Chuck I Wallington, Melanie Wells, Lynda Wolf, Rebekah Wright, Jim Yardley and Jim Zook. Sports: Frank Kennedy, Kurt Rosenberg and Eddie Wooten, assistant sports editors. Glenna Burress, Kimball Crossley, Pete Fields, John Hackney, Lonnie McCullough, Robyn Nor wood, Michael Persinger, Julie Peters, Glen Peterson, Lee Roberts, Mike Schoor, Scott Smith, ' Mike Waters, David Wells and Bob Young. Features: Clarice Bickford, Tom Camacho, Toni Carter, Margaret Claiborne, Cindy Dunlevy, 1 Charles Gibbs, Tom Grey, Marymelda Hall, Kathy Hopper, Charles Karnes, Joel Katzenstein, Dianna Massie, Kathy Norcross, Clinton Weaver and Mike Truell, assistant features editor. Arts: J. Bonasia, Steve Carr, Ivy Hilliard, Jo Ellen Meekins, Sheryl Thomas and David Schmidt, assistant arts editor. Photography: Lori Heeman, Bryce Lankard, Jeff Neuville, Susie Post and Zane Saunders Business: Anne Fulcher, business manager; Angela Booze and Tammy Martin, accounts receivable clerks; Dawn Welch, circulationdistribution manager; William Austin, assistant 1 circulationdistribution manager; Patti Pittman and Julie Jones, classified advertising staff; Yvette Moxin, receptionist; Debbie McCurdy, secretary. Advertising: Paula Brewer, advertising manager; Mike Tabor, advertising coordinator; Laura Austin, Kevin Freidheim, Patricia Gorry, Terry Lee, Doug Robinson, Amy Schultz and Anneli Zeck, ad representatives. ' Tracking the course of UNC library By TOM CONLON Pretty soon, students won't be able to use Wilson Library on a daily basis at least until a two-year reno vation is complete. While most of Wilson's contents move to the new Walter Royal Davis library, the character of the old library will be left behind. The need to move is practical and justified there is simply no more space to put all the books and collections that have accumulated. Some of the collections are even housed in other locations because there is no space in Wilson. Take a walk through the basement of Wilson and you will find cardboard boxes full of books in the hallways. The new Davis Library, which began with an Oct. 2, 1979, groundbreaking, will open some time next semester. The monstrosity will have 3,300 seats for students, compared to Wilson's 1,200 seats. It will be better-lit and will have more study space. It will also have less character. Go into Wilson on a typical school night. You'll find students in small corners of the library's stack additions or in tiny areas of the huge Humanities Room. These students, who seem to study under dim lights for endless hours, have given the library its personality. There's something to be said for crowded space. It has an inti mate effect. The architecture of Wilson is captivating in itself. The Greek-revival exterior authoritatively commands its presence over the quad with its Ivy-League look. Inside, the tall ceiling and huge windows of the Humanities Room capture an even greater atmosphere. In contrast, the Davis Library will captivate its users only with the ultra-modern square-box appearance and lack of originality. Unfortunately, this is the norm in most buildings being built today. UNC's library moved three times before and probably would have moved more frequently had Wilson not had two stack additions built. The Davis Library will repre sent the fifth location for the UNC library since the University opened in 1795. The reasons were the same in the 1800s as they are to day the need for more space and better facilities. There appear to be no objections to the change this time, nor were there any in the past, William S. Powell, UNC professor of history said. "There were no objections that I knew of," he said. "Just the opposite was true people were delighted." Powell is author of The First State University, a book on UNC's history. Powell said that no traditions changed the campus' libraries moved to different locations, but as a new r. " ft Ai DTHZane A. Saunders library was built, more facilities and collections became available. "The most significant change was when Wilson Library opened in 1929," he said. "The Carnegie Library, located in Hill HalU was basically a general cir culation library. When the needs of the library outgrew that space and moved to Wilson, the North Carolina Collection was established. Departmental sections such , as the commerce rooms were also established with the new added space." Although the North Carolina Collection was first or ganized in 1844 by University President David L. Swain, it was kept in private homes until Wilson Library open ed. Additions to Wilson Library were made in 1951 and 1977, with the Robert C. House Undergraduate Library and Student Union opening in 1968. Today, the library is again ready to move. The eight story, 438,000-square foot Davis Library will hold up to 1.8 million volumes and is expected to meet current demands until the year 2000, said Larry Alford, circula tion librarian for Wilson Library. Wilson, upon completion of its renovation, will house only the North Carolina Collection, Rare Book Col lection and Southern Historical Collection, which it cur rently houses in smaller rooms of the library. "Employee facilities will be greatly improved, so I think most everyone is looking forward to the move," Alford said. "Overall, it will be a better facility than what we have now." In UNC's first years, students tended to use the literary society libraries rather than the University library. Society libraries were housed in the rooms of student librarians. Later, they occupied spaces in Old East, Old West, New East, New West and South Buildings. In 1795, UNC's two society libraries the Dialectic Literary Society and the Philanthropic Literary Society were established. The official UNC library was located in South Building. In February, 1823, University President Joseph Cald well recommended to the University Board of Trustees that the library acquire books from Europe to improve the collection of books at the university. The trustees allocated $6,000 for Caldwell to buy books in England, where they were less expensive. Not a single book was added to the library during the 20 years of service under UNC President David Lowrie Swain, Caldwell's successor, according to then-University trustee Bartholomew Figures Moore. It was said of Swain that he always kept the University library in the attic, where the books were inaccessible and sure to be destroyed in the event of fire. In 1886, the society libraries moved into Smith Hall, where the University library had been transferred. Each society provided $150 annually for the purchase of books and periodicals while the University agreed to pro vide $200 annually to maintain the building and service it for two hours Monday through Friday and five hours on Saturdays. By 1889, one year after the University's centennial celebration, the library sported a museum-style interior containing portraits, busts, paintings, old prints, maps, globes and a few rare books. Shelves had been arranged about the floor with casual irregularity. By 1895, the library had become inadequate for the arrangement of the 40,000 volumes. That same year, the University assumed complete responsibility for the library's ad ministration, hired a professional librarian, and began collecting a fee from all students to support the library. University President Venable sought an Andrew Carnegie grant to fund the construction of a new library. Carnegie offered the University $55,000 on March 21, 1905, under the condition that the University provide a similar amount for the library's upkeep and future ex pansion. Alumni and friends set up endowments for this purpose, and on June 1, 1907, the cornerstone was laid under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Mason in North Carolina. The $59,000 Carnegie library is known today as Hill Hall. In 1907, additional members were added to the pro fessional staff, and in 1910 the librarian became directly responsible to the president of the University for the ad ministration of the library. By the mid-1920s, the Carnegie Library had outgrown its facilities, and Univer sity President Chase pushed for a new library. With a grant from the Legislature and $625,000 of University funds, the new University library, known now as Wilson Library, was constructed and completed in 1929. And the upheaval and transition of the University library continues. Today University students find them selves caught in the midst of the library's move to a new home again. Tom Conlon, a senior journalism and political science major from St. Paul, Minn., is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Recalling the idealism of the Kennedy years To the editor: Much more than our nation's 35th president died 20 years ago in November 22, 1963. While his greatness as a president is debatable, few would deny John F. Ken nedy's stature as a leader, as a charismatic force and as an inspiration, especially to youth. Historians may look back at economic and other statistics and glumly proclaim it was not the best of times, but as true as that may be, the mood of the United States then was decidedly upswing, and much of that feeling owed itself to Ken nedy. He inspired the nation and helped it believe that one person could really make a difference. We were on the edge of new frontiers and were even going to put a man on the moon, he said. Kennedy's exuberance, his feeling for the people, transcended mere politics and popularity polls. He made idealism, commitment and caring respectable goals. He made trying harder and fighting for one's values a central part of the nation's progressive agenda; a feeling most strongly embraced by young people. But a shot from a madman's rifle signaled the end of it all. Almost overnight, the hopeful naivete and spirited enthusiasm of America was swattered. What followed was "a decade of ideological wandering and despair, culminating with a death blow to political hope; the criminal presidency of Richard M. Nixon. Cynicism and apathy replaced trust and energy. Narcissism and selfishness traded places with caring and open-mindedness. Just about anyone who was an adult in 1963 can tell you exactly what they were doing when Kennedy died. Although I was not yet two years old, being raised in the shadow of his absence left a mark on me as well. Life in this political void left us yearning for another strong, inspira tional leader a want not likely to be fulfilled in 1984. That need for a leader, someone on whom to pin our hopes, is a' liability. No one can say when, if ever, another white knight will lead us to new heights. Those of my generation were mere infants when the American dream suffered its greatest setback ever. We have no excuses for not facing the problems and possibilities squarely ourselves. If idealism is no longer fashionable, it is because we have allowed it. If not caring and letting so meone else take the risks is acceptable, it is because we have settled for less than what we are capable of. If a dream died with JFK, it is up to the youth of today to see that it is not forgot ten altogether. Our efforts, our visions and our hopes will set the stage for decades to come. Let us reach for something better than the legacy we inherited. Lee W. Hinnant Class of 1983 Shortchanging soccer To the editor: If at first you don't succeed, then fail again! Once again the Women's Soccer National Championship made the bottom of the front page, instead of the top headlines. Rather than see ing an action shot of the game or the players or even a large headline, we DTH readers were greeted with a pic ture of a guy who had his face in a supposedly smelly shoe in the Tues day, Nov. 22, edition. I didn't think all of the DTH staff was new this year, but maybe every one on the staff just forgot the letters of dissatisfaction last year when the DTH did not give the national cham pions the prominence they deserved in our campus newspaper. Thus far this year the DTH has been pretty good about covering women's sports, but now when we have our first, and perhaps only, No. 1 team this year, the DTH neglects to give our soccer champs the recogni tion they earned. Will the team have to be national champions for four consecutive years before they achieve enough status to be the lead story? Susan Gaddy Town House Apts. MM SOMETIMES,, AT mXL UNIHINKABLE,,, A NUCLEAR FREEZE , sH XVL MM" m & Heaven-sent guide Room for improvement To the editors: I was very sorry to read Donna Lynn Pleasants' letter damning Balram Kakkar ("U.S. not perfect, but...," DTH, Nov. 16). She seems to have missed the point of protest in this country. She suggests that, because the United States is better than some countries in some areas of civil liberties, we should all proudly wave the American flag each morning as we walk to class. Pleasants must make an amus ing spectacle. Kakkar, I think, would agree that there is far more freedom in this country than in many others. He advocates the use of this freedom to explore other ideas and philosophies. He is not criticizing the country because it is bad. He is criticizing it because it could be better. It is through the airing of intelligent points of view, protest and criticism that this can be achieved. Surely this is a far more wor thwhile pastime than waving flags. Pleasants seems to suggest that we should all shut our eyes to "Mr. Protest (the permanant fixture in the Pit)" and wallow in past or perceived glory. Such simple nan-ow-mindedness is frightening coming 'from a senior psychology and political science major. Richard Hoile Morrison To the editor: Each spring the Student Consumer Ac tion Union publishes The Southern Part of Heaven?, a comprehensive housing guide for the Chapel Hill and Carrboro areas. The sole purpose of The Southern Part of Heaven? is to help students find quality housing while attending UNC. The Southern Part of Heaven? lists more than 60 apartment complexes in the area. Alternative housing suggestions (mobile homes, condominiums) are also included. Detailed descriptions of each apartment complex listed are provided by their respective landlords. One of the most important features of The Southern Part of Heaven? is the tenant evaluation section. As part of our research for this section, SCAU recently sent out about 3,500 tenant surveys. If you received a survey, it is essential that you fill it out and return it to SCAU as soon as possi ble. It will only take a few moments, and your opinions and comments will greatly contribute to the effectiveness of The Southern Part of Heaven? , Please use the business-reply envelope to return the completed survey or drop the survey off at the Student Consumer Action Union office, Suite B, in the Carolina Union. Thank you for your par ticipation in SCAU's efforts to help students find quality housing in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro areas. Kathy Bragg, Editor The Southern Part of Heaven? NOW I'LL NEVER SET BACK TO KANSAS . Star light, star bright To the editor: The Christmas season in Chapel Hill is already a disappointment. One of the simplest pleasures of the season that has been a tradition here at the University is missing again. For years the "Star of Bethlehem" has been erected atop the Morehead Plane tarium, mainly as an advertisement for their "Star of Bethlehem" pro gram. To suddenly remove the star due to the partiality of Professor Barry Nakell is inappropriate. It is unfortu nate that Nakell can view the star only as a "religious symbol" and not be objective enough to view the star in any other manner. True, to many peo ple the star may have religious conno tations, but to just as many others the star simply represents the beauty and the tranquility of the holiday season, a beauty that transcends religious be liefs or barriers. If the star's aesthetic beauty is insufficient reason for its re instatement atop Morehead Plane tarium, then delve into its history as a scientific phenomenon. This scientific approach certainly merits no criticism. So let's put the star back on top of the Morehead Planetarium. Toss aside the worn-out issue of church and state, and usher in the idea of simple holiday beauty. It would be a shame to let yet another tradition die. Jay Hoyle North Street
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 30, 1983, edition 1
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